This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

As he spoke, Yuchi Jingde added:

"Besides, didn't you say that His Majesty wants you to remove the obstacles to the court's heavy use of gunpowder?"

"But His Majesty didn't say that you can't ask someone to help clear away obstacles, right?"

Yuchi Jingde patted Cheng Jun on the shoulder and said with a smile, "So, we didn't do anything wrong in this matter!"

Cheng Jun immediately flattered, "As expected of Uncle Yuchi, you are so thoughtful."

Yuchi Jingde laughed heartily.

Not long after, two loud explosions suddenly rang out in Chang'an City.

Boom boom! !

Upon hearing the noise, Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said:

"Was too much gunpowder used?"

Yuchi Jingde grinned and said, "More is better. If the dosage is too low, I still feel it's not enough."

"This has definitely alerted Liu Ji. Just wait, that old bastard will surely come to demand an explanation soon!"

That was exactly what Yuchi Jingde said.

Soon, the sound of horses' hooves rang out.

Upon hearing the sound, Cheng Jun looked over and saw a man with high cheekbones, around forty years old, wearing a scarlet official robe, riding towards him with an angry expression.

Seeing Yuchi Jingde sitting on a stool outside the Zhuque Gate, the man in red robes galloped over, sat on his horse, pointed his whip at Yuchi Jingde, and cursed:

"Yuchi Jingde, how dare you send troops to destroy my gate?"

Yuchi Jingde sat cross-legged on a stool, picked his ear, and said:

"What troop deployment? Liu Ji, don't talk nonsense. It was gunpowder that blew up your front door."

Liu Ji angrily asked, "Did you send someone to set the gunpowder on fire?"

Yuchi Jingde glared at him and said, "Who told you to say gunpowder is bad?"

"You praise gunpowder, so can I have someone set it on fire in front of your house?"

Liu Ji exclaimed excitedly, "You, you are utterly lawless! I'm going to impeach you!"

Yuchi Jingde chuckled, crossed his arms, and said with a grin:

"Refuse me? Refuse me if you want!"

"However, let me make this clear: if you dare to speak ill of gunpowder in court again, I will send people to light gunpowder jars at your doorstep every day!"

Liu Ji was both shocked and furious. "How dare you!"

Yuchi Jingde said, "I dare."

Seeing his extremely arrogant demeanor, Liu Ji trembled with anger. He dismounted, walked up to him, and bowed towards the direction of Ganlu Hall, saying:

"Get out of my way, I need to see the Emperor!"

Yuchi Jingde refused, saying, "No."

Liu Ji glared at him and said, "You think it's okay just because you say so?"

Yuchi Jingde sat on a stool, arms crossed, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, and said indifferently:

"I am now a gatekeeper, ordered to guard the palace gates. If I say no, then no."

"If you don't believe me, you can try to force your way into the palace. See if I break your legs."

"..."

Liu Ji looked towards the palace gate and saw two palace guards standing on either side of it. They walked up behind Yuchi Jingde, their hands on their swords, and looked at him with cold expressions.

Knowing that an audience with the emperor was hopeless, Liu Ji could only mount his horse, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he gritted his teeth and said:

"You wait, I'll definitely impeach you at the morning court tomorrow!"

Yuchi Jingde waved his hand impatiently and said, "Get out! Get out!"

Liu Ji did not turn his horse around and leave, but instead shifted his gaze to the side of Yuchi Jingde.

A tall man, about 1.85 meters tall, wearing a xiezhi crown and a light green official robe, was looking at them with a playful smile.

Liu Ji recognized Cheng Jun at a glance. Suddenly realizing something, his expression turned furious. He dismounted again, went to Cheng Jun's side, and angrily said:

"Cheng Jun, were you the one who instigated this?"

Cheng Jun was watching a play when he heard this, and he was taken aback. He opened his arms and asked in confusion:

"What does it have to do with me?"

Liu Ji angrily retorted, "This has nothing to do with you, so why are you here?"

Cheng Jun pointed at Yuchi Jingde and said with a serious expression:

"I am here to supervise the Duke of Wu guarding the city gate."

Liu Ji didn't believe a word of it and glared at him, saying:

"You're talking nonsense! You clearly can't get into my house, that's why you came looking for Yuchi Jingde!"

Cheng Jun looked enlightened, clapped his hands, and said:

“I had forgotten about Liu County Man if you hadn’t mentioned it.”

As he spoke, Cheng Jun stood up, took out a complaint from his pocket, walked up to Liu Ji, and solemnly said:

"Mr. Liu, this is the complaint concerning you."

Cheng Jun opened the complaint, looked down at it, and said:

“Yang Zuan, the magistrate of Chang’an, received the complaint from the people against you. After reading it, he felt that he could not handle it, so he handed it over to the Censorate. Now, this complaint is handed over to me for handling.”

