Chapter 1911: Pursuit into Arabia! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Lord Prime Minister, you must be thorough in your discussions with His Majesty this time. The King of Foreign Lands and his men must not be wronged,” someone chided.
All the officials immediately turned their attention to Prime Minister Li Linfu.
No matter how poor the relationship was between Li Linfu and Wang Chong, they had to appear to get along well to the public.
”Naturally. This minister will give His Majesty a detailed account.”
Li Linfu beamed as he warmly replied.
But hidden under his sleeve, his fist clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
The Sage Emperor had not participated in this court session, but everyone knew that the news was certain to reach his ears.
The tranquil and gorgeous Taiji Palace seemed like a fairy court brought to the mortal realm.
”Your Majesty, a major victory in the northwest. The King of Foreign Lands won.”
With soft and light footsteps, Eunuch Gao walked out from the rear.
All was quiet in front of Taiji Palace. The supreme figure of the Great Tang, the Sage Emperor, was wearing a golden dragon robe and a faint smile as he watched over the bustling capital.
”Understood. We knew that he would win.”
The words were calm and indifferent, but the information conveyed was startling.
What level of trust was needed to entrust the lives of all the people in the Central Plains, himself included, to Wang Chong?
This point alone made Wang Chong the number one official of the Great Tang.
”In addition, news has come from the front that our army has already crossed the Cong Mountains and passed Samarkand, marching toward Khorasan and Arabian territory. There are worries in the court that if our army is too far away from our own territory, the interior will be undefended. If the other countries choose this moment to jointly attack us, the Great Tang will be at an extreme disadvantage,” Gao Lishi hesitantly said.
”Heh, let them be. At this time, We would like to see just who would dare to act recklessly in front of the Great Tang.”
The Sage Emperor placed his hands behind his back and chuckled, a despotic tone to his voice.
……
Rumble!
The sounds of fighting could be heard all along the road between Samarkand and Khorasan as tens of thousands of Tang cavalry continued their pursuit.
Wherever the army charged, chaos reigned and numerous Arab horsemen were cut down in pools of blood.
Creee!
A sharp cry came from above, and upon hearing this sound, all the Tang cavalry stopped.
A few moments later, a youthful figure escorted by several dozen elites began to approach at high speeds.
Whoosh!
Zhang Que dismounted, inspected a body next to him, and then quickly stood back up.
”What's the situation?”
Zhang Que turned to a nearby Tang general.
”Today, we've killed about fifteen thousand Arabs. A significant number of Arab cavalry have fled in other directions rather than in the direction of Khorasan.
”As for that Arab Governor, Abu Muslim, he's been doing his best to gather the army. We estimate that he has two hundred and fifty thousand to three hundred thousand soldiers. Should we continue to pursue?”
The Tang general left his remaining words unsaid.
The King of Foreign Lands, the Nine Provinces Protector-General, Wang Chong, had ordered long ago that the army was to stop the moment they heard the cry of an eagle.
This process of fighting and stopping had already taken place numerous times.
They should have been able to kill even more Arab cavalry, but they had been forced to let them go at the end.
”There's no need. Let them go!”
Zhang Que waved his hand and immediately rejected the request.
”His Highness has already defeated Khatabah's army of two million, six hundred thousand soldiers. All that's left is a stray dog in Abu Muslim and his three hundred thousand Arab horsemen on their last breath. They can't cause much trouble.
”His Highness has ordered that there is to be no risky advance for the sake of achievements. Our first priority is to minimize our losses while killing as many of the enemy as we can. At the end, when His Highness personally takes action, it doesn't matter how many soldiers the enemy has. They still will not be able to escape.”
After a few moments of silence, the mounted general bowed and sternly nodded.