Tibet

Three days later, Gao Xianzhi led the army to Samarkand. It was still forty miles away from Samarkand. It was getting late, so Gao Xianzhi ordered the entire army to camp on the spot.

Li Ye received Gao Xianzhi's order and rushed to the commander's tent. At the gate of the commander's tent, he happened to meet Gao Xianzhi's staff Cen Shen. Cen Shen was in his early thirties. He had come to Anxi from Chang'an for five or six years and had been serving as Gao Xianzhi's staff. However, Gao Xianzhi's staff included There were several people, but Cen Shen could not be reused, and he had been depressed and frustrated.

Gao Xianzhi's evaluation of him was that he was too bookish, too straightforward, unable to speak, and not sophisticated enough.

When Cen Jian saw Li Ye, he quickly said: "General Li came just in time, I was just going to find you!"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "What do you want from me, sir?"

Cen Shen whispered: "Jiedushi has decided to send his army to plunder Samarkand. General Li should advise Jiedushi!"

Li Ye nodded, "Thank you for telling me, I'll advise him!"

Li Ye walked into the tent. Gao Xianzhi was pacing back and forth in the tent. Li Ye bowed and saluted: "See you, Marshal!"

Li Ye played the most important role in the Battle of Talos. Everyone looked up to him with admiration, even Gao Xianzhi respected him.

"How's the injury?"

"Replying to the commander, it's just a flesh wound, it doesn't matter!"

Although it was a flesh wound, an arrow grazed Li Ye's face, leaving a faint scar, which made Li Ye a little depressed.

Gao Xianzhi smiled and said: "Come in and sit down, I want you to discuss something with me!"

"Please give me your orders, Commander!"

Li Ye's attitude still satisfied Gao Xianzhi. He did not change his respect for himself because of the end of the war, and still regarded himself as his superior.

"I want to hear your thoughts, how to deal with the aftermath?"

Li Ye was slightly startled. Didn't Cen Shen say that Gao Xianzhi had decided to launch an army to plunder the city? Why do you still listen to your own thoughts?

But as soon as he thought about it, Li Ye understood that besides the small country of Sogdia, there was also Dashi after the aftermath. I am afraid that Gao Xianzhi was more concerned about Dashi.

Li Ye thought for a while and said: "Things obtained on the battlefield must be turned into written texts at the negotiation table. I suggest that the imperial court come forward to negotiate with Dashi. The commander-in-chief can send someone or ask the Sogdians to go to Baghdad." , send a letter from the commander-in-chief to the Caliph of Dashi. If Dashi wants to return the prisoners of war, he must send someone to Chang'an to negotiate. This humble letter can be written for the commander-in-chief, and I can also write in Sogdian script, which is similar to Dashi."

Gao Xianzhi pondered for a while and said: "It will take at least a year to negotiate like this. It will be difficult to feed more than 20,000 food prisoners of war!"

"You can let them mine the silver mines in Shi Country and provide them with the minimum treatment."

Gao Xianzhi nodded, this plan is good, these prisoners of war can create wealth, "Okay! Let's deal with it according to your idea. In addition, the four Sogdian countries Kang, Shi, Mi, and He sent troops to fight with us, and they must be severely punished. !”

"How does the commander plan to punish them severely?"

"Execute the king and send troops to plunder the capitals of their four kingdoms!"

Li Ye sighed slightly and said, "The commander-in-chief has handled everything extremely well before, so why did he suddenly make a stupid move and put himself in danger?"

Gao Xianzhi frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I don't care if the marshal wants to kill the kings of the four kingdoms, but whether he sends troops to massacre the city or plunders the city, these are behaviors that are not allowed by the court. If the marshal really does this, he will definitely be impeached. Marshal Xin What’s the point of having your hard-earned achievements wiped out in one fell swoop, and being dismissed from your post and investigated for investigation?”

Gao Xianzhi's face sank and he said coldly: "Is General Li threatening me?"

Li Ye took out the emperor's gold medal and said: "This is my duty. Besides, I still hold the title of censor. I will definitely report the truth to the emperor and the court. So I hope the commander will be cautious and not harm the civilians with his troops."

After a pause, Li Ye reminded him lightly: "I believe Cheng Shijun will also persuade the commander-in-chief!"

Gao Xianzhi's heart froze, and he cursed himself for being so stupid that he had forgotten about Cheng Qianli. How could he let Cheng Qianli catch him?

His face immediately softened, and he pondered for a moment: "But the casualties are so heavy. If we don't reward the soldiers properly, how can we expect them to work hard again in the future?"

