28: Today, I will give you the next "life reserve"!

"Right! Where Your Highness is, that's where we'll be!"

"How can a great man worry about having no place to achieve merit! Follow Your Highness, go to Jing Province, and do something great!"

The young generals were all boiling with excitement, their emotions running high, wishing they could don their armor and mount their horses immediately to follow Li Chengqian to Jing Province.

Li Chengqian looked at them, and a warmth finally appeared on his perpetually stern face.

He waved his hand, signaling them to calm down.

"This Crown Prince understands your intentions."

His voice remained steady, a stark contrast to the young generals' fervor. "This Crown Prince will go to Jing Province. But not like this, not now."

He turned and glanced at Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, whose faces had turned ashen.

"Two Prime Ministers, what do you think?"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui shivered at his gaze, quickly stood up, and bowed, saying, "Your Highness... Your Highness is right. This matter still needs... careful deliberation, careful deliberation. This old official... this old official has important matters at his residence, so... so I will take my leave first."

With that, the two almost fled the study.

Only after walking out of the Eastern Palace gate and sitting in their carriages returning to their residences did Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui let out long sighs, their backs soaked with cold sweat.

The carriages traveled for a long time, and both remained silent.

Finally, Du Ruhui spoke first, his voice somewhat dry: "Brother Xuanling, this Crown Prince... you and I, I'm afraid we've misjudged him."

Fang Xuanling lifted the carriage curtain, looked back at the Eastern Palace, which appeared even more imposing and ominous in the twilight, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"More than just misjudged him."

He murmured, "This son has the treacherousness of mountains and rivers in his heart, and the might of thunder in his chest. In today's court struggle, we all thought Your Majesty had the upper hand, but we didn't expect to be played by him in the palm of his hand."

Du Ruhui nodded in deep agreement, a look of lingering fear on his face.

"His phrase 'Please Your Majesty, call me Crown Prince' seemed arrogant, but in reality, he was drawing a line in the sand. Father and son is a family matter, ruler and subject is a national matter. He was telling Your Majesty, and he was telling all of us, that he, Li Chengqian, is first and foremost the Crown Prince of the Great Tang, and only then is he Your Majesty's son."

Fang Xuanling lowered the carriage curtain, the light in the carriage dimmed, and his voice also became low.

"He is more resolute, and more... terrifying, than we imagined."

Inside the carriage, a long silence fell once again.

The two most brilliant strategists of the Great Tang felt, for the first time, a fear called 'loss of control'.

The chess pieces on the board had begun to develop their own will.

And they, it seemed, no longer had a choice.

When Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui's carriage disappeared into the twilight, the atmosphere in the Eastern Palace study did not relax in the slightest due to their departure.

On the contrary, a sharper, more fervent aura permeated among the young generals.

Li Chengqian slowly turned around, the warmth that had flashed across his stern face earlier had long vanished, replaced by a calm that was almost icy.

His gaze swept over Qin Huaiyu, Cheng Chumo, Luo Tong, and Yuchi Baolin. That look was no longer one of reassurance, but of scrutiny, of command.

"You all want to go to Jing Province?"

His voice was not loud, but it was like a heavy stone cast into everyone's hearts.

"We are willing to die for Your Highness!"

Yuchi Baolin was the first to roar, his neck stiff like a pugnacious bull.

"Good."

Li Chengqian uttered a single word, crisp and decisive.

He walked to the desk, not picking up the usual brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, but instead took out a blank silk scroll from a zitan wood box.

The edges of the silk were embroidered with intricate cloud patterns in gold thread, but the center was empty, conveying a strange solemnity.

He picked up a wolf-hair brush, dipped it fully in ink, and held the tip suspended over the silk, but hesitated to let it fall.

The entire study was so quiet that one could hear everyone's suppressed breathing.

"This Crown Prince will issue an 'imperial decree of the heir apparent' today."

