LFHYB -Chapter 120 Father and Sons Reunite in Taiyuan

The imperial edict granting their marriages struck Li Shimin and Li Xuanba completely by surprise, throwing all their plans into chaos.

Li Shimin took it rather well. Though he felt gloomy for a moment, the thought of being able to marry Guanyin earlier immediately made him happy again.

Li Xuanba acted open-minded at first, but he had been stewing in frustration over their disrupted plans.

Even though Li Xuanba had long accepted that the future Tang Gaozu would definitely be Li Yuan, he still wanted his second brother to ascend the throne a few years earlier.

His entire strategy had been laid out: Second Brother would develop his power in the Hexi Corridor. While the Central Plains descended into chaos and the frontier lost contact with the court, he would sweep up the Western Regions, Hexi, and the Longxi commanderies. When their father raised his banner, Second Brother would march east from Longxi and, while Father was still rushing along, capture Daxing in one fell swoop and rename it Chang’an.

Li Xuanba firmly believed that the reason Li Shimin had been so constrained in actual history was because all his great military achievements came only after Li Yuan rebelled. Nominally, he was merely Tang Gaozu Li Yuan’s general—his command authority and logistics all depended on Li Yuan.

In history, Li Shimin showed his brilliance at sixteen when he offered a strategy to save the emperor, then at eighteen he followed his father in rebellion and began the life of the Heavenly-Policy Grand General.

But now, Second Brother had captured Tuyuhun’s Khan Fu-yun alive at ten, become a Tiger Guard General at thirteen, and at fourteen was already defending Hexi and recovering Xihai Commandery. Li Xuanba had even made contact with the Western Turks, planning to have Second Brother deal the Eastern Turks a crushing blow before the Sui dynasty collapsed—achieving the feat of “surpassing the Champion Marquis before becoming emperor.”

Everyone knew that the main “criticism” of Li Shimin’s historical record was that his brilliance lay only in civil wars. When it came time to fight foreign wars, he was already emperor and could no longer lead armies in person. Even when he finally convinced his ministers to allow him to campaign against Goguryeo, he failed to achieve the total destruction of the enemy state.

Although most later generations believed that if Li Shimin had not become emperor, his name would surely have been inscribed at Fenglangjuxu and Mount Yanran, the reality was that he did become emperor—and so this remained a lifelong regret.

That was why Li Xuanba kept urging him inwardly: [Second Brother, stand tall! Work hard! Your time to accomplish Fenglangjuxu and carve your name at Yanran is running out! Don’t live with regret for the rest of your life!]

He couldn’t say it out loud, but he could mutter it endlessly in his heart.

Li Shimin covered his ears, but he couldn’t block his heart, and he deliberately kept three meters away from Li Xuanba.

Thankfully, his brother’s telepathic range didn’t grow with age, or he would have been driven mad.

Still, after being nagged by Li Xuanba like this, Li Shimin’s mood also grew heavy.

What genius general didn’t dream of Fenglangjuxu and Yanran stone inscriptions?

“If I can’t accomplish this before becoming emperor, then I’ll have to trouble A-Xuan,” Li Shimin secretly plotted with Changsun Wuji behind his brother’s back, grabbing his hand. “You must help me sneak out of the capital so I can personally lead campaigns.”

Changsun Wuji rolled his eyes fiercely.

You might be fine, but I’ll probably be thrown into prison by Li Sanlang for months—and even my little sister won’t be able to save me!

But Li Shimin’s requests were something Changsun Wuji had never known how to refuse since childhood. No matter how much he complained inside, he still agreed.

Before leaving Zhangye, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba urgently summoned Fang Qiao and Du Ruhui back as well.

Fang Qiao, who had evolved from a shy and aloof scholar into a master of social relations after years as a county magistrate, thumped his chest and promised, “I will do my utmost to stabilize the hearts of the officials in Hexi and Longxi.”

Du Ruhui yawned and said, “Just leave me some capable generals. You raise troops by raiding grassland cattle and sheep—I don’t have the ability to command armies.”

Li Shimin said, “I will leave veterans like Zhou Da behind and take only the newly recruited Hexi troops with me. Use them with confidence, Kemin.”

Du Ruhui asked, “And all the merchant caravans’ money will be under my control?”

Li Shimin looked at Li Xuanba.

After thinking for a moment, Li Xuanba said, “I’ll leave Yan Zhen with you.”

Du Ruhui smiled. “With Seventh Young Master Yan here, I’m reassured.”

