Li Shimin has long known about the pinyin alphabet. He even knew about the dictionary project, but he just pretended not to know.
However, when he saw Yu Yunzhu, he was still very happy and said: "Jing Ke's move will benefit all people, and the merits will be immeasurable."
Chen Jingke said proudly: "Don't dare, don't dare, it's a trivial achievement."
Li Shimin pretended to be curious: "How did you come up with the pinyin alphabet?"
Chen Jingke knew his true purpose and took the opportunity to find out more information about himself.
He was not surprised by this, and had already made preparations for it, saying: "I did not create this pinyin alphabet out of thin air, but it was improved based on the characters of the Western Qin Kingdom."
Li Shimin thought for a while and said: "But the great country in the Western Regions recorded in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty?"
Chen Jingke said: "Yes, it is the Great Qin. Its real name is Rome. It is about 20,000 miles away from the Tang Dynasty. It also created a splendid civilization."
He didn't know much about the history of Rome, he only knew about a few famous and distinctive monarchs such as Caesar, Octavian, and Nero.
But for Li Shimin, this was enough. When he heard the experiences of Caesar and Octavian, his eyes showed longing:
"It's unbelievable that there are such heroes in such a wild country as the Western Region. I wish I could have been born in the same era and compete with them."
Chen Jingke reminded: "Rome was not barbaric. In addition to military and cultural achievements, they also made great achievements... Western civilization originated from ancient Greece, and it only lasted for more than 600 years before it was destroyed."
"Its culture was inherited by various forces living on this land, and the main inheritor was Rome..."
He also briefly introduced Rome's cultural achievements, exaggerating some places in order to create pressure on Li Shimin.
Li Shimin's expression was indeed much more solemn. The Central Plains had always looked down upon neighboring countries. In addition to national power, cultural suppression was also an important factor.
Even the Huns and Turks, who were once powerful, were still regarded as barbarians.
Now that I know that I am not unique, this impact is greater than the history of Caesar and Octavian's struggle for hegemony.
"I didn't expect that the West also has such a splendid culture. If it's true as you said, then I, the Central Plains, can't sit still and look at the sky."
Chen Jingke said: "No, we were not like this from the beginning. Your Majesty should still remember the records of the Qin Dynasty in the Later Han Dynasty. The praise was very high, and he even regarded them as the same kind."
"It was just the incompetence of the Sima family that plunged the Central Plains into protracted war, and was no longer able to move outward. As time went by, future generations will forget about Rome and the outside world."
"It wasn't until His Majesty defeated Jieli and reopened the road to the west that we opened our eyes to see the world again. However, things outside are now very different from before."
The relationship between the Han Dynasty and Rome was very strange. They admired each other and regarded each other as the only kind, and then despised the Parthian and Kushan forces sandwiched in the middle.
When the communication between the two parties is cut off, envoys will be sent to find the other party to re-establish contact.
The Central Plains may be a place to sit in a well and observe the sky, but it definitely does not include the Han and Tang Dynasties.
Li Shimin heard his voice-over and quickly asked: "Do you know what the West is like? Come on, is Rome still there? What powerful forces and countries are there in the West?"
Now that he had opened his mouth, Chen Jingke had no intention of hiding it. Telling Li Shimin about the outside world was originally part of the plan.
Only by letting him know that the outside world feels threatened will he be motivated to innovate.
I asked Li Shimin for some paper and pen, and drew the shape of the Eurasian continent, and then marked the approximate sphere of influence of each force.
"This is the Tang Dynasty...this is the Wonu Kingdom...this is Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje...this is Xueyantuo and other grassland tribes, and this is Beihai where Suwu shepherds sheep." Gu Wei
"This is the entire Western Region...this is Tianzhu, where Buddhism originated...this is the Sasanian Persian Empire...this is the Byzantine Empire..."
"The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire... The Roman Empire split into two countries, Eastern Rome and Western Rome, hundreds of years ago."
"The Western Roman Empire has also been destroyed, leaving only the Eastern Roman Empire, which is also a powerful country... It is a pity that this country is now being poisoned by Christianity..."
Looking at this simple map, Li Shimin's eyes widened. This was the first time he clearly knew what the world looked like.
"Is this map...accurate?"
"The accuracy is at least 70%, and the remaining 30% is details. I only know a rough idea."
Li Shimin said excitedly: "That's enough, that's enough. Seventy percent accuracy is enough. With this picture, Datang... well, very good. Jing Ke, you gave me another big surprise."
Chen Jingke smiled and said: "Is Your Majesty satisfied with just this picture? This is only a small part of the world. There is a wider world beyond this continent."
"Hiss!!!" Li Shimin took a breath and said, "You mean, this isn't the whole world?"
Chen Jingke affirmed: "This continent only accounts for one-third of the world's land area, not counting the vaster ocean world."
Li Shimin's eyes flickered and he said, "How did Jing Ke learn about such a vast world?"
Chen Jingke said calmly: "Because there are people who have traveled all over the world, measured the size of the world, and drawn a complete map of the world, and I happened to have seen it."
"Not only do I know the world map, but I also know that two powerful enemies are rising around Datang. If we cannot take precautions in advance and allow them to develop, Datang will be locked in this land and never be able to get out.
"
Li Shimin's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he said in a cold voice: "Who? I hope you won't be alarmist."
Chen Jingke's heart trembled, he controlled his fear, and with a calm expression he drew two circles on the map: "Tubo and Dashi."
Li Shimin frowned and said: "Tubo is just a small country on the plateau, surrounded by Supi and Xiangxiong to contain it. How can it become a threat to our Tang Dynasty?"
Chen Jingke sighed in his heart. Enemies often arise where you least expect them. This is the case with Tubo: "Your Majesty's understanding of the plateau is too lagging behind."
"Tubo gave birth to a heroic ruler named Songtsen Gampo, who was assisted by virtuous ministers and generals. He conquered Supi two years ago."
"He also defeated Shang Hung and married his sister to King Shang Hung as his concubine in an attempt to take control of the country."
"Although King Shang Hung tried his best to resist, his ability is far inferior to Songtsen Gampo. Without foreign aid, he will perish in a short time."
"At that time, Tibet will unify the plateau and become the true monarch."
Li Shimin recalled the exchange of envoys between the two sides in the eighth year of Zhenguan, and Songtsen Gampo's request for a princess. After being rejected, the Tubo leader turned his anger on Tuyuhun and defeated Tuyuhun.
Although Tuyuhun was severely beaten by the Tang Dynasty, he was not a soft persimmon. The fact that Tubo could defeat him showed that he was powerful.
Thinking of this, he was already convinced in his heart, but his pride still made him pretend to be disdainful: "So what if he unified the plateau? How can I, the Tang Dynasty, be afraid of him."
Chen Jingke sighed: "In a head-to-head confrontation, the Tibetans are indeed not our enemies of the Tang Dynasty. However, the plateau is their natural barrier. Our soldiers of the Tang Dynasty will lose their combat capabilities if they enter the plateau."
"They can launch an attack at any time and retreat when they are frustrated, but we can only defend passively and cannot pursue after we win."
"The most terrifying thing is that they send troops to threaten the Tang Dynasty on its way to the Western Regions...Does Your Majesty still think that Tibet poses no threat?"
