My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 135 I Want to Marry Li Shimin as Queen
Li Shimin attached great importance to the envoys from the Byzantine Empire.

After all, according to them, it took them nearly a year to travel a long distance of 20,000 miles to reach Chang'an.

However, Li Shimin's understanding of Byzantium was still vague.

He ordered people to collect information about the country of Byzantium and asked officials from the Honglu Temple to entertain the Byzantine delegation well.

This day.

Outside Chang'an City.

Li Chengqian came to the place where his soldiers were training.

"Meet His Highness the Crown Prince."

Five thousand soldiers roared in unison, the sound was astonishing.

"I hope I didn't disappoint His Highness."

"Although it's not as good as those in the Military Academy, the current discipline is pretty good."

"As long as we practice for a few more days, we will definitely be able to reach the level of the Military Academy."

"The students from the Military Academy sent by His Highness are really useful."

Li Dejian introduced with a smile.

The training here didn't actually require him to pay too much attention, so it was a lot easier.

According to the prince's instructions, the five thousand palace soldiers were divided into fifty brigades.

The students of the Military Academy were brigade commanders, each of whom trained a hundred men.

The training method is naturally the same as the training in the Military Academy.

"Yes, it really didn't disappoint me."

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded.

The soldiers below, after undergoing strict military posture and marching, at least looked very imposing.

This kind of training method can quickly increase team cohesion.

"I heard that the King of Wei also went to see the palace soldiers."

"I don't know what he's looking at. Does he think those soldiers will obey his orders?"

"It's those noble families who are really willing to spend money."

Li Dejian couldn't help but speak, with a hint of envy in his tone.

"Have you gone to see it?" Li Chengqian asked.

Li Dejian nodded: "The food is very good, with meat for every meal. It is said that many descendants of noble families have gone in."

"I just want to complete my military achievements through this expedition to Goryeo and enter the imperial court."

In the impression of many people in Chang'an, the abilities of the Five Surnames and Seven Families were mainly in official literature, while the abilities of the Guanlong clans were mainly in military affairs.

But they forgot that the military capabilities of the Five Surnames and Seven Families were also extremely terrifying.

The Longxi Li family of the Western Han Dynasty could be crushed to death by Emperor Wu of Han with just one finger.

Then came the era of aristocratic families.

The grandfather of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was a prominent family in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and one of the twelve great generals.

Yang Guang's mother, Dugu Qieluo, was born into the Dugu family, one of the Eight Pillars of the State.

Empress Xiao of Emperor Yang of Sui, her father was the former Emperor of Western Liang.

Li Yuan's Li family was also one of the Eight Pillars of the State.

How could the Five Surnames and Seven Clans have been able to develop to this day, and have experienced so many turbulent times and still been able to pass on their legacy in an orderly manner? It could be that their abilities in civil administration were the only reason.

When it comes to military training, there are many talented people in aristocratic families.

Their purpose was simple, which was to enter the imperial court through normal military promotion channels.

In this way, even if his support for the King of Wei in his bid for the throne failed, he could still plant seeds in the army and wait for them to sprout.

So the noble families are willing to spend money.

High-intensity training requires a lot of money.

Li Chengqian has no support from the aristocratic families, so the soldiers can only eat meat once every three days.

The intensity of training naturally cannot be too high.

As for spending your own money to support soldiers, it actually doesn't make much sense.

After all, Li Chengqian’s target was not these 5,000 soldiers, but the entire Tang Dynasty army.

Under the current productivity conditions, even Li Chengqian doesn't have a better solution.

The only way is to bring back sweet potatoes and corn from America and plant them on a large scale to meet the basic food needs.

"Just practice hard and don't worry about them."

Li Chengqian spoke.

Fighting a war doesn't mean you can win just because you have elite soldiers.

No matter how elite they are, they can't defeat my explosive pack.

Li Dejian didn't care much about it. After the war game simulation, he understood more clearly how strong the prince's military capabilities were.

Even if half of his strength on paper was exerted on the battlefield, he would not be able to match the King of Wei.

What’s more, the commander-in-chief Hou Junji is a member of their prince’s party.

"By the way, Your Highness, spring plowing is about to begin here," Li Dejian reminded.

Unlike the soldiers from aristocratic families who have left their property, the soldiers under Li Chengqian also have to farm.

"Spring ploughing is a big deal. We will give the soldiers a holiday and train them after ploughing."

"Yes, Your Highness."

the other side.

Prince Li Tai of Wei was also at the military review.

Looking at the elite soldiers from aristocratic families who were so powerful on the training ground, he smiled happily.

"I heard that the prince's soldiers are trained in the same way as the Military Academy."

"Shengyu, have you seen it?"

Li Tai is also a smart person. The training methods of the Military Academy are quite famous and naturally have their merits.

"I won't show you that side. I haven't seen it yet."

"Spring plowing is about to begin. Even if the prince wants to hide, he can't."

"By then, if we can bribe a few people, we will naturally know their training methods."

Cui Shengyu was still very curious about the prince's military training methods.

