The King of Western India had a tentative tone as he discussed with Li An. If it didn't work out, he could still make some concessions. As long as he could keep the port that could bring huge benefits, it didn't matter much if he lost the less important land. Just like the whip dynasty, in order to let the imperial power linger on, they chose to cede a large piece of land with fewer people in the north in order to get a temporary good life.
No ruler was willing to cede land because land was the foundation of a country and an important asset of a country. However, if they encountered a hurdle that they could not overcome and there was no better solution, then ceding land would become something that they had to do.
Especially the land that was not in a good position. In some people's eyes, there was nothing wrong with ceding it. As long as they could get through the immediate crisis and make themselves feel better, they would cede it.
The King of Western Tianzhu proposed to cede land in the northwest, which could be considered as killing two birds with one stone. Firstly, the port in the northwest had been occupied by pirates. Western Tianzhu had no real interests there, so they didn't feel bad about losing it. Secondly, the northwest was close to the aggressive Dashi Country, which separated the Tang dynasty in the middle and prevented Dashi Country from going south, which was also a benefit. Thirdly, the current port was too important. If they didn't cede the land in the northwest, how could they get through the immediate crisis and get forgiveness?
Of course, this was also because Western Tianzhu was too weak. They needed the forgiveness of other countries to do things. If the Tang dynasty was weak and Western Tianzhu was strong, their officials could answer domineeringly, "It's none of your business."
And because Western Tianzhu was a weak country, when their officials faced the Tang dynasty and asked why they didn't eliminate the pirates, they didn't dare to say, "It's none of your business." They could only listen devoutly. They even ceded land in order to ask the Tang dynasty to help them solve the immediate crisis and avoid losing more benefits.
Ang Lee frowned, looked at the King of Western Tianzhu, and asked curiously, "Is the governor of the west the highest official in Western Tianzhu? You have the final say in the decision to cede the northwest land? "
In fact, when the Western Tianzhu official, who claimed to be the governor of the west, said that he wanted to cede land, Ang Lee had already guessed his identity. He just didn't say it out loud to avoid embarrassment if he guessed wrong.
"This …"
The King of Western India was stunned for a moment before he said, "Since Assistant Minister Li has asked, then this one will tell you the truth. The place where the Northwest Pirates are entrenched is too close to Dashi, and the land is not fertile enough. It's not a good place. The King and the ministers don't like that place, so they won't oppose my proposal. Assistant Minister Li can rest assured."
"Oh, it turns out that Western Tianzhu didn't plan to take back that place for a long time. No wonder they didn't send troops to take back the lost land after such a long time. I understand now."
Li An had a look of sudden realization on his face. After a pause, he said, "The governor's suggestion is very good. As long as the pirates in the northwest are eliminated, the merchants won't suffer any more losses. This is a great thing! However, the Tang dynasty had helped West Tianzhu so much. How much benefit did they get? Was it just the port in the northwest that had been occupied by pirates? Isn't it a little too little? "
Hearing Ang Lee's words, the King of Western India's heart tightened. What he was most worried about was the greed of the Tang dynasty. If they asked for the current port, he would be in a difficult position.
"Assistant Minister Li, what else do you want? I'm all ears."
The King of Western India was not stupid. Of course, he would not directly state his bottom line in his heart. Instead, he wanted to sound out Ang Lee's request.
Ang Lee took out a map, put it on the table, pointed to the northwest port, and said, "The land 50 miles around the port belongs to the Tang dynasty, and the mountains extending inland also belong to the Tang dynasty. These places are bordered by Dashi and are all assigned to the Tang dynasty. That's all you want."
The King of Western India breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "What else do you want in addition to the reward of the territory? Western India is not very rich, and the military expenditure we can provide to the Tang dynasty is limited."
Ang Lee shook his head and said, "As for the military expenditure, we can find our own way. We don't need Western India's help. Our Tang dynasty wants to build the Maritime Silk Road, and we can't do without the cooperation of the countries along the way. Western India must cooperate with the Tang dynasty in many aspects. Here are the simplified conditions for the interview. Take a look."
