As soon as Xie Tanzhi said this whimsical suggestion, Nanhua Princess Holia jumped up first and said angrily: "Asshole, are you drunk too much? What kind of crazy idea do you have?!"
Although the other generals did not curse on the spot, they all looked equally unhappy.
Li Jiangyao drank a large glass of wine calmly, wiped his mouth, and asked Xie Tanzhi with a smile: "Mr. Let me tell you first, what do you think?"
Xie Tanzhi had long expected that everyone would react like this, so of course he did not panic. When Li Jiangyao asked him, he said calmly: "My lords, Xie knows and understands what you are thinking in your hearts. However, , please answer me a question first: At present, what is the most lacking in our army?"
Ma Muyan followed his previous idea of "seeking talents" and answered without hesitation: "In my opinion, of course there is a greatest shortage of talents."
"No, no," Xie Tanzhi shook his head gently and said with a smile: "We are neither lacking in talents, nor are we lacking in the hearts of the people. Lord Mamu, think about it. , I don’t know how many people from Western Xinjiang swarmed in, and the administrative officials of the four big cities were recruited instantly, right? It can be said that as long as the banner of Shengtang does not fall, we can have as many people as we want!"
Lin Feng couldn't help but be curious: "Then what do you think we lack? Lack of land? Lack of food, wages and equipment?"
Xie Tanzhi shook his head again and said: "These are not lacking, or in other words, they are not the most important lacking."
Xu Youchang and Situ Wushou looked at each other and tried to say: "Mr. Xie, are you trying to say that what we lack most is the connection with the imperial court? Including reinforcements from the imperial court?"
Xie Tanzhi shook his head again and said: "Regardless of whether there is contact from the court and reinforcements, we must persist. If they come one day earlier, we will be better one day earlier. If they come one day later, we will last one more day. It makes no difference."
Horiyah frowned, thought for a long time, and couldn't help but said: "There is no shortage of this, and there is no shortage of that. I really can't think of an answer. Lao Xie, don't be shy, just tell me!"
Xie Tanzhi glanced at everyone and was about to speak when Li Jiang beside him said leisurely: "Let me tell you, what we lack most right now is time!"
After hearing this, Xie Tanzhi looked at Li Jiangyao and showed a pleased smile: "Your Excellency, your eyes are indeed burning! This is exactly what Xie meant."
Li Jiangyao: "Thank you, don't rush to flatter me. It was you who came up with the idea. It's up to you to break it down for us."
Xie Tanzhi nodded and said to everyone: "As your Excellency said just now, time is the thing we lack most. After a series of hard battles in the early stage, our Suppressing Army has now begun to take shape. In a situation where powerful enemies are waiting for you, Under the jurisdiction of the Legion, the territory and population under its jurisdiction are increasing rapidly. If it can be fully digested and absorbed and transformed into real combat power, it will surely lay a solid foundation for the future recovery of Western Xinjiang!"
Xu Youchang agreed: "You are right. Any army must occupy a solid base, otherwise it will be a tree without roots and a fish without water. Only with a strong backing can it find a way to win."
"But, General Xu, gentlemen," Xie Tanzhi continued: "If the enemy comes to attack us again now, and it is a long-term invasion and repeated harassment, are we sure of consolidating this hard-won victory? I think, really By that time, let alone accumulating the power to counter the rebellion, even if we want to save the four cities now, we will probably have to run exhausted."
These words hit the point, and all the generals were speechless, and they couldn't help but frown in thought.
Just listen to Xie Tanzhi continue: "We need time to defend the territory and recuperate the people's livelihood now; it also takes time to hoard food and build equipment; it still takes time to recruit troops, train, and quickly expand combat power. And this We can only ask for time from the Western Xinjiang Alliance!"
Li Jiangyao stared at Xie Tanzhi with sharp eyes: "Mr. Xie, what do you mean, a delaying strategy?"
"Your Excellency is wise! This is a delaying strategy." Xie Tanzhi said loudly: "We must take advantage of the suspicion and conflicts between the Western Xinjiang Alliance and the Turks, and the differences and conflicts among the various vassal states within the alliance, to buy ourselves the most time to recuperate. Prepare the army for war! Whoever is willing to temporarily put down hostility to us, we will live in peace with him and not invade each other; whoever is stubborn and insists on becoming an enemy of our Xinjiang Army, we will take the initiative to attack him until he kneels down and begs for mercy! Please trust Xie's judgment. At this time, enemies from all sides want to preserve their own strength and consume the strength of others, so no one is willing to be the first to send their precious soldiers and horses to the White Robes for training. .”
Xie Tanzhi's analysis directly touched the hearts of everyone present. After thinking about it carefully, everyone felt that his words were not only reasonable, but also very, very reasonable.
Princess Holia of Nanhua County stood up, touched her chest with her right hand, saluted Xie Tanzhi, and said frankly: "Mr. Xie, I offended you just now, please forgive me."
Seeing this, Xie Tanzhi quickly stood up and held his hands, saying that he didn't dare to do it.