As the words 'imperial decree of the heir apparent' were spoken, even the most impulsive Yuchi Baolin was stunned.

The command of the Crown Prince?

What was this?

Since ancient times, only the emperor's decrees were called imperial edicts or imperial commands.

Although the Crown Prince was the foundation of the state, his orders had never been given such an overreaching title.

This was no longer a hint; it was an open declaration.

Li Chengqian no longer looked at them, his gaze focused intently on the brush tip.

He wrote extremely fast, his calligraphy resembling a soaring Dragon and a dancing Phoenix, carrying a fierce aura of decisive action.

"imperial decree of the heir apparent: Qin Huaiyu, Cheng Chumo, Luo Tong, and Yuchi Baolin are commanded to depart immediately for Jing Province."

His voice intertwined with the rustling sound of the brush tip gliding across the silk, every word like a hammer striking everyone's hearts.

"This journey is not for war, but to be my eyes. I want you to investigate the seventy-two clans in Jing Province: how much land they own, how many private soldiers they have, who their in-laws are, and who they associate with in court."

"Among the four of you, Qin Huaiyu will be in charge, overseeing the overall situation. Cheng Chumo, you are responsible for infiltrating the markets and gathering intelligence. Luo Tong, you will move among the various martial arts schools and inns, to ascertain their military strength. Baolin,"

He paused, then looked up at Yuchi Baolin, "manage your mouth and your fists. You are this Crown Prince's eyes, not this Crown Prince's sword. When to use the sword, this Crown Prince decides."

With that, he made his final stroke and pushed the weighty silk scroll forward.

"Receive the command."

Qin Huaiyu stepped forward, his hands trembling as he reverently took the silk scroll.

The ink on it was still wet, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand catties.

He knelt on one knee, his voice hoarse: "This humble general... receives the imperial decree of the heir apparent!"

"This humble general receives the imperial decree of the heir apparent!"

Cheng Chumo, Luo Tong, and Yuchi Baolin also immediately knelt on one knee, shouting in unison.

Hot blood surged in their chests. This was no longer simple loyalty, but an almost 瘋狂 pursuit, a gamble that staked their lives and fortunes.

They were betting on the future of the Great Tang.

"Go. The storms in Chang'an City have nothing to do with you anymore."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, no longer looking at them, merely as if he were dealing with a trivial matter.

The four rose, clutching the scorching "imperial decree of the heir apparent," and turned to stride out of the Eastern Palace.

Night had fallen deep, and the gates of Chang'an City were about to close; they had to leave the city overnight.

The sound of hooves broke the silence of the long street, and four young figures, like arrows from a bow, galloped towards the dark distance.

"Damn it! This is too exhilarating!"

Cheng Chumo spurred his horse, riding alongside Qin Huaiyu, his face filled with irrepressible excitement. "imperial decree of the heir apparent! It's amazing Your Highness thought of that! Now let's see how those old farts in court can still act superior!"

Yuchi Baolin laughed heartily on the other side: "When we get to Jing Province, if those damn noble clans dare to disrespect us, I'll punch them one by one and shove their heads into a latrine bucket!"

Luo Tong, who had been silent, his long spear glinting coldly in the moonlight, only said one sentence: "Your Highness's command is to investigate."

"I know, I know,"

Yuchi Baolin waved his hand impatiently, "Brother Huaiyu, why don't you say something? Why are you so quiet?"

Qin Huaiyu looked back at the majestic palace city, now blurred in the night, his fingers gripping the reins turning white from exertion.

When he spoke, his voice was heavier than the night wind.

"You don't understand. What Your Highness has given us is not a military order, nor is it glory. It is a death warrant, and also a protective talisman."

"From the moment we accepted this 'imperial decree of the heir apparent,' we are no longer merely generals of the Great Tang."

He took a deep breath, "We are the Crown Prince's people. From now on, our honor, disgrace, life, and death are all tied to the Eastern Palace. There is no turning back."