The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  The Karluks had colluded with the Arabs, and Wanhe Peiluo had been executed when the matter was exposed. The Karluks were currently facing a crisis of confidence. If they overstepped their bounds and provoked the Great Tang, the Karluks might face a total collapse.

  Just when Guli was filled with despair and panic, an energetic voice rang out. “Guli is correct. Being attacked from both the back and the front is a major taboo in military strategy. If this problem is not resolved, we will find it very difficult to fight the Arabs with complete focus.” Wang Chong had chosen this moment to agree with Guli’s words.

  “Lord Protector-General!”

  Guli immediately relaxed as if he had seen a sliver of hope. Those who didn’t know about Wang Chong would only see his seventeen-year-old appearance. However, anyone who understood him knew that this was a young Protector-General of the same status as Gao Xianzhi, perhaps even higher. After all, the more than one hundred thousand soldiers outside the city were under his command.

  “But this problem isn’t too difficult. Abu Muslim might be able to get an endless stream of reinforcements from Arabia, but the same isn’t true for the other side.”

  Wang Chong spoke with a firm expression, his gaze like a staunch pillar of rock that would never waver or topple no matter what challenged it. This was an infectious gaze that imbued anyone that it looked upon with conviction and resolve.

  “The Tibetans and Western Turks brought around one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers with them. In the first battle, they lost more than forty thousand, leaving them with only around seventy thousand. Starting from now, Dalun Ruozan will be extremely cautious and not take many risks. Any loss he suffers in his forces is one that he can’t recover from. And if I remember correctly, the Mutri Great Cavalry were charged with guarding Ü-Tsang’s royal capital. Nothing has happened in the royal capital, but the Mutri Great Cavalry have appeared outside Talas. If my guess is correct, Dalun Ruozan has defied the Tsenpo’s orders and privately gathered this army! It’s impossible for him to get any reinforcements from Ü-Tsang.”

  Buzz!

  Everyone was left dazed by Wang Chong’s words; even Gao Xianzhi’s eyes flew wide open. In this battle, they had only taken note of what was happening in the battle, but not about what was going on beyond its confines. Even Gao Xianzhi was no exception.

  It wasn’t that he wouldn’t have been able to notice such a detail, but there were too many things to be taken care of in the Anxi Protectorate army. In terms of strategic outlook, Wang Chong was far more sensitive than all the generals in the room, even Gao Xianzhi.

  “You are saying that this is a private war?” Gao Xianzhi thoughtfully said.

  “Correct!” Wang Chong lightly said, his eyes so profound that they seemed able to see through all things. “Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang lost in the war of the southwest, and Dusong Mangpoje lost at the triangular gap. These three lost almost all their men in their defeats. No matter how open-minded the Tsenpo is, he would never give them more soldiers in so short a time. In addition, if this really had been the Tsenpo’s intention, he would never have sent a mere seventy thousand soldiers. Besides that, although Duwu Sili is hailed as the Celestial Wolf Great General and is a formidable fighter, he only brought forty thousand soldiers with him as well as many wolves from the Turkic steppe. In my view, it’s obvious that Ishbara Khagan is only testing the waters.

  “The Western Turkic Khaganate will not be sending reinforcements!”

  Those who made more calculations in the temple would win while those who made less would face defeat. A Great General not only needed to take into account what he could see on the battlefield, but also what was going on outside it. This included logistics, reinforcements, resupply, politics, and many other factors. In this war, Wang Chong was also focusing on what lay beyond the war zone.

  Regardless of what Dalun Ruozan wished, Wang Chong had already grasped the information he had needed from the battle just now. This battle was actually Dalun Ruozan’s own idea, and his actual situation was not as glorious as it seemed.

  Wang Chong had clearly and concisely analyzed the current situation, and the hall fell quiet as all the other generals began to ponder this new information. Wang Chong’s explanation was gradually beginning to clear up the seemingly complicated and disadvantageous situation.

  “As for the Arabs, although Talas is closer to Arabia, don’t forget that we are also not fighting alone. Behind us is the entire Great Tang. If we can hold on for a little longer, we will also have an endless stream of reinforcements! In this way, we’re completely different from the Turks and the Tibetans.”

