The Holy Emperor's matter was truly no small matter, but the two of them found it rather difficult to accept that they would send soldiers to help this brat just because of a letter.
"Haha, blackmail? You're overestimating that brat too much. "
Zhang Shougui grinned.
"Soldiers naturally have to be sent, but it's not necessarily because of that brat. Zhao Kan, Baizhen Tuoluo, remember this: Great Generals do not compete in martial arts and strength, but also in the bearing of a general. Could our Andong Protectorate army lose to a brat who still smells of his mother's milk?
"Didn't that brat send a letter asking for four thousand soldiers to help him? Zhao Kan, Baizhen Tuoluo, pick six thousand elites for me. In addition, report to the Imperial Court that although I, Zhang Shougui, am in Youzhou, I am concerned about the Imperial Court and am willing to send six thousand soldiers to reinforce Talas! "
Zhang Shougui narrowed his eyes and rapped his right hand on the table with these last words, his voice tinged with deeper meaning.
Zhao Kan and Baizhen Tuoluo froze, confused at the start, but as they had followed Zhang Shougui for many years, they quickly understood.
If Zhang Shougui directly sent six thousand soldiers to Wang Chong, that would be a private matter between the two of them, but if Zhang Shougui wrote a letter to the Imperial Court while sending these soldiers, that would be a matter between Zhang Shougui and the Imperial Court. The Andong Protectorate army was expressing its loyalty to the Imperial Court and the Holy Emperor. Although this matter had arisen from a letter from Wang Chong, it no longer had much to do with Wang Chong.
Not only that, the two of them had also thought of something even deeper. Talas was currently in grave danger. If the Andong Protectorate army could be the first to respond and send reinforcements, then whether the Battle of Talas ended in victory or defeat, the Andong Protectorate army would be invincible. At the same time, it would prove its loyalty to the Imperial Court.
In this way, they could turn passivity into initiative.
In addition, His Excellency had always wanted to become Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, and the greatest obstacle to this was the virtuous Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, Duke Jiu. If they could lend a hand to Talas now, they might be able to reduce some of this resistance for His Excellency in the future.
"Yes! This general understands! "
"Your subordinate will do so!"
… …
Of the six protector-generals of the Tang dynasty, Zhang Shougui was far from the only one who had received a letter from Talas. All the generals of the Beiting Protectorate were gathered in the hall. Beiting Protector-General An Sishun, a valiant figure, was seated at the head of the hall.
"Have you seen Gao Xianzhi's letter?"
An Sishun's eyes were slightly closed. His thunder-like gaze swept over all the generals under His Highness.
"Lord Protector-General, forgive me for speaking frankly. Of all the borders, our Beiting Protectorate has the most soldiers, but we guard the longest border and face the most enemies. Besides the Western Turkic Khaganate, they also had to guard against the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. The combined soldiers of these two countries numbered nearly one million! Moreover, if Gao Xianzhi wanted ordinary soldiers, it would have been one thing, but it just so happens that he wants our elite Dragon Stallion Army. Our Beiting Protectorate has hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but the Dragon Stallion Army only has a few thousand? Therefore, this general believes that this matter absolutely cannot be agreed to! "
"Lord Protector-General, this general believes that this cannot be done. Although the Dragon Stallion Army is precious, the situation at Talas is extremely serious. This time, the Arabian Empire to the west of the Cong Mountains is a menacing force. If Gao Xianzhi's forces cannot stop the Arabs … Then our Beiting Protectorate army will bear the brunt of the attack. When that time comes, the Dragon Stallion Army will no longer be able to resolve the problem. Helping the Anxi Protectorate army is actually helping ourselves. Without the lips, the teeth will feel the cold! "
"That's right! Besides the Arabs, there is also the Celestial Wolf Great General Duwusili of the Western Turks, a formidable foe of our Beiting Protectorate. By sending the Dragon Stallion Army to deal with Duwusili, we are actually helping ourselves! "
"Absurd! Did you see Gao Xianzhi's memorials? The Arabs will send an army of four hundred thousand. Gao Xianzhi's forces alone won't be able to stop them. In the end, Talas will fall. To send the Dragon Stallion Army at a time like this is just suicide! "
… …
Voices of opposition and support rose and fell in the hall, the debate extremely intense. An Sishun sat motionlessly with his eyes closed, silently listening to the arguments. No one could tell what he was thinking. But at this moment …
"Reporting!"
Tap tap tap! Hurried footsteps could be heard from outside as a messenger from the Beiting Protectorate rushed into the hall, a letter in his hand.
"A letter from Talas! Milord, please take a look! "
Buzz! The entire hall instantly fell deathly silent upon hearing these words. Gao Xianzhi had just sent a letter, so why was there another one now?
"Bring the letter over!"
A dignified voice resounded through the hall, and An Sishun opened his eyes, exuding an intimidating light. An Sishun took the letter from the messenger and tore it open. He glanced at it, and then his body trembled. A look of astonishment flashed in his eyes, and he sat up straight.
"Hmph, interesting. Wang Chong, you've truly made a deal that I can't refuse!"
… …
Longxi, Big Dipper City.