Li Ye smiled and said: "Commander, why don't you leave this matter to me? After all, I have the title of Censor, so it's more convenient for me to handle it!"

"Tell me about your plan?"

"First, I will not kill these kings, nor will I depose them, but I will let them go to Chang'an to plead guilty and let the emperor deal with them. Commander, after all, they are all kings canonized by the emperor. How to deal with them is the emperor's. We should not overstep our authority."

Gao Xianzhi secretly felt ashamed that at his age, he could not see clearly as a young man. These kings were indeed not something he could kill casually.

Gao Xianzhi suddenly thought of Shi Guo again, "That Kundu Stone."

Li Ye insisted, "Kundushi committed suicide by drinking poisonous wine out of fear of crime. I didn't kill him!"

Only then did Gao Xianzhi realize that Li Ye had thought of this problem a long time ago and used the poisonous wine dove to kill Kundu Stone. He had never been aware of this problem.

He smiled helplessly and said: "You are right, let the emperor deal with them, and then what?"

"Then I will ask the four kings to willingly contribute half of the treasury wealth and food. There will be money to reward and pension the soldiers, and there will be food to feed the prisoners of war. As for how the kings make atonement to the court, it has nothing to do with us. "

Gao Xianzhi nodded, "Okay! I'll leave this matter to you."

The next morning, Li Ye led two thousand soldiers to Samarkand. King Constantine of Kang took the queen, prince and a group of ministers out of the city to plead guilty to the Tang army.

Li Ye said slowly in proficient Sogdian: "I am Li Ye, the commander of the Broken Leaf Army. I have full authority to negotiate with you under the command of the commander-in-chief. You are in danger now. If I can't handle it, then the Tang army will enter the city to deal with it. Think about it for yourselves!”

Constantine was so frightened that he said tremblingly: "We are not willing to confront the Heavenly Army of the Tang Dynasty. We are really forced to send troops because we have no choice but to send troops. Please general understand our difficulties!"

Li Ye sneered and said: "Don't think I'm easy to talk to. You Kang, Shi, Mi, and He sent 20,000 troops to fight against the Tang army. Tens of thousands of Tang army soldiers died. Do you still dare to say that you are not guilty? So I The reason why I didn’t chop off your head immediately is because the person who has the right to chop off your head should not be me, but the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. You four kings must go to Chang’an to plead guilty, and it is up to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to decide whether to kill you or not.”

After a pause, Li Ye continued: "But whether I load your whole family into a wooden cage and send it to Chang'an, or let you go to Chang'an on your own, I have the right to decide!"

King Constantine understood and said quickly: "I beg General Li to enter the city. I am willing to follow General Li's arrangements!"

Li Ye nodded, "Immediately send someone to notify the other three kings to come. If they don't come, it will be regarded as a war against the Tang army!"

"People have been sent to inform them that the kings of the three countries will arrive in Samarkand today."

Li Ye led his army into Samarkand, which is worthy of being a historical city and the economic and religious center of the nine Sogdian kingdoms.

Samarkand is at least three times the size of Kesai City, equivalent to two Tuozhi City, and larger than Suiye City. It has a population of at least hundreds of thousands, numerous shops, neat streets, and Zoroastrian temples of all sizes can be seen everywhere. , from the clothes and mental outlook of the people on the street, we can see that this is a rich country.

Two thousand troops were stationed in the military camp in front of the palace. Li Ye came to the palace and was invited to the VIP room. King Constantine, two princes, and the four prime ministers of Kang negotiated with Li Ye.

"I tell you frankly that Gao Shuai has decided to siege the city, but I tried to persuade him to stop it. I just didn't want ordinary civilians to suffer. But on the battlefield, I led the army against the Sogdian army of 20,000 people and killed The Sogdian army exceeded 10,000 people, and all the other soldiers surrendered to me. I am just telling you that if the negotiation fails, I will be the one who kills!"

Constantine was so frightened that he was sweating profusely and said: "Please General Li, please speak out!"

"Then let me tell you straight. First, give half of the wealth in the treasury to the Tang army. Second, the king himself goes to Chang'an to plead guilty to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Any valuable national gifts that need to be given to the Emperor are your own business, but I suggest that it is best to send a prince to study at Chang'an Imperial College."

The other party's request made King Constantine heartbroken, but he was also deeply grateful. The heartache was that half of the treasury's wealth would require them to accumulate for decades, but fortunately, the other party still left half of it to them.

Just as the eldest prince was about to speak, Constantine immediately interrupted him and said to Li Ye: "We completely accept it! I will organize the warehouse immediately and send half of the wealth to the Tang Army camp at the latest tomorrow morning."