Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

Three days later, at dawn.

Outside the Zhuque Gate of Chang'an City, banners obscured the sun, and armor gleamed in the sunlight.

Li Shimin, clad in golden armor and with the Emperor's sword at his waist, rode a magnificent Akhal-Teke horse, his eyes fixed intently on the north. Behind him, three thousand elite Xuanjia soldiers, also heavily armored and wielding new-style swords, formed a silent, yet suffocatingly oppressive black steel forest.

"His Majesty!"

Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji led the officials to see the emperor off at the city gate.

"The northern border is bitterly cold; Your Majesty's health is of utmost importance, please... take good care of yourself!"

Fang Xuanling's eyes reddened as he spoke. He was genuinely worried that if His Majesty went, what if…

"rest assured."

Li Shimin turned around, a confident smile on his face, "The mere Turks are nothing to me. You all stay in the capital, assist the Crown Prince well, and safeguard my empire."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to the luxurious carriage parked at the very back of the procession, which was conspicuous no matter how you looked at it.

That was Li Chengqian's car.

This rebellious son was eventually dragged out of bed by Empress Zhangsun and forcibly placed into the farewell procession.

Li Shimin rode over and lifted the carriage curtain.

Li Chengqian was wearing a bathrobe, holding a pillow in his arms, and was sleeping so soundly that he was practically drooling.

"The traitor!"

Li Shimin was furious and slapped him on the forehead.

"Um?"

Li Chengqian opened his eyes groggily. "Father? Why haven't you left yet? What time is it? If we don't leave soon, we'll miss lunch."

"you!"

Li Shimin stuffed a heavy bronze seal into his arms.

"This is the seal of the Regent! During my absence, all important matters of state will be decided by you!"

"Keep a good watch on the house for me! If any trouble arises, you'll be in for a beating when I get back!"

Li Shimin threatened fiercely.

"Okay, I understand."

Li Chengqian took the cold bronze seal, casually stuffed it under his pillow, turned over, and prepared to go back to sleep.

"Father, you should leave now, don't keep me from catching up on my sleep."

Li Shimin: "..."

He felt his fist harden again.

Taking a deep breath, Li Shimin lowered the carriage curtain, turned his horse around, and refused to look at his troublesome son again.

He raised the Emperor's Sword high, pointing it at the sky, and let out a roar that shook the heavens.

"Set off!"

"Long live! Long live! Long live!"

Three thousand Xuanjia soldiers shouted in unison, surging out of Chang'an like a black tide, disappearing into the northern horizon.

On the city wall, Empress Zhangsun watched her departing husband, her eyes slightly red, and she clasped her hands together in silent prayer.

But from the luxurious carriage below the city gate came a sigh of relief.

"Yay! The old man is finally gone!"

Li Chengqian suddenly sat up from the pile of pillows, showing no trace of his sleepy appearance just now.

He grabbed the imperial seal, tossed it in his hand, and grinned like a cat that had just stolen some fish.

"Now that's great, when the tiger's away, the monkeys are king!"

"From this day forward, this Chang'an City belongs to me!"

……

No sooner had Li Shimin left than Li Chengqian hung a huge wooden plaque at the entrance of the East Palace.

Above, eight large characters were written in a vigorous, flowing style:

"The Emperor is away on business, and I am on vacation."

Signed: Prince Salted Fish.

When this sign was put up, the entire officialdom of Chang'an was stunned.

My goodness!

His Majesty personally led the expedition, entrusting the entire nation to you, and you, sir, simply announced a holiday?

Is this how you govern the country?!

In an instant, countless impeachment memorials flew towards the Eastern Palace like snowflakes, only to be burned as waste paper by the Imperial Guards at the gate to keep warm.

Li Chengqian kept his word and never attended the morning court session even once.