Li Shimin then asked Changsun Wuji, “Guanyin and I are getting married—are you really not coming back?”

Changsun Wuji replied irritably, “Do you think I don’t want to? My father won’t allow it. He says Hexi is of vital importance and must not be left unattended.”

Gao Biaoren not only brought the imperial edict, but also letters from four old men in Daxing City.

Because the realm was in chaos, Yang Guang was again campaigning against Goguryeo, and the Crown Prince was also making suspicious moves, it was not suitable to hold a grand wedding. After discussion between Li Yuan, Changsun Sheng, and Yuwen Bi, they decided the wedding would be kept modest, with fewer guests invited.

Moreover, with the whole realm in chaos, even if they wanted to invite more relatives, many of them wouldn’t be able to come. For example, Yuwen Zhu’s eldest uncle was serving as an official elsewhere and therefore could not attend.

Changsun Sheng wrote to persuade his son and Li Shimin’s other friends that this was merely a formality—the true wedding between Li Shimin and his daughter would be the future Empress-Investiture Ceremony.

When Gao Biaoren read Changsun Sheng’s letter, the corner of his mouth twitched for a long time.

Li Yuan hadn’t even become emperor yet, and General Changsun was already determined that his future son-in-law would be emperor. Gao Biaoren felt just a tiny bit of sympathy for Li Yuan.

This sudden marriage not only disrupted Li Shimin and Li Xuanba’s plans, but also made the wedding far from perfect.

Li Shimin had already resolved that when the time came for the Empress-Investiture Ceremony, he would hold a grand wedding all over again.

As for Li Xuanba… Li Xuanba thought that if he could live to see that day, he would ask Yuwen Zhu what she wanted. If she was willing, then even if it meant violating ritual propriety, he would hold another wedding for her as well.

Rushing things like this was simply too unfair to Yuwen Zhu.

After everything had been arranged, Li Shimin returned to the Central Plains with Luo Shixin, Zong Luohu, and the five hundred warriors he had recruited in Heyou.

Li Xuanba took Xiang Gu away from the merchant caravan, leaving Chen Tieniu—who was most familiar with all his current affairs—with Changsun Wuji. As for his own guards, he would just freeload off his second brother. After all, he was the deputy commander; he could be counted as one of the generals Li Shimin was bringing home anyway.

In the fourth month, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba returned to Daxing City and picked up Changsun Sheng and Yuwen Bi, then traveled together to Taiyuan.

Gao Jiong and Xue Daoheng did not go with them; they did not intend to attend their disciples’ weddings.

Both Li Shimin and Li Xuanba felt regretful.

Gao Jiong comforted them, “Something big is certain to happen this year. Xuanqing and I are still being watched by the emperor, so we have to keep a low profile. When a great man acts, he must take the overall situation into account.”

Xue Daoheng snorted. “Erlang, don’t just focus on your wife’s Empress-Investiture Ceremony—remember to get Sanlang’s wife properly ennobled as well. I’ll be the master of ceremonies for you!”

Li Shimin answered solemnly, “Yes, Teacher.”

After a small gathering, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba set off once again.

Originally, they had planned to hold the weddings in Luoyang.

All the families had residences there, which would have made the wedding arrangements simpler and allowed them to host more guests.

But inside Taiyuan there were bandits everywhere, and outside the city the Eastern Turkic Khaganate was stirring. Li Yuan couldn’t get away, so he moved the location of his two sons’ weddings to Taiyuan instead.

All three families understood that this was a political marriage. After Yuwen Yuan and Changsun Sheng had secured enough tangible benefits for their daughters, they both made their compromises.

The Yuwen and Changsun families bought residences in advance in Taiyuan and moved servants and dowries into them. When the time came, the two girls would marry out from their new homes. These two grand residences would also become part of their dowries.

Yuwen Zhu and Miss Changsun were already in Taiyuan preparing for their weddings. Yuwen Bi and Changsun Sheng had stayed behind in Daxing specifically to wait for Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, so they could question them in detail about their future strategies along the road.

Talking about sensitive matters on the road was far safer than in the city, so they could speak freely.

When Changsun Sheng heard that Li Xuanba had just invited an envoy from the Western Turks and agreed to jointly attack the Eastern Turks, he was so furious that his vision went black and he nearly fainted, scaring both Li Shimin and Li Xuanba out of their wits.

