Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5113: The Han people are good at building, while the barbarians are only good at destroying

Lu Dongzan stared at Fang Jun for a long time, and finally nodded: "In that case, I will follow the Duke of Yue's wish. However, it is an honor for me to be able to make such a great man like the Duke of Yue work so hard and travel thousands of miles without any complaints."

"In the eyes of the Tang Dynasty, there are only two people in the whole country of Tubo who are worrying: the Zamp and the Prime Minister. Now I heard that the Zamp is seriously ill and no medicine can cure him. He may not live long. Once the Prime Minister returns to Luoshui City, he will be able to take charge of the country. The Tang Dynasty will never allow such a situation to happen at any cost."

Is it true that “times make heroes”?
Or is it “heroes create the times”?
It's difficult to give an exact answer.

But after all, we have to admit that heroes and the times must complement each other.

When the time comes, talented people will inevitably emerge in large numbers and gather together; similarly, the surge of talents will also be a gathering of great forces and a picturesque landscape.

There is no "if" in history, but Tubo without Songtsen Gampo and Lu Dongzan would definitely not be the Tubo in history.

As to whether other heroes will emerge and whether history will continue to move forward according to its inertia, Fang Jun doesn't know. He can only do what he can and should do.

Once it is beyond his understanding, he can do nothing.

Lu Dongzan asked curiously, "If I follow Duke Yue today, will he try to kill me after we cross the Qilian Mountains?"

It may seem like nonsense, but if someone wants to murder you, how can you admit it to their face?

But he believed that if Fang Jun really had such an idea, he would not deny it.

What is a hero?

I naturally disdain to lie.

Fang Jun thought for a moment and sighed, "In my opinion, the Prime Minister should not be allowed to survive in this world..."

Outside the pavilion, Xi Duoyu shouted angrily: "If you dare to hurt my father, the entire Gar tribe will fight you to the death! Even if you hide in Chang'an City, we will tear your tendons and bones apart and wipe out your entire family!"

"Look!"

Fang Jun spread his hands and said helplessly: "If we keep the Prime Minister alive, there will be endless troubles; but if we kill the Prime Minister, the hidden dangers will still be great. We have to choose the lesser of two evils and let the Prime Minister go to Chang'an to live out his days. In the future, he will rest in peace in the most prosperous place in the world. This can be regarded as my explanation to the Prime Minister."

Lu Dongzan smiled and nodded: "Although I am not afraid of death, I don't want to die either. Since the Duke of Yue will not kill me, I will follow you."

Xi Duoyu also knew that it was impossible to do anything, so he could only say: "My father is old and will be going on a long journey. Please allow my father to return to the city to prepare his luggage."

Fang Jun pointed at Xiduoyu and said to Lu Dongzan, "If Zan Xiruo, Lun Qinling or even Zanpo were here, they would never say such stupid words. Your son is not as good as his brothers."

Xi Duoyu was humiliated, his face flushed, and he said indignantly: "What do you mean by this, Duke Yue?"

Fang Junqi asked, "Do you really think I'm a fool? There must be a secret escape route in Fushi City, right?"

"Even if my father and I can escape, how can we abandon these 100,000 tribesmen? We dare not entrust the lives of our tribesmen to the mercy of the Duke of Yue!"

Fang Jun seemed not to hear his sarcasm: "I'm not afraid of you running away, but I'm afraid that you will send someone to send a letter to the Arabs! Once the Arabs learn that their allies have fallen into the hands of the Tang people, they will definitely change their ways and strategies. Maybe when the war starts, the Tang army will fall into the trap."

Lu Dongzan was also curious: "Even if my father and I cannot return to the city, how does the Duke of Yue know that I didn't make arrangements in advance?"

Fang Jun sneered, "Not only will the Tang Dynasty never tolerate the secret communication with the Arabs, but the Tibetans will also regard it as treason. Once it is leaked, the Prime Minister's reputation will be ruined, and all Tibetans will regard you as a traitor. So how can such a thing be entrusted to others? If I am right, even your son has no way to contact the Arabs, so you have to do this."

"They all say that I am the 'wisest man in Tibet', but it is just an empty title. Duke Yue is very intelligent and I am ashamed of myself."

Lu Dongzan sighed and said dejectedly: "If that's the case, then my father and I will follow Duke Yue to the Western Regions."

"Wait a minute!"

Fang Jun smiled and said, "There is one more thing I need to trouble you with."

"What's the matter?"

"Send a message to the Arabs."

Lu Dongzan was puzzled: "Isn't the Duke of Yue afraid that I will contact the Arabs?"

"You are writing to the Arabs in front of me. How can it be the same as contacting you privately? The letter says that you were held hostage by me, so you hate the Tang Dynasty to the core. Even in the enemy camp, you will remain loyal. If there is a chance, you will pass on the strategic deployment of the Tang army in the Western Regions..."

Lu Dongzan stared at Fang Jun for a long while, then burst into laughter: "Bring me a pen and paper, and I will do as the Duke of Yue says. If the Duke of Yue wins a great victory in the Western Regions in the future, will you record this as a credit to me?"

Fang Jun was very straightforward: "All those who serve the empire will not hide their merits. Many foreigners have obtained the title of Duke of the Empire. Perhaps, the Prime Minister will also be able to achieve this achievement in the future."

Someone brought paper and pen. Lu Dongzan picked up the pen and raised his eyebrows: "Duke Yue, aren't you afraid that I will play some tricks in the letter and deliberately warn the Arabs?"

Fang Jun smiled and asked, "Would you do that?"

"of course not."

