"I ask you, who sent you?"
Wang Chong strode forward and stopped in front of the pair, his body exuding a powerful pressure. But several of the Arab soldiers turned their heads to the side and pretended not to hear, as if they didn't understand. Wang Chong only sneered. If these people could disguise themselves as Tang people soldiers and sneak into Qixi, they couldn't possibly not understand the language of the Han.
"Was it Abu Muslim?"
Wang Chong suddenly said. This time, he had spoken not in Chinese, but in Arabic.
"Buzz!"
The Arab soldiers trembled at these words and turned their heads, their mouths agape as if they had seen a ghost.
Wang Chong's heart sank at this sight.
Abu Muslim was the Abbasid Caliphate's Governor of the East and also the Tang Dynasty's greatest foe in the Western Regions. In the future Battle of Talas, this person would be the highest commander of the Abbasid Caliphate! Although these people had not answered his question, their reactions were more than enough to explain everything.
I didn't think that his claws had already extended to this place …
Wang Chong's heart was heavy.
Wang Chong had a very limited understanding of the Abbasid Caliphate's Governor of the East, the highest-ranking commander of the east. Wang Chong had always believed that he was the only one silently preparing to deal with the Arabs, but Wang Chong had never imagined that the Abbasid Caliphate's Governor of the East had already dispatched scouts and spies to the Tang Dynasty six months ago, and that their spies had already penetrated through Anxi to Qixi.
In a flash, Wang Chong smelled the thick scent of war and conspiracy.
Wang Chong suddenly realized that he had been far underestimating the Arab commander west of the Cong Mountains. This Arab leader was far more frightening and difficult to deal with than he had imagined.
"You know the name of our lord?!"
"Impossible! A Tang people like you actually knows how to speak our language! "
"You should give up on that idea! No matter what you want to ask, we won't tell you. "
…
At this moment, the Arab spy who had been clenching his teeth this entire time finally spoke. The Arabic that Wang Chong had spoken, especially the words' Abu Muslim ', had given them a massive shock. They had been hiding in the Central Plains for so long, but this was the first time they had heard someone speak Arabic so fluently. Not even Fumeng Lingcha, who was known to be able to accommodate all kinds of people, could do such a thing.
In truth, there were very few people in the Western Regions who could speak Arabic.
But what shocked them the most was that Wang Chong actually knew the name of their supreme commander.
The distance between the Abbasid Caliphate and the Tang dynasty meant that the knowledge of both sides was limited. Moreover, the Abbasid Caliphate was even more guarded against outsiders than the Tang dynasty, and all information related to the army was treated as absolute secrets. Even the nearby kingdoms of the Western Regions probably had very few people who knew the name of their commander-in-chief. But this young Han Protector-General who had never been to the Abbasid Caliphate or even the Western Regions was actually able to call out his name!
This left the elite scouts of the Arabian Empire flabbergasted!
"There's no need to say more. You've already answered!"
Wang Chong indifferently said. Knowing the name 'Abu Muslim' meant that Wang Chong already knew the vast majority of the secrets, so it didn't matter if he said the rest or not.
"Xu Keyi, take them away. You can deal with the rest. "
"Yes, Marquis."
Xu Keyi understood and waved his hand. Several Wushang guards immediately stepped forward and took the scouts away. The City of Steel had experts specialized in interrogations, all of them originally from the Bureau of Punishments who had been transferred to the City of Steel through their connections with The Eagle. When Wang Chong entered the Qixi Protectorate, he had also brought these people with him.
Even if these Arab scouts had been specially trained to keep their secrets, Xu Keyi was confident that he could pry out a few secrets from them if they clenched their teeth and refused to speak.
The appearance of the Arab spy had aroused a great deal of attention from Wang Chong, and it had completely refreshed Wang Chong's understanding of the Arab commander, Abu Muslim. Just when Wang Chong was preparing to thoroughly investigate this matter, one day later, when everyone was still immersed in peace and tranquility, an eagle silently flew over from the distant Western Regions.
But few people knew that the news brought by this eagle was like a meteor crashing into the ground, shaking the entire empire and completely disrupting Wang Chong's rhythm.
"What? Gao Xianzhi attacked the Shi Kingdom, killed its lord, and conquered the entire kingdom?! "
Wang Chong was in the main hall of the Qixi Protectorate, reading through the documents of the Qixi Protectorate. When he heard this news, his body trembled like a bolt of lightning had struck his head, and he didn't even realize that the military document in his hand had fallen to the ground.
At that moment, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence!
The Battle of Talas!
This was the only thought in Wang Chong's mind.
How could this be? The Battle of Talas won't start for at least half a year. How could it be so soon!
Wang Chong's face was pale, his mind in chaos.
In order to prevent this war, he had put in a lot of effort. He had even written a letter to Go Seonji, stating the pros and cons of this matter. Wang Chong had originally believed that his letter would be of some use, at least enough to raise Gao Xianzhi's guard.
As long as Gao Xianzhi was more cautious, he would never recklessly attack the Shi Kingdom like he did in his last life. The Battle of Talas would also be delayed, giving him plenty of time to prepare. But Wang Chong had never imagined that not only would the battle not be delayed, it would be brought forward by six months!
