Chapter 883: An Astonishingly Brilliant Mind for Strategy! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The Arabs had retreated a considerable distance, but they had not retreated to the principal Arab fortress in the east of Khorasan. Instead, they had chosen to watch the Tang from a distance, making their intentions abundantly clear. The Arabs were wont to fight to the last man, only beginning to even contemplate retreat when they had lost around three-fourths of their soldiers.
This trait was what made Arabia so terrifying and difficult to deal with!
This was also why the kingdoms of the Western Regions regarded Arabia as the destroyer.
But this time, they had run into the Great Tang and Wang Chong. Wang Chong had prepared long and well for this decisive battle with the Arabs, bringing with him a well-supplied and well-equipped army of more than one hundred thousand, as well as ballistae, Wootz Steel weapons, Meteoric Metal armor, and other such equipment. In terms of will and resolve to fight, he definitely wasn't weaker than them!
Two empires, but only one of them can survive. Abu Muslim, the empire to survive will definitely not be Arabia…
A confident expression appeared on Wang Chong's face as he thought back to the Stone of Destiny's words. Nothing was a coincidence. In this world, rarely would two powerful empires exist together, and even if they did, it would be for a short period of time. In his last life, after the Great Tang's defeat to Arabia at Talas and its loss of the Western Regions, the soldiers that it had always used to expand and attack its enemies began to be used for the sake of internal conflict, and the civilization of the Central Plains began to wane.
Wang Chong had always believed that this was a coincidence, but from the information revealed by the Stone of Destiny, this was far from the case.
Behind him was the Western Regions and the Great Tang. Whether it was for the Great Tang or the course of history in the Central Plains for the coming millennia, Wang Chong would never retreat!
These thoughts very quickly passed through Wang Chong's mind, and he quickly calmed down.
”Zhang Que, spread out your birds to keep a watch on the Arab movements. In addition, I will assign you a unit of archers. If any Arabian hunting falcons come over, work with the archers to shoot those hunting falcons down,” Wang Chong said.
Arabian hunting falcons were extremely fast and vicious. Although Zhang Que's team had eliminated one wave, those hunting falcons had only been a squadron of the main group. Dealing with all the Arabian hunting falcons was beyond the power of Zhang Que's eagle team. The eagle team working with archers on the ground was a tactic that Wang Chong had developed specifically to deal with the Arab scout birds.
”Yes! Lord Marquis!”
Zhang Que quickly left to carry out this order.
No one in the Tang military had ever valued aerial surveillance as much as Wang Chong, and Zhang Que had lived up to Wang Chong's expectations. The eagle team he led was growing more and more important in Wang Chong's plans. If Zhang Que's team had not eliminated all the hunting falcons patrolling the perimeter, the initial battle with the Arabs would have turned out completely differently.
Once Zhang Que left, Wang Chong focused his gaze back onto the vast Arab army. Wang Chong's greatest enemy had yet to take the stage, but through the assault of the Bakr Cataphracts, Wang Chong could faintly sense his will.
That had been a clash of swords in the air, an invisible contest.
Abu Muslim!
Wang Chong could sense that his foe had used that cavalry to probe him, and Wang Chong had clearly displayed his resolve through the ballista corps. This first clash between these two commanders had ended in Wang Chong's victory, but Wang Chong clearly understood that this was far from over!
”Protector-General Wang, are these the steel walls?”
A dignified voice came from nearby. Gao Xianzhi was standing with his back straight, his eyes aimed forward.
Wang Chong froze for a moment before giving a faint smile and nodding.
”Yes!”
This reply immediately caused Gao Xianzhi's eyes to explode with a sharp light, tinged with a hint of astonishment. In the war of the southwest, Wang Chong had relied on thousands of such steel walls to defeat the combined army of Dalun Ruozan and Geluofeng, causing a great stir in the world. Later on, Wang Chong had used this same tactic on the Tibetan Plateau, even constructing a steel fortress at the triangular gap and defeating Dusong Mangpoje and Dayan Mangban. This unique tactic was so famous that even Gao Xianzhi in the distant Western Regions had heard of it.