"Scram! Scram! Scram! "
The Caliph had said the word 'scram' three times, his face twisted and ashen, his entire being seething with rage. No matter what the reason was, it was absolutely unacceptable to him.
When they saw that Mutasim III's eyes were bloodshot and that he was like a ferocious beast that chose its prey, everyone was horrified. How could they dare to say anything? All of them had faces full of terror as they hurriedly retreated out of the hall.
In just a short while, the entire hall was empty. Apart from Mutasim III, there was no one else.
"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! "
Mutasim III stood in front of the table, his eyes fixed on the outside of the palace gate. His fists were clenched, his chest heaving like bellows.
Although the Arabs had only lost sixty thousand soldiers in the first battle of the spring, hundreds of thousands of soldiers had actually fled. This was even more unacceptable to him than the defeat of the seven hundred thousand soldiers in the Battle of Khorasan and the deaths of five hundred thousand. This also meant that the Arabian Empire was powerless to deal with the newly established Sassanid Dynasty and its allied army.
To Mutasim III, retreating without putting up a fight was an unprecedented humiliation in his life.
"High Priest! Am I supposed to just swallow this insult? Does such a huge empire really have no way to deal with these easterners? "
The Caliph clenched his teeth as he finally couldn't help but shout.
It was quiet behind him. Apart from the Khalifa's voice, there was no other sound. It was as if only a moment had passed, but also as if countless centuries had passed. Finally, an old voice came from behind the Khalifa.
"It was just a single defeat. Why does Your Majesty need to take it to heart?"
Light and shadow flickered behind the Caliph, and an elderly figure wearing a black robe and wielding a scepter of supreme divine might slowly walked out of the shadows of the hall. As he walked, his black robe swayed slightly, producing a rustling sound that sounded like the wails of countless sandworms dying tragically. However, there was no sound coming from this figure. It was as if he was a ghost that had walked out of the darkness.
At this moment, the only person in the entire empire who could appear so close to the Caliph in his fury was that mysterious High Priest.
"We cannot endure this! What a great humiliation! I must gather the entire army of the empire and fight to the death with the Tang dynasty! Completely destroy Khorasan and all the infidels of the east! "
Khalifa's eyes were bloodshot as he let out an agitated roar. His robes also began to flutter intensely under the strong wind, emitting a sharp whistling sound like blades cutting through the air.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. It's just a small group of Tang people. There's no need to get angry over them. Moreover, the problem that Your Majesty is worried about will be solved soon."
Unlike the enraged Caliph, the High Priest's expression was calm and he appeared to be extremely calm. His wise eyes seemed to be able to see through all the secrets in the world.
Upon hearing the High Priest's words, the Caliph's body trembled violently. As if realizing something, he turned his head abruptly.
"High Priest, what is the meaning of this?"
There was a hidden meaning in the High Priest's words. Those words did not seem to have been spoken casually.
"Haha, Your Majesty, the weather has changed. What Your Majesty hopes for will happen soon."
The High Priest faintly smiled, but he did not explain.
The Caliph stood there in a daze, many thoughts flitting through his mind. He had no idea what he was thinking about, but in a flash, the rage in his chest greatly dissipated.
… …
The Arab assault had been pushed back once more, causing the people of Khorasan to rejoice. Unlike in the last few battles, the Khorasanians had relied on their own strength to force the Arabs into retreat. This meant that Khorasan and the newly established Sassanid Dynasty now had the ability to protect themselves in front of the Arabs.
Countless Khorasani took to the streets, cheering and jumping in joy.
Time slowly passed, and soon, night had fallen. In his room, Wang Chong was in the middle of reading through official documents. The battle during the day was completely within Wang Chong's expectations. The ten thousand ballistae and one million ballista bolts from the Qixi Armory were enough to deal with any enemy. Even if an enemy army of one million came from outside the city, each ballista bolt would only need to hit one person to completely wipe them out. This was also why the Tang Dynasty had not been stingy with these precious ballista bolts in the previous battles.
Each of these ballista bolts was extremely expensive, costing one hundred taels of gold. Now, one million ballista bolts would cost one hundred million taels of gold. Not even Wang Chong would dare to recklessly use them. But after extorting more than one billion taels of gold from the Arab Caliph, this was insignificant. Even if the Bureau of Military Personnel and Bureau of Revenue questioned him, Wang Chong could take out several hundred million taels of gold to shut the mouths of the officials.
With so much wealth, no matter how expensive the ballista bolts were, it was nothing to Wang Chong. This was also why he dared to use so many ballistae and ballista bolts in Khorasan.
As time passed, Wang Chong's mind was completely immersed in these documents. The larger the allied army was, the more trivial matters would be involved, and Feng Changqing alone would not be able to take care of all of them.
