"Go to the Tang Army?" Yang Jin frowned: "You are Zanpu's special envoy. Isn't it appropriate to meet with the Tang generals like this?"
"No one knows my identity except you!" Langri smiled easily: "Besides, before departure, Zampu has given me full authority to handle everything. I only need to report to him afterwards!"
"Okay!" Yang Jin snorted coldly: "In that case, it's up to you. Do you plan to let the Tang people know your true identity?"
"No, you can tell Tang Ren that I am your subordinate, and I am going here to discuss the exchange of prisoners between the two parties!"
"As you wish!" Yang Jin shook his head helplessly: "Whatever you want is up to you, as long as you don't risk your own life, otherwise it would be strange if Zanpu doesn't peel off my skin!"
"Don't worry, I still value my life!" Langri stood up with a smile: "Then it's settled!"
When he walked out of the room, the smile on Langri's face disappeared. The biting cold wind blew in his face, tearing at his coat like an eager lover. He originally came to Dajian Lu this time to seize the opportunity of his two defeats and draw Yang Jin from the Gar Party. If Yang Jin refused, he would take the opportunity to remove him from office.
But the suggestion from the Tang envoy just now gave him another idea. The reason why the Gar family has such a strong strength is because after the death of Songtsen Gampo, two generations of Ludongtsen and his son have always controlled the military power of Tubo. In other words, the Gar family holds the right to distribute the spoils of war. Unlike the Tang Dynasty, Goguryeo, Silla and other feudal autocratic countries where the people were all settled in the country, and the monarch could collect taxes and labor from the whole country to control the huge wealth, at this time, Tubo was still in the process of transforming from a tribal alliance to a slave state. Among them, although Zamp is the king of a country, his main source of wealth comes from his own territory, and he cannot get much wealth from other noble territories.
The successively victorious foreign wars have intensified this contradiction. Compared with the Tubo mainland located on the plateau, the newly conquered territories such as Qinghai and the Western Regions have more fertile land and a larger population. The people headed by the Gar family The new nobles who expanded into new territories were richer and more powerful than the old nobles who stayed at home. As a result, the more successful Tubo's war of external expansion became, the more unstable Zamp's throne became. In order to ensure his throne, Zampu had only two choices before him: either to stop or slow down the external expansion war, or to personally take over the military power and replace the Gar family to command the Tibetan army. The former is obviously impossible. The Tubo country is actually based on external expansion. If it stops external expansion, Zampu will soon be killed by the Tibetan nobles whose interests have been harmed. The latter is even more difficult. Qin Ling of the Gar family was an unparalleled famous general in Tubo. He followed his father in the army when he was a child; and Mangsong Mangtsen Zamp rarely left the palace after he ascended the throne, playing with girls every day, even though the sun was shining brightly. He is a good friend of Zampu, but he doesn't think that Mangsongmangzanzampu has the ability to replace Qinling and command the army.
But if what the Tang envoy said came true, the situation would be completely different. Through trade with the Tang people, the Zamp family can obtain huge profits to buy supporters. In order to carry out trade, we can have a truce with the Tang people, and even use this as a reason to remove Qin Ling from his position as commander-in-chief and let him return to the capital to cultivate. Of course, all this is just an idea, and a lot of solid work is needed to turn it into reality. work, and the meeting with the King Governor is the first step.
"Maybe this is also a trap, but it's worth a try!" Langri clenched his fists, his exposed cheeks were red from the cold, and his stinging feet had already been protesting, but he ignored it, and the strong wind continued There was a roar in his ears, and the gravel crunched under his feet, but Lang Ri was excited in his heart. He couldn't help but think of the old days in Chang'an.
"Maybe this is an opportunity to revisit the old days!" he thought to himself.
Matsushige said.
"Get out of the way, everyone, get out of the way, don't stand here!" Snowflakes fell on Tenzin's face, melting in his hair and beard. Seeing that all the Tibetan workers had dispersed, he turned around and raised the red flag and waved it vigorously to the other side of the mountain stream. After a while, a horn sounded from the opposite side. Tenzin quickly put down the red flag, jumped down from the stone, and hid behind the stone.
