Li Jiangyao couldn't help but laugh.
The second Turkic prince actually used the trick he had just done, fabricating a business background of some kind of businessman, and overturning all his requests in an understatement.
At this time, Yun Qianxue, who was sitting next to Tanli, said: "General Li, we are very sincere in coming to Metasequoia City this time. The Turks hope to take Her Royal Highness Princess Hesijia back safely, but this is not the case. It means you can do whatever you want, and the lion will open his mouth."
Xu Youchang replied without giving in: "Since you say you are very sincere, you might as well tell us and let us see what kind of sincerity you are."
Prince Tanli glanced at Xu Youchang with a smile, and then winked at Duke Druhan, indicating that he would do the talking.
Druhan spoke the blunt Shengtang language and said slowly: "Immediately release Princess Hesijia and give it to us to take back, then open the city gate and sacrifice the metasequoia! The Turkic army can promise not to massacre the city again. Likewise, your The army will also be pardoned by the Great Khan and will not have to die. It will just be exiled, which is very merciful."
"Exile?" Xie Tanzhi was a little confused about this word.
Druhan explained: "The so-called exile means that all your soldiers and horses leave Metasequoia City. You can go back to Zijin Pass, or you can stay in Western Xinjiang and become horse thieves. You can go wherever you like. It's very free!"
Xu Youchang frowned and asked word for word: "What if we don't accept your kindness?"
"Don't accept?!" Druhan curled his lips contemptuously: "Early tomorrow morning, an army of 200,000 will begin to attack the city. All living things in the Metasequoia will be killed!"
Yun Qianxue said calmly on the side: "The Great Khan said that it would be best if the princess could come back; if she can't come back, it would be equivalent to dying for the country, which is equally honorable. Anyway, there are hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children in Metasequoia City to give It’s not a loss if she’s buried with him.”
"Hey - I told you two not to be like this, okay?" Prince Tanley stretched out his hand to stop his two companions, and said in a feint of anger: "We are here to negotiate, so we need to be kinder in our speech. You will shout and kill at every turn. How do you say you are going to kill all the people in the city? General Li and the others are very smart people and know how to assess the situation."
Facing the Turkic people's performance, Li Jiangyao remained unmoved: "Your Highness, I think you just deliberately changed the concept of negotiation and confused the direction of the negotiation. As you said, we are here because of Hesijia Only the princess has the opportunity to sit together, so what we want to talk about is the princess's stay, not the metasequoia's stay. Without the princess as a factor, the Zhenjiang Army has only one choice, and that is to fight to the end! This point , you should find out first."
"Don't dare to brag about anything else," Xu Youchang said loudly, "With the military strength and fortifications in the city, as well as the huge food reserves, if you are determined to hold on, I will delay you for a year and a half. There will be no problem!"
Xie Tanzhi continued: "Besides, most of you are cavalry and lack large-scale siege equipment. You do not have decisive power to deal with the water fortress that has been in operation for many years. Even if you make some equipment in a hurry, the casualties required for siege will not be enough." Have you done the math? Let me see, the number will definitely not be less than the number of soldiers and civilians in the city."
Li Jiangyao leaned gently on the back of the chair and sneered: "How long the Metasequoia can last may be unknown. But how long Princess Hesijia can hold on, you can roughly guess it without even thinking about it. If your precious daughter is sweating, The Pearl of the Vast Sea and Princess Yingyang actually met their demise under the eyes of hundreds of thousands of elite Turkic troops. Is it probably more uncomfortable than killing you?"
He turned to look at Yun Qianxue: "I know she is your fiancée, so please answer me seriously. If Hesijia dies, do you really think it makes sense to kill all the soldiers and civilians in the city?"
What Li Jiangyao and the others said was more to the point than what the Turks had just done.
The two issues that the Turks are most worried about: one is Princess Hesijia, and the other is the Eastern Expedition to the Holy Tang.
Hesijia's safety is related to the dignity of the Turkic royal family and the morale of the military. Once there is even the slightest mistake, it will be irreversible. Just like Li Jiangyao's soul torture sentence, even if everyone in Metasequoia City is slaughtered by then, will it still make sense?
Similarly, the protracted siege battle was definitely not what the Turkic Khan Ashina Zhijin wanted to see. The strategic layout of the Eastern Expedition to the Holy Tang Dynasty has been launched. Every day of delay may cause the most advantageous fighter opportunities to be missed, thus affecting major events.
It was precisely for this reason that he mobilized 200,000 troops to besiege Metasequoia, hoping that under the huge military pressure of the Turks, he could force Li Jiangyao to compromise as soon as possible and completely solve the stability problem in Western Xinjiang.
It was precisely because Li Jiangyao and the others saw through these two key points that they had the opportunity to deal with the Turks and counterattack Tanli and the others.
