Abu Muslim did not dare to talk too much about these sensitive topics, lest someone overheard, which would be extremely troublesome.
But he did not agree with Ziyad's view of Mansur. He did not believe that Mansur would harm him. After all, if Mansur wanted to maintain the stability of his empire, he needed Abu Muslim's help. No matter how bad a person was, they would not choose to cut off their own right hand unless they were tired of living.
Of course, he also knew that Ziyad had good intentions in warning him, and he would not blame Ziyad. But he had to warn Ziyad and have Ziyad learn to be careful with his words and actions so that he would not cause a disaster.
In Royal City, Mansur had the absolute advantage in terms of strength, and he also had the right to speak. Under the unified propaganda of the government, the common people of Royal City knew that Abdullah had rebelled first and Mansur had been elected Caliph after putting down the rebellion. Thus, they naturally supported Mansur.
But in the northern cities, the situation was different. After Abdullah returned to his headquarters in the north, he immediately began to denounce Mansur and expose Mansur's scheme, pointing out that Mansur had rebelled and that he had been wrongly accused.
Now that Mansur had been elected Caliph of the Apus dynasty by those fellows in Royal City, Abdullah naturally could not tolerate this. He could not accept Mansur's possession of the empire.
Therefore, what Abdullah urgently needed to do now was to hold a meeting as soon as possible to deal with the matter of Mansur taking over.
"Sir, Mansur killed the Caliph and poured dirty water on us. This is intolerable. We cannot accept Mansur's position as Caliph."
"Sir, in both seniority and merit, you are above Mansur. Our commander should be the Caliph."
"Sir, there's no need to hesitate. You should ascend the throne as soon as possible and then issue a decree to punish the traitorous Mansur."
"Caliph, ascend the throne!"
His trusted subordinates had no way out, and they fully supported Abdullah's ascension to the throne so that he could contend against Mansur.
Abdullah had first pretended to weep over Apos's death, and then he had ascended to the throne in the name of punishing traitors. After ascending to the throne, he had immediately issued a summons for Nasser and the other generals to prepare for war against the traitorous Mansur's group and avenge Apos.
Mansur's group and Abdullah's group were both preparing for war for their own interests. An unprecedented battle between Apos's groups was about to begin.
In the direction of Aden City, everything was bright and sunny, and there was no atmosphere of war at all. Osman and Ziyad's troops lived in harmony outside the city, and there was no conflict between the Tang dynasty's troops and Altik's troops in Aden City. The four forces were like friends, and they got along very well. If it weren't for the fact that they were all armed, they really would be like friends.
What had happened in Khorasan was shocking news, and it quickly spread throughout Aden City. Ang Lee knew about it, Osman knew about it, and so did the city lord of Aden City, Altik.
In the face of this sudden change, all parties were getting restless, and the rare peaceful atmosphere seemed to be about to be broken.
Osman was the first one who couldn't sit still. He sent his subordinates to inform Ang Lee that it was time for the Apus dynasty to fight among themselves, and that he should go north and take over Egypt.
However, after much consideration, Li An rejected Osman's suggestion. He felt that Mansur and Abdullah had not started fighting yet, and neither side's strength had been damaged. It was too hasty to head north at this time. He also suggested that Osman send a small number of troops to Egypt, mainly in charge of scouting and developing his own forces. In the near future, he would be able to cooperate with the main force in Mali and take down Egypt in one fell swoop.
Osman listened to Ang Lee's suggestion, and immediately sent 500 troops to disguise themselves as caravans. They split into five groups and prepared to develop a base of operations in Egypt. At the same time, they would scout out the enemy there and prepare to take over Egypt.
Altik was quite calm. When he was free, he would chat with Ang Lee about the current situation in the world, food, and women.
However, the situation in the Apus dynasty was a topic that couldn't be avoided. It was too hot, and it would be unrealistic to not talk about it. Sometimes, they would unconsciously talk about it.
"City Lord, what do you think of the taste?"
