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

Qu Changhe was completely bewildered!

He stared blankly at the Crown Prince of Tang, who was still holding a handful of white peony buds in his hand, his mind replaying the words the prince had just spoken.

Instead of growing grains, they're going to grow corn on the other side?!

Is this something a human being could say?!

And then the Tang Dynasty will sell them grain... What's the difference between that and willingly offering their necks to the Tang Dynasty's butcher's knife?

"Your Highness, this matter..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Chengqian waved his hand and interrupted him coldly.

"I don't care what you think, these are the conditions!"

"Now, the envoys dispatched by our dynasty to the Western Turks to question them about the killing of my Tang dynasty's son-in-law, Tongyagh Khan, have departed. You may set off immediately and return to Gaochang to convey my message to King Qu Wentai of Gaochang."

"When our Great Tang army marches north next spring, if he agrees, he will hand over all the grain and fodder of Gaochang and plant white berries instead. If he does not agree... after the city falls, our officials will also organize the planting of white berries in the area!"

Whether he agrees or not, I don't care!

"Wang De, see the guests out!"

Qu Changhe's expression changed drastically. He was dragged by two eunuchs, one on each side, and headed out of Xiande Hall.

"Your Highness! Your Highness, this is not the behavior of gentlemen from the Central Plains! Your Highness, don't you Tang people all claim to be benevolent to the world and to educate us? Why are you so barbaric, bullying our small country? This is absolutely not something a celestial empire should do!"

"Gaochang is innocent! Gaochang is innocent!!!"

"Woooooooo..."

Li Ke and Li Tai entered the East Palace together from outside. What greeted them was the Gaochang envoy being carried out of the palace by several eunuchs, as if he were a pig being slaughtered for the New Year.

The latter still had a piece of cloth, which looked like it was still coated with starch, stuffed into his mouth.

It is struggling desperately.

"You are..."

Wang De bowed with a smile: "Your Highness, Prince of Han and Prince of Wei, this is an envoy from Gaochang. The Crown Prince just tried to discuss a business deal with him, but not only did he refuse, he also said that Your Highness is not a gentleman..."

"What?!" Li Ke's eyes instantly turned cold.

Prince Li Tai of Wei, who had initially shown little interest and was preparing to head straight for Xiande Hall, couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

Qu Changhe's expression changed drastically.

As an envoy who had been stationed in the Tang Dynasty for many years, he naturally knew who the two people in front of him were.

And what kind of person is he?

He shook his head hurriedly, making muffled noises.

Li Tai glanced at a young eunuch carrying the other man and asked in a cold voice, "Is this really what this fellow said?"

The young eunuch bowed his head and gave a curtsy.

"Yes, Your Highness, many people in Xiande Hall heard it. He even said that our Great Tang is barbaric and only knows how to bully small countries..."

"How dare you!" Li Tai sneered.

Suddenly, he beckoned to the two musketeer guards behind him.

"Take him away and treat him well!"

Li Ke spoke up coldly from the side: "Fourth brother, have your men send him to the imperial prison. They recently got a new batch of tea there... just waiting for some guests to come and brew some."

The eunuchs trembled and bowed their heads.

Li Tai snorted coldly and waved his hand, signaling his guards to have the bodyguards carry it away immediately.

Wang De whispered a reminder: "Your Highnesses, this person still needs to go to Gaochang to reply to a letter..."

"Don't worry, the Embroidered Uniform Guards are the most professional. They'll make sure he's alive and kicking and even learns the hierarchy of the Celestial Empire!"

Xiande Hall.

"Brother Emperor!"

Two soft calls brought Li Chengqian, who was looking at the geomantic map in front of him with his hands behind his back, back to his senses.

Turning his head, he saw his two younger brothers, who were already showing signs of royal imperial power, stepping in.

A smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

"What? Your mother and the imperial concubine have finally decided to let you two out? Did you agree on which family's daughters you were from?"

Li Chengqian's words turned the two, who were initially quite happy, upside down.

The smile on his face vanished instantly.

Seeing their elder brother's smile grow even wider, the two of them shook their heads speechlessly.

"We were just now trying to get those Gaochang envoys to be severely punished because you were scolded, but you're here to laugh at us right away."

Li Ke shook his head helplessly, looking very sad.

Li Tai also pursed his lips.

Seeing his elder brother staring at the geomantic map, he walked over.

"Is Your Majesty planning to take Gaochang as well during this northern expedition?"

Li Chengqian nodded, took a deep breath, and half-closed his eyes, feeling the sensation of his fingers gently rubbing against the silk of the geomantic map.

As the finger traced from Chang'an to Longyou, then from Longyou to Gaochang, to the Western Turks, to the Western Regions, and then to the area around Lake Baikal north of the Zhenbei Road...

He said I'm not a gentleman, that I bully the weak and am unreasonable... Whatever.

Li Chengqian murmured, his fingers tracing the border of Gaochang.

The capital city of Gaochang, the three prefectures of Jiaohe, Tiandi, and Nanping, as well as the county towns of Hengjie, Yongchang, Wuban, Shichang, Anle, Anchang, Yong'an, Weilin, Gaoning, Ningrong, Weishen, Linchuan, Jiuquan, and Longquan...

“Duh….”

Li Chengqian tapped lightly on the map of Gaochang with his fingers, his eyes filled with cold light.

"My reputation is infamous, but my Tang Dynasty is flourishing!"

