Lu Dongzan looked at the imperial edict carefully. He had been in Chang'an City before, so he naturally knew that the hierarchy in the Tang Dynasty was strict. If Li Xiang forged the imperial edict, he would probably be guilty of a serious crime. Even the crown prince could not bear the responsibility, not to mention that there were several children from other big families in the tent, so these people were even less qualified.
Although they may be Li Xiang's close friends, they also have hundreds of people in their families. If they dare to do this, it would be tantamount to putting these hundreds of people in danger. Once this matter is revealed to others, their entire family may be executed.
Therefore, Lu Dongzan concluded that the imperial edict was genuine. Calculating the date on it, it was indeed issued a month and a half ago. The soldiers must have not rested on the road, so it was delivered to Tubo at this point. It seems that the northern part of the Tang Dynasty was indeed facing a war.
If this is the case, then the food prices must be determined more quickly, even if the price is high. Everyone knows that food prices rise the fastest during wartime, and the price at noon is often much higher than in the morning. If you still hesitate at this time, then you can just wait to starve!
"Your Highness, don't worry. It's just Goguryeo. I've heard others say it's just a small country, no match for your Tang Dynasty, and even worse than Tuyuhun. Why worry?"
It was a bit disgusting when Lu Dongzan said this. He was very familiar with the history of the Han people. Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty launched three expeditions to Goguryeo, which almost exhausted the national strength of the Sui Dynasty. He said it so easily now. If the Tang Dynasty could not take it down, they would have something to say then.
"Your Excellency the Prime Minister is right. However, we in the Tang Dynasty like to go all out in everything we do. Even if the enemy is a tiny nation, we must show our true strength. I once suggested to my grandfather that we mobilize a large number of troops to Liaodong and try to destroy them in one fell swoop. However, we were short of food and fodder at that time. Now the Tang Dynasty has plenty of food and fodder..."
Li Xiang doesn't have so much free time to chat with him here. Even if we want to chat, we have to be friends. Not only are we not friends, but others may be too. So after just two or three sentences, he brought up the issue of food and grass, and forced you guys to bid. If you don't bid, then we will have to set off, and you will spend this winter hungry!
Lu Dongzan was also unhappy. He certainly understood what Li Xiang meant. Whoever spoke first would lose the initiative in the negotiation. However, Tubo no longer had any cards to play. As Songtsen Gampo said, if the Tang Dynasty really controlled the food, the Tubo Dynasty might collapse, and a new dynasty would emerge at that time.
Of course, Li Xiang would never do this. If a new unified dynasty emerged, it would not be good for the Tang Dynasty. The current situation is the most beneficial. The central and local governments of Tubo are in chaos. For every extra month of fighting, your comprehensive national strength will drop by at least 3%. That means it will drop by about 40% a year. After we solve the Goguryeo problem next year, will you Tubo still have the strength?
Some may not have understood Li Xiang's long-term plans, but Li Shimin saw them clearly. While he felt somewhat uncomfortable with many of Li Xiang's decisions, he also knew they were the most likely strategy to bring down Tubo. Therefore, he gave the green light to all of Li Xiang's requests. Otherwise, how could so many people cooperate? This served the interests of both the Tang Dynasty and Li Shimin.
"It's just Goguryeo. The Tang Dynasty is vast and has a huge grain output. Will this affect the price of grain in the Tang Dynasty?"
Lu Dongzan has already started preparing for the negotiations. If the conversation continues as Li Xiang said, the price of grain in Chang'an City will probably increase two or three times. Then, when it reaches Tubo, it will not be a matter of forty cents, but will probably double.
"Your Excellency is mistaken. You don't understand the situation in the Tang Dynasty. The Emperor is planning to send 200,000 troops to attack Goguryeo. It will take at least a year for 200,000 troops to complete the campaign. We must prepare enough food and fodder for that year."
Seeing that no substantive negotiations had been entered into, Li Xiang mobilized Qin Huaiyu with a glance. He said, "What are you all doing sitting here? You should all join in. Let's work together to fool the prime minister, and when we sell it at a good price, we will definitely give you dividends."
What Qin Huaiyu said was half true and half false, because there was no news from the Tang Dynasty on the Tubo side. Of course, they might receive it after a while, but there was indeed no news now. It was possible that the news of sending 200,000 troops to attack Goguryeo was true. After all, Emperor Yang of Sui had mobilized a million troops back then.
If Li Shimin had followed the way Emperor Yang of Sui did, it is very likely that he would have sent troops. Two hundred thousand should be a very small number. If this were really the case, then according to Lu Dongzan's speculation, the price of grain in the Tang Dynasty would have risen.
The Jiangnan region produces a lot of grain, so the price should increase by one to two times. The Guanzhong region is also a grain-producing area, but it has a large population, so the price of grain should increase by about three times. Even the price in Chang'an City can increase by three times, so if it is shipped to Tubo, it will definitely be even higher. Perhaps there will be a series of policies, such as prohibiting grain exports. Then the price...
"Your Highness, the food problem we discussed earlier..."
After Lu Dongzan figured out all these things, he became really anxious. Unfortunately, before he could finish his words, Li Xiang came over, shaking his head and waving his hands, obviously disagreeing with what he had said before.
"If the Prime Minister hadn't mentioned this, I would have forgotten about it. Fortunately, we didn't reach an agreement before. Our country needs food for 200,000 troops, and it needs to be shipped to Liaodong in advance. Therefore, food prices are skyrocketing everywhere. The Prime Minister can also ask about it. The result will be available in two or three days. So fortunately, we didn't reach an agreement. If we had, I would have to buy food for you at a loss."
Li Xiang shook his head and said, feeling as if he had survived a catastrophe. If all this was true, then the price he had negotiated that day, 25 cents, would have meant a loss for him.
