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

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

Li Ke looked at Li Chengqian, whose aura suddenly turned cold and terrifying after he uttered the words "Japanese pirates" in an instant, and couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

Seeing that Li Chengqian's face was so ugly, a hundred times uglier than when he saw the 100,000-strong Turkic army at the Wei River.

He quickly offered words of comfort.

"Your Majesty, do not worry. There are only a little over a thousand men, and they are all unorganized guerrillas. Minister Changsun is currently concurrently serving as the governor of Hedong Circuit, and his troops are not far from Dengzhou."

"Judging by the time, they should have already wiped out those Japanese pirates by now."

Li Chengqian nodded without saying anything.

He simply handed the intelligence back to the other party and gave an order.

"Get ready, it's time to head back to Taiyuan."

Li Ke: "......."

Watching his elder brother's retreating figure, Li Ke's expression turned solemn, and his brows furrowed deeply.

Although he had only worked with his elder brother for half a year, Li Ke knew very well that his elder brother was always someone who was used to "persuading people with reason".

Anyone who offends him will be punished by the Emperor himself.

The Taiyuan Wang clan was like this back then, as were the Turkic Jieli and Tuli. However, today, Li Ke felt that his elder brother, after seeing the news about the Japanese pirates landing and attacking Dengzhou City, was...

But in an instant, he seemed like a completely different person.

His whole body was filled with a chill even more biting than the winter winds around Yanmen Pass.

When the returning carriage was ready.

After giving Hou Junji some instructions on some important matters at Yanmen Pass, Li Chengqian immediately prepared to get into his carriage and leave.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

A series of anxious shouts came from the direction of the guards.

Li Chengqian turned his head and saw several members of the Zheng family pulling at a figure with expressions of shock and anger.

Among them, Zheng Wuling, the eldest son of the Zheng family of Xingyang, noticed Li Chengqian's gaze and his face immediately turned pale.

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes and winked at Cheng Chumo, who had been relieved of his military post at Yanmen Pass and returned to his post as one of the Six Commanders of the Eastern Palace, and who had returned to Taiyuan Prefecture with him.

The latter immediately came over with several members of the Zheng family from Xingyang.

"Your Highness, please spare my second brother! He... he didn't plot a rebellion!"

As soon as Zheng Wuyang walked over, he knelt down on the ground with a thud.

Li Chengqian frowned: "When did I ever touch the people of the Zheng family of Xingyang?"

Zheng Wuling hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Highness, the second brother Zheng Wuyang mentioned is not from the Zheng family of Xingyang, but Lu Wenhu, the eldest son of the second branch of the Lu family of Fanyang. My younger brother has been deceived by him, and together with Wang Qingyun, the Sima of Bingzhou, the three of them are sworn brothers..."

Zheng Wuyang explained anxiously.

“Your Highness, my second brother also went to the grasslands. Together we brought back several thousand herdsmen. We were almost killed on the grasslands several times. Your Highness, he still has arrow wounds on his body, all from the grasslands.”

"Your Highness, he did not plot a rebellion!"

Li Chengqian immediately understood.

In fact, it wasn't just Lu Wenhu mentioned by the other party; several other families, including the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, the Li family of Zhao County, the Cui family of Qinghe, and the Cui family of Boling, also sent people to Yanmen Pass.

They were supposedly going to war for the country, but in reality, they were nothing more than pawns thrown out to buy time for the aristocratic families to prepare for rebellion.

Li Chengqian looked at Cheng Chumo.

Where are these people now?

"Your Highness, these people are currently imprisoned in the Yanmen Pass jail. They will soon be escorted to Chang'an along with Jieli and Tuli..."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

His gaze, however, was no longer fixed on Zheng Wuyang, who was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly.

He turned to the eldest son of the Zheng family behind the other party.

“Zheng Wuling, your father is the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial. Do you know whether our Great Tang currently has any envoys from Japan?”

Zheng Wuling was taken aback.

Although it is unclear why His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly mentioned Japan again.

But he still hurriedly bowed and reported.

"Your Highness, there should be at least three Japanese envoys at the Court of State Ceremonial in Chang'an. Judging from the time, they should all still be in Chang'an. Is there anything Your Highness may do for me?"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

"Get into my carriage, and we will return to Taiyuan Prefecture together."

With that, Li Chengqian stepped directly into the carriage. Outside the carriage, Zheng Wuling glared warningly at Zheng Wuyang, who was kneeling on the ground, and gave a wink to the few members of the Xingyang Zheng family beside him.

The group immediately covered the other person's mouth and dragged them aside.

The carriage was not moving very fast because of the snow on the official road.

Li Chengqian sat upright in the carriage, with his two sons, Li Ke and Li Tai, sitting on either side. In front of him, Zheng Wuling had been extremely tense since he entered, sitting upright and solemnly.

There was even a sense of tension, as if he were facing His Majesty.

Not daring to look at Li Chengqian's expression, she lowered her head meekly and focused her gaze on the height of his collar...

"Many members of the Zheng family of Xingyang hold positions in the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonies. Your family must also have a deep understanding of the customs and traditions of the countries surrounding our Great Tang."

Zheng Wuling quickly whispered, "I dare not."

Li Chengqian's voice was icy cold.

"I intend to ask the Zheng family of Xingyang to act as a bridge between me and Japan, inviting them to study at the Imperial University that will soon be completed in Bingzhou. I wonder if you would be willing?"

The voice just fell.

Li Tai, standing to the side, was instantly shocked.

