The difference between a hero and an ordinary person is that ordinary people will lose themselves, but a hero will never lose himself. After a period of hesitation, Lu Dongzan finally signed the agreement, but Lu Dongzan also had a request. As long as Tubo did not breach the contract, the Tang Dynasty could not make this news public.
This could be considered as the last face left for Tubo. No one seemed to have any objection to this and nodded slightly. Lord Zeng saw it and this clause was written into the agreement.
"This man is truly a talent. He thinks everything through very carefully. Fortunately, Tibet is now weakened. If Tibet were in his hands, he would have it in perfect order within ten years. By then, our Tang Dynasty would be in trouble."
Looking at Lu Dongzan's back, Lord Zeng praised him sincerely, especially in terms of choice. Many people would make such mistakes, but Lu Dongzan held on. For the sake of his country and people, he chose to give up his woman, so Changsun Pingting's arranged marriage career did not even reach Tuyuhun.
"Damn it."
Even so, Changsun Chong wanted to go out and kill him. Changsun Pingting stayed at home and did not get married because her husband died last time. This time, such a thing happened again. It will not be easy for her to find a husband in the future. According to the rules of Chang'an City, she will either be lonely in her parents' home until old age, or she can only be a concubine to someone else, or find someone who wants to climb up the social ladder.
But no matter which choice she made, Changsun Pingting's life was ruined. If the last time was an accident, then this time it was purely man-made. If this bastard didn't ask for marriage, how could the emperor acknowledge this matter? So Changsun Chong still had a grudge against him.
"Let's stop talking nonsense and quickly organize our troops. Send people to survey the area within this hundred miles. We can't let them leave any spies behind. Our troops need to take turns training. We don't know if we will fight a war with Tubo in the future, but we must be prepared for war."
Li Xiang's words brought everyone back to reality. The current Tubo Kingdom is indeed on the decline, but for a big country, as long as it is given three to five years to recuperate, then this loss is nothing. The reason why Tuyuhun cannot rise is because their strategic depth is too small. They can't stand up after a single blow. But the Tubo Kingdom is different. They have a vast territory and a large population. They are much more terrifying than Tuyuhun.
"Prime Minister..."
After returning to the military camp, Lu Dongzan didn't say a word. General Huyan was a little worried. The doctor had said in the past few days that Lu Dongzan's health had deteriorated to the extreme and it was best not to have too much stimulation. The hair on his head could tell everything. But today he still went to find some stimulation, and it was the biggest stimulation in his life.
"All of you, please go down and leave me alone. I only give you three hours. You must gather half of your troops and then return with me immediately. We don't have much time, and we can't let our guard down in the border areas."
Lu Dongzan said very firmly that he needed to find a place to lick his wounds. As for the Tang army in the border area, he was sure that the other side would not attack, but some things had to be prepared. If you are not prepared, then don't blame others for attacking you.
General Huyan nodded, and then hurried down to make arrangements. They were also prepared in the border areas. If the Tang army comes, we will definitely not let them have a good life. Don’t think that once we leave, this place will be your world. In fact, many places here are suitable for ambushes. If the Tang army really breaks in, it will be the Tang army that will be in trouble. This is also one of the reasons why Li Xiang chose to conclude a treaty instead of leading his army to break in.
Many people in the Tang army felt puzzled. Only Li Xiang, who had been here, understood how difficult the road was. Not to mention an army of tens of thousands of people, even an army of thousands of people would have a hard time walking. We haven't even reached their holy city yet. Perhaps our army has suffered heavy losses. Li Xiang was very clear about the impact of non-combat casualties on the morale of the army. It was estimated that there would be deserters among us before we even reached the territory of the chieftain of Maiqi.
What's more, on this plateau, we may not be able to receive the profits that belong to us. War is fought for money and food, and we must also have a certain profit. If there is only war without profit, then even if you win, this war is a failure in feudal society.
Some people may say that after occupying Tubo, our strategic security has reached its highest level. This is true. If the Tang Dynasty now has sufficient productivity and sufficient surplus materials, then there is nothing wrong with us doing so. But now many people in the Tang Dynasty are still living in poverty. How can we get the money to protect such a large territory? At that time, so much pressure will be placed on the people. Maybe the enemy will not come in from the outside, but problems will arise inside us first. Then it will really be a loss.
According to the agreement, the Tang army can only advance one hundred miles and cannot move the boundary marker. This was also Lu Dongzan's final insistence. Li Xiang did not insist on such a thing. As long as we can actually control it, it will be fine.
Li Xiang has already made arrangements for Chang Sun Chong. Although we only have more than 3,000 troops, the locations of several nearby hills are very good. As long as we place a few crossbows on them, the surrounding area will definitely be ours. Even if the Tubo Kingdom wants to take it back, we can inflict heavy losses on them. At least the larger the territory, the more people you will have to die.
In addition, after controlling this dangerous place, it would be basically impossible for the Tubo Kingdom to attack Tuyuhun from here. The area after walking out of here is relatively flat, and it is also the place where the Tubo army gathers. After reaching the plateau, they can only be single or double-person teams. In this case, they cannot start a war. In other words, we have seized their gathering place.
The signing of this agreement also meant that Tubo's future attack on the Tang Dynasty would be a hundred times more difficult than before the agreement was signed, practically wiping out their idea of conquering the Central Plains...