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

"My esteemed guest from the East, I wonder if I have the honor of inviting you to my home for dinner... I am very interested in your products, and I would also like to discuss some other matters with you."

Sufyan was once an arrogant, even stubborn, person.

However, after suffering repeated defeats in the struggles between Muhammad and Muslims, the Quraysh tribe, which once held absolute power in Mecca, has become a half-dead, wretched state.

They, who were once "messengers of false gods," were exposed as fraudsters.

Although they have "reformed" and "converted to the true God" today, they can never shake off the labels that were once despised by others.

Today, many members of the Gulaishi tribe still only passively accept Muhammad's Islam, believing that "if you don't believe, you will die." But if this continues for too long, Sufyan is not sure what kind of mess the tribe will become.

After listening to Lavaha's translation and pondering for a moment, Li Ming nodded slightly in agreement.

Coincidentally, this opportunity also allowed him to gather some intelligence from the Arab side, which he might be able to report back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and receive a reward in return...

The merchant from the East accepted the invitation from Sufyan, the chief of the Gulaish tribe.

In less than half a day, the news had spread throughout Mecca, and many Meccan nobles, whose situations were similar to those of the Quraysh tribe, couldn't help but feel a surge of thoughts.

They are all waiting for something.

Mecca under the night sky seemed to be draped in a hazy silver glow.

Outside the mosque, Muhammad was meditating as usual, but his heart was already restless because of the appearance of Tang Dynasty merchants and those treasures.

"Alas... the sandstorm from the east is sweeping in, but the desert oasis is not yet prepared to withstand the onslaught..."

"God, please give me guidance and tell me how your followers should get through this calamity."

.......

"Hahaha, it seems that your Eastern monarch, Lord Li, possesses a radiance even more dazzling than that of Allah..."

After dismissing everyone except his wife, Sufyang spoke words that caused Lavaha, who was sitting next to Li Ming as his translator, to change his expression.

However, noticing Su Fuyang's gaze, he could only obediently translate his words and tell them to Li Ming.

Li Ming, who was holding a wine glass, paused slightly.

Eyes facing each other.

Knowing the other party's current situation, Li Ming understood perfectly well that the bearded Arab nobleman in front of him was making his stance clear.

Muhammad, who held the authority and power of a king in this land, could not be accepted by these former Meccan nobles.

"Hehe, we do indeed have religion in the Tang Dynasty, but the existence of religion is based on the permission of the royal family... The will of gods and Buddhas must be subject to the will of His Majesty."

"Bang!" Sufyan slammed his hand on the table excitedly.

"That's right! What a load of bull! Back when we were fiddling with three hundred idols in that dark room, that damned Muhammad was just a stupid idiot who couldn't even read. He stayed in a cave for a few days, and then came out with some kind of divine guidance?"

"Ha! I absolutely refuse to believe it! We were fooling the world back then, but what that Muhammad is doing now is no different from what we did back then..."

Sufyan clearly harbored resentment towards Muhammad and the Muslims for a long time.

Li Ming was clearly an outsider, yet he dared to say such things so openly, things that would lead to his execution if they were to spread.

He held his wine glass and raised it to Li Ming in the distance.

He downed another mouthful of wine sold by a merchant from the Western Regions, his resentment growing even stronger.

"Muhammad is a despicable man. He fools others and makes everyone live the same impoverished life as him... without even asking whether those people are willing to accept it!"

At this point, Sufyan gritted his teeth again.

Li Ming nodded: "Then I don't know, Chief, what do you plan to do? Or is there anything I can do to help you?"

"I want to go to the Tang Dynasty to meet your great Eastern monarch! I want to ask him to help us get rid of this damned villain!"

As Su Fuyang spoke, seeing Li Ming's hesitant expression, he quickly added, "I can buy all the goods you brought this time, and... the price will be 30% higher than your listed price!"

He held up three fingers, which made Li Ming's eyelids twitch.

These guys with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and thick hair, are they really that rich?

