Chapter 5268 Incompetent Fury

A series of loud explosions startled the Abbasid army, causing them to retreat in panic. Taking advantage of this, the Tang cavalry rushed out and surrounded dozens of carts, driving away the drivers and then slowly urging the carts back into their own ranks, heading north towards the city of Mulu.

Fortunately, the Tang army only planted a few thunderbolts, with the aim of forcing the Arab army to retreat so that they could receive the wagons. Otherwise, if they had intended to ambush the Arab army, they could have simply planted more thunderbolts and detonated them all at once, and the Arab army would have been in danger of being completely annihilated.

The sudden change in the market was both unexpected and reasonable to Sheikh. He had long suspected that the Tang army had ulterior motives, but he still came to exchange goods because of the Tang Dynasty's good reputation. However, he did not expect that while the Tang army did carry out the transaction as usual, Ye Qide ran away on his own...

Sheikh was furious, but now he faced a dilemma: should he charge into the Tang army's ranks to retrieve the gold coins, or should he chase after Yeqide and capture him?

After only a brief moment of hesitation, Sheikh made his decision: "Come with me to rescue His Highness the Prince!"

Many soldiers and officers around him were confused. His Highness had already escaped the Tang army's control and was running eastward. The Tang army had no intention of pursuing him and was only protecting the gold coins as they slowly retreated. As long as His Highness was completely free, he would naturally return to Nisa City. So why was there any talk of "rescue"?
But seeing that Sheikh had already turned his horse around and was heading east, they had no choice but to follow closely behind and chase after him.

In the wind and snow, Yezid galloped wildly on horseback. Snowflakes stung his cheeks, but thankfully his protective gear shielded him from the frostbite that would have cracked his skin. This was a pre-selected route. The frozen riverbed beneath his feet was covered in snow, slippery but flat. He only needed to run southeast along the riverbed to reach Khorasan, then turn into the Persian Plateau through the mountain pass. That was Persian territory already conquered by the Abbasid Caliphate, garrisoned by countless Abbasid troops. Once he reached a large city and met the commander, he could completely escape the danger posed by the Sheikh and return safely to Damascus under the army's escort.

Very quickly, the sound of dense, thunderous hooves came from behind in the wind and snow. The Tang army had given him warhorses that were all old, young, sick, or disabled, but Sheikh had replenished them with a large number of superior warhorses in Nisa, so they were indeed much faster.

The sound of horses' hooves grew closer behind him, and Ye Qide looked around anxiously.

"Your Highness, please go first. We will cover your rear!"

Hearing loud shouts mixed with the wind and snow, Ye Qide looked up in surprise and saw dozens of guards reining in their horses, slowing down, and then turning their horses around to form a formation on the frozen river, trying to slow down Sheikh's pursuers.

In the blink of an eye, Sheikh's cavalry charged in amidst a blizzard. The formation of dozens of personal guards was almost instantly knocked away by the impact, blood splattering and warhorses neighing, but this did not slow Sheikh down in the slightest.

Ye Qide kept turning his head to look, and seeing his personal guards so bravely sacrificed, he couldn't help but feel his heart surge with emotion and his eyes welled up with tears.

But along with the emotion came an even greater fear—the enemy's shouts had already reached their ears!

Sheikh spurred his horse on, white breath billowing from its mouth and nostrils, its mane leaping and billowing. The horse grew faster and faster, and Sheikh brandished his whip, lashing its rump repeatedly, shouting, "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Whoever rescues the prince will be rewarded with a hundred gold pieces!"

The officers and soldiers following behind were increasingly puzzled: they were shouting "Rescue His Highness the Prince," but their actions didn't seem like those of someone who was dutifully "rescuing" someone. The prince was running away as fast as he could, avoiding them more than he was avoiding the Tang army!

It's more accurate to call it a "capture" than a "rescue"...

Sheikh chased faster and faster, and Ye Qide's figure could be vaguely seen in the wind and snow. He felt much more at ease. As long as he captured Ye Qide, confirmed his crime of colluding with the Tang army, and sent him back to Damascus, it would be like having a "rare commodity" in his hands. He could not only completely seize the initiative, but also exchange it for money and resources.

The blame for the defeat at Mulu City can be wiped clean, and there is even a possibility that we can go further!
He grew increasingly excited, brandishing his riding whip and shouting, "Your Highness, please wait!"

As Ye Qide's figure became clearer and clearer, suddenly countless dark figures emerged from the swirling snow and attacked from the diagonal front. A troop of soldiers, wearing black helmets and armor with red plumes on their helmets leaping like fire in the snow, crashed into their own charging formation. In an instant, men and horses fell, a gruesome sight. Countless Arab cavalrymen were knocked over onto the river.

"Armored cavalry!"

Someone shouted, and all the Arab soldiers panicked. Those who fell from their horses squatted on the ground, covering their heads and daring not to resist, while those still on horseback quickly reined in their horses and retreated at top speed.

In the repeated wars with the Tang Dynasty, apart from firearms, the Tang army's armored cavalry was the most feared weapon of the Arabs. This type of soldier, with both men and horses fully armored and unparalleled in bravery, was simply a deadly weapon on the battlefield, impervious to swords and spears, and rampaging without fear.

But with this delay, Ye Qide had already disappeared without a trace...

