The continuous prosperity and rapid development of business turned Chang 'an into an international metropolis. The population continued to soar, and foreigners from afar could be seen everywhere on the streets.
However, with the rapid development and continued prosperity of Chang 'an, the gap between the rich and the poor was widening step by step. This naturally made many people feel uncomfortable and began to compete with others for wealth, thus turning Chang' an into a materialistic society. This was also a side effect of the development of the era, which was unavoidable in any prosperous era.
Of course, a high-welfare policy could also be adopted, allowing all people to receive a certain amount of money for free. However, such a high-welfare policy was not in line with the national conditions of the Tang Dynasty. Given the character of the people of the Tang Dynasty, if they had enough money to support themselves, why would they work so hard? It was more comfortable to enjoy life at home.
As the gap between the rich and the poor continued to widen, it would inevitably cause many people to have a serious psychological imbalance. They even dreamed of becoming rich overnight. However, most of the wealth was controlled by people with talent and power like Li An. It was very difficult for the children of ordinary families to become rich overnight. It was exactly the same as the situation in the future.
Of course, if the women of ordinary families were beautiful, they were more likely to become rich. For example, they could marry rich men as concubines or even imperial concubines.
And if they didn't have such a good opportunity, had a heavy burden on their families, or craved wealth, the beautiful young ladies would very likely choose to work in a brothel. In any case, in this era of the Great Tang, brothels were legal places, and any woman could choose to work in this high-paying job.
Although Ang Lee came from the future, since he came to the Tang Dynasty, he had to adapt to the trend and development of this era. If he rashly proposed to ban brothels, he would offend all the dissolute men of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, Ang Lee did not think it was necessary to do so. Many poor women, especially those from the Western Regions who traveled long distances to the Tang Dynasty, could not find a good way to make a living. As long as they were willing and had a certain degree of beauty and talent, they could go to brothels to make a living and live a more comfortable life.
In addition, the Tang dynasty was an international metropolis. If there were no brothels, it would appear monotonous and lack vitality. Brothels were the color of the Tang dynasty and were indispensable.
As Chang 'an became more and more prosperous, the land in the city became more and more expensive, and the price of housing increased many times. Under such circumstances, the entertainment facilities that Ang Lee wanted to build would be deployed not far from the city. Anyway, the transportation conditions were good now, and it would not take much time to go out of the city for sightseeing.
Ten miles west of Chang 'an City, Ang Lee circled a piece of land and built a large-scale integrated entertainment city with one-stop services.
There were all kinds of entertainment methods from this era. In addition, there were also many entertainment methods from later generations, such as sauna, massage, rural tourism, and so on.
The development of these projects allowed Ang Lee to reap a lot of benefits. His income suddenly increased by a lot, and he was extremely wealthy.
However, just as the Tang dynasty was becoming more prosperous step by step, there were always some people who could not let go of the problem of monopolizing power and thought about how to frame others.
During the New Year of the fifth year of the Tang dynasty, Wei Jian, the elder brother of the Crown Princess, secretly met with Huangfu Weiming, the military governor of Hexi Longyou, in the Jinglong Taoist Temple on the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
This behavior was caught by Li Linfu's minions, so he asked Yang Shenjin to report to the emperor that Wei Jian was a relative of the emperor and should not be too close to the border generals. Then he himself reported that Wei Jian and Huangfu Weiming were conspiring to rebel and had the intention of supporting the Crown Prince as the emperor.
After all, Li Longji was the emperor, and he did not allow anyone to challenge his imperial power. Even if it was just a groundless accusation, he would not let it go.
Under the emperor's anger, Li Longji ordered the arrest of Wei Jian and Huangfu Weiming, and asked the Deputy Censor Wang Bei and the Justice Cao Jiwen of the Imperial Magistrate to jointly interrogate this case.
Wang Bei was Li Linfu's loyal little brother and listened to all of Li Linfu's orders. The Justice Cao Jiwen of the Imperial Magistrate was Li Linfu's most loyal dog.
This Ji Wen was very good at investigating cases, and any case that passed through his hands could be quickly closed. Of course, this did not mean that he was very capable, but rather that he was quite ruthless and good at extorting confessions through torture.
It was said that when Ji Wen interrogated a case, he would find a person who had committed a serious crime and had been beaten to the brink of death and place him in front of the person being interrogated. This way, the person being interrogated could only confess. If they did not confess, they would be whipped and tortured. In short, as long as they fell into Ji Wen's hands, no one could escape.
