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

"My God... Where am I?!"

"Gods, why is this place so prosperous?"

"Such a tall building...even the windows are made of stained glass, I must be dreaming..."

If the bustling farms and pastures of Longyou Road, along with the elite soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, made Arab nobles like Pusmi and Sufyan understand the power and wealth of the Tang Dynasty, then...

When they entered the Hedong Road, especially when they arrived in Bingzhou, everyone in the caravan was in a state of mental paralysis.

Li Ming had anticipated this.

It wasn't until they left the Tang Dynasty and saw more of the world that they truly understood that, let alone the Tang Dynasty, which had dominated China for a thousand years, even the previous Sui Dynasty was a level of civilization that these foreign barbarians could never reach.

"Everyone, stay close to me! This isn't anywhere else. If you get lost and accidentally wander into the road, you might be hit and killed by a carriage on the spot!"

Li Ming solemnly warned them, since there was a translator in between, and he was too lazy to explain many of the traffic rules. He simply told everyone to stay close to him.

Pusmi seemed not to hear. He stood in front of a shop whose signboard read "Fragrance Pavilion of Dreams" in both Tang and Persian scripts. Through the glass window, he looked at a set of silks that appeared to be made of several different materials and colors.

The floor-length gown exudes an air of elegance and luxury at first glance.

Open your mouth wide.

At the entrance, a female Orangutan approached somewhat nervously and asked in Persian.

"Would you like to come in and have a look, sir?"

Pusmi speaks Persian. He considered it for a moment and was somewhat tempted, but when he saw Li Ming's eyes in the group, he waved his hand and smiled. As he turned to leave, he asked in a low voice, still unwilling to give up.

"Excuse me, how much does this outfit cost?"

Hu Ji smiled, knowing that the other party probably wouldn't buy it, and didn't explain further.

"This long dress, named 'Seashell,' is priced at 2000 Tang silver coins because it was designed by a professor from the Imperial University's School of Art and because it is made of precious materials."

2000 Tang Dynasty silver coins...

Pusmi clicked his tongue in amazement, but then he couldn't help but get excited.

Back in the group, he sidled up to Sufyan, and despite lowering his voice, he couldn't suppress the excitement in his words.

"My God, I can't believe how rich and amazing this place is! Guess how much that dress cost?"

Before Sufyan could answer, he excitedly stretched out a hand: "Only two thousand silver coins! Do you think if we buy it back and then sell it to Byzantium, or even to the Franks... those fat, big-eared bastards of the Papacy wouldn't even be worthy of letting me show them this if they didn't give me two thousand gold coins!"

"Su Fuyang, those bastards are so poor they only have gold coins left. I'd bet the sexual orientation of my entire family's descendants that they'd sell for two thousand gold coins!"

His eyes blazed with the most basic, burning desire and greed for wealth, and his voice grew louder and louder as he spoke.

"As long as we can reach a slave trade agreement with the Tang Dynasty, sell those damned black devils to the Tang Dynasty, and then sell these precious treasures here to Europe... Sufyan! Let those damned Muslims die!"

"Just once, we will be ten or even a hundred times richer than we were before!!!"

"Hahahaha!"

Pusmi burst into maniacal laughter, a sight even Sufyan, who had known him for many years, had never seen before.

They quickly went up and covered the other person's mouth tightly.

With an anxious and somewhat fearful expression, he gave a sheepish smile to the city guards patrolling by.

"Damn it, Pusmi, calm down! You old bastard, are you trying to get us killed? If we anger the patrolling soldiers, we'll be deported!"

It was only after Li Ming stepped in to explain that those two bastards, along with the members of the Gulaishi tribe and the Jewish Kulaiza family in the caravan, were finally prevented from receiving a prison warning.

however.

The moment he led everyone to buy train tickets and then boarded the train from Taiyuan to Chang'an.

Pusmi: "Ah! Damn it! It's moving! This big guy is moving! Ahahaha! He's moving, Sufyan, can you see it? I don't see any horses, it's moving by itself!"

Sufyan: "......."

Li Ming watched with a grim expression as the train police grabbed the old man like a prisoner and dragged him away, not daring to stop them at all.

He looked at Sufyan with icy eyes: "Chief Gulaish, this is the last time! If he goes crazy again, I can't guarantee he won't be thrown into some mine to dig until he dies! You'd better keep an eye on your friend!"

Lavaha translated, his words carrying a hint of condescension and mockery toward Sufyan and his companions.

A bunch of ignorant country bumpkins...

Lavaha, his hands drenched in sweat, gripped his thigh tightly, his face full of disdain as he thought this.

As dusk fell, the Zhenguan train stopped at its final stop, Chang'an. Li Ming, who had paid a fine to redeem Pusmi and several members of the Kuleza family from the cages on the train, had a gloomy expression.

If it weren't for the huge profits involved, why would he bring these two conspicuous bags to Chang'an, a place full of high-ranking officials and nobles?

However, unlike the "luxurious" style of the restaurants and hotels in Taiyuan, the buildings in Chang'an, resembling those of the imperial palace, subtly exude the noble style of Chinese architecture.

This shocked Sufyan and Pusmi, the Arabs who were accompanying them, once again.

This time, Li Ming was truly panicked.

They were locked in a room in the restaurant, and the guards were determined not to let them out. Only then did they feel a little relieved.

.......

"An Arab? And a very important figure in the Arab world?"

