Chapter 378: Delusions
After the three kings left the table, Li Yuan drank with everyone for a while before ending the party.

After the banquet, the palace tent located in the center of the camp, which was Li Yuan’s own tent, was warm as spring. Li Yuan sat on the couch and looked at Li Xiaozheng who was kneeling in front of him.

"Aye, Third Brother is too much. He called me a slave in front of all the civil and military officials."

Li Xiaozheng had a sad face and accused Li San of the "atrocities" he had just committed against him.

"I asked you, why did Sanlang fight with you? What did you say?"

Li Yuan was very far away at the time. He only knew that a conflict had occurred but did not know the cause of the conflict.

After hearing the question, Li Xiaozheng stuttered and repeated what he had said at the banquet.

"I just told my second brother that even though he was lame, it didn't affect him at all when he was riding a horse, and he was still majestic."

Before he could finish his words, Li Xiaozheng was stood up by Li Yuan and kicked to the ground.

Li Xiaozheng actually didn't want to say it, but there was nothing he could do. Several people heard it at the time, and he couldn't hide it from anyone.

But he didn't expect that even his father Li Yuan couldn't stand it.
"That's your second brother. Is it you who said it? I think you are tired of living."

Li Yuan scolded directly and harshly.

Although he supported the Sixth Brother to lead the army, it did not mean that he valued the Sixth Brother more than his several legitimate sons.

That is impossible. The Longxi Li family is a prominent family, and rules are important, even very important.

Moreover, as an emperor, he must pay more attention to etiquette and rules. Without etiquette and rules, without the distinction between superiors and subordinates, and without the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, how can the emperor's authority be reflected?

How can a country and a court function without rules and etiquette?
All of these are inseparable from the hierarchy, etiquette and rules.

What he wanted to weaken was just the power of a few legitimate sons. This was considered from the dual perspectives of the emperor and the country. As a father, he valued his legitimate sons and daughters far more than those born out of wedlock.

So he was very angry because this kid Li Xiaozheng simply made him lose face.

"Father, Father, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong."

Li Xiaozheng kowtowed quickly.

"You useless guy, what's wrong with what your third brother said? Although you are a prince, you are as stupid as a pig or a dog."

After cursing, it took Li Yuan a while to regain his composure. Looking at Li Xiaozheng kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, the anger in his heart gradually dissipated.

"Alright, get up. Go to your second brother tomorrow and apologize to him. If you make any more mistakes, I'll break your legs!"

After scolding him, Li Yuan drove him away again.

After being scolded, Li Xiaozheng understood one thing, that is, in Li Yuan's eyes, he was not as good as those legitimate sons.

After realizing this, I felt sad, but also helpless.

When he returned to the tent, King Wei's Chief Clerk Liu Hanbi and Sima Zhang Gu, who had been waiting for him, were quite surprised to see Li Xiaozheng coming back in such a miserable state.

"Your Highness, this."

Li Xiaozheng said angrily: "It's okay!"

Then he sat on the couch angrily, with no place to vent his anger.

The Chief Clerk Han Bi seemed to have seen something, and then comforted him: "Your Highness, the reason why the King of Qin and the King of Jin are valued by His Majesty is because they are older than you and have made great contributions. You missed the previous war, but now you are also the commander-in-chief of a state's military. If you can establish achievements, who can predict what will happen in the future?"

Han Bi didn't say what it was, but to Li Xiaozheng's ears, it was like a heart tonic.

Yes, he is still young. Who can predict what will happen in the future?
The King of Qin, the King of Jin, and the King of Qi were only a little older than him, and therefore were able to achieve great things before him. Couldn't he do what they could do?

Then Li Xiaozheng's heart was burning with anger again. "I think what Han Changshi said makes sense. You can go down first."

The two of them saluted together and then retreated.

As soon as he left the tent, Zhang Gu glanced back and whispered, "Brother Han, what did you mean by that? You don't really think that the King of Wei can compare with the three great kings, do you?"

