Li Chengyi's words immediately caught the attention of the others. Honestly, they felt bad about letting these people go back like this. They'd been preparing for this moment for so long, hadn't they? Besides Li Chengyi, the others had barely seen the Arab Empire's army. Forcing them to go back like this wouldn't just be psychologically difficult, but they'd also have trouble explaining it to some of their subordinates.
They came here from Chang'an, and now they're going back without doing anything. What's going on? Did they waste food on the road? Some people walked here from Chang'an for months, thinking about fighting the Arab Empire for months, but unfortunately, the result was like this. Who can feel good about it?
So when Li Chengyi finished speaking, several people looked at Li Xiang with anticipation, hoping that Li Xiang would approve this plan. Of course, even if it was approved, there would be too many people who wanted to stay, but there would definitely not be many positions.
But after approval, there will always be someone who stays. If you don't stay, then he will definitely be able to stay. After all, there is a quota. If it is not approved now, all of us are talking in vain and we should just go back honestly.
"It's not impossible what you said. To be honest, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving you like this. I also know some people down there don't want to either. But we can't leave too many people behind. Five thousand at most, and there can only be two teams. These five thousand people must be from all branches of the military, a scaled-down version of your current team. If we encounter the enemy, we have to be capable, otherwise we'll just be delivering food to them."
Li Xiang thought for a while and said, three thousand people are a bit too few. The army of the Arab Empire often has tens of thousands of people. If you are not mobile enough, you may be surrounded at any time, and then you will be of no use.
Five thousand people are just right. Even if we include musketeers and other types of troops, it is enough. According to our previous plan, even if we encounter an enemy that is three times our number, we will be able to handle it.
"I will obey your Highness, but I don't know who will stay."
Su Dingfang didn't bother to care about anything else. As long as people could stay, he would let them have as many people as you wanted.
The other three people didn't say anything, but the expressions on their faces betrayed them. Li Xiang was really worried at this time. These four people obviously wanted to stay. Li Chengyi had already made great contributions and excluded this person, but the other three also wanted to stay. Who should he give it to?
"You don't have to stay. You've already made great achievements among the four of you. If I keep you, I'm afraid the other three won't accept it. I, too, would feel sorry for them. Do you have any objection to you coming back with me?"
Li Chengyi had already had this idea in his mind, so when Li Xiang said it, this guy could only nod helplessly. He had known this would be the result, but when it really came, he still felt a little bit wronged in his heart. After all, he had participated in this suggestion, but in the end he did not have any chance to share.
Of course, the Tang Dynasty army values collective honor. Now that you have made contributions, you have to give others some food to eat. You can't eat so much that you are almost dying while others don't have a grain of rice at all. This is unacceptable.
When they heard Li Chengyi was out, the three of them were overjoyed. This kid used to be a follower, but now he's grown into someone almost as good as them. If he were to stay, given his diligence, we'd probably have to support him and move him to the rear. Didn't Xiao Shougui say the rear was in turmoil? It's a good opportunity to send this kid back to help; he can definitely stir things up.
But with two spots split between three people, one person will eventually be eliminated. Now, none of these three want to be eliminated, and everyone wants to stay here, but the question is how to divide it? Remember to make these three people convinced and competent.
"None of you three, please don't tell me your strengths. I know all of them. Okay, let's do this. The three of you draw lots. We have two pieces of paper with red dots on them, and one piece of paper with nothing on it. Whoever draws that piece of paper must follow me back. The other two will stay, and of course, we'll rotate every six months."
After hearing Li Xiang's words, the three of them instantly became nervous. Of course, Li Xiang's solution was not wrong. If only two of them were left, and they were assigned by Li Xiang, then the other one would definitely feel uncomfortable. We are all His Highness's direct descendants, so why should you two stay? How am I any less capable than you two?
Li Xiang didn't want his men to fight over this. Right now, the Western Regions still needed people. Otherwise, it would be okay to keep all four of them. Of course, the number of troops left behind couldn't be too large, mainly because some supplies had to be transported.
It is extremely difficult to find one's own army in this vast desert. According to the current capabilities of the Tang army, only two armies can be left behind, and more supply points must be set up. Otherwise, these people can only fight with others with muskets in the second half, and of course they have to treat the muskets as fire sticks.
There is no need to worry about food and drink. If these people do not have the ability to survive in the wild, then they are not worthy of being called the elite of the Tang Dynasty. Before coming to Arabia, these people had done some training for the Arabian environment, but there is really no way to replenish gunpowder. Except for the Tang army transporting it from the rear, they really do not have this ability.
Of course, the weather here is dry, and it doesn't rain for a whole year. This is a disguised help to the Tang army. If it really rains, our musketeers will really become decorations. When fighting in other places, musketeers are a little scared, but in the Arab territory, there is really no need to worry about rain. According to them, it only rains once or twice a year, and at most the ground will be wet.
The three of them looked at the copper pot in front of them with trepidation. The paper inside was lit by Li Xiang himself, and no one saw it, so the three of them didn't know which one to draw. They really hoped that there would be a mark on the paper.
