Seeing his father's painful expression, Khalid couldn't bear it. His father might be really old, and even his courage to face reality seemed to have weakened a lot. It seemed that Li Wufeng's swords and guns not only frightened the nobles of the country. Bold, his father was also affected by this to some extent, but he couldn't think of any better way to change the current situation. A living example is before him, the 200,000 Mott army was wiped out in one day, The Guldan regime fell into history in a blink of an eye. The Luobi people were silent and looked around. Who else could save their country
"Father, we have come to this point. There is no other way we can do it. If Li Wufeng really wants to invade us, we would rather die than die." Khalid sighed secretly in his heart, testing He said sexually that he didn't want to die. He wanted to fully enjoy the happiness of life in his prime, but his father's stubbornness prevented him from saying it clearly. He didn't want to leave a bad impression in front of his father.
"Khalid, do you think so?" Haibal trembled all over, raised his head and stared at his son.
"Father, I don't want to be like this, but it seems that we have only one way to go now." Harriet tilted his head slightly with a guilty conscience, "If we surrender to Li Wufeng now, I'm afraid our end will be worse than Mo's Worse than a special person.”
"Worse than Motes?" Haibal chewed on the meaning of this sentence repeatedly, and the muscles on his face twitched subconsciously, not paying attention to the strange look on his son's face. "Li Wufeng really wants to kill everyone, then We can only fight to the death, but Li Wufeng is an extremely cunning opponent. There is a saying among the Tanghe people that killing three thousand people will cost him eight hundred. Even if he can conquer us, he still has to pay the price."
Khalid immediately heard the weakness and a trace of looseness in his father's words, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. After going to court, many nobles who were close to him had come to him, hoping that he could assess the situation and come up with a solution. Methods for the current crisis, otherwise once Li Wufeng's army comes to the city, everything will be too late, and it will be difficult to win a decent surrender. When avoiding their father, the nobles' words were very explicit. They didn't want to fight, especially a battle that was bound to be lost. They just wanted to enjoy life, not to mention the rapid economic development in the northwest, which has brought great losses to surrounding areas, including After the changes that came to their own country, their resistance to the northwest was actually superficial in many cases. Although Harriet was not completely clear about what the nobles were thinking in their hearts, he could feel that it was the nobles' desire to cooperate with Peace in the northwest, no matter what means are used.
"Father, do you think we can send an envoy to negotiate with Northwest? At least we can understand their thoughts. Maybe things are not as bad as we thought?" Khalid suggested cautiously. He said that he was still unsure of his father's true inner thoughts, so he was extremely cautious when speaking.
"Negotiation? The northwest has not taken any action now. Why should we negotiate? Doing so will only let them see our fear, and I am afraid it will further stimulate their aggression." Haibal finally returned to his thoughts. Reality has come. The suggestion put forward by his son is probably what the nobles desire in their hearts. However, they did not realize the cruel nature of Li Wufeng. If they asked for negotiation without any preparation, it would not be a waste of money to invite Li Wufeng to Li Wufeng. Does the jackal taste it
"But if we wait until Li Wufeng's army marches into our country, we will have to pay a higher price if we want to seek peace." Khalid said worriedly.
"Well, what do you think we should do?" Haibal also wanted to see if his son had a better way.
"Now that the Northwest has achieved a great victory in the battle against the Mot people, we can send an envoy to congratulate us and express our hope that all the countries in the Western Regions can live in harmony with the Northwest. We should first explore each other's details before making any excuses. Father, you What do you think?" Khalid came up with his own ideas.
"Khalid, your idea is good, but I'm afraid you underestimate Li Wufeng too much. If we send an envoy to congratulate him, it can be treated as a general diplomatic matter. If we just have a general discussion with him, I'm afraid he won't be able to do it at all." No interest." Haibal was still full of worries, and he was not optimistic about doing this.
The room fell into silence, and it was obvious that both of them were unable to predict the upcoming situation. Fortunately, the urgent information sent by the attendant outside the foyer broke their illusions.
With this concise and concise information in his hand, Khalid couldn't help but feel his heart sink, and his face turned ugly. Haibal immediately noticed it, "What's the matter?"
"Father, the border intelligence agency discovered that a large-scale armed force was gathering in the southern border area with Northern Luzon. The northwest army stationed in the territory of the Mote people in the north also began to enter the territory of the Luobi people in our north." dry words. Even Khalid himself felt a bitter taste in his mouth. The people from the northwest were finally going to take action.
