"No matter what, once reinforcements arrive, our army will immediately launch a counterattack."

Sayyid bin Humed could not guess the motives of the Tang army, but he firmly believed that as long as his men did not suffer heavy losses, they would win when reinforcements arrived.

He was also wary of the Tang army surrounding and attacking the reinforcements.

Once the Tang army showed signs of leaving Talas, they would leave the camp and cooperate with reinforcements to attack the Tang army from both sides.

Their troops are no less than those of the Tang army.

The most crucial thing is that the Hezhong coalition forces newly incorporated by the Tang army must be divided.

……

The distance between Shuijian City and Julan City is only ten miles.

Once upon a time, one of them was a stronghold of the Arabs and the other was a defense of the Tang army.

Between Shuijian City and Julan City, there were densely packed tents and tens of thousands of war horses grazing in the fields, eating the grass.

After collecting taxes and building a city, Yuchi Sheng guarded the key roads across the hillside to prevent the Arab scouts from approaching the Qianquan Ancient Road.

The first group of strong men and slaves had already arrived, driving cattle, camels and horses to transport grain to Julan City.

Since cars cannot pass through, the transportation efficiency is very low.

Most of the food is consumed during transportation.

But better than nothing.

Li Xuan learned from the surrendered Hezhong generals that there were a lot of food and supplies in Talas City.

If we capture the city of Talas, there will be enough food to feed the army for three months.

Coupled with the food contributed by the countries in Hezhong, the Tang army had a certain ability to sustain fighting.

Moreover, Li Xuan also heard that the governor of Khorasan built a high city called Samakand (now Samarkand), and all the grain transported by the Arabs would be delivered to Samakand.

In the second phase of Li Xuan's entry into Hezhong, he will definitely capture Samagan City, the first city in Hezhong.

With more sufficient food and grass and stronger military force, Sassanid Persia was restored in the Khorasan region.

It is worth mentioning that the Khorasan Province controlled by the Governor of Khorasan is part of the Khorasan region, not the entire Khorasan region.

The Caliphate once had five major administrative regions. In order to prevent the governors from becoming too powerful, Abu Abbas divided it into 24 provinces, each with several counties.

However, the Governor of Khorasan can definitely influence the entire Khorasan region.

"Reporting to General Li, the Arab reinforcements from Samagan City have crossed the Yaosha River and passed Zhezhi City. There are about 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. They are now about 130 miles away from Talas City."

When Li Xuan was looking at a map in the military camp, the messenger reported to Li Xuan.

"Investigate again and report back..."

Li Xuan waved his hand and ordered the soldiers to leave the tent.

"General Li, the Arabs only have 40,000 infantry and cavalry reinforcements, which is like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth. Should our army take action to annihilate them and retake Hezhong?"

Seeing that Li Xuan did not give any instructions, Che Shen Sai could not help but ask Li Xuan.

They have more than 30,000 cavalry hidden here, and they are well-equipped.

A sudden detour to the rear of the Arab reinforcements would be fatal for them.

If they could capture Talas, they could march straight in.

"I got the news that the monarch of the Arab Empire ordered all provinces in the country to support Transoxiana, and their Grand Emir also arrived with 50,000 guards. The governor of Khorasan only has 50,000 troops in Samargan, and can send 40,000, which is the limit. If another month or two passes, the Arab Empire will have more troops entering Transoxiana."

Li Xuan pointed to the Khorasan region on the map and spoke to Che Shensai and other subordinates and generals.

This means that the army they were facing was not the main force of the Arabs.

More just new recruits.

It would be great if we could defeat this army of more than 80,000 and get the Arabs to surrender.

But if the Tang Dynasty wanted to restore the Sassanid Empire, the Arabs would never give up.

Li Xuan wanted to strike a heavy blow to the main force of the Arabs. Even if he did not cause the Black Arabs to collapse, he wanted to prevent them from having the chance to look east again when he was doing great things.

"General Li's intention is that I should keep my central army stationary, and let the Anxi Army, Beiting Army, Karluk Army, and the Hezhong Allied Forces deal with the Arab Army."

