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

While thinking about it, Li Yuan curiously took a big gulp into his mouth!

A pungent smell of alcohol hit Li Yuan's nostrils, causing his face to flush red.

Li Chengqian was also startled when he saw this.

"Holy crap?"

Drinking liquor like water, my own imperial grandfather is too ruthless.

"Cough cough! Holy crap, what kind of alcohol is this? It's so strong!"

Li Yuan suddenly burst into a violent cough, and Li Chengqian, seeing this, quickly explained:

"Grandpa, this stuff is distilled liquor. Don't be fooled by its clear, watery appearance; it's quite potent. An ordinary person will be at their limit after just two or three cups!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan couldn't help but marvel at the white wine in front of him.

As the retired emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he had tasted all kinds of fine wines, but this was the first time he had ever experienced wine like this.

How so?

It tastes and flavors much worse than ordinary grain liquor, since both grain liquor and fruit liquor are sweet.

However, this stuff also has obvious advantages: it's strong, easy to get drunk, and easy to get intoxicated!

Li Yuan was a seasoned drinker. He could drink several large bowls of ordinary grain wine and fruit wine without any problem, but he had only drunk a small cup of the liquor brought by his rebellious grandson and was already feeling dizzy!

Don't let the taste fool you; some people enjoy the dizzying, lightheaded feeling when they drink alcohol.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan couldn't help but reveal a lewd smile on his old face.

Hehehe! I'll give it to my beloved concubine to drink later after this kid leaves. If I manage to get her drunk... tsk tsk tsk!

Seeing his grandfather's increasingly distorted smile, Li Chengqian couldn't help but reveal a strange expression.

He always felt that the old man in front of him was thinking about something bad.

Perhaps noticing Li Chengqian's gaze, Li Yuan quickly coughed awkwardly and said:

"Ahem! What are your plans for this trip to the grasslands?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian immediately expressed his thoughts.

"Here's the thing, besides the six guards of the Crown Prince, there are also three thousand Xuanjia soldiers given by the old man. If managed properly, this force is enough to wipe out the Xueyantuo, but I don't plan to do that!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

A moment later, he slowly uttered a sentence.

"When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits!"

Upon hearing his grandfather's words, Li Chengqian couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.

My imperial grandfather is quite something; he guessed my intentions after just one sentence. Indeed, how many founding emperors are simple-minded?

It's likely that the old man was able to successfully launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident not only because he was indeed very strong, but also because the Emperor never expected his old man to be so ruthless.

In other words, the emperor, the grandfather, always believed in family ties! It was precisely because of this that he wavered between his uncle and father, which led to the later tragedy.

In the end, apart from the execution of Li Yuanji, the Xuanwu Gate Incident was a tragedy in itself!

He couldn't help but smile slightly, and then spoke in a slightly teasing tone:

"Exactly! I don't want to be running to the grasslands every few days. I'm going to weaken the Xueyantuo tribe and then support a rival tribe of Xueyantuo."

As a result, internal strife continued on the grasslands, and they naturally lost all interest in marching south to the Tang Dynasty!

Hearing his beloved grandson's words, Li Yuan nodded.

"Alright! Now that you've made up your mind, go for it! The future of the Tang Dynasty will be yours sooner or later, my child!"

After the grandfather and grandson had a few more drinks, Li Chengqian took his leave.

As Li Chengqian's figure disappeared from his sight, Li Yuan couldn't help but look at the remaining bottle of white wine on the table.

He excitedly picked up the wine bottle and headed towards the back hall, grinning as he spoke:

"Hehehe! My beloved concubine! I've obtained a bottle of fine wine; you must drink plenty today!"

……

Inside the residence of the Taiyuan Wang family's branch in the capital.

"It seems we've underestimated Li Chengqian all along. We never imagined our Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty would possess such martial prowess!"

Wang Gui looked at the family heads in front of him with a complicated expression. If he had directly supported Li Chengqian back then, although the benefits would not have been as high as supporting Li Tai, it would have been much safer.

After all, Li Chengqian was the crown prince, so it was normal for him to inherit the throne step by step.

If we win this campaign against Xueyantuo, it will be even more difficult to challenge his position as crown prince!

Just then, Wang, who was standing to the side, became displeased and spoke with a face full of resentment:

"Hmph! He's nothing but a brute with no real strength. Even someone as powerful as Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, was defeated. Li Chengqian has crippled my Wang clan's direct line and humiliated our dignity. How can he possibly succeed to the throne? Dream on!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Sheng, the head of the Lu family of Fanyang, couldn't help but roll his eyes at him.

Even if Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, could lose, Li Tai would only be able to lose if he were Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty. You're giving that little fat guy way too much credit!

At this time, apart from the Zheng family of Xingyang and the Wang family of Taiyuan, the heads of the other prominent families were somewhat relieved that they had not gone to offend Li Chengqian.

In their view, given their aristocratic status, they would remain superior in the Tang Dynasty even if they did nothing.

We should simply remain neutral and watch the two tigers fight from the sidelines, just like Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng did back then!

The head of the Cui family of Qinghe immediately cupped his hands in greeting to Wang Gui and Wang Shan and said with a smile:

"Hehe! Brother Wang! It's getting late, and I have some matters to attend to at my residence, so I'll take my leave now!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Sheng, the Cui family of Boling, and the head of the Li family of Zhao County all took their leave.

Watching Ji Ru leave, Wang Shan's face was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

"Damn it! The whole 'five surnames and seven clans are of one blood' nonsense!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but shake his head helplessly!

"Forget it! If they don't want to get involved, then let it go! It's understandable!"

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Zheng Yang couldn't help but reveal a sinister smile.

"Heh! This expedition is indeed an opportunity for Li Chengqian, but isn't it also an opportunity for us? The battlefield is extremely dangerous, and it's quite normal for something to happen to Li Chengqian!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui and Wang Shan were both taken aback.

They naturally understood the meaning behind Zheng Yang's words: the battlefield was dangerous, and it would be quite normal if Li Chengqian did not return due to an accident on the battlefield.

But as for how this accident happened, that's none of your business!

However, Wang Gui couldn't help but frown slightly.

"This matter is probably not very appropriate. If it is exposed, Li Shimin's wrath is no joke. At that time, even our aristocratic families may be in danger of being destroyed!"