During this period, there was also a very powerful interrogator called Luo Xi Si. He and Ji Wen formed a golden partnership known as the Luo Tong Ji Net, causing everyone in the capital to tremble in fear.
Of course, the reason why a small figure like Ji Wen could be so arrogant was because the emperor was backing him. Although he was cruel, everything he did was in line with the emperor's wishes. If the emperor wanted to protect someone, he would not dare to do anything to that person no matter how bold he was.
This time, the Emperor was filled with suspicion and uneasiness towards Wei Jian and Huangfu Weiming's secret meeting. Although there was no evidence to show that these two people's secret meeting was to support the Crown Prince as the Emperor, but these two people's identities were very special after all. Secretly meeting at the Taoist temple in the middle of the night always gave people a feeling of a conspiracy.
Li Longji was filled with suspicion, and this gave Li Linfu and Ji Wen a chance. They understood the emperor's thoughts, so they dared to gather all kinds of evidence and falsely accuse the two of them.
However, Huangfu Weiming and Wei Jian were not ordinary people. Their bones were very strong, and normal threats and threats could not scare them. Therefore, Ji Wen interrogated them for many days but did not obtain any evidence.
However, the key problem was that the emperor was suspicious of the secret meeting between the two of them. Therefore, even if Ji Wen could not find any evidence, Li Longji still gave the order to demote the two of them and let them leave the administrative center of the Tang dynasty to become local officials.
Once they became local officials, it would be very easy for Li Linfu to kill them. However, this was fate. Who told them to not sleep at night and go to a Taoist temple in the middle of the night?
Huangfu Weiming was the Hexi and Longyou Jiedushi, but now that he had been demoted, there had to be someone to deal with the matters there. Therefore, the emperor let Wang Zhongsi temporarily become the Hexi and Longyou Jiedushi to solve this urgent problem.
However, in this way, Wang Zhongsi would control Hexi, Longyou, Shuofang, and Hedong Garrisons. The strength of the soldiers under his command would be more than half of the Great Tang border army. As such, it was naturally not beneficial for the central government to control.
However, the current Jiedushi only had military power and did not have economic power. If the capital did not provide supplies, the border army would fall into chaos. Therefore, overall, it was not a bad thing.
Furthermore, this was only a temporary appointment. Once a suitable person was found, part of Wang Zhongsi's power would be removed.
Wang Zhongsi was also a talent. When he was the Shuofang Jiedushi, whenever he traded with the Hu people, he would always overestimate the price of horses. When the Hu people heard about this, they would fight to sell their horses to the Tang dynasty. Thus, Wang Zhongsi bought all of the horses. As a result, the Hu people's horses became fewer and fewer, while the Tang dynasty's army became stronger and stronger.
After taking charge of Hexi and Longyou, Wang Zhongsi realized that the troops there were too weak, especially the cavalry. Therefore, he requested that a portion of the horses in Shuofang be transferred to Hexi and Longyou.
The imperial court quickly agreed. As a result, the troops in Hexi and Longyou became stronger and stronger. At least, they were much stronger than before.
Although Ang Lee had already invented the armored artillery vehicle, which was much more powerful than the weak cavalry, the armored artillery vehicle was still very expensive. Moreover, it required a lot of logistical support. In terms of mobility, it was not as good as the cavalry in some aspects. Therefore, the construction of the cavalry could not be stopped.
Even in the future, when cannons were everywhere, the cavalry was still a very powerful force. It was not until the appearance of the machine gun that the cavalry was completely reduced to a supporting role. In the end, it was replaced by the mechanical cavalry.
Now, the Tang dynasty's national strength was getting stronger and stronger. As the railway was directed towards Shu-lik, the Tibetan Empire could not hold on any longer.
This was because once the Tang dynasty built the railway towards Shu-lik, it would form a three-sided siege on the Tibetan Empire. This would cause a lot of psychological pressure on the Tibetan Empire.
Of course, the Tibetan Empire was still quite afraid of the Tang dynasty's national strength. Therefore, most of the high-ranking officials of the Tibetan Empire were in favor of being friendly with the Tang dynasty. They were opposed to fighting against the Tang Empire.
However, there were also a few Tibetan Eagles who believed that if the Tang dynasty was allowed to continue to develop, the Tibetan Empire would be annexed sooner or later. Especially after the railway was built, the Tang dynasty would have a closer relationship with the countries in the Western Region. Their businesses would also become more prosperous, and their military strength would also become stronger. This would cause a lot of pressure on the Tibetan Empire.
