Faced with Tanli's question, Lao Jianhua seemed calm: "The puppet emperor Li Bing, the anti-king Li Kui, and the northern region, we should gather the loyal people of the Holy Tang Dynasty and wait for the opportunity to crusade against them." ”

"When is Mr. Lao going north to crusade against Li Bing?" Tanli said: "Or are you going to watch the fire from the other side first, and watch them fight with my Turks to lose both?" ”

Bao Yuchun couldn't help but laugh and said, "Then why not?" After all, you are the foreign enemies of the Holy Tang, you have seized our great rivers and mountains, and even the imperial capital has not let go, and sooner or later you will become our target! ”

Tanli shook his head: "Bao Shuai, in the future, we will fight or peace, whether we are enemies or friends, and we will talk about it slowly in the future." Maybe, we will take the initiative to withdraw from the borders of Shengtang, and it is not certain that we will all return to the Western Continent. At the moment, Li Bing is everyone's common enemy, and he should work together to deal with it. ”

Bao Yuchun didn't give an inch: "Join forces to deal with it?" Why? My fleet has completely blocked the river, and Li Bing's soldiers and horses cannot go south at all, so they can only concentrate on dealing with you Turks. Why do we have to wade into these troubled waters? ”

Hearing him say this, Lao Jianhua showed an unfathomable smile and looked at Tanley silently.

Tan Li was not unhurried, and said with a smile: "Bao Shuai is right, your naval army has indeed temporarily blocked the Great River and Hanshui, but as far as I know, Li Bing and Murong Xue are not idle, they are making every effort to build a new fleet at this time, and they are obviously preparing to use it against you." You must know that the reason why the Shengtang army in the north cannot devote itself to the war against the south is because of our Turkic presence. The Great Khan's iron cavalry can suppress Li Bing and dare not move, and it can also make him put aside all his worries and concentrate on fighting your naval army, isn't it? ”

"Oh? Did Khan really have this idea? Lao Jianhua asked lightly: "He intends to leave the land of right and wrong in Shengtang?" ”

"That's pretty much it." Tanli shook his head helplessly: "This battle has been fought for several years, except for occupying the imperial capital and the Guanzhong region, no other results have been obtained, my father Khan is worried about the Turkic Empire, and he may take us back to the motherland when he will take us." ”

He paused slightly, and suddenly smiled slyly: "Mr. Lao, Bao Shuai, if we suddenly withdraw now, are you sure to deal with Li Bing's hundreds of thousands of troops?" ”

Bao Yuchun knew that the other party's words were threatening, and he just wanted to gain some bargaining chips and advantages in negotiations, so he couldn't help but sneer: "Want to withdraw? Is it as easy as you say? Don't forget, Li Jiangyao's Zhenjiang Army firmly controls Zijin Pass and Shengyu Pass, as well as the vast ghost desert of Western Xinjiang, and four or five hundred thousand elite soldiers will block your way back, can you withdraw if you want to? Don't think that I don't know anything when I stay in the south, a while ago, Ronia attacked Zijin Pass, lost his troops and returned with a broken army, I heard that His Royal Highness the Prince is also among them, and the Golden Eleventh Army is also very miserable. ”

Tan Li not only did not get angry when he heard this, but laughed loudly: "Bao Shuai's news is really well-informed, I admire it from the bottom of my heart." Still, you're thinking wrong. ”

"What did I think was wrong?" Bao Yuchun asked rhetorically with a frown.

"Who said that if you return to the Western Continent, you have to fight all the way back?" Tan Li's eyes flashed with a sly light: "I don't know if Mr. Lao and Bao Shuai believe it or not, as long as I go and tell Li Jiangyao that we Turks don't want to fight anymore, the imperial capital and the Guanzhong region will be returned to him, and by the way, some treasures will be given as compensation for the war losses, and he will most likely let us go from the perspective of preserving his own strength." ”

Then, Li Jiangyao, who gained both fame and fortune, was able to join forces with Li Bing, and the Zhenjiang Army and the Shengtang Army gathered millions of soldiers and horses, and marched south, completely sweeping away all the resistance forces and restoring the peace of the Shengtang Dynasty. The two of them said, is there such a possibility? ”

After that, Tanley showed his signature kind smile, and looked at Lao Jianhua and Bao Yuchun for a long time.

Bao Yuchun was stunned on the spot when he heard this, and looked at Lao Jianhua blankly, Lao Jianhua seemed to have guessed this situation a long time ago, and asked calmly: "Can the Khan really give up the glory and dignity of the Turks?" ”

Tanli was also very calm: "Mr. Lao, you have lived in the Turks for many years, and it is not a day or two since you met my father Khan. He is a mature politician who only talks about pragmatism in everything. Do you think that when it really comes to that point, my father Khan will be dragged down by those false names? ”

"Probably not." Lao Jianhua sighed softly: "The Khan is far-sighted, if it weren't for Li Jiangyao's accident suddenly, and the Gema of the Night Wheel Clan deceived him because of his selfish intentions, your Turkic army would definitely not have fallen into the current situation." On the other hand, if there was no other better option, the Khan would definitely not hesitate to negotiate with Li Jiangyao in exchange for the opportunity to return to the Western Continent with the whole army. In this way, it is better than fighting with the Zhenjiang army to lose both. ”