"Gaochang...I need it! The Tang Dynasty needs it too!"

Li Ke and Li Tai exchanged a glance.

I already have a plan in mind.

.......

On a huge stage erected in the palace.

The entertainer, who held an official position at the Imperial University's Faculty of Arts and was paid by the emperor, was dressed in Han Dynasty attire.

With a sorrowful expression, Liu Bei sang in the opera style, lamenting the loss of his two brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. His intense grief and indignation, along with his trembling voice, rebuked the admonitions of his ministers, captivating the audience.

Meanwhile, the three brothers Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Li Ke, who had already seen Taiyuan Prefecture countless times, were casually lying down next to a tile-roofed house.

Li Chengqian held a handful of melon seeds in his hand.

"So (pui~), not only are the Empress Dowager and the others already looking for a princess for you (snap~ pui), they've even started preparing for Zhi Nu?"

The way Li Chengqian acted at this moment was not only unlike his usual considerate self, but he even seemed to be watching a good show.

They seemed completely oblivious to the distressed and helpless expressions on the faces of their two younger brothers, Li Tai and Li Ke.

Li Ke took a deep breath and clenched his fist.

Thinking of everything he had experienced these past few days, "At the age of 13, at the palace banquet, standing like a lackey," his mother, Consort Yang, was there, excitedly telling some ladies about what she had done in Dengzhou.

He took out some of the good things he brought back from Dengzhou and showed them off.

At that time, he even suspected that his once gentle and intellectual mother had been possessed by someone...

Li Ke shivered and grabbed his elder brother Li Chengqian, whose smile was becoming increasingly unrestrained.

"Your Majesty, after the New Year, I will immediately set off to return to Dengzhou. I cannot stay in the palace for even a day longer."

Li Tai, standing nearby, hurriedly raised both hands: "Me too! After the New Year, I'll set off for Luoyang immediately... My mother actually introduced me to Cheng Yaojin's daughter, this... Cheng Yaojin is even darker than if he'd been bombed with dynamite!"

Li Chengqian was cracking sunflower seeds again.

Regarding the tragic experiences of your two younger brothers, one can only say that because of the times and your identities, you have to bear troubles that you shouldn't have to face at your age.

"What's the situation on that Zhinu's side (snap~)?"

"How old is he now? He..."

Li Tai and Li Ke exchanged a glance. Their worried expressions eased somewhat after thinking of something happy. They put their arms around their elder brother's shoulders, and the three of them began to chatter furtively.

"What? Him? He can actually be interested in things other than eating candy?!"

"That's nonsense. He's so young, what does he know about love?"

"Slap! Love! I'll give you love! Slap! Do you still love me!?"

Behind the Lizheng Hall, the sounds of opera and drums from the inner palace could not drown out the pitiful screams coming from the Lizheng Hall.

There was no cushion on her buttocks, and the empress's dignity was completely disregarded. However, the mouth of the ninth prince, Prince Jin, Li Zhi, remained as firm as a rock.

"This is love! My elder brother, the Crown Prince, can choose the person he loves as his concubine, so why can't I?! Ah!"

Li Zhi shouted, and the next moment he received another hard lash from the Empress's rattan whip on his buttocks.

"You dare mention your imperial brother?! When your imperial brother was your age, he was praised by the teachers for every subject. And you? Just because that little girl from the Murong family does your homework, you dare to talk about love with me?!"

"I think you didn't get beaten enough!"

Li Shimin, standing to the side, was trying not to laugh.

Looking at her youngest son at this moment.

Now, the entire palace, and even Li You, the once unruly prince, no longer angers his mother, Consort Yin, or the Empress.

Only Li Zhi, the youngest son born to the Empress.

It's as if they were born just to cause them trouble...

Today, while the Empress was discussing the future Princess Consort of Han and Princess Consort of Wei with a group of noblewomen...

Li Zhi, who had been eating so much candy that he could barely speak, jumped out.

"I want Xiaoyu to be my Princess Jin!"

The Empress initially didn't take it seriously and even jokingly asked who Xiaoyu was.

When the Empress heard Li Zhi say that Xiaoyu was Murong Shun's daughter, the same Murong Yu who studied at the top official school in Taiyuan Prefecture, just like Li Zhi, she was stunned.

The ladies around them were also stunned.

Murong Shun... Although he had been a hostage in Chang'an for many years, in terms of culture and dietary habits, he could easily be mistaken for a Han Chinese.

However... the other party was, after all, the crown prince of Tuyuhun, a foreign race.

How could a woman from a different ethnic group become the principal wife of the legitimate son of the Tang Dynasty emperor?

Li Shimin stepped forward and stopped the empress from replacing the rattan cane with a ruler that had a stronger "attack attribute," and squatted down with a smile.

Looking at Li Zhi, whose face showed no sign of yielding even in the face of death.

"If you give up your current idea, I'll give you a candy shop..." Li Shimin said with an air of absolute certainty.

however.

Li Zhi: "I don't want the candy shop! I want Xiaoyu!!!"

Li Shimin: "......"

The smile slowly disappeared from his face. Li Shimin stood up slowly with a gloomy face and reached out to snatch the ruler directly from the Empress's hand.

"Your imperial brother, that rebellious son, has gone astray. I can't do anything about him, but do you think I can't do anything about you either?"

"Love? Today I'll see how many blows of my ruler your love can withstand!"

"Fan Qi, summon the imperial physician!"