Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 274 Win and Continue Talking

By the end of June, peace had returned to the harem.

Early that morning, Li Zhi opened his eyes in a daze, and when he turned his head, he saw a pair of big eyes staring at him, blinking.

Li Zhi sat up and said with a smile, "Zhenlian, why are you staring at me?"

Zhu Zhenlian blushed slightly and said, "I'm just waiting for Your Majesty to wake up." She stood up and began to help Li Zhi get dressed.

Li Zhi put on his clothes with her help and asked, "Are you used to living in Xunfeng Palace lately?"

Zhu Zhenlian smiled and said, "I'm used to it. Sister Noble Concubine treats me very well."

Li Zhi asked, "Has my mother-in-law arrived in Chang'an?"

Zhu Zhenlian said hurriedly, "She arrived the day before yesterday morning. Her Majesty the Queen sent someone to tell me. Yesterday, she also issued an imperial decree, allowing mother to enter the palace and meet my brother and me."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "That's good. Where does she live? Are there enough people to take care of her?"

"Her Majesty the Queen arranged for my mother to live in Yongchangfang, which is very close. Her Majesty has sent four people to take care of her, and I have also sent two people."

Seeing that everything was settled, Li Zhi felt relieved. After the two had breakfast together, Li Zhi left the yard.

When leaving Xunfeng Palace, Li Zhi suddenly caught a glimpse of Princess Gao'an standing in front of a mountain pond, lost in thought, not knowing what she was thinking.

Li Zhi walked up to her and said with a smile, "An'er, what are you doing?"

Princess Gao An was startled, turned her head to look at Li Zhi, and said with a smile: "Father, I am feeding the fish."

Li Zhi followed her gaze and saw that there were indeed a few red carp in the pond, eating.

Li Zhi took a handful of fish food, helped her feed the fish for a while, and then returned to Ganlu Palace.

He has a lot of things to worry about recently.

The Arabs refused to leave Gar City. Judging from the time, if Su Dingfang's army had moved quickly, they might have already arrived at Gar City.

The first conflict with the Arabs is about to begin.

Although our side has the advantage in this war and Su Dingfang is leading the troops personally, there should be no problems.

But it was the first time to go to war with the Arabs.

This is an unknown enemy, and anything is possible, so Li Zhi dare not take it lightly.

The Khitan on the other side is also a problem.

Daha Abgu was slow to come to Chang'an, and according to the news sent back by Liu Rengui, the Khitans had been secretly flirting with Goguryeo and Baekje.

Rebellion against the Tang Dynasty was only a matter of time.

Li Zhi had already appointed Gao Kan as deputy governor of Yingzhou, giving Liu Rengui another deputy.

In addition, Liu Rengui was also given the power to go into battle at any time. As long as he felt there was an opportunity, he could take the initiative to attack the Khitan.

Li Zhi wrote down some important events of the Tang Dynasty in a booklet based on his memory early on to prevent himself from forgetting them in the future.

According to the booklet, within a year, Baekje would attack Silla, and Silla would ask the Tang Dynasty for help.

According to the original history, the Tang Dynasty not only sent troops to rescue, but also destroyed Baekje.

Many situations have changed now, and history may no longer follow its original trajectory.

First, Su Dingfang, who destroyed Baekje, was still in Tubo. Second, Li Zhi was not interested in saving Silla.

There is one thing to consider though.

According to the current situation, Goguryeo, Silla and Khitan are likely to form a tripartite alliance. They may not attack Silla again, but may directly invade the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, the situation on Liu Rengui's side is not optimistic.

In the morning, after he finished his government affairs, he went to Lizheng Hall to visit Wu Meiniang. At noon, he came to Linhu Hall for a nap.

While he was drowsy, Wang Fusheng woke him up.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

Li Zhi opened his eyes and was silent for a while before he sat up and asked, "What's wrong?"

Wang Fusheng said, "Xiao Siye wants to see you. It seems there is urgent news from the front."

Li Zhi said: "Which direction?"

Wang Fusheng said, "The eunuch who delivered the message said that the news came from the Kunzang Protectorate."

Li Zhi said, "Appoint Xiao Siye to the audience."

After a while, Xiao Siye came to the Linhu Palace. After the greetings, he handed over a report delivered by Xue Rengui himself.

Li Zhi sat up straight and read the report over and over again three times.

This was a victory report. Su Dingfang had successfully captured the city of Gar. However, the actual battle was not as smooth as expected.

He frowned and asked, "Who is this Suoman?"

Xiao Siye said, "Your Majesty, this man seems to be a Persian who has surrendered to the Arabs and is highly valued by them."

Su Dingfang attacked Gar City, and although he won the battle, it was not an easy victory.

The siege went smoothly at the beginning, but after breaking through the city gate, the Arabs engaged in street fighting with the Tang army.

They had made preparations in advance, demolishing many houses and building fortifications in the city, making street fighting quite difficult. Although they finally captured Gar City, they suffered considerable damage.

Because of the street fighting, the Arab army also gained time to retreat, and only the 3,000-man army that stayed behind to delay Su Dingfang was annihilated.