Li Tai thought for a moment and said, "I saw the sand table war chess game at my father's place yesterday. It was indeed magical."

"It can effectively improve military tactics."

"The Crown Prince is planning to implement wargame simulations in the Military Academy to improve the military capabilities of the students."

"My father has already agreed to send me a copy."

"When the sand table war game arrives, you can refer to it and copy it for practice."

Cui Shengyu said happily: "Thank you, King Wei."

Cui Shengyu, the master of sand table war chess, had received the news a long time ago, but he had never seen what it looked like, so he had no idea what it was like.

The prince guards this area strictly, and currently no one except the saint can tell the details.

It is naturally a good thing to start with King Wei now.

"What is the prince's military ability? He can create this sand table war chess, so he must be quite good."

Cui Shengyu thought for a while and asked.

The corner of Li Tai's mouth twitched slightly. Thinking of the game with his father and his father's praise for the prince, he felt uncomfortable.

"Father said the prince is very powerful."

After saying this dryly, Li Tai didn't want to say anything more.

But Cui Shengyu already knew in his heart that it must be good.
-
International Wine Shop.

Ji Zhao didn't expect that he would come again so soon.

"County Lieutenant Ji has arrived. Why didn't you inform me in advance?"

"I came here at someone's invitation, so I thought I wouldn't bother Manager Chen."

Ji Zhao said with a smile.

As soon as he arrived, someone notified the chief manager.

So the shopkeeper came over to greet him personally.

At this time, Luo Hui also hurried down from upstairs.

"Lieutenant Ji, I am sorry for not coming to meet you in person. Please forgive me."

Seeing Ji Zhao chatting happily with the chief manager of Wanguo Tavern and they seemed very familiar with each other, Luo Hui immediately felt that there was hope for him.

"I won't disturb County Magistrate Ji's leisure. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Manager Chen is busy now, don't worry about me."

Now is the busiest time in Wanguo Tavern, and Manager Chen doesn't have much time to talk with Ji Zhao.

"County Lieutenant Ji, please come upstairs."

Ji Zhao followed Luo Shang to the private room upstairs.

Good wine and food, singing and dancing by Hu Ji.

Luo Hui naturally couldn't bring up the matter right away, so he served him first. This time, Ji Zhao felt truly happy.

In the past, I always had trouble carrying out missions.

After three rounds of drinking, Ji Zhao also drank a lot and said, "Brother Luo invited me so kindly, but what happened?"

"If it is within Ji's authority and does not violate the law, Ji will help you settle the matter."

Although he has become an official, there is still a sense of gangsterism in Ji Zhao's words.

Luo Hui hesitated slightly and said, "I heard that the prince wants to set up a business in Jinzhou to mine coal."

When he heard the name of the prince, Ji Zhao sobered up immediately.

He frowned and said, "Brother Luo, you want to say something, but it involves the prince's affairs, so you must be careful with your words and actions."

When Luo Hui heard this, he realized that Ji Zhao was really in touch with the prince.

Then he said frankly: "I heard that the prince opened a business, did not impose corvée labor, distributed wages, and solved the difficulties of the people's livelihood. I admire him very much."

"So I thought of using my family's limited wealth to support him, but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to please the prince, so I wanted to ask County Magistrate Ji for his opinion."

When Ji Zhao heard this, he immediately felt relieved.

Then think carefully about the situation here.

Of course he knew about the prince's coal mining, and he also got the news from Eunuch Wen yesterday.

It is said that the prince is preparing to recruit a group of personnel to manage the Jinzhou business.

Glancing at Luo Hui, Ji Zhao thought to himself that Luo Hui managed thousands of Yexianglang in an orderly manner. Except for this job which was not up to standard, he did have some abilities.

After figuring it out, Ji Zhao's tone changed.

"I knew that Brother Luo's wine wasn't this delicious."

"But since Ji has eaten, he naturally has to do something."

"Brother Luo is lucky. Yesterday, the prince's eunuch came to Ji and said that he was preparing to recruit someone to manage the Jinzhou business. He asked Ji if he had a suitable candidate to recommend him."

"With Brother Luo's talent, I think he will definitely catch the prince's eye."

Luo Hui was overjoyed when he heard this.

He picked up the wine glass and said, "I'll have to leave everything to County Lieutenant Ji."

Go ahead, drink it now.

This is not the end yet, Luo Hui then took out a gold ingot from his sleeve.

Put it on the table and push it in front of Ji Zhao.

"It's just a small token of my respect, but I hope you will accept it."

Ji Zhao laughed and said, "Brother Luo, look at you, why are you so polite?"

"You and I are brothers, yet you are still doing these unorthodox things."

Although he said so, his hand honestly put the golden ingot into his sleeve.

After weighing it, it was worth ten taels of gold.

This is equivalent to fifty taels of silver and fifty thousand coins.

What a generous act.
-
Liquanfang.

This is where the Honglu Temple arranged foreign envoys, just north of Chang'an West Market.

Because there were many foreign envoys, Buddhist temples, Taoist temples, Persian Hu temples and Zoroastrian temples were all located in the same block.

