Chapter 236: Conquer the Stone Kingdom (Part 2)

The Muslim's reply disappointed Mansour. Because of the Shiite rebellion, the Tang army prisoners of war had been sent to Karbala to mine silver mines. It seemed that he could only go to Karbala for another trip.

At this time, Abu.

The Muslim smiled and said, "Your Highness, the Shiite rebellion has basically ended, and I am also preparing to return to Kufa to report to the Caliph. Why don't we go back together."

On the one hand, when Muslims go back to report their duties, on the other hand, if he wants to formally start a war with the Tang army, he must obtain the authorization of the Caliph. But if he leaves and Mansour stays in the river, it is very likely that the Caliph will authorize Mansour, which is not what he expected.

He took a list of Tang army prisoners of war and smiled and said, "There are indeed thirty craftsmen among these prisoners of war, who can make wine, build ships, and cast money. Maybe someone can make paper. If your Highness is interested, I will give them all of these thirty craftsmen."

Mansour nodded happily and said, "Okay then! We'll set out tomorrow."

The Muslim smiled at Qi Yade. The meaning of this smile was to hand over the war against the Tang army to him.

At night, the vast Tang army marched quickly under the bright moon. Thirty miles ahead was Tuozhi City. The Tang army did not all drive towards the capital of Shiguo, but instead set up a camp by the Jinque River. Only Cui Qianyou and Li Fei Yuanli led 10,000 troops to Tuozhi City. This was a tentative advance. The increasingly complex situation and Shiguo's unclear attitude made Li Qing'an deeply wary. At this time, any carelessness or carelessness would be a fatal blow to the Tang army.

At this time, the foresight of history was meaningless, and the trajectory of history had shifted. A battle of Gao Xianzhi in Tocharo changed the cause of the Battle of Talas. The Battle of Talas in history was the suppression of the Shi Kingdom by the Tang army, which made Dashi anxious about the true intentions of the Tang army, and thus the war was triggered, which was more or less accidental.

But now it is not. Gao Xianzhi's failure in Tochar has destined to openly fight the Hezhong region by the two empires. There will be no suspense in the collision between the two empires of the East and the West. The special strategic position of the Shi Kingdom destined to become the eastern bridgehead of the Dashi. Similarly, it is also the first stop of the Tang Empire's westward advance.

The battle for the Shi Kingdom may start with the small city of Talas, but the significance of the war has completely changed. The Battle of Talas in history was an end, the end of the complete loss of the Tang Empire and even the Han people to the west of the Pamir Mountains. This battle was an beginning, from the Han people's exploratory expedition to the west of the Pamir Mountains during the Han Dynasty to the beginning of the struggle with group combat today.

But this large-scale expedition to a strange area is destined to be every detail not flat. The mercury moonlight pours on the earth, and the cool night wind blows the vast grassland. Twenty miles east of Tuozhi City, there is a vast black forest. It is usually a place where people are rarely visited, but tonight, the forest became particularly strange, and a huge murderous aura enveloped the entire forest.

At this time, a team of Tang army scouts rushed towards the forest. The Tang army brigade was already ten miles away, and this forest became the focus of Tang army scouts' attention.

"Ship Qin Lu, should we go into the forest and take a look?" a scout asked loudly.

Qin Lushui was the scout Qin Haiyang. After Cui Ganyou seized the shattered leaves, he rewarded him according to his merits. Qin Lushui was promoted from the team by Cui Ganyou to the shattered coach, and he had 100 brothers under his command.

In response to Qin Haiyang's promotion, the judge of Anxi Army Wei Xin opposed it, on the grounds that Qin Haiyang had repeatedly violated military rules, and judge Wei undoubtedly had Qin Haiyang's complete resume records, including some of his disgraceful pasts.

In the third year of Tianbao, Qin Haiyang was a scout brigade commander in the Khotan Army Town. It was him who drank and misunderstood the incident, which caused a team of Tubo sentry to successfully cross the blockade line and enter the Tang army's military area to investigate. That time, Qin Haiyang was spared by the then Khotan army envoy, and was demoted to the rank of the ranks. The next year, Qin Haiyang led his subordinates to privately seize the property of several Hu Shangs, and was accused of uneven distribution of spoils. That time, he was beaten to 100 sticks and imprisoned for three months, and was directly demoted to a small soldier.