"… Not only that, after Lord Gao Xianzhi conquered the Shi Kingdom, he advanced westward, his thirty thousand elites beating the Arabs to the City of Talas."
Xu Keyi bowed, his expression grim as he sensed the gravity of the situation.
"But the Arabs quickly marched east, turning out all their forces to surround the City of Talas. The situation is grave and urgent. The commander of the Four Garrisons of Anxi, Feng Changqing, has already sent a letter requesting reinforcements! I request Marquis to make the decision! "
"Buzz!"
Xu Keyi had barely finished speaking when he heard a boom that caused the entire hall to fiercely sway. Xu Keyi raised his head, but he quickly realized that this was no earthquake. Wang Chong had fiercely stood up from his seat. His aura surged, and his majestic astral energy filled the entire hall like waves.
Even a blind person would be able to sense that Wang Chong's mind was extremely unstable.
"Marquis …"
Xu Keyi subconsciously called out. After following Wang Chong for so long, he had gained the impression that Wang Chong was always a strategist who always had a card up his sleeve. Even in the war of the southwest, Wang Chong had never panicked. This was the first time Xu Keyi had seen Wang Chong lose his composure.
"Bring that letter over!"
Wang Chong's voice resounded through the hall.
"Yes."
Xu Keyi stepped forward and respectfully handed over the letter requesting reinforcements from the Anxi Protectorate.
"I've already given the order. All the intelligence and information related to this battle will be delivered before dawn in twelve hours at most!"
This night was destined to be a sleepless one for the entire Qixi Protectorate.
The hall was brightly lit, and Wang Chong uneasily paced back and forth. All the generals, whether they were Li Siye, Xu Keyi, Heba Ye, or Xu Yi-qin, had been summoned. By daybreak, all the information had been gathered.
For this reason, Wang Chong had even personally written a letter to Feng Changqing, who had been left behind in the Western Regions, asking for the details of the matter.
Wang Chong finally understood the truth behind this massive upheaval.
Gao Xianzhi had led his army to attack the Shi Kingdom, slaughtering its officials, and then crossing the Cong Mountains to advance west and occupy the City of Talas. In the end, he had been surrounded by the armies of the Arabian Empire. This series of events that had shaken the western border was far more complicated than imagined. Wang Chong's letter truly had been effective. Upon receiving it, Gao Xianzhi had become much more cautious.
If everything went as expected, Gao Xianzhi would have to wait several months before attacking the Shi Kingdom. But an unexpected piece of news had completely disrupted Gao Xianzhi's tempo, forcing Gao Xianzhi to take a series of swift actions, including attacking the Shi Kingdom and crossing the Cong Mountains to occupy the City of Talas.
The King of the Shi Kingdom had colluded with the Arabs, and the two countries had agreed to work together to attack the Anxi Protectorate in a few months!
This news had caused Gao Xianzhi to change his mind and strike first, triggering this massive upheaval!
"How could it be like this?"
Wang Chong gripped the letter and mentally sighed, unable to speak for a long time.
Pull one hair and move the whole body. A butterfly flapped its wings, stirring up a storm and massive waves on the Boundless Sea. The current situation was completely different from what he had known. Wang Chong had always believed that Gao Xianzhi's sudden attack on the Shi Kingdom would be the same as in history, a calamity brought about by greed.
But after reading the reason for Gao Xianzhi's attack, not even Wang Chong could find a single word of blame.
Wang Chong had never known that the Shi Kingdom was colluding with the Abbasid Caliphate to deal with the Anxi Protectorate. Wang Chong also could not determine if this was because of some hidden information from his last life or simply because of the butterfly effect. But there was one thing that he could be sure of. Once he confirmed that the other side was working together, he would strike first, taking the initiative to attack before the other side could fully prepare. This was the most correct method for a famed general.
Gao Xianzhi's method could not be faulted, and if it were Wang Chong, he would definitely have done the same.
And if Arabia was colluding with the Shi Kingdom, once Gao Xianzhi captured the Shi Kingdom, the Arabs would definitely send reinforcements. Rather than passively waiting, it was better to attack to the end. He could actively obstruct the Arabs, and he could also keep the war out of the country, lessening the effects of this war on the Western Regions.
If everything went smoothly, after the war, the Shi Kingdom could be incorporated into the Tang Dynasty's Western Regions, which would only be beneficial to the Tang Dynasty.
From the Western Regions to the Abbasid Caliphate, beyond the Cong Mountains, there was almost nothing but flat plains. From a military standpoint, the most strategic location in the region was undoubtedly the City of Talas. Gao Xianzhi was a famed general of his generation, famed for his blitzkrieg tactics. There was no doubt that he had keenly sensed the special value of the City of Talas. Thus, after capturing the Shi Kingdom, he had marched one thousand li to occupy Talas.
This series of actions had been swift, vicious, and efficient, dealing the Shi Kingdom a most painful blow. At the same time, it had caught the Arabs off guard and forced them into an extremely passive position, completely displaying the abilities of a top-class Great General of the Tang Dynasty.
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