Tang Dynasty: The Holy Prince, the Dragon that Reigns Over the World

Wu Mei followed Li Chengqian and others to Jingzhou, and sent someone into the city to inform Wu Shigui. When Wu Shigui, the governor of Jingzhou, learned that Li Shimin had arrived in Jingzhou, he hurriedly ordered people to clean up the mansion and led a group of officials to the city gate to greet him.

When Wu Shigui saw Li Shimin's troops, he hurried forward and bowed deeply in front of Li Shimin's carriage.

"I, Duke Ying, the governor of Jingzhou, Wu Shigui, come to see Your Majesty, Your Highness. I am late in meeting you, Your Majesty, and I ask Your Majesty to punish me."

"Your subjects bow to the emperor and the crown prince." The officials behind him also knelt down.

"Haha, everyone, please stand up. I am traveling incognito this time and did not inform local government agencies along the way. What crime has Lord Wu committed?" Li Shimin got out of the car with a smile.

After the officials of Jingzhou stood up, Wu Shigui laughed.

"When I learned that Your Majesty had come to Jingzhou, I was overjoyed. I have already asked my family to clean up my mansion and make it available to Your Majesty. Your Majesty, do you think this is possible?"

"Wu Qing is thoughtful. Wu Qing has been the governor of Jingzhou since the fifth year of Zhenguan. He cracked down on the powerful in Jingzhou, relaxed the labor service, and promoted agriculture and sericulture. He governed Jingzhou very well. Wu Qing has worked hard.

Wu Qing is one of the great Tang Dynasty's most meritorious officials. I haven't seen Wu Qing for a long time. I will stay at your house today and have a good chat with you. "Li Shimin stroked his beard and smiled.

"Chengqian greets Uncle Wu." Li Chengqian saluted with a fist.

Historically, it should have been in the ninth year of Zhenguan that Wu Shigui died while serving as governor of Jingzhou due to grief over the death of retired Emperor Li Yuan. However, at this time, he was in good spirits and showed no signs of illness.

This was also due to Li Chengqian's vigorous development and promotion of the development of medical and health care in Datang, and the establishment of Datang Medical College, appointing Sun Simiao as the dean. After learning the purpose of the medical college, the King of Medicine gladly accepted it and spared no effort to teach the students.

Under the strong promotion of Li Chengqian and Sun Simiao, the medical technology and level of the Tang Dynasty made great progress, and the average life expectancy of the people in the Tang Dynasty also greatly increased.

The group stayed at Wu Shigui's residence. Wu Shigui and his wife were very happy to learn that Wu Mei had become Li Chengqian's maid. After Li Shimin stayed in Jingzhou for three days, the group set out for Yangzhou.

When they arrived in Yangzhou, they saw someone kneeling at the city gate and asking for forgiveness. When they approached, they found that it was Li Xiaogong. Li Shimin heard about this in the car and got off in a hurry.

When Li Xiaogong saw Li Shimin, he immediately bowed his head to the ground and cried.

"The Bai family used the name of a criminal to offend the emperor and offend the crown prince. I, the criminal Li Xiaogong, please punish me, Your Majesty."

"What are you doing, brother? The affairs of the Bai family have nothing to do with you." Li Shimin helped Li Xiaogong up and said.

"The Bai family only provided some supplies for my navy, and I have had contact with their family several times. I didn't expect that they would dare to abuse their power in my name. I have failed to supervise them." Li Xiaogong bowed and said.

"Uncle Wang, my father already knows about this matter. This matter has nothing to do with you, so you don't have to blame yourself. Besides, didn't you execute the Bai family?" Li Chengqian said with a smile.

"Hmph, they dared to offend the emperor and the crown prince, do they still want to live? After I learned about the incident in Jingzhou, I was shocked and angry, and I immediately took people to arrest the Bai family.

I personally chopped off the head of the Bai family. Now the heads of 120 people in the Bai family are still in the navy camp. Your Majesty, please check them." Li Xiaogong said angrily.

"Haha, okay, let's leave it at that. I haven't had a drink with you brother for a long time. Today I will get drunk with you brother. I wonder how brother Xiaogong will arrange for my family." Li Shimin laughed, stroking his beard.

"If Erlang doesn't mind, would you like to come to my house?" Li Xiaogong said with a smile.

"Where else can we go if not to your house? Let's go." Li Shimin said with a smile.

"Please!" Li Xiaogong led everyone towards the palace with a smile.

