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

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Although there were only a few oil lamps in Li Chengqian's bedroom at this moment, in the dim light, Li Chengqian could still clearly see that Hou Junji had an unusually excited blush on his face.

Looking at the square box in the other person's hand.

Suddenly, a strong, inexplicable premonition made his heart skip a beat.

"What is this?"

He asked, feigning composure, while Hou Junji held the cup with both hands.

His face was full of anticipation, clearly waiting for him to open it himself.

Upon seeing this, Li Chengqian took a deep breath, and his previously drowsy mind suddenly cleared up.

There was a "click".

He gently lifted the lid of the wooden box with both hands.

Subsequently.

"hiss!!!"

The seal, about four inches in diameter, with five intertwined dragons coiled around it, was crystal clear and perfectly polished, and was placed neatly in the box.

"This...this is the Imperial Seal of the State?!"

Even Li Chengqian, who came from a later era, couldn't help but feel a slight tremor of excitement in his voice at this moment.

In his time, this divine artifact, which was said to have represented the supreme authority of the Chinese nation since the time of the First Emperor, had long been lost, and even its exact appearance was unknown.

We can only speculate based on some historical records.

Throughout China's millennia of history, countless heroes and valiant figures have emerged, but how many could resist the powerful characters inscribed beneath this seal?

Hou Junji was also looking at the jade seal in the box with excitement in his eyes.

He nodded excitedly.

"Yes, Your Highness! This is indeed the seal of the First Emperor!"

Li Chengqian took another deep breath, his hands trembling as he carefully touched the jade seal. The sensation was indescribably wonderful, making Li Chengqian feel as if he were floating on air.

His hand trembled slightly involuntarily.

this moment.

His hand seemed to touch the hands of the First Emperor, the Han Emperor, and other emperors of China throughout history, through the seal before him.

He slowly took the seal out of the box.

Looking at the eight neatly arranged Qin small seal characters below.

"Mandated by Heaven, may you live long and prosper..."

He muttered to himself.

Hou Junji, with a thud, knelt down before Li Chengqian's bed with his hunched body.

“Your Highness, this item should logically belong to the former emperor who falsely claimed to be in the hands of the former emperor. However, I searched the entire city of Dingxiang that day and even personally searched the palace and storerooms of the false emperor and his people.”

"I've been searching for it for so long, I never expected this..."

Hou Junji's expression was full of excitement and fervor as he bowed to Li Chengqian.

"Unexpectedly, Your Highness, you have just led your army to destroy the Eastern Turks and captured Natuli Ashina Shibobi, and this thing has suddenly appeared in the world. It..."

The words are not finished yet.

But Li Chengqian, who had just come to his senses, suddenly interrupted him with a cold snort.

"Hmph! Hou Junji! Don't try to play these tricks on me. I fought my way out of Xuanwu Gate, and I won't listen to this nonsense!"

Li Chengqian's expression was extremely gloomy.

He had already considered the worst-case scenario in an instant, and suddenly grabbed the other person's collar, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

"Hou Junji! I ask you, did you find this thing from the Xiao family?"

"The Xiao family is already on their way to Chang'an!"

Li Chengqian gritted his teeth.

At this moment, he truly had the intention to kill.

He knew that Hou Junji was rebellious and incredibly audacious, but he never expected that he would do something like this.

Fortunately.

Hou Junji, who had already sensed the cold killing intent in Li Chengqian's eyes, hurriedly waved his hand.

"No, no, Your Highness, this Imperial Seal was not obtained from the Xiao family. It is true that I interrogated Jieli that day and got him to reveal the location of his hidden treasures. I then had the young man from the Cheng family bring it back."

"There were also more than a dozen chests of gold and silver treasures along with it, probably prepared by that scoundrel Jieli as bargaining chips for his own comeback..."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian stared intently at the other person.

After confirming that the other party was not lying, he let out a cold snort.

Suddenly, he released the other person.

"Hmph! That's for the best, but you're really bold to do something like this! Aren't you afraid of losing your head?!"

Hou Junji hurriedly chuckled obsequiously.

"Well, Your Highness, you are the Crown Prince, and also the Grand Chancellor of Bingzhou Circuit personally appointed by His Majesty, and you also control the military power at Yanmen Pass. This matter concerns the war against the Turks. I was merely following procedure and presented it to Your Highness."

"Even if we talk about His Majesty's side, I have a point, don't I?"

Li Chengqian pointed at the guy's head, gritted his teeth, and couldn't squeeze out a single word for a long time.

"You! If it were anyone else, they would have sent you to report to the King of Hell right now!"

He weighed the Imperial Seal in his hand, then glared angrily at the greedy fellow.

Seeing the other person's fawning smile.

He had no choice but to wave his hand dismissively.

"Stand up. A duke like you is not worthy of such a grand gesture from me..."

Hou Junji chuckled, rubbing his hands together. He glanced at the doorway and couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Your Highness, what are your plans...? This is the Imperial Seal of the State, if you wish..."

Li Chengqian kicked the man hard.

"What, are you asking me if I want a wife? If so, just send her to me!"

"I am the Crown Prince! And the Crown Prince who was granted great power by my father! Hou Junji, you have audacity!"

