Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

During the eleventh year of Qianwu, the Tang Dynasty was at its peak, prosperous and radiant.

In this turbulent era, major events are like bright stars, embedded in the long river of history, shining brightly.

Lin Dafu saw the respect that the people of the Tang Dynasty had for the civil and military officials of the Zhenguan period, so he took the opportunity to sell a complete set of portraits of the civil and military officials of the Zhenguan period.

For a time, these portraits bloomed like flowers in spring in the streets and alleys of the Tang Dynasty.

Among them, the portraits depicting Li Shimin and Li Chengqian are the most outstanding. The paintings are exquisitely crafted and lifelike, and the majesty and demeanor of the two are integrated into the brush and ink. Once they were released, they were in short supply and were jokingly called "the portraits of Class A" by the people.

Qianyu Chamber of Commerce took advantage of this opportunity and made a fortune.

Everyone thought that portraits of Li Shimin and Li Chengqian were expensive and difficult to obtain, but they did not realize that in the end almost every household had one.

It turned out that the Qianyu Chamber of Commerce had already adopted the strategy of unlimited supply to satisfy the people's love for the two core figures of the Tang Dynasty.

The people did not care about this. After all, it was such an honor to be able to welcome the portraits of the two majesties into their homes.

In ordinary people's homes, portraits of Yuchi Jingde and Qin Shubao are posted on the door. When you push the door open and enter, you will see portraits of Li Shimin and Li Chengqian hanging side by side in the main hall, accepting offerings from the people.

The surrounding portraits are arranged according to personal preference. If a family has a child who aspires to study literature, they will hang portraits of officials such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Wei Zheng.

If the children in the family are interested in martial arts, portraits of military generals such as Li Jing, Li Ji, and Hou Junji will be hung up.

The wealthy families pursued the ultimate goal and collected a complete set of 256 portraits of the civil and military officials of the Zhenguan period. They set aside a room in their homes, carefully decorated it, and hung these portraits one by one.

During every festival, the whole family gathers here to solemnly pay homage to the Tang Dynasty’s civil and military leaders who have made immortal contributions to the country.

In their minds, although the gods are said to have great supernatural powers, they are illusory and elusive.

These famous officials of the Zhenguan period all existed in reality, and their stories were passed down orally among the people and were known to every household.

With the "protection" of these ancestors, it seems that no ghosts or bad luck dare to approach the house.

Time flies like a white horse passing by, and in the blink of an eye it is the second day of June in the eleventh year of Qianwu.

On this day, Hou Junji, the veteran who had fought for the Tang Dynasty for half his life, passed away suddenly.

When the news came, Li Shimin was extremely sad and burst into tears again.

Since following Li Shimin, Hou Junji has fought in many battles, and experienced life and death. During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he stood firmly by Li Shimin, gave him advice, and helped Li Shimin ascend to the throne.

During the Zhenguan period, he led the army to war and made great military achievements. He was one of the generals that Li Shimin relied on most.

Now that the old general has passed away, Li Shimin's grief is beyond words.

Upon hearing the sad news of Hou Junji's death, generals including Li Ji, Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Yaojin, and Su Dingfang rushed to offer their condolences.

At this time, Yuchi Jingde was old and in poor health, and he could hardly walk independently.

But even so, he still insisted on coming, just to see his old friend off for the last time.

Time has carved deep wrinkles on his face, and his hearing has gradually deteriorated. He often has trouble hearing what others say to him.

Li Ji, the most robust among the veterans, silently took on the responsibility of taking care of Yuchi Jingde. He even pushed Yuchi Jingde's wheelchair himself.

His figure is tall and steady, showing the world the tenacity of the veterans of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Jingyou witnessed all this.

He gradually understood that a funeral was a death, and every funeral meant that Aung had lost a friend.

He knew the sadness in Aong's heart, because he had seen such scenes too many times in his memory, and he could not imagine how many times Aong had to endure such grief.

Li Chengqian gave Hou Junji extremely high posthumous honors.

Hou Junji was buried in Zhaoling Mausoleum and posthumously awarded honors. The court suspended court for three days in his honor.

Although Li Chengqian had a bad temper, he was always loyal to the Tang Dynasty and to himself.

His departure is a great loss to the Tang Dynasty, and this posthumous honor is what he deserves.

At the beginning of the eleventh year of Qianwu, Li Chengqian announced to the world that a New Year's Day celebration would be held at the end of this year.

This New Year's Day celebration was different from the previous ones. After years of expanding its territory, the Tang Dynasty had become powerful and its territory had reached its largest in history. Neighboring countries were annexed one after another, and the scene of thousands of nations coming to pay tribute was no longer there.

But precisely because of this, the people are full of anticipation for this New Year's Day celebration, and they all believe that it will be an event of unprecedented scale.

The Qianyu Chamber of Commerce also started preparations early and was busy for a whole year, investing a lot of manpower, material and financial resources. The thoroughness of its preparations is unimaginable.

At the same time, in the distant battlefield of the Western Regions, Xue Rengui ushered in an unexpected victory.

He led his army to defeat the Arabs and gained a great advantage.

At that time, Arabia was in a turbulent period of dynastic change. The ruler was Caliph Ali, whose dynasty was called the Ali Dynasty by the Arabs.

Xue Rengui's army was like a divine force sent from heaven, advancing with unstoppable force all the way to the capital of the Arab dynasty.

The success of this battle was beyond even Xue Rengui's expectations. Under his cavalry, cities were easily conquered as if they were taken out of a bag.

Before they knew it, the army had reached Medina, the capital of the Arab Empire.

Medina also moved its capital to Kufa and changed its name to New Medina.

At this time, Ali was leading the main force to fight in Heluwan. The country was short of troops and there was no army that could stop Xue Rengui's 20,000 cavalry.

Ali knew that the situation was critical, and in order to avoid being entangled by the Tang army, he had no choice but to sign the thirty-two-article treaty.

According to the treaty, Arabia had to pay huge amounts of materials and wealth to the Tang Dynasty every year.

This decision caused great suffering to the Arab people. The heavy taxes were like a mountain, making it difficult for them to breathe.

But Ali did not care about the suffering of the people. What he wanted in his mind was to buy time first, wait for the domestic situation to stabilize, and achieve unification, and then accumulate strength to deal with the Tang Dynasty.

In his opinion, he could only temporarily sacrifice the interests of the people and make them suffer even more.

On the other hand, the Tang Dynasty, while preparing for the New Year's Day celebrations, was also actively consolidating the newly opened territories and strengthening exchanges and integration with surrounding areas.

The people in the country live and work in peace and contentment, the economy prospers and develops, and culture and art have reached unprecedented heights.

Talents emerge in many fields such as poetry, painting, and music, and excellent works are produced frequently.

The city of Chang'an was bustling with traffic, and merchants and travelers from different regions came and went, bringing with them rare treasures and unique cultures from all over the world.

During the preparations for the New Year's Day celebrations, the entire Chang'an was immersed in a busy and joyful atmosphere.

Craftsmen meticulously carved the decorations needed for the celebration, and the streets and alleys were hung with red lanterns and colorful ribbons, filling the air with a festive atmosphere.

The people were also preparing for the ceremony. They bought new clothes, prepared delicious food, and looked forward to the day when they would witness the glory of the Tang Dynasty together.