If it were Li Po, nothing would be weird at all.
What does it mean for merchants to accompany the army? Which of the later bandits did not have the support of merchants? In order to seek personal gain, merchants launched national wars all the time. Where did the Tubo people come from?
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Several Tibetan businessmen raised their heads in confusion. Fortunately, they were smart enough to bring a translator, otherwise the language barrier alone might be enough to kill them.
"Great Commander, you have undoubtedly defeated us. According to the guidance given to us by the gods, we ask you to allow us to exchange our property for the opportunity not to become slaves.
We were just some humble businessmen, and we did not wave our swords to others. God said that warriors should always show their kind side after the battle, in order to gain people's support.
Please also shine a little light of kindness on us poor people, and we will definitely spread your reputation to far away places."
After saying this, several businessmen kowtowed.
Listening to the translator telling them their strange requests, Xu Shiji felt extremely fresh. This was his first time dealing with foreigners, and the method was quite unique.
As for the mutual redemption of prisoners, it is not unusual. In the war between the Sui Dynasty and the Turks, some similar things happened, but it was the nobles of both sides who needed to be redeemed.
But those ordinary soldiers who were captured did not have such a chance.
Merchants? Whether they are Turks or Central Plains people, they will not take merchants to fight. What use will they have? Will they accompany the army and trade with the soldiers? Wouldn't that shake the morale of the army?
He couldn't help but have a keen interest in the role of merchants in the Tubo army. Although the conversation was very strenuous and almost out of line, Xu Shiji still asked them many questions while having dinner, and even gave them a reward.
leg of lamb.
The Tibetan businessman, who had been hungry for a long time, immediately wolfed down the food and almost broke the sheep bone into pieces and swallowed it.
In the eyes of several Tibetan businessmen, this was undoubtedly a good start, and in order to save their lives, they knew everything they knew.
In this way, a primitive alien civilization slowly emerged.
There were tribes, city-states, kings, heroes, gods, and surprising customs and habits. For Xu Shiji, the Tubo described by the merchants was almost completely different from the Central Plains, full of exotic customs.
Of course, there will certainly be rhetoric to beautify oneself, and Xu Shiji is well aware of this.
Several Tubo merchants also wanted to leave here quickly, because they didn't know how these flatlanders would react when they went to the cities that were massacred by their warriors.
If it were in Tubo, they would definitely hold a sacrifice and send all the captives to the gods to be punished as revenge.
They are now very envious of their companions who have returned to the highlands before. Sure enough, the gods are right, greed leads people to destruction...
In fact, how could the Tang army easily release prisoners back? That was already the case in the Spring and Autumn Period. In today's Central Plains, even when everyone is in internal strife, they do not have the habit of releasing surrendered prisoners.
What's more, it is a rare animal like the Tubo people. Wouldn't it be good to catch some and send them to Chang'an for everyone to see?
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What Xu Shiji was most interested in was actually the news about the Tibetan army, just like the role of merchants in the Tibetan army.
When he heard that merchants would collect the captured goods on the battlefield, transport them back to Tibet for sale, and then divide the spoils among the upper and lower ranks, Xu Shiji almost laughed out loud. This was more like the life he lived in Wagang.
The looted property was divided up on the spot, and the two bastards Zhai Rang and Shan Zhongzhi always got an extra share. When dividing the loot, they also had to separate the people who were closest to each other, which made everyone very dissatisfied. Otherwise, they would later surrender.
Wei Gong's people don't have that many methods.
The Tubo people are even more novel. They actually leave these things to businessmen, and seeking personal gain has become an aboveboard matter. My God, is Tubo a den of thieves?
The military system of the Tubo people was also very rough. Ma Ben was probably their general, and under him were Dāruben and Xiaoruben, referred to as Dāru and Xiaoru.
Da Ru leads one to two thousand people, which is not very fixed. The same is true for Xiao Ru. Some Xiao Ru only lead a few dozen people, and many have hundreds of people. Most of them are mainly people from their respective tribes, which is very loose.
The military system is full of traces of tribal alliances.
What is even more crude is that Ruben was still an official who governed the local area in Tubo. Military and political affairs were not separated from the family, and nobles were responsible for both large and small Ru. They were incorporated into the army during wars and managed the people in their free time.
Businessmen are even more interesting. Not only do they do business themselves, they can also serve as local financial officers. After joining the army, they become the army's logistics and forage officers.
Some businessmen with big businesses can even maintain the entire army and provide logistics for the army, and a large part of the army's seizures will belong to them.
This shows the prosperity of Tubo business. Merchants are almost an indispensable part of Tubo's power pyramid. Their status is second only to the servants of the gods and the nobles. This is obviously influenced by those to the south of them.
Their religion was mixed with some elements of Tianzhu Buddhism to form Bon religion.
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It was dark in the west at night, and the sun gradually disappeared on the horizon. After a day of fighting, the soldiers of the Tang army were very tired. At this time, most of them had fallen asleep peacefully with the joy of victory.
Xu Shiji was also tired, so he asked some businessmen to be guarded and sent to the main force of the army immediately after dawn. This would indeed help the army to better understand the Tibetan people.
These Tibetan merchants traveled among all classes in Tubo...
If Fan Wenjin's previous reports in Chang'an only scratched the surface of the Tibetan people, these businessmen had a relatively comprehensive understanding of Tibet.
If nothing else goes wrong, they may be honored to be sent to Chang'an to meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, so that the whole court will be able to hear a fresh story, and they will also be able to make better strategies to deal with Tibet.
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At dawn the next day, the army had breakfast. Xu Shiji ordered the people who moved eastward to continue moving to Huiningchuan. The war was far from over.
The Tang army would then have to rendezvous with the main army and then fight the main force of the Tibetan army. This required sufficient physical strength and energy, so Xu Shiji, Ashina Danai and Xiao Siye discussed it and decided to rest for a day on the Huining River.
While speaking, Xiao Siye said seemingly unintentionally: "There are too many prisoners, so it's not easy to take care of them."
Ashina Danai nodded in agreement. Three thousand people was actually not a lot, but compared to the strength of the Tang army, it was a bit difficult.
This chapter has been completed!