Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 256: Banquet at the Duke of England's Mansion
When Changsun Wuji entered the study, he saw Changsun Quan leaning on a large chair, looking as if all his strength had been drained away.

"How about it? It's not that easy to be a county magistrate for ten thousand years, right?" Changsun Wuji asked with a smile.

Chang Sunquan sat up straight and said with a wry smile, "It's too difficult to be a county magistrate. I would rather go back to Lucheng County and be the county lieutenant."

Changsun Wuji walked over to the chair and sat down, saying, "Don't complain about being tired. Pei Xingjian was also the magistrate of Chang'an County for a few years, and he did a pretty good job. You should learn from him."

Changsun Quanxuan raised his eyebrows and said, "When he was the magistrate of Chang'an County, there were no Arab envoys in the city."

Zhang Sun Wuji's eyes twitched: "What happened to the Arab envoys?"

Chang Sunquan frowned and said, "Brother, you may not know that those members of the Arab envoys have been causing trouble in Chang'an City every day recently. The trouble is neither big nor small, but because of their special status, it is really difficult to deal with them!"

Changsun Wuji narrowed his eyes and said, "They did this on purpose."

"Intentional?" Changsun Quan was stunned.

"They are forcing Your Majesty to see them. If envoys sent to foreign countries are not summoned, they often resort to causing trouble to force an audience."

Chang Sunquan nodded: "No wonder they often act unreasonably."

"Dong dong dong!" There was a knock on the door.

Changsun Wuji went over and opened the door.

It was the servant who knocked on the door and said, "Ah Lang, the Duke of Yingguo's mansion has sent someone to ask you to come over."

"I understand." Changsun Wuji responded.

Changsun Quan originally came to ask Changsun Wuji for advice on how to deal with the Arab envoys, but when he learned that the other party had intentions to do so, he prepared to leave.

Just as Changsun Wuji was about to go out, he gave him a ride in his carriage.

After the two parted at the crossroads, the carriage headed towards the Duke of England's mansion.

Li Ji had ordered people to prepare a banquet in the back hall to entertain Lu Dongzan.

Changsun Wuji followed a servant to the back hall and saw that fruits, wine and food were already placed on the round table.

Li Ji sat beside the round table, drinking tea leisurely.

"Brother Li, you don't want to prepare a banquet to entertain me, do you?" Changsun Wuji said with a smile.

Li Ji smiled and said, "If I were to entertain you, there would be no need for such effort. His Majesty has ordered me to invite Lu Dongzan to the palace. His Majesty will come over later."

Changsun Wuji was slightly surprised and asked, "Your Majesty also asked you to invite me?"

"No."

"Then why did you invite me here?" Changsun Wuji asked unhappily.

Li Ji raised his eyes and said, "Don't play dumb. You should know why His Majesty would ask me to entertain Lu Dongzan for no reason."

In Chang'an City, the person who was most familiar with Lu Dongzan was Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji currently holds no official position and cannot represent the Tang officials in negotiations with Lu Dongzan.

The emperor thought of the last time he met Changsun Wuji at the Duke of England's Mansion, so he chose the Duke of England's Mansion as the venue. The meaning was obvious.

Changsun Wuji was naturally able to figure out the emperor's thoughts, but he was just testing it just to be on the safe side.

After hearing what Li Ji said, he stopped asking questions and picked up a chair to sit down.

Not long after, Li Zhen came to report that the emperor had arrived at the palace in disguise.

The two men immediately got up and went to welcome the emperor, and met Li Zhi in the hall.

Li Zhi, upon seeing Changsun Wuji, showed no surprise. He smiled and said, "My uncle is here too! That's great! I'll have him, Lord Li, and Lu Dongzan negotiate with him later."

Changsun Wuji bowed and said, "I obey your command."

Li Ji's heart moved, and he said, "Your Majesty, then you..."

Li Zhi said: "I will just pretend to be an official from the Honglu Temple and listen in."

Li Ji and Zhangsun Wuji exchanged glances, then bowed and said, "Yes."

A quarter of an hour later, Lu Dongzan arrived at Li's house and was taken to the back hall by Li Zhen.

