The first day of the sixth month of the first year of the Zhaowu era of the Tang Dynasty.

The 800,000-strong Arab army, which spanned Asia, Africa, and Europe, finally crossed the Pamir Plateau and arrived in the territory of Wusun after a march that lasted for more than half a month. There, they faced off against the 50,000-strong Anxi cavalry led by Lan Yu, the Marquis of Anxi of the Tang Dynasty.

Inside the ancient city of Chigu, in the palace of the Wusun king.

Before receiving the imperial edict from Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, Lan Yu, the Marquis of Anxi of the Tang Dynasty, received a declaration of war from Turhong, the Grand General of the Eastern Expedition of the Arab Empire!

Inside the royal palace, Lan Yu, the Marquis of Anxi, clad in gleaming armor and wielding a ring-pommel sword, sat on the throne of Tibis, the King of Wusun. His handsome face exuded a ruthless and decisive aura.

On either side of the main hall stood fully armed generals of the Tang Dynasty's Anxi Protectorate (Northern Prefecture), each wielding a sword and blade. The generals all had fierce expressions and were united in their hatred of the enemy.

Under the watchful eyes of the Tang generals standing on either side of the royal palace, a middle-aged man dressed in traditional Arab attire, holding a golden scepter, strode in with an imposing presence.

This man, named Erken, was an advisor under Turhun, the great general of the Arab Empire's eastern expedition, and also the envoy sent to deliver a declaration of war to the Tang Dynasty.

Facing the menacing Tang general Lan Yu, the Marquis of Anxi, standing in the main hall, and the Tang army generals on both sides of the hall eyeing him menacingly, Erken, a strategist, remained neither humble nor arrogant, and bowed slightly to the Marquis of Anxi, Lan Yu, as a sign of respect.

Then, straightening his back and raising his head proudly, he said, "Your Excellency, the Marquis of the Great Tang Dynasty, I have come here on behalf of Caliph Safah of the Arab Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate to issue a challenge to Emperor Chen Huai'an of the Great Tang Dynasty—"

As he spoke, Erken took out the challenge letter he had prepared beforehand, which was immediately taken by Tan Li, Lan Yu's deputy, and then presented to General Lan Yu.

On the throne, Lan Yu casually flipped through the contents of the challenge.

Inside the main hall, Erken continued righteously, "The Wusun Kingdom is a vassal state of my Abbasid Dynasty and shares the same faith as my Abbasid Dynasty;"

"Now, the Tang Dynasty arbitrarily sends troops to invade Wusun, harassing the Wusun people, destroying their fields, plundering their wealth, and even humiliating the Wusun queen to death. This is truly outrageous."

"As the suzerain state of the Wusun Kingdom, the Abbasid Caliph Safah and all subjects of the Arab Empire will never allow the Tang Dynasty to persecute the Wusun Kingdom..."

Erken's rambling speech, in essence, conveyed the same message as the challenge he had presented to Lan Yu.

On his throne, Lan Yu quickly flipped through the contents of the challenge letter. The core message was simple: the Arab Empire was about to launch an eastern invasion of the Tang Dynasty, and Lan Yu, the Tang general guarding Anxi, was to be on his guard.

Either surrender and submit to the Arab Empire;

Either fight back and prepare to face the wrath of the Arab Empire's eastward expeditionary army!

On his throne, Lan Yu casually tossed the Arab Empire's declaration of war onto the table before him, sneering, "Hmph, this Wusun Kingdom and Xiaowan Kingdom, and even the remaining thirty-four kingdoms of the entire Western Regions;"

"In the third month of the second year of the Lingwu era of the old calendar, they all submitted letters of surrender to our Great Tang Dynasty, submitting to our Great Tang Dynasty and recognizing our Great Tang Emperor as the Heavenly Khan;"

"This general has no idea when the Wusun Kingdom became a vassal state of your Arab Empire?"

snort!

Then, Lan Yu waved his hand dismissively and continued, "Very well, as the saying goes, 'If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext.' Since your Arab Empire has already decided to launch an eastern expedition, we can find a reason for you to send troops to the Western Regions."

"However, if you want to take a bite out of the Silk Road in the Western Regions from the Tang Dynasty, you'll need to have good teeth!"

"Erken, you listen to me—"

As he spoke, Lan Yuteng suddenly stood up from his throne, pointed at the Arab envoy Erken in the hall with one finger, and said, word by word, "Go back and tell your Caliph Safah, tell your General Turhun of the Eastern Expedition;"

"I, Lan Yu, Marquis of Anxi of the Great Tang Dynasty, representing the Emperor of our Great Tang Dynasty, accept the challenge from your Arab Empire and Abbasid Caliphate."

"If you are not afraid of death and want to launch an eastern expedition against the Tang Dynasty, then bring it on!"

"see a visitor out!"

