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

August of the eighth year of the Zhenguan era.

Emperor Zhenguan and Emperor Wude finally returned to Chang'an from their respective fiefdoms.

When Li Chengqian, dressed in a dragon robe, came out of the city to greet him, the emperor, who stepped down from the carriage, immediately smiled with satisfaction.

"Hahaha! That's how it should be! If your imperial grandfather had made me wear the dragon robe back then, would I have been so indecisive and hesitant as you are?"

Li Shimin patted his son on the shoulder, and suddenly all the headache from the long journey disappeared.

Every pore on my body is releasing a feeling of freedom and comfort.

"Ha ha ha ha......"

He couldn't help but burst into laughter again, leaving Li Chengqian and the officials who had come to greet him speechless.

Clearly, His Majesty the Emperor is currently preoccupied with the western expedition.

Sure enough, as the father and son boarded the imperial carriage together and entered through the gates of Chang'an, and the procession proceeded along Zhuque Avenue, the two waved to the people on both sides of the road while the emperor impatiently inquired about his important matters in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Gao Ming, tell me quickly, how are the supplies, warhorses, and equipment for the western expeditionary army preparing?"

"Three hundred thousand cavalry, that's at least a million warhorses..." In front of his own son, who was already wearing the dragon robe, Li Shimin made his demands with such arrogance, even though he had not yet abdicated.

This is the benefit of not being an emperor, or rather, being an emperor's father!

"Among my western expedition military academy, there are now countless talents and heroes. They practice martial arts diligently every day, learn firearms, and practice military tactics every day. They dream about the western expedition."

"Fortunately, my son has finally come to his senses and decided to rule the world; otherwise, I wouldn't know how to persuade them to exercise restraint..."

Whether it was because he hadn't seen his son for a long time or because he was excited to see his son wearing the dragon robe, Li Shimin stood on the imperial carriage and talked incessantly.

Li Chengqian sighed inwardly. He was clearly the son, but now he had a strange feeling of being a father.

He sighed helplessly.

"Father, you should at least give me some time. I promised you, and I won't go back on my word..."

"Alright, alright, hahaha, I won't rush you, I won't rush you."

Li Shimin laughed again.

Instead of mentioning the matter again, they looked with curiosity at the direction where cameras were set up on both sides of the convoy.

As if he had no teacher, he started posing for photos.

Li Chengqian: "......"

Upon returning to the palace, Li Shimin didn't even consider visiting the Taiji Hall, nor did he think about going to the Grand Secretariat or the Tiance Mansion. Without hesitation, he went straight to the East Palace.

"Hahaha, Xiangyu, come here, let Grandpa Huang hug you!"

"This must be Pi Nu, right? Those eyes of his are exactly like mine, Gao Ming's! Hahahaha..."

Li Chengqian: "......"

He pursed his lips, making a slightly resentful "tsk tsk" sound, and gave a light snort to Wang De, who was watching the scene with a smile.

"I've figured it out: in the entire Tang Dynasty, I'm the only one who's unhappy!"

you do not say?

Now all the officials are as excited as if they've taken aphrodisiacs, especially the ministers of the six ministries.

The efficiency of the Six Ministries during this period was incredibly fast. Dozens of fast horses were dispatched from Chang'an to various places every day, and the allocation of supplies kept the canal and train services around Chang'an running non-stop.

In mid-August, the retired Emperor Li Yuan returned.

This time, Li Chengqian greeted the other party at the train station. The founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who had once had a gun to Li Chengqian's neck, was all smiles after seeing the dragon robe on Li Chengqian's body.

"Hahaha, good! I've heard about it. Ascending the throne next year is auspicious, hahaha..."

Li Chengqian didn't understand the meaning behind those words. Then, when he brought the old man back to the palace and the old man went to Emperor Li Shimin, he didn't ask why the old man hadn't come to the train station to greet him.

Instead, it started with a single sentence.

"Ha, General Tian Ce, is he? In the end, he only reigned for less than nine years. I almost had ten! Erlang, you are truly the most incompetent emperor in my Li family!"

Li Chengqian: "......"

Li Shimin: "???"

What's this about the pot calling the kettle black?

Immediately afterwards, he saw these two men, who had both become "grandfathers of the emperor," begin to compete with each other for the crown prince Xiangyu and Pinu.

As the October wedding date arranged by the Ministry of Rites for Prince Li You of Chu drew ever closer, more and more people flocked to Chang'an, and the Li Tang imperial family and clan began to gather.

The palace quickly became lively.

"Brother, brother, Gao Yang misses you so much, Gao Yang sob sob..."

Li Chengqian gritted his teeth: "I'm not dead yet! There's no need for mourning!"

Wei Zheng also returned with Gao Yang this time.

Li Chengqian reached out and pressed down on Gao Yang, who was about to burst into tears as if she had suffered a great injustice. He then tossed her aside to Chang Le and, with a complicated expression, got up and walked to Wei Zheng.

"Lord Wei, you've worked hard..."

One sentence caused tears to well up in Wei Zheng's eyes, which were filled with joy mixed with tears, and he bowed to Li Chengqian.

"Your subject Wei Zheng greets Your Highness the Crown Prince... I have not failed in my mission!"

Back then, Li Chengqian sent him to the harsh and cold land of Beihai (Baikal County) to build a huge city from scratch, and provided him with a lot of manpower and material support.

However, being far from Chang'an, and even further from the Tang Dynasty, and constantly having to worry about incursions by nomadic tribes, the hardships they endured are unimaginable.

Now, Wei Zheng's hair is completely white, and his face is much thinner.

Even his official robes were noticeably looser.

"I was able to see you again. I thought that we would never see each other again. It seems that... I wasn't right in everything." Li Chengqian was also clearly moved, his voice full of relief and excitement.

He had to admit just how skewed his understanding of Wei Zheng was when he first met him.

How many of those who have left a good name in history were not truly capable?

What moved Li Chengqian the most was that Wei Zheng had almost accomplished a miraculous political achievement!

The Imperial Guards, skilled in sketching and painting, had already drawn a picture of Baikal County and brought it back to him.

Although it did not reach the scale of Chang'an today, it was undoubtedly already the size of a large city.

Upon Wei Zheng's return, Li Chengqian ordered a banquet to be held in the palace, inviting all officials to attend.

He even had Wei Zheng sit next to him, showing him great courtesy and favor.

"My younger sister in Baikal County must have caused you, Lord Wei, much trouble and worry. As her elder brother, I should offer you a toast..."

Upon seeing this, many of the officials began to ponder the matter in secret.

It seems that Wei Zheng, a former minister of the Crown Prince, is about to gain the Crown Prince's favor again.

I wonder what reward will be given for the establishment of Baikal County.

Among the crowd, Xueyantuo Yinan, who was at the end of the row of military officers, watched this scene with a complicated expression. Wei Zheng's return to Chang'an meant that Xueyantuo, and even the entire northern desert, had been completely controlled by the Tang Dynasty.

And he, the former leader of the Xueyantuo, Yinan, will gain a new identity from this moment on.

A fourth-rank military officer of the Tang Dynasty, and a general named Yinan.