These disgraceful things were gradually forgotten due to personnel changes in the army, but the judge had a complete record. The first-level commander of the Tang army was equivalent to today's company commander. When Cui Ganyou's proposal for promotion was rejected by the judge, Cui Ganyou found Li Qing'an and finally received special approval from Li Qing'an: judge the matter based on merit, and the reward and punishment were clearly distinguished. In this way, Qin Haiyang finally became the commander of the brigade again.

Although his shortcomings are obvious, his advantages are also obvious, that is, he has rich scouting experience, and to some extent, he is an excellent instructor.

Qin Haiyang looked around the forest. Logically, the King of Shi Kingdom came to surrender to the Tang army in person. There should be nothing unusual about Shi Kingdom. Moreover, it is less than thirty miles away from the capital of Shi Kingdom. Generally speaking, the army will not do anything so close to the capital. This is common sense, and ordinary scouts will not investigate it.

But Qin Haiyang is different. He is a risk-loving person. Adventurous people always like to do unreasonable things. Qin Haiyang's rich experience tells him that the more calm the moment he feels, the more risks he will contain.

Qin Haiyang checked the forest for a long time. The forest was dark and could not see anything. But a intuition told him that this forest was a bit unusual, and he couldn't explain clearly what abnormalities were.

"Shooting arrows into the forest!"

At Qin Haiyang's order, dozens of Tang soldiers shot arrows into the dark forest. The arrows were like rain, and the sound of the forest was buzzing. Suddenly, a scream came from the forest. It was not the animals being shot, but the screams of people.

The scream was like a phantom flying under the moon, which was creepy. The Tang army scout was shocked. At this time, their eyes suddenly became clear. A large group of black shadows swayed in the forest. It was not that their eyesight had improved, but that the army ambushed in the forest was launched.

"Not good, withdraw!"

Qin Haiyang roared, and the Tang army turned their horses and fled. Behind them, groups of Shiguo army rushed out of the forest. They all set their bows and arrows and chased dozens of Tang army scouts, but it was too late. The Tang army scouts rushed to three hundred steps in a moment, far away from the range of the Shiguo army's bow and arrows.

At this time, horse hooves were heard on both sides of the forest, and tens of thousands of Shiguo troops killed everywhere from the forest. The Tang army scout accidentally discovered it, which destroyed the Shiguo's plan to die and survive.

In the firelight, the face of the Shi Kingdom Prince Yuanen was a little distorted due to anger. The discovery of the scouts of the Tang Dynasty not only ruined their long-planned plans, but also ruined the hope of the entire Zhengwang family.

If we look at the actions of Shi Kingdom from a small and medium-sized country in the river, it is indeed crazy. Their ambushing the Tang army is tantamount to hitting stones with eggs. However, if we look at the Shi Kingdom from the perspective of a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, their behavior is a betrayal of the sect leader and a trampling on morality.

However, since the expansion of Dashi eastward, Tang Ting was unable to fight Dashi head-on for decades. In decades, Dashi army had already conquered the Sogdian countries. The Shi Kingdom had signed a city alliance with Dashi. It was already a vassal state of the Great Cannibals, and no longer a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

The decades of conquest of the Great Cannibals made the Sogdians deeply fear the Great Cannibals, so that although the Great Cannibals had a civil war, they still believed that the Great Cannibals would come back sooner or later.

This is why Li Qing'an sent troops to Shi Kingdom when he first attacked Shuye. They were serving the sect leader. That is, after the defeat of the first Shuye Battle, Shi Kingdom King Teller knew that they could no longer get off the big ship Dashi.

The westward advance of the Tang army meant the demise of the Zhengwang clan and the rise of the deputy king clan. In order to ensure the rule of the Zhengwang clan in Shiguo, King Teller sent an envoy to Dashi after the Tang army captured Saiye for the second time. The reply was that he would fight against the Tang army with all his strength. The Dashi Army would arrive soon. It was this promise that the Shiguo took risks. King Teller of Shiguo did not hesitate to use himself as bait to ambush the Tang army, and the Tang army relaxed his vigilance.

