The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 40: The Prince of Tang Forged Through Beatings and Insults

Changsun Wuji bowed with clasped hands; as his black beard fluttered, he shouted loudly, “Your Majesty! This must not be done under any circumstances. This old minister objects. I would rather see His Highness the Prince of Wei made Prince of Qin than see him made Prince of Tang.” Changsun Wuji certainly did not dislike Li Xuanba—especially since Li Xuanba had saved his younger sister just yesterday. However, while Li Xuanba could be made Prince of Qin, he could not be made Prince of Tang—this would violate the established order of the court. Even though Changsun Wuji was Changsun Wugu’s elder brother, he had no choice but to speak out against it. As soon as Changsun Wuji spoke up, even Fang Xuanling—who had heard the news of Li Xuanba’s return—interjected: “Your Majesty! This old minister concurs! Your Highness, the Prince of Wei, may be made Prince of Qin!” “This servant second the motion!” “We second the motion!” Once the two leading ministers spoke up, the rest of the civil officials all bowed in unison, raising their hands in protest against granting Li Xuanba the title of Prince of Tang. The civil officials opposed it—but what about the military generals? Aware of Li Xuanba’s martial prowess and his unreasonable temperament, those who knew him—such as Cheng Yaojin—did not dare to speak up. They simply lowered their heads, neither opposing nor supporting the proposal, choosing instead to bury their heads in the sand. However, while figures like Qin Qiong, Li Jing, Cheng Yaojin, and Wei Chi Jing—who knew Li Xuanba’s temperament—remained silent, there were others who were completely unaware of his nature and immediately spoke out in opposition. “Your Majesty, this subordinate opposes conferring the title of Prince of Wei upon him as Prince of Tang, and even more so the title of Prince of Qin. It would be better to confer the title of Prince of Jin instead.” The one who jumped out to propose demoting Li Xuanba’s princely title by one rank—and then by another—was none other than Li Chengqian’s future father-in-law, the current General of the Left Guard and Duke of Lu—Hou Junji. It would have been better if Hou Junji had remained silent; but once he spoke up, the civil officials all turned to look at him with surprise. Given Li Xuanba’s current merits, coupled with his status as the Emperor’s younger brother, the title of Prince of Qin was more than sufficient; their opposition to the title of Prince of Tang stemmed from a fear of sparking further disputes. Why on earth was Hou Junji going along with their objections? And why did he go out of his way to demote the Prince of Qin by another rank, turning him into the Prince of Jin? At this moment, Hou Junji was at the peak of his career. As an uneducated man who had been granted the titles of General of the Left Guard and Duke of Lu, he was brimming with pride and success. He simply couldn’t bring himself to believe that the young man standing before him was Li Xuanba—the very incarnation of a divine being. In his view, it was likely just a ploy by the emperor and his entourage to solidify the fact that the Li family’s ancestral founder was none other than Laozi, Li Er. If that were the case, what difference did it make what title they bestowed upon this so-called “Li Xuanba”? Seeing that someone dared to step forward and directly demote Li Xuanba’s title by one rank, Li Yuan cast an indifferent glance at Hou Junji, then leaned in close to Li Xuanba’s ear with a mischievous grin and muttered, “Great Virtue, this is Hou Junji—a rising military commander under your second older brother’s command.” Hou Junji? The future father-in-law of my nephew Chengqian? That old rascal is no good. Looking at this lone general who had dared to speak up, Li Xuanba’s lips curled into a barely perceptible smile of satisfaction as he gazed impassively at Hou Junji. “Do you object to me being conferred the title of Prince of Tang?” Hearing Li Xuanba refer to himself as “old man,” Hou Junji furrowed his brow and looked at Li Xuanba with indifference. “That’s right, Your Highness. Although your status is noble, you absolutely must not be enfeoffed as the Prince of Tang. I’m sure the Prince of Qin wouldn’t agree either. Becoming the Prince of Jin, however, might be acceptable.” Pfft! To dare call himself “old man” right here in the grand hall—this “fake prince” really is utterly uneducated! “Is that so?” Looking at the smug Hou Junji, Li Xuanba couldn’t help but smile. With those civil officials coming forward to oppose him, he couldn’t just strike out directly—otherwise, if he lost control of his strength for a moment and killed a civil official right at his second brother’s coronation ceremony, the repercussions would be disastrous. But still! A military commander had finally stepped forward—giving him the perfect opportunity to vent his frustration. Plus, this man was set to become Chengqian’s father-in-law. Who knows? Maybe today he’d have to give him a thorough beating first, severing any future connection he might have with Chengqian. Seeing Li Xuanba smile, Hou Junji assumed he had agreed to his proposal and said smugly, “It seems, Your Highness the Prince of Wei, you agree as well?” “Hehe! I agree,” Li Xuanba began, smiling as he gave his consent, but then his expression darkened, and he snapped, “I agree to beat you up!” No sooner had Li Xuanba’s words fallen—while the rumbling thunder still echoed through the hall—than he planted his foot firmly and launched himself forward. Reaching Hou Junji, before the stunned Hou Junji could even react, Li Xuanba landed two punches. “Thud! After two dull thuds, Hou Junji’s eyes were instantly turned black and blue by Li Xuanba’s fists, which had been struck with ninety-nine percent of his strength, leaving him with a pair of symmetrical “panda eyes.” Caught off guard by this “fake prince” who dared to strike him during His Majesty’s coronation ceremony, Hou Junji was momentarily stunned. It wasn’t