Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

"Well done!"

Seeing Li Chengzong being beaten to the ground by Li Yu and clutching his head, Li Chengqian felt a surge of satisfaction!

So he grabbed a stick and charged at Li Chengzong.

As for Li Ke, who had been beaten the worst before, he was the same, swinging his stick and hitting Li Chengzong's face repeatedly.

Having served in the military, Li Chengzong, who had been beaten with sticks for a long time, recovered just as the three were getting into the swing of things. In the chaos, he grabbed the stick that Li Chengqian was hitting and swung it, sending Li Chengqian flying.

So the stick fell into Li Chengzong's hands, and Li Yu and Li Ke were naturally unlucky, being knocked to the ground by Li Chengzong, who was bruised and swollen.

At this moment, Li Chengzong was like a mad lion. Seeing that Li Yu and Li Ke were already lying on the ground, he picked up a stick and went to find Li Chengqian, whom he had just thrown away.

No sooner had he half-closed his eyes and rushed out of the miasma than he saw a chubby little boy appear on the other side, thumping towards him.

Because the incident happened so suddenly, before he could react, Li Chengzong was knocked to the ground by Li Tai, spitting out saliva mixed with blood.

"Well done, Bluebird!"

Upon seeing Li Tai suddenly appear, Li Yu was overjoyed and quickly lit two more smoke bombs and threw them over.

Li Chengzong, who was knocked to the ground, was also choked by the fumes. For a moment, he felt that his nasal cavity was filled with the smell of blood and the pungent smell of smoke.

Just as he was about to gag a couple of times, he felt another stick being blown towards him by the wind.

"Stop fighting! Stop fighting! I give up! I surrender!"

At this point, Li Chengzong had no strength left and could only curl up on the ground and beg for mercy.

But Li Yu never put up with this kind of despicable person, so the three of them fought even more fiercely.

Li Tai, who had also been bullied by Li Chengzong, joined the fray. After searching around without finding a suitable weapon, he could only squeeze in whenever possible amidst the chaos, occasionally adding a kick or two as a form of revenge…

The chaos attracted the attention of the Imperial Guard Commander who was patrolling the streets.

That's outrageous! That's incredibly audacious!

In broad daylight, people were fighting in the streets of Chang'an.

He cursed under his breath and ordered two of his men to capture Li Yu and his group and send them to the Dali Temple.

"Wait!"

Changsun Chong appeared out of nowhere and, together with Du He who was keeping watch, stopped the Jinwu Guard.

"The ones who assaulted people are a few princes, grandsons of the current emperor, so I advise you to mind your own business."

When Wu Hou looked at the two people blocking his way, he saw that they were dressed in brocade robes and had jade pendants hanging from their waists that were enough to feed his whole family for a year. He figured they must be noble young masters from some family.

Such people are only good for keeping watch, which suggests that the person who actually started the fight might really be a prince or grandson of the emperor.

So the Imperial Guard Lieutenant General shook his head and left, pretending not to have seen anything...

Since the Marquis of Wu dared not intervene, others would. Just as Changsun Chong was enjoying the spectacle, he heard an angry shout from not far away: "Stop!"

As the chaos gradually subsided, everyone was so frightened that they dared not move...

They were caught alive by Li Er during a street fight.

There was no other way, so the four of them were carried to the Crown Prince's residence by Li Er and Li Xuanba, one in each hand.

.........

Li Jiancheng was so worried that he couldn't even eat lunch.

He couldn't understand when his father's system of checks and balances would be used.

While maintaining his position as crown prince, he continuously delegated power to his second brother.

Good heavens! Li Shimin's side has run out of seals to keep!

And so, even after he pacified Jiangnan and annihilated Xiao Xian and others, he was still given the title of General of Heavenly Strategy and allowed to establish his own government and appoint officials.

This puts his position as the Crown Prince in a rather awkward position.

Who are Fang Qiao, Du Ruhui, and Changsun Wuji?

Who are Qin Qiong, Cheng Zhijie, and Yuchi Jingde?

He only had Wei Zheng and Wang Gui as his top talents, but compared to his second brother's men, they were far inferior in strategy.

As for the Xue brothers, even if they were all combined, they wouldn't be enough to defeat the second brother alone.

Moreover, there's Li Jing, this enigmatic fellow, who seems to be quite close to his second brother in private.

What's worse is that Hebei and Henan are still not peaceful, and he and Yuanji have tried to pacify them several times but have returned empty-handed.

Looking at his second brother, he had absolutely no intention of volunteering for the campaign. Li Jiancheng believed that, given his personality, his brother was absolutely confident in pacifying Henan and Hebei.

If his father were to force him to personally lead the expedition, he dared not even imagine how powerful the Tian Ce Mansion would become after the triumphant return.

How will I handle this situation? Will I rely on forming an alliance with Li Yuanji?

He never believed that his fourth brother, who had been abandoned since childhood, would honestly help him ascend the throne...

.........

Just as he was about to have the maid remove the food, the steward came to announce, "Your Highness, the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Zhao request an audience!"

"Oh?"

Li Jiancheng, who was about to go to his study, paused for a moment, then asked, "Did they bring anyone with them?"

"Your Highness, the two princes each brought their own young prince, and..."

"And what!" the butler stammered, which made him very impatient.

"And our young master was even carried back..."

After he finished speaking, the steward stood by and secretly observed his master's expression. However, he was surprised to find that Li Jiancheng's face was completely expressionless.

"Chengzong? That rebellious son has indeed gone off to cause trouble again."

After a pause, Li Jiancheng instructed the steward, "Let them all in!"

Watching the butler's departing figure, Li Jiancheng's expression suddenly shifted from calm to somewhat uncertain...

"Father! Father! Please do justice for your child!"

As soon as he was carried in, Li Chengzong, whose head had been beaten into a pig's head, wailed to his father.

"Shut up! Your second and third uncles are right here, who gave you the right to speak!"

After scolding Li Chengzong until he fell silent, Li Jiancheng looked at his two younger brothers and chuckled, "My son is unruly; I don't know where he got himself into this state again. You two uncles should be more lenient. Come, come! Let's sit down and talk!"

As he spoke, he also brewed tea for the two of them.

Seeing this, Li Er did not sit down, but instead cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, you misunderstand. This matter has nothing to do with Zong'er. It is because my brothers have not disciplined him properly that these boys have acted so recklessly. Please punish them, Your Majesty!"

After saying that, he ordered Li Yu and the others to kneel down.

Li Chengqian and the other two seemed quite adept at it, and without saying a word, they knelt directly in front of Li Jiancheng.

Li Yu, however, was extremely opposed to kneeling.

However, when he saw his father winking at him, he could only reluctantly kneel down.

"Oh?"

Li Jiancheng glanced at his son, whose head had been beaten into a pig's head, and then at the four boys kneeling in a row. He did not stop what he was doing.

A moment later, he turned his gaze to Li Yu, who was kneeling in the middle: "The last time I saw you was at the Taiji Palace. You were quite the talkative little fellow. Come! Tell your uncle, why did you fight with your cousin?"

Seeing that the Crown Prince had turned his attention to him, Li Yu had no choice but to recount the whole story to him.

"Chengzong struck first, and you all beat him to this state. Since that's the case, I won't show favoritism. How about each of you receive twenty strokes of the cane?"

As he finished speaking, Li Jiancheng glanced at Li Er and Li Xuanba, as if asking if they were satisfied with the outcome…

.........