After Li Mu finished speaking, he turned around and returned to Qiuci Palace, the smile on his face getting deeper and deeper.
Single commercial development is not enough. Kucha also needs to develop industry. Of course, this refers to the premise that Kucha already has the surname "Tang". With self-produced and self-sufficient industries, coupled with prosperous commerce, within three years
Kucha Town will surely become a pearl in the Western Region.
With this 'satellite city', using huge funds to hire idle mercenaries from the Western Regions for defense, it can become a 'sentinel tower' for Dingxiang City, buying Dingxiang a lot of time.
Only with a two-pronged approach, economic and military, can Qiuci play its due role.
…
On the other side, the Turks' retreat was in progress.
Tong'e is indeed a top figure in the Western Turks. She does things without delay. She agreed to withdraw the troops and immediately withdrew the troops according to the agreed time.
The movements of the 150,000 men and horses could not be concealed at all. The people of Qiuci climbed up the city wall and looked at the smoke and dust rolling away in the distance. The tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and many people collapsed directly, and the sounds of crying and howling could not be heard.
Li Mu was also on the city wall, with Sulie, Usman, and Moham on his side.
Behind Li Mu, Moham hesitated to speak several times. Usman saw this and said, "You can just say whatever you want. The Marquis doesn't like hiding things."
Li Mu turned back to look at him, and Moham saluted and said: "Master Marquis, please forgive Xiao Wang for being reckless... The strength of the Turks has not been lost, but Xiao Wang is really worried that they will come back."
"Come back?" Li Mu smiled and said, "They didn't leave either?"
"Aren't you leaving?" Moham glanced at the direction in which the Turks were retreating, thinking whether there was something wrong with my eyes or something was wrong with the Marquis's head. Didn't he leave?
"They continue to move eastward." Li Mu said calmly, his eyes looking in the east direction, his eyes full of deep worry.
Moham was even more confused. This was obviously a retreat to the west. Why did the Marquis say it was to the east? Could it be that in the Tang Dynasty, things were upside down?
Li Mu was too lazy to say too much to Moham. He glanced at Su Lie and asked him to explain.
Su Lie nodded and said: "Tong'e is a man with deep plans. Now he has a dark eye on our cannons. After seeing the destructive power, he doesn't dare to use human lives to fill them. His slave soldiers are almost there.
Once it is exhausted, it will only consume his own troops, and he will not be able to part with it."
"So he chose to withdraw his troops, but he could also see that there must not be many reinforcements. Otherwise, we would have been out long ago. Moreover, our artillery is a powerful weapon for defending the city, but outside the city, there is no support, and it is a disadvantage in mobile warfare.
.As long as they get on their horses, they don’t have to worry about cannons.”
"The Turks still have 150,000 soldiers and horses, and the main force has suffered almost no losses. If they retreat at this time, they will get nothing, and they will make the people of the Western Region angry and resentful, and life will not be easy in the future. Therefore, the Marquis judged,
They have only one way, and that is to continue to advance eastward. There are not many men and horses in Kucha City, and there are not many reinforcements. It is impossible to chase them out, and if we chase them out, it will be exactly what we want. With our few men and horses, without cannons, we will not be able to chase them out.
Not enough to fill their teeth."
"Then what should we do?" Moham's voice trembled as he asked: "Does the Dingxiang garrison have enough troops? Will it be unable to withstand it... and the city will be breached?"
"Do you think that the Prince of Hejian County is a fool?" Li Mu said angrily: "Li Xiaogong, the Prince of Hejian County, is a famous general in the world. With him here, Tong'e only has 150,000 troops, even if there are twice as many.
, it is impossible to break through the city gate of Dingxiang in a short time!"
Moham took a deep breath and said, "This will make the little king feel relieved."
Moham was indeed relieved. For Qiuci, it would not be a good thing for him to choose between Tang Dynasty or Qiuci. But if both sides suffer losses, it is in Qiuci's best interests.
"You no longer have to worry about the safety of Kucha City." Li Mu suddenly said to Moham. He gestured to Usman and said, "This person is the captain of Kuchai Zichong, Us."
Man, by His Majesty's grace, he has been given the surname Li, and from now on he will be Li Siman. He will represent the Tang Dynasty and station a guard here to protect the safety of people on Kucha and the surrounding trade routes."
Moham was anxious: "Master Hou, I am confident that Qiuci can defend..."
