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Chapter 836 Negotiation with Jie Li

"Yes, I know that Goguryeo and your Central Plains are enemies. This time I went south mainly to give the Tang Dynasty a generous gift."

Talking about business, Jie Li gathered up his depressed mood and said solemnly: "This time, you Tang will not need to send a single soldier to attack Goguryeo. All battles will be fought by me, the Turks. Afterwards, the land and cities will belong to you Tang, and the population and wealth will belong to me, the Turks."

"You have gained a large piece of land for free without losing any soldiers or wasting any food or fodder."

When Changsun Wuji heard Jie Li’s personal promise, he felt relieved.

"Thank you, Khan. I can feel your sincerity."

Changsun Wuji stood up, touched his chest and bowed deeply again: "My Great Tang Emperor is far away in Chang'an, and he also appreciates the Khan's kindness. Before Wuji left, he specifically asked Wuji to express his sincere gratitude to the Khan on behalf of all the subjects of the Great Tang."

"His Majesty the Emperor said that from now on, all previous grievances between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks will be settled in one stroke, and the two countries will be brothers from now on. I hope that the people of the Central Plains and the children of the grasslands will live in peace and friendship forever."

Jie Li was relieved after hearing this. As long as he could deal with the Tang Dynasty, even though his son was not very talented, he could live a stable life as a king.

Jie Li said happily: "This is also my wish. If so, then our alliance is concluded. From now on, the two families will live in harmony and will not fight each other. We will be friends forever."

As soon as Changsun Wuji heard it, he knew that Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling's analysis was correct. Jie Li was indeed old. Today, he saw with his own eyes how old Jie Li was and heard with his own ears the slightly flattering kindness in Jie Li's words. He also understood Jie Li's thoughts on arranging his funeral affairs.

There is no doubt about Jie Li's motives for going south this time.
Indeed, it is difficult for such a Jie Li and his useless son to protect themselves, let alone have the ability to invade other countries, let alone the powerful Tang Empire.

Perhaps Jie Li was already satisfied that the Tang Dynasty recognized the Turkic Khanate and was willing to live in peace with the future Shiluodi. No wonder Jie Li made such a big concession this time, and Xiao Yu and Cen Wenben still suspected that Jie Li had some conspiracy?
It seems that I am worrying too much.

Seeing that Jie Li was so easy to talk to, Changsun Wuji had an idea and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to expand the results of the negotiations and gain more benefits.

Zhangsun Wuji felt Jie Li's weakness when he gave in, so he said tentatively, "Goguryeo and our Central Plains have a deep blood feud. We in the Tang Dynasty have no objection to the Khan attacking Goguryeo. But I heard that the Khan wants to take over the Three Kingdoms of Korea this time?"

"Goguryeo is just a tiny country. Even if we add Silla and Baekje, it's just a few more cities. We Turks can defeat them in one battle. Of course, if the Tang Dynasty thinks that Silla and Baekje are its vassal states, we can also not touch them."

Jie Li frowned. Although Goguryeo alone was enough for his son to establish his authority, it would be best if Silla and Baekje could be conquered together. If the Tang Dynasty really opposed it, then he would abandon them. After all, compared with the two small countries, the friendship of the Tang Dynasty was more important.

"No, no, Khan misunderstood!"

Changsun Wuji waved his hands and said, "Silla and Baekje are vassal states of the Tang Dynasty on the surface, but compared with the friendship with the Khan, we certainly care more about the Khan."

Changsun Wuji knew the difference between a vassal state and a native land, so when Yang Guang attacked Goguryeo, he ordered Silla and Baekje to attack from behind. However, these two small states pretended to obey Yang Guang, but actually sent troops and food to support Goguryeo.

Otherwise, why would Goguryeo have been able to support itself for so long? These small countries were wavering and became vassals of the Central Plains dynasties simply to contain Goguryeo.

Changsun Wuji didn't have any good feelings towards them, and now that he didn't have to be the bad guy, he wished that Jie Li would destroy them all together.

At this time, he just wanted to use these two small countries to bargain with Jie Li and gain more benefits. However, Jie Li was so afraid of the current Tang Dynasty that he gave up decisively. This made Changsun Wuji speechless and he quickly took back his words.

Hearing Changsun Wuji's statement, Jie Li showed a meaningful smile on his face. He knew very well that he had aroused the greed of the Tang Dynasty and made it want to swallow up the entire Three Kingdoms of Korea in one go.

The bad guys asked him to do it, and Tang Dynasty was a good person, just picking up the ready-made things. How could he not be satisfied?
Zhang Sun Wuji's face turned red when he saw Jie Li's smile, and he said awkwardly, "Khan, Wuji has something to ask, I wonder if I should ask you something?"

"Our two families are brothers. If you have any questions, just ask them."

"The three small countries of Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje together have a population of more than two million. The current Turkic Khanate has only this many people. What does the Khan need so many people for?"

"Ok?"

Jie Li's face turned stern and he was very unhappy. I have given you the cities and lands, and now you are eyeing the population. The Tang Dynasty is really greedy.

