He walked over and asked a soldier, "Where are the Emperor and your Prince?"
"Replying to your lordship, they are in the small grove," the soldier said, not daring to lie, pointing to the woods behind him.
Fang Er: ???
What were a bunch of men doing in a small grove in broad daylight?
"Move aside, I'm going in to take a look."
Fang Er pushed the soldier aside and headed into the woods. Suddenly, several soldiers ran over and blocked his path.
"My lord, please don't make it difficult for us. The Emperor has given orders not to let you in."
"Damn it, this is too much!"
These soldiers were just following orders, and it wouldn't be right to make things difficult for them. He scratched the back of his head and walked back a few steps, then suddenly had an idea.
"Heh heh heh, you really think you can stop me from seeing what you're doing just by blocking the entrance?"
He pulled a drone from his system's inventory, set his phone to video recording mode, and attached it to the drone.
He turned on the power and piloted it towards the grove.
There was no signal, so he couldn't monitor remotely. He'd just record it and watch it later.
The soldiers stared in astonishment as a small object lifted off from their side, flew over their heads, circled the grove a few times, and then returned to Fang Er.
They were all dumbfounded. What was that thing just now?
Fang Er had already retrieved his phone and was looking at the footage he had just recorded.
On the screen, it first showed the beach, then the soldiers and the grove. Soon, it showed Li Shimin and the others in a clearing in the middle of the woods.
The group was gathered in a circle, and in the center of the circle, four Japanese women lay side-by-side, adorned with various foods.
"Holy cow!"
"A bunch of old lechers, and they didn't invite me to eat *nyotaimori*!"
No wonder Li Xiaogong had said that Changle wouldn't be able to eat this meal. It was for this reason.
The dignified Emperor, taking his brother-in-law to enjoy *nyotaimori*.
"Unbelievable, truly unbelievable!"
Fuming, he took out a spade and started digging on the beach. "If you won't let me eat, I'll find my own food..."
"This is island survival, I've seen it all before."
He found clams, crabs, and even a stranded jellyfish.
He started a fire and got out his pot.
After a flurry of activity, all the clams ended up being boiled.
With sand in every bite, he even felt like biting his tongue and spitting it out.
"Comfortable~~ I never thought food could be eaten like this!"
"What on earth were these shorties thinking!"
Fang Er heard the voices and turned to see Li Shimin walking towards him, picking his teeth.
"Your Majesty, you have no idea. These little dwarfs are no good at fighting, but they're first-class when it comes to fancy tricks. I'll show you some more fun tonight."
Li Xiaogong's expression was smug, making Fang Er want to punch him in the face.
Of course, that was only if he could win.
Li Shimin sat down next to Fang Er and looked at the pile of discarded clams on the ground. "Why are these all thrown away?"
"I ate some too just now, they were quite tasty!"
Fang Er: ......
"If you add sand to your *nyotaimori*, let's see if you still find it tasty!"
"They couldn't finish them, so they threw them away!"
He casually brushed it off and lay down on the beach with his hands behind his head.
"Where's Changle? You didn't lose my daughter, did you?" Li Shimin asked, looking around.
"She's on the ship. Don't worry, she won't go hungry."
Fang Er didn't want to deal with him. "A bunch of guys who abandon their friends for women!"
Leaving a nine-year-old girl to me, and then going off to enjoy themselves. Was that something a decent person would do?
"A-ya~ Dad, try the fish I roasted for you!"
Just then, Changle, holding a roasted fish skewered on a chopstick, hopped over to Li Shimin.
Everyone looked at her clothes in surprise, and then their eyes collectively fixed on Fang Er.
"Alright, kid, we were only gone for a little while, and you've already changed Changle's clothes?"
Li Xiaogong looked at Fang Er with a roguish grin and teased him.
Earlier, at Yinshan, Li Shimin had announced his intention to marry Changle to Fang Er. Therefore, they all understood why Empress Zhangsun had insisted on Changle accompanying them.
"This guy. Marrying into the main branch is such a good thing, and they've even exempted him from all the restrictions for a prince consort, yet he's still unwilling!"
"The Emperor and Empress are clearly preparing for a long siege, aiming to cultivate their feelings first and then discuss marriage later?"
Fang Er finally couldn't take it anymore. "What is this dog thinking? Judging by his expression, he clearly thinks I've done something beastly."
He decisively punched Li Xiaogong in the face. "I'll make you babble!"
Seeing this, Li Shimin not only wasn't angry but instead pulled Li Ji and the others back, leaving ample space for the two of them.
"When generals disagree, they fight – that's a tradition of the Qin King's residence, how can we let it go?"
Li Xiaogong dodged Fang Er's punch with a laugh and said cheekily, "Nephew-in-law, that's where you're wrong."
"If you eat and wipe clean and then deny it, I, Uncle Jiu, won't acknowledge you~~"
"I'll eat your grandpa!"
Fang Er leaped up from the sand with a carp flip and threw another punch at him.
But who was Li Xiaogong? If it were a contest of firearms, Fang Er could take on a whole group of him. But in unarmed combat, he wasn't afraid at all.
He sparred with Fang Er, blocking and parrying, a smile on his face, and his mouth never stopped saying things that infuriated Fang Er.
"Nephew-in-law, your punches are a bit soft."
"Nephew-in-law, your explosiveness isn't quite enough!"
"Uncle Jiu will teach you. A man not only needs to be persistent but also have enough explosive power."
"Otherwise, you'll be laughed at on the battlefield."
The more he spoke, the angrier Fang Er became. His punches were disorganized. After fighting for a long time, he hadn't even landed a hit and was on the verge of exploding with rage.
"Go, brother-in-law! Defeat Uncle Jiu!"
"Go, brother-in-law! Brother-in-law is the strongest!"
Suddenly, Changle's sweet voice came from the side, which made Fang Er even more speechless.
However, his anger subsided slightly. Thinking about it, he hadn't truly fought anyone with his fists since coming to the Tang Dynasty. He slowly began to ponder why he couldn't hit Li Xiaogong.
In his mind, the boxing matches he had watched in his past life flashed by like fragments.
His physical condition, honed over the years, while not comparable to Li Xiaogong's, wasn't too far off either.
After all, these battle-hardened generals, besides their rich experience, also carried many hidden injuries.
When he calmed down, inspiration struck. He took two steps back and began to change his fighting style.
"Tai Chi!"
And it was the Tai Chi improved by the combined efforts of Sun Simiao and Yuan Tiangang!
These two emphasized cultivation and health preservation, but they also knew that Fang Er followed the path of a general.
Therefore, they removed some unnecessary moves and added some other styles.
After all, martial arts in this era were still primarily about killing!
Seeing Fang Er change his moves, Li Xiaogong also became interested. "Oh, are you bringing out your signature skills?"
Li Shimin and the others also perked up. None of them had ever seen Fang Er fight anyone, at most they had seen him wield a gun.
Therefore, seeing him assume a stance so solemnly, they stopped their discussions and waited to see what Fang Er's martial arts were truly like.