“It’s just a minor conflict. Great General Gao Xianzhi has still not been defeated, so why are you so worried, Chen Han? Do you think that our magnificent Great Tang can’t defeat a trifling Arabia?”
“Isn’t Goguryeo also just a small country? The Sui exerted the strength of the entire country, but didn’t they also suffer defeat there? Great General Zhang Shougui was undefeated in every battle, but has he been able to get any farther? Can the strength of soldiers be measured by the size of their countries! Great General Gao Xianzhi is skilled in swift battles, but after so long, we’ve still heard nothing from him. If something has happened, will you take the responsibility?”
“Ridiculous! Does a month without news mean defeat? If the Great General really did lose, the news would have already reached the Imperial Court. Do you not even understand something as simple as that?”
“Anxi, Qixi, and Longxi are all closely linked to each other. If Anxi is lost, Qixi will be lost, and if Qixi is lost, Longxi will be threatened, and after that, the safety of the capital itself will be in danger. If the Arabs, Tibetans, and Turks are able to make their way through Qixi and Longxi and threaten the capital, this will be a disgrace for all of the Great Tang, and all of you who so vehemently oppose this notion will be criminals of the state! I’d like to see just how you’ll act when the time comes!”
Fierce quarrels echoed through the court.
At the beginning, the incident at Talas had not caused much of a stir. Everyone believed that someone of Gao Xianzhi’s abilities could easily dispatch the Arabs. After all, they knew of Gao Xianzhi’s record. This was the war god of Anxi who had not been defeated once throughout his tenure. But reality had developed in the exact opposite direction.
Urgent pleas for help from Anxi were growing even more urgent, and even though Gao Xianzhi’s thirty thousand Great Tang elites had been armed to the teeth, they had still not broken out of Talas. If this was just some minor border conflict, they could have ignored the problem, but in truth, this had never been the case. Anxi was the barrier for Qixi, Qixi was the barrier for Longxi, and Longxi was the barrier for the capital.
One of the reasons the Great Tang had expanded all the way to the Four Garrisons of Anxi was admittedly because it wanted to open up the frontier and exhibit the power of the Great Tang. But the second reason was that it needed to protect Longxi and the capital, safeguard the Sage Emperor!
In all these years, it was only because of the two-layered barrier of Anxi and Qixi that Longxi and the capital were shielded from any major incidents. But if Anxi were lost, none of these officials even wanted to imagine what would happen next.
Chapter 863 - Court Debate, Decision! (II)
Chapter 863: Court Debate, Decision! (II)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Alarmist drivel! The Four Garrisons of Anxi constitute a minor territory on the border, and Talas is itself a city beyond the borders, a vast distance from the capital. In the future, should we pour out the entire strength of the country to reinforce Anxi when it cries ’emergency’? The Western Regions lie beyond the bounds of civilization, and not even half a Tang lives there. Do we need to waste our resources and exhaust the strength of the Great Tang for some mere foreigners?”
Amidst all these arguments, the official Yang Lu could no longer hold himself back.
Yang Lu was an imperial censor and a typical civil official. Civil officials had always been staunchly anti-war, and amongst the many voices in the court that opposed reinforcements being sent to Anxi, Yang Lu was one of the loudest.
A titled general stepped forward, his face seething with rage. “Military matters are of vital importance to the state. One Imperial Great General and thirty thousand of the empire’s best soldiers are besieged at Talas. Should we just stand by as these people die, treat it as a matter of little concern? Then when all the other border generals ask for help, we can ignore them as well? And when the common people face misery and catastrophe, which of you will take responsibility!”
There was no need for King Song to step forward with regards to Talas, as there was no small number of hawkish voices in the court.
Whether in the Sui or the Tang, or any of the other dynasties, the conflict between the civil and military officials had never ceased. The incident at Talas had only served to sharpen this divide.
“The crucial point here is that the war of the southwest has just concluded, and all the protectorates are still recovering. Where would we get reinforcements in such a short time? The Imperial Court has always prioritized placing its soldiers on the border, and the capital and the rest of the interior simply don’t have the soldiers. What happens if we transfer the soldiers from other protectorates and some other incident occurs? In the current situation, it’s not that we don’t want to help Anxi, but we simply don’t have any soldiers to send!”
One of the officials who stood more in the middle of the debate could no longer keep on watching and finally voiced his opinion. But the moment he spoke, another voice responded.
“Qixi Protectorate’s Wang Chong!”
This voice was soft and timid, apparently worried that it might attract too much attention. But the moment it spoke, the entire court fell silent. Even Yang Lu and the more neutral official were both speechless.
Longxi, Beiting, Andong, and Annan Protectorates had just experienced battles that left them lacking soldiers, forcing them to only passively defend and not aggressively attack. These four areas all had places that their soldiers needed to defend, enemies to be fought against. These soldiers truly could not be taken away so that they could be sent over the Cong Mountains to fight the Arabs.
But Wang Chong’s Qixi Protectorate was different.
