Traveling through the Gaowu Tang Dynasty, Li Kuan and Li Shimin became the second sons of the Prince

"Dad, my royal grandfather is indeed a good father..." The Prince of Chu suddenly felt inspired and glanced at his own father: "He is only slightly better than you..."

"You're scolding both of them, right?!" His Majesty Li II narrowed his eyes when he heard this: "Do you have to be beaten before you stop?"

"I didn't say anything wrong..." His Royal Highness Prince Chu's voice gradually became lower: "Okay, I was wrong..."

Only then did His Majesty Li II slowly put down the inkstone he had picked up from the imperial desk.

"What happened later is known to the world." When mentioning his sister's heroic deeds, His Majesty Li II's voice gradually revealed pride: "After your aunt and your uncle parted in Chang'an, she returned to Huxian County and sold the Li family's property there. Then she disguised herself as a man and took the money from the sale of the property to start relief for the victims. Soon she formed a team of several hundred people.

When your aunt learned about your grandfather's uprising, she began to recruit anti-Sui rebels everywhere. Within a few months, four or five rebel armies that had fought in Mingtang began to join her..."

When His Majesty Li II said this, he suddenly read out a series of names: "Li Zhongwen, Xiang Shanzhi, Qiu Shili, He Panren, you must remember these names."

"Dad, what are these people for? Why should I remember them?" His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu felt as if he was listening to a foreign language: Wasn't my aunt so powerful back then?!"

"If my guess is correct, these people are actually the work of your grandmother." Even though Emperor Li II is now standing in hindsight, he still can't help but have a deep respect for his mother, Empress Taimu: "These heroes in Guanzhong were all leaders of the rebel army who ignited the flames of war at that time. Any one of them had much more troops under his command than your aunt, but in the end they still chose to serve your aunt..."

"Ah..." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu suddenly realized what this foolish monarch was going to say to him: "Dad, you are testing me again..."

"It's not a test," His Majesty Li II shook his head upon hearing this, then looked at his son deeply and said, "It's a reminder."

"..." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu is now even more confused about what his father is trying to do.

"The rest of the story is not unfamiliar to you." Seeing that his son was still confused, Emperor Li II had no choice but to continue to persuade him: "Soon, your aunt began to lead these people to fight east and west. In a very short period of time, the title of 'Madam Li' began to be deeply rooted in people's hearts, because your aunt was strict in military management, always followed her orders, and was kind to the people. Most importantly, your aunt relied on her outstanding military talent to almost become invincible!

Soon, various rebel armies came to join her, and the number of troops under her command reached 70,000 - and this army was also called the Women's Army!

That year, when your father and your aunt joined forces on the north bank of the Weishui River to attack Chang'an, your aunt performed a remarkable feat. "For some reason, His Majesty Li Er, who was recounting the highlights of his sister's life, began to speak in a low voice: "Unfortunately, after that... your aunt was sent by your royal grandfather to guard Niangzi Pass until the sixth year of Wude, when she was ambushed..."

"A plot?!" His Highness the Prince of Chu raised his eyebrows when he heard this. Damn it, he realized something was wrong when his uncle had told him that his aunt's revenge had been taken. But he was busy punishing the envoy at that time and didn't take it to heart. After all, he believed that according to his uncle's temperament, the revenge had probably been taken. "Who did it?"

"No matter who did it...the murderer and the mastermind died many years ago." Emperor Li II waved his hand when he heard this. He didn't want to mention this at first, but he mentioned this past event today for the sake of educating his son.

"Kuan'er," His Majesty Li II looked at his most outstanding son with a somewhat sad expression, "Remember, don't use the trump cards your grandmother gave you at will in the future. Even your aunt was so strong, she had so many capable people under her command. But what was the result?!

Although she had the help of your grandmother at the beginning, when she and your father conquered Chang'an and went to guard Niangzi Pass, most of the strong men under her command were conquered by her herself..."

