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

"Your Majesty, I don't think Fuyu Fengzhang is to blame for this," Li Jing said.

Li Shimin snorted coldly: "If not him, then who is to blame? Me, of course?"

"This matter is really related to you. If you hadn't let Li Daozong besiege those 10,000 Baekje troops, Buyeo Uija wouldn't have been so angry."

The crucial issue was that a thousand assassins suddenly appeared that night, decimating the Baekje army and forcing them to flee in disarray.

There are no secrets in this world.

Baekje's spies have already reported this matter to Buyeo Uija.

How could Buyeo Uija not be furious when he learned of this?

Although those 10,000 troops belonged to Buyeo Pungjang, weren't they also Baekje's army?

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was quite surprised: "What? Is that so?"

Didn't I already issue an edict ordering King Dojong to lift the siege of the Baekje army?

Why would anyone attack the Baekje army?

Who exactly did this?

"We don't know about this yet."

Cheng Yaojin waved his hand and said, "It's no use talking about that now. Let's quickly organize the army and prepare for battle."

Your Majesty, what you need to consider is who to appoint as general and who to appoint as vanguard.

Are we just going to watch Silla be destroyed by the combined forces of Goguryeo and Baekje?

Li Shimin leaned back on the dragon throne: "Who do you think would be suitable to be a general?"

"Your Majesty, it is not that I am refusing, but since the reconquest of the Eastern Turks, my health has been deteriorating day by day."

Recently, whenever it rains, the pain from all my scars is unbearable; it's like living in hell, I wish I were dead.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin recalled the incident of Sun Quan examining Zhou Tai's scars.

Li Jing made outstanding contributions to the Tang Dynasty, leaving many scars all over his body. How could a general not get injured?

On several occasions, Li Jing crawled out of piles of dead bodies.

Li Shimin blinked, thinking to himself that since Li Jing had already said so, there was no need to force him to lead an army to conquer Goguryeo and Baekje.

Cheng Yaojin puffed out his belly: "Twenty years ago, figures like Yeon Gaesomun and Buyeo Uija would have been no match for us."

just,

Recently, my legs have been a bit inconvenient. They hurt when I jump, and I walk with a limp. I can't even ride a horse anymore.

How can someone who can't even ride a horse be a general?

Therefore, it's not convenient for me, Old Cheng, to lead the army into battle.

No one knows a minister better than his ruler.

Li Shimin knew that Cheng Yaojin appeared rude and honest on the surface, but was actually very cunning.

Cheng Yaojin wasn't stupid; he understood that this expedition was extremely risky, and Goguryeo was a very difficult enemy to defeat.

Emperor Yang of Sui led a million-strong Sui army to attack them three times, but none of them could defeat them. Moreover, they now have Baekje's help.

Therefore, Lao Cheng is not getting involved in this mess.

Of course, Li Shimin did not intend to send Cheng Yaojin into battle.

Because Cheng Yaojin's martial arts skills were really not impressive; apart from those three and a half axe blows, everything else was mediocre.

"Since neither of you is quite suitable to go on the expedition, who do you think should be sent?"

Does this mean I must personally lead the army?

"You haven't fought a war for several years. It's too risky for you to personally lead an expedition. If you win, things will be better."

If you lose, wouldn't that ruin your lifelong reputation?

"Why not let Li Chengan be the commander-in-chief, and send him a few capable generals along? We can take advantage of the martial arts examination to select one general and two vanguards to accompany him."

"Is it appropriate to send Chenggan on the expedition?" Li Shimin hesitated.

Li Shimin deeply understood that his rise to power was due to his long-term experience commanding troops in the field, working alongside his soldiers, gaining control of the military, and establishing extremely high prestige within the army.

If Li Chenggan stays in the army for too long, will he repeat the same mistake and prematurely force himself to become the retired emperor?

It's hard to say.

"I have already issued an edict to have Li Chengqian stationed in Luoyang. Luoyang is the eastern gateway to Chang'an, and the area around Luoyang is not very peaceful."

If Li Chengan is transferred away, then who will guard Luoyang?

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry."

Please trust the Crown Prince's abilities. He has distinguished himself in battles in the Western Regions, so there shouldn't be any problems.