until the pain shot through his eyes that he clutched his black-and-blue eyes, took three steps back, and pointed at Li Xuanba, shouting, “You—you dare hit me? You, a prince, are acting so brutally and unreasonably!” Hearing Hou Junji’s accusation against Li Xuanba, military commanders like Cheng Yaojin all rolled their eyes in unison—when had the Third Young Master ever been reasonable? When he fought, he always delivered a single, crushing blow that turned his opponent into a pulp or a mist of blood. “Reason? When have I ever been reasonable? When I’m being ‘reasonable,’ I always use my fists!” “Huff… Smack!” Seeing that Hou Junji still dared to speak up after taking two punches from him, Li Xuanba narrowed his eyes. His right hand—as wide as a palm fan—swung out instantly, landing with a sharp “smack” on Hou Junji’s face and instantly swelling his left cheek to a massive size. After landing the slap, Li Xuanba muttered in dissatisfaction, “No good! You look absolutely hideous like that—it’s completely asymmetrical!” “Huff… Smack!” No sooner had the words left his mouth than Li Xuanba’s left hand whipped out with a whoosh, landing another “smack” that instantly left Hou Junji’s right cheek swollen to the brim! Looking at Hou Junji’s face, now swollen like a pig’s head, Li Xuanba clapped his hands together, nodded in satisfaction, and said with a smile, “Not bad! Now that’s symmetrical.” “Thud!” No sooner had he spoken than Li Xuanba’s right foot shot out like lightning, sending Hou Junji’s body—weighing over two hundred jin—flying nine zhang away. After landing, he rolled another nine zhang before finally coming to a halt, looking utterly bedraggled. Seeing Hou Junji lying motionless on the ground, his mouth full of blood, with only his belly rising and falling slightly, the group of military officers led by Cheng Yaojin all wiped the cold sweat from their brows. Even the civil officials who had spoken out against him moments earlier silently and hurriedly bowed their heads, not wanting Li Xuanba to see their faces. After all, Hou Junji was a military officer; he could survive a beating. But they were civil officials—if they were struck by a single punch from this brutal and unreasonable Prince Wei, wouldn’t they simply cough up blood and die on the spot? “Thump, thump, thump, thump!” Unfortunately, just as they tried to bury their heads in the sand to avoid Li Xuanba’s gaze, he deliberately strolled slowly toward them, coming to a stop right in front of the group of civil officials. Li Xuanba raised his large hand, causing the civil officials to recoil three steps in unison. Only then did he curl his lips in disdain and declare haughtily, “Do you think this young master absolutely has to accept this title of Prince of Tang? I wouldn’t even touch that lousy…” “Ahem, ahem…” Before Li Xuanba could utter the words “lousy emperor,” Li Yuan and Li Shimin both cleared their throats twice in unison, repeatedly giving their precious son (and younger brother) meaningful glances. This sort of thing should be discussed privately among the three of them—it certainly shouldn’t be brought up in front of everyone like this! Catching the looks from Li Yuan and Li Shimin, Li Xuanba rubbed his nose, then snorted, “I couldn’t care less what my title is, but since you two are so against it, I’ll have no choice but to accept it.” With that, Li Xuanba narrowed his eyes and looked at the group of civil officials before him—led by Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui—with a mischievous grin. “What? Do you think that just because I accept this title of ‘Prince of Tang,’ the Great Tang Empire will fall apart? That it will cease to exist?” “Whoosh!” The moment Li Xuanba uttered those mocking—yet utterly treasonous—words, the civil officials’ cold sweat instantly soaked through their robes. They all dropped to their knees in unison, their bodies trembling. Even the military officers dared not stand by and watch the spectacle; they too fell to their knees in unison, performing a military salute. In the end, only Li Yuan, Li Shimin, and Li Xuanba remained standing in the entire hall. “Your Highness, please choose your words carefully. We certainly have no such intentions!” “Your Highness, we only spoke out because your title of ‘King of Tang’ is contrary to established regulations; we certainly had no such intentions!” “Your Majesty, we absolutely have no such intentions!” Even if they weren’t afraid that Li Shimin would have them executed, Changsun Wuji and the others dared not remain silent; they all spoke up to distance themselves from the matter, and made no mention of opposing the conferral of the title “Prince of Tang,” for fear that Li Xuanba might utter something even more treasonous at any moment! “Hmm. I do not doubt you. However, I hereby confer the title of Prince of Tang upon Xuanba. Is there anyone who objects?” Watching these civil and military officials—who had never before paid him such profound respect—kneel before him, Li Shimin narrowed his eyes, raised his head with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, and then cast a beaming glance at Li Xuanba, who was grinning mischievously. Excellent! My third brother really knows how to handle things. With two punches, two slaps, and a kick, followed by that “treasonous” remark, no one dared to object anymore. Li Shimin didn’t care in the least about Li Xuanba’s “treasonous” remark. If even his third brother dared to call the imperial throne a “worthless emperor,” could there be anything more treasonous than that? However, he himself was in a terrible predicament—he had truly become a “worthless emperor.” “No, we obey Your Majesty’s command!” “This general obeys the imperial decree!” Hearing Li Shimin speak, Changsun Wuji and the others hurriedly responded, wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads, then stole a glance at the brazen Li Xuanba before quickly lowering their heads. “Phew…” Phew! I made it through that one! No need to take a punch from this lord’s fist, which is as big as a clay pot.