Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 124 He actually dared to mess with Gu Daoyi

"Take him with you, let him see the flames of war, the clash of swords and the thunder of horses. I do not wish for Gao Ming to become merely a ruler who maintains the status quo in the future."

Li Shimin knew that Wen He seemed very unconventional, but this boy was also very stubborn and had a strong personality.

Such a person is neither tempted by personal gain like Xu Jingzong, nor adept at assessing situations like Wei Zheng.

He couldn't help but shook his head.

'It's fortunate he encountered me; if it were an emperor like Yang Guang or Emperor Wu of Han, this kid would have been beheaded long ago.'

Wen He hadn't expected Li Shimin to use such a pleading tone.

And to be honest, he was tempted too.

Because he also did not want Li Chengqian to be a ruler who only maintained the status quo.

The so-called "maintaining the status quo" is, to put it bluntly, a lack of ambition.

Such an emperor may achieve great things in times of peace and prosperity, but he may also easily bring disaster to his descendants.

"Okay, I'll take him."

This was the first time Wen He had willingly compromised.

Li Shimin immediately beamed and patted his shoulder: "I knew you would agree. Alas, if you hadn't agreed, I would have been in a dilemma."

"Your Highness, what do you mean?"

"What do you mean? Even if you don't take Gao Ming with you, do you think you don't have to go? Don't you still need to personally teach the soldiers at the front how to use those crossbows and gunpowder?"

Li Shimin smiled.

Wen He opened her mouth in astonishment.

You bastard Li Er, you schemed against me!

Seeing his surprised expression, Li Shimin immediately burst into laughter: "Alright, alright, it was my fault. Now that you're back, I will give you the reward I promised before."

Li Shimin thought to himself that by the time Wen He returned from Jingzhou, he would surely have already ascended to the throne.

Then we will immediately arrange a marriage for him.

Although Wen He and Li Lizhi are still young, it would be better to settle down as soon as possible.

Otherwise, who knows if this brat might meet someone he likes someday.

But Wenhe sensed there might be a trap here, so he shook his head and said.

"Forget it, Your Highness, I'm worried you'll trick me again. Why don't you grant me a favor instead?"

I've done so much for Li Er lately, and with all the good deeds I've accumulated, it shouldn't be a problem for me to marry Li Lizhi.

If Li Er is unwilling to do even this, then he shouldn't even think about asking me to do things for him in the future.

"Ahem, let's talk about it when you get back," Li Shimin coughed lightly, using this as an excuse to decline.

Wen He squinted and pondered for a moment.

Forget it, we'll talk about this later.

At worst, he could return all the rewards Li Er gave him, and consider it a betrothal gift.

"Oh, by the way, the Turkic delegation is already on its way and will arrive in Chang'an soon. When they arrive, you can go with Tang Jian and see what it's like. You brat, you must not be lazy anymore. Don't forget, you will be the Imperial Tutor in the future."

This was not Li Shimin deceiving Wen He, but an established fact.

Even Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling had to admit this fact.

Even if Li Shimin arranges for someone to teach him in the future, it will already be beyond the scope of his relationship with Wen He.

If he weren't so young, Li Shimin would have arranged for him to enter the Eastern Palace long ago.

"Fate has played a cruel joke on me. You came to the Tang Dynasty, fine, but you had to choose someone so young. I don't even know how to arrange things for you."

Li Shimin seemed somewhat disgusted.

Little did he know, Wen He herself felt it was just right.

His young age means he'll live much longer than those old guys in the court right now.

We might even see Li Chengqian's son ascend the throne.

By the way, I should also take care of my health in the future; I should practice things like Five Elements Fist and Eight Pieces of Brocade.

"Your Highness, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave?"

"Get lost, get lost, just looking at you annoys me."

Li Shimin knew that Wen He was deliberately avoiding his question, and impatiently waved his hand at him, signaling him to leave.

Wen He took his leave.

Upon exiting Lizheng Hall, Gaoyue came into view.

He smiled so brightly that his face was wrinkled.

"Is the young master leaving?" "Yes, what advice do you have for me, Senior Official?" Wen He asked with a smile.

"No, no, this old servant just wanted to see the young master off."

Is he trying to befriend him?
Wen He thought so.

But he didn't need it, so he directly refused, saying, "How could I trouble the eunuch? I know the way well, so I'll be going now."

After saying that, Wen He left without waiting for his reply.

However, he didn't go to the Forbidden Garden or outside the palace; instead, he went to the backyard of the Eastern Palace.

Shortly after.

Li Shimin, who was reviewing official documents, suddenly felt a eunuch rushing in to report something.

"Your Highness, just now, the County Magistrate Wen received a summons from the Crown Princess. I don't know what they discussed, but the Crown Princess seemed somewhat annoyed and requested that Your Highness come to Yichun Palace."

"That brat!"

Li Shimin was furious!
He hadn't yet figured out how to talk to Empress Zhangsun about this.

Unexpectedly, Wen He went to complain.

"He actually dared to mess with me!"

"Snapped!"

Gao Yue, standing to the side, looked calmly at the shattered brush washer on the ground.

This is the nth time already.

This Wenxian lad really wastes his brush washer.

Li Shimin gritted his teeth, pondered for a moment, and came up with an idea to counter Wen He.

"Go, have Lizhi take Wu Erniang to the Wen residence and say that she's there to keep Xiaorou company. She'll stay there for ten days or half a month, and I'll see if she dares to go back!"

"Also, go and tell the Crown Princess that Fu Ji has something to discuss with me, so I won't be attending lunch."

At this moment, Wen He, who was on his way to the Forbidden Garden, was unaware that he too had been tricked by Li Shimin.

He had just returned to the gunpowder workshop when he saw Yan Lide rushing over and grabbing his arm.

"Have you told His Highness about the progress of the gunpowder project?" Yan Lide asked him expectantly.

Wen He was stunned for a moment.

He then remembered that Yan Lide had given him instructions when he was summoned earlier.

Let him report on the gunpowder and the crossbow.

But after Li Shimin told him about Li Chengqian, he forgot about it.

"You forgot?" Yan Lide was both amused and exasperated.

This is his chance to show off his achievements.

"Brother Yan, don't worry, these two weapons will be put to use soon. By the way, how effective are the porcelain bottle grenades?"

Seeing this, Wen He quickly changed the subject.

He remembered that today was the first test of the hand grenade.

Previously, we used explosive charges, which were loud but had a small blast radius.

It just looks intimidating.

"As you said, let the grenade explode in mid-air and use the fragments to cause damage. So far it seems to be working well. One grenade can kill several sheep."

"It's much better than I expected. How about the effect of the pottery jar?" Wen He continued to ask.

"The two have roughly the same effect," Yan Lide shrugged.

Now it was Wen He's turn to be taken aback.

Well, it seems he went to unnecessary lengths.

To cover his embarrassment, he coughed lightly and chuckled dryly.

"It's alright. Scientific experiments require repeated verification. You can't rely on experience. That's the spirit of craftsmanship."

Yan Lide's eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly took out a scroll to record Wen He's words.

"What Wenxianzi said is brilliant."

"Hehe, not at all. Let's do a few more rounds of testing, and once there are absolutely no problems, then we can have His Highness inspect it."

Wen He knew that after the Turkic delegation returned...

Then their hundreds of thousands of cavalry will come to the Tang Dynasty.

If the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty can save a few lives by relying on these things, then his trip to the Tang Dynasty will not have been in vain.

(End of this chapter)