Tibet.

Chapter 1402: The Cunning King
In Samarkand, in the palace of King Constantine, Li Chenghua met King Constantine.

From a personal perspective, Li Chenghua really hated this insidious old king who actually killed Jin Shanling. She wished she could chop off his head with one knife.

But Li Chenghua now represents the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the interests of the Tang Dynasty. She must not push the Sogdian forces to the side of the Arabs.

Li Chenghua suppressed his inner hatred and showed unusual calmness. He said to Constantine: "The Tang Dynasty's demands are not high. First of all, Kangguo must return Xianhai County to the Tang Dynasty. That was the fief of the Tang Emperor. It was the land that the Tang Emperor seized in a fierce battle with the Turkic tribe of the Khazars. It never belonged to Kangguo. This is the premise of all negotiations."

Constantine had expected the Tang Dynasty's request. When he occupied Xianhai County, he knew there would be trouble, so he did not incorporate it into the territory of Kangguo, but directly gave it to Prime Minister Ambor.

Ambour has been in power for too long and has become too powerful to be eliminated. We can use the Tang Dynasty to kill him.

Constantine took out a map and said to Li Chenghua, "General Li, please look, this is the map of Kangguo. Xianhai County has never been included in Kangguo's territory. It was Prime Minister Ambor who occupied Xianhai County without authorization. I have advised him many times, but he despises the Tang Dynasty from the bottom of his heart and ignores my advice. He has become too powerful and I can't do anything about him. If the Tang army wants to take back Xianhai County, they can just kill him. I have no objection at all."

Li Chenghua sneered, "Are you trying to kill someone with a borrowed knife?"

Constantine shook his head. "It doesn't matter whether it's a borrowed knife or not. What matters is that if the Tang army wants to take back Xianhai County, they must kill him. Xianhai County is in his hands and his son is in charge. He will never hand it over."

Li Chenghua nodded and said, "Since Xianhai County has nothing to do with Kangguo, let's not talk about it. Let's talk about things that both of us are concerned about."

"General Li, please speak!"

"Our Tang emperor means that we are willing to help the Sogdian countries defeat the Arab army and recapture Anguo, but we will station troops in Sogdia after the war."

Constantine shuddered and asked nervously, "Are we going to become like the Stone Kingdom?"

Li Chenghua shook his head. "We need the silver mines of the Shi Kingdom, but the Sogdian countries don't have what we need. We only need the Sogdian caravans, so we won't infringe on your interests, won't take your land, and won't rob your treasury."

Constantine felt a little relieved and asked again, "What are the conditions?"

He knew that the Tang army was not here to do charity and must have some ulterior motive.

Li Chenghua discovered that the king was extremely cunning and could completely see through the Tang Dynasty's intentions. When talking to such a person, there was no need to be secretive and one could just speak directly.

"Your Majesty is a smart man. Let me be frank. The fundamental purpose of the Tang Dynasty is not to allow the Arab forces to invade Transoxiana. The Tang Dynasty has no interest in your religious disputes, but the Silk Road is extremely important to the Tang Dynasty. You can help sell Tang goods to the Arabs and the distant West, bringing huge profits to the Tang Dynasty and benefiting the Tang Dynasty's finances. This is the fundamental. Does your Majesty believe what I say?"

Constantine nodded. "This is something I have understood for a long time. Transoxiana is too far away from the Tang Dynasty. Without sufficient benefits, the Tang Dynasty will not care about our life or death. Since the time of your Han Dynasty, the Silk Road has been very important to you."

Li Chenghua smiled and said, "Now that we have reached this consensus, the next step will be easy to understand. The Tang Dynasty will station 10,000 troops in Hezhong, and they will be supported by the Sogdian countries. You can reduce your own troops and let the Tang Dynasty protect you, which can reduce your own military expenditures."

Constantine pondered for a moment and said, "I understand the reason, but we need to discuss it with all the countries. General Li, just say it directly!"

Li Chenghua said slowly: "In fact, this is the condition. The garrison will have 10,000 troops, and you will provide for the army. In addition, the Tang Dynasty will establish a liaison office in Samarkand. That's all."

Constantine sighed and said, "Actually, this condition is not harsh. As the king of Kangguo, I can accept it. But I understand the concerns of other countries. They are afraid that the leader of this army will annex the Transoxiana region, establish his own kingdom, and break away from the Tang Dynasty. How can the Tang Dynasty control the army?" Constantine used other people's words to express his concerns. Kangguo was the largest Sogdian country and the leader of all Sogdian countries. As long as Kangguo agreed, other countries would agree.