Ang Lee asked Altik about the taste of the food from the Tang dynasty.
"Oh, it's so delicious. There are so many delicious food in the Tang dynasty. It's so much better than the food I had in Khorasan."
Altik replied casually.
"Khorasan? Khorasan also has delicious food? "
Ang Lee asked.
Altik said, "Khorasan's food has always been very famous. Assistant Minister Li, if you have time, you can go and try it. However, the situation in Khorasan is very bad right now, so it's best not to go for now."
"That's right! Khorasan's situation is truly very bad! I heard that the battle is very intense. I wonder who will have the last laugh. "
Ang Lee sighed, pretending not to know the situation.
Ang Lee was very clear about the development of the situation in Khorasan. According to the trajectory of history, if there were no deviations, Mansur's Great General Abu Muslim would defeat Abdullah's soldiers and finally eradicate this political enemy.
However, ever since Ang Lee came to the Tang Empire, everything in the world had quietly changed. No one could be sure whether the Apus dynasty would continue to develop according to the trajectory of history.
And no matter how the situation developed, Ang Lee would not just stand by and watch. He had to do something to prevent the Apus dynasty from achieving a powerful unification. Only this would be in the best interest of the Tang Empire.
"Abu Muslim went deep into the north and was defeated by Abdullah many times. He was forced to retreat more than one hundred li. Moreover, Abdullah controls a very large area and has enough reserves. It seems that Abdullah will win!"
Altik voiced his judgment.
Ang Lee chuckled and said, "Abdullah truly does have the advantage for now, but that's because he is fighting near his base in the north, while Abu Muslim is marching a long distance and is having a difficult time resupplying his troops. Because he has yet to gain a firm foothold, it's not strange for him to be defeated several times. However, Abu Muslim has already retreated more than one hundred li into the plains. In this kind of terrain, the Khorasan cavalry have an enormous advantage. Turning defeat into victory won't be very difficult."
"Assistant Minister Li, do you think that Abu Muslim will win?"
Altik asked.
Ang Lee chuckled. "Not only will he win, but he might even win by a large margin."
"The chances aren't high. I feel that."
Altik and Ang Lee had different views.
Ang Lee chuckled, looked into Altik's eyes, and suggested, "City Lord, why don't we make a bet? Let's bet on who will win between Abu Muslim and Abdullah. "
"Okay! What's the wager? A bet is only interesting if there's a wager. "
Altik chuckled. For someone of high status, a little wager was no big deal.
Ang Lee pretended to think deeply, and then he said, "Since we're making a bet, let's make the wager bigger. The City of Aden is not bad and can be used as a wager."
Altik was startled, but he quickly calmed down and chuckled. "Assistant Minister Li is quite calculating. The City of Aden is mine, and Assistant Minister Li is planning to withdraw if he loses, but if he wins, he'll have me leave the City of Aden. No matter how you look at it, I'm not getting any advantage!"
Ang Lee chuckled. "City Lord, don't worry. How could I let you lose out? If I win the City of Aden, I'll give City Lord even more benefits. City Lord is also a talent. Are you really willing to be a trifling city lord and not want to develop further? "
"Assistant Minister Li, what do you mean? What do you mean by 'develop further'? Please elaborate. "
Altik didn't understand what Ang Lee was talking about, so he asked.
Ang Lee took out the map he had prepared and said, "City Lord, please take a look. The City of Aden is just a port and is nothing compared to the entire peninsula. If I win the City of Aden, I'll help City Lord take control of the entire southern part of the peninsula. At that time, City Lord will be able to control more than a hundred times the land you have now. It's not a loss at all!"
Altik was stunned, and he stared at the map for a long time. He was rather tempted by Ang Lee's proposal. If he could control more than half of the peninsula, nothing could be better. But if he had to cede the City of Aden, he would feel some pain. After all, he had operated it for so long that he really couldn't bear to part with it.
"Assistant Minister Li really has a way to help us control more than half of the peninsula?"