  Wang Chong spoke with such weight that his words seemed to thump against the floor.

  The mood in the hall relaxed, with even Banahan and Guli feeling energized. It was true that while Abu Muslim had the enormous Arabian Empire backing him, the Anxi Protectorate army had the massive Great Tang Empire.

  Even in the distant Western Regions, the Great Tang possessed a thunderous reputation. This was why many of its mercenaries were willing to fight alongside it against the Arabs.

  “Lord Protector-General speaks the truth. I am confident that no matter what, the Great Tang will be the ultimate victor. Our Karluk Tribe swears an oath to follow the Great Tang until the end!”

  Guli gave Wang Chong a grateful glance, seizing the chance to express his loyalty. If not for Wang Chong’s timely words, he might have ended up as the target of everyone in the room. He was gradually beginning to admire this newly-arrived Qixi Protector-General.

  “Enough. Leave that for later. We need to first discuss how we should handle the night. If my guess is correct, Abu Muslim and Dalun Ruozan will definitely try something in the middle of the night.”

  Wang Chong spoke with his eyes fixed on the model.

  “Ah?”

  Guli was astonished and asked in confusion, “Milord, will there not be any fighting in the afternoon?”

  Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, and Cheng Qianli all chuckled at this question. Although Guli had taken Wanhe Peiluo’s seat and become chief of the Karluks, his military intuition and grasp of strategy were clearly lacking.

  “Relax. If Abu Muslim was intending to fight in the afternoon, he wouldn’t have retreated in the morning.”

  Wang Chong waved his hand and gave a careless smile.

  “And he also has duties to take care of after the battle. It’s not possible for him to start another battle so soon after the last. Even if he were willing, Dalun Ruozan definitely wouldn’t agree. All his focus will be on a night raid!”

  The superior general broke the enemy’s schemes. Any general who came off badly in a daytime battle would begin to consider launching an attack at night. A night assault had many advantages. For example, the enemy would not be able to remain vigilant for the entirety of the night, and the more intense the battle during the day was, the drowsier they would be at night.

  The cover of darkness would also allow the army to more easily approach while also lowering the accuracy of archers and ballistae.

  “This truly is the case. With my understanding of Abu Muslim, he’s an extremely aggressive person who would never let go a chance to attack at night. In addition, Dalun Ruozan definitely will have made his own preparations. Thus, the risks at night are no smaller than those during the day. But this can also be a chance for us,” Anxi Protector-General Gao Xianzhi considered.

  “In war, there’s no such thing as too much deception. Although we don’t have as many soldiers as the Arabs, Turks, and Tibetans, we do have a massive advantage in the steel walls and the city of Talas. Abu Muslim doesn’t have such fortifications, so if they can raid us at night, we can do the same against them. In addition, we can use such a raid to gather some information.”

  Wang Chong couldn’t help but smile at these words. Many people knew that Gao Xianzhi was a god-like commander who made fierce and swift assaults, often appearing in places his enemies never expected. However, very few people knew
that Gao Xianzhi had another trait: a willingness to engage in deception and trickery.

  Time and time again, he had relied on deception to subdue the kingdoms of the Western Regions.

  From a Confucian perspective, this was a disgraceful trait, but from a military perspective, Wang Chong found it extremely praiseworthy.

  Chapter 929 - Generals Gather, Strategic Deliberations (III)

  Chapter 929: Generals Gather, Strategic Deliberations (III)

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “I’ve exchanged blows with Dalun Ruozan before. Given my understanding of him, he should already be discussing a night-time operation with them. If my assumptions are correct, the target of their operation should be here.”

  As Wang Chong spoke, he suddenly pointed a finger at a certain place on the model, immediately drawing everyone’s attention to it.

  ……

  “The daytime part of our battle with the Great Tang has already concluded, but the nighttime part has yet to begin…”

  At the same time, to the east of Talas, behind the hills, inside a typical golden Western Turkic tent, Dalun Ruozan, Duwu Sili, Huoshu Huicang, Dusong Mangpoje, and the rest of the Turkic and Tibetan generals were gathered.

