The Tang Dynasty had just experienced a bitter battle. Even with Gao Xianzhi's Anxi Protectorate army, it only had around sixty thousand soldiers, and many of them were wounded. This was truly a grievous loss. Moreover, the ballista army that served as a deterrent force had also suffered grievous losses.
Of the three thousand Tang Dynasty ballistae, including the ballistae of the Anxi Protectorate army, only around one thousand were left. In these circumstances, one could easily imagine how much fighting power they had lost.
This small number of soldiers would never be able to defeat seven Great Generals and four hundred thousand elites. Moreover, Talas was surrounded by a vast expanse of plains. Other than the hills, there was nothing else that could be used. For generals, this was precisely the most disadvantageous terrain.
In this sort of place, one could only rely on tactics, formations, and the ability of the commanders on both sides to determine who was superior.
"The Central Plains is very far from Talas. Even cavalry will need at least a month to get there. Perhaps we don't have much time. "
Gao Xianzhi bitterly smiled.
"We truly don't have much time, but the Arabs probably won't be that fast either. Based on what the Khorasani say, with three Arab governors gathered, it won't be easy for the soldiers of the other two governors to get to Talas. Moreover, the soldiers of the three sides need to coordinate with each other and move together, which will take even longer. I estimate that even if they don't need a month, it won't be much longer. "
To his surprise, Wang Chong faintly smiled, seemingly unconcerned about what Gao Xianzhi was worried about.
"A month?"
Gao Xianzhi was finally stunned, not daring to believe his ears. The distance between Arabia and Talas was much closer than the distance between the Tang Dynasty. What Gao Xianzhi was most worried about was that there wasn't enough time. If the Arab army gathered, four hundred thousand soldiers at the gates, not even the reinforcements of the Tang Dynasty would be able to do anything.
"Absolutely!"
Wang Chong smiled, a confident look on his face.
The Tang Dynasty knew far too little about Arabia. Even a top-class Imperial Great General like Gao Xianzhi knew almost nothing about Arabia. As for Cairo and Tarsus, Gao Xianzhi, like all the other Tang generals, probably knew nothing about these two places other than the names of these two places.
He had no idea where they were or how far away they were.
But Wang Chong knew.
The Abbasid Caliphate of this era possessed the largest territory in history. In terms of territory, it was more than one million square kilometers larger than the Tang dynasty. From this, one could easily imagine how large Arabia was. As for Tarsus, it was located at the northernmost tip of Arabia's territory, extremely far from Talas.
It would definitely take a lot of time to gather the troops from such a faraway place.
This was also why Wang Chong was confident that the Arabian Empire would need at least a month to reach the walls.
For the Tang dynasty, they still had enough time to prepare for this battle. At least the gap between them wasn't as big as they had imagined.
"Lord Protector-General, how are your injuries recovering?"
Wang Chong quickly regained his composure.
"Ninety percent of my injuries have recovered, but I'm afraid that I'm still lacking the strength to deal with Abu Muslim."
Gao Xianzhi couldn't help but give a deep sigh.
Wang Chong also couldn't help but frown, his heart heavy. Gao Xianzhi's final words described the situation of the Tang dynasty and its army at Talas. The Arabian Empire had sent three governors for this operation, and the only one who could contend against them was Gao Xianzhi.
If not even the strongest of them, Gao Xianzhi, could deal with them, the situation of the rest of the army could be easily imagined.
But Wang Chong quickly glanced over the thin sheets of paper on the table and came to his senses. Whether or not his plan would be effective depended on these papers.
"Milord, I once obtained a supreme martial art in the capital, but because its nature was incompatible, I never cultivated it. After fighting alongside Milord, I sensed that the nature of Milord's Stellar Energy is somewhat similar to this supreme martial art. Perhaps it can be of some help to Milord Protector-General. "
Wang Chong's eyes focused, and he suddenly extended a finger and flicked the two sheets of paper toward Gao Xianzhi.
"Is that so?"
Gao Xianzhi faintly smiled, instinctively wanting to refuse. He was the Anxi War God, a supreme Imperial Great General. In the entire world, he could count on one hand the number of people who could instruct him on anything useful. Moreover, Wang Chong's cultivation was even lower than his own, so how could he possibly offer anything useful?
But when he saw the earnest and expectant look on Wang Chong's face, Gao Xianzhi began to hesitate. Talas was currently fraught with danger, and any bit of strength would be of immense help. Besides, Wang Chong was doing this out of goodwill.
"Okay, I'll take these papers back and take a look."
As Gao Xianzhi spoke, he took the two sheets of paper and put them into his bosom.
Wang Chong breathed a small sigh of relief at this sight. He had spent a few days picking out this incantation from the countless cultivation methods and chants in his memory. And from a certain perspective, this technique was closely related to Gao Xianzhi, and it would probably be of the greatest help to Gao Xianzhi.
