For nearly two months, the entire Western Regions was shrouded in darkness. When catching spies in Chang'an City, it was still necessary to be restrained, but if it came to the Western Regions, there was no need to be restrained at all. As long as the person had a hint of suspicion, he would be arrested immediately.
According to Li Xiang, those who are not of our race must have different hearts. Some of these people may be of the same mind as us, but the majority of them cannot be trusted. As long as you have sufficient reasons, just arrest them and interrogate them.
Facts have proved that Li Xiang's idea was correct. Although there were some unjust, false and wrong cases, they were all redressed in a timely manner. More often than not, these people really had problems, and they were exposed during the interrogation process. If we had shown leniency to them at the beginning, we would probably have no way to catch these people.
The entire Western Region is vast. If these people want to escape, we really have no way to find them. They can just hide in any corner. Where can you find them?
Not to mention outsiders like us, even the local people in the Western Regions have no way to get people out of the desert. There are some oases with water sources in the desert. As long as they sneak in, if you don’t know the location of the oasis, you will probably have to search the entire desert.
The prison of the Protectorate of the Western Regions was almost full. So many traitors were brought out from Chang'an City, let alone places like the Western Regions. Therefore, the number of people arrested was unimaginable.
"I'm confused. What kind of magic does this Arab Empire have? Why do they have such a strong ability to bewitch others? Many people have already gone to Chang'an to pay homage, and now they have become their pawns."
Li Chengyi had just come out of the interrogation room, his body covered in blood. It was hard to imagine why these guys were so strong. Were we too bad to them? Considering the Tang Dynasty's policy in the Western Regions, it was still acceptable.
"This is actually quite normal. If we can infiltrate the vassal states of the Arab Empire, with a little bit of maneuvering, we can also find many people to work for us. They all have the same idea, which is to rely on external forces to gain their own independence. Little do they know that after gaining independence from one side, they will also suffer on the other side."
Cheng Chuliang saw this matter very clearly. When your country is not strong, you can only rely on a big country. As for which country to rely on, it depends on your vision. If you waver back and forth, you will not get any good results in the end.
"Your Highness's order has arrived."
General Moren came back from Gaochang. This time he came back to Gaochang to lead the Gaochang soldiers who had followed the Tang Dynasty in its campaigns. They had been in the limelight these days. So when the Western Expedition was underway, the first thing to consider was the Gaochang army. When combined with the Tang Dynasty's artillery, they couldn't be said to be invincible, but they would definitely not fail easily.
"Capture Samarkand?"
Cheng Chuliang did not read the order. He thought about it for a while and immediately knew what the result would be. This was not a full-scale war, but a local war. But even so, it would allow everyone in the Arab Empire to see clearly that our Tang Empire is not a joke. If you dare to put your hand in, I will cut off your hand.
"The Marshal guessed correctly. We should have set out long ago, but there are too many internal matters. Now His Highness is urging us to march on Samarkand."
General Moren said excitedly that the countries in the Western Regions no longer have the strength to resist. Many people stood up to rebel some time ago, but they were all killed by us. Now we have tens of thousands of troops in our hands, so of course we have to find a strong opponent.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has told us several times that the people of the Arab Empire are very powerful. We killed 5,000 of them some time ago, but we didn't realize how powerful they were. Although they are slightly stronger than other cavalry, it is impossible for them to defeat us.
Now that the order to march west has finally been received, everyone wants to prove their strength on the battlefield. Then, isn’t the Anton Governorate of the Arab Empire a good material?
"Your Highness has given us half a month. During this time, you are not required to conduct military training. There is no need to continue these military trainings. I understand our strength. The most important thing is the supplies along the way, especially the artillery. We can obtain other things on the spot, but we cannot obtain artillery shells and other items."
Cheng Chuliang said with some concern that without the Tang Dynasty artillery, no matter how strong the Gaochang soldiers' combat effectiveness was, they could not guarantee a complete victory. As long as the Tang Dynasty artillery followed, coupled with the bravery and fighting skills of the Gaochang soldiers, they would not be afraid even if they continued to move west.
"Please rest assured, Marshal. I have already set up twelve storage areas along the road leading to Congling. These areas are extremely dry and haven't rained in a long time. They won't cause any damage to our gunpowder. If the supplies from the rear can't be delivered, we can use them temporarily."
The biggest trump card in Li Chengyi's hand is this gunpowder, so on the way to the Arab Empire, we must prepare this first. If I don't have this thing, it will be equivalent to destroying the backbone of the entire army.
"Because we've recruited more transport teams this time, you'll need to bring more gunpowder. The northwest region is already arid, and with the special waterproofing materials Your Highness sent us, we don't need to worry about the gunpowder getting damp."
Although the troops are now well-equipped with gunpowder, Cheng Chuliang is still a little worried. After all, we are going a long way, and if we don't have gunpowder, we are almost halfway defeated.
The enemy's advantage is the light cavalry that comes and goes without a trace, while our advantage is gunpowder that can blow them to pieces, so we must strengthen our advantage. In the past, it was because there were not enough transport teams, but now that the tribes have recruited so many people, why not let them transport gunpowder?
"The Marshal said that all the transport teams we recruited this time are family members. Single personnel are not allowed to approach gunpowder. There is no problem with trust."
General Moren also nodded. The Gaochang soldiers' hope of victory depended on this gunpowder.