But this is indeed a problem. Gao Xianzhi was a typical example in history. He attacked the small countries in Transoxiana and Tocharistan at will.

But Li Ye had a plan and had given this issue deep thought.

Li Chenghua pondered for a moment and said: "The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is also worried about the army getting out of control. We have five preventive measures. The first is to establish a liaison office. The liaison office is the special envoy of the court stationed in Hezhong. It has nothing to do with the army. If you find improper behavior of military discipline and the commander of the Tang Dynasty, you can report it to the liaison office, or even go to the Suiye General Administration Office to complain, and the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty will immediately change the commander.

The second measure is the military supervision measure. Each garrison of 10,000 troops will be equipped with an imperial inspector. His main task is to monitor the commander-in-chief who is rebelling against the court and has ideas of independence. If the commander-in-chief contacts you privately, you can also inform the military supervisor.

The third measure is the hostage measure. The families of all garrison soldiers are in the Tang Dynasty, and the family of the commander is in Chang'an. Even if the commander wants to abandon his wife and children to rebel, the soldiers under him will not follow him. Not everyone can abandon his wife and children.

The fourth measure is to insist on using Han generals, so all generals above the middle level will be Han people, and no Hu generals will be used. This is a profound lesson from our Anshi Rebellion. Han generals will be nostalgic for their homeland, while a large number of Hu generals will not.

The fifth measure is also the most important one, which is to implement a rotation system. Each batch of garrisons will only stay in Hezhong for four years, and then be replaced by another batch of garrisons. The commander will not be able to stay in Hezhong for a long time, so he will not have a sense of belonging and will not have disloyalty. "

Li Chenghua's words completely dispelled Constantine's concerns. He nodded and said, "If the above five measures can be strictly implemented, I believe that the Sogdian countries will be willing to accept the Tang Dynasty's garrison to protect us from the invasion of the Arabs.

The Order of the Holy Virgins was completely destroyed after a fire. The management body was gone, the nine holy maidens of the Presbyterian Church were burned to death, the places and temples were all burned down, and the remaining several thousand core believers were also taken in by the Illuminati.

More importantly, tens of millions of gold coins accumulated by the Holy Maiden Society over decades disappeared out of thin air, and tens of thousands of kilograms of silver used to build the Silver Temple were also dismantled and transported away by the Tang army of the Stone Kingdom.

What remains is the land and real estate in various places, which basically belong to the country where they are located and were completely divided up among the Sogdian countries.

After the demise of the Holy Maiden Society, the last queen of Xiaoshi Kingdom also stepped down in disgrace and handed over the royal power to her son. Xiaoshi Kingdom then restored its normal royal power.

Nasebo, the capital of the Kingdom of Xiaoshi, is the third largest city in Sogdia and the largest gemstone producing area in the Central Asian region. The Kingdom of Xiaoshi is highly valued by various countries. The return of the Kingdom of Xiaoshi is a sign, meaning that the Holy Maiden Society, which has been rampant in Central Asia for nearly fifty years, has finally completed its historical mission, and the Holy Maiden system has completely disappeared in Central Asia.

But the system of saintly women still exists in Persian Zoroastrianism and will continue.

Currently, the kings of the Sogdian countries are in Samarkand. On the one hand, they are avoiding the invasion of the Arabs, and on the other hand, they are joining forces to eliminate the Holy Maiden Society.

Except for the King of the Stone Kingdom, the kings of the other eight kingdoms were summoned by Constantine to the King's Palace.

"I have completed the negotiations with the Tang Dynasty Emperor's special envoy. I will now report the status of the negotiations to you all."

Constantine was the leader of the kings of various countries, and he did not intend to create any more trouble. If any king had objections and did not accept his plan, he could withdraw from the Eight-Nation Alliance and be dealt with by the Tang army.

"The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is willing to help us defeat the invasion of the Arab Empire and recover Anguo. He helped us more than ten years ago, and you should all remember him. This time he proposed a garrison requirement. After the war, the Tang Dynasty will station 10,000 troops in Hezhong, and they will be supported by our Sogdian countries. In addition, the Tang Dynasty will not interfere in our internal affairs, our religion, our land and mines, or our treasury. Ladies and gentlemen, I think this condition is very good, so I agreed to the special envoy of the Tang Dynasty Emperor."

(End of this chapter)