Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4848 A great victory
"Bang!" The axe hit the shield with a dull sound. Although the shield was not broken, the huge impact force caused Obeid to tremble all over. The arm holding the shield became numb and the shield hit his head. He felt dizzy and the swung sword deviated a little, only leaving a bloody groove on Ibn Atat's leg. Blood gushed out instantly.

Obeid succeeded with one blow, his eyes sparkling, his muscular arms swinging the sword and slashing forward, forcing Ibn Atat to retreat several steps. The Arab soldiers on both sides wanted to come forward to rescue but were blocked by the Azzed warriors. Ibn Atat could only hold up the battle axe to block left and right. In a moment of carelessness, the axe handle made of "camel thorn" wood was cut off diagonally by the sword, and the axe fell to the ground...

Ibn Atat was shocked. This kind of wood was extremely hard and only the swords forged by craftsmen in Damascus could cut it. The sword in the hands of this native of the Azd tribe looked like an ordinary standard equipment of the Tang army. How could it be so sharp?

But he didn't have time to think about it. Obaid rushed forward like crazy, wielding a sword. Ibn Atat was unarmed and could only half-crouch to avoid the sword. Seeing the next sword coming, he quickly rolled on the deck...

Obed yelled, "Get him!"

This is a big fish, the second most important person in Shiraf Port and the most powerful general under Abu Awar. If he can be captured alive and presented to the Tang army, the copper coins that can be exchanged will probably require a boat to carry...

Although the Azd warriors had never heard of the saying "Capture the leader first", they understood the principle. When they heard Obeid's shout, they let go of the enemies in front of them and rushed forward to pounce on Ibn Atat, pinning him down in an instant. Obeid took the opportunity to shout loudly: "Back off, or I will kill him!"

The Arab soldiers who could still stay by Ibn Atat's side were basically his personal guards, who cared about his life the most. Seeing this, they dared not fight anymore, nor did they dare to rush to rescue him. They could only retreat to the side, allowing Obeid to tear off a piece of rag to block Ibn Atat's mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue to commit suicide, and then tied him up tightly.

Poor Ibn Atat, he was considered a brave general of the Arabs, but he was caught off guard and captured alive because of his disadvantage in weapons. He struggled in anger but to no avail.

"If you want him to live, put down your weapons and surrender right here!"

The Arab soldiers looked at each other in dismay, and had no choice but to drop their weapons and surrender.

The Azdid warriors burst into earth-shaking cheers. Capturing Ibn Atat alive meant huge wealth, glorious military exploits, abundant food, larger territory... In short, whatever they wanted from the Tang people, the Tang people would give them.

The Tang army captain slowly climbed onto the boat at this time, grabbed Ibn Atat's face with his hands and looked at it again and again, then raised his head and asked Obeid: "Are you sure this man is Abu Awal's top general?"

Ibn Atat was kneaded and squeezed like an animal. It was very humiliating. He whimpered and twisted his body.

Obed said excitedly, "It is confirmed. I definitely did not recognize the wrong person! This guy is extremely cruel. He not only robbed our tribe of their wealth, but also forced some small tribes around to offer virgins to him, who were then tortured to death. He is simply a beast in human skin. Everyone hates him to the core! There are still many captives here. You will definitely know their identities after you interrogate them."

The normally expressionless lieutenant couldn't help but grin. The man was captured by the Azd Tribe, but as a lieutenant sent to the Azd Tribe to guide the battle and record the military exploits, he naturally had real military merits. Not to mention the rewards, his military rank would at least be promoted by one level. It was simply a free achievement...

"I will record all the captured items and prisoners in the book, and will not miss a single cent. I will hand them over to the navy now. You must not stop, but continue to fight, make persistent efforts, and make new achievements!"

"Here!"

The warriors of the Azd tribe all knelt on one knee and saluted like the Tang army, responded in unison, took a brief rest and then continued to fight.

The captain immediately called over some Tang soldiers, who carried Ibn Atat to the flagship that was advancing unstoppably.

……

The news of Ibn Atat's capture soon reached Abu Awal, who was somewhat incredulous: "Being captured after being defeated in battle?"

After all, Ibn Atat has always had an extremely strong character. He is not only cruel and violent to others, but also to himself. Such a person would rather die in battle than suffer the humiliation of being captured. How could he be defeated and captured?

But the news he received forced him to believe it.

This battle was a great defeat, and the Arab navy in the entire Persian Gulf was almost wiped out. He also lost his general. How should he explain this to the Caliph?

When Abu Awal thought of the torture chamber in the Caliph's bunker and the rows of cruel and bizarre torture instruments, he trembled and could hardly stand.

Buser hurried forward and said quickly, "Governor, let's retreat quickly. Let's retreat to the land and gather our troops to defend tightly. The Tang army may not catch up to the land."

"Hmm? Won't the Tang army take advantage of the victory and directly seize the port of Shiraf?"

Abu Awal was terrified and confused, his mind was in a mess, and he temporarily lost the ability to think...

