allonlinenovel Chapter 1104 Two More Retainers
Chapter 1104 Two More Retainers
"Your Highness... you don't have to be like this..." As one of the biggest victims of His Highness the King of Chu's "no fight, no surrender", Lu Dongzan understood the King of Chu: "You are born noble... you don't have to argue with a fool like Chi Yang."
"Prime Minister, this is wrong!" Upon hearing this, His Royal Highness the King of Chu turned around and said to Lu Dongzan with a look of heartache: "You have endured humiliation for me. If I see you being criticized and remain indifferent, then what will I become?!
You know me well—I will never mistreat my own people!"
“……” Seeing that King Chu regarded him as “one of his own”, Lu Dongzan suddenly didn’t want to talk anymore.
Alder, you deserve to die!
"Your Highness, King of Chu, can you answer a question for me?" Buza saw that it was futile to struggle any further, so he started to measure whether this surrender was worth it by asking questions based on the actual situation: "How do you plan to deal with Songtsen Gampo?"
"Of course, we will send him to Chang'an, and then let your great Khan confer him the title of Duke." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu blinked and said, "Of course, if you make contributions to the Tang Dynasty in the future, you may also be conferred the title of Duke.
What, you don’t believe it?
Then look at those Turkic generals who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty under my influence - such as Qibi Heli, Zhisishili, Ashina She'er, Ashina Simo, Ashina Helu, etc. Which one of them is not a duke or marquis now?
Among them, Ashina Simo, who has performed the best, has now been renamed Prince of Huaihua and given the surname Li.
Now, Jie Li's former territory is basically under his jurisdiction. After becoming the people of our Tang Dynasty, all the herdsmen on the grasslands are living and working in peace and contentment? Are they living a more prosperous life than before?
So I just don’t understand, in the face of such ironclad facts, why can’t you change your minds?
As everyone knows, you have neither the qualifications nor the courage to compete for the throne of the Tibetan king - so isn't your current position infinitely close to the pinnacle of your life?
But if you become subjects of the Tang Dynasty, your future will be far more than this!
Besides, let's be honest - can the sense of security that Songtsen Gampo gives you be as sufficient as that given by the Tang Dynasty?
Don't you want your family to be like the noble families in the Central Plains, flourishing and lasting for a thousand years?" When His Royal Highness the King of Chu said this, Buza and Lu Dongzan were still calm, but the others had already revealed painful struggles in their eyes.
Obviously, these words of His Royal Highness the King of Chu have deeply touched these Tubo's key ministers, causing them to begin to weigh the pros and cons in their hearts.
Seeing this, His Royal Highness the King of Chu naturally wanted to add fuel to the fire, so he continued: "If you need to find a big tree to protect you and your descendants, then you should open your eyes, use your brain, and finally make a wise choice.
The opportunity of the times is already before each of you: your personal survival or death, the prosperity or decline of your respective families, and the future prosperity or demise of Tubo all depend on your thoughts! "
After His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu finished speaking, the entire side hall had already fallen silent.
Even Alder, who had been unconvinced before, became quiet at this moment.
Everyone knew that the King of Chu was not joking.
After a long time, seeing that the other Tibetan ministers were still silent, Lu Dongzan glanced at Bu Zha. After a brief exchange of glances, Bu Zha suddenly said, "Your Highness, King Chu, we can agree to all your conditions, but we need you to give us a guarantee."
"What promise?" His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu frowned slightly upon hearing this: "First of all, I want to make it clear that I can no longer bring my wife back to Qiongzhou."
“Your Highness, can you allow us to become your retainers from now on?” Buza ignored His Highness King Chu’s unreasonable concerns and said in a gentle and even humble tone: “We know that you are a true hero, just like an eagle flying in the sky and a tiger walking among the people. We are willing to follow you from now on and hope that you can accept our loyalty.”
After Buza finished speaking, he actually knelt down first: "Wise and great master, please accept Buza's loyalty!"
After saying this, the old man leaned forward and kowtowed. The sound of his forehead hitting the ground could even be clearly heard from the ground.
"Hiss..." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu has traveled all over the country, what kind of situation has he not seen?
But he had never seen a scene like today...
Sure enough... fists, truth, and candy.
The combination of these three always produces miraculous results.
"Your servant Lu Dongzan, I am here to pay my respects to the head of the family!" After Buza took the lead in expressing his opinion, Lu Dongzan simply bowed down to the ground.
After him, Yecha and Sangsuo also began to kneel down and salute Li Kuan to show their loyalty.
"Buza, from now on, you and Lu Dongzan are my retainers!" His Royal Highness the King of Chu was very satisfied with the current situation.
Of course, Dou is not a rag-and-bone person, so for now he only plans to accept Lu Dongzan and Buza, who have expressed their loyalty to him first and have certain talents. As for the other three, His Royal Highness the King of Chu believes that they need to be examined.
"As for Sangsuo, Yecha, and Chiyang, the three of you will have a two-year 'probation period'. This king needs to see your actions." As His Royal Highness the King of Chu spoke, he personally stepped forward and helped the few people up from the ground.
Finally, he glanced at Chi Yang, who was feeling a little uncomfortable at the moment, and then announced three more decisions: "Pass on this king's order. From today on, all people will be exempted from taxes for the next five years.
At the same time, after the annihilation of Tuyuhun, the number of troops was reduced by one third. Tubo was cold and hardy, and strong laborers should devote themselves to production instead of thinking about fighting all day long.
Besides, Tubo will not need too many troops in the future.
And this last item——” When His Royal Highness the King of Chu said this, he noticed that Yecha seemed to have something to say, so he immediately said: “Yecha, just say whatever you want to say.”
"Your Highness, after the tax exemption, our fiscal revenue will be in great trouble - even if you cut the army, other government expenses..."
Yecha was a smart man, so he would not raise any objection to Li Kuan's reduction of the army.
After all, whether the team is full or not... doesn't mean much in front of the "Demon King" who has absolute power.
But facing the decision made by His Royal Highness the King of Chu on the spur of the moment, Yecha felt that he needed to make a reminder: If the government has no money, then it will probably encounter a lot of trouble in maintaining its rule over the plateau in the next few years.
"Don't worry about that." His Royal Highness the King of Chu smiled upon hearing this and said, "Lack of money? That's easy! I'll take you to Tianzhu to make some war money later!"