  Unlike the Tang side, they were not gathered around a topographical map of Talas, but the precious map of the continent belonging to the Ü-Tsang Empire.

  “On the surface, the commander of the Great Tang forces is Gao Xianzhi, but in reality, their commander is the one that we’re all familiar with, the youngest son of the Wang Clan. Given my understanding of him, he will definitely try something tonight. In the southwest, he used this move, and he won’t let such an opportunity pass.”

  Just like Wang Chong had with Dalun Ruozan, Dalun Ruozan had drawn the same conclusion about Wang Chong. These two mortal foes had far too great an understanding of each other.

  “In addition, during the daytime, we lost a great deal of soldiers. Unlike the Great Tang, we won’t be getting reinforcements, so I conclude that Wang Chong will definitely make us the main target of his attacks. He will use every method at his disposal to slowly grind away at our manpower until we crumble away!”

  If Wang Chong had been listening in, he would definitely have been flabbergasted, as Dalun Ruozan had reached exactly the same conclusion from his analysis as the generals in the reception hall belonging to the Lord of Talas.

  “Gonjo Jiebu, what is the status on the fence and sentry posts I had you construct?”

  Dalun Ruozan turned to a Tibetan general behind him.

  “Reporting to Great Minister: the carriages have been unloaded and the soldiers ordered to begin construction. All construction should be done in around four hours.”

  Gonjo Jiebu was an extremely burly and rough-faced general, with a scimitar hanging from his waist.

  “Very good. Make sure that all the soldiers have the passwords for the patrols. In addition, make sure that the outer perimeter has many torches. Any person approaching, whether friend or enemy, must be rigorously inspected. If they are our own men, they need to be even more rigorously inspected!” Dalun Ruozan said.

  Duwu Sili suddenly spoke. “Isn’t Great Minister making too much of a fuss? Isn’t this too cautious for some nighttime patrols?” With his hands held behind his back, he had been quietly listening, but the more he heard, the more his thick brows creased.

  Dalun Ruozan was a Great Minister of Ü-Tsang, and though they had only interacted with each other for a short time, he had won Duwu Sili’s approval. But Duwu Sili found it hard to just blindly go along with Dalun Ruozan’s extreme vigilance. Dalun Ruozan had not even been like this during the battle in the morning.

  “Haha, Great General has never fought with that person, so it’s natural that you don’t know. That person’s art of war is different from anyone else’s. In the war of the southwest, he had the Tang disguise themselves as Tibetans or Mengshe Zhao people multiple times. There was a torrential downpour going on at the time, so our encirclement was broken many times, and our advantage was slowly whittled away until we were defeated.”

  Dalun Ruozan softly chuckled, not at all angry.

  Buzz!

  Dalun Ruozan’s words took Duwu Sili, Shamask, Chekun Benba, and the other Western Turkic generals by surprise. They had all heard somewhat about the war of the southwest, but never to this level of detail.

  “That’s too despicable!” Chekun Benba viciously said.

  The Turks were accustomed to open battles, frank clashes of saber and sword. If the enemy disguised themselves as Western Turks and set up an ambush, the Western Turks would truly fall into the trap.

  “Great General, do not find this strange. Great Minister is only being careful, and there is no harm in being cautious. This is for the sake of the entire army,” Huoshu Huicang sternly said. “Moreover, the battlefield is currently covered in corpses. The Great Tang might already be implementing their plan, taking the armor off those corpses. In this battle we lost nearly forty thousand men. If the Great Tang dispatches forty thousand men disguised as us and launches a night raid, in our situation, we won’t be able to last and will inevitably suffer a gruesome defeat.”

  Both Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang were richly experienced in Wang Chong’s inclination for using disguised troops to launch ambushes and were extremely wary of such tactics. Duwu Sili might not have understood, but this pair felt obligated to guard against the possibility.

  Duwu Sili said nothing, but his brows creased even more tightly. In small numbers, disguised troops were no problem, but a large number was a completely different matter. If that boy from the Great Tang really was so crafty, then these precautions were absolutely necessary.

