Vietnam Front...
When Li Xiang learned the news, he didn't know what to say. King Jin Li Zhi had gone through untold hardships and finally returned to Chang'an City, but now he was going to submit a petition to return to his fiefdom.
You know, although his fiefdom is not a cold and bitter place, it is far inferior to the prosperity of Chang'an City. But this guy can no longer care about so many things. If he continues to stay in Chang'an City, he is afraid that he will not live long. No matter whether he goes out publicly or privately, he always feels that people around him are looking at him with strange eyes.
To put it bluntly, this trip to Vietnam did not bring any benefits, but instead ruined his reputation. Some government offices in the court even publicly announced that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin was not suffering from what you thought, but was simply because of acclimatization problems.
King Li Zhi of Jin also bribed some storytellers in Chang'an City to ask them to clarify the matter for him. When Li Xiang saw this, he wanted to laugh. If you respond to rumors spread by the people, there will be more versions of the rumor. The most correct way to deal with it is to slowly dilute it with time.
The people are already waiting for your response. No matter how you respond at this time, the final result will not be what you want. Look at the fact that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin is about to leave the capital now. This will tell you whether the methods he has thought of are effective or not.
Huo Qubing and Changsun Ze were also holding back their laughter. They had been tormented quite a bit by this prince. Although he did not have great power, these people had to follow him wherever he went, so many military affairs were delayed. Now seeing his situation in Chang'an City, they both wanted to go out and set off firecrackers. You might not have expected such a result when you were dealing with us.
Li Xiang also knew that he had to maintain the dignity of the royal family, so he did not discuss this matter in public. However, he still called Chang Sun Ze privately and asked him about some things in the south about Li Zhi, such as whether he had found the female monkey. At that time, Chang Sun Ze laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten his back. "Your Highness, how can you believe this?"
It's not surprising that Li Xiang believed this, mainly because the secret letter from Chang'an City was very detailed, and even people close to His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin came forward to testify. So Li Xiang also felt a little strange. The saying "three people make a tiger" might be referring to this. Moreover, Prince of Jin Li Zhi often did some strange things, maybe he really had an affair with a female monkey...
Seeing his men whispering to each other, Li Xiang coughed, and these people became serious. We have reached the last stop in Vietnam, so we can just laugh about the gossip in Chang'an City. The most important thing is to win the battle in South Asia.
His Highness told us yesterday that after this war, the entire South Asian region will be under the management of the Annan Protectorate. Our task at that time will be to sort out this region. In the future, we will use this place as a base to launch an attack on India, and we will also build a large number of seaports so that our navy warships can be stationed here.
The terrain of the inland South Asia is too complex, so we should adopt the method of appointing rulers. In the inland areas, we will appoint some local puppets to rule on our behalf. We will rule the coastal areas directly. Of course, we will also station our own troops on the main transportation routes in the inland, otherwise those puppets will easily betray us.
"Have you found out everything about the King of Vietnam?"
Li Xiang cleared his throat. Now it was time for the last stop.
"Your Highness, our spies have all reported back that they have reached the southernmost water city. They currently have over 30,000 troops, but over 5,000 of them came down from the mountains. Wu Yuanhao was also killed by the King of Vietnam."
After hearing what Huo Qubing said, Li Xiang was really a little surprised. The general on the mountain made great contributions to Vietnam. Not only did he kill all the people under his command, but his body was also irreparably damaged. Even if he was not a hero, there was no need to kill him at this time. It seemed that the King of Vietnam was also in a crazy state.
"The Vietnamese king's messenger has also arrived. He should want to negotiate peace with us."
Chang Sun Ze thought of another thing. In fact, they had received the letter some time ago, but according to Li Xiang's order, it was impossible for us to negotiate with them at this stage. Although we can get certain benefits at the negotiation table, the current situation is favorable for our war. After the negotiation, there will be too many remnants left for them. Then we will use war to clean it up, which is the most beneficial for us at this stage.
"I still say what I said before. Let the armies continue south. We won't negotiate with them this time. We've fought for such a long time. If he surrenders, can we still save his life? If we save his life, how will we regard the thousands of brothers who sacrificed their lives? This war has been cruel to us, too."
Li Xiang's words made the two men nod their heads. Especially in the mountain warfare, many people on our side died, and the brothers have suffered enough, especially in the rainy season in the south. So no matter how sincere the other party is, we can't reconcile with them. Using war to end this war can be regarded as a tribute to the spirits of our brothers in heaven.
"The navy's warships will be ready in five days. They will bombard the water city's docks from the sea, and our land forces will also begin their attack at the same time. Based on what we know, it should only take two or three days at most to break through their last line of defense."
Li Xiang felt that Chang Sunze's words were a little too optimistic.
"I think some things may not be that simple. The common people we met before didn't have such deep feelings for their court. Now those who have retreated to the south are extremely supportive of their court. Therefore, we may encounter huge resistance at the last stop. Therefore, we need to increase our reserves of various weapons and equipment to a higher level."
Li Xiang didn't want to fail at the last moment, so he asked his men to continue to stockpile various weapons and equipment. A few days ago, when it rained, a batch of gunpowder got wet, making our muskets unusable. This time we have to stockpile more.