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow as he listened to the report from Feng Deyi, the Minister of Revenue.

Feng Deyi nodded respectfully.

"Your Highness, these people were encountered by the Guzang Li family's caravan when they traveled to the Western Regions to trade with Arabia. They are said to be former nobles from that land, but are now oppressed by that foreign religion and want to seek help from our Great Tang."

"After much deliberation, I believe these people may be able to help our Great Tang Dynasty better control the Arab world and the Western Regions. Therefore, I humbly trouble Your Highness..."

Li Chengqian nodded and had Wang De bring the person in.

The palace was spacious but not as luxurious as I had imagined, yet it exuded a low-key, noble, and oppressive aura, making Li Ming dare not raise his head to look directly at Li Chengqian since he entered the hall.

As for Sufyan and Pusmi behind him, their situation was even worse...

During the time he was building connections with Chang'an and trying to introduce these people to the Crown Prince, Su Fuyang and his group also learned more about the Tang Dynasty. The more they knew, the more apprehensive they became about their own weakness.

Now, let alone their already impoverished state, even the Muslims under Muhammad's command combined are no match for the strength of the Tang Dynasty.

"This humble subject, Li Ming, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness be well!"

Li Ming bowed politely, and behind him came the sound of two heads hitting the ground.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, signaling him to rise.

Li Ming immediately began to introduce Su Fuyang and Pusmi to Li Chengqian.

Sufyan's Meccan noble status elicited no reaction from Li Chengqian, but Pusmina's identity as a Jewish merchant caused a barely perceptible glint of cold light to flash in Li Chengqian's eyes.

This is a shameless nation that is extremely adept at scheming.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these bastards now seem to hate Muhammad, the founder of Islam, as if they want to tear him limb from limb. Isn't Judaism, which followed in their footsteps, also a system built on the basis of self-interest, modeled after Islam?

Saying that they are their mothers because of whoever feeds them is, to some extent, a compliment.

After all... when these bastards are being inhuman, they're not incapable of coveting their own mother.

As a veteran of two dynasties, Feng Deyi was quite adept at reading people's expressions and immediately sensed that the Crown Prince disliked the barbarian named Pusmi.

Sufyan adopted his most devout attitude.

If, like other Muslims, one were to pray to Allah or perform other rituals in Mecca, it would be entirely out of consideration for survival.

At that moment, facing Li Chengqian, the ruler of the vast Eastern Empire, he truly adopted the attitude of worshipping a deity.

“Your Highness, the Great Holy Prince, I have heard of your greatness and wisdom. You possess the most powerful and wealthy kingdom in the world. I humbly request that you grant my Gulaishi tribe permission to be your most loyal servants.”

An official from the Ministry of Rites translated.

However, Li Chengqian, who was already tired of hearing such words, remained unmoved.

Li Ming anxiously gave Su Fuyang a meaningful look, which brought the latter back to his senses.

He quickly bowed again and got straight to the point.

"Our Gulaishi tribe desires to engage in large-scale trade with the Tang Dynasty for Kunlun slaves. Furthermore, if His Highness the Crown Prince can provide us with some support, we can join forces with the Sassanid Persians to restrain Muhammad, who has shown disrespect to you and the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Chengqian raised his eyelids and casually flipped through the Quran that Muhammad had entrusted to Li Ming to deliver to him.

I couldn't help but laugh in my heart.

Check it out.

Merciful Prophet Muhammad, messenger and representative of Allah, what has your mercy brought you?

Perhaps it was precisely this mercy, enhanced by both force and mysticism, that enabled Muhammad to establish a religion with hundreds of millions of followers.

Unfortunately, you've allowed a bunch of poor people to hold the Quran and sing praises of truth, goodness, and beauty.

My lonely Tang Dynasty can allow these old nobles you left behind to wreak havoc on your divine kingdom like demons, carrying gold with them...

"A Kunlun slave..."

He smiled faintly, "Isn't it just a coincidence?"

Just a few days ago, in Dengzhou, the First Fleet of the Great Tang Dynasty completed a relatively long-distance ocean voyage training.

He slightly raised his chin, looking at Sufyang's fervent yet ambitious eyes with a hint of admiration, a smile playing on his lips.

“Yes, Kunlun slaves are physically strong and can work for a long time after being tamed. Our Great Tang has many mines and farmlands that need this. Su Fuyang, do you understand what you need to offer?”

Li Chengqian's words were translated by an official from the Ministry of Rites to Su Fuyang, who was overjoyed upon hearing them.

He immediately bowed deeply to Li Chengqian with a solemn and fervent expression.

"The Gulai tribe is willing to do anything for you and obey any of your commands!"

Li Chengqian doesn't need to concern himself with these matters. This is a proxy war, and it can also be seen as a war of commerce and cultural beliefs.

Compared to the economy of the Tang Dynasty, the economy of the Islamic-controlled areas, which can only be described as weak, is facing the impact of the large influx of rare and exotic treasures from the Tang Dynasty.

Can the newly emerging followers of God withstand such an impact?

Li Chengqian was very interested in seeing how this game would end.

That night.

In the imperial study where Li Chengqian was, there was a huge geomantic map that did not include the Americas.

Li Chengqian picked up a red thumbtack bearing the symbol of the Tang Dynasty and slowly nailed it to Mecca, a location in the southwestern Arabian Peninsula near the Red Sea.

"The ocean...the slave trade...proxy wars."

"Hehe, the world is finally getting interesting."