The Tibetan Doves could not say that the Hattori Eagles were Eagles. Therefore, some of the Eagles led the cavalry to disguise themselves as bandits and ambushed the Tang Empire's road construction army. They stole a large amount of resources from the Tang dynasty and killed a portion of the craftsmen and technicians who were laying the railway. The soldiers in charge of protecting the railway also suffered a lot of casualties.
There was no way to hide the truth. The Tibetan cavalry disguised as bandits naturally could not hide it from the soldiers of the Tang dynasty. They immediately reported the news to their superiors.
The Tibetan Empire's brazen provocation made the newly appointed Wang Zhongsi furious. He immediately sent a memorial to the imperial court to ask for a crusade against the Tibetan Empire. At the same time, most of the roads that were disrupted were in Anxi. Anxi Protector-General Fumeng Lingcha also sent a memorial to the imperial court to ask for a crusade against the Tibetan Empire.
The news of the Tibetan Empire ambushing the road construction army and killing the citizens of the Tang dynasty quickly spread to the capital, Chang 'an. It became a hot topic on the streets and alleys.
In the current era where the Tang dynasty was flourishing, almost all of the citizens agreed to use force against the Tibetan Empire. If they did not use force, how could they prove that the Tang Empire was strong and inviolable?
The older Li Longji got, the more arrogant he became. When he heard that the Tibetan cavalry disguised themselves as bandits and ambushed the Tang dynasty's road construction army, he was enraged and threw the emergency letter out on the spot.
Wang Zhongsi and Fumeng Lingcha's request for a war was quickly sent to the Daming Palace. Without any hesitation, Li Longji immediately stamped his seal and agreed. He immediately mobilized a large amount of strategic resources to support the two of them and told them to make preparations to teach the Tibetan Empire a lesson.
In the current era of the Tang dynasty, the Tibetan Empire had always been one of the stronger forces. In fact, they were able to defeat the Tang Army many times and cause the Tang dynasty to suffer heavy losses.
However, this was not because of the bravery of the Tibetan soldiers. Instead, it was because the Tibetan Empire was located on a plateau, and the oxygen level was relatively thin.
Those who were used to living in such an environment would not feel that the oxygen level in the air was thin. However, as long as the soldiers of the Tang dynasty were on a plateau, they would feel suffocated. Their stamina and energy would be greatly reduced, and their fighting prowess would also be greatly reduced. As such, it was easy for them to lose.
However, the Tang dynasty's army had its own advantages, and that was their advanced equipment and technology, as well as their mature battle strategy. This was something that the Tibetan Empire could not compare to. After all, the Tang dynasty had a foundation of several thousand years, while the Tibetan Empire's foundation was very short.
For the dignity of the Tang Empire and to teach the audacious Tibetan Empire a lesson, this battle was definitely worth it.
Other than Wang Zhongsi and Fumeng Lingcha, who were attacking the Tibetan Empire from two different directions, Li Longji had even gathered his troops in Chang 'an City, preparing to reinforce the frontline at any time. With his advantage in numbers and equipment, he would completely crush the Tibetan Empire's army.
After receiving the imperial edict, the troops from Hexi and Longyou had already set off to attack the Tibetan Empire. On the other hand, tens of thousands of elite soldiers had also gathered in the capital, and they were waiting for Li Longji's orders.
This time, the Tang Empire was going to attack the Tibetan Empire. Not only did it receive the full support of the people of the Tang dynasty, it also received the support of the merchants and royalty of the various countries in the Western Regions. These small countries in the Western Regions were extremely dependent on the railways of the Tang dynasty. As long as the railways of the Tang dynasty were in operation, they would be able to do better business and obtain unlimited wealth.
"Assistant Minister Li, have you heard? The Tang dynasty is going to attack the Tibetan Empire. "
Li Yu ran to the R&D Center and found Ang Lee, who was resting.
"Heh! How could I not know about such a huge commotion? "
Ang Lee closed his eyes and said with a smile. Li Yu's question was simply nonsense.
"Then, Assistant Minister Li, what do you think?"
Li Yu probed.
"The Tang dynasty will definitely win. What's there to doubt? How can the Tibetan Empire be a match for the Tang dynasty?"
Ang Lee said softly.
"Assistant Minister Li, His Majesty is really angry this time. It seems like he is going to send out the armored artillery brigade and the artillery brigade to deal a fatal blow to the Tibetan Empire."
Li Yu continued.
"His Majesty is really angry. He actually wants to use the heavy weapons guarding the capital. This won't do. I have to enter the palace to meet His Majesty and have a good talk with him."
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