The King of Western India read through the document and did not find any of the terms unacceptable. They were all rules and conditions that seemed insignificant.
"Is that all? I can promise you on behalf of the King, but can the Tang dynasty promise to protect Western India forever? Will there be more demands? "
The King of Western India said.
Ang Lee said seriously, "I assure you that the Tang dynasty only needs the northwest port. They won't ask for the rest of Western India's land. You can rest assured!"
The natural conditions of the northwest port were a bit desolate, but fortunately, it was a deepwater port. It was just that the current draft of ships was not very deep, so there was no big difference between a deepwater port and an ordinary deepwater port, and the advantages of a deepwater port could not be reflected.
But this was all temporary. Sooner or later, the Tang dynasty would build 10,000-ton or even 100,000-ton giant merchant ships, and these merchant ships must be docked in very deep deepwater ports. Ordinary ports could not be docked. What the Tang dynasty needed to do now was to occupy some important places along the way and use advanced technology to build deepwater ports.
The self-control of large merchant ships was much higher than that of small merchant ships. They did not need to dock at ports constantly. Therefore, a certain number of deepwater ports along the way were enough to meet the requirements of large and giant merchant ships.
In other words, although the western port was desolate and far inferior to the port in front of them, this desolate port was a potential stock. As long as a certain price was paid for the construction, one day in the future, its status would far exceed that of the bustling port that did not have a very large draft.
Ang Lee should take a long-term view. He was looking at the scene ten years later, not the small interests in front of him. Ten years later, when the King of Western India found that the northwest port was the economic center, he would probably cry to death.
This was the same as a small country in the future, which was a small country near Malacca. With the superior geographical location close to the Malacca Strait and a good deepwater port, the economy developed very quickly, and the life of the people was naturally very happy.
However, with the development of a large number of deepwater ports in Hua Xia, the economic status of this small country was quickly replaced. Its economic scale was constantly shrinking, and it could not find a place to cry even if it wanted to.
Previously, they were arrogant in front of Huaxia and acted high and mighty. But now, they could only beg Huaxia. It was pitiful and sad.
Ang Lee believed that the port in front of him would repeat the same mistake. At present, the bustling port in Western India was a place that merchant ships had to pass through, so it was developing very well. However, the desolate port in the northwest, the Tang dynasty only needed to build it for a few years to surpass the bustling port in front of him. At that time, a large number of merchant ships would dock at the northwest port, and a part of the business of the port in front of him would be divided. At that time, the development would definitely slow down.
The King of Western India did not think so far ahead. He felt that Ang Lee's request was still acceptable. It was a very good result to lose some unimportant interests and gain the Tang dynasty as an ally.
"Assistant Minister Li, why don't we settle it this way? Western India will fully agree to the Tang dynasty's request. "
The King said again.
Ang Lee nodded happily and said, "In the future, Western India and the Tang dynasty will be a family. The Tang dynasty will definitely protect Western India, haha!"
"Hahaha!"
The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became good, and everyone drank again.
"Assistant Minister Li, when will you send troops to suppress the pirates in the northwest?"
An old merchant asked in a low voice.
It was better to strike while the iron was hot. Taking advantage of this opportunity, it was better to urge the Tang dynasty's troops to encircle and suppress the pirates.
Hearing this, Ang Lee smiled slightly, stood up, looked at all the merchants, and said loudly, "Everyone, I have good news to tell you. A few days ago, I sent a troop to the northwest. I gave them the order to find and eliminate the pirates. I believe that if everything went well, the pirates in the northwest should have been eliminated. Is this good news?"
After that, he looked at the merchants with a confident face.
"It turns out that Assistant Minister Li has already intended to eliminate the pirates. You made us worry for nothing."
"Didn't we spend so much effort to let the Tang dynasty's troops eliminate the pirates? I didn't expect that the Tang dynasty's troops had already gone north to eliminate the pirates. This is really interesting."
"This is great. With the Tang dynasty's troops attacking, the pirates will definitely not be able to jump around for a few days."
"Pirates are like rabbits whose tails can't grow long. This is really something to be happy about."
