Tibet

Li Ye also personally came to greet the team returning from the Western Regions, not because there were 50 million gold coins in the team, nor because Bai Xiaode returned to Beijing to report on his work, but mainly because the Princess of Shi Kingdom had arrived. His coming to greet him was an attitude and a sign of his Attention to the river area.

Until more overseas gold and silver mines are obtained, the gold and silver produced in the Hezhong area will become an important source of finance for Datang in the long term.

Even if the Princess of Shi Kingdom looks average, Li Ye will accept her into the palace. What's more, Li Chenghua also praises her as the most beautiful woman in the river, and she is a perfect combination of east and west.

Li Ye was also quite tempted.

A mighty team arrived. Wei Jiansu and Xiao Hua went to greet the camel team loaded with gold coins and took them to Chang'an Cangcheng.

Li Ye met with the general Bai Xiaode. Bai Xiaode got off his horse, knelt down on one knee and said: "The last general, Bai Xiaode, the governor of Anxi, comes to see your majesty. I wish your majesty long live long live!"

Li Ye also dismounted and helped him up, smiling and saying: "This time we attacked Anxi, Bai Aiqing, thank you for your hard work!"

Bai Xiaode felt a little relieved. As the commander-in-chief of the army, he was usually most afraid of the emperor's evaluation of his unparalleled achievements or taking the most credit, which meant that his achievements would shock the master. However, the emperor's evaluation of his hard work and merits significantly alleviated this, so he Talking about lack of merit will shock the master.

Bai Xiaode hurriedly explained: "Beizi's Western Expedition was very easy. It was the most relaxed expedition in Beizi's many years. Beizi believes that the credit goes to the weapons inspectors, the officials and craftsmen who developed the firearms. Your Majesty, this is what Beizi thinks. !”

Li Ye laughed and said: "I know, everyone deserves credit. General Bai will have a good rest for two days and then go to the Privy Council. They will make arrangements."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"

While Li Ye and Bai Xiaode were communicating, Shi Qianquan, the princess of the Shi Kingdom, was also watching Li Ye in a carriage not far away. This was her future husband, His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

I saw that he was about thirty years old, tall and straight, with a heroic appearance and a friendly smile, which was completely in line with the aesthetics of women in the Western Regions.

"How about it?"

Li Chenghua laughed softly from the side: "Isn't our Emperor very good?"

Shi Qianquan nodded sheepishly, "I didn't expect him to be so young."

"Isn't it bad to be young? It's much better than that seventy-year-old caliph in Dashi."

"Indeed! It's good to be young."

At this time, Privy Councilor Guo Ziyi took Bai Xiaode away, and Li Ye walked towards Shi Qianquan with a smile.

Shi Qianquan was a little panicked, "He's here, Sister Li, what should I do now?"

Li Chenghua smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, you are still the princess of Shiguo and the heir to the king of Shiguo. Let's meet each other with normal etiquette. Get off the car!"

The car door opened, and Li Chenghua helped Shi Qianquan, who was wearing a red dress, get out of the carriage. Li Chenghua stepped forward and saluted, "I humbly join you, Your Majesty!"

Although Li Chenghua is a woman, Li Ye couldn't help but pat her arm, "You are indeed my right-hand man, good job, I am very satisfied!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty!"

Li Chenghua was recognized by the emperor, and she was also elated. She quickly introduced Shi Qianquan to Li Ye, "This is Shi Qianquan, the princess of the Stone Kingdom, and she is still the crown prince of the Stone Kingdom!"

Shi Qianquan also gave a profound Sogdian gift, "Shi Qianquan has an audience with His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Ye saw that she had blond hair, skin as white as cream, extremely delicate, plump yet slender figure, and looked very much like Princess Sissi in later movies, with eyes as bright as gems.

Li Ye fell in love immediately. He smiled slightly and said, "What is the name of your country of stone?"

"Report to Your Majesty, my name is Ashgul!"

"This name is very nice. Do you like Datang?"

Shi Qianquan nodded, "My eyes are full of green. I loved it all the way. I like the section of the Yili River Valley the most. If only my hometown could be that beautiful!"

