In March of the second year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty and the Carolingian Empire concluded an alliance in Jinling City, agreeing to conduct friendly and in-depth exchanges in military, economic, cultural, scientific and technological fields, to be allies of each other, and to jointly defend against foreign enemies. This is known in history as the "Alliance of Jinling".
In April of the same year, Zhao Zilong, the commander of the Imperial Guard of the Tang Dynasty who was in charge of building the Great Wall outside the region, was far away in the Pamir Plateau and the area north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in the western region. He received an imperial edict and was promoted to the Grand Marshal of the Tang Dynasty to lead 800,000 Tang troops to conquer the Arab Empire in three routes.
At the same time, Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion of the Tang Dynasty, and Zuo Liangcai, the Marquis of Changxin, were appointed as deputy marshals of the left and right armies, respectively, to assist Zhao Zilong in his western expedition. The construction of the Great Wall outside the territory was to be fully coordinated and managed by Guo Dingfang, the Marquis of Zhenxi of the Tang Dynasty.
Chen Huai'an ultimately agreed to the request brought by Marco Polo, the envoy of the Charlemagne Empire, that Charlemagne wanted to conclude an alliance with the Tang Dynasty, and immediately issued an edict to launch a western expedition after the alliance was signed.
On the one hand, the notification sound for achieving the title of "Emperor of All Ages" in the "Born to Be an Emperor" system that Chen Huai'an was looking forward to had not yet arrived, and he did not know what the problem was.
Therefore, continuing the conquest and planting the royal flag of the Tang Dynasty in every corner of the world became his final military pursuit.
On the other hand, it was the in-depth exchange with the Carolingian Empire in the fields of economy, culture, and science and technology, which Chen Huai'an believed could indeed promote the development of the Tang Dynasty in these aspects.
He preferred to cooperate with the Carolingian Empire rather than the other Arab or Byzantine Empires.
Perhaps, once Zhao Zilong returns victorious from his western expedition, and once the Tang Dynasty has made significant progress in economy, culture, and technology once again, he might achieve the status of "the greatest emperor of all time"?
Who knows?
In May of the same year, Chang Yuchun, the Duke of Wei, who had led a large army to suppress the rebellion in Goguryeo, returned to the capital to report. The remaining forces of King Gojang of Bojang on the Goguryeo peninsula had been completely wiped out by the Tang army.
By this time, the entire Goguryeo Peninsula had come under the rule of the Tang Dynasty and become part of the orthodox dynasty of the Central Plains.
Hundreds of warships of the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet, led by Admiral Qi Jiguang, the Duke of Dingguo, set sail from Nampo Port in Goguryeo, embarking on the first expedition to conquer the four islands of Japanese pirates.
Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, who ruled the country from the imperial city of Jinling, reviewed memorials from all over the country every day. As he looked at the increasingly powerful Tang Dynasty in the memorials, his sense of accomplishment gradually increased.
That day.
After reviewing the memorials in the Imperial Study, Chen Huai'an, accompanied by Xiao Po, the commander of the Imperial Guard, ascended the city wall of the Imperial City and looked down at the ancient capital of Jinling, which was bathed in the setting sun.
As the setting sun cast its golden glow over the ancient capital of Nanjing, Chen Huai'an felt a surge of emotion for the first time: "Such a beautiful landscape, how can one not cherish it?"
Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.
The tenth year of Emperor Zhaowu of the Tang Dynasty, the first decade after Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an ascended the throne.
Under Chen Huai'an's rule, the Tang Dynasty entered the unprecedentedly prosperous Zhaowu era, with its economic, cultural, and technological development far exceeding the sum of the development of the Central Plains dynasties in the previous thousand years.
The territory actually controlled by the Tang Dynasty reached a terrifying 32 million square kilometers. More than two-thirds of the entire Asian continent was covered by the royal flag of the Tang Dynasty, and people spoke Chinese.
It is no exaggeration to say that Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an at this time was a veritable "governor of Asia". If he sneezed in Nanjing, the whole of Asia would tremble.
At this time, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an was about to enter his forties, and a beard had grown on his handsome face, making him appear more mature and wise.
After ten years of development, the Grand Canal, which connects the north and south of the Tang Dynasty, has long been navigable and has become the most important water conservancy hub of the Tang Dynasty.
The "Forbidden City" built in Chang'an Prefecture has also been officially completed, and it is only waiting for an auspicious day to move the capital to Chang'an;
The war to conquer the Arab Empire in the west has been going on for ten years and is still ongoing. It must be admitted that the resilience of this super empire far exceeded Chen Huai'an's expectations. In these ten years, the Tang Dynasty has sent no less than two million troops to the west, and the Charlemagne Empire has also assisted from the east, but it still failed to completely conquer the Arab Empire.
Although the Tang army on its westward expedition had already captured Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate;
However, after moving the capital to Damascus, Caliph Safah continued to call on the subjects of the Arab Empire to resist the Tang Dynasty's westward expeditionary force.
Furthermore, with the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) stirring up trouble, this epic war is far from over!
For the past ten years, Chen Huai'an has still not received the notification from the "Born to be an Emperor" system. The "Exploration of Immortality" that would be unlocked after achieving the "Emperor of All Ages" achievement has yet to arrive.
Now, Chen Huai'an no longer worries about what he should do to meet the system's evaluation criteria and become a great emperor of all time.
They didn't even think about achieving immortality or the extravagant hope of living forever;
He wanted to live each day to the fullest and lead the Tang Dynasty he had built to new heights.
On the fifth day of the fifth month in the tenth year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty.
Today is the first morning court session after the Tang Dynasty moved its capital to Chang'an, and it is also the day that the Ministry of Rites has decided to appoint the Crown Prince.
Inside the Golden Palace, on the dragon throne.
Wearing a bright yellow five-clawed dragon robe and a crown, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an sat upright, looking down majestically at the civil and military officials in the hall.
Yu Siqian, who was already the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, was the first to step forward and request the emperor to appoint a crown prince.
Yu Siqian took the lead and said, "Your Majesty, the world is now at peace and the Mandate of Heaven has been bestowed. We beseech Your Majesty to establish a Crown Prince as soon as possible to secure the country and the people!"
"Your Majesty, please establish a Crown Prince as soon as possible, so as to secure the country, the nation, and the hearts of the people!"
Immediately, the court officials in the Golden Palace presented their memorials, requesting the Emperor to appoint a Crown Prince as the heir apparent.
On the dragon throne, Chen Huai'an remained calm and composed.
Ten years have passed; it's finally time to choose a successor for myself and the Tang Dynasty!
At Chen Huai'an's command, he said, "Guards, summon Princes Chu Yan and Chu Qing to the palace!"
"Summon the First Prince Chen Chuyan and the Second Prince Chen Chuqing to the court—"
Soon, amidst the sharp announcement from Cai Hecang, the second eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, the two princes, Chen Chuyan and Chen Chuqing, who had already reached the age of ten, walked firmly into the Golden Palace under the watchful eyes of their father, Emperor Chen Huai'an, who sat on the dragon throne, and the civil and military officials lined up on both sides of the hall. They knelt down to pay their respects to Emperor Chen Huai'an.
"Your subject Chen Chuyan (Chen Chuqing) pays his respects to Your Majesty!"
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
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