  “Then we will do as you say and have my subordinates do everything they can to assist you. But if the Great Tang can raid us, then we can also try attacking them. Far better to attack than wait for our deaths,” Duwu Sili harshly said.

  “Haha, in this, Great General and I have no disagreement.”

  Dalun Ruozan chortled and turned his gaze back to the large map on the fretwork table in the middle of the tent.

  “Although the Tang are a formidable fighting force with an outstanding strategist behind them, more than half their number are mercenaries, with the actual Tang soldiers forming a minority of the force. Besides that, they have one other enormous weakness. If we can seize this weakness, we can cut off one of their arms. After that, we’ll have nothing to fear, not even if the Great Tang still has one hundred thousand soldiers left.”

  “What weakness is this?”

  Dalun Ruozan’s words instantly caught everyone’s attention. Dalun Ruozan, Huoba Sangye, Chekun Benba, Shamask, and all the other generals leaned in to listen.

  “Ballistae!”

  Dalun Ruozan smiled as he spat out the word.

  ……

  “Ballistae!”

  Dalun Ruozan had no idea that at this same moment, Wang Chong was repeating this exact word before the assembled generals in the Lord of Talas’s reception hall.

  “Ballistae are the Great Tang’s most powerful heavy weaponry, and the Imperial Court has always strictly regulated their use. In our last two battles, a significant number of Arabs, Turks, and Tibetans were killed by the ballistae. Dalun Ruozan is known as a wise minister, so he must have noticed this point. If Dalun Ruozan does launch a night raid, his target will definitely be the ballistae!”

  Wang Chong spoke these words with absolute assurance, backed as they were by his deep understanding of Dalun Ruozan.

  Unless it was a large-scale assault, a night raid would usually inflict very limited harm, so their targets normally had some strategic significance. Dalun Ruozan would not make an exception here.

  “Lord Protector-General, the ballistae are extremely important. If the Tibetans and Turks will choose to attack the ballistae, should we not consider moving the ballistae into Talas to avoid large losses?” Cheng Qianli probed.

&nbs
p; Wang Chong was not the only one with ballistae. The Anxi Protectorate army also had a large number of ballistae, but these were usually used in an auxiliary role. No one had ever made an army of them as Wang Chong had, nor assigned special soldiers to man them. On the battlefield, the results displayed by Wang Chong’s ballista army were like night and day compared to the ballistae of the Anxi Protectorate army.

  If Dalun Ruozan chose to make an attack on Wang Chong’s ballista army, it would have a massive effect on the Tang army at Talas.

  However, the ballista army was under Wang Chong’s command, and not even the Vice Protector-General of the Anxi Protectorate army, Cheng Qianli, could order them around, only offer advice. In the military, overstepping one’s authority was a major taboo!

  “There’s no need!”

  Wang Chong gave a carefree laugh.

  “The steel defense lines need the ballista teams to intimidate the enemy. In addition, we can’t rule out the possibility that Abu Muslim and Dalun Ruozan could choose to launch a large-scale assault in the middle of the night. Only with the ballistae can we launch a timely counterattack. In addition, without the ballistae, how can we bait out Dalun Ruozan?”

  At these final words, the eyes of everyone in the hall brightened.

  “It seems that Lord Protector-General has a plan.”

  Gao Xianzhi stroked his beard and gave Wang Chong a knowing smile.

  “In all matters, preparation will always be superior to no preparations. Since I know that Dalun Ruozan will attack the ballistae, I will naturally plan out countermeasures. The Tibetans can attack us, so we can attack them!” Wang Chong confidently said.

  Gao Xianzhi nodded in agreement at Wang Chong’s words. Heroes admired heroes, and though Wang Chong was much younger than him, his mindset was already at the Great General level. In his ideas and plans, he was in complete agreement with Gao Xianzhi. Gao Xianzhi could not find this trait in any of the generals of the Anxi Protectorate army.

  “Lord Protector-General and I share the same view. The first to strike is in the active position while the second to strike is forced into the passive position. Offense is the best course of action,” Gao Xianzhi said, his eyes bright.