My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 137 Is the prince warmongering?
Inside the Tai Chi Hall.

Following a loud announcement, footsteps outside the Taiji Hall came closer and closer.

The Byzantine envoys slowly walked into the Taiji Hall. They were dressed in gorgeous exotic costumes made of extremely exquisite materials, with silk and brocade interwoven and embroidered with exquisite patterns. The gold and silver threads sparkled brightly in the sun.

Princess Theodosius's clothes are inlaid with bright gems, exuding a mysterious and charming color.

The leading envoy, Alex, was tall and had a resolute face. His eyes showed both awe for the Tang Dynasty and pride in being an envoy.

Nalund the Sogdian also came along, he looked very excited and trembling all over.

For the Sogdians, being able to meet the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was a great honor and a topic of conversation.

Most Sogdians made their fortunes by selling Tang Dynasty's tea, porcelain, silk and other goods.

The Sogdians knew more about the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty than the people of the Tang Dynasty did.

Therefore, for most Sogdians, joining and becoming a member of the Tang Dynasty is a great honor.

Their lifelong wish was to marry a Han woman and live out their old age in Chang'an.

This is also the reason why Narend was willing to fund and help the Byzantine delegation to travel more than 20,000 miles to Chang'an.

If the Tang Dynasty could reach a military alliance with Byzantium, then the glory and benefits it would gain as a witness and bridge between the two great empires would be simply unimaginable.

Alex did not understand Chinese, although he kept asking Narender for advice and learning along the way.

But given the complexity and difficulty of Chinese characters and Chinese, it is not so easy to learn.

This time, Narendra was able to attend the court, and his main role was to act as an interpreter.

Alex stepped forward, touched his chest and bowed.

Byzantium was not a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. The delegation represented the reputation of the empire abroad, so they did not have to perform the kneeling ceremony.

Alex stepped forward and said: "ΑγαπταυτοκρτορατημεγληΤανγκδυναστεα."

After listening to this, the professional translator of the Tang Dynasty said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, we have come from the far west to this far east country."

"We have heard about the strength, prosperity, civilization and greatness of the Tang Empire. His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Empire is wise, benevolent and powerful."

"We have gone through untold hardships, crossed vast deserts, climbed over steep mountains, and crossed vast oceans, just to see the beauty of the Tang Dynasty and offer our country's respect and gifts."

“I wish that the friendship between Tang Dynasty and Rome will last forever and that we can jointly create a better future.”

Obviously, the translator made some additions and modifications when translating.

However, it is common in Romance to add a lot of honorifics.

Li Chengqian had naturally learned English in his previous life, but Romance is not English, but Greek.

Greek originated from the Hellenistic language family in the Indo-European language family and has a long and complex development history.

During the Byzantine period, Greek became the official language of the Byzantine Empire.

The English that Li Chengqian learned is nothing in this era and has no connection with any other language.

Then, the servants behind Alex presented the gifts they brought.

There are very few, only four types.

After all, it is impossible to carry too many gifts on such a long journey.

Alex made the introduction and the translator translated.

The first servant was holding a piece of red glass. It was red all over, smooth to the touch, and shone brightly in the sunlight.

"In Roman legend, it was called the 'blood of Poseidon'."

"Legend has it that the inhabitants of Atlantis became evil and started a war. After Poseidon, the god of the sea, sank Atlantis to the bottom of the sea, he was so distressed that he spat out a mouthful of blood, and red glass was formed."

The second attendant was holding a green golden crystal in his hand. It was emerald green all over, chilling and harder than diamond.

"This item is called 'The Sorrow of Great Western Province'. Legend has it that the people of Great Western Province betrayed the beauty of the human world and became as hard-hearted as stone. They would not repent even if they were destroyed. The Green Gold Crystal represents the character of the people of Great Western Province."

"Later, when the red liquid of the red glass flowed under the green gold crystal, the green gold crystal absorbed the red liquid, became soft, and emitted a fragrance."

The third servant is holding a Roman glass product. The glass craft of the Byzantine Empire was relatively advanced, and glass products were one of its characteristic products.

The fourth attendant held lapis lazuli, a rare gem known as gold essence.

Li Chengqian looked at it with great curiosity. In the Old Book of Tang, there was a record of Byzantium and the Eastern Roman Empire presenting treasures.

This can be regarded as witnessing a historic moment.

The historian next to him was already writing furiously, recording what was happening so that it could be passed down to future generations.

The court officials also had expressions of amazement in their eyes.

It is obvious that each of the treasures presented by the Byzantine delegation is priceless.