But not even Wang Chong had much confidence in the specifics until the effects were seen.
After all, this was something that should never have happened in history.
It's enough. As long as he goes back and takes a look, he'll naturally understand.
Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
He could sense that Gao Xianzhi wasn't very interested in the technique he had given him. However, Wang Chong did not press him. Some things could not be rushed.
"That's right, there's one more thing."
Wang Chong quickly regained his composure.
"In your last battle with Abu Muslim, Lord Protector-General's armor was shattered, so this time, I ordered someone to use Meteoric Metal to forge a set of armor for Lord Protector-General."
"Oh?!"
Gao Xianzhi's body trembled slightly, and a bright light shone in his eyes. He was immediately interested. Meteoric Metal had always been an extremely rare material in this world. Not even the armor that the Holy Emperor had given him contained that much Meteoric Metal. But Wang Chong's existence had completely defied common sense.
Gao Xianzhi didn't know how he had done it, but he had never seen so much Meteoric Metal in his life. In Wang Chong's hands, this extremely rare Meteoric Metal seemed like ordinary steel. This was simply astonishing!
"Heh!"
Wang Chong faintly smiled and did not keep Gao Xianzhi in suspense. He extended a finger and lightly knocked on a wooden chest leaning against the desk. Bang! The wooden board exploded, revealing a set of black-and-red armor. Even someone of Gao Xianzhi's experience couldn't help but widen his eyes at the sight of this armor, and his vision brightened.
This armor was extremely beautiful, each scale having been polished thousands of times. It was as smooth as a mirror, and even in the dim light of the room, it shone with a dazzling light. As for the armor as a whole, it was mighty yet elegant. Every line had been meticulously designed, independent yet perfectly unified. Moreover, looking from afar, it was like a dragon or a tiger, filled with a strong sense of power and ferocious explosive power.
"Impossible!"
Even someone of Gao Xianzhi's experience couldn't help but sigh in shock at the sight of this armor. The armor Wang Chong had forged was different from any armor he had ever seen. The style and level of craftsmanship far surpassed any other armor he had ever seen.
Gao Xianzhi only needed one glance to fall in love with it.
"How is it?"
Wang Chong faintly smiled.
"Unbelievable! Wang Chong, how did you do it? "
Gao Xianzhi said sincerely. There seemed to be nothing that Wang Chong couldn't do.
"Heh, Lord Protector-General, have you forgotten that I am a grandmaster weaponsmith?"
Wang Chong said.
"Haha, I almost forgot. No one can compare to you in weaponsmithing. Since you can forge WuZi Steel swords, you can naturally forge armor."
Gao Xianzhi was taken aback for a moment, and then he laughed.
In this world, anyone who claimed to be a grandmaster weaponsmith would feel like they were boasting. Only Wang Chong would not give off the impression that he was boasting. On the contrary, people would think that he was being too modest. Whether it was the peerlessly sharp WuZi Steel swords that could cut through metal like mud, the vast and impregnable fortress of steel, or the unstoppable giant ballistae that could even kill Behemoths … Wang Chong's performance had far surpassed that of a grandmaster weaponsmith.
With his abilities, forging a suit of armor was naturally no problem.
Wang Chong silently smiled. He had personally designed this armor, and Zhang Shouzhi had supervised and participated in its creation. He had used many of the principles of physics that Wang Chong knew and the knowledge of that other world. While it was gorgeous, it also increased its defensive strength.
In particular, Wang Chong had strengthened and strengthened the armor so that it would be of the greatest help to Gao Xianzhi, reducing the number of injuries and threats he would suffer in a battle with a top-class expert like Abu Muslim.
Gao Xianzhi was overjoyed, and with Wang Chong's permission, he immediately took the armor and tried it on.
"Not bad! It's a perfect fit! "
The more Gao Xianzhi looked at it, the more delighted he became. Wang Chong's armor was extremely meticulous. Every piece, every curve, every joint made Gao Xianzhi feel like it was a part of his body. Gao Xianzhi even felt like the armor was breathing with him, a feeling that Gao Xianzhi had never experienced before.
"As long as Lord Protector-General likes it."
Wang Chong faintly smiled. After giving away the armor, the two began to discuss the defense and the possible attacks they might face in the future.
"That's right, Lord Protector-General, there's another matter."
After some time, just when the two were about to reach an agreement, Wang Chong suddenly brought up a matter that had been on his mind for a very long time. It was also the main reason he had called Gao Xianzhi over.
"I want to discuss a matter with Lord Protector-General. Quality is more important than quantity. I want to select some of the most elite soldiers from the Anxi Protectorate army, Qixi Protectorate, and mercenaries to form a special army to deal with the Arabs."
"Oh?"
Gao Xianzhi raised an eyebrow in surprise. The Tang Dynasty simply didn't have enough soldiers at Talas. He had never imagined that Wang Chong would propose to form an army at a time like this.
"What sort of army do you want to form?"
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