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Chapter 908 A Beautiful Blueprint

"What if I say no?"

Anyone who is capable of fooling others is usually very cautious, fearing that he will be fooled. Therefore, Shadi Hezhuo regarded the words of the Ming Emperor as the arrogance of a winner and did not intend to think carefully.

"If you refuse, I will hand your family over to Yusup and Aduqiyin, and help them eradicate the Black Mountain Sect and wipe it out completely. If you cooperate, I will protect the Black Mountain Sect and at least leave an area, such as Turpan, so that your family can continue to have some believers."

Hong Tao answered very straightforwardly and easily. To be honest, he has never been very persuasive and convincing, but he is more talented in coercion and intimidation. The reason is very simple, he is lazy. Persuading people is a long process, but forcing people can produce immediate results.

"...You promised not to kill those who surrender!" Shadi Hezhuo was a little impatient. It seemed that his practice was not enough and he had not achieved the state of emptiness of the five aggregates.

"I did promise that I would not kill any captives. But I did not promise not to hand them over to Aduqiyin and Yusup. They are not my subordinates, so it does not affect my promise, don't you think?"

When it comes to being a rogue and shirking responsibility, Hong Tao considers himself to be at the emperor level. He has reached the state of walking through a field of flowers without getting a single leaf on him.

"..." After listening to Jinsuo's translation, Shadihezhuo's face was immediately filled with anger, his teeth were chattering, and his fists were clenched tightly, as if he was ready to explode and fight at any time.

"Don't act. If you keep doing this, I will be very disappointed. Choosing to surrender is the best decision in your life, no doubt about it. That's why I am willing to talk to you more about the future."

Hong Tao stretched out his hand to signal Wang Chengen and Jinsuo not to be on alert. If Shadihezhuo had the courage to sacrifice himself to assassinate the enemy chief, he would not have weighed the pros and cons and chosen to lead the people to surrender.

The smarter a person is, the less courageous they are, because they can anticipate the whole picture of things and make estimates in advance, and will not make choices with too low probability. Only stupid people will be swayed by emotions, get carried away by passion, and do not care about anything.

"...What do you want me to do?" Seeing that the other party was not buying it, Shadi Hezhuo had no other way to save himself and his family, and could only choose to surrender again.

"Don't make blind guesses. I won't let you do anything that goes against the teachings, nor do you have to betray anyone. I said in our previous meeting that the purpose of this trip by the Empire is not to occupy the land and population of the Khanate.

In addition to capturing the Ordos tribe, you also need to open up the trade route to the west. Now the goal is only half completed. There are Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and Persians further west, and they believe in the same religion as you.

I want you to serve as the empire's envoy, and explain the pros and cons to them in the capacity of Shadi Khoja, so as to resolve the trade route problem through peaceful negotiations and avoid war as much as possible.

Your forbearance can save thousands of lives, most of whom are your fellow believers. I believe that doing so is not only in line with the will of Allah, but also a way for you to get closer to the Prophet. "

"Also persuade them to lay down their arms and surrender, and then act as a lobbyist?" This sentence may be a bit rich in meaning, and it is difficult for Jinsuo to translate it, but from Shadi Hezhuo's feedback, it seems that he understood it. "Not only do they not have to lay down their arms and surrender, but they will also bring generous rewards to the emirs along the way. The specific amount, how to collect it, and how to distribute it need to be discussed in detail by the imperial officials. All you have to do is to make them understand the benefits of negotiation and the disadvantages of not negotiating.

If I station my army in Kashgar, avoid the melting season and follow the Kizilsu River westward, I can reach Fergana and Andijan within a month. There are thousands of acres of fertile land there, enough to feed tens of thousands of troops.

My army can cross the plateau to reach Ruoqiang, and walk hundreds of miles through the river valley easily. The Khanate's heavy cavalry cannot stop it, and neither can the Bukhara and Kazakh cavalry.

If I want, I can march all the way to Medina from Stone City, Samarkand, Bukhara, Mashhad, Baghdad. The empire has hundreds of millions of people and can mobilize millions of troops. But are the people along the way willing to endure the passage of millions of troops?

The only way to make a deal is to sit down and negotiate. If the empire and the khanate, including the emirs along the way, can gain extra wealth, regardless of their beliefs, why not? "

Faced with serious doubts, Hong Tao did not get angry, but patiently described two grand blueprints, one blood red and the other golden yellow, and did not force it, either one could be chosen.

Of course, both blueprints are illusions, or pie in the sky that can be seen but not eaten. Except for the fact that the trade routes do exist, the rest are basically lies. There is no possibility of long-term win-win in the world, and this situation will only appear in the short term.

But the bigger the lie, the easier it is to be believed, because lies are like artificial colors and seasonings, which make people feel unusually sweet and delicious, thus ignoring the chronic harm of the lies themselves.

The truth is a natural coloring and seasoning, which is not only expensive to obtain, but also less effective than artificial ones. If you don't tell them in advance, most people will choose lies based on taste, smell and vision. Only a small number of people who use their brains and are well-informed will believe the truth.

Shadi and Zhuo were smart but not broad-minded. After thinking it over, they could not come to any harmful conclusion. Then they could only swallow the delicious pie created by technology and ruthlessness, and for a long time, they regarded the instigator as a kind-hearted person who pitied the whole world.

With his presence and cooperation, Kashgar fell without a fight. Most of the Khanate troops followed Latif Khan to Turpan. The effect of relying on tribal forces alone had been reported from Yarkand. Bukhara and Kazakh reinforcements were slow to arrive, and there was no other choice but to surrender.

Just when Hong Tao was pondering whether to defend Kashgar or Yarkand City, a battle report sent by Du Wenhuan forced him to lead his troops to retreat to Yarkand City. Latif Khan led the Khanate army back!

As expected, Latif Khan took a shortcut and went south along the Baiyu River from Aksu to attack Khotan.

Due to limited communication conditions, Latif Khan's generals only knew that a Ming army had occupied Ruoqiang, and then moved westward to capture important towns such as Qiemo and Nirang, and that Khotan was likely to be lost. As for the detailed battle situation, there was no information at all, and the earliest news was more than a month ago.

Perhaps because they felt that they had a strong military force, or perhaps because they had no idea about the Ming Empire, they did not take a more cautious approach, such as sending a small number of cavalry to the outskirts of Khotan for detailed reconnaissance, but instead launched a non-stop charge towards Khotan City.

(End of this chapter)