Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 260 His Majesty asks you to return to Tang!

Honglu Temple, dining hall.

Ibn brought several of his men and came to the kitchen with a sheep hanging on a wooden stick.

"Please use this sheep as ingredients for our meal tonight," he said to the kitchen manager.

This isn't the first time he's done this.

According to the teachings of the Caliphate, only animals slaughtered while chanting the name of Allah can be eaten; all other animals are unclean and cannot be eaten.

There are many strange customs in different countries, not to mention that he prepares his own ingredients, which can save the Honglu Temple kitchen some expenses.

The kitchen manager didn't ask any questions, just agreed and ordered someone to move the sheep in.

Ibn thanked him, walked out of the kitchen and returned to his room.

After sitting for a while, a servant came to report that Wuzhile had returned.

"Let him in."

After a while, Uzile entered the house and performed the Arab etiquette towards Ibn.

"Deputy Governor, Bu Zhen has already met with the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and the Emperor refused to agree to our terms."

Iben touched the ring on his finger, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"It seems that the Tang Emperor really doesn't take the Arabs seriously. Only war will make him take our demands seriously."

Wu Zhile hurriedly said: "But the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty has another condition."

"Oh?"

Wu Zhile said: "He said that he could give India to us, and when we attack India, they will not send troops!"

Ibn pondered for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and said, "The Tang people have a good idea. The remnants of the Tibetans are now in Tianzhu. They want to use us to help them eliminate the hidden dangers!"

Wu Zhile said, "I believe that the remaining Tibetans are not a threat. If we can conquer the entire territory of India, it will be far better than the small area north of Gar City!"

Iben glanced at him.

"General Wu, you're not accepting favors from the Tang people, so you're speaking for them, are you?"

Wu Zhile hurriedly said, "I am only discussing the matter at hand. If we do not agree to the Tang people's conditions and start a war with them in Tubo, our army will have little chance of winning."

Ibn was silent for a long time, then said, "This is not a condition of the contract that the Governor has granted me. I cannot act on my own. I can only send someone back to the Arab Empire to ask for instructions from the Governor."

Wu Zhile hesitated and said, "It will probably take a long time to go back and forth. What if the Tang people force us to retreat?"

Ibn said coldly, "If they go too far, let's have a fight first."

Wu Zhile advised: "Deputy Governor, fighting in Tibet is not good for us!"

Ibn pinched the ring on his finger again and said calmly, "Who said we have to fight them in Tubo? The Western Regions are the battlefield suitable for us. If we destroy one of the Tang Dynasty's vassal states first, they should be willing to sit down and talk."

"But we have signed a contract with the Tang Dynasty. If we violate the agreement, it will damage the reputation of our country."

Ibn glanced at him and said, "I didn't say to send troops directly."

Wu Zhile's heart moved: "What do you mean?"

Yiben picked up a cup of tea and said calmly, "How are our arrangements in Kangju going?"

Another Arab official said, "The arrangements are almost complete. The King of Kangju is already incompetent and ruthless. If they take action, they can easily capture the capital and install a new king."

Ibn said sternly, "Then go ahead. We will just support you from behind, so that we don't violate the contract."

Wu Zhile was startled and said, "Deputy Governor, if we take action now, it will only increase the vigilance of the Tang Dynasty!"

Ibn said coldly, "They don't allow us to preach, and they've become wary of us. Now is not the time to show weakness. Let's show the Tang people what we Arabs can do!"

Wuzhile hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not object.

……

Tianzhu, Amitabha Temple.

An Indian monk walked quickly along the corridor at the back of the temple, and soon arrived outside a meditation room and pushed the door open and walked in.

There is a Buddha statue in the Zen room, and a monk is sitting quietly in front of the statue.

"Your Majesty, the king's army is heading towards the temple. Please flee!"

The person sitting quietly in the room was Wang Xuance. He sighed deeply and said, "Your king defected too quickly."

The Indian monk said with a bitter face, "This has always been the custom in India. They will regard the victor as a messenger of the gods."

Wang Xuance used his eloquence to incite the four Indian countries in the south to lead their armies to attack Tubo.

Taking advantage of Tubo's return for assistance, Wang Xuance led the coalition forces to capture many northern Indian countries.

As soon as the city gates of those countries were breached, they surrendered without hesitation and joined the coalition forces.

Wang Xuance's military power grew stronger and stronger, which gave him the illusion that the situation was under his control.

However, when attacking Nüqu City, the Indian coalition forces were defeated by the Tibetan army led by Qinling.

Those Indian countries that had surrendered to Wang Xuance suddenly surrendered to Tubo without any warning and immediately sent people to capture Wang Xuance.

Faced with such a fickle Indian army, Wang Xuance finally understood one thing.

When he conquered Chabei and Luocheng, more than 500 cities in India surrendered. This was not because of his military talent, but because of the tradition of the Indians.

It was not until this moment that he finally realized that it was foolish to use the Indian army to fight against Tubo.

Wang Xuance sat cross-legged on the ground and said in a deep voice, "I cannot complete the mission for Your Majesty. I am too embarrassed to return to Chang'an. Escape on your own and don't worry about me."

The Indian monk did not try to persuade him much, but just said, "Take care of yourself." He turned around and left quickly.

Wang Xuance took out a sword from under the cushion and just as he put the sword to his neck, he heard footsteps outside the door.

Then with a "bang", the door was kicked open.

Wang Xuance thought that the Indian soldiers had arrived and was ready to kill a few of them before his death. Unexpectedly, the men who entered the house all looked like Tang people.

"You are?" he asked in surprise.

The leading man asked, "Are you General Wang Xuance?"