As for the issue of leaving Luoyang to guard the capital, I believe the Crown Prince can handle it himself.

This martial arts exam is unprecedented in scale, and the current situation is also special.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Your Majesty, please deploy the Imperial Guards to guard the examination hall and the palace.

"Can."

"Are the imperial concubines going to observe the martial arts examination?"

"Let any of them who want to go see go."

Li Shimin immediately ordered someone to bring Chang He to him.

Not long,

Chang He arrived, and after performing the rites, he stood up and stood respectfully to the side with his hands at his sides.

Recently, Chang He has also been in a state of great distress.

Li Shimin had ordered him to arrest Chengxin and Wei Lingfu some time ago.

However, they have not been caught yet.

He felt as if he could never complete the tasks assigned to him by the emperor.

He knew that Li Shimin was not very satisfied with him, but he had not dismissed him from his post because of his past merits.

Last time, Li Shimin was about to dismiss him from his post, but Changsun Wuji spoke up for him on his behalf.

To be honest, he's afraid to see Li Shimin now.

However, Li Shimin summoned him, and he dared not disobey.

He forced a smile and asked, "Your Majesty, do you need my services?"

Li Shimin stared intently at him: "What were you doing just now?"

Is he sleeping with Bai Mudan again?

"Your Majesty, that is not the case. This humble general was just patrolling outside Xuanwu Gate."

"Really? Have you noticed anything unusual?" Li Shimin's voice was very calm.

"Not at the moment."

"I hereby order you to place the entire city of Chang'an under martial law. Everyone is only allowed to enter, not leave. Every person entering Chang'an must be thoroughly checked."

"As you command!"

"Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and we will be holding a three-day martial arts exam."

During this period, many people from other countries may come to participate in the martial arts examination.

Among those people, there might be spies infiltrated.

I remember the time when Princess Gaoyang and Fang Yi'ai got married...

Many spies infiltrated Chang'an City.

"You must learn from the mistakes of the past," Li Shimin admonished.

Upon hearing this, Chang He blushed and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured that there will be absolutely no mistakes this time."

"Have Chengxin and Wei Lingfu been captured?"

"no."

Are they really that hard to catch?

"Did you catch them, and then release them?"

Upon hearing this, Chang He was filled with fear and trepidation: "That's absolutely not true!"

"No? I can tell you don't care about this at all. I have no idea what you've been up to."

When Chang He heard Li Shimin say this, he felt a chill run down his spine and sweat broke out on his forehead: "Chengxin and Wei Lingfu are too cunning, we can't catch them in a short time."

Please grant me another month, Your Majesty. I will certainly find a way to capture them both.

Li Shimin shook his head: "I have already given you a month. If you continue like this indefinitely, when will you be able to capture Chengxin and Wei Lingfu?"

Do you mean you need a year?

"I don't have that kind of patience."

"This—." Chang He didn't dare to say that he could catch Chengxin and Wei Lingfu within a month. What if he couldn't catch them?

He turned his head and looked at Cheng Yaojin.

Cheng Yaojin understood and laughed, "Your Majesty, just give him a month."

"Those two lads, Chengxin and Wei Lingfu, are indeed very cunning; they're not easy to catch."

Although Cheng Yaojin's martial arts skills were not outstanding, he was a senior figure and had a good relationship with Li Shimin.

Li Shimin had to give him some face, and besides, if he couldn't rely on Chang He to handle this matter, who else could he rely on?

Li Shimin nodded: "Since Duke Lu has pleaded for you, I will give you another month. However, I must solemnly tell you..."

You must capture those two sorcerers, Chengxin and Weilingfu, within a month, no matter what.

"One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black. With those two around Li Chengqian, he'll be corrupted by them sooner or later."

"This subordinate understands." Chang He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Yaojin continued, "Your Majesty is wise!"

This martial arts exam is of paramount importance. We must plan ahead, anticipating failure before victory. What if something unexpected happens?

"What kind of unexpected event could happen?" Li Shimin asked.

"It's hard to say."

Besides, the arena should be filled with highly skilled martial artists. What if someone gets killed?

"Since it's a martial arts competition, then it would be best to test our fist and foot skills."

Avoid using weapons if possible; if a weapon contest is absolutely necessary,

If it's a contest of spear length, then remove the spearhead.

