Li Hong believed that what happened here today would soon spread in the Western Regions and the Central Plains through the mouths of these merchants. Moreover, for the people of the small countries in the Western Regions that were conquered by the Tang Dynasty, it might have some positive effects and make them feel proud of being Tang people.
But Li Hong was not sure whether it would have any impact. However, he would use these businessmen as much as possible to spread the iron-blooded power of the Tang Dynasty and its determination to protect the people.
In this era, businessmen who travel far and wide are equivalent to the media in the previous life. They are mobile microphones. Anything that passes through their mouths will spread quickly, and there will be a touch of mystery and their own vague sense of superiority.
Yuan Shuji looked at Li Hong's determined eyes, and finally made up his mind. According to Li Hong's instructions, he dropped all five people from the top of Yumen Pass into the air.
The cold air instantly blew across the top of the city, instantly waking Kasim and the others up from the pain.
Li Hong's voice came from above their heads: "Enjoy the cool night. I hope you can survive the night."
Yuan Shuji frowned, feeling heavy in his heart. He thought that he should report this matter to his superiors. Otherwise, if he allowed the young Crown Prince to continue to suffer like this, something bad would happen sooner or later.
"Are you worried that the White Arabs will take revenge?" Li Hong asked as he walked up the stairs one step at a time.
"Well, to be honest with the Grand Protector, I am indeed a little worried." Yuan Shuji told the truth.
...
...
Li Hong looked at the cold moon and sighed, and then exhaled a breath of white hot air from his mouth, muttering: "After the Western Turks were conquered by our Tang Dynasty, the little Khan of the Western Turks, Ashinu, surrendered to Tubo. Yuan Shuji, why do you think this is?"
Yuan Shuji didn't understand what Li Hong meant. After thinking for a while, he replied, "Because our Tang destroyed their country, he became dependent on Tubo?"
"Then tell me, why did Tocharistan want to restore its country after being conquered by me, but finally became dependent on the White Arabs?" Li Hong continued to ask.
Yuan Shuji didn't need to think about it this time, because the reason was obvious. Everyone knew that the White-clad Arabs were very powerful now. Compared with the Tang Dynasty, the White-clad Arabs could threaten them more directly, while the Tang Dynasty was thousands of miles away. If they had to rely on someone, they would naturally rely on the White-clad Arabs.
Without waiting for Yuan Shuji to answer, Li Hong continued, "So, only when you become very powerful will your enemies be in awe of you. Only when you show your tough side will your enemies respect you. If you are very weak, your enemies will only treat you as a lowly creature and will not give you any equality. Tocharian is weak, and the White Arabs are strong, so Tocharian is dependent on the Arabs. The Tang Dynasty is also strong, but it is also easy to fool. It is as strong as a fool. As long as they get benefits from us, they will turn their backs on us and be ready to stab you in the back at any time."
Accompanied by Yuan Shuji, Li Hong returned to his lodgings. Standing at the door and looking at him, he said easily, "Only when the enemy respects you and is afraid of you can you truly conquer them. If they are not afraid of the Tang Dynasty from the bottom of their hearts, they will never submit to the rule of the Tang Dynasty. They will always think about independence and restoration of their country, and will do whatever it takes to achieve this. As the saying goes, to kill a person, you must first destroy his heart, and to destroy a country, you must first destroy its culture."
Seeing that Yuan Shuji seemed to understand, Li Hong squinted his eyes and continued, "Killing their Khan is just the end of an era for them, and they will have other Khans. If we destroy their culture and use our culture to educate them, that would be the real genocide and the real rule! So, the people from the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial College, and the Honglu Temple have nothing to do in the court every day, always staring at me to see if I have done anything bad. It would be better to send them all here and let them come here to promote our Tang culture, and spread some knowledge to the countries like the Nine Zhaowu Surnames, Shiguo, Kangguo, Gaochang, and Qiuci. In this way, they will be the offspring of our Great Tang. Spiritually, controlling them mentally is far more powerful than using force. But there is a prerequisite, that is, you have to conquer them with force first! Let them give us a chance and use our culture to destroy their race."
"Thank you for your teachings, Grand Protector. I will keep it in mind!" A trace of loyalty flashed across Yuan Shuji's face.
He knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stood in the cold wind and gave him such a long speech in the hope that he, and even other Tang border army generals, could understand the significance of the Tang Dynasty's expedition.
"Thank you very much for your teachings, sir. Listening to your words is worth more than studying hard for ten years. I am afraid that even if I study hard for another ten years, I may not be able to understand such profound philosophy." A somewhat childish voice came from behind Yuan Shuji.
"You haven't slept yet? We still have to travel tomorrow." Li Hong said to the two of them.
