Chapter 1088 - The Tongluo Cavalry Arrive!
Chapter 1088: The Tongluo Cavalry Arrive!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The rout on the left flank caused a chain reaction, spreading chaos through the Tang army. The center, the right flank, and even the rear were beginning to panic and despair. Even the Divine Martial Army, Dragon Stallion Army, Ultimate Martial Army, and other elite armies fighting around the one thousand silver Arabian war machines and the ballista army were affected.
The Revelation Army’s choice to attack on the left flank was fatal for the entire army. Now that the left flank had been routed, the five thousand soldiers of the Revelation Army could pick any direction they pleased, dealing a destructive blow to the inner ranks of the Tang army and even the rear. And this was not the only effect of the Revelation Army’s deployment onto the battlefield.
“Kill!”
There was an earth-shaking roar as tens of thousands of scimitars gleamed like fish scales. The Arab soldiers that had been kept out of the defense line for so long immediately smelled blood in the water and charged in behind the Revelation Army.
The local defeat was on the verge of becoming a total rout.
As they looked to the left flank, Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and Wang Yan felt their hearts sink.
On the other end, Qutaybah stood motionless beneath his war banner. No one knew what he was really thinking, but behind him, Abu Muslim, Aybak, and the others all faintly smiled. There was no doubt that the Arabs now completely held the initiative in this battle. The Tang no longer had any hope of victory.
Clang!
The cry of a sword resounded over the battlefield as Gao Xianzhi strode forward.
“Wang Chong, we can’t wait any longer! If we don’t act now, the army will be completely routed! Cheng Qianli, prepare for the worst-case scenario. The moment we go in, Qutaybah and Abu Muslim will definitely respond. No matter what results, we must kill as many Arabs as possible, completely depriving them of any ability to advance farther east!”
Gao Xianzhi’s expression was determined, his eyes glimmering with a resolve to fight to the death.
‘A hundred battles fought in sand make worn armor golden, but there will be no return until Loulan is broken1.’ The Great Tang had already sent all its elites into battle. Even if it couldn’t defeat the Arabs, it would definitely inflict such terrible losses upon them that they would lose all ambition and strength to advance eastward.
As for his own fate, Gao Xianzhi had already stopped thinking about that.
Wang Chong said nothing, only gave a long sigh as he unsheathed his Wootz Steel sword. This was definitely not the best moment to strike, and he worried that once Qutaybah entered the fray, the Tang would suffer even more losses than it was currently sustaining. Everyone had seen Qutaybah’s dreadful power yesterday, but the Great Tang had no other choice.
“Order Chen Bin to change the targets of his ballistae. Concentrate fire on the silver Arabian siege weapons!
“Order Wang Fu to take Chen Bin’s place and fend off the Arab charges. He must hold no matter the price!
“Order Su Hanshan to suppress the Arab shieldmen as quickly as possible. I give him only thirty seconds. Once this time is up, he must change position and suppress Qutaybah’s Revelation Army at any cost!
“Order Zhao Fengchen that no matter how many losses the Xuanwu Army takes, even if they all die in battle, he must hold down the Revelation Army! Without their restraint, the ballista army won’t be effective!
“Tell all the mercenaries that the pay will be increased. If we defeat the Arabs, they will receive ten times the original amount of gold!
“Inform all soldiers to prepare to fight to the death!”
Wang Chong issued a string of orders which were spread through the battlefield like a fierce wind. When they heard this order, the Divine Prison Army, Divine Martial Army, Roaring Tiger Army, Xuanwu Army, all the ballista soldiers, and everyone else seemed to instantly understand their fate, but none of them showed any signs of retreating. All of them gripped their weapons and charged fearlessly at the Arabs.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
……
A roar began to resound through the heavens. It was only a few thousand people at the beginning, but very soon, all the soldiers began to add their voices to this cry. In the face of this unprecedented danger, no one backed down, and their will to fight soared into the heavens. Not only did the Divine Prison Army, Divine Martial Army, and Ultimate Martial Army stop being pushed back, they began to suppress their opponents.
“These infidels!”
Aybak’s eyes went wide at this sight. Even though he was their enemy, even though he believed that Arabia had the strongest soldiers in the world, Aybak was forced to admit that these Tang of the east were probably the most powerful and most troublesome opponents he had encountered in his entire life.
Even if Arabia could eventually emerge victorious, they would probably pay a grievous price.
“Aybak, Osman, Ziyad, prepare to move out!”
At this moment, Abu Muslim spoke, his horse suddenly trotting forward as he stared at the distant Tang army.
“The time is ripe. The Revelation Army has shattered the Tang left flank. The Great Tang Great Generals will probably be moving out very soon, after which it will be our turn to suppress them.”
