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Gao Xianzhi surveyed the battlefield. So, it was over. The Arab incursion had been crushed, the Xi Er (1) valley was firmly in Chinese hands. Even with the Qarluk betrayal, even after the cowardly Ferghanans retreated, the Chinese infantry and cavalry had held firm against repeated Arab, Tibetan and Turkish cavalry charges. Chinese steel and Chinese arrows had slaughtered the barbarians and chased the survivors off the field.

The Arab commander called himself Ziyad ibn Salih. He would be sent back to Chang'an as a prisoner. In the meantime, Gao would have make camp at Talas. More Chinese regulars would be arriving shortly. This gave him many options. He could take Samarkand and Bukhara, he could swing south to attack the Tibetans, he could just simply garrison the western frontier and hold it fast. So many decisions, so little he could do.

But, first thing's first; what to do about those traitorous Qarluks? There would be reprisals, and Gao would enjoy lowering the price of Qarluk slaves on the open market, but in the long term, the Qarluks wouldn't matter. The Arabs were many and determined. Their faith in their God was unshakable. There was no question about it. In some form or another, the Arabs would be back.

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Earlier, a certain commander named An Lushan had been executed for incompetence and insubordination after launching a reckless attack on the Khitans and Xi. The death of one ex-sheep rustler would be of little consequence to the Tang Dynasty.

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Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi was an old man. As old men are prone to doing, he reminisced about his younger days. There some battles that he fought, and some battles that he didn't fight. He did not fight at the village of Moussais-la-Bataille. The Frankish army was arrayed in a square, the ground was muddy and hilly, an attack would have been suicidal. So he decided to retreat southwards. A few of the more impetuous Franks followed, and they were defeated. A mere bloody nose for the Franks. But maybe he should have fought.

Then again, the Umayyad Caliphate needed his men elsewhere. The Kingdom of Asturias was still holding out in the north of the Iberian peninsula, and their mountain fortresses had to be reduced, one by one. Maybe Charles, the King of the Franks, wouldn't have asserted his authority over the Aquitanians if there were more Muslim troops beyond the Pyrenees. But there weren't. There was still an undefeated Asturian kingdom in the rear. Narbonne and Septimania were still in Umayyad hands despite heavy Frankish pressure. As soon as Asturias was pacified, or at least Islamicized, the attack against the Franks would continue. For now, Al-Andalus needed to be at peace.

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(1): Xi Er: The Syr Darya river.
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