"Labor?"

Li Mu glanced at Lu Dongzan and said, "What do you mean?" You are the prime minister of Tibet, and you have changed your career to become a human trafficker? ”

Lu Dongzan's expression was a little complicated, and after a long while, he sighed and said, "It's really helpless to ask Hou Ye to make fun of it." Then, Lu Dongzan told the situation in Tibet.

After he succeeded to the throne, he relied on the power of the original Subi nobles such as Zanggu, Yuzebu, and Zhongbo to annex the Jiqu River valley and other places, gave them territories 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 aristocracy and caused the dissatisfaction of the old Tibetan ministers. Holding a grudge and plotting a rebellion.

Last year, the old nobles of Tubo raised troops to rebel together, Dabo, Gongbu, Niangbo and other areas were occupied by the rebels, Yangtong in the west of Tubo, the enemy country of Subi also echoed with the old nobles inside and outside, the prince of Subi who was driven out of Tibet returned to Tibet to take the opportunity to carry out the "restoration" activities, they combined with the old nobles of Tibet, raised troops to expel the officials and garrisons of Tubo, the rule of Langri Ronzan was in danger, in order to preserve the bloodline, he let Lu Dongzan bring his son Gem to the Tang Dynasty, so that even if the situation changed, he could survive.

Although Lu Dongzan and Gem came to the Tang Dynasty, the civil war in Tibet has been going on. The road is long, the transportation is inconvenient, and the news cannot come and go so quickly. On average, it takes two months for Lu Dongzan to receive news from Tubo once.

Just a month ago, Lu Dongzan received the news. Lang Ri was a man of great courage, and after a hard battle, he once again thwarted the rebellion of the old nobility. But the problems that come with it are even more headaches.

Located on the plateau, Tibet is a place with very low productivity. There are very few crops here, barley, wheat, and buckwheat are all there, and the yield is very low. After two years of civil war, there was basically no need to care about growing grain, and the grain stocks were completely consumed, and the whole country was facing the dilemma of running out of food.

In the past, when this situation was encountered, the usual way to deal with it was to come to the Central Plains to plunder. The cities in the Central Plains are rich, so you don't need to grab more, grabbing one or two cities is basically enough. And in doing so, there is an added benefit that a wave of people who eat food can be consumed.

Tibet was a slave country, and the army was also composed of two parts. One part was a slave soldier without a blade, and the other part was a well-trained army. These slave soldiers are very bad in combat, but they are 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.

And when there is no food, to attack the cities of the Tang Dynasty, the arrows of the Tang army can also consume these slaves who eat, which can be called killing two birds with one stone.

With such a brilliant plan, why can't it be used this year? The reason is very simple, after two years of civil war, Tubo really does not have the strength to provoke the tiger whiskers of the Tang Dynasty again. Not to mention teasing, they don't even have the ability to drive the army to the border of the Tang Dynasty now.

Therefore, if you want to solve the current predicament of Tibet, it will definitely not be hard to come. I can only find another way, and I happened to hear about the 'Foreign Affairs Office', so Lu Dongzan came to try his luck.

In fact, if it is said to be trading with Datang, there is no need to sell human beings so badly. Lang Ri praised this battle, although it was a tragic victory, but after all, it was a victory, and there were still a lot of loot. Not to mention gold and silver utensils, Tubo is also rich in charcoal, ironware, woolen fabrics, Tubo's animal husbandry is also very developed, fur and other things are not old and young. There are also plateau specialty medicinal materials, such as snow lotus, safflower, etc., which can be used to trade with the Tang Dynasty.

But who wants to take out this kind of high-quality resource casually? Whoever sits and buys and sells wants to exchange the most worthless in his hands for what he needs most. Lang Ri, who had just finished the war, had the most worthless thing in his hands being prisoners of war, and these opponents were a hidden danger to his rule. If it weren't for the fact that Tibet was too empty at this time, he would have launched a war against Tang and 'consumed' these rebels.

Now you can't start a war, but if you can exchange these slaves for food. Undoubtedly, it also kills two birds with one stone, that is, it solves the problem of food, and also 'consumes' these rebels.

