"Your Majesty, the soldiers and horses of the Tang Dynasty have arrived. Please retreat." Lu Dongzan said.
He opposed the use of troops against Tuyuhun from the beginning, not because he felt that Tubo could not swallow up Tuyuhun.
But there are still some hidden dangers within Tubo. In his opinion, the internal situation should be stabilized and recuperated for a few years before taking action against Tuyuhun.
But Songtsen Gampo insisted on going his own way, and he could not dissuade him.
Now that the Tang Dynasty has sent troops, in his opinion, there is no need to fight anymore.
Songtsen Gampo's face was a little gloomy. Ever since he launched his troops against Tuyuhun, he had been going unstoppable. Seeing that Tuyuhun was about to be destroyed, the Tang Dynasty actually sent more troops to the border at this time.
"Have you found out how many soldiers and horses the Tang Dynasty sent here?" Songtsen Gampo asked.
"Returning to my lord, Datang's army is surrounded by scouts and cannot get close at all. Judging from the flags, there are about 50,000 people." Lu Dongzan said.
"There are only 50,000 people. If we retreat at this time, those cities will have to be abandoned. Aren't the previous losses all in vain?" Songtsen Gampo said unwillingly.
The people of those occupied cities have not yet surrendered. If we retreat now, we will not be able to hold on when Tuyuhun comes.
After this time, Tuyuhun will definitely take more precautions, and it will not be so easy to attack Tuyuhun again in the future.
Lu Dongzan said anxiously: "Your Majesty, Tuyuhun still has 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers and horses. Together with the soldiers and horses of the Tang Dynasty, there are more than 100,000, almost the same as us, and the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty are leading the troops."
This is Hou Junji. This man once destroyed the Gaochang Kingdom and fought very hard. There is not much point in staying here. And the country is not at peace now. The king should go back and take charge."
Songtsen Gampo was silent for a while and said: "Needless to say, I will not retreat."
The issues that Lu Dongzan considered were not wrong, but he forgot that Songtsen Gampo was the leader of a country. When the Tang Dynasty sent people over, he retreated without even fighting, which was a huge blow to his reputation.
The soldiers below don't know anything about strategic retreat.
They would only think that their country's leader was afraid of the Tang Dynasty.
You can retreat, but you cannot retreat like this.
He needs a step now.
Ludongzan became anxious when he heard that Songtsen Gampo was unwilling to retreat. Just as he was about to say something more, a soldier came in and said, "For the information of the Lord, the envoy of the Tang Dynasty is outside the city asking for an audience."
Songtsen Gampo was slightly startled, looked at Ludongzan and asked: "Master, what does the Tang Dynasty mean by sending an envoy here at this time?"
Lu Dongzan thought for a while and said: "Returning to the emperor, the Tang Dynasty does not want to fight with Tubo. The envoy sent here this time should be to persuade the emperor to withdraw his troops."
There was still Tuyuhun between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, so defeating the Tubo Tang Dynasty would not gain much.
Songtsen Gampo nodded and said, "Go and bring the envoy of the Tang Dynasty here."
"Yes." The soldier received the order and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute." Lu Dongzan stopped the soldiers and said to Songtsan Gampo: "Your Majesty, it's better for me to go and greet him."
Songtsen Gampo hesitated for a moment, nodded, and said: "Then there will be Master Lao."
Lu Dongzan saluted and left with the soldiers.
When I arrived outside the city, I saw a middle-aged scribe waiting there under the protection of more than a hundred cavalry.
Lu Dongzan rode his horse and came forward, raised his hands and said: "I, Lu Dongzan, the Tubo State Master, have come to greet the Tang envoy."
"My Excellency, Deng Zhuo, has come here to ask for an audience with the Lord of Tibet on the orders of General Hou." Deng Zhuo returned the salute and said.
"The king is waiting for the Tang envoy. Please follow me in," Lu Dongzan said.
"Thank you, Imperial Master." Deng Zhuo thanked him and rode into the city with Lu Dongzan.
Along the way, Lu Dongzan chatted with Deng Zhuo and asked about Deng Zhuo's purpose.
