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

That evening at dinner, both Li Chengqian and Li Ke stared at Prince Li You of Chu with strange expressions, their gazes seemingly trying to see through him, making Li You feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Brother, why are you all looking at me like that?"

His expression was puzzled. If Li Chengqian and Li Ke hadn't seen it with their own eyes today, they would probably have been fooled by the other party's acting skills.

Li Chengqian watched as the other person reached out and handed the empty bowl to the maid beside him, asking her to add more rice.

She couldn't help but suppress a slight laugh: "Fifth brother has quite an appetite today... Can you finish it? Don't overeat."

Li Ke, standing to the side, also coughed with a strange expression.

"Fifth brother, eating too much might be bad for your health."

Li You grew increasingly puzzled, but then his eyes seemed to have noticed something. His expression froze slightly as he carefully observed the strange, ambiguous smiles on his two elder brothers' faces.

He knew perfectly well that Feng Jinsi must have found out about his shopping trip with her today.

Immediately, his face flushed red.

Seeing that the two men's eyes seemed to be getting more and more amused, Li You simply stopped pretending.

"Oh~ It seems you brothers saw it today, but I wonder what you saw? Third brother, why are you being so sarcastic? Are you jealous of your younger brother?"

Li Ke was taken aback, not understanding what those words meant.

But then Li You took the rice bowl from the maid's hand while letting out a soft chuckle that seemed almost imperceptible.

"Third brother, there's no need to rush. The Crown Prince is already married, and even I, the fifth brother, am about to get engaged... Tsk tsk tsk, I suppose Father and Mother have already started making arrangements for your Princess Consort, Third Brother?"

"I wonder if my third brother's future Princess Consort of Han will be as you wish?"

Li Ke: "!!!"

This meal is inedible!

Originally, I just wanted to tease my younger brother who said no but then said "it smells so good" in the end, but I didn't expect to be outmaneuvered by him.

Noticing the look in his elder brother's eyes, which was gradually taking on a matchmaker's hue, Li Ke's expression tightened instantly.

He quickly got up.

"Your Majesty, I have finished eating, but I suddenly remembered that I have some matters to attend to at the salt fields, so I will take my leave now..."

As he was saying this, he was about to run away when his deputy, Liu Tao, strode over.

"Your Highness, Prince Han, King Goguryeo, Gao Jianwu, is requesting an audience. We have sent people to chase him away, but they cannot leave..."

Li Chengqian paused slightly as he picked up a piece of fish.

Upon hearing the name Gao Jianwu, a slight smirk appeared on his lips.

Li Ke was taken aback, then sneered, "Can't get rid of him? If you can't get rid of him, then draw your sword and kill him! Damn it, does he think this is his Goguryeo, which only has half of its territory left?!"

"If he won't leave, then let him stay! Go, tell him to get lost. With all the messes he's made, he still wants to see my brother, the King? If he won't leave, just drag him to the beach and chop him up to feed the fish!"

Li Ke was not someone to be trifled with.

As the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Hadong Province, and also in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard intelligence networks in Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, he had long wanted to kill Gao Jianwu, that greedy and lazy fool.

Upon hearing this, Liu Tao was about to go out to do his work when he was suddenly stopped by Li Chengqian.

"Fine, bring him in. I'd like to hear what other tricks he has up his sleeve today..."

I received the Crown Prince's order.

Soon, Gao Jianwu, looking disheveled, was brought here, trembling.

Upon seeing Li Chengqian in person, Gao Jianwu, the king of Goguryeo, immediately knelt down and performed a grand ceremony.

"Your Highness, I, Gao Jianwu, pay my respects to Your Highness! Your Highness, save me!"

Foreign ministers...

Upon hearing this self-proclaimed title, Li Chengqian couldn't help but scoff.

"Foreign subject? King of Goguryeo, your words confuse me. When did you become a foreign subject of my Great Tang?"

Gao Jianwu's face turned pale. He was about to explain when he heard Li Chengqian continue speaking in a low voice.

"The crown prince of Tuyuhun, Murong Shun, the King of Daning, is qualified to call himself a subject before me. After all, he not only quelled the Tuyuhun rebellion for my Great Tang, but also made the Tuyuhun Dangxiang people obediently become subjects of my Great Tang."

"They obeyed my orders with utmost diligence, daring not to disobey in the slightest..."

Li Chengqian spoke slowly, but his voice grew increasingly cold.

Gao Jianwu knelt on the ground, and even though he dared not raise his head, he could still feel two sharp gazes coming from above.

My whole body trembled uncontrollably.

"Gao Jianwu..."

"Your humble servant is here!"

Despite Gao Jianwu's humble appearance, Li Chengqian's eyes remained devoid of any warmth.

"Have you completed the task I assigned you?"

Gao Jianwu trembled violently, cold sweat pouring down his forehead: "This, this, Your Highness, please understand, it is indeed that treacherous Yuan family..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Ke snorted coldly.

"Don't even mention Yuan Taizuo! The support our Great Tang has given you is enough. Anyone with a bit of ability and a heart to serve our Great Tang would have been wiped out by ten Yuan Taizuos long ago. And now you still have the nerve to blame all the stupid things you've done on Yuan Taizuo?"

"How come Silla managed to drive Yeon Taejo into a series of defeats?!"

Gao Jianwu was speechless, and upon seeing this, Li Chengqian couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

"Stop beating around the bush. What brings you to see me?"

The indifferent tone made Gao Jianwu increasingly uneasy; his value to the Tang Dynasty was now severely diminished.

The crown prince, in particular, was visibly disappointed.