"Your steward from the Liu family bought people's land at a low price, and then had it bought back at a high price!"

"Oppressing the people is utterly lawless!"

Cheng Jun looked up at Liu Ji and said seriously:

"The lower beam is crooked like this, obviously because the upper beam is crooked, Liu County Magistrate. Have you been an official for too long and forgotten how to be a human being?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ji flew into a rage and roared, "You want to impeach me, is that it? Fine, let's go see the Emperor right now!"

Cheng Jun saw through his thoughts and shook his head, saying, "This is such a trivial matter, why bother meeting the emperor!"

"However, this may be a small matter, it must be resolved!"

Cheng Jun raised his hand and slammed the complaint into his face, shouting:

"I now order you to resolve this matter by tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I will petition His Majesty to uphold justice for this wronged citizen!"

Liu Ji was stunned for a few seconds by the complaint suddenly thrown in his face. When he came to his senses, his face flushed red as he said:

"You dare throw this lawsuit in my face?!"

Cheng Jun stretched out his bulging arms, spread his large hands, and pressed them firmly against Liu Ji's shoulders, staring at him as he said:

"You can't handle having a lawsuit thrown in your face? What if my Uncle Yuchi's fists suddenly become uncontrollable? Can you handle that?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ji glanced at Yuchi Jingde, only to see that Yuchi Jingde had stood up after listening to Cheng Jun's words, and his eyes had instantly become much clearer.

Almost forgot, these two are in cahoots. If Cheng Jun makes up a reason for Yuchi Jingde, Yuchi Jingde might actually take the opportunity to punch him twice...

Thinking of this, Liu Ji bent down, picked up the indictment, and took the opportunity to shake off Cheng Jun's hands that were on his shoulders. He then straightened up, said nothing, put the indictment into his pocket, and immediately mounted his horse. Thinking of how his front door had been blown to pieces, he glared at Yuchi Jingde and said:

"Yuchi Jingde, you just wait. I'm going back to write a memorial right now, and I'm going to impeach you for this one at tomorrow's morning court session!"

Yuchi Jingde cursed, "You've been chattering on and on without doing anything, like a fly buzzing around, so annoying! Get lost!"

Liu Ji was furious. Looking at the old man and the child in front of him, he knew that tonight he was like a scholar encountering a soldier, and there was no way to reason with him. He had no choice but to swallow his anger and turn his horse around to leave.

After he left, Yuchi Jingde immediately changed his expression, looked at Cheng Jun, and praised him:

"Well done, my dear nephew Chuxia. You're so quick-witted; you left him speechless."

Cheng Jun said seriously, "I can only reprimand him a few times. If it weren't for Uncle Yuchi, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do anything to Liu Ji today."

"Oh, right, Uncle Yuchi, there are also Xiao Yu, Han Zhongliang, Qian Jiulong, and Yu Zhining..."

Cheng Jun said seriously:

"Please do me the trouble and help my nephew out of this."

Yuchi Jingde hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"To be honest, I can't handle these four people."

He patiently explained, "Qian Jiulong was promoted to Duke of Xun because he made outstanding contributions in helping His Majesty quell Xue Rengao, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, and Liu Heita."

"His temper is even more explosive than mine; I have to bow to him when I see him."

“If I send someone to set fire to a gunpowder jar at his doorstep, Qian Jiulong will definitely bring his troops to cause me trouble.”

"It will definitely escalate to His Majesty's ears."

Yuchi Jingde said helplessly, "I was just punished by His Majesty. It's nothing to offend Liu Ji, but offending Qian Jiulong has alarmed His Majesty and will be difficult to resolve."

"Han Zhongliang is a former official of the Prince of Qin's mansion. He has fought alongside His Majesty in battles across the land and has made outstanding contributions. Moreover, he is a Grand Pillar of State of our Great Tang. I am not someone to be trifled with."

"As for Xiao Yu, that old fellow is narrow-minded, and I don't want to provoke him."

“Yu Zhining, formerly one of the eighteen scholars of the Prince of Qin’s mansion, is now the Crown Prince’s teacher. I don’t want to provoke him.”

Yuchi Jingde said regretfully, "I can only mess with Liu Ji. As for the others, I really can't help you."

Cheng Jun said in a serious tone, "Uncle Yuchi, you are a man of exceptional talent and unparalleled bravery. You turned the tide and saved the day. If you can't help me, I won't be able to sleep tonight."

Yuchi Jingde chuckled and said, "You're a good talker, kid."

"Although I am helpless, there is someone who can help you."

Cheng Jun asked curiously, "Who is it?"

Yuchi Jingde solemnly replied, "Li Jing."

"That old rascal has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Go find him, he'll definitely have a solution!"