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

"Crackling and popping..."

Amidst the resounding crackle of firecrackers, the first year of the Zhenguan era finally came to an end.

Every household in Chang'an was overjoyed, especially the homes of military generals and nobles, which were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, as if they were celebrating a wedding or a birthday together.

Meanwhile, even more bizarre scenes were unfolding among the officials of the Wude and Zhenguan reigns in the imperial court.

The meeting is over.

Cheng Yaojin, with a friendly expression, quickly approached Pei Ji, who had just stepped out of the Taiji Hall.

"Prime Minister Pei, how have you been lately? I recently managed to buy a ginseng root, a hundred-year-old one..."

Pei Ji's face no longer showed the defensiveness and disdain he usually displayed when he saw Cheng Yaojin.

He naturally accepted the gift from the other party in front of everyone.

A smile flickered in his eyes.

"Hehe, Duke Lu, you've gone to so much trouble. This old man's bones can still hold on. Even if I breathe my last, I must first get things done for you, Duke. With the Northern Expedition imminent, General, you must also take care of yourself..."

"Hahaha! Prime Minister Pei knows how to talk. Just make the arrangements. Whether it's the Western Expedition or the Northern Expedition, even if it's a tough battle, leave it to me, Old Cheng. I guarantee there won't be any problems!"

Cheng Yaojin pounded his chest repeatedly.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yuchi Jingde, who was carrying two packets of fine tea that His Majesty the Emperor had previously bestowed upon him, immediately came forward.

He handed the things in his hand to Pei Ji.

"Prime Minister Pei, please take care of my affairs as well..."

Pei Ji welcomed everyone, chuckling as if they were all very familiar with each other.

"Duke of E, look at what you're saying. Both of you are the most outstanding generals of our Great Tang Dynasty... Even if you didn't speak up, for the sake of His Highness the Crown Prince's grand plan and for the Emperor Emeritus's northern expedition, I wouldn't dare to neglect your duties, would I?"

"Hahaha, in that case, I'll treat Prime Minister Pei to drinks after this is done..."

Ganlu Temple.

Li Shimin looked extremely annoyed. His personal eunuch, Fan Qi, stood beside him, silent and trembling, not daring to utter a sound.

And now, the Ganlu Palace is no longer as desolate as it was when they first returned.

Not only has everything been restored to its previous state.

Li Shimin also had his study altered to resemble the office layout of the Shougong Hall in Yangcheng Palace, Taiyuan Prefecture.

At this moment, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Wei Zheng were all sitting in their respective seats without looking up, reviewing documents. All three of them exuded an undeniable air of authority.

A look of despair.

The documents piled up in front of Li Shimin were half a meter high.

He picked up three copies and, as if applying raindrops evenly, added some thickness to the documents that were half a meter high in front of Fang Xuanling and the other two.

Then I picked up another one and looked at it numbly.

The Wei family of Jingzhao, who were originally imprisoned, have been released and are already on their way to Yuexi County to plant the very important rubber trees that the Crown Prince mentioned.

Li Shimin looked at the memorial sent by the Ministry of Revenue with a face full of resentment.

"Snapped!"

"Those rubber trees weren't planted for me, why are you asking me for money! Go ask that rebellious son!"

The sudden sound startled Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Wei Zheng, causing them all to tremble involuntarily.

Wei Zheng, in particular, who was appointed as an advisor by Li Shimin but was brought in as a "cabinet minister," dared not utter a single word at this moment.

"Hey......"

When rubber trees were mentioned, Li Shimin immediately thought of the train and railway that his crown prince had mentioned. According to his taciturn son, Prince Jiang Li Yun, the locomotive had already begun to be built in Bingzhou.

If such a railway had been built during the Northern Expedition, wouldn't the Tang Dynasty have been able to maintain long-term and stable control over the vast territories of the Turks and the Western Regions?

"It's all my doing, it should all be my doing..."

The emperor had been grumbling like this for quite some time.

As the days passed and court assemblies became more frequent, more and more officials and ministers gathered around the Crown Prince and the Retired Emperor in preparation for the Northern Expedition in the spring of the following year.

This emperor was more like a resentful woman.

"Pap..."

Li Shimin slumped weakly in his chair, then put his feet directly on the table.

He covered his face with a memorial, presenting it to the group in a dejected manner, as if inviting impeachment.

Fang Xuanling gestured with his eyes: "Wei Zheng, you go! You are the Grand Counselor!"

Du Ruhui smiled enigmatically: "Wei Zheng, show some backbone! Go up and make the emperor sit up straight!"

Wei Zheng lowered his head, looking serious, but he was reading the document in front of him quickly: "...It's just a trivial matter, why should I risk my life and fortune?"

Fang and Du sneered: "Treacherous officials!"

The emperor in the Ganlu Palace seemed to have had his life force drained by a demon, and he looked gloomy and listless.

However, the emperors in the Eastern Palace and the Hall of Martial Virtue, both those in reserve and those who had retired, were as passionate and energetic as the rising sun over Chang'an that morning.