He glanced around the room and found three people sitting inside, one of whom was Changsun Wuji, who was responsible for receiving him when he came to the Tang Dynasty.

When Lu Dongzan saw him, he was slightly surprised.

As the situation in Tubo worsened, he was no longer able to inquire about news from Chang'an. He only heard that Changsun Wuji was imprisoned in Zhaoling, and did not know that he had escaped.

He was somewhat caught off guard by this person's appearance here.

Changsun Wuji had already greeted him with a smile and said jokingly, "Brother Lu, it's been many years since we last met. You don't look any older at all."

Lu Dongzan quickly calmed down and said with a smile, "I am very happy to see Uncle Changsun again."

Changsun Wuji pulled him to the table and sat him down, then looked at Li Ji.

"Let me introduce you. This is the owner of this place, Duke Yingguo Li Ji."

Lu Dongzan respectfully performed a Tang Dynasty bow and said, "I have long admired Mr. Li's great name. It is a great honor to meet you today."

Li Ji bowed and smiled, "I have long wanted to meet Prime Minister Lu."

Changsun Wuji looked at Li Zhi again.

"This is Li Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple. Under the orders of the Emperor, I'm here to assist Lord Li in negotiating post-war matters with your country."

Lu Dongzan glanced at Li Zhi and said with a bow, "Greetings, Li Shaoqing."

Li Zhi returned the greeting with a bow and said in a serious tone, "Messengers from Lu are honored to meet you."

After Li Ji extended his hand to invite Lu Dongzan to sit down, he clapped his hands, and the servants of the Li Mansion began to serve the dishes.

Li Ji raised his glass and said with a smile: "This meeting is half private and half public. Prime Minister Lu can say whatever he wants to say and whatever ideas he has can also be discussed." Lu Dongzan felt solemn.

The other party said it easily, but even Changsun Wuji was invited out, which shows that this negotiation may be the most important one.

If the talks don't go well, the Tang Dynasty may not give him a second chance.

Having failed on the battlefield, they naturally had to endure more humiliation at the negotiating table.

Lu Dongzan was mentally prepared. He took a deep breath and said, "The Tang Dynasty is the common ruler of the world, and Tubo has always been loyal and subservient. Back then, when Wang Xuance's tribute was robbed by the Indians, Tubo actively responded to the call and helped defeat the Indians and reclaim the tribute..."

Li Ji interrupted, "It was your country's former Zanpu who responded to the Tang Dynasty. After his death, your country seems to have stopped submitting to the Tang Dynasty."

Lu Dongzan said, "The previous Zamp passed away, the young Zamp was still young, and the government was unstable. At that time, Tubo was only concerned with stabilizing the situation and stopped paying tribute for several years. We had no intention of breaking away from the Tang Dynasty."

Li Ji said calmly, "Then why did you ignore our warnings and insist on annexing Tuyuhun?"

Lu Dong exclaimed, "My Tubo has only been around for a short time. Although we are currently stronger than Tuyuhun, Tuyuhun is a century-old power. We are worried that they will attack Tubo after they recover, so we have to strike first!"

Li Ji said, "You guys don't care about the orders of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, do you?"

Lu Dongzan said: "This matter concerns the survival of Tubo. Therefore, Tubo cannot obey the imperial edict. It is indeed guilty and is willing to accept the punishment of the emperor."

Changsun Wuji said with a smile: "Brother Lu, there is no Tubo anymore."

Lu Dongzan said in a deep voice: "The Tang Dynasty is a country of benevolence and righteousness, so it has won the trust of all countries. I believe that the Tang Dynasty will not occupy our Tibetan territory without reason!"

Zhang Sun Wuji said calmly, "Then why did you, Tubo, invade Subi's territory for no reason?"

Lu Dongzan said, "The Queen of Subi was incompetent and the people were suffering. The ministers of Subi requested that Tubo send troops to rescue them. That's when the first Zamp sent troops to occupy Subi. After the war, the people of Subi were allowed to govern Subi again."

Changsun Wuji glanced at Lu Dongzan and said, "Brother Lu, do you know why the emperor is holding a semi-private banquet like this to discuss matters with you?"

