The Tang Dynasty's canal project was finally decided upon by Ang Lee after careful consideration. The construction of this canal would greatly expand the influence of the Tang Dynasty and prosper the world's commerce. It could especially drive the development of Western Europe and promote the rapid development of Eastern and Western culture and commerce.
Ang Lee had done some calculations. Although the cost of excavating the Tang Dynasty's canal was astronomical, as long as the canal was put into operation, the toll that could be collected was also very high. It would only take a few years for the cost to be recovered. After that, there would naturally be a large amount of profit.
Therefore, the Tang Dynasty's canal project was definitely not a loss, whether economically or politically. Naturally, the imperial court also saw this point, so it quickly approved Ang Lee's plan and planned to send officials and construction personnel to Yunhe City.
At this moment, the officials and construction personnel sent by the Tang Dynasty were still on their way. After all, whether by sea or by land, it would take a long time. The sea route was because the ships were not fast enough, while the land route was because the railway had not yet been extended to the Tang Dynasty's canal. Even the entire Arabian Peninsula did not have a single inch of railway. The railway in eastern Khorasan was only at the foundation stage. Therefore, no matter which route they took, it would take a long time.
In order to reduce the suffering on the road, the officials and technical personnel of the Tang Dynasty were naturally more willing to take the sea route. This was because the sea route was supported by huge ships, so it was relatively more comfortable. Although the railway was also more comfortable, the railway could not pass through the Tang Dynasty's canal. There was also a considerable part of the journey that needed to be done by horse and foot. This was simply torture. Therefore, they were not willing to take the land route and chose to take the sea route to Yunhe Town.
The name of the Tang Dynasty's canal was praised both inside and outside the imperial court. Everyone felt that this name was domineering and could maximize the fame and influence of the Tang Dynasty. It was more appropriate to call the largest city Yunhe Town. It echoed the canal of the Tang Dynasty, which was more conducive to the development of this town.
If they wanted to develop the canal of the Tang Dynasty better, they could not do without the strong support of the governments around the canal. After all, the Tang Dynasty was too far away from the canal of the Tang Dynasty. Many places along the way needed to be built. It was impossible to transfer a large number of domestic labor to dig the canal. Therefore, using the labor force around the canal was the only reliable choice.
If they wanted to use the labor force around the canal, they must first get the support of the surrounding governments. Otherwise, the labor force would be much less effective if no one mobilized. Moreover, there was also the problem of trust.... If the local imperial court did not mobilize the labor force, how many people would dare to work in the Tang Dynasty's control areas?
If the local imperial court fully supported them, it would be different. They could help organize the labor force, explain the labor force needed to build the canal of the Tang Dynasty, and tell them the labor remuneration. In this way, the enthusiasm of the people could be increased, which was very beneficial to the construction of the canal of the Tang Dynasty.
Several officials in charge of the specific details had to communicate with Ang Lee and Altik back and forth every day. After all, many terms had to be agreed by the two of them, which made them very busy.
However, no matter how busy they were, they were not tired. After all, they went back and forth by car. Moreover, it was Ang Lee's car, which was temporarily given to them.
Every day, except for the negotiation, Ang Lee basically played with the two girls in the rest of his time. Although they did not speak the same language, the two girls were very smart. It did not take long for them to roughly understand the meaning of Ang Lee's words. It was like raising a pet. As long as you called it a few times with different voices, the pet would understand the meaning of the master's words. Humans' ability to distinguish sounds was much better than that of animals', so naturally, they could understand the meaning of Ang Lee's words better.
For example, they could quickly understand the language of "come here, eat, hug, kiss," and so on. They even learned to imitate it, just like babies learning to speak. It was very cute.
Unlike Ang Lee who played all day, Altik was busy every day. In addition to negotiating with the Tang Dynasty, he also had to command the people and soldiers in the city to rebuild the damaged facilities in the city. In addition, there were many injured and disabled soldiers in the city. These people needed reliable arrangements to comfort their wounded hearts.
