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

Li Chengan and Qu Zhili were dressed and talking in the room.

Xue Rengui walked in from outside, carrying a person in his hand.

He lifted the person up like a chick, and then, with a "bang," slammed them to the ground.

Li Chengan looked down and saw that the person who had fallen to the ground was none other than the Blue Rakshasa woman.

Li Chengan found it strange, wondering why this old witch would appear in Luoyang.

"Rengui, what's going on? How did you manage to capture the Blue Brahma?"

"Your Highness, before this, you sent me on a mission, and I returned last night."

However, just as I was about to enter the room, I found the old woman standing outside the window, blowing something inside.

At the time, I felt that this was definitely not a good thing, and it was probably a trick commonly used by bandits.

So I quietly approached her, intending to grab her, but the old woman was quite alert and discovered me.

When she saw me coming, she turned and ran. I chased after her relentlessly. I didn't expect that this old woman's lightness skill was really impressive; she ran very fast!

I didn't catch her until dawn.

I tied her up with rope, brought her back, and asked Your Highness to deal with her as you see fit.

After listening, Li Chengan and Qu Zhili roughly understood.

As the saying goes, enemies meeting are bound to be extremely hostile.

Qu Zhili's eyes immediately turned red. She reached out and grabbed the sword she carried with her. With a clang, the sword was drawn.

Qu Zhili swung her sword, the tip of which pierced the throat of the Blue Brahma.

Although the hands and feet of the blue wrathful woman were bound,

However, she was not confused.

She never expected to run into Qu Zhili here.

Terrified, she closed her eyes and waited there to die.

Upon seeing this, Li Chengan quickly reached out and grabbed Qu Zhili's wrist: "Princess, don't do it yet!"

"That old hag is a menace. Look at how many bad things she's done."

"She's targeting us at every turn. Last time, on Mount Liujia, she actually used that giant scorpion to bite me. I was almost bitten to death. How can we not avenge this?" Qu Zhili's eyes were filled with resentment.

Li Chengan also knew that this old witch was far too evil.

However, I heard that she had a tough time when she was young, as she was abandoned by the man she loved. She was a person with a tragic fate.

Li Chengan told Qu Zhili to put away her sword, then asked the Blue Rakshasa woman, "How did you come to Luoyang?"

The Rakshasa woman Lan Po did not expect that Li Chengqian would plead for her.

She sneered: "Li Chenggan, don't think that just because you pleaded for me, I will be grateful to you. That's impossible."

"If you don't kill me today, I'll kill you again someday!"

Li Chengqian stared intently at the Blue Rakshasa woman: "What were you doing outside my room window last night?"

"There's an irreconcilable feud between us, and you've ruined all my plans."

Therefore,

Last night, I sneaked to your room and gave you a poison called "Yin-Yang Union Smoke." This smoke smells quite fragrant.

However, after the man smells it, he must sleep with the woman.

Otherwise, if the internal organs become excessively hot, they will be damaged.

Within three days, any man who inhales this smoke will die with blood flowing from all seven orifices.

"I didn't expect you to be so lucky to meet Qu Zhili. The two of you made something of a good thing, which is why your eyesight recovered and your mind cleared."

Everyone who heard this felt a chill run down their spine.

"You old hag, you're really vicious!" Qu Zhili said with resentment in her eyes.

"Oh dear, Princess, you mustn't be ungrateful. You should be thanking me! Without my help, would you have gotten Li Chengqian?" The Blue Rakshasa woman paused here, "A woman who wants to win the man she loves has to use her brain. How can she be too honest?"

Qu Zhili blushed upon hearing this.

Li Chengan, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, asked, "Old man, what grudge do I hold against you?"

Why are you always picking on me?

During the Western Regions

We were about to defeat Yanqi's army.

But you brought a giant centipede, helping the Dragon Cavalry to oppose our Tang army.

Later, after we returned to Chang'an, you followed us there and stole the Imperial Seal.

do you know?

You almost caused Wan'er to lose her head.

You poisoned my mother and Consort Xu again. You are so old, why are you so cruel?

Did they offend you again?

The blue Rakshasa woman shifted her body on the ground, letting out a strange "hehe" laugh: "Li Chenggan, you're just spouting your own logic..."

I am a citizen of Yanqi. How can I stand idly by when Yanqi is in trouble?

Therefore, it is only natural for me to lead the giant centipede to fight the Tang army.

