Tang Dynasty: Consort Wu? Your Majesty, please address her as the Crown Prince's Consort.

Seeing that Li Shimin not only didn't know his mistake but also dared to talk back, Empress Zhangsun was immediately displeased.

"If he insists, you should just give it to him?"

"Let me tell you, if anything happens to Gao Ming, I'm not letting you off the hook!"

Seeing that Empress Zhangsun was about to lose her temper, Li Chengqian and Li Shimin quickly stepped forward to calm her down.

"Mother! Don't worry, the old man even sent Hou Junji and three thousand Xuanjia soldiers to me!"

"That's right! That's right! Although that old bastard Junji is not as good as Li Jing and the others, he is still a rare general who can command troops. With him and the Xuanjia Army around, a mere Xueyantuo can't hurt this rebellious son!"

"Yes, Mother! It's just a mere Xueyantuo; he'll be back in three months at most. I'll bring you some mare's milk wine from the grasslands when he returns!"

Watching the father and son working together, one after the other, Empress Zhangsun couldn't help but chuckle, then rolled her eyes at them!

"Pfft! Alright! I can't argue with you father and son anyway. All you men do all day is fight and kill. I can't be bothered with you!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian and Li Shimin exchanged a glance and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, Li Shimin couldn't help but look at his rebellious son and say:

"How do you plan to fight this battle?"

Upon hearing the old man's question, Li Chengqian couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After a moment, he slowly spoke:

"The Xueyantuo are a minor problem. It's not difficult to defeat them with three thousand Xuanjia soldiers and three thousand Donggong Liulu."

However, this is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. This time it's the Xueyantuo, but next time other tribes will rise up. Therefore, I think it's better to support tribes that are hostile to the Xueyantuo!

Ok?

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but show surprise.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian did not hide anything and immediately began to patiently explain.

"These past few days, I went to the Ministry of War to learn about the Xueyantuo."

We've discovered that while the Xueyantuo have risen rapidly, they've also been aggressively annexing other tribes, including some large ones, in their pursuit of power. We could secretly support these tribes, preventing the Xueyantuo from successfully unifying the grasslands!

As long as the grasslands remain divided, they will never turn their attention to the Tang Dynasty!

Therefore, I will not destroy the Xueyantuo this time, but rather weaken them, and then find a tribe of similar strength to support!

Upon hearing Li Chengqian's words, Li Shimin couldn't help but frown and fall into deep thought.

He looked up at Li Chengqian, his face full of worry, and said:

"Aren't you afraid of raising a tiger that will eventually turn on you? What if our Great Tang Dynasty supports a grassland tribe and fattens them up?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian's lips curled slightly, revealing a strange smile that suggested he was taking over the role.

Looking at the expression on his rebellious son's face, Li Shimin couldn't help but smile.

"Support whoever is weaker. If we can support the Xueyantuo today to counterbalance them, then we can support the Xueyantuo tomorrow to counterbalance them!"

And they had no choice but to accept it, because if they didn't, their tribe would be annexed!

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin pretended to suddenly understand.

"Ah~ a calculated scheme! You've got some skills, kid!"

Li Chengqian: "Hehe!"

After saying this, Li Shimin immediately waved his hand at him and said:

"Alright, alright! You can get lost now, but go tell your royal grandfather before you leave!"

"Okay!"

……

Da'an Palace!

"Grandpa! Your grandson has come to see you!"

Inside the Da'an Palace, Li Yuan had just taken off his trousers and was about to untie the ribbon around the waist of the beauty in front of him when he suddenly heard Li Chengqian's voice from outside.

This frightened Li Yuan so much that his hard-won composure crumbled.

"Holy crap! How come that brat always arrives right on time?! Do you know how hard it is for an old man like me?!"

Seeing Li Yuan's speechless expression, the beautiful woman beside him quickly and gently comforted him:

"It's alright, Your Majesty, you've done a wonderful job!"

Li Yuan: "..."

Then, he quickly put on his clothes and waved to the beauty, saying:

"Alright, alright! You can go now. I'll talk to you later!"

……

A moment later, Li Chengqian walked in carrying two jugs of wine and some side dishes that he had just ordered from the imperial kitchen!

Meeting Li Yuan's somewhat resentful gaze, Li Chengqian felt a little awkward for a moment.

"Ahem! Grandpa is busy, isn't he? Should I come back later?"

Seeing his rebellious grandson's apologetic expression, Li Yuan couldn't help but roll his eyes at him and said:

"Enough! You brat, I heard you beat up that rebellious son during your martial arts demonstration? And that rebellious son even allowed you to go and fight against the Xueyantuo!"

Upon hearing his grandfather's words, Li Chengqian immediately nodded.

"Hehehe! Just lucky! Just lucky!"

Although he said it was a stroke of luck, Li Chengqian's mouth was practically stretched to the back of his ears in a wide grin.

Just thinking about how his old man was bullied and pinned down by him back then made Li Chengqian feel incredibly satisfied!

However, upon hearing Li Chengqian's words, Li Yuan couldn't help but reveal a gloating smile.

"Hahaha! Well done! This unfilial son deserves a beating!"

After saying that, he looked at Li Chengqian with a face full of satisfaction and said:

"Good! My Gaoming has grown up and can now fight for the country. I won't say much more to you. On the battlefield, keep your eyes open and don't talk about martial ethics. Just keep attacking his groin!"

Upon hearing the old man's words, Li Chengqian couldn't help but be slightly stunned, his face showing disbelief.

I'm a darling!

What was your reign title again?

It seems to be about martial virtue, but now you're telling me not to talk about martial virtue anymore, is that right?

Is it because you, sir, did not uphold martial virtue that your reign title is "Martial Virtue"?

For a moment, Li Chengqian's gaze toward his imperial grandfather became increasingly strange!

Li Yuan simply ignored the strange look in his eyes!

His gaze was fixed on the two strange bottles of wine in Li Chengqian's hand!

There were two white, cylindrical porcelain bottles, quite different from the bottles he usually used to hold wine.

Perhaps noticing his grandfather's gaze, Li Chengqian quickly raised the wine bottle and waved it in front of Li Yuan as if presenting a treasure, saying:

"Hehehe! Grandfather, this wine is exclusive to the Crown Prince's Palace; even this old man has never tasted it!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan immediately became interested.

"Oh? Even that rebellious son hasn't tasted it? Then I'll have to try it and see what kind of fine wine deserves your praise!"

"Hehehe! Your satisfaction is guaranteed!"

As he spoke, Li Chengqian opened the wine bottle and poured a cup for Li Yuan.

The rich aroma of wine instantly filled the air.

Li Yuan couldn't help but show surprise as he looked at the wine, which was as blue as water.

"How can this wine be so clear?"

It's no wonder the old man was so surprised; most of the liquor in this era was made from grains, and the alcohol content was not high.

As Du Fu wrote in his poem: "Hardship and sorrow have turned my temples white; in my decline, I have stopped drinking wine."

The phrase "turbid wine" in the poem already speaks volumes.

No wonder Li Yuan was so surprised to see such clear liquor in front of him!