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

The atmosphere at the morning court session in the Taiji Hall was unusually strange today.

Normally at this time, Li Shimin would sit upright on the dragon throne, his expression solemn. But today, the Emperor of Tang seemed to have a nail in his seat, unable to sit comfortably no matter how he tried.

He would stand up and pace back and forth, then sit down and slap his thighs, his face glowing, his eyes shining, as if he had inexhaustible energy.

The effects of that "super health-boosting pill" were still lingering in my head.

He spent the whole night reviewing memorials. Instead of feeling sleepy, he became more and more energetic as he reviewed them. He even wanted to go to the drill ground and pull a 500-pound bow.

"My lords! Be alert!"

Li Shimin roared with great force, causing dust to fall from the beams of the main hall.

The ministers below, who had stayed up all night to attend the victory celebration and were now as sleepy as grandchildren, were startled by the shout and quickly straightened their backs.

Today is the day.

Li Shimin waved his hand, and a gust of wind rose from the sleeves of his dragon robe.

"A great victory in the Northern Expedition, expanding territory by thousands of miles, is an unprecedented achievement since the founding of the Tang Dynasty!"

"Those who have rendered meritorious service shall be rewarded, and those who have committed wrongdoing shall be punished! Today, I shall bestow honors upon my meritorious officials, so that the world may see that I will never fail to reward the sons and daughters who have shed blood and risked their lives for the Tang Dynasty!"

"Summon Bai Qi, Yue Fei, Huo Qubing, and Chen Zhibao to the palace!"

"Summon—the four generals to the palace—!"

As the eunuch's high-pitched voice echoed through the hall, the heavy palace doors slowly opened.

Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the door, casting four elongated shadows onto the gold-brick floor.

Although they had removed their blood-stained armor and put on brand-new court robes, the sheer aura of menace emanating from these four people still caused the surrounding temperature to drop several degrees.

Huo Qubing walked at the front, head held high and chest out, full of youthful vigor.

Yue Fei was as steady as a mountain, his eyes never straying to the side.

Chen Zhibao was dressed in white, his clothes as pure as snow, and he was aloof and cold.

Bai Qi, walking at the back, remained gloomy, his eyelids drooping, as if he had no interest in anything around him and only wanted to find a place to dig a hole.

"Your Majesty, we, your humble servants, pay our respects!"

The four of them bowed in unison.

Li Shimin looked at these four precious pieces of meat, and the more he looked at them, the more he liked them, and the more he wanted them.

If these four people could truly submit to me, what more could I need? I'd just flatten the Earth!

pity……

Li Shimin glanced at Li Chengqian, who was standing to the side yawning, out of the corner of his eye, and felt a pang of jealousy.

"Rise!"

Li Shimin suppressed his distracting thoughts and took the imperial edict that had already been prepared from Wang De.

"Huo Qubing!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

The young general strode out, exuding an aura of heroic spirit.

"You led eight hundred cavalry, on a thousand-mile raid, straight to the heart of the enemy, captured Jieli alive, and even... sealed the Wolf-Dwelling Mountain!"

When Li Shimin read the four characters "Fenglang Juxu", his voice trembled slightly.

This is the lifelong dream of countless military generals!

"This is an unparalleled feat! I hereby bestow upon you the title of Marquis of Champion!"

"A fiefdom of ten thousand households! Ten thousand taels of gold, and a thousand acres of fertile land!"

boom!

The court was in an uproar.

Champion Marquis!

Since Huo Qubing of the Han Dynasty, this title has become a legend, a taboo. Unexpectedly, a thousand years later, this title has returned to a young man with the same name, Huo Qubing.

Is this fate? Or just a coincidence?

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Huo Qubing clasped his hands in thanks, but his face showed little excitement. Instead, he muttered, "What's the use of giving me money and land? You might as well give me some good horses."

Li Shimin's lips twitched, but he pretended not to hear and continued reading:

"Yue Fei!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"You led the Beiwei Army to a decisive victory against the enemy, defeating them with infantry and cavalry, thus demonstrating the might of our nation! You are hereby granted the title of Duke of E, with a fief of five thousand households, and the rank of General of the Left Martial Guard!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yue Fei said calmly.

"Chen Zhibao!"

"Special conferment—Marquis in White Robes! Ranked as Right General of the Martial Guard!"

Finally, Li Shimin's gaze fell on Bai Qi.

He paused, took a deep breath, as if to bolster his courage.

"Bai Qi".

"You... cough, you quelled the rebellion, guarded Youzhou, and cut off the enemy's retreat in Longmen Valley, killing... cough cough, many enemies."

Li Shimin was too embarrassed to read out the specific number of enemies killed; it was too bloody.

"Special conferment—the title of Lord Wu'an!"

"Bestow...bestow upon me a pardon!"

