The dealer rolled his eyes and said: "You also said that it was your Tubo... We in the Tang Dynasty are short of horses! His Majesty the Emperor is now marching eastward. Basically, all the horses in the country have been conscripted into the army, and there are very few civilian horses. , many merchants have to use donkeys to replace horses. As the tide rises, the price will naturally go up. Don’t believe it? If you don’t believe it, ask the horse seller next to you and see how much it costs.”
The military attache turned to look at a horse seller nearby and asked, "How much does this horse cost?"
The horse seller pressed his nostrils, dug out a piece of booger, and flicked it with his finger, and the booger flew away somewhere: "Fifty guan, no two prices!"
All the Tibetan soldiers were stunned as if they had seen a fairy. The military attaché pointed at the listless and skinny horse and said, "Five...fifty guan? You are a Pegasus! You still have 50 guan." , why don’t you go and grab it?”
The horse seller had a big beard on his face and said nonchalantly: "We agreed on the price. If you want to buy it, you can take the money. If you don't want to buy it, get away. Don't delay my business!"
The military attache was so angry that he said, "Even if I am short of horses, I will still have one like yours!"
The bearded man looked indifferent: "If you want to buy it or not!"
The military attache led his subordinates to the next house and took a look at the horse tied to the pillar. This horse looked much better than the one just now. It was smooth, smooth and muscular. The military attache made up his mind. He could see it. Well, these dealers knew that he was eager to sell the horse and refused to lower the price. However, this horse was much better than the one just now. Even if it cost 50 guan, they still reluctantly bought it.
"How much does your horse cost?"
"Eighty sticks!"
"..."
The military attache was completely dumbfounded.
He looked back at the postman. The postman spread his hands and said helplessly: "Our Tang law stipulates that transactions are fair. Things belong to others and the price is their business. But if they force you to buy, then I will notify the county immediately. The government arrested him! But in this situation, we can't force people to sell things to you cheaply, right? That doesn't make sense!"
No matter how stupid the military attache was, he still understood that the postman had colluded with the cattle dealers and knew that he was eager to wait for the cattle, so the lion opened his mouth.
But as the postman said, livestock is not food. How could the Tang court care about the price?
Either buy it at a high price, or go back the same way... Otherwise, if you delay for one more day, it will be even more disadvantageous for the important matter of going to Chang'an this time. He can still distinguish the importance of it.
Gritting his teeth, his eyes were blazing with fire, and he said every word: "Buy! I will buy them all!"
He turned back and pointed at the first dealer and said, "Thirty guan, right? I bought it!"
The soldiers under his command were about to go over and take the horses, but the dealer stopped him with both hands: "Wait a minute!"
The military attache said angrily: "Why, thirty guan is too little, why do you want to increase the price?" He half-drawn out the knife. If the dealer bullied him too much, he planned to kill the man with one knife, even if he died. To defend the dignity of the Tubo people, we cannot allow others to bully us!
The postman was also shocked. It was okay to increase the price, but if it was too much, it would not be justified. After all, he was a serious Tibetan envoy. If he had to accept his fate, he would have to walk around without food...
He hurriedly stepped forward and scolded: "You dealer is so unreasonable. The transaction is fair. What price you charge is your own business. But if you increase the price arbitrarily, that's not okay!"
The dealer hurriedly said: "As you say, we are all innocent in business, how can we do such things? But if he wants to buy a donkey, he has to give money and deliver the goods with one hand! What happened to the Tubo people? Even if the King of Heaven comes, I have to give you money before you can take my donkey away!"
The military attaché was stunned for a moment and looked at each other with his subordinates.
The group of them left in a hurry, and they went to Chang'an several times. Along the way, the Tang Dynasty's inns provided free food, accommodation and horses. Who would have thought that they would end up selling horses at the livestock market?
I didn’t bring any money...
The postman looked at the change of expression on his face and couldn't help but ask: "Don't you have money?"
The military attache belatedly said: "Um...can I pay the debt first?"
"You son of a bitch!"
The postman was furious: "If you don't have money, what nonsense are you talking about? If you were from the Tang Dynasty, we could give you a guarantee and let them pay you on credit first, but you are a Tubo person, so you pat your butt and return the favor to the Tubo people." , Where can I find you? Let’s go, let’s go, I’ve lost all my company to you son of a bitch!”
Just say it, turn around and leave.
The military attache was extremely embarrassed and knew that he was in the wrong. He quickly grabbed the postman and said quickly: "How about we let everyone drive their animals and follow me back to meet the generals. Then we will naturally have money to settle the bill. How about this?"
The postman said: "You can't tell me this. You have to ask if they are willing."
