Chapter 1000: Duwu Silis Ambition! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
In the distance, the Western Turks had long ago vanished. Meanwhile, Xue Qianjun quickly finished his inspection.
”Lord Marquis! It's bad! Sir Chen Bin has gone missing! We've searched the entire camp, but we didn't find him!'
”What?!!”
Wang Chong instantly paled at his words, and even Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli looked over in consternation. Although they didn't have a very deep understanding of Wang Chong's subordinates, they did know the name of Chen Bin. He was the commander of Wang Chong's ballista army, a role in which he was very proficient. Under his command, the same ballistae displayed a completely different level of power. He had an extremely important status in Wang Chong's army.
Although he was not charging the enemy along with other Tang soldiers, many of the Arabs, Tibetans, and Turks that had died in this battle had fallen at his hand. He had truly rendered great service and was an extremely crucial individual.
The lack of this person would have an enormous effect on this Battle of Talas!
”Search again! Have you searched inside Talas, within the walls? And also… call over the ballista soldiers! And also Chen Bin's guards. Do not even they know where Chen Bin is?”
Wang Chong's voice turned harsh and severe.
”Yes!”
The messenger's face showed a hint of nervousness. The marquis was rarely this harsh, but everyone knew that Chen Bin's disappearance was no laughing matter.
The messenger quickly departed, and the entire army began to implement Wang Chong's order. Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and their own subordinates also did not just stand around. The result of the second inspection was soon produced, though no one wished to hear the result.
It had been confirmed that when withdrawing, Duwu Sili had taken a person with him, and this person was Chen Bin! Because Chen Bin had been injured while dealing with the Skyquaking Giants, he had been lying on the ground, mixed in with the wounded and dead. Thus, when Duwu Sili left with him, it had not attracted too much attention.
And when the majority of the wounded were moved into Talas and other heavily guarded areas, the ballista soldiers believed that he had already been taken into the city. Put together with the chaos of the battle and that everyone only had time to think about themselves, they did not have the time to notice these things. Thus, the fact that Chen Bin had been taken hostage remained undiscovered for a time.
This news was like a bomb exploding in everyone's minds. The atmosphere instantly turned heavy, with people like Zhang Shouzhi all showing grim expressions.
”What I don't understand is that Duwu Sili is the famed Celestial Wolf Great General, one of the three strongest Great Generals of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Why would he take Chen Bin hostage?”
The third-ranked commander of the Anxi Protectorate army, Xi Yuanqing, suddenly spoke from his position next to Cheng Qianli. He had only rushed over when he heard the news. His deepest impression of Chen Bin had been the scene when he was efficiently and callously cutting down the Arabs while commanding the ballista army.
Although his level of martial arts was not high, the abilities he had displayed left many stronger generals in the dust. But Xi Yuanqing still did not understand why the mighty Celestial Wolf Great General had taken Chen Bin hostage.
”Could it be that Duwu Sili took Chen Bin away to learn the secrets of the ballistae and create his own ballista army?” Xi Yuanqing said.
”Impossible!”
Xi Yuanqing was immediately interrupted by Zhang Shouzhi.
”Ballistae have always been one of the highest secrets of the Great Tang. A diagram is required to build a ballista. It's not something that you can build just by looking at its exterior. If you did that, you would just get a giant iron crossbow at best. Moreover, that's a matter to be handled by craftsmen, while soldiers are responsible for the actual fighting. Chen Bin might be the commander of the ballistae, but he doesn't have the diagram on him. It would be impossible for Duwu Sili to obtain the secret of the ballistae from him.
”In addition, the ballistae required a high level of skill in forging and a complete system of smithing. This is not something a steppe empire like the Western Turks can realize. Even if they did get their hands on the ballista diagram, it would be useless in their hands! They wouldn't be able to forge even one ballista!”
Zhang Shouzhi's expression was firm. In the field of smithing, his authority was absolute. The construction of the City of Steel and the realization of the giant ballista both raised Zhang Shouzhi's reputation to incredible levels, and he was an undisputed grandmaster of the field. This was particularly true with regards to the construction of the grand project that was the City of Steel. As he had overseen the entire project, he had achieved an almost divine status in the hearts of many craftsmen.
If he said that the Western Turkic Khaganate could not build a ballista even with the diagram, then this was the case.
”But what if the Western Turkic Khaganate cooperates with Arabia to build ballistae?” another officer of the Anxi Protectorate army asked.
The Western Turks, Tibetans, and Arabs were currently in a three-way alliance. Everyone feared a worst-case scenario where the Western Turks collaborated with the Arabs.