"Many small nations in the Western Regions have been wavering between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo. If Tubo were not there, the Western Regions would be stable, and the Tang Dynasty could focus its strategy on the northeast."
To the northeast is naturally Goguryeo.
Starting from the Sui Dynasty, several generations of emperors from the Sui and Tang dynasties wanted to destroy Goguryeo, and the crown prince Li Chengqian was well aware of this.
Li Shimin was very satisfied with this, and this was also what Li Shimin meant.
"Yes, that's what I mean. All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are his subjects. This place must belong to the Tang Dynasty!" Li Shimin had seen the map of the 21st century. Xiao Ran had said before that the only flaw in the Tang Dynasty map was Tubo.
Li Shimin also read in history books that after the Anshi Rebellion, Tubo captured Chang'an City and encroached on the Western Regions, which were things Li Shimin could not tolerate.
Now with the support of thermal weapons, this unstable factor no longer needs to exist.
Li Shimin wanted to solve this problem in advance.
Li Chengqian had just left, and Li Shimin was also preparing to meet Xiao Ran.
I went straight to the little princess' inner sanctuary and rang the doorbell.
Hearing the doorbell, Xiao Ran stood up and walked to the mirror, appearing in the little princess's inner hall.
"Uncle, didn't you just go over there? What are you doing? You've disturbed Mingda and the other two sisters' sleep." Xiao Ran complained a little about Li Shimin.
"My boy, I have something serious to do."
"Let's talk over there." Princess Gaoyang and the two little girls would be worried if Xiao Ran was not around.
Li Shimin followed Xiao Ran to the hotel. Xiao Ran poured Li Shimin a glass of water and asked, "Uncle, what's the matter?"
"The Tibetan delegation has arrived in Chang'an."
Xiao Ran handed the quilt to Li Shimin, "You want to marry the Princess of the Tang Dynasty, right?"
Xiao Ran took out his phone and checked, "The time doesn't seem right. How come it's early?"
"It's normal. Because of your appearance, things in the Western Regions have changed a lot. In addition, the influence of money houses in the Western Regions, it is normal to advance. What were the previous records like?" Li Shimin asked casually.
"In the eighth year of the Zhenguan reign of the Tang Dynasty, the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty. Your uncle, I, sent Feng Dexia as an envoy to Tibet. Songtsen Gampo sent another envoy to the Tang Dynasty, proposing to marry a Tang princess, but your uncle refused."
Xiao Ran didn’t know all this before, but he knew that Princess Wencheng went to Tibet later.
Xiao Ran didn't expect that Li Shimin would refuse him the first time, and he began to have a better impression of Li Shimin.
They don't like things like marriage alliances, they prefer to just do it directly and push away such wise and capable emperors.
Xiao Ran continued, "Because the Tuyuhun King Nuohebo had come to the Tang Dynasty to meet with the emperor, the Tubo envoy came back and told Songtsen Gampo that the Tang Dynasty rejected the marriage proposal because the Tuyuhun King had interfered."
"What happens next?" Li Shimin asked.
"In the 12th year of the Zhenguan reign of the Tang Dynasty, Songtsen Gampo used the excuse that Tuyuhun was obstructing the Tang Dynasty and sent troops to defeat Tuyuhun, Dangxiang, and Bailang Qiang. He marched directly to the Song Dynasty and threatened to invade the Tang Dynasty if the Tang Dynasty did not agree to a marriage alliance."
Li Shimin was furious when he heard this. "You bastard! How dare you threaten me!"
Li Shimin is still very scary and domineering now.
They usually interacted so casually that Xiao Ran almost forgot that he was a great leader.
"Uncle, don't be impatient." Xiao Ran continued, "Niu Jinda led the Tang army's vanguard to defeat the Tubo army. Songtsen Gampo was greatly frightened. Before the main force of the Tang army led by General Hou Junji arrived, he withdrew from the Tuyuhun, Dangxiang, and Bailang Qiang, sent envoys to apologize, and again proposed marriage. He sent Grand Councillor Xue Ludongzan with 5,000 taels of gold and an equal amount of other treasures to formally propose marriage."
"That's more like it."
Xiao Ran curled his lips, "Then my uncle canonized a girl from the royal family as a princess and married her off to him."
"What's with that expression on your face?" Li Shimin felt that Xiao Ran's reaction was not very good.
"This is also one of the things that people in later generations criticized you for. They said that giving away technology and marrying was too humiliating."
Li Shimin was a little speechless, "What do you think we should do?"
"Before, if there were no time travelers, you could have married someone, but now that there's a time traveler like me, and you're still marrying someone, then wouldn't my time travel have been in vain? The current Songtsen Gampo is wary of your great reputation, uncle, and the powerful Tang Dynasty. Tubo will not be at peace in the future. Uncle, you know what happened after the An Lushan Rebellion. How can we not crush him now and let him live?"
"They will be one family with us after more than a thousand years, so we should educate them in advance. Even if their technology is not good enough, they are our own people, so we can teach them. The prerequisite is that they must be assimilated into the Han culture and become an inseparable part of China."
Li Shimin nodded, "That's what I meant."
"I can help with weapons. They can either surrender directly or send a large army over." Xiao Ran thought for a moment, "I don't think they'll surrender directly. Forget it, I'll prepare something!"
This is the result Li Shimin wanted, to let Xiao Ran provide some necessary support.
It's not just weapons, there's also things like compressed biscuits mentioned before.
Li Shimin didn't want to drag it out, so a quick victory would be the best.
With the support of thermal weapons and modern technology, it is entirely possible.
"Okay, okay, after this battle, your title will be raised." Li Shimin was very satisfied.
Once the northwest is completely stabilized and high-yield crops are promoted, the Tang Dynasty will have to continue expanding outward.
Li Shimin wanted to remove Goguryeo, the thorn in his side, during his reign.
Expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty further.
Xiao Ran doesn't really care about the title, it would be better to have one.
It would be better to be crowned a king than a prince consort.
Li Shimin stood up and said, "I have to go back too."
"Uncle, it's fine that you didn't go to the northwest before, but now that we're talking about Tubo, I think you should go and take a look!"
At first, Xiao Ran hadn't decided where to go in the northwest, but now he has a clear goal.
"Okay, the Queen and I will go and take a look together then." Li Shimin agreed very readily.
Xiao Ran didn't say much else. You'll know when you go and see it.
Princess Gaoyang rubbed her eyes and said, "Brother!"
"What happened to Seventeen?"
"I seemed to be dreaming and heard Grandpa's voice."
Xiao Ran smiled and said, "Maybe it's not a dream. If you feel sleepy, go to sleep for a while. When Changle Sixth Sister comes over, we will go somewhere else."
A few days ago, I took some time off to visit Xi'an. I visited the Bell Tower and Drum Tower in the "City That Never Sleeps," and also went to see the ginkgo trees. This season is truly beautiful. Heading west to Sun and Moon Mountain, I was struck by the Princess Wencheng Temple. I'm considering adding a princess to the story, letting her follow the others and write about her. In terms of fame, contribution, and influence, Princess Wencheng is no less influential than Li Lizhi and Li Mingda. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please leave them in the comments. Although I've been updating less frequently, I've been working diligently on this book and want to finish it. Thank you all for your support!
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