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

Li Shimin and his son Li Chengqian have quarreled again!

East Palace.

Empress Zhangsun looked at her eldest son with a reluctant yet helpless expression. Today, according to His Majesty's decree, Crown Prince Li Chengqian was to lead the officials and soldiers of the Eastern Palace to Bingzhou to assume his post.

The days when he presided over the new policy reforms in Bingzhou.

However, on this very day, Emperor Li Shimin, who should have been here, once again chose to lock himself up and sulk.

“Chengqian, Bingzhou is not like Chang’an. Although your father has made many arrangements for you, you need to act according to your abilities and not be as eager for quick success as Emperor Yang of the previous dynasty.”

Empress Zhangsun truly lived up to her reputation as a virtuous, considerate, and civilized empress. In her words, Emperor Yang of Sui's greatest failure was precisely his impetuousness, not his incompetence.

Beside her, Consort Yang was also holding her son's hand, talking incessantly with tears in her eyes.

The child travels thousands of miles and the mother is worried.

Such things were unavoidable for both Consort Yang and Empress Zhangsun.

"Alright, Mother, I can certainly take care of myself. But you, since Qingque and I are not here, please don't overwork yourself. I have already spoken with Father about that Vermilion Fruit; it is yours."

"After the imperial physician has treated your body, you should take it as soon as possible..."

Li Chengqian gave some words of advice, though he seemed a little worried.

Seeing that his mother had taken his words to heart, he finally turned his gaze to the small head behind his mother.

She smiled gently, stepped forward, and reached out to pat the other person's head.

"Lizhi must also listen to the Empress Dowager and not make her angry, understand? Once your elder brother has settled down in Bingzhou, he will invite you and the Empress Dowager to come to Bingzhou for a visit."

Li Lizhi's eyes were red, but she was not comforted at all by Li Chengqian's words.

Instead, she suddenly burst into tears and threw herself into Li Chengqian's arms.

"No, waaaaah, I don't want you to leave, brother! If you leave, there will be no one to keep Lizhi company, waaaah..."

Li Chengqian had no choice; after all, she was still just a little girl.

I can't stand things like parting.

Fortunately, having anticipated this, he waved to Qian Yingying, who had already changed into a female general's armor.

The latter immediately came over, carrying a small box.

Li Chengqian placed the item into his younger sister's hand and whispered in her ear in a voice only the two of them could hear.

really.

The little girl's big, teary eyes froze instantly.

"Brother, is it really that delicious?"

Li Chengqian nodded and smiled as he patted the other person's head.

"I've already written out the method for you. As for the materials, you can just go to Du He to ask for them. I've already given him instructions. There's more than just these things I've prepared for you. Take them back and look at them slowly."

As he spoke, Li Chengqian blinked.

"I'm leaving now. Lizhi is all grown up now, so you need to take good care of your younger siblings, understand?"

"Yes, brother, don't worry!"

Seeing that he had finally comforted the little girl, Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief.

He glanced back at the direction of the Taiji Hall, and then bowed solemnly to his mother once again.

Finally, he stepped into the carriage behind him.

With a command from Xue Wanche.

The convoy, which had been prepared in advance, slowly set off.

The carriage had been specially modified by Mo Lao and his group at Li Chengqian's request. It was not only spacious and comfortable, but also much smoother than the original carriage.

of course.

Without proper spring damping, it's unavoidable to experience discomfort on bumpy roads.

As the carriage drove out of the palace, it departed Chang'an under the curious gaze of the people of Chang'an on both sides of Zhuque Avenue.

Li Tai and Li Ke, who were still immersed in the sadness of parting, finally came to their senses.

The excitement of young people venturing out into the world made them forget the sadness of parting for a moment.

"Brother, what should we do first when we get to Bingzhou?"

Li Chengqian looked up.

Looking at the two excited people, he smiled faintly and pointed to the map on the table in front of him, showing the area north of Bingzhou, belonging to the Eastern Turks.

"What should we do? Of course, we should first improve our neighborly relations!"

......

The banners fluttered loudly in the strong wind across the grassland.

The huge tents, like tiny white flowers blooming in the green grass, stand tall on a grassy slope on a vast grassland.

Every now and then, a troop of cavalrymen shouting in Turkic would appear, like a gust of wind.

They either rush out of the main camp or dismount here and enter it.

This is the headquarters of the Eastern Turks.

It is made up of individual tents connected together. Although it lacks the grandeur and majesty of the palaces of the Central Plains dynasties, it is full of the barbaric and ruthless spirit of the Turks.

Of course, it would be best if the tribal leaders of the Turks sitting in their tents at this moment could still display sufficient courage and bravery.

