Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Du He looked at Li Chengqian, who was visibly excited, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

This is his true feeling.

At the court meeting just now, Li Chengqian solemnly refused to ascend the throne. Anyone who didn't know the situation would really think he was a very filial son.

Du He cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, rest assured. I have brought back 27 troops this time. If I go to Yongzhou to gather another 3 troops, we will be able to assemble a total of 30 troops."

"During this time, I had Xue Rengui and Xi Junmai lead the soldiers in rehearsing formations. They will definitely show their most majestic side when the time comes."

These more than 200,000 troops have just returned from their mission, and their spirits are completely different.

Those soldiers who had never been on the battlefield had eyes and auras that were incomparable to those veteran soldiers who had fought countless battles.

Especially fierce generals like Xue Rengui and Xi Junmai, who exuded a murderous aura at all times.

There was a pause.

Du He continued, "I'll take some time this afternoon to go to the manor and see how many fireworks the Taoist priests have made, and try to get them to make more."

"At that time, fireworks will be set off simultaneously in the palace and the 27 wards!"

Chang'an has a total of 108 wards, but they are not far apart. Fireworks are set off in the middle of four wards, and the residents of all four wards can see them.

Moreover, the effect of more than ten fireworks exploding at the same time is much better than that of one or two fireworks.

"it is good!"

Li Chengqian nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "Du He, my enthronement ceremony must be made quite a grand affair."

"This is the first step for an emperor of all ages to step onto the stage!"

What?

Emperor of all ages?

Where did Li Chengqian learn those words?

Based on his understanding of Li Chengqian, he shouldn't have said such a thing.

Du He asked curiously, "Your Highness, your self-proclaimed title of 'Eternal Emperor' sounds very majestic. Did you come up with that title yourself?"

"Or is it some minister who addresses you with such respect?"

Two people had already popped into his mind: Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu.

These two are glib-tongued, each speaking more eloquently than the other; these slanderous words do indeed sound like their own.

After all, only these two people could please Li Chengqian with flattery.

On the imperial platform.

Li Chengqian shook his head: "Du He, this is not what I thought, it is Xu Jingzong's respectful address to me."

"Isn't this title more imposing than 'Heavenly Khan'?"

It really was that Xu Jingzong.

Du He cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, once the Tang Dynasty destroys all the countries in the world, you will be the ruler of all under heaven. What need is there for this trivial title of Emperor of Eternity?"

"It would be better to give him titles like the Great Emperor of Primordial Chaos, the Heavenly Emperor, or the Great Emperor of the Universe."

Upon hearing Du He mention the emperor's title, Li Chengqian's eyes lit up.

Not bad!

The Great Emperor of Hongmeng sounds pretty good!

According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the chaotic state before the creation of heaven and earth is called Hongmeng, which is the state at the beginning of all things.

It sounds even more domineering than the First Emperor!

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Du He, after I have swept across all the countries under heaven, you must write a mythological autobiography for me."

"Let's call it 'The Legend of the Primordial Emperor'!"

He had a copy of "The Legend of Emperor Ziwei" about his father, and after reading it, he couldn't sleep for a long time. He wished Du He would write an autobiography for him right away.

However, we haven't swept across the world yet, so we still have to wait.

Otherwise, before the great cause of sweeping across the world is completed, he would start making Du He write a mythological autobiography, which would make him seem very ambitious.

The Legend of the Great Emperor Hongmeng?

I shouldn't have been so talkative; I've just created so much work for myself.

Du He muttered a few complaints to himself, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, after you unify the world, I will definitely write a mythological autobiography for you."

"Ah."

Li Chengqian nodded with satisfaction.

For the next half hour, the two talked about the major events that had happened recently.

Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and said, "Du He, the census was completed half a month ago. Apart from the slaves from the Western Turks and India, do you know how many people there are in our Great Tang now?"

"Try to guess!"

Seeing Li Chengqian's smug expression, Du He knew that the amount would not be low.

Besides the millions of newborns and hundreds of thousands of young women from various countries, the number of unregistered tenant farmers and retainers is also considerable.

After pretending to think for a while...

Du He asked softly, "Are there 2400 million people?"

"not enough."

"Could it be 2600 million?"

"You're still guessing too little."

Li Chengqian shook his head, a mischievous smile on his face.

He didn't let Du He continue guessing, but said with a smile, "Du He, there are currently more than 2900 million people in the Tang Dynasty, and there are more than 200 million of them who are not registered in the household registration system!"

Hey!

How could the official families, gentry families, and temples of the Tang Dynasty hide people like that?

No wonder those top aristocratic families can command tens of thousands of people at a time. Besides their clansmen, they have quite a few hidden members!

Li Chengqian continued, "When the Ministry of Revenue was counting the population, they also took the opportunity to count the number of pregnant women."

"Currently, there are approximately one million pregnant women, and the population will increase significantly next year."

There was a pause.

Li Chengqian continued, "The beautiful young women from India and Tibet should also be rewarded to the soldiers as soon as possible, so that they can have more children!"

"The territory that the Tang Dynasty possesses now is too vast. Even if we spread out these few people, it feels like there aren't many of them."

The Ministry of Revenue reported to him that Liaodong Circuit, Sishui Circuit, and Jincheng Circuit were sparsely populated areas with few people.

Not to mention the territories of the Eastern Turks and Xueyantuo, where there were hardly any people at all.

Du He exclaimed with emotion, "Your Highness, it seems that our national policy of providing subsidies and rewards for childbirth has played a tremendous role!"

"The people who have been hiding in the temples can be released now, so that they can also expand their territory and spread their descendants!"

It is not appropriate to target the hidden populations of officials, gentry, and princes at present, but the temples that amass wealth and hide people are entirely within the scope of the court's crackdown.

Li Chengqian said in a deep voice, "After I ascend the throne, I will definitely issue a decree to suppress Buddhism!"

"Now is a time when the imperial court is in dire need of funds; it's time for them to serve the court!"

He didn't actually dislike temples, nor did he dislike enlightened monks like Xuanzang; he simply hated those who amassed wealth through greed.

If those fake monks are kept around, they will endanger the people of the Tang Dynasty.

Du He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Your Highness is wise."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, then stepped down from the imperial platform and asked, "Du He, during this period, the vassal kings have been submitting memorials one after another, all hoping that I will bestow titles upon the vassal kings when I ascend the throne."

"But I don't think it's the right time yet. Do you have a reason to stop those vassal kings?"

Besides his brothers, even his uncles, including Prince Jing (Li Yuanjing), Prince Zheng (Li Yuanli), Prince Han (Li Yuanjia), and Prince Qiao (Li Yuanming), are starting to get restless.

Thinking about it for a long time.

Du He cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, you can tell the vassal kings of the world that the enfeoffment of vassal kings will be completed in two steps."

"The first step is to bestow titles upon the Four Extreme Kings, and the second step is to sweep across the world before bestowing titles upon the Four Extreme Kings again."

"When you expand into the Western Regions, you can also get these vassal kings to send troops, provide them with targets to attack, and the conquered territories will all be their fiefdoms."

After listening.

Li Chengqian chuckled and said, "Good idea, Du He, you're quite clever!"

He felt more at ease letting those vassal kings expand their territories themselves.

Let’s finish talking about business.

Du He asked curiously, "Your Highness, would you be so kind as to reveal my appointment now?"