Hearing this, Zhenzhu Tong Sijin spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His head drooped and he fainted directly. The other Turks failed to catch him in time, and he fell hard to the ground.
With a loud “thud”, it startled everyone present.
Princess Xinxing tightened her hold on Princess Gaoyang's hand beside her. Her palm was full of sweat. As a princess who had been delicately raised, the biggest upheaval in her life was this arranged marriage.
How could she have ever witnessed such a bloody scene?
“Carry him to Xingyang Pavilion. If Taoist Priest Sun Simiao is available, invite him to diagnose and treat.” With a wave of his hand, Li Shimin ordered. A group of people lifted Zhenzhu Tong Sijin up and carried him two long streets away to Xingyang Pavilion.
Luthongzan's face looked even worse. He had been drunk just now, but now his mind was much clearer.
The elite troops of Tubo were stationed in Songzhou, ten thousand of them! How many soldiers did Tubo have in total?
Yet they were so easily defeated by the Tang soldiers, and the number of the Tang soldiers was only one - tenth of theirs.
Wouldn't this be a laughingstock if it got out?
He still remembered that before he set off, Songtsen Gampo had arrogantly said, “If the Turks succeed in asking for a Tang princess in marriage, then in a second or two, Tubo will also submit a memorial to the Tang court, asking for a princess to marry into Tubo. If they don't agree, we'll lead our troops into Chang'an and seize her.”
Looking at that statement now, wasn't it just a complete joke?
This time, Tubo had been given a hard lesson by the Tang Dynasty. It was likely that they would never dare to make such reckless remarks again.
Judging from the expressions of the Turkic envoys, Li Shimin was determined not to marry a princess to the Turks. Before, there was still room for negotiation, but now that there was a white disaster in the Turkic territory, it was uncertain whether Khan Tung Yabgu could handle the domestic affairs, let alone spare time to focus on this matter.
“Go back and rest. Disperse.” Li Shimin waved his hand and then led Empress Zhangsun back to Lizheng Palace.
Li Jingyun and Li Mingda would stay in Taihe Hall together that night. Before leaving, Li Mingda sighed, “The snow in the Turkic territory came at just the right time.”
Li Jingyun remained silent.
There had been a battle, but it seemed that not many people had died, to be more specific, not many Tang soldiers had died.
The alliance between the Turks and Tubo now seemed like a joke.
Thinking back, the words of comfort from Master Xuanzang and Master Guanghui had all come true.
So many things had happened in one night, which had greatly changed the direction of the situation.
The only question in Li Jingyun's mind was whether Sister Xinxing would no longer have to marry into a foreign land.
Indeed, that was the case.
After she finished washing up and was about to go to bed, Cong Gai reported, “Princess Chengyang, His Majesty orders you to go to the Council Hall tomorrow.”
“Is it about the sweaters?” That was the only unsettled matter for now.
“Yes. At the beginning of the Si hour tomorrow morning. Please don't be late, Princess.” Cong Gai said softly.
Li Jingyun rubbed her eyes. “Got it, got it. Feng Feng, remember to wake me up tomorrow.”
“Yes, Princess.” Attendant Feng responded. This nickname was given to him by the little princess. When they first met, the little princess said he looked familiar, asked him to serve her personally, and called him Feng Feng.
Now, everyone in Taihe Hall who was a bit familiar with him called him that.
She really didn't expect that before she even entered school, she would start living a regular life like that of a student.
After Cong Gai left, the room fell silent, and the atmosphere was warm and peaceful.
Li Mingda teased, “Hong Xuan, you're an official now and can even participate in the discussions in the Council Hall. Hey, Hong Xuan, did you volunteer to be an official?”
“Sister, stop joking. I'm so sleepy. Let's go to sleep.” Li Jingyun nimbly hugged Li Mingda's arm and acted coquettishly.
The more she behaved like this, the more Li Mingda wanted to tease her soft and cute younger sister.
“Did you come up with today's idea? It was a great victory. What are your thoughts now?” Li Mingda pulled out her arm and gently tapped Li Jingyun's forehead, asking softly.
