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

"This is certainly not a trivial matter..."

Yang Zhengdao already felt that His Highness the Crown Prince had given him the position of Provincial Governor, which showed that he valued him highly.

But he never expected that this Crown Prince valued more than just him.

This guy gave him such a huge task right from the start.

Putting aside everything else, the appointment of officials within this vast system alone is a considerable undertaking.

After all, the majority of affairs to be faced in the future will undoubtedly be foreign affairs. Therefore, in the selection and appointment of officials, a significant number of officials with foreign appearances must be selected, while ensuring their loyalty to the Tang Dynasty and the imperial family, as well as their abilities...

In addition, officials with Han Chinese features should also be included, since they are considered part of the orthodox system.

In addition, some official positions were reserved for the future Cherukchi Kingdom, Tibet, and even the Harsha Dynasty, which, in His Highness the Crown Prince's words, is currently in a "semi-colonial and semi-feudal" state.

In the early spring of the seventh year of the Zhenguan era, when the air was still chilly, the temporary office of the Indian governor in Chang'an was bustling with unprecedented activity.

Too busy!

The examination and selection of officials, the allocation of personnel, and some collusion between the six ministries.

This made the young Yang Zhengdao deeply feel the weight of his responsibility to his country and his family.

"Lord Zheng, thankfully His Highness arranged for you, otherwise... I was truly worried that I would mess up His Highness's plans right from the start. Being dismissed is a minor matter; if my Great Tang were to lose face in front of those foreign tribes, then I, Yang Zhengdao, would truly have no face to meet my ancestors..."

Yang Zhengdao said, his face showing both exhaustion and relief.

however.

At this moment, Zheng De, who was standing in front of him, could not be happy at all.

His two years of peace and tranquility had finally come to an end.

Back then, when he received this appointment, he was still enjoying a leisurely vacation in Guangzhou, spending time on the beach with his concubines...

He didn't enjoy his freedom for long before his elder brother, Zheng Jiang, ordered his servants to tie him up and take him back.

He stared blankly at Yang Zhengdao, his lips twitching slightly.

In the end, I was too lazy to give them a piece of my mind.

The appointment was made by His Highness the Crown Prince. Even if he scolded Yang Zhengdao, he wouldn't be able to get Yang to remove him from his post. On the contrary, Yang might give him even more orders.

Not worth the candle.

Every nobleman in Chang'an with a brain knew that serving as the Director of the Administration Office of Tianzhu would be a significant highlight in his future political career, and being sent to serve as an official outside the capital would be even more advantageous in the current Tang Dynasty court.

Challenges and opportunities coexist.

This prompted the nobles of Chang'an to begin moving around eagerly at the very beginning of the seventh year of the Zhenguan era.

They all selected outstanding members from their respective families.

Whether they joined the military or entered politics, everyone wanted to squeeze into the Indian Provincial Administration.

However, now that information in the court is transparent, the Crown Prince has ordered that the affairs of the Indian Provincial Administration be published in the newspapers, so that these sons of noble families, despite their good abilities, still have to face competition from younger generations from humble backgrounds and commoners.

Even Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin), the Zhenguan Emperor, received numerous letters of request from officials of Jiannan Circuit in Chang'an regarding this matter.

They all hoped to send their own family's elites to participate in the competition.

"Tsk tsk tsk, this Lu Shiming, he's already starting to pull strings for his son..."

"And the Qiang family of Shu County, the Yang family of Pi County, the Qiao family of Nanchong, the Meng family of Yaozhou... even remote families like the Cuan family of Yuexi have received the news."

In the Empress's palace, Emperor Zhenguan lay in Empress Zhangsun's arms, with one hand resting on the belly of the sleeping baby girl as if petting a cat.

In his other hand, he held a letter from Lu Shiming, the governor of Chengdu Prefecture.

"Guanyinbi, Gao Ming, that rebellious son, has truly made something of himself. In the past, when he made such big moves in Taiyuan Prefecture, it was always that rebellious son who would suffer first. Now... look at this talented general, not to mention me, who wouldn't be envious?"

