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

"What are you two whispering about? The battlefield is dangerous. It's not shameful to be afraid of death at a time like this. Just go back to the palace and wait for my news."

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, Cheng Yaojin, who was beside him, burst into laughter.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, Prince of Yue, you must not act recklessly at this time. His Majesty will not harm you. In a moment, when the two armies clash, there will be a chaotic scene of slaughter, and no one will be able to take care of you."

Hou Junji also stepped forward, his expression solemn.

"Your Highness, please listen to His Majesty. Return to the city and wait for our news. These mere Turkic barbarians will be thoroughly defeated by our well-prepared forces today."

Li Chengqian smiled faintly, seemingly unconcerned.

"My uncles are looking down on me now. If our combined military merits are still less than those of my younger brother Qingque, then we'll become a laughing stock."

"what?"

Cheng Yaojin's eyes widened: "Is Your Highness humiliating us?"

Li Chengqian shook his head, offering no explanation, but instead offering a gentle reminder with a smile.

"Uncles, remember this: strike hard when the enemy is down. Don't let what's happening in front of you cause you to miss the opportunity."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Li Shimin couldn't help but frown.

"What are you up to now, kid?"

His gaze swept over the people around Li Chengqian.

Although it's said to be a group of people, the main focus is actually on two individuals: a male and a female general.

The man was dressed in jet-black armor, with a wild beard and hair. He was a burly man who was over two meters tall. He held a long spear as thick as an ordinary person's arm, and his warhorse was none other than the precious Qinghai Mane horse that Li Shimin kept in the Imperial Stables.

Yesterday, the Imperial Horse Administration reported that His Highness the Crown Prince personally went to take away a horse.

They said they would borrow it for a few days.

He didn't care at the time, assuming it was just his eldest son wanting to use it as a mount.

Unexpectedly, it was given to another man...

Li Shimin's expression was rather unpleasant. It was a shame that his own son had used his son's money to curry favor with another man, especially since his beloved horse had been given away to another man.

Even in modern times, this would be unbearable for an ordinary father.

However, the woman dressed as a female general next to this man seems to be Chengqian's personal female official.

Is her name Qian Yingying?

Just as Li Shimin was distracted and lost in thought, a thud sounded as if a horse was being kicked.

However, the Turkic cavalry had already arrived on the other side of the Wei River.

A vast army stood facing Li Shimin across the river.

See this.

Li Chengqian immediately gave Li Tai a wink.

The latter immediately understood.

They spurred their horses and headed back.

When Li Shimin saw the leader of the surging cavalry, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Suddenly, before Changsun Wuji and the others could react, he spurred his horse forward and galloped ahead, with Li Chengqian immediately following closely behind.

The Turks were still reeling from the shock that Li Shimin dared to confront their 100,000 cavalry with only such a small force.

But then a powerful, angry curse rang out, like a sword being drawn.

Suddenly, it came from the direction of Bianqiao on the Wei River.

"Ashina Dubi! How dare you!"

The shout startled Jieli, and also frightened his lieutenants, who all dismounted and knelt down.

Li Chengqian stood on horseback behind his father. At this moment, he watched as the Turkic cavalry general, who had come with great momentum, was suddenly subdued by a single rebuke from his father, the General of the Heavenly Strategy.

They all dismounted and knelt down.

Only then did he realize the title of General Tian Ce, Prince Qin of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin.

It was far more complicated than he had imagined.

"I have just ascended the throne, and you have already torn up the alliance, invaded my Great Tang territory, and plundered my Great Tang people!"

"Jieli! Do you think my sword, Li Shimin's sword, is not sharp enough?!"

"Are you not sharp enough to serve as a soldier of the Great Tang Dynasty?"

The few shouts startled Jieli, who was already intimidated by Li Shimin, and instantly gave him a sense of dread, as if he were being watched by something terrible.

He looked in the direction behind Li Shimin.

But not a single soldier was seen.

