Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4870: Interest comes first
Since ancient times, wealth and honor have moved people's hearts. However, the more prominent the wealth and honor, the greater the risks. Sairu Gongdun disagreed with the so-called "great wealth and honor" in the letter. His current wealth and honor in Tubo was second only to one person and more than ten thousand people. For him, "great wealth and honor" meant taking a step further and ascending to the position of Zamp...

But how could a Tang person give him such "great wealth"?
Even if Pei Xingjian was the Grand Protector of Anxi in the Tang Dynasty, with tens of thousands of soldiers under his command who were invincible, and countless military equipment and supplies, which were enough to help him usurp the throne and become the Zamp...but why should he believe Pei Xingjian?

He had never heard the saying "Those who are not of my race must have different hearts", but he understood the principle.

Even now, he has not yet confirmed that Su Liangsi is not the bastard Lun Qinling who sent him to fool him...

He looked at Su Liangsi, who was drinking hot tea calmly, with a scrutinizing gaze, and said in a deep voice: "You said you were Pei Xingjian's envoy, holding a so-called handwritten letter from Pei Xingjian, do you want to gain my trust with this? To be honest, I still doubt your identity."

Su Liangsi put down his teacup, crossed the mountains and went through the snow cave. His almost frozen body relaxed, and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter whether I am the envoy of Pei Duhu or whether this letter was written by Pei Duhu. What matters is the purpose of my coming here and what benefits I can bring to the great leader."

Sai Rugong Dun did not comment, and said calmly: "Tell me, but I advise you not to play any tricks, otherwise I don't mind pushing you out and chopping off your head and burning your body as firewood for heating. There is a serious shortage of wood here, you should know."

Su Liangsi laughed and stared at Serugondon with a sharp gaze, without a trace of fear on his face: "I have braved the wind and snow to come here over the mountains and across the ridges, and have long since put life and death aside. My life and death are not worth mentioning, but I have to remind the chief that the majesty of the Tang Dynasty cannot be provoked or tarnished. If you dare to execute the Tang Dynasty envoy today, then you must be prepared for the extermination of your entire clan in the future under the revenge of the Tang Dynasty!"

He slightly raised his beautifully trimmed beard, and his eyes looked somewhat arrogant and disdainful: "Great leader, if you kill me, please find a burial place for the Sairu tribe as soon as possible, so that the Tang cavalry will not exterminate your tribe and your entire family will be eaten by wolves."

"Bastard!"

Sai Rugongdun's hair and beard stood on end, and he was furious. He pointed his spear at me and cursed: "How dare you be so arrogant in front of me? Come on, take this beast out, skin him, and throw his body into the wild for the wolves to eat!"

"Yes!"

Several guards rushed in and stared at Su Liangsi with a fierce look.

Su Liangsi stood up, patted his robe, turned around and walked out. He looked casual and indifferent, and did not take Sai Rugongdun's threat seriously at all.

Several guards gathered Su Liangsi and walked to the door. Then Sai Rugongdun said, "Wait!"

Su Liangsi turned around, with an undisguised smile of disdain on his face: "Is the great leader waiting for me to beg for mercy?"

Sai Rugundun shook his head and waved his hands helplessly. The guards withdrew and Su Liangsi returned to him.

He took a seat, picked up the teacup and took a sip of hot tea.

Sai Rugong Dun looked at the Tang man in front of him who was talking and laughing calmly with complicated eyes, and asked curiously: "Are you really not afraid of death, or are you sure that I can't kill you?"

Su Liangsi thought about it and shook his head, "I'm not sure about either of them."

"You're not sure, but you dare to be so arrogant in front of me? You didn't even change your expression when you heard that you were going to be killed?"

"We Han people have a saying, 'A gentleman is not afraid of disaster, and is not happy about good fortune.' Whether it is good fortune or disaster, just let it happen naturally. Things cannot be changed by happiness or anger."

Serugonton sneered: "You Han people are really talkative. It seems that you can find two words from ancient sages to guide your actions in any situation."

Su Liangsi nodded happily: "So this is the inheritance of civilization. When the Tibetans were eating raw meat and drinking blood and living in caves on the plateau, we had already started to build city-states and compile books. However, the Han people have broad minds and the Tang Dynasty is tolerant of the world. They are willing to selflessly dedicate their thousands of years of heritage, which has greatly accelerated the civilization process of the Tibetans. It is all because of the integration of your two ethnic groups, building a harmonious state together, multiplying the population, and enriching your descendants. Why not do it?"

Serugundun didn't like to hear these things he didn't quite understand. He tapped his fingers on the table and said calmly, "Tell me why you're here."

Su Liangsi sat upright and said, "The Gar tribe broke their promise and the alliance with the Tang Dynasty has been broken, so the Tang Dynasty is eager to find an ally who can ensure the normal trade between the two countries within the Tubo area, and will provide the ally with weapons, supplies and other assistance so that it can have the ability to ensure the safety of trade. Of course, this ally may not be a great leader. There are more than ten people who left Hexi with me. These people will go to various Tubo tribes to negotiate with the leaders. Who will become the ally of the Tang Dynasty in the end will be decided by Pei Duhu."

Do you think that if you are willing to abandon Tubo and join us, we will definitely welcome you openly?
No.

Not everyone is qualified to be the ally of the Tang Dynasty...

Sai Rugong Dun hesitated for a long time, neither agreeing nor categorically refusing: "This matter is of great importance, and it concerns the life and death of the entire clan. I cannot make a decision in one word. Please give me some time to discuss it with the clan members before making a decision."

