Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 95 This world is indeed vast.

Wenzhong quickly called for someone to bring over a table and writing materials.

Li Chengqian stepped forward and spread out a white silk cloth, while Li Ke ground ink for him.

Seeing that his two older brothers were being so attentive, Li Tai looked around and, realizing there was nothing for him to do, went to fetch Wen He a bowl of tea.

To please Wen He, he even added a lot of pepper.

"let's start."

Li Shimin suppressed his excitement and urged Wen He to hurry.

"Forehead."

Looking at the brush and ink in front of her, Wen He blinked and looked up at Wen Zhong.

Seeing that he didn't put pen to paper, Li Shimin frowned in confusion: "Don't tell me you've forgotten?"

"I haven't forgotten. In geography class when I was a kid, we drew world maps every day. Although I can't draw those details, even elementary school students know about the seven continents and four oceans."

You probably already know that.

Anyway, when Wenhe was in elementary school, we were required to draw a world map in geography class.

When people from the orphanage came to visit, he would draw a simple world map and give it to them.

However, only the general outlines were drawn, without the details.

So he appeared unremarkable, and no one came to adopt him until he left the orphanage at the age of fifteen.

"Then why haven't you started writing?"

Li Shimin laughed, somewhat annoyed.

He had been piqued by Wen He's anticipation, so why did this brat suddenly hesitate again?

"I'm not used to painting with a brush, so please wait a moment."

As Wen He spoke, she ran off on her own.

Li Shimin and the three little ones were left standing there in astonishment.

Not long after, Wen He returned, holding a charred piece of charcoal in her hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, hehe." He chuckled twice, then paused for a moment.

"What is it now?" Li Shimin asked impatiently.

“They…” Wen He pointed at the three little ones, afraid that he might let something slip.

What if it leads to future problems?

"It's alright, hurry up." Li Shimin shook his head.

Seeing that he didn't care, Wen He lowered her head and began to paint on the silk.

"This is the present-day Tang Dynasty." He only took a small portion of the silk and drew the map of the present-day Tang Dynasty as he remembered it.

Li Shimin looked at the large blank area and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

"Then, in the Mongolian Plateau north of the Tang Dynasty, stretching to the Aral Sea in Central Asia, this large area was all Turkic, with a territory of more than 764 million square kilometers, which was several times the size of the present-day Tang Dynasty."

Although Li Shimin did not know what the concept of a square kilometer was, he understood the phrase "several times".

Such a colossal object was placed before him.

He felt no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, he was excited.

"However, in the future, the iron hooves of the Tang Dynasty will traverse this vast territory."

Although Li Shimin had already learned about this from Wen He.

But now that he has learned of the vastness of the Turkic territory, he is eager to lead his cavalry on a northern expedition.

The three little ones didn't take it to heart when they heard this.

They all thought Wen He was advising Li Shimin that he would destroy the Turks in the future.

"Beyond that lies the continent of Europe, including the Abbasid Caliphate, the Eastern Roman Empire, the Bulgarian Empire, the Duchy of Bavaria, and England, which for a time was known as the empire on which the sun never sets, though they are currently in the midst of the Warring States period."

"These white barbarians are filthy, greedy, and warlike, but it is undeniable that there are many wise men among them. Most importantly, they are willing to take risks and learn. They learned our Four Great Inventions and brought them back to carry out more advanced modifications and creations."

"They improved firearms, cannons, steam engines, and ships that could sail the world, and carried out colonial rule all over the world."

"In the future, it was also because of the arrogance and conceit of the Manchu Qing dynasty that the land of China sank for a century, suffering endless humiliation at the hands of these barbarians!"

Thinking of those more than a hundred years of humiliation, Wen He's long-dormant youthful indignation erupted once again.

Li Shimin did not disturb him, but he remembered a few words very well.

"The British Empire on which the sun never sets".

"A century of humiliation."

And firearms, cannons, steam engines, and ships capable of circumnavigating the world.

