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

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty... Tibet is a wild and uncivilized place with harsh conditions, which is why we Tibetans do indeed look older than our Central Plains counterparts of the same age..."

Listening to Songtsen Gampo's nervous explanation.

Li Chengqian didn't pay much attention to it, given the high-altitude climate and the long-term exposure to ultraviolet rays.

In addition, as Songtsen Gampo said, living conditions in Tibet were harsh.

These are all normal phenomena. Zheng De, whom he sent as an envoy to the Kingdom of Nepal and who passed through Tibet, also returned looking drastically different. This was even though the envoy had brought with him a special ointment provided by the Royal Medical Academy when he set off.

Li Chengqian sat down in front of Songtsen Gampo in an extremely casual posture.

Then Wang De, accompanied by two eunuchs, carefully carried in a tea tray.

After pouring tea for the two of them, he quietly left.

Li Chengqian sipped his tea, a Da Hong Pao from Wuyi Mountain, its aroma even more intense.

In no time, the entire carriage was filled with the aroma of tea.

The creaking and groaning of the train, accompanied by the occasional swaying of the carriage, gave the quiet carriage a sense of deathly stillness.

Instead of getting straight to the point, Li Chengqian sipped his tea and quietly admired the scenery outside the carriage window.

however.

Songtsen Gampo, sitting opposite him, felt extremely uncomfortable.

On the one hand, the speed of the train he was on was beyond his comprehension.

On the other hand, there was Li Chengqian, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, standing before him.

Seeing that Li Chengqian showed no intention of speaking for a long time, Songtsen Gampo hesitated for a moment before finally awkwardly holding his teacup and taking the initiative to speak.

"Your Highness, I brought you a gift specifically for this trip to the Tang Dynasty..."

"I know you don't like those worldly things like gold and silver, and you only hope that the people of the Tang Dynasty can live a good life. This time, I have specially added 10,000 Harsha slaves."

"In addition, some jewelry and ornaments were prepared for the princesses of the Tang Dynasty..."

Li Chengqian glanced at the gift list that Songtsen Gampo had carefully presented.

Seeing that he had no intention of accepting the gift, Songtsen Gampo could only awkwardly place the gift list on the table next to Li Chengqian.

While Songtsen Gampo was racking his brains, trying to figure out how to achieve his goal for the day...

Li Chengqian, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"Do you feel the pain now?"

Songtsen Gampo was taken aback. He looked up and his eyes met Li Chengqian's calm yet chilling gaze.

Li Chengqian's eyes were like a bottomless abyss that could devour everything.

Calm and profound.

But that kind of seemingly natural talent, without any deliberate expression, yet it is utterly contemptible.

This caused a layer of sweat to seep from Songtsen Gampo's forehead.

"I heard that Gardontsen was hit by an arrow... His men are so reckless. When you go back, please bring him some of the best medicine from our Great Tang Dynasty and tell him."

"I still admire him. This arrow wasn't aimed at him; it was just an accidental wound."

"I hope he won't hold a grudge against me, an old friend of the Tang Dynasty..."

Songtsen Gampo: "..."

His expression first showed a blank stare, then, as if he realized something, his eyes widened slightly.

Stunned, horrified, horrified...fear.

Emotions emanated from his trembling, contracting pupils in an instant.

He stared blankly at Li Chengqian, who remained calm and composed, taking another sip of his tea.

With his mouth agape, he felt the agonizing feeling of wanting to ask a question but not daring to speak, even though he clearly understood the meaning behind Li Chengqian's words.

Such as knuckles in the throat.

What does it mean when someone under your command doesn't know how to handle things responsibly?!

What do you mean that the arrow wasn't aimed at Galdonzan?!

Songtsen Gampo suddenly felt a headache coming on.

The figure of Li Chengqian before my eyes seemed to become a double image.

Those monks and nuns who ambushed them that day, those madmen who caused them to lose tens of thousands of slaves, countless gold and silver spoils, and thousands of elite cavalry... were they actually plotting this?!

Songtsen Gampo believed that the monks preaching on the plateau, as well as Supi and Yangtong who suddenly joined the slave-hunting competition, were the Tang people behind the scenes.

But I never expected it.

The Harsha Dynasty has actually gained the influence of the Tang Dynasty!

His hand holding the teacup was visibly trembling.

Previously, he had thought that since the emperor was far away, he could feign compliance with the Tang Dynasty, acquire more weapons and armor, annex more tribes that had split off from Tibet, and then annex Supi and Yangtong.

Unify the plateau.

He then destroyed the Kingdom of Niva and subdued the precious land of the Harsha Dynasty.

It was only then that I realized the truth in horror.

The Tang Dynasty did not even formally send a single soldier to the plateau, yet it had already trapped Tibet in a deadly predicament from which it could not escape!

Tibet!

They were surrounded by the henchmen of the Tang Dynasty!

"Huff, huff..." Songtsen Gampo gasped for breath.

terrible!

Seeing him looking at him with a face full of horror and cold sweat, Li Chengqian finally gently put down the teacup in his hand.

It seems like a smile but not a smile.

"What? Your Majesty, are you angry?"

how? !

Is it not even permissible for this king to be angry?!

