Zoles, the governor of Taman, looked very different from his mother's compatriot, Avery, a short and fat man, with a slumped nose and a slick mouth with few beards. Avery, on the other hand, had a big nose and a big beard, with high eyebrow bones that made his eyes look deep, and his body was tall and burly, and his strength was far greater than that of his people.

Zoles was ridiculed by his siblings since he was a child, saying that he was a wild seed born to his mother and foreigners.

Only Avery always stood up when he was bullied, and swore more than once that his brother and himself would always have only one mother.

Because of this, Zoles and Avery have always been the closest brothers, and the two have never even quarreled.

Later, as the eldest son of the old khan, Afri inherited the khanate with an absolute advantage, and Zulus also rose in status, and was finally entrusted with the important task of governor of Taman.

Taman was an important hub in the western part of the Khanate, controlling the sea and land routes between the east and the west, through which merchants had to pass through.

Thus, controlling Taman was tantamount to holding the keys to wealth in the western part of the khanate.

Afri wanted to sit in the Khan's court, and of course it was impossible to control it himself, so he patted his most trusted brother Zoles over.

And Zulus did fight for it, and when he became an adult, he was no longer as cowardly and timid as he was when he was a child, and after becoming the governor of Taman, he defeated the Slavs who tried to seize Taman more than once, and also seized a large area of land from the Slavs.

As a result, the prestige of the Khazar Khanate was greater in the north, and the Slavs no longer dared to easily move troops against the Khanate.

This time, Zoles heard in Taman that the Great Food Empire had undergone a great change, that Khorasan had been captured by the Tang people from the east, and that even the governor Abbas, who had a reputation for cruelty and iron blood, had become a prisoner, so he rushed to the Khan's court as quickly as possible, hoping to persuade his brother to take this opportunity to go south and bite off a few pieces of fat from the Great Cannibal.

However, although Avery also intends to attack the Great Food, his ideas are very different from his own.

Afri advocated cooperation with the Tang people, little by little, to the south.

More than ten years ago, the black-clothed caliph once launched a war of annihilation against the Khazarian steppe, which is still fresh in his memory, and after the defeat, countless Khazars were sold as slaves to various places.

If it weren't for the surprise attack of the Romans from the west, the Khazar Khanate would have ceased to exist long ago.

As a result, Avery is extremely cautious in any plan against the Big Eat.

Zoles, on the other hand, was only a teenager at the time, had taken refuge in the north with his mother, and had not seen the cruelty of that war, so it is not surprising that he was radical in his ideas.

"Why do you want to cooperate with the Tang people? In recent years, the momentum of the khanate has become bigger and bigger, and even the big cannibals are afraid to show goodwill, and now taking advantage of their defeat, it is just time to send troops to the shame, even if you become the master of Ctesiphon, learn the great cannibals to replace the Persians, and become the master of that land, it is not impossible!"

The more Zulles spoke, the more excited he became, and the louder he became.

"I sent troops in Taman, crossed the Caucasus Mountains, and the Khan attacked Khorasan in the eastern steppes, and attacked in the east and west directions, and the big cannibal who was in a state of anxiety was helpless even if he had three bodies and six arms. When the time comes, he will invade Ctesiphon and sell all the women and children of Mansur into slavery among the Slavs......"

The more he spoke, the more he immersed himself in pride, as if he had become a victorious conqueror.

"Okay, don't say these unrealistic things anymore, the Great Cannibal was defeated by the Tang people, not placed under our hands, if the Tang people retreat, how will the Khazar Khanate fight against the cruel Great Cannibal alone? Just rely on the fifty or sixty thousand people you recruited in Taman? Now I will tell you that the reason why the Great Eclipse is strong is because it has millions of troops, and it is not something that tens of thousands of people can easily fight!"

"Millions?"

Zollus, after all, is young, and he can say some big things under his blood, but that doesn't mean he's a stupid person.

If he was stupid, how could he possibly be the governor of Taman?

"Can the Tang people fight it?"

It's just that he doesn't admit defeat in his mouth, and he still quibbles.

"Tang, they defeated the cruel and cold-blooded Abbas and turned him into a captive and a slave, who has this ability, you or me?"

……

Unable to answer the question, Zoles wanted to change the subject and resolve the embarrassment.

"And what is the Khan going to do with Mahdi's stupid donkey?"

For this big food prince, it gave Avery a headache for a while at first, but now that this person has been transferred into the pit he dug, he is no longer worried.

"Let's see what kind of fight he and Yusuf have become, it's better to lose both, and save us from doing it! That Yusuf has been getting more and more arrogant recently, and he actually refused the Khan's court's recruitment last month, and it's time to punish him. ”

"The big cannibals are all devils, the Khan didn't give them a chance to live at all, and they should have been sent to hell to be with evil spirits a long time ago!"

