Altik was lost in thought. He was considering his minimum request, and at the same time, he was thinking about what he should offer in exchange after making these requests, and what exchange would not affect his fundamental interests. If he really ceded the peninsula to the Tang dynasty, he would lose his foothold, which was absolutely unacceptable. He could consider ceding a small piece of land. As for other conditions, as long as he could accept them, he would not hesitate to sacrifice some interests.
The key problem was that he could not figure out the Tang dynasty's request and Ang Lee's exchange conditions. As for his own minimum request, he was naturally very clear.
Altik's minimum request was for Ziyad to withdraw his troops, and it would be best if he could reconcile with Mansur's regime so that the two sides would not fight again. This happened to coincide with the goal of the Tang dynasty. Therefore, he felt that Ang Lee would definitely agree to this request, and there would be no problem.
But if he wanted the Tang dynasty to help persuade Ziyad to withdraw his troops, he would definitely give some benefits, which was also Ang Lee's intention. He did not know what Ang Lee wanted most this time, whether it was a piece of land, a lot of money, or something else.
It was very important for Altik to figure out the Tang dynasty's request, which was Ang Lee's request, and he had to ask Ang Lee in person. Otherwise, he would never be able to guess what Ang Lee wanted.
"Everyone, I don't think we can ask for too much. Our minimum request is for Ziyad to withdraw his troops and return to Khorasan. This is the most difficult problem at hand. Ziyad's army has suffered a great loss this time. As long as they return to Khorasan, it will take them three to five years to recover, and we will have enough time to improve our strength. Then, we won't be afraid of Ziyad attacking us again."
Altik said.
"City Lord is right. As long as Ziyad retreats, everything will be fine. This request is very reasonable. They will definitely not make things difficult for the Tang dynasty. They will definitely be able to make Ziyad retreat."
"The Tang dynasty doesn't want the unification of Arabia. They are on our side in their hearts. Therefore, if we make this reasonable request, they will definitely agree and won't make things too difficult for us."
"Governor, we should inform Assistant Minister Li of our intentions as soon as possible and ask what the Tang dynasty needs so that we can make preparations in advance."
"Yes, yes, yes. We should prepare early and get in touch with the Tang dynasty as soon as possible."
His subordinates all nodded in agreement, thinking that as long as Ziyad's troops returned to Khorasan, everything would be easy to handle, and this request would definitely be approved by the Tang dynasty.
Soon, Altik sent a capable subordinate to the main tent of the Tang Dynasty army to discuss the conditions with Ang Lee face to face. He also felt a lot more at ease.
In the direction of Ziyad's camp, Ziyad was listening to the report of his subordinates. When he heard that Ang Lee did not mean to start a war with him, he immediately relaxed a lot and breathed a big sigh of relief. But when he learned that Ang Lee intended to extort him, he became a little angry.
How could there be a boss who couldn't restrain his subordinates? Ang Lee was obviously extorting him. He was extorting him by relying on his powerful military force.
However, as long as Ang Lee's request was not too excessive, he would not care too much. It was just money. He had plundered a lot of wealth along the way. There was really a lot of gold, silver, and jewelry. There was nothing wrong with giving some of it to Ang Lee. As long as it was not a core benefit, he could accept it.
But he never expected that Ang Lee would sow discord between him and Mansur. Moreover, he said it in a very convincing way and used the prophecy to scare him.
Most people would not believe in prophecies, but Ziyad believed it a little because he felt that Ang Lee's words were very reasonable. He knew what kind of person Mansur was better than anyone else. This ruthless guy had killed a lot of people. If he wanted to harm him, there was nothing strange about it.
This gave Ziyad a headache. If he really reached an agreement with Ang Lee and led the army back to Khorasan, then Mansur would be very angry. If he used this as an excuse to kill him, it was really possible. And Ziyad certainly did not want to die in Mansur's hands.
The most reliable way to protect himself was to raise an army and stand on his own, but this was also risky. If his subordinates were loyal to Mansur, he might be killed by his subordinates and lead to another tragedy. Thus, raising an army and standing on his own was also risky. This placed Ziyad in a dilemma.
Fortunately, Ziyad had a superior that he deeply trusted, Abu Muslim. His superior's opinion was extremely important, so he needed to discuss this matter with Abu Muslim.
His confidant was an old subordinate who had followed Ziyad for many years and was a friend who had gone through life and death together. Thus, this matter could not be leaked. Moreover, Ziyad had repeatedly warned his confidant not to speak carelessly.
After sending his confidant back, Ziyad went to Abu Muslim's tent. Because of his heavy injuries, Abu Muslim spent half of his time sleeping in bed and the rest of his time in his room. He rarely went out. After all, he was rather old, and his injuries made him appear very haggard. He truly did not have the strength to go out and play. All the military affairs had been left to Ziyad, and Abu Muslim was too lazy to get involved.
"Ziyad, I heard that the Tang dynasty's army has arrived. What's going on? Have they come to interfere with us?"
Although Abu Muslim did not involve himself in military affairs, such an important matter could not be hidden from him. He had learned of this matter the moment the Tang dynasty's army arrived.
"You could say that! The Tang dynasty does not want the Arabs to be united. You know this, so they do not want us to break into the city. "
Ziyad said.
"Of course I know this. I heard that the Tang Dynasty army's armored vehicles are impenetrable. There's no way to fight them."
Abu Muslim asked.
"Yes, General. Although the Tang Dynasty army is small in number, we can't fight against their armored vehicles. If we really do fight, our soldiers will suffer heavy losses."
Ziyad honestly said.
