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

Empress Zhangsun and Li Chengqian, mother and son, were overwhelmed with emotion upon their reunion.

If Li Chengan hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable; Lan Po Rakshasa is capable of anything.

The Rakshasa woman Lanpo originally planned to abduct Empress Zhangsun to Yanqi.

They planned to use Empress Zhangsun to blackmail Li Shimin and Li Chengqian.

They even planned to use Empress Zhangsun to exchange for cities of the Tang Dynasty.

Their intentions were undeniably malicious.

To Lan Po Rakshasa's surprise, Empress Zhangsun actually pointed scissors at her own throat, fighting to the death.

For a moment, the Rakshasa woman was at a loss, after all, the Dragon Cavalry had given her orders to capture Empress Zhangsun alive.

But it didn't say she was to kill Empress Zhangsun.

Lan Po Rakshasa had suffered at Li Chengqian's hands many times. When she saw Li Chengqian arrive, she was so frightened that she jumped out of the window and ran away.

Li Chenggan recounted the events of their separation to Empress Zhangsun.

Empress Zhangsun said, "You shouldn't have disobeyed the imperial decree twice."

You should know that disobeying an imperial order is a serious crime.

If the ministers in the court were to impeach you on this basis, it would be a very troublesome matter.

Li Chenggan replied, "Your Majesty, it is not that I disobey your decree."

That was because Luoyang was suddenly besieged, the Turkic army was coming in strong, and Luoyang was in imminent danger.

Under those special circumstances, I could only put public interests before private ones. I could not stand idly by and watch Luoyang be besieged, and then flee.

Your subject can only join forces with Li Daozong and the others in Luoyang to resist the attack of the Turkic army.

With the help of the five-nation coalition, the Turkic army was finally defeated.

Later, I wrote to Ashina Simo and persuaded the Turkic army to surrender.

Empress Zhangsun's expression softened slightly: "If it is really as you say, then you have done a great service."

I will talk to your father about this later.

I hope that after your father learns the truth, he will not hold it against you.

You must remember that you are the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. You must be careful in your every move and word.

If you are not careful, someone may use this as an excuse to attack you.

Even after Crown Prince Liu Rong was demoted to Prince of Linjiang, he remained unrepentant, embarking on extravagant construction projects and encroaching on the ancestral temple's land.

After being exposed, Emperor Jing of Han sent Zhi Du to investigate the case. Liu Rong committed suicide in prison.

If Liu Rong had acted cautiously and not encroached on the ancestral temple's land, would he have died?

There was also Crown Prince Yang Yong.

One winter solstice, Crown Prince Yang Yong accepted the congratulations of civil and military officials without refusing, but left Emperor Wen of Sui out in the cold.

Imagine how Yang Jian would feel.

Therefore, Yang Yong's dismissal was not accidental.

"Your subject has remembered," Li Chenggan said respectfully.

"I have another question for you. What's going on between you and Qu Zhili?"

I heard you two already have a child, is that true?

Upon hearing this, Li Chengan thought to himself, "Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. I never expected this news to reach my mother's ears so quickly."

Li Chenggan had no choice but to answer truthfully: "Yes, Mother, you heard me right, Qu Zhili is indeed pregnant with my child."

"I heard that Lu Zhaolin took Qu Zhili's pulse and found out it was a boy."

"That's what Lu Zhaolin said."

"Speaking of which, it's a joyous occasion that our Li family has a worthy successor. As your mother, I'm happy for you too."

But didn't you do this a bit too abruptly?

First of all, you and Qu Zhili are not married yet, but now you have a child. If this gets out, what will people say?

Besides, Su Wan is the Crown Princess, and her position is definitely untouchable.

Back then, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was also a romantic figure.

Before he married Lü Zhi, he already had another woman, and that woman gave birth to his eldest son, Liu Fei.

However, no matter what, Lü Zhi was his principal wife, and other women could only be considered concubines and could not replace Lü Zhi's position.

This relationship is not to be taken lightly.

"Your subject understands."

Have you successfully persuaded Su Wan to change her mindset?

What will you do if Su Wan can't accept this reality?

What if Su Wan has a mental breakdown, something bad happens to her, or she harbors resentment towards you?

Li Chengan then recounted what happened that night with Qu Zhili.

Empress Zhangsun nodded: "According to you, you were unconscious that night, and you mistook Qu Zhili for Su Wan."

"Yes, at that time I only felt like I was going to die, I was completely unconscious."

My mind is a complete mess.

"No matter what, we owe this all to Qu Zhili."

"How would you detoxify yourself without Qu Zhili?"

