"Labor?"

Li Mu glanced at Lu Dongzan and said, "What does it mean? You are not a Tubo Prime Minister, and you have changed your career as a human trafficker?"

Lu Dongzan's expression was a little complicated. After a while, he sighed and said, "It's really helpless to call the Marquis to make fun of him." Then, Lu Dongzan told the situation in Tubo.

The current ZanPlangri Lunzan in Tubo is a very powerful person. After he ascended the throne, he relied on the power of Zang Gu, Yu Zebu, Zhongbo and other original Subi nobles to annex the Jiqu River Basin and other places, granted them territory and slaves, and supported the new nobles, so that their status surpassed the old nobles, and the royal power was greatly enhanced. However, it violated the interests of the old nobles and aroused the dissatisfaction of the old Tubo ministers. They held grudges and conspired to rebel.

Last year, the old Tubo nobles raised troops to rebel together. Dabo, Gongbu, Niangbo and other areas were occupied by rebels. Yangtong in western Tubo, and the enemy country Subi also echoed the old nobles inside and outside. Prince Subi, who was driven out of Tubo, returned to Zangbo to take the opportunity to carry out the "restoration of the country". They combined with the old Subi nobles and raised troops to expel the officials and garrisons of Tubo. Langri Lunzan's rule was in danger. In order to preserve his bloodline, he asked Lu Dongzan to bring his son Gem to the Tang Dynasty. Even if the situation changes, he could survive.

Although Lu Dongzan and Gem came to the Tang Dynasty, the civil war in Tubo continued. The journey was long, the transportation was inconvenient, and the news could not be so fast. On average, it took Lu Dongzan to receive news from Tubo once every two months.

Just a month ago, Lu Dongzan received the news. Langri Luzan was worthy of being a powerful man. After a arduous battle, he once again defeated the rebellion of the old nobles. But the problems that followed were even more troublesome.

Tubo is located on the plateau and is a place with very low productivity. There are very few crops here, including barley, wheat, and buckwheat, and the yield is very low. After two years of civil war, I basically didn’t care about growing food. The food storage was completely consumed, and the whole country was facing the dilemma of no food.

In the past, when encountering this situation, the usual way to deal with it was to rob the Central Plains. The cities in the Central Plains were rich, so there was no need to rob one or two cities, which was basically enough. And there was an additional benefit to doing this, which was that it could consume a wave of people who ate food.

Tubo is a slave country, and the army is also composed of two parts. One part is a slave soldier without weapons, and the other part is a well-trained army. The combat effectiveness of these slave soldiers is very poor, but it is also useful. For example, the Tang army is good at using bows and arrows, and these slave soldiers can play a good role in consuming arrows.

When there is no food, attacking the Tang Dynasty's cities. The Tang army's arrows can also consume these slaves who eat, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Such a clever plan, why can't it be used this year? The reason is very simple. After two years of civil war, Tubo really has no strength, so he will tease the tiger beards of the Tang Dynasty. Not to mention teasing, they now do not even have the ability to drive the army to the border of the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, if you want to solve the current dilemma of Tubo, you will definitely not be able to make a tough decision. You can only find another way. I happened to hear about the "Foreign Affairs Office", so Lu Dongzan came to try his luck.

In fact, if it is said that it is traded with the Tang Dynasty, there is no need to sell human beings so miserable. Although the battle was won by Langri, it was a tragic victory, and there were still many spoils. I won’t mention gold and silver utensils. Tubo also produces charcoal, iron, wool fabrics, Tubo’s animal husbandry industry is also very developed, and fur and other things are not young. There are also medicinal materials such as snow lotus and safflower, which can be used to trade with the Tang Dynasty.

But who would be willing to take out such high-quality resources casually? Whoever is in business, wants to use the least valuable thing in his hands to exchange for what he needs most. Lang Ri Lunzan, who just finished the war, had the least valuable thing in his hands been prisoners of war. These people who opposed him were a hidden danger to his rule. If Tubo had not been too empty at this time, he would have launched a war against the Tang Dynasty and "consuming" these rebels.

Wars cannot be launched now, but if these slaves can be exchanged for food, it will undoubtedly kill two birds with one stone. That is, the problem of food is solved and the rebels are "consuming" them.

