Mansur would never lie to Apos about the Tang Dynasty fleet entering the port of Aden. There was absolutely no problem with his credibility. If Abdullah had reported that there was a rebellion in the north, Apos still had some doubts about it. However, Mansur's report about the Tang Dynasty fleet occupying the port of Aden was absolutely true. Mansur would never lie to him about such an important matter.
Apos was ambitious and had never been afraid of anything. The only thing he feared was the Tang Empire in the east. His serious illness was more or less related to the Tang Empire. If he had not been worried about the threat of the Tang Dynasty's powerful military force to Dashi, he would not have fallen ill due to depression. But now, what he was most worried about had happened. The elite naval force of the Tang Empire had entered the port of Aden. Based on the previous actions of the Tang Dynasty fleet, the port of Aden might have been targeted by the Tang Empire.
Aden had always been part of Dashi for hundreds of years. If this land was annexed by the Tang Empire, it would be a great blow to the international prestige of the Apus Dynasty, which would inevitably make Apos worried.
Mansur's worry was a little better because he had not yet obtained the ruling power of the Apus Dynasty. He was more concerned about how to defeat Abdullah and take control of the entire Apus Dynasty. As for the threat of the Tang Empire, he had to solve the immediate internal conflicts first. After all, a man without foresight would have immediate worries. The biggest threat at the moment was Abdullah, who was allied with him, and the threat of the Tang Empire was not very urgent for the time being.
"The Tang Dynasty's army is powerful. You must not confront them head-on. Just remember this."
Apos was also helpless. He did not have much strength now, and it was useless to be anxious. He could only let Mansur deal with this matter.
"Don't worry, Caliph. I will go back and prepare tens of thousands of soldiers. In a few days, we may set out with uncle's army. Uncle will go to the north, and my army will go to the south."
Mansur said.
Apos nodded and told Mansur to go back and prepare.
The Mansur Group wasn't the only one paying close attention to the situation in Aden City. Abdullah and many other nobles were also paying close attention to the situation in Aden City. After all, Aden City was a very good commercial city, and they all had businesses there. Thus, if something happened in Aden City, they would be notified as soon as possible.
By the time Mansur walked out of the palace, the news of the Tang Dynasty fleet appearing in Aden had already spread among the Khorasan nobles. Almost all of the influential figures knew about it, and even many of the commoners knew about it.
Mansur followed Abdullah's example and asked his confidant to spread the news in Khorasan that he was mobilizing his army to reinforce Aden City and show his attitude to the Tang Dynasty. He didn't have any ulterior motives to dispel the doubts of others.
Abdullah was just as shocked as Apos when he heard that the Tang Dynasty fleet was stationed in Aden City. However, he was even more shocked when he heard that Mansur was mobilizing his army to the south.
The army was about to be mobilized, but such a big change happened in the south, and it immediately affected the situation in Khorasan. This more or less disrupted Abdullah's plans.
His original plan was to mobilize his army and take advantage of the fact that Mansur was unprepared to wipe out all of Mansur's leaders and achieve his goal of controlling the Apus dynasty.
However, the current situation was that Mansur's army was also preparing. As a result, it wouldn't be so easy to launch a surprise attack on Mansur. The surprise attack would most likely fail miserably.
Therefore, no matter what, the original plan of mobilizing the army was no longer feasible. He had to change the original plan, and all of this had to be discussed with his confidants.
Nasser, the number one confidant, gathered at Abdullah's residence with many of his confidants. They were about to start a discussion about mobilizing the army.
They casually exchanged a few pleasantries and then walked together to a secret room not far away. When it came to conspiring to mobilize the army, confidentiality was always the most important thing. It couldn't be revealed to unrelated people. Otherwise, the consequences would be extremely severe.
"The Tang Dynasty's army has entered Aden City. You all should know about this, right?"
Abdullah said.
"Yes, sir. We all know about it. Almost the entire Khorasan knows about this. How could we not know?"
"Sir, the sudden appearance of the Tang Dynasty's army in Aden City has caused Mansur to start preparing for war. This will disrupt our plan."
"I think this might be a good thing. If Mansur really sends his army south, there will be fewer soldiers left in Khorasan. Our chances of success will be higher."
"How is this a good thing? We have already agreed with the Caliph that we will lead our army north in three days. Mansur agreed to send his army one day later than we did. We can't purposely delay the deployment of our army, right? Others will see through us if we do that. "
"That's easy. After our army departs, we can march slowly. After dark, we can quickly return and catch Mansur off guard."
"Mansur is not a fool. Will he really believe that we are going to the north to quell the rebellion? He will definitely send people to keep an eye on our army. If there is anything unusual, he will definitely discover it in advance. "
"Do you have a better idea than this?"
"I'm just afraid that Mansur has the same goal as us. If he suddenly sends his army to attack us after our army goes north, it will be very difficult for us to resist."
"Yes! Mansur is ruthless. He can do anything. If he has the same plan, we will be in a passive position. "
Many of his trusted subordinates began to discuss this matter.
Abdullah's mind was in a mess. He was already quite old, and his previous plan had been formulated after careful consideration. He was very satisfied with this plan, but he had never thought that something would happen in the direction of Aden City, and that it would arouse Mansur's reaction. As a result, it would be very difficult to carry out his plan, and he had to change his original plan.
It was not easy to come up with a new plan. It involved many aspects, and if any step was not taken well, it could lead to the failure of the plan.
"What happened in Aden City is true. However, Mansur's plan to send his army to the south is definitely not that simple. He is a ruthless person. Why would he mobilize his elite army for a remote city like Aden City? He either wants to guard against us, or he wants to ambush us. "
Nasser analyzed.
