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

Outside Chang'an City.

The Left and Right Guards, the Left and Right Mighty Guards, the Left and Right Valiant Guards, along with the soldiers transferred from various military commands during this period.

The total is a staggering 100,000.

Despite the darkness of night, the soldiers in each camp had just finished their meal, which consisted of large chunks of meat, leaving them with greasy mouths.

It was New Year's Eve in Chang'an, and the temperature outside was still very low.

However, at this moment, every soldier and officer in the army was filled with fervor.

His Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty has successively conquered the Eastern Turks and intimidated the Tuyuhun. It is the best time for the Tang Dynasty to make achievements and establish its reputation, and everyone is equipped with new equipment.

Even the soldiers of the Zhechongfu, who used to have to bring their own weapons, are now being issued high-quality steel weapons that were once only available to generals and officers.

In the big tent.

Li Jing sat in the main seat, while the two rows of Northern Expedition generals all looked anxious.

The generals from the Pei clan of Hedong, or other aristocratic families, glanced at Cheng Yaojin and other close associates of the current emperor from time to time, while also looking anxiously out of the tent.

Cheng Yaojin and his men were waiting for their leader, Li Shimin.

These aristocratic generals were waiting for their leader, the retired emperor.

The atmosphere inside the large tent was eerie and deathly silent.

Li Jing, on the other hand, appeared completely unperturbed, regardless of whether the person who came today was the General of Heavenly Strategy or the archer Emperor Emeritus who created the General of Heavenly Strategy.

His position as Li Jing will not be greatly affected.

at this time.

A rapid sound of hooves followed, accompanied by the jingling of a carriage.

Two rows of generals rushed out of the main tent.

Several eunuchs from the Wude Hall struggled to lift the still unconscious Emperor Emeritus Li Yuan from the carriage.

In the carriage behind, Pei Ji, Wang Gui, Xiao Yu, and several other veteran officials of the Wude era also hurriedly got off the carriage with nervous expressions.

Upon seeing the group emerge from the main tent, they immediately approached Li Jing.

"Duke of England, oh no, Deputy Commander, this is His Highness the Crown Prince's decree, along with the tiger tally. His Highness orders the army to set off immediately! There must be no delay!"

"Where is His Majesty?" Cheng Yaojin hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

However, Chai Shao quickly pulled him back, chuckled twice, and bowed to Pei Ji.

"Hehe, does Duke Lu mean to ask what's wrong with the Emperor Emeritus?"

Pei Ji took a deep breath, not in the mood to explain further.

"His Majesty and the Emperor Emeritus parted ways, and he drank a little too much..."

Although both Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde were somewhat unwilling.

But now it seems their leader has stumbled, and they can only reluctantly follow Li Jing's orders to immediately take command of the various armies.

Departure and departure...

The army officially began its march from Chang'an, and at that very moment, a carriage appeared on the official road.

Looking at that procession, isn't that the one from the Eastern Palace?

"British public..."

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Li Chengqian's figure appeared.

Li Jing, who was on horseback, was about to rein in his horse and pay his respects, but Li Chengqian waved his hand to stop him.

"Alright, I'll just say a few words briefly. There's no need for such formalities, Your Excellency."

"I have already reviewed the strategies for the Western Expedition and the Northern Expedition that the Duke previously designated. The General is the ever-victorious General of our Great Tang. Although I am the Crown Prince, I will not interfere too much in military campaigns."

"I will only mention one key point about this trip."

Li Chengqian's expression was solemn, but his eyes held a greedy look towards other countries' territories that seemed to be a trait always present in royalty.

"The land of the Western Turks is not in a hurry for our Great Tang to occupy; what I want are slaves and labor."

"Gaochang, Kucha, and Yanqi, the three largest Western Turkic vassal states in the Western Regions, must be firmly controlled by our Great Tang!"

Li Jing's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately nodded.

"I accept the decree!"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly: "Dejian is currently with the new army in Bingzhou. His troops will join forces with you, Duke, to take Gaochang. You will be able to meet with him then..."

"Your Highness, I thank you for your concern. My son has written to me and is doing well."

Li Chengqian lowered the carriage curtain.

Behind him, the carriages of the princesses and princes who had accompanied him from Taiyuan back to Chang'an for the New Year also followed, continuing their journey.

Li Shimin felt as if he had a bizarre and intoxicating dream that he could not extricate himself from.

In his dream, his concubines seemed like monsters that could suck the life essence from people.

She appeared beside him one after another with a seductive charm that was a hundred times more alluring than before. He had just finished a battle and hadn't even had a chance to put on his armor.

Then another person gracefully approached.

Ganlu Temple.

Li Shimin looked at the concubines kneeling on the ground with a gloomy expression.

Consort Yang, Consort Yin, Consort Wei, Consort Wang, and even several other consorts who were rarely favored by him.

Today, however, they are all kneeling here.

"Who gave you permission to do this?!"

Li Shimin was furious. The absurd feeling of being betrayed by his own harem made him even doubt whether he was really the emperor.

"Fan Qi! Fan Qi! You damned eunuch! Where have you gone?!"

Seeing that the men were bowing their heads and remaining silent, Li Shimin became even more furious and roared at the outside.

Fan Qi ran in, covered in sweat.

He had just knelt down with a thud when he heard Li Shimin angrily questioning him.

"Where is the Emperor Emeritus? Where is the Crown Prince?! Are they still in the palace?!"

Fan Qi: "...The Crown Prince and the Emperor Emeritus...they left Chang'an last night..."

Li Shimin clenched his fists instantly, and the veins on his forehead throbbed violently.

"Where is the army?"

"The main army also set off last night... Now the military camps around Chang'an are empty."

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha..."

