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

Li Chengqian had thought that Gao Yang, at least amidst the tearful atmosphere of the other princesses, would also shed tears at this moment of parting.

Unexpectedly, whether it was because this girl was carefree or because of her competitive spirit and desire to achieve something, she simply couldn't grasp the sentimental atmosphere.

Xiangcheng, Changle, and especially Chengyang, who used to be inseparable from Gaoyang, cried until their faces turned pale. This girl waved her hand and left Chang'an amidst the roaring train.

Inside the carriage, Wei Shuyu looked out the window at the ever-receding walls of Chang'an with a sorrowful expression. If it were in the past, he would have been so happy to be allowed to go to Baikal County, or even serve under his father and govern a region of the Tang Dynasty that he would not have been able to sleep.

But now...

“Your Highness, I have done everything as you instructed… that matter.”

He was ashamed to talk about it, but he had to bring it up again.

Sitting opposite him, Gao Yang, who was excitedly flipping through a thick "dowry" ledger, waved his hand dismissively.

"Okay, okay, it's just a good girl..."

"Your Highness!"

Wei Shuyu gasped, suppressing Gao Yang, who almost let slip his shameful secret in front of several of his classmates from the Chang'an Official School.

"What are you yelling about? You scared me half to death!" Gao Yang finally came to her senses.

Dou Mingzhong looked at the two of them with curiosity.

I always felt that there was some secret between Wei Shuyu and Princess Gaoyang.

"Your Highness, what were you about to say about Wei Shuyu?"

Others nearby, hearing the commotion, also looked over curiously.

Wei Shuyu's face flushed red: "This is none of your business, don't meddle!"

"Oh~"

However, these words only made things worse. Hearing Wei Shuyu's tense and embarrassed words, everyone revealed ambiguous smiles that only men would understand.

Dou Mingzhong couldn't help but chuckle softly twice.

"He's fond of women, and while it's not pleasant to say such things out loud, I'm sure Lord Wei isn't an unreasonable person. However, Brother Wei, you can't bring this up openly when you get to Baikal County..."

Wei Shuyu's face flushed red with embarrassment, looking like she wanted to get angry but was at a loss for what to do.

This caused everyone in the carriage to burst into laughter.

Seeing that the atmosphere of parting had faded, Gao Yang immediately stood up and became serious.

"Everyone!"

The carriage instantly fell silent.

At this moment, besides some young talents like Dou Mingzhong selected from the Chang'an official school, there were also several outstanding female officials from Chang'an noble families who had been in the secretariat of his elder brother, the Crown Prince, after much persuasion from Gao Yang.

The age difference between them is not too great.

"Since you are all willing to follow me to Baikal County, it means you all want to make a name for yourselves. I will not say more about the current situation in the court, as you are all aware of it."

"Once you enter officialdom, you will likely be able to secure some decent positions, but you will be facing tens of thousands of exceptional candidates in the imperial examinations every year, as well as your family members and brothers..."

Princess Gaoyang had lost her usual spoiled princess air. Although she was still wearing a princess dress, her aura was full of decisiveness and solemnity.

“From now on, Baikal County will be my fiefdom, and as you have all seen, whether it is the Six Ministries, my brothers, or even my father and mother, they all dote on me. We are not short of people now.”

"As far as I know, Baikal County is not lacking in minerals or farmland, and it also has a vast freshwater lake called the North Sea. If any of you have any skills, you will surely be able to make a name for yourselves in Baikal County."

"In a decade or so at most, your classmates from the Chang'an Imperial Academy will only be county assistants, or at most county magistrates. But you... I have a way to grant you all official titles and ranks, making you high-ranking officials in our Great Tang Dynasty!"

Everyone cheered and accepted the order.

Regardless of whether it was true or not, Dou Mingzhong, standing beside Wei Shuyu, immediately adopted the demeanor of a loyal minister meeting a wise ruler.

Gao Yang smiled faintly.

"What you need to do next is to boldly unleash your talents and ideas in Baikal County for me!"

"Whether you want to be a general or govern the people, it's up to you..."

The news of Princess Gaoyang's enfeoffment in Baikal County came before she even arrived there.

It spread at an extremely rapid pace throughout the Tang Dynasty and even among the many countries surrounding it.

He granted the princess a fiefdom and also bestowed upon her military and political power.

This kind of thing is extremely shocking even among the surrounding foreign countries.

But ironically, that's exactly what the Tang Dynasty did.

While these countries marveled at the audacity of the Tang Dynasty's royal family, they also had to seriously consider a very serious question.

Previously, when the Tang Dynasty invaded other countries' territories, it was mostly through external colonization, such as sending Prince Liang, Li Yin, or Prince Han, Li Ke.

However, once the door was opened for Princess Gaoyang to take up her fief.

In the future, wouldn't the Tang Dynasty be able to send princesses abroad under the guise of granting them fiefdoms?

In the past, it was only these high-ranking foreign officials who wondered if they could marry a princess from a superior nation in the Central Plains. Now... it's no longer a question of whether they can have a princess from the Central Plains.

Rather, the princess of the Central Plains is about to possess them...

Tibet.

Songtsen Gampo frowned deeply as he looked at the letter his sister, Samaga, had sent back.

"Your Majesty, the North Sea is very far away from us, extremely far. I don't think we need to worry about this. After all, the number of Harsha slaves we provide to the Tang Dynasty every year has been stable, and now we're even selling them grain. Even if His Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty were to make a move against us, he wouldn't choose this time..."

The minister offered words of comfort.

However, Songtsen Gampo's brows furrowed even deeper.

“Samaga has been married to the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty for over a year, but there is still no sign of her getting pregnant, which makes me worry about the future of our Tubo…” He took a deep breath.

"Among the many concubines of the current Crown Prince Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty, the first one who is pregnant is the daughter of the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the second is the daughter of Prince Li Daozong. This must be because Li Chengqian is secretly controlling them."

He stood up and walked outside the hall.

After several years of slave trade, although Tibet still had to pay a large amount of war reparations to the Tang Dynasty every year, the massive slave, spice and grain trade made Tibet powerful at an extremely rapid pace.

Today, after the burial of unknown Harsha slaves, Lhasa has acquired the grandeur of a highland royal city.

Incense smoke curls throughout the city, and gilded Buddha statues and murals imbued with Buddhist atmosphere can be seen everywhere.

However, for these Buddhists who came to the plateau to spread their teachings...

Songtsen Gampo appeared very respectful on the surface, but inwardly he was extremely wary.

These monks were all spies of the Tang Dynasty, used to monitor and restrain the Tibetan people.

"In Li Chengqian's eyes, no matter how submissive we are, or how useful we are to the Tang Dynasty, we still cannot change the contemptuous title of 'barbarians'... When the Tang Dynasty's need for slaves decreases after a few years, that will be our time of misfortune!"