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

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye since the Mid-Autumn Festival of the second year of Zhenguan.

As the crown prince, Li Chengqian had already returned to Taiyuan Prefecture.

He was in charge of many affairs in the various regions of the northern border of the Tang Dynasty.

but.

Prince Yan, Li Yun, was more efficient than he had expected.

The "Chang'an-Taiyuanfu" railway trunk line, which was originally said to be able to start full operation after the Lunar New Year, actually started operating less than two months after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

That means all the preparatory work has been completed.

"Brother, is this stock issuance you mentioned... reliable?"

Li Yun didn't quite understand these intricacies.

Even now, looking at the documents brought by Prince Li Zhi, the Ninth Prince of Jin, there are many that he can't even understand.

He hesitated for a moment, then nervously looked at his pillar of support, his elder brother, the Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

"Hehe, Seventh Brother, don't worry. I personally made the decision on this matter, and the Royal Bank is also overseeing all the affairs. The Tang Railway Bureau is just putting out 20% of its shares as circulating shares."

"The purpose is simply to give our Great Tang's securities market a good start."

"Just throwing this out there to get the ball rolling, so everyone can understand what the securities market is."

Li Chengqian said with a smile.

His gaze slowly shifted to Wu Zetian, who was sitting next to Li Zhi, his expression mischievous.

"Waiter, you don't mind me interfering in your securities firm, do you?"

Wu Zetian blushed immediately and hurriedly waved her hand.

“Brother-in-law Crown Prince, what are you saying? With your help, we can avoid a lot of trouble. Besides... what you took wasn't my share.”

Li Zhi snorted and glanced at her sideways.

"You weren't saying this before I mentioned that the new partner was my elder brother, you... Hiss!"

Li Chengqian pretended not to notice the subtle interaction between the two.

Seeing Wu Zetian blush and lower her head, not daring to look at herself.

Li Chengqian chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't worry, one of you is my own brother and the other is Shun'er's own sister. I will not treat you unfairly. You have only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential and value of the securities industry."

"Once you officially list Datang Railway Company on the stock market and witness the truly booming scene of the securities market, you will understand... that the shares you hold are more than enough."

He was holding a list in his hand.

Besides Datang Railway Company, Datang Bookstore, Datang Royal Paper Industry, Bingzhou Fenjiu, and Taiyuan Shipyard are all companies that are preparing to be listed on the stock exchange.

The war benefits of the Tang Dynasty have not only given it a large amount of land and mineral resources.

It also allowed the Tang Dynasty to accumulate considerable reserves of high-value metals such as silver and gold.

In nearly two years, the Tang Dynasty has issued Tang silver coins and Tang gold coins.

They have all already spread to a certain extent.

With only about two months left until the end of the second year of Zhenguan, Li Chengqian, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, had to start thinking about the direction of development in the third year of Zhenguan.

"The main problem is a shortage of personnel. It seems that in the third year of Zhenguan, we will need to put more effort into education, cadre training, and assessment..."

Li Chengqian murmured to himself.

Today, the Tang Dynasty is just like the "Zhenguan" train speeding along the railway from Taiyuan to Chang'an.

It has officially gotten on track.

The fatigue and perseverance of working day and night for two or three years have finally yielded remarkable results.

"The Emperor Emeritus has been gone for almost a year now. Although he has sent back hundreds of thousands of slaves to the Tang Dynasty, the battle lines are indeed too long. It's time to make them slow down a bit..."

On the steps outside the Shougong Hall.

Li Chengqian stood with his hands behind his back.

Muttered to himself.

"With steam engines and trains now in place, it's time for the Tang Dynasty's true large-scale industrial revolution to begin..."

......

Gaochang.

The former capital of Gaochang still stands, but the shadow of King Qu Wentai and the nobles of Gaochang is nowhere to be seen.

Today, Gaochang City has a new name.

Xizhou Prefecture of the Great Tang Dynasty!

It was under the jurisdiction of Longyou Circuit.

But now, Xizhou has become the bridgehead and base camp of the Tang Dynasty's western expeditionary army.

The Imperial Military Post Office of the Tang Dynasty, the Imperial Medical Academy of the Tang Dynasty, the Military Medical Department of the Tang Dynasty, the Armory Forging Department of the Tang Dynasty, the Commerce Department of the Tang Dynasty... all sorts of government offices have been systematically established here.

Merchants from Persia, Tibet, Turks, and Arab countries flocked here.

The trade routes in the Western Regions, now under the control of the Tang Dynasty, were bustling with activity several times more than before.

"General, that bastard Ashina Dili has run away again! That son of a bitch can run away like a madman!"

Pei Ji's voice, sounding somewhat doubtful about life, rang out in the Western Expedition Commander's Mansion at that moment.

The so-called Western Expedition Commander's Mansion was actually the royal palace left behind by the Qu clan of Gaochang.