Yao Chong and Huan Yanfan walked up to Li Hong, performed the disciple ceremony, and then said, "Sir, this is the first time for us to come to Yumen Pass. We are a little excited, so we gave up our sleepiness and walked around casually. We don't want to have the honor of listening to your true meaning here."
"Stop flattering me. It won't be easy for you two to follow me all the way. I hope you two can survive the hard days ahead." Li Hong waved his hand to signal Yuan Shuji to go back, then looked at Yao Chong and Huan Yanfan and said.
"Sir, if you, a wealthy man, can bear it, we should be able to bear it even more." After spending more than a month with Li Hong, Yao Chong and Huan Yanfan were no longer as reserved as before.
"Okay, then let's make a deal and face the difficulties together, how about that?" Li Hong said carefully.
"Students dare not." After hearing Li Hong's words, the two men's expressions immediately tensed up and they hurriedly said respectfully.
What a joke! There is a difference between the ruler and his subjects. No matter how gracious the ruler is to you, you cannot regard yourself as being on the same level as the ruler.
Looking at the two people, Li Hong smiled and then motioned them to go downstairs and rest.
Xia Zhi behind him hurriedly lifted the door curtain and welcomed Li Hong into the warm room. After closing the door, he asked, "Master, why do they all turn pale and look nervous when you say we should share the joys and sorrows together?"
"Alas, this is the so-called difference between the ruler and his subjects. I was too reckless." Li Hong said as Xiaoxue helped him take off his white fur coat.
This is like in the last life, I remember someone said: The leader can treat you as a brother, but you must never treat the leader as a brother. In the last life, such human relationships still exist, let alone in this era.
After Xiaohan and Bailu died, Li Hong kept Xiaoxue and Xiazhi by his side. Over the years, they were the only two people besides Bai Chun who had slept with Li Hong.
So Xia Zhi and Xiao Xue each did their job and quickly helped Li Hong finish his bath.
Early the next morning, Li Hong was helped by Xiaoxue and Xiazhi to dress and wash. After everything was done, Hua Meng was already waiting at the door.
"Master, this has just been delivered. Please have a look."
Li Hong took the secret letter from Hua Meng, tore it open casually, and scanned it at a glance, saying, "Oh, it seems that my guess was right. This Kasim is not an ordinary person. He is actually the youngest son of Muawiyah, the White Caliph."
"Who is Muawiyah?" Hua Meng asked curiously.
Li Hong handed the letter back to him, looked at the soldiers who were busy preparing to set off, and looked at the rising sun that had just appeared on the horizon, and said: "Muawiyah is the king of the Umayyad Kingdom. In their understanding, the king is called 'caliph'. This is their language, which means successor or ruler in our language. It is the title of emperor and king for them, and it means to manage their country on behalf of their prophet."
"Prophet?" Hua Meng was even more confused. Even Xia Zhi and Xiao Xue, who were wearing armor after cleaning up nearby, had a look of confusion on their faces.
Mangzhong, who was leading Li Hong's horse, was also confused: "Caliph? This name is really ugly. It's not as good as the title of our emperor."
"The culture is different, so naturally the titles are different. The real name of the Caliph is Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abdulmutalli bin Hashim." When Li Hong finished speaking, he felt that it was a bit confusing.
The six people behind him looked at Li Hong's chattering, their eyes wide open in confusion and dullness. It was the first time they heard such a long name. Moreover, they had been following His Royal Highness the Crown Prince since he was born, but they had no idea that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince knew so much about things thousands of miles away.
"Banmei, don't look down on this prophet. He enjoys a prestige in the White Caliphate that exceeds the imperial power." Li Hong said, looking at Banmei who was secretly curling his lips.
"Yes, my master has taught me this, and I will remember it." Banmei playfully stuck out her tongue and said in a cute voice.
“Don’t underestimate these people. Every place has its own spiritual civilization and inherited beliefs, and the Caliph is their spiritual belief. In the hearts of the White Arabs, no one is nobler than their great prophet Muhammad, and no one is more powerful than their great prophet Muhammad.” Seeing the few people’s disapproving looks, even Yao Chong, Huan Yanfan, and Yuan Shuji followed behind him.
Although everyone was listening attentively, it was obvious that they did not show enough attention and respect to other civilizations as they did to themselves.
"Muhammad was able to conquer vast areas such as the White Caliphate, but force was not his most relied upon weapon. Instead, it was a weapon that none of our ancestors had achieved. Moreover, this weapon of his was much more powerful than any force. It went straight to the heart of people, making them surrender and submit to him from the heart." Li Hong mounted his horse and slowly walked out of the city. All the soldiers had already gathered outside the city.
"What kind of weapon is that? Please give me some advice, Grand Protector." Yuan Shuji bowed deeply to Li Hong who was riding on horseback and asked.
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