Chapter 292 Punishment of Tubo, tribute

"Changan, why does it feel different this time?"

Enlanda Zhalugong's motorcade was outside Mingde Gate, waiting for Tang Ting's consent.

He had come to Chang'an once, and although he came to seek peace that time, he held his back straight.

Even though Chang'an was prosperous, he believed that Tubo would catch up sooner or later.

But this time, Enlanda Zhalugong clearly felt the solemnity and sacredness of Chang'an City.

Compared with Chang'an, Lhasa is like a shabby little town.

Even in a hundred years or a thousand years, it would be difficult for the Tubo people to build such a city.

Enlanda Zhalugong hated Li Xuan and was unwilling to accept his defeat. As the war came to an end, he recalled the war with Li Xuan and found that Tubo was completely defeated and had no power to resist.

He had already figured out that even in a head-on confrontation, they would not be a match for Li Xuan.

He admired Li Xuan's bravery and was convinced of his ability as a commander.

But this does not mean that Enlanda Zhalugong does not have the courage to defend the remaining territory of Tubo.

Just as Maxiang Zhongbajie said, they, the Tubo, are waiting for the "variables" in the Han history books, and it is a truth that everything that rises must fall.

If their generation can’t wait, there will be the next generation, and the next generation…

"According to the order of the Saint, the Tibetan ambassador is summoned to the Qinzheng Office Building."

The eunuch from the palace came on horseback and announced to Enlandazhalugong.

Behind him was a team of Yulin troops, "escorting" the Tibetan team into the Mingde Gate.

"Follow the order of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"

Enlanda Zhalu bowed respectfully and saluted in the direction of the Yulin Army.

He was extremely respectful and hoped that this mission to the Tang Dynasty would satisfy it.

Paying tribute every year and coming to the court every year are certain.

Tibet is now a weak country and hopes that the Tang Dynasty can demand less tribute so that Tibet will not have to linger on and can retain some strength.

In addition, Nlanda Zhalugong wanted to meet the former Zamp, Chidai Zhudan.

A convoy of Tubo people was moving slowly on Zhuque Street.

Because the team was very special and there were Yulin Army beside them, the people passing by Chang'an were curious about their identities.

"They are Tibetans, and they have Tibetan official uniforms. They must be paying tribute to the Tang Dynasty."

Some well-informed people recognized the identities of Nlanda Zhalugong and his gang.

The items covered by the oilcloth were obviously gold, silver and jewelry.

"The Tibetans have finally completely submitted to the Tang Dynasty. From now on, there will be no more bloodshed at the Longyou Pass."

A scholar said naively.

"It is said that Liangzhou City is prosperous, second only to Chang'an, Luoyang and Yangzhou. Now there is no war at the border, so you can go there to roam and enrich your experience."

Some literati set their sights on Guzang City in Wuwei.

"As long as the Silk Road is open, and with the reputation of my young master defeating Tubo, Tianbao will be more prosperous than Kaiyuan."

Some people also have infinite aspirations and hope that life will get better and better.

"Yes! Young Master's new law is very good. It is said that there is a charity outside the city. Even if the family is poor, they can send their children to become doctors."

More people in Chang'an were looking forward to the completion of Jishengtang so that they could afford medical treatment and medicine.

Amidst the heated discussions, the Tibetan troops, led by the Yulin Army, entered the avenue south of Xingqing Palace.

All everyone was talking about was the young master, from his glorious military exploits to his new government policies.

They believed that everything in the court was related to the young master.

Li Linfu's son was beaten half to death for visiting an underage prostitute and became a laughing stock.

Li Linfu's prestige is rapidly weakening.

People all believed that it would be the young husband's turn to take the stage and that he would push the Tang Dynasty to a new peak.

Inside the Xingqing Palace is the main building where government affairs are conducted.

Li Longji specially summoned Li Xuan, Li Linfu and Pei Kuan from the Zhongshu Menxia Hall to see the tribute offered by Tubo.