“With Changsun Silang there, he’ll definitely maintain good relations with the Western Turks. Teacher, there’s no need to worry,” Li Xuanba tried to console him.

Changsun Sheng slapped his thigh angrily. “What good does maintaining good relations with the Western Turks do? Can he conjure up another Li Erlang to attack the Eastern Turks?!”

Li Erlang rubbed his nose and dared not say a word.

Clearly this wasn’t his or A-Xuan’s fault—so why were the two of them the ones getting scolded?

Yuwen Bi also sighed deeply, full of regret.

If Erlang and Sanlang hadn’t been called back now, they would probably already be preparing to give the Eastern Turks a hard blow.

When the realm was unified, the Eastern Turks would be a grave internal threat and would certainly meddle in the Central Plains. They could clearly have prevented this in advance, yet through a twist of fate they missed the chance—what a pity.

Since things had already come to this, being angry was useless. Changsun Sheng began writing a letter in the carriage to give Changsun Wuji instructions, telling him to pacify the Western Turkic envoys properly and stall them for a year or two—he absolutely must not let them leave.

No—better yet, have Silang bring this group of Western Turkic envoys back to Taiyuan under the excuse that “my sister is getting married and I need to return home to visit relatives.”

They could also try with the Heavenly Pillar Khagan—invite more people from the Western Regions to attend the wedding!

In an instant, Changsun Sheng completed his scheme in his mind and ordered a trusted aide to gallop off at top speed to deliver it to Changsun Wuji.

Watching the aide’s horse fly off into the distance, Changsun Sheng looked regretful.

Although he had survived his brush with death, his body was no longer what it had been in his youth. He could no longer gallop freely across the grasslands.

If he were ten years younger, he would personally go to Zhangye. By the time his son-in-law returned, the Eastern and Western Turks might well have split into eastern, western, southern, and northern Turks, and they would absolutely not interfere with his son-in-law’s road to unifying the Central Plains.

The younger generation had decent talent, but their lack of experience still limited them.

Seeing the regret on Changsun Sheng’s face, Yuwen Bi said, “What, you’re already admitting you’re old? I’m not. Take good care of your health—maybe we’ll still have another chance to make great achievements.”

The regret faded from Changsun Sheng’s face, replaced by firm resolve. “You’re right.”

Outside the carriage, Li Shimin—whose hearing was extremely sharp—shot his younger brother a look.

Li Xuanba: [Say what you want directly.]

Li Shimin kept making faces at him. If he could say it in his head, why would he need to keep signaling?

Li Xuanba: [You want to say that with the teachers still around, your little friends will have an even harder fight over the chancellorship.]

Li Shimin: [Exactly!]

Li Xuanba: [Oh, give it a rest. The teachers are old; it’s time for them to enjoy their later years. You want to work them to death?]

Li Shimin pointed toward the carriage.

Li Xuanba: [Uh… if the teachers insist on working, what can we do? Fang Xuanling and the others are still young; they can wait. It’s Brother Du and Brother Xue who really need to take care of their health. By the way, where did Brother Xue run off to? Why hasn’t he come back yet?]

Li Shimin nodded. Right—where did Brother Xue go?

At the same time, on Tsukushi Island, where he was digging for shells, Xue Shou let out a huge sneeze.

Rubbing his nose, Xue Shou gave a bitter smile. “It must be Li Er and Li San thinking about me… or maybe Old Du and Old Fang are mocking me.”

Chen Leng asked curiously, “Why? Isn’t it more likely that your family is missing you?”

Xue Shou sighed. “It’s just intuition.”

Chen Leng laughed. “If you’re in a hurry to go back, I can have a ship take you part of the way.”

Xue Shou shook his head. “Since I am serving as the general’s adviser, I should see this campaign through for the general before returning to boast to my friends.”

I, Xue Shou, though merely a scholar, can still wield a three-chi sword and expand our territory!

Li San says there’s a gold mine on this island. His diplomatic mission got lost after running into pirates, and they were rescued by Chen Leng, who was stationed in Ryukyu preparing for war against Wa. After finally persuading General Chen to attack Tsukushi Island, how could they possibly give up halfway?

Moreover, General Chen is both wise and brave. If Xue Shou stayed by his side as an adviser, it would be easier in the future to persuade him to throw his lot in with Li Erlang.

Xue Shou rubbed his nose and kept digging for shells. “My friends must still be grinding out their credentials right now. When I come back after achieving great deeds with General Chen, I’ll be able to laugh at them.”