Generals such as Che Shensai understood what Li Xuan meant.

Continue to hide the most elite main force of the central army, and give the enemy a fatal blow at the critical moment.

"Not really! The Great Wall Army and the Jinglüe Army will continue to stay. I will lead 5,000 cavalrymen from the Turkic tribes and 3,000 cavalrymen from the Anxi states to launch a surprise attack when the main forces of the front army are engaged."

Li Xuan shook his head slightly and replied to his generals and subordinates.

"We will obey Marshal Li's orders!"

Generals such as Che Shensai and Zhang Xing understood the situation and although they felt regretful, they knew that it would be their turn sooner or later.

Facing the powerful Arab Empire, General Li had great ambitions.

Not only did they want to formally conquer Transoxiana, but they also wanted to restore Sassanid Persia.

Once completed, the generals who follow them will also be famous throughout history.

"Send an order to General Cheng and General Li. When the Arab reinforcements approach 50 miles from Talas City, abandon the siege of Talas. All troops will turn around to encircle and annihilate the Arab reinforcements... If the Talas defenders leave the city, the infantry will turn around and attack the Talas defenders..."

Li Xuan conveyed the order.

There are already many brave generals in the Anxi and Beiting armies.

What's more, Li Xuan joined Che Guangqian and Hun Yu.

He wanted to lure the soldiers of Talas out of the camp and out of the city.

If the Arabs defend Talas with all their might, the Tang Dynasty would suffer heavy casualties.

Li Xuan's order was soon passed to Cheng Qianli.

Even without the Hezhong coalition forces, Anxi Beiting was confident in the troops under his command.

That night, the Tang army still used powerful crossbows and rockets to attack the Arab camp, but the numbers were much smaller.

Except for the patrolling soldiers, most of the soldiers were recuperating.

The next morning, Sayyid bin Humaid saw the Tang army marching out from the city wall.

The coalition forces in Hezhong will go first.

Shiliyehu personally led the Qarluk cavalry to guard the flank.

The four Anxi armies followed closely on horseback.

Beiting's Hanhai Army and Tianshan Army were the rear guard.

The direction in which the Tang army moved was south of Talas City.

"The Tang army is trying to encircle and annihilate our reinforcements."

Sayyid bin Humaid immediately understood the movements of the Tang army.

In order to prevent the Tang army from making a feint, Sayyid ibn Humed took advantage of the lifting of the siege and sent scouts to gather information.

Soon, the scouts from Talas met the scouts from the Arab reinforcements in the suburbs.

The reinforcements were less than fifty miles away from the city of Talas, which further confirmed Sayyid bin Humed's speculation.

At this time, Sayyid bin Humaid had only one way to go.

Send troops out of the city to clamp down on the Tang army's tail!

Even though we know that the Tang cavalry is dangerous, we have to do this!

Otherwise, the Tang army would have defeated the reinforcements with overwhelming superiority, and Sayyid bin Humaidwan would have been to blame for his death.

The question is how many troops should be sent?

"General, we need to leave 10,000 soldiers to guard the city of Talas."

The deputy commander of Talas advised Sayyid ibn Humaid to prepare for the worst.

"We have only about 44,000 soldiers in alliance with the Stone Kingdom soldiers. If we leave 10,000 behind, our strength will be greatly reduced, which may also be a factor in our failure. I have decided to send out the entire army and only leave 1,000 Stone Kingdom soldiers to defend the city."

Said bin Humaid doesn't think so.

After destroying Ziyad ibn Sari's expeditionary force, the Tang army launched a surprise attack, catching the Arabs off guard.

The huge power of the Arabs cannot be brought into play, which leads to the current passive situation.

The Tang army took the initiative to attack the reinforcements that crossed the Yaosha River, and Sayyid bin Humed had to go all out to continue.

Even though I know now is not the best time.

Said bin Humaid had no intention of settling the issue in one battle.

You can try it out first, but don't fight to the death, resulting in a stalemate.

