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

News of the caravan's detention reached the Tang Dynasty and was immediately sent to what is now the Hexi Circuit.

When they learned that the Byzantines had not only seized the goods of their Tang merchants, but also killed several people, the first reaction of the Tang generals in charge of guarding the Hexi Corridor was that this idiot had lost his mind.

Then, realizing what had happened, everyone was overjoyed.

That idiot might have really had his brain slammed in a door, but right now, they've both been hit by a windfall.

"Heaven is helping me! It really is heaven helping me!"

"General, it wouldn't be right for us not to send troops. Our brothers haven't had a chance to earn any military merit in so long, and now all the bandits and thieves in Hexi have been wiped out..."

A group of young generals, all looking excited, surrounded Su Dingfang, the current commander-in-chief of Hexi Circuit.

One of them immediately knelt down on one knee and volunteered for battle: "General, please let me lead the troops into battle. Just give me two thousand cavalry, and I will make those audacious Byzantine barbarians understand the might of the Tang army! If we are defeated, I will behead this humble general Pei Xingjian!"

Su Dingfang smacked his lips.

As the commander-in-chief, and with the authority granted by the retired emperor and the Grand Council, he could still issue orders for military operations like "rescuing Tang merchants," as long as it wasn't a large-scale offensive.

but......

"His Highness the Crown Prince said that our Great Tang supports the Sassanid Persia so that it can be used by our Great Tang to control the Arab and Byzantine Western countries. If we send troops directly now, I'm afraid His Highness will not be pleased."

Su Dingfang's words left all the soldiers of Hexi Road speechless.

His Highness the Crown Prince loved his soldiers like his own children. He would rather let the Sassanid Persian soldiers fight to the death than let these Tang soldiers lose their lives in vain.

Pei Xingjian was helpless.

Fortunately, Su Dingfang also knew the eagerness of the soldiers in the various camps of Hexi Road to make meritorious contributions. If they didn't have this desire, who would come to serve as soldiers in a frontier place like Hexi Road?

"I will order the Sassanid Persian king to send troops to attack Byzantium. As for us... Pei Xingjian!"

His voice was a bit more subdued, and Pei Xingjian's eyes lit up when his name was called.

"I hereby authorize you to deploy 3,000 cavalrymen, along with provisions and water, and to swiftly march to Ctesiphon. Find the opportune moment to infiltrate Arabia. If there is any unusual activity, attack immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Pei Xingjian's eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

"The last general takes command!"

Only those who actually served in the Tang army or directly fought against it can truly know how terrifying the Tang army's military power is.

The Tang army not only possessed the world's strongest army of cold weapons.

It also possesses the world's only firearms capability.

Take, for example, the three thousand cavalrymen from Hexi Road that Pei Xingjian has just ordered. Their warhorses are Mongolian horses that are said to have come from the northern deserts and have been bred by the Tang Dynasty. They are not only strong in endurance, but also good at long-distance raids.

Pei Xingjian and his men were equipped with light armor, but it was a double-layered armor with an outer layer of fine steel plates and an inner layer of leather armor.

There were two quivers with different arrowheads in the pack on one side of the horse's back. The arrowheads were both made of fine steel, but one of the quivers had a piece of explosive about the thickness of a thumb attached to the side of the arrow shaft.

On the other side was a short crossbow.

He carried a fine steel scimitar at his lower back, which had been modified and approved by the opinions of the elite Turkic cavalry.

His main weapon is a long spear with a blood groove on the tip.

Other items include medicine for injuries, bandages, compasses, maps, telescopes, and signal flares.

Including the saddle and other equipment, this set of gear could be described as luxurious in the era of cold weapons.

Despite his great excitement, Pei Xingjian's mind had already entered command mode the moment he mustered his troops, mounted his warhorse, and marched out of the camp.

Born into the Pei clan of Hedong, he learned the family's martial arts and family traditions from a young age. Later, he was selected to enter the Tang Dynasty Royal Military Academy based on his abilities, where he received and learned the battle tactics of the Duke of Yi and many famous generals. He also came into contact with firearms tactics.

The purpose of coming to Hexi Road is for this very day.

"Brothers, after this campaign, who knows when we'll have another chance? We must not only win, but win big! I intend to seek even greater gains. What do you all think?"

After leaving the passes of Hexi Corridor and entering the sandy lands of Persia in the Western Regions, Pei Xingjian did not rush to Sassanid Persia. Instead, he stopped his troops and looked seriously at his soldiers.

Hear the words.

The group looked at each other for a moment, and then a burning fighting spirit shone in all their eyes.

"That's exactly right!!!"

Pei Xingjian nodded in satisfaction and immediately abandoned his trip to the Sasanian capital. Instead, he changed his route and decided to conceal his whereabouts as much as possible, passing through the coastal areas of southern Sasanian Persia where there were territorial disputes with Arabia, crossing the Tigris River, and secretly entering the heart of Arabia.

Just as Pei Xingjian led his cavalry westward,

Su Dingfang had already written the letters and sent them to Sassanid Persia and Chang'an respectively.

Byzantine Empire, Egypt Province.

Heraclius, along with several craftsmen, was observing the intricate internal structure of a Tang Dynasty clock that had been seized from a merchant from the Tang Dynasty.

He would occasionally frown and ask the craftsmen questions.

"You've been looking at it for so long, can't you give me an answer yet? Is it possible to replicate it?"

Apart from the clock in front of us.

Almost all the items carried by those caravans are here, and on the table next to them are a disassembled compass and telescope.

Byzantine artisans were still able to roughly understand the principles behind the compass.

However, after disassembling the telescope and seeing the exquisitely textured and remarkably pure glass, everyone immediately shook their heads, indicating that they had no way to replicate it.

It's not just because the purity of the glass itself is so high, but also because of the meticulous polishing process; it's definitely not something that can be purely handmade.

Hearing Chirac's slightly impatient urging, the expressions of the craftsmen changed, and then they exchanged glances.

The leader hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.

“Your Majesty, many structures inside are hidden. If we don’t completely dismantle it, we won’t know if there are any things that cannot be made. Moreover… our smelting technology is not yet capable of producing metal parts of such purity.”

The artisans of the Tang Dynasty were incredibly resourceful.

Because these were products exported to the West, it was a good opportunity to showcase the country's strength. Among the design drawings, there were many mechanical structures that, in addition to those used to operate clocks, also included many fancy but impractical ingenious designs.

For example, this clock in front of us has a miniature version of a musical instrument inside.

There was also a small stick next to the musical instrument.

Every day the clock ticks, at noon it activates the musical instrument mechanism, causing the bell-like ring to spin and collide with the small rods, thus producing a piece of music full of oriental rhythm.

That is why, when Heraclius decided to seize the caravan, the caravan's owner fought to the death and was killed by him.

Chirac was very dissatisfied.

In a recent conversation with Muhammad, he realized the enormous differences between Western countries and the Tang Dynasty in the East, at the national level.

Religion and faith existed in the Tang Dynasty, but the emperor was a figure of greater power than religion.

Unlike him, who has those old Christians above him interfering... He gritted his teeth again at the thought.

If he could completely control the country, he could definitely enable Byzantium to create these exquisite goods and amass great wealth.

Just as he was struggling with his thoughts, a guard rushed in.

"Your Majesty, the Turkic soldiers are here!"