Because there were too many injured and dead soldiers, Altik was under great financial pressure. If it were not for the strong foundation of his business group, he would have collapsed long ago.
Even though Altik used a considerable amount of financial resources to comfort the dead and injured soldiers, there were still many people who were not taken care of. For example, the dead civilians who were temporarily recruited to the city to help defend the city, and the poor civilians who were accidentally killed by stones thrown by the enemy outside the city. It was difficult to take care of these people's rights. This was also the main reason why many women joined brothels after the war.
While busy with work, Altik did not forget to care about the Tang Dynasty soldiers outside the city, especially Ang Lee. Of course, he also cared about Ziyad's army that was retreating. He sent a small number of cavalry to monitor Ziyad's army along the way. He could not be completely relieved until Ziyad's army completely left the Arabian Peninsula.
"Where did Ziyad's army retreat to?"
Altik asked.
His subordinate replied, "My Lord, Ziyad's army has arrived north of Al City. After gathering the troops of Al City, they will soon withdraw to Khorasan."
"Good, I'm relieved. By the way, what about the Tang Dynasty's army outside the city? They have been staying outside the city and refuse to enter the city. Why is that? "
Altik had been so busy that he did not have time to ask the reason why the Tang Dynasty's army refused to enter the city.
"My Lord, our city is too chaotic. Assistant Minister Li is worried that the Tang Dynasty's army will worsen the chaos in the city after they enter the city, so they are temporarily stationed outside the city."
His subordinate replied.
"There is a desert outside the city. If the Tang Dynasty's army lacks anything, you must send it to them in time. Don't let them suffer. After all, we can't do without the help of the Tang Dynasty now."
Altik said.
His subordinate hurriedly said, "My Lord, you worry too much. Although the Tang Dynasty's army has not entered the city, a small number of soldiers enter the city every day to buy food. One-third of the prostitutes in the brothels have been taken out by the Tang Dynasty's army. Moreover, they are the best and most beautiful. Their camp is much more comfortable than our city."
Altik was relieved when he heard this. As long as the Tang Dynasty's army lived well and did not suffer outside, he did not have to worry about the dissatisfaction of the Tang Dynasty's soldiers, and he did not have to worry about the relationship with the Tang Dynasty.
"Through the negotiations with the officials of the Tang Dynasty these days, I found that the Tang Dynasty is really sincere in cooperating with us. We can agree to these conditions. The Tang Dynasty can do us no harm."
Altik said.
"My Lord, we are also in need of manpower now. Do we really have to provide more than 100,000 laborers for the Tang Dynasty? Isn't that too much? "
His subordinate said.
"My Lord, in order to gather enough manpower, we need to reduce the number of soldiers. But if the number of soldiers is reduced, won't we be in danger if Ziyad's army comes again? We can't take the risk of reducing the number of soldiers before the Tang Dynasty gives us clear protection."
Another subordinate said.
Obviously, Altik's regime had just been established, and there were also many things waiting to be done internally. It was also the time when he needed manpower. At the same time, they also had to guard against Ziyad's army coming again. If they transferred all the manpower to the Tang Dynasty, the national strength would be greatly weakened.
However, Altik obviously didn't think so. Although transferring manpower to the Tang Dynasty would weaken him, his regime couldn't do without the help of the Tang Dynasty. If he didn't have a good relationship with the Tang Dynasty, his regime would be in real danger. Moreover, the construction needed the help of the Tang Dynasty's machinery to develop faster and better. If they relied on their own backward methods, the speed and progress of the construction would inevitably be unsatisfactory. But as long as they met the requirements of the Tang Empire and introduced the advanced machinery of the Tang Dynasty, the progress of domestic construction would inevitably be greatly accelerated, and the development would be better and stronger.
In other words, they couldn't be shortsighted when looking at problems. They couldn't only care about the immediate interests, but also the interests behind them. After all, Altik was very guilty. He knew that it would be difficult for his regime to gain a foothold without the support of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, he had to rely on the thigh of the Tang Dynasty.
