Yunyi shook her head: “You’re thinking too simply. To take me out, this merit alone is not enough. On the contrary, if His Highness were to bring this matter up to His Majesty now, it would only bring him a world of trouble.”

Yunyi’s words were like a basin of cold water, pouring over Ruyi from head to toe, chilling her to the bone. After coming to her senses, she asked urgently: “His Highness has accomplished such great merit. How can His Majesty be like this? This is too unreasonable!”

Yunyi said coldly: “Have you ever seen an emperor who is reasonable?”

Ruyi was left speechless. Yes, how could she have forgotten? Li Yuan was no longer the former Governor or Eastern Comforting Commissioner, but the Son of Heaven. Who could reason with the Son of Heaven?

Ruyi looked at the simple chamber that was just as crude as when they first arrived, and said dejectedly: “Then must we always remain in Mingyue Nunnery?”

“It won’t be forever. I believe His Highness will definitely come to take me out.” When saying this, Yunyi’s eyes flickered with unusual brilliance.

At the same time, in the Eastern Palace, Li Yuanji frowned and said: “Big brother, what do you think he’s really up to? Surely he wouldn’t suddenly want to win me over at this point, would he?”

As soon as they left the Taiji Palace, he had followed Li Jiancheng to the Eastern Palace without a word, wanting to understand why Li Shimin would plead for the restoration of his title.

Li Jiancheng shook his head: “He knows very clearly the relationship between you and me, and he knows even more clearly that you could never be used by him.”

“Then that’s it. He knows clearly that helping me brings him no benefit at all, so why would he still do this?” Li Yuanji vigorously rubbed his face: “I thought he would ask Father Emperor to release that bitch Yang. He really gave me a surprise.”

Li Jiancheng remained silent. He had the same thoughts as Li Yuanji, so he was truly puzzled by Li Shimin’s final request for such a reward.

While he was pondering, Li Yuanji continued: “I always feel that Second Brother has become much more scheming since returning this time, making him impossible to see through. I’m worried… he might make a comeback. If he gains Father Emperor’s reliance again, that wouldn’t be good news for us.”

Li Jiancheng said coldly: “Wanting to regain Father Emperor’s trust and reliance isn’t that easy. But what you say has some merit. Without eliminating this person, we’ll find it hard to sleep peacefully!”

Hearing this, Li Yuanji immediately became energetic and stood up: “Then I’ll go arrange men right now, ready to act at any time!”

“Stop.” Li Jiancheng called out to Li Yuanji, who was preparing to leave, and said coldly: “Act how?”

Li Yuanji was stunned by his question, then said: “Of course, act to kill him. What else could it be?”

Li Jiancheng sneered at his answer: “You really are single-minded. Setting aside the fact that Li Shimin has countless experts around him, making it difficult for assassins to approach, even if you succeeded, it would bring us more harm than benefit.”

Li Yuanji said unconvinced: “Impossible! Killing him would bring us a hundred benefits and no harm!”

Li Jiancheng stared at him for a moment, then suddenly said: “Yuanji, do you think the world is at peace now?”

Li Yuanji was stunned, then shook his head: “Luoyang hasn’t been taken, Jiangling hasn’t been settled. How could the world be at peace?”

“Exactly. Our Great Tang still has two major enemies remaining: Wang Shichong in Luoyang and Xiao Xian in Jiangling. These two are also the most difficult to deal with. Defeating them definitely won’t be easy.”

Listening to his words, Li Yuanji seemed to understand something and probed: “Big brother, you wouldn’t be thinking of using Second Brother to deal with them, would you?”

“Correct.” With these two words, Li Jiancheng let out a long sigh: “Though I don’t want to admit it, indeed, Shimin’s military talent far exceeds both of ours.”

Li Yuanji was most unwilling to accept Li Shimin’s superiority. Hearing this, he shook his head repeatedly: “Big brother, how can you boost others’ morale while destroying your own prestige? It’s just defeating Liu Wuzhou and killing Song Jingang. If it were me…”

Li Jiancheng coldly interrupted: “If it were you, what? Don’t forget, you led a hundred thousand soldiers back then, and what was the result? You were routed by Liu Wuzhou. Yet Shimin used only thirty thousand soldiers to recover Shanxi!”

Li Yuanji’s face turned red as liver, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out: “That was just his good luck.”

“Perhaps there was indeed some luck involved, but he ultimately has talent.”

Li Yuanji stubbornly said: “So what? I don’t believe that the two of us together can’t compare to him. Besides, there are so many people in the court. Surely not everyone is inferior to him.”

Li Jiancheng didn’t entangle with him on this issue, but said: “He must be eliminated, but only after he pacifies Luoyang and Jiangling!”

“But… what if we let his power grow too large? It would be difficult to eliminate him then.”

“Power?” Li Jiancheng sneered: “Where would he get power from? Armies can only be mobilized with Father Emperor’s military tokens. In court… he’s been campaigning abroad for years and has had no chance to win over court officials. If military force cannot be used and civil officials don’t serve him, tell me, how big a storm can he stir up?”

Hearing him put it this way, Li Yuanji found some sense in it, but still felt uneasy: “I’m still worried that by then, we won’t be able to control him.”

Li Jiancheng smiled strangely: “Of course I can’t control him, but with Father Emperor here, as long as Father Emperor favors us, he won’t have that opportunity. Could he possibly have the ability to contend with Father Emperor?”

His words dispelled the last trace of doubt in Li Yuanji’s heart, and he nodded: “Alright, then let’s do everything according to Big Brother’s wishes.”

Li Jiancheng thought he could use Li Shimin to eliminate enemies dangerous to the Great Tang, then eliminate Li Shimin when he had no more use. He didn’t know that it was precisely this decision that would give Li Shimin the ability to contend with him, even with Li Yuan. By the time he realized this, it would be too late.

In the fifth year of Wude, February, after resting for only two months, Li Shimin donned his armor and set out to campaign again. This time, his target was Luoyang.

Li Yuan placed very high hopes on this battle. Whether Luoyang could be pacified would determine whether the Li Tang Dynasty could ultimately unify the world. So this time, he was not stingy with Li Shimin at all. Besides more than a hundred thousand soldiers, he also gave him seven Grand Generals of Campaigns and twenty-five capable officers. It could be said to rival the lineup when Li Jiancheng led troops against Xue Ju.

Li Shimin would also sweep away his previous shame of returning without victory.

In this battle, though Li Shimin encountered dangerous situations and nearly died, he ultimately won. And he didn’t just defeat Wang Shichong alone, but also Dou Jiande.

Under the siege of Li Shimin’s army, Luoyang City not only lacked provisions but also suffered from scattered morale. Facing this situation, the once all-powerful Wang Shichong had no choice but to swallow his pride and seek help from Dou Jiande.

Unfortunately, even together, they were still no match for Li Shimin. Wang Shichong was defeated, and Dou Jiande was also defeated. With his military talent so excellent it was almost supernatural, Li Shimin eliminated both the Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande factions in one stroke, making the Great Tang take a giant step forward in the chess game of unifying the world!