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

The Hu merchants in Chang'an West Market were bargaining with the silk merchants in broken Chinese, and Persian silver coins and Kaiyuan Tongbao coins jingled on the counter.

In the Purple Palace of the Daming Palace, Emperor Xuanzong held Li Bai's newly composed poem "Qingping Diao" and ordered his disciples from the Pear Garden to compose music and sing it.

At the canal transport dock outside Luoyang City, three-masted merchant ships were unloading lychees from Lingnan and grapes from the Western Regions. The porters' calls mixed with the sound of camel bells penetrated the morning mist - this was the Tang Dynasty in the 8th century AD, a golden age that future generations would always look up to.

In this vast territory stretching from the Korean Peninsula in the east to the Aral Sea in the west, the names of many brilliant figures have together contributed to the profound significance of the word "Golden Tang Dynasty". Their achievements and talents are like the flowers blooming by the Qujiang Lake, blooming with the most brilliant brilliance in the spring breeze of the times.

In the morning mist of Zhuque Street in Chang'an City, a hat with a green gauze veil always appears on time at the hour of Mao. Although the half face exposed under the brim of the hat is full of wrinkles, the eyes are as sharp as cold stars.

This is Yao Chong, a veteran who has served in the reigns of Wu Zetian, Zhongzong, and Ruizong. He is now rushing to the Taiji Hall to attend the morning court.

This renowned official, honored by Li Longji as the "Prime Minister who saved the time," still had mud on his boots from his inspection tour of Jingzhao Prefecture the previous night. Three days earlier, a locust plague had struck Guanzhong, and while officials at court were still arguing that "locusts are a natural disaster and shouldn't be killed indiscriminately," he had personally gone to the fields with his servants to burn and kill the locusts, sternly retorting, "Idiotic scholars cling to old ways and don't know how to adapt! If we stick to the old ways, the people will have no means of survival!"

In the end, thanks to his efforts, the locust plague was brought under control and the autumn harvest in Guanzhong was not seriously damaged.

Unlike Yao Chong's decisiveness, Song Jing's residence was always filled with the faint scent of pine smoke and ink.

This prime minister, renowned for his "iron face and impartiality," always had a copy of "Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Honest Officials" on his desk. Whenever an official tried to appeal for favoritism, he would point to the book and say, "The ancients governed like a mirror hanging high. If we give in to personal gain today, how can we face the sages of the past?"

On one occasion, Emperor Xuanzong's favorite minister, Wang Maozhong, wanted to obtain a fifth-rank imperial decree for his daughter. Emperor Xuanzong privately discussed the matter with Song Jing, but he sternly refused, saying, "Awards should be based on merit. If relatives of the emperor receive titles without merit, it may lead to political chaos."

It was this kind of incorruptibility that made the administration during the Kaiyuan period as clear as clear water. History records that "when Duke Song was in power, all officials were upright."

There is another genius in the court who must be mentioned - Zhang Shuo.

This prime minister, who was both a literary leader and a military strategist, could draft a letter to the country that would shock the world with his left hand, and formulate a strategy to pacify the border with his right hand.

In the tenth year of the Kaiyuan reign, the Shuofang army reported that Tubo was invading. When the entire court was at a loss as to what to do, Zhang Shuo circled the word "Yanzhou" on a map and said: "This is the throat of Tubo. If we send a brigade to harass them, the enemy will retreat."

As expected, the Tang army acted according to the plan and the Tubo army was defeated without a fight.

When the smoke cleared, he would invite a few good friends to the Qujiang Pavilion for a banquet, during which he would write down the lines "The clouds have disappeared, the rain has stopped, and the sky is bright and clear." His writing style was so vigorous that he was called "the great hand of Yan Xu" by people of his time (Yan refers to Zhang Shuo, and Xu refers to Su Yan, Duke of Xu).

On the battlefield: the iron-blooded general who swallowed the mountains and rivers

On the Gobi Desert of the Hexi Corridor, a Tang army was training the Tang auxiliary army.

The leading general was wearing Ming Guang armor and holding a long spear. He was like an immortal in the chaotic army. He was Guo Ziyi.

At this time, he was just a general of the Shuofang Army, but he had already shown extraordinary military talent.

Thirty years earlier than Guo Ziyi, another famous general was galloping on the battlefield in the Western Regions.

Gao Xianzhi, a general from Goguryeo, was best at creating miracles in desperate situations.

In the sixth year of Tianbao, he led 10,000 Tang troops across the Pamir Plateau and raided the Tubo-controlled Kingdom of Small Bolor.

When the Tang army appeared at the foot of Lianyun Fort, the Tibetan defenders were still drinking and having fun - no one had expected that this army could cross the snow-capped mountains at an altitude of 4,000 meters.

