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

Yeon Gaesomun, Buyeo Ryung, and Inugami Oda-kyuu were all on high alert, wondering who was knocking on the door.

Yeon Gaesomun went to open the door himself.

He opened the door and saw someone standing there, like a wall. It was Li Tai, but who was it?

Li Tai, all smiles, bowed and said, "General, I am honored to greet you."

Yeon Gaesomun peeked out and saw no one else besides Lee Tae.

Yeon Gaesomun was somewhat surprised.

He returned the greeting politely: "What fragrant breeze has brought the King of Yue here? Please come in!"

Li Tai swayed his large, fat body as he walked in.

Yeon Gaesomun closed the door again.

Inugami Mita and Buyeo Takashi came over and bowed to Li Tai, who reciprocated with courtesy.

Fu Yulong poured each of them a bowl of hot tea.

The four people took their seats as host and guest.

Li Taichun said with a beaming smile, "Thank you all for coming from afar. You must be tired."

"I'm not tired of waiting," Yeon Gaesomun said.

"Is there anything lacking at the inn?"

"All the necessary items were readily available and there was nothing lacking."

Li Tai looked at everyone and said with a smile, "I have long heard of your great names. A couple of years ago, Inu-gami Mita Kuchi stayed in Chang'an for a period of time, and the two of us often visited each other."

"I have had very little contact with you two, so to meet you today is truly a great comfort to me."

When Yeon Gaesomun heard Lee Tae say these words, he sensed that Lee Tae seemed to be intentionally trying to get closer to them.

Yeon Gaesomun laughed and said, "Your Majesty, we have long heard of Your Majesty's illustrious reputation. Your Majesty's calligraphy is considered first-rate in Chang'an."

I've heard that Your Majesty is currently compiling the "Comprehensive Gazetteer," and it has received praise from your father, the Emperor.

It is clear that Your Majesty is quite learned.

Li Tai waved his hand: "General, you flatter me."

Xiao Wang had long heard that the general possessed extraordinary martial arts skills and was a formidable figure on the battlefield.

You once routed the Sui army, you were a true war god!

"General's martial arts skills and military command abilities are truly admirable."

Li Tai's words were captured perfectly.

Yeon Gaesomun felt very comfortable, and these were things he was proud of.

"If Your Majesty is to speak of literary talent, this general is indeed no match for you."

"However, when it comes to fighting on the battlefield and charging into battle, so far, I haven't encountered any real opponents," Yeon Gaesomun said, pursing his lips.

"General, you are truly a god-like figure. In my opinion, even someone like Xiang Yu or Liu Yu cannot compare to you."

Yeon Gaesomun laughed heartily, his vanity greatly satisfied: "King of Yue, you truly have a discerning eye for talent!"

I'm a very straightforward person. I've heard you're planning to vie for the position of crown prince. Is that true?

This is a pointed question.

Li Tai looked around and lowered his voice: "Gentlemen, I've come to visit you today to seek cooperation."

"The three of you have come to Chang'an on a mission, haven't you?"

Yeon Gaesomun and Inugami Oda both nodded.

"There are no outsiders here, so you can share your thoughts with Xiao Wang. He will definitely help if it's something he can do."

Although Lee Tae did not directly answer Yeon Gaesomun's question, his meaning was already quite clear.

After listening, the three of them looked at each other and understood.

Li Tai meant that he was currently vying with Li Chenggan for the position of crown prince and hoped to get the help of the three of them. At the same time, he was also willing to cooperate with the three of them to help them achieve their goals and tasks.

At this moment, Inugami Odakui cleared his throat: "As Your Majesty said, two years ago, I came to Chang'an on a diplomatic mission, and at that time I also enjoyed calligraphy."

So he came to ask the king for advice.

The king's calligraphy combines strength and gentleness, is vigorous and powerful, and flows like clouds and water, forming a unique style of its own.

I sought guidance from Your Majesty, and Your Majesty generously shared all your knowledge without reservation.

Therefore, I benefited greatly.

Thank you again.

Li Tai waved his hand: "Inugami Mitasuki, you don't need to be so modest. It's mainly because you have good talent and are good at learning, so your calligraphy has improved very quickly."