Li Shimin was very happy and satisfied, and said: "You have traveled thousands of miles to bring such treasures here, which shows the respect and sincerity of the Roman Empire for the Tang Dynasty."

"From my observation, these treasures are all extraordinary. Each one contains exotic customs and craftsmanship."

"I am deeply pleased and very happy. This move by Rome is truly a model of friendship. I hope that Tang and Rome will work together from now on, have friendly exchanges, and jointly promote prosperity and seek well-being for all people in the world."

The ministers bowed and said loudly: "Your Majesty is wise."

Alex glanced at Theodosius at this point.

Theodosius nodded slightly.

Now is a good time for them to make their request.

Alex spoke loudly again.

Translator: "Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, we came here to express our country's respect and friendship for the Tang Dynasty, and to ask for a favor."

When Li Shimin was very happy, he said, "You can say whatever you want."

After getting permission, Alex was obviously excited and felt that half of the goal was already achieved.

The translator said: "Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, in the west there is the country of the Arabs, whose power is growing day by day, and whose people are competitive and ambitious, and have no integrity or righteousness at all."

"Their army is like a swarm of locusts, burning, killing and looting wherever they go, making the people suffer unspeakably."

"They signed a peace treaty with our country, but in the blink of an eye they tore up the treaty and sent troops to invade us."

"Their rulers are greedy and cruel. They only care about their own selfish desires and continue to expand their territory without caring about the lives of the people."

"If such an evil country is not contained, it will bring endless disasters to the world."

After the words fell, the hall fell silent. Li Shimin frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. The ministers also whispered to each other, discussing the envoy's words in low voices.

The Arab Empire is the Caliphate.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty's Western border was adjacent to the Arab Empire, and the country knew quite a lot about the Arab Empire.

In the sixth year of the Sui Dynasty, Muhammad began to preach and established the first Arab country in history in Mecca.

The complete unification of the Arab Empire took place in the sixth year of Zhenguan.

After unification and founding the country, the first thing the Arab Empire did was to send an envoy to Chang'an, the Tang Dynasty, bringing a large number of gifts to present to Li Shimin.

After all, in the fourth year of Zhenguan, after Li Shimin conquered the Eastern Turks, he was commonly respected as the Heavenly Khan, and his reputation still had a great influence in Central Asia.

The Arab Empire naturally did not want to provoke the Tang Dynasty, and because of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, it was highly dependent on the Tang Dynasty in the commercial market. From the sixth year of Zhenguan to the present, the Arab Empire's envoys have come very frequently, as many as 37 times in ten years. The exchanges are very close, which is also very rare in the history of ancient diplomacy.

Even now, it is the residence of foreign envoys arranged by the Honglu Temple, and the envoys from the Arab Empire are also here.

There were even more Arab merchants in the Tang Dynasty. Their precious specialties such as spices, rhinoceros tusks, pearls, borneol, and frankincense were welcomed by the imperial court and nobles of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin remained silent, and the ministers naturally understood the situation.

Chu Suiliang was the first to report: "Your Majesty, I think it is not appropriate to send troops to attack the Arabs."

"Although the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs are far apart, we have been exchanging what we have and have frequent trade in recent years. The rare treasures there have been constantly flowing into the Tang Dynasty, and the silk and porcelain of the Tang Dynasty are also deeply loved by the Arabs."

"The relationship between the two countries is friendly. If we rashly send troops, this rare peaceful situation may be ruined."

"Besides, the Arabs are thousands of miles away, and the journey is difficult. Our Tang soldiers are exhausted after a long journey, and their combat effectiveness will definitely be affected."

"This foreign land has a harsh climate and complex terrain. Our army may have difficulty adapting."

With Chu Suiliang's start, other ministers also offered their advice.

Explain the reasons why we cannot agree to send troops to the Byzantine Empire.

After all, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs is still pretty good, and the Arabs have always been respectful to the Tang Dynasty. Because of the long distance and difficult journey between the two sides, there are no direct conflicts.

Of course, the most important thing is that, in the eyes of Li Shimin and his ministers, even if the Arabs defeated Rome.

It will not affect the interests of the Tang Dynasty.

If the Arabs sent troops to attack the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty would be well-rested and would have no need to be afraid and would be able to win easily.

In the court, the mainstream opinion was against sending troops, and no one was willing to speak for the Byzantine envoys.

In addition, this year the Tang Dynasty sent troops to Goryeo and opened up battlefields on two sides at the same time, which put a lot of pressure on the Tang Dynasty.

Narender’s role was reflected at this time.

He translated the ministers' reports to Alex.

