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

Yanzhou.

Li Jiancheng returned to the Prince of Yan's residence, seeking the prince's guidance.

Upon hearing Li Jiancheng's confusion, the Prince of Yan smiled knowingly.

"If you really can't decide, then stay in Yanzhou. There's still a lot you need to learn in physics and chemistry."

Li Jiancheng: "..."

"Yes, teacher."

Li Jiancheng stayed in Yanzhou, refusing the fate that Li Yuan had arranged for him to become Li Shimin's rival.

Li Yuan was furious in the palace, but when facing Yanzhou and the Prince of Yan, even as the emperor, he felt powerless.

Compared to the Wei family, what are the Five Families and Seven Noble Families? What are the contemporary prominent schools of thought? They are all insignificant.

This was a colossal entity that truly surpassed imperial power, suffocating Emperor Li Yuan.

"Do you really think that without you, I can't keep the second son in check?"

"I have many sons."

Since Li Jiancheng was no longer a suitable candidate, Li Yuan quickly selected another son from among his own, the fifth prince, Prince Chu, Li Zhiyun.

He repeatedly praised the Fifth Prince's filial piety among the court officials and often bestowed various gifts upon him.

He also turned a blind eye to the Fifth Prince's formation of a faction and his attempts to win over court officials, which was quite indicative of his indulgence of the Fifth Prince and the establishment of his own faction.

Li Zhiyun was not someone Li Shimin took seriously.

He lacked ability and status, and was not even a legitimate son, so he posed almost no threat.

The following year, Li Jing recovered the Western Regions, and Li Yuan appointed Li Jing as the Grand General of the Western Garrison and Duke of Wei, leading troops to guard the Western Regions, thus crippling Li Shimin.

Most of the troops Li Jing led to guard the Western Regions were former subordinates of Li Shimin. Now that they were needed to guard the Western Regions, they could not return to Li Shimin and thus became an obstacle to Li Shimin's rule.

As supporters of Li Shimin, Li Jing and a group of generals were trapped in the Western Regions by this edict and were not allowed to return to the capital without it.

Only Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, and Zhang Gongjin had been recalled by Li Shimin before this, thus escaping punishment and becoming one of the few generals Li Shimin could utilize.

In July, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui again urged Li Shimin to take action against the fifth prince, Prince Chu, Li Zhiyun, but Li Shimin refused, citing the emperor's protection.

The Prince of Chu pressed forward relentlessly, while the Crown Prince's residence retreated step by step, causing widespread panic. Someone relayed to Li Zhiyun the news that Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui had advised Li Shimin to take action against the Prince of Chu, Li Zhiyun.

Li Zhiyun was shocked and rushed to the palace to appeal to Li Yuan, accusing Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui of sowing discord between brothers. Li Yuan was furious and issued an edict reprimanding them, stripping Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui of their official positions, and ordering them to be imprisoned.

Li Shimin pleaded for their lives, offering his own military merits as a substitute, which saved the two from imprisonment, but they were no longer allowed to enter the capital.

Li Shimin finally received the signal that Li Yuan was going to take action against his core group, to cut off their fangs and claws one by one. Without these wings, Li Shimin would become a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.

Li Yuan knew he couldn't hide his actions any longer, so the next day he issued several decrees, assigning Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, Zhang Gongjin, and others to various regions as local officials, stripping them of their military power in the capital, and even prohibiting them from appearing in the capital.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Li Yuan ordered them to depart immediately, and had a eunuch sent by the court watch them leave Chang'an.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui used a secret passage to meet Li Shimin in a private residence.

Fang Xuanling: "My achievements are immeasurable, and Heaven's mandate rests upon me. If I do not make a decision today, I will surely suffer the consequences!"

Du Ruhui: "To strike first and gain the upper hand is a gift from Heaven; to not seize it will only bring misfortune!"

Upon seeing Li Shimin, the two immediately offered their advice.

"If I strike first, I will be condemned for all eternity and it will be impossible to wash away my infamy."

"Let them make the first move; we can strike later and arrive first, and future generations will understand."

Li Shimin was still hesitating.

"The King of Chu is now fully powerful. If he really wants to make a move, he must have made thorough preparations."

"To arrive late and arrive early is an easy way of putting it, but with our current forces in the capital, we'll only be hacked to death."

"Your Highness now has only two choices: one, to sit and wait for death, until the other side makes a move, the country is overthrown, and you are ready to be slaughtered."

Second, strike first to gain the upper hand.

Fang Xuanling continued to analyze the situation for Li Shimin, "I urge Your Highness to make a decision today. If Your Majesty intends to sit and wait for death, Kemin and I will leave Luoyang immediately and live in seclusion, refusing to concern ourselves with worldly affairs, in order to avoid being attacked by weapons and bringing disaster upon our families."

"It wasn't just His Highness who was offered his neck for execution, but also the Crown Princess, several young princes, and the young princess."

Du Ruhui added, "How pitiful, how pitiful! Such a young child, such a well-behaved child, just because of their father's indecisiveness, the whole family was reunited in the underworld at such a young age."

"How ridiculous! Their father values ​​brotherhood, but do their uncles value it?"

Li Shimin's heart stirred, and he touched the small wooden sword on his wrist. It was carved by Li Chengqian himself afterward, so that he could carry it with him at all times and never leave his side.

"My mind is made up. You will send a message to Shubao and the others, telling them to kill the people watching them after leaving Luoyang, return to Luoyang through the secret passage, contact their old subordinates, and gather more men."

"Remember, it must be a reliable person!"

Li Shimin exhaled a breath of turbid air and handed Du Ruhui a token, which was his Crown Prince token. Seeing the token was like seeing the person, and it was used to allow Qin Qiong and others to summon his old generals.

He fought across the land for many years, achieving countless merits. Countless imperial guards in the capital had fought under his command.

"Xuanling, take this. Gather the forces of the Prince of Qin's mansion. They don't need to lift a finger. They just need to step in and help me stabilize the court after the matter is done."

Li Shimin handed over another token, which surprisingly had the words "Jiancheng" written on it.

After deciding to stay in Yanzhou City, Li Jiancheng sent his token to Li Shimin and sent his troops to help Li Shimin.

"promise!"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui showed their joy. Li Shimin had finally made up his mind. Although it was a bit late, the power of the Crown Prince's Palace had been dismantled. But they believed that as long as Li Shimin was there, they would never lose.

Ultimately, this country was conquered by Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, while Li Yuan was the one who reaped the benefits. Li Shimin's influence permeated the entire city of Luoyang.

Not to mention that now there is Li Jiancheng's help. The three founding generals, Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, are standing together, leaving only the female general Li Xiuning.

Li Yuan is a mere figurehead with an unstable foundation; he is not worth worrying about.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui had already made arrangements, waiting only for Li Shimin to make a decision.

Now that Li Shimin has finally made up his mind, they have awakened all the hidden pieces they had laid out before.

With the combined cover of the Crown Prince's residence and the Prince of Qin's residence, a dark web enveloped the entire city of Luoyang. Apart from a handful of people, even Li Yuan failed to notice it.

Those who noticed remained silent and watched coldly.

Li Yuan's actions were indeed unpopular.