The Qixi Protectorate had always served as a reserve for Anxi, and Wang Chong was the current temporary Qixi Protector-General. Of the various Protector-Generals, Wang Chong was probably the only one capable of going to Anxi’s aid. However, Qixi was traditionally menaced by Ü-Tsang and the Western Turks, and throughout its history, it had always been in a state of passive defense, rarely able to engage in offensives, much less reinforce Anxi.
But it just so happened that Wang Chong had launched attacks targeted at Ü-Tsang and the Western Turks. The battle at the triangular gap had shattered the threat of Ü-Tsang to the west, and the battle at the Qixi Armory had vanquished the threat of the Western Turkic Khaganate to the east.
The Qixi Protectorate was currently in a state of unprecedented safety. There were no armies threatening it.
And as the commander of Qixi Protectorate, the temporary Protector-General, Wang Chong had already proved his abilities in the war of the southwest and the two battles at Qixi. Privately, many already referred to him as the empire’s Eighth Great General. There was no doubting his strength, and he was completely capable of holding his own.
There was no one more suitable than Wang Chong and the Qixi Protectorate army for the job of reinforcing Anxi and breaking the siege of Talas, and such an operation wouldn’t have much of an effect on the rest of the empire.
“This…”
Even the vehement anti-war doves like Yang Lu and the other civil officials turned pensive at this suggestion.
Bang!
A jade seal stamped down on an official document from the Bureau of Military Personnel. After more than a month of debate, the civil and military officials of the Great Tang had reached agreement with unprecedented speed.
‘Qixi Protector-General Wang Chong is ordered to lead his army to reinforce Talas! All needed weapons, supplies, and soldiers should immediately be submitted to the Imperial Court. The Six Bureaus are ordered to offer their full cooperation, with no room for error!’
At dusk, a carrier pigeon took off into the air, flying toward Qixi.
At this moment, all of the Great Tang had eyes on Qixi, on Wang Chong. Whether or not Gao Xianzhi and his Anxi Protectorate army could be saved all depended on Wang Chong!
……
These gazes traveled over the vast earth to congregate around Wushang’s City of Steel.
Bang!
There was a massive clanging of metal, and countless furnaces throughout the City of Steel began to belch thick plumes of smoke. If one looked down from the sky, one could see countless craftsmen working within the City of Steel like tiny ants. Meanwhile, outside the city, thousands of soldiers had divided into two sides and were ‘charging’ at each other.
These soldiers did not belong to the Great Tang, but were mercenaries of the Western Regions, with their characteristic hawkish noses and deep eyes. After exterminating the Saka and recruiting the Gangke, Wang Chong had used his remaining momentum to shower silver over the Western Regions. Using his massive wealth and the reputation of the Great Tang, Wang Chong had recruited many mercenaries.
At least forty thousand mercenaries of the Western Regions had gathered under Wang Chong’s banner and were currently training outside the City of Steel. These mercenaries had never gone through any strict training, and so during battle, they had a tendency to simply charge forward without regard for any commands. This was not what Wang Chong required. The Arabs were not ordinary opponents, and a mob of mercenaries would not be very useful against them.
Thus, Wang Chong had gathered them near the City of Steel and had Li Siye and Xu Keyi train them. Just some simple training and drilling in formation would have massive effects on these mercenaries, allowing them to pose a threat to the Arabs at Talas.
On the western flank of the City of Steel, on a massive training ground, large ballistae were lined up. Five people were gathered behind each ballista, constantly loading, aiming, calibrating, and then firing. Boomboomboomboom! A dense volley of ballista bolts was fired, striking the metal targets on the other side.
The metal targets thicker than a finger were cut down like weeds in the face of this ballista fire.
Boomboomboom!
So it went for round after round, batch after batch, every team switching out for a new one after repeating this process one hundred times. During this training, each member worked with complete focus and seriousness. With incredible speed, Wang Chong was realizing his ‘ballista team’ plan.
In normal circumstances, it would have been impossible to complete this plan in a short time, but the massive amount of ballista bolts in the Qixi Armory had been a great boon to Wang Chong’s designs.
Farther off, hooves thundered and horses neighed, creating a massive din. Li Siye had already come back with his two thousand Wushang Cavalry, as had Cheng Sanyuan and his three thousand. The two groups had reformed and were currently engaged in arduous training at the City of Steel.
They were now learning a completely new formation. The Battle of Talas was imminent, and all of them knew that they would be facing an opponent that even Western Regions War God Gao Xianzhi could not deal with, so they needed an even more powerful formation to gain victory.
In the center of the City of Steel, within a building built in the classical style, a handsome youth with straight brows and bright eyes was sitting by a window, silently perusing a book, exuding an elegant and composed aura.
Flap flap! A bird shot through the window and landed on Wang Chong’s desk.
“Mm?”
Wang Chong glanced at the pigeon, his eyes twinkling as he subconsciously reached out and removed the letter tied to its leg. With a mere glance, his expression suddenly changed, and a smile appeared in his eyes.
“It’s finally here!”
Wang Chong put down the book, the smile spreading from his eyes to his lips. After a long and arduous debate, the Imperial Court had finally reached a decision and bestowed upon him the right to conscript soldiers.
This was exactly what Wang Chong had been waiting for.
