Arhan asked, "What's your choice?"
Ju Wentai looked like he was in a dilemma and said, "It's too hard to choose. How else can we choose? Naturally, we have to put it aside for the time being. If we want to form an alliance with Du Qi, we might not be able to do so. As the State Preceptor said, Du Qi is going to send troops to kill us. Forming an alliance is useless. "
"Moreover, starting a war with Du Qi might not be feasible. This King is very clear about our strength. And I also know the fighting power of Du Qi's army. "
"In the battle at Yanmen Pass, Du Qi wiped out 100,000 Eastern Turks. Du Qi defeated 100,000 Eastern Turks. In the end, Xieli Khan of the Eastern Turks was defeated by Du Qi. Even if Li Jing was the commander of the army, Du Qi was still there. "
"Our Gao Chang Nation only has twenty thousand elites at the very most. Compared to the Turks, 20,000 people are too far away. It's too difficult to attack Du Qi. Moreover, Du Qi is backed by the Tang dynasty. If we attack Du Qi, it's the same as attacking the Tang dynasty. How can this be possible? "
Ju Wentai sighed and said, "The Tang dynasty is a huge monster and a scourge. We can't afford to provoke it."
Arhan smiled in his heart.
If Ju Wentai had such thoughts, it would be much easier for him to persuade them to surrender.
Arhan continued, "My Lord, the second thing I know about Yizhou is that the people of Yizhou regard Du Qi as a god. As long as Du Qi gives the order, all the people can be soldiers."
"Du Qi's administration in Yizhou exempted the people of Yizhou from agricultural taxes and corvee labor for three years. Moreover, Du Qi constantly ordered the officials to build fortifications and recruit people to work, making countless people work and earn money. "
"The number of people gathering in Yizhou is also increasing. According to my understanding, the population of Yizhou today is no less than 100,000 households. This kind of data is extremely terrifying. "
"That's because in the past, there were probably only about 30,000 households in Yizhou, or maybe even less. It's all thanks to Du Qi that we've gained so many people in such a short time. "
"Du Qi's policies have attracted too many people."
Arhan said, "Your Majesty, population means strength. Take our Gao Chang Country for example. Under the Monarch's diligent governance, our Gao Chang Country is flourishing day by day. Now, we only have around 30,000 households. Under such circumstances, the difference in population is too great compared to Du Qi. "
Ju Wentai could not help sucking in a breath of cold air when he heard this.
There were too many people!
Du Qi had only been in Yizhou for a short period of time, yet he had managed to build 100,000 households in such a short period of time. This kind of strength was enough to crush Ju Wentai.
Ju Wentai asked again, "Imperial Preceptor, what is the third aspect?"
Arghan continued, "The third aspect is our understanding of Du Qi's army. From what I know, Du Qi's army should be around 10,000 to 20,000 people. However, Du Qi's cavalry should be at least 3,000 people. "
"3,000?"
Ju Wentai's eyes widened when he heard this.
He had a look of disbelief on his face.
Arghan nodded solemnly. In fact, this information could be found in Yizhou. Because Du Qi did not hide the information, and Arghan had carefully observed Du Qi's information when he was in Yiwu County, he knew the situation.
Ju Wentai said in a deep voice, "More than 10,000 infantry and 3,000 elite cavalry. However, it's not easy to get warhorses in the Western Regions! If it were the Turkic grassland or other places, it would be easy. "
Arghan said, "Du Qi had arranged for 2,000 elite cavalry led by the Tufan general Kun Mi to attack. In the end, Kun Mi was captured and the entire army was annihilated. After that, Du Qi arranged for people to blackmail the Tufan general Prang Songzan and made him pay 3,000 warhorses and 10,000 catties of highland barley wine as compensation. "
"Moreover, Du Qi originally had cavalry. Therefore, 3,000 cavalry is the lowest."
"This data can't be faked."
After a pause, Arghan continued, "In addition, Du Qi's generals Ma Yuan, Xue Rengui, and Xiao Yuanqi are all good at war. It's extremely difficult to destroy them. "
Ju Wentai's heart sank.
He was even more depressed.
Ju Wentai looked at Arghan and said, "State Teacher, you don't know Du Qi's situation. The ignorant are fearless. However, now that you know, they will come again. What should we do? "
Plop!
At this moment, Arghan directly knelt on the ground.
Ju Wentai's eyes widened and his face was filled with disbelief. He asked in confusion, "State Teacher, what are you doing? Why are you kneeling on the ground?"
Arghan was the State Teacher.
As Ju Wentai's State Teacher, Arghan had never knelt from beginning to end.
This was the first time Ju Wentai encountered such a situation.
Ju Wentai walked to Arghan and reached out to help him up. However, Arghan insisted on not getting up and remained kneeling on the ground. He kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, please punish me. Arghan has betrayed Your Majesty and has now surrendered to Du Qi."
"Ah!"
Ju Wentai exclaimed.
He staggered back two steps and found it even harder to accept this news. He sat on the ground and said in a deep voice, "State Teacher, I trusted you so much. You, you, why did you betray me? "
"I don't care what the civil and military officials in the imperial court think. But Imperial Preceptor, you are the person who led this Prince, and also this Prince's guiding light. Why did you submit to Du Qi? "
He didn't immediately punish Arghan.
That was because Arghan occupied an extremely important position in Ju Wentai's heart.
Arghan remained kneeling on the ground and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, the reason I surrendered to Du Qi wasn't because I betrayed him, but because I had no other choice."
After hearing this, Ju Wentai leaned forward and asked, "Why? Speak, speak! "
Arghan explained, "The first reason is that when I went to persuade Du Qi to allow me to preach in Yizhou, Du Qi said he was willing to help me return to the Persian Orthodox Church and kill my way back."
Ju Wentai frowned after hearing this.
When Arghan was in Gaochang, he had told him several times that he hoped to return to the Persian Orthodox Church in his lifetime and that he didn't want to die in the Western Regions as a failure. Ju Wentai could only comfort Arghan after hearing his past words. Gaochang wasn't strong enough, so it was impossible for him to kill his way back to Persia with Arghan.
Arghan continued, "The second reason is that Du Qi said that if I wasn't willing to pledge allegiance and lobby the King, he would kill me. When his army breaks into Gaochang, he would slaughter the King's family and kill everyone in the Ju family. "
"Hateful, hateful!"
Ju Wentai frowned after hearing this.
This was a threat to Arghan!
However, after hearing this, Ju Wentai didn't feel too resentful about Arghan's betrayal. On the contrary, he felt that he had let Arghan down. He couldn't help Arghan return and had also restrained him.
Arghan didn't comfort Ju Wentai and continued, "The third reason is that Du Qi showed me Yizhou's secret weapon. After seeing it, I didn't want to be lucky and chose to surrender. "
Ju Wentai asked, "What weapon?"
Arghan said, "There are three kinds of weapons, namely hand grenades, landmines, and gunpowder. These three weapons can be called great killing machines, weapons that have never been seen before. Their power makes people feel a chill down to their bones. I don't want the King to suffer, and I don't want to see the countless people and soldiers of Gaochang die under such weapons. "
At this time, Ju Wentai recovered slightly. He looked at Arghan and said, "State Preceptor, stand up and speak."
Arghan stood up.
Ju Wentai said, "State Preceptor, what's going on with Du Qi's weapon?"
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