Seemingly sensing his doubt, Sufyan took a deep breath: "Believe me, the Quraysh tribe has been pushed to the brink by that damned Muhammad. I can't think of anyone who can help us get out of this predicament except for the great power from the East."

“We would not lie to you about something like this.”

As he spoke, he glanced again toward the entrance of the hall, then got up and walked to Li Ming's side, lowering his voice.

"Those who are dissatisfied with Muhammad and those poor Muslims are not only us, nor even just the nobles like us in Mecca. The Jews in Medina are even more dissatisfied with these guys."

"Neither we nor they lack wealth."

“Distinguished guest, those Muslims, apart from offering you that so-called Quran as if it were gold to extort your treasures, don’t even have a few gold coins on their bodies.”

Li Ming remained silent, but after a moment's thought, he nodded slightly.

He respectfully and warmly escorted Li Ming and the others back to their residence. As soon as Su Fuyang returned home, several nobles who had heard about him arrived at his mansion.

"So, Sufyan, what did you say to that Eastern merchant?"

"Is he willing to help us?"

"You're all too naive. That guy's just a businessman..."

The crowd surrounded Sufyan, some with worry and others with anxiety.

Su Fuyang ordered his men to set up security around the area, and then led everyone into the hall.

"Gentlemen, our opportunity has arrived!"

.......

The actions of the Sufyans, or rather the Meccan nobles, were quite efficient. Although the Muslims were also monitoring these people, it didn't mean they could directly take action against them.

After all, both sides signed an agreement when Mecca was peacefully handed over.

As the messenger of Allah, Muhammad naturally could not arbitrarily attack these Meccan nobles who were "doing business".

As a result, Li Ming and his group stayed in Mecca for less than half a month before Sufyan found them again with a few more people.

These elderly men, dressed in significantly more luxurious attire than ordinary Muslims, were adorned with gold jewelry and gemstone rings.

According to Sufyan, these people are a Jewish people who are extremely adept at scheming and doing business in the Arab world.

When Islam was just emerging, it was persecuted by the Meccan nobles and forced to flee to Medina, where it eked out a living for many years.

Then a huge conflict broke out with the Jews there.

"My lord, we each have our own caravans and guards, and after discussion, we are all willing to give you 10% of the profits from our caravans as a token of our gratitude. We only hope that you can take us to the Tang Dynasty."

Sufyan's attitude was respectful and devout, just as Muslims would when facing Muhammad.

The heads of several Jewish families also bowed in greeting.

A 10% profit margin...

Li Ming remained noncommittal; with the mountains high and the roads long, the profit margin was ultimately up to them.

He didn't take it to heart.

"I can take you to the Tang Dynasty, but if you offend any important figures there and cause trouble, it will have nothing to do with me. Also, I can't guarantee that you will be able to meet our Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty."

A Jewish patriarch asked with some doubt, "We are to meet the monarch of an Eastern empire..."

Li Ming snorted lightly, too lazy to explain: "Our Crown Prince is the monarch!"

After exchanging glances, everyone nodded in agreement.

These guys are seriously rich!

When Li Ming sold all the goods brought by the caravan and exchanged them for box after box of gold or silver coins or jewelry, even someone as composed as him couldn't help but curse him inwardly as a nouveau riche.

Those three clocks were literally replaced with three boxes of gold of the same volume.

"We've struck it rich, Uncle! We've really struck it rich! This time the profit is at least a hundred times the initial investment!"

A descendant of the Guzang Li family was so excited that his voice trembled as he spoke.

The rest of the people weren't much better off.

Even the lowest-ranking bodyguard and martial artist accompanying them received more than a dozen gold coins in their pouches, and that was just the reward for reaching their destination.

Li Ming took a deep breath and watched as the caravan's guards worked together to lift a date palm seedling onto the cart. He wondered if this thing was considered a treasure by the Imperial Agricultural Academy.

Anyway, on this return trip, there were several large caravans, so he wasn't worried about carrying too much stuff.

