The greatest taboo in the art of war was fighting at night. While it was possible to launch a sneak attack or a small-scale assault, it was not conducive to large-scale battles. If one carefully examined history, one would discover that decisive battles that took place at night were extremely rare. This was because at night, vision, perception, and the commands of the commanders would all be greatly disrupted.
There were even cases of soldiers killing each other at night due to fear and chaos. There were even cases of soldiers doing the exact opposite of orders, chasing hundreds of miles out of the battlefield at night and getting lost in the enemy's hinterland.
"This is all we can do. The Iron Wall Army has suffered grievous losses, and it's exhausted in every aspect. It probably won't be able to pursue them."
Gao Xianzhi sighed. This was an extremely rare opportunity, but the time was not right, and the army had suffered grievous losses. Even though he was unwilling, Gao Xianzhi could only give up.
"No matter what, Qutaybah will always be an obstacle!"
Cheng Qianli sighed. If the enormous threat that was Qutaybah was not dealt with, the Tang Dynasty would never be able to speak of victory. In a battle with an expert of this level, just the aftershocks were enough to inflict grievous losses on the exhausted Tang Dynasty.
Bwoooom!
With the blare of a horn, the Tang Dynasty army began to recede like the receding tide. The distant Wushang Cavalry, Mamelukes, Mutri Great Cavalry, and Celestial Wolf Cavalry also began to advance toward the first defense line.
This battle, where they were outnumbered, had also exhausted their strength.
And as the Tang Dynasty retreated, the distant Arab cavalry also began to recede. The Blood Beast Army, Ironblood Army, Fearless Army, Death Army, and Tibers Army also withdrew from the battle under the cover of the darkness.
Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, Wang Yan, and the Evil Emperor stood side by side, motionless as they looked across from them. After a long while, Wang Chong finally looked away and pulled on the reins of his horse as he rode toward the City of Talas.
"Order Xu Keyi to calculate the losses after the battle!"
Wang Chong said.
…
Night quickly fell, and Xu Keyi's side quickly calculated the casualties.
"Marquis, we've suffered grievous losses in this battle. At least forty thousand were killed and twenty thousand wounded. Including the Tongluo Cavalry, we only have around sixty thousand soldiers left that can still fight."
As the sky darkened, the city of Talas was ablaze with lanterns. Xu Keyi was kneeling on the ground, his expression extremely solemn.
Talas had originally been garrisoned with more than one hundred and ten thousand soldiers, and with the Tongluo Cavalry and So Jung-son's training, it had reached one hundred and twenty thousand. But in this single battle, more than forty thousand had been killed, more than twenty thousand had been wounded, and more than half had been lost in battle.
This was the price the Tang Dynasty had paid in the face of the charge of hundreds of thousands of Arabs.
"What about the Arabs?"
As the lanterns flickered, Wang Chong placed his hands behind his back and looked at Xu Keyi. These words caused Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and the Evil Emperor to look over, expressions of concern in their eyes.
"We still don't have exact figures from the Arabs, but based on our initial estimates, the number of casualties should be more than two hundred thousand, with more than eighty thousand being killed by the ballista army!"
Xu Keyi sternly said.
Ever since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, ballistae had been extremely lethal and intimidating in any battle. In the hands of Wang Chong and Su Hanshan, ballista tactics had taken a qualitative leap, and a large ballista army was enough to make any army tremble in fear.
The surrounding officers breathed sighs of relief at Xu Keyi's words.
"This means that the Arabs, the Ouzan, and the Western Turks combined only have around two hundred sixty to seventy thousand soldiers left!"
Gao Xianzhi said.
The Great Tang had suffered heavy losses in this battle, but the one who had suffered even more was the attacking side, Arabia. The ratio of casualties in this battle was nearly one to three. For every Tang Dynasty soldier killed, three elite Arab soldiers had been buried with them. In that case, the loss was still acceptable.
"Yes!"
Xu Keyi kneeled on the ground and respectfully said.
"The Xuanwu Army suffered the most casualties, and the majority of them were caused by Qutaybah's Revelation Army. The army has lost more than twenty thousand soldiers, with nearly five thousand of the Xuanwu Army dying in battle. "
Xu Keyi's words immediately caused the mood in the hall to turn heavy. The Xuanwu Army had eight thousand soldiers, and they were one of the elite armies of the Tang Dynasty. In a single clash, five thousand of them had died to the Revelation Army, a grievous loss.
Forty thousand soldiers had died in this battle, and twenty thousand of them had been killed by the Revelation Army. This made everyone feel a chill in their hearts.
"… In addition, although the Arabs lost more than two hundred thousand soldiers, based on our observations, those who died in the early stages were the weaker soldiers. The remaining soldiers will only be stronger, and their main force will still exist. In the future, the Blood Beast Army, Ironblood Army, Fearless Army, and Death Army will all pose a massive threat to us. "
Xu Keyi lowered his head as he added.
