Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 96 This brat is forcing me into this mess!

"To allow the Tang Dynasty to use up hundreds of years' worth of gold and iron ore?!"

When Li Shimin heard Wen He say those words, his breathing became heavy.

What the Tang Dynasty lacks most right now is iron.

Driven by his ambition to conquer the world, this Heavenly Khan needed a large quantity of weapons and armor.

All of these require iron ore.

And gold.

Both the national treasury and the private treasury are now almost as clean as one's face.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs can't even afford to repair the palace for him.

He had to save every penny to guard against the Turks and to expand his military.

Now that Wen He has placed such a vast treasure trove before him, how could he not be tempted?

This land seems to be closer to the Tang Dynasty than Europe.

However, to get to this place, one must pass through the Western Regions forces such as Tuyuhun and Tubo.

In addition, there is a large food.

Li Shimin knew of this country in his early years; during the Sui Dynasty, envoys from the Abbasid Caliphate came to Chang'an.

However, at that time, Yang Guang's focus was on Goguryeo, so he did not learn about the Abbasid Caliphate.

Moreover, there were Tibetans, Tuyuhun, and Turks present.

Li Shimin also believed that the Tang Dynasty would not be able to come into contact with the Abbasid Caliphate for at least a few years.

But he knew he couldn't rush things at this moment.

Even the Tang Dynasty couldn't rush things.

Otherwise, he would follow in the footsteps of Emperor Yang of Sui.

"enough."

Li Shimin suddenly stopped Wen He.

He stopped drawing the map of what would later be known as the "lighthouse nation."

He knew that Li Shimin needed some time to process this.

The latter covered his head and sighed deeply.

Li Chengqian quickly served him a cup of tea, which he gulped down almost half of.

Wen He also said that his mouth was dry. Remembering the honey water that Li Tai had brought him earlier, he picked it up and poured it into his mouth.

"puff!"

The Sichuan peppercorns exploded in his mouth, and he felt as if his cerebral cortex was about to fly away, as if he had eaten a mouthful of Sichuan peppercorns.

This spray landed directly on Li Tai's face.

Everyone was shocked.

"What are you doing, you brat!" Li Shimin was both amused and exasperated when he saw his son's outburst and his fourth son's dazed expression.

"Who poured my tea and put so much Sichuan peppercorn in it?!"

Wen He hissed and quickly bit her tongue before she could feel its presence.

"what?"

Li Shimin was puzzled and went forward to take a look, only to find that Wen He was drinking tea, not honey water.

"Who brought this?" Li Shimin asked angrily.

Wenzhong left after delivering the items, so only the three little ones are here now.

Li Ke, who was standing to the side, pointed at Li Tai.

"Sir, I didn't mean to. I thought you would like to drink it. My father likes to drink Sichuan peppercorn tea."

Li Tai wiped the tea off his face, looking extremely panicked.

He stood there, completely at a loss.

"You little rascal, sigh, never mind." Li Shimin shook his head, both amused and exasperated, and glanced at the unfinished map on the table.

"Seeing your condition, I can no longer continue. It's getting late, so let's call it a day."

He has managed to spare this little bit of time today, which is quite rare for him.

Unexpectedly, Li Tai's bowl of tea caused all the trouble.

Wen He's mouth felt numb, and his speech was unclear. Li Shimin didn't want to make things difficult for him.

Wen He grunted in response, indicating that he would have stopped even if Li Shimin hadn't said so.

That tea had a really strong aftereffect.

He can't even feel his tongue anymore.

"Father, I... I miss Mother. I want to go back with you first."

Seeing that Li Shimin was about to leave, Li Tai quickly went up and grabbed his sleeve.

Li Shimin paused, and seeing his panicked expression, he knew that he was not interested in Empress Zhangsun.

He was simply afraid that Wen He would retaliate against him.

"Don't worry, your husband isn't petty," Li Shimin said, patting his head to reassure him.

Li Tai was dumbfounded.

Isn't he?

Li Tai turned to look at Wen He, only to see the latter wearing a "kind" smile.

He couldn't help but shuddered.

When he turned around again, he saw that Li Shimin had already walked far away, leaving only Li Chengqian standing in front of him. "Why didn't you leave?" Wen He asked, puzzled.

