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

Chapter 410 What kind of skill is it to only use the emperor's identity to scare people?

The remaining snow by the pond had not yet melted, and the damp, frozen soil mixed with snow chips crunched underfoot.

Qibi Heli gripped Li Yin's arm tightly with one hand, his knuckles turning white from the force, while his other hand clenched into a fist, glaring menacingly at Li Tai who was flanking from the right.

Li Yin's arm ached from being pulled so hard, and he kept cursing, "You Turkic barbarian, let go of me! Otherwise, I'll have my father punish you!"

"Shut up!"

Qibi Heli coldly rebuked, his gaze fixed on Li Tai, fearing that he might suddenly launch a sneak attack.

But he still defended in the wrong direction.

Just then, Li You suddenly pounced on him from behind, trying to hug him while shouting loudly.

"Hurry up and attack him!"

Qibi Heli reacted extremely quickly, suddenly grabbing Li Yin and turning him around, then using the momentum to push Li Yin forward forcefully.

With a loud thud, Li Yin and Li You, who had rushed forward, collided head-on. Both of them staggered back a few steps and fell into the snow, covered in mud and snow.

"Get out of my way! Are you blind?!"

Li Yin was furious and shoved Li You to the ground, his tone full of disgust.

Li You was already annoyed because he hadn't managed to hold onto Qibi Heli, and Li Yin's scolding only fueled his anger. He got up and punched Li Yin in the face.

"You're the one who's blind! If you weren't in my way, I would have subdued him already!"

The two, who had just been united against Qibi Heli, were now locked in a fierce fight, their fists thudding as they landed on each other and their curses echoing throughout the room.

Qibi Heli was dumbfounded.

Why is this Tang Dynasty prince so strange?
One second they're teaming up, the next they're fighting amongst themselves?
Before he could react, Li Tai had already rushed up and punched him in the face. Qi Bi He Li instinctively turned his head to dodge, and the fist grazed his ear, creating a gust of wind.

Before Qibi Heli could retaliate, Li Tai suddenly raised his leg and swept it across, kicking him in the shin.

Qibi Heli felt the pain and staggered back two steps. After regaining his balance, he roared "You're asking for death" in Turkic and lunged at Li Tai.

He had practiced wrestling on the grasslands since childhood, and his movements were agile and powerful, his punch aimed straight at Li Tai's chest.

Li Tai didn't hesitate either, instinctively using both arms to block. His arms went numb from the blows, but he also seized the opportunity to quickly throw a punch at Qibi Heli's shoulder.

The two immediately started fighting, exchanging blows. Before long, their faces were covered in new bruises, but neither was willing to admit defeat, and they kept shouting at each other.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!"

Li Chengqian, standing to the side, was so anxious that he stamped his feet. He had wanted to step forward and stop the fight, but the teenagers were so engrossed in their brawl that no one listened to him.

His guards dared not step forward.

It would be one thing if Qibi Heli was injured, but if several princes were injured, they wouldn't have enough lives to pay for it. All they could do was circle around them, constantly pleading, "Stop fighting."

Li Chengqian's temper also flared up.

He is the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, yet his words carry so little weight!

He turned to look at Li Ke, who was watching coldly from the side, and said in a deep voice, "Sanlang, let's go together and take down as many people as we can! If this keeps up, someone will definitely die!"

Li Ke glanced at him indifferently, said nothing, but rolled up his sleeves and rushed forward before Li Chengqian could speak again.

At this moment, Qibi Heli and Li Tai were locked in a fierce battle, both panting heavily, their faces conspicuously bruised, neither gaining the upper hand.

But they were clearly both holding back their energy. After exchanging a glance, they shouted and charged at each other.

At this critical moment, Li Ke suddenly leaped into the air and kicked Qibi Heli in the back.

The kick was quite powerful; Qibi Heli stumbled and landed heavily on the snow, kicking up a cloud of snow.

Immediately afterwards, Li Ke turned around and threw a punch at the face of Li Tai, who was rushing towards him.

With a "thud," Li Tai was knocked back a few steps, covered his face, and fell to the ground, wincing in pain.

"Li Ke! You bastard! Whose side are you on?!"

Once Li Tai recovered, he got up and glared angrily at Li Ke, his eyes red-rimmed.

He was fighting well with Qibi Heli when Li Ke suddenly intervened and even slapped him in the face!

Li Ke patted the snow off his hands and said coldly, "The Crown Prince told you to stop. He sent me to stop you."

In one sentence, he directly shifted the blame to Li Chengqian, who had just arrived.

Li Chengqian was stunned when he heard these words as he approached.

He did ask Li Ke to help mediate the fight, but he didn't ask Li Ke to use such force!
He opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but saw that Li Ke had already turned his head to look elsewhere, not giving him a chance to speak at all. He could only sigh inwardly.

"Li You, let go! You're going to pull my hair out!"

Suddenly, Li Yin's angry roar came from not far away. The group turned around and saw Li You holding Li Yin's hair tightly, while his other hand was hitting Li Yin's face.

