Now I really have to marry the princess.

Wugong County, Qingshan Palace.

Li Tai reluctantly put away the quatrain that Yang Zhengdao had written for Li Lizhi.

His original plan was to give Yang Zhengdao five sergeants in exchange for five poems, and then use Azhi's letter to earn another one.

Now I only have one poem, and I feel quite unsatisfied.

Yang Zhengdao shared the same sentiment after taking Shi Tu as his subordinate.

Shi Tu, along with Aba, Nazha, and Xi Junmai who has entered my trap, now make four people, but he is still one person short of the five troop leaders that Li Er promised him to recruit.

He suddenly remembered that during the second archery competition, Li Tai had suggested that his men take the place of the soldiers.

Could it be that Li Tai has a sharpshooter among his guards?

"Cousin Zhengdao..."

"Your Highness, the King of Yue..."

The two seemed to be on the same wavelength, as they spoke at the same time.

The two then exchanged a smile, and Li Ke and Li Jingren couldn't help but smile as well.

Yang Zhengdao politely declined and asked Li Taixian to speak first.

Just as Li Tai was about to speak, he suddenly remembered that Yang Zhengdao's gaze had clearly swept towards the guards outside the pavilion.

His eyes darted around, and he probably guessed what Yang Zhengdao was thinking, so he burst into laughter.

"What I desire is exactly what my cousin thinks."

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhengdao felt that Li Tai was quick-witted and honest, which was really hard to reconcile with the image of him being arrogant and extravagant and framing his elder brother as described in later historical records.

Perhaps it grew up to be crooked.

If he really marries Chang Le, then Li Tai, his brother-in-law, must be properly disciplined.

Looking at Li Tai's round face, Yang Zhengdao felt that he had been thinking a bit too far ahead.

He quickly composed himself and smiled, "How about we do it the same way as before?"

Li Tai's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter again: "Excellent! Excellent!"

After a moment's thought, Li Ke shook his head with a wry smile. Qingque had gambled away the imperial horse and then gifted him troops; he would inevitably be scolded by his father when he returned.

But he also longed to act as recklessly as Qingque, but alas, like his cousin, he carried the blood of the previous dynasty in his veins.

Li Jingren didn't understand and couldn't help but protest, "Your Highness and Brother Zhengdao have actually learned that monk's witty banter!"

Yang Zhengdao picked up his brush again, dipped it in ink, and first wrote the poem title: "Presented to Li Silang at the Qingshan Palace Banquet".

Li Tai immediately exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent!"

Li Ke and Li Jingren were speechless. This sentence wasn't even written, yet it's already so wonderful?!

Yang Zhengdao thought to himself that since Li Tai was so sensible, he would copy down a poem for him that reflected youthful spirit.

After all, writing too many poems for Chang Le might make people think that his poetic style is too narrow.

Having made his decision, Yang Zhengdao wielded his brush and wrote the entire piece in one go:

Xin Feng wine costs ten thousand coins a jug; how many years have the chivalrous men of Xianyang roamed?

We meet with high spirits and drink together, our horses tethered by the willows of the tall building.

Li Tai was now satisfied. Apart from A-Zhi, who else had ever won a poem by Yang Zhengdao?

Li Hui?!

Li Hui only wrote one poem, and it was an untitled one at that!

Feeling the youthful passion emanating from the words, Li Tai felt exhilarated. He turned and shouted to the guards, "Where is Gao Kan?"

"Yes, sir!" A young man stepped forward in response, carrying a bow and arrows, with a horizontal sword at his waist. He was about fourteen or fifteen years old, but he was already as upright as a pine tree and walked with a steady gait.

When Yang Zhengdao heard Li Tai call out the name "Gao Kan," he was struck dumb.

He stared at the young man who had stepped forward, his voice trembling slightly: "Are you, warrior, from the Gao clan of Bohai?"

The young man was slightly surprised, then said in a deep voice, "That's right, my father was Gao You, the former Left Attendant of the Sui Dynasty, who was convicted and had his property confiscated."

It matches! It matches!