Even Li Shimin was surrounded only by his acquaintances from the Prince of Qin's residence.

However, it was precisely this that made Jieli, who was already suspicious by nature, suddenly seem to have made a decision, instantly concluding that there must be some kind of ambush on the side of the Tang Dynasty.

"I just heard that your Tang Dynasty emperor has changed, so I brought people to come and see."

Beside Li Shimin, Li Chengqian let out a cold laugh.

"Khan is in high spirits. It's just as well. My Tang border army is in the same mood. While you are leading your troops to see the sights of my Tang, the soldiers of Lingzhou and Bingzhou of my Tang have also been mobilized to go to your Turkic territory to see the scenery."

"what?!"

Jieli and his generals were all taken aback by Li Chengqian's words, their expressions changing drastically.

however.

As they came into the sight of the group of Turkic cavalry.

On the hillside across the Wei River, war machines that looked like catapults slowly rose.

And then came squads of elite Tang soldiers, armed with shields and long spears.

Li Chengqian's sinister smile grew increasingly unrestrained.

At this moment, the warhorse beneath him seemed to sense the Crown Prince's fierce fighting spirit, and its hooves began to pound on Bianqiao Bridge, producing a series of sounds like war drums.

"Jiali!"

"You have betrayed the alliance with my Great Tang Dynasty, utterly disgracing the men of the grasslands!"

"I, Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty, declare to you today that the Great Tang Dynasty can afford to fight this battle! And the soldiers of the Great Tang Dynasty can afford to die!"

"Our Great Tang Dynasty has high walls and strong bows and crossbows!"

What do you Turks have?

"Hahahaha! Do you have the fair, white bodies of your Turkic women?"

Li Chengqian's audacity made Li Shimin tense for a moment, and he hurriedly turned around.

Cheng Yaojin and the others following behind him also stared in astonishment at the catapult that had been pushed to a position less than 300 meters from the bank of the Wei River.

In sight, Li Tai, the King of Yue, was holding a short sword.

Riding on a warhorse.

Behind the catapult, soldiers from the Eastern Palace's Six Guards stood solemnly, some holding torches.

Some people were carrying black pottery jars onto the troughs of the catapult.

"Knowing right..."

Li Shimin realized that something was wrong and wanted to stop him, but he saw the signal in his son's eyes.

At this moment, all he could do was grit his teeth and think to himself that once this matter was over, he would definitely make Guanyinbi teach this unfilial son a lesson.

Cheng Yaojin nodded in acceptance.

Then he suddenly whistled.

Amidst the sounds of the earth shaking, the Xuanjia Army of the Tiance Mansion, still bearing the battle flags of the Qin King's Mansion, instantly rushed out from one side of the hillside.

After that.

It was a dark mass, and it was impossible to tell exactly how many soldiers there were.

However, the imposing army of all the guards of Chang'an arrived together.

Li Jing, Hou Junji, Qin Qiong...

Familiar figures appeared one by one at the front of the army.

This caused Jieli's pupils to shrink slightly.

He couldn't help but shift his gaze from Li Shimin to Li Chengqian, who now seemed even more insane.

"What does your Great Tang Dynasty want to do?"

"Turks, what do you want to do?!"

Jieli was speechless after being questioned like this.

But then Li Chengqian suddenly pointed his spear at him in a rather provocative manner.

"Jieli, my father was benevolent. Considering that the Turks and my Great Tang had maintained friendly relations for decades and were brotherly nations, he was unwilling to wage war against you. However, you, Jieli, have abandoned the pride of your steppe men!"

"Taking advantage of the Tang Dynasty's unpreparedness, they slaughtered my people and disturbed my territory!"

"Whether a scholar can bear it or can't bear it!"

"Today I'm giving you a chance, a chance to atone for your sins on the grasslands!"

"Dismount and surrender!"

"Otherwise, my Great Tang Dynasty will fight you Turks to the death!"