But gradually, Wang Chong began to sense that something was wrong. Unbeknownst to him, the noise outside the window had gradually become rowdy, and as time passed, not only did the noise not weaken, it became louder and louder. In the end, there were even fireworks, firecrackers, and the cheers of the crowd that only existed in the Central Plains.
"What's going on here?"
Wang Chong put down his brush and slightly frowned.
He had been in Khorasan for several months now, but he had never encountered such a situation. Just as he was feeling bewildered, a series of rapid footsteps approached, followed by a series of hurried knocks on the door.
"Milord, General Bahram invites Sir to participate in the Fire God Festival!"
"Fire God Festival?!"
In the room, Wang Chong raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"The Great General said that Sir will know once you go."
The guard outside the door said.
Wang Chong was getting more and more suspicious. But he also knew that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of this guard, so he stood up, pushed open the door, and left. Bangbangbang! The moment he opened the door, ten-some massive fireworks soared into the sky, creating a dazzling display of fireworks. Wang Chong had already sensed that something was different from inside the room, but only after walking out the door did he realize just how lively Khorasan was.
Wang Chong stood in the doorway of his room and looked around. All over Khorasan, bonfires were blazing everywhere, the intense light of which soared into the sky and illuminated the night sky. In the past, Khorasan would have been deathly still, all the people asleep, but now, it was a sea of joy. Khorasan was so crowded that not even Wang Chong knew how many people were on the streets, cheering and celebrating.
"What's going on here?"
Wang Chong's eyes widened. In all his time in Khorasan, he had never encountered such a situation. Not even Wang Chong knew what was going on.
"General Wang, over here!"
Just as he was feeling confused, a familiar voice entered his ears.
Wang Chong turned his head and saw that Bahram, dressed in a fiery-red robe, was standing in the firelight with several rebel leaders. Their faces were ruddy and brimming with smiles. It seemed like they were in a very good mood.
"Great General, what's going on in the city? And what is the Fire God Festival? "
Wang Chong strode over and asked.
"Hahaha, the Fire God Festival is the Festival of Light. We Khorasani worship the Fire God, the God of Light. This is our most important festival of the year. But ever since the Sassanid Royal Capital was conquered and all the Khorasani were enslaved and put under the control of the Arabs, we have never held another Fire God Festival. But this time, the Sassanid Dynasty has been restored and has defeated Arabia twice in a row. All the people have been greatly encouraged and decided to resume the Fire God Festival. We thought for a very long time and finally decided to go along with everyone's wishes.
"General Wang, you are the benefactor of our Sassanid Dynasty and all the people of Khorasani. Without you, the Sassanid Dynasty would have never seen the light of day again, and all the people of Khorasani would have to live under the terror of the Arabs. Thus, no matter what, you must participate in this Fire God Festival with us!"
Bahram faintly smiled as he issued an invitation.
"This …"
As Wang Chong was hesitating, he heard the urging of the rebel leaders.
"Milord, let's go! Even Lord Gao and the others are participating. You're the only one left! "
"That's right, Milord. Everyone is waiting for you!"
… …
After a few moments of hesitation, Wang Chong finally nodded.
"Okay!"
He followed Bahram and the others into the streets, where countless bonfires dotted the streets. Tens of thousands of figures surged out like a river, dancing and singing around the bonfires as they cheered. There were men and women, young and old in this cheering crowd, all of them brimming with joy and excitement from the depths of their hearts. Even Wang Chong was unwittingly infected by this crowd.
At this moment, the crowd noticed Bahram and Wang Chong and let out a burst of enthusiastic cheers. Boom! A voluptuous and sexy Khorasani girl parted the crowd, gave Wang Chong a charming smile, and then placed a fire-red garland of flowers around Wang Chong's neck.
Deafening cheers and whistles rang out, and even the spectating Bahram couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, this is a tradition of our Sassanid Dynasty. If an unfamiliar guest comes to participate in the Fire God Festival with us, we will offer them fire-red garlands as a sign of welcome and respect. But if an unmarried girl offers it, it means that she's expressing her love! "
Bahram's words made Wang Chong's cheeks feel like they were on fire, and all the other rebel leaders around him also began to laugh. The Sassanid girl who had offered the garland of flowers to Wang Chong danced around Wang Chong while boldly throwing flirtatious glances at him.
"That's right, I forgot to tell you. The girls of our Sassanid Dynasty are completely different from those of the Central Plains. Once they fall in love with someone, they will take the initiative to attack. Milord's martial arts are unparalleled, and you're also unmarried. Many girls of our Sassanid Dynasty admire you. "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