And the reason why Tubo dared to do such a deal, and even exposed his weaknesses, was not because Lang Ri praised his head in water, but because he had no fear!

The relationship between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty, or it can be said that the relationship between Tubo and the Central Plains dynasties of all dynasties is the same. They were not afraid that the Central Plains Dynasty would attack them, because history had proved that the Central Plains Dynasty could not enter the plateau, and the miasma and altitude sickness were all natural moats that the Central Plains army could not overcome. It's very unfair, but it's just the way it is. Moreover, Tibet is really not worth a dozen. Even if Tubo was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, is the little thing that Tubo has really worth the 'ruling cost' of the Central Plains Dynasty?

The rulers of the Central Plains Dynasty in all dynasties gave the answer, it is not worth it.

Therefore, the attitude of the Central Plains Dynasty towards Tubo has always been, if you come to harass me, I will hurt you and make you dare not scream, and that's all. In history, Li Shimin agreed to make peace, but he married a 'clan girl', which also shows that in fact, in Li Shimin's eyes, Tubo does not have much face. It's just a choice between a big fight and appeasement, which costs less resources.

Lu Dongzan said frankly to Li Mu that it was also out of this kind of thought. But he mistook Li Mu, the rulers of the past dynasties did not have the intention of ruling Tubo, because in the consciousness of the rulers of the past dynasties, Tubo has never been the land of Kyushu in the traditional sense, but Li Mu has been educated, Tubo is a part of China, one of the fifty-six flowers, if there is a chance to get involved, how can he let it go?

Even if it is to leave a sentence of 'since ancient times' to future generations, it is cost-effective.

In an instant, several thoughts crossed Li Mu's mind. Lu Dongzan thought that he was going to refuse, so he planned to take a step back, "If Master Hou is not interested in slaves, you can talk about something else, Tubo has leather and charcoal-"

"Don't be in a hurry," Li Mu smiled cutely, Lu Dongzan saw Li Mu's smile, and felt a little chill down his spine, and became more and more cautious: "Master Hou, you are not in a hurry, but Tubo ......"

"Isn't it just food, there is!" Li Mu's face was full of the words 'a trivial matter', Lu Dongzan became more and more bottomless, and said with a smile: "Hou Ye said this, is he planning to help?" ”

"It's all business, and I can't say I can't help it. Win-win cooperation. Li Mu suddenly changed his words and said, "You came 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 Dong praised his heart and said, what does this mean? Did he forget that the prince is now a proton, and the proton is not allowed to leave Chang'an? Did he mean to humiliate when he said this on purpose?

People are under the roof, and the humiliation can only be endured. Lu Dongzan suppressed his anger and said as calmly as possible: "As a proton, the prince can't leave Chang'an. He likes to return the lord of the county, and now he is running in heaven and earth. ”

"Run, run, run......" Li Mugan laughed, and said in his heart that this Tubo prince is really big-hearted, his country is a puddle of mud, and he is still in the mood to pick up girls. But what does this have to do with him, the prince of Tibet is not his son.

"He hasn't apprenticed, has he?"

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

"It seems unrelated, but it's actually related." Li Mu said lightly: "I don't know if you have heard of it, Ben Hou has registered a sect called the 'Easy Sect'." It was the time to recruit disciples, and I saw that the Tibetan prince had good qualifications, and I wanted to accept him as an apprentice. ”

Lu Dongzan thought that Li Mu was entertaining him, and said angrily: "Master Hou doesn't want to help, you can say it directly, you don't have to be so humiliating." The prince of my family is the son-in-law of Zampu, and he will inherit the throne of Tubo Zampu in the future, how can he worship the Tang people as a teacher? ”

"Yo," Li Mu raised his eyebrows and said, "Since it's so tough, there's nothing to say." In the first half of the year, Tubo also invaded my Tang Songzhou, but the matter is not over, since it is an enemy country, then there is no friendship, there is no friendship, your business, what does it have to do with my Datang? ”

After that, Li Mu was about to get up, but Lu Dongzan hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and begged: "Master Hou, I really can't be the master of this matter." Please make another request, otherwise, I will send you a box of gold, as long as the Hou Ye facilitates this-"

"Did I send you that box of gold?" Li Mu sneered, shook off Lu Dongzan's hand, and said, "Who doesn't know that I, Li Mu, am worth a huge amount of money, and I want to bribe me with just a box of gold?" If you can't be the master, ask the person who can be the master, and when you ask clearly, it's not too late to talk. ”

"This ......" Lu Dongzan looked at Li Mu on his horse blankly, thinking in his heart that Luoyang and Tubo are far away, and it will take at least two months for the messenger to come and go. But now the situation in Tibet can't wait for two months!

