Chapter 2511: Ceremony Observations
The hustle and bustle and glitz and prosperity before his eyes made Lu Dongzan full of emotions.
Even if Tubo could rely on its temporary military advantage to gain some victories and occupy some interests while the Tang people were napping, the Tang Dynasty had such a vast territory, such a large population, so extravagant wealth, and endless famous generals, sooner or later one would The day will pay with blood.
No matter how brutal the war was and how gnashing of hatred, the revenge in the future will be fierce.
How could a mere corner of Tubo conquer the vast territory of the Tang Dynasty and turn all the Tang people into slaves of the Tubo nobles?
This is impossible.
If you rashly launch a war against the Tang Dynasty for the sake of temporary gains and losses, even if you can achieve brilliant benefits in the short term, and even be famous in history, it will one day drag the entire nation into a bottomless abyss.
What's more, under the fierce counterattack and revenge of the Tang people, the entire clan will die.
That is the eternal sinner of Tubo...
But can we coexist peacefully in the Tang Dynasty by staying on the plateau?
It is also impossible.
Between countries and between nations, there is always one and the other, one retreats and the other advances. Both the Tubo people and the Tang people are driven forward by interests. When the Tang people explore the interests within this territory, After all, he will naturally set his sights on the plateau, and the expanded power will be enough to crush the world and make the whole world an enemy!
Just as Tubo's internal interests have been completely digested, it is the same reason that it has begun to set its sights on the Tang Dynasty...
Lu Dongzan was a little angry.
How unfair is God, to be born under the same sky with such a powerful nation that has been inherited for thousands of years, I am afraid it is the tragedy of many nations.
Whether it is the Quanrong or the Xiongnu, even today's Turks all had their glorious days. They suppressed the Han people and humiliated them wantonly, but no one could truly conquer them. When the Han people took a breath, these Hu people who once bullied them were swept away in the dust of history.
Lu Dongzan could only pray, maybe Tubo would be the only exception...
……
Gao Zhixing, dressed in official uniform, was led slowly through the crowd by several soldiers responsible for maintaining order. Wherever he went, everyone gave way.
It took half a stick of incense to reach the mountain gate.
There are more people here, and judging by their attire, they are either rich or noble. They are obviously not ordinary people, and there are more soldiers patrolling.
Amidst the crowds of people, Lu Dongzan saw the Jiuyi ginseng flag fluttering in the wind in the distance, and knew that that was where the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was.
It's a pity that the emperor's location is halfway up the hillside, just below the mountain gate of the academy. It is far away from where Lu Dongzan is standing at the moment. There is a wide and free area in between. Just above this area, on the ground Two iron bars were buried, extending straight into the distance, with no end in sight for a while.
In addition, the emperor was surrounded by many ministers, and there were even three layers of guards in helmets and armors guarding him. It was impossible to reach the vicinity.
When Gao Zhixing saw Lu Dongzan frequently visiting the emperor, he whispered: "I have been ordered to bring the Prime Minister to watch the ceremony. I do not have the right to see His Majesty. Therefore, if the Prime Minister wants to see His Majesty, please After the ceremony, I will inform the Prime Minister.”
Lu Dongzan was not in a hurry. It had been many days since he arrived in Chang'an. Not to mention the emperor, even officials from Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites were only able to see him today. One can imagine the attitude of the Tang Dynasty towards him as a Tibetan envoy. Not sneaking back an envoy from another country who took advantage of the situation was enough to show the broad mind of the Tang Dynasty.
If this matter were left to Tubo, the strong and domineering Zanpu might be able to chop the envoy into pieces...
Lu Dongzan asked curiously: "What is this ceremony? Could it be a military parade? What are the iron bars buried on the ground?"
"Military parade" has been around since ancient times.
According to legend, more than 4,000 years ago, Xia Yu, the leader of the Chinese tribes, met with the leaders of various southern tribes in Tushan. At the meeting, many soldiers held various weapons decorated with feathers, sang and danced to music to show their grand welcome to the southern tribal leaders.
At that time, King Wu of Zhou led the Zhou army eastward to attack King Zhou of Shang. Eight hundred princes met in Mengjin and held a military parade with a total strength of 300,000.
The scale of this military parade was unprecedented. During the military parade, King Wu of Zhou issued the famous "Oath of Tai", solemnly declaring: "Now King Zhou of Yin has used his wife's words to annihilate himself from heaven, destroy his three righteousnesses, and despise his country." The king's parents and brothers have given up on the joy of their ancestors and used the evil voice to talk about women. Therefore, I encourage you to do this, Master, no more, no more! "
This is a famous oath of oath, and the purpose of this military parade is to swear oath of duty.