As soon as Fan Qi finished speaking, Li Shimin let out a series of loud laughs that were clearly tinged with madness.

"Hahahaha! Very well! I was so smug before, thinking I had seen through everything about my father, but I never expected... that I would be tricked by my own son in the end!"

"Excellent! He truly is my good son!"

"My good Crown Prince!!!"

Empress Zhangsun rushed over upon hearing that the emperor had woken up.

As soon as I entered the Ganlu Hall.

Then they saw Li Shimin, who was angrily kicking over the armor that the other party had personally polished to a gleaming shine.

"Guanyinbi! You've come at the perfect time! Are you aware of what that rebellious son Li Chengqian has done?!"

Empress Zhangsun gave a bitter smile.

"I only found out afterward..."

"Then why didn't you stop him! Just let him run away with the Emperor Emeritus?!" Li Shimin stared wide-eyed at his beloved empress, feeling that what he had lost was not only the immense merit of the Northern Expedition.

Empress Zhangsun sighed, "Even if I wanted to stop her, could I really have?"

Li Shimin did not listen.

He paced back and forth in the Ganlu Hall, agitated and angry.

He muttered angrily.

"Very well, even my personal maid Guanyin is helping you, and all the women in my harem are going all out..."

He stormed up to Consort Yang and the others who were kneeling on the ground, his anger palpable.

He bent down, his face filled with anger and resentment as he questioned her.

"You are my concubines, my women! Why are you helping that rebellious son to oppose me?!"

"Consort Yang, Consort Wei, you two are both well-educated and reasonable. And Consort Wang, in the past, you were the most timid in the harem!"

"It's one thing for Consort Yin to be so good-for-nothing and follow the Crown Prince in his foolish ways, but why do you all treat me like this?!"

"what?!"

Consort Yang, Consort Wei, Consort Wang, and the other concubines all bowed their heads and apologized.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to accept the punishment..."

Consort Yin pursed her lips and muttered under her breath.

"You said that Sister Wang is timid, but she was so scared by you yesterday that she wanted to run away. Did you let her run away?"

Li Shimin looked surprised and turned his head.

Tiger's eyes held a hint of embarrassment and annoyance, and he even dared not look at his empress's ambiguous smile.

"You idiot, what did you say?!"

Consort Yin closed her eyes and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Li Shimin: "......"

"Rebellion! Rebellion! They've all rebelled! Guanyinbi, do you see this? This is my harem, these are my beloved concubines..."

Li Shimin pointed with trembling fingers at the two rows of concubines kneeling before him.

Her voice, as she sought comfort from Empress Zhangsun, seemed to carry a hint of a sob.

Seeing him like this, Empress Zhangsun felt both helpless and heartbroken.

An emperor doing this for his own husband is unprecedented and unlikely to be repeated.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. What's the point of a northern expedition? The Western Turkic Khaganate is a desolate wasteland. Consort Yang and the others are just reluctant to let Your Majesty go so far away, leaving them alone in the inner palace, aren't they?"

While comforting her, Empress Zhangsun secretly gestured for Consort Yang and the others to hurry up.

Li Shimin was so angry that he was trembling all over.

His eyes were red-rimmed, making him look like a big boy who had suffered a great injustice.

"Guanyinbi, that's a feat achieved during the Northern Expedition! If I were to conquer the Western Turks, the territory of my Zhenguan era would completely surpass that of any previous dynasty of China!"

"If this achievement is attributed to me, then I will be an emperor for all ages, one that no one can deny!"

"A truly great emperor throughout history!"

This time, the sobbing in Li Shimin's voice became truly obvious.

Empress Zhangsun could only step forward and gently hug the other person to comfort them.

"Hi, Your Majesty is in the prime of your life. As Gao Ming said, the world is vast, and there is plenty of land waiting for Your Majesty to conquer. Back then, the Emperor Emeritus allied with the Turks in order to take Chang'an, and secretly promised the Turks many benefits."

"That matter is still a thorn in his side. Now that the Eastern Turks have been destroyed, the Emperor Emeritus can only cause trouble for the Western Turks. If Your Majesty seizes the opportunity to launch the Northern Expedition, wouldn't that make him regret it for the rest of his life?"

Empress Zhangsun gently stroked the big boy in her arms who wanted to go out and fight.

Speak softly and gently.

"Even without the Western Turks, Your Majesty can still fight against Tibet, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Japan. If Your Majesty wants to take over Linyi, isn't that a large area of ​​land?"

"Why insist on the current matter concerning the Western Turks...?"

however.

Upon hearing these words, Li Shimin's eyes welled up with tears, a mixture of grievance and resentment.

"Guanyinbi, if that's really the case, then so be it... It's bad enough that my father drugged me! But that rebellious son, my own son! He did the same thing to me too?"

Li Shimin stood up and angrily cursed in the direction of the East Palace outside the palace.

"To lock me up in this palace, they've used all sorts of unorthodox methods, like aphrodisiacs, on me. What else wouldn't that rebellious son do?!"

Li Shimin strode quickly toward the door, his voice filled with anger that seemed to echo throughout the Ganlu Hall.

"Could it be that that rebellious son, in order to trap me in this palace, is sending the Imperial Guards to watch over me? He..."

Before Li Shimin could finish speaking, he stared in astonishment at the several figures standing outside the hall.

The leader was an acquaintance, and the two stared at each other.

Cui Xiaoguo, with an upright expression, bowed to Li Shimin.

"Xiaoguo, acting on His Highness the Crown Prince's orders, will protect Your Majesty's safety during the period when the palace is undefended, and will depart after half a month. Your Majesty..."

"Guanyinbi! That rebellious son actually sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to keep an eye on me!!!"