“The Khan is wise.” Facing Liu Wenjing’s flattery, Shibi smiled and said, “This Khan trusts Duke Li, so I’m only willing to cooperate with Duke Li, not with others. Do you understand?”

Liu Wenjing heard the implication in his words and said, “Please enlighten me, Khan.”

Shibi raised the letter in his hand and said, “According to what Duke Li says in the letter, he wants to go to Jiangdu to bring back Yang Guang, continue to let Yang Guang be emperor, and thus restore good relations with us Turks. Yang Guang is an arrogant, conceited, and stubborn person. If he returns to Luoyang, I’m afraid the first thing he’ll do won’t be to restore good relations with this Khan, but to go to war again.”

Hearing this, Liu Wenjing quickly said, “Khan, please be assured, there will absolutely be no such thing. Even if Yang Guang wants to go to war, Duke Li will never agree.”

“But Duke Li is always a subject, and Yang Guang is the ruler. There has always been only subjects listening to rulers’ words—when has there ever been a ruler listening to a subject’s words? When that time truly comes, even if Duke Li doesn’t want to go to war, he won’t be able to refuse. Then it will again be devastation for all living beings, with people displaced and homeless. So if Yang Guang continues as emperor, I’ll act as if I never saw this letter.”

Liu Wenjing frowned tightly. Shibi’s words were clearly forcing Li Yuan to declare himself emperor and completely break with the Sui Dynasty. Once Li Yuan really did this, he would become the target of all attacks—not only would the Sui army want to destroy him, but even Li Mi and those others who were closely watching the imperial throne wouldn’t allow him to continue existing. This was simply pushing him into a pit of fire, while Shibi would sit back and reap the benefits. People say the Turks have no brains, but this saying certainly doesn’t apply to Shibi.

After some tense thinking, Liu Wenjing said, “Duke Li is a close relative of the Sui Dynasty, and His Majesty has treated him extremely well all these years. I’m afraid he wouldn’t agree to declare himself emperor. Actually, it doesn’t matter who becomes emperor—what matters is in whose hands the military power lies. Don’t you think so?”

Some generals nodded slightly, obviously agreeing with Liu Wenjing’s words, but unfortunately Shibi insisted, “This is this Khan’s only requirement. If Duke Li won’t even agree to this, it can only mean that Duke Li has no sincerity in cooperating with us.”

Liu Wenjing hastily said, “If Duke Li had no sincerity, he wouldn’t have sent me on this trip. Duke Li told me that as long as the Khan is willing to lend a helping hand, he will never go to war with you for his entire life.”

Shibi raised his hand and said, “My mind is made up. You need not say more. I’ll write a letter later for you to take back to Duke Li.”

Liu Wenjing had no choice but to agree. After drinking the welcoming banquet that Shibi specially arranged, he received the letter and rushed back to Taiyuan. Li Yuan had already been waiting anxiously, and as soon as he saw him return, he immediately asked about the mission. After reading the letter that Shibi had Liu Wenjing bring back, Li Yuan’s expression was extremely ugly. He angrily threw the letter onto the desk and said through gritted teeth, “Shibi, that old fox.” After a pause, he shouted, “Summon all the generals here for discussion.”

Soon, Li Jiancheng and the others all arrived. After learning of Shibi’s demand, their expressions also looked quite bad. Li Yuanji was the first to speak, “This old dog is going too far. Hmph, since he’s deliberately making things difficult, we don’t need to beg him either. I don’t believe that without him, we can’t win this war. If Father is worried about the Turks causing trouble from behind, I’ll take men to destroy them right now.”

“Nonsense!” Li Jiancheng scolded, “Throughout all dynasties, who hasn’t wanted to destroy the Turks, and who has actually succeeded in destroying them? How could you alone possibly accomplish this?”

After being scolded by him, Li Yuanji said unhappily, “Big Brother, don’t boost others’ morale while destroying your own prestige. They’re just some uncivilized barbarians—what’s so great about them?”

“In any case, don’t act rashly.” Saying this, Li Jiancheng said, “Father, if we declare ourselves emperor now, Yang Guang will definitely mobilize all troops to eliminate us at any cost, so this absolutely won’t work.”

“I know, but if we don’t comply with Shibi’s demand, not only will Wenjing’s trip have been in vain, but we’ll face enemies from both front and rear in the future.” Li Yuan frowned tightly. Shibi had really given him a huge problem, making it impossible for him to agree or disagree.

Peiji said, “Duke Li, the Turks are impatient by nature. If we don’t reply quickly, I’m afraid they’ll change their minds, and then it will be even more troublesome.”

Li Jiancheng said, “But Shibi is clearly trying to harm us. This demand absolutely cannot be agreed to.” Everyone fell silent. Yes, agreeing was a dead end, and not agreeing was also a dead end. There was simply no choice.

Li Yuanji held back for a long time and couldn’t help saying, “Father, let me go. I can definitely eliminate those Turkic barbarians for you.”

Li Shimin frowned and said, “Fourth Brother, Big Brother already said that the Turks are brave and warlike, and their entire population are soldiers. They can’t be eliminated by momentary courage alone.”

Li Yuanji said impatiently, “That’s better than everyone just standing here doing nothing. Father…”

Before he could continue, Li Yuan said, “Your Second Brother is right. If the Turks were so easy to eliminate, they wouldn’t have lasted until now. There must be a way to solve this matter. Let’s calm down and think carefully. Don’t be hasty.”

Although Li Yuanji was unconvinced, he didn’t dare to contradict Li Yuan. He could only sit sullenly in his chair. Li Jiancheng, sitting beside him, saw his state and said softly, “Impulsiveness can’t solve problems. Everything still needs to be planned carefully.”

Li Yuanji said angrily, “There’s nothing to plan. The only option is to fight.”

While they were talking, Liu Hongji, who sat next to Li Shimin, said quietly, “Has Second Young Master ever heard of the Shang Dynasty Prime Minister Yi Yin exiling King Tai Jia to Tong Palace?”

Li Shimin said puzzledly, “I’ve naturally heard of it. Why do you ask, Master Liu?”

Liu Hongji smiled without speaking, leaving Li Shimin full of confusion. During the time he had worked with Liu Hongji, he knew well that this man was resourceful and exceptionally intelligent. Everything he said had meaning, and he would never say meaningless things. He believed this time was the same, but… they were discussing the Turkic matter, yet Liu Hongji suddenly mentioned the Shang Dynasty Prime Minister Yi Yin exiling the ruler—there couldn’t possibly be any connection between these two things… wait!

After pondering for a moment, Li Shimin showed a slight smile and blurted out, “Father, your son has thought of a solution.”

Hearing this, Li Yuan, who was troubled by this matter, perked up and quickly said, “What solution? Speak quickly.”

Li Shimin suppressed his joy and said, “From beginning to end, what Shibi Khan opposes in his letter is Father supporting Yang Guang, not the Sui Dynasty.”

Wu Shiyue said puzzledly, “Isn’t that the same thing?”

Li Shimin shook his head, “No, Yang Guang doesn’t represent the Sui Dynasty.” He then turned his gaze to Li Yuan, “Father can follow the example of Yi Yin exiling Tai Jia and Huo Guang deposing the Prince of Chanyi in previous dynasties—depose Yang Guang and enthrone the Prince of Dai. This way, we can both avoid becoming the target of the entire realm and satisfy Shibi Khan’s demands.”