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

Li Shimin's fingers were still trembling slightly.

The cotton candy was right next to his mouth, the golden-brown sugar strands emitting an enticing sweet aroma, but in Li Shimin's eyes, it was clearly the ashes of those thousands of strings of "Wei Zi" peony flowers.

To eat, or not to eat?

This is a contest between the dignity of an emperor and the safety of his life.

He glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye. The red-armored demon god named Bai Qi was still standing there like a block of ice that had never melted for thousands of years. He couldn't even hear his breathing. Only his faint killing intent pierced his back like needles.

"Glug."

Li Shimin swallowed again, steeled his resolve, and closed his eyes.

That's it!

A true man can bend and stretch. He endured the humiliation of the Wei River Bridge incident years ago, so why would he care about a piece of candy?

"Awoo!"

He suddenly opened his mouth and bit down on the string of cotton candy, his action as fierce as if he had bitten the neck of the Khagan.

The sugar strands melt in your mouth.

sweet.

It's fucking sweet.

The pure sweetness of cane sugar, mixed with the unique charred aroma from the precious charcoal, exploded in his mouth instantly, sweetening his way down his throat and into his stomach, miraculously calming his heart, which had almost leaped out of his chest from the rush of the fire.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian immediately seized the opportunity and came over with a grin: "Father, how does it taste? This is my secret recipe for 'rich and noble flavor'."

Li Shimin opened his eyes, chewed his lips, and wanted to scold him with a stern face, but the sweetness in his mouth was too honest.

"Hmph, so-so."

He turned his head away and gave a haughty snort, "It's sickeningly sweet; it's only good for fooling little kids."

After saying that, he couldn't help but lick the sugar residue from the corner of his mouth.

The crisis is over.

Li Tai, who had been hiding in the crevice of the artificial hill, finally dared to peek out. He stared wide-eyed at his father, who had been so murderous just moments before, now actually eating candy.

Brother...that's amazing!

He could even appease his father when he was in a rage? That's something even his mother might not be able to do!

"Now that we've had the candy, let's consider this matter closed."

Li Chengqian clapped his hands, and in a familiar manner, pulled on Li Shimin's sleeve, pressing him down on a large rock that wasn't charred. "Father, please sit down. You must be exhausted from running so fast. Let's sit down and talk."

Li Shimin sat down reluctantly, glancing around at his surroundings.

The once lush and verdant Imperial Garden is now mostly scorched earth. The blackened tree trunks, the ashes scattered on the ground, and the lingering smell of burning in the air make it a desolate sight.

As he watched, Li Shimin's heart began to clench again.

This is all money!

"Cough cough."

Li Chengqian's eyes darted around, and he quickly switched to his deceptive mode, "Father, don't be sad. Actually, if you look closely, doesn't the garden have a unique charm after the fire?"

"Flavor?"

Li Shimin pointed at the pile of charcoal and said, "What do you call this? This is a disaster scene!"

"No, no."

Li Chengqian shook his finger, spouting nonsense with a straight face, "This is called the beauty of 'desolation.' Look at those black branches, that's the sediment of life; look at all this ashes, that's the nourishment for rebirth. As the saying goes, 'Wildfire cannot burn it all, the spring breeze brings it back to life,' this is the truest and wildest breath of nature!"

"Compared to those delicate, artificially crafted peonies, this scorched earth is far more worthy of the indomitable spirit of our Great Tang Dynasty!"

Li Shimin was stunned.

He looked at the pile of charcoal, then at his son who was spouting nonsense, and his mind actually started to follow this logic.

The beauty of desolation?

Iron-willed spirit?

It seems... there really is some truth to that?

"Besides, this land has been burned all over the place, and all the insect eggs and weeds have been burned away. If we plant anything next spring, it will definitely grow better than anything else."

Li Chengqian pressed his advantage, "I'll get you some potatoes to plant then. When autumn comes, this whole area will be a golden, auspicious sight—that will be truly beautiful!"

Li Shimin imagined the entire imperial garden piled high with potatoes. Although it was a bit rustic, it was real food!

"Alright, alright, you're full of twisted logic."

Li Shimin glared at him irritably, but his furrowed brows relaxed. "Since it's already burned, what am I going to do with you? Don't let it happen again!"

"Father is wise! Father is benevolent!"

Li Chengqian immediately offered a scathing compliment, then handed over a skewer of freshly roasted mutton, saying, "Here, eat some meat to nourish your body."

Li Shimin took the meat skewer and took a big bite, as if he were biting his son's flesh.

After a few bites, his emotions completely calmed down, and his mind returned to the important matter. He glanced at Bai Qi, who stood not far away like a statue, a deep sense of apprehension flashing in his eyes, then lowered his voice and asked:

"Chengqian, how did you manage to do that in Youzhou?"