"Governor, think about it. The Tang army brazenly started a war without waiting for our reply. Since it was an undeclared war, it means it was not a war but a conflict, and the Tang army was also restraining itself. Obviously, the purpose of launching this war was not to go to war with the Arab Empire, but just to get something through the war. The dignity they lost, the property they lost, and the so-called "most favored nation treatment"... As long as the governor agrees to give them all, why would they travel across the ocean to occupy the territory of the Arab Empire? It is easy to occupy the port of Shilof, but it is difficult to expect the Arab Empire of Hell to counterattack with all its strength. The Tang people are the smartest and will definitely not do such a stupid thing."

"That makes sense..."

Abu Awar woke up as if from a dream, and his heart, which had been obscured by the haze, suddenly became clear. As long as he could keep the port of Shiraf, he would have a way to give an explanation to the Caliph. At worst, he would exploit all the people around the port of Shiraf. If that didn't work, he would simply sell them to the Tang Dynasty. If he could collect enough taxes to transport them to Damascus, he could bribe the Caliph's close ministers, and the guilt of the war failure might be reduced to the minimum...

"Let's go, let's go quickly. Let's go back to the Governor's Mansion to gather soldiers. We must stop the Tang people on the sea!"

Seeing wood chips floating and broken boards scattered wherever the "Prince of Wei" passed, Abu Awal had no will to fight. He withdrew from the "ship formation" with his guards, mixed in with the defeated soldiers who had just swam ashore and returned to the port of Shirov. Even though he was in the port, he did not dare to stay, and ran back to the governor's mansion on the high ground. He sent officers to gather the defeated soldiers and gather them near the governor's mansion, waiting to send people to negotiate on the Tang army warship after dawn.

……

The "Prince of Wei" was like a fire-breathing monster, rampaging through the enemy's "ship formation", invincible. As it went deeper and deeper into the "ship formation", its indestructible power had already frightened the enemy, who either ran backwards from the ships or swam to the shore from the water. The Arab sailors had no desire to fight and were completely defeated.

Only the scattered "ship formation" was left, broken and shattered by the ravages of the "King of Wei", with fragments floating...

The remaining "ship formation" looked like a huge burning torch, reflecting the sea water in an orange-red color.

As the subsequent Tang army warships either followed the "Prince of Wei" to break up the entire "ship formation" or outflanked from both wings to cut off their retreat, the Arab sailors either surrendered or fled for their lives, ending this short but magnificent naval battle.

The Tang army navy then split into two groups. One group cleaned up the battlefield, treated seriously wounded enemy soldiers, rescued soldiers who fell into the water, and towed away intact warships. The other group approached the dock and lined up in a row, using the ship's artillery to bombard the port with several rounds of salvos to intimidate the enemy.

When the damaged warships on the sea sank and the intact warships were towed away, the sky in the east began to turn pale. The sun shone on the remaining wooden boards and debris on the sea, and the waves were sparkling and surging. These were the only remaining traces after the war.

The soldiers of the Tang army stood on the bow and cheered. This naval battle fought across the ocean for the sake of the national prestige of the Tang Dynasty against a great power of the time ended with a great victory for the Tang army.

Yang Zhou held the side of the boat and looked towards the distant port of Shiraf. The sea breeze blew his cloak, making it rustle. For a moment, he felt proud and fulfilled his ambition. As a soldier who had participated in and commanded such a naval battle across the ocean throughout his life, his name would go down in history and be remembered forever. At the very least, when future generations mention the various battles of the Tang Dynasty's foreign conquests, they will inevitably mention the large-scale and brilliant Persian Gulf Battle.

At this point in life, what does the husband want?
Buyeo Long beside him had also fought a bloody battle all night, his dark face was full of fatigue, but his eyes were frighteningly bright. As a Baekje who had annexed the Tang Dynasty, after this battle, his outstanding military exploits were enough to allow him to completely integrate into the Tang Dynasty, and no one would question him as a "foreigner" anymore...

He walked behind Yang Zhou and asked, "How should we deal with the prisoner named Iben?"

Yang Zhou said, "He is just a brave but foolish man. He will not pose any threat to us. Allow the Arabs to redeem him with a ransom. As for how much the ransom is appropriate... you decide. The ransom will be distributed as a reward. Everyone above the rank of lieutenant will get a share."

After a pause, he added, "The man was captured by Obed, so prepare a copy for him as well."

"Thank you, General!"

Fu Yulong was very excited. Ibn Atat was said to be the second most important person in the port of Shiraf, second only to Governor Abu Awal. It was also said that his family had considerable influence in the Arab Empire. He hoped that they would be able to negotiate a very "suitable" price so that everyone could make a fortune.

Yang Zhou pointed to the port of Shiraf in the distance and said, "Leave 50 warships to blockade the port and prepare to launch an attack at any time. No ships are allowed to enter or leave. Those who disobey the order will be sunk by artillery! The rest of the warships will follow me back to the port of Meixun to rest. We will wait for Abu Awal to send someone to negotiate."