Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"Great victory! Great victory!"

"His Majesty the Retired Emperor's western expedition against the Western Turks has resulted in a great victory at Jinshi Mountain!"

"A great victory was achieved, defeating an army of 180,000 Turks, killing over 30,000 and capturing 110,000! A resounding victory!!!"

The moment a messenger sergeant, who had galloped all the way from the western front of the Gaochang Kingdom without stopping for a moment, burst into Taiyuan Prefecture, his voice blaring.

At the city gate of Taiyuan Prefecture, following the traffic signs hanging above the gate, caravans and carriages were waiting in an orderly fashion to enter the city, or the carriages of dignitaries who came to Taiyuan Prefecture for sightseeing.

They immediately lifted the carriage curtains.

The businessmen who were discussing business matters in the carriage gasped in shock when they heard the news of the victory that had rushed into the city gate.

"So fast?!"

"Is that all the Turkic Khan, Siyehu, is capable of? Didn't he lead the Turks on a westward expedition against the Persians? Surely his strength can't be this weak?"

"Ha! Strength? If they really had strength, Persia would have been conquered long ago. Why would these Turkic barbarians keep running into obstacles?"

"Hahaha, what Siyegu Khan? Now our Great Tang has annihilated the 180,000-strong Turkic army, and more than half of them have been captured by our Great Tang. The Western Turks are severely weakened. Let alone Siyegu Khan, whether they can have any Khans in the future is uncertain!"

"Who said that? Isn't our Crown Prince also revered as the true Khan by the people of the grasslands?"

"Hahaha, absolutely, absolutely, I had forgotten about that..."

Taiyuan Prefecture, with Longmen Street on both sides leading directly to Yangcheng Palace in the north of the city.

Nowadays, the prices of shops have been driven up by merchants to more than double what they are on both sides of Zhuque Street in Chang'an. Anyone who wants a place in the Tang Dynasty's business world now has to pay the price.

Without a shopfront on Longmen Street as a headquarters or office, one can hardly call oneself a major merchant.

now.

Along both sides of Longmen Street, which is bustling with commercial activity, stand rows of antique-style buildings that also incorporate the modern Chinese architectural style of the Architecture Department of the Tang Dynasty Imperial University.

It doesn't have the awe-inspiring presence of later skyscrapers, but it evokes a profound sense of history and culture.

now.

Inside the headquarters of these chambers of commerce, senior executives are discussing their current business investments and development directions in Goguryeo in a conference room.

Suddenly, the sound of galloping horses came from outside the window, along with shouts of good news.

The group, who had been arguing fiercely about whether to invest in a "farm" or a "mine," were now in a state of heated debate.

They all gasped in shock.

"A great victory? The 180,000-strong Western Turkic army was wiped out so quickly?!"

They were arguing about whether the Chamber of Commerce should invest heavily in the area, given that the Tang Dynasty might suffer from harassment by small groups of Western Turks for a long time to come and the security situation in the Goguryeo region was yet to be confirmed.

This was all due to the appearance of this good news.

It twisted 180 degrees.

"Great news! With the Western Turkic army of 180,000 defeated, the Western Turks are like grasshoppers after autumn; they won't be able to hop around for much longer! This is fantastic news!"

"Increase investment! We must increase investment. I suggest we sell some of our properties in Jiannan Road, or temporarily mortgage them to the Royal Bank, and invest all the loans obtained in Gaochang!"

"That's right! Our Tang army will definitely be stationed there for a long time to consolidate our territory... In the future, the Western Regions will not only have the Silk Road under the control of our Tang Dynasty, facilitating communication with western countries, but also a considerable population, and the region will have great potential!"

The cavalrymen who brought the news of victory have just been placed inside Yangcheng Palace.

The top officials of the major chambers of commerce in Taiyuan Prefecture were already in a hurry and increased their commercial investment in the Western Regions once again.

It is foreseeable that this year's Tang Dynasty commercial tax revenue will be a figure that will shock everyone.

Shougong Hall.

"it is good!"

Li Chengqian's reaction to this good news from the front lines was not particularly strong.

After expressing his admiration, he smiled and nodded.

"Your Highness, in this way, the predicament in the Western Regions has been completely resolved! Hahaha..." Li Gang, who was over eighty years old, laughed at this moment, and his voice sounded as if he had become more than ten years younger.

Without Li Chengqian lifting a finger, he immediately stood up from his seat.

He waved his hand, refusing the help of the eunuch Sun Yi, and went to a sand table inside the Shougong Hall.

Remove the flag representing the Western Turks, and then plant a flag representing the Tang Dynasty in the direction of the Western Turks.

Yu Shinan couldn't help but laugh and scold.

"Lord Li is getting on in years, why is he in such a hurry? The Western Turks are vast, and our Great Tang cannot possibly conquer them in a short time..."

Li Gang waved his hand dismissively.

"Hahaha, we can't eat it, but... it's rotting in our pot! When we eat it, how we eat it, isn't that all up to us in the Great Tang Dynasty?"

The atmosphere inside the Shougong Hall was joyful.

Li Chengqian nodded.

“Master Li is right. Now that the situation has been stabilized, the railway, which originally would have taken some time to build, can be planned ahead of schedule. As long as the main line from Gaochang City to Liangzhou and then to Taiyuan Prefecture is planned, the railway will be built... Hehe.”

"Our Great Tang Dynasty can completely control that area!"

He waved his hand and said, "Issue my decree! All families of the soldiers and officers of the Western Expedition shall be rewarded with fifty taels of silver! Local counties and prefectures shall add rice, flour, and cooking oil as appropriate!"

During dinner, Li Zhi, Li Lizhi, and other younger siblings who sat at the same table with Li Chengqian could clearly feel the joy in their elder brother's heart.

