Chapter 4796 Surplus and Deficit
In the summer of Qinghai Lake, the orioles are flying, the grass is long, the blue waves are rippling, the sky is blue and white clouds are floating, the snow-capped mountains are rolling in the distance, and Fuqi City rises from the ground, majestic.
Groups of soldiers gathered from inside and outside the city to the open space by the lake, with war horses neighing, flags fluttering, and murderous intent.
Lu Dongzan sat on the carriage and squinted his eyes slightly, looking at the soldiers of the Gar family in front of him, his heart was filled with a haze.
In the distance, the Tang Army's convoy meandered forward. The long queue seemed to stretch along the road to the end of the sky. Countless carriages and camel teams transported all kinds of ordnance and food. These were all things he had dreamed of. Things are the cornerstone that can support a family or even a country. Now that he can get them for free without spending a penny, it makes him feel cold from the bottom of his heart.
These things do not need to be purchased with money, but they need to be exchanged for the lives of the children of the Gar family.
As the Tang army's convoy arrived at the lake, the soldiers of the Gar family raised their arms and cheered. Lu Dongzan raised his head and opened his eyes, looking at the endless mountains in the north. Even in the summer, the peaks are still covered with eternal white snow. On the top of the mountain, behind those lofty mountains is the vast plateau, and there is Zanpu, the wisest Tibetan people since ancient times.
Will this battle be won?
Lu Dongzan didn't know that soldiers are also cunning. The word "cunning" expresses the uncertainty of victory or defeat in war.
But this battle must be fought.
The people of the Tang Dynasty could not sit back and watch the Gar family grow and develop while being caught between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo. Once the balance of the region was broken, the Tang Dynasty would inevitably be involved in the war. This was something the Tang Dynasty did not want to face, so they spent a lot of money on weapons, food and fodder. It was used to drive the Gar family to attack the plateau, in order to consume the Gar family's foundation, so that the Gar family had to fully fall to the Tang Dynasty and restore the regional balance.
Being sandwiched between two big countries is the tragedy of the Gar family, but it is also the way for the Gar family to survive.
At worst, the Gar family will also be eligible to move to the Tang Dynasty...
Pei Xingjian, the commander-in-chief of the Qinghai Road March, galloped up on a horse and was surrounded by soldiers. When he arrived in front of Ludongzan's carriage, he reined in his horse and stood, turned over and dismounted. He smiled brightly and looked excited. He raised his hands and saluted as he walked: "See you next. It's polite to be a prime minister. The Gar family is worthy of being spit. The first Tibetan family, even though they were driven from the plateau to this remote mountainous area, the children of the family are still vigorous, brave and good at fighting. Equipped with the weapons of the Tang Dynasty, they will definitely be even more powerful. Perhaps the great minister can also sit on it after he contributes some help to capture Songtsen Gampo alive. Zamp's throne ”
Lu Dongzan forced a smile, looked at the gentle, smart and wise young official in front of him, and sighed helplessly in his heart.
"The manager has come a long way. Please get in the car and have a cup of highland barley wine and a few bites of yak meat."
Each of his sons is an outstanding figure among the Tubo people, they can be called dragons and phoenixes, but they are slightly inferior to the young man in front of him. However, there are countless people like Pei Xingjian in the Tang Dynasty, and they are not unique. But how many people in Tubo can compare with his son?
The Tang Dynasty was too big and had too many people. There would always be outstanding people emerging one after another, and the wisdom accumulated over thousands of years would be passed down unparalleled by Tubo.
Thinking of this, Lu Dongzan recalled his previous failure to propose marriage to Emperor Taizong, and couldn't help but sigh.
If that happened, and the Tang Dynasty promised to give the princess the knowledge of agriculture, iron smelting, medicine, calligraphy and painting, etc., Tubo would definitely transform from a barbaric race into a civilized race, and then occupy a high position to overlook the Central Plains.
Perhaps that was Tubo's best strategy since ancient times, which was enough to change fate against the will of heaven, but ultimately failed...
Since then, Tubo's prosperous country has come to an abrupt halt or even gone from bad to worse. The various tribes suppressed by Zanpu's prestige have begun to dissociate themselves from each other. Fang Jun's recipe for brewing highland barley wine has catalyzed the internal conflicts in Tubo to the brink of explosion.
On the other hand, in the Tang Dynasty, the invincible fleets roamed the oceans, rapidly harvesting overseas wealth and importing it into the country through routes. Various infrastructure constructions were in full swing, agriculture was stable and commerce was prosperous, and the Tang cavalry wiped out the barbarians on land. He destroyed countless countries without losing a single one, and his illustrious military exploits overwhelm the world.
Stars are moving and yin and yang are alternating. There is "power" between heaven and earth. Today, the "power" of the Tang Dynasty has been established and it will dominate the world for at least three hundred years. However, countless heroes of the Tang Dynasty are not satisfied. Do your best to implement the New Deal, We will reform the bad policies that have been handed down from ancient times one by one, vowing to consolidate the foundation of the "trend" and continue this "trend" for a long time. We will not be satisfied with three hundred, five hundred or even one thousand years. In the coming years, let the glory of the Tang Dynasty last forever.
Pei Xingjian boarded the car and knelt down in front of Lu Dongzan. The wind blowing from the lake lifted his robe and robes, and his clothes were flying. His handsome face was gentle and elegant. He picked up the wine bottle and poured himself a drink. And done.
