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

The news that the Crown Prince was preparing to return to the capital quickly spread throughout Guangzhou Prefecture and the surrounding counties.

Many officials, who had been extremely busy during this period, squeezed out time to come to Guangzhou Prefecture.

"Your Highness, please rest assured, I guarantee with my life and the lives of my entire clan that all the new policies you have ordered will be implemented completely and perfectly!"

With tears welling in his eyes, Song Jinglun looked at the fleet of ships preparing to depart from the port, his face full of reluctance.

Beside him, the governors of various prefectures and counties, including Chaozhou, Kangzhou, and Shaozhou, echoed his sentiments.

"Your Highness, you will come again, won't you? All the workshops under my jurisdiction have now been built, and the people all remember your kindness."

"Yes, yes, Your Highness, do you really have to go back? Wouldn't it be better to stay? The Lingnan region is like spring all year round..."

The heartfelt pleas to stay were truly sincere.

Li Chengqian's three months in Lingnan Circuit allowed these officials, who were originally just waiting to gain seniority, to be promoted to a higher level based on their genuine achievements.

Clear orders, coupled with direct financial support and framework establishment.

This allowed them to completely shed the concerns they previously had as officials and roll up their sleeves to get to work with full force.

Everyone seemed to have become younger as these new policies were implemented.

"Hehe, of course I will come again. Don't forget, my fifth brother is still here..."

As Li Chengqian spoke, he looked at Prince Chu, Li You, who was standing silently in the crowd, barely suppressing his emotions and holding back his rage. He sighed softly.

Actually, to be honest, he felt somewhat sorry for Lao Wu.

After all, it's not easy to travel back to Chang'an from Lingnan Road.

He patted the other person on the shoulder: "Don't worry, you don't need to worry about your mother. You probably won't be able to go back for the New Year this year... I know you didn't really want to come to Lingnan, and you only agreed to come for my sake."

"I know..."

Li You's eyes immediately turned red, and his breathing became heavy as he pursed his lips.

In the end, he gently shook his head: "Your Majesty, you misunderstand. I actually think Lingnan Circuit is quite nice. Once the university is built, I can finally do what I love with peace of mind..."

The insincerity in his words was obvious to everyone present.

Li Chengqian said nothing more. If rapid development was desired, the royal family members would definitely have to take the lead.

Even he, the crown prince, still has to go back to handle those heavy political affairs.

He took a deep breath, looked solemnly at Duke Feng Ang of Yue before him, and gave a slight bow.

"Duke of Yue, I entrust my younger brother to you..."

Feng Ang was startled and quickly turned to return the greeting: "Your Highness, rest assured, if even a single hair of His Highness the Prince of Chu is shed, the entire Feng family of Lingnan will pay with their lives!"

"Hahaha, it's not that serious. Fifth Brother stayed up all night. Could losing a single hair really take the life of the Duke of Yue?" Li Chengqian shook his head with a smile, but his gaze turned to Feng Jinsi beside him.

"Jin Si, my younger brother is sometimes a bit dull, but he's not a bad person at heart. If anything happens to him in the future, I hope you can help him out. This is my request to you as his elder brother."

Feng Jinsi quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness, there is no need for such formalities. I will take good care of Your Highness, the Prince of Chu."

Li Chengqian nodded in satisfaction.

"Very well, then I will wait for the day you return to Chang'an to get married."

Upon hearing this, Feng Ang's face immediately broke into a wide smile, while Feng Jinsi's pretty face flushed red, and she stammered, no longer able to answer.

“Sun Yi will stay by your side from now on. He has been with me for so many years and he is efficient in his work. I am at ease with him.”

Li You nodded again, his eyes red.

"You may use the thousand soldiers I left for the Eastern Palace as you see fit. When I return to Chang'an, I will have the Ministry of War prepare five thousand soldiers for you. You can supplement the rest yourself. The men I gave you are all skilled in training soldiers."

Li You nodded again, but the officials from Lingnan Circuit around him couldn't help but gasp.

"When I return this time, I will ask the Prince of Lu to send you some people who are good at managing the guild. Since you are so interested in farming, just focus on your own work. I will arrange for people to handle the construction and daily management of the Prince of Chu's residence. You just need to know how to appoint people."

Tears were welling up in Li You's eyes.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian thought about it and realized that he had said everything he needed to say and made all the necessary preparations.

But seeing Li You's pleading look, I still felt a strange pang of pity.

He couldn't help but feel his eyes well up with tears. He took a deep breath and patted the other person on the shoulder.

"Take care of yourself... If you're really unhappy here, go back to Chang'an! I am your elder brother first, and only then the Crown Prince..."

Say it.

Li Chengqian immediately turned and walked towards the ship.

Officials bowed and saw him off.

A loud shout, choked with sobs, rang out from behind.

"Brother! I don't blame you! Really!"

Li Chengqian's face trembled, and after a slight pause, he stepped onto the ship in the blink of an eye. He looked back at his fifth brother, Li You, who was waving to him from the dock, and waved back.

The huge sails were slowly lowered, and as the sea breeze blew through the harbor, ships began to slowly leave the port one after another.

"Brother! You must take good care of yourself too!"

"Brother, I promise I'll keep a close watch on Lingnan Road for you! Brother, you... you have to come see me! Waaah!"

The next few days were calm at sea, but everyone could sense the Crown Prince's low spirits.