Hou Junji was kicked, but he wasn't annoyed at all.

With a chuckle, he used the same shameless, cunning tactics as Cheng Yaojin, and shamelessly approached Li Chengqian once again.

Whisper quietly.

“Your Highness, although I, Hou Junji, have followed His Majesty in his campaigns and have made many contributions, I am most comfortable following Your Highness. Your Highness has the ambition to rule the world and conquer the four seas.”

"This humble general is unworthy, but is willing to follow Your Highness's lead!"

His eyes darted around, and remembering the words His Highness had just used to reprimand him, he chuckled again and moved even closer.

"Your Highness, if you wish to have a young lady, my youngest daughter is sixteen years old. Despite my rugged appearance, she is an absolute beauty."

"Your Highness is willing, we dare not presume to ask for the Crown Princess, but we can have her serve by your side..."

"Rolling, rolling, rolling..."

Enraged, Li Chengqian cursed and, with a combination of pushing and kicking, drove this shameless and audacious bastard out of the bedchamber.

"Hehe, Your Highness, please rest early. This humble general will be leaving now... Miss Yingying, I apologize for disturbing you, please forgive me, hahaha."

Hou Junji achieved his goal and left happily.

Li Chengqian, on the other hand, looked at the Imperial Seal of the State on the table and sighed helplessly.

Qian Yingying walked in.

While draping a garment over Li Chengqian's shoulders, she glanced at the brocade box on the table with some confusion.

"Your Highness, is there something troubling you?"

Li Chengqian sneered.

"I'm worried? I'm worried about nothing! I'm worried about my old man, the emperor!"

"All the soldiers under his command have defected to me, and he's still happily playing around in the palace like a retired old man, either teasing Lizhi and Zhinu, or making babies with his concubines..."

Qian Yingying can be trusted completely, and Li Chengqian now has someone to vent his grievances to.

As he was speaking, his face suddenly fell.

"grass!"

"I am the Crown Prince! I should be a second-generation emperor! How did I suddenly become a lowly laborer?!"

He suddenly realized something and pointed blankly at himself, who was now exhausted like a grandson.

"Even Emperor Li Shimin seems to be playing with cats and dogs, while I, the crown prince, am either fighting wars or handling official duties. Is that reasonable?!"

"Is that polite?!"

Qian Yingying: "...This..."

She didn't know how to comfort her prince with these words.

At this moment, Li Chengqian looked at the Imperial Seal of the State on the table and suddenly waved his hand.

"Go! Bring me pen and ink!"

"I'm going to teach my father a lesson and show him what it means to be an emperor!"

Li Chengqian sat in front of an oil lamp, wide awake.

Watching Qian Yingying's retreating figure, he muttered curses under his breath.

"Damn it, when I first transmigrated, I was glad that my father in this life was Li Shimin. Now... Father, you should really be glad you're Li Shimin!"

......

Hedong Road.

A crushing defeat, or rather a farce, was almost entirely one-sided on Li Chengqian's side, before anyone had even received news of the fall of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.

The conflict also raged fiercely in major cities of Hedong Province, such as Yizhou, Weizhou, Cangzhou, and Hengzhou.

The Li family of Zhao County, the Lu family of Fanyang, and the Cui family of Qinghe never expected that Li Shimin would act so quickly.

The Cui family of Boling had their entire household property confiscated on the night of the clan gathering.

The evidence of the rebellion by the five prominent families and seven powerful clans of Hedong Road was announced by Li Jing the following day.

That very night, the city under their family's control was subjected to a fierce attack.

The people inside the city cursed and condemned them, while outside the city, Li Jing, Cheng Yaojin, and others launched a frenzied attack.

In just five days.

The seven or eight major cities that were originally under their control have been defeated, leaving only some small cities such as Cangzhou in the surrounding area.

In Cangzhou City.

Li Xing, the head of the Li family of Zhao County, looked terrified.

Seeing his large family of three or four thousand people being chased by Li Jing and his men all the way to Cangzhou, with only less than a thousand left, tears welled up in his eyes.

"What should we do? What should we do...?"

Lu Zhaojing cursed angrily.

"Don't just stand there! Everyone, quickly load all our things onto the ship. The Hedong naval forces are now under our control. Once we set sail, Li Shimin and his son, unless they can fly or disappear, will be unable to stop us!"

Boxes of gold, silver and valuables, as well as a large number of artisans kept and controlled by the aristocratic families.

They were quickly loaded onto the ship.

Cui Mingan personally directed his servants and men to load a large amount of wealth onto the ship.

Several elders of the Cui clan in Qinghe stood aside, looking at the boxes of gold and silver, their expressions filled with sorrow, beating their chests and stamping their feet in despair.

"Ah! We are all unfilial descendants! So much land, so much wealth, all destroyed in our hands... Waaah!"

"Alas, is the lineage of my Cui family of Qinghe destined to end with my generation?"

"Waaah! Goguryeo is such a barbarian and despicable place. If my Qinghe Cui clan were to go to such a place, wouldn't we be like a tiger fallen into the plains, bullied by dogs? Alas! Ancestors, your descendants are unfilial, your descendants are unfilial..."