According to those Jewish merchants, they had a way to take Tang Dynasty goods to more distant places for sale.

Therefore, besides gold and various valuables, they also carried supplies.

Before leaving, Li Ming visited Muhammad once again to say goodbye.

Muhammad's expression was complex.

He took out a copy of the Quran that he had personally written and solemnly handed it to the other person.

"If I have the honor, I hope you can present this to His Highness the Crown Prince of your country. Although we have some misunderstandings about the Sassanid Persian issue, I believe that Your Highness, a wise ruler who is willing to bless the common people, would not want to start another war."

Li Ming thought to himself that this was not necessarily true, but on the surface he still accepted the things with a friendly demeanor.

After bidding farewell, Muhammad sent three cartloads of precious treasures, all of which were valuable jewels or artifacts.

However, Li Ming dared not regard these things as gifts for him, and together with the Quran, they were listed as gifts to be presented to His Highness the Crown Prince.

The caravan of the Li family of Guzang set off again.

However, this massive caravan was now accompanied by hundreds of camels and wagons of varying sizes, along with thousands of Meccan noble cavalry and Jewish cavalry as escorts.

However, these people, though called guards, were more like logistics attendants for the caravan.

What truly protected this caravan and helped it reach the Tang Dynasty was the Tang Dynasty flag bearing the stars, sun, and moon.

Desert bandits dared not approach, Sassanid Persians dared not stop them, and Turkic caravans kept their distance...

.......

"Your Highness, the statistics of commercial taxes for the second quarter of the fifth year of Zhenguan have been completed, totaling 7300 million strings of cash!"

Tai Chi Hall Chao Hui.

Feng Deyi, the Minister of Revenue, was quite old, but he was full of energy. If it weren't for his white hair, wrinkled face, and aged voice, who would be able to tell that he was an old minister of the Wude era who was even older than the retired Emperor Li Yuan?

However, what everyone was discussing at the moment was the statistics on commercial tax that he had reported.

7300 million strings of cash?!

Everyone stared in shock, except for the Ministry of Revenue, which remained relatively calm. The heads of the other five ministries and the various departments of the Censorate all looked as if they couldn't believe their ears.

Feng Deyi, holding a scepter, reported in a clear and melodious voice.

"Among them, the Guannei Circuit's commercial tax was 1020 million strings of cash, the Hedong Circuit's was 3200 million strings of cash, the Longyou Circuit's was 1100 million strings of cash, the Zhenbei Circuit's was 800 million strings of cash, and the newly established Hexi Circuit's was 850 million strings of cash..."

Li Chengqian, sitting on the throne, listened and nodded slightly.

Beside him was Prince Wei, Li Tai, who held a teacup and took sips from time to time, and Prince Jin, Li Zhi, who stared blankly with lifeless eyes, unable to understand why he felt no fatigue at all despite reviewing documents until midnight and attending court so early in the morning.

"Your Highness, the new commercial tax policy in Taiyuan Prefecture of Hedong Circuit has been flourishing. Merchants in the private sector, government offices and royal properties are all doing very well. There are countless merchants traveling to and from foreign countries. As a result, even though there are tax exemption policies in various places in Longyou Circuit and Hexi Circuit, they still have such commercial taxes."

"Now that the Taiyuan-Shijiazhuang Railway is open and Goguryeo is practically extinct, the land of Yanzhou and Liaodong will soon become a fertile land, and the new policies of Hebei Province and Liaodong Province can be vigorously promoted."

"His Majesty also made a southern tour to Jiannan Circuit, developing the four circuits of Huainan, Jiangnan, and Shannan."

"His Highness the Prince of Chu has implemented new policies in Lingnan. Within five years, the Tang Dynasty will surely become the most prosperous era in history!"

As Feng Deyi, that old codger, spoke, he instantly showered her with flattering gifts.

"Your Highness, I offer my congratulations! I offer my congratulations to the Great Tang Dynasty!"