Ang Lee generously distributed the profits from the food that Altik had given him to his soldiers so that they could serve him happily.
Seeing the excited expressions on the faces of the soldiers who were distributing the money, Ang Lee was also very happy. This was much happier than if he had taken all the money for himself. After all, Ang Lee wasn't someone who lacked money. Being able to take out a small portion of the money to please his soldiers wouldn't cause him much loss. Instead, it would increase his prestige and make his subordinates more willing to follow him.
Ang Lee looked at another soldier and asked, "How many gold coins did you get?"
"Assistant Minister Li, I worked hard and got 120 gold coins. Hehehe."
The soldier replied.
Ang Lee was also happy and asked, "What do you plan to do with so many gold coins?"
A soldier replied, "Spend it. Buy what we need. Buy whatever we want."
"Assistant Minister Li, aren't we going to enter the city? It's easier to spend money in the city. "
Another soldier said with a smile.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "That's right. We can only spend money happily in the city. However, after such a big battle, I can't imagine what the city is like now."
Obviously, as the capital city that Altik had chosen, Maia City must have been very prosperous. However, after the brutal siege and defense battle, many of the resources in the city had been requisitioned by the army, including some of the houses of the commoners. As for the actual losses, they could only know after entering the city.
Fortunately, Ziyad's army didn't break into the city. Instead, a large number of siege weapons threw stones into the city near the city walls, destroying some of the commercial and civilian facilities. Most of the facilities in the city were still relatively intact.
Most of the soldiers under Li An's command had gone into the city to transport rations before. Therefore, they had some understanding of the situation in the city. They knew the basic situation in the city.
"Assistant Minister Li, the situation in the city is still okay. The damaged houses are being repaired and there are busy figures everywhere in the city. The shops in the commercial district are opening one after another. I estimate that it won't be long before the city returns to its former glory."
One of the subordinates said.
"Assistant Minister Li, the soldiers have worked hard for a day. Why should they continue to sleep outside the city? Isn't it good to have some fun in the city?"
Another subordinate suggested.
This suggestion was very reasonable. The soldiers had just received a large amount of money and they wouldn't feel at ease if they didn't spend some of it. Moreover, it wasn't easy to carry so much money around and there was no bank to deposit or withdraw it from.
Of course, the most important thing was that the life of the soldiers was a little too poor. They needed to go to the city to have a good time. Those who liked to drink wine, eat meat, watch the fun, and those who liked girls could also go to the city to find them.
Ang Lee also loved his soldiers. Of course, he didn't want to see the soldiers suffer. However, the situation in the city was not stable for the time being. There were soldiers and workers everywhere. If they entered the city at this time, it would add to the chaos in the city. Moreover, the soldiers and soldiers of the Tang dynasty went to the city to eat, drink, and play while others were busy rebuilding their homes. This would more or less make the soldiers and soldiers in the city dissatisfied. Moreover, the soldiers and soldiers of the Tang dynasty were not of the same race as them, so this dissatisfaction would become more serious.
"Soldiers, the situation in the city is a little chaotic. We'd better not enter the city. If you need anything, just take it from the city. We can also have fun outside the city."
Ang Lee said.
"Assistant Minister Li, can you invite the girls in the city?"
"Good wine and good meat, enough for you."
The soldiers said rudely.
Li An nodded and said, "Of course. There will be ladies, and there will be plenty of meat and wine. Just let the soldiers celebrate happily."
"Great!"
The soldiers shouted excitedly.
Ang Lee looked at the subordinate next to him and said, "It's just dark and the soldiers are not sleepy. Take some soldiers into the city and buy more wine and meat. By the way, bring the young and beautiful girls back. I'm telling you, don't be muddle-headed and don't kidnap girls. You have to make them come out of the city willingly to serve our soldiers."
"Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. I know what to do."
The subordinate replied.
Soon, the subordinate took dozens of soldiers and rode on dozens of large trucks to Maia City, which was not far away. They were going to buy and sell meat and spend money to invite girls.
