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

When Li Chengqian returned to the banquet hall with a smile on his face.

Princess Jiangxia, who had already returned to Empress Zhangsun's side, couldn't suppress the smile on her face.

Li Xueyan, standing to the side, kept glancing quickly in the direction of her elder brother, the Crown Prince. She had assumed that needlework was something only the Crown Prince, Li Chengqian, could do.

There wouldn't be much of a reaction; she was just hoping that her brother, the Crown Prince, could choose one of her robe designs.

It would be good enough if she could make a set of clothes for the other person.

did not expect......

"Father, I truly don't know how to attract the favor of this Crown Prince..."

Zheng Lizhen looked helpless and resentful.

She could almost see herself in the future, abandoned in a remote palace in the Crown Prince's harem, neglected and forgotten, her beauty fading as she grew old, and she died in melancholy.

Zheng Jiang looked at his daughter with a disappointed expression. After chatting with a few colleagues over drinks, he immediately took his daughter to a secluded corner.

"How many times have I told you this? Didn't your mother teach you the same thing? Cater to their preferences!"

Zheng Lizhen's face immediately turned red as she thought of what her mother had taught her.

"Snapped!"

A flick of the wrist landed on her forehead, and Zheng Jiang really wanted to go back home immediately and smash his wife's skull open.

Let's see what kind of things the other party has instilled in their youngest daughter.

"What kind of things do you think His Highness would be interested in? You should cater to his interests! Think about it, what do men like..."

Seeing that his daughter's eyes were starting to look strange again, Zheng Jiang's face darkened, and he was about to raise his hand again.

Zheng Lizhen quickly took a step back.

“Father, but I don’t know what His Highness likes either. Standing next to His Highness, I don’t even know whether His Highness prefers liveliness or quiet.”

Zheng Jiang took a deep breath and glanced at Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who was now in the hall, playing cards with his brothers, including Prince Wei.

"His Highness likes to keep his enemies quiet forever! He likes the people of the Tang Dynasty to live a lively and bustling life!"

"Do you understand now! Stop trying to learn your mother's flattering techniques. If you have any feelings for that prince in this palace, your father, your grandfather, and the entire Zheng family of Xingyang won't be enough to chop off your heads!"

Zheng Lizhen gave a soft "oh," but looking at her father's expression, she couldn't help but mutter something under her breath.

"I don't know who it was, saying no but walking with toes against the wall in the early morning..."

"You!" Zheng Jiang's old face instantly turned bright red.

Seeing her father about to raise his hand again, looking furious and embarrassed, Zheng Lizhen quickly begged for mercy.

"Father, let's talk about what His Highness the Crown Prince actually likes..."

"kill!"

"Hahahaha!"

Li Tai laughed wildly, one foot on a stool, a short-handled flintlock pistol hanging from his waist. He was having so much fun that his collar was open.

"Seventh Brother, are you still going to nurse him? Can you still hold him back? If you can't, Sixth Brother will die under my Zhuge Repeating Crossbow today! Hahahaha!"

Seventh Brother Jiang Wang Li Yun glanced helplessly at his hand, sighed, and shook his head at Sixth Brother Li Yin, who was standing to the side with a hopeful expression.

The latter immediately sighed and was about to throw his cards into the deck.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, a slightly strained voice came.

"Wait! I, I still have peaches!"

Old Nine Li Zhi lay sprawled on a table that resembled an operating table, propping himself up halfway as he struggled to throw a life-saving peach into the deck.

The action of reaching for the card table aggravated his injury on his buttocks once again.

"hiss......"

Everyone: "...He truly is a man who won't leave the front lines even when seriously injured. If Ninth Prince had used his spirit and perseverance elsewhere, there would be no chance for his brothers."

Even Li Chengqian, who was taking a break, drinking tea and watching the play, couldn't help but admire this little slave in his heart.

If one were to say that he was able to go toe-to-toe with the current emperor, General Li Shimin, it would be due to his own special abilities and some understanding of history.

So, this Ninth Prince is really damn tough!

The sixth prince, Li Yin, looked at himself, who had once again survived the repeated crossbow attacks of his fourth brother, Li Tai, with a bloody scabbard, and then looked at his ninth brother, Li Zhi, who was now "physically disabled but determined," his eyes filled with the recognition between men.

Even though there are no brothers at the card table, I, Li Yin, still have to speak!

I, the Ninth Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty, am no coward!

"Bang! Bang!" Li Yin pounded his chest twice, pointing at Li Zhi with eyes full of emotion and recognition.

The next moment, Li Tai quietly drew out another "Kill" card and dropped it into the deck.

"Kill again!"

Li Yin: "???"

Li Zhi: "???"

Seeing the two of them freeze in place in an awkward moment, Li Tai, who felt an "exhilarating" feeling emanating from every pore of his body, shouted and suddenly drew the flintlock pistol from his waist.

They began frantically banging on the dome of the main hall.

The clicking, rattling sound of an empty gun was somewhat awkward.

But Li Tai, who had finally killed the stubborn sixth brother, was able to imagine the sound and image of the surging firepower.

"Who else!!!"

"Your Majesty, this humble general, Chai Shao, humbly requests that Your Majesty dispatch the Xuanjia Army northward!"

