After staying in the post station for one night, Li Xiang finally met the Xueyantuo's Left Grand Commandant Angurtai the next day.
"I have met the Great Khan of the Tang Dynasty..."
Hearing the other party's long-winded address, Li Xiang frowned. The major nomadic tribes in the north regarded Li Shimin as the Heavenly Khan. Since he was Li Shimin's grandson, he also had a bunch of messy titles.
But these titles are just titles and have little practical use. When these people have nothing to do, they regard Li Shimin as the Heavenly Khan. But when something really happens, they are of no use at all. They still live according to their own way.
Take the invasion of the Turks as an example. They knew that this was Li Shimin's territory. If they really regarded Li Shimin as the common ruler of the world, would they dare to invade here? So these honorary titles are useless.
"Alright, alright. You know better than me whether these things are useful or not. I'm a very pragmatic person. There's no need for us to spend too much time on these things. I want to know the actual situation in your area."
Li Xiang interrupted the guy's words of praise and said, "If I hadn't seen that you came here to surrender voluntarily, I would have locked you up long ago. According to the records in the lobby, you are all traitors."
Angurtai stopped talking in embarrassment. He had wanted to say all these words. He heard that high-ranking Han officials liked to be flattered. Angurtai had been learning for a long time, but he didn't expect to meet someone like Li Xiang. He should say less flattery and get down to business first.
"Your Highness, we've been hit by a snowstorm unseen in a century. A large number of livestock have frozen to death. The remaining food isn't enough to sustain us for more than ten days. The entire regime is on the verge of collapse..."
Angurtai reported the actual situation of Xueyantuo. At present, all kinds of resources there have dropped to the lowest point. If no other measures are taken, I am afraid that one-third of the people will starve to death this winter.
As Li Xiang listened to these important data, he was thinking about how he should respond. If he continued to wait here, there would be another war next year. If he took this opportunity to rush thousands of miles, then some things might be completely different. Of course, the price of doing so would not be small.
"How many people did you lose along the way?"
The blizzard has stopped, so the most dangerous moment has passed. Angutai and the others came at the most dangerous time. If we were to go there, the environment we would definitely face would be much better than the one they faced.
“More than one-third.”
When he said these words, Angurtai's eyes were already wet. These were all his own people. Although there had been wars in the past, the losses were definitely not so great. Only the punishment of nature would cause them to lose so much. Of course, even so, he had no regrets. At least the remaining people were able to survive. If they had stayed in Xueyantuo, the death toll would have been more than half.
All of Xueyantuo's resources were concentrated in the hands of the Khan, and other tribes could not get much resources at all. That's why Angurtai rebelled against Xueyantuo and defected to the Tang Dynasty with his men.
"Why did you come to me for refuge? Do you think I'll take you in just because you came? We fought fiercely before. You should know that many people in the Tang Dynasty died at your hands. Did you ever think that I would drive you all back?"
Li Xiang's words frightened the left general silly. He never thought that Li Xiang would drive him back. You know, when they came, they had destroyed all the habitable places and did not leave anything for Xueyantuo Khan. It can be said that they had already torn their relationship apart.
If they were allowed to go back now, I guess all of them would be beheaded in public. Not only was the Central Plains dynasty cruel to rebels, but regimes everywhere were also very cruel to rebels. This is an unforgivable crime. Their entire tribe surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. No matter how the Tang Dynasty treats you, you will definitely be in a worse situation if you go back than if you are here.
"Your Highness, please forgive us. We were wrong in the past. Whether you turn us into slaves or forced laborers, we accept it. We only hope that Your Highness will not send us back."
The left captain Angurtai knelt beside Li Xiang. He had no other thoughts at the moment and only hoped that Li Xiang could give them something to eat. After the long journey, the whole team had very little food. If Li Xiang did not take them in, the rest of the people would starve to death here, and their tribe would be gone.
"I'm afraid that won't work. The Turkic steppes also experienced a blizzard, and we used all our excess food to provide relief to the victims. You come to us and ask us to give you food. We didn't have such preparations before, so I can't accept your surrender."
After Li Xiang finished speaking, the generals around him felt strange. This was not what Li Xiang said last night at the post station. Li Xiang said that he would treat these people well and set an example for the remaining people so that the remaining Xueyantuo people would continue to surrender. But why did he change his words today?
The reason why Li Xiang changed his mind was because he learned about the specific situation there. Except for the people under Xueyantuo Khan, other people basically had no way to survive. We must take this opportunity to win a quick victory. Li Xiang did not want to stay in such a place for two or three years. If so, he would miss many wonderful moments, especially the things in Chang'an City.
After hearing this, Angurtai and his men immediately panicked. Their surrender to the Tang Dynasty was actually a fight with their backs against the wall. They had no way to retreat. The pursuers behind them had camped near the border. If they went back, the pursuers would slaughter them all.
Li Xiang ignored those who were kneeling and begging. Li Xiang was just trying to wake them up. They said that they had to be useful people. I would not give food to everyone who came to me. You have to let me see how you are useful, otherwise I would not give you the food.
Li Xiang left the tent without hesitation. Before leaving, he gave Su Dingfang a look and said, "One of us has to play the good guy and the other has to play the bad guy. You have to do what you should do."
I thought that Captain Zuo would understand it himself, but I didn't expect this guy to be so slow-witted. He still doesn't know how to respond to Li Xiang. He just keeps kneeling down and kowtowing. What's the use of that?