sjar Chapter 1164: A Live Version of Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians
Chapter 1164: A Live Version of Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians
Li Che spoke frankly, displaying an air of superiority over the world.
Lu Dongzan heard this and felt his heart surge with emotion.
A mighty ruler!
This is a true leader!
A powerful empire must have an atmosphere that embraces the world.
To cultivate such a trend, one must have such an emperor.
The young Emperor Qing before us is clearly such an emperor!
Lu Dongzan certainly knew that Li Che's words could not be entirely trusted. The Tibetans were definitely not as important to him as the pure Qing people, since the Qing people were the main ethnic group of Daqing.
But when an emperor can utter such words, whether they are false or not becomes irrelevant.
If word gets out, talented people from all the countries in the Western Regions, as well as from the surrounding small states and tribes, will likely flock to him.
In this era, no one could refuse the recruitment of the orthodox dynasty of the Central Plains.
That was the Celestial Empire, the suzerain state that all of the Chinese cultural sphere longed for.
"Your Majesty!" Chisang Yangdun could no longer remain seated. Forgetting all etiquette, his face turned deathly pale as he cried out, "Your Majesty has yet to reply to the letter from our Zanpu. As for the peace talks..."
Li Che frowned slightly, clearly annoyed at being interrupted at this moment.
But he ignored Chisang Yangdun and looked at Lu Dongzan with gentle eyes: "My dear minister, you have just returned today. Logically speaking, I should not entrust you with any duties immediately."
"However, there is a matter at hand that I have been thinking about and I think is most suitable for you to take charge of."
Lu Dongzan was taken aback: "What does Your Majesty mean?"
Li Che's lips curled into a smile, a hint of amusement in it: "I entrust all matters concerning the subsequent peace talks with Tibet to you, my dear minister. What do you say?"
These words shocked everyone in the tent.
Chisang Yangdun was struck dumb, his mouth agape, frozen in place.
The Tibetan nobles accompanying the group looked at each other in disbelief.
Even the Qing Kingdom's civil and military officials, including Wang Sanchun, Yue Yun, and Xu Jiezi, who were standing to the side, all had a change in expression, and their gazes toward Lu Dongzan became complicated.
Why would you allow a former powerful minister of Tibet who had just surrendered to preside over peace talks with his own motherland?
It seems His Majesty truly thinks highly of this guy.
Thinking of this, everyone looked at Lu Dongzan with a hint of jealousy.
This is truly good fortune!
Lu Dongzan was completely stunned at this moment.
He looked at Li Che, trying to find one of the tests in the other's smiling eyes.
But all he saw was unquestionable trust.
In truth, Li Che had no ulterior motives; he simply valued this man's talent.
In the past ten years or so, Lu Dongzan, despite the weakness of Tibet and the lack of a ruler, managed to develop Tibet into a powerful nation. His talent in governance is beyond question.
In military affairs, he subjugated various countries and fought against Wang Sanchun. Even when his strength was crushed, he was able to fight steadily and persevere.
It can be said that its military strength is also extremely strong.
His only shortcoming was a lack of ability in personnel management; he couldn't perfectly reconcile domestic conflicts, but that wasn't the responsibility of a subject.
It can be said that Lu Dongzan was a typical model of a capable minister, rather than a ruler.
As for whether this person has ambitions, or whether he is in Qingying but his heart is in Tibet.
Is this even a big deal?
Daqing is too big. All I need to do is transfer him far away from the Northwest and prevent him from having any contact with Tibet. He won't be able to do anything to help Tibet even if he wants to.
As for putting him in charge of the peace talks, it's nothing more than a live demonstration of using barbarians to control barbarians.
In the end, the decision rests with us, so we might as well take this opportunity to ensure that Gar Tongtsen can never return to Tibet.
“Your Majesty,” Lu Dongzan’s voice was somewhat hoarse, “aren’t you afraid that foreign officials might act out of personal favoritism or secretly collude with the homeland?”
Li Che stood with his hands behind his back, his smile unchanged: "Since I employ you, I naturally trust you."
"Moreover, the final decision on the peace talks will still be made by me. What you need to do is to use your understanding of Tibet to negotiate a result that is most beneficial to Daqing."
"I'm giving you a chance, a chance to prove your worth to me, Lu Dongzan, do you dare to accept it?"
Inside the tent, you could hear a pin drop; all eyes were fixed on Lu Dongzan.
He stood there, his white hair sparse and his old robe faded.
Suddenly thrown back into the eye of the storm of fate, Lu Dongzan felt his body spinning.
After a moment, Lu Dongzan took a deep breath and bowed deeply again:
"Your subject...accepts the decree."
Chisang Yangdun's face turned from deathly pale to ashen, his eyes fixed on Lu Dongzan's back, his nails digging deep into his palms.
On what grounds?!
A voice screamed in his heart.
This tiger, whose spine has been broken and whose teeth have been pulled out, is about to be buried in the tomb of power, so why does it always manage to escape from the brink of death?
Now, they've risen to the top in one fell swoop, climbing an even more terrifying towering tree!
Even if one is a marginal figure in Daqing, the power and prospects one enjoys are incomparable to those in Tibet.
Jealousy, like a venomous snake, gnawed at his heart bit by bit, along with a fear he himself was unwilling to acknowledge.
With Daqing's current power, it wouldn't be difficult for them to interfere in Tibet's internal affairs.
Even the Zanpu was not taken seriously by Emperor Qing, let alone someone as insignificant as himself.
If Lu Dongzan uses this opportunity to turn his life around, how will he settle accounts with himself in the future?