Chen Leng burst into laughter. “Good… wait, the ‘Li Er’ you mentioned—do you mean Li Shimin, Li Erlang?”

Xue Shou replied, “Yes.”

Chen Leng suddenly felt the urge to dampen Xue Shou’s spirits a little.

Although the news he received from the Central Plains was now somewhat delayed, he had still been there when Li Erlang captured the Tuyuhun khan, Fuyun, alive.

Li Erlang had managed to seize Fuyun when he was only ten years old. Now that more than three years had passed, if he had had another chance to go to war, he must have racked up even more achievements.

Truly, heroes arise young in every age.

Chen Leng decided to treat Xue Shou even better. All of Xue Shou’s friends were youthful prodigies with boundless futures—Xue Shou himself must be the same.

…

In early April, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were finally reunited with their family.

Li Yuan, full of high spirits, rode out a hundred li to welcome his two sons. Before he could even hug them, Li Shimin started complaining.

“Father! Xuan just helped me make arrangements with the Western Turkic Khagan to go scare the Eastern Turks together, and you called Xuan and me back. If I miss the chance to ‘seal the wolf at Mount Langju and carve stone at Mount Yanran,’ it’ll all be your fault!”

Li Yuan’s smile froze. “Is that really so?”

He looked at Li Xuanba.

Li Xuanba gave a bitter smile. “I went to Yiwu City last November to meet the Western Turkic Khagan. It really wasn’t easy.”

Li Yuan was so embarrassed that sweat broke out on his forehead. “Didn’t you just retake Xihai Commandery? And now you’re already planning to fight the Eastern Turks? Where are the money and provisions coming from?”

Li Shimin, who had just finished changing his teeth, raised his thumb and grinned, showing eight bright teeth. “The Western Turkic Khagan is generous—he said he’d pay.”

Li Xuanba added in an honest tone, “When Second Brother fought the remaining Tuyuhun forces, Tianzhu Khagan covered all the expenses. Afterward he even let Second Brother pick the spoils first. People of the Western Regions really are simple and magnanimous.”

Li Yuan was completely baffled.

The people of the Western Regions… simple and magnanimous? As if he had never dealt with them before! He had even fought the Tuyuhun himself!

Li Yuan waved his hand. “I don’t believe it. Could it really be that easy?”

Changsun Sheng stepped out of the carriage and said irritably, “The envoys sent by the Western Turkic Khagan and the Tianzhu King-Khagan to congratulate Li Erlang and Li Sanlang on their marriages are already on the road. I’m still worrying about how to explain this to His Majesty.”

Yuwen Bi also sighed. “Yes. With the realm in chaos, Second and Third Young Masters’ weddings should be kept low-key. If those envoys arrive, how can it stay low-key?”

Li Yuan: “……”

Even though he was being scolded by his sons and complained at by his in-laws, he was secretly delighted.

Li Yuan coughed a few times to suppress his smile and pretended to sigh. “Who would have thought you two were so restless? I assumed that after taking Xihai Commandery you’d rest for a year or two, which is why I rushed you back to get married. Ah, you brothers have loved stirring things up since childhood—this really puts me in a difficult spot.”

After holding it in for a long while, he still couldn’t help but laugh proudly. “Fine, fine, it’s Father’s fault for underestimating you—hahaha!”

Li Shimin laughed and complained, “Father, don’t just laugh. How are you going to make it up to me?”

Li Xuanba looked at the faint yearning in his second brother’s expression and sighed inwardly.

Imitating his brother’s tone, he said expressionlessly, “Father, when Second Brother recruited clerks and scholars in the Hexi region, the local literati looked down on him for being young and refused to serve him. You’ve opened your own headquarters now—you must have plenty of men of letters under you…”

Holding the reins with one hand, Li Xuanba stretched out the other. “We don’t ask for much. Start with ten.”

Li Yuan joked, “Ten will be enough?”

Li Shimin grinned. “The more the better!”

Li Yuan poked Li Shimin on the forehead with his riding crop. “So you’re doing a Han Xin, ‘the more troops the better,’ huh? Fine—this time it’s Father who’s in the wrong. I’ll prepare a full staff for you to take to Zhangye.”

Then Li Yuan’s expression darkened. “They’re nothing but powerful families in a remote region, yet they dare to call themselves great clans and look down on the Tang Duke’s household? Hmph.”

Changsun Sheng and Yuwen Bi changed from the carriage to their horses and listened to the casual conversation between Li Yuan and his two sons.