Wang Xuance said, "It's me."

"Can you show us your fish amulet and scepter?"

Wang Xuance took out the fish talisman and handed it over.

"The fish symbol is here, but the staff was lost during the escape."

The leading man carefully examined the fish talisman and then returned it to him.

"Deputy Protector Wang, I, the commander of the internal guard brigade Gao Ping, am here to take you to the Kunzang Protectorate on the orders of Protector Xue!"

Wang Xuance was even more surprised: "Deputy Protector General? Kunzang Protectorate?"

Gao Ping said, "The Kunzang Protectorate is Tubo. His Majesty has issued an edict appointing you as the Deputy Protector of the Kunzang Protectorate!"

Wang Xuance was stunned and said, "But I didn't help His Majesty to recapture Tianzhu!"

Gao Ping said, "Then I don't know. His Majesty's decree is that you no longer need to stay in Tianzhu, but return to the Kunzang Protectorate immediately to help General Xue and stabilize Kunzang!"

Wang Xuance was both surprised and ashamed, but he didn't have time to sigh. He immediately said, "The Indian soldiers are coming soon. Let's leave through the back door!"

The flames of war in the southwest of the Tang Dynasty have not yet been completely extinguished, and in the northeast, a new unrest is quietly brewing.

The seeds of this unrest were actually planted ten years ago.

It's just been hidden under the soil and no one knows about it.

When the Khitan surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, they were attacked by both the Tang Dynasty and Goguryeo and faced the danger of life and death. That's why they hid under the wings of the Tang Dynasty and secretly recovered their strength.

A war in Mobei led to the large-scale westward migration of the Tiele people.

Other grassland tribes coveted the rich water and grass in the northern desert, so they disguised themselves as Tiele tribes and quietly grew stronger in the northern desert.

However, at the beginning of this year, the Yanran Protectorate sent people to conduct random inspections of the tribes, and Yanran Deputy Protector Po Run was personally responsible for it.

Because of the betrayal of the Uighurs, the deputy protector-general Po Run became a figurehead and had no real power.

He did not protest much, and stayed in Chang'an honestly, enjoying the romantic life and no longer cared about the affairs of Mobei.

At the court meeting at the beginning of the year, Zhou Zhidu was reprimanded by the emperor for the increase in the Tiele tribe, and he began to think about how to investigate the matter.

After much thought, he felt that it would be difficult for him to accomplish this task on his own, so he went to Po Run's residence in person to ask him to come out of retirement.

Po Run did not refuse and immediately returned to Mobei with Zhou Zhidu.

Under the inspection of the former Uighur leader, with his sharp eyes, those fake Tiele tribes were exposed and expelled from the northern desert.

The Tang Dynasty had just destroyed the powerful Tubo. Under such circumstances, not many tribes dared to directly resist the Tang Dynasty.

Among these expelled tribes, the largest number were the Eastern Turks and the Khitans.

The chief of the Eastern Turks had just been captured by Gao Kan and brought to Chang'an a few years ago, so the Eastern Turks did not dare to resist.

The Khitans were different. They had never been loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

Many of the cattle and sheep of the tribes that were driven back starved to death on their way back, and some were robbed by the Turks.

This completely aroused the anger of the Khitans.

There were eight major Khitan tribes, among which the Daha clan led by its leader Li Kuge was the most powerful.

Ever since Li Kugo went hunting with Xue Rengui, he has become like a rusty iron spear, no longer as handsome as before.

After he learned that Xue Rengui had eliminated Tubo, he was even more unwilling to rebel against the Tang Dynasty at this time and attract Xue Rengui, the god of death.

However, the people of the other seven tribes had reached an agreement to force him to rebel against the Tang Dynasty.

He had no choice but to put forward one condition.

Li Kuge believed that to deal with the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan alone could not do it, and that it was necessary to unite with Goguryeo, Mohe, Shiwei, and Eastern Turks in order to succeed.

So Li Kuge discussed with other chiefs and secretly sent out invitations, inviting all tribes to join in resisting the Tang Dynasty and attacking Yingzhou.

Unfortunately, except for Goguryeo, all other tribes refused.

In the Daha camp, Li Kuuge summoned the other seven chiefs to discuss the matter again.

"Everyone, you've seen it. It's not that I'm unwilling to resist the Tang, but that the other tribes are unwilling to join forces. How can the Khitan alone be a match for the Tang?"

A chieftain sitting on Li Kugo's right shouted, "You've already destroyed your prestige before the fight even begins. How can the warriors still have the will to fight?"

This man's name was Yaoniantu, and he was the leader of the Yaonian clan, the second largest tribe of the Khitan.

Li Kuge shook his head and said, "I'm just speaking the truth. As the chief, I need to consider all the people in the tribe!"

Yao Nian Tu said sternly, "Brother Da He Ku, you are only thinking about yourself. For you, keeping your title of Songmo Governor is the most important thing, right?"

Li Kuge said coldly: "Yao Nian Tu, if you don't submit to me, you can challenge me. Do you have the courage?"

Yaoniantu's face was gloomy and he didn't say a word. His archery skills were not as good as Li Kuuge's.

Li Kuge looked around and snorted coldly, "If anyone still doubts my decision, you can challenge me!"

The chiefs looked at Yao Niantu, and seeing that he didn't say anything, they all remained silent.

Li Kuge said, "Then go back. When the time is right, I will lead you to break away from the Tang Dynasty and establish a Khitan nation!"

The chiefs looked at each other and left the tent.

A few days later, Li Kuuge was shot dead by an arrow while hunting.

By the time the news reached Chang'an, it was already May.

(End of this chapter)