Failed to annihilate all the Arab troops.

This also made Li Zhi deeply impressed by the Arab general named Suoman.

When Li Zhi heard that the other party was Persian, he waved his hand and said, "Send Bilus over."

Not long after, Bilus came to Linhu Palace in military uniform. He had been appointed by Li Zhi as the General of the Internal Guard, an external post.

"Your Majesty, I am your humble servant." Bilus bowed.

Li Zhi looked at him and said, "General, my army just fought a battle with the Arabs in Tubo. Although we won this battle, we should not underestimate the enemy commander. I heard he is a Persian."

When Bilus heard that the Tang Dynasty had won, he was happy at first, but after hearing the following words, his face suddenly became extremely gloomy.

"Your Majesty, you are talking about Suoman, right?"

Li Zhi said, "That's the man. Is he really Persian?"

Peroz said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, you may not know that he is the number one general in Persia, known as the Undefeated General. He defeated the Byzantine and Arab armies several times. He has almost never lost a battle in his life."

Li Zhi was moved and said, "No wonder he is so difficult to deal with."

Peroz gritted his teeth and said, "Although this man has military talent, he lacks a noble character. After being defeated by the Arab general Khalid II, he actually abandoned his honor and defected to the Arabs!"

Li Zhi's eyes flashed, and he asked, "Did the Arab general named Khalid II ever defeat Suoman?"

Peroz said, "Yes. The Arabs had two most outstanding generals. One was Khalid II, known as the 'Sword of Allah' by the Arabs, and the other was the Persian governor, Muawiyah, known as the 'Shield of Allah'."

Li Zhi said to Xiao Siye, "Remember these two names. If you encounter them on the battlefield in the future, be careful not to be careless."

Xiao Siye said, "Yes."

Bilus said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, you only need to pay attention to Muawiyah."

Li Zhi asked curiously, "Why?"

Peroz said, "Khalid II is a member of the Caliphate of the Caliphate and is hostile to Muawiyah. They are currently attacking the Byzantine Empire in the west and will not appear in the east."

"That's right." Li Zhi nodded and turned to say, "Xiao Qing, now that the battle has been decided, we can continue negotiations. Go tell the Arabs to withdraw from Kangguo, otherwise we will send troops to Kangguo to help them restore their country."

Xiao Siye bowed and said, "Yes!"

……

A few days later, in the Honglu Temple, the Arabs finally received the latest news from Tubo.

Iben lit the letter he received with candlelight and snorted coldly.

"It's really shameful. Suoman, who was hailed as the best general in Persia, failed to win a single battle after entering Tubo. I really don't know why my brother wants to use the Persians so much."

After Suoman entered Tubo, he fought against two people in total, namely Qinling of Tubo and Su Dingfang of the Tang Dynasty.

The battle with Qin Ling ended in a draw, as Qin Ling voluntarily withdrew, so it cannot be considered a victory. The battle with Su Dingfang ended in a defeat, with the loss of a city.

Wu Zhile whispered, "There's nothing we can do about it. He's facing Qin Ling and Su Dingfang, both of whom are no ordinary people."

Ibn glared at him and said, "General Wu, are you speaking for him?"

Wuzhile lowered his head and said nothing.

Another Arab said, "Deputy Governor, the situation is not good right now. We have lost the battle on the front line, and it seems we have no bargaining chips to negotiate with the Tang people."

Ibn was silent for a moment, then snorted, "It's all because of that useless Suoman that I wasted half a year."

The Arab said, "The Tang people asked us to withdraw from Kangju. Do you want to agree to their request so that we can attack India?"

Ibn snorted coldly, "Do you really believe they will keep their promise and allow us to attack Tianzhu? What if they pick the fruit while we're fighting?"

"This……"

Wu Zhile said: "Deputy Governor, don't worry. It will take the Tang people at least three to five years to swallow up the land of Tubo. As long as we take over Tianzhu as soon as possible, they won't have the energy to interfere!"

Ibn glanced at him and said coldly, "Why should we follow the Tang people's footsteps? If they tell us to attack India, should we attack India?"

Wu Zhile was stunned and asked, "So what do you mean?"

Ibn said coldly: "The Kangju Kingdom incident shows that the Tang Dynasty's vassal states are vulnerable. We should focus on the Western Regions!"

At this moment, another Arab came into the house and said to Ibn, "Deputy Governor, the Governor has sent someone to give you an order." He handed over a letter.

Ibn took it in a hurry, picked it up and took a look, his face immediately turned pale with anger.

"That bastard Su Aoman actually dared to persuade my brother to attack India. No, I must return to Daqin immediately. I can't let my brother make the wrong decision!"

According to the information in the letter, two factions had formed within the Arab Empire due to the defeat of Gar City.

One faction advocated attacking India, while the other advocated marching into the Western Regions.

Because of Su'uman's suggestion, the faction attacking India gained the upper hand, so Mu'awiyah summoned Ibn back to hear his opinion.

The Arabs immediately packed their luggage and submitted an application to leave the city to the Honglu Temple.

After the official approval from the Tang Dynasty came down, the group hurriedly left Chang'an.

(End of this chapter)