"Oh..." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu felt that he understood a little bit what his father meant: "Dad, do you want me to subdue the elite soldiers and generals?"

"Heh..." The bitter melons grown in one's own home often know how to make their own people suffer. Emperor Li Er was amused by his eldest son's completely different answer: "Well, that's what Dad meant. Take a look at those Turkic generals you brought back from the northwest last time. Dad thinks they are very good. How about you go to Tibet to have a look next time?"

"Among the Tubo people, only Lu Dongzan is worthy of my attention, but this man... is unlikely to be conquered by me..." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu is now inflated without realizing it.

"..." His Majesty Li Er shook his head helplessly after hearing this: "You really dare to think..."

"Dad, what on earth do you want to do?!" His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu found himself increasingly unable to understand his own incompetent father.

"Your aunt..." His Majesty Li II felt that there were some things that he should let this young man know: "Before she died, she left a will, saying that she wanted to leave her retainers to you."

“Huh?!” His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu was stunned by the huge pie that fell on his face: “Aunt…I…why?! Don’t I have two useless cousins?!”

"Don't be so ungrateful..." Upon hearing this, Emperor Li II shook his head, then said softly, "Before her death, your aunt probably foresaw that in the near future, there would be a war between your father, your uncle, and that bastard Li Yuanji, so she prepared for it and gave all her retainers to her most beloved nephew."

"Ah?! No, why?!" His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu scratched his head, still feeling that it didn't make sense: "Why didn't she just give the person to you?"

"Because..." His Majesty Li Er suddenly felt a kind of confidence that could swallow up a thousand miles and be as powerful as a tiger: "Your aunt always believes that Dad will win even without her help!"

boom!

As Emperor Li II finished speaking, a flash of lightning seemed to flash through Li Kuan's mind, and he finally understood the purpose of his aunt's action.

The retainers under her command were a force that was enough to arouse everyone's curiosity, so after her death, she would never hand these people over to her husband and son, because they would not be able to keep them, and this action might even become a source of trouble.

Therefore, after much consideration, Princess Pingyang Zhao decided to hand over this force to Li Kuan who was far away in Longyou.

In fact, I'm afraid even Emperor Li II has never thought about it, or he doesn't even dare to think about it: Princess Pingyang Zhao did this for another reason.

Princess Pingyang Zhao hoped that her mother, Empress Taimu, would understand her intentions through this action: even for the sake of Kuan'er, she asked her mother to agree to her last request as an unfilial daughter: not to get caught up in the whirlpool in order to avenge herself.

As for the confidence that someone just showed...

His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu doesn't like to use his brain, but he's not really a fool. Under the circumstances at that time, if the tyrant king had accepted the retainer of my aunt, I'm afraid the three brothers would have fought to their death the next moment...

But come to think of it, this will from my aunt is a great favor to me...

"No, Dad, I love to tell the truth. First of all, I have to make one thing clear to you: I have never seen my aunt's retainers." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu, who had sorted out all his thoughts, felt that there were some things he could not take the blame for: "As for those assassins, that was also the credit of the Empress Dowager..."

Well, it's okay to tell a little lie every now and then.

"Everyone thought that after your aunt passed away, her retainers scattered and drifted to all directions, but you and I both know that the truth is not so." Upon hearing this, His Majesty Li II glanced at his son calmly and said, "They were originally retainers of the Dou family, and now they have naturally become your followers."

"Ah?!" His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu scratched his head, feeling that his brain was not enough.

"It's not like your uncle had never seen those people before..." His Majesty Li II sighed after hearing this, and then said: "As for the rest of them...

They are not servants of the Dou family, so even if your aunt has left a will, they will only stand up and protect you from danger when you are in danger.

If you want to conquer them, you have to get their approval. And now—” His Majesty Li Er said this, his eyes slightly condensed, he looked at his son who was like a unicorn resting in the colorful clouds, his expression became proud: “I’m afraid you have already obtained this qualification…”