The Human Emperor

Arabia was a militaristic country, so even though its people knew that its army had been defeated in the northwest, they showed no sign of surrendering. On the contrary, they were even more determined to have one final showdown with the Great Tang.

“Avenge the Hierophant!”

“Kill all the Tang!”

“I vow to die in battle for His Majesty!”

Countless Arab militia had gathered within the walls of Khorasan, waving around their scimitars and spears, their roars reaching the heavens.

Abu Muslim stood at a corner of the walls, but the sight of the gathering indignant militia made him no less concerned.

Arabia had lost more than half its army in the eastern expedition, and its top-level commanders had been almost wiped out. There were very few people left who could fight.

But the three hundred thousand soldiers he had gathered together with the militia who had been summoned from across the empire made for an army of seven to eight hundred thousand within the walls of Khorasan. This was somewhat comforting for Abu Muslim.

Moreover, Khorasan was a true fortress, with thick and high walls. Abu Muslim had also dispatched his soldiers to reinforce the walls and to search for and fill up any secret passages they found. This fortress was enough for Arabia to hold against the Great Tang for some time.

They just needed to hold out against the Tang siege for ten days in the best case and half a month at the worst. After that, the Tang would naturally have to retreat.

In the midst of his thoughts, he heard the flapping of wings from overhead. A few moments later, the Arab noble who was presiding over Khorasan rushed up the wall with a letter in hand and respectfully offered it, his head lowered.

“Lord Governor, the Caliph has sent word that Arabia no longer has any soldiers to send. Lord Governor, you must hold out against the Great Tang no matter what. In the future, Milord will be granted many titles and become an eternal hero of Arabia.”

The nobles of Arabia had always been arrogant, and it was very hard to imagine one lowering their head to a warrior like Abu Muslim. But Abu Muslim found no joy in this.

He had once been brimming with ambition, anxious to lead his army to the east to open a new frontier. He had never imagined that he would end up being Arabia’s last Governor, guarding its doorstep.

The safety of the empire rested entirely on his shoulders. Arabia had once commanded all the other countries and been at peak power, but now it had collapsed into a state of crisis.

Abu Muslim’s heart was overcome with emotion.

He suddenly somewhat regretted leading his army toward the east.

Abu Muslim looked at the noble and asked, “What is the situation in the empire?”

The noble raised his head and sternly said, “Everything in the empire is fine. There is no need for Milord to worry. You may fully focus on dealing with the enemy.”

“At this stage, you’re still trying to hide things from me?”

Abu Muslim sighed.

“Milord, what need is there for me…”

The noble wanted to deny it, but in the face of Abu Muslim’s sharp and profound eyes, his resistance quickly broke down.

“Milord, the situation in the empire is truly poor. When the surrounding countries heard of the death of the Hierophant and the empire’s defeat, many of them became restless, and rebellions have already begun to stir in places we had previously conquered. The empire is overwhelmed, and not even His Majesty can deal with it!”

The noble dejectedly lowered his head.

Prosperity and decline were separated by a single thought. The beacons of war were lighting up throughout the land, and the empire was beset by problems internal and external.

And their root could be found in that one war. Abu Muslim could only sigh, unable to say anything else.

Even the man who had been hailed as one of the empire’s strongest Governors could do nothing about these dire straits.

Abu Muslim took in a deep breath and turned to a deputy next to him.

“What’s the situation on the front? Have you found out what the Tang are up to?”

“The situation is bad. Of the various armies that joined our invasion, at least four hundred thousand submitted to the Tang and have turned against us. They’ve joined the Tang army and are marching toward Khorasan.

“Based on the time that has passed, they’ll arrive at Khorasan at any moment,” the black-bearded deputy sternly replied.

Abu Muslim was so startled by this news that it took ages before he could speak again.

In the war between the Great Tang and Arabia, Arabia originally had the overwhelming advantage, but now, the combined forces of the Tang, Sassanids, and those traitorous kingdoms had boosted the opposing force to nearly one million soldiers. Abu Muslim was now the one who was outnumbered. Even if he took into account the militia in the city, they could barely be considered evenly matched.

Rumble!

In the midst of his dejection, the earth began to rumble.

Creee! A sharp shriek came from the distance, and only a few moments later, a vast cloud of birds appeared, spreading across the horizon. There were even some of Arabia’s giant birds in this flock.