Sayyid bin Humed had already received news that the cavalry guards led by the Grand Emir would reach the city of Samar in two months at most.

Under the order of Sayyid ibn Humaid, the troops of the Arabs and the Shiite Kingdom left their camps.

Only 3,000 cavalrymen left the city.

He sent scouts to contact reinforcements, and the army marched forward in a mighty force to attack the main force of the Tang army.

To prevent the Tang cavalry from suddenly turning around and attacking them, Sayyid bin Humed advanced in a defensive formation.

The spears pointed outward, ready to block the attack of the Tang cavalry at any time.

The Hanhai Army and Tianshan Army, who were guarding the rear, discovered the troops of the Arabs.

They reported the news to Cheng Qianli.

Cheng Qianli ordered the army to slow down and be ready for battle at any time.

An hour later, the Tang army's vanguard was only twenty miles away from the Arab reinforcements.

The Talas defenders were ten miles away from the Tang Dynasty's vanguard.

Already far away from the city of Talas.

"The entire army will retreat and surround the Talas army. The Hezhong coalition forces, Anxi and Beiting infantry will attack their troops!"

Cheng Qianli issued a military order to launch a surprise attack on the Talas defenders.

The Qarluk cavalry and the Anxi Beiting cavalry were left behind to compete with the Arab reinforcements.

It would be difficult for the Tang Dynasty to capture more than 40,000 Talas defenders in a short period of time.

The reinforcements from the Arabs will definitely arrive in time.

The Tang army wanted to attack them from both sides so that they could not take care of both ends.

The Tang army either did not fight or attacked with lightning speed and did not give the Arabs any time to waste.

The outcome will be decided in one battle, and one of the two sides will inevitably collapse.

The Transoxiana coalition forces turned around first and attacked the defenders of Talas City.

Li Siye led the infantry of Anxi Beiting and dismounted to fight.

Attack the Arab phalanx.

Without the camp, the Tang army would have it much easier.

More importantly, the Tang army had to make the Arab reinforcements feel a sense of urgency.

"Woooo..."

"As expected, the Tang army is planning to strike back. The army is in formation for defense."

The trumpet sounded and Said bin Humaid quickly ordered a defense.

Although they were at a certain distance from the reinforcements, they served as each other's support.

The Tang army's plan to destroy them before reinforcements arrived was a pipe dream.

As long as we hold off the Tang army's attack, reinforcements will arrive in less than half a day.

The Talas defenders stopped advancing and formed a battle formation with spears outside and swords and shields inside.

Form a huge defensive formation.

It can be seen that Sayyid bin Humaid had good command of the army. Even though there were 30,000 new troops among the defenders of Talas, there was no obvious chaos.

Said bin Humaid mixed new recruits with veterans.

Although the combat effectiveness of professional soldiers was reduced, the overall strength of the army was improved.

This is the most critical thing at the moment.

Thirty miles away, the commander of the Arab reinforcements, Allen Rafar, received the news that the main force of the Tang army turned back to attack the defenders of Talas, and immediately issued an order: "The army will rush to the rescue at full speed!"

Alan Rafar was very thoughtful. From beginning to end, he did not separate the cavalry and infantry.

They only had 10,000 cavalrymen, which was a disadvantage to the Tang Dynasty.

If the cavalry were allowed to go ahead alone, they would inevitably encounter the elite cavalry of the Tang army.

Only when infantry and cavalry work together can limited forces be maximized.

As long as the defenders of Talas can resist the offensive of the Tang army, their reinforcements will be the force that determines victory.

Little did they know that it was only the Tang army's infantry that attacked the Talas defenders.

The Karluk cavalry, the main force of Anxi Beiting, and the light cavalry, totaling more than 30,000 people, were waiting for the reinforcements from the Arabs.

……

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

In the wilderness, the Tang army's crossbowmen and archers were shooting fiercely at the Talas defenders.

The Talas defenders had incomplete armor and insufficient shields, making it difficult for them to defend against the Tang army's powerful crossbows.

