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Text Chapter 675 The reaction of Western Rome

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    After Li Ke defeated the Visigoth army near the Strait of Gibraltar, there was no army in southern Iberia that could stop his advance. Therefore, after a simple integration, he immediately divided his troops into three groups to attack the Visigoths.  In just a few days, all the coastal urban areas in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula fell into Li Ke's hands.

    And this is because Li Ke has restrained himself very much, otherwise, the entire southern part of the Iberian Peninsula would have fallen into his hands.  However, he knew very well that he did not have enough troops. Although he had incorporated some Visigoth troops, their loyalty could not be guaranteed. The only ones he could trust were the 50,000 firearms troops in his hands, and his defensive power was limited.

    He had to eat one bite at a time, let alone occupy the land of another country. Li Ke first occupied the coastal ports and then sent some soldiers to guard them. If the Visigoth army came to attack, he could retreat calmly with the help of the navy.  .  After all, he doesn't have many troops, and every soldier is very precious. Losing one of them will make him feel distressed.

    The city of Malaga is located not far northeast of the Strait of Gibraltar. It is a very prosperous port city. Because it is rich in fish and salt, a city has been formed here as early as the Phoenician period. Later, the Romans occupied it, and many Romans occupied it.  People migrated to this city, which made this port city very prosperous. Even after the Iberian Peninsula was occupied by the Visigoths, the residents of the city still lived according to the Roman lifestyle and were not greatly affected.  Influence.

    After Li Ke occupied the city of Malaga, he felt that the port here had great development potential, so he temporarily used it as a garrison for the army, and his residence was also here.  During this period of time, he, Cen Changqian and other advisers were working hard to make statistics on the various areas they occupied.  At the same time, some administrative and military adjustments were made.

    But today in Li Ke¡¯s temporary residence, he was warmly entertaining a few acquaintances.  These people were the envoys sent by the Eastern Roman Empire. Among them, Ciro was an old acquaintance of Li Ke and had the qualifications to be an envoy to the Tang Dynasty, so he took the lead this time. As for the other envoys, Li Ke  Ke had met him several times when he was in Constantinople, and he could barely be called an acquaintance.

    "Your Highness King Wu, it has been nearly two years since we last parted. I didn't expect that when we meet again, it will be on the Iberian Peninsula. I would like to propose a toast to Your Highness!" Silla raised his wine glass and greeted Li with a happy face.  Ke toasted.

    I saw Li Ke also raising his glass with a smile on his face and saying: "Ambassador Ciro is so polite. The trip to Rome that year also left a deep impression on me, especially His Majesty Constans II."  and Queen Irina even entertained us very warmly. We have only been separated for a year or two. I wonder if they are in good health now?"

    Cilla knew that although Li Ke was asking about Constans II and Irina.  But in fact, the only person I wanted to ask was Irina. After all, the relationship between the other party and Irina was well known in Rome, so she answered: "Your Highness, Queen Irina is in good health. She just left from Your Highness.  After that, she often lived in a manor outside the city and rarely returned to the Holy Palace to live."

    Li Ke felt moved when he heard this.  It has been almost two years since he and Irina separated, when he was in the Tang Dynasty.  He also often thought of his days with Irina, and this time he returned to the Mediterranean.  The first one wanted to see the other party, but he was really inseparable from here. In addition, he entered the Mediterranean and had already posed a threat to Rome, so it was really inconvenient to see Irina.

    After chatting for a while, Cilla finally began to tell him the real purpose of coming to see Li Ke. He said with a cautious look: "Your Highness, King Wu, Rome and the Tang Dynasty are allies. Regarding the military operations of the Tang Dynasty,  Naturally, I have a supportive attitude, but I don¡¯t know why His Highness led troops to the Iberian Peninsula and why he started fighting with the Visigoths?¡±

    In response to Ciro's question, Li Ke calmly picked up the wine glass and took a sip, then slowly said: "Ambassador Ciro must also know what happened two years ago. Not only do these Visigoths want to detain  This king's ship, and even I have to be captured as a slave. How can I bear this kind of shame and humiliation? Therefore, with the consent of my father, I brought some of my troops here in order to avenge what happened in the past.  hatred!"

    Li Ke had long known that Rome would interfere with his invasion of the Mediterranean, so he had already prepared several excuses, and at the beginning, he was going to use the banner of allies. After all, the Visigoths were also enemies of Rome. Now he  Attacking the Visigothic Kingdom was also helping Rome.  But then it happened that the Visigoths took the initiative to attack themselves, which was simply an excuse to come to their doorstep.

    When Xi Luo heard this, he secretly curled his lips. Although he knew the power of the Tang Dynasty better than anyone else, he also knew that the Tang Dynasty would never send tens of thousands of troops to attack just because a prince was attacked.  It's not a small kingdom, and it's thousands of miles away from the Tang Dynasty. The cost alone is a lot.This is an astronomical figure that even the Tang Dynasty cannot support for a long time.