"You have neither siege equipment nor provisions and supplies. I refuse to believe that after fighting against my Great Tang today, you can still seize my Great Tang territory!"

"Wait until you all retreat back to the grasslands, hahahaha!"

Li Chengqian, seemingly possessed, rode his warhorse, which began snorting, slowly approaching Li Shimin, appearing ready to charge into battle at any moment.

"When you retreat to the grasslands, I will tell you without fear."

"Governor-General Li Ji of Bingzhou and Governor-General Li Daozong of Lingzhou are acting on the orders of the Great Tang Dynasty!"

"Today we begin war, we will burn your pastures, slaughter your cattle and sheep, pollute your water sources, and wipe out your grasslands!"

"What about the old, young, women and children? My Great Tang may suffer heavy losses, but the Turks will surely perish!"

Li Chengqian's words were like thunderclaps, exploding throughout the entire Turkic cavalry formation.

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief, as if trying to confirm whether what they had just heard was a hallucination.

Even Jieli and his lieutenants showed panic and hesitation.

"Your Majesty, these Tang people seem to be really serious..."

Jieli glared at him.

His gaze turned to what was behind Li Chengqian.

"Li Shimin, I'm not talking to your child. I'm asking you, is what he said true?"

Li Shimin's expression was icy.

The choice is yours!

Jieli: "..."

Now, even if he still harbored some illusions, Jieli had to believe that Li Shimin and his son had truly gone mad.

He glanced back at his lieutenants, who had lost all will to fight.

He gritted his teeth.

"Fine! I'll lead my troops away now..."

"Leave? Jieli! Do you think my Tang Dynasty is something you can come and go as you please?!"

Li Chengqian gave a stern rebuke.

"Dismount and surrender! Leave behind all the looted goods of our Great Tang, and 30,000 warhorses as compensation! Then let you leave!"

"You are presumptuous!"

This enraged Jieli, who, despite his reluctance to engage in direct conflict with the Tang Dynasty.

But how could he, as the Great Khan, tolerate being humiliated by Li Chengqian, a mere child and the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty?

He then flicked his whip.

"Li Shimin, I don't see any sincerity in your negotiations. Your aggressive approach belies my great Khan's..."

talking.

Just as he was about to order the entire army to cross the river and storm Chang'an.

Li Chengqian suddenly raised the long spear in his hand.

"The Turks have broken their alliance; this is an outrage against Heaven and Earth!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than King Li Tai of Yue, his face flushed, brandished his short sword in the direction of the catapult behind him.

“Art is an explosion!”

"put!"

"Shhhhhh!"

A series of dense, shrill catapult horns suddenly rang out, instantly jolting everyone's nerves to their limits.

A dense array of black dots, interspersed with scattered sparks, traced a parabola.

Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of thousands of troops from both the Tang Dynasty and the Turks, the black dot arrived above the Turkic cavalry in the blink of an eye and then plummeted below.

next moment.

"Boom!"

"Boom!!"

"..."

A dense barrage of explosions, accompanied by the neighing of horses and the screams of Turkic cavalry, resounded across the entire north bank of the Wei River in an instant.

A terrifyingly dense shockwave carried sharp, arrow-like metal fragments.

It unfolded throughout the entire Turkic army.

"Ahhh!"

Because of the intense fear and shock, even the screams of terror seemed to carry a hint of dazedness.

Jieli Khan, who was at the forefront of the army, was also stunned into silence by the chaotic army behind him.

"Damn it, what's going on?!"

"Counterattack! Counterattack the Tang army!" he shouted.

However, even as the Great Khan, his orders at this moment were so pale and powerless in the face of the current situation, like withered yellow leaves falling from the treetops in autumn.

And their expressions were almost identical to those of Jieli and the others at that moment.

Standing behind Li Chengqian, Li Shimin and the others watched the Turkic cavalrymen, their horses and men, being thrown over by the explosion: "...Hiss!"