After they stayed at Li Xiaogong's house for five days, Li Xiaogong ordered his eldest son Li Chongyi to lead the navy to escort Li Shimin and his entourage to Goryeo.

When Li Shimin arrived at the port and saw 10 gunboats like a hill, hundreds of battleships and more than 200 secondary battleships, he sighed.

"This is the battleship that Dalang spent a huge amount of money to build. It is indeed magnificent."

"Haha, Aye, this is just the beginning. The Tang Armament Bureau has already developed a 6-inch cannon for the navy, which is more powerful and has a longer range.

Moreover, the design of a new type of warship has been completed. It is larger and stronger than the current gunboats and will be the backbone of future naval battles. It is called a battleship and named the "Qin" class battleship.

This class of battleships was the first time that the Tang Dynasty built large battleships. The purpose of this plan was to accumulate experience for the subsequent construction of larger battleships. Only five ships of this class were planned to be built.

The first ship 'Daqin', the second ship 'Shihuang', the third ship 'Fusu', the fourth ship 'Ershi', and the fifth ship 'Ziying' have begun construction simultaneously and are expected to be in service by the end of next year.

It won’t be long before Datang will have the largest, most advanced, and most elite fleet in the world. We will conquer the world through the sea. ” Li Chengqian said with a smile.

"Okay, father is looking forward to it." Li Shimin nodded and smiled.

The group boarded the gunboat "Chang'an" and the escort fleet set off. After several days of travel, they arrived at the coast of Goryeo. In front of them, they saw the Goryeo King Li Ke waiting at the port with his queen and children, as well as a group of civil and military officials.

After Li Shimin's ship docked, Li Ke excitedly ran under the ship, knelt down and cried.

"I, Li Ke, pay my respects to my father, mother, and mother. I am far away in Goryeo and cannot serve you. I am unfilial."

"Ke'er, don't stay so far away from me, come up quickly so I can have a good look at you." Li Shimin shouted with tears in his eyes. Upon hearing this, Li Ke immediately stood up, lifted up his skirt, and ran quickly onto the boat.

"Father, I miss you so much." Li Ke knelt in front of Li Shimin and cried bitterly.

"Don't cry, don't cry. My son, your father misses you too." Li Shimin wiped Li Ke's tears and cried.

"Ke'er!" Yang Fei burst into tears at this time, unable to suppress her longing for him, she ran forward to hug Li Ke, and the mother and son hugged each other and cried bitterly. Everyone on the boat was moved and in tears.

"Okay, Aunt Yang, take care of yourself, and brother Ke, don't cry anymore. This reunion is a happy occasion. Let's get off the boat, there are people waiting downstairs." Li Chengqian wiped his tears and said with a smile.

"Yes, brother is right. Come, let's get off the boat." Li Ke stood up, wiped his tears and smiled.

After the group got off the boat, everyone on the shore knelt down hurriedly.

"Welcome to the Saint, Your Majesty the Queen, Your Majesty the Crown Prince, and Concubine Yang."

"Everyone, stand up." Li Shimin said with a smile. Li Shimin and his entourage arrived at the Goryeo Palace, where they were welcomed by the people of Goryeo. Li Shimin stood in front of the palace and bowed.

"I came here mainly to visit my son and have no intention of disturbing the people. Please go back, everyone." After saying this, he turned and entered the palace. After everyone came to the palace hall and sat down, Li Shimin smiled and said.

"Thank you officials for assisting my son in governing Goryeo."

"This is our duty, and we dare not complain." The Goryeo ministers stood up and saluted.

"My son has governed Goryeo in an orderly manner. I am very pleased as a father." Li Shimin said with satisfaction, stroking his beard.

"Yes, Brother Ke promoted education, developed the economy, and encouraged agriculture and sericulture in Goryeo. Goryeo is now politically stable and harmonious, with rich land and prosperous people. Brother Ke is truly a wise king with great talent, and your contribution is indispensable." Li Chengqian nodded and smiled.

"Thank you for your compliment, elder brother. I just want to live up to the trust and responsibility of my father and elder brother, so I do things with all my heart." Li Ke said with a smile.

"Brother Maogong (Li Ji's pen name), it's been many years since we last met. I hope you are in good health." Li Shimin said with a smile.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am fine." Li Ji said with a smile.

"Brother Maogong has guarded Goryeo for many years and has made great contributions. Now that Goryeo is at peace, I intend to abolish the Andong Protectorate. You and Dingfang will come back to the capital with me and they will be used for other important tasks. The 10 troops of the Andong Protectorate will be under the command of Ke'er." Li Shimin said.

