The conditions for negotiation are not complicated and were mentioned last year.
The Persians also know that one party to the negotiation will always put forward too many unacceptable conditions first, and when they are finally implemented, both parties often take a step back. The conditions that were once unacceptable no longer seem so annoying.
Shao Shude made six demands last year. At that time, the Persians found it difficult to accept any of them. However, after the Battle of Alai Valley, their position became somewhat looser——
It seems that Samani can be executed. Although it is a bit embarrassing, this person is not impossible to abandon. He fled because of the internal strife in the Persian royal family and can be said to be alone. Although Bukhara allowed him to return to Bukhara for various reasons
, and even granted a position, but it can be abandoned at critical moments as long as there are sufficient reasons.
This is the sorrow of "little people", there is no way.
It is hard to accept the withdrawal from Bukhanna. Although everyone in Persia knows that if the war continues like this, this place will not be saved sooner or later. Moreover, half of Bukhanna has been destroyed, and the western half has no profit at all, or even a loss.
.But how to put it, as Tam said implicitly in private: "We also have dignity..."
Yes, stuck here is "dignity".
Some important people were unwilling to give up such fertile land and did not want to be taught by the church. The nobles gathered together to judge, so no authorization was given.
But he also knew that for the Xia people, this was the key to the success of the negotiation, so he agreed to deal with it vaguely, that is, saying one thing but actually doing another.
As for the third article, it is even more impossible to give Safar Persia a complete independent status. The hatred between Saman Persia and Safar Persia is difficult for outsiders to understand. To put it bluntly, the Persian monarchs and ministers would rather make concessions in other aspects
, we must also completely eliminate the Safar family, or even make them a vassal at worst.
The Daxia representatives, led by secretary-supervisor Lu Siye and assisted by officials from Honglu Temple, talked with the Persian envoy for a long time and reached a consensus.
Shao Shude did not show up, but was frying fish with the guards in the garden.
"I've been thinking about it for a while, let's talk in Shule." Shao Shude skillfully placed a salmon on the dinner plate and said without looking back: "Look at it like this, we can't talk about anything for a while, just back and forth.
It would be troublesome to run back, so it would be better to discuss it in Shule, or to discuss it together. After we come up with some ideas, we can then report back to me for a decision."
"According to the order." Lu Siye responded.
"Lu Qing is hungry too. Let's finish the fish before leaving." Shao Shude pointed to the fried fish on the table and said.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Lu Siye was already used to it.
The sage loved hunting. After he caught the prey, he would sit on the ground with the warriors, cut the meat, cook it, roast it, and share it with everyone.
Of course, even if you are used to it, cooking meat, frying fish and sharing food with your courtiers is still rare after all, and it mostly happens to the founding kings.
The founding king was more like a human being, with more human anger, joy, anger, sorrow and joy.
The king who has been in peace for a long time is more like a god, more unpredictable and difficult for people to understand.
Today, I can write on the memorial, "You have so much to do!", "Hit his father! Hid his mother!" Such comments that are full of strong personal emotions reveal his feelings without any concealment.
The emperor a hundred years from now will probably become more and more stingy in expressing his feelings, giving his ministers a feeling of trepidation as they accompany the emperor like a tiger.
Lu Siye knew very well which of his ministers was lucky to meet him.
"What's the attitude of the Persians?" Shao Shude asked.
"They are a little worried and seem to be eager for success," Lu Siye replied.
"Of course." Shao Shude smiled and said: "If we were not eager for success, we would not have sent envoys for two consecutive years. If we were not eager for success, we would not have implemented such a clumsy strategy as Zheng Guoqu's."
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
Shao Shude automatically filtered this sentence and added: "Persians are actually already inclined to give up on the Khanna, but they will not admit it openly or put it on paper, they will only do it. To put it bluntly, they are deceiving themselves and others.
."
In Shao Shude's view, this was just the Persians' "forced reverence".
When it's difficult to win militarily, what else can you do? The reason why you don't want to give up is because Pyongyang, the land of Bukhan, is fertile and has no shortage of water. It is a good farming area. In addition, it is far away from the sand.
What’s more, Samarkand is closer and threatens important Persian cities, so we dare not abandon it easily.
