Chapter 5366 Contract reached
Chapter 5366 Contract reached
Inside the royal palace of the Western Kingdom.
Xu Jingzong tossed the original contract onto the table, stretched, and looked on with disdain: "The barbarians are crude and only care about short-term gains, not long-term planning. Xiehe is only haggling over the amount of reparations and refuses to budge, while ignoring the other clauses. He is truly foolish. If the Abbasid Caliphate were all such short-sighted people, no matter how vast its territory or how large its population, it would never be a threat to the Tang Dynasty."
Su Dingfang, who was standing nearby, had already known the contents of the contract, but he still picked it up and read it carefully. Although he was slightly dissatisfied with Xu Jingzong's eagerness, the result he could get was already very good, so he said nothing more.
The contract stipulated that trade, concessions, and military garrisons would all be in accordance with the requirements of the Tang Dynasty. Specifically, each of the ports of Basra, Ctesiphon, and Mosul would have leased land as boundaries. Within each concession, the Tang Dynasty's laws would apply, and each concession would be garrisoned with one thousand troops for a term of fifty years, which could be renewed upon negotiation.
The exorbitant compensation demanded was reduced from an unrealistic ten million gold coins to ten million...
The secret documents sent from Damascus played a crucial role in this, exploiting the Sheikh's eagerness to facilitate peace talks and the Caliph's focus on the Mediterranean. They deliberately made concessions and reductions on the amount of reparations in exchange for the Sheikh's concessions on the other terms.
This strategy proved to be successful.
Sheikh maintained constant contact with Damascus during the negotiations, and the agreement was reached only after his strong advocacy. To this end, he even went so far as to use his tribe's influence within the Abbasid Caliphate and to actively bribe the Caliph's close advisors and eunuchs...
He only wanted to expedite the peace talks so that he could have a "merit" to offset his previous sins.
Now that the contract has been reached, all parties are happy.
Xu Jingzong said, "This matter still needs Governor Su to finish it up. I can't wait any longer. I've been away from the capital for several months and am eager to return to report to His Majesty. So I'll take my leave first."
Su Dingfang nodded: "I will arrange for warships to escort Minister Xu away first. However, I will not stay here for too long. After establishing concessions and garrisoning troops in the three places, I will meet up with the Anxi army in Mosul and return to the Tang Dynasty by ship."
The Anxi army had overcome numerous obstacles and hardships on their way here, and now that their strategic objectives had been perfectly achieved, they naturally could not walk back on foot.
Even so, after returning home by boat, one could only reach Luoyang by following the canal. The journey from Luoyang to the Anxi Protectorate was still a long and arduous one.
On this expedition, the Anxi army led by Xue Rengui covered an astonishing distance of tens of thousands of miles...
Su Dingfang's most important task was to transport all the indemnity payments from the Abbasid Caliphate back to the Tang Dynasty and deposit them in the "Royal Bank" as reserves for issuing more paper money.
Xu Jingzong smiled and said, "I am deeply grateful to Governor Su for his cooperation in making this peace talks possible."
Su Dingfang rejected almost all of Pei Huaijie's suggestions, but he followed almost all of Xu Jingzong's suggestions without question.
Therefore, he secured all the credit for this peace talks, while Pei Huaijie's efforts were in vain.
He couldn't refuse this favor.
Su Dingfang, however, did not take it to heart: "National affairs are of utmost importance. What I have done is all the duty of a general. Minister Xu need not say more."
He didn't care whether he could accept Xu Jingzong's favor. What was the point of so many favors between a military general and a civil official? Besides, he was a naval commander living overseas, with almost no interaction with the civil officials in the court.
Furthermore, all he needs to do is cling tightly to Fang Jun, that powerful figure; there's absolutely no need to cultivate or win over anyone else...
……
Several days later, the delegation, having successfully completed its negotiation mission, boarded a naval warship in Ctesiphon. Just then, the contract between the two countries began to be implemented. Merchant ships from various countries, which had been blockaded at sea due to the war, were released and sailed upstream along the Frissee like schools of fish. The riverbank docks of Ctesiphon were suddenly filled with boats and people.
Many more merchant ships continued upstream to Mosul.
Silk, porcelain, glass, paper, and cloth from the Tang Dynasty, spices and gems from India... countless goods were unloaded on the shore and snatched up by Arab merchants who had been waiting for a long time.
In particular, the indigenous peoples of Mesopotamia, such as the Sumerians, Chaldeans, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Amorites, were exploited by the Persians and Arabs for a long time. If they wanted to buy some goods from merchants, they had to pay more than ten or even dozens of taxes, which were often ten or a hundred times the price of the goods. As a result, these tribes could only be self-sufficient for a long time.
With the opening of trading ports in Basra, Ctesiphon, and Mosul, all trade within the concessions only required payment of a portion of the taxes to the Chinese. The Abbasid Caliphate had no right to levy taxes on these trades, which greatly fueled the purchasing desires of these tribes and indirectly promoted the commercial prosperity of Mesopotamia.
……
Inside the Royal Palace of Damascus, Mu'awiyah stared at the contract documents before him, his face ashen.
