In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

"He is still young and has been sickly since childhood. I hope Your Majesty will forgive him."

Li Shimin tore open Li Ke's clothes and personally helped stop the bleeding.

"You don't need to speak up for Zhinu."

"Child, hurry up and thank your third brother and seventh uncle! Without them, you'd be dead by now!"

Li Ke was the third son, while Li Zhi was only the third among the legitimate sons, which was actually quite young.

At this moment, Li Zhi was pale, trembling, and still in shock. He seemed to have not yet recovered from the fall from his horse and could not utter a single word for a long time.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong were both anxious for him and kept reminding him, but Li Zhi was too afraid to speak.

His cowardice infuriated Li Shimin, one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history.

"Someone, take Prince Jin back and bring him here with Xuanling."

"yes!"

Li Zhi was scolded, and the fair-skinned young man was about to cry.

Li Yuanchang, standing to the side, felt ashamed; even if Li Chengqian were in his place, he would be better.

He didn't believe that Wu Zetian, who had gotten together with Li Zhi, could be interested in this little guy.

And just like that, Li Zhi didn't even have a chance to show his skills before he received a red card, which ruined Li Shimin's good mood while riding a horse.

"Seventh Brother, are you injured in the fall?" Li Shimin asked.

"Your Majesty, it's alright," Li Yuanchang said.

Li Shimin took a deep breath: "Fortunately, the two of you rushed to the rescue, otherwise this autumn hunt probably wouldn't have been able to continue."

As he spoke, he was still somewhat shaken; anyone who rides a horse knows how dangerous it was just now.

"Alas, Zhinu is kind-hearted by nature, we really shouldn't have brought him along."

His words revealed his deep concern for his son, but also an undeniable sense of disappointment.

He was a great emperor throughout history, the Heavenly Khan, and naturally hoped that his sons would all be accomplished in both literature and martial arts, but each of his legitimate sons was not as good as the last.

This made him very upset.

"Your Majesty, Prince Jin is still young. No one is born knowing everything. He will surely achieve great things if we take our time," Li Yuanchang comforted him.

"Yes, Father, I am just young, and I have been in the palace for many years and have no opportunity to go out."

"Why don't you call Zhinu back, Father? This is a good opportunity to teach him riding and archery. I am willing to take on this responsibility," Li Ke pleaded, his eyes filled with entreaty.

This made many people, including Li Yuanchang, turn their heads in surprise.

As the saying goes, a gentleman judges by actions, not intentions; and no one in the world is perfect when it comes to intentions. At this moment, whether Li Ke was deliberately putting on an act or revealing his true feelings, he was at least better than many princes.

If it were someone else, it would be good if they didn't kick someone when they're down.

Li Shimin's eyes showed great relief, and the gloom on his face gradually dissipated.

"Fine, go and bring Zhinu back."

"yes!"

Before he had gone far, Li Zhi, who had been called away, was brought back.

Li Shimin's complexion improved considerably, and he regained his composure: "Zhi Nu, you will stay by your third brother's side for a while and learn how to ride a horse properly."

"Don't be so timid and subservient. Learn from your third brother's bravery, understand?!"

The word "submissive" is quite strong, while "heroic" is used to describe Li Ke, making the difference in their levels of influence immediately apparent.

Cheng Yaojin and the others all had strange looks in their eyes.

Li Yuanchang sighed inwardly; this was actually setting a trap for Li Ke.

Li Shimin admired him greatly, but Changsun Wuji became increasingly ruthless in the later stages of his life.

"Yes, Father, I know I have disappointed you and caused my third brother and seventh uncle to be injured." Li Zhi bowed deeply.

He may have felt wronged and timid, but he wasn't as petty as Li Tai. He kept apologizing, giving people a sense of simple obedience and filial piety.

This, it must be said, was also one of Li Zhi's most distinctive features.

Upon seeing this, Li Shimin felt a pang of pity, perhaps thinking of Empress Zhangsun again, and directly ordered the troops to stop galloping and instead slow down, specifically to slow down for the sake of Prince Jin.

Li Yuanchang witnessed this accident firsthand.

He admired almost everything about Li Shimin.

But he believed that Li Shimin did a bad job on the matter of succession, and that he was truly bad at it.

This emperor, who was considered one of the greatest emperors in history, was somewhat fickle. He would take care of this son and praise that son, giving his sons the feeling that they might have a chance and that their father liked them.

Who wouldn't want to give it a try?

Everyone knows that in the Tang Dynasty, the emperor did not necessarily have to be the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

Moreover, Li Shimin wanted both, which would directly lead to fratricide.

It's better to completely ignore someone if you don't want them, and train them to the end if you do want them, without giving your subordinates any reason to think too much.

Choosing an heir is like choosing a wife in later generations; once you pick an ear of wheat, you should walk through the whole wheat field with your eyes closed.

There will always be better people, and there is no absolutely perfect successor.

Sticking to one path to the end is always better than constantly changing policies or being ambiguous.

But this emperor who reigned supreme throughout history...

This might also be a kind of curse. The reason why later emperors like Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, and Emperor Taizu of Song could not produce a crown prince is because of this.

The more capable the father is, the higher the expectations become.

Soon after, we arrived at Wangchuan.

The left and right guards have already set up a huge camp here and opened up a large enough open space to isolate themselves from wild beasts.

The inner and outer layers were all heavily guarded by the Imperial Guards.

Even the soldiers of Zhechong Prefecture in Lantian County could only guard the outer perimeter and the perimeter of the hunting grounds.

Perhaps because he hadn't had enough fun riding the horse earlier, Li Shimin immediately called everyone together as soon as he arrived at the camp and set up more than a dozen scarecrows.

"The hunt begins tomorrow. I haven't practiced archery for quite some time. Come, all my beloved ministers, come and participate and practice your skills."

"Haha, Your Majesty, your archery skills are renowned. How could we possibly be a match for you?"

"It's unfair! It's unfair!" Cheng Yaojin shouted loudly.

What seemed like recklessness actually delighted Li Shimin.

"Hahaha, Zhijie, you old codger, you're bad at archery, so you complain about unfairness." Li Shimin laughed.

"Exactly," Yuchi Gong and several other old buddies chimed in.

There was truly no animosity between the ruler and his subject.

When Xiao He and Han Xin saw this from below, they were moved to tears.

"Zhijie, it's fine if you don't want to come. We have several archers here who can hit a target from a hundred paces away!" Li Shimin said, smiling as he looked at Li Yuanchang.

Li Yuanchang said awkwardly, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

"Your Majesty, I will keep watch."

Li Shimin stretched his arms: "No, humility won't get you through. Today, all of you must show your full abilities."

"Let's see who shoots more accurately!"

"Bring me my great bow!"

"yes!"

The 100 riders quickly retrieved Li Shimin's special bow and arrows, and Li Yuanchang also sent people to retrieve a large number of bows and arrows, all of which had been prepared in advance.

Li Shimin once again set up a prize and established rules.

It's very simple: round after round, the distance is widened and the target is narrowed down, to see who can have the last laugh.

Li Shimin knew that if he got involved, no one would dare to do anything serious, so he gave a strict order in advance: anyone who dared to let the emperor off the hook would be punished for deceiving the emperor.

This put Li Yuanchang, Yuchi Gong, and several other noble generals of the Hundred Cavalry in a very difficult situation.

Winning is not an option, nor is losing.