"They want to be vague about the issue of Bukhana, so just be vague. Anyway, it's not us who suffer." Shao Shude said: "Let's talk to them this afternoon. Don't mention this. Just make it tacit."
"I obey the decree."
"On the issue of Safar Persia, we can make concessions." Shao Shude added: "No one in this country has sent an envoy to see me. No one knows what the situation is in the country. It may be the end of the road. Let's make a concession here.
By coaxing the Persians to be happy, you can also test out where their real bottom line is. For the rest, keep talking and don't give in. If we can't reach an agreement, I'll let the Imperial Guard negotiate."
Just like the negotiation details given by Shao Shude to Lu Siye, before the Persian envoy set off, the central government must have also explained to him the bottom line, that is, what can be compromised and what cannot be compromised. After clarifying the bottom line, the envoy will use various means to achieve the goal.
Within this scope, strive for benefits for yourself as much as possible.
This is the origin of the plenipotentiary envoy. He really has the power to agree to something and reject any conditions.
****
Negotiations continued in the afternoon, and Shao Shude tried out the horses brought by the Persians in the open space outside the Hehuan Hall.
Arabian horses were hard to come by, and no one was willing to bring them over. Even if they met a few money-minded businessmen who were willing to take the horses eastward, they were blocked by Gaochang.
But who would have thought that Shao Shude, who had used various methods such as asking for favors and offering rewards, without even seeing a hair on the horse, would suddenly get what he wanted after brazenly launching a war. The horses that came were not just one or two, but
It was fifty horses, which made him quite speechless.
Arabian horses are typical hot-blooded horses.
The so-called hot-blooded horse refers to the horse's character. It reacts strongly to external stimuli, has a strong temperament, is unruly, and can run fast.
In contrast, cold-blooded horses are insensitive to external environment and stimulation, have a gentle temper, are generally taller and stronger, and are willing to do hard work.
The iron horses bred by Sinong Temple are typical cold-blooded horses.
The war horses that charged into battle during the Western Expedition were undoubtedly hot-blooded horses.
Crossing a cold-blooded horse with a hot-blooded horse will result in a warm-blooded horse with different personalities.
Warm-blooded horses are in between the two in size, milder in temperament than hot-blooded horses, and more violent than cold-blooded horses, but also in between.
If you select and breed carefully, you can theoretically breed a warm-blooded horse that has both the athletic ability of a hot-blooded horse and the tall build of a cold-blooded horse, and has a calmer personality.
The batch of Arabian horses brought by the Persians actually helped a lot. The breeding of high-standard warmblood horses in Daxia will soon be put on the agenda.
Of course, the help brought by the Persians goes beyond that.
The biggest gain is knowledge, but it requires some skills.
In the evening, the negotiations came to an end, and Shao Shude summoned Tam in the garden.
He is very interested in this person because he has a sharp mind and speaks well, so he doesn't mind chatting more with him.
"Your Majesty demands too much." Tam complained as soon as they met.
After listening to the translation, Shao Shude laughed loudly and said: "Actually, my original intention is not to be hostile to Persia."
Tam was a little surprised and asked: "So, the war that lasted for five years all started with the Karasha coup?"
"It can be said to be the direct cause, but not all." Shao Shude said.
"Your Majesty is so candid," Tam said.
"I just said that I don't want to be hostile to Persia." Shao Shude emphasized again and continued: "It's just that your country's attitude is really aggressive, and I need to show my position, so the war broke out."
Tam was speechless.
Over the past two years, he's learned some history.
According to historical records, at the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Chinese army (the original word was "Qin") had already marched into Bukhan. But the Chinese at that time were more clumsy and foolishly crossed a thousand miles from their own hinterland.
The distance between Sahe and the transport of food was long, so the battle was always unsustainable and costly.
By the Tang Dynasty, Chinese people were much smarter.
They learned how the grassland herdsmen used their troops and no longer relied solely on grains shipped from the rear. At the same time, they actively attracted border tribes and even hired Turks. Therefore, for a hundred years, they fought at two ends every three days, and their sustainability was very strong.
Once upon a time, a man named Gao Xianzhi gathered 20,000 troops and recruited 50,000 tribal troops. Within a few months, he suddenly appeared in Talos, shocking the people. If it weren't for the fact that there happened to be a detachment that went to the north to suppress the rebellion.
