Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5338 Western City Lockdown
Ctesiphon, this important town in Mesopotamia, is not only the core of the Fertile Crescent and a famous city with a long history of culture, but also a strategic location fought over by military strategists throughout history. Whoever controls this place is the hegemon of the region and the inheritor of civilization.

This place was once the winter capital of the Parthian Empire, which later established its capital at Ctesiphon.

Two hundred years later, the Sasanian tribe, who had lived in the Fars province of the Persian Empire, rose up and conquered most of the Parthian Empire's territory. After conquering Ctesiphon, they moved south and occupied the whole of Mesopotamia, creating the once glorious Sasanian Dynasty.

During this period, Taixi Feng City experienced extremely rapid development, becoming not only the western terminus of the Silk Road but also the trade center of the entire region. With magnificent palaces and abundant resources, the city's construction was progressing rapidly and vigorously, with countless palaces and manors standing side by side, reaching the height of prosperity.

Twenty years ago, the Arabs launched a rebellion from Medina, captured Ctesiphon, and replaced the Sasanian dynasty as the dominant power in Mesopotamia, while the Sasanian dynasty collapsed.

After the Arabs invaded Ctesiphon, they were shocked by the city's prosperity and began to burn, kill, and plunder. They not only looted the equivalent of the entire Arab treasury's wealth, but also burned the once luxurious city to the ground. Only the huge archway that once belonged to part of the Sassanid palace remained standing on this land, silently witnessing the changes of time and the vicissitudes of life.

Afterwards, the Arabs rebuilt Ctesiphon, and the reconstruction process continues to this day and is still not completed; even the city walls have not yet been built...

……

Vagas sat upright on the carpet, nearly seventy years old yet still with a straight back and vigorous spirit. He had an aquiline nose, deep-set eyes, a square face, and white beard and hair that stood on end like halberds. He had broad shoulders, a thick back, and a dignified demeanor, resembling a majestic lion.

As one of the most famous "companions" of his time, "Lion" was the name bestowed upon him by the Prophet.

Before him stood his right and left arms, Arms and Dulles, who were in charge of military and political affairs in the city of Tess.

On the table lay a battle report from Basra.

Arms frowned, his expression full of worry: "The Tang people came from the sea, with thousands of sails and masts like a forest. After defeating the Basra navy at the river mouth, they went up the river and launched a fierce attack on the city of Basra. Although there are two thousand warriors in the city, I'm afraid they can't hold it."

Vagas nodded calmly: "It's definitely not going to hold out. The Tang navy is invincible across the oceans. The Imperial Persian navy was wiped out in the Battle of Shirofu and has not been replenished. The navy in Basra is far inferior and has no chance of fighting. So we need to make arrangements to deal with it now."

In fact, there was a lot of dissatisfaction within the empire regarding the Caliph's strategy.

The naval war between the Empire and Byzantium had been ongoing intermittently for over a decade, with neither side willing to back down in their struggle for control of the Mediterranean, nearly exhausting their national strength. Meanwhile, the Caliph was unwise to launch a war against the Tang Dynasty, thus provoking such a behemoth dominating the East.

News has now reached Suyab that the 200,000-strong army has been almost completely wiped out, and the Tang army is pressing its advantage, having already broken into the former Persian territory and intending to cross the mountains to attack Mesopotamia.

Although the prince returned to Damascus alive, he was covered in frostbite and on the verge of death...

At this point, the war between the two countries could not end with the complete annihilation of one side, but the losing side would have to pay an extremely heavy price.

The Arab world certainly doesn't want to be the loser.

Duller said with great concern: "Taixi Feng City has been under reconstruction, and the city walls are still not finished. It will be difficult to withstand the fierce attack of the Tang army."

Wagas was unimpressed: "What good is it if it's built? The Tang army's gunpowder is incredibly powerful, and even the strongest walls can't withstand it. The best defense has never relied on the magnificence of mountains and marshes or the height and strength of city walls, but on whether the army and the people can work together."

As a disciple of the Prophet and one of the most accomplished generals in the empire, Vagas, with his unparalleled war experience, realized that the advent of gunpowder might have drastically changed the nature of warfare.

The most arduous and brutal siege battles of the past became extremely easy in the face of gunpowder. According to the battle reports from the north, the Tang army's extremely simple tactics of covering the city, rushing to the city walls, planting gunpowder, blowing up the city walls, and launching a full-scale attack were repeatedly successful. They simply could not think of a countermeasure and were considered unsolvable.

"Therefore, we cannot engage in a siege with the Tang army. If the city falls, our morale will be greatly reduced and our troops will waver. On the contrary, we should fight them in the open field in a fair and square manner. Only then can we fight them head-on and be evenly matched, and have a chance to win."

Ams is full of confidence.

“Field operations…” Vagas sighed, “We can’t be optimistic about it either.”

Ams was handsome and spirited, considered one of the best among the new generation of officers in the Abbasid Caliphate. Growing up during the empire's most prosperous period, he was inevitably proud and arrogant. He was greatly puzzled to see his most admired superior officer so dejected and lacking in confidence.