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Soon, the Arab Empire's envoy, Erken, was escorted out of the city of Aqqa. Inside the vast royal palace, only a group of solemn-looking Tang generals remained.

Anxi Marquis Lan Yu's face still bore that ruthless and decisive demeanor; he didn't take the so-called challenge from the Arab Empire to heart at all.

On the throne, Lan Yu asked sternly, "Deputy General Tan, have you investigated the enemy's situation thoroughly?"

Upon hearing this, Vice General Tan Li immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and replied, "Reporting to the General, according to the reports from the scouts of the vanguard, the Arab army that entered Wusun territory from the Pamir Plateau numbers only a mere 300,000 men."

"We are currently setting up camp on the north side of Lake Balkhash, about three days' journey from Chigu!"

oh?

Lan Yu raised an eyebrow and asked again, "How many troops are stationed in Chigu City?"

Without hesitation, Tan Li replied, "Reporting to the General, there are a full fifty thousand troops!"

A mere 300,000, or a full 50,000?

From the words and tone of Deputy General Tan Li, it is not difficult to see that the generals of the entire Tang Dynasty's Anxi Protectorate, from top to bottom, did not take the Arab Empire from outside the Western Regions seriously.

Indeed, this was the case. Before the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasties had absolute control and influence over the Western Regions.

The Abbasid Caliphate, founded by the new Caliph Safah of the Arab Empire, is less than ten years old. Its influence and sphere of influence are in Europe and Africa, and it has not yet reached the sphere of influence of the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, for generals like Tan Li and Luo Quan, who were responsible for guarding the Western Regions during the Great Xin Dynasty, the Arab Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate were probably just foreign states with slightly larger populations and countries, much like the Uyghur Khanate in the Western Regions.

Even if such a country were to muster an army of 300,000, it would still be nothing more than a rabble!

Back then, didn't the previous Great Khan of the Uyghur Khanate, Guli Peiluo, also gather a coalition of 300,000 troops from various Western Regions countries, intending to overthrow the Han people's rule on the Silk Road?

Ultimately, they were defeated by Prince Jin, now Emperor Zhaowu of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Huai'an, who led 100,000 elite troops, and were forced to surrender to Prince Jin.

Currently, there are 50,000 elite Tang soldiers in this Red Ancient City, all of whom are veterans who have been through countless battles. Facing a mere 300,000 Arab rabble, wouldn't it be a piece of cake?

What's that saying again? When facing an army of 50,000 against 300,000, the advantage is in my hands!

On the throne, Marquis Lan Yu of Anxi was quite satisfied with his deputy general Tan Li's answer. He nodded and said, "Yes, Deputy General Tan's words are well said; they are morale-boosting."

"What kind of damned Abbasid Caliphate is this? A mere 300,000 rabble dares to invade the borders of our Great Tang Dynasty? They've got some nerve!"

"However, this is for the best—"

Then, Lan Yu changed the subject, saying, "In this way, we have a reason for our Great Tang Dynasty to continue its westward expedition. Brothers, the opportunity to make contributions to the dynasty and expand our territory has arrived!"

"All generals, heed my command—"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Lan Yu declared sternly, "The Arab Empire, originating from beyond the Western Regions, has openly launched an eastern expedition, intending to overthrow the rule of our Great Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions and destroy the Silk Road, which our Han people have painstakingly built up since the Western Han Dynasty."

"We, the generals of the Anxi Protectorate of the Great Tang Dynasty, are all deeply grateful for the Emperor's great favor. It is our bounden duty to guard the borders of the Great Tang Dynasty and expand its territory."

"Hereby, in the name of the Marquis of Anxi and Military Governor (Deputy Envoy) of the Great Tang Dynasty, I hereby issue this order—"

brush!

Inside the main hall, the Tang army generals standing on both sides stood upright, awaiting the orders of General Lan Yu.

Lan Yu said, "The entire army shall immediately enter a state of combat readiness and fight to the death with the enemy forces that have invaded the borders of our Great Tang!"

"Your subordinate obeys!"

The generals responded in unison.

Lan Yu thought for a moment, then said, "My soldiers, the terrain within Chigu City restricts the effectiveness of our Great Tang Anxi Iron Cavalry. I have decided to lead my troops out of the city to encircle the 300,000 Arab enemy troops who are invading our Great Tang border."

As he spoke, Lan Yu stood up and pulled back the curtain hanging on the wall behind him, revealing a huge map of the Western Regions to the generals.

He pointed to a place on the map, which happened to be a place called Talas.

Lan Yu said, "Right here, Talas. Our Great Tang Anxi Iron Cavalry will set off early tomorrow morning to advance ahead of schedule on the only route the Arab army can take into the city of Chiku, and encircle and annihilate the 300,000 enemy troops in the Talas area."

"Next, I will assign specific combat tasks. Deputy General Luo Quan, please obey my orders—"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"......"

