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

"Ha, they're still waiting for me down there. That makes me really scared..."

Li Chengqian pursed his lips and gave instructions to Wang De, who was standing to the side.

"Go burn a few sets of chessboards for my good uncle and good fourth uncle, so that these wandering ghosts won't have no way to pass the time."

Li Chengqian didn't care at all how explosive his words were. Anyway, who in the world didn't know about the Xuanwu Gate Incident of his Li family? The opera "Xuanwu Gate Incident" was now the most popular performance among the people of the Tang Dynasty.

Wang De was already used to his prince's surprising remarks.

After respectfully responding, he served tea and snacks to Xuanzang and his companions, and then quietly withdrew from the Xiande Hall.

The hall was now empty except for Li Chengqian, Qianlou, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the two Buddhist monks, Xuanzang and Fuhu.

"You two must have seen those unfortunate people who have become addicted to opium, right?"

Li Chengqian asked.

Upon hearing this, both Xuanzang and Fuhu had gloomy expressions on their faces, and they both bowed their heads in sorrow and uttered a Buddhist chant.

“Amitabha, Your Highness, this thing is truly extremely vicious, a demon that poisons the heart and flesh, and must be eradicated!” Xuanzang said.

Li Chengqian nodded in deep agreement, but then couldn't help but sigh.

"Easier said than done. This substance is a foreign specialty. Those that entered our Great Tang Dynasty came from the surrounding Arab regions, and were then cultivated and produced within our territory by treacherous individuals. Controlling it within our Great Tang is easy, but eradicating this poisonous creature from the world..."

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly, but then suddenly changed the subject: "The Islam of Arabia has recently made contact with the Byzantine Empire and seems to have reached some kind of alliance. This news was sent to Chang'an by the Sasanian Persian king."

Qianlou handed the translated intelligence to Xuanzang and his companion.

Li Chengqian continued speaking without pausing.

"The Byzantine Empire was located in northwestern Arabia. Before that, the Arabian, Byzantine, and Sassanid Persians were in a triangular relationship, with Byzantium being the strongest, followed by Arabia, and Sassanid Persians being the weakest."

"If it weren't for the intervention of our Great Tang Dynasty, which restricted the expansion and development of Islam, both of the former would have been defeated by Muhammad. But now, perhaps the pressure from our Great Tang Dynasty is too great, which has led to Muhammad reaching a cooperation agreement with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius."

"The Sasanian Persian king spoke of Heraclius with obvious fear, for Sasanian Persia had suffered greatly at the hands of Byzantium..."

Xuanzang and Fuhu carefully examined the intelligence, showing no fear whatsoever.

After all, no matter how strong the so-called Byzantium was, it could not be stronger than the Tang Dynasty at present. And what was limiting the Tang Dynasty's performance was simply the great distance between the two sides.

Once the railway leading to Hexi Corridor is completed, the pressure on supplies and logistics will be greatly reduced. The iron cavalry and artillery of the Tang Dynasty will then tell this so-called Byzantine emperor what is truly important.

Not just anyone can call themselves "Emperor"!

Xuanzang frowned slightly: "Your Highness, should we send spies into Byzantium?"

This is not easy. Although the current Jinyiwei has many members of different ethnic groups and many children who have been recruited and trained, it is still difficult to investigate intelligence in such a distant place.

The difficulty can be imagined.

Seeing the other party's serious expression, Li Chengqian waved his hand and laughed.

If he only knew the information sent by Yazdegerd II, the Sasanian Persian king, he would naturally be more cautious. However, Li Chengqian was a time traveler!

He smiled faintly, gesturing for the two to relax.

"Don't worry, although Byzantium seems very powerful and has a brilliant ruler, in reality, their emperor Heraclius, like me, usurped the throne..."

"Cough cough cough!" Qianlou coughed violently.

Xuanzang and Fuhu stared at the prince in a daze, speechless.

We dare not even listen to what you're saying!

Li Chengqian coughed lightly, waved his hand, and skipped over the question: "His country is actually not very stable."

Then, Li Chengqian began to speak eloquently.

What caused the usurpation of the throne, resulting in the remnants of the former emperor Phocas frequently causing unrest in the provinces? What caused the excessive taxation and frequent riots in wealthy provinces such as Egypt and Syria under his rule?

For example, within the Christianity they themselves believe in, there is a division between East and West, and there are many conflicts among believers.

Furthermore, the True Cross, which has a symbolic role in faith, has remained in Sassanid Persian hands ever since it was seized when the Sassanid Persians conquered Jerusalem in their early years.

Finally, Li Chengqian added that the Balkan region to their north was also unstable, and their Danube defenses against the Avars and Slavs were frequently harassed, showing signs of being breached...

In the end, Li Chengqian laughed. Although he knew that Muhammad had no choice but to choose the Byzantine Empire, the Byzantine Empire looked like a dilapidated house that was leaking everywhere and could be pushed over at any time.

"Now, with the support of our Great Tang, Sassanid Persia is trading with our Great Tang and its domestic economy has stabilized. On the contrary, Byzantium, which has conflicts with Sassanid Persia, has a terrible domestic economy. In recent years, the amount of gold absorbed by our Great Tang through the Silk Road trade is countless."

"When you get there, you can melt down some of their gold coins and see how pure the gold content is. I estimate that the Byzantine Empire has already begun to quietly melt down some gold artifacts and mint inferior gold coins."

Xuanzang and Fuhu both stared in astonishment at their own Crown Prince, who was now displaying such confidence and power before them.

A powerful nation thousands of miles away turned out to be a paper tiger after his analysis.

Immediately, the pressure on the two men lessened considerably. They secretly noted down what Li Chengqian had said. With this knowledge, establishing an intelligence network in Byzantium and the Arab world would be much easier.

"I will give you a warrant. If necessary, you can use this warrant to request Sassanid Persia to send troops to assist you. In fact, if there is a crisis, you can mobilize the 10,000 Pishi troops stationed in Arabia in advance!"

Li Chengqian solemnly added, and then handed the prepared warrant to the two men.

"At the latest, in two years, our Great Tang will launch a western expedition. I hope that the Embroidered Uniform Guard can provide sufficient intelligence support."

Xuanzang and his companion immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Amitabha! Your Highness, please rest assured, we will certainly not fail Your Highness's mission!"

......

Because this mission was ostensibly for missionary work, the Buddhist community had prepared thousands of monks from all over the Tang Dynasty, all of whom had been selected and trained by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In reality, these people did not carry out any intelligence gathering missions. Their main purpose was to provide cover for Xuanzang and Fuhu, and to make the Arabs believe that the group's missionary purpose was to spread Christianity.

As for how to carry out missionary work?

The Tang Dynasty paper money, which has been gradually accepted and recognized in the Arab world, possesses divine power that absolutely surpasses the radiance of God.

If you have a karmic connection with Buddhism, then there will be a beginning; if you have no karmic connection with Buddhism, then the Tang Dynasty will help you achieve a fulfillment.

"Amitabha......"

Xuanzang was escorted out of the palace by Qianlou. When Qianlou returned to the East Palace, he couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him.

"Your Highness, how do you know so much about Byzantium, and in such detail?"

Li Chengqian, who was happily observing the planned railway construction routes of the Longyou Road and Hexi Road of the Great Tang Dynasty, and thinking about planting his family's star, sun and moon flag all over the world, came back to his senses.

Upon hearing this, he gave a strange smile.

"Hmm... telepathy between usurpers?"

Qianlou: "..."

He shouldn't have asked!