    "I see, I just don't know how far His Highness King Wu wants to take revenge?" Silla said helplessly.  Although he sneered at Li Ke's reasons, he couldn't refute it, because the fact that the Visigoth Kingdom attacked Li Ke first was not a big deal. At the most, it was just a misunderstanding. At most, Xi Ge  It would be enough for the Kingdom of Te to apologize, but in a more serious sense, it is related to the majesty of the Tang Dynasty and the safety of the royal family, which is enough for the Tang Dynasty to send troops to destroy the country and destroy its species.

    "This is very simple. We in the Tang Dynasty have always had a tradition. For enemies who offend the majesty of our Datang Dynasty, we have always captured the leader of the opponent and then sent him back to Chang'an to sacrifice to the Ancestral Temple. Therefore, as long as the Visigoth King is captured, this  The matter is settled." Li Ke replied very easily, and listening to his tone, it seemed that catching the Visigoth King was a trivial matter.

    As soon as Li Ke's words came out, Ciro and the other envoys looked at each other in shock. What was the difference between seizing the Visigoth King and destroying the Visigoth Kingdom? Moreover, by then Li Ke had completely occupied the Iberian Peninsula. How could the Tang Dynasty?  Will you quit again?

    "Your Highness King Wu, may I ask, if you capture the Visigoth King, what will you do with the land of the Iberian Peninsula?" Siro finally decided not to beat around the bush and asked the most critical question directly.  out.  Although Li Ke has been preparing for more than two years to establish a foothold in the Mediterranean, among the Romans, except for Irina and Theodosius, others knew nothing about it, and there were even many people who knew nothing about it.  Welcome Li Ke¡¯s return.

    After hearing this, Li Ke glanced at Ciro very calmly. He did not answer in a hurry, but seemed to think about it for a moment before asking: "If the Visigoth King is captured, what will happen to the Iberian Peninsula?"  It will also fall into the hands of our Datang, but this land is too far away from our Datang, so it is not easy to manage. I wonder if Rome has any suggestions?"

    Hearing Li Ke's words, Siro's face immediately showed a look of surprise, and he said in a very excited tone: "His Royal Highness King Wu is wise, if the Tang Dynasty wants to reach the Iberian Peninsula, it must take several months by boat, and it also takes several months.  You need to pass through the Red Sea and Suez Canal controlled by the Great Eaters. With the current relationship between the Great Eaters and the Tang Dynasty, if the other party cuts off this line of communication, then Your Highness will be in danger on the peninsula. Therefore, we in Rome believe that by then,  The Tang Dynasty can hand over the Iberian Peninsula to our Roman Empire for management. After all, this was also our homeland in the past, so there will be no problem in managing it."

    As soon as Ciro finished speaking, other envoys also gave words of persuasion. The content was similar to Ciro's words. They were nothing more than singing praises for the alliance between the Tang Dynasty and Rome, and then wanted to take over the management of the peninsula from Li Ke in vain.  .

    Li Ke sneered in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he said calmly: "Rome and our Tang Dynasty are firm allies. It's okay to hand over a useless land to you for management. I just want to conquer this place."  , we also need to spend a lot of manpower and material resources. If it is given to your country in vain, I am afraid that it will have a bad impact on the king in the country, so I hope that Rome can also show its sincerity!"

    After Li Ke finished speaking, he stared at Siro and others with half-smiling eyes. What he said was very clear. If he wanted him to give up the Iberian Peninsula, he would have to pay a corresponding price.  Of course, this is the foundation of Li Ke's founding of the country, and he will definitely not give up. The reason why he said this is just to make Rome retreat in the face of difficulties.

    "Sincerity?" After hearing this, Silla frowned and exchanged glances with several envoys around her, with a look of helplessness flashing across everyone's face.  At this time, they already understood that Li Ke was not easy to fool. If they wanted to get the Iberian Peninsula, they had to pay a price that the other party was satisfied with.

    The Iberian Peninsula is the largest of the three major peninsulas in the Mediterranean. The peninsula is surrounded by plains and has relatively developed agriculture. The central part is a plateau, which is mainly based on animal husbandry. It is also rich in iron ore. It can be said to be a very fertile land.  It is not easy to come up with a price that can be exchanged for the cost of this land.

    "Your Highness, what do you think of this? If the Tang Dynasty hands over the Iberian Peninsula to our management by Rome, then we are willing to pay for it, but we need to ask Your Majesty for the specific amount!" Ciro finally had to make a suggestion.  It's not a solution.

    If you want to pay the price that the Tang Dynasty is satisfied with, it is nothing more than land, population or money, but the Tang Dynasty has a vast territory, dozens of times larger than Rome, and Rome does not have extra land to exchange. As for population and land, they are the same.  Needless to say, the only feasible option left is to buy it with money. After all, as long as the price they offer is right, Datang will probably sell this land that is too far away from the country.

    It¡¯s a pity that Ciro and the others didn¡¯t know that occupying IberiaRegarding Li Ke's personal behavior, now Li Ke is just using the banner of Datang to stall for time with them.  (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!
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