Following a few soft sounds, Tenzin poked his head out and saw several short spears nailed to the ground, with a thin rope tied to the end of each short spear. He cheered, stepped forward, pulled out a short spear, and pulled the thin rope hard. Six or seven hands stretched out to help. Soon the thin rope was pulled across the mountain stream. At the end of the thin rope was a thick rope. , and then a hemp rope as thick as a forearm. Tenzin and others fixed one end of the thick rope to a pre-erected stone pillar next to the mountain stream, and then laid wooden boards on the thick rope, and soon a simple rope bridge was formed over the mountain stream.
"You two, move these barrels over!" A Tang craftsman ordered to Tenzin.
"Yes!" Tenzin could already hear some simple Tang dialect. He said hello, and he and his companions lifted the barrel. Hearing the noise, it should be some kind of liquid. He asked carefully: "These are What is it? What is it for?"
"It's tung oil. Apply it on the ropes and wooden boards. Otherwise, the rope bridge will be damaged by wind and rain in a short time!" The Tang craftsman laughed. He directed Tenzin and others to move the tung oil to the rope bridge. He started to apply paint on the ropes and wooden boards with a brush. He looked at it carefully and walked onto the ropeway. His feet were swaying, as if he was walking on the clouds. He dared to look down. Through the gaps in the wooden boards, he could see When he reached the mountain stream and rocks, he suddenly felt dizzy. He instinctively reached out and grabbed the rope on his right hand side to avoid falling.
"You guy, who asked you to come up here? The tung oil hasn't dried yet, and there are footprints everywhere!" The Tang craftsman looked up and found that Tenzin had stepped on the undried wooden board, and shouted loudly: "Don't scratch everywhere, If you touch this thing on yourself, it will itch, hurt, and be very uncomfortable! Find some soap locust to wash it off!"
Tenzin hurriedly retreated. Soon, the back of his hand became red and swollen as the Tang Dynasty craftsmen said, and then itched and stung. He couldn't help but scream.
"Don't scratch, the more you scratch, the more painful it will be!" The Tang craftsman said with a smile: "Whoever has urine, just urinate and wash it, and it will be better!"
According to the instructions of the Tang craftsman, the others pulled off their pants and peed on Tenzin's hands. I don't know if it was a psychological effect, but the pain and itching on Tenzin's hands got better. He thanked the Tang craftsman, and the craftsman He waved his hand boldly: "Since we are working together, don't be so polite. You go and have a rest first. When the bridge is repaired, there will be a delicious meal!"
Just as the Tang craftsman said, by the afternoon of the next day, the rope bridge was largely completed. Tenzin walked onto the rope bridge. Although it was still very shaky under his feet, it was enough for people and horses to pass. In the past, pedestrians had to walk an extra seven or eight miles of rugged mountain roads to bypass this mountain stream, which could save almost half a day. To celebrate, wine and pork were served for dinner. Even the Tibetan workers were each given a cup of light wine mixed with water and two or three small slices of pork. This caused quite a commotion among the workers, and even attracted people on horseback. The guards yelled and cursed.
"Are you all itchy? Eat and drink quickly. After eating, drinking and playing, go to bed early. There is still work to do tomorrow!"
Tenzin loudly translated the Tang guards' curses into Tubo dialect, and the workers fell silent. Tenzin also sat down and began to eat his share. To be honest, things are much better now than at the beginning. At that time, most of the captives were desperate. They thought that the Tang people would treat them like the Tubo people treated other prisoners of war, with whips, beatings, poor food, and heavy labor. He was soon tortured to death.
But they soon discovered that the situation was different from what they thought. Yes, the Tang people marked their faces at first, but other than that, there was no malicious torture. Although the labor was arduous, the food was plentiful, and plenty of soup, straw sandals, clothing, and even doctors were provided, which was not available in the Tibetan army in the past. The Tang people did not even put wooden shackles on the prisoners, and just let them work. They only counted the number of people every day when work was finished and started.
At first, Tenzin wondered why the Tang people were so relaxed. Aren't they worried that the Tibetan prisoners would escape? But soon he understood the reason. The first batch of people who escaped were sent back by the surrounding Qiang people on the evening of the next day. The Tang people tied them to trees, gave each of them eighty lashes, and then told everyone Prisoners, this is the first time, so I only give them eighty lashes. If someone escapes next time, they will be beheaded after being caught. The Tubo people's construction site started from the southern end of Songmao Road, which was hundreds of kilometers away from the Tibetan control area in the mountains, and a large number of Qiang people lived in this area. The Tang army had made a promise in advance for the fugitive prisoners. The rewards were clearly marked on the faces of the prisoners. What kind of luck and strength were needed to cross this mountainous area and escape back to the Tibetan-controlled area!