Ang Lee continued to stay outside the city and watch the fire. The fire would not stop until it burned for three days and three nights. At least, it could be seen from the number of weapons that Ziyad had built. The old and weak soldiers who stayed behind did not dare to take risks. They could only burn it bit by bit. They could not burn it all at once to avoid causing a major accident.
"Do you think Ziyad can return to Khorasan smoothly?"
Ang Lee asked softly.
"Assistant Minister Li, is there anyone who can stop Ziyad? He has nearly 100,000 elite soldiers. Even if he was defeated in Maia City, no one can stop Ziyad on the way back."
The subordinate said.
Ang Lee explained, "I'm not talking about who can stop him. I'm talking about the internal problems of the Apus dynasty. Will someone take the opportunity to destroy Ziyad? In this way, if Ziyad can't make a prompt decision to raise the army, he will be completely finished."
"Assistant Minister Li, whether Ziyad will be finished or not has nothing to do with the Tang dynasty. This is the internal problem of the Apus dynasty."
The subordinate said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "It doesn't have much to do with it. However, if Ziyad can raise the army, it will definitely set off a new round of chaos in the Apus dynasty. In this way, the small Khorasan will be divided again. The more states that are divided in Arabia, the easier it will be to control them. This is a great advantage for the Tang dynasty. So, of course, it has something to do with it."
"In that case, how can we help Ziyad?"
The subordinate asked.
Ang Lee shook his head and said, "We can't help directly. I've already reminded him that everything depends on his luck. There's nothing we can do to help. We'd better wait and see."
After saying that, Ang Lee was lost in thought.
Fragmentation management was a common method used by many powerful empires. As long as the other countries were divided into very small countries, they could easily control them. If a small country gradually grew and became a powerful country, it would challenge the original powerful country, which was very unfavorable. Therefore, it was necessary to find a way to prevent the weak countries from becoming strong. At the same time, it was necessary to find a way to make the strong countries weaker so that it would be easier to control them.
In the severely divided Arabian world, the Khorasan Apus dynasty was undoubtedly the most powerful part. It had the potential to unify the whole Arabian world. Therefore, it naturally became the target that Ang Lee focused on containing. Correspondingly, it was necessary to improve the strength of Altik and Osman so that they could resist the attack of the Apus dynasty. In this way, the Mansur Group could not complete the unification of the Arabian world and form a powerful country that could threaten the Tang dynasty.
Later Western powers were also very happy to fragment the whole world. After they had to leave the colonies, they used various means to divide the colonies into several relatively independent countries. In this way, a single country would not be very powerful. It was very easy to control them, so that these small countries could never become strong. In this way, they would always maintain the strength of the Western powers, so that the small colonial countries would never be able to rise again.
Among all the countries in the world today, only the Tang dynasty was the most powerful empire. The inferior Tibet had been conquered by the Tang dynasty, and the rest of the Arabian world had been torn apart. Therefore, the situation was very good for the Tang Empire.
Of course, they could not be too proud. They had to maintain this strength humbly and let the Tang Empire stand at the top of the world forever. Ang Lee was very clear about the strength of the Mansur Group. Therefore, he must maintain a strong vigilance against this group. He must not let the Mansur Group grow. Otherwise, it would be a great threat to the Tang Empire sooner or later.
It was not good for the eyes to keep looking at the burning fire. Ang Lee stopped looking at it after half an hour. Instead, he lay on the recliner and closed his eyes to rest.
"Assistant Minister Li, they are back."
His subordinate said.
They were naturally referring to the purchasing staff that Li An had sent to the city. They were responsible for collecting large amounts of delicacies from the city. At the same time, they were also responsible for bringing back some women from the city to entertain the soldiers.
Ang Lee lay on the recliner. Although his eyes were closed, his ears could hear the movement. He had already judged that the people he sent out had come back. Moreover, they had brought a lot of things. After all, the sound of the vehicles was not so loud when they left. When they came back, the sound was much louder.