Altik said, "The fact that we could seize the whole peninsula is inseparable from the help of the Tang Dynasty. Our future development can't be separated from the help of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, we can't refuse the request of the Tang Dynasty. This is the most basic thing. However, we must get the promise of the Tang Dynasty. It's best to let a small army of the Tang Dynasty be stationed in Al City in the north. In this way, Ziyad's army won't dare to go south."
"City Lord, if we have the Great Tang garrisoned in Al City, won't we be living under someone else's roof? We'll lose our independence, and in the future, we'll be subject to the Great Tang in many matters."
One of his subordinates said worriedly.
"We, the dignified Arabian Kingdom, actually need the protection of the Tang Dynasty. This will make the people lose confidence. But if we don't do this, we really can't defeat the Khorasan elites."
Another subordinate said in a conflicted tone.
Obviously, letting other countries station troops in their own country was a sign of weakness. It was a form of damage to a country's sovereignty and would cause them to lose a certain amount of dignity. However, weak countries had no dignity. It had been like this since ancient times. No weak country could proudly maintain their dignity. If their dignity was too strong, then there was a risk of being destroyed.
In other words, dignity was always prepared for the strong, and the weak always had to lose a part of their dignity in order to gain the hope of survival.
Altik sighed and said, "Who asked us to be too weak? For the future of the Arabian Kingdom, we must compromise with the Tang Dynasty. Not only must we provide the Tang Dynasty with the labor they need, but we must also ask them to station troops in the north to relieve the pressure from the Khorasan. "
"It seems that this is the only way. However, many terms have been negotiated. If we ask the Tang Dynasty to station troops in our country, will they make new demands? If so, we have to renegotiate."
One of his subordinates said.
Altik said with a smile, "Of course, they will make new demands, but they will not be too excessive. At most, they will ask us to bear the daily needs and military expenses of the Tang Dynasty's troops. We can totally agree."
Obviously, after such a long time of understanding, Altik had generally guessed the bottom line and requirements of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, he was not worried at all that the Tang Dynasty would make things difficult for them.
Because stationing troops in a foreign country was a big deal, Ang Lee's subordinates did not dare to make a decision on their own. After receiving this request, they had to immediately return to the camp and inform Ang Lee of Altik's important request, letting Ang Lee make the decision.
At this moment, Ang Lee was playing with a pair of girls. After a short period of training, the girls had become more and more charming. The corners of their eyes could always show a seductive look, and their movements were more and more accurate. Especially when they were massaging, they could always make Ang Lee drunk and feel his bones go soft.
"Assistant Minister Li."
The subordinate stopped outside the tent because he heard Ang Lee's drunk voice and thought something was going on inside. So, he stopped.
"Comfortable! Leave us! "
Ang Lee waved his hand and asked the two girls to leave. Then, he sat up and said, "Come in!"
"Assistant Minister Li, Altik has made a new request. I dare not make a decision on my own, so I came here to ask for your instructions."
The subordinate said.
"New request? What is it? Say it!"
Ang Lee frowned.
"Altik uses the threat of the North Gate as a reason to request the Tang Dynasty to send a medium-sized army to guard Al City in the north to prevent Ziyad's attempt to go south again."
The subordinate said.
"Oh, Altik took the initiative to request the Tang Dynasty to station troops there. This is a good thing! We can totally agree. We can totally agree. "
Ang Lee said happily.
After all, stationing troops in other countries was very conducive to increasing the international prestige of the Tang Dynasty. The reason why a certain country in the future had such a high influence in the world was that they had garrisoned troops in many countries around the world. Therefore, they had such a wide range of influence.
If the Tang Dynasty wanted to increase its international influence, stationing troops abroad was naturally a very feasible plan, as long as the countries concerned agreed. Altik took the initiative to request the Tang Dynasty to station troops there, which somewhat surprised Ang Lee, but also made Ang Lee very happy.
"Assistant Minister Li, who will be responsible for the cost of stationing troops? And how many troops are there? "
The subordinate asked.
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