I have arrived in Chang'an. You lured me out with a centipede, and then injured me with your perfectly coordinated swordsmanship.

I almost died.

I went to Zhongnan Mountain to seek treatment from Sun Simiao, but that old geezer had a strange temper and refused to treat me no matter what. In a fit of anger, I really wanted to kill him.

Fortunately, I arrived in the Japanese kingdom, where I was finally able to have my injuries treated.

However, you have ruined the giant scorpion that I spent a lot of money and effort to train.

That's the culmination of my hard work.

Do you think this matter can just be left like this?

As for your claim that I framed Su Wan, Empress Zhangsun, and Consort Xu, that was merely a side effect.

Since I can't catch you, then I'll take it out on them.

Who gave them the right to go against Consort Yan?

"What exactly is your relationship with Consort Yan?"

"You don't need to worry about that."

Li Chengan sighed softly: "According to the laws of our Great Tang Dynasty, the illegal things you've done are so egregious that even the extermination of your entire clan wouldn't be excessive."

However, considering your advanced age, I've repeatedly been unable to bear hurting you.

I hope you can repent.

As it turns out, I was wrong.

Not only have you shown no remorse, but you've become even more audacious and your behavior increasingly outrageous.

"What's the point of talking to this old hag?"

"I'll just end her life with one sword strike," Qu Zhili said, about to strike again.

Li Chengan stopped Qu Zhili again: "How about this, let's send her to the Dali Temple and hand her over to Dai Zhou for trial."

When Lan Po Rakshasa heard Li Chengan say that she was to be handed over to Dai Zhou for interrogation, she felt a little uneasy.

Because Dai Zhou was so famous—incorruptible, upright, impartial, fearless of power, and an impervious man to reason.

I've heard he has over a thousand ways to torment people. No matter who you are, he knows them all by heart and will make you wish you were dead.

The blue Rakshasa woman quickly said, "No, no, no, please don't send this old woman to the Dali Temple!"

How about we make a deal?

Upon hearing this, Li Chengan chuckled inwardly, thinking to himself that even at her advanced age, the Blue Rakshasa woman still didn't want to die. Some people say that the older one gets, the more afraid of death one becomes, and it seems that's true indeed.

Qu Zhili and Xue Rengui also felt that Lan Po Rakshasa was different from ordinary old women.

Li Chengqian looked at the blue Rakshasa woman and asked, "Old lady, what kind of deal do you want to discuss?"

"Your Highness, do you remember? Last time, when I was in the Kingdom of Wa, I made a deal with King Shuming, intending to sell him 100,000 jars of wine."

However, because you interfered and ruined the whole thing,

As a result, King Shuming only bought 20,000 jars of wine, leaving 80,000 jars remaining.

At that time, it was sold to the Japanese at a price of ten taels of silver per jar.

Currently, we still have 80,000 jars, don't we?

I've made the decision; I'll sell you these 80,000 jars at a bargain price.

Didn't I hear that you have a Su Family Supermarket in Chang'an?

You can put the wine in your supermarket to sell. The Chinese New Year is coming soon. With the Tang Dynasty in peace and prosperity, who wouldn't want to prepare some wine for the holidays?

Even at twenty taels of silver per jar, it would sell well.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengan realized that what the Blue Rakshasa woman said wasn't entirely unreasonable.

"So, at what price do you intend to sell it to me?"

"One tael of silver per jar, this is equivalent to giving you a 90% discount from the original price."

"One-tenth off?"

Everyone was astonished when they heard this.

Li Chengan roughly calculated that the cost of these 80,000 jars of wine was 80,000 taels of silver.

If each jar is sold at retail for twenty taels of silver, that would be 1.6 million taels! The net profit could reach over a million taels!

This figure is quite astonishing. Consider how little tax revenue the Tang Dynasty paid in a year! No wonder people say the profit margin on wine is enormous; it's certainly true.

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "If you were to sell these 80,000 jars of wine, wouldn't you suffer a huge loss?"

"We did lose a little, but not too much."

Right now, saving your own life is the most important thing. Killing me won't do you any good.

This transaction could bring your Great Tang Dynasty an income of over 100 million taels of silver.

Why wouldn't you do it?

You can also sell these wines to countries in the East or the West, it doesn't matter.

You can carefully calculate whether this deal is worthwhile or not.