"Master Hou!" Lu Dongzan called out to Li Mu and said, "Is it the prince's apprenticeship, are you willing to help?" ”

"Willing apprenticeship, that's the premise. I'll make the trade list, that's the foundation. In the future, all business between Tibet and the Tang Dynasty will be managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and non-governmental trade will be prohibited, taxes will be paid on time, and tax evasion will not be allowed. I can do all three, and I can consider helping. Think about it, give me an answer by tomorrow night, and the day after tomorrow I will go far away, and it will be too late then. ”

Li Mutou didn't reply, he shook his hand, and the person had already walked away.

……

Accepting the Tibetan prince as an apprentice was Li Mu's temporary idea, but this idea was not a whim.

During this time, Li Mu thought deeply about how to make Datang strong. Although, the rise of Datang is unstoppable. But the strength of Datang also hides hidden dangers.

The decline of the Tang Dynasty is something that different historians may give their own interpretations. But Li Mu's perspective is different. He believes that the reason for the decline of the Han and Tang dynasties has a certain relationship with the excessive territory.

Too much territory is not conducive to rule. In this era, there are no planes, trains, and network communications, and it takes four or five months or even half a year to send an order from the national capital, and of course the control is not good. Therefore, when the territory area reaches a certain level, the influence of the imperial court on the local area is almost negligible. Coupled with 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 insolvable. This result is not surprising, if there is really a good way, so many sages, can they not think of any of them?

But Li Mu, who has knowledge of the future, still thought of a 'soft' solution. Although it can't be done in one fell swoop, it will definitely have an effect. The inspiration for this method came from a story he heard from the old dean when he was a child.

When Li Mu was just in school, the old dean once asked Li Mu what kind of university he wanted to go to in the future.

The answer given by Li Mu was 'Tsinghua', and he didn't know that there were many girls in Peking University at that time, but he chose it simply because of the good name of Tsinghua.

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

In China, many people know about Tsinghua, but few people know that Tsinghua, China's highest university, was actually founded by Americans. In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the "Eight-Nation Alliance" invaded China. The Qing government was forced to sign the "Xinchou Treaty" and compensate 450 million taels of silver, known as the "Gengzi Indemnity" in history. Three years later, the United States said that the compensation received was too much and that it was willing to give part of it to "refund the school".

After many negotiations between the two sides, the relevant matters related to the refund of the school were finally determined after five years. This school is now Tsinghua University. If something goes wrong, there must be a demon, and of course the enemy will not be so kind. In 1906, James, president of the University of Illinois in the United States, who participated in the preparation of Tsinghua University, wrote a memorandum to the President of the United States, revealing the real purpose of the American refund: "We must now be able to control China's development by the most complete and ingenious way -- that is, by the way in which the Chinese leaders are intellectually and spiritually dominated." ”

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

That's what Americans really are for.

The old dean told Li Mu this story, with the original intention of cultivating Li Mu's patriotic sentiments. Unexpectedly, he changed his will, and after many negotiations between the two parties, the two sides finally decided on the refund of the school-related matters after five years. This school is now Tsinghua University. If something goes wrong, there must be a demon, and of course the enemy will not be so kind. In 1906, James, president of the University of Illinois in the United States, who participated in the preparation of Tsinghua University, wrote a memorandum to the President of the United States, revealing the real purpose of the American refund: "We must now be able to control China's development by the most complete and ingenious way -- that is, by the way in which the Chinese leaders are intellectually and spiritually dominated." ”

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

That's what Americans really are for.

The old dean told Li Mu this story, with the original intention of cultivating Li Mu's patriotic sentiments. Unexpectedly, he changed his will,