Unexpectedly, their plan failed in the end. What should we do now? Should we return to the capital or fight to the death with the Tang army?

All the generals looked at the prince Yuanen, and the king had already decided that he would inherit the throne, and his decision represented the king's opinion.

Yuan'en's eyes were staring at Dongfang. The Tang army was already within ten miles. Although they only had 10,000 people, could they compete with it? It might be possible when they were not prepared, but what about now?

Yuan'en couldn't help but think of the sharpness of the Tang army during the Battle of Broken Leaf. The invincible battle of bows and arrows made him feel scared.

"Retreat the capital!"

Yuanen finally made a decision, and the 20,000 Shiguo army turned around and retreated quickly to Tuozhicheng.

There was news of an ambush in the forest. It was sent to the Tang army's camp in Jinque River one hour later. Li Qing'an immediately ordered a reward for the ambush scouts. He then came to the camp where the king of Shi Kingdom was detained.

"Your Highness, I admire your courage to die, but I also regret that you have a group of unfilial sons who only have the throne and do not have the father."

Li Qingan looked at the king who used himself as bait coldly, shook his head, and said regretfully: "Although you are remarkable to sacrifice yourself to death, there is no army that makes you worthy of death, which is a pity!"

Teller closed his eyes tightly and sat cross-legged on the ground. Listening to Li Qing'an's tone, it seemed that his army had failed. His eyelids leaped twice. For a while, his eyes opened a crack and shot a look of disdain.

"Hmph! Since I came to your camp, I never thought of living, killing or cutting, and you can do whatever you want."

Li Qingan slowly sat down in front of him, stared at him and smiled faintly, "Maybe you think I will support the deputy king's system and kill your descendants, so you are determined to follow Dashi, betting that Dashi reinforcements arrived before I took down Tuozhi City. I'm right!"

Teller turned his face to the side and said nothing. Li Qing'an smiled and said, "But have you ever thought about it? If my original intention was to support you instead of the deputy king's system, wouldn't you cut off your own life? To put it badly, I can explode your capital in one hour. Do you understand what 'explosion' is?"

Teller looked at Li Qing'an in surprise. He didn't believe his ears. Li Qing'an wanted to support him instead of the deputy king.

"You don't have to be so surprised. I, Li Qing'an, is not Gao Xianzhi. Gao Xianzhi is massacred in Tocharo. To be honest, I don't agree with it. It was done by people without vision. In the end, I was kicked out of Tochar and made people angry. It's not worth the loss!"

Li Qing'an sighed and said, "Actually, the Sogdian countries are the same. When the Dashi first expanded eastward, you asked for help from the Tang Dynasty every year, but the Tang Dynasty was unable to help you in the end. In the end, you all fell under the iron hooves of the Dashi. The temple was destroyed, the faith was changed, the treasury was plundered, the great trophy was exhausted, and the heavy taxes were pressed on you. As far as I know, more than 90% of Anguo's income would be scraped away by the Dashi, and the same was true for Kang State. After the Kang State merchants were unwilling to go back, they just didn't want to be cruelly exploited by the Dashi. Where is your Shi State? Don't tell me, the Shi State received special preferential treatment."

Teller slowly lowered his head. In the seventh year of Kaiyuan, the Shi Kingdom was defeated by the Great Food, and the national treasury was looted. He had to pay 250,000 dirham silver coins every year, which was equivalent to 80,000 dirham silver income for the whole year. One of the conditions that the Great Cannibal promised them was to reduce the annual amount of money to 180,000 dirham silver coins. Teller felt extremely bitter in his heart. In the past, the Tang Dynasty did not want them to pay a penny, and he also received a salary from the Tang Dynasty.

