"Lord Protector-General, in the current situation, we can only transfer soldiers from the border. You have great seniority in the army and have dealings with the other Protector-Generals. I wonder if you can get some soldiers from the other Protector-Generals? "
Wang Chong said.
The army of the Tang Dynasty was a mixture of Hu and Han, and Wang Chong's status was too sensitive. Because of his background, Gao Xianzhi was more likely to speak to him than Wang Chong. Moreover, he had great seniority in the army and had dealings with the generals and Protector-Generals of the various regions. In this aspect, not even Wang Chong, who was a genius in the art of war, could compare to him.
"The Beiting Protectorate currently has the most soldiers, and I have some dealings with Beiting Protector-General An Sishun. I'll negotiate with him on this matter. If the Beiting Protectorate only has a small number of soldiers, we should be able to borrow them. I estimate that we should be able to get four to six thousand soldiers. "
Gao Xianzhi said after a few moments of thought.
"If we can only borrow four to six thousand soldiers, then we'll transfer the most elite soldiers. This way, the Beiting Protectorate won't be too affected."
Wang Chong sternly said.
"Mm!"
Gao Xianzhi nodded. Quality over quantity was the most important factor in soldiers. He shared the same view as Wang Chong. Moreover, the Anxi Protectorate army had been carefully selected from the soldiers of the various regions of the Tang Dynasty. If quantity was not an issue, then quality was an issue that Gao Xianzhi had always adhered to.
"There's also Geshu Han. He's garrisoned in Longxi. Other than the Beiting Protectorate, he's the closest to us. Moreover, the Big Dipper Army has astonishing fighting power. They should be able to provide us with some assistance. "
Gao Xianzhi was quiet for a few moments, a hint of hesitation in his eyes.
"But I rarely interact with Geshu Han, so I'm afraid that it'll be very difficult to convince him."
"Leave this matter to me."
Wang Chong smiled. He already knew what was going on. Of all the Hu generals, Geshu Han could be said to be the most unique. He had admired the culture of the Central Plains from a young age, and he spoke with a perfect capital accent that was even better than his own. He was promoted by the Crown Prince's Junior Protector, Wang Zhongsi. Although he joined the army late, he was promoted very quickly because he had the support of the War God of the Tang dynasty. In addition, unlike the other Hu, where most of the soldiers were Hu, Geshu Han's Big Dipper Army had over ninety percent Han soldiers.
This was completely different from the others.
Thus, on the surface, whether it was Gao Xianzhi, Fomonlința, An Sishun, or the other Hu generals, although they all had dealings with Geshu Han, there was a slight estrangement in their hearts. Geshu Han was well aware of this fact, so he rarely interacted with them. He would never contact them unless absolutely necessary.
"… I still have some friendship with Geshu Han. I should be able to get some soldiers from him."
Wang Chong said.
Gao Xianzhi was flabbergasted, but then he thought of something and understood. In the battle between the Big Dipper Army and White Lion Great General We Tadra Khonglo, the Big Dipper Army had suffered heavy losses. Many people knew that Wang Chong had gifted ten thousand high-quality Turkic warhorses to Geshu Han. Geshu Han's Big Dipper Army only had twenty-thousand-some soldiers in total. Wang Chong's gift of ten thousand horses to him was like sending charcoal in snowy weather.
In this aspect, Geshu Han owed him a favor.
"But even so, we still don't have enough men!"
Gao Xianzhi raised his head to the heavens and sighed. Even if he could get six thousand soldiers from the Beiting Protectorate and three thousand from Geshu Han, he would only have nine thousand soldiers. This was a drop in the bucket for the current war.
"Haha, Lord Protector-General, there will always be a way out. The Tang Dynasty is still the Tang Dynasty, and it's still far from being at the end of its rope. Right now, it's just that the other sides are holding back its soldiers, not that it has no soldiers to use. As long as we make some adjustments, we'll be able to get quite a few soldiers. The Tang Dynasty has no soldiers to use, but didn't I bring one hundred thousand soldiers with me? The urgent task at hand is to discuss how to report to the Imperial Court. "
To Gao Xianzhi's surprise, Wang Chong smiled.
"You're right!"
Gao Xianzhi froze for a moment, and then he began to smile. Time slowly passed, and the two highest commanders of the Tang Dynasty in Talas continued to discuss the details from night to dawn. After discussing for an entire night, the two finally went to sleep.
"Hualala!"
Soon, at daybreak, eagles began to fly out of Talas in every direction. Translated by: Hypersheep325 Edited by: Michyrr
… …
Flap flap!
As the place closest to Talas, Feng Changqing was the first to receive the news.
"Enlist soldiers from the countries of the Western Regions!"