Li Yin was in so much pain that tears were almost streaming down her face, but she refused to admit defeat and opened her mouth to bite Li You's hand.

"Hey! Li Yin, are you a dog?! You actually bite people!"

Li You winced in pain, his hand loosened, but he immediately pounced on Li Yin and rolled around in the snow with him.

"Stop it all!"

Li Chengqian was furious. He turned to the guards around him and shouted, "What are you all standing there for! Pull those two apart! I'll take full responsibility if anything happens!"

Previously, the guards were worried about hurting the prince, but now that His Highness the Crown Prince had vouched for them, they finally dared to step forward.

Two guards rushed forward, one grabbing Li Yin and the other Li You, and it took a lot of effort to separate the two who were wrestling.

Even after being separated, the two didn't stop.

Li Yin kicked the air with his hands and feet in Li You's direction, shouting and cursing loudly.

Li You was not to be outdone, glaring at Li Yin and retorting incessantly. If the guards hadn't held him back, he probably would have charged forward again.

"Why pull them apart? Let them fight."

Just then, a cold shout suddenly came from the direction of the corridor. The voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable authority, instantly silencing the noise in the garden.

The six children were stunned, instinctively stopped what they were doing, and turned their heads in unison to look at the corridor.

Li Shimin stood under the long corridor, his hands behind his back, his face so dark it seemed to drip water.

Wen He stood beside him, but deliberately put on a serious expression, her gaze sweeping over the disheveled appearance of the group.

The guards were so frightened that they immediately released their grip, knelt down, and cried out, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Upon seeing Li Shimin, Li Tai, Li Yin, and Li You instantly wilted, their previous arrogance vanishing completely. They all lowered their heads, not daring to look Li Shimin in the eye.

Li Chengqian also stepped forward quickly and bowed, saying, "Your subject greets Father."

Li Ke remained standing in the same spot, only bowing slightly as a gesture of respect.

Qibi Heli looked at Li Shimin's gloomy face and felt a little scared. He subconsciously took a step back, but still forced himself to step forward and bowed like the others.

"See Your Majesty."

Li Shimin remained silent, his gaze slowly sweeping over the group.

Li Tai's face was swollen, Li Yin's hair was messy, Li You had teeth marks on the back of his hand, and Qi Bi He Li's clothes were covered in mud and snow, and his face was also covered in bruises.

Even the usually composed Li Chengqian had his clothes wrinkled quite a bit from the tugging earlier.

"These are all your good students!"

Li Shimin's anger was almost bursting out of his chest. He pointed at the mess on the ground and the several disheveled children, and glared fiercely at Wen He.

Wen He felt as if he had been struck by an undeserved calamity. He cleared his throat, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with me. I didn't teach them to fight. They had their own conflict, so you can't blame it on me, can you?"

"Hmph!" Li Shimin ignored his explanation, snorted heavily, turned his anger towards Li Chengqian, and scolded him sharply.

"You are the elder brother, the crown prince! You can't even keep an eye on your own younger brothers, letting them run wild in the mansion. You are utterly useless!"

Li Chengqian stiffened, quickly lowered his head, and his eyes reddened slightly.

Since his father ascended the throne, this was the first time his father had reprimanded him in such a stern tone, except when he wanted to execute his maternal uncle, Changsun Anye. He felt both wronged and guilty.

He had tried to persuade them, but his brothers wouldn't listen, and there was nothing he could do.

"Your Majesty, you are mistaken!"

Wen He immediately stepped forward to defend Li Chengqian.

"It is precisely because they are both his own brothers that His Highness the Crown Prince could not bear to reprimand them harshly, for fear of damaging their brotherly relationship. How can you blame him for this?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin abruptly turned his head and glared at Wen He, his eyes filled with anger: "What? You still want to plead for him?"

Wen He met Li Shimin's gaze without fear and spoke out righteously.

“Your Majesty, you are speaking the truth. It is the elder brother’s responsibility to look after and discipline his younger brothers, but if the younger brothers do not listen to advice, you cannot put all the blame on the elder brother, can you? Just like when Your Majesty asks me to do something, if I do not do it well, would Your Majesty blame yourself for not teaching them well?”

He paused, then changed the subject, saying pointedly, "Rather than blaming His Highness the Crown Prince, I believe it's a matter of failing to properly educate one's children..."

At this point, Wen He deliberately paused.

The copy of the Three Character Classic he had made earlier had already spread throughout Chang'an.

Li Shimin could not possibly have been unaware of the saying, "If a child is not raised properly, it is the father's fault; if the teaching is not strict, it is the teacher's laziness."

He didn't need to spell it out; Li Shimin would understand his meaning.

Ultimately, you, as the father, also bear responsibility for this!
Li Shimin's face instantly darkened, and he cursed inwardly.

'That brat dares to indirectly blame me!'

He suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth, saying, "If the teacher is not strict, it is the teacher's fault! You are their teacher, so you are not exempt from responsibility when they make mistakes!"