If it's a knife fight, the blades should be wrapped with cloth, and neither competitor is allowed to use poison, in order to avoid injury or death as much as possible.

"Rest assured, I will read these rules aloud in the arena."

Your humble servant is worried that someone might take this opportunity to commit a heinous act, especially since everyone present is an elite.

If these people are all taken over by the authorities, then our Great Tang will suffer a great loss.

Li Shimin nodded slightly, turned to Chang He and said, "You should send another three thousand imperial guards to guard the martial arts arena and maintain order. There must be no more mistakes."

"Yes, Your Majesty! Your subordinate obeys."

Li Shimin asked, "Will Chenggan return tomorrow?"

Cheng Yaojin said cheerfully, "With everything so lively here tomorrow, how could he not come?"

"This rebellious son, I must ask him properly tomorrow why he disobeyed the imperial edict twice!" Li Shimin looked very annoyed.

"Don't take it to heart. Wei Zheng has already explained that matter to you, so you can't blame Li Chenggan."

"If it were me, I wouldn't have come back either."

"I also want to ask him, why did he suddenly have a child with Princess Qu Zhili of Gaochang? What's going on here?"

What should be done about Crown Princess Su Wan?

Li Jing cleared his throat: "Your Majesty, it's normal for Gaochang to be restless."

Because we destroyed the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, and the Tuyuhun and Dangxiang were also subjugated.

As a country relatively close to the Tang Dynasty, Gaochang naturally had some ideas.

They feel insecure.

Moreover, Ashina She'er led 10,000 cavalrymen to garrison on the border of Gaochang.

How could the King of Gaochang not have some doubts?

"Recently, Gaochang has been frequently harassing the borders of the Tang Dynasty. I will deal with them sooner or later. I did not want this to happen, but I was forced to by them."

Jiucheng Palace.

The palace of Consort Yan.

Since Consort Yan moved into Jiucheng Palace, she has been full of pride and has finally regained her dignity.

With so many concubines in the harem, who wouldn't want to live in Jiucheng Palace?

Currently,

Only she and Consort Yang got their wish and moved into Jiucheng Palace.

Jiucheng Palace was even more magnificent and imposing than the palace she had lived in before.

However, recently, Li Shimin has never come to her place.

Whenever she calms down and thinks about it, she feels that there are many things that are not satisfactory.

For example, she wasn't the empress, but merely a concubine.

How can concubines and empresses be compared?

Her youngest son, Xiao'er, had died, and she still had Li Zhen, but Li Zhen was not the crown prince.

What's even more hateful is that vixen Xu Hui.

Since Xu Hui returned to the palace,

The Emperor stayed overnight at Chong Sheng Palace almost every night.

Consort Yan gradually sensed that the Emperor seemed to have lost interest in her, while his affection for Xu Hui was growing day by day.

Whenever she thought of Li Shimin going to Xu Hui's palace to drink and make merry all night long, while she had to stay alone in her empty room,

She would be so angry she'd grind her teeth and wish she could strangle that vixen Xu Hui with her own hands.

Xu Hui became increasingly seductive, and her skills in bed improved significantly. She was no longer the shy young girl who had just entered the palace; she was becoming more and more uninhibited.

Consort Yan also resented Li Shimin's fondness for young and beautiful women.

Just as Consort Yan was lost in thought, a strange, chuckling sound came from behind her.

Consort Yan was startled.

She turned around and saw that the person standing in front of her was none other than the Blue Rakshasa.

Consort Yan quickly stepped forward and took the arm of the Blue Rakshasa woman: "Old lady, when did you arrive?"

"I have been here for a while now."

What are you thinking about?

Lost in thought for so long?

Consort Yan forced a smile: "Old lady, I didn't think of anything. Where did you come from?"

"I come from Luoyang."

So, the Rakshasa woman Lan Po recounted her encounter with Li Chengqian in Luoyang.

Upon hearing this, Consort Yan understood and exclaimed with great emotion, "No wonder the wine sales in Chang'an have been so high lately; it turns out you were the one supplying them!"

"Then aren't you letting Li Chenggan make a fortune?"

The blue Rakshasa woman spread her hands: "What can we do?"

At that time, I had to save my life.

What's the point of talking about money if you're dead?