This strategic city of the western part of the Tang Dynasty had been completely restored to its former glory. The entire city had been renovated and was still as grand and majestic as ever. Under the management of the Big Dipper Army, the scars of battle had been completely erased from the city. But at this moment, Big Dipper City was heavily guarded. Other than the patrolling soldiers, there were no Big Dipper Army officers on the walls.
"You've all read the Young Marquis's letter. What do you think?"
In the main hall of Big Dipper City, Geshu Han sat at the highest seat. Beneath him was a bustling crowd, all of them the core commanders of the Big Dipper Army. They were arranged in neat rows and rows, but they were all thinking about something. The atmosphere was solemn.
"Great General, the battle at Talas is in a critical state. The safety of all of Anxi and Qixi is tied to that battle. This subordinate is worried that if the Anxi Protectorate and Qixi Protectorate cannot hold, it will be our Big Dipper Army's turn! "
"Milord, this subordinate recommends that our Big Dipper Army immediately march north to Talas and join forces with Anxi and Qixi to deal with the Arabs!"
"Impossible! If we move away, what will happen to the people of Longxi? Don't forget, this is a land of one thousand li. If the Ouzan use this chance to invade the east and start a massacre, we will lose, and we will be humiliated. Moreover, the Anxi Protectorate army is well-equipped, and after a long period of conquest, they are no weaker than us. If the Anxi Protectorate army can't deal with them, do you think our Big Dipper Army can? Moreover, we're talking about four hundred thousand soldiers! "
… …
In the hall, the Big Dipper Army officers were all expressing their opinions, but unlike the others, the Big Dipper Army was considering whether they should march north to Talas and join forces with Anxi and Qixi to resist the Arab cavalry. The Big Dipper Army of Longxi had experienced several generations of commanders, and it had seen and experienced far more than the average person.
Moreover, the Big Dipper Army was the closest to Talas, Qixi, and Anxi, so it had received the most information and felt the greatest threat. Thus, it considered problems differently from the other protectorates.
As Geshu Han listened to the discussions of his officers, his brow furrowed even tighter. Suddenly, Geshu Han's gaze swept past one of the generals who had his head lowered in thought. He suddenly had a thought and asked,
"Sili, what do you think?"
Starving Wolf War General Wang Sili was one of Geshu Han's Seven Great Generals, a Brigadier General. His father, Wang Qianwei, had been a famed general of the north, a true descendant of a clan of generals. Wang Sili had served the Tang Dynasty's War God Wang Zhongsi and Geshu Han, two Great Generals. He was extremely experienced and astute, so both Wang Zhongsi and Geshu Han regarded him as their left and right arms.
"Milord, the two Ouzan Generals, Huoshu Huizang and Dusong Mangpoje, have all gone north, and two of the Ouzan soldiers have been killed by the Young Marquis's assault. In addition, our Big Dipper Army has been fighting for many years, and Ouzan is only outwardly strong but inwardly weak. In truth, we don't have many soldiers that we can actually use. The only ones we have to fear are the soldiers of the Yarlung Royal Lineage, the soldiers guarding the royal capital, and the White Lion Great General We Tadra Khonglo. "
Wang Sili lowered his head, his eyes glimmering with a deep and wise light.
"But the generals' concerns are not without reason. Longxi is an important place that we are guarding. If we move our soldiers on our own, we will be disobeying the orders of the Imperial Court. If something really does go wrong, we will not be able to bear the consequences. But this general believes that Talas must be reinforced. While Longxi's safety is guaranteed, we can send as many soldiers as we can to the north.
"This subordinate believes that before we send our soldiers, we can initiate a battle, turning passivity into initiative and weakening Ouzan's strength. Once the situation in Longxi is stabilized, we can send reinforcements to Talas. In addition, the Young Marquis said in his letter that we only need to send two thousand of our elite soldiers of the Divine Martial Army. This general believes that we can increase this number to three thousand, and then send another three thousand elites to assist the Anxi Protectorate army and Qixi Protectorate. After all, they are actually fighting for our sake!
"But our Big Dipper Army only has twenty to thirty thousand soldiers. If we send seven thousand, how can we stop Ouzan's counterattack?"
Wang Sili had barely finished speaking when one of the generals harshly objected. Ever since Wang Zhongsi's time, the Big Dipper Army had always pursued a policy of elite soldiers. Thus, in the Longxi region, the Big Dipper Army had always used the fewest soldiers to fight against the most enemies. They were already short on soldiers, so how could they have the strength to reinforce the other armies? This was also why the Big Dipper Army was still debating.
"This matter isn't that difficult."
Wang Sili laughed when he heard this.
"The seven thousand soldiers we can send north can be replenished by the prefectural armies in Longxi. With Milord overseeing the army and the cooperation of the generals, there won't be any mishaps. Moreover, the prefectural armies of Longxi have always been our reserves. Since the establishment of the Big Dipper Army, we should give them a chance and replenish them with new blood. "
Unlike the others, Wang Sili appeared rather relaxed.
"This …"
The generals in the hall glanced at each other. They had originally been prepared to retort, but after some thought, they realized that Wang Sili's words were not without reason. Moreover, this truly was a feasible plan, and the hall fell silent.
Geshu Han sat on the highest seat, his eyes like lightning as he slowly swept them over the crowd. A few moments later, he had an idea.
"Sili, let's do as you say."
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