"Why are you so disheartened, General? Back then, the Persian war elephants were rampant and invincible, yet they still prostrated themselves before your iron cavalry. Even if the Tang Dynasty is powerful now, can it still be stronger than the Persians who once dominated the world?"

Vagas shook his head and said, "Times have changed. The war now is completely different from the past..."

Ams declared resolutely, "Even so, I request permission to fight! I am willing to lead the Abbasid cavalry to Qadisiyah and recreate your former glory!"

Twenty years ago, it was Waqas who led the Abbasid army to defeat the core army of the Sasanian dynasty in Qadisiya, directly leading to the demise of the Sasanian dynasty. This allowed the Abbasid Caliphate to rule this fertile and abundant land and spread Abbasid culture far and wide, completely replacing Persian civilization.

“Kardisia…”

Vagas murmured to himself, his cloudy eyes slightly unfocused, perhaps recalling the glorious days of his invincible campaigns.

After a long silence, he sighed and said, "No matter what, this battle must be fought. We can't just hand over Taisifeng like that, can we? In that case, Ams, you will lead the army to deploy in Qadisia and fight the Tang army to the death. Dule, you will ensure the supply of military equipment and logistics. I will stay in Taisifeng to support you and we will definitely thwart the Tang army's advance!"

The imperial capital had already been moved from Medina to Damascus, and Ctesiphon had long been the core of the empire's economy and culture. Once it fell, the core area of ​​the entire Abbasid Caliphate would face the danger of complete subjugation, which would inevitably cause a nationwide upheaval.

The empire will lose all its initial advantage in this contest with the Tang Dynasty.

Fighting was inevitable. He didn't believe that the Abbasid cavalry would necessarily lose to the Tang army's firearms. The reason he kept emphasizing the difficulties was simply to remind his generals not to underestimate the enemy.

Ams' spirits lifted: "Yes!"

Wagas then instructed Dulles: "Send a message to Damascus, saying that I will stand with Ctesiphon to the death, and that I need weapons, food, and reinforcements!"

"Yes!"

Dürer, who was in charge of logistics, respectfully accepted the order.

……

The following day, news of the fall of Basra reached Ctesiphon. While sending the battle report to Damascus, Vagas ordered Arms to lead 3,000 cavalry, 5,000 heavy infantry, and 10,000 infantrymen from Ctesiphon southward along the Fries River, stopping at the vicinity of Qadisia.

Countless giant logs, secured with iron anchors, were pushed into the river. Due to the varying lengths of the anchor chains, some of these logs floated on the surface while others sank to the bottom. The river continued to flow, but no boat could pass through.

The army, along with more than 20,000 laborers and corvée workers, set up camp on the wide grassland on the riverbank, waiting for the Tang army to arrive.

*****
The Tang army first unleashed a barrage of artillery fire, then heavy infantry broke through the defenses, followed by a charge by light cavalry, and captured Basra in less than half a day.

The Tang army had long-term plans for this city, so they did not cause extensive destruction. After capturing the city, they gathered the prisoners together. The healthy prisoners were supervised by the Tang army to clean the city and repair the city gates, while the wounded and sick were expelled.

After resting for half a day, the Tang army sailed up the river the next morning in more than a hundred warships, heading straight for Taixi Feng City.

Halfway there, a battle report came from the front.

On the warship, Su Dingfang and Yang Zhou sat together reading the battle report.

Yang Zhou first led his army to capture Ta Qu City, then returned to Da Nang and set off here with Su Dingfang. For two months, he hardly disembarked, and he looked greasy, weak, and even a little swollen...

He placed the battle report on the table, took a sip of tea, and said in a deep voice, "The Arabs are very clever. They know that the cannons on our warships are too powerful, and that the city of Taisifeng has no walls to defend against our siege tactics. So they used giant logs to block the river, preventing our warships from going upstream and forcing us to engage in open battle with them."

Su Dingfang nodded and said, "We should weaken our advantages as much as possible and bring our combat strength down to their level. This Vagas is indeed a famous general of the Arab world."

Yang Zhou scoffed: "What a load of rubbish! He's nothing but a bunch of farmers wielding wooden sticks and iron bars who manage to win by sheer luck against an enemy of equal skill..."

This statement was quite amusing, and Su Dingfang couldn't help but smile.

However, he also accepted Yang Zhou's argument that, in the end, whether it was Persia or the Abbasid Caliphate, they were generally poorly equipped, had insufficient soldiers, and lacked logistical support. They were only relying on their so-called "faith" to fight fearlessly.

Faith is like the morale of an army, which is naturally important, but when facing an enemy with superior statistics in all aspects, faith alone cannot turn the tide of battle.

"Mesopotamia is a rich land, where wealth is concentrated and the population is dense. More than a dozen cities of varying sizes have been built along the two rivers, but all of them are centered around Ctesiphon. Therefore, the enemy's army deployed in Qadisia is almost all of its strength. If we can defeat them in one fell swoop, it will be equivalent to having no enemy left in Mesopotamia that can fight us."

Su Dingfang said firmly, "If he wants war, then let's fight! A direct defeat of the enemy's elite troops gathered in Taisifeng will give Damascus an even more brutal shock!"