Abdullah spoke very calmly, without the slightest flaw in his words. Even the wily old fox Apos could not see any lies or hypocrisy in Abdullah's eyes.
Of course, the primary reason was that the Apus dynasty truly did have many opponents, and there would always be sporadic resistance in various parts of the country. Thus, it was very normal for opponents to attack cities in the north. There was nothing suspicious about it, but the fact that it had appeared at this time was rather suspicious.
However, Apos was still very willing to believe that Abdullah was speaking the truth. If this was the case, if Abdullah led his army to the north to quell the rebellion, Abdullah's strength in the Imperial Court would be greatly reduced. Apos could use this chance to eliminate even more of the officials who supported Abdullah and use this chance to help Mansur ascend to the throne. As long as Mansur succeeded in ascending to the throne, he would be able to take control of the government in a very short time. At that time, Abdullah would lose the initiative and have little hope of victory.
But if Abdullah's words were false and this was some sort of scheme, it would be extremely troublesome. He had to take this matter seriously.
"Since Uncle has already considered everything, then we will set out in three days. We must wipe out the rebel Shia forces as quickly as possible."
Apos had no choice but to support his uncle, Abdullah, and encourage him.
"Yes, Mighty Caliph. I will go back and prepare."
After leaving Apo's residence, Abdullah immediately ordered his soldiers to prepare for battle. At the same time, he spread the news that the army was about to head north to quell the rebellion. He wanted everyone in Khorasan to believe that Abdullah was mobilizing his soldiers to quell the rebellion in the north, thus creating the conditions for his own rebellion by deceiving everyone.
The mobilization of the army quickly began, and talk of quelling the rebellion in the north began to spread through the Khorasan. This naturally attracted Mansur's attention.
In Mansur's residence, Abu Muslim and his other trusted supporters were all present. Mansur had called them here to discuss Abdullah's plan to quell the rebellion in the north.
Mansur was the first to speak. "Everyone, Abdullah told the Caliph early this morning that he would personally lead an army to quell the rebellion in the north. If this is true, we will have a great advantage, and the Khorasan will be completely under our control. But if this isn't true, then it will be troublesome. What do you think?"
Abu Muslim was the first to speak. "The Shia forces have been restless this entire time. Perhaps there really is a change in the north and Abdullah really is going to quell the rebellion. If he doesn't do this, the entire north will be taken by the rebels, a loss to the empire."
"It's been widely reported outside that Abdullah will personally lead an elite force to quell the Shia rebellion in the north. It seems like there's no mistake."
"Sir, Abdullah's soldiers are all preparing, and even the logistics are preparing a large amount of provisions. This amount of provisions is enough to last tens of thousands of soldiers for several months. It seems like he really is going on an expedition, or else there would be no need to prepare so much provisions."
The other subordinates also felt that there wasn't much of a problem. Everything was very normal, and there was nothing strange about it.
"Sir, everything is so normal that I can't see anything strange about it. Could there be a problem here?"
Abu Muslim asked in confusion when he saw his master's worried brow.
Mansur thought for a few moments before slowly saying, "It's precisely because everything is too normal and there's nothing strange about it that makes it all the more strange. I feel like the matter isn't that simple, and a lack of flaws is often the greatest flaw. We can't lower our guard."
"Sir, if you have any worries, there's no harm in speaking them."
One of his trusted subordinates said.
Mansur replied, "Abdullah's soldiers have already begun to prepare for battle. What do you think will happen if he suddenly attacks us?"
Abu Muslim immediately replied, "Our soldiers are all preparing for battle and have not made any proper preparations. If Abdullah ambushes us after his preparations are complete, it will truly be very dangerous. Our soldiers on the front line might not be able to hold, and Sir's residence will also be very dangerous."
The veteran Abu Muslim was well aware of the abilities of his soldiers and the fighting power of Abdullah's soldiers. He naturally understood that a well-prepared army of Abdullah's could easily defeat the unprepared Khorasan cavalry, allowing him to kill Mansur, Abu Muslim, and the other leaders before the main force of the Khorasan cavalry could react.