Inugami Odenkuchi continued, "Your Majesty and I can be considered old friends."

"Yes." Li Tai nodded.

"Since we're old friends, there's no need to hold back. Let's speak frankly and openly."

"Your Majesty, is it your men who want you to vie for the position of Crown Prince?" Inugami Odenkuchi asked from a different angle.

Li Tai nodded, looking troubled: "It's not that I want to compete for the position of Crown Prince, but sometimes there's no other way. I also have to consider the people under my command."

They have followed me through thick and thin, and they all hope that I can advance further.

Upon hearing this, everyone understood that Li Tai himself wanted to seize the position of crown prince, but was shifting the blame to his subordinates.

However, everyone understands this implicitly, and there's no need to break the ice.

Inugami Odenkuchi picked up his teacup and gently blew on the tea leaves floating on top: "Your Majesty, this is the will of Heaven, you need not refuse so much."

The saying goes, "If you don't take what Heaven gives you, you will suffer the consequences."

We have also heard that your father, the Emperor, values ​​you highly.

Originally, we planned to have you move into the Wude Hall, but this was abandoned due to objections from other ministers.

Although you did not live in the Wude Hall, you were allowed to establish a literary academy and recruit talents according to your own preferences. What kind of treatment is this?

Now, your strength and status have surpassed Li Chenggan's.

Besides, back then, Yang Guang was merely the Prince of Jin.

Later, didn't he also become the emperor of the Sui Dynasty?

Your father was just the Prince of Qin back then, but he still became the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, didn't he?

"Since they can become emperors, then I believe you can too."

Li Tai waved his hand: "No, no, no, you're wrong. My heart is too soft; I can't bring myself to do it."

Yang Guang killed his elder brother Yang Yong.

My father killed Li Jiancheng.

Only then can one smoothly ascend to the throne, but my heart is too soft; I cannot bring myself to do it.

Inu no Mitasuki could tell that Li Tai was putting on an act. On the surface, Li Tai appeared compassionate and fraternal, showing concern for his brothers.

In reality, he is more ruthless than anyone else, and his methods are more vicious than anyone else's.

Inugami Mitaku then advised, "Your Majesty, your father killed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and successfully became emperor. Then, he created the Zhenguan Era, and the people praised him highly."

The common people will not think your father was not a good emperor just because he killed the crown prince and the Prince of Qi.

We've heard that Li Chenggan shares similarities with former Crown Princes Yang Yong and Li Jiancheng; both were lustful men.

Wherever he goes, he is always surrounded by beautiful women, with one on each side.

We believe that a person who is obsessed with women is unlikely to achieve anything significant in politics. Even if you don't consider yourself, you should at least consider the people under your command and the general public.

In fact, when Inugami Oda said such a thing, it was as if he had given Li Tai a ladder, giving Li Tai a reason and an excuse to compete for the position of crown prince. Moreover, it seemed that he did not have to bear any pangs of conscience, and everything seemed to become reasonable.

By this time, Li Tai's palms were sweating, and he wiped them on his clothes: "Inugami Mita, are you saying that it would be reasonable for me to vie for the position of Crown Prince?"

"Of course, it's not only reasonable, but also an obligation you have to do. You have to do it, and the three of us will fully support you."

At this point, Yeon Gaesomun and Buyeo Ryū both nodded.

Li Tai seemed somewhat excited, his face flushed.

He stood up and paced back and forth in the hall, rubbing his hands together incessantly: "You mean you're willing to support the young prince in his bid for the crown prince position?"

"Yes, we all support you in doing this," Yeon Gaesomun said, gesturing with his fist. "Before this, we had no contact with Lee Seung-gon, we didn't know him, but we thought he was a very honest and kind person."

Later, we realized we were wrong.

We greatly underestimated Li Chengqian.

Li Chengan appears honest and kind, but is cunning and treacherous at heart; he is too shrewd.

I can tell you this: if you don't fight back, you'll soon die a horrible death.

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

Yeon Gaesomun picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp, then wiped the water from the corner of his mouth with his hand: "Your Majesty, perhaps you are unaware of..."

