Chapter 5365 Reluctant to give in to each other

Chapter 5365 Reluctant to give in to each other
Everyone has their own responsibilities. Xu Jingzong's responsibility is to facilitate peace talks and take this as a meritorious achievement. Ren Yaxiang's responsibility is to assist Xu Jingzong in achieving peace talks, while Su Dingfang's responsibility is to ensure the achievement of strategic goals.

Therefore, for Su Dingfang and the military that arrived in Mesopotamia, whether or not to reach a peace agreement was not his responsibility. At the critical moment, he would rather withdraw his troops than allow a full-scale war with the Abbasid Caliphate.

Mobilizing warships and assembling troops to feign an attack is already a huge risk, potentially breaking the current tacit understanding between the two countries to temporarily cease fire and facilitate peace talks. However, directly attacking Mari and pushing the battle line towards Damascus is absolutely out of the question.

The issue isn't whether he's willing to take such a huge risk, but rather that he can't afford to.

No one can afford it.

Seeing that Su Dingfang agreed to a feigned attack on Mali, Xu Jingzong clasped his hands in a salute and said, "Thank you!"

Ultimately, Su Dingfang was willing to take the risk because of Xu Jingzong's connection to the Fang family. Otherwise, just look at how Su Dingfang and Yang Zhou treated Pei Huaijie.

I can't be bothered to say another word.

The thought of potentially advancing further after returning to the capital, and then facing pressure from His Majesty and Fang Jun, made him feel somewhat flustered...

……

In the afternoon, Sheikh was racking his brains over the negotiation process in the guesthouse when he was informed by his servants that the Tang army had suddenly amassed a large number of ships. Not only had a large number of warships been mobilized from Basra and were sailing upstream, but the Tang army in Taisifeng was also moving towards the port. Sheikh was immediately taken aback.

After leaving the inn, I rode my horse to the port and saw Tang army warships stretching out like clouds with white sails billowing along the river. The Tang army troops gathered there were also organizing their ranks, and cartloads of grain and supplies were being loaded onto the ships.

At the port, Xie He happened to see Yang Zhou in full armor. He rushed forward, grabbed him, and loudly questioned, "Why has the Tang army suddenly assembled? What are they planning to do?"

Yang Zhou waved his hand to dismiss the guards who wanted to stop Xie He, and explained with a smile: "I just received the order from the governor to assemble the entire army, go upstream, and join forces with General Xue Rengui's troops stationed in Mosul to advance by land and water and capture Mali."

Sheikh was horrified: "Have you all gone mad? Do you know that once Mari falls, our army will march straight towards Damascus, and the Caliph will inevitably wage a full-scale war against the Tang Dynasty!"

Yang Zhou's face was cold: "If you want war, then let's fight! What, you Abbasid Caliphate are allowed to break the agreement and attack Suyab, but we, the Great Tang, are not allowed to retaliate with blood for blood and tooth for tooth?"

"Your land and sea armies number a mere 20,000 men. Do you really think you're invincible just because you've captured two cities by surprise? If the Caliph is determined to muster his forces for a decisive battle, you will all be reduced to dust in an instant!"

"So what? If you were afraid of dying, you wouldn't have come!"

"We should have reached a peace agreement and stopped fighting, why are we fighting to the death?"

"These negotiations have been going on for several months now, and the chief negotiators believe that you have no sincerity in negotiating and are just stalling for time."

Sheikh was furious and said, "Since it's a negotiation, we should take it slow. I can't just agree to every single condition you offer without question, can I?"

Yang Zhou remained unmoved: "You have no right to talk to me. My orders are to assemble warships and troops to attack Mari. If you have anything to say, you can go and find the mastermind and Governor Su."

"Then you should halt the troop assembly for now, I'll go find those two!"

"Go and find it yourself. Military orders are absolute; I can't stop here!"

"Ugh! I'm so angry!"

Helpless, Xie He had no choice but to ride back to the city and head straight for the city lord's mansion to discuss the matter with Xu Jingzong and Su Dingfang.

He knew, of course, that the Tang Dynasty's actions were most likely intended to put pressure on the Abbasid Caliphate, forcing him to expedite peace talks, but he dared not gamble!

Once the Caliph decides to wage a full-scale war against the Tang Dynasty, he will be the first to suffer!

……

At Sheikh’s strong request, the peace talks quickly resumed.

The points of contention between the two sides were: first, the Tang Dynasty would lease a piece of land at the ports of Basra, Ctesiphon, and Mosul and station troops there; second, these three places would be designated as trading ports, and the Abbasid Caliphate would not be allowed to restrict Tang merchants and would be exempt from taxes; and third, the amount of reparations that the Abbasid Caliphate would pay to the Tang Dynasty.

Each of the major food sources is extremely difficult to yield to.

When Xiehe saw that Xu Jingzong was still sticking to these points, he was very angry: "The Abbasid Caliphate's leasing of its territory to the Tang Dynasty is already a loss of sovereignty and a humiliation. If the Tang Dynasty is allowed to station troops there as well, wouldn't that be a country within a country?"

Xu Jingzong said, "Without the garrison of the Tang Dynasty, how can the lives and property of Tang merchants be protected? If the lives and property of Tang merchants are not protected, the Tang Dynasty will surely be angry and send troops to demand justice. So what is the point of the current negotiations?"

Helpless, Xie He conceded, "The Tang Dynasty can lease land from these three places, but it must pay money!"

It was clear that the Tang Dynasty was bound to lease land, and that was unchangeable, but whether or not money was paid for it represented a completely different meaning.

To have a piece of land forcibly taken away by the Tang Dynasty would be a loss of sovereignty and national humiliation, and no one would dare to agree to it!

But if it's "rented" for money, that sounds much better...

