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

"Your Highness, how could you bestow that rattan whip upon my sister? What if she doesn't know her place and injures His Highness Prince Jin..."

After some maneuvering, the matter between Li Zhi, the Ninth Prince, and Wu Zetian and Murong Yu was finally resolved.

however.

Wu Shiyue and Murong Shun had just left Yangcheng Palace.

Wu Shun, Wu Zetian's older sister, looked worried and kept pleading with Li Chengqian to take back the rattan whip that had been given to Wu Zetian.

Upon hearing these words, Li Zhi, who was about to step out of the Shougong Hall, paused involuntarily.

Turning around, she happened to meet her elder brother's eyes, which held a half-smile.

He shuddered instantly, quickly nodded and smiled apologetically, and hurriedly fled from the Shougong Hall.

"Heh..." Li Chengqian chuckled softly.

Seeing Wu Shun looking like he was afraid his younger sister would cause some big trouble, he suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms.

"Oh! Your Highness..."

Although he had had intimate moments with His Highness the Crown Prince before, this was the first time Wu Shun had ever been pulled into the Crown Prince's lap right here in the Shou Gong Hall.

A wisp of floral fragrance emanating from the other person lingered in Li Chengqian's nostrils.

Li Chengqian gently touched Wu Shun's hair with one hand.

Seeing her blushing and shy expression, he showed no intention of stopping there.

"What? Do you lack confidence in my ninth brother, or in your sister, or perhaps... in me?"

His chin was gently pinched by the Crown Prince.

Seeing the mockery and domineering look in the other person's eyes, Wu Shun felt his body go limp at that moment.

"Your Highness, my... my second sister is impulsive and very daring, she..."

Li Chengqian burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"Daring? No matter how daring you are, can you be as bold as the Ninth Prince?"

Wu Shun remained silent.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin?

Your Highness, if you say that Prince Jin has backbone, I wouldn't dare to say a word against it. But as for being bold...

All she could do was pray that her younger sister, after obtaining the vine whip, wouldn't go so far as to use it on Prince Jin.

"Your Highness, Zheng De, who was sent on a mission to the Kingdom of Nepal, has returned, accompanied by the Tibetan envoy, Gardonzan."

Li Chengqian was holding Wu Shun, admiring the beautiful woman's shy demeanor.

Upon hearing Wang De's report, his expression became slightly more serious.

Wu Shun, being quite perceptive, quickly got up from Li Chengqian's embrace.

"Chu Dahai has been working on some new dishes tonight, so you can stay overnight at Yangcheng Palace... Sun Yi, go and inform Miss Wang and Miss Zheng to come to Yangcheng Palace for dinner tonight as well."

He gave an explanation.

Soon, the delegation, having already washed and tidied themselves up under the guidance of eunuchs before meeting Crown Prince Li Chengqian, entered the Shougong Hall.

Li Chengqian could still sense the weariness of the journey emanating from everyone.

"Your subject, Zheng De, Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, was sent as an envoy to the Kingdom of Nepal by imperial decree. Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission and returned the favor to Your Majesty!"

"This is Prince Nalingdeva of the Kingdom of Nepal."

Zheng De's face was full of excitement.

Nalingdeva, who had originally discussed with several envoys from the Kingdom of Niva during the journey that he absolutely should not kneel and pay homage to the Crown Prince of Tang after meeting him, was also involved in the discussion.

Now that I have truly witnessed what the Tang Dynasty was like.

At this moment, he obediently knelt beside Zheng De and respectfully bowed to Li Chengqian.

"Alright, Lord Zheng, you've worked hard. Please have a seat and some tea!"

"Esteemed envoy from the Kingdom of Niva, please rise..."

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded, but his gaze slowly fell on Gardonzan, the Tibetan envoy standing beside everyone.

"Gardon Tsen, we meet again. Did you bring the fifty thousand slaves I want this time?"

Gardonzan quickly bowed.

"Your Highness, I brought a total of 35,000 Harsha slaves with me. However, before I departed, our King had already led his army to invade Harsha's kingdom again. The remaining 15,000 slaves should arrive in no more than half a month..."

Gardonzan's voice revealed a cautious tone.

However, upon hearing that the slaves were all ready, Li Chengqian's face was full of satisfied smiles.

"Very well, I acknowledge the strength of the Tibetan king... Please take a seat!"

As the three parties took their seats.

Zheng De sat to the left of Li Chengqian.

As for Galdontsen and Prince Nalingdeva of Nepal, they sat facing each other at the lower end of the table.

"Prince Nalingdeva... this must be your first time visiting our Great Tang Dynasty, right? How do you find it?"

Li Chengqian acted like the master, without deliberately showing it, but the pride in his tone was no different from that of the Tang people that Ling Ti Po and his companions had encountered and met after entering the Tang Dynasty from Longyou Road.

Upon hearing Sujiga's translation, the latter quickly stood up and bowed to Li Chengqian once again.

"The Tang Dynasty is very powerful and wealthy... far beyond what our Niwa Kingdom can compare to. We are very grateful to the Tang Dynasty for giving our Niwa Kingdom the opportunity to serve us."

His words were translated by Sujiga again.

Li Chengqian was quite satisfied with the fact that Prince Nalingdeva was able to understand his place.

The other party said "the Tang Dynasty gave them an opportunity to serve," not "cooperation."

At least in terms of attitude, Li Chengqian was quite satisfied.

This is indeed the case.

