"The supreme caliph, the agent walking in the world." Abu Muslim knelt on the ground and said in a deep voice to Mansour on the throne: "My life and my glory are all given by the Holy Family. I dare to touch
I swear to God with all my heart and mouth that I will never have any doubts about the empire!"
Mansour looked at Abu who was kneeling below him and said with a smile: "You have made great achievements for the Abbasid family, and the previous caliph also praised you highly. How can I doubt your loyalty?"
Abu raised his head and said: "Officer Anxi of the Tang State Mission is as cunning as a fox and as vicious as a viper. His speech today, on the surface, seems to be about concluding a peace treaty, but in fact he is instigating the war.
Eat the king and his ministers!"
Mansour waved his hand and said: "The Tang people have always had a lot of thoughts... However, in retrospect, what the Tang envoy said makes sense. It is now difficult for the Tang Dynasty's Anxi to expand westward, and the Tang people regard Tubo as a serious problem.
I don’t want to cause any more trouble in the west.”
Upon hearing this, Abu shouted loudly: "The people of Tang Dynasty have always been dishonest. In the name of suppressing rebellion, the previous Anxi official killed all the nobles of the Shi Kingdom and robbed all the wealth of the Shi Kingdom people. This kind of thing,
It’s only been a few years, have you forgotten?”
"Moreover, Talas City is adjacent to the Khorasan Province. The large area of land there is an important strategic depth area for Dashi. In the past, the countries with the nine surnames of Zhaowu lived there. Although they were vassals of the Tang State, they have always been independent.
.This time, the Tang State captured the Shi Kingdom, which meant that the strategic depth area of Dashi no longer existed. This move by the Tang Army was equivalent to bringing the war to the territory of Dashi. If we ignore it, as the Abbasid family
The province of Khorasan, the place where the war began, is likely to be raided by the Tang army. Aren't you worried about this situation?"
Abu Muslim spoke frankly, which made Mansour unhappy, but the latter thought carefully and realized that what the former said was true.
So, Mansour asked Abu: "In your opinion, how should this negotiation with Tang be conducted?"
Abu: "I am not opposed to peace talks, but the premise must be that the forward military strength of the Tang Army cannot threaten the Khorasan Province. In other words, as the strategic depth area of Dashi, the land around Talas City cannot be stationed
Tang Jun."
Mansour lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said helplessly: "The Tang army just won the victory in Talos City. I am afraid that this condition will be difficult for the other party to accept."
Abu: "Yes, if I were the commander of the Tang Army, I would never give up the land near Talluos. Therefore, I did not support the peace talks from beginning to end. I could only attack the Tang Army and capture Talluos.
Only in this city can we get a chance to breathe for the great food."
Mansour looked hesitant and fell into silence.
After a long time, Mansour asked: "In the two battles of Talos, our army was victorious once and defeated miserably, but the Tang army suffered little damage. What is the reason?"
Upon hearing this, Abu Muslim clapped his hands and shouted behind him.
Not long after, two servants walked into the hall carrying a heavy box.
After obtaining the permission of the Caliph, Abu asked his servant to open the big box, first took out a pile of snow-white paper, presented it to Mansur and said: "Caliph, please take a look."
Mansoor took the snow-white paper from the servant's hand, sighed, and asked: "What is this?"
Abu: "This is an item made by a descendant of the Tang Dynasty. It is called paper. It can replace sheepskin, papyrus, etc., and is used to record text or write books."
Mansour sent his servant to fetch a quill, and after taking it, he wrote words randomly on the paper. Seeing that the handwriting was clear and no ink was scattered, he couldn't help but said with joy: "This paper is a treasure given by God!
"
Abu: "According to the description of the soldier, this kind of paper is very low-cost and has been popular in the Tang Dynasty... What do you think the significance of this thing is?"
Mansour was stunned for a moment, then thought deeply and said: "With paper, the empire can more conveniently record history, spread teachings, develop education, and pass on knowledge..."
Abu nodded, took out a schematic diagram from the wooden box, and presented it to Mansour.
Mansour took the drawing and saw a complex machine made of wood drawn on it. He couldn't help but asked in confusion: "What is this?"
Abu: "This thing is called a loom."
Mansour: "You mean, this kind of machine is used for weaving? Compared with the looms in the big food country..."
Abu: "Compared with it, the efficiency of our country's looms is only one-third, and it is easy to make mistakes in operation... Moreover, according to the craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty, the machine on the drawing is just a relatively simple folk item of the Tang Dynasty.
The machines in the Tang Dynasty's imperial palace are more complex and more efficient than the one in your hand."
Mansour gasped.
Abu: "In addition to these, among the craftsmen and soldiers of the Tang State, there are also talents in armor, crossbows, sieges, smelting, etc. I have seen the drawings they submitted. The ordnance and civilian technology of the Tang State are stronger than ours, and
Those Christian countries in the West. From this point of view, the reason why the Tang army was able to defeat many with less and be invincible is inseparable from the Tang's technological advancement."
Mansour was silent for a long time and then asked: "Where are these people who know technology now?"
Abu: "They are all prisoners of the First Battle of Talos. They have been selected and escorted to a fortress in Aleppo. To ensure nothing goes wrong, I have sent heavy troops to guard them."
Mansour looked at the loom drawings in his hand and stood up slowly, with a solemn look on his face.
Abu: "Supreme Caliph, you are wise and foresight. However, those stupid nobles in the empire are still complacent, thinking that the army of the Great Eater is invincible, but they have no idea that just to the east of the empire, there is a
The monster is slowly growing."
Mansour raised his head and looked at Abu: "Let me ask you, if we really go to war with them, what are our chances of winning?"
Abu: "I don't know, but I know that if this war is fought now, we can contact the Geluolu and the Tubo people as allies. In addition, the nine surnames of Zhaowu hate the Tang Dynasty. After all, we may still have a chance of winning.
"But if a few more years pass, and the monster grows up and heals its wounds, we will no longer be able to win."
Mansour sighed deeply, sat back on the throne, held the paper in one hand, and held his forehead with the other hand, and said to Abu Muslim: "Whether it is war or peace with the Tang Dynasty, I have to think carefully about it.
Fan."
Abu Muslim had a look of disappointment on his face, shook his head helplessly, stood up, saluted Mansour, turned and walked out of the audience hall.