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that the Great Tang provide Goguryeo with another batch of military equipment... I guarantee! This time, I will certainly defeat Yeon Tae-jo and capture alive all those traitors from the Choi and Lu families that Your Highness desires. I guarantee it..."

Li Chengqian shook his head vigorously.

He slowly rose from his seat: "What guarantees do you have? You've even lost Pyongyang County and are now holed up in Liaodong County. Your soldiers are all good-for-nothings. What makes you think I'll still trust you?!"

Gao Jianwu was shocked, but Li Chengqian had already given him an ultimatum.

"Neither I nor the Tang Dynasty will give you the slightest support. I am going to Lingnan Province of the Tang Dynasty to handle government affairs. You have two months. If you can take back Pyongyang County that you lost within two months, then I will consider you to be of some use."

"If we can't take it back... the Tang Dynasty will recommend you, an outsider, to uphold justice!"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Gao Jianwu felt a chill run through him.

What they call upholding justice for him is nothing more than squeezing out the last bit of value from him—the value of his title as the legitimate king of Goguryeo. Based on this connection, the Tang Dynasty could have a legitimate reason to take action against Goguryeo after his death.

The peninsula was pacified in one fell swoop.

"Your Highness! Your Highness, please give me another chance!"

"Your Highness, it's all because that old scoundrel Yuan Taizuo is too cunning. This humble subject would never dare to harbor any disloyal thoughts!"

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

Several Goguryeo ministers and guards waiting outside the Han King's residence saw their king being thrown out of the house like trash.

Their expressions all changed drastically.

They dared not step forward to scold the guards of the Prince of Han's mansion, but hurriedly went over to help Gao Jianwu, who looked disheveled, to his feet.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Does the Tang Dynasty refuse to provide us with support?"

"Didn't you tell the Crown Prince that Yuan Taizuo is planning a large-scale attack on us?"

"What should we do? What should we do? Without the support of the Tang Dynasty, our strength is simply no match for Yuan Taizuo..."

Everyone started chattering like startled birds.

Gao Jianwu's eyes were also filled with tears of despair. He didn't even dare to think that he, who was already being suppressed by people like Yuan Taizuo, would be abandoned by the Tang Dynasty if word got out.

Even before Yuan Taizuo achieves his goal, his ministers and generals will scatter like monkeys when the tree falls.

"Brother, do you think Gao Jianwu, with his strength, can take back Pyongyang County from Yuan Taizuo?"

Inside the Prince of Han's residence, Li Ke frowned and asked a question after dinner.

Li Chengqian smiled faintly: "What difference does it make whether we can take it back or not?"

He casually tossed a handful of fish food into the pond in front of him, where the koi carp swimming around the bright moon were scrambling for the food.

His voice carried the indifference characteristic of those in positions of power when faced with personal gain.

"In the past, our Great Tang supported Gao Jianwu, firstly to maintain the division of Goguryeo, and secondly to take advantage of their civil war to raise Goguryeo labor for our northern border projects. Now, nearly three years have passed since their division."

"In three years, the division of Goguryeo has become a foregone conclusion, and the camps have been basically solidified. There are irreconcilable contradictions. Even without the instigation of our Great Tang, they would still fight to the death."

"And how many laborers can Goguryeo provide for our Tang Dynasty now?"

Li Chengqian looked at the koi carp in the pond, which, after finishing their food, began to swim around nearby.

Mouthing in his mouth.

"This is already a losing proposition... The vast lands of Liaodong will be the last piece of cake that our Great Tang Dynasty can take from them!"

He turned his head slightly and looked at the King of Han who was standing quietly to the side.

"Third brother, you should get the Embroidered Uniform Guard to make preparations soon. Regardless of whether Gao Jianwu can take Pyongyang or not, and regardless of whether he is captured and killed or betrayed by his subordinates... let's start expanding the territory of our Great Tang Dynasty from Liaodong in the fifth year of Zhenguan!"

After staying for several more days and trying various methods to see Li Chengqian to no avail, Gao Jianwu finally returned to Goguryeo in disgrace.

And just as he had predicted.

After receiving news that the Tang Dynasty had refused to support Gao Jianwu, Yeon Taejo immediately began a large-scale troop mobilization in Liaodong Commandery. The commander of the troops was Yeon Gaesomun, his son who had been neglected for some time and seemed to have become more humble and cautious.

"Teacher, it seems that Father has already lost faith in Yuan Jingtu and the others by choosing me this time. This is very good news for us!"

Kaitosan Castle, under the rule of the false king of Goguryeo.

Upon receiving the news, Yeon Gaesomun's remaining single eye gleamed with immense joy.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhaojing, the head of the Lu family of Fanyang who had accepted him as a student a year ago, gently shook his head.

"What? Does Master think that his disciple can't beat that good-for-nothing Gao Jianwu?"

Lu Zhaojing sighed, her eyes filled with deep worry.

"King Goguryeo, Go Geon-mu, is an incompetent fool, and he has no capable generals under his command. You have a great talent for commanding troops, and Go Geon-mu will certainly not be your match. However... this time, you will probably face more than just Go Geon-mu."

"And the Tang Dynasty behind him!"

Yeon Gaesomun was taken aback, then his expression tightened: "Didn't the Tang Dynasty already abandon him? Why would they still provide him with support?"

Just as Lu Zhaojing was about to speak, she suddenly broke into a fit of rapid coughing, her breathing becoming disordered.

"Cough cough cough!!!"

Yeon Gaesomun hurriedly got up and was about to call for a doctor.

But the latter stopped him, gently wiping the blood from his lips and letting out a sigh.

"The Tang Dynasty is not supporting Gao Jianwu, but rather... discarding his lackeys!"

"The ultimate value of an unfaithful dog lies in the flesh and blood within it!"