My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 182 Anyone who openly offends the Tang Dynasty will be punished, no matter how far away they are!

The Arab Empire's threat of war is still somewhat useful.

Especially for the people of Chang'an.

A war between the two sides would definitely not be a good thing for the Tang Dynasty.

At the same time, many people felt that the conditions proposed by the Arab Empire were very good.

Especially for Tang Dynasty merchants.

There are many merchants from far away places in Chang'an who are engaged in international trade, after all, there are huge profits here.

Many of those who can afford to buy houses in Chang'an have a background in national trade.

There were also many Sogdians who had obtained household registration in the Tang Dynasty.

If the Tang Dynasty agreed to the Arab Empire's request, it would enjoy special privileges in its future business dealings.

Therefore, the people who would most like the prince to hand over the Roman princess and for the Tang Dynasty to reach a military alliance with the Arab Empire were the merchant class.

But unfortunately, although the business in the Tang Dynasty was developed and the status of merchants had improved, it was ridiculous to compare them with the prince.

They had absolutely no ability to influence the decisions of the emperor or even the crown prince.

Alex and Nalund from the Byzantine delegation were as anxious as ants on a hot stove.

"What to do, Narender."

"If His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty agrees to the Arabs' request, then we are all finished."

Alex doesn't understand the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, but he understands his own emperor.

If the Roman emperor encountered such a thing, how would he deal with it?

It is almost certain that such generous conditions will be agreed.

Nalund comforted him, "Don't be nervous, Commander Alex. The Tang Dynasty is a country of etiquette and will never do such a thing as handing us over to the Arabs."

"Perhaps we can contact Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Alex nodded and said, "Yes, we should contact Her Royal Highness the Princess immediately, tell her what happened in Chang'an, and ask for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's help."

Chang'an City, Wannian County and in front of Chang'an County Government Office.

Each of them gathered hundreds of people.

They are here to petition.

After meeting with the Arab envoys, King Li Tai of Wei was very supportive of their ideas and secretly fanned the flames.

The merchants of the Tang Dynasty contributed both money and labor.

But since the last time the whole city was forced to perform corvee labor, the people of Chang'an have learned their lesson.

I dare not cause trouble again.

These petitioners were basically bought with money.

Anyone who is willing to go will be given one guan, which is one thousand coins.

In fact, it was only a few dozen cents at the beginning, but no one paid attention to it because the risk was too great.

Later, the price continued to increase and gradually rose to the same level.

This made many people interested.

That's why we brought hundreds of civilians here.

Most of the young people who want to make some money are held back by their elders.

They understand the prince.

Although the prince is kind and righteous, he is also strong enough.

In the East Palace, Theodosius, who received the news, also hurried to meet the prince.

"Your Highness, please don't drive me away."

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "Who said we were going to drive you away? You are just a troublemaker, and you dare to cause trouble?"

"Wen Zhong."

"The minister is here."

"Send the order to the Crown Prince to immediately order the Jinwu Guards to arrest all those who gathered to cause trouble. According to Tang law, all of them will be sentenced to three years in prison."

"It just so happened that the cement factory was short of workers, so we sent everyone there for labor reform."

"Also, warn the Arab envoys. If they make similar remarks again, don't think that you can act recklessly in the Tang Dynasty just because you are an envoy."

"Envoys from all nations must abide by the laws of the Tang Dynasty while in the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Anyone who dares to violate the laws of the Tang Dynasty will be punished according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty."

"I will not pursue this case any further this time. If you dare to do it again, I will not let you off easily. I will deal with you immediately."

The eunuch Wen Zhong bowed and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

When Theodosius heard the prince say this, he cried with joy, and without caring about his reservedness, he hugged the prince.

Li Chengqian reprimanded: "How can you behave like this in broad daylight?"

Then he whispered, "Come to the Solitary Palace tonight."

Theodosius said seriously: "I will serve Your Highness well at night."

