After everything was ready on the second day, the Tang army was ready to set off as soon as dawn broke.
Although it was claimed to have an army of 100,000, it actually had only about 50,000 people, of which only 10,000 were Tang troops, and the rest were all Gaochang troops.
Before this army set out, the coalition forces of the Western Regions had already set out in advance. They were fifty miles ahead of the Tang army, and the two armies advanced in two directions.
The armies of the Western Regions understood that they were being used as cannon fodder, but they dared not resist. "Don't you constantly claim to be loyal to the Tang Dynasty?" If that's the case, then prove it now. Stand at the forefront of all the troops. You will be the first to encounter the Arab Empire's troops. Kill them to prove your unwavering loyalty.
In fact, many people in the Western Regions want to remain neutral. According to their thinking, they cannot afford to offend either side, so they might as well not rely on either side and let them fight hard. When they are both defeated, we can then restore our rights to the Western Regions.
Of course, this idea is good, but no matter the Tang Empire or the Arab Empire, their rulers are not fools. Since they have chosen your area as the war zone, they will never give you any chance.
Sounding balloons are constantly rising in order to grasp the surrounding situation in advance. If the cavalry of the Arab Empire rushes in front of us, we will cause some panic. With these sounding balloons, it will not be a problem.
The cavalry naturally rode their own war horses, and ordinary infantry also had camels. If they had to rely on their legs, there would be no need to fight. The area of the Western Regions is really too large, so there must be transportation.
Camels can not only carry things, but most importantly, they can find their way through the desert. If you let the leading camel go, it can lead you out of the desert by itself. This is one of the reasons why we brought a large number of camels on this march.
The Arab Empire also received the news of the Tang army's departure. They were not in a hurry at the moment. After all, it would take at least a month and a half to advance westward from the location of Donghu Mansion in the Western Regions. What they wanted to deal with most now was the special envoy from the empire.
Samarkand
When the Tang army set out, the special envoys of the Arab Empire, along with their army and the vanguard, also arrived. Standing on the city wall and looking into the distance, they saw a group of cavalrymen in black gauze slowly coming over, like black ants in the desert.
"God bless us."
Governor Faisal recited their slogan, and the army in the distance had already come to the front. The Governor's Office put out a full guard of honor to welcome the special envoy of the Arab Empire, their third prince Salman.
If they wanted to attack some ordinary countries, they would only need to send some tribal generals, and would never send princes. You must know that the emperor of the Arab Empire had only three sons, and His Highness Salman might become the emperor, and he was the most likely among the three princes to be named the crown prince.
This time, letting such a prince come to the East really shows their importance. Others may not do a good job, after all, the emperor is far away. But Prince Salaman has his own ambitions. Once he can open up a passage to the Tang Empire, he will write a heavy stroke in the history of the empire, and no one can stop him from becoming the emperor of the Arab Empire.
"Greetings, His Royal Highness."
Everyone in the Governor's Mansion of Anton knelt down and saluted. Thousands of people knelt down one after another, but the city still looked a little dilapidated. When they captured this place, they killed everyone in the city. Although it has improved a lot over the years, compared with the land in the interior of the Arab Empire, it is still a little desolate.
"rise……"
Prince Salaman was very fond of cleanliness. Even after traveling for such a long time, his body was still spotless, which was really surprising. Now that he had arrived in Samarkand, he did not have much contact with his subordinates, but went directly into the residence arranged for him to take a shower and change clothes.
Governor Faisal and his men had been waiting at the door. They had left the court for a long time. When they suddenly saw His Royal Highness the Prince, it was as if they had seen their king. So these people did not dare to be negligent and had to show their sincerity. Otherwise, the court would think that you have changed your heart. Disrespecting His Royal Highness the Prince is disrespecting the king.
Every imperial court has its internal struggles. There will always be some disharmony between officials within the court and provincial governors outside. When you are not careful enough in doing things, don't blame others for taking the opportunity to attack you.
"Please sit down and enjoy some food from home. I brought it specially from my country's capital for you. I know you have been away from home for a long time, and you must miss these things very much."
Prince Salaman asked his men to send some food and drinks, all of which were good things from his hometown. Of course, for these senior officials, as long as they wanted to eat or drink, it was easy to get them. Although they were stationed outside, it did not mean that there was no merchant trade between the two places. As long as there were merchants, any kind of goods could be delivered.
But these things were brought by His Royal Highness the Prince, so they had to pretend to be very rare, and some people even stuffed them into their mouths without caring about their image.
How could Prince Salaman not investigate the local officials when he came to such a place? These people, as representatives of the suzerain state stationed in the vassal state, were simply local emperors here, living an extravagant life. These local specialties from their hometowns had long ceased to impress them; they were just pretending.
"Your Excellency, Governor, I heard that you have achieved commendable results in your investigation into the Tang Dynasty, and that you have even gained access to their confidential information and even bribed some court officials. Is that true?"
Prince Salaman ate a little and immediately got into the work process. In this respect, he was similar to Li Xiang. He never wasted time and always finished the important things first before dealing with the unimportant things.
When Governor Faisal heard this, a smile immediately appeared on his face, and he asked his men to bring a few memorials.