"Great Khan, when our tribe set out, there were more than 8,000 men. These are the bravest men in our tribe, true warriors who can fight wolves on the grasslands."

"What exactly happened?! Why did less than three thousand of them return in the end?"

A leader belonging to the Uyghur tribe, his expression was full of anger and sorrow.

The annihilation of more than half of the eight thousand elite troops is no small matter for any tribe on the grasslands.

Not to mention, the strength of the Uyghur tribe was far inferior to that of the Ashina tribe, which was led by Khan Jieli.

"Yes, Great Khan, you should at least tell us how our warriors, the poor women and children of our tribe, their husbands and fathers, died."

"Hmph! I don't believe it was the Tang people who did it. The men of our Shiwei tribe are all brave and skilled in battle. Those Tang people who only know how to play tricks could never have killed more than three thousand of our elite troops in the Tang Dynasty!"

"Yes, Great Khan, we need an explanation!"

Throughout the entire tent, all the tribal leaders wore expressions of indignation.

They didn't care how ugly Jieli's face was as he sat in the Khan's seat.

Jieli's expression was so gloomy it seemed like water could drip from it. He habitually reached out to touch his beard, but just as he raised his hand, he realized that his beard had been cut off during the pursuit by the prince of the Tang Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Jieli's hatred for the Tang Dynasty intensified even further.

"boom!"

"What, are you all planning a rebellion?!"

Enraged, Jieli slammed his hand on the armrest, his gaze sweeping over everyone with the sharp eyes of a hawk and the fierce look of a wolf.

Despite losing his beard and having just suffered a crushing defeat in the Tang Dynasty, his imposing presence as the Great Khan of the Eastern Turks remained undiminished.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. The tribal leaders who had been shouting the loudest earlier also turned their pleading eyes to the young Khan of the Eastern Turks, who was sitting below the Khan of the Eastern Turks.

Tuli Khan was the nephew of Jieli Khan.

"Uncle, the other leaders are also..."

Call me Great Khan!

Tuli Khan had just opened his mouth when he was interrupted by Jieli, who was in a fit of rage.

Suddenly, Jieli stood up abruptly, startling the tribal leaders who were kneeling on the ground, who also rose to their feet.

Jieli stared coldly at his nephew.

"Even though I, the Great Khan, have been defeated by that bastard Li Shimin today, it is only temporary. This grassland is not for you to point fingers at!"

Tuli Khan's face was grim.

Although he also held the title of a minor khan, he was nothing but a fart in front of Jieli.

The old wound on his back, from when he was imprisoned by Jieli and whipped with a horsewhip for several days, seemed to be aching again at this moment.

Jieli strode up to the tribal leaders, his fierce gaze causing these leaders, who had just boasted of being warriors of the grasslands, to lower their heads in fear.

"My eyes are sharper than those of an eagle in the sky! Your petty schemes are like those of a grass rat; do you think you've hidden them well?"

"If you are not satisfied, you are free to lead your tribes and leave my Khan's camp. If you think that Ashina Shibobi is more deserving of the title of Great Khan than I am, you are also free to go back and muster your troops!"

"I, the Great Khan, will show you who truly holds the only voice on this grassland!"

The crowd fell silent instantly, terrified by Jieli's angry shouts.

Their already not-so-straight backs bent over even more.

The Uyghur tribal leader who had been the first to shout was now drenched in cold sweat and his face had turned deathly pale.

"Great Khan, we absolutely did not mean to be disloyal to you. It's just that too many people have died. If there is no explanation, some people in the tribe may become dissatisfied with us."

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty, we are also worried about losing our positions."

"Great Khan, our Shiwei tribe still supports you..."

Tuli Khan stood behind Jieli, watching his uncle Jieli subdue these originally unconvinced tribal leaders with just a few words.

The resentment and anger in his eyes grew even stronger.

He clenched his fists tightly.

This position of Khan should have been mine all along!

If I hadn't been so young back then, and hadn't been robbed of my throne by you, how would you, Jieli, have had the chance to inherit the Khanate!

"Humph!"

Seeing that everyone had submitted, Jieli snorted coldly and sat back down in his original position.

His gaze was cold as he stared at the crowd.

"Go back and send another batch of elite troops to me. That despicable Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty thinks he can defeat my 100,000-strong Turkic army with dirty tricks. I don't believe he can win with 200,000!"

"What? Two hundred thousand!?"

Everyone gasped in shock.

Although it is currently autumn, when the grasslands are lush and the horses are fat, it is the time when nomadic peoples like the Turks are at their strongest.

But having just suffered a major defeat, there is still no reasonable explanation.

