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

The doors to the East Palace's logistics warehouse creaked open slowly to both sides.

A strong, indescribable smell of oil, bread, and alcohol wafted over, almost knocking Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji, who were standing at the door, overwhelmed them.

This doesn't look like a serious arms depot at all.

This is clearly a large-scale imperial kitchen!

"Come, come, my two ministers, please make yourselves at home."

Li Chengqian swaggered in like a wealthy man peddling his local specialties, casually picking up a dark, hard, brick-like object from the shelf by the door and weighing it in his hand.

"Do you know what this is?"

Fang Xuanling moved closer, squinting his old eyes to examine it carefully. The object was square, with a dark yellowish-brown color and a rough surface, looking like an unfired adobe brick, but it also faintly emitted an enticing aroma of grain.

"This...could it be specially made mud bricks used for building cities?" Fang Xuanling asked tentatively. "Does Your Highness intend to build the Great Wall in the northern border?"

"What a load of crap, building the Great Wall!"

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes and shoved the "brick" into Fang Xuanling's arms, saying, "Try taking a bite."

"bite?"

Fang Xuanling looked at the hard object in his hand, which was hard enough to kill a dog, and swallowed hard. His old bones weren't in good condition to begin with, and if he took a bite, he was afraid he would break half of his teeth.

But he dared not disobey the crown prince's orders. He steeled himself, hugged the "brick," and carefully tapped it with his front teeth.

"Crack—!"

A crisp sound.

Fang Xuanling clutched his cheek, tears welling in his eyes from the pain: "Your Highness! This...this is a stone!"

"Idiot! Who told you to eat it dry?"

Li Chengqian shook his head in disgust, picked up a kettle, poured a bowl of water, then broke off a small piece of the "brick" and threw it into the water.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

That small, hard lump expanded and dissolved rapidly upon contact with water, turning into a thick paste in the blink of an eye, exuding a rich aroma of wheat and meat.

"This is called compressed military rations."

Li Chengqian pointed at the bowl of porridge, his face displaying a sense of superiority that seemed to transcend his era.

"Mix flour, beef jerky, ghee, sugar, and salt in the right proportions, stir-fry until cooked, and then compact with a jack."

"Don't let its toughness fool you, this small piece is enough to feed a strong man for a whole day. And you don't need to start a fire or cook. You can eat it while running, or soak it in water like this to drink. It's very convenient."

Changsun Wuji listened with his eyes wide open.

As someone who had led troops into battle, he knew all too well what this meant.

What's the most frightening thing in military campaigns? It's cooking!

Setting up a fire takes time and firewood, and you also have to guard against enemy attacks. Once the smoke rises, it's like telling the enemy, "I'm here."

But with this thing...

"No need to light a fire... wouldn't that mean we could march day and night, and covertly?" Changsun Wuji's voice trembled.

"Bingo! You got it right!"

Li Chengqian snapped his fingers and walked to another row of shelves.

This place is filled with crystal-clear glass bottles.

Under the sunlight, these bottles shimmered and sparkled, like works of art. But inside, they didn't contain fine wine, but rather pieces of cooked meat soaking in grease.

"This is military-grade canned food."

Li Chengqian picked up a bottle, casually unscrewed the cap, and a rich aroma of meat instantly filled the air.

"Sealed with glass and sterilized at high temperatures. As long as it doesn't break, this thing won't spoil for a year or two."

"With this, the soldiers no longer have to eat pickled vegetables every day. They can eat meat anytime, anywhere to maintain their physical strength."

Fang Xuanling looked at the expensive glass bottle, his heart bleeding.

"Your Highness...this...this is glass! Using glass to hold meat, isn't that...too extravagant?"

Foreign merchants outside would fight tooth and nail for a glass bottle, yet the prince used it to store pork.

This is such a waste!

"luxury?"

Li Chengqian chuckled and casually tossed the empty bottle to the ground.

"Snap!"

The priceless glass bottle shattered into pieces.

"Is life more important or the bottle?"

"As long as my Tang soldiers can return alive, I'd give up even a golden bottle, let alone a glass one!"

"Besides, this thing is made in my own factory, and the cost... is probably only a few cents."

Fang Xuanling: "..."

He suddenly didn't want to talk anymore.

Compared to these nouveau riche who own mines and possess core technologies, he felt like a beggar.

"And this too."

Li Chengqian finally pointed to the mountain of wooden barrels piled up in the corner, filled with a clear, transparent liquid that emitted a pungent smell of alcohol.

"What is this? Victory celebration wine?" Changsun Wuji sniffed. "This wine... it's quite strong."

"This isn't for drinking, it's to save your life."

Li Chengqian shook his head. "This is purified high-proof alcohol, specially used to clean wounds and prevent infection. Of course, if you're really too cold, a sip can warm you up, but this stuff is too strong and can easily burn your throat."

Compressed biscuits, canned meat, and medical alcohol.

These are the "three major items" that Li Chengqian prepared for this war.

With these things, the infantry would no longer be a burden dragged down by logistics, but a group of steel monsters that could run tirelessly day and night.

"How are things, you two?"

Li Chengqian leaned against the shelf, looking at the two prime ministers who were already numb with shock with a half-smile.

"With these things, plus that kid Huo Qubing's 'blitzkrieg' talent, do you still think infantry can't outrun cavalry?"

Fang Xuanling took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Li Chengqian.

"Your Highness's foresight is truly admirable; this old minister is filled with awe!"

"only……"

He looked up, a hint of confusion still in his eyes.

"Since Your Highness has made preparations in advance and has such abundant supplies, why haven't you sent troops yet?"

"Your Majesty is currently surrounded; every moment of delay increases the danger!"

At this moment, Wu Meiniang, who had been following behind Li Chengqian and holding a fruit platter, couldn't help but blink her big eyes and ask in a clear voice:

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Even Mei Niang couldn't understand it."

"Since you're so worried about His Majesty, you've even made this delicious 'brick' dish. Why are you dawdling here?"

"If we rescue His Majesty sooner, we can go back to fishing, right?"

Li Chengqian turned around and looked at the future empress in front of him, who had not yet fully grown up but already exuded a cleverness.

He reached out and gently pinched Wu Meiniang's chubby, soft face until it was slightly deformed, then released his hand with satisfaction.

"Meiniang, you are still young and don't understand the adult world."

The smile on Li Chengqian's lips gradually faded, replaced by a deep, unfathomable expression.

"We must save them, of course we must."

"After all, he is my own father, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"If he were to die at the hands of the Turks, how could I, as the crown prince, ever face the world again?"

He walked to the warehouse entrance, looked at the gloomy sky to the north, and his gaze seemed to pierce through thousands of mountains and rivers, seeing the figure struggling desperately in the Longmen Valley.

"but."

"Saving people also requires a sense of timing."

"If I go to rescue him now, he'll only think I'm trying to steal the credit, that it's just bad luck, not that he made a mistake in his decision."

"Only when he is truly at his wit's end."

"Let him be so hungry he's dizzy, let him watch his soldiers fall one by one, let him fully realize how ridiculous his arrogance and recklessness were..."

Li Chengqian's voice was soft, yet it carried a hint of ruthlessness.

"I will reappear at that time."

"That's what you call a life-saving grace."

"That's what you call turning the tide."

He turned around, looked at the astonished crowd, shrugged, and resumed his roguish expression.

To put it bluntly...

"We need to make him go hungry for a few more days and suffer more."

"Otherwise, wouldn't all that beating have been for nothing?"

"If he gets carried away again and personally leads an expedition, who's going to clean up his mess?"