Kurban pondered for a moment, looked at Li An, and said, "Li Shilang, I came to Chang'an City this time, in addition to being ordered to give gifts to Li Shilang, there is also an important task, which is related to the railway. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

"The railroad thing? You Shiguo are also interested in railways? ”

Li was confused and put on a high posture.

Kurban's expression was nervous, and he said: "Don't hide it from Li Shilang, the railway is very important to our Shi Country, and the people of our Shi Country are the best at doing business, and as long as the railway passes through our Shi Country, we can do business better, so the railway is very important to our Shi Country, from the king to the people, everyone understands this." ”

"Oh, it turns out that you Shiguo people value the railway so much! Your Majesty and your ministers, however, prefer to build the southern route, which will go south from the town of Shule through the Telmanchu River into the Tocharian region, and then you will be able to work with the Tocharian nations to build a railway crisscrossing you. ”

Li An said.

"What, to build the southern line? How can this be. ”

Kurban was very nervous, and hurriedly said: "Li Shilang, the southern line has to pass through the Telmanchuan River, the terrain is winding, and it is very difficult to build a railway, so the northern line should be repaired." ”

Seeing that Kurban was in a hurry, Li An smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth, and said, "But the northern line is not easy to build!" The terrain of Bodaling is dangerous, and it is not so easy to build, besides, according to the observation of this official, His Majesty's intention seems to be to build the southern line, and when the southern line is completed, the northern line will be repaired in another seven or eight years, and when the time comes, your stone country will naturally get on the train. ”

Kurban was anxious when he heard this, and said nervously: "Li Shilang, is there no room for maneuver?" ”

"Your Majesty has not yet made up your mind, there is still room for maneuver, however, whether it is to repair the southern line first, or the northern line first, for my Datang, there is not much difference at all, Your Majesty is more concerned about repairing that line, which is more beneficial to Datang, and judging from the current situation, it seems that the southern line is built first, and the benefits are greater!"

Li An opened his mouth and said, which greatly relieved Kurban's mood, and at the same time, he was very curious, why did Datang build the southern line first, and the benefits were greater?

"Li Shilang, I still have a good understanding of the situation of the southern line and the northern line, and the cost of building the southern line in Datang is definitely much greater than that of the northern line, and it is more cost-effective to build the northern line and consume less."

Kurban is from the west, so he naturally knows the situation in the western part of the Tang Dynasty well.

"Haha! Kurban, you are so right, the cost of repairing the southern line is indeed relatively high, and when Your Majesty first started, he was more inclined to repair the northern line, but the Tocharian countries also understood this, so they made great concessions to the Tang Dynasty, which made Your Majesty quite tempted, but your countries in the river did not have this kind of expression, so Your Majesty's mind has changed, and he is more inclined to repair the southern line. ”

Li An said.

"The Tocharian countries have made great concessions, what kind of concessions can it make the Tang Emperor tempted."

Kurban hurriedly asked.

As an envoy of the Shi Kingdom, he was very concerned about this issue, and for so many days, he had never heard of any agreement between the Tocharian states and the Tang Empire.

Li An pondered for a moment and said: "The Tocharian countries have promised Your Majesty that the railways leading to the Tocharian countries are all owned by the Tang Dynasty, and the places they pass through are all the land of the Tang Dynasty, to put it simply, the distance of three miles on each side of the railway line belongs to the Tang Dynasty, and all the proceeds of the railway operation are also owned by the Tang Empire, and they must not have any intervention, and they will also provide a large amount of manpower free of charge to help the Tang Empire build the railway, and the Tang Dynasty can also station troops along the railway line, Kurban, Do you find this condition very attractive? ”

After speaking, he looked at Kurban, but found that Kurban's face was pale, as if he had a lot of sorrow.

"Li Shilang, you won't be joking! How could the Tocharian states make such a big concession, impossible, this is an impossible thing. ”

Kurban shook his head again and again, he felt that the concessions Li An said were too big, and the land along the three miles on both sides of the railroad track was the land of the Tang Dynasty, which was a proper traitor! In this way, they will lose a lot of rights, and the Tang Empire will gain great benefits.

