At the banquet, Li Xuan informed the Persian nobles and literati about the return of the Persian king.

They could not hide their shock, but they could only remain silent.

There is no doubt that Pushan is a descendant of the last monarch of Sassanid Persia. It is well known that his grandfather Peroz and father Ninergish have always been eager to restore the Sassanid dynasty.

Ninerg had planned to restore his country in Tokharistan. Based on the influence of the Sassanid Empire, Ninerg had gathered thousands of people.

These people are far from enough to restore the country. As time goes by, the hope becomes slimmer and the number of followers becomes smaller and smaller.

Moreover, Ni Neshi was wanted by the White Arabs, forcing him to leave Tokharistan and return to Chang'an, where he eventually died of illness.

That was the last time the descendants of the Sassanid Empire carried out political activities on earth.

The Persians had not heard any news about the descendants of the Sassanid Empire for a long time. They did not expect that the news was brought to them by General Tian.

Pushan, a Persian man who is nearly fifty years old, will step onto the stage of history with the support of General Tian.

Those Persian nobles immediately began to curry favor with Pushan and vied with each other to recommend themselves.

Their property had just been confiscated by Li Xuan, but their land and commerce were still there. If they could get a position in the newly established Persian Kingdom, they would still be the best of the best, even better than being under the Governor of Khorasan.

Khorasan was, after all, just a province, and the newly established Persian Empire had ambitions far beyond that.

There was no one around Pu Shang who could be used. In the future, the princes and ministers who would be rewarded would definitely be from his earliest followers.

With the support of Li Xuan, Pu Shang straightened his back secretly and enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention.

On the other side, Li Xuan brought an interpreter and had a drink and chat with the Persian literati.

Especially when he was drinking with the Persian literati leader Afif, he seemed very intimate, and Afif did not resist.

This puzzled the Persian scholars, as Afif was a close friend of the Governor of Khorasan and always considered himself noble.

Some equally self-righteous intellectuals even looked down on Afef for this.

They didn't know about Li Xuan's conversation with Afif yet.

Of course, there are many literati who live a life of compromise and curry favor with the powerful. They are willing to be tools in the hands of the nobles, write poems for them, and sing their praises.

When Li Xuan spoke politely to these Persian literati, they were flattered and their praises were overflowing in words.

Li Xuan did not look down on any Persian literati. He showed his magnanimity and tried his best to make the Persian literati feel comfortable.

Even if those self-righteous literati gave Li Xuan a cold shoulder, Li Xuan would still greet them with a smile.

Let the literati marvel at Li Xuan's character and magnanimity.

Because of Li Xuan's behavior, he doesn't look like a "barbarian" at all. He is both civil and military, which highlights his charm.

Persian literati were not necessarily loyal to the Caliphate, especially those who had passed through the Umayyad dynasty.

As we all know, the Umayyad dynasty was notorious for its discrimination against races other than the Arabs.

The Black Caliphate had only been established for more than two years, but Persian intellectuals still felt dissatisfied.

The Governor of Khorasan wanted to blur the contradictions between the Arabs and the Persians, but his time in power was too short and he had no time to let things settle, so the grudges and prejudices in his heart were difficult to eliminate.

In a sense, they were prisoners. Persian scholars saw no discrimination against Li Xuan.

When ordinary generals captured a city, they would usually allow their soldiers to burn, kill and loot. However, Li Xuan did not do such a thing. He simply went to the homes of the nobles and packed up all their gold, silver and jewelry.

Ordinary people were not violated, and most of the soldiers were kept outside the city.

The rewards for the three armies were also given outside the city, which made the Persian literati feel favorable towards them.

The strong will be respected by people no matter where they are. Li Xuan's deeds have long been spread throughout the Khorasan region. Even the Sword of Allah could not compare to them.

Li Xuan announced to the literati the great mission of restoring Persia and defeating the Arabs who restrained them.

It also expresses that Persian civilization is the shining pearl of the West, and that it should be independent and suppress the Arabs who emerged from the desert.

Li Xuan claimed that he was extremely friendly to Persia, respected the Tibetans, and promoted the idea that the Central Kingdom was the common ruler of the world. The Tang Dynasty would not interfere in the political affairs of foreign states, nor would it exploit them. The Western Regions were proof of this...

Li Xuan used his vision and eloquence to paint a rosy picture for Persian literati, allowing them to see an "ideal country", a foreign system with the Tang Dynasty as its core, which made them yearn for the prosperity, openness and vastness of the Tang Dynasty.

The Persian literati were actually impressed by Li Xuan.

After learning that Li Xuan was also a scholar who could write poetry, some Persian scholars plucked up the courage to read the poems written by Li Xuan.

