My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

Zichen Palace.

Li Shimin and Wei Zheng were discussing some matters.

Li Shimin discovered that Wei Zheng, this old Taoist priest, seemed to have a problem with him and criticized him one by one for the things he had done recently.

Li Shimin was indignant and thought to himself, "Am I wrong in everything I do?"

However, he also felt that Wei Zheng's rebuttal was reasonable and well-founded, and difficult to refute.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Songtsen Gampo arrived and threw out a pointed question.

He asked Li Shimin if he had issued an order to search the entire city for Li Chenggan.

Li Shimin's heart skipped a beat, because Songtsen Gampo was no ordinary person; Tibet's current strength was considered quite formidable in the Western Regions.

Although Songtsen Gampo was a son-in-law of the Tang Dynasty,

However, if you accidentally offend Songtsen Gampo, the consequences can be severe.

Li Shimin nodded: "That's right, I have ordered Chang He to bring Li Chenggan here."

"Can you give me an explanation? Why did Your Majesty do this?" Songtsen Gampo asked, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

Wei Zheng, standing to the side, immediately felt a tension in the air.

He noticed anger in Songtsen Gampo's eyes.

Li Shimin, with his hands behind his back, asked, "Do you see anything wrong with it?"

at this time,

Songtsen Gampo seemed to realize that his attitude was a bit disrespectful, and quickly bowed again: "Your Majesty, I didn't mean anything by it."

That time,

When the Crown Prince and Crown Princess came to our Tubo, my father was assassinated.

We were unable to find the murderer, nor could we avenge our father. It was the Crown Prince and Crown Princess who helped us find a way to do so.

finally,

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess personally took action, captured the murderer, and avenged my father.

I greatly admire the Crown Prince's wisdom and courage.

Personally, I am very grateful to the Crown Prince.

That is why I requested the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to form a marriage alliance with the Tang Dynasty.

recent,

I traveled to the Wa (Japanese) Kingdom with the Crown Prince.

To be honest, this trip to the Japanese was a near-death experience.

The crown prince, however, averted crises time and time again, leading everyone to escape death.

What is most commendable is that, even under such extremely dangerous circumstances, the Crown Prince still strived to uphold the dignity and interests of the Tang Dynasty.

(Subject) thwarted the conspiracy of the Wa, Goguryeo, Baekje and Yanqi.

Therefore, in my opinion, the Crown Prince's contribution is immense.

Upon returning to Chang'an, he should receive a reward from His Majesty.

Both the physician and I couldn't understand why His Majesty was punishing the Crown Prince.

Although Songtsen Gampo's words were few, they hit the nail on the head. His words showed great support and admiration for the prince, and at the same time, he also expressed his indignation on behalf of the prince.

Li Shimin, as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty and a wise ruler, was incredibly intelligent.

now,

He also felt an unprecedented pressure.

He sensed that Songtsen Gampo was gentle yet firm, and that he was somewhat dissatisfied with Songtsen Gampo's handling of Li Chenggan.

"Songtsen Gampo, are you implying that I have wronged Li Chenggan?"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The Crown Prince's trip to the Wa (Japanese) Kingdom was indeed more meritorious than demeritful.

Moreover, he risked his life to pick snow lingzhi on Mount Rokko.

Without the Snow Lingzhi, could Sun Simiao have cured Empress Zhangsun's illness?

I'm afraid that's not necessarily true.

Li Shimin nodded slightly: "Songtsen Gampo, what you said seems to make some sense."

Songtsen Gampo looked westward and said, "Your Majesty, to be honest, I have already sent a message by carrier pigeon to Grand Chancellor Shangnang, instructing him to lead 20,000 cavalrymen to Chang'an at full speed to protect the Crown Prince's safety."

Our troops will arrive tomorrow morning.

I have given the order that anyone who dares to threaten the Crown Prince, regardless of who they are, will be executed without exception.

Li Shimin was furious when he heard this.

He looked Songtsen Gampo up and down again, thinking to himself that Songtsen Gampo was indeed unruly and that the young man had a lot of guts.

Li Shimin looked intently at Songtsen Gampo: "Without the imperial decree, the armies of other countries are not allowed to enter the territory of our Great Tang."

"I was unaware of this rule beforehand, and I have already sent a message back by carrier pigeon," Songtsen Gampo explained.

"What do you mean by that? Are you threatening me?" Li Shimin's tone turned harsh.

"You've misunderstood. I didn't mean that at all."

