Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 551: What you can’t get on the battlefield, you can get at the negotiating table?

The Green Forest Army waited at the pass for seven days and finally met the person they were waiting for.

Envoys from Eastern and Western Turkic sides.

Xia Lin first used the excuse that he was busy with military affairs and could not meet temporarily, then placed the envoys of both sides in the county. However, due to tight military expenditures, the two parties could only be accommodated in the same inn.

Those are the Eastern and Western Turks, mortal enemies. If they fight each other when they meet, it would be considered a good behavior of the envoy. But Xia Lin just let them stay in the same inn for seven days!
Seven full days!

During these seven days, the envoys from both sides had similar eating and living habits, and were even arranged to eat in the same dining hall. Even though they were not sitting at the same table, the resentment had almost solidified into substance...

"General, aren't the royal court in the east our friends? Why are you torturing them like this?"

"friend?"

Facing the lieutenant general's question, Xia Lin, who was chewing on a lamb bone with a bowl in his hand, raised his head and said, "Remember this, there are no friends between countries, only trade. If we are connected and it is beneficial, then we are friends. If we are connected and it is harmful or it is more beneficial for another country to be connected to you, then we are enemies. The barbarian emperor in the east has a good personal relationship with me, but that is a personal relationship. You cannot mix personal relationships with national interests."

"I understand."

Seeing him thinking about something, Xia Lin laughed and said, "You asked me why I tortured them. Then you should ask them what they did."

"Why? Marshal, don't blame me for being stupid... I really don't know."

"You, being a lieutenant general is really unfair to you. Start learning how to lead troops into a charge tomorrow."

The lieutenant smiled shyly and said rather embarrassedly: "General, this is my first time on the battlefield... I only learned things from books before, to be honest, I don't understand it."

Xia Lin sat there with his legs crossed and laughed: "Why torture them? Look how long it has been since we fought at Duck's Mouth?"

"It's been about . . . fifty days."

"Yes, fifty days. What would you do if you were the Turkic royal court?"

"Of course, they heard about the defeat of the Western Turks, so they reorganized their troops immediately. After contacting our army, they attacked from two sides and captured the roaming bandits. This would leave a good impression on our army, and the Western Regions are not a place we can stay in. After the battle, we would naturally take some things and go back. The land is definitely theirs."

"That's right." Xia Lin slapped his thigh and said, "You see, what you learned from books is quite solid. This is also the best and most correct approach. But look at what they are doing? They are just watching. They are just watching."

Xia Lin suddenly laughed when he said this: "Yes, it is true that they are not very strong and dare not act rashly. But the problem is that if these grassland barbarians want to get my support, don't they have to prove their ability to me first?"

"Correct!"

"I don't need them to be good at fighting, I just need them to dare to fight and charge, and retreat if they fail. We were there by then, so what if they feinted a few times to show their ambition and attitude? But they just waited and watched, and waited until we chased them three hundred miles away, and then they got excited and came here to pick peaches." Xia Lin sneered when he said this: "Grandma! They pick peaches from my achievements in battle? Pah!"

"What is the Marshal's plan?"

"Talk, of course we have to. If I lose a war, it's normal for me to lose money. If I win and still lose money, then wouldn't I have fought for nothing? I will talk to whoever offers the highest price. Go spread the word and let them roll it up for me!"

As expected, after this news got out, the envoys on both sides went crazy and started to raise the price crazily. At first, the Western Turks still hoped that annual tribute of fruits and vegetables could be exchanged for peace, but when this trick was used, they really went crazy and started to push away everything from gold, silver and jewelry to princesses’ dowries, and even half of their territory.

In the end, the Turkic royal court lost. This was predictable. After all, the Turkic royal court only wanted to seek further strategic development, but the survival of the Western Turks was a matter of life and death.

So Xia Lin finally chose to talk to the Western Turks.

As I said, there are only interests between countries. No matter how good the relationship between Wang Ting and Xia Lin is, if the price they offer is not high enough, then we will not negotiate with them. The envoy of Western Turkic came to Xia Lin and presented the letter of credence respectfully, but Xia Lin did not accept it.

He just propped his face with one hand and tilted his head and said, "Sit down first. I won't accept the letter of credence. Give me cash for everything inside. I don't want the land, nor do I want your smelly princess. All of it, cash."

The messengers looked at each other and didn't say anything for a long time. It was obvious from their looks that they couldn't afford such a loss.

Xia Lin sipped his tea and said, "Look, I've been chasing you from Chang'an all the way to Yumen Pass. You don't think you can get rid of me with just these few gifts, do you? I don't know how good your Chinese is, but there's an old saying in the Central Plains that it's easier to invite a god than to send him away. It doesn't matter if you can't afford it. We can wait here until you have collected enough money. But if we wait here, you have to pay interest, and you have to provide food and fodder for the army."

