Li Mu glanced sideways at Lu Dongzan and said, "What do you mean? You have become a human trafficker instead of being the prime minister of Tubo?"
Lu Dongzan's expression was a little complicated. After a while, he sighed and said, "I am so helpless that the Marquis made fun of me." Then Lu Dongzan told the situation about Tubo.
The current Zanplanangri Lunzan of Tubo is a very powerful person. After he succeeded to the throne, he relied on the power of Zanggu, Yuzebu, Zhongbo and other former Supi nobles to annex the Jiqu River Basin and other places, and granted them
Territory and slaves, the new nobles were supported and their status surpassed that of the old nobles, and the royal power was greatly enhanced. However, it offended the interests of the old nobles and caused dissatisfaction among the old officials of Tubo. They held grudges and conspired to rebel.
Last year, the old nobles of Tubo raised troops to rebel. Dabo, Gongbu, Niangbo and other areas were occupied by the rebels. Yangtong and the enemy country Supi in the west of Tubo also responded to the old nobles internally and externally and were driven out of Tubo.
Prince Supi returned to Zangbo to seize the opportunity to carry out "restoration" activities. They combined with the old Supi nobles and raised troops to drive out the Tubo officials and garrison. Langri Lungzan's rule was in danger. In order to preserve his bloodline, he let Ludongzan lead the army.
He brought his son Gemu to Datang so that he could survive even if the situation changed.
Although Lu Dongzan and Gemu came to the Tang Dynasty, the civil war in Tubo continued. The journey was long, the transportation was inconvenient, and the news could not come and go that fast. On average, Lu Dongzan could only receive news from Tubo once every two months.
Just a few months ago, Lu Dongzan received the news. Langri Lunzan was indeed a powerful man. After an arduous battle, he once again defeated the rebellion of the old nobles. But the problems that followed made it even more disturbing.
People have headaches.
Tubo is located on the plateau, a place with very low productivity. There are very few crops here, barley, wheat, and buckwheat are all, and the output is very low. After two years of civil war, there is basically no time to plant food, and the stored grain is consumed.
Everything was lost, and the whole country faced the dilemma of no food.
In the past, when encountering this kind of situation, the usual way to deal with it was to come to the Central Plains to plunder. The cities in the Central Plains are rich, so there is no need to rob more. Just rob one or two cities, which is basically enough. And doing so has an additional benefit.
That is, you can consume a wave of people who eat food.
Tubo is a slave country, and its army is composed of two parts. One part is the slave soldiers without weapons, and the other part is the well-trained army. The combat effectiveness of these slave soldiers is very poor, but they are also useful. For example,
The Tang army was good at using bows and arrows, so these slave soldiers could play a very good role in consuming arrows.
And when there was no food to attack the cities of the Tang Dynasty, the arrows of the Tang army could also consume the slaves who were eating. It was a killing two birds with one stone.
Why can't such a clever plan be used this year? The reason is very simple. After two years of civil war, Tubo really has no strength to tease the Tang Dynasty. Let alone provocation, they can't even send their troops to the Tang Dynasty.
The capabilities of the Tang border are gone.
Therefore, if you want to solve the current predicament of Tibet, you will definitely not be able to do it through force. You can only find other ways. Just hearing about the "Foreign Affairs Office", Lu Dongzan came to try his luck.
In fact, if we were talking about trade with the Tang Dynasty, there would be no need for human trafficking to be so miserable. Although Langri Lunzan won this battle miserably, it was a victory after all, and there were still a lot of spoils. Not to mention the gold and silver utensils.
Tubo is also rich in charcoal, ironware, and woolen products. Tubo's animal husbandry is also very developed, and furs and other things are available to both young and old. There are also plateau specialty medicinal materials, such as snow lotus, safflower, etc., which can be used for trade with the Tang Dynasty.
But who is willing to take out this kind of high-quality resources casually? Anyone who is in the business wants to use the least valuable thing in his hand to exchange for what he needs most. Langri Lunzan, who just finished the war, has the least valuable thing in his hand.
The most valuable things were prisoners of war. Those who opposed him were a hidden danger to his rule. If Tubo had not been too empty at this time, he would have launched a war against the Tang Dynasty and 'consumed' these rebels.
It is not possible to start a war now, but if these slaves can be exchanged for food, it will undoubtedly kill two birds with one stone, that is, it will solve the food problem and 'consume' these rebels.
The reason why Tubo dared to do such a business and even exposed its own weaknesses was not because Langri Lunzan had water in his head, but because he was confident!