Zhang Gu was originally a captain of Li Yuan's personal army, while Han Bi was one of Li Yuan's staff members. The two had known each other for a long time and now served together under Wei Wang.

Han Bi smiled upon hearing this, then shook his head helplessly, "We both know what King Wei is like, but who else can we put our wealth and honor on besides King Wei? It's just a helpless move. If we were in the palaces of the three great kings, would there be a place for you and me?"

Zhang Gu was a little surprised when he heard this, but then he nodded to show his understanding, "But it's still too risky. Do we have to let the King of Wei compete with them for the position of Crown Prince?"

Han Bi said: "There is no certainty in this kind of thing. Who can know the outcome? We can only wait and see."

The hunting lasted for three days. When it started on the second day, Li Yuan did not participate in person. The oldest of the three kings, King Qin, became the host.

The King of Wei, who had lost face yesterday, did not participate in the hunting and said he was sick.

But basically no one cared about his situation. Almost everyone knew that he was drunk and provoked the King of Qin, and then he was poured wine by the King of Qi and slapped by the King of Jin.

If he could still muster up the courage to appear in front of everyone, Li Yuanhui would have to praise him for his magnanimity and sophistication.

But if you don't have the ability to swallow your pride and only know how to stir up trouble, then there is nothing worthy of praise.

On the second day of hunting, the King of Qin unified the command of all the troops. The King of Jin and the King of Qi did not lead the team. Instead, they went to the Ba River to fish with their sister, several younger generations, nephews and grandsons.

Chisel holes in the ice and catch fish with a dip net, or ice fishing.

Then a pot was set up on the shore to make soup with fresh river fish.

Looking at a few young boys who were learning how to fish in winter from a few experienced veterans, Li Yuanhui, Li Xuanqing and Princess Pingyang were sitting in the shed, eating fish soup and talking about what happened yesterday.

Li Yunning started by reprimanding, "Sanlang, your actions yesterday were a bit too much. We are brothers after all. Calling Xiaoliu a slave in front of so many people will not look good on Aye either."

Li Xuanqing did not argue when he heard this, but just hummed. However, Li Yunning knew that this kid did not know that he was wrong, he was just coping.

Li Yuanhui was laughing on the side. Seeing him laughing, Li Yunning pointed his finger at him again: "And you, Silang, are still laughing."

Li Silang said, "Big sister, I didn't hit Liu Lang, it was Third Brother who did it. I just poured a bowl of wine on him to sober him up. He couldn't even control his mouth after drinking a little."

After hearing this, Li Yunning didn't say anything. After all, the one who went the farthest yesterday was Liu Lang Xiaozheng. However, Li Yunning would not take the initiative to say anything about him.

Because they were not close, when Li Yunning got married, Liu Lang was only one or two years older, and they were not born of the same mother, so what kind of affection could there be between them?

Unlike the two younger brothers in front of him, who talked, beat and scolded.

"This matter should be over now. You are not allowed to cause trouble to him anymore. You still have to consider Aye's face. Besides, he is several years younger than you. What kind of trouble can he cause? If you keep making trouble over trivial matters, won't it make people laugh at our royal family?"

Li San did not respond but nodded, as if he had agreed to his elder sister's words and would not argue with Li Xiaozheng about this matter anymore.

However, Li Si, who rarely refuted her, raised an objection for the first time.

"Although Liu Lang is young, he has developed an arrogant character because of his father's indulgence. Some minor disturbances between brothers are not a big deal, but now he is in charge of a place, commanding tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. If he is not careful, he will ruin the world of our Tang Dynasty."

Li Yuanhui spoke with certainty and directly raised the matter to a higher level, the Great Tang Dynasty.

When it comes to this, Princess Pingyang Li Yunning stopped talking and just sighed, "Anyway, I have said everything I can. You brothers can just watch it for yourselves."

Li Yuanhui said: "Don't worry, big sister, I won't make things difficult for him."

But I added in my heart that others might not feel the same way.

(End of this chapter)