The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"These two... probably just ran into me out of curiosity and followed me."

"It's very likely they came to find me on purpose."

After parting ways with Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang, Chen Huai'an pondered silently.

Looking up at the East Palace gate that was right in front of him, Chen Huai'an smiled and stepped inside with ease.

Soon, he was invited into the Xiande Hall.

He thought he would be alone today, but to his surprise, Chen Huai'an saw many familiar faces as soon as he entered.

The civil officials Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, and the military generals Li Jing, Yuchi Gong, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Xue Wanche were all present.

"Huai'an, come, sit down." Li Shimin smiled when he saw him arrive, pointing to a seat, "You've come rather late today."

"You'll have to punish yourself with a drink later!"

Du Ruhui smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, we've been waiting for you. His Majesty just said he would send someone to invite you again."

Chen Huai'an waved his hands repeatedly: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I encountered some things on the way and was delayed."

Changsun Wuji asked curiously, "I wonder what happened to the Duke of Anguo?"

Chen Huai'an chuckled and said, "I met two fortune tellers who said I had a special destiny, so they've been following me ever since."

"As you know, I've been ambushed before. When I first realized someone was following me, I thought they were killers."

"Fortunately, the misunderstanding has been cleared up, but it has taken up some time. I will punish myself with a drink later."

It turned out to be the case.

Everyone suddenly realized what was happening and burst into laughter.

Li Shimin's gaze shifted slightly, and he changed the subject, saying, "I have invited you all here today for two reasons. Officials from various prefectures in Lingnan have jointly submitted a memorial accusing Chief Feng Ang of plotting a rebellion!"

"I intend to send troops to pacify Lingnan. What do you think?"

When serious matters were brought up, everyone became serious.

Chen Huai'an also understood why Li Jing and the others were there.

Du Ruhui pondered for a moment and said, "Feng Ang of Lingnan is plotting a rebellion... Can this be confirmed?"

"He submitted to our Great Tang in the fifth year of Wude. Although he controlled more than 20 prefectures and 100,000 households of tribes, there has been no sign of rebellion for many years."

"Things can't be viewed that way," Fang Xuanling shook his head and said, "As you just said, Feng Ang controls more than twenty prefectures and 100,000 households of tribes. Although there have been no signs of actual rebellion over the years, he has never come to the court to report on his duties."

"He has been maintaining a military presence in the local area and has not paid homage to the emperor for a long time."

"This in itself is a form of disloyalty!"

Changsun Wuji wholeheartedly agreed: "That's right. Since Lady Xian, the Feng family has been the de facto rulers of Lingnan, possessing independent private armies and financial power."

"Now that we're even taking back military and financial control over the borders, how can Lingnan be an exception?"

"In fact, if we're talking about sending troops to the Turks, I'd prefer to complete the unification first, and Feng Ang's situation is almost the same as Liang Shidu's."

"No!" Yuchi Gong said solemnly, "What is Liang Shidu anyway? We're just currently too busy to deal with him. If we could, we could take care of him easily."

"The Turks are already preoccupied with their own problems; who would care about this dog?"

"Feng Ang is different."

"He occupies Lingnan, which is far from Chang'an. The mountains and rivers are dangerous and the miasma is rampant. It is very difficult for his army to overcome these difficulties when he sends troops to fight against him."

"More importantly, Lingnan, which was under Feng Ang's control, had a very developed overseas trade due to its special location, connecting with maritime trade with Southeast Asia and Persia. Moreover, Lingnan implemented a special tax system, levying rice taxes per household and not calculating rent, labor service and tax based on the number of adult males."

"Lingnan can be said to have both money and grain!"

"Most importantly... people from Lingnan are good at fighting and united!"

After the last sentence was spoken, everyone fell silent.

People from Lingnan are known for their fighting skills.

The Feng family served as military commanders in Lingnan for generations, and their tribal troops were extremely effective in the mountainous and jungle environments of Lingnan.