Abdullah was already having a headache. After hearing Nasser's analysis, his head hurt even more. He said in annoyance, "Nasser, do you have any good ideas?"
Nasser thought for a long time and said, "On the day of the deployment, we will leave quietly in order to prevent Mansur from ambushing us. Everyone will leave Khorasan. Only a few spies and servants will be left. This way, even if Mansur ambushes your residences, it will be in vain."
Abdullah nodded and said, "That's a good idea. When the time comes, we will disguise ourselves as ordinary soldiers and leave quietly. The important family members will also leave in batches. There are so many people in Khorasan. We won't attract any attention."
"In that case, I will arrange for the family members to go to the northern cities for the time being. We will return to Khorasan after the plan is completed."
Nasser said.
Abdullah waved his hand and told everyone to go back and make preparations.
In the direction of Aden City, the Tang dynasty's soldiers all stayed obediently in the encampment near the port. They didn't cause any disruption to the commercial activities of Aden City, and no one dared to go out and cause trouble.
That night, the city lord of Aden City held a grand welcoming ceremony for Ang Lee. There was plenty of wine, food, and beautiful women. Ang Lee deeply felt the warmth and hospitality of the city lord of Aden City.
During the banquet, Ang Lee clearly promised everyone, including the city lord of Aden City, Altik, that the Tang dynasty's soldiers would not cause any disruption to the commercial activities of Aden City, nor would they bully the people of Aden City. If any Tang dynasty's soldiers dared to violate the rules and bully the people of Aden City, they would be severely punished.
This declaration won the approval of everyone, including Altik, and made everyone heave a sigh of relief. In addition, Ang Lee also said that he was just passing by and had no intention of seizing Aden City. This made everyone feel even more relieved.
Although not everyone believed Ang Lee's words, the Tang dynasty's declaration at least showed that the Tang dynasty's imperial court was gentle and wouldn't use force against Aden City. This was very commendable.
The next morning, Ang Lee took the car that he had developed himself and wandered around the streets of Aden City under the protection of dozens of guards. Because there were many commercial streets in Aden City, it would be tiring to walk around on foot. Therefore, Ang Lee chose to take the car. Not only did it save him a lot of effort, but it also allowed him to learn about all the commercial streets faster. It was very efficient.
Cars were not popular yet. There were only a few luxurious cars like this on the streets of Chang 'an City in the Tang dynasty, let alone overseas. It was unlikely that cars would be sold overseas in the next ten years, and even if there were, there wouldn't be many of them.
Therefore, almost none of the merchants, citizens, or government officials in Aden City had ever seen a car, unless they were merchants from the Tang Dynasty.
Thus, when Li An's car appeared on the streets of Aden City, almost everyone turned to look at Li An's car with curiosity in their eyes, and many people turned to look at it.
The feeling of being looked up at by people was even more exhilarating than shopping itself. He was very happy as he walked around.
Sitting in the car, Ang Lee looked at the streets and the people outside happily. The people on the streets were also looking at Ang Lee's motorcade. However, the glass was one-way transparent, so the people outside couldn't see Ang Lee. They could only see the dark glass, and they couldn't even be sure that there was someone inside. Therefore, they were even more curious.
There were many armored command vehicles in front and behind the car. They were responsible for protecting Ang Lee's safety. These armored vehicles also attracted the attention of passers-by, who felt that they were big monsters.
A middle-aged man, who was sitting on the second floor along the street, stared at Li An's convoy as they passed by. His expression was one of astonishment, and it was obvious that he was shocked.
This man was the Umayyad Dynasty's Great General Osman. He had come here to take a look at the Great Tang's military equipment, and he had arrived last night. However, in order not to attract too much attention, his group had secretly settled down in an inn, preparing to head to the harbor to take a look at the Great Tang fleet in the afternoon.
While he was eating breakfast, he saw Ang Lee's motorcade passing by the road downstairs. Osman was very surprised because these armored vehicles looked very heavy, but they didn't need horses to pull them. They ran even more smoothly than carriages. It was amazing.
"Shopkeeper, what are those things outside?"
Osman asked.
People who ran shops were generally more knowledgeable. Moreover, the owner of this shop was a businessman from the Tang dynasty. As a businessman from a big country, he naturally had a lot of knowledge.
Hearing this, the shopkeeper said proudly, "Sir, the armored vehicles outside are our Tang dynasty's armored vehicles. They are covered from head to toe in armor. Even swords can't hurt them. If they were on the battlefield, they would be invincible!"
"Armored vehicles, they look so powerful! What's that smaller vehicle? "
Osman continued to ask.
The shopkeeper was not very knowledgeable. He frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "That's also an armored vehicle! They are all covered with iron sheets. It's just a little smaller. Let's call them small armored vehicles! "
Osman nodded and said to himself, "Armored vehicles, small armored vehicles. They can run on their own. Swords can't hurt them. They look so powerful."
"By the way, the armored vehicles are tightly covered. How many people are inside?"
Osman asked curiously.
Looking at the motorcade that had gone far away, the shopkeeper said, "The armored vehicles can accommodate a dozen soldiers at most. The small one can only accommodate four or five people at most. One person is responsible for driving, and the rest are passengers."
"It's strange. This armored vehicle is so heavy and there are no horses to pull it. How can it run so fast? Are the soldiers inside pulling it?"
Osman was as silly as a child, looking at the shopkeeper with a childish face.
The shopkeeper had nothing to do, so he answered patiently, "Sir, there's something you don't know. This is a machine from the Tang dynasty. This machine is very powerful. Except for the Tang Empire, no one can make it. This iron lump doesn't need manpower or animal power. It only needs to burn some oil and it can run faster than horses."
"Oh, it's so powerful. I guess the steam ships of the Tang dynasty also run on oil!"
Osman guessed.
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