Li Xuan used the writing brush of the Han people and wrote down his favorite "Song of Water Melody" in public.

The translator immediately used a reed pen to translate Li Xuan's words into Persian, but his ability was limited and he could only translate the general meaning without any artistic processing.

The Water Melody written in Persian has no rhythm or beauty of words.

Afif frowned. He could only sense a sense of artistic conception from the general meaning.

He also knew that only after learning Chinese characters and understanding the art and thoughts of the Chinese people could he truly translate this poem.

There are countless Persian literati who pay respect to Li Xuan, and they can all understand the blessing in the last sentence.

There were even Persian scholars who praised Li Xuan's calligraphy, even though they did not understand Chinese characters, brushes, or Chinese calligraphy.

Li Xuan’s strength is the truth!

Finally, Li Xuan presented his calligraphy to Afef in front of all the Persian literati.

Afif, who was becoming more and more interested in Li Xuan, accepted it calmly.

Most of the time during the banquet, Li Xuan was talking with the nobles of the Khorasan region, like an old friend returning home rather than a conqueror.

These nobles both respected and feared Li Xuan. Although Li Xuan looked harmless, he actually had many heroic legends.

Until the end of the banquet, Li Xuan asked Afif to abide by the agreement and contact Persian literati in other regions as soon as possible to get them to support the reconstruction of Sassanid Persia.

What Li Xuan needs to do is to continue to expand his advantages in the Khorasan region.

On the second day, Li Xuan ordered Li Siye, Lai Zhen, Wei Boyu, Ma Lin, Hun Yu, Che Guangqian and others to divide their troops and attack the towns in the Khorasan region.

Attacking the heart is the main thing, attacking the city is secondary.

Lai Zhen led the Suiye army to attack the city of Tarastana westwards. Before they reached the place, the defender of Tarastana abandoned the city and fled.

Afterwards, Lai Zhen led his army to attack Sarashi in the south. Although there were only 300 defenders in the city, the general was a diehard Arab Cult member and did not accept the surrender of the Tang army.

The Tang army attacked with iron armor and covered by powerful crossbows. In an instant, they overthrew the city of Sarashi and killed the defending general and soldiers in the city.

The news spread to the surrounding towns, and several Arab towns surrendered one after another.

Li Siye launched a long-distance raid, attacking the more distant Abiwald and the large city of Naishabur in the south.

Although reinforcements from the Arabs had appeared in these places, Li Siye's troops were powerful and he easily broke through them.

Li Xuan sent the Karluk light cavalry to the westernmost border of Khorasan Province to serve as a warning for the Tang army.

Soon after, the reinforcements from the Arabs arrived at the border of Khorasan province.

But due to the lack of cavalry, they did not dare to enter the Khorasan province.

Wei Boyu, He Hun Yu and others also conquered more than a dozen towns in the northeast of Mulu City.

At the same time, Che Shensai led the army and passed through the Tocharian region.

More than twenty towns including Taloqan, Muruz and Haleh successively surrendered to the iron hoof of the Jinglüe army.

This enabled the Tang army to complete its initial control over the Khorasan province.

These surrendered Khorasan nobles had to hand over the money they had plundered from the people over the years and be transported to the city of Murug by soldiers.

On September 15, Pushan re-established Sassanid Persia in Murug as the great-grandson of Yazdgerd III.

Pushan temporarily designated the city of Murug as the capital of Sassanid Persia.

At the same time, he appointed local administrators and established the foundation of Sassanid Persia.

At Afif's call, some Persian literati responded and agreed to the restoration of the Sassanid Empire.

Nobles from all over the country arrived in Mulu City and swore allegiance to Pushang!
The people of Khorasan province had just experienced the pain of losing their family members, and the emergence of Persia awakened their deepest memories, making them want to wait and see whether the king who ruled them could make them happy.

However, there were still some troubles in the Khorasan province. The people who migrated here and believed in the Arab religion were pessimistic about the establishment of Sassanid Persia.

Some of those who are not radical are fine, they just hope that Allah's army can return to Khorasan.

And those radical elements formed local groups and tried to resist.

The Tang army was able to easily wipe out some of the rebels. Seeing the disparity in strength, some rebels hid in the mountains and wilderness. The Tang army was too lazy to capture them and handed them over to Pu Shang's army.

Li Xuan has ordered that the captured Persians be brought back to Mulu City from the Qianquan Ancient Road in order to enhance Pushang's power and prestige.

Even though those Persian captives did not return, some Persian literati who wanted to take pictures of Li Xuan's horses had already written poems praising Li Xuan.

Pushan spread the good news to the Persian people in Khorasan.