Sheikh's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He pointed his riding whip at the heavily armored cavalry that had suddenly appeared in the snow and blocked the riverbed, and roared, "The Tang people are untrustworthy, despicable and shameless! Having accepted my ransom, why did they let Ye Qide escape?"

The leading Tang general, clearly fluent in Arabic, gripped his reins and stepped forward, shouting, "Lord, stop spouting nonsense and making false accusations! We are merely here to guard the area around Mulu City and ensure its safety from bandits. What does it have to do with you? As for the claim that Ye Qide escaped, that's utterly absurd. With this heavy snow and freezing conditions, where is Ye Qide?"

"Oh dear! The Tang people are treacherous! I'm so angry!"

Sheikh was so angry that he yelled and nearly fell off his horse.

"Since you let Ye Qide go, then return the gold coins!"

The thought that he had almost plundered the entire city of Nisa and even suffered infamy to collect these gold coins, only to lose both his wealth and his people now, made Sheikh's heart ache so much that he could hardly breathe.

The Tang general, his iron-clad mask gleaming like a demon, was ruthless and cold: "We are merely ordered to guard this place and maintain the safety of Mulu City. If the city lord has any matters to discuss, please consult with the general. Now, city lord, please leave immediately with your men, otherwise I will consider you a threat to the safety of Mulu City and launch an attack. You will bear the consequences!"

Sheikh forced himself to calm down, exhaled, and without saying a word turned his horse around, whipped it, and galloped towards Shawoji.

Upon returning to the market town, they discovered that the Tang army was still there...

Ignoring the danger of being captured by the Tang army, Xie He rode forward to confront Wang Xiaojie.

"The Tang people have no integrity whatsoever, how can they be so shameless? Now that they have released Ye Qide, return the ransom immediately!"

Wang Xiaojie laughed and said, "Why is the city lord being so unreasonable? We have already released the people as agreed, so naturally we should collect the ransom. As for why your prince escaped alone, what does that have to do with us?"

Sheikh was furious: "Not only did you let Yezid escape, but you even sent troops to stop me from pursuing him. Have you no shame?"

Wang Xiaojie's face darkened, and he sneered, "Words can be dangerous, so you'd better watch your mouth! In any case, we released the people and took the money as agreed. Everything else is none of our business. If you continue to cause trouble and damage the reputation of the Tang army, believe me, I'll kill you right now and then raze Nisa City to the ground."

Xie He was furious, but he also knew that he had been badly tricked by the Tang army this time.

Under such icy conditions, the Tang army's long march to attack Nisa would inevitably result in heavy losses, something the Tang army desired. However, if the Tang army truly went berserk and launched a reckless attack on Nisa, then his troops would likely be completely annihilated within the city. Even if they escaped, they would surely freeze to death in the wilderness, making it impossible for them to survive the journey around the mountains to Persia…

……

Upon returning to Nisa, Sheikh, still furious, had several slaves beaten to death and sat in his tent, his face full of sorrow.

It was one thing for the Tang people to swallow the gold coins, after all, money is just an external thing. As long as he kept his position, he would eventually earn it back double. But Ye Qide's escape seemed to have planted a thorn in his heart. As long as Ye Qide returned to Damascus, in order to cover up his crimes of continuous defeats and capture, they would definitely distort the truth and shift all the blame onto him.

How could he explain himself, and how could he face the Caliph's wrath?

The situation has now reversed, completely different from the previous plan to keep Ye Qide under control.

Big trouble...

I just hope that Ye Qide will panic and freeze to death in this icy wasteland.

*****
The joys and sorrows of life are always different. While Nisa was shrouded in gloom and morale was low, Mulu was filled with laughter and jubilation. Not only were the Tang army overjoyed at acquiring so much gold, but even the city's merchants felt reassured seeing cartloads of provisions. After all, if the Tang army's supplies were insufficient, they, the merchants, would inevitably have to pay their share…

Inside the city lord's palace.

Wang Xiaojie vividly recounted how Xiehe flew into a rage and how he was incompetently furious, clapping and laughing heartily at the parts he enjoyed.

Lu Dongzan, drinking wine to the side, asked Xue Rengui, "Since we've gone to so much trouble, why not just send troops to capture Nisa?"

Xue Rengui said, "Our expedition to the Abbasid Caliphate, with our forces aimed directly at Damascus, was not actually intended to conquer cities and territories. The Tang Dynasty has little interest in the cities and territories of Transoxiana, as they are too far from our homeland and difficult to supply. What we conquer today may be lost tomorrow. The Tang army has always been fearless and willing to die on the battlefield to protect our homeland, but we are unwilling to shed our blood in vain in this foreign land that we know we cannot occupy but are greedily pursuing."

Lu Dongzan understood: "Instead of losing our soldiers in this freezing weather at Nisa, we should wait until spring and launch a full-scale attack. Not only will Nisa fall in one fell swoop, but Sheikh and his army will also be completely annihilated."

"That's right! The real intention of this operation is to kill the enemy's manpower, strike once and for all, and then flee far away. We will neither engage in offensive and defensive battles with the enemy, nor engage in large-scale open field battles. Mulu City is an exception, because we must capture a city to recuperate and get through the harsh winter. As for other cities, the Tang army has no interest in them."