Mandated by Heaven: The Legend of Li Guocheng, Tang Official

“We start with farming tools, with roads, with commerce,” he murmured. “Change has to begin at the most basic level. I want Chang'an County to become the Great Tang's first test site.”

He stood and walked to the window, gazing at the night sky over Chang'an.

The stars were like pieces on a chessboard, in a game laid out over a thousand years.

“Li Shimin gave me a county. I'll give him an empire in return.”

“I want Chang'an to be more than the foremost county in the capital region. I want it to be the ‘world's number one county.’”

“I want the Great Tang to be more than a dynasty ruling the Central Plains. I want a ‘global empire’ spanning land and sea, with every nation paying tribute.”