Abu Muslim nodded. "Our strength is far inferior to the Tang Dynasty army. Almost all the tribes in the eastern part of Khorasan have joined the Tang dynasty. An elite force of the Anxi Protectorate has already been garrisoned in the eastern part of Khorasan, only several hundred li from our royal city. The threat they pose to us is far too great, but we can't do anything about it, not even the tiniest bit!"
Ziyad said, "General, the threat from the Tang dynasty is nothing to us. The threat from our own country is our greatest threat! The one who can take our lives is not the Tang dynasty, but our revered Caliph. "
After saying this, he nervously looked around, afraid that the people in the camp would hear him.
Abu Muslim was also given a fright. He warily looked out of the tent and whispered, "Ziyad, you can't speak carelessly like this. If the Caliph hears about it, we'll really be in trouble."
Seiyad also lowered his voice and said, "General, I'm not the one who said that. Even outsiders can see our situation clearly."
"Outsiders? Who said it?"
Abu Muslim nervously asked.
Ziyad naturally wouldn't hide anything. "General, it was the Tang dynasty's Assistant Minister Li. He can see that our Caliph has no tolerance and will kill us sooner or later. He said that this was his prophecy and told us to do as we see fit."
Abu Muslim fell into deep thought at these words. After a long while, he said, "Ziyad, why don't you tell us what you're thinking?"
Ziyad said, "General, it's precisely because this general can't make up his mind that I came to discuss this matter with General. We've already lost this battle. If we return to Khorasan with our tails between our legs, will the Caliph really forgive us? How should we save ourselves? "
"You're thinking of rebelling!"
Abu Muslim calmly said.
Ziyad agitatedly said, "General, do we really have another path to take? If we don't resist, we'll just be fish on the chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered! "
Abu Muslim thought for a few moments, then nodded. "The Caliph truly has changed quite a bit, but you also understand his methods. Since he was able to confidently hand over one hundred thousand soldiers to us, did he really not make any preparations? How many of our subordinates are of one mind with us, and how many have sworn loyalty to the Caliph? And our families are all in the Royal City, under the Caliph's control. If we rebel for the sake of our own lives, our families will be doomed. If we lose our families, what meaning is there in living?"
It was clear that Abu Muslim was old and had no greater ambitions. All he thought about was how to peacefully live out his later years, no longer thinking about rebelling. The danger was simply too great. Moreover, they would first lose their families, which Abu Muslim could not accept.
Ziyad naturally didn't want to lose his family. After all, people worked hard to live for the sake of their families. If their families were all gone, what meaning was there in living? This was why Ziyad had never been able to make up his mind. Now that he heard Abu Muslim's words, he was shaken and didn't dare to resist Mansur. But if he obediently returned, would he be able to protect his family? Would he be killed along with his family?
In Ziyad's mind, Ang Lee from the Tang dynasty was a god-like existence. If not for this person, the Tang Empire would not have been so terrifyingly powerful. And the words of such a formidable person were naturally the golden rule. Thus, Ziyad believed that Ang Lee's prophecy was absolutely true, and this only made him even more nervous.
"General is right. If our families are all gone, there truly isn't much meaning in us living. But once we return, can we definitely protect our families? And there's also this Assistant Minister Li. He's a god-like existence in the Tang dynasty. Without him, the Tang dynasty would not have achieved what it has today. His words and his prophecies can't be false. "
Ziyad nervously said.
"Okay, I need to think about this question. Right, how many people know about this?"
Abu Muslim warily asked.
Ziyad replied, "Other than the two of us and my trusted aide, only three people know."
"That's good. We can't let this matter get out, not even the tiniest bit. In addition, since the Great Tang wants to extort money, we'll give them some. Keeping them in check is the most important thing."
Abu Muslim said.
Ziyad nodded and said, "Don't worry! General, I know what to do. I'll send someone to deliver gifts to the Tang dynasty. Also, this matter can't be leaked out. "
After saying that, he went to make preparations, while Abu Muslim fell into deep thought.
Of course, Ziyad was not the only one to deliver gifts. When Altik sent his trusted aide to meet Ang Lee, he was naturally embarrassed to come empty-handed, so he also brought gifts. Moreover, these gifts were very pleasing to Ang Lee's eyes.
"Assistant Minister Li, this is a token of our city lord's appreciation for all the help you've given us. We won't forget your kindness and must accept it."
Altik's subordinate courteously presented the gifts.
Ang Lee looked around and found that there were indeed many gifts. There were pearls, gems, gold, silver, corals, and other good things. These things were worth a lot of money, but because the Arabian economy was not very developed, these things were not very expensive.
After all, many things had to be sought after by people to show their value. For example, corals were ornamental things. As long as people sought after them, they would be priceless. But if no one sought after them, they would be worthless.
For example, the price of Wenwan walnuts in the future would soar until it was ridiculously high when many people sought after them. But when people no longer paid attention to them, the price would plummet until it was not even one-tenth of its previous price.
There were also many things that would only be very expensive when everyone was chasing after them. When no one was interested in them, the price would be very cheap.
In troubled times, gold was used to decorate jewelry. This kind of jewelry was very valuable only in prosperous times. In troubled times, no one wanted jewelry, and because gold was a hard currency, it was very popular in troubled times.
The current situation in the Arabian world could be considered troubled times. Therefore, other than gold and silver, the most valuable things were not very expensive. But if these corals were transported to the Tang dynasty, the price would be completely different. It was possible that the price would be ten times higher. After all, the economy of the Tang dynasty was developing very rapidly, and the demand for all kinds of luxury goods was very large. Naturally, the price would also soar.
"Not bad, these are all good things! Your City Lord is truly a good friend. This official has not made this friend in vain! Hahaha! I'll accept them all. "
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