Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 226 Two Powerful Countries
Luoche City, Wangcheng.

Eleven-year-old Mangsong Mangtsen, in a daze, vaguely heard his grandfather Songtsen Gampo calling him.

Mangsong Mangtsen's father died earlier than Songtsen Gampo, so Mangsong Mangtsen was raised by Songtsen Gampo since he was a child.

Songtsen Gampo ignored the advice of his ministers and insisted on letting the three-year-old Mangsong Mangtsen take over his position as Zamp, and let Lu Dongtsen assist him.

Therefore, in Mangsong Mangtsen's heart, his grandfather Songtsen Gampo is his closest person.

The shouts were getting closer and closer. Mangsong Mangzan wanted to reach out and grab something, but he could not catch anything.

Then he suddenly woke up, looked up, and saw that the person calling him was a servant.

Mangsongmangzan was very disappointed. Because of Lu Dongzan, he had been unable to govern the country and had recently been placed under house arrest. His temper became more and more violent.

He stood up and kicked the servant, angrily saying, "You little dog slave, you dare to disturb my sleep? You deserve to die!"

The attendant knelt on the ground and said, "Zanpu, Deputy Prime Minister Dayan is here."

Tubo had two deputy prime ministers, one was Chamo and the other was Dayan Mangbuzhi.

Mangsong Mangzan's mother was a princess of Tuyuhun and Dayan's sister. She followed Dayan to flee to Tubo.

With the help of Chamo, Mangsong Mangzan wanted to regain power and also tried to ask for help from his uncle Dayan.

Dayan, however, stayed out of the matter and never interfered in the power struggle in Lhasa. He was only thinking about attacking Tuyuhun.

Therefore, after Chamo was exiled by Lu Dongzan, Dayan was not affected and continued to serve as deputy prime minister.

Mangsong Mangzan was therefore very dissatisfied with his uncle.

"Humph, why did he come to see me? To laugh at my joke? No!"

The attendant said, "Zanpu, you'd better meet him. I've heard a lot of rumors recently that the Tang people are going to attack us."

Mangsong Mangzan's face turned pale, and he said angrily, "This must be Lu Dongzan's doing again. Why would he have to provoke the Tang people for no reason?"

The attendant said, "The situation is still unclear, Zamp, you should meet with Deputy Prime Minister Dayan to find out more about the situation."

Mangsong Mangzan glared and said, "Why don't you invite him in!"

After saying that, he rubbed his eyes hard and rubbed out all the tears.

After a while, there was a sound of heavy footsteps. Dayan Mangbuzhi strode in with a sword and saluted Mangsong Mangzan.

"Uncle, you finally come to see me!" Mangsong Mangzan's eyes were red and he looked pitiful.

Dayan stared at Mangsong Mangzan without saying a word, and suddenly drew his sword.

Mangsong Mangzan was shocked and asked in astonishment: "What are you going to do?"

Dayan waved his strong arms, slashed with a few swords, and accompanied by bursts of screams, all the servants in the room were killed by him.

There were also bursts of screams coming from outside, and Dayan was obviously well prepared.

Mangsong Mangzan smelled the pungent smell of blood and froze in his place. He mumbled, "Are you going to kill me?"

With a clang, Dayan plunged his knife into the floor, knelt on one knee, and said, "Zamp, those people just now were all Lu Dongzan's spies. I have killed them!"

Mangsong Mangzan was stunned and said, "Then you are..."

Dayan said in a deep voice: "I am here to save Zamp."

"Why did you suddenly come to save me?"

Dayan said, "Lu Dongzan is a coward, only knowing how to plot and scheme, and he has ruined a promising situation. Now Tubo is in danger of extinction. Only you can restore order."

When Dayan first defected to Tubo, Lu Dongzan said a lot of good things about him, so he and Lu Dongzan had a good personal relationship.

After Songtsen Gampo's death, Dayan did not get close to his nephew because of their friendship, but silently supported Lu Dongzan.

However, the battle against Tuyuhun made him greatly disappointed with Lu Dongzan.

Although the Tubo army had the upper hand at the time, Qin Ling insisted on withdrawing his troops, saying that the overall situation was more important.

At that time, Dayan was also persuaded and was waiting for the opportunity to attack Tuyuhun again.