"My purpose in doing this is simply to ensure Li Chengqian's safety." Songtsen Gampo's words can be seen as a step back.

Wei Zheng sensed tension and quickly advised, "Your Majesty, Songtsen Gampo and Princess Wencheng are already engaged. Our Tang Dynasty and Tibet are now one family."

Tibet is different from other Western Regions countries, so why distinguish between them?

Since their army has already marched here, let them come to Chang'an.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's expression softened slightly: "Songtsen Gampo, it's not that I'm finding fault with you."

However, every country has its laws, and every family has its rules.

This is a regulation of the imperial court. If the armies of the Western Regions could freely enter our Great Tang, what would become of us?

Don't do that again next time.

"Yes, Heavenly Khan," Songtsen Gampo bowed again, "Please allow Princess Wencheng to return to Tibet with me to get married."

"This—." Li Shimin hesitated a bit because he was very unhappy about Songtsen Gampo's unauthorized troop deployment to Chang'an to protect Li Chenggan.

Wei Zheng, observing the situation, quickly advised from the side: "Your Majesty, I believe we can grant Songtsen Gampo's request. Since Princess Wencheng and Songtsen Gampo are already engaged, we should choose an auspicious day for them to get married. Why delay?"

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Alright, your marriage to Princess Wencheng is no small matter, we must make it a grand affair."

I'll talk to the Empress later and ask her to prepare more dowry for Princess Wencheng.

Its scale exceeded that of Princess Hengyang's wedding to Ashina She'er.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng quickly advised, "Your Majesty, I believe this is inappropriate."

"Oh, what's wrong with it?"

Princess Hengyang is the Crown Prince's aunt; she is an elder.

Therefore, its specifications should ideally not exceed those of Princess Hengyang.

There is a proper order between elders and juniors.

in addition,

In my humble opinion, Tibet is so wealthy that it doesn't care about gold, silver, jewels, or fine silks.

Why not bring Tang Dynasty tea, hybrid rice, potatoes, strawberries, and greenhouse cultivation techniques to Tibet?

Since then,

To allow the people of Tibet to enjoy the same lifestyle as the people of Chang'an.

such,

Wouldn't that be more meaningful than bringing gold, silver, jewels, and fine silks?

Songtsen Gampo agreed with Wei Zheng's suggestion: "Yes, yes, Lord Wei's suggestion is exactly what I wanted to hear."

I heard that the prince has developed hybrid rice cultivation technology, which yields more than ten times that of ordinary rice.

Wouldn't that benefit the people of Tibet?

Li Shimin was even more displeased when he saw Songtsen Gampo praising Li Chenggan.

However, he felt that Wei Zheng's words were not without merit.

So he nodded in agreement: "Alright, since you all think so, let's do it your way!"

Songtsen Gampo was overjoyed when Li Shimin agreed: firstly, he and Princess Wencheng would soon be married, and he would have won the heart of his beloved.

Ultimately, it is a very happy thing.

In addition, hybrid rice and greenhouse cultivation techniques are extremely important.

If hybrid rice really yields ten times more than regular rice, wouldn't that be incredible?

They have a lot of uncultivated wasteland in Tibet.

Even if only 10% of the wasteland can be reclaimed and planted with hybrid rice, the yield would be phenomenal.

With agricultural development, the overall economic strength of the country naturally increases.

night.

Luoyang.

Zhaoren Palace.

Li Daozong watched the fight between Li Chengan and Zhang Shigui.

They discovered that Li Chengqian's martial arts skills had improved by leaps and bounds, and he was no longer the same as before.

It should be noted that Zhang Shigui was a top-tier general of the current dynasty.

Zhang Shigui's merits, abilities, status, and reputation were comparable to those of Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Yuchi Gong.

In some respects, Zhang Shigui's contributions even surpassed theirs.

Because Zhang Shigui, together with Li Shimin, quelled several warlord separatist forces.

Therefore,

Li Shimin valued Zhang Shigui highly and sent him to Hedong to recruit soldiers.

Zhang Shigui, arrogant and complacent due to his achievements, committed some illegal acts while in Hedong.

They even allowed the four brothers, Zhang Zhilong, Zhang Zhihu, Zhang Zhibiao, and Zhang Zhibao, to rob men and women, exploit them, and do whatever they pleased in the area. The people knew that the four of them were Zhang Shigui's sons, but they dared not speak out against them.