The reason why Tubo dared to do such a business and even exposed his weaknesses was not because Lang Ri Lunzan's head was flooded, but because he was fearless!

The relationship between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty, or it can be said that the relationship between Tubo and the Central Plains dynasties in all dynasties is the same. They are not afraid of the Central Plains dynasties attacking them, because history has proved that the Central Plains dynasties cannot enter the plateau. Miasma and plateau reaction are all natural barriers that the Central Plains army cannot overcome. This is very unfair, but it is the fact that it is. Moreover, Tubo is not worth a fight. Even if Tubo was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, is the little things that Tubo has really worth the "ruling cost" paid by the Central Plains dynasty?

The rulers of the Central Plains dynasties from all dynasties gave the answer, which was not worth it.

Therefore, the Central Plains dynasty's attitude towards Tubo has always been. If you harass me, I will beat you and make you dare not show off. That's all. In history, Li Shimin agreed to marry a "legendary girl", which also shows that in Li Shimin's eyes, Tubo did not have much face-to-face. It was just a choice that gave less resources between big fights and comforting.

Lu Dongzan admitted to Li Mu that it was also out of this kind of thought. But he misunderstood Li Mu. Rulers of all dynasties did not have the intention to rule Tubo because in the consciousness of rulers of all dynasties, Tubo has never been a place of the traditional Jiuzhou. However, the education Li Mu received was that Tubo is part of China. If he had the chance to get involved, how could he let it go?

Even if it is a saying to future generations, "Since ancient times", it is cost-effective.

In an instant, several thoughts passed through Li Mu's mind. Lu Dongzan thought he wanted to refuse, so he planned to give in. "If the Marquis is not interested in slaves, he can talk about something else. Tubo has leather and burn charcoal--"

"No, no hurry," Li Mu smiled. When Lu Dongzan saw Li Mu's smile, he felt a little cold on his back and became more cautious: "Mr. Marquis, you are not in a hurry, but Tubo..."

"Isn't it just food? There is!" Li Mu's face was filled with the four words "small things" and Lu Dongzan became increasingly unsure and smiled with him: "Is the Marquis planning to help me say this?"

"It's all business, and it's not a matter of helping or not. It's a win-win cooperation." Li Mu suddenly changed his mind and said, "Did you come by yourself?"

Lu Dongzan nodded and said, "The prince is in Chang'an."

"Oh," Li Mu seemed very interested and said, "What are you doing?"

Lu Dongzan thought to himself, what does this guy mean? Did he forget that the prince is now considered a proton, and the proton must not leave Chang'an? He said this on purpose, was he intended to humiliate?

When people are under the eaves, they can only endure humiliation. Lu Dongzan suppressed his anger and said as calmly as possible: "As a host, the prince cannot leave Chang'an. He likes Princess Huanzhu, and now he runs out of heaven and earth."

"Run, run the hall..." Li Mu laughed dryly, thinking that the Tubo prince was really a big heart. His country was muddy and he was still in the mood to pick up girls. But what did this have to do with him? The Tubo prince is not his son.

"He hasn't been to the master, right?"

Lu Dongzan frowned and said, "Marty, does this have anything to do with what we are talking about?"

"It seems irrelevant, but it actually has something to do." Li Mu said lightly: "I don't know if you heard that, this marquis has registered a sect, called the 'Xiaoyao Sect'. It was when I recruited disciples. I saw that the Tubo prince had good qualifications and wanted to accept him as his disciple."

Lu Dongzan thought Li Mu was spending his time, and said angrily: "The Marquis is unwilling to help, so he can say it directly, and there is no need to humiliate people like this. My prince is Zanpu's legitimate son. He will inherit the throne of Zanpu in Tubo in the future. How can he be the disciple of the Tang people?"

"Oh," Li Mu raised his eyebrows and said, "Since you are so tough, there is nothing to say. In the first half of the year, Tubo attacked our Tang Dynasty Songzhou in the first half of the year. The matter has not yet been done. Since it is an enemy country, there is no friendship. No friendship. What does your business have to do with my Tang Dynasty?"

