Fang Er walked towards the Palace of Extremes with a determined stride.
Passing by the plaza outside the palace, he noticed a massive globe had appeared. It was even larger than the one Li Shimin had stolen from the academy! Its diameter was a full five meters!
Damn, he was really putting his heart into this.
However, looking at the markings on it left Fang Er speechless. Besides the uniform "Tang," there were no other country names.
Li Shimin, busy inside the Palace of Extremes, looked up cheerfully when Lai Yifa reported Fang Er's arrival.
"You must have suffered quite a bit in Huangliang Town these past few days. Lai Zi, quickly get a chair for the Marquis of Liaodong."
The warmth of his greeting made Fang Er feel a little embarrassed. Would he still be this enthusiastic if he knew Fang Er had eaten three cows in less than half a month?
Pointing to the globe outside, Fang Er asked, "Your Majesty, when was that made?"
Upon hearing Fang Er mention it, Li Shimin instantly puffed up with pride. "Anzhi, this globe was made by Du Yiyang and his men, imitating the one in the academy. What do you think? Isn't it more imposing!"
Fang Er was a bit speechless.
"We haven't even started fighting yet, and you're already this conceited? If those foreign envoys stationed in Chang'an see your one-globe-fits-all Tang, what will they think?"
"Your Majesty, the globe is larger, but the inscriptions might cause problems if they get out, don't you think? Shouldn't we sneak into the village without firing a shot?"
Li Shimin looked confused, "What do you mean, 'sneak into the village without firing a shot'?"
Fang Er explained, "If you place this globe here, and the various countries see it during their audiences, it clearly exposes the Great Tang's intentions! Therefore, it would be better to change the names of those countries."
As soon as he said this, Li Shimin became displeased. "Lai Zi, summon the Duke of Wei, the Duke of Yi, and the Duke of Cheng!"
"Uh, what is this for? They're calling in the great generals of the army?"
When Li Jing, Qin Qiong, and Cheng Yaojin arrived, Li Shimin pointed to the globe outside and said to the three, "Gentlemen, the Marquis of Liaodong here claims the inscriptions on that globe are wrong! He wants me to change them back! What do you all think?"
After speaking, he looked at Fang Er with a playful expression.
Cheng Yaojin glanced at Li Shimin, then at Fang Er, and remained silent. Helping either would offend the other; one was the Emperor, the other a brother, so he chose to remain neutral.
Li Jing smiled at Fang Er, "May I ask where the inscription on the globe is incorrect? Our Duke can lead his men to correct it. What does the Marquis of Liaodong think?"
Qin Qiong flicked his steel mace, "Has the Marquis of Liaodong rested too long at home and lost his spirit?"
Damn it! What kind of talk is this? These guys are clearly showing the sprouts of militarism!
"Your Majesty, can we conquer it first and then mark it as Great Tang territory? Doing this might provoke vigilance from all sides, right?"
Li Shimin waved his hand indifferently, "It's good if they become vigilant. I was worrying about not having an excuse to deploy troops. It's best if they make the first move! What? Is our Marquis of Liaodong scared?"
Hearing this, Fang Er was immediately displeased. "Your Majesty, would I be afraid of those uncivilized barbarians? It's just that the Great Tang's population and military strength are limited. Even if we conquer them, we won't be able to hold them!"
Hearing Fang Er mention this, Li Jing smiled. "The Marquis of Liaodong has been in Huangliang all this time; perhaps you don't know, but His Majesty has already ordered encouragement of childbirth."
After speaking, he gave Lai Yifa a look. Lai Yifa, being quick-witted, walked to the bookshelf behind Li Shimin, took out a newspaper from an unknown date, and handed it to Fang Er.
"Marquis of Liaodong, please take a look."
Fang Er took the newspaper curiously.
"Fertility Decree: Families with three or more children will receive one hundred coins of rice and money monthly; those with five or more children will receive one string of coins of rice and money monthly!"
"Marriage Decree: All unmarried individuals aged thirteen and above will be officially matched!"
These were manageable, but the next item left Fang Er dumbfounded!
"Laicization Decree: All monks and nuns without official ordination papers must immediately return to secular life starting today, with a deadline of three months for marriage!"
Holy crap, they were directly targeting the young men in the temples.
Just as he thought Li Shimin was somewhat conscientious for not targeting Taoism, he flipped the page and saw a decree concerning Taoism.
"Taoist Marriage Decree: All Taoist nuns and priests of marriageable age must form Taoist companions within six months."
What the heck! What are they trying to achieve with this? How many legal ordination papers has the Great Tang issued? If the Western Buddha knew about this, would he explode with anger! Even the Taoist lineage of his own Li family is not spared!
"Your Majesty, isn't this going a bit too far?"
Li Shimin shook his head, "It's not just the above. You have another mission during this trip!"
"Bring back enough women capable of childbirth for the Great Tang. Many of the Great Tang's young men cannot find wives, so you will carry this burden! Don't worry, I will handle all the criticism. I want to see all the mistakes on that globe corrected within my lifetime!"
Fang Er counted on his fingers. Li Shimin was supposed to die in 649 AD. It was now 627 AD; he only had 22 years of lifespan left and was thinking of conquering the entire globe? He might as well go find that monkey and have him casually alter his book of life and death, which would be more reliable. By the way, under which mountain is that monkey currently imprisoned?
Shaking away the chaotic thoughts, he dismissed them as none of his business. "Your Majesty, let's discuss these matters at another time."
"The five-toothed warship will be launched in a few days. Your Majesty, have you made arrangements for the silversmiths and ore prospectors?"
Seeing Fang Er change the subject, Li Shimin was a bit displeased. "The people you requested have already been found by me and are currently waiting in the Ministry of Works. For this voyage, I command you to bring back one hundred thousand women. This is an imperial decree!"
Fang Er...
This was blatant cheating! He needed them to mine for him and now he needed them to capture people for him! One hundred thousand people, not one hundred thousand pigs!
Ding! System side mission issued!
Li Shimin's wish is to capture that silver mountain and bring back one hundred thousand young women.
Mission reward: Open the lucky draw wheel.
Lucky draw wheel explanation: Each time the shop refreshes, you will receive one chance to draw any item in the current shop and unlock it for shop access.