"Oh, General Li, you don't have to imitate my two partners." Prince Tanley was still smiling: "In negotiations, both parties must compromise and give in to each other, so that we can get closer and closer. If everyone threatens each other, it can only happen gradually. The journey is getting further and further away. In my opinion, neither of us actually wants to fight, so we have the opportunity to sit down and talk."
Li Jiangyao nodded in agreement: "What your Highness the Prince said is right. Like General Yun and His Excellency the Duke, we are all soldiers who lead wars, with hot and straightforward tempers. Just now, everyone was talking hastily, and accidentally... The situation is tense. As a local landowner, Li has failed to treat guests well. Please forgive me. Come here."
The guard outside the door agreed and walked in with a tray in both hands. There was a large pot of wine and six cups on the tray, which was placed directly in front of everyone.
"You three, please have a try," Li Jiangyao introduced with a smile: "This is the wild fruit wine we brewed ourselves. Although the taste is not very spicy, it is fragrant and refreshing, and has a unique flavor."
The six people raised their glasses together, paid tribute to each other, and then drank it all at the same time. After Yun Qianxue and Druhan thought about it carefully, they both felt that the wine tasted very good and nodded slightly. Tanli was even more exaggerated and praised: "It's really delicious. Although this wild fruit wine is a common type in Western Xinjiang, it seems to have some characteristics of Persian Shanti wine incorporated into it. It's wonderful and wonderful." "
Li Jiangyao picked up the jug and filled the wine glasses for everyone again. At the same time, he boasted: "Your Highness is really knowledgeable. The brewing method of this wine really comes from an old man from Persia."
Tanli laughed when he heard this, and invited everyone to have another drink. At this time, the fierce tit-for-tat atmosphere between the two sides had faded a lot.
He put down his wine glass, smiled at Li Jiangyao and said: "General, I still said what I said just now. We are all smart people, so there is no need to keep beating around the bush and testing each other. Those conditions you proposed, you It should be clear that we can't agree to everything. Of course, you don't have to take what Druhan said to heart. Tell us one or two of your most urgent requirements. If possible, we can negotiate directly face to face. Well, it saves the soldiers on both sides from suffering in the wind outside."
Li Jiangyao touched the bottom of the wine glass and asked Tanli: "Your Highness, no matter how good the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang is, it can't compare to the Western Continent. Hundreds of thousands of Turkic troops came here all the way. It can't be to stay here. I'll wait for you. After I leave, who will take over the four cities that were robbed from me?"
Prince Tanli's eyes narrowed to a slit, he stared at Li Jiangyao and thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "I don't know. Most likely, it will be handed over to the Western Xinjiang Alliance."
"Well, we took it back from them anyway," Li Jiangyao said lightly, "No matter what, we can take it back again in the future."
Tanli understood what he meant: I can't beat you Turks, but there is no problem in beating those weaklings in Western Xinjiang. As long as the territory is not snatched from you, both sides will have room for change. Tanli secretly praised Li Jiangyao's flexibility and nodded slightly: "The general is right. This world is originally a world of the weak and the strong. Whoever has a stronger fist is qualified to have what he wants. But..." He paused slightly. After a pause, he stared at Li Jiangyao with bright eyes and continued: "However, Western Xinjiang will be under the rule of the Turks from now on. If you want to survive and further compete with your neighbors for territory, you must surrender to the Turks. empire."
Li Jiangyao asked calmly: "We are all citizens of the Holy Tang Dynasty, how can we surrender to the Turks?"
Tanli smiled faintly: "He who understands current affairs is a hero. Some things have different stances in different periods, and different stances lead to different choices. This is normal. We want the general to release the princess, and the general hopes to keep the princess. Metasequoia, then the best way is for your army to surrender to the Turks. Under this premise, the princess is a good bargaining chip for the general to negotiate terms, isn't it?"
Xu Youchang coughed twice and then asked: "What exactly does the surrender you are talking about mean?"
"It's very simple." Tanli explained patiently: "In order to ensure the safety of my sister, the Turkic Empire's surrender conditions are very loose. As long as you renounce the banner of Shengtang and accept the dominance of the Turks in Western Xinjiang, you will be considered a surrender. At that time, we will give you another title and exempt you from taxes for a few years. As a new Western Xinjiang Kingdom, you will be on an equal footing with other countries, and everything will be fine. As for the Western Xinjiang Alliance, you can join if you want to, and you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Join and develop freely. How about it? This is much more refreshing than the red tape of Shengtang, right?"
"You and I don't have to fight anymore?" Xie Tanzhi asked.
"Of course," Tanli responded: "As long as we declare surrender, we will be a family. Unless you rebel, the Turks will not attack the vassal country for no reason."
Li Jiangyao lowered his head and was silent for a moment, then raised his eyes to look at Stanley: "In that case, then I will discuss the terms of surrender with the noble Princess Hesijia in detail."