Li Jiangyao nodded with satisfaction and said to everyone: "Mr. Xie's idea coincides with mine. When we faced the Western Xinjiang Allied Forces before, we specifically picked on Alike Jiang's Loulan Army to beat him up, but let him go several times. Geerhan and his chariots and horses also have this meaning."
Situ Wushou asked and nodded: "That's true. Your Excellency previously asked me to be responsible for intelligence work and to liaise and cooperate with the Shenhua family. According to reports from their spies lurking in King Chechi's palace, this time within a few hundred miles of Metasequoia City, Therefore, there will be a strange situation where enemy forces from all walks of life withdraw one after another, leaving us with an empty city. It is precisely because the other party is planning to let others fight us, while they hide aside and watch the fun. Obviously, the strategy of differentiation works. ”
After hearing this, all the generals nodded in agreement, feeling that Xie Tanzhi's suggestion was indeed worth trying.
Now that everyone has completely reached an agreement on "buying precious time through peace talks", then it is time to discuss the two issues of "who to talk to" and "how to talk".
Some people advocate that we should make friends from far away and attack those close to us. Specifically, it is to stabilize the Turks, Loulan and Shule first. Because they are far away from the Metasequoia Military Mansion, they have no skin pain, so it is easier to stand aside and watch. Wait until the distant one is settled, and then concentrate on attacking Geerhan who is right in front of you.
In response to this idea, some people have put forward different opinions: precisely because Chechiguo is so close, direct conflict with it should be avoided in order to buy time to develop with peace of mind. On the contrary, Loulan Kingdom and Shule Kingdom are thousands of miles away. It is not easy to go on an expedition to conquer Metasequoia City, so there is no need to pay too much attention.
Some people also suggested that they contact Shule State first, because the other party has never fought against the Metasequoia Army and they are relatively neutral. They even have to think of ways to encourage Shule and Loulan to compete for the position of alliance leader, so that they can bite each other.
Others came up with a wild idea and sent envoys to the Turkic Flame Maple Forest City to negotiate with Ashina Zhijin Khan.
For a while, everyone was talking about it and had a great time discussing it.
After waiting for a long time, Li Jiangyao saw that everyone was talking about the same thing, so he coughed lightly and asked: "Tell me, who is our number one enemy?"
The generals looked at each other, and someone tried to answer: "Turks?"
Li Jiangyao nodded and said: "That's right! Our number one enemy is the Turks! The Zhenjiang Protectorate more than 20 years ago was established precisely to prevent the Turks from invading. Twenty years later, if it were not for the Turks, Western Xinjiang will never have the guts to launch a rebellion! To put it bluntly, the dispute between the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang is actually the dispute between the Holy Tang and the Turks. Then let me ask you again, who is the biggest threat to the Western Xinjiang rebels now? "
Xie Tanzhi smiled and said nothing, his eyes flashing with light. Xu Youcheng said in a deep voice: "In the past, the biggest threat to them should be the Zhenjiang Protectorate. Now, it should be replaced by the Turkic cavalry."
Du Jian was a little confused and asked: "Turkic cavalry? Aren't they allies of the Western Xinjiang rebels? If they hadn't been causing trouble behind the scenes, how could Deputy Governor Zhang and the Xinjiang Army be defeated in Crescent Bay? It stands to reason , the Turks should be the biggest backers of the Western Xinjiang rebels."
Xie Tanzhi explained: "It's true to say that there is a backer, but when it comes to scoring."
Lin Feng nodded and said to Du Jian: "When the rebels couldn't defeat our Holy Tang troops, the Turks were their good friends and increased their support. Now that there is no threat from the Protectorate, the value of these friends has naturally been greatly reduced. La."
"Aren't there Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan?" Du Jian said unconvinced: "That Turkic prince led his 100,000 troops eastward to blockade the two passes. Isn't he sending troops for the Western Xinjiang rebels to block Shengtang? ?"
"It is indeed blocking the Holy Tang from sending troops," Xu Youchang sneered: "But for whom, it is very debatable. In my opinion, the Temple Prince Ronya will not be too full to do anything. , go and stand guard for Alik Jiang."
Horiyah agreed: "Brother Xu is right. Roniya is for the Turkic Empire and for his Great Khan Ashina. As the Lord just said, the Turks snatched the West from the hands of Shengtang." Jiang Guimo, of course you have to be careful."
This truth was explained thoroughly, and everyone agreed with it. When the Western Xinjiang rebels started their rebellion, their original purpose was to overthrow the master Shengtang. The current situation shows that the Turks who came to help may become their new masters.
Based on this, several major countries in the Western Xinjiang Alliance, such as Loulan, Shule and Chechi, are bound to remain highly wary of the Turks.
And the enemy of your enemy may become your friend.
Even if this "friend" is completely stupid, it is still better than becoming an enemy who wants to attack you.
Li Jiangyao looked around at his subordinates and said with a smile: "Since everyone agrees with this truth, let's give some reassurance to those His Royal Highnesses who are wary of the Turks!"