"Eh!" Li Mu waved his hand and said: "Since you regard Datang as the suzerain, why are you so polite? Protecting the security of the vassal country is also one of the suzerain's responsibilities. You can rest assured that from now on, Qiuci will be here
The Western Regions are just going sideways, and whoever dares to attack Qiuci will declare war on the Tang Dynasty!"
"No, Lord Marquis, this can't be like this..." Moham wanted to speak, but Li Mu had already gone down to the tower. Su Lie and Usman stopped Moham, and they smiled half-heartedly and said, "Congratulations, congratulations."
, the imperial court even spared no expense to station troops in Qiuci. This shows how much His Majesty attaches great importance to you."
Moham stamped his feet anxiously: "This, this is not the same thing!"
…
After a day of fundraising, the results were unexpectedly huge.
According to statistics from officials, merchants in Kucha City contributed a total of more than 60,000 yuan to the expansion of the city. Compared with the new city walls and bazaars, it is certainly a little less, but it is already a good amount to get this amount in just one day.
The next day, more and more businessmen came after hearing the news. No matter what happens, human beings have a herd effect. As long as someone takes the lead, the others will follow even if they can't figure it out. In the eyes of those who don't know the truth,
It seems that so many people are rushing to donate money, which may seem like a disadvantage, but it must be beneficial.
If something is clearly beneficial, even if you don't understand it, you can't lag behind. Give the money first and then talk about it.
So the donation on the second day reached more than 80,000 guan, and the total of the two days was almost 150,000 guan.
Li Mu was overjoyed and immediately ordered the construction of the new market to begin. It was carried out together with the wall repair project of Kucha City. Fortunately, there was food prepared by Moham in Kucha City. Moreover, at this time, there were no more people in Kucha City.
A lot of people have died, so the food reserves will last longer.
In order to defend the city and make artillery stones, many houses in Kucha City were demolished, and it was impossible to restore them. They happened to be used to build a market, and old materials were used in new ways. As for the people, they survived the disaster.
, it’s good to be able to survive. Even if they lose their house, they don’t have any complaints as long as they have something to eat.
But Li Mu was not so cruel after all. He mobilized the women who poured into the city that day and asked them to make their own mud bricks. This is a native method of people in the desert. Many houses in Kucha City are also built in this way.
There is a place near here, where the sand dune soil is very sticky. As long as it is mixed with water, molded, and then exposed to the sun and dried in the shade, mud bricks can be made. These mud bricks can be used to build houses.
After several rains, the mud bricks fused together and the house became very strong.
Of course, it is still not comparable to houses made of wood and stone, but it is already very good.
This is another form of work-for-relief. Otherwise, if so many people don’t work and have nothing to eat, no matter how much food they eat, they will be eaten up sooner or later. Psychologically, working also plays a big role.
They have tasks and work every day, which greatly reduces their time for wandering. Gradually, the sounds of crying in Kucha City become less and less. From day to night, there is a thriving work scene.
Qiuci suddenly became lively. Hundreds of businessmen stood in the south of the city, gathering in one place and watching the lively scene of people on the construction site. The businessmen looked surprised and became more aware of Li Mu's vigorous and resolute actions.
For some unknown reason, the merchants' trust in this young prince from the Tang Dynasty gradually deepened, and they became more and more looking forward to the new market and new warehouse.
Li Mu's fund-raising is actually a trick of borrowing money to lay eggs. He doesn't have to pay a penny. He uses the merchants' own money to build the market. After it is built, the merchants have to spend money to open up the shops in the market one by one.
Buying it back, the basis of all this is Datang's golden brand, the credibility established on the Silk Road, and the absolute control that Moham does not dare to resist him now.
If they can't have the final say and the promises they make can't be fulfilled, how can the businessmen be willing to pay? This is the first time we have dealt with the business, and we must not let down the trust of the businessmen. This transaction must be such that the businessmen cannot find fault with it, so
This will be beneficial to the next development plan.
Li Mu said he is very satisfied with the current development and everything is according to his plan.
Standing in the open space in the south of the city, watching the left guard soldiers in the distance pushing the city wall enthusiastically, Li Mu chatted with the onlookers and drew a big cake for them with his saliva. At the same time, he did not forget to praise Chang'an.
How prosperous Luoyang is, attracting investment, there is no shame in exaggerating.
As for Yangzhou, he didn't mention it. It was too far away, and these businessmen were not the target customer group.