"You seem to be in low spirits when I see the Prime Minister this time. This is no good. Now is the most critical time for the Gar family. Whether or not we can fight will be decided. These cities are related to the rise and fall of the Gar family. Only you can This outstanding person can stabilize the morale of the army only if he is stationed in Fuqi City. You alone are as powerful as an army of a hundred thousand. Only by taking good care of your body can you instill fear in Zampu on the plateau, and keep tens of thousands of soldiers from the Gar family in high spirits... This wine is good, and it has an exotic flavor that is completely different from the wine of the Tang Dynasty. ”
Lu Dongzan ignored the first half of his words, but was deeply touched by the last sentence: "It is indeed good wine. It is this kind of wine that has almost exhausted the highland barley on the plateau, leaving countless herdsmen hungry and hungry. At the beginning, The Duke of Yue’s recipe destroyed the foundation of Tubo, and I regretted it. ”
"The Prime Minister's words are wrong."
Pei Xingjian took another sip of wine, clicked his tongue, and said with a smile: "Tubo uses highland barley to make wine, and then sells it to the Tang Dynasty at a high price, and then buys grain from the Tang Dynasty at a low price and transports it back to the plateau... The price difference is even as high as the highland barley It is several times or even ten times its own value. For the first time, there is a deficit in the transaction between Datang and Tubo. It must be that Tubo has benefited more. How can the prime minister confuse right and wrong and call a deer a horse? "
"Deficit?"
Lu Dongzan didn't pay attention to the sarcasm in Pei Xingjian's words, but he paid attention to the word and didn't quite understand what it meant.
Pei Xingjian explained: "There are countless commodities involved in the trade between the two countries. Generally speaking, they can be classified as 'out' and 'in'. If the outflow is greater than the incoming, it can be called a 'surplus', which means that the country's economy is more favorable and the wealth is greater." , otherwise it is called 'inverse "Difference" means the outflow of wealth. For a long time, the Sui and Tang dynasties had a trade surplus with Tibet, because the only products Tibet sold to the Tang Dynasty were horses, and the rest were worthless, while the grain, ironware, porcelain, silk, etc. purchased by Tibet were How long to wait It almost emptied Zanpu's treasury and the purses of various tribes. If this situation does not change, Tubo will be impoverished sooner or later. It was the Duke of Yue who gave Tubo the formula of highland barley wine out of his selfless mind, which made Tubo in the war. Datang For the first time, there was a surplus in trade, which filled the treasury and accumulated wealth. Such noble behavior should make the Tibetan people grateful. On the contrary, it is really unreasonable to harbor resentment. "
"Is that so?"
Even though he was called "the wisest man in Tubo", Lu Dongzan was confused for a while by this unheard of knowledge.
The talents of the Tang Dynasty were so broad, and there were actually people who specialized in studying the impact of this kind of trading of goods and colonial possessions on the national treasury. However, Tubo seemed to be stuck in the primitive stage of bartering forever. As time went on, one thing was declining, the other was waxing and waning. What else could Tubo do with it? Datang competition?
After all, he is an extremely intelligent person. After careful consideration, he found some fallacies in it...
"Wrong!"
Lu Dongzan cheered up: "Although Tubo was in deficit in the past, it exported horses and money. Tubo has many horses. It doesn't matter whether there are more or less. Money is a useless thing. It can neither feed the family nor fight. Now it is true. It was a surplus, and what we paid seemed to be highland barley wine. There was a lot of useless money, silk, and porcelain in the treasury for making wine, but the lifeblood of food was tightly strangled by the Tang Dynasty! When it came to war, only food and war horses were available, and the money and silk could not be eaten. It can’t be used, this is your Datang conspiracy!”
Although I have always felt that the trade between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty was a bit strange, and that Tubo gradually lost its strategic initiative, the truth behind it has always been elusive, because Tubo has indeed become richer and richer due to the highland barley wine trade. It cannot be rich, but rather poor. Worse?
Now I completely understand the reason. The Tang Dynasty used highland barley wine to deplete Tubo's food supply and sent money, silk, silk, and porcelain to Tubo. It completely emptied Tubo's strategic resources. As long as the Tang Dynasty wanted to, it could cut off Tubo's food supply at any time. Supply…
He had already expected the outcome. He originally thought that this was just a conspiracy by Fang Jun or a certain person, but now it seems that it has long been a routine method used by the Tang Dynasty to deal with enemies. There is no need for sophisticated strategies, as long as this routine is followed step by step. If applied to any country, the final outcome will not be different.
Pei Xingjian shook his head, with a sincere look on his face: "The Prime Minister set up the hostility between the two countries in advance, but Tubo is on the plateau and the Tang Dynasty maintains its duties, so why does it have to go to war? As long as there is no war, the Tang Dynasty will get delicious highland barley wine and yak Meat, Tubo gets countless money and silk, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the two countries each take what they get and coexist peacefully? ”
Lu Dongzan's wrinkled old face was like chrysanthemums drawn together: "But now we are already fighting."
Pei Xingjian shook his head: "It was the Gar family that went to war with Tubo, not the Tang Dynasty. Although the Tang Dynasty was extremely powerful, the Tang people were peaceful by nature and were willing to coexist peacefully with any tribe in the world. As long as they were not provoked or attacked, the Tang Dynasty would never Being the first to use force is the principle of the Tang Dynasty.”
Although a country is large, if it is warlike, it will perish.
This is the experience summed up by generations of ancestors with blood and wisdom. Force may be able to maintain interests for a period of time, but it is not a long-term solution. The strength and inheritance of culture are the root of lasting strength.
A barbaric country like Tubo that suddenly rose up and only knew how to plunder and plunder would never understand this truth.
Therefore, the Tang Dynasty may have perished, but the next dynasty will surely be established on the ruins of the Tang Dynasty, and it will continue to dominate the world.
Once Tubo is destroyed, it will disappear completely, and there will be no possibility of its rise again... As long as the Gar family suppresses Tubo and curbs its development, the Tang Dynasty does not need to expend huge national power to launch a war that is a hundred times more difficult, and can only develop quietly. , just sit back and wait for Tubo to be destroyed.