With a command from the two deputy generals, Tan Li and Luo Quan, two thousand-man cavalry units from the 20,000-strong Tang Anxi cavalry, who were fighting with increasing ferocity, broke away from the Persian cavalry in the battle zone and headed straight for the central command tent of the Arab Empire army in the distance.
These two detachments moved with lightning speed, giving the Persian cavalry no time to react before charging out of the encirclement and heading straight for Turhong, the Arab Empire's Grand General of the Eastern Expedition.
snort!
In the distance, Tursun, sitting firmly in the central command watchtower, observed every move on the battlefield from his high vantage point. The fact that Tan Li and Luo Quan were personally leading their guards to attack his central command did not escape Tursun's notice.
However, for Turhong, who was certain of victory, the actions of these two Tang cavalry units were tantamount to suicide.
He gave a cold laugh without expression, then waved his hand and ordered, "Pass down the order to send in the camel cavalry and Persian war elephants!"
"By the way, let Ersidin and Caesar personally lead the troops into battle and annihilate this Tang army before sunset!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Soon, the mournful sound of bugles rang out once again from the ranks of the Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary army.
The Arab camel cavalry and Persian war elephants, who had long been unable to contain themselves, spurred their camels and war elephants under the command of their respective generals, Al-Sidin and Caesar, after receiving the order to go into battle, and headed straight for the two Tang cavalry forces that were launching a surprise attack on the central army.
Woo-woo!
The massive Persian war elephants, charging at full speed, resembled moving hills, and their roars sent chills down one's spine.
If it were an ordinary cavalry soldier, facing such a massive creature as a war elephant, he would probably have been trembling with fear and would have no fighting ability left.
Back when Saffah established the Abbasid Caliphate, the Persian war elephants had achieved great feats, routing the Roman Empire and the Crusaders, who fled in terror.
In the eyes of General Turhong, the commander of the Eastern Expedition, once his side unleashed the Persian war elephants, the Tang cavalry, whose strength had already been exhausted by the Persian cavalry, would probably immediately flee in all directions.
Unfortunately, Turhong underestimated the combat power and fighting spirit of the super elite soldiers produced by the [Born to Be an Emperor] system.
The two thousand guards, personally led by the two deputy generals Tan Li and Luo Quan, showed no sign of fear when facing the Persian war elephants and the enemy's camel cavalry. On the contrary, they were even more inspired to fight, and charged forward with roars.
"Kill them!"
Moments later, the vanguard of the Tang Dynasty cavalry encountered the vanguard of the Arab Empire's camel cavalry, and the two sides immediately engaged in fierce combat.
Before long, the enemy's Persian war elephants also joined the battle.
A localized battle, in which the few outnumbered and the weak outnumbered the strong, has begun once again.
At the same time.
General Lan Yu, who was commanding the battle from the central command of the Tang army, finally issued the order to reinforce the troops: "Men, convey my order—"
"Except for the garrison (reserve force) and the central army remaining at the main camp, all other armies shall launch a full-scale attack!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Thump, thump, thump!
Soon, the deep beat of war drums and the rousing sound of horns rang out once again from within the ranks of the Tang army.
The remaining 20,000 Anxi cavalry, who were already prepared, also charged onto the battlefield after receiving the order to go into battle. They joined forces with the vanguard soldiers who were engaged in fierce fighting and annihilated the Persian cavalry.
By this point in the fierce battle, the Tang Dynasty had deployed 40,000 cavalry, leaving only 2,000 garrison troops to guard the main camp and 8,000 central troops to protect the general and the banner.
Meanwhile, the Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary force also deployed 200,000 troops, including Persian cavalry, Persian war elephants, and camel cavalry units.
The two armies clashed in an unprecedented battle on the vast wilderness of Talas in the Western Regions, a fierce military clash between East and West.
In an instant, the vast sky above Talas was filled with shouts of battle, cries of agony, and the mournful calls and roars of animals, all intertwining to form a tragic symphony of war.
The fierce battle between the two sides raged from the blazing sun until sunset. On the plains of Talas, the corpses of both armies piled up like mountains, yet the brutal fighting continued.
In the final battle, Lan Yu, the Marquis of Anxi of the Tang Dynasty and the commander-in-chief, personally led 8,000 cavalrymen into the battlefield to deal with the fresh Arab forces.
The situation wasn't much better for Turhun, the Abbasid Caliph's general in the east.
