Lu Dongzan came to the capital for two reasons. One was to ask for a princess in marriage for their king, and the other was to attack Tuyuhun from both sides.
Of course, these two things were decided by them six months ago. During these six months, earth-shaking changes have taken place here, and I am afraid that these two things will not go as he wishes.
Over the years, there have been many foreign envoys in Chang'an City, but Tubo is different. Chang'an's intelligence department has been operating all the time and knows that Tubo is a very powerful country. Moreover, during the war between the Tang army and Tubo, we suffered heavy losses.
Therefore, in the eyes of many Tang Dynasty generals, their army had little chance of winning against the Tubo army. Li Xiang had studied this matter and found that it was not that the Tang Dynasty army lacked combat effectiveness, but rather a problem of cognition on the part of the Tang Dynasty army.
Whether facing the Turks or Tuyuhun, the Tang army placed cavalry in an important position, but when facing the Tubo army, the cavalry could not play their role, especially when we had to enter the plateau to fight, which was too much of a test for us.
In that era, people didn't know what altitude sickness was, so when Hou Junji led his men to charge forward, they were defeated by the Tibetans. This left an indelible impression on all the generals, that is, the Tang army could not compare to the Tibetan army. Of course, we were not afraid of them. It was just a small-scale border conflict. If a real war broke out, the Tang generals would still be able to go into battle.
"What's there to say? We're not implementing the marriage alliance policy anymore. We'll just reject them directly. As for the plan to attack Tuyuhun from both sides, does the Tang Dynasty need them?"
When facing Tubo, many people in the Tang Dynasty did not have a good impression of them. Cheng Yaojin said this directly: The plan you made six months ago may be of some benefit to our Tang Dynasty. Now we can defeat Tuyuhun by ourselves. Do you want you to take advantage of it?
If things were that simple, Li Shimin would not have called all these people here. Looking at the expression on Li Shimin's face, you can tell that this matter is probably not that simple.
"Lu Dongzan mentioned earlier that the Tubo army of 150,000 has reached the border of Tuyuhun."
Li Shimin said this helplessly. Although the Tang Dynasty had indeed gained huge advantages in the war with Tuyuhun and enriched its own treasury, many parts of the Tang Dynasty had been in debt for a long time. For example, the compensation had not been collected yet, and the Ministry of Revenue had already allocated the money. If a conflict broke out with Tubo, it would definitely be a protracted war, which the Tang Dynasty could not do now.
"What does he mean? Is he trying to threaten the Tang Dynasty with force?"
General Qin Qiong also became angry. We had just won a victory over Tuyuhun, and this guy had seen it all. Now he actually said such things. This was not what a friendly country should say. What's more, our Tang Dynasty is now at its peak. He dared to say this, which meant that they did not take our Tang Dynasty seriously.
"I don't think they have the guts to do that, but Tubo is indeed a powerful nation. If we don't take action, they can destroy Tuyuhun on their own."
Li Shimin said this to flatter himself. The other person was already standing in front of him and said what he just said, which meant that he already intended to threaten you with force.
"What do you think, Your Highness?"
In such occasions, if no one speaks, Li Xiang basically won't speak. Mainly because there are no major mistakes in the direction of discussion, Li Xiang will just sit and listen. After all, he is just a junior.
Fang Xuanling had been silent all this time. Seeing that no one could come to a conclusion, he pulled Li Xiang out. Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji had a hundred thoughts in their minds, but when facing the military generals of the court, they might quarrel with each other. But if certain words came out of Li Xiang's mouth, things would be different. After all, Li Xiang was also a military general, but at the same time he could see the overall situation clearly.
"What aspect is the Prime Minister talking about?"
Li Xiang pretended to be stupid. You guys could have figured it out yourselves, but you had to kick me out.
"Lu Dongzan's purpose."
Fang Xuanling was also very frugal with words, but he was able to express his meaning clearly. Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin trusted Li Xiang very much, so they both looked at Li Xiang.
This made Li Shimin feel uncomfortable. He was the core of these generals back then, but now, after just one battle, have my two generals been won over?
"emperor?"
Li Xiang did not answer directly, but looked up at his grandfather. This detail was very important. If you answer directly, you will be treated as a court official. If something happens, you will need to take responsibility. But if the emperor nods, even if you say something wrong, he will not hold it against a child like you.
"Tell me about it too. You've always been full of tricks."
The Emperor was unwilling to expand Li Xiang's influence, and even used the issue of establishing a queen to make Li Xiang and the King of Wu enemies. But sometimes he still had to use this kid, because he was a useful person.
"If my grandson's guess is correct, Lu Dongzan came to Chang'an and asked to marry the princess. Firstly, it was his mission, and secondly, he wanted to show off that his Tubo Kingdom was different from other countries. The Tang Dynasty will open a backdoor for him."
After Li Xiang finished speaking, the people present immediately split into two groups. One group was Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin. They widened their eyes and couldn't believe that Lu Dongzan had such an idea. This was trampling on the dignity of our Tang Dynasty.
Another group included Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji Li Shimin. They were also speculating about this issue, but they did not dare to say it out loud. Once they said it out loud, we would most likely be in opposition to Tubo. The two major empires would be in opposition to each other, which would be a very dangerous thing, so they had to say it through Li Xiang's mouth.
"What about the Tuyuhun incident? Are they just bluffing or are they really going to fight?"
Cheng Yaojin raised the next question.
"Whether they are bluffing or really planning to fight, we cannot get involved. We must support Tuyuhun when necessary."
After Li Xiang said this, Zhangsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling's faces were full of admiration. It is indeed a blessing for our Tang Dynasty that a fourteen-year-old child can see these things clearly...
