This time, the tens of thousands of Arab soldiers were truly panicking like stray dogs. They had traveled from Talas to Samarkand, and the number of soldiers gathered around Abu Muslim and Ziyad had long since dwindled to less than thirty thousand. Fortunately, they had Samarkand. When he thought about how sturdy Samarkand was, Ziyad immediately calmed down.
At the very least, the two of them could use this city to catch their breath.
"Reporting!"
Ziyad had barely taken two steps out of the hall when he heard a frantic voice.
The two of them tensed up and turned their heads to see an Arab messenger rushing in, his face pale and panting for breath.
"Reporting! The second gate of Samarkand has been broken. The Sassanids have led more than twenty thousand Tang people into the city. "
The moment the messenger entered the hall, he immediately kneeled down, his body drenched in sweat as if on the verge of collapse.
"What?!"
Abu Muslim and Ziyad shuddered at these words as if they had seen a ghost.
"How could this be? Where are the scouts? Why didn't we receive any news of such a major event? How could we not have seen such a massive army approach? "
Ziyad's eyes were round, not even daring to believe it. An army of more than ten thousand was such a massive target that only a blind person could have missed it. But they hadn't even received any news of the enemy's approach.
"Milord, the scouts have already sent out the news, but before they could even approach the hall, they were assassinated by the Sassanid experts hiding in the city. Right now, the Sassanid spies in the city are committing arson, assassinations, and uprisings. Samarkand is in chaos. Milord, we should quickly withdraw! "
The messenger's face was fraught with worry.
Although the messenger's last words were only a few words, they were like a thunderclap in the ears of Abu Muslim and Ziyad, causing their minds to tremble and their faces to pale. The words "My Lord, let's evacuate quickly" were even more shocking than when Wang Chong and the Sassanids joined hands to attack the city.
The army had been defeated, and if Abu Muslim and Ziyad recovered their strength, they would still be able to fight to the death, but the morale of the army had been shattered. Even if Abu Muslim and Ziyad recovered their strength, they would be powerless to reverse the situation.
Qutaybah's death in front of tens of thousands of soldiers had dealt a massive blow to the army. The army no longer dared to fight with the Tang army.
“！”
As these thoughts flew through his mind, Abu Muslim raised his head to the sky and gave a long sigh. This time, they might not have any hope of turning the tables.
"Pass down my order. All troops retreat. Leave Samarkand to the Tang people!"
Abu Muslim's voice was tinged with unwillingness, but there was nothing he could do to reverse the situation.
Ziyad stood to the side, a complicated expression on his face.
"Yes, sir!"
Finally, Ziyad stepped out of the hall.
A few moments later, the signal flag was waved, and all the Arab soldiers in the city were swept away from Samarkand toward the distant Khorasan.
… …
"What? Abu Muslim and Ziyad fled so quickly? "
In Samarkand, Wang Chong couldn't help but sneer when he heard the news.
"I originally thought that there would be a major battle, but it seems like there's no need for that. Xu Keyi, write two letters in my name. One is to Feng Changqing, who has been left behind in Anxi, and have him send an army to Samarkand. The other is to the Imperial Court. Now that the war is over, the Imperial Court will need to send someone to take over the aftermath. "
Talas had been destroyed, so the Tang Dynasty's best bridgehead against the Arabs was Samarkand. Once this strategic fortress was occupied, even a small number of soldiers would be enough to contend against the Arabs.
"Lord Wang Chong, the road west from Samarkand is practically flat. There aren't many fortified cities that we can rely on. Abu Muslim doesn't have a strong enough defense, so he'll definitely flee to Khorasan. This is the best chance for us to launch an attack and encircle the Arabs!"
Bahram sternly said.
"Mm. Just as Milord suggests, let the entire army move out and continue the pursuit!"
Wang Chong nodded. With the Sassanid acting as a guide and spy, Wang Chong's forces were like fish in water in the pursuit. They didn't encounter much pressure.
A few moments later, the drums began to beat. After leaving behind several thousand soldiers to defend Samarkand with the Khorasani, the two armies set off in pursuit of Abu Muslim.
As the news of Qutaybah's death at Talas spread, from Khorasan in the east to Samarkand in the west, the entire eastern region of Arabia was shaken, and the people of the countries that Arabia had once conquered cheered.
And with Bahram's prestige and his ability to mediate, more and more rebel soldiers joined the Great Tang army like a rolling snowball.