Wang Chong had never hoped that the Imperial Court would think as he did and understand the significance this war had for the Great Tang, but as long as he could get his hands on this military decree, everything would be different. At the very least, he could now act free of any fetters.
“Speed is paramount in war. There’s not much time, but it should be enough for me to do what I need to do,” Wang Chong said to himself as he looked at the decree from the Bureau of Military Personnel in his hand.
The authority the Bureau of Military Personnel had given him was vast. Anything that Wang Chong needed, whether it was soldiers, money, or resources, would be available at his request. No Protector-General or Great General had ever received such treatment. However, Wang Chong understood that this authority was actually very limited. That the Imperial Court had even bestowed this authority showed that it actually could not provide him much assistance.
The Imperial Court actually hoped that he could handle this crisis on his own and was not actually giving him any vast army of soldiers.
Wang Chong raised a brush and began to write a reply to the Imperial Court. ‘This lowly subject Wang Chong has received the order, but this lowly subject has several conditions that he hopes the Imperial Court can agree to…’
After writing a few lines, he stopped and began to think, after which he added the names of his father and big brother. After several consecutive wars, the Great Tang was lacking soldiers and in a period of recovery. Even Big Dipper Great General Geshu Han had been forced to borrow horses from Wang Chong, so one could easily imagine that the other border protectorates were also probably not faring very well.
Chapter 864 - The Last Step, the Meteoric Metal Arrives!
Chapter 864: The Last Step, the Meteoric Metal Arrives!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Given the fact that Li Zhengyi and his forty thousand reinforcements had been ambushed by the Tibetans, resulting in the loss of the soldiers that the Great Tang had barely managed to scrape together from the interior, the Imperial Court was extremely limited in the soldiers it could dispatch.
At this moment, Wang Chong very naturally thought about his father and big brother.
Together, Father and Big Brother should have around twenty thousand soldiers. Although they’re infantry, they’re very experienced elites tempered through blood and fire, and exceptional on the defense. In the war against the Arabs, they should be very useful. But this still isn’t enough. This still isn’t enough soldiers to deal with the Abbasid Caliphate’s soldiers.
Wang Chong began to recall the information on the Battle of Talas from his last life. In that battle between Gao Xianzhi and Abu Muslim, the Arabs had gathered an army of at least three hundred thousand soldiers, and Arabs were even more fierce and pugnacious than the Tibetans. The soldiers of Qixi would be far from enough to deal with them.
Those auxiliary soldiers in the interior that have never experienced any sort of war won’t be of much use. Bringing new recruits like them would be just sending them to their deaths. The Great Tang’s soldiers are concentrated in the border protectorates. Zhang Shougui and I have had conflicts, so he definitely wouldn’t help me, and besides, Youzhou really is too far to transfer soldiers from. In Beiting, even if An Sishun could help me, he could definitely make up some excuse. As for Longxi… Geshu Han doesn’t even have enough soldiers for himself, so hoping that he could help me is simply unrealistic.
At this moment, the only place that I could get soldiers from is the Annan Protectorate. I’ve already vanquished the Ngari Royal Lineage, and Mengshe Zhao has already submitted itself to the Great Tang. There’s truly nothing threatening the Annan Protectorate at this time.
Wang Chong thought for a few moments before adding the name of the Annan Protectorate as well. In this short period of time, this was all he could think of.
He definitely needed soldiers, but with regards to weapons and food, he had the Qixi Armory and the hybrid rice from Jiaozhi, so there was no need to bother the Imperial Court over those. What he truly needed the most, however, was gold. War was a contest of wealth, and gold was the resource that was consumed the most. Mor
eover, with more gold, Wang Chong could recruit more mercenaries, which was the most practical solution for Wang Chong’s problems at this time.
Wang Chong added name after name, and upon finishing, he stood up. Just when he was about to insert the letter into a bamboo tube, he heard thunderous cheers from outside the City of Steel.
“Wang Chong, quickly come! Your second brother Wang Bei has arrived!” Xu Qiqin’s voice could be heard shouting from the distant city walls.
“What?!”
Wang Chong’s body trembled at these words, and he didn’t dare to believe his ears. Whoosh! Putting down the letter, Wang Chong shot through the window.
A few moments later, he arrived at the gates. What awaited him was a sea of people, countless people surging toward Wushang along the cement road. These people all had savage and wicked faces, and were dressed in a variety of clothes. These were not soldiers, but bandits and brigands! Let alone anyone else, even Wang Chong was stunned by this sight.
But he quickly spotted that aloof figure at the head of these bandits.
“Second Brother!”
Wang Chong joyfully rushed forward, and the two brothers hugged.
“Little Brother, I’m here,” Wang Bei indifferently said, his expression cold and emotionless, and yet one could see a tiny sliver of warmth in those usually unnerving eyes of his.
Wang Chong’s second brother Wang Bei had suppressed his Berserker Syndrome, walked out of the imperial prison, and had even taken under his command many bandits and brigands on the way to Wushang, adding around eight to nine thousand soldiers to Wang Chong’s army. No one had expected this, and everyone in the City of Steel felt exhilarated at the news.
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