As a result, a group of cattle dealers discussed and put forward a leader. The man said: "It's not impossible, but you are delaying our efforts and affecting our business. The journey is so long and the road conditions are very bad." It’s difficult to do…”
The military attaché is impatient. With all your excuses, what do you want?
"What do you want?"
The man said simply: "...you have to pay more."
The military attache's eyelids were twitching wildly. They say that the people of the Tang Dynasty were honest and benevolent. How could they be so honest and benevolent? Each one is more cunning than the other!
Now is not the time to worry about how much money to spend. Delaying the trip is the most unbearable thing. As long as Zamp's important matters are taken care of properly, no matter how much money is spent, there is no problem.
He nodded immediately and said: "Okay, no one will add consistency, so this is okay, right?"
Some people shook their heads and said, "That's not possible. If the donkey has 30 guans, you can add one guan. My horse has 80 guans. Why should I only add one?"
The military attaché said angrily: "Then what do you think we should do?"
The man said: "At least twice!"
military attache:"……"
Why, all the profiteers from the Tang Dynasty are gathered here, have they all been screwed by you?
But the current situation is stronger than others, and he is completely like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. He has no choice but to say: "Two passes are two passes, hurry up and get on your way!"
The cattle dealers burst into cheers. This deal was so exciting!
At the moment, he was slowly driving his animals on the road with the military attache's eyes about to spit fire...
*****
Lu Dongzan waited around last night, but the military attache did not come back. He thought that it would be difficult to find so many horses at once, so he might have been delayed, so he had to sleep.
I got up early in the morning, simply washed myself in the river water, then stood on the morning road and looked to the west. The sun was three high and there was not a single person walking on the road. Until noon, I didn't see a single person.
Lu Dongzan was very anxious, wondering if these people were lost?
Just as he was about to send a few people to greet him, a follower ran over panting: "Back... back!"
Lu Dongzan was refreshed and ordered: "Hurry up and pack up. When the horses come, hit the cart immediately and drive on!"
It took most of yesterday, and another early afternoon today. The delay in this trip made Lu Dongzan anxious. This trip to Chang'an was to be done as quickly as possible. It was best to arrive before the Tang army started fighting with the Arabs, otherwise the benefits claimed would be greatly reduced. If the Tang army is defeated, there will be no benefit at all - the Western Region has been lost, why should the Tang Dynasty still give you the benefits of Tubo? The worst-case scenario is waiting for the end of the Eastern Expedition and an army of more than a million troops to march to the Western Regions to drive away the Arabs!
When the military attache and his soldiers finally came back, Lu Dongzan looked at the horses and donkeys that filled the road, ranging from tall to short, fat to thin, and felt his temples pounding... What are these things?
Just drive these animals to Chang'an?
I'm afraid I will be laughed out of my head by the people of Chang'an!
When the military attaché saw Lu Dongzan standing on the side of the road, he quickly ran over, wiped the dust and sweat from his face, and gasped: "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my duty and bought the animals back..."
Lu Dongzan was stunned: "Buy?"
It stands to reason that when foreign envoys came to Beijing, a set of post stations along the Tang Dynasty would be responsible for their food and accommodation. If there was a shortage of horses for driving, the inns would also have to provide them.
How could it be that after almost two days of wandering around, I finally bought a bunch of livestock?
Just buy it, I guess there aren’t that many horses available at the inn, but why don’t you pick some good horses to buy? These are all scoundrels...
The military attache felt aggrieved. When he saw Lu Dongzan being slightly angry, he quickly told what happened.
After hearing this, Lu Dongzan's eyes were as big as copper bells, as if he had seen a ghost: "What did you say? How much did you spend to buy these animals?"
The military attache grimaced: "One thousand eight hundred and sixty swords..."
Lu Dongzan almost pulled out his knife and chopped the slug in half!
Just bought such a bunch of crooked melons and cracked dates, and spent 1,360 guan? !
As the Prime Minister of Tubo, my annual salary, rice, and various subsidies are only 300 yuan. You bastard spent my six years of salary at once and bought such a bunch of stuff?
Are you stupid? !
Just when he was about to get angry, the postman came over from a distance, saluted him in a decent manner, and said: "I have seen the Tibetan envoy before. You have come with the friendship of Tubo Zanpu to promote the diplomatic relations between the two countries." , I, the officials and people of the Tang Dynasty, are deeply honored..."
Lu Dongzan forced a smile. The quality of officials in the Tang Dynasty was still very good. They knew that he was a guest from afar.
Just as he was about to say something bright, he heard the postman's voice change: "...what, you pay for the animals first?"
Lu Dongzan held a mouthful of old blood in his chest and almost vomited it out.