"Eighty thousand taels of silver? I don't have that much money right now," Li Chengan said truthfully.

"That's alright. Just provide the paperwork, and we can settle the payment after you've sold everything. You're the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty; how could I not trust you?"

"You mean you can pay on credit?"

"Yes, just say the word."

Qu Zhili rolled her almond-shaped eyes and raised her eyebrows: "Your Highness, this old hag is extremely cunning. Don't listen to her nonsense. It would be best to kill her right now."

"If you agree to her request, what good will it be if she doesn't give us the wine later?"

Blue Brahma's inner thoughts: Zhili is very vicious.

She quickly explained, "Your Highness, you don't need to worry. If you are still concerned, I will write you a letter, and you can send someone directly to the designated location to pick up the goods."

"I'll give you 80,000 jars of fine wine first, then you can rest assured, right?"

Li Chengan thought this was alright; he didn't have to spend any money, it was like getting something for nothing.

Qu Zhili objected, "Your Highness, that's too lenient on her! She thinks she can get away with the death penalty just by bringing some wine? Don't you want to spare her life?"

Her deal was quite profitable.

Xue Rengui chimed in from the side, "If this old woman is truly as wicked as you say, she must be killed!"

Li Chengan waved his hand: "She is already over seventy years old."

From now on, as long as she does no more evil, I can forgive her.

"It seems that old habits die hard, so it's better to kill them cleanly."

Lan Po Rakshasa thought that both Zhili and Xue Rengui advocated killing her.

Blue Bharadvaja thought to herself, "This is bad."

"If you kill me, it will probably affect the Crown Prince's reputation."

The Tang Dynasty governed the country with benevolence and filial piety, and people over 70 years old could enjoy various privileges.

"Alright then, I'll process the paperwork for you first. You can then bring the wine over and see if what I'm saying is true or false. If I can't keep my word, then you can kill me later," said the Blue Rakshasa woman.

Li Chengan nodded: "Alright."

Li Chengqian personally untied the ropes binding the Blue Rakshasa woman.

Xue Rengui brought the Four Treasures of the Study.

With trembling hands, the blue-clad Rakshasa woman quickly and efficiently issued the necessary documents to Li Chenggan.

It turns out that, at some point, the Blue Bharadvaja had already ordered 80,000 jars of wine to be transported to Dunhuang.

Li Chengan sent a message to Su Wan via carrier pigeon, instructing Su Gui to lead people to pick up the goods.

Sure enough, after Su Gui and his men arrived in Dunhuang, they successfully brought back 8 jars of wine.

Su Gui transported 8 jars of wine back to Chang'an and gradually put them on the shelves of Su Family Supermarket.

As a result, the wine sold very well. The people of Chang'an loved drinking wine, especially during the New Year period.

The wine was completely sold out.

Of the 8 jars of wine, some were supplied to the imperial court, and some were sold to the East and the Western Regions.

Of course, Li Chengqian also took out some wine to reward the five-nation allied forces.

Su Wan and Li Chengan made a fortune, at least several hundred thousand taels of silver.

However, one has to admire them; their winemaking is indeed excellent.

Their manufacturing process has reached a leading level.

Su Wan suggested that Li Chengan, for the sake of the wine, should release the Blue Brahma, after all, she was quite old.

However, let me make this clear: if she does anything wrong again, I will not forgive her next time.

……

The twelfth day of the first lunar month.

It was the second watch of the night.

Chang'an, Zichen Palace.

Li Shimin was reading the Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government), with Wei Zheng standing beside him.

Li Shimin was reading about the Battle of Guandu.

After he finished reading that history, Li Shimin exclaimed with great admiration: "My dear minister, do you think Cao Cao was a brilliant strategist? That's why he was able to defeat Yuan Shao at Guandu."

Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "In the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao won with fewer troops and with a weaker force. Rather than saying that Cao Cao was a brilliant strategist, it would be more accurate to say that Yuan Shao was utterly foolish!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Overall, at that time Yuan Shao occupied the north and possessed four major provinces: Ji, Qing, Bing, and You."

Jizhou is rich in resources, has fertile land, abundant grain and fodder, and a strong and well-trained army. His subordinates are as numerous as clouds of scholars and as many as rain of generals.

Originally, Yuan Shao had a real chance to win the Battle of Guandu.

However, Yuan Shao had far too many problems; he had a winning hand, but he squandered it all.