He would sleep until he naturally woke up every day, and then take Li Tai fishing at Qujiang Pool. In the afternoon, he would teach "calculus" and "moral character" to the poor students at the Royal Academy. In the evening, he would have a barbecue party at the East Palace with his old buddies like Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong. He lived a very enjoyable life.

At first, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were extremely anxious, fearing that something might go wrong in the court.

But after a few days, they discovered to their horror...

Without the emperor and the crown prince, the Tang Dynasty court seems to be... running more smoothly?

Those major matters that used to require the emperor's approval can now be handled directly after Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui discuss them and decide that there are no problems.

Those financial issues that used to require half a day of wrangling can now be resolved by Dai Zhou directly going to the Eastern Palace with his account books to ask the Crown Prince for money. Although the Crown Prince would always rebuff him with the excuse that "even landlords don't have surplus grain," he would eventually get the money.

As for public security...

With the Embroidered Uniform Guards around, you can't even see a thief in Chang'an anymore. It's said that a couple of days ago, someone tried to steal something but was caught by the patrolling Embroidered Uniform Guards and hung up at the city gate for three days as a warning.

This……

Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of confusion in each other's eyes.

Could this be what His Highness the Crown Prince meant by "governing by doing nothing"?

It seems... to work quite well?

……

The East Palace, the back garden.

Li Chengqian was lying on that familiar rocking chair made of golden nanmu wood, holding a fishing rod in his hand, idly swinging it.

Beside him, Wu Meiniang was kneeling beside a small table, carefully peeling grapes for him.

The warm autumn sun shone down on me, so comforting that I felt like taking a nap.

Li Chengqian squinted as he reviewed his "great achievements" over the past few months.

Potatoes solved the problem of food.

Fine salt solved the economic problem.

Movable type printing solved the problem of cultural monopoly.

The steel torrent solved the problem of military equipment.

The biggest internal threat—the powerful clans—was also uprooted and could no longer cause any trouble.

It can be said that he has perfectly resolved all the crises in the first volume in an extremely "casual" way.

This laid a solid foundation for the upcoming third volume—Li Shimin's "journey of courting death" and all-out foreign wars.

"Sigh, I've done everything I needed to do."

Li Chengqian stretched and felt that life was a bit dull.

"Next, shouldn't we consider how to get Old Li to willingly pass the throne to me, and then I can pass it on to Qingque, so I can retire legitimately?"

Just as he was envisioning a wonderful future where he would retire at forty and go to Hawaii to soak up the sun,

In the distance, the bugle call of a great army setting out on its campaign could be heard, powerful yet desolate.

Li Chengqian looked up at the gloomy sky to the north, a meaningful smile curving his lips.

"Dad, I hope you don't lose too badly this time."

He lay back down, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the rare tranquility.

"Old Xu."

"This old servant is here."

"Have someone polish my recliner a bit more."

"When my father is defeated and comes back crying to beg me, I need to lie down comfortably, otherwise I won't have any presence."

"in addition……"

Li Chengqian seemed to suddenly remember something and asked with a serious expression.

"You know, I've almost figured out the whole Tang Dynasty, isn't it time to switch to a different map?"

"For example... let's go see what lies at the end of the ocean?"

Xu Xiao smiled but didn't say anything.

In Li Chengqian's mind, the system, which had been dormant for a long time, seemed to hear his thoughts.

【Ding! 】

[The system has detected that the host has initial ideas about "expanding territory," and the nation's strength has met the conditions for unlocking a new map.]

[The main quest of Volume Two – "The Turmoil in Chang'an" – has come to a perfect end!]

[Starting Volume 3 for you—]

[Northern snow, dragon riders roar!]

Li Chengqian suddenly opened his eyes, and an unprecedented light burst forth from them.

He looked in the direction from which the long, drawn-out horn sound came from, a playful smile curving his lips.

"Dad's finally gone. Now, there's really no one to take care of me."

"I need to think about it. Should we have hot pot or barbecue tonight?"

"By the way, Meiniang, do you know how to fish?"