Chapter 865: The Fate of the Anxi Protectorate Army! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Wang Chong's foresight was truly astounding!
Wang Liang still had no idea how Wang Chong, without even stepping out of the house or ever taking a voyage overseas, could have known that tens of thousands of li across the ocean were islands with so much exposed Meteoric Metal. This was truly too mysterious, too miraculous.
But there was one thing that Wang Liang could be sure of.
Those exposed deposits of Meteoric Metal on those islands were far too precious, so precious that even the mere thought of setting off on a return journey with so much of this treasure left behind made Wang Liang's heart ache. And this Meteoric Metal could be snatched away at any time by those conniving great clans.
Thus, after careful calculation, Wang Liang had adjusted the waterline of the fleet, greatly increasing the amount each ship could hold, so the ore that would normally take two journeys to transport could be done in one.
This was the true reason for the fleet's delayed arrival in the Central Plains.
”Heave! Ho!”
The sailors began to call out signals, and very soon, the ore began to be unloaded!
……
Bang!
When the news of Wang Liang's arrival with the Meteoric Metal arrived at Wushang via messenger bird, the City of Steel turned jubilant. The last step in Wang Chong's plan was complete. With the Meteoric Metal, Wang Chong could forge many suits of sturdy armor and fill up the last shortcoming of the Wushang Cavalry.
”Pass on my order! All the great clans of the capital should work together to transport the Meteoric Metal to the City of Steel as quickly as possible. Time is short, and there's no need for the forging of the Meteoric Metal to be done at the capital. It can all be done in the City of Steel!”
Wang Chong was invigorated to hear the news. An eagle flew out the window like an arrow, headed for the capital.
With Wang Chong's order, countless specially-constructed carriages suddenly appeared on the cement road to Wushang, all of them loaded with small mountains of Meteoric Metal as they were driven day and night to the City of Steel. Countless cavalry escorted them, and the bandits and brigands of the Silk Road not only did not try to rob them, but also worked to escort the Meteoric Metal.
Wang Bei's subjugation of the many bandits on his journey west was proving its worth.
Wang Chong's plans had finally matured, and it seemed like an invisible vortex had appeared in the City of Steel, sucking in copious amounts of resources, steel, and soldiers.
”Heave! Ho!”
The training of the army continued day and night, the shouts of the soldiers rising to the heavens. With the City of Steel at the center, a vast number of soldiers had gathered in Qixi: sixty thousand mercenaries from the Western Regions, eight thousand Gangke soldiers, and twelve thousand regular soldiers from Greater and Lesser Balur. On the Great Tang side, there were the twenty thousand soldiers of the Qixi Protectorate army, five thousand fully-equipped Wushang Cavalry, the twenty thousand mixed infantry and cavalry led by Wang Yan and Wang Fu, the eight thousand elites of the Annan Protectorate army, and the ten thousand additional regular soldiers sent by the Imperial Court. In total, an army of 143,000 soldiers gathered around the City of Steel.
In addition, Wang Chong had also used part of the gold the court had given him to buy many cows and sheep that could be used as part of his supply train.
Besides all this, vast mountains of foodstuffs, armaments, and steel modules had piled up within the City of Steel!
The City of Steel had become a veritable war machine. At this moment, even the distant Tibetans could feel the thick aura of war hanging about the City of Steel.
A great war was imminent!
The time of departure for the army grew closer and closer. Meanwhile, if one turned away from Qixi, their gaze flitting past Anxi, across the Cong Mountains, and on for another seven or eight hundred li to look upon the faraway city of Talas, one would see that this famous stronghold of the Silk Road was currently surrounded by a vast army of cavalry and infantry.
The cavalry and infantry had formed an endless tide of steel that wrapped Talas in countless airtight layers.
The army made not a single noise, merely exuded a stifling and oppressive aura.
”Milord, the Arabs have already attacked us seven times today. It's been nearly two months, yet their soldiers have not only failed to decrease, but even increased. We can't kill them all! The soldiers can't hold on for much longer!”
The grandiose walls of Talas were famed throughout the Western Regions, but at this moment, they were scorched by the fires of war. At this time, a tall and sturdy general stood next to Gao Xianzhi, his brow fraught with deep worry and unease.
”I know,” Gao Xianzhi said indifferently, his hair drifting in the wind. His expression was aloof as he coldly regarded the sea of Arab soldiers below. After nearly two months, Gao Xianzhi's face was so battered by the hardships he had endured that no one would believe that this was that handsome and refined war god of the Western Regions.
As the most famous Great General of the Great Tang Empire's northwestern border and also as one of the Central Plains' supreme peak Saint Martial experts, Gao Xianzhi had slain countless experts. After a fierce battle, Gao Xianzhi would emerge without even a drop of blood on his clothes.