"Let's see what they brought back."
Ang Lee got up slightly and looked not far away.
More than a dozen vehicles soon stopped. A large group of soldiers immediately surrounded them and unloaded the goods on the trucks.
"Wow! There are so many girls. They are so beautiful! "
"Wow, there are so many girls. Where did you get them? They are really good."
When the soldiers saw the beauties, they were all very excited. They could not wait to immediately pounce on the beauties and push them down to vent the loneliness of many days.
Ang Lee also saw these girls. There were really a lot of them, about one or two hundred people. This surprised Ang Lee. He did not expect that his subordinates would bring so many girls. However, what shocked Ang Lee even more was that among these girls, one-third of them did not look like prostitutes at all. Instead, they looked like good girls. There were even some who looked very similar. At first glance, he could tell that they were mother and daughter.
"What's the situation? How did you get so many good girls? What did I tell them?"
Ang Lee thought that his subordinate was robbing the girls and quickly reprimanded him.
The subordinate felt wronged and said, "Assistant Minister Li, this subordinate did as you said. These girls are not good girls. They have just entered the brothel and have not had time to receive customers. This subordinate is really wronged."
Li An was slightly startled when he heard this. He immediately understood the reason behind it. It must be because the siege and defense of the city were too intense. All the men in the city had gone up to the city to fight, and some of them had died on the battlefield. Their wives and daughters had no one to take care of them.
In this era, it was very difficult for women to make a living in society. Once a family lost a man, it was very likely that the family would be completely finished. In a situation where a woman had no way out, she could only remarry or become a prostitute. The worst was to become a beggar on the street.
In Maia City, there were more men who died in battle. Therefore, remarrying depended on luck. Not every woman could successfully remarry. Young and beautiful women who did not have children had the highest success rate of remarrying. As for those who were old and ugly and had a few children, they could not count on them. Basically, there was no possibility of remarrying. Moreover, when there were many things waiting to be done in the city, begging for food was not so easy. Therefore, becoming a prostitute was the best choice.
Many women who lost their husbands would abandon their children and become prostitutes. However, there were also women who would choose to take their daughters to the brothel. As long as the daughter's age and appearance were suitable, it would be fine. It was just that simple.
"It seems that this siege and defense of the city caused a lot of losses in the city! There are actually so many women who were forced to become prostitutes. Sigh! They are all pitiful people. Tell the soldiers to be gentle. They must know how to have tender feelings for women. "
Ang Lee sighed.
His subordinate hurriedly replied, "Don't worry! Assistant Minister Li, our soldiers are all benevolent and righteous soldiers. They all know how to have tender feelings for women. They will definitely be gentle. Oh right, I have found a pair of sisters for you. They are both in their late twenties and have just entered the brothel. They have not received any customers yet. They are beautiful, pure, and pitiful. They are definitely the best. "
Where could he find such a sensible subordinate? Ang Lee nodded in satisfaction and motioned for his subordinate to send them into the main tent.
Although he was getting older, Ang Lee's needs did not weaken at all. On the contrary, they showed signs of increasing. This surprised Ang Lee. Could it be that he had regained his youth? He was actually becoming more and more interested in young women.
However, having needs was always a good thing. It was better than having no interest at all. If he was not interested in women, then there was a problem with his body. It was a sign of severe aging. It was a very scary thing.
Ang Lee would rather be interested in young and beautiful women forever. This showed that his body had always been very good. It was a sign of youth.
Soon, two young and beautiful women were sent into Ang Lee's room. Because they had just entered the brothel to make a living, they had not changed their clothes. They were still wearing the clothes of ordinary people. Moreover, their clothes were somewhat shabby. It was obvious that they were children from poor families.
Li An immediately felt a sense of pity. Such young and beautiful girls, he must treat them gently and lovingly. He must let them experience what warmth and love were.
"You must be hungry!"
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