Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

"Then why didn't you go into the silk business, but instead went into the copper business in Xuanzhou?"

"As you know, I'm the eighth child in the family, so I'm not the one who gets to enjoy the good business opportunities."

"Dou Jun, you're quite capable. Even in a bad business, you can still make 60,000 strings of cash."

"This... half of it was the principal given to me by my family..."

Sixty thousand strings of cash may not sound like much, but converted to modern prices, it would be worth approximately 4-6 million.

Dou Jun said his family has more than a million guan, which is at least 70 billion.

"How much profit did you make from tinkering with bronze ware in Xuanzhou and Yangzhou?"

"We can probably double that, mainly because copper is hard to find, and the annual output is limited, so we can't really grow that much."

Li You thought to himself, "This is quite similar to what my uncle Yin Hongzhi said."

Now that Huang Chao's army has intervened at the source of the copperware industry, their copperware production business is likely to fail and become increasingly difficult to do.

"Your Majesty, no, my lord, are you truly Prince Qi, Li You?"

"Of course, it's genuine."

"But...you're not...you're not..."

"Telling you won't hurt. I used a substitute to fake my death and escape, which is why I'm still alive."

Dou Jun nodded, but he was still somewhat skeptical.

The description given by the person in front of me is rather bizarre.

Li You asked, "My rebellion began in Qizhou, while your family is from Yangzhou. How did you know about my death?"

"My lord, you may not know this, but there is a canal connecting Yangzhou and Qizhou. We often hear about what is happening in Shandong."

"As far as you know, how are the people of Qizhou doing now?"

"The people of Qizhou killed all the local powerful families and distributed the land equally. Their lives are much better now than before. Not only in Qizhou, but also in places like Langya, Gaoping, and Xingyang, many people received land because of your killing... Your righteous act. I heard that some villages have even erected shrines in your honor, and the people often worship you."

Upon hearing this, Li You's mood suddenly improved considerably.

When Li You first raised his army, he caused chaos in Shandong, and he felt quite sorry for the people of Shandong.

Unexpectedly, the people there still remembered him.

Seeing that the King of Qi was pleased, Dou Jun picked up on a similar topic and continued, "My lord, there is also a county called Chengwu, with five or six hundred farmers. Because the government was too eager to collect taxes, they directly killed five tax collectors. After that, they ran into the mountains and forests, raised your banner, and became bandits. The government has launched several campaigns to suppress them, but they have not been able to wipe them out."

Li You was even more pleased: "Excellent, excellent, very good. Chengwu County, is it? I must reward them handsomely. Dou Jun, where is this Chengwu County, and which prefecture does it belong to?"

"This county is under the jurisdiction of Caozhou."

Li You took out a homemade map and located the place where Caozhou was.

He then took out paper and pen and wrote down the matter on rice paper.

"Besides Chengwu County, which other counties have seen riots?"

"Uh... I haven't heard of anything else. Oh, by the way, I also heard that there was a madman in Xuzhou who, upon hearing your rebellious slogans in Qi, wrote an article criticizing the aristocratic families, saying that they controlled the government, seized land, and refused to pay taxes, making them parasites on the country. The article circulated widely and was often mentioned by scholars from humble backgrounds."

"Oh? There's someone like that? What's their name?"

"This man was named Chao Yang. Because of this article, he was expelled by the professors of the Xuzhou State Academy and his whereabouts have been unknown ever since."

Li You made a note of this guy named Chao Yang.

I never imagined that so many things would happen in Shandong after I left.

If given more time, the people of Shandong would likely raise their voices even louder in their resistance against the powerful clans.

"Wu Hong, send out a few assassins to Xuzhou to search for Mr. Chao. If they run into him, do everything you can to lure him to the stronghold."

"promise!"

The fleet sailed past Jiangxia, entered the Han River, then the Fu River, and gradually headed towards Suizhou.

……

On Li You's return journey, a major event occurred in Chang'an.