Lu Dongzan said, "I was just about to ask for your advice."

Changsun Wuji said coldly, "I just don't want to waste my time with those empty words and platitudes. You don't have to bind us with morality and ethics. We won't buy into that."

Lu Dongzan's heart sank, and he said, "Uncle Changsun, I have a question for you."

"Excuse me."

Lu Dong praised Yang Mei and said, "If my Tibetan people surrender to the Arabs, how confident are you in recovering the area north of Gar City?"

Changsun Wuji's eyes flashed and he pondered in silence.

Lu Dongzan continued, "My Tubo was defeated by the Tang Dynasty, and countless warriors died at its hands. Logically, we should submit to the Arabs. I believe they will offer more favorable terms."

This is true. In the current situation in Tubo, the Tang Dynasty has the upper hand.

If Tubo sided with the Arabs, the Arabs would be overjoyed and would certainly offer a better price than the Tang Dynasty.

Changsun Wuji asked, "Then why did you come to Chang'an?"

Lu Dongzan said, "Because Tubo was once a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, its people are more attached to it. Your Princess Wencheng holds a high position in Tubo. We respect Tang culture and are eager to learn from it, so we are willing to continue to be vassalized by the Tang Dynasty."

After hearing this, Changsun Wuji laughed and said, "Is it because you don't want to believe in the religion of the Arabs?"

Lu Dong exclaimed in admiration, "Yes, this is also an important reason. So I hope you believe that Tubo is truly submitting this time!"

Changsun Wuji picked up the teacup and glanced at Li Zhi while drinking tea.

Li Zhi knew he was waiting for him to express his opinion, so he asked, "How do you plan to surrender?"

Lu Dongzan said without hesitation, "As long as we are allowed to return to the Yalong River Valley, we are willing to be incorporated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty and establish a military governor's office, prefectures and counties. I have only one request: that the Zamp continue to serve as the leader."

Li Zhi suddenly asked, "Once the Tang army withdraws and you have recovered your strength, how can you guarantee that you will not continue to annex the surrounding tribes?"

Lu Dongzan said, "We only have a small area left in Tubo. If another war breaks out, there is no need for the Tang Dynasty to send troops. The Subei, Xiangxiong and others can join forces to destroy us."

Li Zhi lowered his head to eat his food without saying anything else.

Changsun Wuji smiled and said, "Brother Lu, we understand your meaning. We will convey it to His Majesty. Please wait for the news."

The banquet ended quickly and Lu Dongzan said goodbye and left.

Li Zhi's eyes swept over Changsun Wuji and Li Ji.

"What do you two think of Lu Dongzan's conditions?"

Li Ji twirled his beard and said, "That sounds good, but Lu Dongzan is a man of deep scheming. I have a feeling he has other motives."

Li Zhi saw that Zhangsun Wuji remained silent and asked, "Uncle, what do you think?"

Zhang Sun Wuji said, "Your Majesty, Lu Dongzan must have other motives, that's for sure."

“How come you see?”

Changsun Wuji said, "The moment he saw me, a hint of panic appeared in his eyes. He hadn't expected me to be here. That moment revealed his true attitude."

Li Zhi frowned and said, "I don't understand. In the current situation, what tricks can he play?"

For a moment, the room fell into silence.

Under the current situation, Lu Dongzan is in Chang'an and the Tubo army is in Tianzhu, so there is not much room for maneuver.

Li Zhi thought for a moment and said, "I have already asked the Queen to meet Princess Wencheng. Perhaps we can gain something from this."

When Changsun Wuji heard the words "Princess Wencheng", his eyes flashed, as if he thought of something, but the words came to his lips but he didn't say them out loud.

"You two can study Lu Dongzan's thoughts further. I will go back to the palace first." Li Zhi stood up, waved his hand, and walked away.

"Your Majesty, I (the humble servant) respectfully see you off." The two of them walked him to the door.

After leaving the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion, Li Zhi went straight back to the palace.

As soon as he entered the Lizheng Hall, he saw Wu Meiniang waiting for him in the room, with medicinal food on the table.

(End of this chapter)