There was no other way. Li Shimin felt that this man was too murderous. If he didn't give him a pardon, he was afraid that one day he would lose control and kill the court officials, and then it would be difficult to handle the situation.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Bai Qi took the gold medal, looked at it in his hand, and even bit it with his teeth to test its quality. His nonchalant attitude made everyone's scalp tingle.

The bestowal of rewards is complete.

Li Shimin looked at the four newly appointed dukes and marquises, his eyes darting around, and he began to play a petty trick.

"You four ministers are now important officials of the court, and naturally you should have the authority to match them."

"I have decided to formally incorporate your troops into the Ministry of War!"

"Although you will still be in command on weekdays, the Ministry of War will be in charge of all logistics, troop replenishment, and other troop deployments. What do you think?"

The moment these words were spoken, the court fell silent.

The old foxes all realized that His Majesty was... "releasing military power over a cup of wine"!

Ostensibly, they were giving these private armies official positions, but in reality, they wanted to gradually transform these private armies into the government's regular troops, thus wresting command control from the Crown Prince.

Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji exchanged a glance, both giving the emperor a thumbs up in their hearts: Your Majesty's move was brilliant!

however.

Before they could even celebrate for long...

"His Majesty."

Huo Qubing was the first to speak, looking at Li Shimin with a puzzled expression, as if he were looking at a fool.

"The Ministry of War? Does the Ministry of War have those 'compressed biscuits'? Do they have 'canned beef'?"

Li Shimin was taken aback: "Not yet... but the Ministry of Works is making a copy..."

"I'm not going."

Huo Qubing refused decisively, saying, "Having grown accustomed to the Crown Prince's fine food, my soldiers can't stomach the coarse rice from the Ministry of War."

Me too.

Yue Fei cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, his face righteous. "The maintenance of the Beiwei Army's equipment can only be done by the craftsmen of the Eastern Palace. The Ministry of War... cannot repair it."

As for Bai Qi and Chen Zhibao, they didn't even bother to speak, expressing their protest through silence.

Li Shimin: "..."

He felt his face twitching, and the surge of energy from the health-boosting pill instantly cooled down.

So, I gave you such high titles and so many rewards, but you can't even get a proper title in return?

You eat the prince's food, drink the prince's drink, take the prince's things, and now even the nominal ownership has to be registered under the prince's name?

Then what am I, the emperor?

Is it the issuing authority?

"Cough cough."

Just when Li Shimin was in an awkward position, Li Chengqian, who had been standing by as a background figure, finally made a move.

He stretched and let out a huge, languid yawn, the lazy, salty smell instantly dispelling the seriousness of the court.

Li Chengqian slowly walked out of the queue, rubbing his eyes as he went, as if he had just woken up.

"Father, that's enough."

He walked in front of the four fierce generals and shielded them behind him like a protective parent.

"Those four are the apples of my eye, so please don't worry about them."

"The Ministry of War's meager resources can't support these four powerful figures."

Li Shimin glared at him: "I am the emperor! I possess the entire world! How can I not afford to support them?"

"You have money, but you don't have the skills."

Li Chengqian pointed to Huo Qubing's bright armor and then to Yue Fei's divine crossbow.

"These things are unique in the whole world, except for those in my Eastern Palace. Without me, these armies would immediately lose half their fighting power."

"So, Father, please stop making things complicated. Just hold the title; if it really comes to war, won't I still have to risk my life for you?"

Li Shimin was choked half to death.

Although I hate to admit it, what this unfilial son said... was indeed the truth.

That kind of assembly-line military industrial system, and that kind of logistics support that was ahead of its time, were indeed beyond the capabilities of the current Ministry of War.

"Never mind!"

Li Shimin waved his hand impatiently, "Suit yourself! Do as you please!"

"Since we're all fighting for the Tang Dynasty anyway, I won't hold it against you!"

He forced himself to find a way out.

"If there's nothing else, let's adjourn the court! I need to run a couple more laps around the drill ground; the exertion is too much for me to bear sitting still!"

As he spoke, Li Shimin stood up, as if to end this awkward situation.

"Wait!"

Li Chengqian suddenly shouted.

Li Shimin paused, looking at him warily: "What are you trying to do now? I'm broke! The treasury is just full, don't even think about taking anything!"

"Talking about money is so vulgar."

Li Chengqian rubbed his hands together with a grin, took two steps forward, and looked just like a mischievous child begging for lucky money during Chinese New Year.

"Father, look!"

"Xiao Bai was granted the title of Lord, Lao Yue was granted the title of Duke, Xiao Huo was granted the title of Marquis, and even that pretty boy Chen Zhibao managed to get a Marquis title."

"Everyone received a reward, and everyone was happy."

Li Chengqian pointed to his nose, looking completely innocent and aggrieved.

"But what about your son?"

"I was the one who provided the money, I was the one who provided the food, I was the one who provided the manpower, and in the end, I was the one who saved the emperor."

"Your subject has been busy for so long that I've lost two strands of hair."

"Did you... forget to reward me with something?"