The infuriated Mansur was still furious after giving this order, and the servants at his side were even more unfortunate. They became the targets of his anger, the male servants being kicked and punched while the female servants were ravaged.
One day had passed by the time the order reached the northern part of Khorasan. At this time, the commander of the army, Abu Muslim, was optimistically examining a simple sandbox in his tent.
He was very satisfied with the current situation. Although he couldn't break into the city in a short amount of time, the enemy was already trapped inside. As long as he could secure the city, the enemy would be trapped to death sooner or later.
"The enemy only has enough provisions to last for half a year. As long as our army encircles the city for half a year, the enemy will all starve to death. This strategy of encirclement is the best, but the Caliph is too eager for instant success. He keeps demanding that we break through the enemy as quickly as possible and pacify Abdullah. Is he simply giving orders blindly?"
"That's right. The Caliph simply doesn't understand the situation here. The enemy's city is tall and sturdy. If we forcefully attack it, our losses will be far too great. I will never agree to sacrificing the lives of fifty to sixty thousand soldiers for a single city."
"General, you should advise the Caliph to consider the lives of his soldiers. The Khorasan cavalry are our main force, and we can't lose more than half of this force just to attack a single city. This is simply not worth it."
"Yes. Cavalry are most skilled in field battles, not in attacking sturdy cities. We have no advantage in attacking a city, so it's normal that we can't take it."
Several of his subordinates complained.
Abu Muslim was also rather distressed. He had already told Mansur about the situation in the north, but Mansur had insisted on breaking into the city as quickly as possible.
As a renowned general of the Apus dynasty, Abu Muslim naturally had to think of a way to break into the city, but his abilities were limited. He had already used many methods to attack the city, but he had been unable to break through, leaving him rather helpless.
"General, can we dig tunnels to attack? Have the soldiers dig tunnels into the city from different directions at the same time and attack the city from the underground. "
Ziyad said.
Abu Muslim shook his head. "The water of the moat is very deep. How deep would you have to dig to get through? What if there's a leak? All the soldiers digging the tunnel will drown. No, it won't work. The risk is too great."
Ziyad helplessly shook his head and softly said, "Fine! If that's the case, there really isn't any good method. We can only slowly drag it out. "
"If we want to drag it out, then drag it out! If the Caliph has any questions, I'll explain them to him. You guys take care of your own men and don't let the rebels in the city launch a surprise attack. The rebels have lost half of their men, so the remaining half is still very strong. "
Abu Muslim.
His subordinates nodded and went to make preparations.
"General, the Caliph has ordered that you immediately withdraw all your soldiers to Khorasan. Withdraw immediately."
At this moment, a new order was passed down.
Abu Muslim didn't dare to believe his ears. He looked in confusion at the man and asked, "What's going on? Why would the Caliph give such an order?"
"General, there's a problem in the southwest. Altik and Osman worked together to wipe out our army of ten thousand Khorasan cavalry, and then they marched straight in and captured many of the cities in the southwest. The Caliph doesn't have many soldiers, so he could only have General withdraw."
Abu Muslim and Seiyad glanced at each other, their hearts filled with fear. Seiyad in particular was so frightened that he couldn't even speak.
Ziyad had brought these ten thousand elite soldiers to Aden, but they had all been wiped out. This was no different from cutting off Ziyad's flesh.
"Osman and Altik actually worked together? How could this be? They're like fire and water. How could they work together?"
Abu Muslim muttered to himself in confusion.
Ziyad angrily clenched his fists. He swore to himself that he would teach Osman and Altik a lesson to vent his anger.
"What do we do? Do we really have to withdraw?"
Abu Muslim looked hesitantly at Ziyad.
Ziyad nodded. "The Caliph personally gave the order. What else can we do but obey? Have the soldiers prepare to withdraw as soon as possible!"
Abu Muslim nodded and had his trusted aide pass on the order.
"Seiyad, you don't have to be too sad. We will definitely take revenge for the destruction of the army. However, we shouldn't be considering this problem now. Instead, we should be considering the withdrawal of the army. Do you think Abdullah will send an army to pursue us after we withdraw?"
Abu Muslim said.
Ziyad disdainfully said, "General, be at ease. Abdullah has already experienced the strength of our army, so he won't dare to recklessly pursue. Moreover, we just received word from the southwest that Abdullah is trapped in the city and definitely doesn't know about this. Since he doesn't understand why we're withdrawing, he won't dare to pursue."
Abu Muslim said, "I agree with your view. Ziyad, let's return to the Royal City and see what the Caliph has planned. But regardless, the situation isn't looking good! At the very least, we need to divide our forces to deal with two different forces. Abdullah still has his strength, and Osman and Altik aren't that easy to deal with. "
"That's right! Osman and Altik's army only has twenty to thirty thousand soldiers at most, but they were able to wipe out ten thousand of my elites in one go. How could they be so strong? How could this be? "
Ziyad clearly couldn't understand.
"Right, General, I heard that the Tang dynasty is supporting Osman and Altik from behind the scenes, selling them many weapons."
A young general from the Royal City said.
"What? There was such a thing? The Tang dynasty is supporting them from behind the scenes?"
Abu Muslim and Ziyad simultaneously looked at this junior general, their hearts filled with even more shock.
"General, if the Tang dynasty is supporting them from behind the scenes, then we really won't be able to deal with them!"
Ziyad worriedly said.
"I know this. We've already clashed with the soldiers of the Tang dynasty, and we don't have the strength to contend against the Tang dynasty. However, I don't know how much aid the Tang dynasty can provide to Altik's forces. If their aid is limited, our chances of victory are still very high."
Abu Muslim said.