The Khorasan region was mainly populated by Persians, and Pushan believed that as long as he regained the trust of the Persian people, he would be able to complete his rule.

Currently, Pushan is recruiting the first wave of soldiers in the country to replace the Tang army in the provinces of Khorasan.

Li Xuan wanted to gather the Tang troops scattered in the Khorasan region and continue advancing westward.

Li Xuan would not withdraw his troops until he had ensured that there was no risk of Sassanid Persia being swallowed up by the Arab Empire.

It was impossible for Li Xuan to help the Sassanid Empire defeat the Black Caliphate completely in one go, and he did not want to lose too many troops.

The longer the battle line is, the more surprises there will be.

Moreover, it was not in Li Xuan's interest to allow the Sassanid Empire to annex the Arab Empire all at once.

As the Tang army advanced westward one after another, an uninvited guest arrived in Mulu City as an envoy.

He was the prime minister of the Caliphate, Abu Salamah al-Halal.

He came on the orders of the Caliph to discuss a ceasefire with Li Xuan.

Abu Salamah al-Halal did not expect that the entire Khorasan province would fall in such a short time.

Thinking of the terrifying nature of the Heavenly General, Abu Salamah Khilal felt relieved. The empty Khorasan province would be easy for the Tang army to attack and capture.

After the Tang army won the Battle of Transoxiana, they seized the opportunity to strike a devastating blow to the Khorasan province. What Abu Salamah Khilal could not accept was that the Sassanid Empire was restored.

This news came like a bolt from the blue to the defeated Arabs.

Their Arab Empire was established on the corpse of the Sassanid Empire.

The restoration of the Sassanid Empire was brought with the intention of revenge.

The Tang Dynasty will definitely fully support the Sassanid Empire and expand westwards.

In order to survive, the Arabs fought a life-and-death battle with the Sassanid Persians.

They were once the victors, but the Sassanid Persians had the support of the powerful Heavenly General, and they had no confidence at all.

However, in order to buy time for the Arabs to recuperate, Abu Salamah al-Halal had no choice but to come and meet the Heavenly General.

Li Xuan met with Abu Salamah Helal at the Governor's Mansion.

"Vizier of the Arab Empire, I have met the Heavenly General of the Tang Dynasty..."

After seeing Li Xuan, Abu Salamah Helal bowed to Li Xuan and was very humble.

He looked at the gentle young man in front of him and was shocked. He had imagined what General Tian looked like countless times, but he didn't expect it to be like this.

He couldn't equate that glorious legend with the young man in front of him.

"I have held a position similar to yours in my country, and it is not an easy position to hold!"

After Li Xuan asked Abu Salamah Helale to exempt himself from the formalities, he spoke with hidden meaning.

"I have heard that General Tian is a man of both civil and military talents. I am far inferior to him."

Abu Salamah al-Halal said humbly.

He was a founding hero and the first prime minister, so he naturally understood that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger.

But he had to consider the newly established country.

"What is your purpose in coming here, sir? Are you here to flatter me?"

Li Xuan knew why Abu Salamah Helal came, so he ended the polite conversation and spoke directly.

"I come here for peace. The Arabs and the Tang have always had exchanges. We have no intention of offending you. Please withdraw from the Khorasan region. We will be friends again and never fight each other again."

Abu Salamah al-Halal said this even though he knew it was impossible.

"A hundred thousand soldiers from the Arab Empire suddenly appeared in Suiye City. Can you explain it?"

Li Xuan avoided answering and asked this question.

"General Tian should know clearly that it was you who instructed the Qarluqs to lure our Arab army into Anxi."

Abu Salamah Helal pondered for a moment and then slowly replied.

He could only give a clear answer like this. He couldn't say that they were eyeing the Tang territory and wanted to annex it, right?

"Decades ago, Hezhong was a vassal state of our Tang Dynasty. Why did you occupy it so many times? How do you explain this?"

Li Xuan asked about this matter again.

This question is indeed difficult for Abu Salamah Helal to explain.

Because eastward expansion has always been the national policy of the Arab Empire.

If they had the ability, the Arabs would definitely spread the teachings to Chang'an.

However, internal conflicts and the natural barrier of the lush green collar prevented the Arabs from taking action.

"I, the Arabs, am willing to hand over Hezhong to the Tang Dynasty and will never set foot in Hezhong again."

Abu Salamah Al-Halal gave an irrelevant answer.

"The Arabs have already lost Central Asia. Don't you think it's ridiculous to say such a thing?"

Li Xuan sneered and said, "Don't expect to get at the negotiating table what you can't get on the battlefield."

There is no point in saying this, for the Arabs were defeated at the river.

"Our country is still very powerful and we sincerely want to stop the war. I hope General Tian will think twice."