Facts have proved that even among the Tubo people, most people still understand what it means to retreat when faced with difficulties. After about half a month, the heads of escapees no longer appeared on the wooden piles outside the prisoner camp. By this month At the end of the month, everyone who stayed behind even received varying amounts of Zhenguan Tongbao. This caused a sensation among the Tibetan prisoners. The Tang people actually paid the captives who worked? Damn it, they had never seen what copper coins looked like when they were soldiers in the Tubo army!
These copper coins had an immediate effect. The guards of the Tang Army were surprised to find that starting from the second month, these Tibetan prisoners became much more docile and diligent. They no longer looked like the gloomy and desperate living dead on weekdays. They had many eyes. It has gained some popularity, and sometimes you can even hear people singing, and the enthusiasm and efficiency of work have also improved a lot. Under the command of the Tang craftsmen, the road construction project has progressed very quickly, and nearly 160 miles of road have been completed. Renovated.
As the project progressed, some of the more clever Tibetan prisoners, such as Tenzin, were surprised to find that the Tang people had great advantages in engineering technology. On many cliffs and cliffs that they thought were completely impassable, the Tang people Plank roads and cable bridges can also be built to pass through. They could easily imagine that these engineering and technical advantages could easily be transformed into military advantages. The original dissatisfaction, anger, and resentment when they were defeated were gradually replaced by fear, admiration, and even envy. This subtle transformation was slow and It was irreversible that even the most stubborn Tubo prisoners had to admit that the Tang people were superior to them in many aspects. Their defeat was not accidental, but a normal result of the comparison of strength.
Since he served as an interpreter for the Tang Dynasty, Tenzin had a longer-term consideration. He hid the copper coins he received. He hid the idea in his heart that one day he might be able to get rid of his status as a prisoner and regain his freedom. With money, he can buy a few mules and work as a small trader on this road. In his opinion, it should not be difficult for a trader to support himself on such a convenient road.
"Tenzin, Tenzin!"
"What's the matter!" Tenzin stood up quickly: "Colonel Acton, what are your orders?"
"We need an interpreter from above! Clean up and come with me right away!" Acton said.
"Yes!" Tenzin responded and hurriedly put things in order. He knew that the "top" in Actun's mouth was a big shot in the Tang army, maybe even the king's governor. He washed his face and hands and walked to Acton: "I'm ready!"
"Okay, come with me!"
Tenzin followed Acton, walked out of the prisoner's camp, got on his horse, and walked four or five miles until he arrived at a small camp. There was only one tent in the camp, and the surrounding area was larger than the largest tent he had ever seen in his life. It was twice as loud and music could be heard coming from inside the tent. Although it is made of animal skins like other tents, it is made of beautiful animal skins that Tenzin has never seen before. There was a huge antler surrounding the top of the tent, almost as tall as two men.
"You wait here, and then go in when I call you!" Acton whispered, and then he walked into the tent.
The tent was as warm as a spring day, with braziers filled with charcoal placed at the four corners, emitting a dim red light, and the floor was covered with a thick bearskin carpet. Wang Wenzuo was leaning on the brocade cushion, and Cao Wenzao was sitting on his left side. Langri was wearing a scarlet robe, sitting cross-legged on a sealskin, playing the guqin, and singing while playing: "Give me a papaya, repay me with a jade, a bandit will repay you, and you will always think it's good." Give me peaches and give me Qiongyao in return. The bandit repays you, and you will always think it is good."
Wang Wenzuo had heard this poem before, but not here - in an animal skin tent on the northern Sichuan Plateau, but in a junior high school Chinese class in the 21st century. However, he felt something strange.
Langri stopped playing and elegantly put his hands on the guqin. This handsome young man gave Wang Wenzuo the illusion that he was not facing a Tubo nobleman, but a noble prince from Chang'an.
I discovered the mistake about King Gesar in the morning. Sorry, I really didn’t expect that the protagonist of a Tibetan mythological epic turned out to be from the Song Dynasty. I thought it was older!
(End of chapter)