Afri smiled.

"Sometimes it's cruel to live than to hell, Zulles, you don't understand!"

For Yusuf and Mahdi, death was a relief for them.

What could be more cruel and sad than a person like this, who is born proud, who must endure humiliation and torture in life, and who can never succeed in doing so?

Without!

After a moment of silence, Afri suddenly said:

"Our true enemies and enemies are still in Ctesiphon!"

……

Ctesiphon, the court of the Caliphate. News of Mahdi's defeat had just reached the civilian authorities, and it was already known both inside and outside the court before Hari was furious.

The empire was defeated, and it should have been the same enemy, but the atmosphere that shrouded the court was very strange, and a faint schadenfreude and irrepressible joy were secretly fermenting.

Before sunset, the official document of the defeated army was finally placed in front of Caliph al-Mansur.

Surprisingly, Mansur was not angry, and he even peeled a fruit and ate it slowly after reading the defeated military report.

Only the eunuchs standing by al-Mansur's side were terrified, wondering when the caliph's wrath would erupt and whether it would spread to him.

Mansour is fifty years old this year, and among the great cannibals, this is already a complete old man.

The eunuch could clearly see the gray beard on his face, which may indicate the aging of the lion.

However, this thought only passed through the eunuch's head, and he did not even dare to think about this disrespectful thought towards the caliph.

Soon, Mansur reacted, but instead of anger, he ordered to summon Said.

Saeed was an old aristocrat who had returned from the East, and although he had been doing business in the East for many years, he still had a devout love for the Empire, and would rather give up everything he had in the East for the sake of the Caliphate.

Now, Sa'id was the most favored and fastest-promoted official in the caliphate's court.

Saeed, who had become a tax collector, had become a popular figure in the Ctesiphon government and the opposition, and both civil officials and generals were vying for the tiebreaker, hoping that he would say a few good things for himself in front of the caliph.

Said, however, was dismissive of goods, and even declared that he was as loyal to the caliph as he was to the Prophet, and that no one should seek undue benefits from him.

If you want to be reused by the caliphate, then show your abilities and make contributions.

In this way, although Saeed offended all the nobles inside and outside the Ctesiphon court, he was even more reused by Caliph al-Mansur.

At this time, al-Mansur summoned Said, and the eunuchs did not find it strange, nor did the civil officials.

"Said, Mahdi is defeated!"

Mansour only said this one sentence, and then said nothing, just quietly watching Said.

Prior to this, Saeed had also learned the news of Mahdi's defeat, and he thought of more than a dozen countermeasures on the way, but Mansour's reaction was unexpected.

Mansour changed his fiery temper from his usual fiery temper, and his silence was chilling.

"The villain thinks that the top priority now is to refute the rumors!"

"Refute rumors?"

Said's words also surprised Mansour.

"Yes, at this time, it must not be recognized that His Royal Highness the prince has been defeated, otherwise the palace and the outside will be in the whirlpool of crisis, and the caliph's plan for the westward expedition ......"

The latter words, Saeed didn't say, Mansour naturally understood that he only wanted to know now why he wanted to refute the rumors, and why should he refute the rumors.

Said laughed secretly.

He had lived in the East for decades and was accustomed to the various methods of the Tang people, which was just common in the Tang Dynasty.

How can a monarch who can't lie be a qualified monarch?

The more successful the monarch is often told by lies!

"Declare to the outside world that the news of the defeat is a rumor, and if there are rumors, kill the relatives of the three clans! Then find a few unlucky people who are unlucky and kill Liwei and Lixin! As long as the rumors stop, the conspiracy atmosphere inside and outside the palace will naturally dissipate!"

Mansour bowed his head in agreement, but he questioned it anyway.

"The defeat is real, and the rumors can't last long!"

Said waited for Mansour to ask such a question, and then shook his head and said:

"It's a two-pronged approach!"

"What is a two-pronged approach?"

Said often speaks some Tang words, which makes Mansour confused, and he has become accustomed to it over time.

"While refuting the rumors, we must send someone to find them as soon as possible, and contact His Royal Highness the Prince, and assure him that as long as he comes back with the army, he will not be held accountable for the past!"

"Don't pursue it?"

Mansour's eyebrows furrowed, apparently leaking out of anger, but then, as if the anger had been suppressed again, he stopped talking, just waiting for Said to continue.

"The villain said something damned, even if His Royal Highness the prince deserves death for his crimes, he can't die, otherwise the palace will be in trouble, and there will be no peace!"

It took a long time for Said to hesitate to speak.