"You're right, the wine is gone, but we can make more," Consort Yan paused, "Did you poison Fuyu Fengzhang too?"

"Yes, you don't know, that kid has been getting on my nerves since he was in Japan. If he dies, Li Chenggan will lose an arm."

Unexpectedly, he was lucky enough to find Lu Zhaolin, who cured his illness.

"Could you lend me some of that medicine? I'll poison the Emperor's food so he can stay here overnight."

"Will that work? If anything happens to Li Shimin, you'll be living the life of a widow."

Upon hearing this, Consort Yan sighed deeply.

"Old man, to be honest, what's the difference between me now and living the life of a widow?"

The Emperor rarely comes to my place.

He goes to Chong Sheng Palace whenever he has time.

Why?

"Last time, I threatened to kill myself, and finally, I moved into Jiucheng Palace."

Otherwise, he wouldn't let me stay here.

"Oh dear, you're such a fool, how could you do that?"

You need to be more strategic.

Thus,

Although you've moved into Jiucheng Palace, the Emperor no longer visits you.

You'll lose more than you gain.

If you frequently receive the Emperor's favor, you might even be able to give birth to another prince.

This is just great,

Even the Emperor doesn't come to stay the night anymore, how are you going to have children?

Upon hearing this, Consort Yan began to sob: "Why is my life so miserable?"

Xiao'er is dead, but the real culprit cannot be found.

I said that Guanyinbi and Xu Hui cursed the child to death, but the Emperor simply wouldn't believe me.

He said the imperial physicians at the Imperial Hospital said that Xiao'er died of illness and that it had nothing to do with them.

I immediately suspect that they bribed the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital, which is why the physicians said that.

The Rakshasa woman sat at the table and took a sip of water: "You must take heart. The dead cannot be brought back to life, so don't say anything more useless."

"Old man, I am not reconciled."

If Guanyinbi can be the empress, why can't I be the empress?

Why is Li Chengan the Crown Prince? Why can't Zhen'er be the Crown Prince? Zhen'er is skilled in both literature and martial arts.

"You're right," said the blue Rakshasa woman, handing her a handkerchief. "As human beings, we should strive to be better."

Objectively speaking, the Blue Rascal is someone who thrives on chaos.

"Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and also the day of the martial arts examination. This is an opportunity," Consort Yan suddenly grabbed the hand of the Blue Rakshasa woman. "Do you have a way to help me kill that Guanyinbi? Only when she is dead will I have a chance to rise to power."

Even if Guanyinbi dies, will it be your turn?

There were many concubines in the harem, including Consort Wei and Consort Yin.

Although they rarely show their faces, as far as I know, none of them are easy to deal with. How easy is it for you to defeat those competitors?

Moreover, Empress Zhangsun is currently pregnant. If the empress dies, wouldn't that mean two lives lost?

"I can't do such a wicked thing, it will shorten my lifespan." The Blue Rakshasa woman put her hands in her sleeves.

"Do you have any slow-acting poison that will kill you ten months later?" Consort Yan's eyes flashed with malice.

"Yes, we do have that kind of medicine."

"Then kill Li Chengqian too. Only when Li Chengqian is dead will my son have a chance to become the crown prince."

Upon hearing this, the Blue Rakshasa woman felt a headache coming on: "I understand your feelings, but Li Chengqian is not as simple as you think. He is very cunning."

I have fallen for his tricks time and again, and was even injured by his sword energy, almost losing my life.

"Your magic is profound; think of another way."

If Li Chengqian dies, even if my son doesn't become the crown prince, wouldn't it be good if the Prince of Yue became the crown prince?

Li Tai once stated that if he became the crown prince, he would relinquish the throne of Yue to Zhen'er.

The blue Rakshasa woman frowned, deep in thought: "Let me think about this some more."

"Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and also the day of the martial arts examination. Do you have any plans?" Consort Yan asked.

The Blue Rakshasa woman chuckled: "Our Yanqi suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Tang army. How can we not avenge this?"

This martial arts exam is unprecedented in scale, attracting numerous masters. If we can capture them all in one fell swoop...

The Tang dynasty didn't have many outstanding generals.

"At that time, it will be much easier for Yanqi to send troops to attack the Tang army again."