The day passed quickly as a few people chatted and laughed. Because there was a time difference between the two places, they only needed three days to walk to the Tubo camp. In order to ensure their own safety, Li Xiang brought a total of 300 guards. These people also changed their clothes. When they were with Chief Maggie, most of them wore ordinary people's clothes. Now that they were representing the royal family, they had to change into the clothes of the royal guards.
"We have no documents or other necessary things, and we just came directly outside the Tibetan camp. Our marriage has already been ruined. I don't know what Lu Dongzan's expression will be when he sees us. How are we going to explain this to him then?"
Yuchi Baolin looked at the group of people coming and going, and he didn't know what to say. According to the original imperial edict, they were here to announce the decree. The emperor granted the marriage, which was a legitimate reason. But now, under their manipulation, this marriage was over, and it was a bit nonsensical for them to come here.
"You are such a troublemaker. If the sky falls, there will be someone bigger to hold it up. What does it have to do with us? We are just here to do our job. If you really make a fortune, we will pick up the small ones from behind. If you really want to fight, we will fight side by side with swords in hand."
Chang Sun Chong was not bothered by this matter at all. Since we followed Li Xiang out, it was natural for Li Xiang to think about this matter himself. None of us were good at using our brains. If we were asked to think about this matter, we would probably have to rack our brains.
"That's true. When did I ever do the work of a military advisor?"
Yuchi Baolin said with a smile.
Li Xiang shook his head helplessly. These two guys were relying on him, but Li Xiang didn't have to worry about explaining this. Explaining these things was not important now. The most important thing was how to get food.
Just as Li Xiang thought, the atmosphere in the Tubo camp was extremely weird. Lu Dongzan was very famous in Tubo. Even if Songtsen Gampo spoke to him, he had to be polite. But now Songtsen Gampo had been scolding him for a long time, and in front of all the civil and military officials in the court. When Songtsen Gampo came over, a large number of nobles also followed.
The ministers of Tubo were divided into two groups. One group was like General Huyan, who had an average relationship with Songtsen Gampo but was promoted by Lu Dongzan.
The other group of people are the remaining ministers. During the struggles over the years, these people have had a hard time. After all, Songtsen Gampo handed all the power to Lu Dongzan. If they do not take the path of the prime minister, then they will never have a position to rise. But if they do, Songtsen Gampo will be unhappy. They are the older generation of Tibetan nobles, and this time they finally have a day to come to the fore. Songtsen Gampo came to the military camp in a rage, and Lu Dongzan was scolded for a long time. Including those under him, no one gave them a good face. Perhaps it is the day for these old nobles to come to the fore.
Songtsen Gampo took a sip of water. His mouth was dry from cursing himself, but he could only rely on Lu Dongzan for some things. Although there were many people around him, few of them did their jobs. If they were asked to flatter him, there might be nothing left from now until tomorrow morning. But if they were asked to do some serious work, these people would be more useless than each other.
"The grain in the government warehouse is only enough to last until the end of the year. According to our Tibetan customs, a new batch of grain would arrive at the end of the year, but now they have blocked the grain-producing areas, so this batch of grain will not be able to come in. What are you going to feed all these people?"
The reason why Songtsen Gampo went to the front line was, on the one hand, to quell the rebellion, and on the other hand, because of the food problem. If there was no new food, there would definitely be riots on his land next year, and more people would rise up in resistance. The chieftains around the holy city would also stand up in resistance, and Songtsen Gampo's ruling system would likely collapse. Therefore, now eliminating these chieftains has become secondary. The most important thing is to get a batch of food first.
"I have already sent people to Tuyuhun and Datang, hoping to purchase some grain from them. If possible, we can also send people to Nanzhao. Nanzhao has a small population, but they have a lot of grain."
Lu Dongzan tidied his clothes and started his own plan. Although these plans were simple, they required careful thinking to actually implement them. This was one of the reasons why Songtsen Gampo could not do without him.
"How much will it cost to buy all the food from outside? The money in the treasury is already very limited. Because of this war, we have almost spent all our savings over the years. If we continue to buy food, the treasury's silver will..."
The Tubo steward Lang Tai frowned and said that this man was in charge of the national treasury for Songtsen Gampo's father and was very clear about the situation in the national treasury. More than half of the money had been spent on this war. If more was used to buy food, it would probably not cover the expenses.
Although a batch of tax silver soon came in, due to the war, the economy in various places was in chaos, and the tax revenue collected was less than one-third of previous years, so these people were unsure.
The most important thing is that there is still a batch of compensation to be paid to the Tang Dynasty. Songtsen Gampo himself did not know about the agreement signed between Lu Dongzan and the Tang Dynasty a while ago. When Songtsen Gampo scolded Lu Dongzan just now, it was for this reason. You are just a prime minister of Tubo, and you dare to make such a decision. You are becoming more and more like Prime Minister Midu of Tuyuhun.
Lu Dongzan actually had no way to explain this matter. He did make a decision that he shouldn't have made, but if he hadn't done so under the circumstances at the time, the Tusi coalition might even have been able to destroy the Southern Camp. Then the Tusi coalition would have broken out of the siege, and most of Tubo would have been plunged into chaos. The situation would have been much more critical than it is now, so he didn't think he had done anything wrong, it was just that the Zamp couldn't understand it for the time being.
"Then borrow money from the rich and do whatever you can to get it. Food is our foundation."
Songtsen Gampo glared at Lang Tai and said, this guy is in charge of the national treasury, and I don’t know how much money he embezzles every year. Only by raiding your house can we get through this difficult time.
