"Rumble!"
On the road to Anxi, the earth quaked and the heavens swayed. Eighteen or nineteen people stood on each carriage, pulled by four horses as they galloped along the cement road. Unlike ordinary carriages, each of these carriages had a white folding sail attached to them. The sail was around six feet tall and eight feet wide. When the wind was in their favor, the sail would be unfurled to increase the speed of the transport.
And when the wind was against the wind, the soldiers on the carriages would fold the sail as quickly as possible. Zhang Shouzhi had built these according to Wang Chong's instructions, using the principles of sails in the hopes that they could transport the Qixi Protectorate to Talas as quickly as possible.
As he entered the Western Regions, Wang Chong's brow began to slowly crease.
This war had an even stronger effect on the Western Regions than he had imagined. When Wang Chong had first met Hulayeg, he had been to the Western Regions. At the time, the Western Regions had been extremely prosperous. The Nine Families of Zhaowu, the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions, and the merchants of Arabia and Charax Spasinu had all gathered here. Pearls, agate, and spices could be found everywhere. It was precisely because the merchants of these countries had gathered here that the Western Regions could prosper and prosper.
But when Wang Chong entered the Western Regions, all the markets were desolate, with not a single person to be seen. The cities he passed through were practically deserted, and the air was thick with tension.
"It seems like the war between the Tang Dynasty and Arabia has had an even greater effect on the Western Regions than I imagined. All the Hu merchants sensed the danger and retreated ahead of time. "
As Wang Chong rode on the White-hoofed Shadow, he looked around at the tall and short buildings around him. The streets of this massive city were empty, and Wang Chong could see only a few people. Moreover, they were all nervously watching from a distance, not daring to approach. The scout only glanced in the direction of these people, and a moment later, bangbangbang! All the doors and windows were tightly shut.
"Zhang Que, what's the situation?"
Wang Chong asked.
"Replying to Marquis, all of the birds have already spread out in a fifty kilometer radius, and there is nothing out of the ordinary. In addition, General Xu Keyi sent a letter saying that the mission has been completed. They are about a hundred miles ahead of us. General Xu Keyi asked if they need to wait for us and meet up with us. "
Zhang Que rode his horse and quickly followed from behind.
"There's no need. Tell them to hurry up. None of the Karluks are to be left behind! "
Wang Chong said. When he said the last sentence, Wang Chong's voice suddenly became incomparably cold.
'The Hu fear might, but not virtue.' The Karluks were the key to this battle, but Go Seonji had been too conceited, so conceited that he thought these mercenaries would never betray him. Hire, hire, these people work for money, but Gao Xianzhi specially arranged for them to be at the back of the army. This was simply digging their own graves.
But now that he had switched to Wang Chong, everything was different. 'The merciful cannot command an army.' War was a matter of great importance to the Imperial Court and the common people. Any kind of mercy was a woman's benevolence, not something a commander could accept. If the Karluks betrayed the Tang Dynasty, they had to be prepared to pay the most grievous price!
"… In addition, pass on my order. Have the horses for the transport carriages be swapped with the horses for the cavalry. Increase the speed of the march!"
Wang Chong said.
"Yes, Marquis!"
Zhang Que bowed from his horse and quickly left to carry out the order.
Once Zhang Que was gone, Wang Chong's eyes flashed as he turned to the vast army in front of him. Unlike the haste of the first war of the southwest, Wang Chong had made the most preparations this time. More than one hundred thousand soldiers were working together, and all the supplies were in place. Wagon after wagon flowed along the newly constructed cement road between Anxi and Qixi.
But the speed of the march was still too slow. The infantry, craftsmen, axemen, and spearmen could not compare to the speed of cavalry. Moreover, Wang Chong's army also had a considerable number of ballistae. Ballistae were also known as bed ballistae, and each one was extremely large. Moreover, because they were forged from the finest steel, they were also extremely heavy. Each transport carriage could only carry two or three ballistae. This fact alone made it impossible for Wang Chong's army to move quickly.
But Wang Chong was already doing his utmost to increase the speed of the march. Whether it was by adding small sails to the transport carriages or by swapping out the horses for the carriages with the cavalry's horses so that the horses could rest and conserve as much energy as possible, all of this was to increase the speed of the march so that they could reach the City of Talas earlier.
Days passed, and the closer they got to the northwest, the thicker the atmosphere of war became, the more desolate and somber the cities became.
Around three days later, a sandstorm howled up ahead. Beneath the dark clouds hanging low in the sky, a vast and majestic city, clearly built in the style of a strategic military fortress, gradually came into view. This city was completely different from other cities. On the city walls, there was a beacon tower every ten feet or so, as well as an observation tower. This was something that only the military would use.
This is the Four Garrisons of Anxi?
Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
In the Western Regions, the most famous garrisons of the Tang Dynasty were the Four Garrisons of Anxi: Suiye, Kucha, Khotan, and Shule. This was also where the Tang Dynasty's Anxi Protectorate was located. If one wanted to travel from Qixi to Talas, Anxi was a place that one had to pass through. In his last life, although Wang Chong had heard of the Four Garrisons of Anxi, he had never had the chance to go there, much less meet them.