Lu Dongzan's state of mind was equally complex and turbulent, but he quickly calmed down.
The more urgent the situation, the calmer he remained; this was one of Lu Dongzan's strengths.
Lu Dongzan turned to Chisang Yangdun and the others, cleared his somewhat hoarse throat, and then said, "The most important thing in peace talks between the two countries is to stop the fighting."
"From this day forward, both sides shall cease hostilities, each guard their existing borders, refrain from further conflict, and return each other's prisoners of war."
He paused, then glanced furtively at Li Che.
This provision appears fair on the surface, but in reality it is more advantageous to the Tibetan Empire, which is currently suffering repeated defeats.
After all, apart from a very few unlucky scouts, the Qing army had hardly any important figures fall into the hands of the Tibetans.
The Tibetan captives included several thousand regular soldiers, not to mention herdsmen and slave soldiers.
Li Che showed no surprise. He met Lu Dongzan's anxious gaze and nodded casually, his eyes even full of encouragement.
Lu Dongzan felt a huge weight lifted from his heart, followed by a surge of emotion.
This young emperor was indeed extraordinary in his magnanimity; he didn't even flinch at such an obvious concession.
Is it that he's so confident he doesn't care about this small stake, or... is he just trying to save face for himself?
But why would the other party go to such lengths for me, a defeated general who had surrendered?
Chisang Yangdun's tense nerves relaxed slightly.
This is undisputed and beneficial to Tibet.
Lu Dongzan composed himself and continued, "Secondly, there is the demarcation of borders."
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about we take the Zhequ River as the boundary, with the left bank belonging to Daqing and the right bank to Tubo?"
"In this way, the boundaries are clearly defined, which can prevent future disputes."
Zhequjiang!
Chisang Yangdun's eyes lit up, and he almost blurted out a shout of approval.
This river is still far from Lhasa City, separated by a vast area that is already under the actual control of the Qing army.
By proposing this boundary, Gar Tongtsen essentially acknowledged the established fact that the Qing army had already occupied the land, but at the same time, he preserved the core area west of the Zhequ River for Tibet, including several major cities.
It seems that although this old fellow surrendered, he still misses his homeland!
A fleeting sense of relief rose in Chisang Yangdun's heart, only to be replaced by a deeper contempt.
How utterly foolish!
Having already pledged allegiance to a new master, one should wholeheartedly strive to gain trust and benefits; how can such a wavering stance last long?
All eyes turned to Li Che once again.
Li Che remained leaning back in his chair, his face still bearing that ambiguous smile.
“Zhequjiang…” he drawled, as if savoring the name. “My dear minister, the division of territory concerns the fate of the nation for centuries to come, so we must be cautious.”
Lu Dongzan quickly asked, "What does Your Majesty mean?"
"Do you think that with Tibet's current strength, it can control such a large area of land west of the Zhequ River?"
"I am worried that your kings have too big an appetite and cannot digest it, and will instead ruin their health."
Lu Dongzan smiled bitterly to himself.
Sure enough, delegating power to the emperor did not mean abandoning him; the bottom line was always firmly in the emperor's hands.
He took a deep breath and lowered his eyes: "It was my oversight, but the Tibetan king is no longer my ruler. Your Majesty's words were inappropriate."
Li Che grinned from ear to ear: "Yes, yes, I misspoke."
Lu Dongzan bowed and said, "In Your Majesty's opinion, where would be the most appropriate boundary?"
Li Che stopped beating around the bush and went straight to the point: "Using the Nu River as the boundary, Daqing is north of the river, and Tubo is south of the river."
"hiss--"
Chisang Yangdun gasped, his vision went black, as if he had been punched hard in the chest.
The Nu River! The Nabi River has advanced hundreds of miles into the heart of the plateau!
This means that Tibet will forever lose all the fertile river valleys, grasslands and strategic locations south of the Qilian Mountains and north of the Nu River, and its territory will shrink by more than half!
From then on, Tibet was truly locked up on the high, cold, and barren plateau, with no possibility of ever expanding eastward again.
Lu Dongzan closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment.
When I opened my eyes again, all that remained was stillness.
I should have known better; what I couldn't get on the battlefield, I certainly couldn't get at the negotiating table.
Your Majesty's agreement to cease hostilities and exchange prisoners is already an immense favor.
Territory? It was won with the blood and sweat of the Qing army soldiers, and not an inch will be given up.
Lu Dongzan nodded slowly: "Your Majesty is wise. Using the Nu River as the boundary is clear and defensible, and can prevent future disputes. This is the only reasonable course of action."
"Lu Dongzan! You!"
Chisang Yangdun finally couldn't hold back any longer. His finger trembled as he pointed at Lu Dongzan, too angry to utter a complete sentence.
In his view, Lu Dongzan's actions were no longer negotiations, but blatant treason!
Li Che glanced at Chisang Yangdun indifferently, as if looking at a restless ant, before returning his gaze to Lu Dongzan: "Since there are no objections, this clause shall be settled as such."
"The specific details of the boundary demarcation will be discussed in detail with the Tibetan envoy later. Next, we should talk about 'annual tribute' and 'mutual trade'."
“My dear minister, you are familiar with the Tibetan resources and also understand my temperament.”
"The amount of tribute and the terms of trade must be agreed upon in a way that satisfies me."
Lu Dongzan's Adam's apple bobbed, and he felt a bitter taste in his mouth, but he had no choice but to bow: "Your subject obeys the decree and will certainly consider it properly."