Li Er was perhaps the most unhappy person at today's banquet, his old face gloomy as he looked at his old brothers kneeling in the side hall.

He clenched his teeth so tightly that it was almost squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Who else?! Let me see, my good brothers, the brothers I can entrust my back to, who else is colluding with the retired emperor to bully me, the emperor?!"

"He stole my northern expedition, leaving me here in Chang'an to handle state affairs while he went off to run wild on the battlefield. And now he actually wants me to allocate my Xuanjia Army to him?!"

"Are you taking advantage of me because I'm an honest person?!"

The retired emperor put down his teacup. Unlike his son's current impotent and furious state, his expression was unusually calm.

"An honest man? Would an honest man, with such a full schedule that day, still manage to take an afternoon to go to that heavenly paradise behind the Empress's back?"

Li Shimin's forehead veins throbbed twice more.

"I was just curious!"

"Oh, as expected of the emperor. Even the expenses for satisfying curiosity are so extraordinary. Tsk tsk tsk, spending tens of thousands of strings of cash to visit brothels to satisfy curiosity. Why didn't I have such wealth to squander when I was young?"

Li Shimin: "......"

"Oh! I forgot, it was Chengqian who paid for it~" Li Yuan said with a half-smile, looking at his second son's face, which had turned from green to red.

"Second Prince, I wish to visit the brothels of the Western Turks. As my son, how about arranging for the Xuanjia Army to escort me there?"

"Pfft..." Cheng Yaojin couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing while kneeling on the ground with his head down.

Immediately, Li Shimin's murderous gaze swept over them.

"Cheng Yaojin! What are you laughing at!?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... I am overjoyed that our Great Tang is peaceful and prosperous, and I couldn't help but..." This burly, dark-skinned man was so nervous that he started to imitate the sophistry of a civil official.

Li Yuan waved his hand.

"Alright, alright, I won't waste any more time with you here. Emperor, give me a straight answer: will you lend us the Xuanjia Army or not?"

"No!" Li Shimin tilted his head back.

Li Yuan smiled faintly, as if he had expected it, and stood up and suddenly let out a long sigh.

"Very well, since that's how it is, then let the Northern Expeditionary Army be like this... Xuanzhen, tomorrow you will find all the newspapers in the Tang Dynasty and publish the information about my Northern Expeditionary Army's participation in this battle, such as the Crown Prince allocating one million strings of cash for military pay, the Prince of Lu providing 20 strings of cash in aid, and the donations from various households..."

"Make everything clear to me, and let the entire Tang Dynasty know just how mighty and powerful my Northern Expeditionary Army is!"

Pei Ji suppressed a laugh and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

"My lord, I obey the order~"

However, this action caused Li Shimin's expression to change instantly.

They hurriedly grabbed the retired emperor who was about to leave.

"Father, what do you mean by this?!"

Li Yuan smacked his lips.

"What's wrong with me? I'm just an old man with white hair. I only want to launch a northern expedition and make some contributions before I die, so that I can leave some glory in the history books of China. My children and grandchildren can't bear to see an old man like me take risks, so they've been giving me money, provisions, and troops..."

"As the emperor's father and grandfather, isn't it only natural for me to make a public announcement and show off?"

"Second Prince, do you think my trip is inappropriate?"

Li Yuan looked completely innocent, which caused some of the people present to tremble involuntarily, looking down at the floor and forcibly suppressing their emotions.

He saw that Li Shimin did not speak.

Li Yuan spoke again in a low voice.

He began to recount the story as if it were a treasure trove, counting on his fingers.

“I don’t have many capable sons, but fortunately, Yuanchang has become quite successful under Chengqian’s guidance. Now that he heard that I am going to personally lead the expedition, he has generously given me 20 strings of cash, which he has painstakingly saved up.”

Li Shimin's expression stiffened slightly.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Father, that one million strings of cash you spent on the northern expedition was from my own private treasury. I..."

Li Yuan's eyes narrowed: "The imperial treasury's money? Why does the imperial treasury's money still need to be transferred from the royal bank in Taiyuan Prefecture?"

Li Shimin was so angry he almost fainted.

How dare you say that?!

Li Yuan counted on his fingers again: "That child Chengqian dotes on me the most. He not only gave me one million strings of cash to mobilize, but also provided the army's weapons and armor."

"And Chengqian also took care of the logistics afterwards. He was worried that this old man would be stabbed in the back, and he even sent someone to warn the Kingdom of Gaochang in advance. Sigh... I am so touched!"

Li Shimin gritted his teeth. The imperial treasury was in deficit, and his personal funds were empty. Now he had to listen to that rebellious son's blatant attempt to use others' wealth to curry favor.

"..."

Take a deep breath~

If I were to die of anger, that rebellious son would probably laugh out loud and could immediately ascend the throne...

I need to stay calm and not get angry.

"That child Qingque personally allocated firearms for me and also dispatched the musket team to help with training."

"Ke'er is a good child. We've been having the Imperial Guards send reports about the situation in the Western Regions recently."

"Even Chang Le has prepared a large quantity of military supplies and medicines for me, and even sent a team of doctors to teach first aid to the army... They're all good kids!"

After speaking, Li Yuan glanced sideways at Li Shimin.

He made a clicking sound.

It seemed as if they were quite disgusted.

Li Shimin: "......"