Those who could survive on the cruel battlefield would always be the elite of the elite. This was an irrefutable principle. In addition, the defensive capabilities of top-class armies would always be much stronger than those of other armies. Thus, although the Death Army, Fearless Army, and Ironblood Army had fought a fierce and cruel battle with the Tang Dynasty, they had not suffered as many losses as imagined.
"I understand. Get up."
A pensive look flickered through Wang Chong's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and waved his hand at Xu Keyi.
Although there were only fifty-thousand-some soldiers left in the army, the Arabs only had two hundred sixty to seventy thousand soldiers. One to five was not impossible to deal with. Of course, the most important factor was that the fifty thousand soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were all top-class elites, and the more than six thousand Tang Dynasty ballistae were completely undamaged. These ballistae would become the most crucial weapon for the Tang Dynasty to resist the Arabs in the future.
"Su Hanshan, what's the situation with the ballista army? How many ballista bolts do we have left?"
Wang Chong turned to Su Hanshan.
"We used up a great deal of ballista bolts in dealing with the Arabs. Although we sent out soldiers to retrieve as many as possible from the battlefield, there aren't many left, only around seventy thousand bolts. On average, each ballista can fire fourteen times."
The ballista bolts of the Tang Dynasty were forged from the finest steel, which meant that they were extremely heavy. The more ballista bolts carried, the slower the army would be. This was a practical problem that Su Hanshan had to consider. Thus, in order to arrive at Talas as quickly as possible to reinforce Wang Chong, Su Hanshan had not brought a mountain of ballista bolts like many people had imagined. Everything had to be done according to the circumstances.
But the battles with Dalun Ruozan and the Arabs had consumed many of Su Hanshan's ballista bolts. The seventy-thousand-some ballista bolts were the result of Su Hanshan's efforts to recover them.
Wang Chong's brow imperceptibly rose at Su Hanshan's words. Each ballista had fourteen ballista bolts, meaning that the five thousand ballista soldiers would have to be extremely cautious in the coming battles, calibrating every ballista bolt they fired. But as long as they used the right methods, seventy thousand ballista bolts would be enough to deal a devastating blow to the Arabs.
As these thoughts flitted through his mind, Wang Chong quickly turned to Chuluohou and the other Tongluo Cavalry officers.
"General, many thanks!"
Wang Chong sincerely said.
"Hmph! There's no need to thank me. We didn't come for you. This is all an imperial decree, for the sake of the Tang Dynasty. "
Chuluohou snorted and raised his head as he rudely declared.
Everyone in the hall grimaced at this sight.
Wang Chong was still one of the highest commanders of the Tang Dynasty at Talas and had made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty. If not for him, the Tang Dynasty would have been defeated long ago. Chuluohou and these Tongluo Cavalry were far too arrogant.
"Marquis! … "
Li Siye's eyes flashed with cold light, and he was just about to say something when Wang Chong stopped him.
"It's fine. Let them be."
Wang Chong faintly smiled, unconcerned.
Wang Chong naturally knew why Chuluohou was so angry. In the Kunwu Training Camp, Wang Chong had defeated Tongluo Great General Abusi's son, Abutong, and then tied him naked to a bamboo pole in Deflecting Blade Manor, humiliating Abutong and all the Tongluo Cavalry. It would have been strange if Chuluohou had been so kind to Wang Chong. But to Wang Chong, Chuluohou's personal prejudices were unimportant in this war. As long as they carried out the imperial decree and fought with all their might on the battlefield, it was enough.
As these thoughts flitted through his mind, Wang Chong faintly smiled and quickly regained his composure.
"Chuluohou, General Wang, I don't care about your personal grudges. In this war, the Tang Dynasty must win. This is His Majesty's decree, and no one is allowed to defy it. "
Right at this moment, a low and muffled voice that no one could clearly distinguish resounded in the hall, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
Along with this voice, boom! A massive foot wrapped in thick armor stepped out from a corner. At the same time, a storm-like aura imbued with powerful darkness energy swept out and enveloped the entire hall. In an instant, everyone noticed the black-armored guard who resembled a giant spirit god, as well as the thin and ancient war flag in his hand that was red and black.
The originally slightly tense atmosphere immediately relaxed a lot. Chuluohou's expression turned grave as he lowered his head. Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and the others also revealed respectful expressions.
Even though no one recognized this black-armored guard and no one knew what kind of face he had under his monstrous armor, it was enough for them to know that he bore the seal of the Holy Emperor.
In all of Talas, there was no question that this black-armored guard was an avatar of the Holy Emperor.
"Wang Chong, the Holy Emperor's letter has been delivered to you. Have you read it?"
The black-armored guard's deep and emotionless voice resounded in everyone's ears, but his gaze remained fixed on Wang Chong.
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