"You really like Consort Wu?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue hurriedly denied it, fearing that Li Shimin would bring this trouble upon him.

"No, no, no!"

"My grandson was just using an analogy..."

"For example..."

Li Shimin did not feel that Li Jue was offending him; he only thought it was a joke made by his grandson.

Of course, if someone else had said those words, such as Li Zhi or Li Tai, then Li Shimin would have shown them what imperial wrath was.

"Now that I say that, Consort Wu is indeed a rare beauty, it's normal for you to have feelings for her..."

"Grandpa, I really didn't..."

"Hi!"

"You're a man now, what's there to be shy about?"

In fact, Li Shimin had been paying close attention to Li Jue's physical development and knew long ago that Li Jue had experienced the "mengyi" incident.

Therefore, he was so eager to arrange for Li Jue to choose a concubine, hoping to hold his great-grandson as soon as possible.

"But you're too young. If we marry you to a woman who's too old, your wife might grow old before you even reach middle age. You won't mind then, will you?"

Dozens of black lines appeared on Li Jue's forehead. He thought to himself, "What's wrong with this old man? Does he have to talk to me about women?"

"Grandpa, can we change the subject?"

"Change what?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin spoke in a serious tone.

"We're talking about serious business!"

"This concerns the succession of the royal family; who dares to say it's not a serious matter?"

"I……"

Li Jue was speechless upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "How can a grandfather discuss women with his grandson? This is just too outrageous!"

However, Li Shimin enjoyed it, pulling Li Jue to sit on a small hill and listing the advantages and disadvantages of various women for him.

"Let me tell you, women are all the same when they're naked..."

"But feelings are different. Like your grandmother and me, we were a couple who went through thick and thin together, and we always treated each other with respect. It's just a pity that your grandmother passed away early..."

"When your grandmother passed away, your ninth uncle had just learned to run, and your aunt Sizi had just been weaned..."

"Time flies, and more than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye..."

"In short, you don't need to worry too much about women. Your father-in-law will definitely find you a young, beautiful, caring, and warm-hearted wife..."

"Oh...ah?"

"Why are you going up here again, old man!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin burst into laughter, then affectionately patted Li Jue's head, which resembled that of a little lion.

"Oh my, so you're shy now?"

"However, on the other hand, our emperors are not lacking in women. You must not become obsessed with women in the future, and you must never allow the harem to interfere in politics..."

Li Jue rolled his eyes dismissively upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "You should say this to Uncle Jiu, there's no point in telling me this."

The thought of Li Zhi being captured by the Xueyantuo people filled Li Jue with gloom.

He didn't care whether this guy lived or died; the important thing was that this guy had disgraced the Tang Dynasty!

"Grandpa, we still have to find a way to save Uncle Jiu!"

"oh?"

Li Shimin was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

"You really want to save him?"

"certainly!"

"No matter how you look at it, we must save Uncle Jiu!"

"Yeah?"

Li Shimin was somewhat skeptical upon hearing this; he didn't believe Li Jue would have such good intentions. After all, Li Jue had long been sharpening his knives at the crown prince; how could he possibly hope for Zhi Nu's return?

The two talked for a while longer. When they saw the Tang cavalry running over, they remounted their horses and returned to Shuozhou under the escort of the main force.

This was Li Jue's first time visiting Shuozhou. Upon seeing the grandeur and vastness of Shuozhou, he immediately felt indignant on behalf of Xiazhou.

"Grandpa, Shuozhou City is too big! This is unfair to our Xiazhou!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately reprimanded him.

Watch your words!

"What do you mean by 'your Xiazhou'?"

"That is my Xia Prefecture!"

"Furthermore, an emperor must prioritize the well-being of the entire nation and must not show favoritism to any particular region. Otherwise, it would be an injustice to the entire nation!"

"Oh oh oh..."

Upon hearing this, Li Jue stuck out his tongue guiltily, thinking to himself that this old man was really making a mountain out of a molehill. He had only said it casually, but he had brought up so many reasons.

When Li Jing saw that Li Shimin had finally returned, he hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. The banquet is ready. Shall we begin now?"

Li Shimin nodded upon hearing this.

Let's begin!

"I will issue an imperial edict today, appointing Li Jue as the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. This will be announced to the world soon, so that all the people may know about this!"

Li Jing nodded upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"In this way, the crown prince in Xueyantuo's hands is useless!"

Li Shimin nodded in agreement, showing his strong approval of Li Jing's words.

In fact, the reason why he was so eager to establish Li Jue as emperor was not only because of his fondness for Li Jue, but also because of the Xueyantuo.

As a dignified and superior nation, we absolutely cannot allow the Xueyantuo to gain any advantage!

Even if they kidnap their own son, it won't work!

As long as I appoint Li Jue as the new crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, the crown prince in Xueyantuo's hands will be useless, and then I will have a thousand ways to rescue Li Zhi!

Indeed, Li Shimin had always wanted to rescue Li Zhi.

Although he said several times in his rage that he wanted to kill Li Zhi, he was, after all, his own son, so how could he really bear to kill him?

Therefore, bestowing titles upon Li Jueben was part of this strategy, which can be considered a tactic against the Xueyantuo.

As for what happened after Li Zhi was rescued...

To be honest, Li Shimin hadn't decided how to deal with him yet. He didn't know whether to make him a leisurely prince or an ordinary commoner.

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