It's surprising that Gao Kan, who later captured Chebihan and pacified Goguryeo, came from such humble origins. No wonder his early life is a blank in historical records.

"Cousin, are you satisfied?"

Yang Zhengdao then came to his senses, and he was naturally satisfied, very satisfied.

If Xi Junmai was a valiant warrior like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, then Gao Kan was a brilliant and talented general like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.

The next day, early in the morning.

After paying homage to Buddha at Cide Temple, Yang Zhengdao and Li Ke's group headed to the last stop of their trip, Lingguang Temple in Xianyang County.

Li Tai, who rarely left the palace, was still not satisfied and stayed in Wugong County with Li Jingren.

Yang Zhengdao rode the magnificent "Black Shadow," while Shi Tu and Gao Kan were also in the procession.

When he left Chang'an, he only had two "traitors" as guards, Jiang Cheng and Tan Feng. When he returned, the troop of soldiers that Li Er had promised him had already been recruited.

Yes! Of course, Xi Jun will buy it too!

However, if someone is forced to the point of earning money by taking beatings, it shouldn't be difficult to recruit them as vassals if the pay is right.

The reason Yang Zhengdao did not directly recruit Xi Junmai at the time was because Xi Junmai was a good man.

There's no reason to ask someone if they'll be a jerk the first time you meet them.

College students may not know how to manage people, but they do know how to work!

That's right, Yang Zhengdao planned to get along with Shi Tu, Gao Kan, and Xi Junmai in the manner of a working-class person.

You work for me, and I'll pay you.

If you really want to leave, I will not force you to stay.

Of course, the pancakes that working people are destined to eat are absolutely indispensable.

Yang Zhengdao cleared his throat and said in a deep voice to Shi Tu and Gao Kan beside him, "Gentlemen, as the master of the palace, I currently only have ten acres of permanent land, which is granted by the decree of the retired emperor and specially approved by the sage."

Ten acres?! Only?!

Is that even human language?!

Shi Tu and Gao Kan exchanged a glance, both filled with shock.

After all, Yang Zhengdao was not yet of official age, yet he was able to receive permanent land equivalent to a fifth-rank official, which was truly a sign of the emperor's great favor.

Seeing the surprised yet delighted expressions on their faces, Yang Zhengdao continued, "Ten years, no! I believe that within five years, you two will surely achieve great merit and return to your good husbands. At that time, one or two tenths of those ten acres of permanent land will belong to you."

Shi Tu and Gao Kan exchanged a glance, then bowed in unison, saying, "We will go through fire and water for our lord."

If you give a college student a chance, he will definitely be able to paint a bigger and more perfect picture of the future.

Yang Zhengdao was very satisfied with the performance of the two men and himself.

Li Ke, standing to the side, couldn't help but twitch his lips. These two men, who were about to go through fire and water, probably didn't know that the ten acres of Yongye land were on Zhongnan Mountain.

The group followed the official road and soon entered the territory of Xianyang County.

Yang Zhengdao also became nervous.

Finally, just as he could vaguely see the city walls of Xianyang County, the system message arrived.

[You have successfully checked in at Xianyang County, Yongzhou]

[Reward: One random draw]

[Exploration of Yongzhou Completed]

[Character gacha pool is now available]

You can choose one of three characters randomly generated from the character pool as your loyal follower.

So the reward was a character!

A loyal follower?! Does that mean they'll obey my commands one hundred percent?!

Do you have cat-eared girls?

If not, then are there Silla maids, Bodhisattva maids, Sogdian dancers, and Zhezhi courtesans...?

Yang Zhengdao rubbed his hands together and opened the character card pool in his mind.

In my mind, there were three black squares with question marks.

Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, all gods and Buddhas, please show your power!

With a nervous heart, Yang Zhengdao started refreshing, but still there wasn't even a five-cent special effect, and three character cards with black background and white text appeared.

He was completely dumbfounded when he saw the extremely rudimentary interface!

This character card doesn't even have a portrait?

Isn't this a blind selection?!

However, just from the names of the three character cards, Yang Zhengdao had already started to have wild thoughts.