“Thoughts? Sister Xinxing should no longer have to marry into a foreign land, right? And, and, should we sell the sweaters to Tubo? What price should we set for the sweaters sold to the Turks? There are so many questions.”
Li Jingyun waved her hand exaggeratedly, making a big circle around her head.
“Ten times the price? Or twenty times?”
“I don't know. Let's see what Aye and the grand councilors think tomorrow.” Li Jingyun shook her head, yawned, and was so sleepy that her mind was in a daze. “Sister, let's go to sleep. It's too late.”
“Okay, then let's talk tomorrow.” Li Mingda said with a smile.
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Jingyun fell asleep. She was really good at coaxing people to sleep. If she were in modern times, she would definitely be an excellent sleep - assisting blogger.
The next morning, at 25 minutes past 8 o'clock. That is, 8:30 a.m. in modern times.
Li Mingda looked at the sleeping Li Jingyun, quietly got out of bed, dressed and made up, and then went to the Council Hall.
This was the place where the prime ministers gathered to discuss state affairs. At noon, people from the imperial kitchen would deliver meals.
“Greetings to the Princess.”
A group of prime ministers were sitting inside. When they saw Li Jingyun coming, they quickly saluted.
Li Chengqian walked over from the opposite side, took Li Jingyun's hand, and walked in. “Gentlemen, be excused. Today we are here to discuss the matter of the sweaters and set a specific plan. My father won't come. There's no need to wait.”
“Yes.” Everyone responded.
Li Jingyun sat in the same seat as her elder brother. There were two rows of prime ministers on both sides, all familiar faces: Uncle Zhangsun, Wang Gui, Fang Xuanling, Tang Jian, Wei Zheng, Chu Suiliang, Yang Shidao, Du Yan, etc.
Du Yan was Du Ruhui's uncle. As the acting Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he participated in discussing major state affairs. In name, he was a prime minister.
Yang Shidao, the current Zhongshu Ling, was a real prime minister. He was from the Hongnong Yang family, the youngest son of Yang Xiong, the Prince of Guande in the Sui Dynasty. His family had been high - ranking officials for generations, but he was a low - key person. Historical records described him as kind and pure.
His wife was Princess Guiyang, Li Yuan's daughter. In terms of seniority, Li Jingyun had to call him uncle - in - law.
After they sat down, everyone's eyes focused on Li Jingyun, making her feel uncomfortable.
“Princess, the sweaters are your industry. You should decide who to sell them to, how many to sell, and at what price.” Tang Jian said.
Li Jingyun took a sip of milk tea to calm her nerves and waved her hand repeatedly. “Slow down, slow down. What are the issues? Let's go one by one.”
“Selling to the Turks has already been decided. So, should we sell to Tubo?” Li Chengqian asked.
“Yes, of course. The new courtyard is producing more and more sweaters. We can supply them.” Li Jingyun asserted.
“And the price? Hong Xuan?”
Zhangsun Wuji asked softly, his tone very gentle.
This scene didn't seem like a group of big shots discussing state affairs. It was more like a group of uncles coaxing a child to play.
“Ten times the price. Anyway, no matter how much we ask for, they'll have to agree. Big brother, grand councilors, does Tubo raise sheep? If they do, they can also supply us with live sheep.”
Li Jingyun suddenly asked. Isn't this the same method used against the Turks?
Now it could be used on Tubo too.
It's just as easy to herd one sheep as two.
“Yes, they raise sheep. Then we can tell Luthongzan that we originally wanted to raise the price even more, but considering that you raise sheep, if you drive the sheep here, we'll still charge ten times the price.” Yang Shidao imitated the tone, the speech pattern, and the expression, which made everyone present burst into laughter.
Li Chengqian introduced Li Jingyun with a smile, “Grand Councilor Yang Shidao's ancestor is Dongfang Shuo of the Han Dynasty.”
Dongfang Shuo, the ancestor of the crosstalk world, was well - informed and very humorous.