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

Before the echo of "It's so noisy!" had faded in the main hall, Li Chengqian appeared at the side door. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, still clutching half a piece of mung bean cake in his hand, and looked at the bloodied figure lying on the ground with a grumpy expression.

"Such a startled reaction! Don't you know I'm contemplating matters of state?"

This time, however, no one responded to his antics.

The air inside the Taiji Hall seemed to have been sucked out, and the deathly silence was suffocating. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the blood-covered courier, their faces filled with disbelief and terror.

Two hundred thousand troops.

Jingzhou has been captured.

These words struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

A sharp announcement shattered the deathly silence. Li Shimin, who had been "secretly observing" from the rear palace, could no longer care about imperial dignity. He strode up the steps, his face as dark as the clouds before a storm.

"Bring up the battle report!"

Li Shimin snatched the blood-stained document, glanced at it only once, and his body suddenly swayed. The knuckles of his fingers, which were gripping the memorial, turned white and made a crisp "crackling" sound.

"Excellent! Excellent Jieli! Excellent Turks!"

Enraged, he laughed coldly, slamming the battle report to the ground. "Taking advantage of my unstable footing and the vulnerability of Guanzhong in the Tang Dynasty, he intends to swallow my Chang'an whole!"

The entire court of officials finally came to their senses and knelt down with a thud. Wei Zheng, who had just been clamoring to bang his head against a pillar, was now deathly pale, his lips trembling and unable to utter a word. Those civil officials who usually shouted themselves hoarse were now shrinking their necks, wishing they could bury their heads in their crotches.

It's okay to criticize the Crown Prince and his ilk, that's for the sake of reputation; but to fight the Turks to the death? That would really cost you your head!

"All of you, rise."

Li Shimin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the panic in his heart, and his gaze swept across the row of generals like lightning. "Now that the enemy is at the city gates, who dares to lead troops to meet them?"

A dead silence.

After a long while, a desolate voice rang out.

"This humble general...is willing to go."

Qin Qiong pushed away the guards who were helping him and stood up shakily. This former war god of the Tang Dynasty now had a face as pale as paper, and every word he spoke sounded like a bellows pumping in his chest.

"Though I am ill, I can still pick up a gun and mount a horse... cough cough cough!"

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Qiong coughed violently, spitting a mouthful of bright red blood onto the gold brick floor, a shocking sight.

"Shubao!" Li Shimin's eyes reddened, and he quickly waved for someone to support him. "You have a chronic illness; how could I bear to let you go to your death!"

"His Majesty!"

The dark-faced Yuchi Gong stepped forward, gritting his teeth and glaring with his tiger-like eyes. "Give me 30,000 troops, and I'll go to the Wei River and fight those sons of bitches! Even if I die, I'll knock two of Jieli's front teeth out!"

"Thirty thousand?"

Li Shimin gave a bitter laugh and slumped weakly onto the dragon throne. "Jingde," he said, "there are only 20,000 Imperial Guards in Chang'an at most, and most of them are infantry. How can we possibly fight against 200,000 Turkic cavalry?"

Make bricks without straw.

With the main force of the army engaged in suppressing rebellions on the frontier, the situation was far from ideal. At this time, Chang'an was like a baby stripped naked, exposed to the slaughter of the Turks.

"His Majesty……"

Among the civil officials, Xiao Yu stepped forward with a trembling voice, "The only way now is... the only way is to seek peace."

"Seek peace?" A fierce glint flashed in Li Shimin's eyes.

"Yes." Xiao Yu knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the cold earth. "Jieli's military campaign this time is nothing more than seeking wealth. If we can exchange gold and silver for the retreat of his troops and save the people of Chang'an, it would be... a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."

"fart!"

Yuchi Gong kicked over the bronze lamp in front of him and roared, "That's tribute! That's surrender! The Tang Dynasty has only been established for a few years, and we're already going to become vassals of barbarians? If our backbone is broken, how will we ever stand up straight again!"

"Then go and fight!"