As long as he could get rid of these core members of the leadership, the remaining Khorasani cavalry would be like headless flies, unable to put up any effective resistance. They would have no choice but to surrender to Abdullah. In this way, Abdullah would have the majority of the Khorasani cavalry, and with his own soldiers, he would be able to easily dominate the entire Apas Dynasty.
The most crucial element of this plan was a swift surprise attack. Only by swiftly attacking and killing the leaders of Mansur's group could one quickly achieve one's goal. If the surprise attack allowed Mansur, Abu Muslim, and the others to escape, it would be disastrous.
And to ensure the success of a surprise attack, one had to ensure that one's soldiers were fully prepared, and the other had to confuse the enemy so that they would let down their guard.
By falsely reporting the unrest in the north, Abdullah had achieved both of these factors at once. He had a sufficient reason to prepare his troops for war, and at the same time, he had also spread public opinion to make his opponents believe that he was going north to quell the rebellion, and that he was about to set off soon, thus lowering their guard against him.
But Abdullah had still underestimated Mansur. It wasn't that Mansur was very capable, but that Mansur was a vicious and suspicious person. Abu Muslim's failure to promptly report the matter of Ziyad had caused him to become suspicious of Abu Muslim. After all, Abu Muslim had always supported him, but even he had become suspicious of him over some trivial matter. Abdullah was Mansur's opponent, so his suspicions were even heavier.
Thus, no matter what Abdullah said or did, he would always arouse Mansur's suspicions. Even if Abdullah truly withdrew from the struggle for the Caliph's throne and handed over his military authority, Mansur would not stop his suspicions. Only when Abdullah was dead would Mansur let go of his suspicions.
"What do we do now? If all of this is Director Abdullah's scheme, we're in danger."
"Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, we can't ignore this. We have to make preparations. Abdullah's soldiers are preparing for war, and our soldiers must also prepare for war. Sir's residence must also be fortified."
Several of his trusted subordinates said.
Abu Muslim said, "Sir, your residence must be fortified. This is a must. In addition, our soldiers must be prepared, but we need to find a good reason. We can't just mobilize a large number of soldiers for no reason! If we do, Abdullah will catch us and make a big deal out of it. "
"How about we say that we're going to reinforce Abdullah and quell the rebellion in the north?"
"Definitely not. There aren't many rebels in the north, and Abdullah has already said that he will personally lead the army to quell the rebellion. There's no need for us to send reinforcements."
"Then we can use the fact that the situation in Aden is critical and say that we're mobilizing reinforcements. This way, we'll have a good reason."
"The situation in Aden is complicated, and it does fit the criteria for sending reinforcements. This is a good idea."
Several of his trusted subordinates agreed.
Mansur also felt that the situation in the direction of Aden City was a very good breakthrough point. Since Abdullah had used the chaos in the north as an excuse to mobilize his troops, they could also use Aden City as an excuse to mobilize their troops at the same time. If a battle really broke out, they would not be at a disadvantage.
"That's a good idea. I'll go see the Caliph right away and ask him to send troops to Aden in three days. You can go back to the army and prepare. Also, secretly send five hundred soldiers into the city."
Mansur ordered.
"Sir, there's an urgent report from Aden. The Tang Dynasty fleet has taken over the port of Aden without shedding a single drop of blood."
A trusted subordinate hurriedly ran over and reported the news to Mansur. Since it wasn't a secret, the subordinate didn't care about Mansur's trusted subordinates.
"The Tang Dynasty fleet has taken over the port of Aden?"
Mansur and his trusted subordinates were all stunned. This news was too shocking.
"Sir, our troops have been confronting the Ottoman Empire for months, but we still couldn't take over Aden. Now, the Tang Dynasty's troops have entered Aden as soon as they arrived. This is too shocking."
"Aden is ours. How can the Tang Dynasty encroach on Aden? This is too much."
