Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"Your Highness, Murong Shun requests an audience..."

In a classroom at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial University.

Li Chengqian sat at the back, watching the instructor in front of him enthusiastically explaining the various uses of levers and gear linkages, as well as the officials and top craftsmen from the Bingzhou Road Construction Department who were diligently taking notes.

His eyes were full of satisfaction.

Just then, Qian Yingying quietly came to Li Chengqian's side and whispered her report.

Li Chengqian waved his hand dismissively, indicating that he understood.

However, he showed no intention of getting up or moving at all.

Instead, his gaze turned to his seventh brother, Prince Jiang, Li Yun, who was standing to the side.

"Seventh Brother, can you understand it?"

He looked at the somewhat messy notes in the notebook in front of the other person, and his expression was puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Li Yun nodded, then seemed a little embarrassed and gently shook his head.

“Well, your subject, your younger brother can roughly understand what you mean, but... in mathematics, you calculate too fast, your subject, your younger brother can’t keep up.”

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian smiled faintly and patted the other person on the shoulder.

"It's alright. Knowing your weaknesses and working hard to make up for them will make you an excellent person in the future. Since you can't keep up with math, just study more in private."

"At Imperial University, whatever you want to study, just bring your books, find the classroom, and go in. As long as you don't disrupt the class, no one will stop you."

Li Yun nodded vigorously.

After watching the lessons for a while, Li Chengqian quietly left through the back door with Qian Yingying.

"My seventh brother seems to be very interested in mechanical things?"

Qian Yingying nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness Prince Jiang, he has been going to the Bell Tower often these days. Every time I see him, he seems to be holding a book and thinking about something, looking very serious."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian's lips curled into a slight smile.

"Good, it's good that you're interested. This kid is always on edge in the palace because his mother's background isn't good. If he stays in the palace for a few more years, he'll probably be ruined."

"At least now, people finally dare to say what they want and what they like, which is a good sign."

Qian Yingying followed behind Li Chengqian, watching him stop in front of one classroom after another and peer into them through the back door.

She smiled gently, pursing her lips.

"This is also because he met Your Highness, such a good Crown Prince. If it were someone else..."

Qian Yingying did not continue speaking, but Li Chengqian understood what she meant.

Leaving aside others, historically, Chiang Kai-shek, Prince Li Yun, was merely falsely accused of plotting a rebellion, and he was so frightened that he died before the investigation even began.

Their cowardice is beyond outrageous.

"What about my other brothers?"

......

"You are Murong Shun?"

Li You, Li Yin, and Li Zhen surrounded Murong Shun, sizing him up.

The way it gleamed with a cold light, as if it were plotting some wicked scheme, made Murong Shunxin feel uneasy.

Although none of the three are important figures, they hold real power.

But after all, they were princes, and they were all brought to Bingzhou by Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, clearly indicating that they were to be given special attention and training.

At this moment, Murong Shun could only bow respectfully and cautiously.

"Your subject Murong Shun greets the three princes."

Li You nodded, then suddenly asked.

"You've come to see my brother about the Tuyuhun matter?"

Seeing that the other party was still somewhat puzzled, Li You raised a copy of today's "Datang Xinbao" from his sleeve.

"What? You seem unaware of what's happening in Tuyuhun these days?"

Murong Shun's expression changed, and he hurriedly took the newspaper from the other person's hands.

However, the moment he saw the most eye-catching headline in the newspaper, Murong Shun felt as if everything went black before his eyes.

He stumbled.

"Why, why is this happening?!"

The Tang Dynasty Daily reported: "Tuyuhun Butabo Khan Murong Fuyun has been plundering and plundering our people on the borders of the Tang Dynasty for many years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Lingzhou, Liangzhou, Suzhou, Shanzhou, Ganzhou and other places have been attacked many times."

"To stabilize the border and prevent the people of both countries from being plunged into war, separated from their families, and killed, in the second month of the first year of Zhenguan, His Highness the Crown Prince summoned Murong Shun, the King of Da Ning of Tuyuhun, to Taiyuan Prefecture to discuss reconciliation."

"However, just as the two sides were negotiating, the Tuyuhun Khan Murong Fuyun broke his promise and once again plundered Shanzhou on the border of our Great Tang, causing a large number of civilian casualties and destroying farmland!"

"By His Highness the Crown Prince's decision, our Great Tang Dynasty, having reached the point of no return, has been forced to decide to retaliate in self-defense!"

