"What is it?"
Seeing Li Xiang speak so seriously, Lu Dongzan was indeed a little curious. The two countries are both major powers, and all kinds of things must be sorted out. If a war breaks out because of a misunderstanding, it will be a relatively large loss for both countries.
Although the two countries have regarded each other as rivals, no one wants to go to war immediately unless their vital interests are involved, especially when they are not fully prepared.
"In the agreement signed between our country and Tuyuhun, Tuyuhun has already acknowledged that it is a vassal state of our country. Therefore, if your army were to invade Tuyuhun, it would be tantamount to invading our Tang Dynasty."
After Li Xiang said this, not only Lu Dongzan's face changed, but all the civil and military officials in the court, including Li Shimin, were dumbfounded. Although we bullied Tuyuhun severely, they have never said that they are our vassal state. You are lying if you say that.
If you were chatting with a few people, telling a lie would be fine, but now you are in front of the Prime Minister of Tubo, and your words cannot stand up to scrutiny. If it gets out, Tuyuhun will directly deny it, and then the face of our Tang Dynasty will be lost.
“…”
Li Shimin was about to speak, but was stopped by a look from Li Xiang. Li Shimin suddenly felt that he was a vice emperor. Who is the emperor between us? Usually I can silence others with just a look. How dare you, a little bastard, silence your grandfather?
Some people also observed this scene and kept their mouths shut. If the emperor could tolerate it, why should we stand up? If we disrupt His Royal Highness Changsun's grand plan, all of us might be executed.
But some people don't have this foresight. When they heard Li Xiang say this, they were about to stand up, but someone next to them held them back.
"Second brother, please be patient."
The person who wanted to go out was Li Tai, the Prince of Wei. Li Ke, the Prince of Wu, held this guy tightly. Some time ago, the two had fought a battle in the Golden Palace. Li Tai suffered a lot at the hands of Li Ke, mainly because he had been studying literature since he was a child and had no interest in martial arts. Li Ke, on the other hand, was a man of both civil and military talents. So when the two princes were fighting, the other servants all stayed away and no one dared to stand in their way. The only one who suffered was Li Tai.
"Do you know what this kid is talking about? This will bring disaster to our Tang Dynasty."
Li Tai said in a low voice.
"That's not your turn, second brother, to worry about it. Father is still here."
Li Ke said unmoved, the two princes' voices were not loud, and the people around could not see any movements of the two princes' subordinates. They just looked like they were competing with each other, but these were two princes of the court. No matter what happened, it had nothing to do with us. We should try not to get involved. Because of the issue of fighting for the throne, haven't enough little devils died?
"Your Highness, are you serious?"
Lu Dongzan said with some disbelief, because he had never heard of this matter. He also had many people inside Tuyuhun, and he only heard that Tuyuhun lost land and money, but he had never heard that they even lost their dignity. Could it be that Li Xiang was deceiving him by saying this?
"I am the Prince of Chengping of the Tang Empire, the eldest grandson of the current emperor. Doesn't what I say mean the truth? Moreover, this is the Golden Palace."
Li Xiang said with high spirits.
Lu Dongzan nodded beside him. Even if Li Xiang had the guts to speak so freely in such a place, he probably wouldn't dare. However, with his sophisticated intelligence network, could he have missed this crucial intelligence? If they had known that Tuyuhun was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, they would never have formulated such a military invasion policy; it would have been tantamount to declaring war on the Tang Dynasty.
If the Tang army could be attracted to the plateau, the Tubo army would have a 100% chance of winning. But if they left the plateau, everyone would have a scale in their hearts to determine who would win between the two countries. The journey from the plateau to the plain was too difficult. Once the supply was cut off, the Tubo army would have no chance of winning at all.
"Could you please let me see the document that was signed at that time?"
What Lu Dongzan said was actually very unreasonable. You are questioning the Emperor's eldest grandson of the Tang Dynasty, but this matter is too big. If Lu Dongzan had not seen it with his own eyes, he really couldn't believe it.
Lu Dongzan's words also made the others' hearts rise to their throats. When facing an outsider, you can not tell the truth, but we are all family. Even if we read this agreement from beginning to end, there will not be a clause that admits that it is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.
"Master Prime Minister, do you not trust me, or do you not trust the Tang Dynasty?"
Li Xiang had a provocative look on his face, and was thinking in his heart how to get through this.
"I am only acting in a responsible manner towards my country. If the contract truly states that Tuyuhun is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, then I can speak on behalf of Tubo and immediately cease the war against Tuyuhun."
Lu Dongzan said tit for tat. He had already determined that Li Xiang could not have this agreement in his hands. If he did have it, would he be afraid of him seeing it?
The reason why Li Xiang showed a panic look just now was to lure him into saying this. Now that you have said this, we have the initiative in some things. As for the agreement, it was indeed not signed at that time, but before you leave Chang'an City, I will make sure you see it.
"Okay, Your Excellency, the Prime Minister is indeed straightforward and respectful of our Great Tang. This agreement shouldn't be shown to outsiders, as it involves some confidential matters. However, since Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, has spoken today, I will definitely let You see it. This agreement is stored in Liangzhou City. I will immediately send someone to rush six hundred miles to retrieve it. It will only take a dozen days, and Your Excellency, the Prime Minister will be in Chang'an City for many days, so You will definitely be able to see it."
Although Li Xiang had gained a buffer period of more than ten days, it was not so easy to turn a country into a vassal state of another country. Even though Tuyuhun was defeated like that, he did not sign such an agreement.
"Of course. Even a lifetime would reveal more than enough of Chang'an's customs and culture. I will be waiting for Your Highness in the guild hall. However, if Your Highness fails to produce it by then, the Tang Dynasty will not interfere in any military actions of the Tibetan Empire against Tuyuhun."
Lu Dongzan was unwilling to push too far. "It's only a dozen days. Do you think you can still rebel?" If there's no agreement by then, we'll still occupy Tuyuhun.
