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

Holy crap!

When Li Yu heard Lao Niu mention his name, he instantly lost all sleepiness and shrank his neck, ready to slip out of the banquet.

Old Niu was clearly drunk too, but if you're drunk, why did you drag me out?

"Oh? This lad possesses such talent? Why have I never heard of him before?"

Standing on the table, Li Er glanced around and spotted the timid Li Yu, so he beckoned him over.

"Your Highness, this young man previously exchanged poems with the Keming family's son on the Baoxie Ancient Road. Although this old minister couldn't understand the nuances, he simply thought it was excellent!"

Niu Jinda continued to fuel the flames, seemingly determined to get Li Yu to compose a poem on the spot.

Upon hearing this, Li Er burst into laughter: "Boy, did you hear that? Jinda said that your poetic talent is exquisite, even to a rough man like him. Why don't you compose one and recite it for us?"

Li Yu, who had been called over, stood below, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "This kid doesn't know anything about poetry, but..."

"Just do what I tell you to do, stop talking nonsense, you don't know what's good for you!" Li Er interrupted impatiently.

"..."

"Yes, sir. But what topic do you want me to compose a poem on?"

Li Er looked around, his gaze settling on the military map hanging on the wall. He said, "I plan to recover Henan and Hebei before winter. How about you compose a poem on this theme, about my imminent victory over Luoyang?"

After hearing Li Er's request, Li Yu pondered for a moment, then his eyes darted around, and a wicked thought crossed his mind. He said, "No problem, please grant me a brush and ink!"

Upon hearing this, Li Er's face broke into a smile, and he waved his hand, saying, "Someone! Bring a brush and grind the ink!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several maids came up carrying writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

After the maid had prepared the ink, Li Yu picked up his brush and began to write with great flourish on the paper. Before long, a seven-character quatrain appeared on the paper.

After finishing the poem, Li Yu presented it to Li Er.

Li Er took it, glanced at it, and then scolded, "The characters are like scribbles, completely lacking in structure; what kind of style is this!"

After reprimanding Li Yu, he began reading the contents of the paper. What he saw surprised him.

Seeing Li Er's reaction, Changsun Wuji also came over, muttered the contents of the paper twice, and stared wide-eyed in surprise.

"When autumn comes on the ninth day of the ninth month, my flowers will bloom and all other flowers will wither."

The fragrance of incense fills the eastern capital, and the entire city is adorned in golden armor.

After Changsun Wuji read the poem aloud, the scene fell completely silent.

After a long while, everyone came to their senses.

"Boy, did you really write this poem?" Li Er asked in surprise.

"This poem was indeed written by you, young man..."

Li Yu rolled his eyes, finding these people utterly boring. He didn't want to write poetry, yet he insisted on dragging himself into it; and after he did, they were always suspicious and paranoid.

Li Er remained unconvinced and continued to press, "Poetry emphasizes imagery and atmosphere, so why can you just spout it off so easily?"

Li Yu had a solution to Li Er's question. He explained, "You asked me to write this poem on the theme of your imminent victory over Luoyang. I recalled your heroic battles and thought that taking Luoyang would be a piece of cake for you. So I composed this poem."

After hearing Li Yu's explanation, Li Er nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something, narrowing his eyes as he asked, "When have you ever seen me on the battlefield?"

"Previously at Xuanwu Gate..."

Snapped!

You really know how to bring up the most sensitive topic!

So Li Yu, who had been slapped, vowed never to recite another single line of poetry to Li Er again!

He had previously felt it was somewhat immoral to use Huang Chao's poem to congratulate Li Er on his victory, but now, thinking about it, he didn't find it inappropriate at all...

.........

When the king sets out to lead his troops, his scribes accompany him on his campaigns.

The ancestral tents connect to the twin towers, and the military banners shake the capital.

It took five days to clean up the traces left by Li Er at Xuanwu Gate.

Five days later, despite the advice of his officials, Li Er insisted on personally leading the campaign against Luoyang. In front of all the civil and military officials, he vowed to conquer Hebei and Henan before winter and complete the unification of the Central Plains.

To be fair, Li Er's excellent quality of keeping his word is something Li Yu should learn from.

He said he would personally lead the expedition, and he dared to make a vow in public that he would complete the unification before winter, even though no one believed his boastful words.

Of course, Li Yu is an exception.

After all, in history, Li Er (Li Er) accomplished the feat of capturing two kings in one battle in less than a year, and that year still includes the time spent on military campaigns.

Now, Wang and Dou have been severely weakened by Li Xuanba's defeat, and their forces are far less powerful than before. Moreover, with Li Xuanba leading the vanguard, Li Er has a thorough understanding of the current situation in Luoyang.

So if he could spend less effort on the march, he might actually be able to return in triumph before winter...

However, he did hope that Li Er could return to the capital later, since he had just caused a big problem at a banquet five days ago.

Enraged, Li Er arbitrarily assigned the task of "re-composing the Qin King's Battle Song" to Li Yu.

That damned Li Er!

All I did was complain a couple of times at the banquet, saying that the pipa performance was devoid of emotion and made people want to fall asleep.

Who the hell knew that this was actually "The Qin King's Battle Song"? And it's almost completely different from what I've heard in later generations!

"Who told you to drink so much? I told you the wine made from grapes in the palace is a rare and strong liquor, but you wouldn't listen..." Fearing that he would suffer at Li Yu's hands, Li Chengqian kept his distance and made sarcastic remarks.

"Huh?" Li Yu stared at Li Chengqian suspiciously. "We're both about the same level of drinking, so why aren't you talking nonsense?"

"Me?" Li Chengqian pointed to himself, then said embarrassedly, "The more banquets I attend, the higher my alcohol tolerance naturally becomes."

"So you've been sneaking drinks every time? Fine! Believe me or not, I'll tell your mother about this!" Li Yu said maliciously.

"No! No!" Li Chengqian smiled ingratiatingly. "It's just rewriting a piece of music! I'll help you."

"You?" Li Yu asked, half-believing, "I've never heard of you being knowledgeable in music."

"I certainly can't play the pipa, but there are others who can!" Li Chengqian pointed in the direction of Taiji Palace: "My imperial grandfather is a master pipa player, let's go! Let's go and ask him for help."

"Come on!" Li Yu shook off Li Chengqian's hand, which was gripping his arm, and said with a sigh, "His Majesty is currently at odds with your father. If we ask him to recompose the Battle Formation Music, it would be no different than stabbing him in the heart..."

"..."

Li Chengqian had clearly forgotten about his father's messy affairs, and for a moment he was stunned.

"Let's go! Follow me to Old Immortal Sun's medicine hut." Li Yu nudged the dazed Li Chengqian, wondering what the guy was thinking about.

"Huh?" Li Chengqian snapped out of his daze and looked at Li Yu with confusion. "What are you going there for?"

"I suddenly thought of someone..."

.........