During the Renshou era of the Sui Dynasty, the Liao people of five prefectures including Chao and Cheng rebelled. Feng Ang personally went north to request troops and discussed the war situation with Yang Su, a famous prime minister of the Sui Dynasty. Yang Su was amazed and said, "I never expected that such people would be born among the barbarians." Subsequently, Feng Ang led the Lingnan troops to quell the rebellion in one fell swoop.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Gao Facheng and Xian Baoche, bandit leaders in Guangzhou, rebelled. Feng Ang led his army to confront them. As soon as the two armies clashed, he took off his helmet and shouted, "Do you recognize me?"

Most of the enemy soldiers immediately abandoned their weapons and knelt down in worship. Feng Ang defeated the rebel army without shedding a drop of blood, which shows his prestige in Lingnan and the loyalty of his troops.

Pacifying Lingnan would be extremely difficult.

Li Shimin pondered for a moment and asked, "Huai'an, is the national treasury currently sufficient to support a military expedition?"

Chen Huai'an nodded slightly: "Of course, the current national treasury can support the dispatch of troops without any problem. However, my suggestion is to first quell Liang Shidu. As for Feng Ang... I believe he has no intention of rebelling."

"Hmm?" Li Shimin raised his eyebrows. "Why do you say that? Officials from more than a dozen prefectures in Lingnan have jointly submitted a memorial accusing Feng Ang of plotting a rebellion."

"And I have received such memorials many times."

Chen Huai'an strongly disagreed: "The officials who denounced Feng Ang were all local officials, not central government officials."

"There are inherent conflicts of interest among the various prefectures and counties in Lingnan. It cannot be ruled out that some local officials used accusations of rebellion to suppress dissent and curry favor with the imperial court."

"Although I am not clear about the contents of the memorial, I think there must be exaggeration and personal bias involved."

"To find out whether Feng Ang was plotting a rebellion or not, it's actually quite simple: just send an envoy to persuade him to surrender, and you'll know the result."

"It is too hasty to send troops based solely on the memorials of some local officials in Lingnan."

Yuchi Gong nodded in agreement: "The Duke of Anguo is right. If possible, it would be best to recover Lingnan without bloodshed."

"We have enough provisions and a large army to send troops to Lingnan, so we might as well fight Liang Shidu, who is the real rebel in name only."

"At the very least, Feng Ang is nominally loyal to our Great Tang."

Their words won the approval of many people.

After careful consideration, Li Shimin also felt that it was a bit hasty to conclude that Feng Ang was plotting a rebellion based solely on the memorials of some local officials in Lingnan. It would be good to send an envoy to test the waters.

"Alright, it's decided then." Li Shimin raised his wine cup. "Gentlemen, we've finally gathered here today. Let's put aside state affairs and not leave. Let's drink until we're completely drunk!"

Just then, Chen Huai'an hadn't finished eating, and seeing that Li Shimin had spoken, everyone happily began to eat and drink.

For a time, the emperor and his ministers chatted happily, and Li Shimin even summoned dancers to entertain them.

The hall was filled with laughter and chatter, punctuated by occasional applause and exclamations of praise.

After several rounds of drinks, Li Shimin, slightly drunk, suddenly looked at Chen Huai'an and said, "Huai'an, the Tang Dynasty owes its current prosperity to you."

"Your Majesty is too kind." Chen Huai'an was also a little drunk. They were drinking Meirenguan liquor, which is a strong liquor.

"Speaking of which, Huai'an has such great talent, who is his teacher? How could he have taught such a person of extraordinary talent as you?" Li Shimin asked with great interest.

Chen Huai'an paused for a moment, then raised his wine glass, leaned against the pillar, looking carefree yet slightly drunk.

"Master-disciple lineage? I have no master-disciple lineage whatsoever!"

"As for what I've learned... hahaha!" He suddenly threw his head back and laughed wildly, then raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"The Jade Capital in the heavens, with its twelve towers and five cities!"

"An immortal touched my head, granting me eternal life!"

"......"