A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Since he was already a loser, Dou Jiande accepted it. He handed the Imperial Seal of the State to Li Shimin in front of the battle, his eyes fixed on Li Shimin's eyes.

Li Shimin looked at the imperial seal before him, then at Wang Shichong, then at the poison in Wang Shichong's hand and the river under his command.

He hesitated.

He was able to use the Imperial Seal to scheme against Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, and Li Mi without hesitation because they did not have much of an advantage at the time. The benefits of this plan far outweighed the costs, and he was confident that he could retrieve the Imperial Seal.

But now, his plan has succeeded. Li Mi has been besieging the city for a long time and suffered heavy losses. His father has personally led a large army to launch a surprise attack from the rear, and he is bound to be defeated.

Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong perished together, and Dou Jiande was already his for the taking.

After absorbing the power of the three, the Li family will be the most powerful in the world, and the throne will be within reach.

Is it necessary to abandon the Imperial Seal for the sake of the people of a mere city?

Moreover, these people might not necessarily die; they could be notified in advance and relocated.

Without the Imperial Seal of the State, even if they established a dynasty belonging to the Li family, their legitimacy would be questioned.

Given Wang Shichong's ruthlessness, if he were truly forced to commit suicide, he would surely perish along with the Imperial Seal of the State!

Those who survived on the battlefield were all watching Li Shimin, waiting for his choice.

It was for the sake of hegemony that Wang Shichong was killed, even at the cost of abandoning the people of a city.

Or should he spare Wang Shichong for the sake of the people, and personally hand over the Imperial Seal of the State? Should he bear the eternal infamy of damaging the Imperial Seal of the State?

The image of him studying with his teacher in Yanzhou flashed through Li Shimin's mind.

"Shimin, what comes to mind when you look at this lake and the boats?"

The King of Yan led him to a beautiful lake in Yanzhou, where there were many pleasure boats and painted barges, creating a picturesque scene.

Li Shimin was so captivated by the sight that he exclaimed, "Yanzhou truly lives up to its reputation as a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, a rare sight indeed."

The King of Yan chuckled and shook his head.

"That reflects the people's prosperity and well-being; should those in power strive to emulate this?"

Li Shimin then said.

The Prince of Yan just smiled. Li Shimin racked his brains and gave several more answers, but the Prince of Yan still just smiled and shook his head.

Seeing Li Shimin's puzzled look, the teacher finally gave Li Shimin the answer.

"Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

"Shimin, the people are the water, and the ruler is the boat. Remember this well."

That was the first time his teacher had directly told him that he was teaching him the art of ruling, so Li Shimin remembered that day very clearly.

"The people are like water, and the ruler is like a boat. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

Li Shimin repeated his teacher's words, his eyes seemingly piercing through mountains and rivers, as if he saw his teacher, who was fishing by the lake, suddenly turn to him and smile with satisfaction.

"I see."

Li Shimin let out a long breath, took the Imperial Seal of the State, walked to a spot not far from Wang Shichong, and tossed the Imperial Seal of the State to Wang Shichong.

"Here's the stuff, but give me the poison first!"

Wang Shichong took the Imperial Seal of the State and carefully examined this most precious treasure in the world.

"Okay, okay!"

Wang Shichong put away the poison in his hand. In his opinion, the Imperial Seal of the State was far more important than the people of the city.

Qin Qiong and the others watched this scene in shock. Dou Jiande smiled bitterly. Even Li Yuan's son had such courage. He had no reason to lose.

Although he would not surrender, he was now extremely curious about Li Yuan, this powerful and ambitious man he had never met, and longed to meet him.

Qin Qiong and the others had stars in their eyes, regarding Li Shimin as their faith in life. It is no exaggeration to say that Li Shimin seemed to be shining with golden light to Qin Qiong and these soldiers from ordinary backgrounds.

Seeing Wang Shichong refill the poison and leave with the Imperial Seal in his hand, Li Shimin waved to stop the others from stepping forward. Wang Shichong was not far from the river, and now was not a good time, whether for the safety of the city's people or for the safety of the Imperial Seal.

Once Wang Shichong was out of the army's reach, he breathed a sigh of relief, raised the Imperial Seal of the State high, and laughed heartily.

"Womanly compassion!"

"Once I use the Imperial Seal to summon my army, the entire world will be mine!"

Wang Shichong turned around at a distance and laughed disdainfully at Li Shimin.

Beneath the fluttering banners, Li Shimin stood in a suit of dark, gleaming armor, its sharp, cold light gleaming.

Seeing this golden opportunity, Li Shimin flicked his wrist, and the longbow at his waist was already in his hand, the movement fluid and effortless. Then, with his left hand supporting a mountain and his right hand cradling a baby, he slowly drew the bowstring back, bending it like a full moon. The arrow, gleaming a deep blue in the sunlight, its tip firmly locked onto Wang Shichong's brow.

"Whoosh—"

With a sharp whistling sound, the arrow shot out like a meteor, piercing through layers of soldiers and over billowing dust, striking Wang Shichong precisely between the eyebrows.

Before Wang Shichong could even scream, he fell straight off his horse, the dust rising and instantly burying his body.

The Imperial Seal of the State was smashed into his face, and blood stained the eight characters "By the Mandate of Heaven, May Your Life Be Long and Prosperous" bright red.

Li Shimin sheathed his bow, his face expressionless. Cheng Yaojin's eyes darted around, and with a flick of his horse's rump, the steed, in pain, leaped up and charged toward Wang Shichong's corpse.

"Damn it!"

The surrounding generals were cursing inwardly, thinking that this fool had snatched such a good opportunity again!

This is a great achievement in retrieving the Imperial Seal of the State. Even if the primary achievement belongs to Li Shimin, this secondary achievement of retrieving the Imperial Seal of the State is worthy of a marquisate, with a fief and estate.

Several more people rushed out, trying to take the Imperial Seal of the State before Cheng Yaojin could.

However, the horse Cheng Yaojin rode was a famous steed personally chosen for him by his sworn brother Qin Qiong. It could travel a thousand miles a day and had extremely strong explosive power. Among the people present, only the horses ridden by Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, Li Shimin, and Qin Qiong were better than his.

No one else can compete with him!

Cheng Yaojin was the first to seize the Imperial Seal of the State. When the others arrived, they were so envious that they wanted to draw their swords against him, but they were scared away by the giant Xuanhua axe in Cheng Yaojin's hand.

Cheng Yaojin curled his lip. "Sworn brothers? Is that all?"

Cheng Yaojin returned triumphantly on his horse, scurrying over to Li Shimin and wiping the bloodstains from the Imperial Seal of the State with his clothes.

Strangely enough, the Imperial Seal of the State was completely free of blood. Cheng Yaojin wiped it lightly, and all the bloodstains were wiped away without a trace, as if the Imperial Seal of the State itself disliked Wang Shichong's blood.

Li Shimin took the Imperial Seal of the State, raised it high in the sunlight, and looked up at the words "By the Mandate of Heaven, May Your Reign Be Long and Prosperous" on it, his heart surging with emotion!

"How about introducing me to your father? I'd love to see what kind of person would use the Imperial Seal of the State as bait."

"What kind of hero could raise such an outstanding son as you!"

Seeing Li Shimin raise the Imperial Seal that originally belonged to him, Dou Jiande felt a pang of jealousy and quickly interrupted.