Xu Jingzong nodded and said, "That's fine, but the Tang Dynasty can only give a symbolic amount of money. It's absolutely unacceptable for the Abbasid Caliphate to ask for an exorbitant amount."

Sheikh said irritably, "Money is fine, but garrisoning troops is not an option!"

Xu Jingzong shook his head resolutely: "We must station troops here. Without the protection of the Tang army, wouldn't Tang merchants be at the mercy of others?"

Sheikh conceded again: "Then we must agree on the number of troops to be stationed, with a maximum of one hundred allowed!"

"What a joke! A hundred men couldn't stop a single charge from the Arab cavalry, let alone at least three thousand!"

Sheikh was so angry he laughed: "Three thousand men? Why don't you say ten thousand?"

"Ten thousand people would be even better. The Tang Dynasty may not have much else, but it has a lot of people!"

"two hundred!"

"two thousand!"

"three hundred!"

"At least a thousand. If you don't agree, then let's not talk. We'll talk again when the Tang army is at the gates of Damascus!"

"..."

Sheikh took a deep breath: "Opening Basra, Ctesiphon, and Mosul as trading ports is acceptable, and exempting Chinese merchants from taxes is also not out of the question. However, there is one condition: Chinese people are not allowed to sell military weapons to the local natives!"

Since ancient times, Mesopotamia has been the birthplace of countless brilliant civilizations, and the ethnic groups living on this land have risen and fallen in succession, each becoming powerful in turn. Although it was eventually conquered by foreign tribes, it has, after all, lived here for thousands of years, and its cultural heritage remains.

The Abbasid Caliphate had only occupied this land from Persian rule for a few decades and had not yet completed the assimilation of the various tribes. There were countless opponents, both overt and covert, and armed uprisings occurred every year.

Once these tribes acquire superior armor, weapons, and armaments from the Tang people, they will pose a serious threat to the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate.

"can!"

Xu Jingzong agreed very readily, as he also wanted to end the negotiations as soon as possible.

Furthermore, it was impossible for the Arabs to supervise the Tang merchants throughout the entire process. Who would know if they secretly sold some scrapped military equipment to local tribes?
Even if they knew, what could the Abbasid Caliphate do if the Tang Dynasty didn't acknowledge it?

By the time the tribes of Mesopotamia were armed by the Tang Dynasty, it was too late for the Abbasid Caliphate to wage war...

The last and most important issue is the war reparations that the Abbasid Caliphate paid to the Tang Dynasty.

Although the Tang army's land and naval forces advanced simultaneously, conquering cities and seizing territories, turning the most prosperous Mesopotamian region of the Abbasid Caliphate into chaos and causing countless financial losses, since the Abbasid Caliphate was the instigator of the war, if they wanted to stop the war, they would have to pay reparations in exchange for peace.

The Arab world also agreed to take the money; the key issue is the amount.

The amount proposed by the Tang Dynasty...

"Ten million gold coins is absolutely impossible! Are you asking for compensation? Or do you want to start a war?"

Sheikh was furious.

He even suspected that the Tang envoys in front of him had some kind of problem with their brains, and that they couldn't do math.

The entire Arab world doesn't even have ten million gold coins!

Xu Jingzong calmly replied, "Or an equal amount of gold would also be acceptable."

Sheikh was furious: "Absolutely impossible!"

When minting gold coins, other metals can be mixed in, so an equal amount of gold is worth much more than a gold coin.

He wouldn't even agree to gold coins, let alone gold.

Xu Jingzong warned: "As the instigator of this war, the losses to the Tang Dynasty are immeasurable, including the sacrifices of soldiers and civilians, the loss of prestige, the severing of the Silk Road, and the reduction of tax revenue. Since the Abbasid Caliphate is willing to start peace talks, it must show sincerity and pay the price."

Sheikh retorted angrily, "The Abbasids are willing to offer some compensation, but you should at least offer something in return! Ten million gold coins... I can't even imagine how much that is!"

"How much compensation is the Arabs willing to offer?"

"Ten million gold coins!"

Xu Jingzong retorted angrily, "Do you think this is like buying vegetables at a market? Asking for exorbitant prices and then haggling on the spot? Since the Abbasids have shown no sincerity, then let's start a war! The losses and humiliations that the Abbasids have inflicted on the Tang Dynasty, let our army take them back from the battlefield!"

"Go to war then! Do you really think the Abbasid Caliphate is made of clay?"

"Very well, please leave Ctesiphon!"

"You think you can just tell me to leave and I'll leave? Who do you think you are? This is Ctesiphon, the border of the Abbasid Caliphate!"

"But it has already been captured by our Great Tang army!"

Sheikh clamored, "So what if we capture it? It's just a successful sneak attack. As long as the Caliph gathers his army, Ctesiphon can be broken in the blink of an eye!"

Xu Jingzong remained unyielding: "Then why don't you try to break it?"

"Break it if you want!"

"come on!"

"If you've got the guts, then start the war right now!"

"The troops are about to be assembled. Negotiations are over. War is about to begin!"

……

The two sides engaged in a heated exchange, with one clamoring to return to Damascus to assemble troops and capture Ctesiphon, while the other arrogantly claimed that their army was fully assembled and ready to attack Damascus. One moment they were talking about stopping negotiations and deciding to settle things on the battlefield, and the next they were talking about capturing Damascus and taking Muawiyah prisoner...

But no matter how much he slammed his fist on the table or spat at it, he never left the negotiating table.

Ultimately, the ceasefire was a mutual desire of both sides. Even if there were some disputes and disagreements on certain terms, the existence of the basic principle of peace talks meant that peace talks were bound to be reached.

It's nothing more than a compromise between the two sides.

Several days later, after much back and forth and debate, the peace terms were finally signed on paper.

(End of this chapter)