The four of them didn't say much on the way. When they arrived at the Imperial Study, Eunuch Tang was already waiting at the door. Upon seeing them, he immediately opened the door and welcomed them inside…
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty..."
"Your humble servant pays respects to His Majesty the New Tang!"
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
"Alright, no need for formalities, please rise and take a seat!"
Soon, four chairs were brought in, and the four people sat down, their eyes immediately turning to the Emperor, awaiting his next words!
"General Dada, you've worked hard. This battle was largely thanks to the help of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, otherwise the New Tang Dynasty would have been in grave danger!"
The Emperor looked at Tuoba Dada and expressed his gratitude!
"Your Majesty is too kind. It is only natural for our two countries to form an alliance and send troops to help you quell the rebellion. I believe that with Your Majesty's strength, you can still quell the rebellion even without the help of my Xiliang cavalry..."
Tuoba Dada said politely. Hearing the conversation between the two, Li Zhu was greatly shocked. He never expected that the two countries had become allies long ago. He really didn't know how his cheap father had managed to do it!
"General Dada is quite the talker, but what you say is true. However, without the help of the Xiliang cavalry, it wouldn't have been easy to wipe out so many rebels at once. In any case, I still want to thank you. When the Xiliang army returns, the Crown Prince can accompany you westward to marry your princess, Nazha..."
Hearing his father say this, Li Zhu was stunned for a moment, thinking, "You guys can chat, but why are you dragging me into this? My development has only just begun, and if I leave now, won't that be the end of me?"
"Father, your son..."
Before Li Zhu could object, the Emperor raised his hand to stop him and said...
"You are the future emperor of the new Tang Dynasty, it would be good for you to go out and see the world..."
Li Zhu couldn't help but roll his eyes at him inwardly, thinking to himself that this wasn't some civilized, advanced modern world where people could go abroad to study all the time. If he left the center of power, it was hard to say who would be on the throne when he returned...
"But…"
"No buts. I will carry out your plan and make sure it goes according to your wishes. You can just go to Xiliang to get married with peace of mind..."
The Emperor didn't give Li Zhu a chance to refute, which made Li Zhu extremely frustrated. He never expected that his first time sitting in the Imperial Study and having a close conversation with his adoptive father would be the day he was sent away...
He's currently considering whether or not to go out and lead men to break in...
As if he could see right through Li Zhu's thoughts, the Emperor continued...
"The Imperial Guards have already laid a tight net in Luoyang, and none of these rebels will escape. However, how many big fish they can catch depends on the final news..."
Li Zhu's expression changed slightly. He had been puzzled as to how the Imperial Guards, numbering in the tens of thousands, could be so easily defeated. He hadn't expected his adoptive father to have such a scheme, playing the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, leaving the Imperial Guards to be the last to fall into the trap. He was truly cunning. Moreover, his words now were also meant to intimidate Xiliang and warn them not to act recklessly...
Li Zhu abandoned his plan to lead an army to invade; he didn't want to miss the chance to even arrange a marriage alliance with Xiliang...
"Your Majesty's wisdom is unparalleled, and these petty villains will naturally not amount to anything. I just wonder how Your Majesty will handle the affairs of the Liao Kingdom and the Baiyue?"
As a general of Xiliang, Tuoba Dada was naturally concerned about the relationship between the new Tang Dynasty and the Liao and Baiyue states. If the new Tang Dynasty chose to play both sides, then Xiliang would need to consider the necessity of forming an alliance…
In the past, the Tang Dynasty was a golden age, with all nations paying tribute and surrounding small states submitting to it. Although the new Tang Dynasty has just been established, it still has the potential to develop into a golden age. The alliances formed at that time may very well become one between a suzerain state and a vassal state. This is not the situation that Xiliang wants to see. The Central Plains have finally declined, and they want to seize the opportunity to take over the legitimacy of the Central Plains, not to depend on anyone in the future...
"The Crown Prince will handle this matter well, you can rest assured..."
Without even thinking, the Emperor replied!
Li Zhu, who sat there without saying a word, was depressed. What the hell was going on? The Crown Prince always went when there was a problem, and the Crown Prince always took charge of things. Was this really his father?
"We can rest assured that Brother Zhu will handle this..."
Naza couldn't help but laugh as she spoke, then glanced shyly at Li Zhu, which made Li Zhu roll his eyes at her...
He secretly called himself a good-for-nothing and even spread the word back to Xiliang. He could imagine what the wedding party in Xiliang would be like, probably filled with ridicule and sarcasm...
Tuoba Dada opened his mouth but didn't say anything more. However, he was very unhappy with Nazha's attitude of speaking up for Li Zhu. They weren't even married yet, and she was already talking about girls being more outgoing. What would happen after they got married?
"Father, I don't want to go..."
Li Zhu said somewhat reluctantly. He had been tricked by the envoys of the two countries before, which made him very unhappy. Now, being asked to handle the envoys' request for a marriage alliance felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter.
"Xian'er's death is very likely related to them. I suspect that someone is manipulating all of this. If you don't go, how can you find the murderer who killed Xian'er?"
The Emperor looked at Li Zhu and tried to explain, hoping to glean something from him, but Li Zhu didn't recognize the envoys from either country at all, so he had no reaction whatsoever…
He glanced at his adoptive father, who didn't seem to be joking, which made him fall into deep thought…
He suspected that Xian'er's death was related to Consort Zhu, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince. However, his father, the Emperor, said that it was related to the Liao Kingdom and the Baiyue Kingdom. Could there be some hidden story behind this?
Li Zhu took a deep breath, feeling that the waters here were far too deep. He couldn't understand why he, an upright and pure person, had to go through all this.
"Yes, Father, I am willing to go and handle the affairs of the Liao and Baiyue..."
In order to find the murderer of Xian'er, Li Zhu agreed anyway, since he was also curious as to how the envoys from both countries knew that he was so outstanding...
"Okay, that's good..."
The emperor nodded approvingly, then changed the subject, looking at Li Zhu and asking...
"What are your plans for dealing with the second child?"
Li Zhu subconsciously covered a certain part of his body, thinking to himself that of course he should protect it properly!
However, he immediately realized that the other person was referring to the Second Prince, which forced him to awkwardly conceal his unusual behavior. He then said...
“He needs to pay the price for his mistakes. If there's no consequence for making mistakes, then the cost of making mistakes is far too low for them, and they'll just repeat them. I don't have many people left around me, and I don't want to see any of them leave me…”
Upon hearing Li Zhu's words, the Emperor frowned. Although he wanted to persuade him, he didn't know how. As a father, he was helpless; the Second Prince's methods were simply too despicable…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