Li Ye felt very fond of this simple and beautiful Uzbek beauty. He smiled and said: "The Tang Dynasty has a vast territory. To the west is the farthest river, and to the south is the other end of the sea. You haven't seen the sea yet!"

Shi Qianquan shook his head, "My grandmother told me that the sea is vast and boundless. I really want to see it with my own eyes."

"There will be a chance!"

Li Ye then said to Li Chenghua: "Chenghua took her to see Chang'an, and then took her to the palace to meet the queen. The Honglu Temple building is not suitable for her, so she can live in the palace."

As soon as these words came out, Li Chenghua knew that the emperor was attracted to Shi Qianquan. In fact, she was a woman. She noticed that when the emperor saw Shi Qianquan for the first time, his eyes lit up, and she knew it was done.

"I'll go back to the court first. Chenghua, you accompany Her Royal Highness to look around."

Li Ye took another deep look at Shi Qianquan and said, "Princess Ashgul, I hope you like Chang'an!"

Li Ye got on his horse and left under the protection of the guards.

At this time, the female guard leader Jiao Hongmei stepped forward and said with a smile: "Li Dutong, long time no see!"

Jiao Hongmei is Li Chenghua's old subordinate. Li Chenghua is really happy, "Hongmei, why are you here?"

"Li Dutong, please accompany Princess Shi Guo to another carriage! We are the guards."

Li Chenghua immediately understood that regardless of whether they met or not, the emperor decided to accept this political marriage. He needed to use marriage to consolidate his control over Hezhong.

Li Chenghua smiled and said: "Qianquan, let's get in the car!"

The two got into a luxurious carriage pulled by five horses. The carriage had glass. This was not polished crystal. This was real glass, and it was also covered with thin gauze curtains.

The carriage was decorated in the style of Shi Guo. Shi Qianquan suddenly said in surprise: "This is the rose carpet of our Tuozhi City."

"You feel the care of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty now!"

Shi Qianquan nodded gently, her pretty face suddenly blushed, bit her lip and whispered: "He wants me to live in the palace tonight, is it tonight..."

"That won't happen!"

Li Chenghua smiled and said: "This is the tradition of the emperor's family. Every bride must first get familiar with everyone and become friends, and then choose an auspicious day, and prepare for the internal wedding, which will take about a month."

"Is the queen very strict?" Shi Qianquan asked a little worriedly.

Li Chenghua laughed, "The queen is my good friend, she is easier to talk to than me, I have never seen her angry, of course, she has principles, don't touch her bottom line, everyone will get along well."

"What is the queen's bottom line?"

"The first bottom line is the emperor's grandmother, she also lives in the palace, everyone must respect the elderly!"

Shi Qianquan nodded repeatedly, there is no problem in respecting the elderly, she has always respected her grandmother.

"Then what?"

"Then you can't try to seize her position as queen."

Shi Qianquan laughed, "I understand, this must be the biggest principle."

At this time, the carriage entered the inner city of Chang'an, and a noisy and lively atmosphere came to the face. The spacious and clean streets were crowded with people. There were shops with various signs on both sides, and all kinds of goods were dazzling. The hawking sounds came one after another, and in the distance there were magnificent buildings.

Shi Qianquan was stunned for a moment. She had never seen such a prosperous metropolis.

At this time, a group of Hu people ran past her carriage, leaving a string of laughter.

Shi Qianquan turned her head quickly and said to Li Chenghua in surprise, "They are speaking the language of Shiguo!"

"If they say not, they are from Kangguo!"

"No! Kangguo speaks in a different tone, they are the girls of Shiguo."

Li Chenghua nodded, "I have counted that there are 350,000 young ladies from the nine Sogdian countries in Chang'an, 150,000 in Luoyang, and in other counties, a total of about 500,000."

Shi Qianquan looked at the backs of a group of young ladies and sighed softly, "I hope they can marry a good family in the Tang Dynasty!"

There are more women than men in Shiguo. Many women from Shiguo went to the Tang Dynasty and finally got married in the Tang Dynasty. Shi Qianquan suddenly thought of herself. She was the same.