Hundreds of merchants suddenly became excited. This was something to be very happy about. They tried their best to invite Ang Lee for the purpose of asking the Tang dynasty's troops for help. Now, the Tang dynasty's troops had long regarded the pirates as a thorn in their side.
Everything was going according to the script. Soon, a soldier came in and whispered a few words in Ang Lee's ear.
Ang Lee pretended to be happy, stood up again, and said, "Everyone, let me tell you another good news. The Tang dynasty's troops have defeated the pirates and captured more than 100 of them alive. Now, more than 100 of them are on the way back under escort. They will be back at noon tomorrow. How should we deal with the pirates? I want to hear your opinions."
"Kill, kill these bastards."
"The pirates have done all kinds of evil. They must be severely punished. We can't let them go."
"They should be hanged on the gallows. These hateful pirates should be hanged."
"Death by a thousand cuts. These hateful pirates should be executed by a thousand cuts."
The merchants were agitated. Many of them were victims, so they hated the pirates to the core. Naturally, they would not say anything to exonerate the pirates. They could not wait to kill the pirates, and it would be better to kill them in the harshest way to relieve their hatred.
Ang Lee smiled slightly, looked at the Western Tianzhu officials beside him, and asked, "Everyone, what do you think should be done?"
The port master dared not speak and looked at the king next to him.
At this time, the expressions of the Western Tianzhu officials were not very good. After all, they felt that they had been tricked. The Tang dynasty's troops had already recovered the western ports, but they were completely unaware of it. This was enough to show the weakness and incompetence of the Western Tianzhu intelligence system.
The King of Western Tianzhu thought for a moment and immediately replied, "These pirates have done all kinds of evil. Of course, they should be severely punished. Since they were caught by the Tang dynasty's troops, Assistant Minister Li should be responsible for dealing with them."
Ang Lee felt that the King of Western Tianzhu was very sensible, and he liked it very much. He smiled and decided, "Since you let me make the decision, then I won't be polite. The pirates robbed the merchants along the way, which is an unforgivable crime. All of them will be executed. The location will be the market not far away. When the time comes, I and the Western Tianzhu officials will supervise the execution on the spot.
What do you think? "After that, he looked at the Western Tianzhu officials and observed their expressions.
"Okay, okay, let's do it."
The King of Western Tianzhu did not dare to object and quickly agreed.
The atmosphere of the banquet became quite lively. Ang Lee's side was satisfied. The merchants were naturally very happy when they heard that the Tang dynasty's troops had eliminated the pirates and made the Western Tianzhu officials agree to many favorable conditions for the merchants.
The only people who were in a bad mood were the King of Western Tianzhu and his officials. They were the only ones who had suffered heavy losses. The happiness of the other two parties was based on their disappointment.
After the banquet, Ang Lee left the bustling street in the warm farewell of many merchants. He got into the armored command vehicle and returned to the camp on the beach. For the sake of safety, he could only live in the camp. He did not dare to live in the city of Western Tianzhu.
"Haha! Today's harvest is very good! It's really delightful. "
Ang Lee could not stop smiling along the way.
"Assistant Minister Li's meticulous planning will succeed. It's just that success came too easily."
"Hasn't it been like this all the way? As long as Assistant Minister Li is there, any difficult problem can be solved. Assistant Minister Li is the lucky star of the Tang dynasty."
"It's also our blessing to be able to follow Assistant Minister Li!"
His subordinates began to flatter him.
Ang Lee's mood suddenly became better. He was so excited that he was about to float.
"This is all Your Majesty's good fortune. I'm nothing. Hahaha! "
At this critical moment, Ang Lee always had to be humble. He could not be too complacent. Otherwise, he would bring disaster to himself.
Unlike the joy of Ang Lee and the others, the King of Western Tianzhu was so angry that he threw the hat on his head and glared at the port official after returning to the government office.
The port official was so frightened that he did not even dare to breathe. He lowered his head and waited for his punishment.
"People's hearts are unpredictable! I really didn't expect that these merchants would be so easily bought over by the Tang dynasty. How dare they say that Western Tianzhu is the biggest pirate? What a shame, what a shame! "
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