"Hahaha, let him run. If he can run, my Great Tang can catch him. This world will eventually come to an end."

The half-year western expedition did not cause any problems for the sixty-year-old retired emperor.

On the contrary, their bodies seemed to become healthier.

When Pei Ji arrived, Li Yuan was still doing his daily training.

Pei Ji was helpless.

Xiao Yu, on the other hand, took it all in stride and chuckled twice.

"Hehe, Xuanzhen, why are you in such a hurry? Even if someone should be in a hurry, it should be those guys who have been tainted by Ashina's power who are in a hurry."

He chuckled lightly: "General Li Jing has now quelled all the resistance forces in Yanqi and Kucha, and is now setting up military settlements and farmland there."

"Tell me, which of those small kingdoms in the Western Regions that Ashina fled for help would dare to come to his aid at this time?"

Xiao Yu gently shook his head.

"The western expedition has already achieved great success. What we need to do now is to completely conquer the Western Regions for His Highness the Crown Prince... Prime Minister Pei, instead of wasting your time, you should urge the cotton plantation project in the Western Continent."

"The Crown Prince has urged us more than once..."

Pei Ji could only sigh.

"I just feel that letting Ashina Dili run wild is always a destabilizing factor..."

Li Yuan sneered: "An unstable factor? That's not an unstable factor for my Great Tang!"

The Sasanian Persian Empire.

Izul II seemed to doubt his own ears.

"Tell me, who asked us for help?"

Before them stood a man dressed as a Persian merchant, looking uneasy.

He touched his chest and bowed again.

"Your Majesty, that barbarian on horseback from the East, the leader of the Turks, Ashina Dili, the Siyabgu Khan... suffered a devastating defeat further east."

Yizi II muttered, "Damn it... Has this world become so alien? The bandits who once wielded their swords against us and slaughtered our people are now asking us, their victims, for help?"

He waved his hand, his face full of relief and joy.

There seemed to be a hint of a smile in his words.

"Let them give up on that idea. Only a fool or a blind and idiotic idiot would use kindness on a thief and a murderer. He deserves to go to hell!"

The Persian merchant looked hesitant.

“Your Majesty…this situation seems somewhat different from before.”

The minister was furious: "What difference could there be? Those damned Turks have attacked us six times, killing countless of our people and innocents, and now they want us to lend them a helping hand?"

"Get out of here! Or I'll have you hung up and strangled on the spot!"

In the main hall, everyone, including King Izrael II, wore expressions of hatred and indignation.

The merchant could only sigh.

It seems he ultimately won't be able to earn any more money.

He placed his hand on his chest and bowed.

"Your Majesty, please be very careful. That voice from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East... The brutal Turkic bandits in our eyes are like yellow sand swept up by a strong wind in front of the Great Tang army."

"The people of the Tang Dynasty will probably take over the entire Turkic Khaganate soon."

Everyone was shocked.

They naturally knew the name of the Tang Dynasty.

That country, which is said to have been established only a little over a decade ago, was born on a land with a rich history, and many of its nobles still use Tang Dynasty silk and exquisite porcelain.

but.

Nobody cared at all.

The Turks launched six campaigns against them, but each time they suffered major defeats that led to a shortage of supplies, resulting in all their campaigns ending in failure.

They couldn't believe that the so-called Great Tang Dynasty of the East could launch an attack on their distant kingdom from a much farther distance, with even longer supply lines...

Compared to the so-called Great Tang Dynasty of the East.

What worries them even more now is the nearby Arab world.

These damned bastards, while they were fighting the Turks, had quietly expanded to that extent.

The army's fighting strength seemed to be overwhelming the Sassanid Persians.

When the merchant left Persia with this reply, he met Ashina Dili, who now looked like a wild man, in a secluded mountain valley, and told him the message from the Sasanian Persian high command.

Several Turkic leaders who were still following Ashina Dili even now looked grim.

They all turned their gaze toward Ashina Dili at that moment.

The Turks and Persians were mortal enemies.

If it were them, they would certainly not send troops to help.

however.

Upon hearing this reply, Ashina Dili gave a ferocious sneer.

"Great! It's better that they're not coming to help! That suits me just the way it is!"

Everyone looked at him in confusion, only to see Ashina Dili suddenly lift open a box beside him.

The dazzling golden light was accompanied by glittering jewels and gold.

Instantly, a burning greed appeared on the Persian merchant's face.

Ashina Dili looked at him coldly.

“Shahrun, I know you’ve never considered me a friend, but… I think you must be their friend.”

“You said before that you have some connections in the Sassanid Persian military, and I want you to do something for me.”

"These are all yours..."

Shahrun swallowed hard.

With such immense wealth, all he needed was this one box to leave behind his life of hardship and uncertainty.

His attitude began to become devout and submissive.

"Generous Khan, may I first tell you what needs to be done?"

"I need you to get me a batch of Persian armor and swords, even if they're damaged... at least a thousand sets!"