However, thinking about it on the other hand, Kurban seemed to understand something, and he suddenly felt that things seemed to be possible, after all, as long as the Tang Dynasty led the railway to the Tocharian countries first, then the Tocharian region would replace the position of the trade transit station in the middle of the river, so as to obtain great economic benefits, so that even if he could not obtain the slightest benefit in the railway, and even lost a small amount of land, the benefits obtained were still very huge.

Although, in later generations, the land was regarded as an extremely important state-owned resource, which was sacrosanct, but in the era of the Tang Dynasty, the surrounding weak and small countries did not have too strong a sense of territory, after all, their strength was too weak, and only when the Tang Dynasty recognized which piece of land was theirs, they could legally own it, otherwise, even if you think that the land of the whole world is yours, and you don't have the strength to defend it, what's the point.

Moreover, in the final analysis, land is also a matter of interests, land can contain minerals, can also produce crops, and even, can provide a strategic buffer for an empire, in short, land can gain a lot of benefits, but if you lose a small amount of land, you can exchange for greater benefits, so why not?

For the small countries in the Tocharian region, there is a possibility of losing land at any time, as long as the Tang Empire needs it, they can be conquered at any time, so there is nothing wrong with losing part of the land and giving it to the Tang Empire, and it is possible to lose the land and part of the interests in the way, let the Tang Dynasty take the lead in building the railway to where they are, so that they can replace the countries in the river, and thus become a transit point for trade between the East and the West, so that they will always gain more benefits than they lose, For the people of small countries who value interests, it is a big profit.

And once the Tocharian countries get the status of the East-West trade transit station, the economic strength will inevitably be greatly enhanced, and the same way, the strength of other aspects will also be stronger, and in the case of the Tang garrison along the railway, the countries in the river do not dare to provoke trouble at will, otherwise, they will not be able to get along with the Tang Empire, and in this way, the countries in the river will completely lose the status of the east-west trade transit station, thus losing huge economic interests.

Kurban, who realized the seriousness of the problem, began to be nervous again, and when he went to Chang'an City, the king had already given him a death order, asking him to try his best to let the Tang Dynasty's railway take the northern route into the land of the river, and also pass through the capital of the stone country, Talas.

This is the king's death order, if Kurban can't finish it, it will be difficult to explain it after he goes back, but the condition given to him by the king is that the money beauty can be sent casually, and he did not say that he can send the territory, so that the entire railway system completely belongs to the Tang Dynasty, if he dares to silently open such a condition, the king is afraid that he will die of anger.

But the situation in front of them is already here, if they don't vomit some blood and give up all the interests of land and railways to Datang, they really can't compete with the Tocharian countries.

Seeing Kurban's nervous expression, Li An smiled easily and said: "Kurban, my friend, how could I lie to you, Your Majesty told me the conditions offered by the Tocharian countries in front of me, and asked me if there would be technical difficulties in repairing the southern line, of course I am more inclined to build the northern line, but the conditions offered by the Tocharian countries are too tempting, Your Majesty has already been a little moved, but it has not been determined for the time being, if you can give the same conditions in the middle of the river, Your Majesty will definitely change your mind, after all, It's easier to build the northern line. ”

After speaking, he looked at Kurban and observed Kurban's expression.

When Kurban heard this, he looked embarrassed, and said: "Li Shilang, I really can't be the master of this matter, our king really didn't expect that the Tocharian countries would actually offer such conditions, and this condition is too high, so it can't be lowered." ”

"Kurban, the Tocharian kingdoms have already made such conditions, and Your Majesty is also very tempted, you better return to the stone kingdom quickly and ask your king! However, you only have half a month, and after half a month, Your Majesty will decide which railway to build. ”

Li An opened his mouth and said, it can be regarded as an ultimatum, anyway, now that the railway has been opened to Anxi, as long as you go back and forth at the fastest speed, there will be no problem for half a month.

"Half a month, isn't the time too tight, Li Shilang, you go and talk to Your Majesty, so that Your Majesty don't rush to make a decision, and then return to Shiguo and discuss this matter with the king."

