Tibet.

Chapter 1427 Political Marriage
Li Ye also came in person to welcome the team returning from the Western Regions, not because there were 50 million gold coins in this team, nor because Bai Xiaode returned to Beijing to report on his work, but mainly because of the arrival of the Princess of Shiguo. His coming to welcome her was a kind of attitude, showing his attention to the Hezhong region.

Until more overseas gold and silver mines are acquired, the gold and silver produced in the Central Asian region will long be an important source of finance for the Tang Dynasty.

Even if Princess Shiguo was not very good-looking, Li Ye would still take her into the palace. Moreover, Li Chenghua praised her as the most beautiful woman in Hezhong, a perfect combination of East and West.

This made Li Ye quite tempted.

A huge team arrived. Wei Jiansu and Xiao Hua went to greet the camel team loaded with gold coins and took them to Chang'an Cangcheng.

Li Ye met with the chief general Bai Xiaode, who dismounted, stepped forward, knelt on one knee and said, "I, the Anxi governor Bai Xiaode, pay my respects to the emperor. I wish your majesty a long life!"

Li Ye also dismounted and helped him up, smiling and saying, "Thank you for your hard work in attacking Anxi this time, Lord Bai!"

Bai Xiaode felt a little relieved. As the commander-in-chief of the army, he was generally most afraid of the emperor's evaluation of him being of unparalleled merit or great contribution, which meant that his achievements were so great that they would threaten the emperor. However, the emperor's evaluation of his hard work and high contributions was obviously a relief, so there was no question of his achievements being so great that they would threaten the emperor.

Bai Xiaode quickly explained: "This expedition to the west was very easy for me. It was the easiest one for me in all these years. I think the credit should go to the Military Equipment Supervisor, the officials and craftsmen who developed the firearms. Your Majesty, this is what I really think!"

Li Ye laughed and said, "I know, they all have made contributions. General Bai should take a good rest for two days, and then go to the Privy Council. They will make arrangements."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

While Li Ye and Bai Xiaode were communicating, Princess Shi Qianquan of the Shi Kingdom was also watching Li Ye in a carriage not far away. This was her future husband, His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

He was about thirty years old, tall and straight, with a heroic appearance and a friendly smile, which completely met the aesthetic standards of Western women.

"How about it?"

Li Chenghua laughed softly and said, "Isn't our emperor very good?"

Shi Qianquan nodded shyly, "I didn't think he would be that young."

"Is it bad to be young? It's much better than the Caliph of the Arab Empire who is over seventy years old."

"Indeed! It's good to be young."

At this time, Privy Councilor Guo Ziyi took Bai Xiaode away, and Li Ye walked towards Shi Qianquan with a smile.

Shi Qianquan was a little panicked, "He's coming, Sister Li, what should I do now?"

Li Chenghua smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. You are still the princess of Shiguo and the heir to the king of Shiguo. Let's meet each other with normal etiquette. Get out of the car!"

The door opened, and Li Chenghua helped Shi Qianquan, who was wearing a red dress, get off the carriage. Li Chenghua stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty!"

Although Li Chenghua is a woman, Li Ye couldn't help but pat her arm, "You are worthy of being my right-hand man. You did a good job. I am very satisfied!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty!"

Li Chenghua was overjoyed to be recognized by the emperor, and she quickly introduced Shi Qianquan to Li Ye, "This is Shi Qianquan, the princess of Shi State, and currently the crown prince of Shi State!"

Shi Qianquan also bowed deeply, "Shi Qianquan pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Ye saw that she had blonde hair, skin as white and delicate as cream, a plump but not slender figure, and looked very much like Princess Sissi in later movies, with a pair of eyes as bright as gems.

Li Ye liked it immediately. He smiled and asked, "What's the name of your stone country?"

"Your Majesty, the name is Ashguli!"

"This name sounds nice. Do you like Datang?"

Shi Qianquan nodded. "It's all green. I like it all the way. I like the Yili River Valley the most. I wish my hometown was that beautiful!"

Li Ye was very attracted to this simple and beautiful Uzbek beauty. He smiled and said, "The territory of the Tang Dynasty is vast. To the west is the most distant river, and to the south is the other side of the sea. You haven't seen the sea yet, have you?"