That was the 24th day of the first month of the 19th year of the Zhenguan era, the ninth day after the New Year festival.

After 17 years away from Chang'an, the Venerable Xuanzang finally returned to the East.

When the young Xuanzang made the decision to travel alone to seek Buddhist teachings, he felt that he might not be able to return alive.

He was mentally prepared to die in a foreign land and have his remains never returned home.

Now, a full 17 years have passed.

When the 43-year-old Xuanzang saw the many eminent monks, officials, and common people welcoming him outside the city, he couldn't help but think of his former self: that young monk, or rather, fugitive, who had to blend into the crowd of refugees to leave the city without a travel permit.

The ceremony to welcome Xuanzang was grand.

The Tang Dynasty's Chancellor Fang Xuanling, Right General Hou Mochenshi, Yongzhou Prefect Li Shuyou, Chang'an County Magistrate Li Qianku, and other officials personally went to the Caoqu Canal in the western suburbs of Chang'an to welcome this eminent monk.

The people of Chang'an also heard about the deeds of the monk Xuanzang and flocked out of the city.

The local people, both Taoist and lay, rushed to welcome him, and the entire city closed its markets, resulting in road blockages and impassable roads.

Fang Xuanling looked at the dense crowd and keenly sensed the danger.

He stepped forward, greeted the holy monk warmly, and then gave instructions to Li Qianku, the magistrate of Chang'an County.

Li Qianku understood and immediately ran to the crowd of people, shouting loudly, "The holy monk has come from afar and is exhausted. He needs to rest outside the city for one night! The Buddhist scriptures and relics he brought will be revealed in three days on Zhuque Street. Everyone, go back first and come out to see them in three days!"

Upon hearing this, the people realized that they would not see the holy monk and the treasures he brought today, so they dispersed.

After the road was cleared, Fang Xuanling said, "Holy Monk, we can now enter the city. Please stay at Hongfu Temple for the time being; the Emperor will summon you in a few days."

The Venerable Xuanzang chanted the Buddha's name: "The people of the whole city came out to welcome me. I am extremely apprehensive and ashamed. Just as Lord Li and the people said before, I will stay outside the city for one day and enter the city tomorrow."

Fang Xuanling paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Very good. Shuyou, Qianku, you and General Mo must take good care of the Holy Monk, understand?"

"Please rest assured, Prime Minister."

……

Li Qianku stepped forward and booked an inn outside the city, welcoming the monk Xuanzang to stay there.

As night fell, Xuanzang spread out a sheet of paper and, under the light of an oil lamp, recorded what he had seen and heard that day.

As a learned scholar, it is a good habit to keep records at all times.

After finishing his notes, Xuanzang began preparing for his meeting with the Tang Emperor.

In Xuanzang's initial impression, Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty was a stern and cruel monarch.

In the years leading up to his departure from Chang'an, terrifying stories of the Xuanwu Gate Incident circulated throughout the streets and alleys.

However, on the return journey, the people of both the Western Regions and Guanzhong were living relatively peacefully. Everyone praised the emperor's benevolence and governance. Sometimes, they would even hear stories of the emperor personally tasting locusts to pray for the people suffering from the disaster. This obviously changed Xuanzang's initial impression of the Tang emperor.

During his journey to the west, the monk Xuanzang met many emperors and kings. He had in-depth exchanges and discussions on Buddhism with some of them, including the King of Gaochang, the Yabghu Khan of the Western Turks, and King Harsha of Magadha in India.

Therefore, Xuanzang accumulated a lot of valuable experience in how to communicate with these powerful monarchs.

In Xuanzang's view, these high-ranking, praised monarchs also suffered greatly, some of which they found difficult to speak of or share with those around them. But Xuanzang, whom they regarded as a wise man, was different; he could speak freely and openly. Therefore, it is not surprising that some kings and nobles considered Xuanzang a good friend and showered him with gifts of wealth and servants.