Wang Chong smiled and said nothing, only glanced at the other members of Anxi.
"Xu Yang, don't speak nonsense! The situation on the battlefield is treacherous and involves the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. Do you think you can do whatever you want? Protector-General Wang is correct. We truly can't let our guard down against a powerful foe like the Arabs! "
Vice Protector-General Cheng Qianli said after a few moments of serious thought.
Although he very much wanted to finish off the Arabs in one fell swoop, even he had to admit that Wang Chong was correct. The Arabs had only suffered a minor defeat. If the Arabs really only had this much skill, they would never have been able to force the Protector-General and the Anxi Protectorate army into this state.
The Protector-General had even prepared to lead the Anxi Protectorate army in a final battle with the Arabs, sacrificing himself for the country.
Pride was sure to lead the defeated army!
This battle did not only concern the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, but also the fate of the Western Regions, the safety of Qixi, Longxi, and even the capital. Such an important matter could not be decided by emotion!
Wang Chong glanced at Cheng Qianli, a hint of praise in his eyes. Wang Chong had never interacted with Cheng Qianli before and did not understand him very well, but from these words, he could tell that this Brigadier General of the Tang Dynasty was not only a martial artist, but also a master of strategy.
At the very least, he was not the sort to be easily swayed by emotion.
"Ha, in truth, besides what I just said, there's another reason. Their banners!"
Wang Chong smiled and turned his head, his face brimming with confidence.
Everyone's hearts trembled as they turned to look in the direction the Arabs had fled. The black Arab war banners were scattered all over the army. But all of them were confused by these war banners, not understanding what Wang Chong was up to.
"No matter what Abu Muslim is up to, this doesn't seem like the sign of an army being routed! If he really wants to do something, he should work harder and put in more effort! "
Wang Chong had a look of "knowing everything like the back of his hand", and his eyes looked extremely wise.
"Boom!"
Wang Chong's words caused all the Anxi generals, including the people at Wang Chong's side, to tremble in shock. They only knew that Wang Chong had arranged for the troops to retreat once the pursuit had reached a certain point, but they didn't know that there was such an inside story.
And he had no idea that the black Arab war banner was hiding such a secret.
Indeed! The mention of Wang Chong's warning made everyone turn their attention to the black Arab war banners. Even though the Arabs were retreating in defeat, they still seemed to possess some sort of order.
No matter what, this did not look like a panicked, chaotic, and utterly defeated army retreating!
"Hiss!"
Upon realizing this, everyone's eyelids twitched violently, and they sucked in a breath of cold air. None of them could say a word.
"Qianli, Protector-General Wang is correct. Abu Muslim is not that easy to defeat. He has already laid a trap for us. Pass on my order! Have the soldiers retreat! "
At this moment, Gao Xianzhi's dignified voice resounded in everyone's ears.
"A trap?"
The officers around him were dumbfounded.
"Lord Protector-General is wise!"
Wang Chong faintly smiled and nodded. Gao Xianzhi truly lived up to his reputation as the War God of the Western Regions. He was a veteran of many battles and extremely sensitive to the various changes on the battlefield. It was clear that he had also seen through Abu Muslim's intentions.
"Xu Keyi, pass on my order. Have the army retreat and cease the pursuit."
Xu Keyi gave his assent and hurriedly left.
In the distance, the more than one hundred thousand Qixi soldiers and the Anxi Protectorate army slowly retreated like the receding tide, ceasing the pursuit. The two groups of people were completely separated.
… …
At the same time, several li to the west of Talas, in a place that could not be seen, few people noticed that the first group of Arab soldiers that had retreated had begun to set up an arced ambush along the rugged ground. Nearly one hundred thousand Arab cavalry were lying in wait around this ambush.
These cavalry had been the first to withdraw from the battlefield, and the terrain made it impossible to notice them from afar.
"Why aren't they here yet?"
"What's the rush? Lord Governor has already planned everything out. Once they enter our encirclement, their deaths will be upon them!"
"Haha, it's still Lord Governor who's formidable. Even in death, these Tang people would never have imagined that just when they were on the verge of 'victory', they would be completely annihilated by us! It's just a pity for Umar, but for the empire, it was worth sacrificing him. "
"All of you, shut up! The Tang people are about to arrive. Hurry and get ready. "
… …
At the very back of the ambush circle were several Arab generals with chilling eyes and thick body hair, dressed in black heavy armor. They were looking forward, their eyes brimming with killing intent. The Arabian Empire had been established for several hundred years, and through its constant conquest and expansion, it had developed its own unique military tactics.
