Chapter 849: Sudden Change in Anxi! (1/2)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

”Let me ask, who sent all of you?”

Wang Chong strode over and stopped in front of the Arabs, his body exuding a powerful and oppressive aura. But the Arabs turned their heads and pretended to not understand what was being said. Wang Chong sneered at this display. These people had succeeded in disguising themselves as Tang soldiers and entering Qixi, so it wasn't possible for them to not understand Han.

”Is it Abu Muslim?” Wang Chong suddenly asked. This time, he did not speak in Han, but Arabic.

Buzz!

At these words, the Arab soldiers instantly shuddered and twisted their heads, their mouths open and their faces ghastly pale.

When Wang Chong saw this, his heart instantly sank.

Abu Muslim1 was the Abbasid Caliphate's Governor of the East, the Great Tang's most powerful foe in the Western Regions. In the future Battle of Talas, this person would serve as the highest commander of the Abbasid Caliphate! Although these Arabs had not answered him, their reactions had told him everything.

I didn't think that his claws would have already stretched here…

Wang Chong felt deeply disheartened.

Wang Chong's knowledge was actually very limited on this Abbasid Governor of the East, this highest commander of the Arab side at the Battle of Talas. Wang Chong had always believed that he had been the only one silently preparing for this battle, but he had never imagined that this Governor of the East had already begun to dispatch scouts and spies to the Great Tang six months beforehand. Moreover, his spies had already worked their way through Anxi and reached Qixi.

Wang Chong could already smell the stenches of battles and schemes.

In a flash, Wang Chong suddenly realized that he had deeply underestimated this Arab commander who resided west of the Cong Mountains. This Arab was definitely more frightening and much harder to deal with than he had imagined.

”You actually know the name of our lord?!”

”Impossible! A Tang like you can speak our tongue!”

”Give up on this idea! No matter what you ask, we won't say a word.”

At this moment, those stubbornly silent Arab spies finally decided to speak. The Arabic that Wang Chong had spoken and the name 'Abu Muslim' had given them an enormous shock. During their entire infiltration of the Central Plains, this was the first time they had heard someone speak such fluent Arabic. Not even the open-minded Fumeng Lingcha had been able to perform such a feat.

In truth, the number of people who could speak Arabic in the entire Western Regions wasn't very large at all.

But the most shocking of all was that Wang Chong knew the name of their highest commander.

Arabia and the Great Tang were very far from each other, limiting the knowledge that each state had of the other. In addition, the Arabs were much more vigilant against outsiders than the Great Tang, with all military knowledge being absolute secrets. Not even many people in the nearby kingdoms of the Western Regions knew the name of their commander, but this Han Protector-General who had never once been to Arabia, perhaps never even to the Western Regions, could actually call out his name!

These elite scouts of the Abbasid Caliphate were dumbfounded!

”There's no need to say anything. All of you have already answered me!” Wang Chong indifferently said. The name 'Abu Muslim' was enough to tell Wang Chong almost everything. What else these scouts had to say really didn't matter.

”Xu Keyi, take them away. I'll let you handle the rest.”

”Yes, Lord Marquis.”

Xu Keyi understood and waved his hand, ordering the Wushang guards to take the scouts away. The City of Steel had interrogation specialists, experts from the Bureau of Punishments who had been transferred to the City of Steel using Old Eagle's connections. Wang Chong had brought them with him to the Qixi Protectorate.

Even if these Arab scouts had undergone special training and were able to keep a tight hold on their secrets, Xu Keyi would be able to at least get something from them.

The appearance of these Arab spies had triggered Wang Chong's vigilance and had also completely overturned his understanding of the Arab commander, Abu Muslim. Just when Wang Chong was ready to begin a complete investigation of this matter, a day later, in the evening, when everything was falling quiet, an eagle pierced through the veil of darkness, silently approaching from the distant Western Regions.

Very few people knew that the news brought by this eagle would be like a crashing meteor, swiftly causing the entire empire to quake and completely disrupting Wang Chong's tempo.

”What? Gao Xianzhi attacked the Shi Kingdom, killed its city lord, and stormed the entire region?!”

Wang Chong had been reviewing the documents of the Qixi Protectorate army when he heard this news, and his entire body trembled as if he had been struck by lightning, the documents in his hand dropping to the floor.

In that moment, the entire hall was deathly still!

The Battle of Talas!

This was the only thought left in Wang Chong's mind.

How could this be? The Battle of Talas should have been at least half a year away. Why did it happen so soon!

Wang Chong's face was pale, his mind in turmoil.