Li Xiang, who was far behind, also received their report. He welcomed their way of fighting. After all, our losses were very small. It would be unacceptable to lose our elite troops for such an army. Therefore, Li Xiang praised Changsun Ze for temporarily changing the combat strategy.
The Tang Dynasty generals looked down upon the achievement of annihilating over 3,000 men in one day. Some even scoffed. They thought, "How dare you report such a victory?" "Do you really think we've never seen the world?" Even if you're facing the Arab Empire, we're all experts in the field. Who wouldn't know how powerful they are?
However, when the number of casualties was reported, these people chose to keep their mouths shut. The current loss ratio is extremely high, reaching one to forty or even one to fifty. Although it cannot be said to be zero casualties, many people have not reached this number.
Moreover, most of us were injured and are now receiving good treatment. Even if they are disabled, after being sent back to the rear, they can form a local security network, which is also very good for the entire Tang Dynasty.
"Don't send new troops there for now. They don't need to follow their reports now. At least 30,000 people have been eliminated. Some have fled to places we can't find. The crisis can be resolved now."
The casualties of this army have reached 40%. It is normal for Li Xiang to judge that the crisis has been resolved. Even if the army of the Arab Empire can be gathered together, their combat effectiveness will not be much. This army itself is just a patchwork. If you expect them to perform a miracle in war, then you are really ridiculous.
"This battle is going well with this method, but the civilians along the way are running away. This may be a losing battle for us. Every time we fight, we can plunder a portion of the spoils, but now we have nothing to show for it."
Xiao Shougui said with a wry smile that so far, no inhabited cities have been found. If this continues, then our lives will be difficult. The daily expenses are as high as tens of thousands of strings of money. Although part of it is exchanged by Li Xiang's system, the actual expenditure is also not small. We must find a way to support the war by fighting.
Although some prisoners will be sent back, their number is too small. It seems unlikely that we can rely on this group of prisoners to recover our costs based on the current situation. Therefore, in this case, we must find a way to open up new sources of income.
"I've got what you said in mind. If I can sell any land here, I'll also start selling it. People back home also want to become big landlords and are eager for overseas land. But apart from the land in the Ali Dynasty, I'm afraid the land along the way won't be sold. Would you buy a bunch of wasteland?"
Li Xiang said with a wry smile, and those present fell into deep thought. Li Xiang had said before that winning a battle must also bring gains. If there is only victory but no gains, then we are just losing money and gaining publicity. For the finances of the entire Tang Dynasty, that would be a fatal blow.
Now the imperial court basically takes a tacit attitude towards the series of military actions of the Tiance General's Mansion. That's because they can not only win battles and increase the territory of the empire, but also contribute to the empire's finances. Although sometimes it is a little less, as long as the empire does not need to spend money, then this war is still worth writing about.
But now there is no income. Apart from these more than 10,000 captives, there is no income for the entire Tang Dynasty. Then some people in the rear may not be able to control their mouths. It is not acceptable to have no income at all. This is the situation of those censors and imperial censors.
Of course, Li Xiang also understood that it was indeed our fault. We cannot always blame others for blaming us. Li Xiang also wanted to form such a tradition. Even if he was gone in the future, every foreign war of the Tang Dynasty had to consider the gains and losses of interests. There was really no use in fighting for those false names.
"Your Highness, I think what you said back then was correct. No matter who we go to war with, we must earn some income. Since we can't get any income from the Arab Empire's troops, shouldn't we ask the Ali Dynasty for income? This time, we are fighting the Arab Empire's troops, which is also a disguised guarantee of the Ali Dynasty's safety, and asking them to pay a portion of the protection fee. Is this okay?"
Xiao Shougui's eyes rolled, and he immediately knew who to ask for the money. Although the Ali Dynasty had been exploited before, this place is a wealthy place, and they have a lot of income from everything they do, so if we ask them to pay the money, they will definitely be able to find it.
Li Xiang originally didn't want to do this, after all, the Ali Dynasty was our puppet dynasty, but then he thought, after taking the money, the Ali Dynasty might become unstable, but if he didn't take the money, the court might start to interfere in some matters of the Tiance General's Mansion. Li Xiang also wanted to defeat the Arab Empire. If the court interfered, it would also be a challenge to the stability within the army.
"It seems this is the only way now. Li Chengyi, you go and do this. Explain clearly to King Helt that we only need him to give us one million strings of cash. This amount is enough for our military expenses, and you can't ask for more. I guess this will be a bit difficult for them, but they can still come up with it."
Li Xiang thought for a while and said, this is about one and a half months of military expenses, minus the things taken out by the system, this may support nearly a year, but Li Xiang is not going to cut this part now. In case he has an accident or the system disappears, then this expense will be the actual expense.
So in this situation, Li Xiang also knew how to do this, which was to transfer his crisis to others. If King Helt was sensible, even if he shed his own blood, it would satisfy Li Xiang's requirements. If you are not sensible, then we can only change a king for you. Isn't it difficult to find a royal descendant?