The requirements were so harsh that the envoy's face turned purple. This couldn't be said to be shitting on someone's head, it was simply pushing the person into a pit and asking 80,000 people to take turns squatting in it.

"I know you are angry, but there is nothing we can do. If you can't get something on the battlefield, don't expect to get it at the negotiation table. To be honest, I have been thinking about it for three days and three nights and I still can't figure it out. Why do you suddenly want to attack Chang'an? Your generals are young and brainless. Are all your civil and military officials brainless?" Xia Lin pressed the Turkic envoy's head and began to speak: "But it's not surprising. You want to make progress too much. I'm afraid your life has not been easy after being driven out of the royal court by me. You think that after these years of development, you are capable again, but unfortunately, it's me again."

After Xia Lin finished speaking, he waved his hand behind him, and the lieutenant general immediately took out his plan: "I want the amount here, and you can go back and collect the money. If you can't collect enough, you can use cattle, sheep, minerals, fruits and vegetables to pay. But don't worry, I will give you the market price. I have a good reputation, you can all go and ask around."

The Western Turkic envoy's hands were shaking as he held the list.

A variety of items were listed above. In addition to the regular war damage expenses, there was also something called loss of work wages. Each soldier was paid loss of work wages at the rate of 300 coins per hour. In total, the Western Turks owed Xia Lin a total of 55.72 million taels of silver.

In fact, the total annual income of Western Turkestan was only equivalent to more than 2 million taels of silver, and it would take more than 20 years to pay off Xia Lin's bills.

"Oh, stop shaking." Xia Lin sighed, "I know you can't pay it back, but you should think of a way. Accounts are dead, but people are alive. If you use your brain more, you can always have miracles, right? Okay, take the things back and study them slowly. I will stay here for a while and will not leave. I will wait for your good news."

After hearing his words, the Western Turkic envoys were heartbroken. After returning to their residence, their eastern neighbors made some inquiries and found out what conditions Xia Lin had offered to those idiots in the west. They were so happy about Xia Lin's misfortune that they immediately put aside the shadow of Xia Lin's refusal to negotiate with them and even took the initiative to tease their compatriots in the west.

"Oh, I heard someone overestimated his own ability. Now I don't know how I can afford to pay so much money."

Upon hearing this, the Western Turkic envoys could only cover their faces and cry. They no longer knew how to explain to the Khan. The compensation of more than 50 million taels would not be enough even if they dug up the Western Turkic Khanate three feet deep and sold them as packages.

However, this is not the end. As they said just now, don’t expect to get what you can’t get on the battlefield at the negotiation table. They are only 300 miles away from the royal court of Western Turks, so it will be a piece of cake to kill them.

Hey, now someone will ask, is this the time when the Western Turkic Empire is at its weakest? The answer is of course yes. So if we rush over and swallow the Western Turkic Empire in one bite at this time, is it possible?
Theoretically, it is possible, but there is a prerequisite, that is, if you swallow up Western Turkestan now, you will have to inherit its debts, unless you are sure you can withstand the ruthless attacks of the Han army.

Even if the Turkic royal court was really stupid, it would definitely not choose to swallow up Western Turkestan at this time. No country would do that.

That would be tantamount to blatantly reaping the fruits of victory of the Han army. If they don't make them bleed, then the Han army would not deserve to be called the Han army.

Then what if we say that the Western Turks suddenly descended from the sky and led people to drive the Han army away overnight? Yes, it is possible, provided that there is such ability. Xia Lin is not an unreasonable person. He can afford to lose, provided that he wins, otherwise 50 million will become 80 million.

As for why Xia Lin didn't destroy the Western Turkic Kingdom? Wouldn't he have to keep it to contain the Turkic royal court? It's easy to destroy a country but hard to defend it. There are no friends west of Yangguan. Is it to expand the territory for Li Yuan?
Therefore, the Western Turks cannot be destroyed, he is useful!

In the following days, Xia Lin ordered the camp to move forward ten miles every day. Anyway, they were only given thirty days to consider. After thirty days, the Han army would move directly into your Western Turkic palace. It depends on whether you agree or not.

Xia Lin was relatively gentle even to Goguryeo in his own country, but these Turks were not so lucky. The Marshal did not regard the Turks as his own people, so don't blame the Han people for being cold-blooded when the time comes.

The list of compensation was sent back to the royal court of Western Turkic. Ashina Khan sat on the ground and burst into tears. But what was the use of crying at this moment? After crying, he stood up, sniffed, and changed into luxurious clothes: "I want to see him in person."

"You can't do that, Khan. That man is so arrogant and will definitely humiliate you, Khan."

"Humiliate me if you will..." Ashina Khan raised his head, his eyes red and swollen: "Things have come to this point."

(End of this chapter)