When Feng Changqing opened the letter and saw that it was written by Gao Xianzhi himself, he froze. The contents of Gao Xianzhi's letter were extremely simple. He hoped that Feng Changqing would use the name of the Anxi Protectorate army and the Tang Dynasty to enlist soldiers from the countries of the Western Regions. In return, the Anxi Protectorate army would heavily reward the countries with gold after victory.
How much gold and silver does Anxi have right now?
When Feng Changqing saw this letter, he smiled bitterly in his heart. As Gao Xianzhi's chief advisor for administration and logistics, no one understood Anxi's current situation better than Feng Changqing. Although it had conquered the wealthy Shi Kingdom, a significant portion of its wealth had been taken away through the tunnels by the nobles of the Shi Kingdom. As a result, the Anxi Protectorate army's harvest was far less than the rumors claimed. After the war, at least half of the wealth had been offered to the Imperial Court and Imperial Household by Gao Xianzhi, and nearly half of the rest had been given to Bian Lingcheng by Gao Xianzhi.
Bian Lingcheng was an important aid to Gao Xianzhi's career, but he was extremely greedy. Just this little bit of wealth was not enough to satisfy him. As for the last quarter, Gao Xianzhi kept a portion for himself and distributed the rest to the soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate army, as well as the Karluks and Ferghanians who had accompanied the army.
Thus, the Anxi Protectorate army had no more money to recruit soldiers. If not for this, Feng Changqing would not have been so helpless in the rear.
"The countries of the Western Regions have always been greedy, and there's no one who doesn't like gold and silver. Although I can trick them into enlisting some soldiers, once the war is over, the Anxi Protectorate army won't be able to take out this sum of money.
Feng Changqing worriedly looked at the letter in his hand.
The recruitment that Gao Xianzhi had mentioned was a private recruitment by the Anxi Protectorate army. It had not been approved by the Bureau of Military Personnel and was not part of the plan. The Imperial Court would not pay for it, so the Anxi Protectorate army could only think of a way.
The countries of the Western Regions didn't have many soldiers in the first place, and they wouldn't be able to recruit many. If this was left as a source of gossip, the Anxi Protectorate army would lose all its prestige in the Western Regions. Even if they won, it would leave behind many problems. In Feng Changqing's view, this was not a good idea.
A moment later, when Feng Changqing saw the last line of the letter, he froze.
'… Changqing, there's no need to worry. The Young Marquis has already made arrangements for the money needed for recruitment. The Young Marquis has already stated everything in his letter.'
It was such a simple line of words, but it immediately stunned Feng Changqing.
When had the Protector-General become so close to Wang Chong? Hadn't there been a gap between them before? And what was going on with the money needed for recruitment? What did it mean that Wang Chong had already stated everything in his letter?
Feng Changqing was stunned for a moment, but he quickly realized what was going on. Could it be that Talas had not sent one letter, but two? Feng Changqing flipped through the envelope, and sure enough, he found another letter underneath the original envelope. The handwriting on this letter was completely different from Gao Xianzhi's. Although it was crooked and twisted, it still had a vigorous demeanor.
It was the Young Marquis!
Feng Changqing quickly took up the letter and began to read through it. At the start, Feng Changqing was only casually skimming through the letter, but as he read, he became more and more serious, his expression more and more solemn. He even read through the letter three or four times.
"Haha, demand war reparations from the Arabs and use the war reparations to pay the recruitment fees of the countries of the Western Regions. Young Marquis, to think that you could think of such a method … but there's no better plan than this! "
Feng Changqing slammed the letter on the table and couldn't help but laugh. He had always believed that his governance of the Western Regions was unconventional and unconventional, but he had never imagined that Wang Chong would be even more unconventional. After the victory of a war, he would demand reparations from the losing side to make up for the losses suffered in the war. This sort of method had never been used in the Tang Dynasty, and Wang Chong had called it 'using war to raise war.'
Wang Chong had made it very clear in his letter that if the Tang Dynasty lost the Western Regions and the countries of the Western Regions surrendered to Arabia, there would naturally be no need to worry about the issue of recruitment fees. And if they won, they could further demand money from the Arabs to pay the compensation to the countries of the Western Regions. Thus, the problem that Feng Changqing was worried about was completely nonexistent.
The Tang Dynasty had operated in the Western Regions for more than two hundred years, and now was the time for the countries of the Western Regions to fight for the Tang Dynasty and pay a little!
"Young Marquis, let's do as you say."
Feng Changqing's eyes were bright as he quickly took a brush made of wolf hair from a nearby brush rack and began to write on the paper.
… …
Flapflap! Carrier pigeons flew through the sky, following the Silk Road eastward. Soon, they reached the border of Qixi, where several eagles broke off from the flock and shot down.
"It's finally about to begin!"
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