Gao Xianzhi led the charge, wielding a Mo Dao (a sword) to split open the city gate. The Tang army poured in like a tide and captured the castle in less than half a day.

After this battle, 72 countries all sent envoys to the court, and the Tang Dynasty's sphere of influence extended to the west of the Pamir Mountains. The scene of "all nations coming to pay tribute" in the Dunhuang murals is a vivid portrayal of this period of history.

On the battlefield in Northeast China, Xue Rengui's story is still being told today.

This legendary general, who "conquered Tianshan with three arrows", once wore white clothes, held a Fangtian painted halberd, and charged into the battle line alone in the Battle of Anshi City, scaring the Goguryeo army into fleeing.

Emperor Taizong once pointed at him and said to his ministers: "I am not happy to get Liaodong, but I am happy to get Xue Rengui."

Even more admirable was his benevolence. After pacifying the Western Turks, his subordinates suggested massacring the city to deter the invaders, but he firmly opposed it: "The way to use troops is to keep the people safe, not to kill them."

In the end, he not only pardoned the people in the city, but also distributed food to appease them. The local Hu people were grateful for his virtue and erected a monument to commemorate him.

Whenever night falls, bursts of joyful singing can be heard from Pingkangfang in Chang'an, and the most lively place is He Zhizhang's mansion.

The old poet, who calls himself "The Madman of Siming," was drinking and composing poetry with a group of young scholars. Pointing to the newly written words on the wall: "A jasper adorns a tall tree, from which thousands of green silk ribbons dangle," he smiled and said to Li Bai beside him: "Li Bai, look at this spring breeze blowing through the willows. Doesn't it look just like the young ladies of Chang'an?"

Li Bai raised his glass in response: "He Jian's words are very true. If you add the line 'I don't know who cut out these delicate leaves, the spring breeze in February is like a pair of scissors', it would be even better!"

The two men smiled at each other, and the wine spilled on the manuscript, leaving a smudge of ink, but it also brought out the most pleasant time of the literati in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

Li Bai's life itself is a poem of ups and downs. He once "left his country with a sword in hand, bid farewell to his family and traveled far away," and wrote "The spirit swallows the Yunmeng Lake, the waves shake the Yueyang City" by the shore of Dongting Lake.

He also served in Chang'an and drafted an imperial edict for Li Longji in the Golden Palace, asking Yang Guifei to grind the ink and Gao Lishi to take off his boots.

During his exile in Yelang, he gazed at the Yangtze River and wrote, "I left Baidi in the morning amidst the colorful clouds, and returned to Jiangling a thousand miles away in a day." His poetry is as majestic as the surging Yellow River and as free and easy as the bright moon and gentle breeze.

The east and west shopping malls in Chang'an City will always be the places where you can best feel the vitality of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

In the "Dou Family Store" in the West Shopping Mall, the shopkeeper Dou Yi is directing his employees to move goods. This businessman, known as the "richest man in Chang'an", started out by selling candles and now owns dozens of stores, selling everything from silk to jewelry and even spices from the Western Regions.

The "stacking" warehousing technology he invented can double the storage time of goods, attracting merchants from all over the country to come and learn.

In the "Kang Family Pharmacy" in the East Market, Kang Qian, a doctor from the Arab Empire, is taking a patient's pulse.

He combined the Arabic medical skills he brought with traditional Chinese medicine to create unique diagnosis and treatment methods - using bloodletting to treat strokes and using spice fumigation to treat skin diseases, which were deeply trusted by the people of Chang'an.

On the counter of the pharmacy are myrrh imported from Persia, pepper from India, as well as local angelica and astragalus. Chinese and Western medicinal materials coexist harmoniously here, just like the city's all-embracing heart.

Inside the Imperial City's "Command Office," craftsman Yuwen Kai was drawing up plans for the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This master architect, who designed the city of Chang'an, excelled at perfectly combining practicality and beauty. The pagoda's square structure was designed to withstand wind and sand while also embodying the Buddhist concept of "the sky is round and the earth is square."

The stairs inside the tower are designed in a spiral shape, which saves space and is easy to climb.

He also invented the "rammed earth method", which made the city walls as solid as a rock and stood the test of thousands of years of wind and rain.

From the court to the marketplace, from the battlefield to the literary world, these stars shining in the sky of the prosperous Tang Dynasty together outline the spiritual contours of an era.

They used their lives to inject the richest connotations into the word "Golden Tang Dynasty".

It is not only a vast territory, not only the glory of all nations coming to pay tribute, but also a confident and open demeanor, an inclusive mind, and a spirit of pursuing excellence.

At this time, no one had thought of it, and no one would have thought of it.

This prosperous era is like a moon in the water and a flower in a dream.