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

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard, squinted, and said, "Your Majesty, can you conclude that Ashina Simo has led his army westward to join Li Chenggan?"

"Yes, for some reason, Ashina Simo is extremely loyal to Li Chenggan." Li Shimin said with a worried expression.

"Your Majesty, things have already developed to this point. If we fight Ashina Simo head-on, it will definitely not work."

"However, this approach might be feasible."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's eyes lit up: "Alright, let's do it your way!"

……

the next morning.

Ashina Simo had already led his army more than 50 li westward.

Suddenly, a horse caught up from behind him, shouting, "General, please wait!"

Ashina Simo reined in his warhorse and looked back.

A man was sitting on the back of the horse; it was Chang He.

"Why are you chasing me?" Ashina Simo asked.

Chang He was panting heavily from exhaustion: "General, don't worry about it. It's like this: His Majesty was very moved when he heard that you were going to lead the army to fight against the armies of Yanqi and Gaochang."

He wants to come in person to see you off.

"You mean His Majesty intends to personally host a farewell banquet for this general?"

"Yes, please wait a moment, His Majesty will be there shortly."

Ashina Simo looked at Ashina Zhong.

Ashina Zhong urged his horse to his feet and whispered, "I don't think this is a good thing. Why don't we capture Chang He and then order the army to advance at full speed? If we delay, something might go wrong."

"A true man knows when to come and go. I did leave in a bit of a hurry, and besides, Li Shimin was coming to see me off. We have so many troops, what are we afraid of?" Ashina Simo said dismissively.

"Brother, it's best to be careful."

"You don't need to make a fuss."

As they were talking, dust billowed up on the road, and two more horses arrived, each carrying two men.

One of them was Li Shimin, and behind him was an old man.

The old man half-covered his face, so his features were not clearly visible.

When Ashina Simo saw Li Shimin arrive, he hesitated for a moment, then jumped off his horse and knelt on the ground: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin sat calmly on horseback: "You've mobilized such a large force; where are you headed?"

Ashina Simo felt guilty and quickly explained, "This humble general is new here and is unaware of the rules of the Tang Dynasty."

Last night, we learned that the allied forces of Yanqi and Gaochang were attacking the border of our Great Tang. Due to the urgency of the situation, we were unable to report to Your Majesty and thus took it upon myself to lead them to meet the enemy. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness.

Li Shimin dismounted, walked up to Ashina Simo, and helped him up with both hands: "General, ignorance is no excuse, and besides, your starting point was to protect the Tang Dynasty."

I don't blame you.

"Furthermore, I intend to offer you three cups of wine, hoping you will achieve a resounding victory and complete success." As Li Shimin said this, he waved to the old man behind him.

Then the old man produced a tray from somewhere, carrying three cups of wine, and came to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin held up a cup: "General, please drink this wine."

Ashina Simo didn't think much of it, picked up his wine cup, and drank all three cups of wine in an instant.

Just at this time,

No one expected that the old man behind Li Shimin would suddenly strike with lightning speed and capture Ashina Simo in an instant.

Under normal circumstances, Ashina Simo was highly skilled in martial arts, making it very difficult for the old man to capture him.