According to General Kang Ying's idea, both sides should retreat from each other. Now there is a buffer zone in the middle, which is beneficial to both sides. Now the Western Region coalition forces have retreated dozens of miles. If the Tang army does not move, wouldn't that be equivalent to a unilateral retreat?
Although the Tang army has not attacked yet, they already feel the danger. If the Tang army really attacks one day, they will instantly burn the central buffer zone.
"Your Highness, for the sake of border security, I hope that both sides can retreat together, leaving the border area to the Gaochang army to defend. What do you think?"
General Kang Ying did not retreat on this point, only we retreated, which is equivalent to forcing us into even more discomfort. When you attack, you can directly cross these dozens of miles and directly enter our hinterland.
"We should strive for border security, but Gaochang is in chaos right now, and it's impossible to maintain peace in the border area. As Gaochang's suzerain, we've received their call for help, and we have an obligation to ensure the security of the border area. If the general is afraid of a conflict with us, then I think he should make greater concessions. All I can guarantee is not to step beyond the border."
Li Xiang still maintained the same attitude and would never take a step back. Of course, Li Xiang's guarantee was of no use at all.
Although Li Xiang promised not to leave, there are many unexpected situations here. For example, if your coalition forces do something to us, can we still endure it? This is absolutely impossible.
"Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has said so, can you please sign an alliance with us, whereby we will not invade each other and will always be brother nations?"
General Kang Ying said overjoyedly that he did not consider the meaning of Li Xiang's painting. Instead, he felt that Li Xiang really did not want to go to the west. If that was the case, why couldn't he sign an alliance with me?
When General Kang Ying said this, Lord Zhao and Niu Jinda also understood that General Kang Ying must have come here today with the intention of signing this treaty. After the treaty is signed, the armies of the countries in the Western Regions will definitely be disbanded. The overall strength of their countries is not very strong, and it is already difficult to maintain such an army.
The comprehensive national strength of the Tang Dynasty was the strongest during this period, but it was also difficult for the Tang Dynasty to maintain its army in distant places. It is conceivable that the comprehensive national strength of the countries in the Western Regions could only catch up with that of a province of the Tang Dynasty, and they were relatively poor.
"Personally, I'm very willing to conclude such an agreement with the general, but you also know that I can't make the decision. Within our Tang Empire, if we want to sign such an agreement, we must wait for the imperial court's order. Without the imperial court's order, no one can privately conclude an agreement with a foreign country."
Li Xiang has enough power to sign the agreement, but how can he let you sign the agreement so easily? Wouldn't we have been working in vain?
The Tang Dynasty had already formulated a policy for the Western Regions, which was to establish the Western Regions Protectorate to manage all countries including your Western Turkestan. Although Li Shimin did not say it explicitly, Li Xiang also knew what Li Shimin meant.
"Then we can wait."
General Kang Ying once again exposed his weakness. He could even say such words. One can imagine what their current situation is.
The natural environment of the countries in the Western Regions is relatively harsh. If the army is concentrated in one place for a long time, there will be a large shortage of labor in the country. You must know that their armies are not standing armies. This is basically the case for all ethnic groups on the grassland. In normal times, they have to carry out a series of labor such as grazing, and they will only gather together in times of war.
Now there are more than 100,000 troops on the border of Gaochang, and the domestic labor force has been reduced a lot. Moreover, their food, drink, defecation and urination have to be transported from the rear. When the army on the grassland fights, they rely on plundering. Their own logistics are actually very limited. The purpose of fighting is to make money. If they are asked to lose money, the country would have rebelled long ago.
There is already a lot of opposition in their country. Either they attack Gaochang or they retreat quickly. These are the two voices in their country. But before retreating, they must get the promise of the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, as soon as you retreat, the Tang Dynasty army will come to attack you. It will be impossible for you to form a coalition force.
"This matter is of great importance. I need to write a letter to Chang'an City, so I may not be able to reply to the general for the time being. However, it's time for lunch now. Shall we have lunch together?"
Li Xiang has basically figured out the intentions of the Western Regions coalition forces. There is no need to continue the discussion now. It seems that our strategy needs to be changed again.
General Kang Ying declined the offer to have dinner together. He had to return to his own barracks. He felt insecure here. There were only twenty or so guards around him. If Li Xiang wanted to, his head could be left here at any time. Although Li Xiang had never done such a thing before, General Kang Ying still felt it was better to go back.
As for the time for the next round of negotiations, Li Xiang set it at seven days later, because seven days is the shortest time for a carrier pigeon to travel back and forth. If there is no instruction from Chang'an City, then the negotiations cannot continue.
General Kang Ying felt a pang of pain when he thought about the money he had spent in these seven days.
However, he could not force Li Xiang on this matter, so he could only listen obediently. As for the prime minister of Loulan next to him, this guy did not say a word from beginning to end. Although he was a wise man, no matter how many conspiracies and tricks you have, they may be useless when facing absolute strength.
He had seen the military might of the Tang Dynasty army along the way, so when facing Li Xiang, this guy also wanted to speak less, because he thought of a saying of the Han people, that is, the less you say, the fewer mistakes you make, and the less you say, the better. The Kingdom of Loulan is different from the Western Turks. The Kingdom of Loulan is only equivalent to a prefecture or county in the Tang Dynasty. If something really happens, it will be destroyed in the blink of an eye.
When these people returned, they found that there were already many Gaochang people in the Tang army, which showed that the Tang army had been replenished and was stronger than before.
Now the two of them have no intention of fighting anymore. The odds of winning and losing were 50-50 before, but now they may be 70-30.