Now they're going to have to draw on the tribe's elite forces again.

Everyone present looked troubled.

However, Jieli just snorted coldly.

"Give me soldiers! Give me provisions! And I can take Chang'an!"

"I don't need to elaborate on how wealthy the Tang people will be then, do I? The tribesmen and laborers you have lost will be replaced by Tang slaves!"

"I will share with you all the gold, silver, treasures, food, and women of the Tang people!"

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. Faced with Jieli, who remained as domineering as ever despite his crushing defeat, they had no choice but to temporarily agree.

With a gloomy expression, Tuli Khan led several tribes under his command away from Jieli's tent and headed towards his own tent located east of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.

Throughout the journey, everyone's expression grew increasingly grim.

They were some distance away from Jieli's tent.

Finally, the leader of the Shiwei tribe looked at Tuli Khan with a bitter expression.

"Khan, what are we going to do now? This is the best time for our cattle and sheep to fatten up. If we send too many warriors to fight against the Tang Dynasty at this time, not only our cattle and sheep, but also the women and children of our tribe may not survive the winter."

"Yes, Khan, please think of a way for us..."

The chatter from the crowd made Tuli Khan, who was already in a bad mood, look even uglier.

Just as he was about to reprimand someone, a rapid sound of hooves, accompanied by shouts from several scouts sent out by Tuli Khan, suddenly came from afar.

"A divine treasure has descended from the Eternal Heaven!"

"Khan, the Eternal Heaven has sent down a treasure! It is a treasure!"

Everyone was taken aback. Tuli Khan frowned as he looked at the excited scout, whose face was flushed and who was panting heavily.

Then, led by the other party, they headed in the direction the scout had indicated.

As they climbed over a small grassy slope, they saw in the distance, on the horizon that suppressed the blue sky, a magnificent glass eagle, shining brightly in the sunlight.

They were all stunned into silence.

After regaining his senses, Tuli Khan hurriedly led his men on horseback to charge over.

"This, this is truly a divine object!"

The Shiwei tribe leader excitedly dismounted and knelt down in front of the glass eagle, his gaze falling on the Turkic prayer inscriptions engraved in gold on the base.

His body jolted violently.

Instinctively, along with the surrounding tribal leaders, they all turned their gazes toward Tuli Khan, who was still in a daze.

"Ashina Shibobi Khan! You are our Khan!"

"Yes, such a treasure can only be possessed by immortal geniuses!"

Tuli Khan snapped out of his daze, but the moment his fingers touched the glass eagle, an unnatural blush quickly spread across his face.

"Me, I am the Great Khan? I am the true Great Khan recognized by the Eternal Heaven?!"

The crowd excitedly echoed, "Yes! You are the true Great Khan! That fellow Jieli has been abandoned by the Eternal Heaven!"

Tuli Khan then looked at the crowd on the other side and asked again excitedly.

"Am I really the Great Khan?"

The crowd bowed down, saying, "We pay our respects to Great Khan Tuli!"

In the distance, on a grassy slope where no one paid any attention, several figures hiding under the grass saw this scene and immediately curled their lips into a cold smile.

"Report to the Deputy Commander immediately! Tuli has taken the bait!"

at the same time.

Northern desert, northern desert.

Inside the camp of Ashina She'er, a Turk.

The tent, already at dusk, was brightly lit.

The tribal leaders, led by Ashina She'er, all stared in awe at the magnificent glass horse before them.

It was as if every detail was clearly visible, and under the candlelight, it seemed even more like a shimmering treasure with five colors.

Everyone present was stunned.

"Could this really be a treasure that exists in the mortal realm?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?! This treasure must truly be a divine object bestowed upon His Highness by the Eternal Heaven!"

"Exactly! In a place like the Northern Desert, how could something like this suddenly appear out of nowhere? It must have been a gift from the Eternal Heaven to His Highness!"

"Your Highness, it says on the sign that you are the true master of this grassland!"

The crowd discussed it excitedly.

It wasn't that everyone present was a fool, nor was it that no one had considered that this was done intentionally. But upon further reflection, even the wealthy Tang people couldn't possibly possess such a divine treasure.

These are treasures that even the truly wealthy Tang Dynasty did not possess in the hearts of these grassland people.

What else could it be but a divine treasure bestowed by the Eternal Heaven?!

Ashina She'er, the second son of the late Chuluo Khan of the Eastern Turks, stared blankly at the magnificent glazed warhorse before him, his mind completely blank.

And at the same time.

Near the border between the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, there was a Turkic tribe belonging to the Shaboloshe tribe.

A ferocious, moon-howling crystal wolf lord was carefully carried into the main tent, as if it were a deity being worshipped...