Shi Qianquan shook his head. "My grandmother told me that the ocean is vast and boundless. I really want to see it with my own eyes."

"There will be a chance!"

Li Ye then said to Li Chenghua, "Chenghua, take her to see Chang'an, and then take her to the palace to meet the queen. The Honglu Temple's residence is not suitable for her, so she can live in the palace." As soon as these words came out, Li Chenghua knew that the emperor had taken a fancy to Shi Qianquan. In fact, she was a woman, and she noticed that the emperor's eyes lit up when he saw Shi Qianquan for the first time, and she knew that it was done.

"I'll go back to the court first. Chenghua, you accompany Her Royal Highness the Princess to look around."

Li Ye looked at Shi Qianquan again, "Princess Ashguli, I hope you like Chang'an!"

Li Ye jumped on his horse and rode away under the escort of his guards.

At this time, Jiao Hongmei, the leader of the female guards, stepped forward and said with a smile: "General Li, long time no see!"

Jiao Hongmei is an old subordinate of Li Chenghua. Li Chenghua is really happy. "Hongmei, why are you here?"

"General Li, please accompany Princess Shiguo to another carriage! We are the guards."

Li Chenghua immediately understood that regardless of meeting or not, the emperor had decided to accept this political marriage, and he needed to use marriage to consolidate his control over Hezhong.

Li Chenghua smiled and said, "Qianquan, let's get in the car!"

The two of them got on a luxurious carriage pulled by five horses. The carriage was made of glass. This was not made of polished crystal, but real glass, and it was also equipped with thin gauze curtains.

The carriage was decorated in the style of the Shi Kingdom. Shi Qianquan suddenly said in surprise: "This is the rose carpet of our Tuozhi City."

"Now you feel the care of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"

Shi Qianquan nodded gently, her pretty face suddenly blushed, she bit her lip and whispered: "He wants me to live in the palace tonight, does it mean tonight..."

"That won't happen!"

Li Chenghua smiled and said, "This is the tradition of the emperor's family. Every bride must first get to know everyone and become friends. Then, an auspicious date is chosen and an internal wedding is prepared, which takes about a month."

"Is the Queen very strict?" Shi Qianquan asked a little worriedly.

Li Chenghua laughed, "The Queen is my good friend. She is easier to talk to than me. I have never seen her angry. Of course, she has principles. Don't touch her bottom line, and we will all get along well."

"What is the Queen's bottom line?"

"The first bottom line is the emperor's grandmother. She also lives in the palace. Everyone must respect the elderly!"

Shi Qianquan nodded repeatedly. There was nothing wrong with respecting the elderly. She had always respected her grandmother.

"and then?"

"Then you can't try to seize her position as queen."

Shi Qianquan laughed, "I understand. This is definitely the biggest principle."

At this time, the carriage entered the inner city of Chang'an, and a noisy and lively atmosphere hit us. The spacious and clean streets were crowded with pedestrians. Both sides were filled with shops with various signs, a wide range of goods, and hawking sounds one after another. In the distance were magnificent buildings.

Shi Qianquan was stunned for a moment. She had never seen such a prosperous metropolis.

At this time, a group of young Hu ladies ran past her carriage, leaving behind a string of laughter.

Shi Qianquan quickly turned her head and said to Li Chenghua in surprise, "They are speaking the language of the Shi Kingdom!"

"Say no, they are from Kangguo!"

"No! Kangguo's tone of voice is different. They are the girls from Shiguo."

Li Chenghua nodded, "I have counted that there are 350,000 young ladies from the nine Sogdian countries in Chang'an, 150,000 in Luoyang, and there are other prefectures and counties, so there are about 500,000 in total."

Shi Qianquan looked at the backs of the young ladies and sighed softly, "I hope they can all marry into a good family in the Tang Dynasty!"

There are more women than men in Shi Country. Many women from Shi Country went to the Tang Dynasty and eventually got married in the Tang Dynasty. Shi Qianquan suddenly thought of herself. She was the same.

(End of this chapter)