If the army commander passes by Talas, they will really succeed.
The Chinese's logistics have been greatly improved, and they are now more like steppe tribes.
"What I said is the truth." Shao Shude added: "I am very happy to see a splendid civilization appear on the border, exchanging knowledge and promoting each other. We have places where we are leading and places where we are lagging behind, and the same is true for you.
.Wouldn’t it be better to sit down and communicate with each other?”
"But the prerequisite for communication is war?" Tam asked.
"We can't talk about war." Shao Shude laughed and said: "When I go to war, I will never send only such a small number of troops. There are more than 400,000 forbidden troops in Daxia. Even if you only send half of them, you can't stand it. Now there are only 30,000 to 40,000 people fighting against them.
You guys, let’s not talk about this scale.”
Tam wasn't going to argue on this issue.
Four hundred thousand gulams, how much food will be consumed? You can't afford it. Forty thousand people is probably the limit, and it can't be more.
"How does Your Majesty plan to end the war?" Tam asked.
"Isn't the afternoon's negotiation very clear? I listened to the report and the results were gratifying." Shao Shude said: "Your country has agreed not to take the initiative to preach, which is good. The princes and nobles of Tocharostan choose their own beliefs, which is also
Very good. You must also know that some princes are willing to submit to Daxia, but you are unwilling to respond directly to this matter, which is very bad. Of course, this matter can be discussed later. Talas is originally the territory of the male camel king, twenty
I was very pleased to hear that I was invaded and occupied by you many years ago and now I am willing to return it. This is much closer to peace."
"Your Majesty, we did not agree to withdraw from Talas." Tam couldn't help but corrected.
"I understand." Shao Shude turned around, looked at Tam seriously, and said.
Tam was a little ashamed.
The Supreme Emperor does understand very well. Some things can be done, but they must not be said, let alone reduced to words.
"So, there is hope for peace soon, isn't it?" Shao Shude smiled.
Tam sighed, not knowing what to say.
"I heard that many scholars in Persia were persecuted by the Creator..." Shao Shude said.
"Nothing!" Tam straightened his face and said loudly.
"Do you believe in the Creator?" Shao Shude asked.
"certainly."
"But some people don't believe it."
"who?"
"The caliph in Baghdad doesn't believe it, and neither do many nobles."
"How is that possible? They donate money and materials to the church every year." Tam retorted.
"The Tebbit you mentioned the day before yesterday was convicted by the religious court. Who protected him after he fled?" Shao Shude asked.
"caliph……"
"There are so many heretics and heretics who have been tried and convicted in the Palace of Wisdom. Who is protecting them?"
"caliph……"
"Are there any escaped 'criminals' among the entourage and advisors of the nobles?"
"have……"
"That's right." Shao Shude laughed loudly, and finally struck again: "Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I can be sure that the Caliph drank secretly."
Tam was speechless.
In fact, not only the caliphs, but also a large number of high-ranking nobles do not abide by the rules and regulations. It seems that the higher the rank, the less they believe in these.
"They can shelter scholars, and so can I." Shao Shude said: "Furthermore, the caliphate sometimes cannot openly confront the church, but I have no such trouble. If you, Tam, are willing to offer political asylum, I can do so without any hesitation.
I hesitate to take you in."
"No need..." Tam's mental state was a little bad, the shock was too great.
"I will say it again." Shao Shude patted Tam on the shoulder and said: "I am willing to live in peace and communicate with Persia. I am always willing to protect scholars who are persecuted by the Temple of the Creator and provide them with funding so that they can carry out their studies happily.
Academic research. You can go back and promote this. Here, I only pursue the truth and nothing else."
Tam said nothing.
"Haha." Shao Shude looked at him and said, "Have a good rest tomorrow. There won't be many differences. Just talk slowly. Let's wait for the messenger to send back the news. By the way, if this clause is not met, the war will still continue."
Tam was already numb and didn't want to say anything more.
Now he just wants to be alone, write a book, and soothe his emotions.
Yes, only when writing a book can he allow himself to truly relax - mentally relax.
The true face of the Supreme Emperor is becoming increasingly difficult to see clearly.
Tam is even more worried about whether many things can be written down in the book. If he continues writing like this, he will also be judged...
