Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 559 In a desperate situation
May 3rd, early morning.

When the Arabs showed signs of retreating, Wang Fangyi took the lead in attacking, rushed across the Yaosha River, and took advantage of the enemy's weak position to forcibly destroy three enemy camps and beheaded 3,000 people.

At noon on the same day, troops advanced on all fronts and engaged in a fierce battle with the Arabs at Yaoshashui.

May 4th, night.

The Tang army successfully encircled the rear guard of the Arab Empire, trapped the enemy for one night, and attacked in the early morning of the next day. After a fierce battle that lasted a day and a night, they wiped out more than 20,000 enemies.

May 6th.

The Western Turkic Daxie tribe took the lead in making a roundabout way and secretly crossing the Yaosha River, rushing 80 miles, and ambushing the retreating Arab troops on the banks of the Wuhu River, defeating the enemy, killing countless enemies, and seizing a large amount of supplies.

On the same day, the Tiele tribe also encountered the Arab Empire at Bulaha. After a bloody battle for half a day, they won. However, the number of enemies killed was unknown, and the number of supplies seized was unknown.

On May 8, the Uighurs were eager to succeed and secretly led an army westward, attempting to penetrate into Khorasan and plunder the Arab baggage. In the middle of the night, just as the Uighur army entered the Hindu Kush Mountains, fire suddenly broke out at the mountain pass behind them. The fierce battle lasted for three hours. The Uighur army was blocked in the narrow mountain road, unable to take care of each other, suffered countless casualties, and was almost annihilated.

On May 9, the Bohuan army attacked the Arab army but failed, and both sides stopped fighting...

……

Muawiyah of the Arab Empire was worthy of being a powerful hero. When he realized that things were hopeless, he retreated in time.

Faced with this situation, Li Ji handed over the task of pursuit to the grassland coalition forces, leaving them to bear their own profits and losses.

Most tribes gained something to some extent, but of course there were also many greedy people who took advantage of the situation to rob others. Although some of them made a fortune, some of them suffered fatal blows.

None of this had much to do with the Tang army. If the nomadic peoples succeeded, they had weakened the power of the Arab Empire. If they failed, they could only blame themselves for their incompetence.

Chen Qingsi took over the victory report from the Western Regions from the Ministry of War and read it quickly until he saw what he wanted to see. His brows couldn't help but frown.

On May 21st, more than 10,000 cavalrymen from the Arab Empire arrived outside the port of Siraf.

On the 22nd, five thousand cavalrymen arrived.

On the 23rd, 10,000 Arab cavalry arrived.

On the 26th, 47,000 Arab soldiers gathered in the west and north of Siraf Harbor...

On the 28th, Liu Rengui withdrew his troops from the port of Silav...

This made Yao Chong, Guo Yuanzhen and the people from the Ministry of War feel very strange.

It's not just people like Chen Qingsi who are at the helm of the government who are concerned about the war in the Western Region. Is there anyone, both civil and military, who is not concerned about this?
Now most of the taxes in the Tang Dynasty flow to the Western Regions, and all affairs in the court are prioritized over the war in the Western Regions.

This level of war would cause great harm to people's livelihood. That is why Li Zhi recalled Chen Qingsi from Tubo at the last moment of his life.

If Chen Qingsi had not returned to Chang'an in time, how could the benevolent and Confucian Li Hong, facing the scheming and ambitious Pei Yan and Li Jingxuan who talked about "benevolence, righteousness and morality", have devoted all his energy to maintaining a war of such a scale in the Western Regions?

So when this good news reached Chang'an, the whole of Chang'an was in celebration, and all the civil and military officials in the court breathed a sigh of relief.

The confrontation between the two empires, the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire, at their peak was a test of foundation and resilience, to see who would have the last laugh.

There is no doubt that the Tang Dynasty became the final winner.

Isn't this worth being happy about?
Why are you frowning?