"The urgent report says that Bai Qi breached the city in just half an hour, and his 100,000-strong army surrendered without a fight. I've read this battle report ten times, and I still can't figure it out."

Li Shimin was also an expert in leading troops and knew how difficult it was to fight a siege.

Half an hour?

Even if there were 100,000 pigs, it would take three days to catch them all!

As Li Chengqian handed Li Tai a tissue to wipe his face, he casually asked, "Father, have you ever heard of 'The Art of War'?"

"Of course I've heard of it."

As the art of war says: "To win hearts and minds is the best strategy; to conquer cities is the worst."

Li Chengqian casually brought out the military strategy he had previously been rewarded with by the system to show off, "Bai Qi, although he doesn't like to talk, knows how to make people afraid. He doesn't need to kill all 100,000 people, he just needs to make those 100,000 people feel that if they don't surrender, they will die a terrible death in the next second."

"This is called—momentum."

"When fear reaches a certain level, numbers become a burden. One hundred thousand people? Ha, just one hundred thousand lambs to the slaughter."

Li Shimin was deeply shocked upon hearing this.

势！

This word sounds simple, but how many people throughout history have truly mastered its application?

He looked at the eight-year-old child in front of him who was still chewing on a marshmallow, and suddenly felt that he couldn't understand him.

This kid may seem lazy on the surface, but he's got a lot going on inside...

"What a brilliant strategy of winning hearts and minds!"

Li Shimin nodded with emotion, and his gaze toward Li Chengqian held less of the helplessness one might feel when looking at a mischievous child and more of the admiration one might have for the crown prince.

"It seems you've taken on the responsibility of regent quite well."

Li Tai, who had been silently munching on a slice of black steamed bun, was staring at the father and son, who were each harboring their own secrets, with his beady green eyes.

He saw the shock in his father's eyes, and he also saw the indifference in his elder brother's eyes.

In that instant, the chubby boy completely understood.

"Big brother is too strong!"

"Burning down the Imperial Garden didn't get him a beating, but he even got to lecture his father! Is this the ultimate level of 'salted fish' (a derogatory term for someone who is shameless and opportunistic)?"

"I want to learn! I absolutely must learn!"

"What bullshit about the throne? Let whoever wants to fight for it fight for it! I'm going to follow my big brother, live the high life, and fool Father Emperor!"

Li Tai secretly vowed in his heart that if his elder brother told him to go east, he would never go west; if his elder brother told him to burn down the house, he would never hand him water!

In this harmonious moment, fathers and sons were loving and filial, brothers were friendly and respectful, and they were even having a picnic on the ruins.

A flurry of hurried footsteps once again shattered the tranquility of the Imperial Garden.

"Your Majesty! Where is Your Majesty?!"

An old man in a scarlet official robe stumbled through the moon gate. He was panting heavily and covered in sweat because he had run so fast.

It was Tang Jian, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

Li Shimin was having a pleasant conversation with his son when he was interrupted. He frowned and said, "Minister Tang? What's the matter that you're so flustered? Can't you see that I'm... cough, inspecting the post-disaster reconstruction work in the Imperial Garden?"

Tang Jian didn't have time to complain about His Majesty eating barbecue on the ruins.

He knelt on the ground with a thud, his voice filled with a terror as if the sky had fallen.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

"The Turkic delegation...has arrived in the capital!"

Li Shimin's eyes turned cold: "So be it, let them march into the capital. Jieli has already been defeated; what trouble can they possibly cause?"

"No, Your Majesty!"

Tang Jian slapped his thigh in frustration, "This time it's not Jieli's people, it's an envoy from the allied forces of the Western Turks and the Tiele tribes! They... they're shouting and acting extremely arrogantly outside the Vermilion Bird Gate!"

"What did they say?" Li Shimin slammed the meat skewers in his hand onto the ground.

Tang Jian glanced furtively at Li Chengqian, who was wiping his mouth beside him, swallowed hard, and said tremblingly:

"They said that if the Tang Dynasty wanted peace on its borders, it had to show sincerity."

"They want to... they want to marry Princess Chang Le and take her to the grasslands for a political marriage!"

Click!

A crisp sound.

The bamboo skewer Li Chengqian used to string cotton candy was broken in two with one hand.

The lazy smile that had been on his face vanished without a trace in an instant.

The surrounding temperature seemed to drop to freezing point at that moment.

He slowly stood up, patted the bamboo shavings off his hands, turned to look at Tang Jian, and spoke in a voice so calm it was frightening.

"Who do you think they're going to marry?"