Zhang Shigui was unwilling to accept that Li Chengan had been rescued by Xue Rengui.

He led his four sons and two thousand men in pursuit.

Li Daozong wanted to stop him but couldn't; after all, Zhang Shigui was his father-in-law.

of course,

Li Daozong also understood why Zhang Shigui wanted to kill Li Chenggan.

Li Chengan overheard their conversation.

Zhang Shigui secretly recruited 3 men in Hedong without reporting it.

According to the regulations of the imperial court, this is a crime punishable by death.

Fang Yi'ai put on the airs of an imperial envoy and said to Li Daozong:

"The Emperor is your elder brother and relies on you greatly."

Therefore, we have entrusted you with the defense of Luoyang and given you troops, hoping that you can annihilate the remaining forces of the Turks.

but,

Li Chenggan was audacious and reckless.

Repeatedly violated the laws of the imperial court,

Is it bearable, what is unbearable?

The Emperor has just issued an edict to arrest Li Chenggan. I hope you will cooperate with the Imperial Guards to apprehend Li Chenggan as soon as possible.

How could Li Daozong possibly be interested in Fang Yi'ai?

but,

Fang Yi'ai came representing the imperial court, so on the surface, things had to be acceptable.

Li Daozong snorted: "Son-in-law, you've seen it yourself. It's not that we didn't want to arrest Li Chenggan, but that Li Chenggan was rescued by Xue Rengui."

Fang Yi'ai curled his lip: "Where did this Xue Rengui come from?"

I've never heard of that before.

He's just an unknown nobody; I wonder how he got to know Li Chenggan.

"Your Highness, you are quite mistaken about that."

Although Xue Rengui was not very famous,

but,

"Just from the skill he just displayed, I can tell that Xue Rengui is also a martial arts master."

"Your Highness, Li Chengan and Xue Rengui certainly won't go too far."

Please immediately order the closure of Luoyang City, and then conduct a city-wide search.

I think it won't be long before we can capture Li Chenggan.

"This—." Li Daozong hesitated.

Fang Yi'ai stood up, his eyes fixed on Li Daozong: "What? Does Your Highness intend to disobey the imperial decree?"

Li Daozong nodded and said, "Very well, I will immediately order the sealing of all the gates of Luoyang!"

Fang Yi'ai was overjoyed upon hearing this, thinking that as long as Li Daozong issued this order, Li Chenggan would have no way to escape.

Just then, a loud voice came from outside the door: "Wait!"

Li Daozong glanced around and saw two women enter through the door. The one in front was Crown Princess Su Wan, and the one behind Su Wan was Princess Wencheng.

Su Wan crossed her arms behind her back, raised her head and puffed out her chest: "Your Highness, why the rush to give the order? Wan'er greets you."

Li Daozong was also surprised that Su Wan would find her here: "So it's the Crown Princess."

Fang Yi'ai felt a pang of panic when he saw Su Wan.

Because he knew this girl had too many clever ideas.

You could easily fall into Su Wan's trap.

"Father!"

Princess Wencheng immediately threw herself into Li Daozong's arms.

The father and daughter were naturally overjoyed to be reunited.

Li Daozong placed his hands on Princess Wencheng's shoulders: "Girl, where have you come from?"

"We come from Chang'an."

It turned out that Su Wan and Princess Wencheng went to the post station to look for Songtsen Gampo, but found that he was not there.

In a moment of desperation,

Su Wan and Princess Wencheng rode their invincible general and flew into Luoyang City.

"Why aren't you staying in Chang'an? What are you doing here with your father?"

"Father, please rescind your order and do not close the gates of Luoyang."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"The Emperor has already issued the decree, how dare I, your father, disobey it?" Li Daozong appeared quite shameless.

"No, Father, you're mistaken. Li Chengqian is the Crown Prince."

so far,

"The Emperor didn't say he wanted to depose the Crown Prince, did he?"

Li Daozong blinked: "I don't think I've ever heard of that."

"Yes, if the Emperor really wants to kill Li Chengqian..."

First of all,

That would mean deposing Li Chengqian from his position as crown prince, and only then would it be possible to take action against him. Right now, the emperor hasn't issued an edict to depose Li Chengqian from his position as crown prince.

Please think about this, Father. How can the Crown Prince be arrested and killed at will?

The daughter thought to herself, "There must be some misunderstanding between the Crown Prince and the Emperor. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, everything will disappear."

They are still father and son after all.