Kurban begged.

"Kurban, you don't have to worry, now that the railways have been completed, half a month back and forth is enough, you just have to work hard."

Ang Lee said with a smile.

The reason why Kurban was not given more time was to prevent long nights and dreams, and the sooner the railway line was set, the sooner the construction could begin, and the sooner the land in the river could be better controlled.

"Since that's the case, then I'll go back and prepare, and Li Shilang will rest earlier."

After Kurban finished speaking, he saluted Ang Lee and turned to leave.

Watching Kurban walk out of the gate of the courtyard, Li An smiled at the corner of his mouth, and then walked to the backyard, ready to appreciate the little Lori sent by the king of Shiguo.

'Mei'er, it's very interesting when you hear the name, but you don't know how the technology is? ’

Li An grinned, and there was an indescribable comfort in his heart.

In a restaurant in Chang'an City, Kurban sat in a small private room with a bitter face, and he had always had this expression after coming out of Li An's courtyard.

When he set out from Talas, he was full of confidence, thinking that his trip would definitely be very smooth, after all, the emperor provided him with a lot of money and beauties, and he could buy off a lot of powerful people in the Tang Dynasty, but he didn't expect that the progress of things was so unexpected, he never dreamed that the Tocharian countries would put forward such attractive conditions, and they did not hesitate to sell their land in exchange for the railway line of the Tang Dynasty.

However, until this time, Kurban was not sure whether what Li An said was true, although he could not see a trace of falsehood from Li An's expression, the Tocharian countries, for the sake of future interests, are also likely to make a strange move to sell their territory, but he still has some doubts, after all, the conditions proposed by Tocharian are too surprising, among them, the possibility of Li An deceiving him cannot be ruled out.

A glass of spicy wine, keep pouring into his mouth, maybe only in this way, his heart can be more comfortable, although the time is very tight, only half a month, but there is no need to rush for a while, at least, he has to think clearly first, whether the thing is true or not.

And when Kurban was drinking spicy wine, in the private room next door, the people arranged by Li An were already in place, and while drinking, they opened their mouths to talk about the railway, the sound was not loud or small, but it could ensure that Kurban next door could see it, and if Kurban was interested, he needed to prick up his ears and listen to himself against the partition wall, after all, if the sound was too loud, it would arouse Kurban's suspicion.

"Zhao Langzhong, you can rest assured, as long as Datang's railway passes through our Bird Country, we can extend five miles along the left and right of the railway line, as the land of Datang, all the proceeds of railway operation belong to Datang, and the people of our Flying Bird Country are willing to build the railway in Datang."

A voice rang out next door.

"Don't worry, rest assured, Your Majesty is now inclined to build the southern line, and the repair of the southern line will inevitably pass through your Asuka Country, but it is easier to repair the northern line, if the countries of the northern line have made the same request, Your Majesty may have to change his mind and repair the northern line first."

A man with an official tone spoke.

"The countries in the river will definitely not give more than our conditions, Your Majesty should make a decision as soon as possible, the sooner the railway is built, the sooner the people of the Tang Dynasty and the countries will benefit."

"Don't worry, I must persuade the right minister a lot, let the right minister urge in front of His Majesty, set the line early, as long as there are no accidents, it will definitely pass through your bird country, and when the time comes, your life in the bird country will be better."

"Oh, then thank you Zhao Langzhong, here is a little meaning, and please Zhao Langzhong smile."

"No, no, no, that's embarrassing."

It's another very hypocritical prevarication.

"Zhao Langzhong, you have said so many good things for our Flying Bird Country, this meaning must be accepted, otherwise, you will look down on our Flying Bird Country."

"Ahem, cough, how can this official not look at the country of birds? Since it is difficult to refuse, the official accepted it, by the way, the official still has official business that has not been dealt with, so he will leave. ”

"Zhao Langzhong walks slowly."

"Don't send it, don't send it."

With the creak of the door, Kurban next door was completely frozen, he eavesdropped on all the conversations, and most of them were clearly heard, except for a few that were not heard, that is, the great concessions of the Tocharian states were real, not false.