The top leaders of Gaochang Kingdom never expected that the Tang Dynasty envoy would arrive so soon. According to their previous predictions, they should have one or two days of free time, and they also hoped to use these one or two days to discuss a corresponding strategy.
Their countermeasure was to act like a fence-sitter, neither offending the Tang Dynasty nor causing any substantial harm to Xueyantuo Khan. They would give them a piece of wasteland and let them stay on it, and then slowly let Xueyantuo Khan continue to give them gifts so that they could make a fortune.
Don't think that this is a small fortune. Since Xueyantuo Khan came to their land, almost everyone in the court has been well fed. Xueyantuo Khan also understands that if he doesn't feed these people, why would they give you convenience while bearing the label of rebelling against the Tang Dynasty?
"Your Majesty, should we go out and greet him first?"
After the soldier finished speaking, the king did not react for a long time. The king was really conflicted and wanted to come up with a solution. While he was in the middle of this dilemma, the envoy from the Tang Dynasty arrived. If the letter of credence was submitted in public, how should we deal with this matter?
But now they're outside the city. If you don't go to greet them, it would be a problem in terms of etiquette. This guy scolded his brother Wadhan, saying, "Didn't I tell you to delay for two days? Where did you delay?"
According to the original order, Wadahan should have been able to hold out for two days, but now he had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Of course, the King of Gaochang was unaware of this, so how could Wadahan continue to delay? He had already fully disclosed Gaochang's plan, and Lord Zhao was also aware of it. Therefore, they came here without stopping, in order to catch the King of Gaochang off guard.
Of course, Lord Zhao will take all the responsibility on himself and will never let Wadahan bear any responsibility. He is our chess piece in Gaochang Kingdom, and a very important one at that. If something happens to him, it will not be worth it for us, so we have to protect him well.
"Send a full camp outside the city to welcome him. All the adult nobles in the city will follow me."
The King of Gaochang sighed and said, "Now that things have come to this, you can't hide away. We can only go out and pick them up honestly."
The Imperial Preceptor and the generals understood clearly that, while the king was greedy for money, he didn't dare to offend the Great Tang Dynasty. This was understandable. Which of the surrounding nations dared to offend the Great Tang Dynasty? If you count the nations they've destroyed, which one isn't more powerful than our Gaochang Kingdom? If you offend them over this matter, you might be safe for the next two years, but if you continue like this, can you still guarantee your safety?
Su Dingfang also showed his full strength. The Tang army was the best looking among all the countries, both in terms of war horses and armor. Especially after Li Xiang's improvements, it looked very imposing. When such an army came to the royal city of Gaochang, not to mention their common people, even some knowledgeable officials gave them a thumbs up without hesitation after seeing it.
After all, the army of the Tang Dynasty is much stronger than the armies of our small countries. It can be seen from their morale. Many people were standing on the city wall and saw the neat formations of the Tang Dynasty army, especially the cavalry. It seems that they are trained very strictly in normal times. At least if we search our Gaochang Kingdom from beginning to end, I am afraid we will not find such an army.
After seeing this scene, the King of Gaochang had a complicated expression on his face. He didn't know how to describe his feelings. It was probably the same for every king. Who wouldn't want to have such an army under his command? If he really had one, he would be more confident than before. But now they all belong to other countries, and it would be of no benefit to him. If they attack, he might not be able to escape.
"The Tang Dynasty's special envoy to the Lifanyuan..."
After Wadahan's introduction, Lord Zhao came before the King of Gaochang with Li Shimin's letter in his hand and his head held high. As a special envoy of the Tang Dynasty, he only needed to bend down, which was also the rule. However, if the special envoy of Gaochang came to the capital, he had to learn the three kneelings and nine kowtows honestly.
This is a very unfair treatment, but all the countries in the Western Regions have acknowledged it. Although your Gaochang Kingdom is a relatively powerful country in the Western Regions, it is really not enough compared with the Tang Dynasty. The country has a population of about one million, and the population of the Tang Dynasty is dozens of times more than yours.
As for the cavalry that you are proud of, the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty is standing right in front of you. This cavalry is not just good-looking, they have fought in many battles, from Goguryeo to Tuyuhun, from Tuyuhun to Xueyantuo, and have never been defeated.
People from top to bottom in Gaochang Kingdom were in extremely complicated moods. If it weren't for the incident of Xueyantuo Khan, they would be very happy to establish good diplomatic relations with the Tang Dynasty. Even being led by the Tang Dynasty would not be a big deal. Everyone knew that it was the Celestial Empire and the leader of the world.
But now with the Xueyantuo Khan incident, the stronger the Tang Dynasty becomes, the more dangerous we will be.
The dissatisfaction on the face of the General Zhenguo was already revealed. When the Xueyantuo Khan was about to come in, he and his faction were an extremist organization. What they feared most was that the Tang Dynasty would vent its anger on them, but they did not expect that the high-level court officials would let them in for money. It doesn't matter if you let them in, but you must never make enemies with the Tang Dynasty.
But what made the generals helpless was that money could make the world go round, and money could also buy the king of Gaochang. They actually helped Xueyantuo design such a plan. Unfortunately, the combat effectiveness of the Tang army was too strong, and Xueyantuo had no chance at all.
Now the Xueyantuo people have retreated and fled to the depths of the wilderness, but don't think that this matter is over. The people of the Tang Dynasty have already investigated the surrounding area. Anyone with a high IQ can understand that this matter involved the cooperation of the people of Gaochang Kingdom.
If the local tyrants don't cooperate, how can we possibly accomplish this? Although both sides have smiles on their faces, many people can sense that the Tang army is coming with murderous intent, and they have dissatisfaction with us in their hearts...
