Three hundred miles southeast of the Caspian Sea, Imamrud
This is the largest city on the southeast side of the Caspian Sea and the largest city within hundreds of miles.
After nearly two months of long journey, Li Xiang finally led the army here. They are now less than 5,000 meters away from the city. The sound of trumpets can be heard in the city. Judging from the rapid rhythm, it should be a call for all people to prepare for battle.
The city lord, Mahamil, led his men up the city wall. He couldn't believe the Tang army was there. Hadn't they been heading towards the capital? That place was thousands of miles away.
"Lord City Lord, look! This is truly the Tang army, bearing the Tang Dynasty Li Wang Banner."
The men finally saw clearly that the Tang army appeared in their southeast direction. Judging from the current formation, there were at least more than 10,000 people, and they were very powerful.
They were not in the heartland of the Arab Empire, and were also conquered by the Arab Empire's army. They originally thought that the Tang army's target was not them. After all, their place was not very important. As long as they could capture the Arab Empire's royal city, they would naturally be unable to resist. But they did not expect that the Tang army would actually come to kill them.
"Do you think I'm blind? Do you think I didn't see clearly? Why don't you quickly mobilize all the forces inside and outside the city and send all the young and strong men to defend the city."
Mahamil said loudly. Although he couldn't believe that all this was true, he had to hurry up. If he didn't prepare for war, the Tang army would be able to attack at any time. He also had connections in the Arab Royal City. Supplies had been continuously transported there during this period, causing them to be very weak.
Originally, the city had a population of 300,000, including 45,000 soldiers of various types, and could recruit more than 20,000 more at any time.
But these numbers are from the past and have nothing to do with them now. Ever since the war started with the Anton Governor's Office, they have been recruiting young people according to the orders from above, and now they have no more than 30,000 people available.
The most important thing is that there are not many weapons in the warehouse. When the third prince was fighting, he looted all the surrounding big cities in order to defeat the Tang army in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, the third prince was ambitious but lacked talent, and most of his troops were destroyed by the Tang army. As for the supplies taken away from them, it is estimated that they were all donated to the Tang court.
The people in the city were still living peacefully when they suddenly heard the sound of a bell on the city wall. When the bell rang, they knew that a deadly enemy had appeared outside the city. How could this be possible? The Arab Empire was extremely powerful. Although we were conquered by them, no one dared to attack the Arab Empire's land. All the people knew this.
Although the taxes of the Arab Empire were a little heavy, the local people could still bear it by tightening their belts. The main reason was that it was relatively safe. The problem of wars among the surrounding countries had long since disappeared. As long as you obeyed the management of the Arab Empire, they would be responsible for your safety, which was very satisfactory to all the people.
During the more than ten years of occupation by the Arab Empire, the local people have become accustomed to such a life. While being exploited by the Arab Empire, they have lived a peaceful life. Except for being conscripted to fight in the past two years, they have not had any worries. Why is the war suddenly coming to us now?
Suddenly, some people remembered that the Third Prince had once recruited soldiers here and then went to attack the Tang army together. They had also heard from passing merchants that the Tang Empire was the most powerful empire in the East. How powerful was it? Perhaps even more powerful than the Arab Empire.
In the eyes of local people, the Arab Empire was already extremely powerful. Their original Ali Dynasty had tens of thousands of cavalry, but under a charge of the Arab Empire, tens of thousands of cavalry were directly defeated. In just a few months, the original ruling dynasty collapsed, and they became slaves of the Arab Empire.
It was hard for them to believe that there was a country like the Arab Empire. But just as they were doubting it, news of defeat from the front came. The soldiers who were taken away from them basically could not come back, and seemed to have become spoils of the Tang Dynasty soldiers.
Although the imperial court is blocking the news, you cannot stop the merchants from speaking. After several years of verification, the families of those soldiers have also realized that their children will not come back. You should not think about going to the government to ask for justice. If you dare to go, the officials of the Arab Empire will let you know.
Although those people were quite sad, for the people of this city, their lives had not been greatly affected. They were still very peaceful. But suddenly, the bell that affected the entire peace of the city rang, and fear appeared on many people's faces. Was the life of the past ten years about to end? The war between the two empires finally affected us here.
"Send people to Mashhad and have them send reinforcements immediately. Tell them that the main force of the Tang army has appeared before us. Use all possible means to report back to the royal city and inform General Sukhguman."
Mahamil said nervously that once upon a time, he was also a general on the battlefield. He became the lord of the city here because of his military achievements, but he had not fought in a war in these years. Apart from bullying the weak, the rest was hunting.
Now that so many Tang troops have suddenly appeared, how can this guy even know what to do? It's truly a stroke of luck. If it were anyone else, they'd probably be scrambling right now, never mind figuring out how to resist the Tang army. It would be incredibly difficult for them to even calm down.
His subordinates did not hold out much hope for requesting support, because they were the largest city in the surrounding area. Although there were several small cities nearby, their garrisons were only a few thousand people. Even if they abandoned their own cities and came to support, the total army would not be that large.
When facing the armies of other countries, we can even cooperate internally and externally to kill them directly, but now we are facing the Tang Dynasty army, the Tang Dynasty army that almost killed our capital. Can you kill it?