"Of course. The allies of the Tang Dynasty have always been loyal and obedient. How can they be forced? But I still want to remind you to hurry up. After all, everyone is jealous of the Tang Dynasty's assistance. If many people go ahead of you, Pei Duhu can only deal with it according to the first come first served. You just need to know that at least so far, you are ranked first in Pei Duhu's mind. Once the alliance is signed, the assistance you get will be beyond the reach of others."

Su Liangsi replied with a smile.

He was just here today to let Sairu Gongdon know so that he would be prepared and not panic when the situation changed. He knew that the Tang Dynasty was willing to protect him...

After drinking a pot of hot tea and eating two pieces of meat, Su Liangsi dressed himself and left.

Sai Rugongdun stood at the door of the tent and watched Su Liangsi's figure disappear in the heavy snow. He stopped and pondered for a long time, until the cold wind penetrated his clothes and his feet were almost numb. Then he turned back to the tent and sat by the brazier, still absent-minded.

He had no intention of surrendering to the Tang people, and perhaps he was not as loyal to the Zamp as he appeared, but with his current status and power in Tubo, he did not need the support of the Tang people. He had his own pride, so how could he be willing to be servile before the Tang people?
But even though he didn't have this idea, there was no guarantee that others wouldn't have this idea.

Look at the Gar tribe. Although it was a large Tibetan tribe in the past, it was definitely not among the top three, let alone fighting against the entire Tibetans on its own. But now it has joined the Tang Dynasty and has become very powerful. It has even attacked cities and strongholds all the way south and is approaching the city of Luoshui...

Who doesn’t want to possess such combat power and seek more benefits and power?
For those small and medium-sized tribes, being the henchmen of the Tang Dynasty on the plateau is not unacceptable...

This was a warning from the Tang Dynasty to the Gar tribe for disobeying orders, and it clearly told the Gar tribe: It is not because you are so powerful, but because we chose you and assisted you. No matter which tribe we help, the result will be the same.

But if this happens, the entire Tubo will face a situation of fragmentation and mutual attacks, and the huge empire that the Zamp has worked so hard to build will once again return to its previous chaos.

The miserable days of the Tibetans are probably not far away...

*****
"Brother, a message came from the foot of the mountain saying that reinforcements from Luoshui City have arrived. Including auxiliary troops, there are nearly 15,000 of them, and even the elite troops are 10,000. Guess who will lead the army?"

Bo Lun Zanren pushed open the door of the tent, rushed in and sat next to Lun Qinling, who was sorting out battle reports at his desk, with an impatient tone.

Lun Qinling put down the battle report in his hand and rubbed his brows. His eyes were sore from working at his desk for a long time. Hearing this, he said unhappily, "Maybe I didn't know before, but now that you've mentioned it by name, do I still need to guess?"

"You really know?"

"Who else could it be but the prince?"

He took the teacup beside him and took a sip of butter tea, then poured another cup for Bolun Zanren.

Bo Lun Zanren took the cup and took a big sip. It was very comfortable to drink a sip of warm butter tea to dispel the coldness on a cold winter night.

He turned sideways and stared at Lun Qinling's head again and again, and exclaimed in amazement: "We are brothers from the same mother, why are there such big differences in our brains? I was shocked when I heard the news. I never thought that the Zamp would send a prince, but you guessed it in just a blink of an eye. Amazing!"

He truly admired his brothers.

The eldest brother, Zan Xiruo, was full of ingenious ideas and well versed in internal affairs. The second brother, Lun Qinling, was a master of military tactics and strategies. The bravery and strength that he was proud of were not enough under the hands of the third brother, Zanpo. Even the fourth brother, Xiduoyu, who was always low-key, peaceful and humble, was not an easy person to deal with...

As the youngest child, I am not outstanding in either literature or martial arts, so I feel under a lot of pressure and feel very frustrated.

Lun Qinling patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "It's not difficult to guess it. Just analyze the situation in Luoshui City carefully. The Zamp seems to be surrounded by many brave generals, but there are not many who can be fully trusted by the Zamp and have enough prestige to lead the army to reinforce Sairu Gongdon. But we also have to consider the defense of Luoshui City after the generals are taken away. We can't let the Zamp lead the army in person when the six tribes of Nachang attack the flank of Luoshui City? The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty can do it, but our Zamp can't... In this case, the candidate for reinforcement is obvious. The prince has both prestige and can be trusted by the Zamp. Most importantly, he can accumulate military merits to pave the way for the future."

Bo Lun Zan Ren shook his head repeatedly: "My brain is very stupid, how can I understand so many twists and turns?"

He looked at his brother with a burning gaze: "Prince has always been in poor health. This time he is braving the wind and snow and is in severe cold. If he is not careful, he will get sick. If he dies in Dangla Mountain, won't the Zamp be childless?"

Lun Qinling naturally understood what he meant and said unhappily, "How come there is no offspring? The prince has already given birth to a son. Although he is still in swaddling clothes, he is also the bloodline of the Zamp."

Bo Lun Zan Ren chuckled and whispered, "That may not be the case. If something unexpected happens to the prince, the Zamp may not be able to protect the young prince."

Lun Qinling frowned in thought and his heart skipped a beat.

The city of Lhasa is not a monolithic entity. If something unexpected happens to the prince in Dangla Mountain, who knows if there will be people who want to kill the infant prince?

There are so many ways to make a baby die in infancy...

But he thought about it carefully and shook his head: "No."