After hearing what Chang Sunze said, the eyes of the others lit up. Our Tang Dynasty Army is certainly strong, but our Tang Dynasty Navy is also capable. If our navy comes, won’t many problems be solved?
Looking at the expressions on their faces, Li Xiang didn't know how to fight these guys. You really haven't learned junior high school geography. If you had taken a look at the junior high school geography textbook, you would not ask such a question. Can the navy come to this place?
Our current location is roughly in the central and eastern part of Afghanistan. No matter which direction we look, there is no sea around us. If there were a sea, would the terrain here still be like this? There are always some places that can be cultivated, but we have come so far, where can we see any place that can be cultivated?
"To be honest, from what I understand, there's no ocean around here, so our navy can't get here. Even if they could, they can't get here before we've dealt with India. They might be ambushed along the way. Without a very secure logistics line, this is absolutely unacceptable."
A map quickly appeared in Li Xiang's mind. It was indeed possible to use naval warships to attack the Arab Empire, but there was an Indian country in the middle. Before we dealt with the Indian country, there was really no way to get here.
However, Chang Sunze's idea is good. When the army cannot be solved, we must rely on the navy's warships. Unfortunately, this is not possible where we are now.
"It seems that our only option next is to retreat."
Su Dingfang spread out his hands helplessly. When he set out from Chang'an City, this guy was indeed full of energy, hoping to rely on his own strength to gain a title for his descendants, but unfortunately, he was unlucky and now he had to retreat.
The other people also had the same expression on their faces. In theory, they did not fail this time. They killed the 100,000-strong army of the Arab Empire in a short period of time. We captured hundreds of prisoners alone, and also got all kinds of spoils. Overall, we did not lose money.
But we cannot say that it is a success, because this war is far from our initial goal. No matter how bad our previous goal was, we must occupy a few cities. Now we have occupied the cities, but these cities are all burdens and have not brought us much benefit.
"It's been a while since we set out from the Anxi Governor's Office. According to my estimation, the land in between is at least the size of two or three provinces. Should we occupy it? Should we set up another protectorate?"
Li Chengyi thought of another thing. The land along the march was also occupied by us. If we had to set up a new institution in the border area, these lands would be enough. It’s just that there are fewer people along the way. According to our estimates, there are at most more than one million people, which is really not enough for the scale of a protectorate.
"I'm afraid that won't work. As for the land, there's no problem, but it has no value. What's the point of us defending it? I think we should just put up a Tang Dynasty boundary marker here. Of course, they will definitely destroy it, but it will at least represent that we've been here. It won't be too late to make plans in the future."
Li Xiang thought for a while and said, if we station troops here, it might cost us our lives. This place is desolate and helpless. All things have to be transported from the country. If we transport things from Chang'an City to here, it is thousands of miles away. Moreover, this place is deep in the Arab Empire and is surrounded by a bunch of dangerous people. If we station an army here, they will face a lot of dangers every moment.
What's more, the land under his feet is unlucky. Li Xiang still remembers a saying in the 21st century that this land was called the graveyard of empires. Li Xiang didn't believe it at that time, but now he finally believes it. The two major empires of that era had failed here. The current Tang Empire is also the number one in the world. It has obviously won the victory, but it cannot control you. It seems that this land does have its power.
The others also nodded. They were very familiar with the situation here along the way. Even if there were 5,000 troops stationed here, the annual cost would be staggering. Don't expect to recover this cost from the surrounding areas. When Sukhguman retreated, he had already taken away everything he could.
If he knew that there were Tang Dynasty troops here, he would definitely send a small force to harass us. In the end, we would be exhausted and unable to defend this land. The 5,000-man army would also suffer heavy losses and would have to retreat back to Liuzhou. It would also be a serious blow to our overall morale.
"well…"
Several generals were sighing. Looking at the expressions on their faces, Li Xiang really didn't know what to say to them.
"Everyone, brace yourself! Let's retreat to the Anxi Protectorate and rest there for a while before continuing our attack. They won't want these lands. If we don't retreat, these refugees will be a disaster for us. However, this disaster won't disappear even after we retreat."
Li Xiang's words instantly ignited everyone's anger. Your Highness is right. We are responsible for these refugees here. After we leave, the refugees will definitely not follow us back to the north. They will either starve to death here or find a way to go south.
Although the vast majority of refugees will surely die of thirst and starvation on the road, there will still be some who will run to the heartland of the Arab Empire and bring considerable disaster to the empire. We can wait until that time to come back.
"Your Highness, I have an idea. The main force can be withdrawn, but we can leave behind a few small units. They don't need to be too numerous, 3,000 to 5,000 will be enough. Firstly, we can take care of their supplies on the spot, and secondly, we won't have to completely withdraw from the area."
Li Chengyi thought of another thing. The hundreds of thousands of troops we had marched together were indeed impressive, but it also made it difficult for us to turn back. However, if we were to break up into smaller units, the situation might be completely different. After all, we had already seen their combat effectiveness. An army of 5,000 would be enough...
