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

Li Shimin stared intently at the yellow silk that his son had crushed into the mud on the ground.

That was his last hope, his final statement to this land as an emperor in dire straits.

But now, it's like a piece of toilet paper that's been used to wipe your bottom, being ruthlessly discarded and trampled upon.

humiliation.

The ultimate humiliation.

It was even more humiliating than when Khagan Jieli held a scimitar to his neck.

"You...you..."

Li Shimin pointed at Li Chengqian, his lips trembling, and the muscles on his face, covered in blood and gunpowder, twitched uncontrollably.

He wanted to swear.

I want to hang this rebellious son up and whip him mercilessly until he cries for his parents, until he knows the true meaning of the authority of a ruler.

But the words stuck in his throat, and he just couldn't bring himself to say them.

Because he knew that what this unfilial son said was all true.

If I hadn't been so ambitious and competitive with my son, how could things have come to this?

If I hadn't underestimated the enemy and recklessly charged into their trap, how could I have caused the 3,000 Xuanjia soldiers to be almost wiped out?

Regret, shame, lingering fear, relief...

Countless complex emotions surged forth like a burst dam, instantly shattering Li Shimin's last psychological defenses.

His tiger-like eyes, which had been bloodshot from staying up for two days and two nights, instantly turned red.

Water vapor rose up uncontrollably.

"Father, please...please don't cry."

Seeing his father's face flushed red as he tried to cry but dared not, Li Chengqian's schadenfreude vanished.

Instead, there was a bittersweet feeling that was hard to describe.

This old man, although he can be quite annoying at times, is still my father after all.

"Um... I was just joking with you, please don't take it to heart."

Li Chengqian was unusually flustered and stepped forward, wanting to pat his father on the shoulder to comfort him.

However, he had only just gotten close.

Li Shimin was like a volcano that had been suppressed for a long time, which suddenly erupted at this moment.

"Wow--!!!"

A deafening wail echoed throughout the entire Longmen Valley.

This iron-blooded monarch, who had just been maintaining his imperial dignity on the front lines and refusing to surrender even at the cost of his life, now looked like a child who had suffered a great injustice, and hugged his son, who was much shorter than him, tightly.

He buried his head in Li Chengqian's small, still-smelling shoulder and cried his heart out, his snot and tears covering Li Chengqian's body.

"You unfilial son! You rebellious son!"

While crying, Li Shimin pounded Li Chengqian's back with his fist, though he didn't have much strength.

"Do you know...do you know how I've been these past two days?!"

"No food! No water! We're even afraid to close our eyes to sleep!"

"I thought... I thought I'd never see you again! Never see your mother again!"

"You damned bastard! Why didn't you come sooner?!"

"You want to see me make a fool of myself, don't you? You want to die so you can become emperor, don't you?!"

Li Shimin wept incoherently, turning all the fear, despair, and grievances he had accumulated over the past two days into this baseless accusation.

Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, and the others around them were all dumbfounded.

Is this... is this still their ruthless and decisive emperor, who remains calm even when Mount Tai collapses before him?

Why are you crying like a 300-pound child?

Li Chengqian was so overwhelmed by his father's sudden "fatherly love" that he almost couldn't breathe.

He felt the scalding tears on his shoulder, smelled the strong stench of blood and sweat on his father, and the last vestige of his mischievous thought vanished.

"Alright, alright, Father, stop crying."

Li Chengqian nudged Li Shimin with some disdain, but couldn't budge him.

Helplessly, he could only reach out his little hand and pat his father's broad, still slightly trembling back again and again.

"How old are you? Still crying like that? Aren't you ashamed?"

"With so many people watching, don't you have any pride?"

"Besides, here I am, not only here, but I've also brought you the culprit's head."

"Look, not only did you survive, you also gained the incredible achievement of 'defeating the Turks' for free. What a bargain!"

While offering comfort, Li Chengqian didn't forget to pat himself on the back.

He felt quite wronged.

To save his troublesome father, he didn't even get a proper afternoon nap, and led his men to rush over day and night.

The results of it?

The moment we met, I was used as a punching bag and got sprayed with snot and tears.

"This is so hard for me..."

Li Chengqian also sniffed, and his eyes reddened.

However, he was affected by the smoke.

……

An extremely bizarre scene unfolded in the valley.

The emperor and crown prince of the Tang Dynasty embraced each other, one crying genuinely and the other faking it, their cries were truly earth-shattering.

The soldiers around them, instead of finding it funny, had tears welling up in their eyes and began wiping them away.

Having survived the calamity, the emperor and his subjects grieved together.

Perhaps this is the most basic and genuine feeling of camaraderie among comrades.

After crying for a long time, Li Shimin finally calmed down.

He released Li Chengqian, looked at his son's brocade robe, which he had soiled and soaked, and blushed with embarrassment.

"Ahem, well... it was windy just now, and some sand got into my eyes."

Li Shimin tried to save face.

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes, too lazy to call him out.

Just then.

A series of orderly footsteps came from afar.

Yue Fei, clad in heavy armor and wielding the Li Quan spear, strode forward, followed by a long line of Turkic prisoners bound like rice dumplings.

Among the prisoners were tribal leaders and Turkic nobles, all of them hanging their heads in dejection, as if they had lost their parents.

"Your Highness."

Yue Fei walked up to Li Chengqian, his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if he hadn't seen the emperor who was still tidying his appearance. He knelt down on one knee, his voice booming like a bell.

"We have successfully completed our mission; the enemy troops have all surrendered."

"But these prisoners... number as many as 150,000."

Yue Fei raised his head, and a hint of seeking instructions flashed in his resolute eyes.

"This humble general does not know... how to handle this?"

"Please give your instructions, Your Highness!"