Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

Early in the morning, the West Market of Chang'an City had just opened.

Li Tai then arrived in a grand procession with fifty empty carriages.

From the shadows, Zhao Si, a spy from the Hundred Cavalry Division, shouted anxiously:

"Quickly write this down. His Highness the Prince of Yue led fifty large carriages to the Crown Prince's Royal Trading Company."

Zhang Wu, standing nearby, excitedly said:

"His Highness the Prince of Yue is definitely on his way to buy the Crown Prince's fine steel crossbows and horse-slaying swords. His Highness is building a private army, preparing to fight the Eastern Palace to the death."

At the entrance of the Royal Trading Company, Cheng Chumo was picking his teeth with a toothpick in his mouth.

Li Tai stepped down from the carriage and called out to Cheng Chumo:

"Old Cheng! Call your manager out here."

Cheng Chumo quickly greeted him with a smile:

"Oh my, Your Highness the King of Yue, your presence is truly an honor to our humble abode."

What would you like to order? We just received a new batch of iron-slicing...

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Li Tai slammed a thick stack of tickets onto the counter.

"I don't buy those scraps of metal. I've heard you have fat sheep here, specially supplied from Liaodong? I'll buy them all."

Cheng Chumo's eyes darted around, and he immediately put on a pained expression:

"Your Highness, that's top-quality black goat, raised on water from Tianchi Lake and ginseng from Changbai Mountain. Its meat is incredibly tender. But the price..."

"Does this king lack money?"

Li Tai pointed to the tickets on the counter.

"Here is 100,000 strings of cash. Is that enough?"

"Enough! That's more than enough."

Cheng Chumo quickly called to the waiters,

"Quickly drive all two thousand sheep out of the backyard for His Highness the King of Yue."

Just then, Cheng Chumo leaned close to Li Tai's ear and mysteriously pulled out a small paper packet.

"Your Highness, sheep alone are not enough. Look at this."

Cheng Chumo carefully opened the paper package, revealing the yellowish-brown powder inside.

"What is this?"

Li Tai sniffed.

"The finest spice from the Western Regions is called cumin. Sprinkle a little on when roasting lamb, and the aroma will waft for three blocks. And this, the red one is called chili pepper; one bite and you'll sweat all over—it's incredibly refreshing."

This is exclusively for royal use, ten strings of cash for one tael, no bargaining!

Li Tai waved his hand:

"Give me 100 jin of each. And 50 of those special grills as well."

The two of them sang in unison, and in no time, the 100,000 strings of cash were completely spent.

Li Tai, satisfied, held the "Supreme Black Gold Card" and directed his servants to herd two thousand sheep back home in a grand procession.

To avoid suspicion, he even had a thick waterproof tarpaulin placed over the cart carrying the sheep.

On the second floor of a teahouse on the street corner, Cui Mingan and several heads of prominent families were standing by the window watching the passing motorcade below.

"Master Cui, look."

The head of the Wang family pointed to the creaking carriages weighed down by the weight of the horses.

"Fifty carts weighing so heavily must be carrying heavy armor and weapons."

Cui Mingan stroked his beard, nodding with admiration.

"Indeed! His Highness Prince Wei is indeed a man of great courage."

Although the men I sent last night were defeated, this only fueled Your Highness's fighting spirit.

He's stockpiling military supplies, preparing for a direct confrontation with the Crown Prince.

"So what should we do?"

"Tomorrow at the grand court assembly, all the officials from our five clans and seven noble families will be present to jointly submit a memorial requesting His Majesty's permission for the Prince of Wei to expand the size of the Literary Academy."

"As long as the King of Wei has men under his control, the Tang Dynasty will soon be in turmoil."

Cui Minqian sneered a few times.

Night falls at the Prince of Wei's residence.

The entire palace gates were tightly shut, but inside the high walls, flames soared into the sky and thick smoke billowed.

Zhao Si, a secret agent of the Hundred Cavalry Division, was perched on a large tree behind the Prince's Mansion. His eyes were watering from the fumes, but he still kept his eyes glued to the courtyard.

Dozens of bonfires were lit in the center of the courtyard, and hundreds of shirtless men were gathered around them.

In the firelight, these people held gleaming, sharp knives and were cutting something.

"Cut it into large pieces. Don't be stingy."

Li Tai stood on the steps and roared loudly.

"Sprinkle rouge! Sprinkle plenty. Nobody's leaving until you're all sweating from the spiciness."

Zhao Si trembled with fear.

Large chunks? Sprinkle with red powder?

He vaguely saw the red powder sprinkled on the fire, instantly producing a strange plume of red smoke that made people cough.

"not good!"

Zhao Si's heart pounded wildly.

"The King of Wei is forcing a blood oath. Those burly men must be assassins he secretly recruited. Is this red poison some kind of mind-controlling witchcraft?"

Zhao Si dared not linger, and slid down the tree trunk in a flash, running towards the direction of the palace.

Ganlu Temple.

Li Shimin was sitting at his desk, reviewing memorials from various regions.

Li Junxian rushed in and said:

"Your Majesty! There's been some activity at the Prince of Yue's residence."

Li Shimin put down the vermilion brush and leaned forward slightly:

"Oh? Qingque has made his move? How many weapons has he bought? How many retainers has he recruited?"

Li Junxian said with a solemn expression:

"Your Majesty, according to reports from our spies, His Highness the Prince of Yue spent 100,000 strings of cash today to purchase 50 cartloads of unidentified goods in the West Market."

Tonight, the palace is ablaze with flames, and over a hundred burly men have gathered there.

His Highness appears to be conducting some kind of mysterious ritual. They are wielding sharp blades and using a strange red powder.

Li Shimin was not angry at all; instead, he clapped his hands and laughed.

"Good! What a brilliant Qingque!"

I knew I hadn't misjudged him. He spent 100,000 strings of cash to purchase military supplies and summoned his loyal followers overnight to swear a blood oath.

This courage and method finally remind me a bit of myself back in the day.

Li Junxian was stunned.

Why is Your Majesty praising this? This is unauthorized military training!

"Your Majesty, if this matter escalates, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?"

Li Shimin waved his hand.

"I want him to cause trouble. If he doesn't cause trouble, how can I control the Crown Prince?"

Come, help me change my clothes.

"I want to personally visit the Yue Prince's residence to see just how capable Qingque's team truly is."