Chapter 1173: Surrender? (2/2)
Buzz!
First, there was silence, and then everyone began to understand, faint smiles appearing on their faces.
”Understood. Leave this matter to me!”
Bahram was the first to respond, a grin on his face. As more and more began to understand, they began to chip in with their own comments.
”How could six hours be enough? Lord Marquis, we need at least eight!”
”That's still not enough! We need at least twelve hours!”
”How could that do? Think about how many rebel armies there are!”
The wall was all smiles as everyone joked around. At this moment, everyone understood what Wang Chong was up to. A few moments later, a letter personally written by Bahram was tied to an arrow and handed over to a Khorasani master archer.
”We've finished thinking it over! Receive our reply!” Bahram called out from the walls, after which he glanced at the master archer next to him.
Boom! An arrow streaked through the air, unleashing an explosion of dust and debris as it landed in front of the Arab army.
Neeigh! An Arab horseman quickly rode up and snatched the arrow from the ground, after which he rode back to the Three Titans of Black Radiance and Hular in the rear.
Fadi, the Head of Black Radiance, opened the letter with a flick of his finger. After just a glance, he creased his brow.
”What's wrong?”
Hular scooted over and glanced at the letter, and just like the Three Titans, he creased his brow.
The demand for surrender had just been a courtesy. None of them had expected the Tang to actually agree, though they had asked for eight hours to further discuss the matter.
”What does it mean?”
Fadi threw the letter to Hular. The Three Titans of Black Radiance were mighty Arab governors who had made their names long ago, and they had extremely high status in the military. If this were any other war, the trio would have never creased their brow. However, the contents of this letter had left all Three Titans stunned and confused as to how to respond.
”Hular, what do you think?” the Blade of Black Radiance, Imron, suddenly asked.
Hular frowned and pensively said, ”This… I also do not know, but this general believes that the Tang are scheming something!”
”So you mean that we should commence the assault on Khorasan right now?” Imron asked. His face was completely obscured by a black helmet that made it impossible for anyone to see his expression.
”This…”
Hular's mouth opened as he hesitated. His instinct told him to say 'yes', but he retracted this response the moment it touched his lips. For a moment, all was silent, neither the Three Titans nor Hular saying a word, all of them put into difficult straits by Wang Chong's letter.
”Lord Marquis, look over there. The four of them seem to be in some difficulty. They definitely never imagined that we would reply to them saying that we would seriously consider surrender.”
On the distant walls of Khorasan, Xue Qianjun, Xu Keyi, Chen Bin, and Su Hanshan were keeping a close watch on the movement from the Arabs. The horses of the Three Titans of Black Radiance and Hular were paused there as if petrified, appearing almost comical as they were frozen in indecision.
”As expected, Lord Marquis's reply has put these fellows in an awkward position.”
Chen Bin chuckled.
”Wang Chong, how do you think they will reply?”
Gao Xianzhi was also observing the situation, and he couldn't restrain his question.
”It doesn't matter to me if they agree or not. Let's just see what they choose.”
Wang Chong held his hands behind his back and smiled.
Wang Chong and the others didn't have to wait long. A few moments later, thwish! A golden arrow nailed itself to the walls, its trembling shaft carrying the Arabs' reply.
The Arabs had agreed to the request of the Great Tang, but they had only given six hours. If the gates were not opened in six hours, the Arabs would immediately attack.
Everyone seemed stoic upon receiving the Arabs' reply, but their bellies were already aching from having to hold down their laughter.
”Write another letter. Tell the Arabs that some of the rebels are putting up extreme resistance and have already begun to talk of revolt. Six hours isn't enough. We need even longer,” Wang Chong once more commanded.
Bang! Another arrow was sent out from the Great Tang side, carrying the reply into the Arab camp.
The Three Titans and Hular were even more perturbed by this reply. On this campaign, they had accepted the prospect of a tense and fierce battle, but this development had taken them completely by surprise.
In normal circumstances, or in the past, the Arabs would have never even considered these demands. They would have charged up, breached the walls, and killed all the Tang.
But everyone knew just how high and sturdy the walls of Khorasan were, and there were also two hundred thousand rebels inside, a significant number. Even in normal circumstances, the Arabs would have to pay a hefty price for victory.
Even if there was a one-in-one-thousand chance that the Great Tang side would actually open the gates and surrender, the Arabs would be tempted. Even more vexing for the four commanders was that even though they knew that there was a high chance the Tang were just playing games, all of Wang Chong's replies were reasonable and serious, making it impossible for them to know what to choose.