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

"That's all?"

"Yes! Princess Gaoyang only sent her personal maid out of the palace to deliver a letter to the young master of Quyang County. She has not taken any other action. Young Master Wei has also not responded, seemingly rejecting the princess's proposal."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, and the Imperial Guards immediately withdrew silently.

"Sigh... I really shouldn't have let Gao Yang be so carefree and undisciplined back then."

Li Chengqian sighed and shook his head, looking rather troubled.

Beside him sat Xiao Rui, who had married Princess Xiangcheng, with a smile on his face.

This young man has been married for a few years now, and Princess Xiangcheng even gave birth to a son for him recently. He has also grown a beard. Hearing Li Chengqian's sigh, he stroked his beard and chuckled in response.

"Princess Gaoyang is a bit carefree and unrestrained, but she has an excellent reputation among the people. Although she sometimes acts recklessly, she always manages to discipline a bunch of spoiled brats for the sake of the people, which shows that she has a chivalrous heart."

"Your Highness did not do anything wrong back then. After all, you can't expect all princesses to be like Princess Chang Le or Princess Xiang Cheng, can you?"

Li Chengqian glanced at him sideways.

"Heh, my brother-in-law has been living a more and more carefree and smug life lately. He's probably living a more comfortable life than I am, isn't he?"

Xiao Rui chuckled shyly twice.

He nodded slightly: "I am very satisfied that I have been able to marry such a virtuous wife as Princess Xiangcheng. My father no longer needs to worry about the affairs of the mansion. The affairs of the Princess's mansion and the Duke of Song's mansion have all been handed over to Princess Xiangcheng to manage. He can now wholeheartedly follow the Emperor Emeritus."

As he spoke, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Li Chengqian: "Your Highness and the Princess's kindness is something I can only repay with my life. From now on, I am willing to serve Your Highness with all my might until my dying breath!"

Li Chengqian twitched the corners of his mouth and raised a letter in his hand, sent back from Arabia by a golden eagle, from Prince Li Ke of Han.

It seems like a smile but not a smile.

"What if I send you to Jeddah to serve as an official?"

Xiao Rui: "..."

Seeing his expression freeze instantly, Li Chengqian lost interest in teasing him and gave a soft hum.

"If you can just work a few more days and treat my elder sister better, that would be good enough. If you really care, why don't you help me think of someone to take charge of things in Arabia next?"

"Although the leader of the ancient Shi tribe, Sufuyang, seems to be loyal to our Great Tang, he is not of our race. If necessary, let alone help our Great Tang, I think they might even betray us."

"Therefore, our Great Tang needs someone with enough status to keep things under control and stay there for a long time."

As he spoke, he handed the letter in his hand to Xiao Rui.

The latter took the letter and looked at its contents. When he saw the description of Jeddah Port, which described a slave center that housed tens of thousands of Kunlun slaves, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Take a breath.

Then, upon seeing that these slaves had all been castrated by Jews, a cold glint flashed in his eyes again.

"Your Highness previously said that the Jews are greedy and greedy people, and now they are beginning to show their true colors."

Li Chengqian chuckled softly.

I stood up and walked to the plum blossoms in the courtyard. I reached out and flicked a snow-covered branch, and snowflakes fell softly.

"They castrated those Kunlun slaves, which in some ways unintentionally did a good thing, saving me the trouble of having my men do it. But... haggling over the issuance of my Great Tang's paper money... I really dislike that!"

Xiao Rui looked up and noticed the murderous intent in the prince's eyes, which made him shudder.

Since the five clans and seven powerful families were almost wiped out, and the major threats from the surrounding areas, such as the Turks, have also been resolved, he, the Minister of Commerce who was one of the earliest to follow the Crown Prince, has not seen the prince's eyes show any murderous intent for a long time.

He had even somewhat forgotten how ruthless the prince had been back then.

"What kind of person does Your Highness need? If we're talking about someone who can be in charge of a region, there are many officials in the court who could be chosen, including the Duke of E. I think he is capable of being entrusted with this important task."

Li Chengqian shook his head: "I want someone younger..."

"That Ma Zhou might be suitable."

Li Chengqian shook his head again: "His ability lies in internal affairs. I have already planned to let him gain experience in local areas. Gaining experience in the Arab world would do more harm than good to him."

"And what about Duhe? He's been working in the Royal Military Post Office for several years, and he's very reliable..."

"No, that kid has gone too far. Without anyone to keep an eye on him, he'll easily let himself go."

Xiao Rui was helpless again. After he proposed several people, all of whom were rejected by Li Chengqian, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

No?

Your Highness, you're not really planning to send me thousands of miles away, are you?

His face was full of confusion, and he was about to say something when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Your Highness! I have someone in mind!"

When Yang Zhengdao received the order to be summoned by the Crown Prince in the palace, he was extremely nervous.

This remnant of the previous dynasty, ever since he was appointed by the Crown Prince and accompanied General Li Ji on a trip to Goguryeo, which gave him a legitimate reason to fight, he received some rewards upon returning to the capital.

It has been left idle, as if it has returned to the days of just loafing around and waiting to die.

Now that he has been summoned again, Yang Zhengdao can't help but feel nervous.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects. May Your Highness be well! I wonder if Your Highness has summoned me for some business?"

We arrived at Xiande Hall.

After Yang Zhengdao bowed formally, he noticed that Xiao Rui, a relative of his, was also present, which reassured him somewhat.

Li Chengqian looked at him, and the smile on his face made Yang Zhengdao unable to fathom its meaning.

"My brother-in-law said that my cousin was reading 'A Record of Foreign Countries' at home today. Is he somewhat interested in things related to foreign lands?"

The word "cousin" made Yang Zhengdao, who was not much older than Li Chengqian, feel a sudden tightness in his heart.

Based on his understanding of the crown prince, it would be fine if he gave a normal order; that would simply be issuing a routine task.

However, if you add some affectionate kinship terms, the situation changes. The general meaning is that you should tell this "relative" to be prepared to put their head on the gambling table.

He swallowed hard. "Our Great Tang Dynasty now receives tribute from all nations. We often see envoys from neighboring countries, and even from foreign lands thousands of miles away, in Chang'an. Some of their customs and traditions are completely unheard of, which is why I've become somewhat curious..."

"boom!"

Li Chengqian slammed his hand on the table, startling Yang Zhengdao so much that he trembled.

This made Xiao Rui, who was watching the scene unfold, smile wryly to himself. This Crown Prince always liked to scare people with these kinds of things, and the more timid someone was, the more he liked to scare them...

"Good! Hahaha, it seems I didn't make a mistake in sending you here, Uncle."

Yang Zhengdao looked at him nervously, puzzled.

At Li Chengqian's instruction, Wang De delivered the letter from the Prince of Han to him.

"At present, the King of Han is preparing to set sail and lead the fleet back to our Great Tang Dynasty. Furthermore, the Arab Quraysh tribe and the Kingdom of Chalukya have reached a trade cooperation agreement with each other under the auspices of the King of Han."

"We agree to allow Arab merchants to import timber and grain from the Kingdom of Cherukchi and to build a slave transit station in the port of Mengba. The Kingdom of Cherukchi will become a force that our Great Tang will support to restrain the Tibetan colonial expansion in the Harsha Dynasty region. In addition, the Arabs also need our Great Tang to keep an eye on them."

Li Chengqian smiled, a smile that made Yang Zhengdao's face turn pale.

"I intend to send you, my cousin, to the Indian subcontinent to serve as the Tang Dynasty's Provincial Governor of India, and also to oversee the three-way maritime trade in the Arabian Sea, protecting the interests of Tang Dynasty's merchant ships in the future..."