Li Chengqian's eyes were filled with resentment: "In the end, this whole thing was caused by that Blue Rakshasa woman."

"Once I see Su Wan, I will explain everything to her."

"You're in the wrong here. You need to be more sincere. Su Wan is a rare good girl; she comes from a scholarly family."

The Su family are pillars of the imperial court. Where did all that money you spent come from? Did Su Wan earn it for you?

"Mother, you are right, Su Wan really has nothing to say to me."

"So you must cherish her. Where can you find such a virtuous wife?"

Once you become emperor, you'll know how crucial it is to have a capable empress; it will save you a lot of trouble.

Conversely, if you encounter a fierce empress like Jia Nanfeng, the consequences can be severe.

Therefore, you must love, forgive, and cherish Su Wan.

Li Chengqian felt a pang of guilt after hearing his mother's words.

Although he and Qu Zhili had that one time, it wasn't something he wanted to do.

However, no matter how you look at it, this is very unfair to Su Wan.

"How's the martial arts exam going?" Empress Zhangsun asked.

Li Chengan then recounted the details of the martial arts examination.

Empress Zhangsun was deeply moved upon hearing this: "Back then, when your grandfather and father raised an army in Jinyang, they had very few soldiers and not many civil and military officials. Even after they captured Chang'an, our Tang Dynasty didn't have many truly capable generals."

The art of employing people is a very important skill; you should study it carefully and ponder it deeply.

Qin Shi Huang's ability to unify the six kingdoms was also related to his skill in employing people.

Qin Shi Huang had a wealth of talented people under his command: Li Si, Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Li Xin, Meng Tian, ​​Meng Yi, Wei Liao, etc.

In particular, Wang Jian and his son Wang Ben destroyed five of the six states.

Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was also skilled at recognizing and employing talent. He had civil officials such as Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, and Xiao He, as well as military generals like Han Xin, Ying Bu, Peng Yue, Zhou Bo, and Fan Kuai. Han Xin, in particular, was highly regarded.

Back then, Han Xin was merely a minor official under Xiang Yu, and his ambitions and talents were never realized.

finally,

He then left Xiang Yu and went to join Liu Bang.

When Han Xin arrived at Liu Bang's court, Liu Bang promoted him exceptionally.

Han Xin was promoted to the position of Grand General.

Han Xin was almost never defeated in battle, and the Han dynasty's empire was almost entirely conquered by him.

Ying Bu was originally a general under Xiang Yu, but later surrendered to Liu Bang.

This shows that Liu Bang was good at identifying and using talent.

Xiang Yu, however, possessed only the courage of a common man, and was ultimately forced to his death at the Wujiang River.

See, this is the difference between being good at using talent and not being good at using talent.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, there were many literary figures such as Dong Zhongshu, Gongsun Hong, Ji An, Dongfang Shuo, Sang Hongyang, and Zhufu Yan.

Military generals included Wei Qing, Li Guang, Huo Qubing, and Cheng Bushi.

It was precisely because Emperor Wu of Han had such talented people under his command that

Only then could he suppress all other schools of thought, exclusively promote Confucianism, strengthen centralized power, and launch the war against the Xiongnu.

Wei Qing fought against the Xiongnu and won seven battles in a row.

Huo Qubing drank from the vast sea and sealed the wolf's lair;

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao was also adept at employing people. He put forward the slogan of "appointing people based solely on their talent," was eager to find capable individuals, and used talent without being bound by convention.

The civil officials included Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and Jia Xu, among others.

The military generals included Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Li Dian, Yue Jin, Zhang Liao, Dian Wei, Xu Huang, Xu Chu, and Zhang He, among others.

It was precisely because Cao Cao had such talented subordinates that he was able to achieve victory at the Battle of Guandu and gradually unify the north.

The art of employing people is worth studying in depth; one should not be overly demanding or critical.

For example, Han Xin was originally one of Xiang Yu's men.

Jin Midi, a trusted minister entrusted with the care of Emperor Wu of Han, was originally a Xiongnu.

He was the crown prince of King Xiutu.

Zhang He, a general under Cao Cao, was originally a subordinate of Yuan Shao.

Ma Chao, one of Liu Bei's subordinates, originally served Zhang Lu, and Huang Zhong was also from his opposing camp.

Your father used the same method in choosing people. Wei Zheng was originally an advisor who helped Li Jiancheng devise strategies.

Xue Wanche was also a general under Li Jiancheng.

Li Chengqian benefited greatly from Empress Zhangsun's words.

This made him fully realize that identifying and utilizing talent is of paramount importance.

If you hire the right people, everything will go smoothly, and you can achieve great things.