"Sigh...tsk...low productivity, rudimentary technology...forget about high-speed rail and airplanes, if only the Tang Dynasty could have trains running all over the country..."

His Highness the Crown Prince's sigh was accompanied by terms that Qian Yingying and the other concubines could not understand.

What is a high-speed rail flying chicken?

They don't understand.

But Qian Yingying and her colleagues understood the difficulty of bringing train service to the entire country.

The only railway currently in operation in the Tang Dynasty is the Guannei Circuit and the Bingzhou region of the Hedong Circuit, with Chang'an and Taiyuan as its base points. The second railway under construction, from Taiyuan to Shizhou, will only connect the east and west sides of the Hedong Circuit.

Connecting the entire country with railways would take at least a decade, or even several decades, to even begin to imagine.

"Your Highness, His Highness the Prince of Chu surely understands that you are also feeling bad. Although there are many mountains and rivers blocking the way, it doesn't mean we will never see each other again. His Highness the Prince of Chu will be getting married in a few years, won't he?"

Qian Yingying comforted her from the side.

Li Chengqian nodded blankly. However, it was precisely because Li You did not blame his elder brother for being heartless that he felt uneasy.

"One day, one day I will make sure my brothers don't have to suffer because of my ideas!"

Looking at the boundless sea, Li Chengqian uttered resolute words.

When the fleet arrived at the transit station of Dengzhou.

Prince Li Ke of Han, who came to welcome Li Chengqian, also brought with him a fact that had already been determined several months earlier.

"King Goguryeo, Go Geon-mu, is dead. Following your orders, Your Majesty, General Li Ji has already marched from Yanzhou and invaded Liaodong! Yang Zhengdao is also with him..."

"Boom!!!"

A powerful, booming explosion resounded beneath Liaodong City, the capital of the Liaodong Commandery of Goguryeo.

"Fire! Keep bombing me!"

"Break down the city gates!!!"

"Boom boom boom!!!"

Li Ji, excited and enthusiastic, personally went to the front of the artillery formation.

Years of preparation, along with the replacement of weapons and armor for the garrison in Yanzhou, have made Li Ji eager to thoroughly crush this tough nut that once led to the downfall of the Sui Dynasty.

Launching a war against Goguryeo in this cold winter would have been an absolutely terrible mistake.

The harsh winter and the logistical challenges necessary for major battles repeatedly crippled the Sui Dynasty's eastern expeditionary forces.

However... Yang Zhengdao looked at the city, which had been watered and then covered with a thick layer of ice.

It teetered precariously before the Tang Dynasty's artillery formation, scattering debris everywhere.

His eyes twitched uncontrollably again and again.

His cotton-padded coat, along with the mutton offal and steamed buns he had eaten that morning, made him feel no cold despite the snow falling all around and the biting wind.

Amidst the neighing of horses, the general, chosen by drawing lots to be the vanguard of the siege, seemed impatient as his warhorse rode forth.

Behind them, the Tang soldiers, clad in fine iron armor and wielding sharp blades or halberds, had excited red faces and eyes like those of wolves in the night, staring intently at the crumbling city gate.

finally......

"Boom!!!"

As another round of booming artillery fire ended, snowflakes and ice crystals scattered everywhere, and the heat emanating from the shells raged across the city gate once again. The dilapidated Liaodong city gate, which relied entirely on various things for support, finally became a thing of the past at this moment.

"Kill! Follow me and charge into the city!!!"

"drive!"

With horses neighing, a vanguard of the Tang army, like a black torrent roaring like a tsunami, charged toward the city gate in an instant, amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the soldiers from the other units.

The Liaodong city garrison commander looked utterly dejected, shouting desperately and shoving his soldiers to rush to the rescue. However, the entire Liaodong city had long since given up resistance from the bottom of their hearts.

"Block the city gate! Block the city gate now! If the Tang army breaks in, we'll all die!"

"Do you also want to be slaves?!"

The Liaodong garrison commander had done his best to boost morale with his actions, but what could he do if he didn't want to be a slave?

In this era where human life on the peninsula is worth less than grass, and in this glorious era when the Tang Dynasty was invincible, can these things be decided by ordinary people from such a small country as theirs?

As the vanguard army captured the walls of Liaodong City, Li Ji immediately ordered the remaining troops to storm into the city.

"Slay the traitor who murdered the king! Avenge the King of Goguryeo!"

Gao Jianwu died in the battle to capture Pyongyang County, shot by a stray arrow from an unknown source, dying with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

The Goguryeo ministers, who were branded as "regicide traitors" by the Tang Dynasty, also died with their eyes wide open in the cold winter of the peninsula.

From the time Gao Jianwu died to the time when the Tang Dynasty's Yanzhou army occupied Liaodong City of Goguryeo, only four or five days had passed.

When Yuan Tae-jo's scouts braved the heavy snow and bitter cold to deliver the intelligence, Li Ji had already launched another attack on Pyongyang from Liaodong City after another batch of logistical supplies arrived in Yanzhou.

To avenge King Go Geon-mu of Goguryeo...

Yeon Gaesomun's hand holding the intelligence report was trembling violently.

"Two days... Liaodong City could only hold off the Tang army for two days?!"

His face still bore the frostbite that inevitably comes from inspecting the troops, but what made his hands and feet icy cold was the terrifying fighting power of the Tang army.

Lu Zhaojing's expression was solemn.

"Your Highness, with those cannons still in service, and Pyongyang having just experienced a major battle, I'm afraid it won't hold out for long..."