“My father said that since both of my younger brothers are here, and I am also a student of the teacher, I should naturally stay as well,” Li Chengqian said, cupping his hands in greeting.

He felt incredibly grateful to Wen He at that moment.

Just now, when he was most nervous, it was the gentleman who helped him out of the predicament.

If it were Mr. Kong or Mr. Zhang from before, they would probably have scolded him in front of his father.

"Well, this place really looks like a kindergarten." Wen He sighed helplessly.

He casually packed his things, and as for Li Tai, he couldn't be bothered to care.

That child ultimately meant well but did something wrong.

"Huh, where's my binoculars?" Wen He searched everywhere but couldn't find them.

He turned to look at the three little ones beside him, only to see that they all awkwardly avoided his gaze.

Wen He suddenly realized what was going on and asked with a smile, "Did His Highness the Crown Prince take it?"

He smiled kindly, and Li Tai and Li Ke consciously took a step back.

Only Li Chengqian stood there dumbfounded, nodding: "Sir, Father took it just now."

"I see. So it was His Highness the Crown Prince who took it. Hmm, good."

Wen He nodded with a smile, then turned to look at the bowl of tea he had just drunk half of.

"Li Tai, you just embarrassed your teacher. I'm punishing you to sweep the pigsty for half a month. Also, you two are his older brothers and didn't set a good example. You'll both sweep for half a month!"

Damn Li Er.

How dare a prince like himself steal my things!

I can't do anything about you, but I can't do anything about your three sons?
“Sir, it was Father who took it.”

"Yeah, it has nothing to do with us."

Li Tai and Li Chengqian panicked.

Only Li Ke stood there, unperturbed, gazing at the sky.

Sweep, sweep, he's already been sweeping the pigsty for almost several days now, so another half month or so doesn't seem to matter.

"Stop arguing, or we'll add another half month."

Wen He glared at him, and the Li brothers immediately shut their mouths, feeling wronged.

Never mind, I'll just scan it.

Consider it the son paying for the father's debt.

"Sigh, my binoculars." Wen He sighed. He hadn't even had a chance to show them to Xiao Rou yet.

Forget it, let's just build another one.

However, although Wen He said that he would make the three little ones clean the pigsty for half a month, he actually canceled the punishment after only a few days.

Because Li Shimin sent someone to deliver the land deeds.

For the sake of those hundreds of acres of land, he decided not to argue with Li Er.

Upon hearing this news, Li Shimin, who was in the Eastern Palace, was furious and berated Wen He with Empress Zhangsun: "That good-for-nothing, that greedy peasant, actually made my son clean the pigsty for him just for a broken mirror!"

"Your Highness, wasn't it your intention to hone Gao Ming's skills? Why are you angry?" Empress Zhangsun chuckled.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin sighed helplessly.

"Never mind, at least Qingque and Ke'er are indeed different from before." He shook his head and sat down behind the table.

Empress Zhangsun placed a cup of tea in front of him.

Looking down, he suddenly noticed a very strange painting in front of Li Shimin.

It looks like a map.

Just as she was wondering, she heard Li Shimin sigh deeply: "This brat is forcing me. He first thinks about my own weakness and the vastness of the world."

"This world."

Li Shimin slammed his hand on the table.

He knew perfectly well that Wen He didn't mean it that way.

But after realizing how vast the world was, he actually felt a sense of fear.

He feared that he would not be able to traverse these lands and rivers in his lifetime, and to conquer a vast territory for the Tang Dynasty.

So he didn't ask Wen He what the so-called century of humiliation was.

What did those white barbarians do in later generations?

He was afraid that he would feel guilty if he found out.

Because of his negligence, his descendants suffered!
However, his ambitions at this moment have already surpassed the current territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Empress Zhangsun didn't know how to comfort him, so she walked behind him and leaned on his shoulder.

"I know that we can't rush things. The first thing I should see is the area around the Tang Dynasty."

Li Shimin's eyes shone brightly as he gazed at the vast territory of the Turks depicted on the silk.

The Tang Dynasty cannot allow such a powerful enemy to exist around it!
And that insignificant Ring Kingdom...

Previously, Li Shimin had sent envoys to Prince Huan to request grain seeds.

Two days ago, the envoy sent back a message via express courier.

The King of Huan refused to give it to them and even scolded the Tang Dynasty for being rude.

It’s so deceiving!
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(End of this chapter)