Seeing Changsun Wuji's firm attitude, Jie Li pondered for a moment: "In the past few years, I have been pacifying the grassland again, and the tribes have suffered heavy losses. I need the population here to fill the Khanate. Moreover, the Yi Nan and Biheli to the west are a great threat to my Turks."

"I also need to recruit more young and strong men to supplement the military strength, all for self-protection."

Zhang Sun Wuji showed a look of understanding, nodded in approval, and advised: "Khan, if so many people from the Three Kingdoms of Korea were to move to the grassland, there would probably be heavy casualties, which would be detrimental to the harmony of nature. Moreover, so many people would rush to the eastern grassland at the same time."

"The expenses for food and drink are enormous. The current Turks cannot afford such a heavy burden?" Jie Li frowned. At that time, he wanted to attack Xi Biheli in the west. Later, under the persuasion of the Right Wise King, he temporarily changed his mind and headed south. He only wanted to rob wealth and plunder people, but did not think too much.

They didn't bring much food and supplies, and the Turks had been fighting for years, so they didn't have much savings.

This attack on Goguryeo was basically a war to support the war. In addition to the damage caused to people's livelihood by the war, the Goguryeo people were very stubborn and would perish together with the enemy at any time. They would not surrender even when they were defeated and would burn down the city.

Not much supplies have been accumulated since the war began, but some gold, silver and treasures have been stored, but the quantity is not ideal.

Moreover, these things cannot be eaten or drunk, and are far less practical than food.

It is now spring, March, and the grassland is covered with green grass. It is the time for cattle and sheep to grow and reproduce. If it were this time in the past, Jie Li would have withdrawn.

But what is different from the previous dispatch of troops to the south to find food and reduce the burden on the grassland is that Jie Li has more strategic goals to achieve.

On the one hand, he wanted to accumulate military merit for his son, and on the other hand, he wanted to eliminate the prestige of Right Wise King Li Yan in the army, reintegrate the army, and establish a military system with Shi Luodie as its spiritual belief.

The third is to establish good relations with the Tang Dynasty and lay a solid foundation for Shi Luodie's succession. Finally, it is to plunder wealth and population to enrich the internal affairs.

Now the Turkic army has conquered most of Goguryeo, and the capital Pyongyang has been surrounded and will be captured soon. The population of the northern cities has been migrating to the grasslands one after another, and has encountered many problems.

What Changsun Wuji said was not alarmist. The large-scale migration encountered strong resistance, the number of people escaping and dying was increasing day by day, and some food and fodder were not available. The elderly, the weak and women suffered serious losses. These were all problems.

The situation was much more complicated than he had imagined, and it was also beyond Jie Li's expectations.

Seeing Changsun Wuji's expectant eyes, Jie Li's mind brightened up. He thought that these people from the Central Plains might be able to come up with a better idea.

So he asked, "Then what can Lord Changsun do?"

"Khan, I can totally understand why you want to recruit some people to strengthen your forces."

The Tang Dynasty had considered this long ago and had a plan to deal with it. Changsun Wuji said confidently: "In fact, the Khan does not need to move everyone to the grassland. He only needs to select some young and strong people who can join the army."

"The most we can do is to bring more children with us. It won't be long before these people can go to the battlefield."

"As for the old people and women, there is no need to bother them. These people cannot fight, there are no fields on the grassland, and they don't know how to graze. Even if they move to the grassland, they will be a burden and will only consume food. It is better for them to stay where they are. We in the Tang Dynasty can help solve the problem."

"What, leave the woman to you?"

Jie Li was startled, then his face turned serious: "Do you think I'm stupid? Women can give birth to children. Having women is like having land, which can grow countless seeds. If I leave it to you Tang Dynasty, it won't be long before these women can add countless population to Tang Dynasty."

Chang Sun Wuji also felt a little embarrassed.
But he remained calm and said, "Khan, let me say something without being modest. Our Tang Dynasty now has a population of more than 20 million. We are in a peaceful period, the people live and work in peace, the court encourages childbirth, and the average number of new births each year is more than one million."

"And how many people are there in the Three Kingdoms of Korea?"

"More than two million. After this war of annihilation, the total population is less than two million, of which more than half are elderly and women. With so many people moving to the grasslands to compete with the Turks for food, I can say responsibly that they won't even survive this year."

"The current size of the New Turkic Khaganate cannot accommodate so many people. In the end, they will either be attacked and replaced by the Turks. Or, due to conflicts between these people and the Turks and lack of food, they will eventually take up the butcher knife and reduce the population."

"God is merciful. Rather than dragging you to the grassland and dying in vain, it is better to hand you over to the Tang Dynasty."

"We in the Tang Dynasty already have a population of more than 20 million. Even if we add another million, it will not have much impact on the Khan."

Zhang Sun Wuji suggested: "Besides, we don't want these people for nothing. We can regard them as what we bought from the Khan. The Tang Dynasty can pay with grain. In this way, the burden is reduced and the resources are increased. The Khan can pick the young and strong and digest them at ease."

"After two years of cultivation, the Turkic forces are no less powerful than the previous Great Turkic forces."

"After the war, we in the Tang Dynasty can also move fewer people here. Wouldn't it be better if we could have the best of both worlds?"

(End of this chapter)