"You've all seen the cattle and sheep outside. Prime Minister Midu's third letter was written with heartfelt sincerity. Let's all share what strategy we should adopt. The emperor has already delegated power to us. If we do well, we will all be honored. If we don't, a good thing will turn into a bad thing, and we will all be punished."
General Qin Qiong placed the letter in a wooden box and asked his soldiers to pass it to the people below. This matter indeed has both opportunities and risks. If it is done well, we will all be promoted and get rich, and the crisis on the southwestern border of the court will be resolved.
But if you fail to do it well, and the other party has already humiliated themselves and asked for peace, and you end up with a war, then all your hard work will be in vain. The emperor may even scold you in his heart for not being able to do things. No matter if you are a general or a prince or grandson of the emperor, in the end you may end up in disgrace.
"Needless to say? Of course, we should take advantage of their weakness to kill them. Let's continue to ask them for things. When these things satisfy us, when will we open the opportunity for negotiation? Anyway, they have no courage at all now, so we can't let this opportunity go."
Li Zhi was a man who spoke without thinking. The last time Li Xiang asked for something, he was the most strongly opposed. Now, seeing the cattle and sheep outside, he was a little lost. Of course, five thousand cattle and sheep were not a small number for the Tang Dynasty.
"I object. We must be flexible. We were able to get what we wanted this time. I think we've reached their red line. If we continue to press for more, it's very likely that they'll fight to the death, which could ruin things. It's like pulling a bowstring. It's already at its tightest. If we continue to exert pressure, the bow will be broken."
These uncle and nephew have been at odds with each other since the beginning of the war. When Li Zhi speaks, everyone will look at Li Xiang at the same time. When Li Xiang speaks, everyone will look at Li Zhi at the same time.
Now everyone has come to the conclusion in their hearts that Li Zhi is a kid who eats everything and leaves nothing behind, and is not good at anything.
Although Li Xiang is a younger generation, almost everything he said came true. If you want to talk about reliability, Li Xiang is far ahead of Li Zhi.
"This general also feels that some things should be stopped while they are going well. Although we have caused them considerable losses, Tuyuhun is not weak after all. If we really want to fight to the death, we may have to pay a heavy price. Now we should be close to the lowest point. There is no need to find that lowest point. It is better to negotiate under this situation."
Cheng Yaojin immediately expressed his opinion. He was already thinking about how to buy the grassland. If he messed up this matter, then the purchase of the grassland would be a distant dream. Cheng Yaojin has always been opposed to the old big families. Even though he married a wife from a big family, he always wanted to surpass these big families. This is also one of the reasons why he has been doing business.
"what you think?"
After Cheng Yaojin finished speaking, General Qin Qiong also agreed, but now he was used to it. No matter what major decision he made, he would ask Li Xiang, and Li Zhi was ignored.
When General Qin Qiong said this, Li Zhi showed an angry expression on his face. If possible, he would be ready to leave now. Of the two generals present, Cheng Yaojin was almost in cahoots with Li Xiang. Now that General Qin Qiong had also fallen, what was the point of him still staying on the front line?
In fact, ever since the emperor's edict came down, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the emperor had already bypassed Li Zhi. After all, in the signing of the final agreement, the emperor allowed Li Xiang to use the seal on his behalf. This was very clear. If he had a son, he didn't need to use his grandson. So, would this son still have status?
If Li Zhi continued to stay at the front line, he would only continue to make a fool of himself. However, this guy was unwilling to go back now because he was still thinking about making a fortune. After the contract was signed, the emperor would definitely reward him according to his merits. As a prince of the court, Li Zhi would definitely be ranked at the front. So no matter how embarrassed he was now, Li Zhi would never go back a day earlier.
He would not give up the final reward based on merit. Even if he stayed in Liangzhou City, he had to get a share of the credit. He had calculated this account clearly.
"General, you may reply now, but please set the time for five days from now. During these five days, we will conduct a military exercise on the grassland."
Li Xiang has brought a new word to everyone.
"Military what?"
Cheng Chumo was sitting far away, so he didn't hear clearly what Li Xiang said. The other people present also had a look of confusion on their faces, not knowing what Li Xiang meant. They now had only one thought: the cake was about to reach their mouths, and they must not let the cake run away, otherwise all their efforts would be in vain. The brothers had been busy for so long, and this was not the result they wanted.
"It's about pretending to wage a war, flexing our muscles to all the Tuyuhun people, pulling our most powerful troops out of the city, and then launching a series of armed attacks on the grasslands, pretending we have an enemy and letting them see our strength clearly."
When communicating with these ancient people, Li Xiang had to explain the matter clearly. The people present were relatively smart. If it were those with brain problems, Li Xiang might not understand even if he talked all night. Some things were really too advanced.
In modern society, using military exercises to threaten opponents is something that almost everyone understands, but in today's era, Li Xiang had to explain it to them clearly. It took Li Xiang almost a cup of tea to make everyone understand what this military exercise meant.
"I now understand this. When I was a bandit, not many people would listen to me when I talked to them. But if I showed them my two big axes, some of them would listen to me obediently. When I met those who didn't listen, I would use these three axes and everyone would obey me."
Although Cheng Yaojin's words were a bit crude, everyone understood. Li Xiang also had a dark face. It seems that my explanation for a long time is not as good as your few words. I should have let you speak first, so I wouldn't have wasted so much saliva. Half of the people still didn't understand. Your explanation is still on point...