My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

In early winter in Chang'an, the first heavy snow fell.

The Xueyantuo army, together with the remnants of the Turkic tribes, totaling 300,000 archers, launched a frenzied attack on the Tang Dynasty's borders before the heavy snows blocked the mountains. Shuofang City was in dire straits, and the border defense forces suffered heavy casualties.

Inside the Taiji Palace, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed as if water could drip from it.

Li Shimin summoned key officials from the Ministry of War and the Privy Council overnight to discuss sending troops to quell the rebellion.

The massive war machine of the Tang Dynasty roared deafeningly in an instant.

However, at the crucial moment of troop deployment and selection of frontline commanders, something unexpected happened in the court.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian, the former heir apparent who once needed a cane to walk.

In the grand hall, in front of all the civil and military officials, he volunteered to lead the newly formed Xuanjia Army to the front line to meet the enemy as the vanguard general!

This immediately caused an uproar in the imperial court.

The old ministers were so frightened they almost fainted. They knelt down and pleaded with the death, saying that the crown prince was the foundation of the country and that a son of a noble family should not sit under a dangerous roof.

Li Shimin was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table and rejected Li Chengqian's request without any mercy.

When Empress Zhangsun learned of this, she cried until her eyes were red and she absolutely refused to let her son go to that kind of hellish battlefield.

However, Li Chengqian of today is no longer the timid and weakling he once was.

He neither cried nor made a fuss; he just stubbornly knelt outside the Liangyi Hall, refusing to get up, as if to say, "If you don't let me go and kill people, I'll die here."

Left with no other choice.

Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun had no choice but to pull this stubborn mule along and stormed towards the Prince of Qin's residence, intending to have Li Chen, the "True Immortal Protector of the Nation," properly persuade this arrogant crown prince.

……

The warm pavilion in the backyard of the Prince of Qin's mansion.

The room was warm and cozy, with the finest silver charcoal burning inside.

Li Chen, dressed in a loose white robe, was sprawled on a deck chair covered with thick cushions, completely lacking any decorum. He held a steaming cup of red date and goji berry tea in his hand, sipping it casually.

Little Sizi was lying on the carpet next to him, holding a charcoal pencil, drawing crooked "candied hawthorns" on a piece of white paper.

"Bang!"

The door to the warm room was pushed open heavily from the outside, and a few snowflakes flew in.

Li Shimin strode in with a somber face. Behind him followed Empress Zhangsun, whose face was full of worry, and Li Chengqian, who was dressed in a thin warrior's uniform and stood tall with his head held high.

"Chen'er! You should discipline your reckless elder brother!"

As soon as Li Shimin entered, he pointed at Li Chengqian's nose and began to berate him, "This rebellious son has gone mad! Three hundred thousand barbarians from the grasslands are besieging the gates; that's a real mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood! And he actually wants to be the vanguard? Does he think fighting a war is as simple as beating up Li Tai in the Prince of Wei's mansion?"

Empress Zhangsun walked quickly to Li Chen's side, her eyes red and her voice filled with pleading.

"Chen'er, you must persuade Chengqian. Swords have no eyes on the battlefield. Although he is stronger now, he has never been on the battlefield before. If he is injured by a stray arrow, my heart will break."

Li Chengqian stood in the center of the room, like an iron tower.

He looked at Li Chen, his eyes burning with an unprecedented fervent fighting spirit and a thirst for blood.

"Sixteenth Brother! I'm not afraid of death! All my energy and strength have been stagnated in the Eastern Palace, it's practically gone moldy! A man should wield a three-foot sword and achieve unparalleled feats! I must go!"

Li Chen put down his teacup.

He slowly sat up straight, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the furious Li Shimin, the tearful Empress Zhangsun, and the battle-ready Li Chengqian.

"Go ahead."

Li Chen uttered two words lightly.

Ga?

The warm room fell silent instantly.

