Chapter 5355 The Imperial Guard Office

Chapter 5355 The Imperial Guard Office
Hearing Ren Yaxiang's sentiments, both Xu Jingzong and Pei Huaijie deeply agreed.

The creation of maps and the planting of spies throughout the land have become the Ministry of War's greatest achievements. Whether it was Emperor Taizong's eastern expedition against Goguryeo or the Tang Dynasty's continuous military campaigns, both have benefited greatly from these achievements.

However, these two things require the most patience and cost an immeasurable amount of money, and it would be extremely difficult for anyone else to do them.

The Minister of War is a temporary official, and it is difficult for anyone to stay in this position for long. Therefore, no one is willing to work so hard without expecting anything in return. They will be transferred away after two or three years, spending huge sums of money without achieving any results, and may be impeached even if they do not see any political achievements. Who would be willing to do such a thankless task?

But that's exactly what Fang Jun did.

He not only did it himself, but also found a successor like Choi Don-rye after stepping down, and steadfastly carried out his strategic policies...

Today, the rewards have finally come in abundance.

*****
The three envoys of the mission stayed up all night, carefully reading all kinds of information and compiling it together, categorizing and summarizing it to obtain useful information. Based on this information, they then discussed and refined a negotiation strategy.

It didn't end until dawn.

Xu Jingzong yawned and said, "Let's leave it at that for now. A rough strategy is enough. After all, this negotiation will definitely take a long time and it is impossible to finalize it in one or two meetings. So we can fill in the details later and adapt to the situation."

Pei Huaijie, unable to resist any longer, nodded in agreement.

This is not just a simple matter of staying up late; it also requires a lot of mental effort, inevitably leading to exhaustion.

Only Ren Yaxiang was in high spirits and full of energy.

The position of Vice Minister of the Chancellery appears to be that of a close advisor to the emperor, holding a high position and great power. In reality, however, it involves repetitive, tedious, and monotonous daily tasks of assisting His Majesty in handling state affairs. Now, suddenly being given the opportunity to handle such a crucial matter concerning the empire's strategy, and being able to fully utilize his abilities to offer advice, truly excites him.

After a short rest to recover, the three of them had a simple breakfast and then gathered the delegation members together to announce the negotiation strategy they had devised the previous night and to coordinate their actions.

Around 7:00 AM, the first meeting with the Arab envoy took place in another side hall of the royal palace.

No sooner had everyone been seated than Xie He preemptively launched his attack, attempting to seize the initiative. He stood up agitatedly, leaning slightly forward with his hand on the table, his fierce gaze fixed on the people opposite him: "Although there are misunderstandings and frictions between our two countries, they can be resolved through diplomatic channels. Why then have you allowed your troops to penetrate deep into our heartland, destroying our cities, slaughtering our army, killing our people, and plundering our wealth? The Tang Dynasty is known as a land of propriety, yet such despicable and vicious acts are no different from those of wild beasts, cruel and tyrannical, and arousing the wrath of both gods and men!"

His Mandarin was actually quite good, but at this moment he spoke angrily in Arabic, and the interpreter beside him quickly translated.

Pei Huaijie snorted angrily. How could this person be so shameless?
He was about to speak when he subconsciously glanced at Xu Jingzong beside him. Seeing the latter's calm and composed expression, he had a sudden thought and shut his mouth as well.

Ren Yaxiang slammed his hand on the table and stood up, leaning forward so much that he was almost touching Xie He across the table, spitting saliva onto Xie He's face.

"This is utterly absurd! The Abbasid Caliphate has repeatedly invaded our borders and attempted to encroach upon our territory, but due to their inferior strength, they have suffered repeated defeats. They have been chased and killed by the mighty troops of our Great Tang for tens of thousands of miles, fleeing in disarray and abandoning their armor. How dare they turn around and accuse us? Anyone who dares to offend the mighty power of our Great Tang will be punished, no matter how far away they are!"

Sheikh stood firm: "Has the Abbasid Caliphate ever invaded an inch of Tang territory or occupied a single city? If not, then why has the Tang Dynasty allowed itself to advance unimpeded, treating the Abbasid Caliphate as nothing and wantonly destroying the peaceful and stable relations between our two countries? The Tang Dynasty must take responsibility for the destruction of the cities of Citadel and Mosul!"

Ren Ya retorted sarcastically: "The Abbasids are cruel and inhumane. They killed our merchants first. His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang was angered and sent troops to defeat the Abbasid navy in the Persian Sea. The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement at the port of Shirov. The Abbasids admitted their mistakes, made compensation, and agreed to a ceasefire. Now they have gone back on their word. They are barbarians!"

……

The two engaged in a heated exchange, attacking each other regardless of who was right or wrong; it was all about who could shout the loudest.

Such disputes are merely attempts to express one's uncompromising attitude, to suppress the other party in terms of momentum, and ultimately to obtain a more lenient bottom line for oneself.

The initial contact was merely a mutual probing exercise. Although the words were heated, spittle flew, and there was even some sophistry and unreasonable behavior, the core of the negotiation was not addressed. In the end, both parties left in anger, and the negotiation was terminated.

Continue the following day.

After several days of probing each other, they slowly entered into substantive negotiations. However, as soon as the Tang side presented its demands, Xie He stormed out of the room, and the negotiations stalled once again.

Because the conditions offered by the Tang Dynasty were simply unacceptable.

The strategy of the Abbasid Caliphate was already very clear: it was nothing more than "befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones." It aimed to eliminate hostility with the Tang Dynasty as much as possible, concentrate all its efforts on attacking Constantinople and conquering Byzantium, and once it had completed its grand plan of conquering Eurasia and turning the Mediterranean into an inland lake of the empire, it would then integrate the empire's resources and compete with the Tang Dynasty for supremacy.

