Chapter 263
After enduring two more days of hardship, Su Li finally managed to go through the docunts related to his territory. He now had a basic understanding of his land. Over the past few years, the Great Tang had achieved significant developnt.
At the very least, tens of thousands of people from the Central Plains had relocated near the Tubo Royal Court, and trade markets had been established there. Furthermore, there were rough notes about the activities of various tribes in the entire northwest region. There were also approximate population figures for these tribes and details about their customs and traditions.
However, the growth of the Great Tang in the northwest was centered around cities in the Tubo Royal Court region, which were closer to the Central Plains and received investnts from there. As a result, the progress was not particularly remarkable.
Su Li now had a solid grasp of his territory and no longer hesitated. He mounted his white dragon and departed from Tubo Royal Court. Su Li's first destination was the Tibetan Empire's court, the northwest's largest foreign power.
After Su Li defeated the Tibetan Empire, the Great Tang promptly took control of their royal court. This was because Songtsen Gampo and Lu Dongzan had invested heavily in developing this place, and it was part of Li Tang's plan to use the Tibetan Royal Court as a hub for spreading influence across the entire northwest, so significant resources and manpower had been poured into its developnt. Therefore, the infrastructure here was well-built.
Now, Su Li took advantage of this situation. The Tibetan royal court's territory was a mix of ethnic groups, mostly Han Chinese, serving as border soldiers, rchants, and migrants from the Central Plains. Their numbers weren't too large, totaling around thirty to forty thousand.
It was worth noting that with Su Li settling in the northwest, Li Er (Li Tang's second son) had also begun withdrawing his troops. After all, they had agreed not to interfere in the Northwest's internal affairs and military matters. There was no reason for Li Er's army to stay. The garrisons in the Tibetan Royal Court region had already mostly left, and artisans had been mostly reassigned. Places like the Tibetan royal court and other remote areas gradually saw troop withdrawals.
Su Li didn't express a clear stance on this matter. After all, they were now separate branches of the family, and significant military and political decisions required careful consideration. In fact, given Li Er's personality, he probably would have preferred to leave military officers, talent, and artisans in the northwest, where they would have both Su Li's and his interests at heart. However, Su Li had no intention of allowing interference from the Central Plains. He aid to establish a truly independent political entity and build his kingdom.
Su Li's future ambitions extended far beyond the northwest, envisioning a world-spanning empire. With the northwest as his foundation, he planned to expand westward into the Western Regions, even reaching Central Asia, where vast territories awaited conquest. To the north, crossing Lake Baikal could lead him straight into Europe, which a group of barbarians currently occupied. Although the northwest was harsh and cold, its strategic location was excellent. With a few years of developnt, he could seriously consider the prospect of world conquest.
As he contemplated his plans, Su Li continued his journey. The distance from Shangdang to the Tibetan royal court was quite significant, and even with regular horses, it might take ten days to half a month to arrive. With the speed of his white dragon, Su Li covered the distance in just half a day, and upon his arrival, the Tibetan royal court's territory buzzed with excitent.
“It's Prince Yongle!”
“Prince Yongle!”
The first to welco Su Li were the Tang Dynasty's border soldiers. Apart from the substantial military forces in the Tibetan Royal Court region, Li Er did not imdiately withdraw the soldiers deeper into the grasslands. This effectively prevented unrest before Su Li could establish actual control over the northwest.
“Li Er handled this well,” Su Li nodded as he observed the Tang Dynasty's border soldiers. Li Er's decision not to withdraw all these soldiers imdiately spared Su Li from many complications. However, as Su Li solidified his rule in the northwest, he guessed that Li Er would eventually withdraw the remaining Tang forces to avoid potential conflicts between in-laws. Su Li did consider keeping this group of soldiers and horses within his fiefdom. Han Chinese were relatively scarce in the vast northwest desert, and capturing many non-Han ethnic groups was common. Surprisingly, the presence of Han Chinese was quite limited.
The deep-seated attachnt to the Central Plains holand was not easily shaken. Even with Su Li's charm and reputation, he could likely only attract a maximum of one million people. In contrast, Li Er had over three hundred thousand soldiers spread throughout the northwest. While the twenty thousand troops in the Tibetan Royal Court had been withdrawn, the remaining tens of thousands were top-notch soldiers and ford the core of Su Li's rule. Now that he had his fiefdom, Su Li couldn't help but desire these troops, but he didn't want to be overly ruthless, considering Li Er's good intentions.
“I am Li Che, paying my respects to Prince Yongle!” A general stepped forward to greet Su Li. The soldiers were ecstatic. Su Li's legendary na had spread widely across the grasslands, even within the Tang Army.
Prince Yongle was a living legend, having achieved unprecedented feats in battle. The troops stationed at the Tibetan royal court were mostly soldiers who had witnessed Su Li's exceptional performance firsthand during that historic battle.
After exchanging pleasantries with the soldiers, Su Li began summoning the various ethnic groups and foreign rchants in the Tibetan royal court's territory.
“Tell them I am waiting for them at the Tibetan royal court, and I'm giving you all two months to gather. If they don't co, I will personally go to them,” Su Li told the dozens of foreign rchants who knelt before him.
This group of rchants was diverse, consisting of various ethnic groups. They had now aligned with the Tang Dynasty, submitted to Tang's rule, and settled within the Tibetan royal court's territory.
“But... we have already pledged allegiance to the Great Tang and distanced ourselves from those barbarians. We can't pass on ssages…” one of the kneeling rchants said hesitantly.
Before he could finish his sentence, his head fell to the ground.
“If you have distanced yourselves, how did you acquire the goods you have now? How did news of the Tang Army's movents leak?” Su Li asked quietly.
“I don't care about your past dealings. You have two months. If they don't co, I will go to them myself,” Su Li declared firmly.
Of course, Su Li had good reason to suspect that the so-called “pro-Tang” forces living in the Tibetan royal court's territory were in contact with the group of ethnic rebels who resisted Tang rule. Firstly, as rchants, the source of their goods likely ca from the rebels. Secondly, Su Li reviewed the military actions carried out by the Tang Dynasty during its developnt in the northwest, and many of these actions yielded no results because they couldn't locate the enemy. Su Li couldn't believe there were no spies among this group of rchants playing both sides.
To put it bluntly, there must be individuals among them who were profiting from both the Tang Dynasty and the ethnic rebels. During tis of turmoil, opportunists didn't discriminate between ethnicities. They were simply looking for ways to make money.
Su Li didn't concern himself too much with these individuals. They were all products of the chaotic environnt, and the main issue was that the Tang Dynasty's control over the entire northwest was lacking. Once the order was established, these opportunists would naturally disappear.
Su Li delivered a ssage to all the ethnic rebels resisting Tang rule, “I, Su Li, have arrived!”
The next steps were relatively straightforward—identifying the individuals involved. Those who ca forward would be subject to Tang rule and undergo cultural and social reforms. Those who didn't co forward would be nad individually, and Su Li would deal with them accordingly. Su Li wasn't afraid to take drastic asures, even if it ant wiping them all out and resettling the region with immigrants from the Central Plains. He was prepared to accept this worst-case scenario if necessary.
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