Official offices of two counties in Chang'an.

The county magistrate was reluctant to take action against the people who were petitioning, firstly because there were too many of them, and secondly because someone was secretly instructing them.

So I reported the matter to my superiors.

The news was reported through many levels and soon reached the ears of Li Shimin.

"absurd!"

Things like threatening the imperial court are clearly against the laws of the Tang Dynasty.

After thinking for a while, Li Shimin asked, "Is there any movement from the Crown Prince's side?"

Zhang Ananda replied, "The prince has issued an order to the Jinwu Guards, ordering the people who caused the disturbance to be arrested immediately and sentenced to three years in prison."

Li Shimin asked again: "How many people are involved in this disturbance?"

Zhang Anan said, "There are about 700 to 800 people in the government offices of the two counties."

Just this few people?

Li Shimin ordered: "Just do as the prince wishes."

"In addition, the magistrates of the two counties will be fined three months' salary. If they do it again, they will be dismissed and investigated."

"Send the King of Wei to the palace."

Zhang Ananda bowed: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Li Shimin knew that the county magistrate of Chang'an County and Wannian County was a member of the Wei Wang party.

There were only a few hundred people, but he did not order the officers to disperse them and instead reported them to the palace.

It is obvious that the King of Wei is backing this.

Li Shimin was dissatisfied with this.

It is right to balance the power of the prince, but can such things as petitions from the people be allowed to be addressed?

If you indulge him, you will come to petition him in the future.

How will the Tang Dynasty manage its people?

And what was the content of the petition? It requested the prince to hand over the Roman princess in order to establish peace between the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs.

Absolutely ridiculous.

The crown prince, the heir apparent to the throne, can be threatened by just a few hundred unruly people.

This is a provocation to the imperial power.

How could Li Shimin not be angry?

Inside Chang'an City.

Seeing that there was not much movement in the government office and no one was sent to drive them away, the people gradually became bolder.

Some people even claimed that the Roman princess had bewitched the prince and damaged the interests of the Tang Dynasty, and should be handed over to the Arab Empire for punishment immediately.

This word reached the ears of the county magistrate.

Lu Yizhong shuddered with fear.

Not daring to delay any longer, he immediately ordered the officers to disperse the crowd.

If he continues like this, things will get out of hand and he won't be able to get away with it.

The officers, following the order from the county magistrate, were about to disperse the crowd.

A large number of Jinwu Guards entered the venue.

"According to the order of the Crown Prince, all those who gather to cause trouble are to be arrested and sentenced to three years in prison according to the Tang Dynasty law."

Just say it and arrest the person directly.

The troublemaker suddenly panicked and begged for mercy.

Who would have thought that the prince would be so cruel and directly sentenced him to three years in prison.

Going to jail for three years for a penny is not worth it no matter how you look at it.

It is not so easy to enter that prison. Anyone who enters will be skinned alive.

However, the Jinwu Guards did not dare to have so many.

The prince had given the order, so they naturally had to follow it and arrest them all, not a single one could escape. There was no point in crying and shouting.

When bystanders saw this scene, they were glad that they were not blinded by the money.

the other side.

Su Dingfang led hundreds of Jinwu Guards and surrounded the place where the Arab Empire delegation lived.

"According to the order of the Crown Prince, if you foreign envoys dare to deceive the people of the Tang Dynasty again, you will be severely punished."

Only then did the Arab envoy truly feel the majesty of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

He wanted to quibble, but Su Dingfang wouldn't listen.

After seeing this scene, envoys from other countries had a clearer understanding of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

After all, the expulsion of the Koreans not long ago is still fresh in our memory.

A small disturbance was suppressed forcefully.

The people of the Tang Dynasty also had a clearer understanding of the prince.

The King of Wei was summoned to the palace and reprimanded.

The magistrates of the two counties were fined and given warnings.