The Minister of War was none other than Zhang Da'an, the former Sima of Yongzhou, a backbone of the Qingliu faction and one of Chen Qingsi's staunch allies.

At this moment, he saw Chen Qingsi's worried look, and his heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly asked, "Sir, there won't be any problem with this victory report, right?"

"Ah!" Chen Qingsi responded and shook his head, "There is no problem with the victory report, but I am a little worried about Xue Rengui's situation." Since he learned that Liu Rengui and Xue Rengui had successfully carried out a surprise attack, he no longer had any doubts about the victory of this battle.

Now that my hometown has been taken away, what kind of trouble can the Arab Empire cause?
Therefore, he was not too surprised about the victory. What he was worried about was Liu Rengui and Xue Rengui who were deep behind enemy lines.

They are Chen Qingsi's winning hand, the key to the outcome of this battle, and the most dangerous. The victory report in his hand reveals a little bit of Liu Rengui's situation...

From the surge in military strength in Siraf Port, Chen Qingsi had already guessed Muawiyah's thoughts.

In the battle for the Western Regions, the Arab Empire was defeated and Muawiyah's power and prestige suffered a serious blow.

He now urgently needs a victory to maintain his prestige...

The purpose of the troops gathering towards the port of Silav was very obvious, which was to cut off the connection between Xue Rengui and Liu Rengui and to keep Xue Rengui in the heart of the Arab Empire at all costs.

Liu Rengui's withdrawal undoubtedly cut off Xue Rengui's retreat.

So what if Xue Rengui is a good fighter?
People are thousands of miles away in the enemy's rear, without any resources or supplies, and will eventually die of exhaustion.

But what can we do if Liu Rengui doesn’t withdraw?
Muawiyah suffered a great loss in the Western Regions, and it was obvious that he was trying to save face from them.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

If Liu Rengui did not withdraw, it would not just be Xue Rengui who would be left behind, but the two of them.

Chen Qingsi felt upset when he thought that Xue Rengui died in a foreign country because of his decision.

When Zhang Daan saw Chen Qingsi mention Xue Rengui, as the Minister of War, he naturally knew the situation Xue Rengui was facing.

In fact, in his heart, he had already sentenced the other party to death, and was even considering how to commend him.

If it weren't for Xue Rengui's god-like performance in this battle, which directly destroyed the rear of the Arab Empire, the Arab Empire would not have been defeated so quickly.

His performance completely influenced the direction of the war in the Western Region.

His contribution is so great that there is no need to say more.

So Zhang Da'an said: "General Xue has made outstanding military achievements and is sure to win. The court will never treat the Xue family unfairly."

He did not say it was Xue Rengui, but the Xue family.

Chen Qingsi was silent for a moment, and said: "Of course, but... everything will be said after we get the exact news. General Xue is a man who can create miracles, not to mention there is also Liu Rengui!"

He paused, then smiled and said, "Let's not talk about this for now. No matter what, a great victory in this battle will be of great benefit to our court. We must seize these advantages so as not to disappoint those soldiers who have sacrificed their lives and shed their blood for our Tang Dynasty."

With this battle, the prestige of the Tang Dynasty will reach its peak in the entire Western Regions.

Now is the best time for the Tang Dynasty to completely control the Western Regions.

"Come here, invite the Minister of Personnel and the Director of the Imperial Academy."

Chen Qingsi planned to open an academy in the Western Regions, allowing Western nobles to study in the academy, and then those with excellent grades would enter the Imperial College.

When the time is right, the princes of the Western Regions will not be eligible to inherit the throne without a diploma from the Imperial Academy...

Chen Qingsi discussed this idea with the Minister of Personnel and Zhengyi of the Imperial Academy until late at night.

Stepping on the starlight, Chen Qingsi rode his horse slowly, his heart moved. Looking at the stars in the sky, there was one star that was particularly bright, shining with dazzling brilliance.

(End of this chapter)