Seven days after the Tang army occupied the city, all four city gates were opened and the people could enter and exit freely. Many people's homes were around the city, and after the city was surrounded, they had no way to go home. Of course, they did not dare to make this request. In their impression, the defeated were not allowed to make any requests, otherwise they would fail.
So in this situation, if they could be allowed to go back, they would naturally be very grateful, but if they were not allowed to go back, these people would listen obediently. After all, they have been educated by the people of the Arab Empire and will not confront the occupying forces on this matter. They also know that there is no benefit in confronting the occupying forces.
On the 25th day, the army led by Su Dingfang finally arrived. This guy and his men fought all the way here. Although there were not many cities in between, there were still a lot of troops of the Arab Empire. When fighting with the Arab Empire army, they obviously felt that these people's combat effectiveness was not good and they should be in the third line position.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
Three months later, Su Dingfang and Cheng Chuliang came back. Li Xiang originally wanted to arrange for someone to stay in Samarkand, which was very important as our rear base. However, Xiao Shougui said that he could handle it, so there was no need to let these generals stay there. Now that the war was imminent, the generals all had to come out to gain credit. If they left people behind, it would inevitably be too cruel.
"Everyone, get up. I know you guys can't sit still. Now that you're at the front, stay here for two days. You've been through a long journey, and we should discuss how to take the cities around the Caspian Sea. There are 20 to 30 cities around here. If we attack them all, we'll have to split our forces into five groups."
Li Xiang is very clear about the current situation. If he still uses the original army, some things may not be accomplished. These people can stand on their own, and it is okay for them. Give them a chance and let them realize their dreams. This is what Li Xiang thinks. If you can't do it, then it's the end of you. There will be no such opportunities in the future. The opportunities of the court are extremely limited, and every opportunity has to pay a huge price. It depends on whether you can seize it.
Hearing that they could lead troops independently again, these people's faces were very happy. If they stayed by Li Xiang's side all the time, they would be restricted in what they did. Although Li Xiang was already very open-minded, they still hoped that they could have more freedom so that they could fight faster and they would not have to report everything. If they had to report everything, it would not be good for anyone.
"Your Highness planned fifteen military stations along the way we came here. Currently, only three of them have been completed, and the rest are still under construction. They are each eighty miles apart. If we want to build a station here, it will probably take half a year."
Su Dingfang first said an important thing. The reason they separated was because they had a mission. Some people followed Li Xiang directly to fight here, and the other part took the old soldiers back to rest, and then brought new soldiers from Samar Khan. While fighting, they also had to build military stations along the way.
For the generals of the Tang Dynasty, they all knew what a military station was. Only some outsiders were not clear about it. This thing was simply a powerful weapon. As long as you were good at building it in normal times, there would be no problem with the logistics of the Tang Dynasty.
"This speed is still acceptable. If we don't have enough personnel, we can just grab a group of people from the surrounding area and send them over. We've been playing nice guys too much lately. These people, including those around us, probably think we won't bully anyone."
When Li Xiang said this, Su Dingfang and Cheng Chuliang didn't quite understand, but the others nodded with a wry smile, because they had too few people and were not enough to control the entire city. If they wanted to control the entire city, there would be loopholes in many places. After a temporary comparison, Li Xiang finally made a decision, which was to honestly guard our military camp.
As for the human resources and other wealth in this city, we can't care so much for the time being. We should give up when it is time to give up. If you always think about taking care of everything, you will be the one who suffers in the end. Li Xiang sees this very clearly.
After learning about this situation, Su Dingfang and Cheng Chuliang also raised their thumbs. These two guys have been following Li Xiang for quite some time. Li Xiang has always been the one who takes as many resources as he can get. But he was able to keep his composure in this matter. This was indeed very difficult. If it were them, they would never leave the people of the entire city alone and let them leave like this.
Fortunately, more people have nowhere to go, so they have to stay in this city. Now that our army has arrived, it is time to assign them tasks. Xiao Shougui is in charge of Samarhan City, and we are in charge here. We have to build dozens of military stations along the 1,800-mile-long front line.
When the attack came from the Western Regions, all the generals understood Li Xiang's strategy, which was to send food and supplies before the troops moved. As long as our gunpowder and food were in place, no matter how powerful our enemies were, they would not be able to make much of a difference to us. But if these two things were not in place, some things would be difficult to say.
Now we have started construction on one end. If we start construction from this city as well, and move towards each other on both sides, then the time can be shortened by half. As for the personnel we need on our side, don’t we have enough of them in the city?
After Li Xiang finished speaking, the rest of the people knew what to do. After a few days of rest, they would have to start looking for labor throughout the process. Don't blame us. This is the right of the victor. We gave you the opportunity to leave a few days ago, but you didn't. Now it's hard to say what will happen. After we build the roads and military stations for us, maybe we will give you freedom.