Apart from the 20,000 guards stationed in the central army, the remaining 280,000 troops gathered in the Talas area have all been deployed to the battlefield.
It was only at this point that Turhun, who was commanding the battle from the central watchtower, finally realized the terror of this vast empire, the Tang Dynasty, located to the east of the Arab Empire.
With a mere 50,000 cavalrymen, they faced a massive Arab army of 280,000 men, including cavalry, war elephants, and infantry, and surprisingly, they held their own on the battlefield, even gaining a significant advantage.
According to Turhong's rough estimate, at least 50,000 Arab soldiers have died in the battle at Talas, while the Tang cavalry has suffered at most 10,000 casualties.
The casualty ratio between the two sides was a staggering five to one!
In other words, for every Tang Dynasty cavalryman killed, at least five Arab soldiers had to be killed in the process.
The key point is that on the battlefield, the score cannot be calculated so simply; morale and fighting spirit must also be taken into account.
With such a superior force, the fact that they suffered such heavy casualties against the weaker Tang cavalry had a significant impact on the morale and fighting spirit of the Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary army.
Fortunately, night fell in Talas just in time, giving the Arab army on its eastward expedition a brief respite and allowing the Abbasid general Turhun to regroup and prepare for another battle.
The same applies to Lan Yu, the commander-in-chief of the Tang army.
Before the war, he thought that this Arab empire from outside the Western Regions would be similar to the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, and that the so-called 300,000-strong army was nothing more than a rabble.
But when the two sides actually clashed today, Lan Yu suddenly realized that he had been careless and underestimated his opponent.
The Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary army was no weakling; it was far superior to the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions. Even the Uyghur Khanate, the strongest in the Western Regions, was no match for the Arab Empire's eastern expedition.
In particular, the Persian war elephants in the Arab expeditionary army caused considerable trouble for the Tang Dynasty's Anxi cavalry during daytime battles.
This battle made Lan Yu realize that the Arab Empire's eastward expansion was supported not only by military strength but also by its enormous national power.
That night, both sides sounded the retreat and returned to their camps, regrouping to fight again the next day.
Lan Yu had no interest in hosting a banquet to welcome Guo Dingfang and Zuo Liangcai, who had come from afar, nor was he in the mood to drink until they were drunk. His mind was full of thoughts about how to defeat the enemy next.
As night fell, both sides tacitly began, under the cover of darkness, to clean up the remains of their fallen soldiers.
It wasn't until late at night that the casualties of the Tang Dynasty's Anxi cavalry were finally tallied: more than 8,000 were killed in battle, more than 3,000 were seriously wounded, and more than 10,000 were lightly wounded.
Looking at the cold, hard numbers of casualties tallied in the battle report, a solemn expression appeared on the handsome face of Lan Yu, the Marquis of Anxi of the Tang Dynasty, for the first time.
He even locked himself in the central command tent and refused to see anyone.
Guo Dingfang and Zuo Liangcai, who were responsible for delivering the imperial edict, also looked solemn and preoccupied after witnessing the fierce battle that took place in Talas that day.
After the commander-in-chief, Marquis Anxi Lan Yu, "stayed at home," the two had no choice but to shoulder the heavy responsibility of reporting to the court and the emperor. They wrote a memorial on the Battle of Talas overnight and sent the accompanying messenger, who traveled 800 li in an urgent manner, to leave the camp under the cover of night and report to the imperial city of Jinling.
Meanwhile, inside the camp of the Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary army.
That same night, Abbasid Caliph Turgun, the general in charge of the eastern expedition, received detailed casualty statistics for the Arab Empire's eastern expeditionary army—more than 60,000 soldiers were killed in battle, more than 10,000 were seriously wounded, and more than 100,000 were slightly wounded.
This is a rather glaring number, meaning that more than half of the 300,000-strong vanguard army under Turhong's command suffered casualties in a single daytime battle.
This was the largest casualty suffered by Turgun in hundreds of battles, large and small, since he joined Caliph Safah in raising an army.
Moreover, they were severely damaged by the weaker Tang Dynasty cavalry despite having an overwhelming numerical advantage.
This battle not only changed Turhong's view of the Tang army, but also strengthened his determination to annihilate the Tang cavalry of Talas!
Turhun issued an order overnight: "By my command, the 500,000-strong Arab army that is lying in ambush in the Western Regions of Shi, Ronglu, Gumo, and Beilu must arrive in Talas by noon tomorrow."
"Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"
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