The thundering of war horses came from down below, and in a great cloud of dust, an army of tens of thousands of soldiers surged toward Khorasan in a torrent of steel.

The sight of this grandiose army caused Abu Muslim’s eyes to widen and his face to tense.

Strength and weakness were reciprocal. After an intense war, not only had the Great Tang’s army not weakened, it had grown to an astonishing size.

Buzz!

At some point, the frenzied war cries with Khorasan had faded away. It was clear that all the soldiers within, including the militia, had noticed the development outside the walls.

The atmosphere in Khorasan tensed as everything fell silent.

“Milord! Look there!”

Abu Muslim’s deputy suddenly pointed at the army, his pupils constricting.

Abu Muslim turned and immediately spotted a familiar figure, wearing golden armor and possessing straight eyebrows and bright eyes. It was none other than the King of Foreign Lands, the Nine Provinces Protector-General, Wang Chong!

“Abu Muslim, are you still not surrendering?” a cold and aloof voice rumbled. Atop the White-hoofed Shadow, Wang Chong rode forward and immediately locked his eyes onto Abu Muslim.

“Bastard!”

The eyes of old foes would go red upon meeting, and the eyes of the Arab generals on the walls truly did go red. Wang Chong had spoken his words in Arabic.

He clearly intended to use his words to lower the morale of the army within the city.

And besides that, Wang Chong’s army had killed more than one million Arab cavalry, making him the greatest foe of Arabia for all time.

But Abu Muslim simply gestured and quickly calmed his men.

“Protector-General, you’ve already won. What reason is there to be so persistent? The Tang Empire and Arabia are far apart. In this incident, we were the ones who erred, and Arabia has paid the price for it. If the King of Foreign Lands is willing to withdraw, Arabia is willing to maintain amiable relations with the Great Tang for all time and additionally sign a permanent non-aggression pact!” Abu Muslim firmly said. As he spoke, he infused energy into his voice.

A moment later, his voice resounded across the entire army.

“Heh, don’t you think it’s a little too late to say such things?

“Why did you not say such things when the Arab army of two million, six hundred thousand soldiers threatened our cities? And besides, can the words of Arabia be trusted at all at this point?”

Wang Chong’s booming voice was oozing with derision.

In the last Battle of Khorasan, Wang Chong had killed more than one million soldiers in the middle of a blizzard. In the end, Mutasim III was forced to sign a peace treaty with Wang Chong, with both sides pledging to never attack each other again. But the Arabs had casually torn this treaty to shreds.

Arabia was a warrior country that found glory and honor in battle. Its words of peace were not to be trusted.

On the distant walls, Abu Muslim felt his heart grow heavy, even though he had already expected this reply.

“King of Foreign Lands, what need is there to press so hard?

“All the elites of Arabia have already died in the east, and Arabia is no longer what it was. It no longer poses any threat to the Great Tang. What need is there for the King of Foreign Lands to so doggedly pursue? Better for you to lead your army back to the east so that we can pay a large compensation as in the past for your losses.

“And the sum is certain to be to the Great Tang’s satisfaction!

“But if the King of Foreign Lands stubbornly persists, Arabia will have no other choice. As they say in the Central Plains, we can only burn the jade and stone together! Better the broken jade than the intact tile!” Abu Muslim sternly said, still making one last attempt.

The Tang loved gold and silver, and the Caliph had said that as long as the Great Tang was willing, Arabia could offer compensation of two billion taels of gold, much greater than the previous sum paid. He was confident this could satisfy the Great Tang.

“Hahaha, you want me to lead my armies back to the east so that Arabia can recover and come back again? Abu Muslim, don’t waste your time!”

Wang Chong shook his head and sneered.

With this said, he waved his arm and ordered the assault to begin.

“All soldiers, advance!”

Rumble! The Tang soldiers, Sassanid soldiers, and the traitor soldiers began to march toward Khorasan, giving Abu Muslim no further chance to argue his case.

“唉。”

“Haaaa…”

Abu Muslim gave a long sigh, knowing that this battle was unavoidable. But his eyes quickly hardened with resolve.

“Pass on my order! Prepare for battle!”

He was no coward. If the Great Tang persisted in its attack, he would think of every way to ensure that it was defeated.

Bang!

But just when Abu Muslim had resolved himself to fight to the death, a heaven-shaking clamor came from far behind him.