The Persian merchant standing in front of Zheng Xianli had a gray beard and wore a traditional Persian turban on his head, and he had already touched his chest with his right hand and bowed down from a distance. His salute is a bit nondescript, and he learned the etiquette of the barbarians of the northern steppe, thinking that this is the way of saluting the people of the Tang Dynasty.

"Honorable Tang Dynasty general, the old Zamas has been waiting for a long time in Dutuoduo, and the city has prepared a sumptuous banquet and countless beauties......"

The enthusiasm of this old Persian merchant caught Zheng Xianli off guard, and he was still struggling with whether to destroy this pivotal town in the western section of the Green Ridge Pass, but now he completely rejected this idea.

Compared with not being able to leave the Nadtado to the big cannibals, the people's hearts here are more important, if you destroy the Nadta, you will inevitably lose the hearts of the people here, and the pros and cons of the gains and losses will naturally be clear at a glance.

The old Persian merchant was called Zamas, and it is said that he came from a prominent background, but it was only after the change of dynasty that he went to the East and became a merchant.

Zamas must have had extraordinary talent and luck, and in just a few decades he became one of the top merchants on the trade route from Khorasan to Tocharo.

It is said that Zamas's wealth spread throughout Khorasan and Tocharo, and even as far away as the four towns of Anxi also had a lot of assets, but in recent years, the Tang Dynasty and the Great Food War have been frequent, and the wealth of merchants has shrunk a lot.

Zamas's goodwill to Zheng Xianli is also sending a potential message that the merchants of Tocharian are likely to have serious contradictions and disagreements with the Great Cannibals.

In addition to the betrayal of the Qarluq tribe, there was another reason that was never said in the open, that is, the local tribes and merchants all fell to the Great Food.

As for the reason why the Tang Dynasty lost the hearts of the people west of the Green Ridge, this account must be counted on Gao Xianzhi's head. Gao Xianzhi did not restrain his subordinates during the battle to destroy the Stone Kingdom, and even took the lead in plundering the wealth of the Sogdian countries, which made the locals hate the Tang people to the core, so in the Battle of Talas a few years later, they did not hesitate to choose to support the Great Cannibals.

This time, Zheng Xianli learned the lesson of the defeat of Talas, and decided to try his best to win over the hearts of the locals before the main Tang soldiers led by Qin Jin arrived in the Western Regions, such as Zamas, who rushed to his door.

The banquet was very grand, almost all the people with heads and faces in the vicinity of Dutuoduo attended, and the wealthy merchants in the city were responsible for the wine and meat of nearly 10,000 Tang soldiers. But Zheng Xianli was a little absent-minded, because the 5,000* horsemen led by Ipraxin had already followed them.

Although Zheng Xianli's troops have about 10,000 people, there are only two or three thousand real elite warriors, and most of the rest are temporarily patched together by the defeated troops after they were scattered.

Therefore, Zheng Xianli has never fought Iplahim head-on, but only constantly used attack tactics to wear down Iplasin's spirit.

Despite his uneasiness, Zheng Xianli persevered until the end of the banquet, and Zamas seemed to be interested in talking to him privately.

After the banquet was dismissed, Zheng Xianli was invited into a house with magnificent decoration by Zamas.

There was also a young man standing in the house.

Zamas beckoned.

"Come here, meet the most heroic general of the Tang Dynasty, who has just burned down the city of Kumi and played tricks on the nephew of Abbas's old dog!"

The two most words, Zamas accentuated his tone, but Zheng Xianli was secretly surprised, it turned out that this old Persian businessman knew his every move well.

At this time, he was a little uneasy, if this old Persian merchant intended to do evil to him, he was afraid that he would lose a lot.

Immediately after, Zamas's words surprised Zheng Xianli.

"Kuslao is the fourth grandson of King Jezdegd III of Persia, and uses the same name as his great ancestor Kuslao!"

At this point, Zheng Xianli re-examined the young man in front of him, of course he knew that Yezdegd III was the last king of the Sassanid Dynasty of Persia, and in the Tang Dynasty it was generally called Yi Si Qi. As for Ku Silao, it was equivalent to Emperor Xiaowu of the Han Dynasty.

This young man took the same name as his ancestor, which shows that this person was expected to be very high by his elders.

Old Kuth saluted, and then called out to Zamas for his father.

"The opportunity to restore the country has come, we must assist General Zheng to defeat Iprasin, as a gift to the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty!"

Zheng Xianli was shocked again, the news of Qin Jin's personal expedition to the Western Regions was only recently learned and confirmed from the mouths of merchants from the west, and these Persian merchants seemed to have known about it a long time ago.

I saw Zamas's face solemn, and his cloudy old eyes looked eagerly at his son, as if a ball of fire was burning, and then turned to Zheng Xianli.

"Honorable general, if the Persians are willing to lead the horse and whip for the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, I wonder how the prime minister will repay him?"

Zheng Xianli has completely understood that the old businessman in front of him is negotiating terms with him, and this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But he didn't know Qin Jin's plan, and he didn't dare to promise anything rashly, so he thought about it for a moment and said:

"What are the requirements of the honorable driver, you might as well make it clear one by one, and Zheng will truthfully show the prime minister. ”

The words were a bit breezy, and he didn't promise Zamas, but he immediately added:

"One thing Zheng can promise to Zunjia that the tens of thousands of cavalry under Zheng's command are willing to cooperate with Persia!"

The words were sturdy, and Zamas smiled as he heard this, the folds on his face squeezed together.

"Thank you for the general's openness and honesty, if you agree to it, it will be elusive!"

As he spoke, Zamas came to the wall, opened a delicate box, and pulled out a bronze seal from it.

Zheng Xianli recognized it at a glance, this seal is a thing of the Tang Dynasty, specifically, it should be a general's seal.

I saw Zamas holding the seal in both hands and walking solemnly in front of Kusi Lao.

"Kneel down and get the seal!"

The Persians did not kneel, and it is clear that Zamas was performing some kind of ritual with his son in the Tang Dynasty.

Suddenly, Zheng Xianli found that Zamas's cloudy old eyes were full of tears, but he heard his voice say loudly in a strange Chinese dialect with excitement and frustration:

"From today onwards, the Governor of the Persian Governor's Mansion and the Right Weiwei General will be officially passed on to Kusi Lao. Old Kusi, are you willing to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty?"

Kuth straightened up violently, and also replied loudly in a strange Chinese dialect:

"Ku Si is willing to sacrifice everything for His Majesty the Tang Emperor, including his life!"

Zheng Xianli knew Persian, and he had been communicating with the father and son in Persian before, but now he suddenly heard them speak these Chinese words, and he couldn't help but be taken aback again!