"What should we do now? We were just talking about Aden, and such a big thing happened in Aden."
"Since Aden is really in trouble, then we have even more reason to prepare for war. At least we have to send troops there to show our attitude. We can't tolerate the Tang Dynasty taking over Aden."
Many of Mansur's trusted subordinates said.
Mansur didn't expect the Tang Dynasty to get involved. His brows furrowed tightly. After a moment of silence, he said, "The news that the Tang Dynasty's troops have entered Aden will soon spread in Khorasan. We really do have reason to believe that something has happened in Aden. There's no need to change the original plan. I'll go see the Caliph now and tell him about Aden and the preparations for war."
After saying that, he led his subordinates toward the palace.
"Great Caliph, there's something important that I must tell you."
Mansur's tone was rather feeble.
Apos's spirit was even worse than a few days ago. He looked at Mansur and asked in confusion, "Mansur, why are you in such a bad condition as well? The empire is going to be handed over to you. You can't let your body fall apart! "
Mansur said, "Thank you for your concern, Caliph. My body is fine. It's just that something has happened in Aden, and I'm very worried."
"What an eventful year! What's going on in Aden City? "
Apos asked.
Mansur replied listlessly, "The Tang Dynasty's fleet has entered Aden's harbor without shedding a drop of blood. There are nearly a hundred ships and five or six thousand soldiers."
"Cough, cough, cough …"
Apos was startled by the news and immediately began coughing violently. The servants beside him were so frightened that they immediately came over to help him.
"Caliph, are you alright?"
Mansur asked worriedly.
"The Tang Dynasty … the Tang Dynasty's troops … have entered Aden. This …"
Apos closed his eyes as he spoke. He didn't pass out. Instead, he closed his eyes to rest and think about this matter.
Seeing that Apos was breathing heavily, Mansur knew that his brother was fine for the time being. He said, "Great Caliph, the Tang Dynasty's troops have entered Aden. It's most likely that they want to take over Aden. Although it's only a city, it's still our land. How can we let the Tang Dynasty occupy it? I've already ordered my subordinates to prepare for battle. We'll head south in a few days. We have to at least make our stance clear."
After saying that, he looked at Apos.
Apos opened his eyes with a pained expression. He sighed and said, "The Tang Dynasty's land is tens of thousands of miles wide. Why aren't they satisfied? They actually came to Aden. Sigh! What should we do? Our empire is facing internal and external threats, and now the Tang Dynasty is here to join in the fun. I really don't know what to do. "
It was obvious that Apos was deeply afraid of the Tang Dynasty. He wouldn't be worried about other internal and external threats, but the Tang Dynasty's sudden entry into Aden made him very worried. Because of the last skirmish, he already knew how powerful the Tang Dynasty was. He knew that his empire's power was no match for the Tang Dynasty. If the Tang Dynasty set their sights on Aden, it would be very troublesome.
"It's already happened. Tell my subordinates to prepare for battle. We'll head south in a few days!"
Mansur said seriously.
Apos said worriedly, "The Tang Dynasty is extremely powerful. Your troops are no match for the Tang Dynasty's army. Even if you have several times more troops, you still can't defeat the Tang Dynasty. Since the last battle with the Tang Dynasty's army, I've sent many people to learn about the army of the Tang Dynasty in detail. Chang 'an, Luoyang, Anxi, Central Sichuan, and I have people in every place, especially in Chang' an. Therefore, I know the strength of the Tang Dynasty's army best. The gap between them and our army is too big, and it will only get bigger and bigger. I've thought of many ways, but they still can't defeat the army of the Tang Dynasty."
Mansur nodded. He was also very clear about the strength of the Tang Dynasty. After all, the last conflict with the Tang Dynasty was led by his general, Abu Muslim. He naturally knew how powerful the army of the Tang Dynasty was.
"Sending troops south is just to show our attitude and that Aden is ours. We don't really want to go to war with the Tang Dynasty. Caliph, you can rest assured."
Mansur said.
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