Finally, after several hours of tense and intense discussions, Lan Yu finally formulated a battle plan against the Arab Empire's army that was on an eastward expedition.

The 50,000 Tang cavalrymen in Chiku City will voluntarily abandon Chiku City early tomorrow morning and head to the Talas area to ambush the Arab expeditionary army.

With the final battle order issued, the Tang generals in the palace hall departed one after another, heading to their respective camps to prepare for battle.

Meanwhile, Deputy General Tan Li finally had the opportunity to get close to General Lan Yu and report to him privately: "General, should we send a messenger to the Southern Prefecture (Anxi Protectorate) to inform the Marquis of Champion and ask him to send a team of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to Talas for reinforcement?"

"I have a feeling that the Arab army that went on the eastern expedition must have numbered more than 300,000!"

"What if, what if the enemy has a backup plan? We'll be at a disadvantage!"

snort!

Lan Yu snorted coldly, a disdainful expression on his handsome face. He curled his lip and said, "Deputy General Tan, you're a good person in every way, except you're too cautious."

"Is it really necessary to make such a fuss over something as trivial as the Abbasid Caliphate?"

Lan Yu waved his hand dismissively and said, "Our 50,000 Anxi cavalry from the Northern Prefecture (Anxi Protectorate) are sufficient to deal with the Arab army's eastward expedition; we don't need reinforcements from the Southern Prefecture."

"And so, off to prepare for war!"

After saying that, Lan Yu ignored the deputy general Tan Li, who was still standing there hesitant to speak, and left the palace hall on his own.

It makes sense, considering that the arrogant and fierce general Lan Yu would never ask his "rival" champion, Huo Qubing, for help.

Huo Qubing, the champion marquis, was not only the first of the eighteen marquises of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but also one of the strong contenders for the position of military governor of Anxi in the Tang Dynasty. The key point is that he was still young, which made Lan Yu extremely envious and jealous.

Lan Yu was aiming to use the Arab Empire's army, which was on an eastern expedition, to boost his seniority and accumulate military merits. He would never allow Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion, stationed in Khotan, to share in the spoils.

However, Tan Li, who was both Lan Yu's deputy general and a member of the Longcheng Inner Guard directly under Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, had to consider the overall situation.

In the end, Vice General Tan Li once again defied General Lan Yu's wishes and dispatched his personal guards to Khotan overnight to seek help from Marquis of Champion, General Huo Qubing.

Let's look at it from both sides.

While the Tang army was preparing for battle in Chigu City of Wusun, the Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary army was resting on the north side of Lake Balkhash and at the northern foot of the sacred mountain Bawa in the Western Regions.

Turhong, the Abbasid Caliph's general in the eastward expedition, Tibis, the exiled king of the Wusun Kingdom, and Timur, the son of the exiled Khan of the Turkic Khaganate, were gathered in the central military tent to discuss the upcoming military action against the Tang Dynasty.

In fact, the Arab Empire's 800,000-strong army had already crossed the Pamir Plateau and arrived in the Western Regions. Under the arrangement of King Tibbs of Wusun, the army was dispersed and hidden in the cities of several Western Regions countries.

This is why, when the scouts of the Tang army led by Lan Yu were investigating the enemy's situation, they only managed to ascertain the movements of the 300,000-strong Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary force.

Inside the central command tent, Batel spoke up, saying, "General, based on my understanding of the Tang army, the Tang commander Lan Yu, stationed in Chigu City, will certainly lead his troops out of the city to meet the enemy after receiving the Abbasid Caliphate's challenge."

"The Tang army stationed in the Four Garrisons of Anxi has had its most elite Anxi cavalry drawn away by Lan Yu to attack the Wusun Kingdom. If they were to hold the cities, they would be unable to fully utilize the mobility and combat effectiveness of their cavalry."

"Once the Tang army abandons Chigu City, it will be a golden opportunity for our Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary force to annihilate the Tang army."

"Eliminating the 50,000 Anxi cavalry under Marquis Lan Yu would be tantamount to severing an arm of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions."

"At that time, the Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary army can split into two routes: one army will bring the Western Regions kingdoms under its control, while the other army will detour through the northern desert and directly attack the border of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun of the Tang Dynasty!"

Um!

Listening to Batel's wonderful vision, Turhun, the general of the Arab Empire's eastern expedition, was in high spirits. His eyes shone, and he seemed to see countless gold and silver jewels, silks and satins, and graceful women from the Central Plains.

However, Turhong did not forget the purpose of his trip.

He then asked, "Bater, Tibis, you have spent a long time in the Western Regions, you must know the local situation very well. What if you two were Lan Yu, the commander-in-chief of the Tang Dynasty's army?"

"So, where will you place the battlefield for the battles outside the city?"

"Talas!"

Bartel and Tibbs answered almost in unison.