Emperor Taizong's words carried a hint of sarcasm, causing Empress Zhangsun to chuckle softly.

"These talented families from Jiannan Road, those who shone in their early years, have all been put to use by His Majesty's Qing Shu Palace, haven't they? Even those on this list mostly rose to prominence during His Majesty's new policies in Jiannan Road."

"I think these people are not born outstanding talents, but rather they are people Your Majesty raised and are now used by Your Majesty and the Crown Prince."

Li Shimin gave a pleased hum.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he smacked his lips.

"The third brother will be back soon. It takes almost a year and a half for him to come and go at sea. Now even the fifth brother is engaged, and Chengqian has a child, but the third brother hasn't made a move at all."

He raised his head, nuzzling against the Empress's lower abdomen: "Now that Ke'er is back, we absolutely must take care of this matter for him. Guanyinbi, you should spend more time with Consort Yang these days, and help with the preparations..."

"Achoo~ Achoo~ Achoo..."

Three sneezes suddenly burst from Li Ke's mouth.

His second-in-command, Sismi, couldn't help but worry: "Boss, are you sick? Should we call the ship's doctor?"

This third prince of the Kingdom of Zheluqi, who sounded rather funny and absurd, eventually boarded a Tang Dynasty ship after arguing with his father, King Puroksha II.

He became the first foreign officer and student in the Tang Dynasty navy with the nationality of King Zhelouqi.

He served as a deputy to Li Ke, the Prince of Han.

Li Ke shook his head, raised the binoculars in his hand again, and looked at the distant sea.

"Ah, no need. I'm probably going to face some unpleasant things after I return home."

Sismi exclaimed in astonishment, "What? Just because I sneezed three times? You can predict the future?!"

He stroked his chin, looking on with a puzzled yet impressive expression.

I gained a more intuitive understanding of the mystery and power of the Tang Dynasty in the East.

Just as he was about to ask something else, he suddenly noticed that Li Ke's hand holding the binoculars paused, and then there were exclamations from the Tang Dynasty sailors on the deck.

"Look! Look to the east!"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise, as if they had discovered something incredible. The captains, who had been frequently looking towards the course with their binoculars since setting sail from the supply island early this morning, had almost the same reaction as Prince Li Ke of Han.

"Holy shit..."

"Holy crap... there really are mythical beasts?!"

Previously, there were many doubts and questions about what the King of Han said at the meeting before the voyage: "Today we set sail, and the Great Sage of the Overturning Sea, a divine beast of the Great Tang Dynasty, will accompany us to escort the ship."

But when that enormous creature at the edge of the sea began to approach the fleet at a speed visible to the naked eye.

All the captains of the ships and merchant vessels gasped in shock.

Seeing the panicked sailors on the deck, they quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly explained to everyone the exact words that the King of Han had said at the meeting earlier that day.

It had some effect, but it only prevented the crew from doing anything extreme.

However, without exception, every member of the fleet was tense because of the ever-approaching Great Sage Who Overturns the Sea.

Fortunately, the Great Sage Who Overturns the Seas let out a roar that shook the sea, and then did not get any closer.

The enormous whale's tail flapped.

The next moment, there was a loud crash.

The seawater, shimmering in the sunlight, was accompanied by struggling fish, which were tossed into the air like rain.

Immediately afterwards, it plummeted towards the ship below.

On the deck, on several ships that were letting black slaves out for some fresh air, the slaves were instantly drenched in seawater and then pelted by schools of fish, screaming in terror.

"God... what did I just see...?"

On a ship belonging to the Jewish family of Jeddah, Hughes, who was traveling with the fleet to the Tang Dynasty, looked like he had seen a ghost.

On the sea surface, a whale as large as a small mountain was constantly stirring up schools of fish, as if giving gifts, or as if a god was spreading his blessings.

His lips twitched, and his entire body was completely tense.

He stared blankly at the sea fish still struggling and splashing at his feet, his face grim and pale...