He sighed, his heart full of melancholy. Seeing that he had been moved by himself, Li Qing'an sincerely advised: "Your Highness, I can tell you the truth. This time, the Tang Dynasty made the decision to restore the town of Suoyeye. It was determined to fight against Dashi west of the Pamir Mountains and restore the actual control of Dashi west of the Pamir Mountains. I, Li Qing'an, was the governor of the country in implementing this national policy. I was determined to help the countries in the west of the Ridge and help you fight against Dashi together, and never punish you. Your Highness, think about it carefully! I am willing to work together with Dashi to drive Dashi out of the river, restore your faith and religion, and restore your freedom; or to help Dashi and fight against Dashi to the end, and finally fall into a state of doom and destruction of the country. What will happen to you?"

After saying that, Li Qingan waved his hand and ordered his left and right, "Let him and his entourage go and send them back to Tuozhi City."

Teller's lips moved and wanted to say something, but Li Qing'an stopped him, "Your Highness, King, I hope you will talk to me after careful consideration. We will fight for three days. Our Tang army will attack the city in a large scale. We will never be merciless. We will treat each other with sincerity and fight against the big food together. The previous grudges and grudges are purchased and sold. I will still support you as the lord of the Shi Kingdom. I, Li Qing'an, treat people with sincerity, but I can't rub a little sand in my eyes. Come on! Send the king away."

Teller sighed and gave a deep salute to Li Qing'an. Under the guidance of the soldiers, Li Qing'an walked slowly to the tent and watched the king's back gradually walk away to fight against the big food. Sogdian, the local snake, is extremely important.

The sun was shining in the morning, and 50,000 Tang troops arrived at Tuozhi City in a mighty manner, surrounding the four gates of Tuozhi City. Tuozhi City was much larger than the capital of Ningyuan Kingdom. The city had a population of more than 200,000, and the city walls were tall and strong, but they were not surrounded by moats like the Central Plains city. Tuozhi did not. They reached the gates with a flat horse. The Tang army surrounded Tuozhi City and did not attack the city. Instead, they assembled huge ladders and catapults. Three hundred huge catapults lined up, like mighty giants, with their targets aiming directly at the city wall.

The soldiers of the stone country on the top of the city were nervously looking at the huge Tang army. The murderous aura in the sky made them tremble. They silently prayed to the sun and begged for the blessing of the Lord God Ahuramaz.

In the palace of the Shi Kingdom, Teller, who had just returned, was having a final consultation with several princes and generals. In fact, in the Tang army camp, Teller had been persuaded by Li Qing'an. He was willing to surrender to the Tang Dynasty again, but he did not agree immediately because the fate of the Shi Kingdom was no longer entirely determined by him. His princes had their own forces, and several generals represented different tribes. Among these different political forces, there was no deputy king's system. His power had been cleaned up by the cannibals. The deputy king Quler is currently just a down-and-out nobleman. He lives in Baishui City north of Tuozhi City, indulged in wine and sex, and has no concern about external affairs. This is why Li Qing'an finally decided to choose the cooperation of the King's system. The deputy king has lost the value of exploitation.

Teller paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. After thinking for a night, he had decided to surrender to the Tang Dynasty again. On the one hand, Li Qing'an's sincerity moved him. On the other hand, surrendering to the Tang Dynasty is in line with the fundamental interests of the Shi Kingdom. More importantly, he was determined to see the Tang Dynasty send troops to the river. Isn't this what they have been hoping for for decades?

Although Teller had decided to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, there were differences within the Shi country. The eldest prince Hassan supported his father's decision, while the second prince Yuanen and the Kent tribe in the north always believed that the Great Food was the destination of the Shi country, and they firmly opposed surrendering to the Tang Dynasty.

"Why are you so confused!"

Teller slapped the table heavily and angrily scolded them: "Isn't the plunder of Sogdians enough? Are there still many massacres of us Sogdians? Ten days ago, the statue of the Lord Ahuramaz in front of the Temple of Samarkand had been destroyed by the plunder. They were trying to destroy our faith. In the past, we were forced by the plunder, so we had no choice but to surrender to them. Now the Shi Kingdom has the opportunity to get rid of the plunder, but you are looking forward to it. Are you willing to let the Tang army destroy the Shi Kingdom?"