From the day he became governor of Damascus, everything went smoothly and he was always successful. He won a great victory in the struggle for the Caliphate as governor and moved the capital from Medina to Damascus, thus reaching the pinnacle of his life.
His ambition also evolved from ruling the Abbasid Caliphate to becoming a great monarch as invincible as Alexander the Great or Caesar.
However, before it could conquer the declining and weakened Byzantium, it suffered a major setback.
Alexander and Caesar, even though they had their lowly and humble times, which one of them ever signed such a pact?
This is a disgrace to the nation and a loss of sovereignty!
What a shame!
Sheikh stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his head bowed, looking trembling with fear and very respectful.
Selder, his thin frame nestled in a camel-skin-covered recliner, looked old and his eyesight failing. He spoke gently, soothingly: "Those who achieve great things must endure what others cannot. What does it matter how much humiliation one suffers? One only needs to take back everything lost in one last effort to win completely. Right now, for the Abbasids, Byzantium is merely a minor nuisance. Until Constantinople is captured, the empire cannot be considered truly strong. It's not too late to settle scores with the Tang Dynasty after we've eliminated the powerful enemies surrounding us."
Sheikh finally got his chance, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly: "Your subject signed this contract with anger in his heart, wishing he could take up a sword and fight the Tang people to the death, even if he died on the spot, he would not be unworthy of the Caliph's trust! However, for the Caliph's grand plan, he can only endure the humiliation. This contract was signed by your subject, and you will naturally bear the responsibility for the loss of sovereignty and national humiliation. You deserve to be punished, and you will have no complaints!"
He spoke frankly, but it was merely a tactic of retreating to advance. He was filled with unease, wondering what he would do if the Caliph actually made him bear the blame.
Seidel couldn't help but laugh, but after only a few laughs, he started coughing repeatedly, as if he was about to cough up his lungs, his old face turning bright red.
Muaviyeh quickly stood up, personally handed a cup of tea to Saerd, and patted him lightly on the back, complaining, "You're so old now, you need to take better care of yourself. You must live to be a hundred and help me achieve my great cause!"
After finally catching his breath, Selder took a sip of tea, sighed deeply, and shook his head, saying, "I'm too old and useless now." He pointed at Sheikh and added, "Otherwise, how would such a junior dare to play tricks on me?"
Sheikh's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly defended himself, saying, "Every word I have said comes from the bottom of my heart, and there is absolutely no falsehood in it!"
"Come on……"
Serd waved his hand dismissively: "You think you can show off your little bit of cunning in front of me?"
Turning to Mu'awiya, he said, "Although this boy is cunning, it is understandable. After all, he has made great efforts in this peace negotiation. Let the Caliph allow his merits and demerits to offset each other."
Mu'awiya glared at the trembling Sheikh and snorted angrily, "If it weren't for the old governor pleading for you, I would have skinned you alive today! Get out!"
"Yes!"
Sheikh breathed a huge sigh of relief, not daring to utter a single word, and slunk away.
Muaviyeh picked up the teapot again to pour water for Said, his face somewhat gloomy: "The Tang people are truly wicked!"
Saeld accepted the Caliph's service without hesitation, and said with a smile, "The Abbasids and the Tang Dynasty are enemies, not friends. Since we covet their vast lands and abundant wealth, how can we not allow them to be wary of us or even plot against us? Many times, the root of failure lies in ignorance and being caught off guard. As long as we see through the other side's tactics and take precautions, there won't be any major problems."
Muaviye put down the teapot, sighed softly, and still looked worried: "We have only occupied Mesopotamia for a few decades, and it is far from a conquest. The tribes scattered here used to be afraid of the powerful military force of the Abbasid Caliphate and had to submit. But once they can obtain weapons from the Tang people and arm themselves, the consequences will be dire."
The Tang Dynasty insisted on trade in the three cities and the establishment of concessions. How could it not be wary of the other party's secret dealings with the tribes in Mesopotamia? Although the contract clearly stipulated that the Tang Dynasty was not allowed to sell weapons to those tribes, as long as the two sides had some contact and conducted secret transactions, the Abbasid Caliphate did not have a very good way to stop it.
After all, the weapons and armor wouldn't be labeled "Made in the Tang Dynasty," so what can anyone do if they refuse to admit it?
Unless the Arabs break the agreement and start another war.
On the other hand, if the Abbasid Caliphate had eliminated the threat of Byzantium and could have freed up its resources to launch a full-scale attack, why would it care whether the Tang Dynasty violated the agreement?
Selder advised, “Nothing can be perfect. Trying to have it all is not advisable. Since we are now bowing down to the Tang Dynasty, let’s go all the way and concentrate our forces to conquer Constantinople and destroy Byzantium! In any case, the soldiers from Mesopotamia will not dare to be sent to the Mediterranean battlefield. What’s wrong with letting the Tang people be triumphant for a while?”
Mu'awiyah certainly understood this principle as well. Given the current control the Abbasid Caliphate had over the various tribes in Mesopotamia, even if they formed an army of able-bodied men and sent them to the battlefield, they were very likely to mutiny and suffer a crushing defeat.
He was also a heroic figure, decisive in killing, and took a deep breath: "Let the Tang Dynasty be triumphant for a time!"
"One day, we will take back all the humiliation we suffered today, with interest!"