Following that was the information about the designation of the Tang army that attacked Tuyuhun territory, as well as its troop deployment.

When they saw that Li Chengqian had actually dispatched half of the Eastern Palace's six troops and sent all the Turkic wolf cavalry to Tuyuhun.

Murong Shun felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

"Why is this happening? No, wasn't it agreed that it was just acting, just intimidation?"

"Why did it turn into a real fight?!"

Murong Shun turned pale and anxiously set off to find Li Chengqian to demand an explanation.

At this moment, Li You took a step forward and blocked his way.

"If you see my royal brother today, you will be finished. The whole Tuyuhun knows about what happened to you in Taiyuan Prefecture. Everyone thinks that the Great Tang is supporting you behind the scenes."

"Whether we want to deal with Tuyuhun or simply settle old scores, you can only think that the Tang Dynasty is helping you to consolidate your position in Tuyuhun."

"If you were to question my imperial brother today..."

Li You remained silent, while Li Zhen, standing to the side, wore a sinister sneer.

"Tuyuhun will be destroyed! And you will have nothing, you will be nothing!"

Murong Shun was so astonished by the Tang princes in front of him, who were only eight or nine years old, that he was speechless.

These are words that shouldn't be uttered by people their age.

And that look in his eyes...

"Gudong!"

Murong Shun swallowed hard, his vision blurred, and he felt as if he were being stared at by Li Chengqian's cold eyes.

at this time.

A voice suddenly came from behind him, startling him so much that he was instantly terrified.

"Oh? Isn't this Brother Murong? I heard from someone that you wish to see me?"

Murong Shun turned his head stiffly and saw Li Chengqian with a warm smile. He then turned to look at Li You and the others beside him and was shocked to find that the three of them had completely lost their gloomy expression.

Instead, he wore a gentle smile, just like Li Chengqian at that moment.

They were like little gentlemen.

Murong Shun: "..."

“Brother, it seems that the Prince of Da Ning is not feeling well because of what happened in the newspaper today,” said the sixth prince, Prince Liang, Li Yin, from the side.

Murong Shun was so shocked that cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

Li Chengqian turned his head and looked at the newspaper in Murong Shun's hand with a puzzled expression, only to see Murong Shun hurriedly hide the newspaper behind his back.

He chuckled softly and shook his head.

"Alas, it seems you, my dear brother, still don't trust me."

Murong Shun's expression was a mix of fear, pleading, and a forced smile to brush it off.

Li Chengqian stepped forward, took the newspaper from the other person's hand, and smiled slightly after reading its contents.

"Does my brother think I'm taking advantage of your misfortune?"

Would Murong Shun dare to utter a single word?

He was pale-faced and shook his head repeatedly.

"This, this is of course not. I, I am just a little confused... If such actions fail to threaten them and instead anger Murong Fuyun and the others, I'm afraid I really won't be able to make money."

Upon hearing the words "get rich," Li Chengqian burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Li You and his companions exchanged a subtle glance, a smile flashing in their eyes.

"Hahaha, my good brother, don't worry. Before long, you will be a great hero who can save Tuyuhun from its suffering and a peace ambassador who will prevent the two countries from going to war!"

"In the future, at the border between Tuyuhun and the Tang Dynasty, there will surely be a statue of you, receiving the worship of the world!"

As he spoke, Li Chengqian seemed to have thought of something.

Suddenly, he slapped his forehead.

"By the way, how come I didn't think of that? If the misunderstanding between the two countries is cleared up, I must inform my father and have him issue an imperial edict to you, bestowing upon you the title of peace ambassador between the two countries!"

Li You, Li Yin, and Li Zhen listened from the side, only half understanding, unaware of what their imperial brother was planning.

At this moment, however, he nodded in agreement with a smile.

Lingzhou.

Li Daozong looked at the report from Shanzhou in his hand with disbelief on his face.

"This... the Crown Prince won directly?!"

His expression was somewhat complicated.

He still remembered that only a month had passed since Ashina She'er last led the Turkic wolf cavalry through Lingzhou.

However, now he has the battle reports in his hands.

The Tang cavalry had already captured the precious lands of Dafeichuan and Chishuiyuan in Tuyuhun.

They seized tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, and tens of thousands of fine warhorses.

In addition, there are more than 3,000 Qinghai horses.

"Qinghai Cong..." Li Daozong murmured, almost drooling from the corner of his mouth.

The lieutenant standing nearby also looked on with envy.