"Hyah!"
Wang Chong suddenly urged his horse forward, galloping from the rear of the group. Behind him, Xu Keyi and the others exchanged glances and hurriedly followed.
The buildings of Anxi were not as refined as those of the Central Plains, and they had a crude air to them. As Wang Chong led his men forward, he finally got a clear view of the Four Garrisons of Anxi. This massive city was crudely constructed, built from massive blocks of stone and then covered in thick layers of mud. Only then did this ancient and massive city come into being.
After standing in Anxi for so many years, the surface of this city was covered in the scars of war and swords. Many places were charred and charred, and there were even a few places where one could see the remains of catapults. The frequent wars had also dyed the city in a layer of black and red.
"Suiye!"
Wang Chong raised his head and immediately saw the three mottled characters on the gate. Wang Chong's heart trembled at the sight of these three characters.
I didn't think that it would be this city!
Of the Four Garrisons of Anxi, the one that Wang Chong was most familiar with was this legendary City of Suiye. The reason was very simple. In another space-time, this was the birthplace of an immortal poet, and it was also the birthplace of many famed frontier generals. The farthest frontier fortress of the Tang Dynasty was precisely this City of Suiye.
The army advanced slowly and majestically all the way into Suiye City. With the departure of Gao Xianzhi and the thirty-thousand-some soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate army, this heavily guarded fortress had become a defenseless fortress. The gates of Suiye were wide open, and there was no one standing guard.
"Marquis, there's a stone stele here!"
When they were still several dozen zhang from the gate, Zhang Que suddenly pointed to the side of the road.
Wang Chong suddenly stopped. This was a huge stone tablet. After being exposed to wind, sun, rain, and rain, as well as a long period of time, it had become very mottled. If one didn't look carefully, one would think that it was a brown rock about two men tall lying on the side of the road. But with just a glance, Wang Chong couldn't help but widen his eyes.
"Patrolling on behalf of the heavens!"
Wang Chong recognized it at a glance.
In his last life, before the emergence of his clan, Wang Chong had never left the capital, much less the Western Regions. Even in his wanderings, he had never been to the Western Regions. In the Western Regions, the Four Great Garrisons of Anxi had a thunderous reputation, but there was something even more famous: the 'Stele of Patrolling on behalf of the heavens'.
When Wang Chong was still learning to read, he had heard of this stone stele. In truth, there were probably very few people in the capital who didn't know of this stele. This was because it had been set up by a very special person.
Ban Chao!
The first true Anxi Protector-General in the history of the Central Plains!
Although it had been Zhang Qian who had opened up the Western Regions for the first time in the history of the Central Plains and expanded the power of the Central Plains into the Western Regions … But it was Ban Chao who truly ruled and wielded influence here several hundred years later! The successive dynasties of the Central Plains had constantly gained and lost in the Western Regions, even losing contact with each other for several hundred years. Countless Western Regions Protector-Generals had emerged in the intervening years. But when one truly traced back to the past … The first Protector-General of the Western Regions was Ban Chao, a scholar of the Great Han Dynasty more than one thousand years ago.
"Although the Western Regions is far, it is still a land of the kings of the Central Plains. The Son of Heaven finds it difficult to attend to. As a subject of the Son of Heaven, I will patrol on behalf of the Son of Heaven! Forever guard the gates of the country!!! "
Back when Ban Chao was stationed in the Western Regions, he had spoken such words that even the deaf could hear, inspiring countless generations of people with lofty ideals to advance and expand into the Western Regions, resulting in the Great Tang's current situation in the Western Regions! The place where Ban Chao had set up this stele was said to be the place where Zhang Qian had left the fortress for the first time, the furthest place Zhang Qian had ever reached!
This stele had always been heavily guarded by the successive protectorates.
But later on, after the defeat of the Tang Dynasty in the Battle of Talas and the annihilation of Gao Xianzhi's thirty thousand elite soldiers, the Arabs had come east. They had passed through the Cong Mountains and advanced into the Four Garrisons of Anxi, and the first thing they had destroyed was this stele.
The Stele of Patrolling on Behalf of the Heavens had been dragged back to Arabia and thrown into the sea.
When the news had first arrived, countless people of the Central Plains had felt a heartache. Wang Chong had also been wringing his hands, viewing it as the greatest regret of his life!
Not even Wang Chong had expected that he would be able to fulfill his long-cherished wish of seeing this Stele of Patrolling on Behalf of the Heavens.
As these thoughts flitted through his mind, Wang Chong suddenly dismounted from the White-hoofed Shadow as everyone looked on in shock.
Relax. This time, the Arabs won't have a single chance to step into the gates of the Tang Dynasty!!
Wang Chong's heart was heavy as he respectfully bowed and said to himself, "Don't worry. This stele had been entrusted to the hot-bloodedness and dreams of countless loyal subjects of the Central Plains. This was their dream, and it was the dream of the entire Central Plains. Wang Chong would never allow this dream to be sullied.
"Let's go!"
Wang Chong took in a deep breath and quickly mounted his horse. Calling out to his men, he rode toward Suiye.
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