On the plateau, besides Tibet and Nepal, there are other forces that can be supported.

In that kind of "state" without the framework of the Central Plains' etiquette and national laws, the Tang Dynasty could even say that it could arbitrarily support any tribe and give them a batch of weapons and equipment.

After several expansions and victories against surrounding tribes, they were able to grow into a force to be reckoned with on the plateau.

Some pleasantries.

Li Chengqian did not warn the Tibetans to honestly provide route support for future trade with Nepal, nor did he mention it at all.

However, the same was true of Galdonzan at this moment.

They didn't dare utter a single word of regret.

"Since this is the first time the prince of Nepal has come to our Great Tang, as a land of etiquette, our Great Tang should prepare a generous gift..." Li Chengqian said with a smile.

Within sight, Galdonzan's expression changed almost imperceptibly.

And the next moment.

A document that seemed to have been drafted long ago was handed to Lingti Po by Wang De.

The text above is in Chinese characters, but fortunately, Sujiga has also improved his Chinese language skills during his journey back to the Tang Dynasty with Zheng De.

"Five thousand sets of full-body steel armor, 3000 Tang Dynasty-style steel longswords, and 3000 spears!"

"Fifty ballistae, four thousand bolts!"

"Three thousand sets of warhorse armor!"

Hearing what Sujiga said, even though Galdonzan knew that the Tang Dynasty would definitely support the Nepalese Kingdom, he never expected that it would provide such great assistance right from the start.

He immediately stood up from his seat in shock.

"Your Highness, isn't this gift a bit too much? The entire army of the Mud Kingdom only numbers thirty thousand... this..."

He really wanted to say, "With this level of support, you're not just asking Nepal to fight the Harsha Dynasty, you're clearly asking Nepal to fight our Tibet!"

however.

He would never dare to say such a thing.

Gardonzan looked horrified.

But when Sujiga translated Nalingdeva's words, his face was filled with surprise and delight.

Even the ministers from the Mud Kingdom who were accompanying him were flushed with excitement.

If it weren't for the chilling gazes of the eunuchs surrounding them, they probably would have cheered and danced on the spot...

Five thousand sets of high-quality steel full-body armor?!

When they entered the Tang Dynasty and saw the armor worn by the Tang soldiers, they wanted to bring some back to Nepal as well.

But I never expected it.

Without them even asking, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty simply gave it to them.

Nalingdeva was so excited that he knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"The Kingdom of Nipo thanks Your Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Tang for your generosity! You truly deserve to be the ruler of this vast country in the East. It is an honor for the entire Kingdom of Nipo to have your favor!"

Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hand.

No wonder his father, Emperor Taizong of Tang, in another world, was so carried away by the phrase "Heavenly Khan."

seriously.

It's quite nice to be revered as a deity by the royal families of other countries.

However... Li Chengqian then glanced calmly at the anxious Galdonzan.

"Hehe, Gar Dongzan, look at you, you are also an old friend of my Great Tang. Since I have given a gift to my new friend, the Nepal Kingdom, how could I forget my old friend, Tibet?"

Gardonzan was taken aback, and then a restrained excitement showed in his eyes.

Difficult, could it be...?

His hands began to tremble involuntarily.

Although reason told him that the Tang Dynasty would never give them such a generous gift, but... what if they really did?

Inside his mind, a massive Tibetan cavalry army, fully equipped with steel armor and even their warhorses were armored, began to flicker incessantly, like a dream or a bubble.

Like a demon that stirs up his inner desires.

until.......

"Your Highness, this..."

Gar Dongzan maintained his composure as Wang De handed a document to him.

The latter broke down on the spot after seeing what was recorded above.

The Heart Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Diamond Sutra...

The Analects, the Classic of Filial Piety, the Book of Poetry, the Book of Documents...

Li Chengqian, with an air of magnanimity, waved his hand and looked at Galdonzan, whose dreams had been shattered and whose expression had collapsed.

"Hahaha, Gardonzan, there's no need to get excited. As I've already said, Tibet is an old friend of my Great Tang. Since this is a gift for you, how can it be anything less than precious? These are all the essence of my great Chinese culture that I specially had compiled."

"Didn't you say before that your Zanpu (Tibetan king) likes my Central Plains culture and wants to learn it? These have all been prepared, nearly a hundred cartloads in total, and you're taking them all back this time!"

Gardonzan: "Your Highness, this...I..."

His face turned pale and then red.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and boldly tried to seek some real benefits.

"Your Highness, I know your good intentions and appreciate your generosity, but... but the people of Tibet still don't know how to farm or practice medicine. Could you please..."

"How dare you!" Zheng De shouted sharply.

He slammed his hand on the table and stood up with a bang.

"You audacious Tibetan envoy, are you perhaps disgusted by the gifts given to you by His Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty?! My thousand years of Chinese civilization, the classics of our sages, are you so disdainful of them?!"

His eyes held a ruthlessness that even Sujiga had never seen before.

Suddenly, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Li Chengqian.

"Your Highness, this scoundrel is utterly arrogant, daring to insult the beliefs of us scholars! Your Highness! Your subject, Zheng De, begs to execute this scoundrel!"

The smile on Li Chengqian's face slowly disappeared.

His gaze was fixed on Galdonzan, whose face was beginning to turn pale.

"The Tibetan envoy doesn't want to learn the etiquette of the Central Plains... does he want to experience the martial arts of the Great Tang Dynasty?"