Seeing Li Yuan’s expression, Changsun Sheng said, “What, did the great clans offend you again? Isn’t your eldest son married into the Zheng clan of Xingyang? With the Xingyang Zheng backing you, who in Hedong would dare give you trouble?”

Li Yuan grumbled, “Don’t even mention the Xingyang Zheng. Just talking about them makes me angry.”

Changsun Sheng and Yuwen Bi were family, and Taiyuan was Li Yuan’s own territory, so he had nothing to hold back and began venting directly.

Li Xuanba listened carefully, extracting useful information from Li Yuan’s complaints.

Although Li Yuan had become Taiyuan’s garrison commander and pacification commissioner for Shanxi and Hedong a few years earlier than in the original history, things were still much the same: Li Yuan was permanently stationed in Taiyuan in charge of Shanxi affairs, while Li Jiancheng was permanently stationed in Hedong Commandery (modern Yongji, Shanxi), handling Hedong affairs.

This was how noble families operated: the father held office, and the eldest legitimate son assisted him. That was why many heirs never went out to take posts of their own—whatever power their father had, they had as well, acting as a sort of deputy.

Later dynasties were the same. In the Ming, if a Grand Secretary’s son was capable, he often wielded nearly as much authority as his father and was called a “Little Grand Secretary.”

Although Li Jiancheng had resigned his official post at court, Li Yuan’s power was his power. He was effectively half a Duke of Tang. Therefore, when Li Yuan defended the Shanxi frontier against rebellions and foreign enemies, Li Jiancheng also had to suppress unrest in Hedong—it was not merely that Li Yuan had sent him there to “gather talented men.”

At the same time, Hedong Commandery lay at a bend of the Yellow River, just a little upstream from the Sanmen Gorge. Traveling downstream along the river was quite convenient so long as one was not transporting large amounts of supplies, and it was very close to both Luoyang and Zhengzhou (Xingyang).

Although Hedong was essentially the private territory of the Hedong Xue clan, the great aristocratic families of Shandong—the so-called Five Surnames and Seven Great Houses—also had deep roots there, especially the Zheng clan of Xingyang.

Li Jiancheng had always liked to associate with powerful aristocratic families when he was in Daxing and Luoyang, and he was also the son-in-law of the Xingyang Zheng clan. Li Yuan therefore believed that if Li Jiancheng were put in charge of Hedong, things should go smoothly.

But unexpectedly, the Xingyang Zheng clan barely paid any attention to their son-in-law at all.

First of all, because the Xingyang Zheng clan had asked Li Jiancheng to “invite” Second Young Master Li and Third Young Master Li to travel hundreds of li to help suppress bandits, they were severely scolded by Yang Guang. Their leading figure at court, Duke of Xinguo Zheng Yuanshu, was dismissed from office, which caused cracks to appear in the alliance between the Zheng clan and the Li family.

And even setting that aside, the great Shandong aristocratic clans of the Five Surnames and Seven Houses were inherently proud.

Back in the day, when Duke of Chu Yang Su was at the height of his power, he paid a huge bride price to marry a daughter of the Cui clan of Qinghe to his son Yang Xuanzong. Yet Cui Biao, the bride’s father—who was merely an Attendant Cavalier in Loose Office—came to escort his daughter wearing ragged clothes and riding a donkey backward.

Yang Su endured it at first, but Cui Biao then became even more insulting and rude. Yang Su was so furious that he stormed off, though in the end they still reconciled.

This shows just how arrogant the great clans were—and also how high their social standing truly was.

If they did not even take Yang Su seriously, how much less would they care about Li Yuan?

Even if the Zheng clan did not hold offices at court equal to Li Yuan’s, so what? They still looked down on him all the same.

Yet while these great families were arrogant and freely belittled their in-laws, they were also completely unashamed about selling off their daughters for exorbitant bride prices.

Before Li Jiancheng even had an acknowledged eldest son by a concubine, the Zheng clan had already asked him whether he wanted to take another Zheng daughter, and they even tried to extend their hands into the inner courts of Second Young Master Li and Third Young Master Li.

In short, when it came to marrying off their main daughters, they were extremely proud—but when it came to sending off collateral-branch girls or widows, they were not stingy at all.

So after Li Jiancheng went to Hedong Commandery, aside from his father-in-law’s family asking him whether he wanted to change concubines, he received not the slightest real support from the Zheng clan.