"Captain Alex, it looks like your request is going to fail. All Tang officials are against sending troops to Arabia."

"And His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty obviously doesn't want to send troops."

"The Tang Dynasty has a good relationship with the Arab Empire."

Alex and Theodosius suddenly felt very desperate.

Is it true that their mission cannot be accomplished?

Just then, Li Chengqian spoke.

"I have some different ideas."

The prince spoke, and the ministers quieted down.

Li Shimin asked, "What do you think of this, Prince?"

Li Chengqian said: "The Kingdom of Daqin was founded in the sixth year of Zhenguan, and it can be said to be a country of the rising sun. I have heard a lot about the situation of Daqin from the merchants who traveled with me."

"In the sixth year of Zhenguan, after the death of Muhammad, the founder of the Arab Empire, Abu Bakr pacified the Arab Empire and completed the unification."

"In the eighth year of Zhenguan, Abu Bakr died and Umar came to power. He launched a large-scale expansion, conquered everywhere, and expanded the territory of the Arab Empire."

"According to the information I received, under the leadership of Omar, the Arab Empire captured more than four thousand cities."

At this point, Li Chengqian looked at the Byzantine delegation and said, "During this period, Rome lost three quarters of its territory."

When these words were spoken, the ministers were in an uproar.

Everyone immediately understood why the Roman delegation traveled thousands of miles to the Tang Dynasty.

Three quarters of the territory, equivalent to most of the Eastern Roman Empire, had been occupied by the Arab Empire.

Especially the four thousand cities, which sounds quite scary.

You should know that there were only 1,557 county towns in the Tang Dynasty, including prefectural capitals and state capitals, and the number was less than 4,000.

Li Chengqian continued, "The population and territory of the Arab Empire are now very close to that of the Tang Dynasty, and because of the constant foreign wars, it is expanding rapidly. Perhaps in a few years, it will surpass the Tang Dynasty."

"It would be very beneficial for the Tang Dynasty to unite with Rome and curb the development of the Arabs."

"Rome is now powerless to resist the Arabs, so it has come all the way to ask for help from the Tang Dynasty. Once Rome falls into the hands of the Arabs, the Arabs will rise to an extremely powerful level, which will be a great threat to the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty."

"Therefore, we should not make a hasty decision regarding the Roman delegation's request, but should consider it carefully."

These words immediately caused discussion among the ministers.

Narend on the other side translated with a look of surprise, relaying the words of the Tang prince to Alex and Theodosius.

"Who is he?" Theodosius asked, "He seems to be of high rank."

Narend explained: "He is the next emperor of the Tang Empire. Unlike you in Rome, the next emperor of the Tang Empire is the eldest son of the current emperor, called the crown prince."

"For the sake of the stable succession of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty will determine the candidate for the next emperor at a very early stage."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is supporting you. If you gain his support, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty will most likely agree to your request for a military alliance."

"This is your only hope."

On the other side, Chu Suiliang was about to step forward and continue to make a memorial, obviously addressed to the prince.

However, as soon as he made a move, Changsun Wuji next to him grabbed him and shook his head gently at him.

Chu Suiliang hesitated slightly and then retracted his steps.

After all, there are foreign envoys present, and impeaching the prince at this time would be a complete loss of face.

It's easy for foreigners to laugh at you.

Not only will it offend the Crown Prince, it will also offend His Majesty, and hurt the reputation of the royal family.

In fact, Li Chengqian did not make up the story. The Battle of Talas did take place later in history.

There was a direct military conflict between the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs.

The Tang army in Anxi suffered 30,000 casualties in the Arab Legion at the cost of losing several thousand soldiers.

It was not until the Anshi Rebellion broke out that he withdrew his troops back to Tang.

"Chengqian!"

Li Shimin shouted, and the meaning was very clear.

You wanted to attack Goryeo this year, and now you want to attack the Arabs. Isn't this a waste of military resources?

Li Chengqian whispered, "Father, we don't have to make a decision now and send troops to the Arabs."

"As long as this matter is discussed and considered, it will have an impact on the Arab world."

"Once the news from Chang'an reaches the Arabs, they will have to consider the possibility of being attacked from both sides by us and Rome, thus effectively curbing their development trend."

"If it drags on for too long, and the Arab Empire ignores it, Father will issue an imperial edict to order the Anxi Protectorate to reorganize its military and train its soldiers. That will be enough to scare the Arab Empire."

"In this process, the Arabs will definitely give up their interests in order to befriend the Tang Dynasty. Even if they don't send troops in the end, there will still be many benefits for the Tang Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)