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

"Sanlang is back!"

Upon returning to the Cheng residence, Cheng Jun saw that his prized Akhal-Teke horse had already arrived before him and was being led by Cheng Zhong towards the stables.

Cheng Jun hummed in agreement.

Cheng Zhong immediately noticed that Cheng Jun was in a bad mood. He stopped in his tracks, handed the horse's reins to a servant, and then walked to Cheng Jun's side and asked:

Why is Sanlang so gloomy?

Cheng Jun sighed, "Because of what happened in the palace."

Cheng Zhong asked in surprise, "His Majesty reprimanded you?"

Cheng Jun shook his head. "No, not at all."

"His Majesty not only did not reprimand me, but also took me out of the palace for an incognito visit."

That's because something went wrong during the incognito visit... Cheng Zhong discerned the crux of the matter and asked, "Which ward did Sanlang accompany His Majesty to?"

Cheng Jun said, "Carriage Workshop."

Cheng Zhong was taken aback. Where did a carriage workshop come from in Chang'an? Then he realized that they had left the palace in carriages and exclaimed in surprise:

"You didn't get off the bus?"

Cheng Jun nodded.

Cheng Zhong asked in confusion, "If that's the case, how can it be called an incognito visit? What is His Majesty visiting?"

Cheng Jun said expressionlessly, "They interviewed me."

"..."

Seeing Cheng Zhong's stunned expression, Cheng Jun said succinctly, "His Majesty intends to send me as an envoy to the Turks."

Cheng Zhong gasped in shock.

"Uncle Zhong, why are you hissing?"

Just then, a curious voice rang out from not far away.

Cheng Zhong turned his head to look.

Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chuliang walked side by side toward this side.

Cheng Zhong immediately relayed Cheng Jun's words to them.

Immediately afterwards, the two Cheng brothers both hissed in shock.

"There's still a war going on over there. Sending an envoy to the Turks at this time is no different from sending yourself to your death."

Cheng Chumo asked in confusion.

Cheng Jun explained, "Not now, but when the Turks surrendered."

As he spoke, he recounted the whole story in more detail.

After hearing his words, Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chuliang exchanged glances and suddenly had a feeling that their third brother had gotten himself into a mess this time.

Cheng Zhong felt the same way.

Cheng Chumo asked, "So what do we do now?"

Cheng Jun said, "What else can we do but go?"

Now that going to the Turkic Khaganate was a done deal, Cheng Jun didn't get emotional; instead, he calmly thought about how to get there.

First, you need to find trustworthy people.

"Big brother, second brother, why don't you come with me?"

Cheng Jun looked at Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chuliang and said.

Upon hearing this, their eyes lit up simultaneously, and they said in unison:

"Okay!"

Cheng Zhong asked solemnly, "Third Brother, shall this old servant come along?"

Cheng Jun thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Let's go together!"

This mission to appease the Turks was extremely dangerous.

One wrong move and you could lose your head.

Therefore, you must bring along someone you can trust.

There's no need to say more about the eldest and second eldest brothers; they absolutely must be brought along.

The "loyalty" in Cheng Zhong's name is not the ordinary kind of loyalty.

Moreover, he had been Cheng Yaojin's deputy general and had rich combat experience, so he had to be brought along as well.

Cheng Jun has temporarily settled on the three of them.

As for other candidates, we'll discuss that when the Turks surrender.

Time passed day by day, and there were only two days left until Lunar New Year's Eve.

That noon, Cheng Jun was eating the food delivered by Leyunlou with his elder brothers, Cheng Zhong, and others when suddenly a servant led a eunuch dressed in purple robes over.

Cheng Jun glanced at the man and saw that it was Zhang Anan. His heart skipped a beat. He wiped his mouth and hands, stood up, went over to pay his respects, and asked, "Eunuch Zhang, has His Majesty summoned me to the palace?"

Zhang Anan said with a solemn expression, "His Majesty has summoned you urgently."

Upon hearing these four words, Cheng Chumo, Cheng Chuliang, and Cheng Zhong, who had just stood up, felt a tightness in their hearts.

Cheng Jun understood, knowing that there must be news from the Turks, and replied, "Let me change into my official robes, and then we will enter the palace."

Zhang Anan nodded, and after Cheng Jun put on the xiezhi crown and changed into the scarlet imperial censor's robe, he took him away from the Cheng residence and rode to the palace.

Arriving outside the Ganlu Hall, Cheng Jun glanced inside and saw a group of figures dressed in purple robes sitting there.

Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Wen Yanbo, Wei Zheng, Changsun Wuji, and others were prominently featured on the list.

At this moment, everyone in the hall also saw Cheng Jun and showed surprise.

Today's meeting is about matters of great importance to the nation and the military.

Why is he here?

They turned to look at Li Shimin on the dragon throne.

Li Shimin just told them that they would discuss important military and national affairs after everyone had arrived.

They were initially puzzled, wondering who they were waiting for since there were usually only these people around.

Now they understood that the person Li Shimin had asked them to wait for was actually Cheng Jun!

Cheng Jun entered the hall and bowed towards the dragon throne, saying, "Your subject Cheng Jun greets Your Majesty."

Li Shimin opened his eyes, beckoned to him, and said:

"Take a seat."

"According to the order."

Seeing Cheng Jun sit down, everyone exchanged glances.

Logically speaking, given the scale of today's meeting, Cheng Jun, a mere Palace Attendant Censor, should not even be qualified to attend.

But since Li Shimin asked him to sit down, he was naturally qualified.

No one said anything more, waiting for Li Shimin to continue.

Li Shimin's voice rang out at the opportune moment:

"My dear ministers, you must be wondering why I summoned Cheng Jun to this meeting."

"I'll keep you in suspense for now; you'll find out soon enough."

After speaking, Li Shimin glanced at the purple-robed ministers in the hall and slowly said:

"News has come from the Court of State Ceremonies that Jieli of the Turks has sent an envoy to our Great Tang. This person has now arrived at the Court of State Ceremonies."

"Cheng Jun, can you guess who this Turkic envoy is?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the purple-robed ministers in the hall all turned to look at Cheng Jun.

Without hesitation, Cheng Jun replied, "It should be 'the power of thought'."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin smiled.

Cheng Jun guessed correctly... All the ministers in purple robes were watching Li Shimin's expression. When they saw him smile, they immediately made their judgment and were secretly surprised.

Fang Xuanling asked curiously, "How did you guess that?"

Because I've read history books, that's how it's written... Cheng Jun muttered to himself, then said aloud:

"At the end of the ninth year of the Wude era, the Turkic Khaganate, Jieli, led an army of 200,000 to the banks of the Wei River. At that time, Jieli sent a man into our capital to investigate the situation. This man was Zhishi Sili."

"That's why I made this guess."

After hearing his words, the purple-robed ministers in the hall looked on with admiration.

Changsun Wuji couldn't help but think more highly of him.

Li Shimin took in everyone's expressions and then asked:

"Then, what do you think is his purpose in coming to our Great Tang?"

Cheng Jun replied without hesitation once again:

"On behalf of the Turks, we surrender!"

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji blurted out, "Impossible..."

The words were on the tip of his tongue when he saw Li Shimin smile again, and he immediately swallowed them back.

Everyone was looking at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin raised his right hand and pressed it down on Cheng Jun, gesturing for him to sit down. Then he addressed the crowd:

"Jieli sent Zhishi Sili as his special envoy to Chang'an to apologize to me and surrender."