However, over the past year, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Not to mention attacking Tuyuhun, even Tubo's self-preservation became a problem.

Lu Dongzan only knew to keep his troops in place and play tricks with the Tang people. As a result, before he knew it, Su Bi rebelled, and the Tang Dynasty led the coalition forces of the Qiang people and the Six Zhao States to invade the Tubo homeland.

He believed that the current internal and external troubles were all Lu Dongzan's responsibility, so naturally he would not continue to follow him.

Mangsong Mangzan trembled all over and asked in shock, "Are the Tang troops really coming?"

Dayan said in a deep voice, "Yes, the Tang people, led by the Tuyuhun, Dongnu, and Dangxiang Qiang, have crossed the Barong River and are attacking Mibao City. The Liuzhao Kingdom also attacked Tieqiao City under the orders of the Tang Dynasty."

Mangsong Mangzan was terrified and cried out, "What should I do? What should I do?"

Dayan said, "Zanpu, the only solution now is to submit to the Tang Dynasty and tell the Tang Emperor that you are under house arrest by Lu Dongzan, and all actions against the Tang Dynasty are Lu Dongzan's doing!"

Mangsong Mangzan asked, "Is this okay? Will the Tang people withdraw their troops?"

Dayan said, "When the previous Zamp was in power, my Tubo was always subservient to the Tang Dynasty and even helped them conquer India. Besides, don't we still have Jiamusa?"

Jiamusa is Princess Wencheng. She was only fifteen years old when she married Songtsen Gampo. Now she is only in her thirties, but she is still respected by the Tibetans and called Jiamusa, which means goddess.

Mangsong Mangzan said, "Okay, okay, let's go find Jiamusa and ask her to help talk to the Tang Dynasty emperor. However, I'm afraid Lu Dongzan will stop us."

Dayan said, "Don't worry. The country is in chaos right now. Not only is the Subi tribe rebelling, but the Yangtong tribe is also showing signs of rebellion. Lu Dongzan and his son have left Luoshui City. This is a good opportunity to accomplish something!"

Mangsong Mangzan was overjoyed and said, "Well, go and rescue Deputy Prime Minister Mocha quickly. While they are not in Luoshui City, quickly control the army!"

Dayan said, "Zanpu, I need your golden order to control the army in the city."

Mangsong Mangzan quickly ran to an ivory cabinet, took out a brocade box, took out a small golden arrow from it, and handed it to Dayan.

"Uncle, I'm leaving everything in your hands." Dayan put away the golden arrow, a gleam in his eyes, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I will definitely take care of everything."

Just then, a voice came from outside.

"How are you going to handle everything and give Tibet to the Arab Empire?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Mangsong Mangzan and Dayan's faces changed.

I saw a man slowly walking into the house. He was tall and thin, with two delicate mustaches under his nose. It was Lu Dongzan.

Dayan was surprised and asked, "Didn't you leave Luoshui City?"

Lu Dongzan looked at him calmly and said, "If I hadn't left, why would you have taken action?"

Dayan felt a chill on his back and asked, "Are you deliberately trying to provoke me into doing this?"

Lu Dongzan said in a deep voice, "Deputy Prime Minister Dayan, do you think I was completely unaware of your involvement with the Arabs over the past year?"

Dayan said coldly: "This is not my fault. It is you who failed to keep your promise and help me restore my country. If you continue like this, the Tang people will sooner or later attack Luoshui City."

Lu Dongzan sighed, "Brother Dayan, do you think the Arabs are so easy to get along with? Do you really think they will help you restore your country?"

Dayan said sternly, "I don't care about that. I have no chance if I rely on you. I can only choose the Arabs!"

"Father, why waste time talking to this untreatable wolf? Just kill it."

Following the voice, three more people walked in. They were Lu Dongzan’s three sons: Xiruo, Qinling and Zhengzan. The person who spoke was the eldest son Xiruo.

Lu Dongzan glared at his son, and Xiruo immediately lowered his head and dared not say a word.

Dayan laughed heartily and said, "Since the plan has failed, I have nothing to say. You won't live much longer anyway!"

He placed the scimitar on his shoulder with his backhand, ready to commit suicide.

Lu Dongzan's words made him stop.

