Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

After uttering a harsh remark, Li Shen turned and stormed off.

"Hey? Don't go, Tenth Brother, let's chat a little longer." Li Chengqian shouted from behind.

Without looking back, Li Shen led his men straight out of the palace and back to Prince Ji's residence.

Li Shen remained silent the entire way, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Upon returning to the Prince Ji's residence, Li Shen stormed back to the inner quarters.

"My Lord, what happened?"

They happened to run into Lan Yu'er, who immediately went up to ask Li Shen what was wrong when she saw him.

"A humiliation, a humiliation indeed!" Li Shen said angrily after entering the study and sitting down.

Lan Yu'er came to Li Shen, poured him a cup of tea, and handed it to him.

"Your Highness, please calm down. Has something happened?"

"It's that prince again. He actually mocked me for being weak," Li Shen said angrily.

"Huh?" Hearing Li Shen's words, Lan Yu'er was somewhat surprised and puzzled. She looked at the stone with a question in her eyes.

Stone shook his head, indicating that it was nothing serious, and then said with a smile:

"Your Highness, please calm down. His Highness the Crown Prince did not mean that. It's just that Your Highness is bound by etiquette and cannot disobey his superior. After all, the Crown Prince is the ruler and Your Highness is the subject, and there must be proper etiquette between ruler and subject."

"Yes, yes, you're right. I'm only acting out of respect for the ruler, unlike him who's so rude. I make my living with my brain."

Li Shen nodded immediately after hearing this.

"Hmph, so what if he's learned martial arts? I've learned it too. With my strength and power, I could probably beat him to death."

Li Shen snorted. Li Shen was indeed tall and strong, half a head taller than Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian looked rather thin, unlike Li Tai who was quite obese.

"Your Highness is right. Your Highness's martial arts are unparalleled. You must not fight with the Crown Prince, otherwise you will be punished if you injure him."

Lan Yu'er quickly chimed in, genuinely worried that Li Shen might injure the Crown Prince, which would be a serious matter.

Last time, they stormed into Prince Jin's residence and beat him up, which terrified them and Consort Wei. Luckily, Li Shen ran away.

If they were to attack the Crown Prince again, His Majesty would likely not let them off easily.

"Yes, yes, Da Yu'er is right. I won't stoop to his level." Li Shen nodded in satisfaction.

"Your Highness, Commander Xue has been waiting for quite some time," a servant reported from outside.

"Have him come over quickly," Li Shen immediately ordered.

A moment later, Xue Rengui, dressed in a smart outfit, entered the study and bowed to Li Shen first.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Highness Prince Ji."

"Hmm, no need for formalities. Rengui, you've come at the right time. I want to learn martial arts. What method do you think is the fastest?"

Li Shen asked anxiously. Although that's what he just said, force is still very important; without force, there is no peace.

If I were skilled in martial arts, I would have given Li Chengqian a good beating right then and there.

"Learn martial arts?" Xue Rengui was taken aback at first. He looked at Prince Ji strangely, not understanding why he suddenly wanted to learn martial arts.

Prince Ji had studied martial arts more than once or twice. Last time, he was trained by His Majesty in Qinghai for two months, and after returning, he seriously studied martial arts with him for a few days.

However, after half a month, Prince Ji could no longer hold on and began to sleep until he naturally woke up, no longer practicing his skills.

What triggered this time?

"That's right, I want to learn martial arts, and I want to learn the advanced kind, the kind that can move mountains and overturn seas with a single move, and have the strength to uproot mountains."

Are there any martial arts manuals like the Sunflower Manual or the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, preferably ones that can be mastered quickly?

Li Shen danced with excitement, wishing for a martial art that could be mastered quickly so he could seek revenge on the Crown Prince.

"Hehe, Your Highness, there is no shortcut to mastering martial arts. It requires years of continuous practice and cannot be achieved overnight."

"It's a bit late for Your Highness to start learning martial arts now, but it's good for improving your health."

Xue Rengui chuckled twice; Prince Ji's idea was somewhat frivolous.

Li Shen frowned:

"Isn't there a quick way to learn? Could it be that all these generals in the court have been practicing martial arts since childhood?"

He didn't believe that these military generals had all practiced martial arts since childhood, when there was chaos and people couldn't even get enough to eat.

He had heard of the saying "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts."

"Your Highness, most of the generals in the court have indeed practiced martial arts since childhood, as have civil officials like the Duke of Zhao and Minister Tang."

Besides that, the rest also involved diligent practice, and even those who learned martial arts halfway through their lives still developed considerable skills.

"If Your Highness truly wishes to learn martial arts, you must be able to endure hardship."

Seeing Li Shen's seriousness, Xue Rengui also answered honestly.

In the Tang Dynasty, wealthy young men studied both literature and martial arts. Which of the veteran officials like Tang Jian and Changsun Wuji hadn't fought on the battlefield?

Learning martial arts isn't difficult; what's difficult is perseverance and hard work. Given Prince Ji's lazy nature, he definitely couldn't handle it. Someone who has been pampered since childhood and never lifted a finger is basically no different from a useless person.

Xue Rengui didn't know what had triggered Li Shen's reaction, but he couldn't see Li Shen.

"Don't worry, I will definitely be able to endure the hardship." Li Shen was filled with anger and vowed to study martial arts diligently so that no one would call him weak.

Might makes right.

"In that case, Your Highness, you may practice the boxing techniques I have taught you every day. Once you have mastered them to a certain extent, I will then teach you some of my family's traditional techniques."

Upon hearing this, Xue Rengui could only reply that he had taught Li Shen a set of basic boxing techniques, mainly for training purposes.

Xue Rengui had not yet taught those battlefield techniques for killing enemies, nor was it necessary, as they were too arduous.

Martial arts, to put it bluntly, are killing techniques; they are skills for fighting enemies on the battlefield and also means for achieving merit and establishing a career.

Those with exceptional literary talent could enter the court as officials, and those with outstanding martial skills could become generals. Whether it was selling their literary or martial skills to the emperor, it was all about making a living.

"Very well, from now on I will practice for half an hour every evening. I refuse to believe that I can't beat him."

Li Shen said fiercely.

Upon hearing this, Xue Rengui stopped talking. What good is practicing for half an hour? When he was practicing his basic skills, he practiced all day long.

As expected, Prince Ji was not suited for martial arts.

"By the way, shouldn't you be home by now? Yuanzheng is on holiday, is there something you need?"

After the matter was discussed, Li Shen calmed down and asked.

"Your Highness, I have come here specifically to express my gratitude for Your Highness's reward." Xue Rengui bowed to Li Shenshen.

"Oh, is that what it is? Has the bonus been sent over?" Li Shen asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Your Highness, it has been delivered to my home. I am very grateful for Your Highness's generous reward." Xue Rengui bowed again.

The year-end bonus has been delivered to his home; it is very generous, exceeding his previous year's rewards.

Scholars would die for those who understand them; whether they took the imperial examinations or joined the army, they all sought high-ranking positions, generous salaries, and a life of luxury.

Now, in Prince Ji's mansion, although Xue Rengui is a Sima, his salary exceeds that of all officials in the imperial court. Prince Ji's mansion also provides him with excellent benefits and constant rewards.

Xue Rengui no longer wanted to become an official or a general in the imperial court.