Especially the direction of main attack by the Tang Dynasty's Anxi heavy armored infantry and Modao Army.

The Tang army's two hundred crossbows kept firing from a hundred steps away.

The round shields of the Arabs were repeatedly shot through, causing the formation to collapse. Although the Tang army knew that the Arab reinforcements were not far away from them, they were not panicked at all, and still used the divine arm crossbow to let the Arabs see the weapons of the Tang Dynasty.

The emergence of the Shenbi Crossbow was epoch-making and a dimensionality-reduction attack on the Arabs. The Arab soldiers had no means to deal with it at all.

"Boom..."

Every sound of a powerful crossbow being released made the soldiers of the Arabs and the Stone Kingdom nervous, especially the new recruits who had never been on a battlefield, who felt terrified.

Sayyid ibn Humed could not help it and ordered the archers in the formation to fight back, but they could not reach the Tang army's crossbowmen at all.

The Arabs also had crossbows, but their crossbows were too backward and not as efficient as their bows and arrows.

The shooting continued for half an hour before the Tang army began to attack.

More than 30,000 coalition troops from the Central Plains attacked the Talas defenders from the north, east and west.

The infantry from Anxi Beiting attacked from the south.

The Tang army promised rewards to the Hezhong coalition forces if they won, which boosted their fighting spirit.

Of course, the most dedicated ones were the Sogdian states, Bukhara, and Bukhara, which were close to the Yaksar River.

They fought for their beliefs and sincerely hoped to drive out the Arabs.

The Tocharian states were adjacent to the Khorasan region and had followers of the Arab religion. They did not want to fight for their lives, but under the combined force of kindness and intimidation of the Tang army, they had no choice but to charge with their spears.

With the war situation unclear, they dared not to surrender directly to the Arabs.

The Heavenly General is feared in the Western Regions!
They heard that General Tian was collecting taxes in the area surrounding Jiancheng.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

"Pfft..."

When they got close to the range of the Talas defenders' bows and arrows, they were inevitably shot.

Most of the arrows missed or were blocked by shields and armor.

But some unlucky Hezhong coalition forces were shot by arrows and fell on the road.

The soldiers in the front held shields and spears and were ready to approach at any time to attack the Arab soldiers.

Archers from the Transoxiana coalition forces also shot arrows into the Arab formation from time to time, resulting in casualties on both sides.

"Dang...Puff..."

The two sides approached each other, and there was the sound of metal and blood and flesh flying everywhere.

The soldiers of Sogdia and Bactria all broke out in bloody battles.

Trying to break through the defense line of the Talas defenders.

The intensity of the battles among the Tocharian countries was relatively low, but they were able to tie up many Talas defenders.

And the main attacker of the Tang Dynasty appeared.

Two thousand heavily armored Anxi Xiting infantrymen, under the cover of large shields and holding assault spears, approached the southern defense line of the Talas defenders.

Behind them was the famous Anxi Modao Team.

After them came the other infantrymen of Anxi Beiting.

Horses are just their means of transportation, their real profession is infantry.

The most important thing is that the Tang army's Bro Zhang crossbows and Shenbi crossbows were placed in the gaps between the teams, and they poked their heads out and fired as the armored infantry approached.

The closer the distance, the greater the power of the crossbow.

At thirty steps, the Arab round shield was easily pierced.

Even though the Talas defenders had the most adequate defenses in the south, the defenses were very fragile due to the support of the Tang army's powerful crossbows and heavily armored infantry.

The Arab infantrymen armed with spears kept falling down, and the speed of filling the gaps became slower and slower.

What was most hurt was that a considerable number of the Arab soldiers whose bodies were pierced by the crossbows were wearing lamellar armor and chain mail.

Until the two armies collided.

The soldiers of the Arab Empire finally witnessed the ferocity of the Tang Dynasty soldiers.

The two rows of heavily armored infantry at the front of the Tang army were all strong men wearing double armor. They burst out with all their strength, and there was nothing fancy about their attacking spears.