"Your Majesty, you can't say that."

Wen He pointed at Li Yin and Qibi Heli, her tone self-righteous.

“Li Yin and Qibi Heli only arrived today, and I haven’t officially accepted them as students yet, so how can this be my responsibility?”

Li Shimin's lips twitched involuntarily.

How can this brat have so many fallacies!
He suppressed his anger and said domineeringly, "What I say goes! You are their teacher, so you have to take charge!"

"Then Your Majesty, you're being unreasonable!"

Wen He also lost her temper.

"What kind of reasoning is it for me to discipline my own son?!"

"The most important thing in educating children is to reason with them, teach them according to their aptitude, and guide them patiently. Shifting responsibility is a sign of incompetence!"

"How dare you!" Li Shimin finally couldn't hold back and let out an angry shout.

Wen He pursed her lips, muttering to herself.

'If you can't win an argument with me, all you do is use your imperial status to intimidate people. What kind of skill is that!'

This scene left the children present completely stunned.

This was the first time Wen He had ever talked back to Li Shimin in front of them.

Li Chengqian felt a surge of warmth in his heart, as if the cold early spring had turned into summer.

'Sir actually argued back with Father for my sake; he's so kind.'

Li Tai and Li You both lowered their heads, not daring to look at Li Shimin's face.

They knew this was a serious matter, and Aye would definitely not let them off easily.

Only Li Ke maintained his icy expression, though a barely perceptible hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He had only been watching from the sidelines, and his intervention was merely to "mediate the fight." He thought it had nothing to do with him, but seeing his father's anger, he feared everyone would be implicated.

"enough!"

Li Shimin took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, stopped arguing with Wen He, and turned to look at the children, his tone icy.

"What exactly happened during the fight? Who started it? Tell us the truth!"

As he spoke, he glanced at Qibi Heli with a scrutinizing look in his eyes.

After all, Li Tai, Li Yin, and Li You were all his own sons, while Qibi Heli was an outsider. As a father, he was bound to be somewhat biased and subconsciously felt that Qibi Heli had caused the trouble.

When Li Shimin asked this question, the children all stammered and none of them dared to speak first.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian stepped forward and bowed.

“Father, it’s all my fault. I didn’t keep a close eye on my younger brothers, which led to their conflict with Qibi Khan. I will personally apologize to Qibi Khan for this.”

Seeing Li Chengqian take the initiative to assume responsibility, a hint of relief flashed in Li Shimin's eyes.

Regardless, Li Chengqian's attitude shows responsibility and makes him seem somewhat like a crown prince.

He was about to say something when he was interrupted by Qibi Heli.

"It's not his fault!"

Qibi Heli stepped forward, his tone firm. He stared intently at Li Yin, his voice trembling slightly, yet every word was clear.

"That was your son, Li Yin, who just called me a barbarian from the grasslands and said that our Qibi tribe came to the Tang Dynasty to beg!"

"Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty, I would like to ask you, do you also think this way?"

He took a deep breath, as if summoning all his courage, and continued.

“If that’s really the case, then I will take my mother and my people back to the grasslands! Although our Qibi tribe has submitted to the Tang Dynasty, we still have our own dignity. We would rather die under Jieli’s iron cavalry than suffer such humiliation here!”

A ten-year-old child, in a foreign land, facing the most powerful person in the country, had a resolute expression on his face and no sign of backing down in his eyes.

Wen He stood aside and watched all of this.

He noticed that Chibi Heli's hands were trembling slightly, and his nails were digging into his palms with force.

It wasn't that he wasn't afraid; he just had to put on a brave face for the sake of his own dignity and that of his people.

Living under someone else's roof is not a good life.

It must have been tough on this ten-year-old child.

Li Shimin's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He glared at Li Yin, his tone filled with murderous intent.

"Li Yin! Is what he said true?!"

He was all too aware of the seriousness of those words.

The Qibi tribe was the first grassland tribe to voluntarily submit to the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Yin's insult caused the Qibi tribe to change their minds and return to the grasslands.

Then other tribes that originally had the intention to submit would also become wary of the Tang Dynasty, and all of the Tang Dynasty's previous plans on the grasslands could be destroyed in an instant!
Li Yin was terrified by his father's gaze. He fell to his knees with a thud and burst into tears.

"Father, I was wrong! I shouldn't have scolded him, I shouldn't have said those things... Please forgive me!"

Looking at Li Yin's appearance, Wen He couldn't help but admire him in her heart.

This kid may not have any other skills, but he's quick to admit defeat. He'll kneel down without hesitation.

But he admitted his mistake too quickly.

As a prince, he was forced to kneel at will.

really.

Seeing Li Yin's spineless attitude, Li Shimin became even more furious.

He was holding Li Yin accountable, but he also didn't want to see him so weak.

No wonder later historical records contain his evaluation of Liu Lang.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin's anger intensified, and he raised his foot to kick him.

(End of this chapter)