The relationship between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty, or it can be said that the relationship between Tubo and the previous Central Plains dynasties is the same. They are not afraid of the Central Plains dynasty attacking them, because history has proved that the Central Plains dynasty cannot enter the plateau due to miasma and altitude sickness.
, are all natural chasms that the Central Plains army cannot overcome. This is very unfair, but it is the fact. Moreover, Tubo is really not worth fighting. Even if Tubo is destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, the little things Tubo has are really worthy of the Central Plains
Does the dynasty pay a 'cost of rule'?
The rulers of the Central Plains dynasties of all dynasties gave the answer, it is not worth it.
Therefore, the Central Plains Dynasty's attitude towards Tubo has always been, if you come to harass me, I will beat you so that you don't dare to yell, and that's it. Historically, Li Shimin agreed to a marriage, but he married a daughter of the clan.
', also shows that in Li Shimin's eyes, Tubo is not very popular. It is just a choice that costs less resources between going to war and appeasing.
Lu Dongzan confessed to Li Mu that this was also the reason. But he misjudged Li Mu. The rulers of the past dynasties did not have the intention to rule Tubo because in the consciousness of the rulers of the past dynasties, Tubo has never been Kyushu in the traditional sense.
However, Li Mu was educated that Tubo was a part of China. If he had the chance to get his hands on one of the fifty-six flowers, how could he let it go?
Even if it is to leave a saying "from ancient times" to future generations, it is a good deal.
In an instant, several thoughts flashed through Li Mu's mind. Lu Dongzan thought he was going to refuse, so he planned to give in, "If the Marquis is not interested in slaves, we can talk about other things. Tubo has leather and charcoal -
"
"No hurry, no hurry," Li Mu smiled happily. When Lu Dongzan saw Li Mu's smile, he immediately felt a chill down his spine and became more cautious: "Master Hou, you are not in a hurry, but Tubo..."
"Isn't it just food? Yes!" Li Mu's face was filled with the words 'it's a trivial matter'. Lu Dongzan became increasingly unsure and laughed along with him: "Master Hou said this, are you planning to help?
"
"It's all business. I can't say whether I can help or not. It's a win-win cooperation." Li Mu suddenly changed the subject and said, "You came here alone?"
Lu Dongzan nodded and said, "The prince is in Chang'an."
"Oh," Li Mu seemed very interested and said, "What are you doing?"
Lu Dongzan thought to himself, what does this guy mean? Has he forgotten that the prince is now a proton, and the proton is not allowed to leave Chang'an? Did he say this deliberately, is it intended to humiliate?
Being under the eaves, one can only endure the humiliation. Lu Dongzan suppressed his anger and said as calmly as possible: "As a hostage, the Crown Prince cannot leave Chang'an. His favorite princess, Princess Huanzhu, is now in heaven and on earth."
"Run, waiter..." Li Mu laughed dryly, thinking that this Tubo prince is really big-hearted. His country is in a puddle of mud, and he is still in the mood to pick up girls. But what does this have to do with him? The Tubo prince is not
His son.
"He has never been a disciple, has he?"
Lu Dongzan frowned and said, "Master Hou, does this have anything to do with what we are talking about?"
"It seems unrelated, but it actually has something to do with it." Li Mu said calmly: "I don't know if you have heard that I have registered a sect, called the 'Xiaoyao Sect'. It is the time to recruit disciples, and I think the Tubo prince has good qualifications.
, I want to accept him as my disciple."
Lu Dongzan thought that Li Mu was amusing him, and said angrily: "If you don't want to help, you can just say so. There is no need to humiliate people like this. My prince is the legitimate son of Zanpu. He will inherit the throne of Tubo Zanpu in the future. How can he be worshiped by Tang Dynasty?"
division?"
"Oh," Li Mu raised his eyebrows and said, "Since you are so stubborn, there is nothing to say. In the first half of the year, Tubo also invaded Songzhou in the Tang Dynasty, but the matter is not over yet. Since it is an enemy country, there is no friendship, no
Friendship, what do your affairs have to do with me, the Tang Dynasty?"
After that, Li Mu was about to stand up. Lu Dongzan hurriedly pulled his sleeve and begged: "Master Hou, I really can't make the decision on this matter. Please change your request. Otherwise, I will send you a box of gold."