There is only one action: stabbing!
After killing the enemy with one strike, he put away his gun and made the next attack.

The more than one-mile-long line was on the verge of collapse in a moment under the attack of the Tang army.

Some teams were completely destroyed.

The Tang army's heavy armored infantry continued to advance and attack another team.

After the armor of the front row of the Talas defenders was pierced, the Anxi troops with Modao, clubs and axes, led by Li Siye and Tian Zhen, rushed out from the back and joined the battle.

Li Siye wielded the Mo Dao, hacking left and right like a killing machine, extremely brave and ferocious.

Almost every strike of the sword could kill a Arab soldier.

The fierce general of the Arabs was unwilling to accept the defeat and led his troops to attack Li Siye.

Li Siye killed the fierce general of the Arabs with one sword, which was no different from killing a small soldier.

In a short while, dozens of people were killed.

The sharp Mo Dao competed with the sun for brilliance, and every strike of the sword caused blood to flow.

More and more Modao soldiers gathered behind, forming a sword formation and advancing like a wall.

There was blood all over their battle robes and armors. Some of the soldiers from the Arab and Stone Kingdoms became weak in the face of the gleaming swords and collapsed to the ground.

The rate of armored soldiers in the Tang Dynasty was too high. Without building fences and fortifications, the Talas defenders, mostly composed of new recruits, were completely vulnerable.

Sayyid bin Humaid watched helplessly as the Tang Dynasty's heavy armored infantry and Modao troops broke through his southern front under the cover of powerful crossbows.

This result was hard for him to accept!

The Talas defenders and the Shi State soldiers combined, numbering more than 40,000, were far from a total rout.

"Prepare soldiers, all go to support the southern front and block the advance of the Tang army."

Said bin Humaid was forced to mobilize reserve soldiers in advance.

Now he can only pin his hopes on the reinforcements.

The fighting power displayed by the Tang army made Sayyid bin Humed look worried.

Because he saw that the Tang Dynasty cavalry had not moved yet.

It turned out that the Tang army had long wanted to clash with them.

The goal of the Tang army was to lure the Talas defenders out of the city.

This was a knot that even the Governor of Khorasan found difficult to untie.

The Tang army acted swiftly and caught the Arabs by surprise.

The governor of Khorasan had to rescue Talas during the surprise attack.

Because the city of Talas had the last military force of the Khorasan province.

When the reinforcements were fed with medicine and water and the Tang army turned around to attack the reinforcements, Sayyid bin Humed could not ignore it.

Leaving the city is a must!

This is a conspiracy!

Ultimately, the Tang army believed in its own fighting power.

The Arabs are also confident.

But it’s not enough to just believe in yourself. Whether you are a mule or a horse, come out and see for yourself.

As for the 3,000 cavalrymen of the Talas defenders, they were chased like rabbits by the cavalry led by Hun Yu.

Hun Yu was a very strong archer. He made full use of the advantages of light cavalry and did not actively seek close combat.

After defeating the 3,000 cavalrymen, we will let them see the might of the Tang Dynasty.

The unstoppable offensive of the Anxi Beiting infantry injected a shot in the arm for the Hezhong coalition forces. If they continued to attack like this, even though the Arabs had a large number of soldiers, they would collapse sooner or later.

Each of them was like a chicken with its blood pumped up, and their attack became more fierce, breaking through the Arab defense lines one after another.

Even the coalition forces of the Tocharian countries began to work hard, preparing to ask for a reward with the heads of the Arab soldiers.

Alan Rafar led his troops more than ten miles away from the battlefield.

He received news that the Tang Dynasty was launching a fierce attack on the Talas defenders and wanted to join forces with them as soon as possible.

But the Tang army did not let them get their wish!

Blocking their way were 20,000 Qarluk light cavalry and 10,000 Anxi Beiting light cavalry and elite cavalry.

"Infantry, keep your formation and advance! Cavalry, stay three miles away from the infantry and provide flank protection."

There was no way Alan Rafal could stop.