"What is supposed to come will finally come." Haibar muttered to himself as he fell into his chair. He seemed to have aged ten years. But after all, after decades of ups and downs, Haibar recovered immediately. After regaining his composure, he cheered up and said, "Khalid, go and rectify the army immediately, and inform Mr. Abuhiyev and others to come to me for discussion."
Before Harit could answer, the footsteps of the attendants sounded again in the foyer, "The Minister of State, Mr. Abhiyev, urgently seeks to see your Majesty."
What is in front of everyone is a secret letter handed over by the Northwest Diplomatic Commissioner in Loulan. It is better to say it is a secret letter than an ultimatum: "In view of the fact that your country has always been hostile to the Northwest County of the Tanghe Empire and the North Luzon Special Administrative Region. state, and have repeatedly violated our territory and the safety of our people. The Northwest Military and Political Envoy Office of the Tanghe Empire and the Governor-General Office of Northern Luzon require your country to accept our following conditions before March 31, 697 in the continental calendar. : First, disband the army and retain only the necessary security and security forces. The number of security and security forces shall be agreed upon by both parties; second, the Loulan Kingdom shall be fully opened to the northwest and northern Luzon, and the customs duties shall be adjusted to the same level as the northwest interior. Tianfang Language and Tang language as official languages; third, one direct member of the Loulan royal family will go to the Northwest to study; fourth, citizens of Northwest and Northern Luzon enjoy the same treatment as Loulan citizens in Loulan; fifth, it is agreed that the Northwest will station troops in Loulan and garrison troops The quantity will be discussed separately. If you agree to the above five conditions, we can make the following guarantees accordingly: first, to ensure the succession of your king's throne and the non-change of political power; second, to ensure the integrity of your country's land and the safety of its personnel; Third, your country’s commodity personnel enjoy reciprocal preferential treatment when entering the Northwest and Northern Luzon regions; fourth, except for the chief of the public security force who can be appointed or dismissed with the consent of the Northwest, the rest of the candidates are generally decided by your country; fifth , we guarantee that your country will no longer be oppressed and threatened by other countries or forces. Please agree on the above content and notify us before March 31. Otherwise, we will treat the two sides as automatically entering a state of war. Tang Military and Administrative Affairs Office of the Northwest County of the He Empire - Governor-General's Office of the Northern Luzon Special Administrative Region of the Tang He Empire"
Like a heavy boulder weighing on everyone's hearts, everyone could not help but feel the murderous intent in this secret letter. This was simply asking the entire Loulan Kingdom to surrender. How could anyone accept it? But what is the outcome of not accepting it? The two sides automatically entered a state of war. Isn't that a blatant declaration of war? Can Loulan's army be able to withstand the attacks from the north and south? The answer is no even if you think about it. Even the 200,000 troops of the Mote people were defeated in front of Li Wufeng. What's more, Loulan only has an army of less than 60,000 people and faces a flanking attack from two sides.
"Everyone, everyone has seen Li Wufengde's ultimatum, what do you think?" At this time, Haibal has returned to his usual calmness in front of the ministers, and there is no trace of worry or fear at all. Khalid Ye on the side I have to admit that my father's performance in this aspect is indeed worth learning from.
There was still silence in the hall. Almost no one could endure such harsh conditions. Even if they were afraid of the northwest military front and knew the disparity in strength between the two sides, these conditions were indeed too difficult. It simply made the entire Loulan people kneel down. In front of the people from the northwest, it is no different than surrendering. The ministers who looked at each other exchanged glances and unanimously chose to remain silent. Expressing any opinion at this moment may lead to violent attacks. If you agree, it will definitely be known as a traitor. If you disagree, the other party's attitude is so tough, and the balance of power is clear at a glance. , who can bear the consequences of national subjugation
"Why, everyone is dumb? Aren't we usually eloquent? Why are we silent now when we should share our worries about national affairs?" Haibal raised his voice slightly, and his tone gradually became heavier. stand up.
"Your Majesty, the veteran and other ministers are considering whether our Loulan Army has the power to compete with the Northwest Army? If not, I'm afraid we will have to find a way to negotiate with the other party." Abuhiev knew that he was the only one to take the lead at this time. However, he couldn't help but lament in his heart. He had not agreed with some of the country's policies at that time, and joined Bega to support Wusun Said's restoration. This greatly stimulated the hostility of the northwest people, and excessive The pro-Luobei people also make the people in the northwest feel that Loulan is the thorn in their backs that must be removed. Although the original intention of the king was good, he ignored the power gap between the two sides. Compared with the northwest and the Tanghe Empire behind it, Loulan had fewer people and smaller land. If he wanted to compete with the opponent overnight, it was inherently a risk. This was not In line with his usual cautious style.