Against this backdrop, concessions were inevitable to the aggressive Tang Dynasty.

Sheikh was forced to sign such a humiliating treaty and was prepared to be condemned by the entire nation and forever stigmatized. However, the demands of the Tang people became increasingly outrageous. If he complied with their terms, it wouldn't just be a matter of being disgraced; upon returning to Damascus, the Caliph would skin him alive...

But even though the Tang people were despicable, we still had to talk to them.

Otherwise, if the Tang army's land and naval forces occupy Taisifeng and Mosul respectively and do not retreat for a long time, the Abbasid Caliphate will be in a dilemma: to fight or not to fight.

The problem has returned to square one.

Then the negotiations continued...

Su Dingfang naturally understood that such negotiations concerning the fate of the nation would inevitably be protracted, so he did not slacken his efforts during the negotiations. His troops were on high alert, his naval warships patrolled the upper and lower reaches of the Frisian River, and he even sent soldiers to secretly infiltrate Damascus to activate the hidden spies, spy on the movements of the Abbasid Caliphate's high command, and guard against a sudden attack.

In Mosul, Xue Rengui pushed his forward scouts to the Fries River front, so that he could be informed of any movement in the Arab world immediately and make appropriate arrangements.

*****
The sweltering heat is fading and autumn is approaching.

The hot weather in Huating Town gradually cooled down, especially after a light rain, making it particularly cool.

Battle reports from overseas were constantly being sent to Fang Jun's official residence, allowing him to keep abreast of the situation overseas.

Li Zhi had already boarded a ship to the southern islands beyond the vast seas, accompanied by dozens of students from the academy, as well as some temporarily recruited commoners, craftsmen, and doctors. These people were either frustrated in the Tang Dynasty, eager to make a name for themselves, or struggling to survive in poverty... all hoping to change their fate by taking advantage of the opportunity to explore the southern islands.

On the day the ship set sail, Li Zhi shed tears. This journey to a remote island thousands of miles away seemed to lead to a bleak future, especially since he knew he would never be able to set foot on the Tang Dynasty mainland again, which saddened him deeply.

A few days ago, Princess Baling finally "got" a favorable wind and sailed to Fusang, ending her "cohabitation" with Fang Jun for more than half a year. As for whether the news reached Fusang and Chai Lingwu found out, Fang Jun didn't care at all. As long as Princess Baling was willing, he couldn't be bothered to care about Chai Lingwu's thoughts...

It wasn't until King Jayavarman of Zhenla arrived at Huating Town with his family under the supervision of the navy that Fang Jun set off with him to return to Chang'an.

When the ship arrived in Luoyang along the canal, it docked. The group rested at the inn for a while. Fang Jun went to the "Dongda Tang Trading Company" main store on the side of Cihui Ward facing the Luo River to see Wu Meiniang, who was in charge there. The couple had not seen each other for several months. Fang Jun was living a comfortable life, but Wu Meiniang was feeling parched. Once they met, they were naturally affectionate and tender.

The following morning, Fang Jun, rubbing his lower back, returned to the inn and met up with Jayavarman and his party. They then took a carriage back to Chang'an via the Xiaohan Road.

After passing Lantian, they followed the Ba River northward to Ba Bridge and entered Chang'an, where they parted ways outside Chunming Gate.

Jayavarman was greeted by officials from the Ministry of Rites and taken to the Honglu Temple to stay. He then presented a memorial to the emperor and awaited an audience. Fang Jun, on the other hand, gathered his personal guards, entered the Chunming Gate, passed through Chongrenfang without entering, and drove straight to Yanxi Gate to enter the imperial city. He then passed Yong'an Gate on the west side of the palace and headed south along Hanguangmen Street. From the fourth horizontal street, he turned right and sped towards Shunyi Gate. The procession of dozens of horses galloped at breakneck speed, stopping in front of the Weiwei Temple government office.

Fang Jun threw off the stirrups, dismounted, tossed the reins to Wei Ying behind him, and strode to the front of the government office.

The gatekeeper was taken aback when he saw Fang Jun, then looked nervous. When did this man return to Chang'an? How come we haven't heard a word about him?

Not daring to be negligent, they quickly stepped forward and bowed in greeting.

"We have come to greet the Grand Commandant!"

Fang Jun kept walking: "Is Minister Dugu here?"

"Reporting to the Grand Commandant, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is on leave today and is not in the office."

Is Li Shaoqing here?

"Uh... Li Shaoqing is chairing a meeting right now, he might not be free until later..."

Fang Jun stepped onto the stone steps in front of the door, followed closely by dozens of his personal guards, and drove straight in through the open gate.

"Summon Li Bi to see me now!"

After speaking, he went straight into the main hall of the government office, found a chair in the center, and sat down with an air of authority.

A group of personal guards lined up on the left and right, transforming the main hall of the Imperial Guard into the White Tiger Hall during a military campaign, exuding an imposing and murderous aura.

The officials of the Imperial Guard were initially curious about who was so arrogant, and they all came out of their duty rooms to look. But when they saw that it was Fang Jun, they all shrank back and avoided him as if they were doing something terrible.

Li Siwen, Cheng Chubi, and Qu Tuquan have been detained in the Imperial Guard Temple for several months, neither convicted nor released. This man, who has just returned to Chang'an, came knocking on their door, his intentions self-evident…

There's something good to watch now.

A clerk brought him tea, and Fang Jun, feeling uneasy, smiled and thanked him, showing no sign of anger.

After sitting for a while, Li Bi, dressed in official robes and serving as the Vice Minister of the Imperial Guard, finally arrived quickly...