After saying that, Li Mu was about to get up, and Lu Dongzan hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and begged: "Marty, I really can't make the decision on this matter. Please change your request. Otherwise, I will give you a box of gold, as long as the Marquis facilitates this matter-"

"Who did I send you a box of gold?" Li Mu sneered, shook Lu Dongzan's hand and said, "Who doesn't know that Li Mu is worth a huge 10,000 yuan, and just a box of gold, and wants to bribe me? If you can't make a decision, just ask the person who can make the decision. When you ask clearly, it's not too late to talk."

"This..." Lu Dongzan looked at Li Mu in a daze and thought to himself that Luoyang and Tubo were far away, and it would take at least two months for the messenger to go back and forth. But the situation in Tubo is now, and it will be impossible to wait for two months!

"Mr. Marquis!" Lu Dongzan called Li Mu and said, "Is it the prince who is a disciple? Are you willing to help?"

"It is the premise for willingly to become a disciple. I will decide the trade list, which is the basis. In the future, all business between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty will be managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Private trade will be prohibited, taxes will be paid on time, and tax evasion will not be allowed. All these three items can be done, so I can consider helping. Think about it carefully, and I will reply to me before tomorrow night. I will go on a long trip the day after tomorrow, and it will be too late."

Li Mutou didn't look back, and shook his hand, and the man had already walked away.

...

Li Mu had a temporary idea to accept Tubo princes as his apprentice, but this idea was not a whim.

During this period, Li Mu had thought deeply about how to make the Tang Dynasty strong. Although the rise of the Tang Dynasty was unstoppable, the Tang Dynasty also had hidden hidden dangers.

Different historians may give their own interpretations of the decline of the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Mu's perspective was different. He believed that the decline of the Han and Tang dynasties was related to the excessive territory.

Too large territory is not conducive to rule. In this era, there were no planes, trains, and network communications. It took four or five months or even half a year to arrive. Of course, the control was not enough. Therefore, when the territory reaches a certain level, the influence of the court on the local area can be almost negligible. In addition to the cultural barriers of different ethnic groups, chaos is inevitable.

So how to solve this problem?

Li Mu has made many ideas, but almost all of them are unsolvable. This result is not surprising. If there is really a good idea, can so many sages not even think of any of them?

But Li Mu, who has future knowledge, still thought of a "soft" method. Although he could not achieve his full results in one fell swoop, it would definitely work. The inspiration for this method came from a story told by the old dean when he was a child.

At the age when Li Mu was just starting school, the old dean once asked Li Mu what kind of university he would like to take in the future.

The answer given by Li Mu was "Tsinghua". At that time, he didn't know that there were many girls at Peking University, but he just chose it simply because Tsinghua's name sounds good.

When the old dean heard that he chose Tsinghua University, he told him a story.

In China, many people know Tsinghua, but few people know that Tsinghua, as the highest institution of China, was actually established by Americans. In the late Qing Dynasty, the "Eight-Nation Alliance" invaded China. The Qing government was forced to sign the "Xin Chou Treaty" and compensated 450 million taels of silver, known in history as the "Bontaine Indemnity". Three years later, the United States stated that it had too much compensation and was willing to take out a part of it to "refund the school."

After many negotiations between the two sides, they finally decided on the matters related to the refund and school run five years later. This school is now Tsinghua University. If something goes wrong, there will be a demon. Of course, the enemy will not be so kind. In a passage from the President of the University of Illinois, James, who participated in the preparation for the Tsinghua University, gave the US President in 1906, revealed the real purpose of the US refund and school run: "We must now be able to use the most complete and clever way to control China's development - that is, to use the way to dominate Chinese leaders intellectually and spiritually."

"Business follows the spiritual domination, which is more reliable than following the military flag."

This is the real purpose of Americans.

The old dean told Li Mu this story, with the original intention of cultivating Li Mu's patriotic sentiment. Unexpectedly, his wishes were unexpectedly changed. Li Mu immediately said that since it was a university established by Americans, he would not take the exam. As a Chinese, he must have patriotism and take the university established by pure blood.

It was not until he took the college entrance examination that he realized that the actual situation was not that he gave up on Tsinghua University, but that he could not pass the exam at all.

This memory gave Li Mu inspiration. He could follow the Americans of that year, run a school in the Tang Dynasty, and absorb all the elites from the neighboring countries. Let them identify with the Tang system, learn the Tang Dynasty's culture, dominate them in knowledge and spirit, and limit them in business and trade.
Chapter completed!