The troublemakers who were arrested afterwards reported that someone had secretly bribed them with money.

The Dali Temple conducted a thorough investigation and implicated a large number of businessmen.

The unruly people who had caused trouble before had made meritorious contributions, and the prince issued an order to change their three-year imprisonment to three years of corvee labor.

The people of Chang'an praised the prince for his benevolence.

End of May.

The second edition of the Tang Dynasty Gazette is reissued.

Originally, Li Chengqian was planning to print his own portrait as the crown prince on all the official bulletins.

But carving the prince's statue is too difficult.

After all, there are not many master craftsmen who are capable of carving a complete portrait into a woodblock.

Moreover, the difficulty of carving portraits is much greater than that of carving fonts.

Even for a master-level engraver, it would take at least half a month to carve a woodblock.

There were no more than ten people who had this skill in the Chief of Works and the Chief of Imperial Household.

According to previous regulations, the Tang Dynasty Gazette is published once a month and sold at the end of the month.

Obviously I can't catch up with this issue.

Moreover, because of the affairs of the Arab Empire, Li Chengqian made adjustments in the political affairs section, which made rubbing even more tense.

Fortunately, this situation was anticipated.

The carved block of the official bulletin was not a whole piece, but was made up of six pieces spliced ​​together.

So you only need to modify one piece of the carving.

On May 28, the 17th year of Zhenguan, the second edition of the Tang Dynasty Gazette was officially issued.

The people of Chang'an are already very familiar with this.

I lined up at the newsstand early to buy it.

Because of the publication of the court bulletins, a large number of teahouses were opened in Chang'an.

In the past, ordinary people had few entertainment activities and could not afford to watch the Hu Ji dance every day.

After all, even a trip to a low-class tavern to watch the Hu Ji dance would cost dozens or even hundreds of coins.

Most people in Chang'an have spare money, but they don't spend it this way.

Teahouses were not popular in Chang'an before, but they are now in fashion.

Because of the official reports, going to teahouses to listen to the reports had become the cheapest entertainment activity for the common people.

The teahouse owners made a lot of money, and a large number of half-educated scholars switched to being storytellers.

During the craze for official reports, storytellers received hundreds of coins in rewards every day, which was a considerable amount.

The threshold for learning simplified Chinese characters is low, as long as you can read, which gives many people ideas.

Whichever industry makes money will inevitably attract a lot of imitations.

Most businessmen began to invest in teahouses, a large number of teahouses were opened, and storytellers were invited to move in.

The day the court gazette was published.

All the teahouses were crowded.

Sharing a table to drink tea and listening to books and newspapers has become a popular and interesting activity.

In a teahouse, the storyteller was speaking with great confidence.

"Speaking of this Daqin, it is a powerful country in the west. It is said to be no less powerful than our Tang Dynasty."

"But why should they pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty? Of course, it is because the Tang Dynasty is stronger."

"It is said that the Arabs are now conquering everywhere and seizing cities everywhere. The Persian Empire has been completely destroyed by the Arabs."

"I didn't say that. It was reported in the court newspaper. I even went to ask the Persians about it. It's true."

"If anyone doesn't believe it, they can go and ask."

"Rome is a great country farther west, similar to our Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire."

"Right now, the Arabs are attacking Rome, so Rome sent an envoy who traveled for a year and finally arrived at our Tang Dynasty, asking Tang Dynasty to send troops to attack the Arabs to relieve Rome's current worries."

"So, the Arabs heard the news and sent envoys to our Tang Dynasty, promising a lot of benefits and asking us not to attack them so that they can focus on attacking Rome."

"And they made a request, hoping that the saint would allow them to take the Roman envoys away and hand them over to the Arabs for disposal."

“Do you think this will work?”

Everyone in the teahouse started talking about it, and the storyteller also took the opportunity to drink some tea to moisten his throat.

Most people think that it is not possible. After all, it is not a good idea to hand over the members of the Roman delegation. Isn't that a betrayal?

