After thinking for a while, even if Lu Dongzan exposed his mind, his momentum could not be lost. Xiao Rui simply laughed and said: "Not bad! I didn't expect that the prime minister's wise eyes would see through it. It's a pity... three to five years. ? It’s still too long, I don’t have the patience.”
What? What's the meaning? Lu Dongzan didn't seem to understand.
Is this a picture of a poor dagger?
Now that he admitted it and everyone had talked, Lu Dongzan no longer hid it carefully, picked up the tea cup and took a generous sip, and sneered: "Then the Marquis thinks, how long will it take for you to kill me if you take action?" Tibet?"
Xiao Rui sighed and said, "Should I take action? If it weren't for His Majesty's great cause of opening up the territory, I would not even look down on the bitter cold land of Tubo. Tell me yourself, what do you have in Tubo?"
"Products? Land? Food? Population?"
Forehead……
Lu Dongzan thought for a while, and it seemed that there was nothing.
No, compared with the Tang Dynasty, we have nothing.
There are no products, just some unpopular medicinal materials; land? There is no point in occupying the vast tracts of barren land that is not suitable for living. Unlike the grasslands in the north, people can capture them and keep them in captivity to raise horses. food? Forget it, the output is pitiful.
population?
Others don't know, but Lu Dongzan is the prime minister and knows best. Before Songtsen Gampo unified Tibet, Tibet had a population of only 200,000. Not only had they just completed unification, incorporated some tribes, and doubled their population. It seems that the strength has increased sharply, but where does this go? Four hundred thousand people? Not military strength! That is the national population.
It's not even a fraction of the Tang Dynasty, which has more than 10 million people. If it weren't for the turbulent times in the late Sui Dynasty, this number would have at least doubled. The peak population of the Great Sui Dynasty was over 50 million.
so what?
Lu Dongzan nodded and said: "I believe that the Marquis is telling the truth from his heart. So what? Then why are you still planning so hard and thankless to capture Tubo? This is a loss-making business. When will you do it, Marquis? Trading at a loss?"
Xiao Rui smiled, "You do understand me."
"Yes, I don't do loss-making business. But sometimes you have too much money and have nowhere to spend it, so you might as well consider splurging it. After so many years of fighting, can't I enjoy it?"
puff……
enjoy?
"You enjoy taking down Tubo?" Lu Dongzan complained helplessly, thinking that he was just a war madman.
"That's not the case!" Xiao Rui explained: "Isn't making money just for spending? Then why spend money? To do what you want to do, what you are interested in, and what you like."
"As for the matter of Tubo, I don't care about the territorial and territorial affairs. Even if I fail to complete the task given by His Majesty, I will not have any responsibility. The reason why I agreed to take action is just out of curiosity."
curious?
Lu Dongzan looked at Xiao Rui in confusion and complained again that chatting with him was too taxing and he couldn't understand it at all.
"It is said that your place is blessed by the gods. Any outsider who enters will be cursed, ranging from falling ill to returning to death, or losing his life at worst. Is that right?" Xiao Rui asked.
Lu Dongzan nodded: "Yes, we in Tubo are blessed by nature and blessed by the gods. Although we are in a corner, we can survive forever because of this."
Xiao Rui's smile disappeared and he said seriously: "So, I am very curious, why is Tubo so magical?"
Um...then what?
"Then I will prepare to capture Tubo, and then do some research. I want to decipher the secret of Tubo's God's blessing, so that future generations will never be cursed again when they go to Tubo again."
What? ? ?
Lu Dongzan opened his mouth wide and was so surprised that he couldn't speak for a long time.
"You, you...are you serious?"
Xiao Rui said seriously: "Yes, seriously. Since you rely on the so-called God's blessing and repeatedly use this to threaten us, haha, then I will eliminate this harm from you from the root!"
you……
Surprised, surprised again and again, until in the end, Lu Dongzan couldn't help himself, and said with a wry smile: "Master Hou is really straightforward."
"Of course I'm straightforward. I don't need to hide it from you. Could it be that you, Lu Dongzan, would believe me if I said I don't want Tibet?" Xiao Rui asked in return.
Lu Dongzan also smiled. At this time, he no longer had a humble attitude of asking for cooperation. He seemed to have regained his domineering appearance as the prime minister of a country. He talked to Xiao Ruiping and said, "Okay! In that case, please let the Marquis take action as much as you like. I, Tubo, am waiting for you to come and get it.”
Xiao Ruixi said: "So, can we continue to discuss our business?"
Buy or sell?
Lu Dongzan sneered and said: "We are all at war with each other and have made our purpose clear. Do you think this deal can still be negotiated? Can I still let your people enter Tibet?"
"Haha, you're scared!" Xiao Rui mocked, "Aren't you very confident in your God's blessing? Why are you still scared?"
"Yes, I'm afraid! Who wouldn't be afraid of someone like Mr. Hou who is the best in the world?" Lu Dongzan said frankly.
Xiao Rui thought for a moment and then said tentatively: "How about you and I make a bet?"
"Gamble? No gambling! Who knows, people in the Tang Dynasty like to gamble and are good at gambling, and the Marquis is the best among them. Who dares to bet with you?" Lu Dongzan is very conservative and does not dare to be careless at all.
this……
Xiao Rui didn't expect that the other party was so cowardly. He just wanted to be an iron turtle. If he didn't pick up the fight, how could I say it?
"Oh... that's all! It's not sweet to force me. It's a pity, I thought I met a good opponent."
"Come here, see the guests off!"
ah? see a visitor out?
Li Junxian, who trotted in, said awkwardly: "Master Hou, isn't the deal concluded? What? Ahem, I mean, the banquet prepared in the kitchen..."
"It's a banquet, it doesn't matter. Our family members eat it the same way. Fifth brother, send it to Xiangguo for me. By the way, what's prepared in the kitchen is to prepare a food box and send one to Xiangguo to taste."
"Xiangguo, are you afraid that I will drug you?"
Lu Dongzan smiled and said, "Then thank you Lord Marquis for your hospitality. I will take my leave."
Li Junxian: "Prime Minister, please come this way."
Looking at the other party's leaving figure, Xiao Rui said it was a lie to say that he was not angry. It was a rare failure for him, but this Lu Dongzan was really difficult to deal with.
Wait, are the conditions I offered not tempting enough?
Thinking of this, Xiao Rui shouted loudly: "Xiangguo, do you really not want to gamble? In two years, if I can't crack the secret of the Tubo curse, the Tang Jiannan Road will be given to you, including the Kingdom of Abundance, which is known as the granary of the southwest."
Um? ?
Lu Dongzan stopped.
He had to stop. The stakes were so high that he couldn't believe it.
Li Junxian was anxious and tried to persuade him: "Master Hou, no!"
Lu Dongzan was startled, and his expression relaxed, "Master Marquis, you are just an idle marquis of the Tang Dynasty, and you don't seem to be qualified to bet on the land of the Tang Dynasty. Are you trying to make money off me with empty words?"
Then he turned around and continued walking out.
Xiao Rui shouted: "Give me one day. I will go to your majesty immediately and ask your majesty to make a bet in the form of a letter of credence."
Lu Dongzan said in confusion: "Why? Just out of curiosity? You know, compared with Jiannan Road of the Tang Dynasty, Tubo is simply insignificant."
