"You think too highly of them. I don't even need to tell you how poor the countries in the Western Regions are. You have hundreds of thousands of troops at your command. Do you expect the countries in the Western Regions to be able to support them? Even Gaochang can't afford it."
The Khan of Western Turkic suddenly thought of another thing. When Li Xiang and his men went on the eastern expedition to Goguryeo, they dispatched more than 200,000 troops. The strength of Western Turkic was even stronger than Goguryeo. With so many troops coming to the Western Regions, do you have to eat sand every day?
"Hundreds of thousands of troops? You think too highly of yourself. How strong is our army? I'm sure you have an opinion in your mind. Without exaggerating, I guarantee that with a maximum of 30,000 to 50,000 troops, we can pacify the Western Regions."
Li Xiang had almost finished his roasted lamb leg. Although the situation between the two sides was tense, Li Xiang kept eating and was not affected by the surrounding situation at all.
Li Xiang's words left the Western Turkic Khan speechless. He had indeed witnessed the combat effectiveness of the Tang army. Now, the Tang army, which had less than 10,000 soldiers, had already brought them tremendous pressure. The gap between the two sides was too big. They were no longer on the same level. Our way of fighting was completely useless to them.
"If that's the case, then why don't you mobilize your army and take over the entire Western Region? Why are you going through so much trouble now?"
The Western Turkic Khan had a moment of clarity in his mind. He asked this question because he wanted to know what Li Xiang was thinking. The Tang army now had a total of hundreds of thousands of people, and it was nothing to gather tens of thousands of troops, but why didn't the Tang army attack?
Li Xiang was also thinking about how to answer. After years of war, there was not much money left in the Tang Dynasty's treasury. The countries in the Western Regions were vast. If we were to occupy all of them, it would be very difficult at the moment, and there was no way to manage them effectively. It could be said that it would not be worth the loss to conquer them.
"Since you've said that, I won't explain anything else. I'll show you how powerful the Tang army is. I just don't know if you have the guts to do it."
Li Xiang knew that it was useless to argue, so he simply pretended to attack. Of course, Li Xiang was very nervous at the moment. If the other party did not give in, then he would have no choice but to fight. It is easy to conquer many places, but can you hold them? Especially such a vast territory as the Western Region.
Li Xiang threw away the cutlery in his hand while speaking. The soldiers behind him were already ready. When two countries go to war, they don't kill envoys. We will just fight after we go back.
"Aren't you afraid you won't be able to get out of here?"
After hearing the words of the Western Turkic Khan, Abalasha didn't know what to say. Since Li Xiang came here, he must have made sufficient preparations. Saying such words is a provocation.
"Aren't you afraid that General Kangying's men won't be able to return? Or maybe he becomes my man. How many troops do you have? How many troops does he have? You know who I am. If I can't get out of here, you might be even more miserable than Xueyantuo Khan. I'm the heir to the Tang Dynasty. If something happens to me here, where can you escape to?"
Li Xiang said with a look of disdain. When Li Xiang was speaking, he suddenly slapped the table in front of him, and then a leg of lamb flew out. This leg of lamb hit the seat behind the Western Turkic Khan squarely, and half of the bone of the leg of lamb went in. This kind of power is not something that ordinary people can have.
After seeing this, the guards around took out their weapons one after another. Li Xiang didn't have many people on his side, so if a fight really broke out, Li Xiang would definitely suffer. But at this moment, there was no panic on Li Xiang's face. As he said, did the Western Turkic Khan really have the courage to do this?
"You bastards, who let you in? Get out right now."
Abalasha knew that the Khan of Western Turkestan would not break with Li Xiang, so when these people came out, Abalasha cursed them loudly and quickly scolded them all out. Only these people here were just talking, and there would not be too serious consequences. But if you soldiers came in, it would be difficult to predict what to do next.
The Western Turkic Khan was also very satisfied with Abalasha's performance. With so many people around him, the Western Turkic Khan had to act tougher. Otherwise, if word got out one day that the Khan they believed in was a softie, how could he manage his people?
"Since there's no point in talking here, let's just go to war. I won't make things difficult for you. When you return, reorganize your army, and we'll decide the outcome on the battlefield. From now on, your Tang forces will never come to the grasslands again."
The Western Turkic Khan feigned composure, but the man's pinky finger kept swaying back and forth, which happened to be seen by Li Xiang. Li Xiang knew that the other party was panicking. How powerful is your army? Li Xiang had already had someone investigate. Moreover, this guy Abalasha was an insider. If a real fight came, could you win?
"Goodbye."
Li Xiang knew that the other party didn't have the courage, so he simply didn't say anything else and walked towards the door with his men. The Western Turkic Khan was really panicked at this moment. He had never taken the initiative and was led by Li Xiang during the conversation, but he didn't expect it to reach this point.
Abarasha also looked at the Khan in horror. At this time, Khan could not pull Li Xiang by himself, so he could only rely on Abarasha.
"Your Highness, please stay. Your Highness, please stay..."
After seeing the Khan's eyes, Abarasha immediately knew what to do. In the next period of time, the Western Turkic Khan was just a puppet and could not say anything. But what Abarasha said here represented what the Khan said. Let him admit his mistakes. After all, he was just a prime minister, and I was a king.
"Master Xiangguo, do you have anything else to say?"
Li Xiang did not stop while speaking, and all of this was seen by the Western Turkic Khan. This showed that the Khan was not trying to scare him, but was already prepared to do so.
"Your Highness, please stay. War is a disaster for us Western Turks. We just encountered a massive sandstorm. Our lives are really tough right now. Your Highness, please take good care of us..."
Abalasha's words were full of pleading...