…
The speed of the Western Turks' "retreat" was astonishing. In two days, they had already withdrawn 300 miles to the west. Here, they had already left the Kucha border. This speed was not achieved even when they marched eastward.
After escaping three hundred miles in one breath, the Turks were tired and their horses were exhausted, so they could not help but slow down. Seeing that it was getting dark, the nobles asked Tong'e, "Great Khan, we have been traveling for two consecutive days, can we go down to camp?"
Rest and recuperate, so we can gather the subordinates." At Tong'e's request, they just retreated quickly. How could the 150,000 troops not be in chaos? The soldiers could not find the generals, and the generals could not find the soldiers. The tribes were mixed together.
, once something happens, there is no way to direct it.
"No, you have to do all the tricks." Tong'e shook her head categorically and said: "If the Tang army attempts to detect the horses, Ben Khan's plan will not work! You know that the men and horses are exhausted, and the Tang army must also know that if they attack at night, or use that
If something that can fly chases us, the distance of three hundred miles is nothing!"
"The Great Khan is wise!" Whoever among the Turkic nobles dared to refute Tong'e immediately flattered Tong'e: "Those Tang people are the most treacherous and like to carry out sneak attacks in the middle of the night!"
"It's a pity that they encountered our Khan, their plan is destined to fail!"
"Then how long do we have to escape before we are all gone?" Some people whispered to themselves. Turks also have a sense of honor. If they lose the battle and escape, then naturally they have nothing to say. But now, it is clear that the main force has not been lost.
Many young Turkic warriors were naturally dissatisfied and angry when they had to flee in a hurry.
"This is to retreat, not to escape." Tong'e angrily raised her riding whip, pointed at the person who said this and said: "What do you kids know? Ben Khan's purpose is to make them believe that we are retreating to the west.
Yes, but actually!" He sneered and said: "We are not going west, we are still going east!"
"To the east?" Everyone looked at each other, and Tong'e sneered: "Our goal is still to take Dingxiang directly, but it's just a big detour." Tong'e motioned to the guard to take out a parchment, which was a map of the Western Regions.
, were measured by the Turks using horseshoes, and there were symbols on them that only the Turks could understand. He pointed with his whip and said, "Let's cross the Tam River, march along the north bank, and then start from Dingxiang
Cross the river eighty miles to the north and go south, catching them off guard!"
"No, you have to do all the tricks." Tong'e shook her head categorically and said: "If the Tang army attempts to detect the horses, Ben Khan's plan will not work! You know that the men and horses are exhausted, and the Tang army must also know that if they attack at night, or use that
If something that can fly chases us, the distance of three hundred miles is nothing!"
"The Great Khan is wise!" Whoever among the Turkic nobles dared to refute Tong'e immediately flattered Tong'e: "Those Tang people are the most treacherous and like to carry out sneak attacks in the middle of the night!"
"It's a pity that they encountered our Khan, their plan is destined to fail!"
"Then how long do we have to escape before we are all gone?" Some people whispered to themselves. Turks also have a sense of honor. If they lose the battle and escape, then naturally they have nothing to say. But now, it is clear that the main force has not been lost.
Many young Turkic warriors were naturally dissatisfied and angry when they had to flee in a hurry.
"This is to retreat, not to escape." Tong'e angrily raised her riding whip, pointed at the person who said this and said: "What do you kids know? Ben Khan's purpose is to make them believe that we are retreating to the west.
Yes, but actually!" He sneered and said: "We are not going west, we are still going east!"
"To the east?" Everyone looked at each other, and Tong'e sneered: "Our goal is still to take Dingxiang directly, but it's just a big detour." Tong'e motioned to the guard to take out a parchment, which was a map of the Western Regions.
, were measured by the Turks using horseshoes, and there were symbols on them that only the Turks could understand. He pointed with his whip and said, "Let's cross the Tam River, march along the north bank, and then start from Dingxiang
Cross the river eighty miles from the north and go south, catching them off guard!" "No, you have to do a full show." But Tong'e shook her head decisively and said: "If the Tang army attempts to detect the horses, Ben Khan's plan will not work! You know that the men are trapped and the horses are exhausted.
, Tang Jun must also know that if they attack us at night, or use that flying thing to chase us, the distance of three hundred miles will be nothing!"
"The Great Khan is wise!" Whoever among the Turkic nobles dared to refute Tong'e immediately flattered Tong'e: "Those Tang people are the most treacherous and like to carry out sneak attacks in the middle of the night!"