"Brother Dayan, you're right. If you die, we'll probably die too. So, why don't we all live together?"

Dayan asked suspiciously, "What do you mean?"

Lu Dongzan said slowly: "I forgive your behavior this time, but you must also tell us about the situation in the Kingdom of Daqin."

Dayan snorted and said, "Lu Dongzan, you don't still want to save Tubo, do you? Now there are rebellions within, and the two powerful countries of Tang and Daqin are attacking from outside. Do you think you can still save it?"

Lu Dongzan said slowly, "I have been entrusted by the former Zamp, and I dare not fail to do my best. If we can save Tubo, we can all live. If we can't, we will all die together for our country."

Dayan stared at him for a long time, then slowly said, "If I tell you, how can you guarantee that you won't kill me?"

Lu Dongzan bowed to Mangsong Mangzan and said, "Please be my witness, Zamp. Lu Dongzan swears an oath here. If I break this oath, I will be trampled to death by ten thousand yaks."

Mangsong Mangzan was completely stunned, his thoughts completely unable to keep up with the changes in the situation.

Dayan took a deep breath and said, "Well, I'll believe you this time. The Arab army has a total of 50,000 soldiers. They have already crossed the Pamir Mountains and are stationed in the Great Bolor Kingdom, ready to invade Tubo at any time."

Xiruo angrily said, "We have already submitted to them. It would be fine if they didn't help us deal with the Tang people, but why are they taking advantage of our misfortune?"

Dayan said, "The Arabs are not stupid. They know that you chose to surrender in order to provoke a war between them and the Tang. After high-level discussions, they decided to first eliminate Tubo and then consider attacking the Tang Dynasty."

Qin Ling suddenly said, "You were the one who told the Arabs about the true situation of Tubo."

Dayan acquiesced.

Xiruo angrily asked, "When did you start hooking up with the Arabs?"

Dayan said, "When Dubu was sent as an envoy to the Arab Empire."

His son Dubu was a diplomatic official of Tubo and had been sent as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty.

Later, when Lu Dongzan was preparing to surrender to the Arabs, he also sent Dubu to go. At that time, Dayan asked Dubu to make friends with the Arab dignitaries so that if Tubo was in trouble in the future, he could go to them for refuge.

Lu Dongzan said: "I only have two last questions now."

Dayan asked, "What?"

Lu Dongzan asked, "When will the Arabs prepare to send troops? And how will they deal with the Tang people?"

Dayan was silent for a moment, then said, "They plan to wait until the Tang people have tied down most of your forces, then launch a surprise attack from the north. Once they reach Luoshui City, they'll use me as an internal supporter to capture Luoshui City in one fell swoop."

He paused, then continued, "As for the Tang people, they plan to send people to negotiate with the Tang people about dividing Tubo after they capture Luoshui City."

Lu Dongzan nodded and said, "Thank you for telling me this, Zhengzan, take him to rest and don't make things difficult for him."

Xiruo's veins popped out, and he angrily said, "Father, are you really going to forgive him?"

Lu Dongzan said coldly: "Do you want me to break my oath in front of the Zamp?"

Xiruo roared angrily and ran out with big strides.

Dayan slowly came up to Lu Dongzan, handed him the golden arrow, and said, "Grand Prime Minister, it's better for you to keep this thing. If it is in the hands of the Zamp, something unexpected might happen."

Lu Dongzan took the golden arrow and said calmly, "Thank you for the reminder."

After Zhengzan took Dayan away, Ludongzan came to Zamp, knelt on one knee, held the golden arrow in both hands, and said in a deep voice: "Zamp, please keep this item and don't trust others easily in the future."

Mangsong Mangzan swallowed his saliva and stammered, "Da Lun, I... I..."

Lu Dongzan stared at him and said, "Zanpu, I have been entrusted by the former Zanpu to assist you in governing Tubo. This will never change. Please do not trust the treacherous ministers and try to deal with me."

Mangsong Mangzan lowered his head and said, "I remember it."

Lu Dongzan stood up and said, "The country is in a critical juncture. I need to leave Luoshui City for a while. I will let Zhengzan stay in Luoshui City to guard the palace. If you need anything, you can come to him."

Mangsong Mangzan nodded and whispered, "Then I'll leave everything to you."

(End of this chapter)