Ma Zhou's flattery made Li Shimin extremely comfortable.

"Ma Zhou is right!"

"Goguryeo is, after all, a small country. As soon as my army arrives, they will surely surrender without a fight!"

Li Shimin made a small boast, and then addressed the crowd.

"It seems that defining the Han Chinese ethnic group is not something that can be done overnight. You should all go back and think about it slowly. When we return to the capital after defeating Goguryeo, we will invite talents from all over the world to discuss and finalize this matter!"

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up and praised him.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"Li Jue has rendered meritorious advice, so let him be rewarded...reward him with a pair of bear paws!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue rolled his eyes in anger, while the other ministers smiled knowingly.

His Majesty's stinginess in bestowing rewards upon his eldest grandson must be for a greater benefit to come!

Seeing that everyone else had slipped away, Li Jue also tried to sneak away. But he had only taken a few steps when Li Shimin dragged him back.

"You come back to me!"

Li Jue realized the situation was bad as soon as he saw it, and quickly put on a flattering smile.

“Grandpa…”

Li Shimin snorted coldly upon seeing this.

"Too late!"

"You've got some nerve today, daring to defy me several times. If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll really think I'm a pushover, won't you?"

"No, no, no..."

"How could your grandson dare to treat you like a sick cat?"

"In his grandson's heart, his grandfather has always been a figure of divine dragon and emperor..."

"Yes, yes, yes, my grandfather has the bearing of an emperor!"

Li Shimin was powerless against Li Jue's flattery, but he had been holding back his anger for too long today, which made him forcefully suppress his laughter.

"Guards, bring me my whip! I'm going to teach this rebellious grandson a lesson!"

Cheng Yaojin and the others had not gone far from the main tent when they heard a very rhythmic cracking of whips coming from inside, followed by someone's wail.

"Is His Majesty beating his grandson again?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ji stroked his beard.

"The eldest grandson was indeed a bit too presumptuous today, and it is only right that His Majesty punishes him slightly!"

"Shouldn't we go and try to persuade them?"

"Stop trying to persuade me!"

"His Majesty has long since passed his anger, and he's now acting with restraint..."

Despite what everyone said, Cheng Yaojin was still uneasy.

Before setting off on the expedition, he had assured Yuchi Jingde and Li Jing that he would definitely protect his eldest grandson.

If His Majesty were to injure his eldest grandson, how would he explain it to his two elder brothers when he returned?

Just as Cheng Yaojing was about to turn back to persuade him, he was stopped by the Hundred Cavalry.

"General Cheng, His Majesty has decreed that no one is permitted to have an audience!"

"I……"

"I don't want to see them, I just want to see them..."

"General Cheng, rest assured, everyone in our Hundred Cavalry Division adores the eldest grandson and will not allow His Majesty to harm him!"

"Oh oh oh..."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin left with a heavy heart.

The next day, Cheng Yaojin went to Li Jue's camp early in the morning to check on the eldest grandson's injuries.

To his disappointment, the eldest grandson was not even in the main camp.

"Where is the eldest grandson?"

"General, the eldest grandson is recuperating in His Majesty's tent..."

"oh?"

Is it heavy?

Su Dingfang smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"It's not heavy!"

"I only heard from the accompanying imperial physician that the eldest grandson will be unable to walk for several days..."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then grinned.

"The eldest grandson really deserves a beating. If this were my grandson, I would have beaten him so badly he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for at least half a month, hahaha!"

"Since the eldest grandson is not here, you shall guard the house well for him, and make sure no deserters are allowed to appear under his command..."

Su Dingfang nodded upon hearing this.

"This subordinate knows the gravity of the situation and has already instructed the brigade commander and fire chief below that such a thing must not be allowed to happen!"

Cheng Yaojin nodded upon hearing this, then returned to the camp and began issuing orders, commanding the entire army to break camp and set off.

However, during the march, Cheng Yaojin would always try his best to find opportunities to loiter near Li Shimin's carriage and would occasionally report on some minor matters.

"Your Majesty, there's a landslide ahead..."

"This is a trivial matter; you can handle it yourself!"

"promise!"

"Your Majesty, a scout reports that the river ahead has swelled significantly..."

Li Shimin was so annoyed that he immediately lifted the carriage curtain.

"What exactly do you want?"

"You're a general in charge of troops, don't you even know how to handle such a small matter?"

"I……"

Li Shimin could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his hesitant expression, and immediately said to him impatiently.

"Get in the car!"

"promise!"

Cheng Yaojin quickly jumped onto the carriage and saw Li Jue writing inside. His heart immediately settled down.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to be so harsh on your eldest grandson. You even make him practice calligraphy on the march..."

Li Shimin rolled his eyes upon hearing this.

"You didn't even look at what he wrote!"

"oh?"

"May I see this?"

Li Shimin snorted coldly upon hearing this.

"Your eyes are practically popping out of their sockets, and you're asking me if I can see?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin smiled awkwardly, then craned his neck to look. He saw that his eldest grandson had written a strategy for educating the army, and he became engrossed in reading it.

He was startled awake when he heard his personal guards shouting outside.

"Chief Steward Cheng, the road ahead is clear..."

"Oh, Your Majesty, I must attend to military matters now..."

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