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

Many vassal states had never seen the Xuanjia Army, but that did not prevent them from having heard of it.

These envoys came to the Tang Dynasty not only to pay tribute and learn, but also to gather intelligence.

They had naturally heard of the most elite army of the Tang Dynasty.

It is no secret that the Tang emperor once led 3,500 Xuanjia soldiers to charge an army of 100,000, and finally captured the local commander and took 50,000 prisoners.

Now that everyone has heard that King Ji led three thousand armored soldiers deep into Tibet and captured the Tibetan king, they all think it is possible.

They had never heard of Prince Ji having the talent to be a military general, so how could he suddenly become so powerful?

The group whispered amongst themselves, which was naturally heard by the Tibetan delegation sitting not far away.

"Sigh, I never expected that my arrival would be spread like this."

Songtsen Gampo sighed, but did not get angry on the spot. This was not Tibet; after all, he was indeed a prisoner.

“President, please calm down. They are just spreading rumors,” Gar Tongtsen comforted him from the side.

"Do you know why such rumors are circulating in Chang'an? Could it be that the Tang Dynasty is doing this intentionally?"

Although he was a prisoner, it was still a bit unreasonable to treat him like this, after all, he was the Zanpu of Tibet, the ruler of a country.

"As far as we know, this is not a tactic of the Tang Dynasty court, but rather quite similar to the tactics of Prince Ji."

"It seems that the rumor first spread from the boutique pavilion of Prince Ji's residence." Lu Dongzan hesitated for a moment before revealing the results of his investigation.

"Hehe, this young prince is really interesting. It seems he wants to increase his prestige in this way."

Fine, since that's the case, you don't need to explain any further. In the end, I was indeed brought back to Chang'an by Prince Ji.

What's wrong with giving him a little something in return?

Upon hearing that the news came from Prince Ji, Li Shen, Songtsen Gampo was no longer angry. He chuckled twice and instructed his men not to expose the truth.

He found Li Shen, the young prince of the Tang Dynasty, quite interesting.

You could say he's shrewd, but sometimes the things he does are just childish whims and completely meaningless.

But if you say he's naive, many of the things he does are quite insidious and cunning.

This left Songtsen Gampo completely bewildered as to what kind of person King Ji really was.

"The sage has arrived~~~~~"

Upon hearing a loud shout, all the officials and envoys stood up, and then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Shimin, dressed in a dragon robe, strode out with a majestic and imposing air.

Li Shimin was accompanied by the sound of bells and drums ringing out.

The guests were arranged according to their rank, with princes and the three dukes in the front row and envoys on the west side.

"Greetings to Your Majesty."

"Greetings to His Majesty the Great Khan of the Tang Dynasty."

Everyone salutes.

Many new envoys were seeing the Tang emperor for the first time here, such as Songtsen Gampo.

"My lords, you may rise!" Li Shimin, full of vigor, sat at the head of the table and slightly raised his hand to the crowd.

Everyone expressed their gratitude.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites came out and began to announce the benefits of the banquet, which basically included prohibiting noise and requiring people to perform their rites in an orderly manner.

There's another important part to this: presenting gifts and paying homage. This is a major reason why Li Shen was unwilling to attend.

He didn't want to prepare two gifts.

His gifts were all sent directly to the inner palace, and he was unwilling to attend the New Year's Day banquet, usually just feigning illness to get by.

But today was different. He hadn't expected his emperor father to insist on having him come, so he hadn't prepared.

However, even if he were prepared, he wouldn't take it out.

The process was actually quite simple. It started with the crown prince, followed by the king, and then the high-ranking officials, who would step forward in turn to present congratulatory memorials, praises to the emperor, and gifts such as precious jewels and auspicious objects.

Finally, the envoys of the vassal states presented tribute to express their submission, and the emperor issued an edict of commendation, thus concluding the matter.

Every day is the same, but things are always a little different when Li Shen is around.

After the princes finished presenting their gifts, they suddenly stopped.

"Your Highness Prince Ji, Your Highness Prince Ji, it's your turn." Wang De hurriedly walked over and asked in a low voice.

Li Tai, Li Zhi, and the others beside Li Shen all turned to look at him, as did Ma Zhou, Changsun Wuji, and the others behind him.

Li Shen looked conflicted. He suddenly wondered if his father had asked him to attend the New Year's Eve banquet just for this gift.

But I haven't prepared a gift. I've already conquered the country, and now I don't have anything worthwhile or cheap to offer.

"Tenth Brother, what are you thinking about?" Li Chengqian reminded him.

"I...I wasn't prepared," Li Shen replied in a low voice.

"what?"

His words surprised not only Li Chengqian, but also the officials around him. "You're not preparing a New Year's banquet? Are you here to freeload?"

Everyone was speechless at Li Shen's presence. Sure enough, wherever Prince Ji was, there was bound to be some drama.

Everyone was waiting for Li Shen. Li Shimin's expression remained unchanged, but there was a hint of regret in his eyes.

If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn't have let that rebellious son participate. He knew it wouldn't be that simple.

Besides Tang Dynasty officials, there were also many foreign envoys present. Losing his temper would damage his image.

Li Shen looked up at Li Shimin with a questioning look in his eyes, "I've already given you five thousand catties of gold, isn't that enough?"

Li Shimin gave him a look, signaling him to look to the side where the envoys' procession was. Li Shen understood his father's meaning: clearly, don't embarrass yourself, or else you'll be killed.

"Alas," Li Shen sighed inwardly, realizing he had fallen into his father's trap.

Li Chengqian presented a set of handwritten Buddhist scriptures as a gift, symbolizing his wish for blessings.

Li Zhi and Li Tai presented pearls and jade carvings as gifts.

Thinking that he wouldn't be able to get through without bringing something, Li Shen stepped forward and bowed.

"May Father live a long and healthy life." Li Shen did not submit a congratulatory letter.

"What congratulatory gift do you intend to give me?" Li Shimin asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, I do not wish to be as wealthy as my Fourth and Ninth Brothers. To show my filial piety, I am willing to use ten years' worth of my salary to renovate your palace."

I hope Father will like it.

When Li Shen said these words, his tone was very heavy. Ten years' salary, gone just like that.

Since we can't receive it, let's destroy it. We don't want it anymore.

Not to mention Li Shimin, all the officials present were stunned when they heard Li Shen's words.

What does this mean? Ten years' salary, tens of thousands of strings of cash—isn't Prince Ji being a bit too generous?

However, he quickly recalled what Prince Ji had just said: what did he mean by not being as wealthy as Prince Jin or Prince Wei?

Only Li Chengqian and a few others who knew the inside story cursed Li Shen inwardly, saying he was shameless.

Li Shimin was so angry he laughed. This rebellious son actually played this trick, which blocked the path of future punishment and favors.

(Folk music is poor, guitars are expensive, girls are beautiful, but I'm not worthy of them.)