"What?! Your Majesty! The Imperial University teaches the nation's finest knowledge, which is kept secret. How could it possibly be leaked to outsiders?!"

Zheng Wuling now naturally knows what kind of professors will be taught at the Imperial University that is about to be built in Taiyuan Prefecture.

Machinery, shipbuilding, and metal smelting are open to advanced training for craftsmen.

Management and accounting studies were open to scholars and officials.

There is also the Imperial Agricultural Academy, which now holds an important position in the agricultural field within the New Policy Reform Division.

Although he had not yet attended the lectures in person, Zheng Wuling was well aware that His Highness the Crown Prince had a large number of powerful talents under his command who could overturn their aristocratic families' monopoly on knowledge.

Such skill is actually being passed on to Japan?

Zheng Wuling didn't understand either.

Inside the carriage, only Li Ke, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, could sense that his elder brother, the Emperor, probably had ulterior motives.

"The Zheng family of Xingyang acted as a go-between, telling the Japanese envoy that they should send their most outstanding talents to study in our Great Tang Dynasty. After completing five years of study, they could return home on their own."

"As long as each person pays a tuition fee, and they are responsible for their own travel, food, and accommodation, I can arrange for someone to teach them whatever they want to learn..."

Li Tai panicked: "Brother, we're not short of money!"

Zheng Wuling was unsure of what the Crown Prince meant. His words sounded like a great blessing bestowed upon Japan, but why was the Crown Prince's gaze so cold, as if it could freeze him?

"If that's the case, I guarantee that the Japanese will flock here."

"At that point, it might be difficult to control the number of people..."

As Zheng Wuling spoke, he keenly noticed the cold curve of the Crown Prince's lips and his heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he had said something wrong?

however.

"A lot of people are coming? The more the merrier! However, their activities are limited to Bingzhou Road."

Zheng Wuling nodded: "Even so, I can guarantee that it will be completed. All I need to do is write a letter to my father."

Li Chengqian nodded.

Suddenly, Li Chengqian's gaze toward Zheng Wuling turned solemn.

The chilling voice was like a steel knife held to the other person's neck.

"Zheng Wuling...can I trust you?"

These words startled Zheng Wuling, who hurriedly tried to stand up and bow, but due to the height of the carriage, he knelt down in front of Li Chengqian with a thud.

"Your Highness, the Zheng family of Xingyang will follow your lead! Whatever Your Highness commands, the Zheng family of Xingyang will carry it out to the fullest extent!"

Li Chengqian stared at the other person for a long time before nodding slightly.

After a long silence, he finally spoke again.

The words he uttered sent a chill down Zheng Wuling's spine.

"After these Japanese students arrive, they will be sent to Bingzhou according to the normal procedure. I will have someone build an industrial park near Taiyuan Prefecture specifically for detaining these people."

Upon hearing Li Chengqian use the word "detain," Zheng Wuling instantly understood.

This is hardly a blessing that His Highness the Crown Prince is bestowing upon Japan; it's more likely a plan to severely punish these Japanese people.

He dared not interrupt, and could only listen carefully to every word Li Chengqian was saying.

"Let's set a high tuition fee and requirements first. Anyway, there are many nobles in Japan. These nobles may not have much else, but they have plenty of gold and silver. Let's squeeze them dry first."

"Then I will have the Great Tang Newspaper publish news every one or two months about which of these Japanese students have been given important positions and are serving as officials in our Great Tang."

"Then have the people in the park force these Japanese slaves to write letters, informing their relatives and friends to come to my Great Tang to make a fortune..."

As Li Chengqian spoke, Li Tai, who had originally thought his elder brother was going to be a pushover, was also mentioned.

He immediately swallowed hard.

Zheng Wuling's forehead was covered in cold sweat: "This, Your Highness, isn't this a lie? If this gets out, it will damage Your Highness's reputation..."

Li Chengqian gave a cold laugh.

"Reputation? Spread?"

"Heh, let's not even talk about how I don't care about this so-called reputation... Do you think these people still have a chance to spread these things around?"

Li Chengqian's smile at this moment resembled that of a demon crawling out of the eighteenth level of hell.

It was ferocious and chilling.

"Gather all the alchemists, coroners, and physicians of Bingzhou Road and establish an Imperial Medical Academy."

"Among these people, those who are dishonest, or those who have been completely exploited, are all sent there to be studied by these people for their hearts, livers, spleens, and lungs, or for live dissection, or for use as research material after death..."

"Ugh, vomit!!!"

Li Chengqian's few words instantly conjured up images of gruesome corpses in Zheng Wuling's mind, piled up in a grotesque manner.

Unable to hold it in any longer, he immediately leaned against the car window and began to gag and vomit violently.

Li Ke swallowed hard.

At that moment, he was absolutely certain!

Although he didn't know why, he knew that his elder brother was the emperor.

But it certainly wasn't just because of the more than a thousand Japanese pirates who landed in Dengzhou.

For reasons he was completely unaware of, his elder brother harbored a deep hatred for the Japanese, wishing nothing more than for their destruction and extermination, even if the methods were so vile and heinous as to be appalling.

We would absolutely spare no expense.

Li Chengqian looked out the window at the snow-covered scenery.

He seemed completely unaware of the horrified looks the people around him were giving him.

Suddenly, she spoke softly.

"Let's set up the research institute in Yunzhong. A coal mine has just been discovered there and is currently being mined. Let's set it up next to that coal mine, with the Imperial Guards and the Yunzhong garrison jointly guarding it."