The commandery governor of Hedong and the Tiger Guard General also did not give Li Jiancheng much genuine respect. They merely propped him up as a figurehead. Li Jiancheng spent large sums of money holding banquets and gatherings, so he had plenty of drinking companions—but almost no one was truly willing to throw in their lot with the Li family.

Li Jiancheng was the heir of the Duke of Tang. For the Hedong and Shandong aristocrats to give him no face at all was the same as giving no face to Duke Li Yuan himself. No wonder Li Yuan was angry.

However, perhaps they also knew they could not offend Li Yuan too deeply, so although they ignored Li Jiancheng, they still sent many of their own young men to Li Yuan’s household. Only then did Li Yuan swallow his anger.

Li Yuan said to Li Shimin, “You were snubbed in the region west of the Yellow River, and I am being snubbed in Hedong. In the future, father and son alike must make them pay.”

Li Shimin shook his head. “Father, that’s not quite right. They may not want me as a civil official, but brave men from nearby have been flocking to me. Shixin, Luohu—come here.”

Luo Shixin and Zong Luohu rode forward on horseback and cupped their fists in salute to Li Yuan.

Li Shimin said smugly, “This is Luo Shixin, and this is Zong Luohu. Not only under Father’s command, but even looking across the whole realm, it would be hard to find generals as gifted in both wisdom and courage as they are. Hmph!”

Both Luo Shixin and Zong Luohu flushed slightly.

Although Li Yuan did not really believe Li Shimin’s self-praise, he still joked, “Is that so? Then would you be willing to give them up? I’ll give you another hundred clerks in exchange.”

Li Shimin shook his head. “Genius commanders are proud by nature. They choose their own lords—moving them under someone else would be useless. Besides, I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t trade them even for millions.”

Luo Shixin and Zong Luohu turned even redder.

Luo Shixin said, “I am willing to follow only the young lord!”

Zong Luohu said, “Since the young lord does not abandon me, Luohu will never fail him!”

Li Yuan laughed heartily. “Good, good. They truly are fine generals. Second Son, you must treat them well.”

Li Zhiyun, who had been quietly pretending to be invisible the whole time, muttered, “Really? Shixin, if Second Brother tells you to follow me into battle, you wouldn’t listen to me?”

Luo Shixin said helplessly, “I acknowledge Second Young Lord as my master. That doesn’t conflict with following his orders to fight alongside others. Besides, with your little bit of ability at leading troops, who would listen to you anyway?”

Li Zhiyun said, “Then you just tell me the strategy first, and I’ll give the orders. I’m the commander—aren’t you going to help me establish my authority?”

Luo Shixin was speechless. “Fine, whatever you say.”

Li Yuan looked at Li Zhiyun and Luo Shixin with curiosity.

Li Zhiyun pointed at Luo Shixin. “Father, Luo Shixin is my friend—my best friend.”

Li Yuan laughed. “You’ve made a friend? Very good. Qijian has grown up.”

Luo Shixin whispered to Li Zhiyun, “Isn’t your courtesy name Jihong?”

Li Zhiyun whispered back, “Qijian is my childhood name.”

Luo Shixin nodded. “Oh, I see.”

Zong Luohu: “…” Luo Shixin, you’re really daring—chatting and whispering with Fifth Young Lord right in front of the Duke of Tang.

Li Yuan, however, was broad-minded and did not mind at all.

He continued chatting happily, full of high spirits.

Li Xuanba shifted his gaze away from his father and looked toward the Taiyuan city that was now close at hand.

Taiyuan… after all these twists and turns, was Second Brother still going to be a “young lord of Taiyuan” for a while?

Oh—and now that included himself as well.

“Dade, your elder brother is having some difficulties in Hedong. Go help him.”

Li Xuanba had been lost in thought and did not quite catch what Li Yuan said. He answered by reflex, “Alright… huh?”

Li Yuan said seriously, “Hedong is extremely important. You are a xiucai, refined in letters. The commandery clans of Hedong and Shandong will not look down on you. Take Qijian with you as well. At his age, he should be making more friends of his own generation.”

Although Li Xuanba was somewhat bewildered, he still replied, “Yes.” What else could he do? A father’s command could not be disobeyed.

Li Zhiyun said, “Great. Shixin, you’re coming with me. The two of us together.”

Luo Shixin had been feeling a little down, thinking that the Duke of Tang was subtly looking down on him. But when Li Zhiyun said this, he broke into a bright smile.

“Alright.”