"Your Excellency means that I will henceforth cease to exist in Khotan?" Wuxin looked at several angry henchmen beside him, and suddenly raised his head to look at Biao Zi, who was standing more than ten zhang away in front of him, and asked, "In that case, then why should I cooperate with your army?" The fate of my Khotanese people must be in the hands of my Khotanese people, and this cannot be changed now or in the future. ”

"I don't have the right to put a beak on the fate of the people of Khotan, I think Master Wuxin probably doesn't have the ability to ask for it, I only know that Khotanese City was defeated by my Tiance army, not you, so if your army wants to take it away from our army with just a few words, wouldn't it be too bad for my Tiance army to save face?" Biao Zi waved his hand to the back to signal Li Yang to be calm and calm, and then smiled at Wuxin and the others, "My Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty has a famous saying, power and freedom never come out of thin air, but need to be fought for by yourself. If Master Wuxin asks himself if he has the ability to compete with my Tang Dynasty, I don't think that the master can't be the lord of Khotan. But master, are you really ready to be my Datang enemy? ”

"The future of Khotan should not lie in being an enemy of my Datang, but the future and way out are indeed in Chang'an. If the master believes that he should go to Chang'an, I think His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty will let you understand the current situation, and will also let you understand where the way out of Khotan is, and what the future of Khotan should be. Biao Zi said with a smile: "It is imperative for the Tang Dynasty to recover Anxi, and it will not give up because of the master's resistance, so the master should consider the hundreds of thousands of people in Khotan, instead of being rash." If the master insists on this, then I have nothing to say, the big deal is that there has been a battle under the city of Khotan, although my Tiance army is only 10,000 people, but I think we can defeat Li Qiming, then it is not a big problem to deal with the master. Biao Zi didn't look at Wuxin's face and continued: "Does the master have anything else to say now?" ”

Biaozi's words made Wuxin and the others stunned, but before he could continue to speak, a man suddenly hit a horse in the city, and a person came from a distance, galloping while galloping, and shouted from afar: "Biaozi, wait for me for a while." ”

"Qin Kong, you kid is finally willing to appear, I thought you and Li Qiming were all gone." When Biao Zi saw Qin Kong's figure appear in front of him, he immediately understood that he had succeeded in dealing with it, and laughed. But his words made everyone change when they heard it, and Wuxin couldn't help but come directly to Biaozi's side.

"The dragon group sent more than thirty people to track him down, if he misses, then I don't want to mess around, go back to Chang'an directly to ask the commander for the offense." Qin Kong rode his horse to Biaozi's side, threw a bloody human head from the horse's belly, and then jumped off the horse, and said with a smile: "Master, please see if this is the head of your old enemy Li Qiming?" As soon as Li Qiming died, it meant that the battle in the city had actually come to an end, and after the Khotanese army lost its commander, it must be a group of dragons without a leader, as long as the news was spread and the key generals were killed, then Li Yang's troops would be able to quickly complete the occupation of Khotan. And the latter must have been carried out by the people of the Dragon Group, if this group of people said assassination, they were afraid that even the Flying Eagle Brigade might not be able to compare to them, this is a group of real night killers walking in the dark and on the tip of the knife.

"Master, let's find a place to talk?" Qin Kong looked at Wuxin's pale face and said with a smile, and after finishing speaking, he didn't care about Wuxin's reaction and pulled Biaozi to the ten-mile long pavilion outside the city.

"I said that your speed is fast enough, Li Yang and I were going to watch you do it before, why did you succeed in a while, I think the rest of the Khotanese royal family is also controlled by you, right?" The bitch winked at Qin Kong as he walked, he was sure that if he didn't satisfy Qin Kong with his words later, then a new lord would appear in Khotan tomorrow, and he would be a legitimate puppet who obeyed his command unconditionally. At this point, Wuxin understood the meaning of the other party's words from just now when he saw that Qin Kong only brought Li Qiming's head without mentioning the others, so after Qin Kong pulled Biaozi away, Wuxin let his men restrain the army, and then followed Qin Kong to the ten-mile long pavilion with the three core people.

