"General, please return quickly. I have memorized everything you said. I will tell the king every word after I return..."
After putting down these supplies, the people from the Vietnamese court prepared to return. They still remembered the second half of their mission, which was to hurry back to report and see if this group of people were really Wu Yuanhao. This was also one of the reasons why Wu Yuanhao sent them here.
Wu Yuanhao has been in the Vietnamese court for so many years, and of course he knows what kind of person their king is. That guy is naturally suspicious, and now that something like this has happened, he will be even less likely to trust outsiders.
After staying in the old forest for so many days, Wu Yuanhao became more convinced that there was nothing wrong with his plan. As long as they could hold on, the Tang army would definitely have a headache. However, there was a prerequisite, which was that they must be well fed and watered. Now that this transportation line had been established, as long as the Vietnamese court continued to send them supplies and victorious troops, the rear of the Tang army would definitely not be at peace.
"Don't be afraid of the hard work on the way back. It doesn't matter if the horse dies. You must tell the king the true situation here and the things I am offering you."
Although Wu Yuanhao's army was defeated by the Tang army, they still collected a lot of spoils on the battlefield. Sending these things to the King of Vietnam now can make him believe that they have strength. If they don't show them something real, how can the King of Vietnam recognize their ability? Maybe he will just give up on them, let alone send them supplies.
"As you command."
The imperial envoy did not dare to be negligent. He had been watching these people for more than a day and almost vomited bile. These people on the mountain were so miserable. Many of them were pale and thin, like fools. Even if you passed by them, these people seemed to have no perception at all.
In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army, Wu Yuanhao could only gather all the supplies of everyone and send a part of the army out hunting. Now there are still two or three thousand people who can maintain food and drink. As for the rest of the people, it is already quite good to have one meal a day.
Li Xiang, who was far away in Chang'an City, also knew the situation here, but still could not avoid it.
According to Li Xiang's original idea, the Vietnamese army should not be allowed to retire. Once they are allowed to enter Lao Linzi, it will be difficult for us to clear them out.
Now looking at the battle plan of Changsun Ze and Huo Qubing, it may play a certain role, but it may also not work.
All kinds of supplies of the Western Expedition Army have arrived in Chang'an City. Li Xiang has been in frequent contact with the Western Expedition Army during this period. Their exploration radius has now reached 800 miles around the city of Samarkand. Except for some scattered Arab troops, the rest of the troops have begun to shrink.
It seems that the last battle was also a huge loss for the Arab Empire. Although their prince ran back, they lost most of the land in the Anton Governorate and tens of thousands of elite troops. If all the troops were added together, there would be as many as 200,000 to 300,000 people. For the Arab Empire, this is also a very large number.
According to Cheng Chuliang, they should continue to move westward, or head towards the Arab Empire's base. Why can they come to attack us, but we can't attack them?
Li Xiang did not agree with their battle plan, mainly because we had just occupied Samarkand not long ago. If we were greedy at this time, we would probably end up biting off more than we could chew. During the Yuan Dynasty, they even reached the whole of Europe, but what happened in the end? They were quickly withdrawn and could not hold on at all.
This kind of fast-food attack was definitely not what Li Xiang wanted. He possessed greater talent and strategy than his grandfather. He hoped that the entire Eurasian continent would crawl at his feet, so this guy prepared to take steady steps. He selected more than 400 officials from the court and sent them to various parts of the Western Regions. He was determined to make the Western Regions become like the heartland of the Tang Dynasty within a few decades.
There were different opinions inside and outside the court about Li Xiang's idea. Many people believed that Li Xiang would create an unprecedented empire, and the Tang Empire would stand tall in everyone's hearts.
However, some people think that Li Xiang is a bit whimsical. The people in those places are simply uneducated. Even if you keep sending officials to them and let them live according to the living habits of the Tang Dynasty, it is still too far away from Chang'an City. Even if we repair the roads, it will take one or two months to go there. How can we maintain local rule?
Although there was a huge quarrel inside and outside the court, Li Shimin did not interfere too much, because this guy had greater ambitions than Li Xiang. He also wanted to leave his name in history. Although his position is not low now, who doesn't want his position to be higher?
So he immediately approved Li Xiang's plan to set up counties in the Western Regions and improve the entire Western Regions according to some standards within Chang'an City. In the past, the royal families of various countries could be retained. Now, if they are willing, they can be given the title of local adviser and their personal assets can also be retained. But if they are unwilling, then we can only carry out reforms with swords and spears.
The royal families of the Western Regions all stayed in the capital, and Li Xiang also hosted a banquet for them at the Tiance General's Mansion and told them his thoughts. If you are willing to integrate into the Tang Empire, you will have a bigger stage in the future. If you are unwilling to integrate and still want to retain your own small kingdoms, then you can move out of the scope of the Tang Empire. The Tang army will never force you to stay in any form.
But if they stayed and still harbored various evil intentions, Li Xiang would definitely not be lenient. Over the years, the number of Wang family members who died at his hands during the wars was not insignificant. Those present were all very aware of this. Li Xiang had summoned them in the hope that they would tell their father and family members not to oppose the Tang Dynasty and to strive to build a new Tang Dynasty...
