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

"How much...how much did you say?"

Li Shimin suddenly regretted why he hadn't pulled it out at the last moment.

"Eight thousand catties."

Li Chengqian spread his hands innocently.

"We originally wanted to make it a round number of 10,000 jin, but unfortunately the workshop's production capacity couldn't keep up, so we could only bury this much for now."

Li Shimin felt his vision go black and collapsed to the ground.

"His Majesty!"

Li Ji and Qin Qiong quickly stepped forward to help him up.

Cheng Yaojin went even further, constantly moving towards the entrance of the main hall.

As he moved, he kept his eyes on the floor tiles beneath his feet, afraid that they might explode at any moment.

"Get out of here!"

Li Shimin shoved Li Ji aside, pointed at Li Chengqian, and began to curse him.

"You madman! You actually buried eight thousand catties of gunpowder beneath my Taiji Palace?!"

Li Chengqian quickly stepped forward to calm his agitated father:

"Father, please don't get agitated. This is called a bottom-line defense mechanism. If Hou Junji really manages to break in today, I'll pull the trigger, and we'll all be sent flying. Nobody will be spared."

"Go to hell!"

Li Shimin angrily cursed.

"I'm not staying here anymore. I'm moving out today. Guards, I'm going to the Baqiao Camp. Let whoever wants to live in this dilapidated palace live there."

Li Shimin then turned to leave.

Li Chengqian grabbed his leg and hugged him tightly.

"Father, it's not that dangerous. As long as it doesn't come into contact with open flames, it won't explode even if you jump around on it."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Li Shimin struggled desperately,

"The fuse is in your Eastern Palace. If you fall asleep one day, or if some blind eunuch in the Eastern Palace lights a brazier, I won't even know how I died."

Li Chengqian held on tightly and wouldn't let go:

"I locked the fuse in an iron box in the basement, and I'm the only one who has the key."

Besides, the gunpowder was wrapped in moisture-proof tarpaulin, so it was absolutely foolproof.

"Let go of my hand!"

Li Shimin kicked Li Chengqian in the buttocks.

"How could I have given birth to such a bastard? Is this how you guard against the powerful families? You're clearly putting a knife to my throat."

"Oh dear, Erlang, how come your courage is getting worse as you get older?"

Li Yuan, who had been sitting on the sidelines watching the show, suddenly burst into wild laughter.

Li Shimin looked at his father with a face full of resentment:

"Father, this rebellious son has planted explosives under the palace! Aren't you afraid he'll be blown up to heaven while you're sleeping?"

"What are you afraid of?"

Li Yuan waved his hand dismissively.

"Gao Ming is prudent in his actions. Besides, Da'an Palace is quite a distance from Taiji Hall. If we were to bomb you, we would bomb you first, and it wouldn't affect me."

Li Shimin was so speechless that he couldn't utter a single word.

That makes a lot of sense.

Li Yuan walked up to Li Chengqian and nodded with a face full of admiration.

"Well done! That's how you should do things, but you're a bit cowardly. You should bury yourself under your father's bed."

Li Chengqian touched his nose shyly.

He did intend to bury gunpowder under Li Shimin's bed, but he refrained from doing so for the sake of his mother's safety.

Li Yuan turned to look at Li Shimin and said sarcastically:

"Look at you, where has your courage gone, when you once broke through 100,000 with only 3,000 men at Hulao Pass?"

Are you so easily scared by gunpowder these days?

"If this country were entrusted to you, you'd be drowned in the spittle of those civil officials sooner or later."

Li Shimin was scolded by his own father until his face turned red, but he couldn't refute him.

"Alright, get back here and stand properly."

Li Shimin looked at Cheng Yaojin, who had already moved to the doorway, and roared.

Cheng Yaojin slowly moved back, carefully avoiding the gaps between the floor tiles, afraid of stepping on something he shouldn't.

The atmosphere in Ganlu Hall finally eased a little.

Li Chengqian chuckled and pulled a roll of parchment from his sleeve, then walked to the center of the hall and spread it out.

"Father, Grandfather, let's continue discussing the territorial expansion plan we just discussed."

Li Shimin glanced at the parchment with annoyance. It was covered with messy lines, but one could barely make out that it depicted the terrain surrounding the Tang Dynasty.

"What are you up to now?"

Li Chengqian pointed to a large blank area on the map and spoke eloquently:

"Father, look, this is the Turkic Khaganate, this is the Tuyuhun Kingdom, and further west are the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions."

These places are nothing but lambs to the slaughter in the face of our Tang Dynasty's gunpowder weapons.

Li Shimin frowned and asked:

"Are you really planning to let Qingque and Lao San lead the troops to fight?"

"We have to go."

Li Chengqian nodded.

"Our Tang army will be equipped with muskets and cannons in the future. This is a completely new way of fighting."

Taking firearms to fight those barbarians on horseback and shooting arrows is like a strong man fighting a three-year-old child.

Why not give this easy military merit to our own brothers? Why let outsiders benefit from it?

Li Tai and Li Ke, standing behind, looked like they were about to cry.

Li Tai muttered to himself:

"Brother, I can't even hold a knife properly..."

"You don't need to bring a knife."

Li Chengqian turned around and glared at him.

"All you need to learn is how to light the cannon fuse."

Once you get to the front lines, you move a small stool to the back and eat roasted lamb leg, watching the cannons flatten the opposite city wall, and then send your infantry up to capture prisoners.

"It's that simple, can't your pig-brain learn it?"

Li Tai swallowed hard and dared not utter another word.

Li Shimin looked at the map, and his mind began to work.

If, as Li Chengqian said, gunpowder weapons could achieve absolute dominance, then the territory of the Tang Dynasty could indeed expand indefinitely.

"Brilliant! Are you sure you can keep the gunpowder formula a secret?"

Li Shimin still had some concerns.

"Father, rest assured, gunpowder is produced in three separate workshops, and the raw materials are not shared between them."

The final mixing process was entirely handled by my trusted henchmen.

Li Chengqian patted his chest and assured him.

"Even if Qingque and Lao San want to rebel in their fiefdom in the future, without my ammunition supply, their muskets will be nothing more than firewood."

Li Shimin remained silent for a long time.

Looking at his son, who was speaking eloquently, he suddenly realized that he could no longer understand him at all.

This kid's vision has long since transcended the small town of Chang'an; he's set his sights on the entire world.

"That's enough."

Li Shimin let out a long sigh.

"Since you've paved the way, I'll grant your request. I'll sit on the throne for you for now. I'll take care of the logistics in Chang'an."

Li Chengqian was overjoyed:

"Father is wise! With you in charge in Chang'an, I can seize money and territory without any worries."

Li Shimin waved his hand:

"Get out, get out, get your people out of Da'an Palace right now. I get annoyed just looking at you."

"Your subject takes his leave!"

Li Chengqian quickly rolled up the map, turned around and beckoned Cheng Yaojin and the others to walk outside.

As he passed Li Tai and Li Ke, he casually slapped each of them on the back of the head.

"What are you waiting for? Go back to your residence, pack your bags, and report to the Ministry of War tomorrow."

The two brothers covered their heads and ran out looking aggrieved.

Li Yuan watched Li Chengqian's departing figure and said with a smile:

"Erlang, your son is truly remarkable."

Li Shimin shook his head with a wry smile.

I was still thinking about whether to move to the outskirts of the city today.