At the same time, they discussed the number of horses, cattle and sheep that Tubo would pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty in the future.

Li Longji watched the Tibetan troops passing through the street from behind the curtain on the second floor of the Qinzhengwu Building.

The officials had informed Li Longji that the Tibetan troops had arrived at the Qinzhengwuben Building, but Li Longji was still talking with Li Xuan and Li Linfu.

He intentionally left the Tubo envoy downstairs.

"What do the three prime ministers think Tubo should pay tribute to us in the future?"

Li Longji asked Li Xuan, Li Linfu and Pei Kuan about this matter.

"We can call the Tibetan prime minister to discuss this matter together."

Li Linfu said this.

This was Li Xuan's achievement, and Li Linfu always felt very awkward when he talked about it.

"Right Prime Minister, what you said is wrong! Tubo is at the end of its strength and can no longer cause any trouble. The Tang Dynasty has already subdued Tubo. The amount of tribute from Tubo is not decided by them, but by the sage. This can show the sage's power at home and abroad, and let all the countries in the world know the consequences of not submitting to the Tang Dynasty."

Li Xuan often came out to refute Li Linfu and said some words that made Li Longji happy.

"Shichiro is right."

Li Longji was delighted and said to his ministers, "Why not let Tubo pay tribute like the Uighurs, 3,000 horses, 5,000 cattle, 30,000 sheep, and 50 carts of furs every year?"

These tributes could maintain the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty to a certain extent.

Li Linfu wanted to say that the saint was wise, but when he saw that Li Xuan didn't say anything, he shut up decisively.

Li Xuan always refuted him in the lower hall of the Zhongshu Gate and undermined his prestige. In some matters, Li Xuan would deceive the sage.

"The saint is too benevolent! Tubo is different from Huihe. They still have many pastures in their country, with plenty of cattle, sheep and horses. Asking Tubo to pay more tribute will weaken their power."

Li Xuan did not agree with the amount of tribute in recent years.

After the climate on the snowy plateau warmed up, Tubo's animal husbandry and agriculture developed effectively, although many Tubo soldiers were killed in battle or captured.

But the Tang Dynasty did not invade the heartland of Tibet, and the young generation of Tibet would grow up sooner or later.

Tubo should be asked to pay tribute to weaken its power, which would also be beneficial to Li Xuan in the future.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Li is right. We don't know whether Tubo's surrender is genuine or fake. They don't have the strength to fight back against the Tang Dynasty in the short term. We, the Tang Dynasty, will definitely take this opportunity to continuously weaken Tubo's strength."

Pei Kuan also agreed with Li Xuan's idea.

"I second the proposal!"

Li Linfu had no way to refute and could only agree.

Originally, he wanted to treat Tubo leniently so as not to arouse hatred among them.

Now that he thinks about it, if he said that, Li Xuan would definitely make fun of him, so he might as well just shut up.

"Compared to the Huihe, the tribute of Tubo doubled?"

Li Longji tried again.

"three times!"

Li Xuan suggested a higher level.

This would shake the foundation of a country. From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, no country paid tribute in this way.

But Li Xuan’s meaning was very clear: heavy tribute!
Make it impossible for Tubo to turn over!
Tens of thousands of horses were offered as tribute every year. These were definitely not babies, but war horses.

More than 10,000 cattle can promote the development of agriculture in the Tang Dynasty and open up the wilderness.

One hundred thousand sheep, to improve animal husbandry.

Hundreds of cartloads of furs and skins for use in manufacturing.

Li Xuan knew that in this era, many tributes were just like playing house, and the vassalage was only in name only, without any semblance of a suzerain state.

The emperor of the Celestial Empire must maintain his face.

It will even allow the so-called foreign countries to take advantage.

This situation must be avoided.

Tubo needs to be managed for a long time, and Li Xuan will enter Luoshui City in the future. Exploiting more now will mean sacrificing fewer soldiers in the future.