If Abu Muslim, Aybak, and Osman had moved out at the very start of the battle, they would have definitely been able to inflict a major wound on the Great Tang, perhaps even easily destroy the steel defense line. But none of them had done such a thing, not because they had never thought of it, but because all of them were waiting for the perfect moment.
Before this moment, they would not waste a single bit of energy.
Now, everything had gone perfectly according to plan. The Tang would be defeated today!
Clang!
Abu Muslim unsheathed his scimitar. At the same moment, Osman, Aybak, and Ziyad nodded and pulled out their own weapons while they poured mighty streams of energy into their warhorses.
“Haha, the time for harvest has come once more! Abu Muslim, Aybak, Ziyad, let’s do as we did to the Sassanid Dynasty and completely exterminate these eastern infidels!”
Osman bellowed in laughter as he took the long axe from his back, his eyes fierce and savage.
“Hahaha, Abu Muslim, Osman, it’s been a long time since I’ve had this pleasure. Once we kill all these Tang, we will reward the army and then hold a feast!”
Aybak also heartily laughed. He could already imagine how happy the Caliph in Baghdad would be once he heard the news of this victory.
Meanwhile, everyone on the Great Tang side grimaced as they saw Abu Muslim and the other Arab commanders prepare to enter the fray.
Just when Osman, Aybak, and Abu Muslim were prepared to set out, they suddenly heard a massive rumbling.
Gallop!
A massive trembling could be heard coming from behind the high hills on the eastern end of the battlefield.
The almost imperceptible noise rapidly became a thunderous uproar. It was clear that a force of cavalry was approaching Talas from the east.
“!!!”
This sudden event left everyone dumbstruck. Abu Muslim and the others had just been preparing to move out when they heard these stampeding hooves. Almost instinctively, the four Great Generals of Arabia turned in confusion to Dalun Ruozan and Duwu Sili.
If reinforcements were coming from the eastern end of Talas, it could only be the Tibetans and the Western Turks.
Dalun Ruozan sensed their gazes, and in that moment, he had an extremely bad feeling. Although the royal capital and the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple could conceivably have sent reinforcements, the chances were extremely small.
“It’s not our men!” Dalun Ruozan said in Arabic, an extremely grave look on his face.
There was no need for Dalun Ruozan to further explain, as everyone soon spotted a mighty stallion wrapped in sturdy bronze armor appearing on the hills.
Soon after, a massive golden dragon banner was raised over the hills, the five golden claws clear for all to see.
“The dragon banner!”
The dragon claws on that banner made Dalun Ruozan’s mind shudder. He knew the culture of the Central Plains like the back of his hand. A four-clawed dragon and five-clawed golden dragon represented different things. The five-clawed golden dragon represented the highest ruler of the Central Plains, the Sage Emperor of the Great Tang!
Any army that could use the emperor’s standard was definitely not a normal army.
“The Tongluo Cavalry!”
This name immediately leapt to the forefront of Dalun Ruozan’s mind as he finally recognized this strongest force of Hu cavalry that served the Sage Emperor. At the same time, this was the strongest existence left from Emperor Taizong’s era!
“Kill them!”
On the high hill, Brigadier General Chuluohou of the Tongluo Army sat upon his stalwart Tongluo stallion, his eyes immediately locking onto the Revelation Army.
It had been many years since the Tongluo Cavalry had last been deployed. As an ancient and famed army of Tang Taizong’s generation, the Tongluo Cavalry had their own kind of pride. This battle had concentrated the strongest forces of Arabia and the Great Tang, and was being observed by countless people.
The Sage Emperor was watching from the capital, as was everyone else in the world. The Tongluo needed this kind of battle to prove themselves to His Majesty and to prove themselves to the Great Tang, to prove their strength and loyalty. The Arabs would serve as the finest foundation stone.
“Everyone, hear my order! Kill the Arabs! Let everyone know the power of the Tongluo Cavalry!”
Chuluohou’s eyes flashed even brighter than the stars. As the words left his mouth, an enormous will to fight erupted from his body. Boom! A black hoof, glossy and smooth, tough as iron, stomped down onto the hill.
As this hoof landed, an enormous halo covered with countless ancient and mysterious inscriptions erupted from Chuluohou’s feet, spreading across the battlefield like a furious waterfall.
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1. This line is from a short poem by Wang Changling, famous for his poems of the Western Regions. This line conveys the resolve of a general who, despite his army being tattered and yellow from fighting in the desert for so long, has sworn not to return home until he has taken the city of Loulan, a famous city along the Silk Road.↩
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