Li Shimin had prepared a whole host of words to use Li Chen to reprimand the Crown Prince, but all of them were choked back by these two words, leaving him with a flushed face.

Empress Zhangsun was also taken aback, thinking she had misheard.

"Chen'er, you...you agree to let him go?" Empress Zhangsun asked incredulously.

"Why do you disagree?"

Li Chen shrugged and asked indifferently.

"With his current physique, he could kill a bull with one punch. It's a waste of his talents to keep him in Chang'an. What's wrong with him going out and seeing blood, killing some people, and cleaning up those wicked steppe barbarians along the way?"

"Are you insane, or am I?!"

Li Shimin snapped out of his daze and rushed to Li Chen, roaring, "He is the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty! He is the future emperor! If he loses an arm or a leg on the battlefield, or even his life, the very foundation of the Tang Dynasty will be shaken!"

Li Chen rolled his eyes dramatically, looking at Li Shimin with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

"Old Deng, have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten what I do for a living?"

Li Chen gave a thumbs-up, pointing to his nose, his tone exuding a strong sense of confidence and arrogance.

"In your eyes, I'm at least an 'immortal' who has just survived a tribulation of lightning, right? With me here watching over him, it'll be difficult for him to die even if he wants to. I guarantee he'll come back unharmed, without a single hair missing."

"It's good to send him to the front lines to gain experience. Otherwise, if he stays in the Eastern Palace all day like a hothouse flower, how will he be able to control those arrogant and fierce soldiers under him in the future?"

Hearing Li Chen's domineering guarantee, Li Chengqian trembled with excitement and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Thank you so much, Sixteenth Brother, for your generosity!"

Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun exchanged a glance. Although they were still extremely worried, since Li Chen had put it this way, the "immortal's" guarantee carried more weight than anything else.

Empress Zhangsun sighed, having no choice but to accept the fact, and turned to prepare clothes for Li Chengqian's expedition.

"If you're going to the battlefield, you can't do it without good weapons."

Li Chen stood up and walked to a large wooden box in the corner of the warm pavilion. The box was full of top-grade weapon-refining materials that he had extorted from the powerful families a few days ago.

He reached into the box and rummaged around, pulling out a longsword that didn't even have a scabbard.

The sword has an eerie dark red color throughout. The blade is slightly wide and lacks elaborate decorations. Even the hilt is simply wrapped with rough hemp rope.

But the moment it was unsheathed, the temperature in the entire warm pavilion seemed to drop even further, and a chilling, murderous aura swept over us.

"then."

Li Chen casually tossed the longsword to Li Chengqian.

"I've been bored these past few days, so I mixed some Deep Sea Ice Essence with Xuan Iron Refined Gold and casually burned some in the alchemy furnace. It can cut through iron like mud, but the key is that it's hard and heavy enough. It's perfect for your current monstrous strength."

Li Chengqian caught the longsword, which felt unusually heavy in his hand.

He casually twirled his sword in mid-air, and with a soft "whoosh," a visible white shockwave was sliced ​​through the air!

The corner of a solid wood square table next to it was only slightly grazed by the sword energy, and it slid down silently as if cutting tofu, leaving a smooth, mirror-like cut.

"What a fine sword! Thank you, Sixteenth Brother!"

Li Chengqian stroked the sword with obvious affection, the bloodthirsty glint in his eyes growing ever stronger.

……

Three days later, at the north gate of Chang'an City.

The heavy snow continued to fall. On the drill ground outside the city gate, 30,000 Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, serving as the vanguard, stood in neat formation. The dark mass resembled a torrent of steel, exuding a suffocating aura of killing intent.

The warhorse snorted, exhaling puffs of hot white air.

Civil and military officials lined up on both sides, and Li Shimin, accompanied by Empress Zhangsun and other concubines, personally came to the city gate to see off the army.

Li Chen, also wrapped in a thick white fox fur cloak, stood on the city wall not far away, looking down at the departure ceremony.

A mournful bugle call sounded.