Deng Zhuo did not hide anything and directly told Lu Dongzan that he was here to talk about Tibet's withdrawal.
"Master Deng, this is a matter between Tubo and Tuyuhun. Why should the Tang Dynasty intervene?" Lu Dongzan said with an ugly face.
Although he supported the retreat, he would not show it in front of Deng Zhuo.
Deng Zhuo laughed and said: "What the Imperial Preceptor said is wrong. Tuyuhun is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. The Tibetan invasion of Tuyuhun did not take the Tang Dynasty seriously at all. Why can't the Tang Dynasty intervene?"
Lu Dongzan said: "Master Deng, the hatred between Tubo and Tuyuhun has been around for a long time. Just because Tuyuhun is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, I will not allow Tubo to take revenge. Is the Tang Dynasty too overbearing?"
"National Master, don't get me wrong. The Tang Dynasty naturally knows about the hatred between Tuyuhun and Tubo, but Tubo has also taken revenge now. The general sent me here this time just to mediate the relationship between the two parties. Tuyuhun has promised that as long as Tubo
I am willing to withdraw my troops and compensate Tibet for its losses," Deng Zhuo said.
"Master Deng, are you serious about what you said?" Lu Dongzan asked.
On his way out of the city just now, he also wanted to understand the reason why Songtsen Gampo was unwilling to retreat.
It would be fine if an ordinary general retreated, but Songtsen Gampo was the leader of Tubo. If he retreated without even fighting, others would think he was afraid of the Tang Dynasty.
Songtsen Gampo insisted on not retreating his troops because he wanted to fight the Tang Dynasty. No matter whether he won or lost, he would be able to withdraw his troops when the time came.
Retreating an army after losing a battle and retreating an army without defeating it are two different things.
Now Tuyuhun is willing to compensate and give it to Songtsan Gampo, so that Songtsan Gampo can save his face and not have to fight with the Tang Dynasty.
"Of course it's true. I even brought Tuyuhun's compensation gift sheet this time," Deng Zhuo said.
Hou Junji originally thought that if King Tuyuhun died, he could support a puppet to help Tuyuhun regain his lost territory. In this way, Tuyuhun would be included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty. He would have the merit of opening up territory and expanding territory.
But when he arrived at Songzhou City, the leader of Tuyuhun was still there, with fifty or sixty thousand soldiers and horses. It was not that simple to annex Tuyuhun.
Hou Junji didn't want to waste more time here, so he sent people directly to see the leader of Tuyuhun.
It was promised that Datang could mediate and allow Tubo to retreat, but the prerequisite was that Tuyuhun would compensate Tibet.
The ruler of Tuyuhun is naturally unwilling. Tubo has occupied most of the territory of Tuyuhun, and now he has to pay compensation to Tubo. How will he face the people of Tuyuhun in the future?
But Hou Junji's attitude is very resolute. If you don't want to, I will withdraw my troops, and Tuyuhun will be waiting to destroy the country.
Even though the leader of Tuyuhun was unwilling to give in, he could only agree.
"In this case, the matter of withdrawing the troops can be discussed." Lu Dongzan said.
Deng Zhuo smiled when he heard this. How could he not understand what Lu Dongzan meant? The so-called "negotiable" means that Tibet intends to withdraw its troops.
Lu Dongzan took Deng Zhuo to the mansion where Songtsen Gampo lived. After beating the guard at the door, he let them in without stopping them.
Arriving at the hall, Lu Dongzan saluted and said, "To the Lord, the envoy from the Tang Dynasty has brought you."
"The foreign minister has met the Lord of Tubo." Deng Zhuo saluted without being humble or overbearing.
Songtsen Gampo waved his hand and said, "I wonder what the Tang envoy has come to do?"
"The grievances between Tubo and Tuyuhun are also known to foreign ministers, but Tuyuhun is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty after all. Tuyuhun asked for help from the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty cannot ignore it. Tuyuhun is willing to compensate Tubo for its losses. I wonder if the leader of the Tubo kingdom can withdraw his troops?" Deng Zhuo said.