Taking advantage of the fact that Tubo did not have the concept of "nation", the Tibetan nobles were eliminated, the serfs were freed, and the snowy plateau was forever incorporated into the Chinese territory.

"I'm afraid Tubo will not agree!"

Li Longji had never experienced anything like this before and frowned.

He always felt that as the emperor of the Celestial Empire, it was narrow-minded of him to oppress a subordinate country.

"He can't help but agree! Saint, for more than a hundred years, Tubo has been fickle. Although they have surrendered, they are rampant when they are in power. The events of Princess Wencheng and Princess Jincheng are still fresh in our memory. Saint, you don't need to feel any psychological burden if we do this."

Li Xuan told Li Longji that he was afraid that Li Longji would be lenient towards Tubo for the sake of his face.

"Just follow what Shichiro said!"

Li Longji finally agreed to be ruthless.

Finally, Li Longji, Li Xuan and others went down to the government building to handle government affairs.

At this time, Nlandazalu stood respectfully in front of the building.

Seeing Li Longji coming down, Enlandazaluk knelt down and said in fluent Chinese: "Your Highness, I, Enlandazaluk, pay my respects to the Saint. May the Saint live long."

"No gifts!"

Li Longji raised his hand to let Enlanda Zhalu Gong stand up. He couldn't help asking again: "I remember your name. When I came to Chang'an last time, you were only a minor theorist. Since my prime minister guarded Longyou, Tubo has not won a single battle, and the defeats have been getting worse and worse. How could you be promoted from a minor theorist to a middle theorist, and then to a great theorist?"

"The Tubo people have no self-awareness, they have disobeyed the Tang Dynasty and offended the saints. The great ministers, middle ministers and generals have been captured and killed one after another. I can only be promoted to the great minister with my insignificant talent."

Li Longji's words were meant to be sarcastic, but Enlanda Zhalugong responded seriously.

He was not angry at all, and he had no right to be angry. He took the initiative to admit that he was not talented enough and hinted that Tubo had no more talents and would not pose a threat to the Tang Dynasty.

"That's right! Just submit to the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Longji had no interest in these Tibetan generals.

Like a clay chicken and a clay dog, his prime minister was shattered at the first blow.

"The Tibetans will obey forever, and the alliance between uncle and nephew will never waver."

Enlanda Zhalu Gong bowed to Li Longji again and said, "This is the gold and silver treasures contributed by Tubo. Please take a look, sage."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Yulin Army tore off the tarpaulin on the carts, revealing carts full of gold, silver, jewelry, rare stones, and so on.

The most eye-catching thing is gold, weighing as much as two thousand kilograms.

If Li Longji continued to reward gold in units of "liang", he would not be able to spend it all in a short time.

"Qilang, Tubo's sincerity is quite good."

Li Longji smiled at Li Xuan.

Since Li Xuan held a high position, he has never worried about gold, silver and jewelry.

No matter how Li Xuan came.

But this shows his dignity as an emperor.

“This is the virtue and blessing of a saint!”

Li Xuan also replied with a smile.

Two thousand kilograms of gold was not something Tubo was willing to give, but was a condition for a ceasefire between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty.

"Enlan Dalun, come with me into the Qinzheng Building. The banquet is ready."

After viewing a circle of gold, silver and jewelry, Li Longji smiled and asked Enlanda Zhalugong to prepare a small banquet.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Enlanda Zhalu Gong breathed a sigh of relief and followed Li Longji and Li Xuan into the building for the banquet.

At the banquet, he found Li Xuan even more unfathomable.

Dressed in a purple robe, he just toasted him without discussing past wars. He chatted and laughed with the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and exchanged cups with Prime Minister Pei Kuan.

The powerful prime minister Li Linfu, whom he knew, was left aside.

The banquet was already halfway through when Li Longji remembered that it was not the right time and asked Li Linfu to sit closer to him in an attempt to improve his relationship with Li Xuan.

Li Xuan only drank a cup with Li Linfu reluctantly for Li Longji's sake.

(End of this chapter)