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

Upon hearing the name Li Jing, Cheng Jun's heart skipped a beat.

He recalled that when the officials from the Censorate went to Li Jing's house to invite his son to the Censorate, Li Jing only needed a few pots of tea to make the officials flee in a sorry state.

"I'll go find him right away."

After making up his mind, Cheng Jun bowed to Yuchi Jingde and said, "Uncle Yuchi, I'll be going now."

"go Go."

After bidding farewell to Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Jun mounted his horse and galloped through Chang'an.

The two loud noises startled the residents of the four surrounding neighborhoods of Chongrenfang.

The patrol envoy also went to Chongrenfang immediately.

When Cheng Jun passed by Chongrenfang, he went in to take a look and found that the street patrolmen were going from house to house saying that someone's house had been flooded, but now everything was fine.

Cheng Jun did not go to Li Jing's house immediately, but went to Shengyefang first to go to Han Zhongliang's house.

He still wanted to try his luck and see if he could meet Han Zhongliang.

Cheng Jun dismounted, walked to the door, and knocked.

As expected, no one could open the door to Han Zhongliang's house.

He saw a light coming from inside the Han residence, knowing that someone was inside, but he only knocked on the door and did not call out.

Cheng Jun knew that he couldn't possibly get the door open by himself.

Not knowing if Li Jing was up to the task... Cheng Jun mounted his horse and headed towards Pingkang Ward.

Li Jing's residence was located north of the cross street in Pingkangfang.

Upon arriving at Li Jing's residence, Cheng Jun was surprised to find that the gates of the Li residence were wide open.

The mansion was brightly lit, and outside, six guards stood watch with torches and swords at their waists.

In the distance, people were constantly riding back and forth to and from the mansion.

As soon as Cheng Jun approached, he was spotted by six of Li's retainers.

Upon recognizing Cheng Jun as the newcomer, the six men released their grip on the hilts of their swords and bowed to the chief sergeant.

"When we meet Imperial Censor Cheng, please forgive us for being unable to perform the full ceremony due to our torches."

Cheng Jun smiled and said, "It's alright, you all go about your business. Is Minister Li here?"

The chief minister said, "Yes, I will take Imperial Censor Cheng in."

"Good work."

Cheng Jun nodded in acknowledgment and then followed behind him into the Li residence, where he soon met Li Jing in the main hall.

Li Jing, dressed in a purple robe, sat cross-legged on a cushion, rubbing his temples. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Cheng Jun, exclaiming in surprise:

"My dear nephew, what brings you here?"

Cheng Jun smiled and said, "I came to find you, Uncle Li. You're still up?"

Li Jing picked up a bowl of herbal soup from the table. Because of a recent medical checkup, Sun Simiao had said he was suffering from a recurring illness and needed recuperation. Whenever he was home, he would drink some warm, nourishing herbal soup. He slowly said:

"I had only fallen asleep for a short while when I was awakened by the noise from Chongrenfang next door."

"I sent someone to investigate, and guess what?"

"Those who returned said that the gate of Liu Ji's house in Chongrenfang was blown to pieces by gunpowder."

Li Jing looked at Cheng Jun with a playful smile: "I was just wondering which hero was so bold as to blow up Liu Ji's house, and then you showed up."

"What noise did you make?"

Cheng Jun denied it, saying, "It wasn't me."

Li Jing hummed in agreement and said, "I don't think it could be you. This isn't like you. Do you know who did it?"

Cheng Jun honestly replied, "It was for official business in Wu."

Li Jing took a sip of the herbal medicine, his expression calm, clearly expecting it, and said, "I knew it was him. No one else would dare to be so bold."

After saying that, he asked curiously, "Why would he use gunpowder to blow up Liu Ji's door? I've never heard of him having any grudge against Liu Ji."

Cheng Jun chuckled dryly and said, "I have some past grievances with Liu Ji."

Li Jing suddenly realized what was going on and asked, "What happened?"

Cheng Jun said, "Liu Ji and the Duke of Song, a total of six people, jointly submitted a memorial, accusing gunpowder of being a strange and ingenious trick, and claiming that I invented gunpowder. Their criticism of gunpowder in court is actually aimed at me."

He told him the whole story, and added, "I also heard that they will target me at the morning court tomorrow and impeach me severely."

Li Jing nodded and said, "So, you'll deal with them one by one, making them shut up at tomorrow's morning court session?"

Cheng Jun flattered, "Nothing can be hidden from Uncle Li."

Li Jing looked him over and asked, "How many people did you deal with last night?"

Cheng Jun said, "Yan Shigu, I've taken care of it. Uncle Yuchi helped me deal with Liu Ji."

"Now there are Xiao Yu, Yu Zhining, Han Zhongliang, and Qian Jiulong."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing raised an eyebrow. "How come there are military officers mixed in there?"

Cheng Jun said, "I also find it strange. I can understand the censors impeaching me, but what I can't understand is why Han Zhongliang and Qian Jiulong, these two military officers, are also impeaching me along with the Duke of Song."

Despite his recklessness, Cheng Yaojin was actually very popular in the court, which is why he could get along with more than fifty sons of military generals.

Their fathers were on good terms with Cheng Yaojin and would always give him face.

This time, however, two military officers suddenly stood up to oppose him, which surprised Cheng Jun.

"Han Zhongliang, Qian Jiulong... I understand."

Li Jing pondered for a moment, put down the soup bowl, and said:

"These two people, let alone your father, don't get along with the old officials of the Prince of Qin's mansion. They are the former officials of the retired emperor."

Cheng Jun's eyes flashed, and after his prompting, he instantly recalled the historical records about Qian Jiulong and Han Zhongliang.

During the Sui Dynasty, Qian Jiulong was convicted of a crime and his property confiscated. He was then sent to serve Li Yuan.

Li Yuan was very fond of Qian Jiulong because he was skilled in riding and archery.

This is why he was able to stay by Li Yuan's side most of the time.

After the uprising in Jinyang, Qian Jiulong was awarded the title of Grand Master of the Palace for his merits, and later promoted to Duke of Xun. He was a trusted minister of Li Yuan.

Han Zhongliang, also due to Li Yuan's arrangement, was able to follow the Prince of Qin, repeatedly made military achievements, and was granted the title of Shangzhuguo.

During the Tang Dynasty, the ranks of merit were divided into twelve grades, with the highest grade being "Shangzhuguo".

At that time, Li Shimin, who was still the Prince of Qin, had no shortage of capable military officers around him, but in his early years, only Han Zhongliang was granted the title of Shangzhuguo by Li Yuan.

Therefore, it is not difficult to see the extent of Li Yuan's affection and favor towards him.

Li Jing said, "Han Zhongliang and Qian Jiulong are completely at odds with your father and the others. This time, their memorial ostensibly impeached gunpowder, but in reality, it was to impeach you, which makes sense."

"So, they were standing up for the retired emperor."

“The two of them are veteran ministers of our Great Tang Dynasty. Yuchi Jingde is wise enough not to rashly help you deal with them, otherwise, things would not have ended well.”

Cheng Jun understood at this moment and solemnly said:

“Uncle Li, you are a man of exceptional talent and unparalleled bravery, capable of turning the tide and saving the day. You must lend your nephew a hand.”

Li Jing squinted, listening with obvious satisfaction. He stroked his beard and pondered for a couple of seconds before saying:

"You just said that tomorrow at the morning court session, they will impeach you in front of His Majesty and all the civil and military officials?"

Cheng Jun nodded and said, "Yes."

"That'll be easy."

Li Jing breathed a sigh of relief, moved closer to Cheng Jun, and said with a smile:

Have you ever heard of "training eagles"?