If the Tang people continued to hole up in the city, the Arabs truly wouldn't have much of a way to deal with them. Although the Arabian Empire's cavalry was unparalleled in the world, it was not skilled in sieging cities. All it could do was drag it out and attack city after city. Compared to other factions, it did not have much of an advantage.
But once the Tang people entered the wilderness, everything changed. Whether they had the upper hand or the lower hand, the Arabs had their own unique tactics.
"Mm? What's going on? Why are the Tang people retreating! "
Suddenly, the Arab generals grimaced and straightened their backs.
"Absurd! How could this be? Why did they suddenly stop pursuing? "
"Did they see through it?"
"Impossible! They're in the middle of a great victory! How could they give up! "
… …
The Arab generals had grim expressions on their faces. They could clearly see that the more than one hundred thousand Tang people had suddenly retreated without warning, and all of them were dumbfounded. In the past, they had used this same tactic to defeat many powerful foes. When they were at their happiest and proudest, they would defeat and kill them.
But to suddenly retreat when they were clearly on the verge of 'victory' was something they had never encountered before.
"Just what's going on with the leader of the Tang people?"
The group of people were completely speechless.
"Buzz!"
At the same time, in another direction, a figure as tall as a mountain suddenly stood up slowly. His gaze was sharp, and a terrifying aura that could collapse mountains erupted from his body. In that instant, the earth rumbled and the heavens shook. The entire earth seemed to be unable to bear his weight and began to buzz and tremble.
"How could this be!"
Abu Muslim's dark brown eyes stared into the distance, an astonishing cold light exploding from them. In the fierce winds, Abu Muslim's aura began to undulate, and his enormous pressure pressed down like a mountain range. All the surrounding guards lowered their heads as if they were facing a god, their bodies shivering in fear and unease.
In this war with the Tang Dynasty, whether it was the fall of the Shi Kingdom, the fall of Talas, or the long and drawn-out battles, Abu Muslim had always remained calm and composed. But at this moment, his steely face finally began to ripple with unprecedented seriousness.
"Just what kind of person is the leader of this Tang army?"
It had been a very long time since Abu Muslim had encountered an opponent like this. Ever since he had joined the army, starting out as a nameless soldier of the Arabian Empire and eventually becoming the Governor of the East, expanding the empire's territory to Talas and the Western Regions, he had defeated one foe after another. It had been a very long time since Abu Muslim had encountered an opponent that gave him such a strange feeling.
Although he still hadn't seen the commander of the Tang Dynasty reinforcements, this invisible clash had already left Abu Muslim with an ill foreboding. His opponent this time was far more formidable than he had imagined, far more difficult to deal with than any of his previous opponents!
But this was only the beginning …
"Lord Governor, look over there!"
A thin Arab general with a high nose, brimming with strength and wildness, suddenly pointed into the distance. Following his finger, they could clearly see many ordinary craftsmen at the front of the Tang people's army, thousands of blazing furnaces, and silver walls of steel that resembled fish scales rising around Talas.
In a flash, all the Arab generals felt an indescribably strange sensation.
The battlefield was the most dangerous place, where life and death could be decided by a single thought. No one had ever dared to bring these non-combatant craftsmen onto the battlefield, as doing so would only be sending them to their deaths. And those silver walls of steel … No one knew what these Tang people were doing. They had participated in so many battles, defeated so many opponents, destroyed and conquered so many countries, but the Arabs had never encountered such a strange battle.
"Pass on my order to Amur! Have him lead the Bakr Cataphracts to attack the Tang people! "
Abu Muslim suddenly ordered as he stared into the distance.
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
An Arab messenger quickly turned his horse around and hurried away.
… …
"Marquis, they really did stop."
In the distance, Xu Keyi, mounted on a Turkic warhorse outside the walls of Talas, couldn't help but say as he looked into the distance. At the height of the battle, everyone's eyes were focused on the panicked Arab soldiers closest to the battlefield, but they weren't paying much attention to the overall situation. But now that the order to retreat had been given and the soldiers had calmed down, they could clearly see that the Arabs were retreating more and more slowly, and in the rear, the Arab soldiers were even showing signs of stopping. They were not continuing to flee.
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