"Your Highness has come to our grasslands, presumably because of this matter. I wonder what your Highness proposes, and what the Tang Dynasty's attitude is?"
Prime Minister Midu no longer beat around the bush. If it were someone else, they would have to test each other. The reason why Li Xiang called Prime Minister Midu was because he could see the situation clearly and would never waste time on such meaningless negotiations.
"Let's be frank. The existence of Tuyuhun is beneficial to the Tang Dynasty. It's not that we're afraid of Tubo, but because we have various unresolved issues at home. I'm sure you saw during the grassland auction a while ago that almost all the participants were powerful people within our country. Therefore, we cannot engage in large-scale foreign wars."
Li Xiang's words were all true. In a negotiation like this, it's useless to say vague things. If you say you're defending your homeland for Tuyuhun, how can they believe you? You only need to explain your own benefits. Seeing Li Xiang's genuine honesty, Prime Minister Midu relaxed his guard a little.
"Does this mean that if war breaks out, the Tang Dynasty will aid us, Tuyuhun?"
Prime Minister Midu said with some disbelief. You know, a few months ago, the two countries had just fought a large-scale war. Tuyuhun even lost a large amount of land in the north and a large amount of money. Now the two countries are about to enter the negotiation stage. No one would believe this.
"Even if the Tang Dynasty came to your aid with all its might, Prime Minister, tell me the truth, how long can you hold out? This is crucial for us, and we also need to assess how many troops we should send."
When Long San, who was standing next to him, heard what Li Xiang said, he really didn't know what to say. We have no plan to assist Tuyuhun at all. Your Highness said this purely to confuse these people and make them think that we have such a plan. We will fool all of you later.
When Prime Minister Midu and Tuyuhun Khan heard this, they were both very happy. When they came, they had analyzed that the Tang Dynasty sent Li Xiang to the grassland because there must be something important to discuss, but they did not think that the Tang Dynasty would support Tuyuhun. It seemed that the Tang Dynasty still had a fear of Tubo.
"Our Tuyuhun warriors are brave and skilled in battle. This time, we are fighting to defend our country. We can hold out for at least four months."
As soon as Prime Minister Midu finished speaking, Li Xiang laughed beside him. "You're still boasting at this time? Do you think we don't know your actual situation? If it weren't for the previous war, we would have believed that four months would be enough, but given your current situation, four months is just a pipe dream."
"Prime Minister, I think we should be frank. If you can hold out for four months, then even if the Tang army wants to support you, we have plenty of time. There's no need for me to travel thousands of miles to negotiate with you."
Li Xiang's words made Prime Minister Midu feel a little embarrassed, but they were in urgent need of support from the Tang Dynasty, but they did not want to weaken their own country's prestige. Once they repelled the attack of Tubo, if the Tang Dynasty put in too much effort, it would also cut off a large piece of meat from them. This kid in front of them was not a pushover.
"Two months at most..."
When Prime Minister Midu said this, he didn't dare to raise his head. This was the real situation of Tuyuhun now. Although it was on their territory, after the Tang army retreated, the fighting between the tribes was too fierce. Some tribes did not suffer much loss when fighting with the Tang army, but were destroyed in the process of migrating south. This kind of thing was common on the grassland.
It was during this civil war that Tuyuhun's strength was greatly consumed, so being able to hold out for two months was already their greatest ability.
"Time is too short. Even if we mobilize our troops as quickly as possible in these two months, we cannot save Tuyuhun from destruction."
Li Xiang is definitely a good actor. He made people tell the truth and said that he could not save his side. However, what he said was also the truth. The Tubo army had reached the border, which was something that neither country had expected. If it took longer, the Tang Dynasty would have time to mobilize troops, but with only two months, there was not enough time even to get there.
"So what should we do?"
Prime Minister Midu was like a man falling off a cliff, holding a rope thrown down by Li Xiang. Now Li Xiang suddenly said that the rope was useless. Prime Minister Midu felt that all the strength in his body had been drained.
The Tuyuhun Khan next to him also took a step back. Li Xiang raised his head and glanced at the old guard, but of course it did not attract his attention. Maybe this guy also lamented the demise of Tuyuhun.
"We really want to help you, but unfortunately, the time is too short. We can't mobilize troops for two months. Although there are some troops in Liangzhou City, we must first ensure the safety of our own people. If we all leave the city to aid you, if someone from your inner circle attacks the border cities, our people will be doomed."
Seeing the other side being defeated step by step, Li Xiang was also thinking about how to guide them to the agreement. Of course, the action cannot be too fast. If it is too fast, the prime minister on the opposite side is not a fool.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. All our troops are more than 400 miles away from Liangzhou City. How could we possibly cause any damage to Nanzhou City? If Your Highness doesn't believe us, we can continue to withdraw our troops south."
Prime Minister Midu said anxiously, if it is because of this reason, it is easy to deal with. At worst, we can just withdraw the army to the south. After all, the war is about to start, and all the troops in the north must be withdrawn to the south. There are not many troops left here, so even if all of them are withdrawn now, it will be the same.
Tuyuhun Khan wanted to interject, but thinking of his current status, he swallowed the words. The North cannot but retain a small army. If we do not retain an army, when we fight Tubo, the Tang Dynasty will send troops at any time, and they will divide our territory with Tubo...
Tuyuhun Khan finally understood the helplessness of a small country: when you consider one big country, you can't consider another big country, and they both have the ability to crush you...