After the military parade, the 300,000-strong army marched eastward and defeated King Zhou's army in the subsequent Battle of Muye, overthrowing the Yin and Shang Dynasty's notice and establishing the Zhou Dynasty for 800 years.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, there are also records of "watching troops to intimidate the princes"...
In ancient times, many schools imitated the military in hunting and promoted the spirit of martial arts at the beginning of the school year. Therefore, students were asked to participate in military parades to boost morale.
Lu Dongzan had a deep research on Han culture, read many collections of classics and history, and had a deep knowledge of Chinese customs.
Gao Zhixing said: "I don't know that this ceremony was managed by Fang Shaobao, and it was done secretly. Only one person in the court knows the details. Perhaps only His Majesty knows the details. As for this iron bar... At present, the smelting technology of the Tang Dynasty is advancing rapidly, and the smelted steel is filling the valley. It may be refined into a kind of refined steel, and it may be displayed. "
Lu Dongzan was even more surprised: "Fine steel is fine steel. According to the doctor, could there be different kinds of fine steel?"
For Tibet, which lived on raw materials and drank blood, and practiced slash-and-burn farming, smelting iron was laborious, and even steel-making was said to be difficult. There have been many wars with the Tang army in the past. The Tubo warriors looked more brave, but the gap in weapons and armor was really too big. Even when they had the upper hand, they still killed a thousand enemies and suffered eight hundred losses. This was because of the Tang army's ordnance. It's really too sophisticated.
In recent years, the process of iron and steel making in the Tang Dynasty has accelerated, and a new method of iron making has probably been developed.
This alone is enough to leave Tubo far behind. If things go on like this, the huge advantage in weapons and armor is enough to fill the gap in the quality of the soldiers between the two countries. Moreover, now that the Tang Dynasty is fighting in the north and south, the quality of the soldiers is in the flames of war. With continuous training and improvement, the advantages that Tubo was proud of in the past no longer exist.
This is the gap in national strength, and it cannot be bridged by the emergence of one or two rare military wizards...
Datang Iron and Steel's output has increased sharply, and the refined steel it is refining is getting better and better. This has long been known to the world. Gao Zhixing did not hide it, and was quite proud in his words: "I am not familiar with steel. However, I heard Fang Shaobao mention it before, saying that the performance of fine steel is naturally different due to its different uses. For example, the fine steel used for casting armor is naturally different. The harder the better, but for forging swords and weapons, it must be both hard and soft. If it is soft, it is not sharp enough, and if it is hard, it lacks toughness and is easy to break. Especially for the fine steel used for forging cannons and muskets, it is even more important to strive for excellence. It is the finest quality steel. Even Datang’s current production of fine steel is far from enough.”
Before Fang Jun, almost no one cared about the output and quality of steel.
However, since Fang Jun improved the method of making iron and steel, the production of steel suddenly increased significantly, which made the quality of the Tang army's ordnance jump by more than one level, and its combat effectiveness suddenly increased, making everyone in the government and the public pay attention to the importance of steel.
By the time artillery and muskets came out, steel had already become the most important industry recognized by the whole country - this was an important indicator of whether it could support the Tang army's combat effectiveness in suppressing other countries forever.
Sharper swords, tougher armor, artillery and muskets with longer range and greater power were the magic weapons that the Tang Dynasty relied on to conquer the world.
And high-quality steel is the foundation of all this.
Lu Dongzan closed his mouth, feeling shocked.
At a time when Tubo was not even good at making iron, Tang Dynasty had advanced steel making to such an extent that it could be as hard as it wanted and as soft as it wanted...
The Tang Dynasty already had a large population. The reason why it was bullied by the grassland barbarians before was because of the difference in the quality of its soldiers. The farming people were inherently disadvantaged against the grassland people who grew up hunting on horseback. But once the Tang Dynasty had enough sophisticated soldiers Steel forges weapons, and in critical moments, traffickers and foot soldiers can be armed and go into battle...
Who can fight and win?
What's more, there are artillery that is said to be able to split mountains and rocks and destroy cities and villages from a distance of several miles...
Suddenly, Lu Dongzan felt that all his pride and confidence in the past had become illusory.
How could such a Tang Dynasty be an enemy? (End of chapter)