It is also rare in Chang'an City.

Historically, Liquanfang was also one of the four major kiln sites of Tang Sancai.

The Byzantine envoys were accommodated here.

At night, there is a curfew, but the lights in the neighborhood are still bright.

The curfew in the Tang Dynasty prohibited people from leaving the neighborhood, and there was not much regulation within the neighborhood.

"Narende, thanks to your help, we were able to reach Chang'an smoothly."

"But, we need more help from you now."

"You know, Your Highness the Princess and I know nothing about the powerful Eastern Empire."

Alex said to the bearded Sogdian merchant in front of him.

Sitting next to her was Princess Theodosius.

The seventh century was the heyday of the Sogdians. They were the most famous merchants in the world and almost monopolized the operation of the Silk Road.

There is also the name of the Nine Zhaowu Surnames, which refers to the general term for the nine countries established by the Sogdians who came to the Central Plains from the Sogdian region in Central Asia during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang dynasties. Their kings all had Zhaowu as their surname.

Narend means brave and strong in Sogdian.

Since almost all Sogdians were engaged in business, they were proficient in many languages.

There were a large number of Sogdians among the translators of the Tang Dynasty.

"Captain Alex, this is the Tang Dynasty. Perhaps you should call me by my Tang Dynasty name, Li Lunde."

Narend had a typical Sogdian appearance, with a big beard.

But he is also a very famous businessman.

The straight-line distance from Constantinople in Byzantium to Chang'an is 7,000 kilometers, or more than 20,000 miles.

There is also a beautiful Roman princess.

Narendra deserves the most credit for the safe arrival.

"Well, Li Lunde, if we can complete the mission entrusted by His Majesty, then you will definitely get an unparalleled fortune."

"So, your help is very important to us."

Alex said.

"Captain Alex, I also hope that you can complete your mission, but only the great Emperor of the Tang Dynasty can make the decision on such matters."

"No one can influence the will of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. This is beyond my ability."

"This is different from you in Rome. The will of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is the will of the entire Tang Empire."

"Like His Majesty Heraclius."

Eastern Rome is a historical name, which means almost the same as Shu Han.

When Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor, he did not call the country Shu Han but Great Han. Anyone who mentioned Shu Han in front of Liu Bei would be killed no matter how merciful he was.

Byzantium now has co-ruling emperors, so power is very dispersed and many things have to be discussed.

"Well, I hope His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty will agree to our request."

Alex said a little frustrated.

The current situation of Byzantium is not good, and the front-line battlefield has been in a state of disarray.

Because of the death of Emperor Heraclius and the death of Constantine in March, three emperors were replaced directly, and there was also a co-emperor.

There was no energy left to deal with the rising Arab Empire.

If the Tang Empire was willing to send troops to the Arab Empire, it would be able to form a pincer attack and curb the Arab Empire's ambitions.

After the delegation entered the Tang Empire from the Western Regions, they felt more and more the power of the Tang Empire along the way.

It was an empire more powerful than the Byzantine Empire and even the Arab Empire.

"Alex, don't worry. I heard that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty has no wife."

"If I could become the wife of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he would definitely be willing to help us."

Theodosius said firmly.

'Ha ha ha ha.'

Narender burst into laughter when he heard this.

"Li Lunde, what do you mean?" Alex said in a bad tone. He heard a strong sarcasm in Narender's laughter.

Theodosius also glared.

"Oh, no, no, I just thought it was really funny."

Narend explained: "You don't know the Tang Dynasty, nor do you know the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, foreigners are not qualified to become the wife of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, not even a concubine."

"Although there is no empress in the Tang Dynasty, there are hundreds of wives living in the emperor's palace. They have their own ranks just like officials."

"Well, I admit that Her Royal Highness the Princess is indeed stunningly beautiful, but this is nothing in Chang'an City."

"Perhaps I should take you to Pingkangfang in Chang'an City to see for yourself. There are the most beautiful beauties in the entire Tang Dynasty, and even in the world."

"If His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty agrees to the request for an alliance, he may consider taking Her Royal Highness the Princess as his consort. Of course, it is only a consideration."

When Theodosius heard this, he realized that he had thought things too simply.

Alex even exclaimed: "With more than a hundred wives, can His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty handle it?"

Nalunde shrugged: "So many women may only be able to meet the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty a few times in their lifetime."

"Although they have a noble status, it is obvious that they cannot interfere with the will of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"Of course, you don't have to worry. Tomorrow, His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty will receive you. This means that His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty values ​​you enough and may consider agreeing to your request."

According to the procedure, although the Honglu Temple would report the news of the Byzantine Empire delegation, it would usually take a few days before receiving them.

But at Alex's request, Li Shimin also considered sending the Byzantine delegation on a long journey to Chang'an.

So he agreed to receive the Byzantine delegation the next day.

The Sogdians conveyed news about the Byzantine Empire, a powerful country very close to the Tang Dynasty in terms of population and territory.

Li Shimin gave this face and also treated the country as a great power.

"May God bless you."

(End of this chapter)