"This time, Tuyuhun has really suffered a huge loss. Three thousand Qinghai horses are almost emptying Tuyuhun's wealth accumulated over the years. What's more, they also lost Dafeichuan and Chishuiyuan."

"They're probably going to flee deeper into the plateau..."

Li Daozong shook his head.

Based on his understanding of His Highness the Crown Prince, since he had already taken action, it was clear that his aim was to annihilate the entire country.

However, as the deputy general said, even if Tuyuhun could not defeat the Tang Dynasty.

There is still one last way to go: escape into the depths of the plateau.

That invisible chasm became the greatest barrier preventing the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty.

“Dafeichuan and Chishuiyuan are indeed good places. Not only can they be used for grazing and raising horses, but they are also extremely suitable for building a city. However... Your Highness, I'm afraid your plans are definitely not limited to this.”

......

Fusi City.

The city of Fusi is now in a state of high tension.

Furthermore, the number of patrolling soldiers at the royal palace was so dense that it could only be described as overwhelming.

For nothing else.

The "heavenly thunder" bombardment that occurred half a month ago not only terrified the Khan of Tuyuhun, Murong Fuyun.

Those tribal leaders and generals who received special attention from the Embroidered Uniform Guard still feel lingering fear when they think about it.

There was only one explosion.

In their sleep, they saw their house instantly shattered and destroyed by a tremendous force.

If they hadn't managed to escape, or if those Tang people hadn't intended to kill them...

Now, their remains are probably just like those of their slaves, turned into a pile of mud.

"Great Khan, if we lose the Dafei River and the source of the Red River, we will be in real danger. We can't really migrate westward, can we?"

"Right now, all the supplies that were stockpiled in Fusi City have been destroyed by those despicable Tang people."

"Going west now is suicide..."

Murong Fuyun remained silent.

His eyes, however, were fixed on the crumpled "Those who know the times are wise" sign on the table in front of him.

Listening to his subordinates around him, still shaken, talking about what happened that night.

Murong Fuyun couldn't help but touch the area on his neck.

That night, the Tang people would have simply killed him and then supported Murong Shun as the Great Khan.

His head has long since been moved.

"Inhale...exhale..."

Murong Fuyun took a deep breath.

"Send someone to Taiyuan Prefecture to ask the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty what he wants in order to stop the war!"

After speaking, Murong Fuyun paused again before continuing.

"Send another fast horse to Chang'an and ask Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty if he intends to destroy the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Back then, my Tuyuhun helped his father and fought against their enemies together."

"We are allies! How could he allow his son to humiliate us like this?!"

Then, he gritted his teeth and added another sentence.

"If the Emperor of the Great Tang can persuade his son to withdraw his troops and stop the war, my Tuyuhun is willing to submit and become a vassal state of the Great Tang. The day the troops withdraw will be the day I present my letter of state to Chang'an!"

His eyes flickered, as if he were pondering something.

however.

When this news reached Taiyuan Prefecture through Li Xuanyun, the prefect of Shanzhou.

Li Chengqian slammed the letter in his hand onto the table with a loud thud.

A cold, mocking laugh escaped his lips.

"Hmph! Old man, it seems I didn't teach you a lesson enough! Old man, do you think others won't know you're going back on your word again, trying to fool me?"

"Somebody come!"

Wang De quickly approached Li Chengqian.

"Quickly inform Ashina She'er and the others not to rush to withdraw their troops. Instead, focus on the areas around Qinghai, Dafeichuan, and Chishuiyuan, and find the tribes under the Murong clan to raid!"

"Bring back all the cattle, sheep, horses, gold, and silver to me!"

"Also, inform my uncle in Lingzhou and ask him to cooperate and give him fifty percent of the profits!"

The messenger sent by Tuyuhun to Chang'an has not yet arrived.

however.

On Li Chengqian's side, the order for the army to plunder Tuyuhun had already departed from Taiyuan Prefecture.

at the same time.

In the mansion that Li Chengqian bestowed upon Murong Shun in Taiyuan Prefecture.

Murong Shun stared blankly at Gao Hai, one of Li Chengqian's personal eunuchs, who wore a formulaic smile.

He then looked at the document in his hand titled "A Letter to My Fellow Countrymen of Tuyuhun".

His face was filled with fear and sorrow.

"This, Your Majesty, you want me to go and read this to those Tuyuhun people... His Highness the Crown Prince is trying to kill me!"