"Your Highness, why did you do this...? Those slaves were originally meant for the Tang Dynasty..."

He can't understand!

In order to suppress the development of Tibet, this crown prince of the Tang Dynasty actually allowed the loss of tens of thousands of slaves.

Li Chengqian smiled faintly.

"A few slaves are nothing to me; what I care about more is you, Zanpu (King)."

His gaze lingered intently on Songtsen Gampo before him.

This guy, historically speaking, can be said to have personally tolled the death knell for the decline of the Tang Dynasty's national power.

In order to limit the development of Tibet, the Tang Dynasty sent Wang Xuance as an envoy to the Harsha Dynasty. Although he achieved the great feat of destroying a country by himself, it was not a significant achievement for the Tang Dynasty at that time.

The Harsha Dynasty was destroyed, and the Nepal Kingdom was completely suppressed by the Tibetan Empire.

This had already caused the Tang Dynasty to lose hope of restricting and suppressing Tibet through diplomacy.

This continued until Tibet truly grew powerful and eventually dared to confront the Tang Dynasty...

"I think you are a wolf, a wolf that doesn't understand what obedience is!"

"I value you very much~"

Upon hearing this, Songtsen Gampo...

For a moment, he didn't know how to face the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty who thought so highly of him.

"Xiao Wang has never been to the Central Plains before..."

"Hehe, that doesn't affect my complete knowledge of you."

Watching Li Chengqian pour and sip tea on his own, Songtsen Gampo was sweating profusely.

"You want to temporarily show subservience in order to obtain enough technology and weapons to be independent from my Great Tang. For this reason, ever since we started trading slaves with you Tibetans, my Embroidered Uniform Guard has never been idle."

“Some of you are trying to bribe the artisans to buy our Central Plains techniques.”

“Someone wants to bribe the physicians and buy our Tang Dynasty's pharmacopoeia.”

"And some people are even trying to covet the firearms of our Great Tang Dynasty..."

Li Chengqian joked around as if they were having a casual chat.

"As I said before, if you Tibetans do things honestly, I won't care about your little schemes. But unfortunately... I clearly warned you before, but you ignored me in the end."

Songtsen Gampo had just begun to feel a sense of doubt.

Immediately afterwards, he thought of the gift lists that Li Chengqian had previously presented to the Nepalese Kingdom and their Tibetan Kingdom.

They provided the country with weapons and armor, and even dispatched a cavalry unit to escort them there.

But what they gave to Tibet were Buddhist scriptures and Confucian classics...

His eyes widened.

The absurd feeling of being so insignificant yet regarded as an opponent by a giant dragon almost made Songtsen Gampo's breathing slow down at that moment.

"Alright, tell me the purpose of your trip to the Tang Dynasty. My time is quite precious, and I don't have time to sit here drinking tea with a grown man like you."

Hear the words.

Songtsen Gampo, however, could not bring himself to say that he wanted to buy more weapons and armor from the Tang Dynasty on credit.

Li Chengqian, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, has gone to such lengths to guard against him.

How could we possibly lend them weapons and armor on credit?

He had his mouth open, but his face was full of tension and embarrassment.

Li Chengqian smacked his lips, savoring the lingering sweetness of the tea.

"You want weapons and armor?"

Songtsen Gampo shuddered, nodded nervously, and his body seemed to hunch over at that moment.

His eyes were pleading.

"Currently, some tribes in Tibet are dissatisfied with me, and morale is low. If I want to bring enough slaves to the Tang Dynasty for the next trade, I must send more people into the Harsha Dynasty, but..."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly: "So you want to organize another force to stabilize your position in Tibet."

He didn't hide anything, and looked at the other person.

"Then what can you give me? Even if it's on credit, there should be something as collateral, right?"

"What can your Tibet offer now?"

"Land? My Great Tang Dynasty has no shortage of it!"

"Population? You are even less likely to send the Tibetan population, which you yourself need, to my Great Tang as slaves."

"Industrial technology? What technology could your Tibet possibly have?"

Li Chengqian chuckled and raised an eyebrow at the other party: "Then what can you offer as collateral?"

Seeing that the other party couldn't give a clear answer after a long time, Li Chengqian shook his head slightly, put down his teacup, and stood up.

"Even if I were to open a charitable institution, I would only provide aid to the people of my Great Tang Dynasty. If the Zanpu (Tibetan King) wishes to solicit alms, he should perhaps consult the Buddha in the West..."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Songtsen Gampo was greatly alarmed.

"Your Highness! Your Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Tang! I have collateral!"

“My sister, Saimaga, is the most dazzling jewel of Tibet. I can send her to the Tang Dynasty….”

Li Chengqian was too lazy to even speak. A woman? A marriage alliance?

Was Songtsen Gampo's historical marriage alliance with a princess of the Tang Dynasty for the sake of the princess? Wasn't it for the generous dowry he received?

What use is your Tibetan princess to me!

You can't come up with a dowry of anything.

When Wang De was about to open the carriage door and invite Li Chengqian to the next carriage, Songtsen Gampo hurriedly shouted loudly.

"Your Highness, if I die, the child born to my younger sister, Saima Ga, will be the most legitimate Zanpu of Tibet!"