Upon hearing the two men's requests, Li Shimin was delighted, but feigned a troubled expression.
"Your requests, I too wish to grant, but the expenditure of grain and supplies for sending troops from the Great Tang is no small matter."
"Even if I were to agree, all the civil and military officials would have opinions."
"You understand, the Great Tang is not solely mine. For matters like this, I need to provide an account to all the people of the realm."
"After all, the armies of the Great Tang are supported by their taxes."
Mei Maguer repeatedly shook his head, explaining most sincerely.
"No, no, no! We dare not presume to ask the Great Tang to do such things! You need only agree to send men to guard our small nations."
"Grain and supplies, these will naturally be provided by the small nations!"
"We only beg for the safety of our small nations; all other matters can be discussed!"
Fang Er beside him was astonished. He wondered what had happened to Huarazhim and Khurasan to prompt such an outlandish request.
He then turned to Li Xiuning and asked, "Esteemed mother-in-law, what exactly did you do when you passed through their two countries?"
Li Xiuning raised her delicate hand, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and glared at him in mock displeasure. "Call me Mother, and I'll tell you~~"
Chai Yue, who was clinging to her side and unwilling to part, let out a chuckle at her words.
Her smile was filled with such happiness that Fang Er was almost mesmerized, and he murmured to himself.
"In the north, there is a beauty, a single smile can topple cities, a second smile, kingdoms..."
Chai Yue blushed at his words and quickly said, "Husband, don't speak nonsense. Mother is still waiting for you to change your address!"
Li Xiuning looked at the loving couple before her, a smile playing on her lips.
"Mother, please tell me quickly, what happened before?"
Fang Er called out heartily, eagerly awaiting her answer.
Li Xiuning nodded with satisfaction and then said, "Actually, we didn't do much."
"The territories of Huarazhim and Khurasan are too small, so their armies are not large."
"When we passed by, that gentleman casually had people go and seize the queens of both countries and set fire to the royal palace."
"Both kings wished to surrender, but that gentleman directly led his army away, with no intention of occupying them at all."
Fang Er was speechless.
This is what she called "didn't do much"?
In a sense, once such an event occurred, it was almost equivalent to the nation's demise!
"Your Majesty, this humble subject believes this course of action is feasible."
On the other side, Cheng Yaojin, after listening to Mei Magoer's words, stepped forward and cupped his fists before Li Shimin.
Old Li looked at Chai Shao, receiving a nod of agreement.
It was merely putting on a show for the envoys of the two small nations, and everyone knew how to respond.
When Li Shimin looked at Fang Er, Fang Er shook his head in opposition.
"Your Majesty, this humble subject believes it is not appropriate."
Mei Maguer and Mo Dejier instantly became nervous.
"We are unsure of what other requests Duke Fang may have. As long as they can be met, our small nations will agree to anything!"
They had not only been beaten into submission, but their domestic armies had also been shattered!
Fang Er said earnestly, "The armies of the Great Tang can only serve the Great Tang."
"I have a proposal here. If there are no problems, it will be logical for the Great Tang to send troops to guard your nations."
Mo Dejier quickly replied, "Please, Duke Fang, enlighten us!"
"It's actually quite simple: open up trade. If merchants from the Great Tang can travel to your two countries for trade, then the armies of the Great Tang will naturally have to protect these merchants."
"What do you think?"
Upon hearing Fang Er's words, the two men breathed a collective sigh of relief. They had thought it would be some difficult demand, but it was merely trade!
"Agreed! Our small nations all agree!"
"Moreover, upon our return, I will report to our small kings and designate a specific area for the merchants of the Great Tang to reside."
After receiving their response, Fang Er bowed to Li Shimin.
"Your Majesty, with this, this humble subject has no objections."
Li Shimin rose and smiled with great satisfaction. "Hahahaha, since everyone unanimously agrees, then I shall grant it!"
The remaining ten thousand protectorate troops will be given ten days. Regardless of whether the enemy leader is found, after ten days, they will divide into two teams to guard Huarazhim and Khurasan.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the Great Tang's assistance!"
The two envoys were overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately knelt down, kowtowing three times.
It was said that this form of etiquette was the most solemn in the Great Tang.
Meanwhile, Fang Er subtly signaled Cheng Yaojin, and the two walked away from the others, one after the other.
"Brother, is something the matter?"
"Call the commanders of the ten thousand men you are leaving behind. I have something to instruct them on."
Cheng Yaojin did not ask what it was, turned, and returned shortly with two men.
They were the commanders of the Kuizi Protectorate Army, two of the four armies, the commanders of the Sandstorm Army and its deputy.