Do you know what Li Chengqian did when he went to the Japanese kingdom?

"What exactly did he do?"

"Li Chenggan was most adept at winning people's hearts; he probably already knew beforehand that Queen Kim Deokman of Silla was in the Japanese kingdom."

So he tried every means to bribe them.

Na Jindeman was too young, and seeing that Li Chenggan was handsome and kind to her, she became infatuated with him.

Therefore, from this perspective, Silla was no longer a vassal state of your Great Tang Dynasty, but had become the private property of Li Chengqian. These are two completely different concepts.

I can tell you with absolute certainty now, not only you, but even if your father were to issue a decree to Kindeman, she might not necessarily obey.

But, believe it or not, if Li Chengqian wrote her a letter and told Jin Deman to do something, she would do it.

Li Tai had also heard of this kind of argument before.

He had also heard that after Li Chenggan arrived in Japan, he happened to meet Queen Kim Deok-man of Silla, and the two hit it off immediately.

Lee Tae thought to himself that being handsome was an advantage. The Queen of Silla had just ascended the throne and was not yet married, but she was madly in love with Lee Seung-gan.

Li Chengan ordered Gao Biaoren to bring 50 warships to help patrol and train the navy.

It's truly despicable that Li Chenggan has already turned Silla into his private property.

Yeon Gaesomun continued, "Your Majesty, we share a common goal: to eliminate Yi Seung-gan."

Therefore, our attack on Silla this time is not for our own benefit, but also to help you.

If Silla is destroyed, will Yi Seung-gan lose a key ally?

Therefore, you must support our attack on Silla.

Upon hearing this, Li Tai shook his head: "No, no, Silla is a vassal state of our Great Tang, and it was also listed as a typical protected entity by my father. My father once said that we must ensure the safety of Silla."

How can Xiao Wang help you attack Silla?

Wouldn't that mean going against my father?

Upon hearing this, Yeon Gaesomun knew that Lee Tae would not easily agree to this.

Inugami Odenkusa straightened his back: "Your Majesty, if you are unwilling to directly support Goguryeo and Baekje in attacking Silla, that's fine too."

However, you can try every means to persuade your father not to support Silla, not to provide Silla with supplies, and certainly not to send troops to help Silla fight.

Because if your father does this, it's tantamount to indirectly strengthening Li Chengqian's power. Do you understand this relationship?

Lee Tae blinked, thought about it, and realized that it made sense; supporting Silla was equivalent to supporting Lee Seung-gan.

Li Tai nodded: "We will consider this matter."

Li Tai thought that letting Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla fight each other to weaken their strength wouldn't be a bad thing for the Tang Dynasty. Once they were all exhausted, the Tang Dynasty could then send troops and reap the benefits.

Yeon Gaesomun stroked his beard: "Due to Silla's strategic location, if we were to go to war with Silla, we would need a powerful navy."

Last time, when we were in the Wa Kingdom, we reached an agreement with King Shuming.

King Shuming is willing to sell us one hundred large warships.

However, Li Chengan ruined the whole thing.

Li Chenggan was worried that the navy of Goguryeo was gradually becoming stronger.

Therefore, he advised King Shuming not to sell us the large warships, and only sold us twenty.

This greatly weakens the fighting power of our navy.

Therefore, we have come to the Tang Dynasty hoping to purchase a batch of large warships at a low price. We humbly request Your Majesty's permission to do so.

Upon hearing this, Li Tai shook his head: "That won't do. Our warships are also in short supply. Even if we had extra warships, we couldn't sell them to Goguryeo."

Don't even think about it.

Yeon Gaesomun, upon hearing this, felt a little embarrassed: "Your Majesty, you just said that we are in the same trench, that we will fight against Yi Seung-gan together, and that we can help you seize the position of Crown Prince."

But shouldn't you also provide us with some conveniences?

I've already stated two conditions, and you said no to both. Where is your sincerity then?

Li Tai understood that to gain support from Goguryeo, Baekje, and Wa, he would definitely have to bleed some money.

Thinking this through, he gritted his teeth and made a decision: "Alright then, I'm not a stingy person. If you can truly help me seize the position of Crown Prince, I will reward each of you with 300,000 taels of silver."