"And I believe you won't."

"Haha... little fox, you are really cunning."

"How dare I call myself cunning in front of an old fox like you? You are too kind."

Lu Dongzan shook his head and said nothing more. He wrote a letter and put it in an envelope. He took out a seal from his bosom and stamped it. He handed it to Fang Jun and said, "Send someone to my bedroom. There is a gap in the bricks under the bed. Just put the envelope in it. There is a secret passage below. There are Arabs guarding here day and night, but I never meet them."

Fang Jun handed the envelope to Cheng Chumo: "Go and do it yourself."

"Here!"

……

The next morning, the Tang army broke camp, coming and going suddenly, retreating all the way to the north like a tide, completely withdrawing.

They marched quickly all the way, not daring to slack off for the moment, until they crossed the Qilian Mountains from the Dadouba Valley and returned to Hexi, and only then did the entire army breathe a sigh of relief.

When Pei Xingjian arrived in Ganzhou, he was stunned when he saw Lu Dongzan and Xi Duoyu, father and son, who were accompanying them, and at the same time he was full of admiration.

They actually kidnapped Lu Dongzan and his son, which was tantamount to cutting off the source of the Gar tribe's support. As long as Lu Dongzan was alive, the brothers Zan Xiruo and Lun Qinling would have to obey the Tang Dynasty and would not dare to disobey in the slightest.

The Tubo people are barbarians who do not know filial piety. They may not be constrained by their father being held hostage by the enemy, but Lu Dongzan's prestige in the entire Gar tribe is as high as a mountain, like a god. Once the tribe members know that Zan Xiruo and his brothers killed Lu Dongzan because they were unwilling to obey the orders of the Tang Dynasty, they will surely attack him together. No matter in the Gar tribe or the entire Tubo, there will be no place for these brothers to stand.

This was equivalent to pinching the throat of the entire Gar tribe at once...

"Has Duke Lu already set out to return to the capital?"

"Reporting to the commander, Duke Lu has led all the soldiers of the Left Guard back to the capital. Now the defense of Hexi is in the charge of Duke Langya."

Fang Jun trusted Niu Jinda very much. Although Niu Jinda seemed dull, he was actually capable of both charging into battle and commanding from a position of command. He was a rare talent, but because there were so many talented officials during the Zhenguan period, he was not well-known.

"Immediately hand over all defense of Hexi to the Duke of Langya. You must accompany me to the Western Regions without delay, otherwise once it snows, the journey will be difficult."

Although the road from Hexi to the Western Regions was very smooth at that time, the road conditions were extremely poor and the distance was long and difficult to travel. Once the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, not only would the travel time increase exponentially, but the conditions would also become even worse. Not only would more supplies be consumed in vain, but more soldiers and horses would also be lost.

It would be better to march quickly to the Western Regions and rest before it snows.

"promise."

……

Lu Dongzan stepped down from the carriage wearing a cloak, looked up at the low-hanging clouds and the north wind, and looked at the people coming and going on the streets and the shops lining the streets. Although the pedestrians were in a hurry, they were well-dressed and had ruddy faces. The houses were lined up one after another, so he sighed softly.

Sita followed him and asked, "Why is father sighing?"

"In terms of 'governing the people', Tubo is far inferior to the Tang Dynasty."

After years of fighting with the Zamp, although they unified the plateau and aspired to dominate the world, the lives of the Tibetan people did not improve much. The nobles naturally lived a life of luxury, but the slaves at the bottom did not even have the most basic freedom. Life and death depended on the nobles' thoughts, let alone eating well.
Xi Duoyu thought for a moment and said, "Tibet is poor, the plateau is bitterly cold, and the resources are not as abundant as those in the Tang Dynasty, so naturally they cannot compare."

Lu Dongzan shook his head and had no intention of continuing the discussion.

In fact, he had a deep understanding of this issue many years ago. Why did the Tibetans live worse than the Tang people? The Turks, Goguryeo people, Japanese people, and even the Arabs in the West... When everyone's life is worse than that of the Tang people, it cannot be simply judged by whether the material is rich or not.

Fang Jun came from behind, having already taken off his armor while in the territory of the Tang Dynasty. He was dressed in a brocade hat and a sable fur coat, looking like a handsome young man, with an upright posture and full of heroic spirit. Where was the domineering aura of a man with all the power in the court?

"The reason why the Tang Dynasty is rich has nothing to do with whether it is bitter and cold. In fact, if the amount of arable land in the Tang Dynasty is distributed to each person, the value is even far less than that of Goguryeo and Japan, and even more so than that of the Arab Empire. But since ancient times, when the ancestors of the Chinese people faced hunger and poverty, the first thing they thought of was to demand land, cultivate good varieties, reform technology, and build water conservancy... instead of just carrying swords and guns to plunder everywhere like those barbarians. You only know how to destroy, which seems easy, but in fact, your rise is rapid and your fall is sudden. Throughout history, how many barbarians have risen and fallen like a revolving lantern? China is keen on construction. It is difficult at the beginning, but it has a deep foundation. Even if there are dynasties that change when it is weak, it can rise quickly as long as it survives a period of war."

The Tang army nearby straightened their backs, their faces filled with pride.

"So whether Tubo is strong or not, we don't really care. Even if you can be so arrogant on the plateau, what does it matter? If you don't develop and don't understand development, your future can only be the extinction of your race, just like the Xiongnu in the past and the Turks today. As time goes by, all the barbarians will be annihilated. Only China is an indestructible reef. No matter how turbulent the waves are, I will remain unmoved."

(End of this chapter)