"Grandpa, have you ever tried your best for yourself in your entire life?!"

"what!!!"

"Grandpa Emperor, did you only ascend the throne because of your son?!"

"what!!!"

"Grandpa Emperor, could you be the weakest founding emperor in history?!"

"what!!!"

"Passion! Do you have passion?!"

"Let me see your determination to expand your territory! Let me see your perseverance to avenge your defeat! Grandpa Emperor, are you even up to the task?!"

"Give me another five kilometers!!!"

On the road leading from the East Palace to the Hall of Martial Virtue, the Crown Prince roared, Li Yuan shouted, and the eunuchs and palace maids trembled...

From the very morning of that day when the Emperor Emeritus was to personally lead the expedition, and the Ministry of Rites was already preparing envoys to go to the Western Turks to hold them accountable, the grandfather and grandson had been living under the trembling gazes of the palace eunuchs and maids.

The "devil training" began.

Weighted running, weapon combat, horseback archery, and even those sticks that emit smoke and fire—the banging sounds are quite frightening.

In Li Chengqian's words.

"I don't need you, my imperial grandfather, to do any military strategy, but at least when the army needs morale, I must be able to display the imperial majesty with my noble status, to tell the enemy, and to tell the soldiers of my Great Tang, that their retired emperor is not a coward!"

In the evening, it was time for another medicinal bath. In the steaming, even scalding, medicinal liquid, the Emperor Emeritus was like a monkey in heat, wanting to leap out of the bathtub.

However, he was firmly held down by Prince Lu, Li Yuanchang, and Prince Wei, Li Tai, who had a strange smile on his face.

"Grandfather, you wouldn't want to be looked down upon by Father, would you? At your age, if you were to ride into battle and expand the territory, even Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han couldn't compare..."

The veins on Li Yuan's forehead throbbed, and the burning sensation throughout his body, combined with the cooling effect of the medicine entering his body, almost made him faint.

At this moment, however, he was immediately sobered up by a single sentence from his own grandson, and gritted his teeth to endure it.

"I am the Emperor Emeritus!!!"

The retired emperor is working so hard.

Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, Wang Gui, and other veteran officials of the Wude era all staked everything on their careers.

They were all quite old, and everyone was prepared to die on the way to the Northern Expedition. But even if they died, they would definitely strive to earn a resounding posthumous title for themselves in history.

The Pei clan of Hedong, the Zheng clan of Xingyang, the Xiao clan of Lanling, the Wang clan of Taiyuan... these aristocratic families who had honestly survived the Great Purge began to devote themselves to the preparations for this Northern Expedition.

Even before the New Year holidays were over, they rushed to Chang'an as quickly as possible after receiving letters from their elders.

In no time, the taverns, teahouses, inns and hotels in Chang'an were all fully booked.

Some well-connected wandering knights also gathered in Chang'an.

Some joined the army out of loyalty to their brothers, while others simply wanted to end their life of wandering and make a name for themselves.

The area in front of the government office responsible for recruiting soldiers was packed with people.

The clerks in charge of registration were extremely busy.

"Who would have thought that His Majesty would actually leave Chang'an, command a large army, and personally lead an expedition... Truly, life is unpredictable."

"Who can argue with that? This time, the imperial court issued an official document to recruit 50,000 new soldiers. In addition, there are the Turkic wolf cavalry from Bingzhou Road and the new army from Bingzhou, bringing the total to nearly 100,000, to be sent to the Western Turks."

"Such a large army, only His Highness the current Crown Prince could trust His Majesty to lead it..."

In the streets and alleys of Chang'an, it seemed as if there was no defense at all against the Tang Dynasty's plan to launch a northern expedition.

The news spread quickly.

This caused the envoys from various countries at the Honglu Temple's Sifang Pavilion to become quite nervous.

The Tang Dynasty is sending troops?

The last time the Tang Dynasty launched a military campaign, it didn't even have this kind of momentum, yet it wiped out the Eastern Turks in one fell swoop.

Now they're making such a big show of it...

"Your Highness, an envoy from the Kingdom of Gaochang requests an audience."

At Xiande Hall, Wang De came to report.

Li Chengqian nodded and asked the other party to bring the person in, then handed the document in his hand to Sun Yi, who was standing to the side.

"Go, send this document to Ganlu Hall. The streetlights in all the streets and alleys of Chang'an have been installed, and the lamplighters have been trained. So there's no need to hesitate. Starting tomorrow, all the streets of Chang'an will be lit up. In the second year of Zhenguan, the curfew in Chang'an will be officially lifted..."

Upon receiving the order, Sun Yi hurried off to carry out the task.

Not long after, Wang De arrived at Xiande Hall with the envoys of Gaochang Kingdom.

"Your humble servant Qu Changhe greets His Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty. May Your Highness enjoy peace and prosperity."

At a loud announcement, the envoy from Gaochang, who was not in a grand court assembly and did not need to perform a grand ceremony, suddenly knelt down in front of Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow.

"Your surname is Qu... are you a member of the royal family of Gaochang?"