Chapter 343 Pull up the ballista

If Li Xiang had not come back, Mr. Zeng could have made the final decision on almost everything on the grassland, but now that Li Xiang is sitting here, of course he has to ask Li Xiang about everything.

"Is there any news over there on the plateau? Lu Dongzan is right in front of us, shouldn't they take this opportunity to start a fight?"

Just when Lu Dongzan was so anxious that he went to the room, Li Xiang got drunk instead. Changsun Chong was supposed to protect Changsun Pingting's carriage and horse, but in order to catch up with the things on the battlefield, this guy So I found a reliable lieutenant to watch, and I had already arrived on the grassland.

"I also want them to start fighting quickly, but Lu Dongzan is not a fool. Before leaving, he already told his men that no one can go out to fight and can only stay in the camp. , those toast masters should not be able to find a chance in a while."

Li Xiang's intelligence network didn't deliver messages that fast, but Tuyuhun's intelligence network was very fast. At this time, they had already received the local battle report. It might not be detailed, but it was basically the same thing.

"No wonder these chieftains are so scared. It seems that Lu Dongzan is by no means a simple person on the grassland. If we want to deal with them, it will probably be easy."

In the past few days on the Tuyuhun Prairie, Changsun Chong and Yuchi Jingde were not idle either. They often chatted with some people outside. Naturally, they also knew what Lu Dongzan was like on the plateau. Compared with the one we teased Man, it’s a different scene on the plateau.

"If I guess correctly, His Highness asked me to do this today, it should be to delay him. The main reason is that the longer the delay, the greater the possibility of revealing the truth. Once the Tubo Army Dao Lu Dongzan is not in the military camp Perhaps there is a flaw in this."

Although Mr. Zeng was a civil servant, he had no problem with his mind, so he quickly understood what Li Xiang meant.

Midu Khan also nodded secretly beside him. Lu Dongzan was indeed terrifying, but compared with Li Xiang, he was always half a beat too late. Fortunately, he did not meet Lu Dongzan. If he had met this person If there is any relationship, according to Li Xiang's cruelty, he will never be able to keep him.

Regarding Lord Zeng's statement, Li Xiang did not deny that this was what he thought when he came here, so when Lu Dongzan made an appointment to meet Lord Zeng, Li Xiang immediately asked Lord Zeng to complain about his illness.

"But having said that, don't act so relaxed. Whether this old guy can stay here depends on our performance. We will go out and practice again later. In addition, pull out the crossbow and fire it. Just make some noise."

Hearing Li Xiang's words, Changsun Chong and Yuchi Jingde felt a little distressed. They didn't know the real cost of this thing, but according to what Li Xiang said, each shell cost fifty to one hundred guan. If we take him out to fight for a while, how much will it cost?

"The cavalry just charges and kills for a while. Our shouts are also very powerful. We have been here these past few days. If you fire casually, do you mean to fire the cannon? You only need to pay for it. One cannonball is enough Eighty guan, we went out to practice this morning and lost tens of thousands of guan, so how long will it take to earn it back?"

Under the influence of Li Xiang, these people have become more and more aware of what the cost of war is. They did not consider this at all in the past. They thought it was a matter for the Hubu Yamen, and we only need to be responsible for winning the war.

But now, through Li Xiang’s influence, they also know that we are all one. If there is not enough profit, we cannot spend so much money. From a personal point of view, we should think about the problem in this way. This is how we should think about it from a national perspective.

"I can't bear to let my children catch the wolf, isn't it just a few cannonballs? Think about it carefully, if Tubo continues to weaken like this, how much money can we make back? If they are divided into many small countries, there will be many people there by then. If we go to Chang'an City to pay tribute, we will make a lot of money at that time."

When Li Xiang finished saying this, he suddenly felt something was wrong. Apart from us, Midu Khan was still sitting here in this tent.

Li Xiang looked at Midu Khan with a guilty conscience. Although there was no expression on his face, it was obvious that he was unhappy in his heart. After all, Midu Khan was also the prey in Li Xiang's eyes before, but now Tuyuhun is no longer what he used to be. , although they did not have to carry anything to Chang'an City to pay tribute, but at least they did not have as much autonomy as before, and they had to listen to the Governor's orders in everything they did.

"You're right, you're right. It's us brothers who are being stingy. If you continue to drink, we two brothers will take people out and keep them safe so that the old boy knows how powerful we are. Today I will risk my life and give it to him. Get fifty rounds ready.”

Changsun Chong patted his chest and said, Li Xiang really doesn't know what to say. You have been ruthless for a while, so you prepared fifty rounds of artillery shells for others. You are stingy. You are really stingy. Of course, in the past I haven't let go of the cannonballs all the time. Let's do a small-scale one today, which can be regarded as a test of the water.

Midu Khan also liked that kind of ballista very much, and hoped to equip it in Tuyuhun. However, it was a pity that these things were not sold to the outside world. Even among the army of the Tang Dynasty, the number of such things was very small.

In less than half a stick of incense, there was already a rumbling sound of artillery outside. The artillery shells exploded between the two armies, so Lu Dongzan also heard it. Lu Dongzan quickly came out of his tent and looked into the distance. In a daze where there is thick smoke, Datang already has such a sharp weapon. If it is placed in our military camp, can our army still persist?

General Huyan stood nearby, not knowing what to say. The last time he had a meeting with people from the Tang Dynasty, he suffered a loss because of these ballistae. Although he was already very careful, when the people from the Tang Dynasty took advantage of these ballistae, When the toy was pulled out, all the Tubo people lost their temper instantly.

According to the words of His Royal Highness the Grandson of the Emperor, any truth is within the range of cannons. If you are not convinced, you can argue with us. It doesn't matter if we lose. We still have cannons to help us regain face, but if If you lose, it will not only be a debate, but you may also lose your Tubo country.

The expression on Lu Dongzan's face became worse and worse. He originally thought that there was not much difference between Tang Dynasty and Tubo, but when this weapon came out, he felt that the difference was too far...