As he spoke, he looked at Bao Yuchun next to him: "Bao Shuai, Your Highness is right, we should also think about it now, how to make the Khan have more choices that are beneficial to everyone." ”

Bao Yuchun knew that Lao Jianhua was stepping down for himself, so he responded: "Of course, it is best to benefit everyone." Your Highness, what I just meant was not that I was unwilling to cooperate with you, but because I didn't see any benefit to cooperation, I couldn't help but ask. ”

Tanley smiled and nodded: "I understand Bao Shuai's concerns. In fact, the so-called benefits must also start from your demands in order to prescribe the right medicine. Therefore, as soon as I came up, I asked many times what your plans were next. If the two of you are just going to stick to the south and watch the tiger fight, then not only will we not have the basis for joining forces, but for you, this will only slow down the pace of eventual defeat. ”

Lao Jianhua asked, "This is the Khan's original words?" ”

"That's right, it's my father Khan." Tanli said: "Father Khan's analysis, the current situation in Shengtang, occupying the most advantageous position, is actually Li Jiangyao's Zhenjiang army, our Turks are second, Li Bing and you again, and Li Jiong is the worst, on the verge of extinction at any time. ”

Lao Jianhua thought about it seriously and bowed slightly: "Li Jiang is far away from the northwest battlefield, far away from the Central Plains battlefield, and has the entire Western Xinjiang behind him to support. Although the Turks were blocked in the Hanzhong region, they had no problem holding the eastern and western defense lines because of their mobile and powerful combat power. We are in a similar situation to Li Bing, one in the south and the other in the north, facing each other across the river. It looks like Li Jiangyao, but in fact, he only needs to hold two passes to be as stable as Mount Tai, while we have to tightly control thousands of miles of riverbank defense to prevent the army from the north from breaking through to the south. In this case, it can be described as dangerous. ”

He raised his head and looked at Tanley: "What is the Khan's plan?" ”

Tanli said seriously: "Father Khan believes that if you want to break the game, you must completely defeat Li Jiangyao, who is currently the most advantageous. Therefore, our Turkic side will concentrate its forces on attacking westward and launching a decisive battle with the Zhenjiang army. At the same time, Father Khan suggested that Mr. Lao and Bao Shuai should also take a more proactive approach and lead their troops north to take the eastern capital. Marshal Helianxiong's 100,000 soldiers and horses can provide you with the necessary reinforcements to attack Li Bing from Tongguan. In addition, Li Kui has promised us that he will also send troops to attack the front line of Bianzhou again and contain Li Bing's army. ”

"The three of us act together, attack in three ways, and we will definitely be able to beat each other at a loss!"

Bao Yuchun pondered for a moment, and couldn't help but ask: "If the Turks can really defeat the Zhenjiang Army in one fell swoop, they will definitely be able to restore contact with the Western Continent, but in this way, how should we get along with each other in the future?" ”

The meaning of this sentence is obvious: the Turks have opened up the qi veins, and when they turn around, they will come back to clean us up. Even if we eliminate Li Bing and occupy the Eastern Capital, won't we still be cheaper for you in the end?

Tanley smiled slightly: "Don't worry about Bao Shuai." My father Khan said that if you are willing to form an alliance with the Turks and join forces to deal with the common enemy, then he can swear to the Immortal Heaven and the Fire God that our army will completely withdraw from the Holy Tang and only occupy the Western Ghost Desert. Including Zijin Pass and Shengyu Pass, they will also be returned to you. ”

Bao Yuchun raised his eyebrows: "Really?" Are you willing to give up all the territory you occupy unconditionally? ”

"It's true!" Tanli said in a sincere tone: "The Eastern Crusade War has made us realize that it is impossible to completely conquer Shengtang by force, rather than exhausting the power of the empire here, it is better to pass through the western frontier." That vast land is not much smaller than the Turkic Empire, and it is enough for our people to enjoy. ”

Lao Jianhua asked lightly: "Then what is the Khan's position in the battle with Li Bing and Li Kui in the future?" ”

Tanli replied without hesitation: "The Turks only respect the truly strong. In terms of current strength, of course, we prefer to maintain friendship with Mr. Lao, or rather, we are more willing to support His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin. ”

As soon as these words came out, Bao Yuchun couldn't help but be taken aback, and hurriedly looked at Lao Jianhua. Lao Jianhua was still as calm as water, and said with a faint smile: "It seems that you already know?" ”

Tanley also smiled: "Sir and Bao Shuai are loyal to the Lord, and we Turks admire them very much." Father Khan said that the bloodline of the Li royal family was in charge of the Holy Tang River, which was also what he hoped to see. ”

Lao Jianhua looked at Tanli silently, Tanli also looked at him quietly, and after being silent for a while, Lao Jianhua finally spoke: "Okay, Khan's intentions, Lao Mou understands, you and I can become friends, no, we should become blood alliances." From now on, our army will begin to gather forces in the Jingxiang area and attack northward. ”

Tanli sighed with relief and said solemnly: "Mr. Lao is well aware of the righteousness, which is really the luck of both parties and the blessing of Shengtang. I immediately set out to return to the imperial capital, to inform my father Khan of the results of our deliberations, and at the same time asked Marshal Helianxiong to secretly send an envoy to consult with the two of you on the plan of action for the joint dispatch of troops. ”