General Qin Qiong was also very concerned about this matter. After the meeting, he quickly wrote a memorial. Of course, the general was different from others. Others cared about this matter purely to make money, but he did it for the refugees in Liangzhou City.
Because of the war, many people who originally made a living on the grassland have now lost the trade routes on which they depend for survival and can only flee to Liangzhou City as refugees. If this matter is confirmed, no matter how much grassland the major families purchase, they will definitely have to hire people nearby, so these hundreds of thousands of refugees may have a way to be resettled.
Although only two meals of porridge are provided every day, it is still a very difficult matter for the army's finances. But we cannot just ignore it. If these people are allowed to starve to death, they will probably start to rebel. Every disaster victim will start to rebel against the court because of hunger.
Unlike the Tang Dynasty, Prime Minister Midu has been like an ant on a hot pan since the secret report was delivered that day. On the one hand, he sent people to carefully inquire about the situation in the Tang Dynasty, and on the other hand, he strictly required his subordinates to lock them in the military camp. No one was allowed to leave the military camp. If they aroused the resentment of the Tang army, the war would most likely be restarted.
In the past few days, the Tang army has been sending out patrols continuously. The number of people is not large. They have been approaching the military camp of Prime Minister Midu. Seeing that Prime Minister Midu does not allow the army to come out, these patrols are becoming bolder and bolder, and are already less than 300 meters away from the military camp.
Prime Minister Midu also knows that this is a shame, but in the current situation, no matter how the Tang army provokes us, we have to swallow our anger. If the Tang army seizes even a little opportunity, they are likely to restart the war. As for the current Tuyuhun, can we hold on?
On the thirteenth day, Prime Minister Midu finally received a reply from the general and was so happy that he almost cried. This was the ultimate grasp of psychology. During these thirteen days, from the prime minister onwards, all the people in Tuyuhun were living in hot pot, and each of them was like a lamb to be slaughtered. They had no idea what the Tang Dynasty was thinking. Now they finally received a reply.
The letter was very vague. It neither agreed nor disagreed with the negotiations. It just said that the Tang army wanted to eat meat and hoped that Tuyuhun could send them 5,000 cattle and sheep.
The cattle and sheep on the grassland are worthless, and any large tribe can afford them. But why should they give them to the Tang people?
"This is simply too much. They didn't answer any of our questions, and they actually asked us to give them 5,000 cattle and sheep. If we give them these 5,000, will there be 8,000 later? Are they really taking us for granted?"
The subordinates immediately became unwilling. It didn't matter if they had these cattle and sheep, as they were not valuable to them. But you have to explain why. You didn't even mention what we proposed, but you asked for 5,000 cattle and sheep. What exactly does this mean?
"Prime Minister, this may be a test from the Tang Dynasty. They want to see how much we really want to negotiate. Our attitude may have displeased them the last time we met, so they think that even if we start negotiations this time, they might not give up halfway. So these 5,000 cattle and sheep are more like a test of our attitude."
Among these counselors, there were also some who held different opinions.
Prime Minister Midu sighed. No matter whether his men agreed or opposed, they no longer had any choice. The entire grassland was in chaos because of Li Xiang, and all the tribes were licking their wounds. So no matter what demands the Tang Dynasty put forward, in order to start this negotiation, we have to endure it first, otherwise we won’t even have the chance to sit at the negotiation table.
"Go gather all the cattle and sheep for them, and then send someone to tell them that we will deliver them to Liangzhou City in five days, and this Prime Minister will write a third letter."
Prime Minister Midu felt that his self-esteem was violated, but he had to endure this violation. He was very clear about the current actual situation. When your country loses the ability to resist, you must put personal dignity aside. If you want to pay attention to individuality, then wait for people to continue to die on the grassland.
Everyone has seen in the past few days that many places on the grassland are wearing mourning clothes and holding various forms of funerals. Although some people in the Tang Dynasty army also died, compared with our losses, their losses are really too small.
In fact, the apparent losses are not the most important thing. The most important thing is everyone's psychological fear. The royal cavalry has been found. Although the Khan is trying hard to suppress this matter, the truth will eventually come out. The people also know the combat effectiveness of the Tang army. The Tang army, which they looked down upon in the past, has made rapid progress this time. When many people talk about the Tang army, they can't suppress the fear in their hearts.
When Prime Minister Midu announced his decision, although many of his subordinates were unwilling, they could not come up with any other solutions. After all, the negotiation strategy was set by the Khan, and we have to find a way to implement it.
The city wall of Liangzhou.
"Your request is really on point. I should have listened to you earlier. We should have asked for 20,000 cattle and sheep from them."
Cheng Chumo said with a bitter face that when this condition was first proposed, everyone thought Li Xiang was crazy and was playing with fire. Now they finally understood that he had won the game and won gloriously.
"You all are petty. As the saying goes, the victors are the kings and the losers are the bandits. No matter how glorious Tuyuhun was in the past, they don't dare to continue fighting us now. So no matter how excessive our demands are, they will find a way to meet them. If I'm not mistaken, Prime Minister Midu has a third letter."
Li Xiang also said happily that the generals on the city wall really admired Li Xiang to the extreme. We asked for cattle and sheep with great sincerity, and thought that the Tuyuhun people would refuse us. Unexpectedly, they delivered them directly, and from the appearance, they were not sick at all. They were all in their prime. We were a little reluctant to eat them.
The third letter from Prime Minister Midu had indeed arrived, and the general immediately ordered all the young generals to the main tent for a meeting. These men no longer had to watch over the cattle and sheep on the city walls, but could now expect to eat roasted lamb legs that night! This was a perk for the victor...