"Yes." Li Ji and Su Dingfang stood up and responded happily.

Just as everyone was chatting and laughing, the guard came to report that Queen Seondeok of Silla and the Crown Prince wanted to see her.

Li Shimin was stunned when he heard this, looked at Li Chengqian with a strange look, and let Shande in.

After Seondeok led the 5-year-old Silla Crown Prince Lee Nyunchu into the hall, the two of them bowed deeply.

"Your Highness, Queen Seondeok of Silla, and your son, Yi Nianchu, come to pay respect to His Majesty the Emperor of the Upper Kingdom. I also pay respect to His Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the Crown Prince of the Upper Kingdom."

"Haha, Shan De, there's no need to be so polite. Please stand up. The person next to you is my grandson Nian Chu?" Li Shimin said with a smile.

"Nianchu, why don't you call someone?" Shan De stood up and said to Li Nianchu.

"Nianchu greets grandfather, grandmother, and father." Li Nianchu clasped his fists and bowed.

Li Chengqian said with a smile as he looked at his third son, whom he had only met two or three times.

"Nian Chu, come to your father."

"Aye." Li Nianchu walked up to Li Chengqian and called out timidly to this father who seemed both strange and familiar to him.

"Good boy Nianchu." Li Chengqian said while touching Li Nianchu's head. Looking at this son who was born in order to carry out the plan to annex Silla, Li Chengqian still felt very guilty.

Since she fell in love with Li Chengqian, Shande has been keeping her virginity for him, often writing to him to express her longing for him. She has also repeatedly expressed her desire to abdicate the throne to someone else and reunite with Li Chengqian with her children.

At this time, Silla actually no longer needed any annexation plan. Everyone in the world knew that the Queen of Silla had given birth to a son for the Prince of Tang, who was now the Crown Prince of Silla. In fact, Silla already belonged to Tang.

In fact, at the beginning, Li Chengqian wanted to keep the matter secret for Shande's safety. However, Shande refused to obey and named the child Li Nianchu after giving birth. This was equivalent to directly announcing to the world that the child was a descendant of the Tang Dynasty Li family. There was no point in hiding it.

So Li Chengqian simply admitted openly that the future King of Silla was his child. Once this matter was brought up, there was no major reaction in the Tang Dynasty.

The people of the Tang Dynasty all thought that it was an honor for the Tang Dynasty's holy prince to sleep with a foreign queen. In Silla, there was an uproar. Members of the Silla royal family and many ministers wrote to ask Seondeok to abdicate, or marry a Silla noble and give birth to a child as soon as possible. They must not let someone with Tang blood inherit the Silla throne.

Sundeok was very tough and executed several royal family members and ministers. The remaining royal family members who had submitted petitions saw this and resolutely started a rebellion. The rebels were so powerful that they occupied most of Silla in a short period of time. Seeing this, Sundeok immediately asked Li Ke for help.

When Li Ke learned about this, he immediately ordered the Andong Protectorate to send troops to rescue. Under the leadership of Su Dingfang, 10 troops from the Andong Protectorate entered Silla at the fastest speed and suppressed the rebellion in the shortest possible time. All the rebels were executed by slow slicing.

Su Dingfang spoke frankly in the Silla palace.

"Silla is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. The Crown Prince of Silla is the son of my Crown Prince, and Queen Seondeok is the Crown Princess of the Tang Dynasty. Anyone who dares to bully and oppose the son of my Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty to inherit your Silla throne is provoking the Tang Dynasty.

My crown prince has something to tell you: my son will be your King of Silla while Silla still exists. Otherwise, I will simply swallow up your Silla.

Also, don't think about bullying my wife and son, otherwise the 100,000-strong Andong Protectorate army in Goryeo will come to take revenge at any time.

Don't even think about playing dirty tricks. Do you think the Jinyiwei under my command are just there to eat and do nothing?"

Seeing the strong intervention of the Tang Dynasty, the people of Silla had no choice but to accept Li Nianchu's status as the Crown Prince of Silla.

"Are you my third brother Li Nianchu?" Li Yun asked curiously, looking at this third brother he had never met.

"I'm Li Nianchu, who are you?" Li Nianchu frowned as he looked at Li Yun.

"I am your elder brother Li Yun." Li Yun said with a smile.

"You are the Holy Grandson of the Great Tang Dynasty, your father's eldest son Li Yun?" Li Nianchu said with a little surprise.