They knew very well how Tuyuhun was destroyed. It was all caused by the Tang Dynasty, so they would never allow such a thing to happen on Tubo land.
"Your Highness, this is our Tibetan dance..."
Some ministers below saw it very clearly, and they had to change the subject. If they let the two continue chatting, if a dispute occurred here, the relationship between the two countries might be difficult to handle. Li Xiang was not an ordinary grandson of the Tang Dynasty emperor.
Li Xiang also picked up the wine glass with a smile, and then clinked glasses with the Tibetan officials next to him. He even walked to the bottom of the platform and drank a glass with these people one by one. At least this approachable attitude made the nobles present very satisfied. On the other hand, Lu Dongzan still had a gloomy face.
Many old nobles were dissatisfied with this man. How on earth do you receive VIPs? Don't you know what the current situation is like in China? How dare you call yourself the wisest of Tubo? Is this the reception method you came up with in your foolish mind? If we upset the people of the Tang Dynasty, our future survival would be in jeopardy. Even drinking alone can cause you so much trouble.
Songtsen Gampo, standing far away, didn't hear clearly what the two men were talking about, but he also felt that Lu Dongzan was a bit too much. People who do great things must not show their emotions. What are you doing now? Li Xiang's expression never changed, and he always had that smile on his face. As the Prime Minister of our Tubo, you always have a sad face. Under such circumstances, it is embarrassing for our Tubo.
When Li Xiang came back again, he had already finished drinking with everyone around him. The Tibetans also admired honest people, especially those who could drink a lot. When Li Xiang was drinking with them just now, these people admired Li Xiang's drinking capacity. Few people could finish this round, but Li Xiang was fine after drinking. These people also gave him a thumbs up in their hearts. If it weren't for this kind of dinner, many of them would have wanted to drink with Li Xiang, especially some military generals.
"Your Highness, please."
After more than ten minutes, Lu Dongzan calmed down and there was a smile on his face when he picked up the wine glass. Li Xiang did not care about what happened just now and still had the same smile. This made everyone praise him again and say that Li Xiang was broad-minded. However, when someone said these four words, Lu Dongzan happened to hear it. Am I a narrow-minded person?
"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, please come as well."
While Li Xiang was drinking, his eyes swept over the food on the table intentionally or unintentionally. Although they had tried their best to conceal it, there was not much food made from grain except for a large amount of meat. You must know that at official banquets, there were very few dishes made from grain, but it cannot be said that there were none. Now many things have been cut off. You can imagine what the situation of the entire Tubo is like.
"Since Your Highness just mentioned food, and we both don't want to see each other any more, why don't we take this opportunity tonight to discuss everything we need to discuss?"
Lu Dongzan said somewhat unhappily that Li Xiang's behavior of observing the dinner table just now did not escape his eyes. If it comes to observation skills, Lu Dongzan is definitely not to be outdone.
"That's absolutely no problem. I'll be responsible for transporting the grain to Tuyuhun, and you'll be responsible for transporting it back from Tuyuhun. The price is set at 25 wen per jin."
When Li Xiang said this, Lu Dongzan finally couldn't hold it back anymore and the wine in his mouth sprayed out. Take the current grain price in Tubo for example, the most expensive is three or four cents per catty. You directly raised the price eight times. Do you think your grain is gold?
"Your Highness, are you kidding? You Han people have a longer history, while we Tibetans have a shorter one. But regardless of whether it's a longer or shorter history, I'm afraid the price of grain has never reached this level."
Lu Dongzan said angrily, you clearly treat us as fools. The price of grain in Chang'an City is one cent for two kilograms, but here it becomes twenty-five cents per kilogram. You have increased the price by fifty times. Even if the freight between the two places is added, it is at least more than thirty times.
"Don't worry, Prime Minister. Food has always been a hard currency. Whether in peacetime or wartime, food naturally has its value. It is even more valuable than the gold and silver we hold. Because in times of crisis, food can be eaten, but these gold and silver cannot be eaten. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, our grain in some areas reached over 100 coins per catty. At that time, as long as you could buy food, no one would look at the price. I think you have reached that time now."
In prosperous times, the price of grain must have been very low, because people all over the country were farming. Even if there were natural disasters, the Tang Dynasty was quite vast and many places could still produce a lot of grain.
But if it were a time of turmoil, with wars going on all over the country, only about 30% to 40% of the people would grow crops, and only 30% to 40% of the original crops would have to supply the entire country's expenditures, then the price of food would have to rise. Although the price Li Xiang offered now was a bit outrageous, it was far from the price during the war years.
"Then our cooperation ends here. I don't want to buy this kind of grain from you. Even if other merchants want to make money from me, I think at around fifteen cents, they're already shipping it like crazy. Don't think your border is as solid as iron; it's actually full of holes."
Lu Dongzan said very arrogantly that according to his original plan, the price of grain could be raised to eight cents per catty, so that many merchants would rush over. Even if Li Xiang blocked the border, other places could still transport grain in, but the price would be a little higher. In any case, it would be impossible to reach Li Xiang's price, which was twenty-five cents. You might as well just rob it.
"It doesn't matter. Even if the deal doesn't go through, we still have our righteousness. I'll stay here for the next few days. Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, may as well contact them quickly. But let me put it this way: if Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, comes to me next time, the price will be forty coins. If I return to Tuyuhun, the price will be sixty coins. Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, will understand."
Li Xiang's words shocked Lu Dongzan...