I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

With Lan Yu'er's help, Li Shen had a good night's sleep. It was too early for court, so Li Shen needed to catch up on his sleep.

Of course, Lan Yu'er's service was the proper kind, not the kind you're thinking of.

Li Shen is currently recuperating and preparing to abstain from sex.

I don't know how long I slept, but in my hazy state, I heard someone calling my name softly.

Li Shen was startled when he opened his eyes to see a large face.

"Your Highness, it's getting late. Didn't you say you were going to visit Songtsen Gampo?"

The owner of the large-faced man took a step back and said respectfully.

Li Shen then realized that it was Shi Tou who had returned.

"You damned thing, you scared me half to death!" Li Shen cursed, then sat up and rubbed his eyes.

I glanced out the window and saw that the sun was indeed shining brightly; it was almost noon.

"Change your clothes," Li Shen said, standing up and extending his arms.

Lan Yu'er immediately stepped forward and, together with Chunxiang and Dongmei, began to help Li Shen change his clothes, while several maids waited by with the clothes in their hands.

After a while, Li Shen changed into a white satin casual outfit with gold embroidery patterns.

"Let's go."

After getting dressed, Li Shen took a string of Buddhist prayer beads from Shi Tou's hand and strode out.

Kaihua Ward is only a few streets away from Li Shen's Qinren Ward, and only two streets away from the Zhuque Gate of the Imperial City.

To the west is Zhuque Street, which is under the jurisdiction of Wannian County.

The southeastern part of Kaihua Ward was originally the former residence of Emperor Yang of Sui, which was later bestowed upon Xiao Yu as the West Garden.

Songtsen Gampo was then assigned to live in Kaihua Ward.

"Halt! Those who dare to enter, leave this important imperial territory immediately!"

Li Shen was stopped a hundred paces from his destination. This time, Li Shen did not take a carriage.

He only came out with a few guards.

Because the city was so close, and Li Shen hadn't visited Chang'an for quite some time, he decided to travel discreetly, essentially making a private visit.

The guards weren't wearing armor, just tight-fitting clothes, and most of them followed at a distance.

Li Shen was dressed like a spoiled brat, wagging his tail and shaking his head; no one would guess that he was the noble Prince Ji.

In truth, out of the million people in Chang'an, very few had actually seen Li Shen. Ordinary people had virtually no chance of seeing him; they rarely even had the opportunity to see the county magistrate, let alone Li Shen.

Li Shen was taken aback when he heard the shout. It was still such a long distance away. Had all the guards been arranged here?

Just as Li Shen was in a daze, a small team of more than ten people quickly arrived in front of him.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Li Shen's guards immediately drew their swords, but Li Tieniu stepped forward and shielded Li Shen behind him.

"Clang! Clang!" The guards reacted quickly. Seeing the other side draw their swords, their first reaction was to draw their swords and confront each other. Then the sound of gongs rang out.

In a short while, hundreds of people rushed in from several directions and surrounded Li Shen's group.

Holy crap, their training is that good.

This was truly the first time Li Shen had ever seen the Imperial Guards of Chang'an operate in this way.

They reacted so quickly, organizing an effective fighting force in just a short moment.

Seeing this, Li Shen's personal guards quickly surrounded the area and prepared to break through the encirclement.

"Wait!" Li Shen shouted, then patted Tie Niu's shoulder, stepped on Tie Niu's thigh, and straddled Tie Niu's shoulder.

"Step back!" He didn't shout this at the Imperial Guards, but at the personal guards behind him.

His personal guards were all handpicked, the elite of the elite. If they were to charge, it would surely cause casualties.

It wasn't that Li Shen was arrogant, but even without equipment, his hundred personal guards were far more powerful than the hundred-plus military guards.

Moreover, the personal guards also had inner armor.

"Your Highness Prince Ji!"

Just as Li Shen was dismissing his personal guards, a shout came from ahead.

Then the crowd parted, and a burly man walked over.

"Cheng Chusi, so it turns out you're in charge here."

Li Shen looked down and immediately recognized Cheng Chusi, the eldest son of the Cheng family.

"I just received orders from the Ministry of War to take charge of the defense here and protect the Tibetan king. What brings Your Highness Prince Ji here?"

Li Shen got off Tie Niu's shoulder, pushed Tie Niu aside, and came to Cheng Chusi.

"I've come to visit Songtsen Gampo. As you know, I brought him back, and I promised him I would heal his injuries."

The King has been too busy lately; he just heard that Songtsen Gampo had come to Chang'an, so he came to see him.

"So that's how it is. Put down your weapons. This is His Highness Prince Ji." Cheng Chusi nodded, then shouted to the surroundings.

The notification came immediately.

"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Ji." Then he bowed to Li Shen.

"No need for formalities. Alright, let them disperse." Li Shen waved his hand and said to Cheng Chusi.

"Disperse, everyone!" Cheng Chusi nodded and gave the order. The team immediately dispersed and returned to their original positions.

"Haha, not bad, you've got the air of a general. Weren't you supposed to be my father's bodyguard?"

Li Shen patted Cheng Chusi on the shoulder and praised him.

This guy used to have to go to brothels on credit, he was really down on his luck, but now he looks all respectable.

"Hehe, it's all thanks to the prince's excellent teaching. After graduating from Yucai School, we were indeed sent to guard His Majesty. Later, His Majesty handed over the reins of government to the Crown Prince and no longer allowed so many guards."

I was transferred to the Left Guard as a colonel, and now I am the Inspector General of the Left Guard.

Cheng Chusi chuckled and then twirled his general's armor.

"Oh! You've become a general! That's truly a cause for celebration. Keep up the good work, and one day you'll become a great general, surpassing even your father."

Li Shen was somewhat surprised that Cheng Chusi had actually become a general.

"This... it might be a bit difficult for me to surpass my father, as I still have to inherit his title."

Cheng Chusi scratched his head. His father had earned his merits through fighting on the battlefield.

For him to have such merit, he would have to join someone in a rebellion and ultimately win.

"Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities. These veterans have all retired and can only rely on Hu Lai to support them. Do you think that will work?"

In the future, we will still need you to support the Tang Dynasty.

Most importantly, you must work hard and study military strategy, so that you don't die on the battlefield.

Li Shen offered words of comfort, saying that this batch of students at the talent training program were actually quite good, most of them coming from military families.

With Li Jing and these veteran generals explaining military strategy and real-world combat examples to them, even a stone could be driven to rouse them.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will work even harder to expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty," Cheng Chusi immediately assured him.

"Alright, it's getting late. I'll go visit Songtsen Gampo first, and then find a chance to invite them all over for a few hundred cups of wine."

(I'm really busy right now, I don't have time during the day, and I don't want to do anything else, so please be understanding.)