“Moreover, Europe has abundant mineral resources. If we can colonize it, we can use cheap labor to have them mine minerals for us, just like they did to us back then.” Wen He slammed his fist on the table.

The three little ones standing nearby were startled.

They looked up at Wen He and noticed that his eyes were filled with tears and bloodshot.

Li Tai thought he was going crazy and wanted to speak, but Li Chengqian stopped him.

On the other side, Li Ke's eyes looked a little strange, but he quickly regained his composure.

He vaguely remembered "the future, the afterlife" in his mind.

Li Shimin, fearing he was too excited, pressed his shoulder to let him rest, but Wen He turned to look at him and said, "Your Highness, do you know why you, along with the First Emperor and Emperor Wu of Han, are the pride of the Chinese people?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was deeply moved.

Will he be the pride of the Chinese people?

To compare me to Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, do people of later generations think I am very tyrannical?

Gu Mingming is very kind.

He shook his head and asked, "Why?"

"Because in the eyes of many people in later generations, whether it is you, or the First Emperor, or Emperor Wu of Han, as long as you are not senile in your later years, and you are given a world map, then there will only be one country under this sky!"

"However, I know it's very difficult. It might take decades, hundreds of years, or even more than ten generations of effort to achieve this."

Even if this statement is exaggerated, given the strength of the Tang Dynasty, even if Li Shimin were given a world map, he would not have been able to conquer the world in his lifetime.

Wen He's arrival introduced a variable into Li Shimin's life.

"What do you mean by the 'empire on which the sun never sets' you just mentioned?" Li Shimin remained calm and did not show too much excitement because of Wen He's words.

But Wen He knew that a fire had already been ignited in the heart of this Heavenly Khan.

"The world is a sphere shaped like an egg, which revolves around the sun. But when it is night here, it is daytime in other parts of the world."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shimin's eyes suddenly lit up.

"The sun never sets; it shines on the land of the Tang Dynasty every moment. Wherever the sun and moon shine, that is the territory of our Tang Dynasty!"

He doesn't know anything about astronomy.

They didn't care whether the ground beneath their feet was shaped like an egg.

They don't care whether the sun or the earth is the center.

He only cares about one thing!

Wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever rivers flow, all shall be my subjects!

"This world is indeed very vast."

Li Shimin looked at the large blank space that Wen He had deliberately left on the silk and couldn't help but sigh.

Even though only Europe was depicted, Li Shimin felt the burden on his shoulders grow even heavier.

Even with Wen He's help, he might be able to conquer Europe during his lifetime, but what about other places...?

He couldn't help but turn to look at Li Chengqian.

Still in shock, Li Chengqian suddenly felt the gaze directed at him by his father.

He was trembling, but not with fear; rather, with the same excitement as Li Shimin.

"In the remaining places, such as the location of the Kunlun slaves, the people are savage and uncivilized, eating raw meat and drinking blood, and they like to eat human flesh."

"Ew." A nauseating sound interrupted Wen He's words.

Everyone turned their gaze toward Li Tai without prior arrangement.

Li Tai immediately lowered his head in fear.

"Continue," Li Shimin said, not blaming Li Tai.

Seeing this, Wen He chuckled and continued drawing on the silk.

"This land is vast, containing not only the Kunlun slaves but also a portion of the Abbasid Caliphate. However, the land here is barren and requires a great deal of time and manpower to cultivate. Nevertheless, it possesses many resources that will benefit the future."

Oil, rare earth elements, and the like might have been useless in the Tang Dynasty.

However, these are the most important resources for the future development of technology.

If the Tang Dynasty were to capture it now, then that place would become its inherent territory in the future.

Although resources like oil weren't very attractive to the Tang Dynasty, Wen He knew there were two things that Li Shimin would definitely be thrilled about.

Wen He smiled and wrote the characters "gold" and "iron" on it.

"The area above has gold and iron mines that can supply the Tang Dynasty for hundreds of years. We can have the local Kunlun slaves mine them, and then move them there after the Tang Dynasty's population explodes."

(End of this chapter)