He wanted to rescue the defenders of Talas. If he stopped at this time, the Tang army would defeat the defenders of Talas and then turn around to deal with them.

The Governor of Khorasan repeatedly warned that the Tang army must not be given the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

"As ordered!"

The generals of the Arab reinforcements received the order.

But they still didn't understand the Tang army's tactics.

"Shiliyehu, please join our army in encircling and annihilating the 10,000 cavalrymen of the Arab reinforcements."

Cheng Qianli said to Shi Liyehu.

The situation on Li Siye's side was very good, so there was no way he would let the reinforcements get close.

General Li has already ordered to kill the cavalry of the Arab reinforcements first.

During the march, the Tang cavalry sought battle, and the Arab cavalry could not avoid it.

Unless the Arab infantry stopped advancing and formed a battle formation to allow the Arab cavalry to reach their center.

However, the purpose of the Arab reinforcements was to rescue the defenders of Talas, so how could they stop?

"it is good!"

Shi Liyehu just waved his hand.

He was more in awe of Li Xuan, and given his status, there was no need for him to be polite to Cheng Qianli.

"Boom!"

The Qarluk light cavalry moved first, divided into dozens of teams, and swept towards the west side of the Arab reinforcements cavalry.

They wanted to use archery to drive the Arab reinforcements' cavalry away from the infantry.

Even if the Arab reinforcements stopped at this time, they would not be able to protect the Arab infantry.

Because Anxi's elite cavalry and light cavalry also appeared in front of the Arab reinforcements.

Once they change their formation, the elite cavalry will immediately rush into the formation.

Throughout history, few generals have been able to change their formations while on the march without leaving any loopholes.

"Order the cavalry to separate from the infantry and lead the Tang cavalry eastward. The infantry will form a battle array and continue marching."

Alan Rafar realized this and had no choice but to order the cavalry to disengage.

Ten thousand cavalry against thirty thousand cavalry, there is no chance of winning.

If we can hold back 10,000 or 20,000 Tang cavalry, it will also be beneficial to the infantry.

The 30,000 infantrymen under his command could not stop and continued to approach the battlefield.

Alan Rafar had already heard the sounds of fighting coming from the north, and the smell of blood brought by the north wind.

The 10,000 cavalry reinforcements of the Arabs galloped eastward.

The Qarluk were in the west, and the Anxi Beiting cavalry were in the north.

The Tang army intentionally or unintentionally allowed the Arab cavalry to flee eastward.

"Ten thousand cavalry will pursue them. The rest will attack the infantry of the Arab reinforcements."

Shiliyehu gave the order.

In addition, Lai Chen and Ma Lin also led 4,000 elite cavalry from Anxi and Beiting to pursue.

Bi Sichen and Che Guangqian led the remaining cavalry to block the Arab infantry from advancing northward.

It was too easy for cavalry to intimidate infantry.

The Tang cavalry rushed towards the Arab infantry from several miles away, as if they were going to charge the formation.

Allen Rafar had to order the infantry to stop raising their spears.

But the Tang army finally passed by the edge of the Arab army dozens of feet away, shooting arrows at the same time.

A false alarm!
Alan Rafar knew that the Tang army was trying to scare him and continued marching.

However, the Tang army's relentless attempts, coupled with the harassment of the Qarluk cavalry, forced the 30,000 infantry to move forward at a snail's pace, and a shadow was cast in the hearts of the soldiers.

At this speed, it would take at least two hours to travel ten miles and reach the battlefield.

To the east, the 10,000 cavalry reinforcements from the Arab Empire had not run ten miles when a cloud of dust appeared ahead.

"Rumble..."

A group of cavalrymen, whose numbers were almost the same as theirs, charged towards the reinforcements from the Arab army.

There were hundreds of riders in the front, with flags fluttering and large banners standing proudly, all wearing the Ming Guang armor of the Tang Dynasty.

"Oh no, the Tang army has an ambush..."

The commander of the Arab cavalry changed his expression drastically.

(End of this chapter)