"Father is right!" The eldest prince Hassan also stood up and said, "The Tang Dynasty has never levyed taxes like us, encouraging trade with us. Trade alone can bring us 200,000 dirham silver coins. Once we break with the Tang Dynasty, this tax will be over. Secondly, the Tang Dynasty never interferes in the internal affairs of our Shishi. On the contrary, the Dashi killed many kings among the Sogdian countries. I believe everyone is very clear that this time, the Muslims suppressed the uprising of Shiites and Zoroastrians. It is said that hundreds of thousands of Sogdians were killed and injured, which greatly damaged the Sogdians. We not only have to rely on the Tang Dynasty and the Great Cannibals to fight, but also have to join forces with the Sogdians to cooperate with the Tang Dynasty. At that time, our Shi Kingdom will replace Kang Kingdom and become the Sogdians' lord. Do you understand?"

The eldest prince's vision made all the generals nodded in praise, but Yuanen refused to express his opinion. This was because he went on a mission to Dashi more than a month ago, Abu.

The Muslims personally promised him that as long as they swear to resist the Tang army to the death, the Dashi would grant him the Governor of Sogdian in the future and give him a golden seal, which he had never taken out.

As for Tanbul, the leader of the Kent tribe, opposed surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, the reason was very simple. The city of Talas, where their tribe is located, was still stationed by the cannibals, and he was worried about the safety of his tribe.

At this time, Tanbul saw that the situation was hopeless and there was no point in opposing it, so he said to Teller: "Your Highness, please allow me to remain neutral and allow my two thousand troops to leave. If the Tang army defeated the Great Cannibal, then I will follow you and surrender to the Tang Dynasty."

Teller nodded, which was also a solution. He turned around and asked his son Yuanen, "What about you? What is your decision?"

Yuanen sighed and said, "I have always met Li Qing'an. In Kucha, Chang'an, Yangzhou, and Beiting, I beg him again and again, but in the end he gave the flame stone to his sister. I have no possibility of cooperation with him. If you are willing to surrender to him, I don't object, but I will become an ordinary person and will not be loyal to him. Father, please do it!"

Teller was a little regretful, but his son had made up his mind and he couldn't force him anymore. He looked at everyone for the last time and saw that everyone was determined, so he slowly said: "Okay! We officially surrender to the Tang Dynasty and rebuild the Shi Kingdom."

The east city gate of Shi Kingdom finally opened, and the flag of surrender was planted on the city wall. A group of soldiers carried out their weapons and put them down. The Tang army immediately led them to leave the city far away. Half an hour later, the king of Shi Kingdom Teller led his wife, daughter, son, nobles and ministers to about 300 people out of the city. This time, he no longer apologized for the slaughter and changed into the Tang Dynasty garments that he had not worn for decades, but he still knelt on the ground with a golden plate holding the soil of Shi Kingdom, and raised it high above his head. His subordinates placed the seals and uniforms of Dashi Fengyu neatly on the ground and changed into the costumes of the Tang Dynasty.

"The Tang Dynasty was granted the title of King Shunyi, and Shiguo Tutun Telle contributed the land of Shiguo to General Li of Anxi."

The same thing as they said last time, but the meaning was completely different. They surrendered to the Tang Dynasty with conscience. Not only the king himself, but all the ministers and nobles made the same choice. This was the decision of a country and an unshakable national policy. Similarly, Prince Yuan's idea was that he insisted on his philosophy. When the Tang Dynasty held a surrender ceremony with the Shiguo Kingdom, he took advantage of the Tang army retreating in the northern city and quietly left Tuozhi City. He bet on the side of the Dashi, believing that one day he would officially take over the scepter of the Sogdian Governor at the Shiguo Palace.

Li Qingan, surrounded by dozens of Tang generals, strode forward. He helped King Teller up, held his hand and smiled, "We don't know each other without fighting. I believe that from then on, the Shi Kingdom will always become the most determined ally of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty will join the Sogdians to drive the Dashi back west of the Amu River."

Teller excitedly faced Tuozhicheng and raised his hand that he and Li Qing'an were holding together. Tens of thousands of people in the city suddenly burst into shouts like tsunamis.
Chapter completed!