Altik nervously asked.
Ang Lee chuckled. "How could this be false? Mansur and Abdullah are currently engaged in a bloody battle, and both sides have committed their most important forces to the battlefield. There aren't many soldiers in the southwest, so this is the perfect opportunity to seize the peninsula."
Altik found this reasonable, but he still nervously asked, "Ziyad has ten thousand elites outside the city. My ten thousand soldiers were all temporarily recruited, and their equipment and training are far inferior to Ziyad's elites. Just this group of enemies before us is hard enough to defeat, so how can we take the entire peninsula?"
This was a very realistic problem. Altik had relied on the walls of the City of Aden to just barely contend against Ziyad's cavalry. In a battle on the open plains, he simply couldn't win, much less take the many cities on the peninsula.
Ang Lee waved his hand and said, "City Lord is worrying too much. The news from the north says that Ziyad is in Abu Muslim's army, so who is the commander of Ziyad's army outside? At the very least, it's not Ziyad. In addition, the soldiers under City Lord's command are lacking in equipment and training. Our Tang dynasty can help! We can provide you with better weapons and help you train elite soldiers. In addition, General Osman outside the city can assist you in battle. In this way, City Lord's chances of victory are very high. "
Altik was shocked to hear this. He had been confused as to who had visited Ang Lee, but now, he was completely sure that the mysterious man who had visited Ang Lee a few days ago was one of Osman's subordinates. This was especially so since Osman and Ang Lee were already in contact. Moreover, from Ang Lee's words, Osman seemed to be completely willing to listen to Ang Lee's orders.
"Haha! Assistant Minister Li is truly a capable person! He was actually able to make the unruly General Osman bow his head and listen to him. Truly not simple! But what will General Osman get out of this? Why would he listen to you? "
Altik was no fool. Ang Lee had given him the entire peninsula, so what would Osman get out of this? If he couldn't get any benefits, why would Osman listen to Ang Lee and help him fight against Ziyad's army?
Ang Lee didn't plan to hide anything, so he said, "City Lord, please take a look. This is Egypt, and there is a lot of room to expand to the west and south. If Osman can obtain all of Egypt in the end, that would be quite good!"
Altik nodded in approval and said, "Assistant Minister Li truly has a good plan! In this way, the land of the Umayyad Dynasty will be divided into many parts, and it will no longer be able to form a powerful empire. The Tang Dynasty will also be able to obtain a good place like Aden forever. "
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Benefits are mutual. Since the Tang Dynasty is willing to help you, we will naturally ask for some benefits. Aden, this small area around it, and the small peninsula between Egypt and the Tang Dynasty are all rewards for helping you. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty will station troops in these places to protect you better. If someone attacks other people's land for no reason, the Tang Dynasty will definitely interfere. Of course, the main purpose of the Tang Dynasty is to make these places prosperous so that you can become prosperous and prosper together. Isn't that good?"
"Assistant Minister Li's words are very reasonable. If the Tang Dynasty can really help us Shia occupy the entire peninsula, we are willing to sacrifice this small area of Aden in exchange for our friendship for generations to come."
Altik said wisely.
He knew the strength of the Tang Dynasty very well. Even if he could only obtain the Arabian Peninsula by cooperating with the Tang Dynasty, it would be much better than hiding in Aden. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty was so powerful. If he refused and angered the Tang Dynasty, Aden would also be taken away. In that case, he would get nothing.
"City Lord."
Suddenly, one of his subordinates walked over.
Altik smiled at Ang Lee, walked over, and asked in a low voice, "What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"News just came from the north. Abu Muslim defeated Abdullah and killed tens of thousands of Abdullah's men. Abdullah fled back to his base in the north. Abu Muslim marched all the way and besieged Abdullah's base."
The subordinate said.
Hearing this, Artik was slightly shocked. He sighed at Li Anzhi's wisdom. He actually guessed it so accurately. Thus, he waved his hand and ordered his subordinates to leave.
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