The Persian mission did not go to the inn, but stayed directly at Taichang Temple Paradise in Yirenfang.
The paradise area is very vast. In the Sui Dynasty, it was originally the residence of King Yang Xun of Qi, occupying half a square meter of land, which is very exaggerated.
Precisely because of its vast area, the Imperial Court often rehearses dance music here, which is very suitable.
The place where the Persians stayed was in the southwest corner of the paradise, which was originally the Heze Temple.
In February of the first year of Taiji in the former Tang Dynasty, Ruizong was in the feudal vassal, and it was established in honor of Empress Dowager Wu. It was first named Ci'en Temple, and in the second year of Shenlong, it was changed to Heze Temple. At that time, Heze Temple was also established in Xijing.
Now this temple has been converted into a palace-like building complex. When Shao Shude was in Beijing, he would sometimes come here to enjoy dance music, usually here.
When they first saw this building, Elbrus and Tam finally felt a little confident.
At least, Persia still has some advantages over the Xia people.
In his opinion, these buildings are too small and use a large number of pillars to support the building itself, which is annoying.
It's a great hall, but you've built so many columns, but it's not open enough to show the majesty of the emperor.
"I think some plans have certain feasibility." Tam has already been to Xijing once, and came to Tokyo again this year. After seeing their buildings from a distance, he is convinced that the Xia people are not capable of building particularly large single buildings.
, for a slightly larger structure, columns will be added.
This is easy to handle, which means they still have some leverage.
"Actually, I think this is a bad idea." Elbrus looked at Tam with deep eyes and said.
"I think we can give it a try." Tam said: "What does a king who is rich all over the world want to do most after conquering various places? To engrave his achievements forever and let people from generation to generation come to admire him.
.So why not build a majestic building?"
"It's best not to use the wood favored by the Xia people for this building, but to use stone from the mountains. This way it can last forever and not be destroyed by war."
"This building should be bigger. It is the tallest and most majestic existence in this country. It is big enough to fit into the entire palace where the emperor holds court meetings, which will make everyone marvel."
"This building is still very high. When the king stands in it and looks up, he will find that the dome is almost as high as heaven, which satisfies his great vanity and desire to conquer."
"Sounds like Hagia Sophia built by the Romans," Elbrus said.
Tam has never been to Constantinople, but he has also heard that it is a majestic cathedral. Except for the two sides, the middle is a place of worship. There is not a single pillar. He is not sure whether it can fit in the Xia Kingdom.
A certain palace in the palace should be possible.
"Are you sure Shoihan will listen to us?" Elbrus asked.
"You can give it a try, and you won't suffer any loss anyway." Tam said: "We all know how much Darius's building a magnificent palace consumed national power. Let the Xia people spend their precious financial revenue on building palaces and mausoleums. It will definitely
It can reduce their war behavior in extra-river areas."
After thinking for a while, Elbrus nodded slightly and said: "This requires finding a suitable opportunity. If you propose it rashly, people will be suspicious."
"This is exactly what you are good at." Tam said humbly.
Elbrus smiled, then sighed.
There is nothing you can do on the battlefield, so you can only use these dirty tricks. Is it shameful?
The tone of this peace negotiation has placed our side in a very humble perspective from the very beginning, alas.
****
On November 20th, the wind and snow stopped for a while, and the routine dance rehearsal started again in the park.
Tam stood upstairs and watched quietly. Suddenly, his eyes focused.
Among the dancers, there seemed to be many Persians - or Sogdians? He couldn't wait to find out. So, he took a translator and found the chief registrar of Taichang Temple who was responsible for receiving them.
"Those people are you talking about?" The chief clerk nodded and said: "They are indeed Persians. Those sent back from Shule and Yili are all young ladies from Persian officials. They are rehearsing "The Twenty-Twenty Conquest of the West"
department"."
Tam didn't quite understand, so he asked: "What is "Twenty Parts of the Conquest of the West"?"
The chief clerk glanced at him and said: "The king of Daxia conquered Gaochang, Uighurs, and Persia in the west, and won a great victory. He arranged twenty acts of music and dance. During the Lantern Festival in the first month of next year, the saint will give a banquet to all the officials, and then they will
Let’s dance.”
Tam's eyelids jumped when he heard this, and he was speechless.
"Can I talk to them?" he asked.
The chief clerk hesitated for a moment and said, "I have to ask for instructions. The guests will wait a moment."
After saying that, he left.
Tam walked around the courtyard, a little dejected.
The truth is shocking, isn't it?
He had just found some confidence in mathematics and architecture, but was soon hit by the defeat on the battlefield.
Looking back now, this is also a very civilized and powerful country.
Their technologies in papermaking, textiles, and agriculture are unparalleled, but they are slightly behind in navigation, mathematics, and architecture.