Even the imperial chef Chu Dahai was beaming with joy as he chatted happily with his colleagues in the imperial kitchen.

"His Highness the Crown Prince ate a meal meant for four people today! That's one more serving than usual! Hahaha, His Highness is in a very good mood after the great victory in the western expedition!"

"Hehe, with such a great victory in the western expedition, many of the specialties from the Western Regions that were previously only obtainable through foreign merchants and tribute will surely be produced quickly, given His Highness's temperament. Our Tang Dynasty people will have even more to eat on their tables!"

"I think that now that our Great Tang Dynasty has conquered so much land, the people must be having babies like crazy, hahaha..."

The Northern Circuit of the Great Tang Dynasty.

Currently, a large amount of grassland in Zhenbeidao remains unused.

Mohedu Khan led a large army of nearly 200,000 men, including former herdsmen from the left flank and Turkic troops who were willing to follow him, taking various detours along the way.

They managed to evade the eyes and ears of the Tang Dynasty's western expeditionary army and the right wing of the Turkic tribes of the Siyehu.

We took a detour from Mobei and entered Zhenbei Road.

however.

The atmosphere of negativity and panic within the group became increasingly pronounced and intense as news of Si Yehu and his men's crushing defeat reached them.

From tribal leaders to ordinary herders.

They were filled with trepidation about their journey to the Tang Dynasty.

That crown prince of the Tang Dynasty... was not a kind person.

He did not share the stereotypes that Turks held about the rulers of the Central Plains dynasties. He did not care about face or reputation, even if there were tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people.

They could all be ruthlessly enslaved by the other party.

Today, among the Turkic people of the Tang Dynasty, apart from Ashina She'er and the other members of the earliest group who joined the Tang at Yanmen Pass and are living a good life they never dared to dream of before.

Like the former subordinates of Jieli and Tuli who were captured.

They're still mining and building roads in places like Jiuyuan City in Zhenbei Road, or Datong in Yunzhou...

Even though it's already springtime, the Zhenbei Road still has a bone-chilling cold after the heavy rain.

The act of sneaking into the northern route of Datang Town made all the members of the Western Turkic Left Wing tribe feel like thieves.

"Did it work? Say something if it worked!"

Mohedu Khan Ashina Quli anxiously pulled at his personal physician, while the other tribal leaders beside him also looked tense and anxious.

"Great Khan, please don't rush me, let me take another look..." The physician reached out and took Ashina Quli's daughter's pulse.

Faced with a matter concerning the lives of hundreds of thousands of Turks, even though he was very confident, he had no choice but to do his best.

After a long while, just as Moheduo was about to question him again.

He finally nodded heavily.

"It's true! Congratulations, Great Khan! Princess Huozhen is indeed pregnant!"

"it is good!!!"

Huozhen means princess in Turkic.

Upon hearing these words, the Turkic girl, whose face looked somewhat haggard, relaxed a little.

Meanwhile, the other tribal leaders urged the physician to take their daughters' pulses.

"Chief Tubenmu, your daughter is also pregnant."

"Chief Painda, your daughter is pregnant too..."

These were news items that would have enraged them in the past, but now they seemed like blessings bestowed upon them by the Eternal Heaven.

This prompted some of the Turkic leaders and chieftains to start cheering and dancing on the spot...

Zheng Wuhe was tied in a spread-eagle position inside the carriage, on a "bed" covered with soft animal hides.

His empty eyes suddenly erupted with intense and inexplicable anger upon seeing Ashina Quli lift the carriage curtain.

"Ashina Quli! You son of a bitch! How dare you do such a thing to your grandfather?! Do you think my Great Tang Dynasty will let you off the hook?!"

"You're dreaming!"

"Don't think that you can live just by letting your daughter get pregnant with one of our Tang envoys' children. Even if she gets pregnant with a child of royalty, do you think our Crown Prince will let you off the hook?!"

Zheng Wuhe's cursing instantly drew weak shouts from the Tang envoys in the carriages nearby.

"Ashina Quli! You son of a bitch!"

"Ashina Quli, you fucking dare to send your wife to me too! Damn it!"

"Ashina Quli, you have ruined my reputation! Just you wait, just you wait and see how I deal with you when I return to the Tang Dynasty!"

Ashina Quli seemed not to hear the surrounding curses.

Looking at the furious Zheng Wuhe, he nodded seriously.

"That's right, she's just pregnant with the children of a few of your Tang envoys. Compared to our two or three hundred thousand Turkic people who could be used as slaves, it's really nothing."

"But... what if we ourselves asked to become slaves to you Tang people?"

Zheng Wuhe: "???"

At Yanmen Pass, Duke Hou Junji of Lu State looked at the letter in his hand.

Then look at this fellow in front of me, who is said to be a leader of the Left Wing tribe of the Western Turks.

He felt that during his half-year duty at Yanmen Pass, the outside world had become so unfamiliar that he couldn't understand it anymore.

"You mean, you're marrying off your daughter, and then... you're sending yourselves over as part of the dowry?"

After Hou Junji finished speaking, he couldn't help but pinch himself under the table.

It hurts!

but......

“That’s right, Your Excellency, your Tang envoys, they not only forcibly took our daughters, but also said that if we don’t surrender, His Highness the Crown Prince of Tang will kill us all. We are no match for Tang.”

"Now we only beg His Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty to give us a chance to live..."

This Turkic chieftain was clearly a big, burly man, and looked like a very capable fighter.

At this moment, however, she was crying with tears streaming down her face, which made Hou Junji feel an urge to uphold justice for her and act as a righteous judge.

Hou Junji: "..."

Your Highness, this world is so crazy, so crazy that even I can't understand it.