Abu Salamah Helal replied with a feeling of grievance.

"The power of the Arabs is relative. Your dynasty has just been established, and there is a lot of work to be done, but you are engaged in wars, which dooms you to failure."

"War can start when you need it, but it will never end when you want it to. Since your army is still strong, why do you still ask for peace from me?"

Li Xuan asked Abu Salamah Helal in return.

He knew that there were many internal conflicts within the Black Caliphate, especially after the great defeat in Hezhong.

Historically, the first Caliph of the Caliphate, Abu Abbas, died within these two years.

The cause of death was smallpox.

But Li Xuan speculated that Abu Abbas in this time and space would not necessarily die of illness.

Because historically, the governor of Khorasan led a thousand people to Iraq in order to ease the conflict with Abu Abbas, and then went to the holy city for pilgrimage with Abu Abbas.

On the way back from the holy city, Abu Abbas contracted smallpox and died.

It was not easy for Abu Abbas to control the internal situation.

Li Xuan wanted to have another conflict with the Arab soldiers on the border of Khorasan province to strike at the rule of Abu Abbas.

"General Tian, ​​how can you agree to a ceasefire..."

After a brief conversation, Abu Salamah Helal already knew that Li Xuan was a difficult person who was stubborn and stubborn, so he simply stopped thinking about those unrealistic things.

"First, your caliph should be like the Tibetan king, and submit to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty and receive a title. Second, he should recognize the restoration of the Sassanid Empire and give all the land east of the Caspian Sea to the Sassanid Empire."

Li Xuan replied to Abu Salamah Helal.

It seems like a request, but in fact it is like an order declaring war.

The Caliph is Allah's representative on earth.

If a caliph submits to the emperor of a country, it is blasphemy against Allah.

The Arab religion they believe in will be trampled upon, and their scriptures will be worthless.

"This is impossible!"

Abu Salamah Helal felt that Li Xuan had no sincerity.

How could he make such an offer?
Not to mention that the first point is untouchable, the second point is that if they withdraw from the east of the Caspian Sea, the strength of their Arab Empire will be greatly reduced.

"Since it's impossible, prepare the troops and we will fight to the death."

Li Xuan stood up and said, no room for discussion.

The Black Caliphate was still stubborn, and Li Xuan needed to weaken its power again and then extort some money from other provinces.

From the Caspian Sea to the Khorasan region, it is a good buffer zone.

When he led his troops back to the Central Plains, he could no longer care about Hezhong for a short period of time, as Hezhong needed a barrier.

"General Tian, ​​is there no room for negotiation?"

Seeing that Li Xuan was about to order them to leave, Abu Salamah Helal immediately spoke to the translator.

"Sassanid Persia must be established. You don't have to submit. Your caliph will give you gold, silver and jewelry worth two million pieces of silk as compensation for the Tang Dynasty's losses."

Li Xuan opened his mouth wide.

Abu Abbas used the successful "Hongmen Banquet" to annex the wealth of the White Caliphate.

Although the people were suffering, the White Arabs had conquered many places, and the previous royal family must have left behind a lot of gold, silver, and jewelry.

If the Black Arabs could pay gold, silver and jewelry, Li Xuan could deceive Li Longji.

"Don't rush to reply to me. Send a message to your Caliph and see what he thinks!"

"Send the messenger down to rest!"

Li Xuan stopped Abu Salamah Helal from replying and asked the translator to take him away.

After hearing the translator's words, Abu Salamah Helal remained silent.

This is a difficult negotiation to succeed.

The establishment of the Black Caliphate was thought to be the beginning of a powerful nation, but due to internal and external troubles, it gradually became difficult to breathe.

It’s all because of this man called General Heaven.

Sure enough, after receiving the message from Abu Salamah Khilal, Abu Abbas was furious. He immediately summoned Abu Salamah Khilal to the front line and asked him to cooperate with Khalid ibn Barmak to defeat the Heavenly General.

The Tang army's mobilization is still continuing!
On October 1st, Che Shensai led the Jinglüe army and arrived at Mulu City.

Li Xuan rewarded them and comforted them for their hard work.

The Tang army had prepared food in Mulu City and other cities along the route.

On October 10, Li Xuan personally led the rested Jinglüe Army, as well as the Great Wall Army and the Turkic tribes that were already in Mulu City, to a town called Abivald.

The Arabs relied on the rivers there to defend against attacks by the Tang army's light cavalry.

The Tang army followed Li Xuan's military order and did not act rashly to cross the river.

At this time, the Tang army had completed the deployment of troops and stationed 40,000 soldiers here.

In mid-November, Li Xuan led a large army to Abywald...

(End of this chapter)