In fact, Songtsen Gampo and Lu Dongzan were a little confused now. They couldn't figure out whether what Li Xiang said was true or false, but one thing was true, that is, Li Xiang must want to leave here early, but if there is no food, it will be difficult for them to survive this difficult time, so Songtsen Gampo was not so reserved and stood in front of Li Xiang with gritted teeth.
To everyone's horror, Songtsen Gampo actually bowed to Li Xiang. You have to know that Songtsen Gampo was the king of Tubo, the king of thousands of kilometers around. How could he bow to others, especially when the other party's status was not as good as his? Even if Li Shimin came here, both sides would be on the same level, but now he actually bowed to Li Xiang.
Li Xiang deliberately stopped for two seconds. Although these two seconds were short, they had already determined who was superior. If the king of your Tubo bowed to me, it meant that the Tang Dynasty was bowing to him. This matter would definitely be spread out in the future, which meant that your Tubo and our Tang Dynasty were not on the same level.
"What does Zamp mean? Get up quickly."
Li Xiang said this in great fear, but his movements were not fast.
"I beg Your Highness to lend a hand. Tubo is now at its final moments. Without food, we won't be able to survive this winter. Your Highness, considering that we have a rapport from the moment we met, I hope you can provide us with some food. In the future, Tubo and the Tang Dynasty will become brotherly nations. If anything happens to the Tang Dynasty, Tubo will be our vanguard."
Songtsen Gampo's words made many people lose face, but Li Xiang admired this guy very much in his heart. He was flexible and adaptable in doing things, which was the material for being a king. If he just put on airs and never did any real work, it would probably be too late to regret it.
Many old nobles were rather conservative. After seeing Songtsen Gampo's actions, they felt that this guy was a bit shameful. However, if they thought about it, if there was no food in the winter, it would be difficult for them to survive. So these people understood Songtsen Gampo's idea...
In the eyes of others, the conditions proposed by Songtsen Gampo were already quite favorable, and he even meant to make the Tang Dynasty the suzerain state. Of course, there was only a trend, and there were no substantial conditions. So Li Xiang would certainly not agree. You just learned some verbal things. If I were to be fooled by you like this, then I would not be worthy of being the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty.
"Zanpu, you've really put me in a difficult position. I'm not that powerful in the Tang Dynasty, and it's impossible for me to change my grandfather's mind. I can only offer some advice. The Tang Dynasty is currently mobilizing 200,000 elite troops to attack Goguryeo. It must be that Goguryeo has done something excessive. Otherwise, the Tang Dynasty is actually very peace-loving. Therefore, I really can't help you with the food and fodder issue."
Li Xiang was very good at shirking his responsibilities. Although I was powerful in the Tang Dynasty, I was only the third-ranking official. If it were someone else, I could help you and ask him to change his will at any time. But the problem was that the person who issued the order was the emperor of the Tang Dynasty or my grandfather, and it was unreasonable and unacceptable to change it.
What's more, when you said that if anything happened to the Tang Dynasty, you would serve as our pawns, was that just a lip service? If so, then our brotherhood is just talk, it can't be true. We are not that easy to fool, let alone the Tang Dynasty officials.
"Luhatai..."
Lu Dongzan also understood that Li Xiang was not going to give up until he saw the rabbit. He immediately called out his nephew, who was also a top figure among the younger generation of nobles. If there were no sacrifices, Li Xiang would never send the food. At first, it only required a certain amount of money, but now it also requires political conditions. Who made you Tubo useless?
"Your Highness, this is my eldest brother's only son, and he's also a leader among the younger generation of Tibetans. He has always admired Tang culture. Why not let him follow Your Highness to Chang'an to study? He also has three thousand elite soldiers under his command. Let him lead these three thousand men to follow the Tang Dynasty in the campaign against Goguryeo."
Lu Dongzan's heart was bleeding when he said this. His nephew was no ordinary person. He had trained him for a long time and he was his spokesperson in the army. The most important thing was that the three thousand men under his command had super high combat effectiveness. If they were used in the war in the Tang Dynasty, it would be a huge loss.
But now he has no other choice but to let his nephew work for the Tang Dynasty. Only in this way can he exchange some food for the Tang Dynasty, and these food can keep him going. If he doesn't do this, after this winter, the throne may no longer be his.
Li Xiang did not expect Songtsen Gampo to spend so much money. To be honest, what Songtsen Gampo did had already exceeded Li Xiang's expectations. Of course, the price of grain had to be what it was. Now that Songtsen Gampo had taken out his chips, Li Xiang could no longer control it.
You must pursue the highest value in doing anything, but the highest value must also have a limit. If you go too far, the other party is likely to give up. At that time, even if you want to take a step back, you may have lost the best opportunity.
"Zanpu really treats me with sincerity, and I am not a mean person. This matter is indeed very difficult to handle, but according to Zanpu's way of doing things, I believe my grandfather will show leniency, but the amount of grain will not be much."
After Li Xiang said this, Songtsen Gampo also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as you can be willing to give in, it will be fine. If you don't give in, it will be useless even if we give more people. The first batch of food will not be more, at least this is a good start. We can transport more batches later. Isn't that enough?
With the general plan in place, a series of debates centered around price and transportation methods. Ultimately, Li Xiang seized control of the situation. Regarding the price of forty-five wen, he had no immediate answer as to how much food could be transported. All the food would be delivered to the Tuyuhun border, and the rest of the way would be transported by the Tubo army. Of course, Luhatai's troops would have to accompany Li Xiang on the journey...