Besides, you're the Crown Prince's uncle; how distant could you possibly be?

Li Daozong listened and lowered his head, remaining silent.

At this moment, Su Wan stepped forward to Li Daozong and gracefully curtsied: "Your Highness, Wan'er wishes to congratulate you."

"What's there to celebrate?" Li Daozong asked, puzzled.

"I heard you made great contributions in Lingzhou, and the Emperor values ​​you highly."

I will give you command of 3 troops stationed in Luoyang to wipe out the remaining Turkic forces.

This is a very important task.

Look at how many brothers the emperor has, are there any who surpass you?

I don't think so.

Li Daozong laughed heartily: "Crown Princess, you really know how to talk."

I am utterly loyal to the court.

I will do whatever the Emperor tells me to do.

Whether in Lingzhou or Luoyang, I am serving the imperial court.

Upon hearing this, Su Wan gave a thumbs up: "Your Highness, you are absolutely right."

If every member of the Tang Dynasty royal family had your level of awareness, it would truly be a blessing for the Tang Dynasty.

but,

Li Yuanli lacks your level of awareness; driven by his own selfish desires, he actually allied with the Fuyu Kingdom to attack Chang'an.

They even wanted to seize the throne.

This is an ambitious but short-sighted person. Do you think Chang'an is so easy to conquer?

When Su Wan said these words to Li Daozong, her implication was that he must not follow in Li Yuanli's footsteps.

At the same time, it also hints at Li Daozong,

This showed Li Daozong that Li Yuanli, despite his arrogance, had ultimately fallen to Li Chengqian.

It was no accident that Li Daozong gained Li Shimin's trust and favor.

Indeed, it's because Li Daozong was a remarkable person.

He naturally understood the implication in Su Wan's words.

Li Daozong thought about it and realized it made sense; Li Chengqian was no longer the same person he used to be.

Putting aside everything else, Ashina She'er's 1 cavalrymen were practically Li Chengqian's private property. That army was known for its bravery and invincibility in battle. If one offended Li Chengqian...

How should we deal with Ashina She'er leading his army?

Although Li Daozong won many battles,

However, he was not absolutely certain of defeating Ashina She'er.

Because Ashina She'er was an exceptionally capable person; even at a very young age, he was already the bravest warrior in the army.

Princess Wencheng then advised, "Father, from what I understand, Songtsen Gampo never easily admires anyone."

However, Songtsen Gampo admired Li Chengqian immensely.

That's why Songtsen Gampo went to the Wa (Japanese) Kingdom with the prince.

Songtsen Gampo truly risked his life to accompany this gentleman.

Songtsen Gampo risked his life for the sake of his crown prince.

"Father, please consider this: if anyone dares to harm Li Chengqian, can Songtsen Gampo stand idly by?"

Upon hearing this, Li Daozong's face darkened: "Girl, what do you mean by saying that?"

Does he intend to harm his father?

"Father, although Songtsen Gampo was a Tibetan..."

but,

He also had some understanding of the etiquette of the Central Plains.

He would never do such a beastly thing.

but,

You are the Emperor's brother, Li Chengqian's uncle, and Songtsen Gampo's father-in-law. We are all one family.

Why should family members make things difficult for each other?

After being persuaded by Su Wan and Princess Wencheng, Li Daozong had already decided to give up the pursuit of Li Chenggan.

but,

He thought this in his heart, but he couldn't say it out loud.

He looked at Fang Yi'ai: "But the imperial envoy is still here. If I, as his father, disobey the imperial decree..."

Fang Yi'ai went back to report to the court, but how could his father bear the consequences?

Su Wan understood immediately and thought to herself, "You, Fang Yi'ai, so it was you who came here to cause trouble."

Su Wan walked up to Fang Yi'ai and looked at him.

Fang Yi'ai was so frightened that he kept backing away.

Su Wan, with her left hand on her hip and her right finger pointing at Fang Yi'ai's nose, said, "You're something else now, aren't you?"

You went from being a criminal in the Dali Temple prison to becoming an imperial envoy.

Can you tell us exactly what methods and tricks you used?

How could the Emperor have agreed to appoint you as Imperial Envoy?

Fang Yi'ai naturally remembered that time when he sneaked into the Dali Temple prison and poisoned two thieves who looked like Chengxin and Wei Lingfu. He was imprisoned in the Dali Temple prison, and Li Shimin was furious and wanted to execute him. It was Su Wan who pleaded with Li Shimin and saved his life.