After Cheng Yaojin finished speaking, the two men cupped their fists together and bowed to Fang Er.
"Sandstorm Army Commander Su Dingfang!"
"Sandstorm Army Deputy Commander Xi Junmai!"
"Greetings, Duke of Shenyang!"
Upon hearing their names, Fang Er's eyes widened like saucers.
"Holy cow!"
"What incredible men~~~"
He quickly fumbled in his pocket and produced two boxes of cigars, stuffing them into their hands.
"Hahaha, I've long heard of your great reputations. Meeting you today, I see you truly live up to them. Here, take these, they are but small tokens of no great value, to pass the time!"
Cheng Yaojin was dumbfounded on the spot. Were his two subordinates famous?
Did old Cheng not know about this?
Su Dingfang and Xi Junmai also looked overwhelmed with gratitude, repeatedly waving their hands.
"We dare not, we dare not. Duke of Shenyang, you honor us. If you have any instructions, please do tell, we dare not let you incur expenses."
After the Great Tang army was reorganized, over eighty percent of the generals were transferred from their original positions, and the two were no exception.
Especially Su Dingfang, he was originally a general under Li Jing and was assigned to Cheng Yaojin's command as a division leader.
Since following Cheng Yaojin, he had often seen him smoking cigars, and each time he would only smoke one in several sittings, never discarding an unsmoked one.
Therefore, in his estimation, this box of cigars was certainly of great value.
"What is this small matter to incur expenses! Take them first, I actually do have something to tell you."
Without allowing the two to refuse, Fang Er forcefully placed the cigar boxes into their arms and continued.
"After some time, you will be stationed in Huarazhim and Khurasan. If their officials and people ask about the Great Tang, do you know how to answer?"
Xi Junmai was taken aback at first, then shook his head. "If the Duke hadn't mentioned it, this humble subordinate truly hadn't considered this issue."
Su Dingfang smiled slightly and cupped his fists to Fang Er again. "Since Duke Fang has brought this up, you must intend to unify the accounts of us two."
"Therefore, please, Duke Fang, enlighten us."
Fang Er looked at the two and asked, "What do you think of the people of the Great Tang now?"
Su Dingfang sorted his thoughts and began to count on his fingers.
"Wives are provided by the court, children have schooling, and craftsmen have opportunities."
"Before the great disasters, there was precious dried sea fish as relief food. I heard that in a few more years, there will be so much grain that it can't be eaten."
"Workers earn money, and during festivals, they can buy two feet of cloth to make new clothes for their families."
"These days, this is something this humble subordinate never dared to imagine before."
Fang Er smiled slightly and then said, "What do you think these days are like for the people of Khurasan and Huarazhim?"
Xi Junmai eagerly replied, "They would certainly also be things they dared not imagine!"
Fang Er gave him an approving look and nodded.
"Yes! Therefore, my requirement for you is to instruct every soldier under your command."
"If anyone asks, do not exaggerate, do not conceal, tell them everything truthfully."
"Even if no one asks, you must still send people out every few days to places with many people and tell them these stories!"
"If you do this well, the Emperor will surely reward you with merits!"
"Remember, to expand territory, sometimes your mouth is more effective than your blade, do you understand?"
Upon hearing these words, Su Dingfang immediately understood Fang Er's intention. "Duke Fang, rest assured, this humble subordinate will relay your words to every soldier! I guarantee there will be no mistakes!"
After seeing the two men off, Fang Er and Cheng Yaojin returned to Li Shimin's side. After hearing Cheng Yaojin recount the events, Old Li stroked his beard and smiled.
"The best strategy is to attack stratagems, the next best is to attack alliances, the next best is to attack armies, and the worst is to attack cities!"
"An Zhi's strategy here is quite aimed at undermining their morale!"
After fulfilling the requests of the two envoys, the army officially began its march.
The helicopters were still searching for the enemy leader's tracks. Fang Er left a message for Guan Yin, also setting a ten-day deadline. Regardless of whether Xue Rengui and the others could find him, they were to return to Shenyang on their own.
The three tanks were towed back to the city as spoils of war. Without tools and assistance, Fang Er had no intention of repairing them and would leave them there for now, intending to bring Zhao Gang and the others back when he had time.
The two hovercrafts were escorted in the center of the army, slowly proceeding eastward.
Upon reaching the Kuizi Protectorate, Cheng Yaojin and the main army were left behind.
Li Shimin, Fang Er, Chai Shao, Qin Qiong, along with the special forces, Yan Yun Cavalry, and Hua Mulan, continued their journey.
By the time they returned to Shenyang, it was already early September.