"I'll give you 100,000 taels as a deposit. After the deal is done, the remaining balance will be settled in one lump sum. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, everyone felt that Li Tai was indeed generous; nine hundred thousand taels of silver for just three people was quite a sum.

All three expressed their gratitude.

However, Inugami Odenkusa said, "Let's put aside the distant past and talk about the present. Today, Yeon Gaesomun proposed a real duel with Ashina Sumo, but this can only proceed with your father's permission."

Do you know what Ashina Simo is all about?

"I would like to hear the details."

"For some reason, Li Chenggan was always particularly close to the Turks."

When Ashina She'er came to Chang'an, it just so happened that your father issued an order to expel the Turks.

Ashina Sher was also among those to be expelled.

However, Li Chengan tried every means to protect him.

Not only that, but she also married Princess Hengyang to him.

From then on, Ashina She'er was deeply grateful to Li Chenggan, and they secretly organized a 10,000-strong cavalry force on the border of Gaochang.

On the surface, this cavalry force was meant to intimidate the Western Regions, but in reality, the army was directly under the command of Li Chenggan.

Even your father doesn't know about this.

Have you ever wondered why Li Chenggan wanted to build his own army?

"Are you saying that Li Chenggan is plotting a rebellion?"

"I didn't say that, figure it out yourself," Inuue Odenkuchi paused.

"Secondly, we heard that you hired three assassins at a high price—Ashina Jieshe, Zhang Shizheng, and Hegan Chengji—to help you assassinate Li Chenggan."

However, in the end, the three assassins were bribed by Li Chengqian.

Especially Ashina Jieshe, he was a member of the Turkic royal family!

After submitting to Li Chenggan, he actually went to persuade Ashina Simo to surrender to Li Chenggan.

In the Battle of Luoyang, the Turkic army was defeated.

Ashina Jieshe then returned to the Turkic Khaganate with Li Chengqian's letter, persuading Ashina Simo to surrender.

Ashina Simo admired Li Chenggan immensely and finally decided to surrender to him.

It should be noted that Ashina Simo had an army of over 100,000 men, which was no joke.

Have you ever considered that Ashina She'er, Ashina Jieshelu, and Ashina Simo were all extremely loyal to Li Chenggan?

Therefore, Yeon Gaesomun resolved to eliminate Ashina Simo.

Ashina Simo was a member of Li Chenggan's faction, and he was your mortal enemy.

Upon hearing this, Li Tai recalled what Fang Xuanling had said.

Fang Xuanling also noted that Li Chengqian had a very friendly relationship with the Turks.

Moreover, he knew that there were also Turks in the Lijing Gate.

Because Ashina Jieshe betrayed Li Tai

Li Tai hated him to the core.

Li Tai felt that none of those Turks were good people; they were all against him.

Ashina Simo must die.

If Yeon Gaesomun could kill Ashina Simo, it would be a good thing for him;

If that's the case, perhaps the Emperor will assign him command of those 100,000-plus Turkic troops.

Li Tai thought to himself that if he had these 100,000-plus Turkic troops, his strength would increase dramatically.

Lee Tae looked at Yeon Gaesomun and said, "General, your martial arts are unparalleled, and I admire you greatly."

However, Xiao Wang has also heard that Ashina Simo's martial arts skills are extremely high, and even people like Ashina Jieshe, Qin Ying, and Zhang Zhilong are no match for him. Are you confident you can defeat him?

Upon hearing this, Yeon Gaesomun laughed loudly, "Although Ashina Jieshe is one of the three great assassins, Qin Ying is also a fierce general..."

However, in my eyes, they are all insignificant.

Countless famous generals have been defeated by me.

Did Ashina Simo have three heads and six arms?

This general is still very confident in defeating him.

Hearing Yeon Gaesomun speak with such certainty, Lee Tae felt much more at ease: "If it's really as you say, that would be wonderful."

Ashina Simo is a troublemaker.

He made unreasonable demands when he surrendered.

He demanded that his father grant him permission to maintain the army's independence and not allow any reorganization—this is utterly outrageous!