Khotan in February is actually still in the cold winter, and this long pavilion that used to send off people seems very deserted, but it is also suitable for Qin Kong and others at this time. Qin Kong waited for a few people to sit down and said with a smile: "Master must not have much doubt about my Tiance army's occupation of Khotan, right?" However, it was obvious that Qin Kong didn't intend for Wuxin to answer his question, so he continued to take care of himself: "It's just that I think the master shouldn't be very clear about his situation, right?" Or maybe the master doesn't know much about this vast world, right? ”

"Please also ask General Qin for some advice." Compared to Biaozi, Qin Kong was obviously more trustworthy in Wuxin's eyes, or he was more willing to believe in Qin Kong's ability. So as soon as Qin Kong's words were finished, Wuxin raised his head, stretched out his hand to stop the questions of the henchmen beside him, and looked at Qin Kongdao.

"Khotan is located at the key point of the Silk Road, and Khotan has always relied on this geographical advantage to develop, and its national strength has been at its peak for thousands of years by relying on the trade between the east and the west. It is precisely because of this advantage that your Wei Chi clan has been able to gain a firm foothold in Khotan, thus occupying this land for thousands of years. Qin Kong pointed to Khotan City in the distance and said with a smile: "Let's just say that this is Khotan City, I can see from historical materials that when Khotanese City was first built, it was not built by caravans from the thirty-six countries in the northwest, right?" ”

"It's just that this success is also Xiao He's defeat, and Khotan occupies such a good geographical advantage, which will naturally attract the covetousness of the surrounding strong neighbors. As long as the surrounding neighbors are strong to a certain extent, they will inevitably be eyeing Khotan, the previous Tibetans, the current Uighurs and the Safarid Dynasty and the Shaman Dynasty are the same, and even the Central Plains Dynasty is actually similar, but from the time of Emperor Wu through the Western Regions, the Central Plains for the Western Regions are mainly indoctrination, supplemented by military occupation, so basically when the Central Plains Dynasty is strong, the northwest countries can survive under the wing of the powerful imperial army. Whenever the Central Plains declined, especially after the Anshi Rebellion a hundred years ago, the Central Plains was fragmented, the main force of the Anxi Army was transferred back to the Central Plains to quell the rebellion, and the strength of the Tang Dynasty in the northwest was greatly reduced, resulting in the most serious result was that the Tang Dynasty lost control over the Western Regions, and even the surrounding subject countries like you also lost their protection, and were occupied and destroyed by the Tibetans. While counting the historical development and changes in the northwest, Qin Kong sighed and said: "Because you occupy the main road from east to west, you will face the covetousness of powerful neighbors from all directions. ”

"Then according to your meaning, I have no way out of Khotan since ancient times?" One of the people beside Wuxin couldn't help but open his mouth and scolded angrily: "If it weren't for the malice of you people, where would you kill in this world if you don't forget the people of other people's land? ”

"Khotan has never had any future." Biao Zi glanced at this guy and sneered: "Do you think that if we don't come, the Safarid Dynasty in the south and the Shaman Dynasty in the northwest will let go of your delicious bait?" Once the Uighurs are defeated by us, it will be tantamount to relieving the shamans from their restraint in the east, so won't their elite cavalry in the northwest move south along the Tien Shan? Do you think your tens of thousands of troops in Khotan can stop it? I'm telling you, it's good if you can hold it off for a month. And once your main forces are transferred north, do you think the Safarid Dynasty, which has always wanted to spread the Celestial Sect to the East, will not get a piece of the pie? Think about it, how long do you really think that this Khotanese Buddha country will be able to shelter you? Even if you don't have the participation of my Tiance army for three to five years at most, you will inevitably usher in the biggest crisis, and then the southern Tubo will also come together, then you Khotan will really destroy the country this time. ”

Biaozi's words made Wuxin not know how to answer, but he had to admit that the other party was reasonable, as the only political figure in Khotan who could compete with Li Qiming, he could naturally distinguish whether what Biaozi said was true or false. Moreover, in fact, Li Qiming also understood this dangerous situation, which was also the real reason why he finally chose to participate in Cao Rengui's anti-Tang alliance. In this environment of enemies on all sides, Li Qiming needs an ally to help him open up the situation and win a respite. It's just that perhaps Cao Rengui in history is a trustworthy ally, but in this life, under the continuous blows of the Tiance Army, Cao Rengui's forces really have no room for help, under Zhao Si's calculations, Cao Rengui's method of selecting young and strong people from the descendants of Zhaowu Jiu to develop himself was cut off by Zhang Sheng from halfway, if it wasn't for the early recruitment of tens of thousands of people from Khotan, I am afraid that today's Cao Rengui will not even be able to get together the army.