When they had first set out from Samarkand, Wang Chong's army, including the Sassanid's, had only been thirty to forty thousand soldiers. But on the road, he had quickly gathered an additional one hundred thousand soldiers, and this army was still growing at an astonishing rate. In the end, Wang Chong had gathered thirty to forty different factions, an army of more than two hundred thousand, and his momentum was incredible.
Abu Muslim had originally been able to put up a fight against Wang Chong, but later on, when Wang Chong had gathered more than two hundred thousand soldiers, he no longer had this chance.
The Arabs had been unscrupulous in their extortion and slaughter, causing the people of the eastern region to seethe with resentment. While the Arabs had a powerful army and could suppress the situation, a new challenger appeared, especially after the Arabs suffered a crushing defeat at Talas. This immediately caused the people to be filled with resentment and resentment, and this was the greatest aid to Wang Chong's western expedition.
While Wang Chong was pursuing Abu Muslim's defeated army, elsewhere, as the news of the Great Tang's victory at Talas spread, all the empires and civilizations of the continent began to tremble, and the power structure began to quietly shift.
… …
Flapflap!
A messenger bird flew from the distant Samarkand to the distant Anxi Protectorate headquarters. As the news of the victory at Talas spread, the countless empires and factions of the Western Regions who had been watching this epic battle were left slack-jawed.
"One hundred thousand against five hundred thousand! Such a massive difference in soldiers, but the Tang Dynasty still won! Unbelievable!"
In the distant palace of the Empress Kingdom of Beilu, a stalwart figure with a long beard suddenly stood up, his large eyes brimming with shock.
The war between Arabia and the Tang Dynasty had swept through the kingdoms of the Western Regions like a storm. Countless countries were swaying like grass on the wall, struggling to decide whether to submit to the Tang Dynasty or to Arabia. All the countries were speculating on who would be the final victor, and the Empress Kingdom of Beilu was clearly leaning toward Arabia.
No matter what, an army of five hundred thousand elites, with powerful individuals like Qutaybah, Abu Muslim, and Osman presiding over it, should have been impossible for them to lose. But reality had given the entire Empress Kingdom of Beilu, including its king and ministers, a vicious slap to the face.
"Pass on my order! Prepare ten thousand taels of gold, ten bushels of treasure, one hundred beauties, and ten thousand cows and sheep. Have them immediately delivered to the Anxi Protectorate headquarters to celebrate the Tang Dynasty's victory."
The king of the Empress Kingdom of Beilu sat in the hall and roared like a lion. A little guard who was passing on the order was kicked out of the hall by him because his footsteps were too slow.
But unlike the Empress Kingdom of Beilu, Greater and Lesser Balur were rejoicing and excited.
"Hahaha, I knew it would be like this! The Tang Dynasty really did win!"
When the two kings of Greater and Lesser Balur received the news, they gathered together to celebrate this great news.
At an exorbitant price, Greater and Lesser Balur had loaned out eight thousand of their best pikemen. Although these pikemen had all died in the battle, the Tang Dynasty had won, and Greater and Lesser Balur had received an enormous return on their investment. With this victory, Greater and Lesser Balur had made the Tang Dynasty owe them an enormous favor. In the Western Regions, Greater and Lesser Balur would be able to rely on a great tree to enjoy the shade, no longer having to worry about Ouzan's oppression or invasion.
As for the eight thousand pikemen who had died in battle, although the loss was truly heart-wrenching, Greater and Lesser Balur had mastered the training methods for pikemen, so it was only a matter of time before they could train another batch.
And Greater and Lesser Balur were not the only ones celebrating this victory. Besides those kingdoms that had supported the Tang Dynasty, there were also countless mercenary tribes that had participated in the battle.
"Haha, victory! The Tang Dynasty has won, and so has their leader! The Arabs have kicked a metal plate this time! "
All the tribes that had been hired by the Tang Dynasty to participate in the Battle of Talas, from south to north, east to west, were cheering.
Victory and defeat were commonplace for soldiers. Almost all the mercenaries that had participated in the Battle of Talas had been killed, but to the tribes and shepherds in the rear, this was not important. They only cared about one thing: whether or not the valiant warriors of these tribes had stood on the side of the victor in battle.
Although many warriors had died in battle, this also meant that a large amount of compensation money would pour in after the battle. And this money, together with the support and affirmation of the Tang Dynasty, would be an opportunity for the tribes to develop and strengthen in the future.
For the tribe, everyone could be sacrificed, and dying in battle was the best ending for a warrior.
This was a principle that all the shepherds believed in.
"Damn it! This is a big problem! "
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