In terms of military affairs, after several years of uninterrupted wars, Persia has learned from the pain and continued to study, and concluded that Xia State is at the forefront in terms of professionalism - Persia also has a professional army, but this
It may be the first time in human history that hundreds of thousands of professional soldiers are supported on a large scale.
In other words, they are also far ahead in the military field.
The most frightening thing is that they have a huge size. After absorbing the logistics supply model of the nomadic tribes, the number of troops they can mobilize has greatly increased, which has brought huge pressure to Persia.
Thinking of this, no matter how proud he was, Tam had to admit that Xia's civilization level was at least on the same level as Persia's, and its strength was even higher.
There were footsteps in the distance.
After a while, the chief secretary of Taichang Temple came over with a dancing girl.
The chief clerk said a few words and then stepped aside.
"End it as soon as possible before the rehearsal for the next act begins," said the translator.
Tam thanked her repeatedly and then looked at the dancer.
Before he could speak, the other party said eagerly: "I am Soraya from the Talos Fahd family. Can you take me back?"
"I'm afraid not," Tam said.
The other party was a little desperate and didn't want to talk.
"Were you abused?" Tam asked.
"No." Soraya shook her head, and then said: "But my current situation is abuse. From a noble to a slave, this is the greatest abuse."
"I'm sorry, I can't take you away." Tam said.
"Then what else can you do? Lose the battle on the battlefield? Let the noble women of your country become someone else's plaything?" Soraya said sarcastically.
Tam was silent.
The Fahds are a long-standing family in Persia, which can be traced back to the Parthian era. However, the "Fahds" living in Talas are just distant branches of this glorious family, and they are far from noble.
But Soraya's words still made Tam a little defensive, because what she said was true.
They are facing failure after failure, unable to do anything. They claim to be civilized and noble, but in the end, don't they just be humble and begging for help?
"How long have you been here? What do you think of this country?" Tam suddenly asked after a long silence.
Maybe she was angry, maybe she was desperate, Soraya finally answered Tam's words: "I have been in Luoyang for three years. As far as I know, this is a huge city, probably the largest city in the world.
There are more than 100,000 people living there, maybe 150,000. If you include those living outside the city walls, there will only be more. The city is very clean, well-managed, and has abundant supplies. The people living inside are very polite.
, on the one hand, you can see violence, bloodthirsty elements, and maybe some pornography in their eyes. I have not been to other cities, but I think they are similar. This country is full of barbarians who advocate violence from top to bottom.
, it’s just that they are wearing a civilized skin.”
"Is it possible that all you see are warriors?" Tam asked: "As far as I know, those who are murderous like to stare at women, even if their emperor is present."
Soraya thought about it carefully and said uncertainly: "Maybe. But I don't think it is any different for other people. This country has experienced more than a hundred years of killing, and there is no normal person, even with the habits recorded in ancient books.
They are all very different. This is not what I said. In fact, I know some Xia Guo dancers, and they also think that the gentle and handsome man no longer exists. By the way, what are you doing here? "
"We come for peace." It was not convenient for Tam to reveal too much, so he could only say briefly.
Soraya wanted to laugh, but still asked with a hint of hope: "What price are you prepared to pay?"
Tam choked.
Yes, even women know that peace must be paid at a price. Some people in the mission still harbor delusions and think that an agreement can be reached through the art of language. How naive is this?
"Have you never thought about it?" Soraya was desperate, turned around, and said before leaving: "I can give you a piece of advice, what my father said to us brothers and sisters before he died in the battle."
"Please speak," Tam said.
"A fan can't dispel the heavy fog." After saying that, she left.
Tam was stunned for a long time. She was really a good girl with a full personality.
"A fan can't drive away the fog" is a food proverb. Every ethnic group should have similar words. It's easy to understand: The gap in strength is too big. Stop thinking nonsense and be realistic.
The dance rehearsal lasted all afternoon.
Tam watched absentmindedly, and from time to time he could feel the hateful eyes cast by Soraya - there might be more than one person, because there were too many noble ladies captured.
He was a little ashamed and almost went back to his room to record his feelings in "Hu Da's Whip".
For some reason, he remembered Samani's eyes full of sadness, hatred, and ridicule along the way. He suddenly wanted to talk to this person, maybe he could get some precious advice from him.
In the evening, Elbrus returned.
"Be prepared." He said: "In three days, we will be summoned."
"Summoned by the Supreme Emperor?" Tam asked.
Elbrus was stunned and said: "Supreme Emperor? Uh, yes, that's him, Shaoyhan."
He didn't know why Tam changed his story, but that wasn't important. What was important was how to try his best to get the most honorable result for Persia.
It is impossible to pay compensation and cede territory, even if the war lasts for another hundred years. Neither the Grand Vizier nor the Emir can afford such consequences - at least not on paper.
At this time, Elbrus became somewhat resentful of the incompetent generals.
The consequences of your defeat will be borne by us.
