Chapter 43: The Eastern Governor (Second Update)

  Bukhara (now in Uzbekistan), was known as An Country during the Tang Dynasty.

  Bukhara was a prosperous and rich city on the Silk Road, its economic value is immeasurable.

  What's more important is that Bokhara was a place where the East and West intersected, located on the main road of the Arab Empire's eastward expansion. If the Arab Empire wanted to reach China, it had to pass through here, making its strategic position extremely important.

  It was soon after the Arab Empire's eastward expansion that Bukhara was occupied.

  "Go! Go! Hurry up!"

  Arab soldiers drove a group of civilians like sheep.

  The common people support the elderly and carry the young, their clothes are tattered, their bodies are covered in wounds, extremely pitiful, yet they have no power to resist, only crying and cursing, making a weak resistance.

  The Arab soldiers were like wolves and tigers, wielding leather whips to lash out or using curved knives to chop down; as long as the civilians showed any dissatisfaction, they would either be hacked to death or flogged until blood splattered everywhere.

  "Heavens, why have you allowed these brutal Islamic infidels to set foot in our beautiful homeland?"

  "Heavens! Why don't you strike them down with thunder and kill these heretics!"

  The rise of the Arab Empire was unusually bloody, as it was a "holy war", a holy war against those who did not believe in Islam! The Arab Empire promoted Islam with iron and blood during its rise.

  All those who do not believe in Islam are infidels and must be exterminated or killed.

  The people of An Guo have their own beliefs and will not convert to Islam, so they can only become sacrifices in the "Holy War".

  Not far ahead is a rocky hill overgrown with weeds, but in the distance it's all red. This is the blood of the people of Anguo staining it crimson.

  The strong smell of blood can be smelled tens of miles away, making people feel nauseous.

  Here is the place where the Arab Empire executed heretics, and the number of corpses piled up is unknown. Looking far away, there are many hills. Of course, these are not real hills, but the Arab Empire killed the civilians of Anguo, piled up their bodies, and formed a mountain of corpses.

  Wherever the iron hooves of the Arab Empire reached, blood flowed like rivers and corpses piled up like mountains. All "infidels" who did not believe in Islam had to die. It was only later that infidels were allowed to keep their faith, buying it with gold, giving them a way out.

  At this time, the Arab Empire spread Islam with iron and blood!

  On the hill, a group of people stood, led by a man as tall and strong as an iron tower, with bright and spirited eyes, exuding an aura of majesty and grandeur, coldly surveying the Arab soldiers slaughtering the innocent civilians of An Country.

  This man is Abu Muslim, the current Eastern Governor of the Arab Empire.

  Abu Muslim was originally a Persian, because after the fall of the Sassanid Empire to the Arabs, Persians became slaves. He was a slave of the Arab Empire. However, this man had high martial arts skills, agile movements, and invincible courage. What's more, he had outstanding talents and relied on his extraordinary abilities to grow into one of the most powerful figures in the Arab Empire.

  At that time, the most powerful person in the Arab Empire was naturally the Caliph, followed by the two Grand Governors of the East and West.

  Abu Musa was a zealous Muslim who spared no effort in spreading Islam. He was ruthless and the number of non-Muslims killed at his hands is unknown, but it is not less than one million.

  "Heathen: The Great Allah summons you in heaven!"

  Arab soldiers loudly condemned the An Guo civilians who had just been driven away.

  Rumble!

  The earth-shaking sound of hooves rose, the Arabian army rode on fine horses, wielding curved knives, and in a neat battle formation, charged at the unarmed civilians.

  Under the sunlight, the curved knife sparkled and shone, extremely frightening. The people of An Guo cried out in unison.

  "Oh, Great Tang, why don't you come and rescue us?"

  "The great Tang army is good at fighting and will definitely fight back. You demons of Islam, the Tang will not let you off!"

  "The great Tang will surely avenge us!"

  Watching the Arab army charge in a ferocious manner, the people of Anxi knew that their doomsday had arrived and couldn't help but think of the Tang Dynasty, hoping that the Tang Dynasty would avenge them.

  Anguo is located in Central Asia, a key point of contention between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire. Although the Tang army has not yet reached here, the prestige of the Tang Dynasty has long been spread throughout Anguo.

  Compared with the Arab Empire, the Tang Dynasty is merciful, incomparably merciful!

  As long as they surrender to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty will not make it difficult for the people, will not force the people to change their beliefs, and will not kill the people because of their beliefs. These An Guo people originally had no great sins, but only did not believe in Islam, yet they were killed.

  The Arab army charged forward, their curved knives slashing down mercilessly, blood splattering everywhere, limbs and arms flying in all directions. In no time at all, the people of An Guo were slaughtered.

  Even newborn babies were not spared.

  "Chinese?"

  Abu Muslim's face broke into a cold smile: "The Chinese are busy with their own affairs and have no time to bother with you infidels! I will first kill all of you infidels, then lead my great army to conquer China!"

  Conquering China had long been a cherished desire of the Arab Empire, and his generals were overjoyed when they heard this, each with a big smile on their face, saying: "With the great Allah's blessing, we will turn the whole world into Allah's believers! China is nothing to mention!"

  "China is rich and prosperous, with gold everywhere, it's a golden country. As long as we conquer China, we'll have endless delicious food, inexhaustible silk, and unlimited spices!" Abu Muslim was very pleased with the reaction of the generals, loudly encouraging: "Beautiful silk, fragrant spices, all come from China! If we conquer China, all of China will be our slaves!"

  On the Silk Road, the main goods sold from East to West were silk and spices, which were indispensable for Westerners' lives. If they conquered China and turned it into a slave of the Arab Empire, how much silk and spices would the Arab Empire have?

  Just thinking about it makes one dizzy, the crowd of generals each with fierce light flashing in their eyes, as if they can't wait to rush into China.

  "A thousand years ago, Alexander had wanted to conquer China, but his incompetent teacher Aristotle gave him a wrong map, and the misguided Alexander ended up conquering the Indus Valley instead." Abu Muslin's tone rose high, richly infectious, as he loudly lectured the crowd of generals: "The location of the Golden Country, we have already thoroughly investigated! As long as we stabilize An Guo, we can launch a large-scale eastern expedition! The brave warriors of Allah will surely conquer China!"

  "God!"

  "God!"

  A group of generals waved their arms, shook their fists, and some even drew their curved knives to slash and shout loudly until the mountains echoed.

  At this moment, a tall and majestic man with an air of elegance rushed over. He was Ziyad ibn Salih, who had defeated Gao Xianzhi at Talas. He loudly reported to Abu Muslim: "Report to the Governor of the East, Gao Xianzhi has taken Small Balur and burned down the Rattan Bridge!"

  "What?" Abu Muslim's eyes flashed with a sharp light, like a sword, directly piercing Ziyad ibn Sari.