Another civil official also became agitated, jumping up and down and shouting, "Losing the battle means massacring the entire city! Can you, Yuchi Jingde, bear the responsibility for the lives of hundreds of thousands of people?!"

"you--!"

The court was instantly thrown into chaos as the pro-war and pro-peace factions argued fiercely, spittle flying everywhere.

Sitting on his high dragon throne, Li Shimin looked at the chaotic scene below and felt a deep sense of powerlessness welling up in his heart.

Is this my Great Tang Dynasty?

Are these my civil and military officials?

In despair, he instinctively turned his gaze to his side and behind him. There sat his son, the crown prince he had just appointed as regent.

Perhaps they wanted to seek some comfort from their relatives, or perhaps they wanted to see if this rebellious son, who had just been so arrogant as to say he was "thinking about national affairs," had wet his pants in fear.

However, when Li Shimin saw what Li Chengqian was doing, his already battered heart almost stopped beating on the spot.

Li Chengqian sat cross-legged on the large regent's chair, completely unaware of the impending disaster.

He was putting a half-eaten piece of mung bean cake into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a hamster hoarding food. When he saw Li Shimin looking over, he paused for a moment, then took another piece out of his sleeve and carefully handed it to him.

"Father, would you like a piece? This was just made in the Eastern Palace, with osmanthus flowers in it, it smells wonderful."

Li Chengqian blinked his big eyes, his face full of innocence, "You've been arguing for so long, aren't you hungry?"

Li Shimin looked at the pastry handed to him and felt his blood pressure soaring at an alarming rate.

Hungry?

I want to eat people right now!

What time is it?! This unfilial son is still eating!

The Tang Dynasty is about to perish!

"You...you..." Li Shimin pointed at Li Chengqian, his fingers trembling several times, but in the end he just let them fall limply.

That's it.

Why argue with an eight-year-old?

What could he possibly understand about national and familial hatred, or the peril of a nation?

Perhaps it's a blessing to let him live carefree.

The anger in Li Shimin's eyes gradually subsided, replaced by a resolute sorrow. He slowly stood up, straightened his somewhat disheveled dragon robe, and glanced at the arguing ministers. His voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable imperial majesty.

"Shut up, all of you."

The argument stopped abruptly.

Li Shimin walked to the entrance of the main hall and looked at the gloomy sky to the north, which was in the direction of the Wei River.

"Open the national treasury."

These four words seemed to drain all his strength: "Load all the gold and silver utensils, calligraphy and paintings and antiques from my palace into the carts."

"Your Majesty!" Yuchi Gong's tiger-like eyes were filled with tears.

"No need to say anything more." Li Shimin waved his hand, his back looking particularly desolate. "I'm going to the Wei River. I'm going to talk to Jieli."

"Even if I have to empty the entire wealth of the Tang Dynasty, even if I have to bear the infamy for all eternity, I will protect every blade of grass and every tree in Chang'an."

"Who told me... I am the emperor of this Great Tang Dynasty?"

Having said that, he walked down the imperial steps with heavy strides. Each step felt like stepping on a knife's edge, each step carrying the humiliation and helplessness of an emperor.

The courtiers knelt on the ground and wept bitterly, their cries shaking the heavens.

In this tragic atmosphere, no one noticed that the small figure sitting on the regent's chair had stopped chewing at some point.

Looking at his father's lonely figure, Li Chengqian's previously languid gaze lost its nonchalant air, replaced by a chilling coldness.

He slowly brushed the crumbs off his hands, a dangerously smirk playing on his lips.

"negotiation?"

He sneered inwardly, his voice as cold as if it came from the deepest hell.

"I'm sorry, Father, but the word 'surrender' doesn't exist in my dictionary."

"Xu Xiao."

he called softly.

"This old servant is here."

A ripple appeared in the air, and the ghostly, aged figure silently appeared behind Li Chengqian.

"Are the horses ready?"

"Your Highness, the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry are all mounted, their swords drawn, and their bows strung."

"very good."

Li Chengqian stood up, stretched, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Let's go then, to the Wei River."

"Let's go teach those Turkic barbarians what the hospitality of the Tang Dynasty is all about!"