How could the Tang Dynasty, a great country and a nation of etiquette, do such a treacherous thing for the sake of profit?

Snapped!
The gavel rang, and the storyteller continued, "In the court, the sage immediately rejected the request of the Arab envoy."

When everyone heard this, they cheered: "The saint is wise!"

The storyteller said mysteriously, "This matter also involves the prince. It is said that there is an extremely beautiful princess in the Roman delegation. She is so beautiful that she is beyond compare."

"Everyone has heard about the incident at Hibiscus Garden, right? When the Crown Prince was assassinated, this Roman princess stepped forward to protect the Crown Princess."

"The Crown Prince thought that Princess Roman had good character, so he took her into the Eastern Palace. I estimate that it won't be long before she will be canonized as the Crown Prince's concubine."

"It will definitely be announced in the official gazette."

The people were most happy to hear gossip about the prince and immediately became interested.

"This Arab envoy not only asked the prince to hand over the Roman princess, but also threatened that if the prince did not hand over the Roman princess, they would send troops to help Goryeo when our Tang Dynasty attacked Goryeo."

"So, the prince said in the palace report that our Great Tang Anxi Protectorate has tens of thousands of soldiers. If there is a war, we can call on the armies of the countries in the Western Regions, up to 300,000 troops."

"If the Arabs dare to invade our Tang Dynasty, these 300,000 troops will be sent directly to the Arabs."

"The Crown Prince has issued an order that anyone who commits an offense against the Tang Dynasty will be punished no matter how far away they are!"

The Anxi Protectorate was established by Hou Junji after he conquered Gaochang Kingdom. It was used to target unstable factors in the Western Regions, such as the Western Turks, in order to maintain the Tang Dynasty's rule in the Western Regions.

The standing military strength is around 30,000, but the army can also be recruited from various tribes in the Western Regions through means such as the policy of control, and the combined strength can reach more than 100,000.

The reason why it is called 300,000 is that it includes the civilian laborers who are responsible for transporting food and supplies.

For example, when attacking Goryeo now, it is not a force of 150,000, but an army of 800,000 to march eastward to Goryeo.

Strictly speaking, it is not too much of an exaggeration, after all, civilians can also be considered members of the army.

The 150,000 troops mobilized more than 400,000 civilians, which is about 600,000 people.

With the addition of the Tang allied army, Silla would certainly respond to the call. The Khitan was also loyal to the Tang Dynasty, so it was normal for them to gather 200,000 people to join the war.

An army of 800,000 is half-deserved of the title.

When the people heard that the Anxi Protectorate had 300,000 troops on the border of the Tang Dynasty, they were immediately excited.

With so many soldiers, what can the Arabs use to fight against our Tang Dynasty?

In the past, the men in Chang'an were silent. Apart from working and supporting their families every day, they had nothing to talk about.

Most of the time, it's women gossiping about other people's families.

But now it’s different. Even if just a few rough guys get together, they can drink some tea and talk about the war for most of the day.

What is the ultimate romance for a man? It is to be a marquis and to have a country and the world.

In order to cultivate the heroic sentiments of the men of the Tang Dynasty, the strange stories in the Tang Dynasty’s official newspapers were mainly biographies of famous military generals from past dynasties.

This issue is about Huo Qubing's conquest of the Huns.

The Arab envoys suddenly became nervous. First there was the siege warning from the Tang Dynasty's Jinwu Guards, and now the prince had issued a declaration in the palace bulletin.

He felt that he had overreached.

The Tang Dynasty could not accept threats. If things got out of hand, the prince might really send troops to attack the Arab Empire in anger.

The official newspaper said that the Anxi Protectorate could mobilize 300,000 troops, and with just one order, they could attack the Arab Empire at any time.

The Arab Empire bordered the Anxi Protectorate and was well aware of its powerful military capability.

(End of this chapter)