AHC: Chinese victory in the Battle of Talas

Your challenge, would you choose to accept it, is to make Tang China win the Battle of Talas over the Abbasid Caliphate, and retains control of its Western territories, with a POD no earlier than the year of 730. It could be domestic Chinese or Arabic PODs or PODs that involve Central Asia. Bonus if Central Asia continues to be dominated by Chinese culture but not Arabic culture as of today.
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
Talas wasn't that big of an event; the Arabs hardly noticed it. The Tang collapsed in Central Asia because of the Türks and later the Uighurs. No An Lushan rebellion will really help, but the Tang were ultimately undone by their own civil wars.
 
The Tang didn't take the battle seriously. The fact they took 10000 soldiers and 20000 mercenaries says it all. If they could guarantee the loyalty of the mercenaries then things may have turned out much differently.
From what I've read the Tang were doing very well and may have even won if it weren't for the defection of the mercenaries.
 
This just confused the hell out of me, because all Im thinking is, when did a Caliphate go to war with China? I gotta read more Asian history.
 
It wasn't a war so much as a border skirmish that Baghdad wasn't even made aware of.
Wasn't it ultimately significant in that Chinese POWs introduced papermaking to the West?

Also, that was a really stealthy edit.

EDIT: Two of them!
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
Wasn't it ultimately significant in that Chinese POWs introduced papermaking to the West?
Eh, that probably would've happened anyways; Samarkand and Bukhara were thriving enough that they'd probably attract paper makers at some point.
Also, that was a really stealthy edit.

EDIT: Two of them!
I've been known to be rather ninja-esque
emot-ninja.gif
 
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