After more than half a month's march, Li Xiang finally returned to the Anxi Protectorate. The officials here had come out to greet him. The current location of the Anxi Protectorate has become a new city.
"Your Highness, may you live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years."
A group of people waited outside the Anxi Protectorate to welcome Li Xiang, but Li Xiang did not get out of the carriage. Instead, he went straight into the gate of the Anxi Protectorate. The princes and nobles of the Western Regions looked at each other and had a bad feeling in their hearts.
Some people are already feeling guilty because some time ago, they thought that the Tang army might have been trapped, so their chance has come. If they can take advantage of this opportunity to succeed, they will be able to live up to their ancestors in the future. After all, this place was not originally the territory of the Tang Dynasty. When their army arrives, we can only be their puppet emperors. Moreover, according to the various policies of the Tang Dynasty, I am afraid that it will be impossible for your next generation to become a puppet emperor.
Many people had already made very careful plans and were about to gather everyone, but who knew that the Tang army returned from the front line without anyone noticing. They originally thought that it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who came back on his own, but who knew that hundreds of thousands of troops came back with him, and some were still on the way. Did they lose the battle?
If this were really the case, they would feel very happy. Unfortunately, they were not defeated at all. Just look at the Arab prisoners in the team. There are many of them, and they are dressed in rags. Many of them are very strong. They are obviously soldiers of the Arab Empire.
Some people have also calculated that there are at least tens of thousands of Arab Empire soldiers in several prisoner-of-war camps outside the city. This shows that a great victory has been won. For these small kings in the Western Regions, tens of thousands of prisoners are definitely an immeasurable victory.
"Protector General, we have prepared some gifts for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Would you like to see them?"
A noble from the Western Regions came up to Xiao Shougui. He also took this opportunity to test Li Xiang's attitude. If Li Xiang did not meet with them, it meant that what they had done must have been discovered, and they would have to think about fleeing. But if Li Xiang met with them, they could observe the expression on Li Xiang's face. As long as they were not discovered, they would just continue to hide. Under the surveillance of hundreds of thousands of troops, there was no chance at all. These people also understood this very well.
"Your Highness has come a long way and must be tired. Everyone, please wait here for a while. I will go in to meet His Highness and then pass on your greetings. After all, His Highness grew up in Chang'an. The climate here is very different from that in Chang'an. If we come back from Chang'an, it will take some time for us to bear it."
Xiao Shougui had already told Li Xiang that the deployment has not been completed yet, so you have to stay here for a while. According to Xiao Shougui's original plan, they should have been wiped out long ago, but there might be bloodshed. Li Xiang is already preparing to return to the court, so let these people gather here first, and wait until the deployment is completed, and then take them down together.
"Your Excellency is right. Your Highness the Crown Prince should take care of his health. We will wait here for good news."
Although the group felt something was wrong, they could not show it. If they really showed it, they would know that the Protector General in front of them was not as gentle and polite as he appeared to be. They had seen the Protector General's cruelty before, so they were communicating with each other through eye contact.
Of course, this kind of communication is basically useless. If you gather your troops together, perhaps Xiao Shougui would be able to look you in the eye. But you don’t even know where your troops are, and when you gather together you are just a mob. How can he look you in the eye?
At this moment, Li Xiang had already gotten off the carriage. Although the carriage was spacious enough, Li Xiang was exhausted along the way, not to mention the brothers on the war horses. Therefore, the people Li Xiang used at this moment were all replenished from Chang'an City. Their task was to capture the more than 40 nobles outside and then behead them in the street.
In addition, there were also the family members of these more than 40 nobles, a total of more than 300 people, all of whom were slaves.
In the Tang Dynasty's policy towards the Western Regions, Li Xiang has been very conciliatory and did not intend to make things like this, but there are some things that cannot be done. Even if you want to save face for them, these people just don't want face, so they might as well be ruthless to you.
The reason why these people dared to seek personal gain was that the Tang Dynasty had never killed a large number of nobles. They simply sent their sons to Chang'an or robbed their money. As for the lives of themselves and their loved ones, the Tang Dynasty had never calculated on them. Therefore, these people were fearless and wanted to rebel again and again.
Just as Li Xiang picked up the teacup, the arrangements outside had been completed. The first to be released were the servants of the nobles. These people had not yet understood what was happening and were all standing beside their master's carriage. Then hundreds of soldiers rushed in from both sides. By the time they reacted, the knives were already at their necks.
"What's going on?"
The noble who spoke just now saw that a large number of people were rushing in from the surroundings, and many musketeers on the roofs on both sides were already ready. If you guys move, don't blame us for being rude.
"My Lord Protector, what's going on?"
Some people were still pretending to be confused. Xiao Shougui had already come out with a list. When he saw the person who was speaking, Xiao Shougui waved his hand and a musketeer behind him shot at him. In full view of everyone, the man was instantly shot dead.
"The rest of you don't need to panic, but if you try to contact the rebels, your lives will end today. I think you should know what's going on. Don't think that your actions in secret will go unnoticed. His Highness the Crown Prince is indeed more merciful, but today His Highness will not continue to show mercy. All those involved will be beheaded immediately."
After Xiao Shougui finished speaking, some people still wanted to run away, but unfortunately they were already blocked and their servants had been captured. These people had no chance at all. They had not touched you before because they were waiting for this day when you were all together.