Ziyad nodded. "General is right. Let's return to the Royal City as soon as possible! We'll see what the Caliph has to say. At the same time, just in case, I'm willing to lead ten thousand cavalry to bring up the rear. If Abdullah pursues, I'll push him back. "
"Okay! Seiyad, you'll bring up the rear. "
Abu Muslim agreed to Ziyad's request.
After some preparations, Abu Muslim had the supply lines move out, and then the main force began to withdraw. Ziyad brought up the rear with ten thousand cavalry to prevent the enemy forces in the city from pursuing them.
After the great defeat, Abdullah's troops had suffered a great loss, and he had no choice but to hole up in the city. Under the premise of being surrounded on all sides, he could only choose to fight the enemy, but under such circumstances, the pressure in his heart was extremely great.
Abdullah and his trusted subordinates were all very anxious, but the majority of them had offended Mansur and were Abdullah's sworn friends. Thus, no matter how great the pressure was, they would not choose to surrender. They would persist until the end.
The besieged soldiers, under the strict supervision of their generals, did not choose to open the city gates and surrender. However, if they were besieged for a long time, and if the supplies in the city were to run out, there would probably be soldiers who would desert. This would become their nightmare.
Abdullah seemed to have aged ten years in a single night. He appeared extremely haggard, and much more white hair had appeared. He no longer seemed as heroic as before.
His subordinates were doing their best to maintain their appearances, but their mental states were not very good, and they all appeared rather worried.
"Caliph, Caliph, the enemy has completely retreated, completely retreated."
One of his trusted subordinates panted as he ran over to report the situation.
Abdullah's elderly eyes flickered as he excitedly asked, "The enemy has retreated. They really have all left."
"Caliph, the enemy really has all left. Not a single one is left."
The confidant joyfully said.
"Caliph, something has probably happened in Royal City. Could it be that Mansur has died? If that's the case, it's wonderful for us."
"Caliph, this is an extremely rare opportunity. Why don't we have the army pursue? This will definitely deal a heavy blow to the enemy."
"Caliph, I'm willing to lead the army."
Several of his confidants confidently said.
Abdullah furrowed his brow and doubtfully said, "If Mansur really is dead, that would be wonderful. But no one knows why Abu Muslim has retreated. It might be some sort of scheme. Come, let's go to the city gate and take a look."
Abdullah did not doubt the words of his subordinates. He believed that the enemy had truly retreated, but he did not know why the enemy had retreated. Thus, he wanted to personally go to the city gate and take a look. Perhaps he would be able to find some clues.
They arrived at the city gate tower as fast as they could and quickly climbed up.
"Caliph, look, the enemy has already gone far away. The last group only has ten thousand men, and they will soon disappear from sight."
A confidant pointed at the distant army and said.
Abdullah frowned and said, "The enemy withdrew in a calm and unhurried manner, without the slightest hint of panic in their ranks. It's clear that this is a planned withdrawal. If our army rashly pursues them, how can we possibly win? If we run into an ambush, the consequences will be unthinkable."
Nasser said, "Caliph is right. This might be one of Abu Muslim's schemes. He's been attacking the city for many days, thinking of all the methods he could think of, but he still hasn't been able to shake our defenses. Thus, he might have changed his strategy and wants to use a withdrawal to lure our army out of the city. Our army is far weaker than Abu Muslim's cavalry. Once our main force is wiped out outside the city, we're finished."
Abdullah nodded and said, "Even though Nasser is only speaking of one possibility, we still have to be cautious. Our strength has already been damaged, and we don't have the strength to directly confront Abu Muslim. Thus, sending out soldiers is out of the question. Pass on my order. Send out more scouts. We have to figure out why Abu Muslim is withdrawing. In addition, get in touch with the eastern cities and have them recruit more soldiers to make up for our losses in this battle."
"Yes, Caliph. Your subordinate will do so."
His subordinate replied.
Abdullah held onto the stone of the city wall and looked at the Ziyad Army that was leaving. He heaved a huge sigh of relief in his heart. He had been stifled for the past few days, and now, he could finally take a breather.
Abdullah had already made his plans. If Abu Muslim was playing some scheme to lure him into a trap, there was a high chance that he would come back and surround the city once more. Thus, he had to gather more soldiers and provisions before Abu Muslim was besieged again to strengthen the city's defenses. And if the enemy really did leave, he had to figure out why the enemy had left and come up with a reasonable response.
In the direction of the peninsula, Atik and Osman were in high spirits. They had taken over many cities along the way. In order to take care of each other, they did not travel too far apart from each other. At most, they would not travel more than three hundred miles. The cavalry would be able to reach them in a few days.
Besides fighting, the two of them were also very keen on expanding the army and gathering provisions. Some of the common people they had encountered had volunteered, while others had been coerced. In short, many of them had joined the army, and the wealthy merchants and landlords were forced to take out their surplus provisions and money for the sake of their own safety. In this way, Osman and Altik's forces were greatly strengthened, and their forces were rapidly expanding.
Osman paid more attention to the quality of his soldiers, so he had expanded his army to thirty thousand, while Altik had expanded his army to fifty thousand.
The expansion of the army could not be achieved without the support of various resources. Food could be gathered locally, but weapons were severely lacking, and the quality and quantity of weapons gathered locally could not meet the requirements.
Fortunately, Ang Lee's military ships were constantly producing cold weapons and supplying them to Osman and Altik. This gave the two of them enough weapons to equip their expanded army and increase its fighting power.
Within Altik's camp, Altik was admiring the weapons he had brought from Aden. These weapons had been sold to him at a very favorable price by the Tang dynasty. Anyone who didn't buy them would be a fool.
"City Lord, arrows, concealed crossbows, repeating crossbows, spearheads — these are all things we urgently need, and they came at just the right time. Now, we can equip our newly formed army!"
The subordinate excitedly said.
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