You, as long as the Marquis facilitates this matter——"
"Should I give you that box of gold?" Li Mu sneered, shook off Lu Dongzan's hand, and said: "Who doesn't know that I, Li Mu, am worth tens of millions, and want to bribe me with just a box of gold? You can't make the decision, so just
Go and ask the person who can make the decision, and when you find out clearly, it won’t be too late to talk again.”
"This..." Lu Dongzan watched blankly as Li Mu mounted his horse, thinking to himself, Luoyang and Tubo are far away, and it would take at least two months for the messenger to come and go. But the current situation in Tubo makes it impossible to wait two months.
!
"Master Hou!" Lu Dongzan called to Li Mu and said, "Are you willing to help the prince if he is a disciple?"
"Be willing to become a disciple, this is the prerequisite. I will decide the trade list, this is the basis. From now on, all business between Tibet and Datang will be handled by the Foreign Affairs Office. Private trade is prohibited, taxes are paid on time, and tax evasion is not allowed. This
If you can do all three, I can consider helping. Think carefully and give me an answer before tomorrow night. I will be traveling far away the day after tomorrow, and it will be too late by then."
Li Mu didn't even look back. He shook his hand and walked away.
…
It was Li Mu's impromptu idea to accept the Tubo prince as his apprentice, but this idea was not a whim.
During this period, Li Mu thought deeply about how to make the Tang Dynasty strong. Although the rise of the Tang Dynasty was unstoppable, the strength of the Tang Dynasty also hid hidden dangers.
Different historians may give different interpretations of the decline of the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Mu's perspective is different. He believes that the decline of the Han and Tang Dynasties has a certain relationship with the excessive territory.
An overly large territory is not conducive to governance. In this era, there are no planes, trains, or network communications. An order from the capital will take four to five months or even half a year to arrive. Of course, the control is not good. Therefore, when the territory reaches a certain level, the court will
The influence on the local area is almost negligible. Coupled with the cultural barriers between different ethnic groups, chaos is inevitable.
So how to solve this problem?
Li Mu has made many ideas, but almost all of them have no solution. This result is not surprising. If there is a good way, how can so many sages not think of it?
But Li Mu, who has knowledge about the future, still thought of a "soft" method. Although it cannot be a complete success at one stroke, it will definitely be effective. The inspiration for this method came from a story he heard from the old dean when he was a child.
When Li Mu was just starting school, the old dean once asked Li Mu what kind of university he wanted to attend in the future.
The answer Li Mu gave was "Tsinghua". At that time, he didn't know that there were many girls in Peking University, so he chose Tsinghua simply because its name sounded good.
When the old dean heard that he chose Tsinghua University, he told him a story.
In China, many people know about Tsinghua University, but few people know that Tsinghua University, as the highest university in China, was actually established by Americans. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the "Eight-Power Allied Forces" invaded China. The Qing government was forced to sign the "Xin Chou Treaty"
, the compensation was 450 million taels of silver, known in history as the "Gengzi Indemnity". Three years later, the United States stated that the compensation received was too much and was willing to use part of it to "refund schools."
After many discussions between the two parties, matters related to refunding the school were finally determined five years later. This school is now Tsinghua University. When things go wrong, there must be monsters, and the enemy will certainly not be so kind. After participating in the process of preparing Tsinghua University,
A passage from James, the president of the University of Illinois, to the President of the United States in 1906, revealed the true purpose of the United States’ refund for schooling: “We will now be able to use the most complete and ingenious way to control China’s development——
That is, using the method of intellectually and spiritually dominating Chinese leaders."
"It is more reliable for business to follow spiritual control than to follow the military flag."
This is the true purpose of Americans.
The old dean told this story to Li Mu, with the original intention of cultivating Li Mu's patriotic sentiment. Unexpectedly, he unexpectedly changed his aspirations. After many discussions between the two parties, the refund-related matters of running the school were finally determined five years later. This
This school is now Tsinghua University. When things go wrong, there must be monsters, and the enemy will certainly not be so kind. A passage in the "Memorandum" sent to the President of the United States in 1906 by James, the president of the University of Illinois, who participated in the preparation of Tsinghua University, revealed
The real purpose of the U.S.’s refunding schools was revealed: “We must now be able to use the most complete and ingenious way to control China’s development—that is, use the way to intellectually and spiritually dominate China’s leaders.”
"It is more reliable for business to follow spiritual control than to follow the military flag."
This is the true purpose of Americans.
The old dean told this story to Li Mu. His original intention was to cultivate Li Mu's patriotic sentiment. Unexpectedly, he unexpectedly changed his aspirations.