Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Li Chengqian patted Du He on the shoulder and said, "Du He, the five beauties you sent back before all gave birth to sons for you, and now the 21 beauties have also given birth to sons."

"You're truly my lucky star!"

Seeing Li Chengqian laughing wildly, Du He's joy was palpable; she immediately knew he had made a lot of money.

The amount is probably quite large.

Du He asked softly, "Your Majesty, how much silver did you earn in these two trading sessions?"

"Do you have a million strings of cash?"

Upon hearing Du He's guess, Li Chengqian's face revealed a smug expression.

Is a mere 100 million strings of cash really called silver?

Isn't this an insult to him?

Li Chengqian said with a smile, "Du He, your guess is too conservative. To tell you the truth, I made a total of more than 385 million guan in the two rounds of trading."

"It's a pity that all of your concubines have given birth to children, otherwise I could have made even more money."

The closer to the end, the fewer men there were whose concubines all gave birth to sons, and the more silver he earned.

Upon hearing that Li Chengqian had made so much money, Du He immediately reached out her hand to Li Chengqian.

"Your Majesty, shouldn't you give me some silver?"

"You don't need to give so much, just give me three or four hundred thousand strings of cash."

Ha ha.

This guy is as greedy as ever.

Li Chengqian slapped Du He's hand away: "You little rascal, you're really greedy. I've already sent 10 strings of cash to the princess's residence, so don't even think about my money."

"Not counting the taxes earned from your fiefdom, your wives and concubines alone can earn you millions of strings of cash a year."

"You have more money than you can spend."

Thinking of the workshops that Li Yi had set up, which could earn more than 600 million strings of cash a year, he was extremely envious.

Du He smiled and said, "Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty."

After some pleasantries.

Li Chengqian also praised Hou Junji, Xue Rengui, Pei Xingjian, Cheng Yaojin, and others. When he passed by Xue Wanche, he snorted heavily.

Sensing the Emperor's anger, Xue Wanche broke out in a cold sweat.

Clearly, Li Chengqian remembered Xue Wanche's act of leading troops to plunder gold and silver.

More than a quarter of an hour passed.

Li Chengqian stepped onto the imperial carriage and said, "My beloved ministers, you will return to Chang'an with me. I have already prepared a banquet in the Linde Hall of the Daming Palace to celebrate your victory!"

The soldiers shouted in unison.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Chengqian might have wanted to invite Du He to ride in the imperial carriage, but now that Du He's achievements overshadowed the emperor, how could he dare to be so ostentatious?

He chose to ride a horse and obediently followed behind Li Chengqian's imperial carriage.

Back to the outskirts of Chang'an.

Du He and his generals rode their horses onto the wide stone road, their faces filled with surprise as they looked at the two- or three-story houses, the bustling commercial street, and the several huge workshops that stood on both sides.

In particular, the people lining the streets to welcome them were all wearing thick cotton-padded clothes.

The city of Chang'an has undergone tremendous changes since they set out on their campaign.

Hou Junji exclaimed with emotion, "I have only been away from Chang'an for four years, but I never imagined that the city would develop into what it is today. It truly is a transformation of the world!"

"This is truly the golden age of the Tang Dynasty!"

They had walked a long way, and the people on both sides of the road were not only wearing cotton clothes, but their faces were also full of color.

It is evident that people's lives have improved significantly in recent years.

Pei Xingjian also spoke up, saying, "If development continues at the current pace, the Tang Dynasty will probably be even more prosperous and powerful in 10 years."

"I wonder if the Institute of Physics has managed to build a steam engine yet!"

What he cares about most right now is the steam engine developed by the Institute of Physics, after all, he has devoted several years of his life to it.

Du He's expression shifted slightly upon hearing their words.

Before he could speak, the people on both sides of the road knelt down and shouted.

"See Your Majesty!"

"Greetings, King Han!"

"May the Great Tang Dynasty live ten thousand years! May His Majesty live ten thousand years! May the King of Han live a thousand years!"

The cheers of the people rose like a giant wave, stretching endlessly.

When Du He heard the shouts of the people, his eyelids twitched slightly, but when he looked at Li Chengqian on the dragon carriage, he found that the guy was winking at him.

Good guy!

It turned out that Li Chengqian had given the order from behind the scenes.

Du He simply smiled and waved to the people on both sides of the road, without shouting any slogans.

The group of beauties from the Western Regions, sitting inside the carriage, opened the curtains and looked at the houses and people on both sides, their faces filled with curiosity.

"Is this Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Indeed, it's bustling!"

"It seems that marrying a general of the Tang Dynasty is not such a bad thing after all."

Although they were nobles from various countries, living in bustling capitals or large cities, their countries' cities were not even in the same league as Chang'an.

Moreover, they saw many people who looked similar to them among the welcoming crowd.

A sense of familiarity welled up within me...

...

More than half an hour later.

Li Chengqian, Du He, civil and military officials, and the concubines of a group of generals strode into the Linde Hall.

Besides Li Shimin and Li Tai, Li Lizhi, Li Yi, Princess Gaoyang, and others were also inside the main hall.

After a bow.

Du He sat down next to Li Yi, who was pouting, took her hand, and said gently, "Yi'er, your husband has missed you so much."

"Humph."

Li Yi snorted lightly, then pointed to the group of beautiful women behind him and said, "With so many beauties by your side and a whole bunch of sons, where is there any place for me in your heart?"

Sensing Li Yi's strong jealousy, Du He's lips curled into a slight smile.

Du He kissed her cheek and said with a smile, "Yi'er, it is your and His Majesty's order for me to take a concubine. I am just following orders."

"The most important person in my heart is only you."

"You don't know, I've been having these dreams a lot lately. I dream of holding your hand and strolling in the garden, of telling you stories under the full moon, of..."

Hearing Du He's sweet words, Li Yi's face showed a shy smile.

Li Yi also kissed Du He: "Hmph! Since you think about me every day, I'll forgive you for taking a bunch of concubines behind my back!"

While the two were whispering sweet nothings to each other, they noticed that the main hall was very quiet.

Du He and Li Yi looked up and found that everyone's eyes were on them, with amused smiles on their faces.

A blush immediately spread across Li Yi's fair face, and she shyly hid in Du He's arms.

Du He, however, was thick-skinned; he smiled and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the crowd.

After this little episode.

Li Shimin stroked his beard and said, "Du He, you really are capable. In just four years, you led an army of a million to destroy hundreds of countries and expanded the territory of the Tang Dynasty by tens of thousands of miles."

"It seems that I will live to see the world unified!"

"Du He, I toast you."

Seeing that Li Shimin spoke first, Li Chengqian, who was sitting to the side, moved his mouth, but did not say anything more.

Du He quickly raised his wine cup in return, saying, "Please, Your Majesty."

A glass of wine.

Du He then took a good look at Li Shimin and found that although Li Shimin had aged a bit, he still looked quite energetic.

Looks like we can hold out for many more years!

Li Chengqian also raised his cup and said, "King Han and all my beloved ministers, you have been leading troops in battles all this time, not only expanding the territory of the Tang Dynasty by thousands of miles, but also capturing a large amount of gold, silver and beautiful women."

"I toast you all!"