"General Qin means that I have no way out in Khotan?" Wuxin's words appeared in everyone's ears again, although the meaning was similar to before, but for Biao Zi and Qin Kong, it was no different meaning. So Qin Kong nodded and smiled, "I don't know what the master's way out refers to?" Continue to be the lord of the country and claim the king and hegemony in the Western Regions? It is estimated that it is impossible, as long as the Tang Dynasty enters Anxi, then the situation in the entire northwest will be completely changed, if Khotan can not completely change its own concept, then this place will become an outpost of the Tang Dynasty and the western opponents, and maybe a hundred years later, it will be a tragic war into ruins. Is the Master sure he wants such a future? ”

"The way out for Khotan is in Chang'an. Master should go to Chang'an, there will be the answers you want, and there will be a way out for hundreds of thousands of people in Khotan. As for the idea of being an enemy of our Tiance Army, it is better to forget it in your mind, it is unrealistic and there is no chance of victory. Qin Kong stood up and said with a smile: "If the master doesn't believe it, how about we make a bet?" ”

"Bet on what?" Wuxin was a little confused by Qin Kong's sudden words, and he had been thinking about Qin Kong's purpose for letting him go to Chang'an, so he was stunned to ask before he reacted, and his face changed.

"How about betting on the final outcome of the Northwest War? If your anti-Tang alliance wins, then my Tiance army will give up all the occupied cities and lands in Khotan to the master, and at the same time form an alliance with Khotan to help you open up trade routes and develop again, if my Tiance army wins, the master needs to disband the army in his hands and go to Chang'an to obey the arrangement of the emperor of my Tang Empire, and Khotan will belong to the territory of the Tang Dynasty from now on, becoming the first province of my Tang Dynasty in Anxi. Qin Kong's smiling face made Wu Xin's heart sink suddenly, but he still remembered Qin Kong's words in his mind, "During this period, please lead the master to lead the army to be stationed outside Khotan City, don't have any bad thoughts about Khotanese City, how about you and I sit and watch this once-in-a-century battle in Zanmo Temple?" ”

"And what about my people in Khotan?" Wuxin's words made Biao Zi smile, and he took over the conversation and said: "Master rest assured, during this period, my Tiance army will maintain order in the city, and the people of Khotan can live as they want, as long as they do not violate your previous Khotanese laws, we will not disturb them." ”

"If your army can do this, I'm willing to gamble with you." Wuxin pondered for a long time and raised his head and said: "I also want to see what the legendary holy city of Chang'an is like, and what His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty thinks about the Western Regions for me in Khotan." ”

"The master has such an idea, which should be the blessing of tens of thousands of people here." Qin Kong stood up and said with a smile: "Now that there is one thing I think is time to clarify with the master. He glanced at Wuxin and said: "There were originally more than so many people in the Tiance army here, but when they crossed the Kunlun Mountain, they divided their troops and went to the stone tower to go to the army of the Safard Dynasty, I think they should launch an attack under the Protector City at this moment." Qin Kong's words surprised Wu Xin, but the next words made him completely rest his other thoughts, "My Tiance army began to plan to deal with the follow-up situation after entering Khotan, so the commander of this expedition thinks that no matter how big the situation changes in Khotan, it is a small matter, and blocking the external enemy is a big matter." Therefore, it is imperative to defeat the important town on the Green Ridge - the protection of the secret, and only by removing the protection of the secret can the rapid force of the Safarid dynasty intervene in Khotan, thus laying the foundation for reversing the situation in Khotan. ”

"Your plan is so convincing, my uncle's heart is convinced. But I will not easily hand over the future of Khotan to you, if you think that you can win the battle of the northwest coalition against the Tang Dynasty, then it is not impossible for me to obey the strong in Khotan. Wuxin's words made Qin Kong's two hearts relaxed, this sentence was not so much to emphasize his position as to say it to a few people around him, to give them a reasonable step, and also to give an explanation to the many supporters who were following him and preparing to ascend the throne at this moment.

"Then we'll see." Qin Kong stood up and was just about to continue talking to Wuxin, when a group of messengers ran out of the city from a distance and came towards Qin Kong and the others.

"It seems that the city of Khotan is settled, master, let's go." Qin Kong laughed.