If the wrong people are chosen, there is a risk of national destruction.

For example, Hu Hai made the mistake of appointing Zhao Gao, which led to the downfall of the Qin Dynasty; Liu Adou favored the treacherous Huang Hao, which ultimately led to the downfall of the Shu Kingdom as well.

Empress Zhangsun frowned as if she had thought of something: "Someone led an army to attack the 10,000 Baekje troops brought by Buyeo Pungjang, inflicting heavy losses on them."

Now, Goguryeo and Baekje have joined forces and are preparing to attack Silla. Under these special circumstances,

Yeon Gaesomun, Buyeo Takayuki, Soga no Emishi, and Inugami Mitsuhiro have arrived in Chang'an. You must be careful!

These people could manipulate events at will, especially Yeon Gaesomun, who was highly skilled in martial arts and had extensive combat experience. He had fought against the Sui army many times and had won more battles than he had lost.

Since you dared to come to Chang'an, you must have come prepared.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. I am also keeping a close eye on them."

This afternoon, Yeon Gaesomun proposed a real sword and spear duel with Ashina Simo, stating that he would not bear any responsibility if Ashina was killed or injured.

"Ah, this is a martial arts arena, not a battlefield. How can you do this?"

Have you considered the consequences if something were to happen to Ashina Simo? That would be no joke.

With 100,000 Turkic troops stationed outside Chang'an, wouldn't that be a rebellion?

Such a martial arts contest is probably inappropriate.

"Your subject also felt that the matter was of great importance, so at the time I did not reply and intended to ask Your Majesty for a decision."

Empress Zhangsun's expression turned worried: "To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy, Yeon Gaesomun is equivalent to Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao back then."

Gao Jianwu probably can't make the decisions for him; he held absolute power in Goguryeo.

It is said that all the civil and military officials of Goguryeo had to kneel before him, too terrified to even raise their heads. His prestige was no less than that of Xiang Yu among the feudal lords in his time.

In comparison, Xiang Yu was more straightforward and trustworthy.

Yeon Gaesomun, however, had no credibility whatsoever.

He's driven by profit, treacherous, cunning, and capable of any evil deed.

You must be very careful of him.

Fu Yulong colluded with him, doing all sorts of evil deeds;

Soga no Emishi and Inugami no Odenkuchi both held pivotal positions in Wa (Japan).

Soga no Emishi could depose and install kings—how could this be tolerated?

Inugami Mitaku was a favorite of King Shumei.

Although your father was very friendly and caring towards Inugami Odenku and Yakushi Ebisu in the past.

However, people are different.

Yakushi Ebi was very friendly towards the Tang Dynasty, but Inugami Odenkusa was very unfriendly.

He frequently instigated King Shuming to invade the Tang Dynasty; he was also a restless and unruly man.

"Mother, don't worry, I have made all the arrangements. Nothing will happen."

"That's good. The banquet is about to begin, right? You go ahead, let your mother rest for a while."

"promise!"

Li Chengan withdrew outside the door. Before leaving, he called Su Gui to his side and instructed her to lead a dozen or so imperial guards to protect Empress Zhangsun and ensure that no further mistakes were made.

After giving his instructions, Li Chengan went alone to the banquet hall of Jiucheng Palace.

Jiucheng Palace has numerous palaces, with palaces and corridors scattered haphazardly.

After Li Chengqian left the palace where Empress Zhangsun was, he turned left and right along the corridor.

Li Chengan continued walking forward at a leisurely pace.

He vaguely sensed that there was a figure following him.

He pretended not to know.

He glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Just then, the figure suddenly took a few steps forward, then leaped into the air, the knife plunging towards Li Chengqian's back.

The knife was about to stab Li Chenggan.

Li Chengan suddenly turned around, grabbed the man's wrist, and snatched the dagger from his hand.

Li Chengan looked closely and realized that the person who had tried to assassinate him was none other than Su Wan.

Li Chengan was quite surprised and asked, "Wan'er, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm going to kill you!"

Su Wan was panting heavily, her eyes and brows filled with a murderous aura.

"Wan'er, why is this?"

"Why? Don't you know what you've done?"

Li Chengan understood that the "good thing" Su Wan mentioned must refer to his affair with Qu Zhili.

But that's the truth; he did indeed have things he did wrong to Su Wan.

"You kept telling me that you would only love me and marry me in this life. You said you opposed men having multiple wives and concubines, and that you advocated monogamy."

I've always believed you were telling the truth.

But I never expected you to be such a womanizer.

They act one way in front of people and another way behind their backs.

You're playing mind games with me.