I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

"What did you say?! Do you think Yuji is a spendthrift by giving me a gift?"

Hearing what Li Shen blurted out, Li Shimin turned his head with a gloomy face.

"No, no, I mean Xixi is such a filial child. It's not in vain that Aye dotes on her."

Li Shen quickly changed his words, but in his heart he was secretly cursing his own daughter who spent the money prodigal.

When he got home, Li Shen decided that he must starve her for eight or ten meals to let her know how difficult it was for him to earn some money.

Don’t be so generous in the future and give away any good things you have.

This fishing rod of mine is made of special materials, and was made by the Academy of Sciences after countless experiments.

Li Shen didn't know what the material was, but he knew it was an alloy.

By combining various well-known and unknown metals and constantly adjusting the formula, Li Shen finally came up with this light yet strong fishing rod.

Although this fishing rod cannot be bent like those in later generations, it is strong enough and not heavy.

Equipped with fishing lines made of natural silk and alloy fish hooks, it was already the most advanced fishing tool in the Tang Dynasty.

If you calculate the cost, the time and cost spent on this fishing rod is immeasurable.

His prodigal daughter was just given away like this.

"Humph, everyone is more filial than you, if you have nothing to do, just go away."

Li Shimin snorted and didn't want to argue with him anymore.

"Aye, there is one more thing."

Li Shen took out the confession of the Arab merchant.

"what's up?"

"Aye, I have captured a few Arabs and learned some news about their country from them.

This is their confession, Aye, please take a look. "

Li Shen presented it with both hands.

"Savage?"

Li Shimin was a little confused. Why did this rebellious son capture the Arabs?

Li Shimin of the Arab Empire had heard that some tribal leaders and envoys from the Western Regions would mention the Arab Empire to him.

All he heard was that the Arab Empire was very powerful and aggressive, and had been expanding and waging wars continuously over the years.

In his opinion, this was no different from Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. He would be doomed sooner or later by his excessive military spending.

But no one expected that Li Shen would specifically investigate the internal affairs of the Arab Empire. Is there something special about the Arab Empire?

Thinking of this, Li Shimin took the confession handed over by Li Shen, opened it and breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it was not the handwriting of this rebellious son, otherwise he would have to let him explain it himself.

It records in detail the entire process of Li Shen's interrogation, of course, the last part about the Spice Islands was deleted.

"Caliph? Their country doesn't have a king?"

Li Shimin was really shocked. He couldn't understand why a country would have no king or emperor.

"This... the Caliphate is actually elected, not hereditary!"

Li Shimin was shocked again. Since ancient times, the emperor has been inherited by the bloodline of the founding emperor.

Apart from these, anyone else sitting on the throne is considered to be usurping the throne.

The kingdom that he had fought so hard for was not passed on to his descendants, but to others, thus serving as a wedding dress for others.

Then what’s the point of conquering this country?

Li Shimin read the confession carefully and then slowly put it down.

"How credible do you think this confession is?"

After all, Daqin was tens of thousands of miles away from the Tang Dynasty, so even if those Daqin people spoke nonsense, they had no way to verify it.

"Your Highness, I think their confessions are very credible and about 80% of them are true."

Li Shen saluted in return.

"Oh? Why are you so sure?"

“Replying to Aye, although I have never been to the Arab Empire, many Arab merchants have come to the Tang Dynasty.

My wealthy businessman Wang Hongfu often asks businessmen from various countries about things happening in their countries.

Although they may not necessarily tell the truth, as you get to know each other more, you will naturally find similarities between them.

Some of the information I got coincided with many of the confessions.”

Li Shen explained again.

This was also what Li Shen had arranged for Wang Hongfu to do early on, to collect intelligence from various countries.

Many of the products in Li Shen’s Boutique are monopoly products and are unique in the Tang Dynasty.

Wang Hongfu was able to come into contact with many merchants from the Western Regions, including Persia, Byzantium and the Arabs.

I also found out a lot of things.

Li Shen is not a historian, and he only has a vague knowledge of the history of West Asia and the Middle East.

Most people only knew the name, which allowed Wang Hongfu to collect information.

Regardless of whether it is useful or not, just treat it as listening to a historical story.

Only then did Li Shimin remember that the biggest businessman in Chang'an City was this rebellious son in front of him, so it was not surprising that he could have contact with Arab merchants.

"Since you are so sure, I will take it as true.

But some of this is hard to believe, why doesn't their country have a king?"

Li Shimin agreed with what Li Shen said.

"Aye, it's not that they don't have a king. This Caliph is the king, just like the Tibetan king and the tribal leaders in the north."

Li Shen explained.

"But it says that the Caliph is a successor to something, the leader of their sect, not the leader of the country."

"Aye, their country is what I call a theocracy."

"The integration of politics and religion?"

This was the first time Li Shimin heard this word.

“Yes, the unity of church and state can be understood as the integration of government affairs and religious affairs.

The ruler of the country and the leader of the sect are the same person. This person is both the king of the country and the supreme leader of the sect. "

Li Shen explained patiently, he actually didn't know much.

"There is such a thing. Will the people agree to it? It's just a sect."

Li Shimin was a little skeptical. There were also religious sects in the Tang Dynasty, such as Taoism and Buddhism.

But he did not find that these sects had a leader. If he had found out, Li Shimin would have sent people to kill him long ago.

"Aye, this is the most amazing thing. Most of the people in their country believe in one religion.

That is to believe in one God.

Children in their country are taught to believe in this sect from an early age, and their relatives and people around them are influenced by it.

Naturally, the people followed suit.

That is why I propose that all colleges should add a patriotic education component.

Whether it is children's enlightenment, elementary school, university, or the Imperial College, they must study and constantly instill in them the idea of ​​loyalty to the Tang Dynasty and loyalty to our Li family.

Over time, this idea will take root in their minds.”

Li Shen is actually not an atheist, he is a polytheist. He believes in everything and he will trust whoever can help him.

Not to mention God, he even believes in ghosts that can help him.

Of course, the time when Li Shen was most pious was also the time when he encountered difficulties.

"I remember you did say enough, but when I discussed it with the officials from the three provinces and six ministries, they did not agree.

They thought that this was a waste of students' energy, and that loyalty to the emperor and patriotism were already in the books, so there was no need to study them specifically.

So in the end, the matter was dropped.”

Li Shimin thought about it and he really remembered that such an incident happened several years ago, and Wei Zheng was still alive at that time.