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

An hour before the army was to set off, the gates of the Eastern Palace were finally "smashed" open.

Li Shimin wore a newly made, dazzling gold-threaded soft armor, with an emperor's sword hanging at his waist and a purple-gold crown on his head. He looked incredibly majestic and imposing.

Behind him followed a group of generals, including Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong, all clad in armor and carrying swords. To the uninitiated, it would seem as if the "Xuanwu Gate Pro Max" version was about to be launched ahead of schedule.

"Where is the Crown Prince?!"

Li Shimin, his face dark, roared at the group of trembling eunuchs and palace maids at the door, "What time is it? Still sleeping?!"

Wang De, with a mournful face, pointed to the inner chamber with its doors and windows tightly closed.

"Your Majesty, His Highness studied 'Dou Dizhu' (a card game) until late last night and said that if anyone dared to disturb his sleep today, Xu Xiao would break their legs."

"He's gone too far!"

Enraged, Li Shimin kicked open the palace door and strode inside.

Inside the hall, a warm, pleasant fragrance of incense wafted through the air.

On the enormous dragon bed carved from a single piece of Hetian jade, a small figure was wrapped in a velvet quilt, sleeping sprawled out, smacking his lips as if having some sweet dream.

"You unfilial son! Get up!"

Li Shimin suddenly pulled back the covers, revealing Li Chengqian's rosy cheeks from sleeping.

"Um……?"

Li Chengqian was jolted awake by the cold. He groggily opened his eyes and looked at his father, who was dressed in gold and looked like a nouveau riche, with a face full of morning grumpiness.

"Father? Why are you dressed like that? Are you going to perform in an opera?"

"Performing opera?!"

Li Shimin was so angry he almost drew his sword on the spot. "I'm going on an expedition! To fight the Turks! You, the regent crown prince, instead of seeing me off at the city gate, you dare to sleep in here?!"

"Oh, going to war."

Li Chengqian turned over, covered his head with the blanket, and his voice came out indistinctly from under the covers.

"Then go ahead, have a safe trip, and drink plenty of hot water."

Li Shimin: "..."

He felt his fist harden.

"Aren't you going to ask me who I'm going to fight? And how many troops are there?"

"No need to ask."

The voice from under the covers was heavy with sleep: "Isn't it just that coward Jieli leading a bunch of makeshift troops? Three hundred thousand? Sounds impressive, but they're just three hundred thousand pigs waiting to be slaughtered."

"you……"

Li Shimin was momentarily speechless, but then stubbornly retorted, "Well, I'm leading the army myself! As the Crown Prince, shouldn't you accompany the army and share your father's burdens?"

"Aren't you quite the fighter? Why not go with Father to achieve great things and make a name for yourself in history? Wouldn't that be better?"

Li Shimin began to use reverse psychology, trying to ignite his son's "passion".

however.

"I'm not going."

The answer from under the covers was resolute, without the slightest hesitation.

"Why?!"

"It's too far."

Li Chengqian's voice was full of disdain, "From Chang'an to Yanmen Pass, it takes half a month of bumpy riding. We'll be exposed to the elements, and our butts will be chafed raw. I'm not going."

"you!"

"and……"

Li Chengqian seemed to have thought of something and added, "The wind and sand are strong on the grasslands, and the ultraviolet rays are intense, making it easy to get tanned. I am still young and growing, and if I get tanned, I won't grow tall and won't be able to find a beautiful wife in the future."

"puff--"

Cheng Yaojin, who was eavesdropping at the door, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Can't find a wife?

Your Highness, what you've said makes all the men in the world who aspire to be your son-in-law feel ashamed!

Li Shimin's face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and made a final effort.

"I command you! Come with me!"

"I'm not going."

"This is an imperial edict!"

"A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders. Oh wait, I'm not a general."

Li Chengqian shifted slightly under the covers, finding a more comfortable position.

"Anyway, you can go if you want, don't worry about me."

"With Bai Qi holding the line in Youzhou, Zhi Shi Si Li's 50,000 vanguard troops are just going to their deaths; they won't cause any trouble."

"As for you..."

Li Chengqian yawned, his voice growing softer and softer, "Just think of it as an autumn outing, and a chance to inspect the troops. Don't get too carried away; if you can't win, run. Don't push yourself too hard."

"Your subject needs to catch up on sleep. Please make yourself at home."

Do not disturb.

After he finished speaking, a soft snore came from under the covers.

Sleeping...asleep?

Li Shimin, carrying a sword and dressed in golden armor, stood by the bed, looking like a fool, bewildered in the wind.

He had imagined countless possibilities.

The son might be so excited that he'd volunteer to go.

She might cry and beg him not to go.

I might try to negotiate with him for a T.

The price should be reasonable.

But to his utter surprise, his rebellious son's reaction was—

Let him die, don't disturb his sleep?

"Great...very good!"

Li Shimin was so angry that he laughed, and the Emperor's Sword in his hand trembled.

He stared intently at the bulging blanket, as if he wanted to burn it through with his gaze.

"You're not going to do anything about it, are you?"

"OK!"

"I'll manage it myself!"

Li Shimin suddenly turned around and strode out. His back view was filled with grief and resentment at being rejected by his son.

"I'll show you today!"

"Without you! Without all those lousy soldiers of yours!"

"I, Li Shimin, can still trample the royal court on horseback! I can still twist Jieli's head off!"

"I'll let you know that your father... is still as sharp as ever!"

"boom--"

The palace doors were slammed shut, causing dust to fall from the roof beams.

Yuchi Gong and Cheng Yaojin exchanged glances and quickly followed.

"Your Majesty...please calm down..."

"That kid deserves a beating..."

Silence returned to the sleeping quarters.

A long time passed.

A fluffy little head peeked out from under the covers.

Li Chengqian looked at the still trembling palace door and listened to the receding hoofbeats outside, and sighed helplessly.

"Sigh, why won't this old man listen to advice?"

He picked up a map from the small table next to him; it was a detailed map of the military deployment in the northern border, drawn overnight by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Li Chengqian's finger slowly traced across the map.

From Chang'an, to Yanmen Pass, and then to the garrison of the Turkic allied forces.

Finally, his finger stopped at an extremely inconspicuous valley.

There, three small characters were marked—

Longmen Mountain.

"A perfect route to lure the enemy deep into our territory."

"A perfect pocket formation."

Li Chengqian's gaze became somewhat complicated, containing both disdain for his father's military talent and a hint of barely perceptible worry.

"An army of 300,000... Jieli has really gone all out this time."

"With the small number of troops under Father's command, coupled with his ambitious nature, if he plunges headlong into it, he probably won't even make a ripple."

Li Chengqian shook his head, tossed the map aside, and lay back down in bed.

"Never mind, let him go."

"He won't learn his lesson if he doesn't suffer a little."

"Anyway, Bai Qi is there to protect us, we won't die."

"It's this ass... I'm afraid I'll have to clean it up."

Li Cheng-

Qian muttered to himself, turned over, and wrapped himself up like a silkworm.

"System, how long until dinner?"

【…】

"Go to sleep, go to sleep. Even if the sky falls, we'll talk about it after I wake up."