Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 446: Difficult Mountains to Cross
Chang Yumin’s death was just a small ripple. Maybe someone cared about it, or maybe no one cared.

His death was simply defined in the government as an accidental death caused by him walking at night while drunk and accidentally falling into the river. As for the fact that his nasal cavity was clean and did not look like drowning at all, that was an "accident" that could be ignored.

This is the final ending of the whole story.

His death did not alarm anyone.

After he died, two strong men came to Changjia Village and built a tomb for Chang Yumin. This act was done quietly, and no one saw it or knew about it.

The grave was simple, without even a name.

Zhongsun Xie and Lu Weihong stood in front of Chang Yumin's grave with calm yet tired looks on their faces. They were also tired of the escape that they didn't know when it would end.

The two looked at each other and spoke indifferently.

"How to do?"

Zhongsun Xie's expression remained unchanged: "What should we do? Change our name and go to Liaodong."

As he walked back, he said, "Just be more careful this time. After you and I defected to Liaodong to participate in the Goguryeo War, our contributions in the war should not be too great, but also not too small. We must have a certain amount of power to protect ourselves, but we must not be so powerful that we can overshadow our master."

He lowered his eyes and looked in the distance: "You should have seen the few old brothers left in the tea shed before, but you overlooked the most important person."

There was a smile on Zhongsun Xie's brow. He was Yang Jian's most loyal subordinate back then, and also the youngest among the soldiers who participated in the Bloody Night Incident.

"One of them is the second son of the current head of the Guandu Chen family, and the other is the second son of the Longxi Li family, that is, the Duke of Tang's family. They must have sneaked out to join the army, and their purpose is also the Liaodong Campaign."

Lu Weihong raised his eyebrows and said, "You mean, the Chen family can no longer tolerate what our emperor has done, so they let their son come out and use this as an excuse to participate in the court?"

Zhongsun Xie nodded and then shook his head: "It is unlikely that Chen had any intention for this young master to escape, but Chen will definitely take advantage of this incident."

He looked at Liaodong in the distance, and the even more distant Goguryeo: "Do you think Goguryeo can defeat us?"

"Win this war?"

Lu Weihong looked at Zhongsun Xie in disbelief: "Of course it's impossible."

"I estimate that in about three or four months, Goguryeo will be defeated."

Zhongsun Xie asked again: "Do you think that Goguryeo will eventually surrender and negotiate peace? After the peace talks, will our emperor accept it? Will he be immersed in his reputation of "benevolence and righteousness" because of Goguryeo's flattery?"

Lu Weihong nodded directly: "Of course."

He said sarcastically: "Isn't this the case with our emperor? Maybe he did too many bad things in the past, so now he wants others to praise him as a good person all day long."

Zhongsun Xie dusted himself off and said, "So, this is our chance."

"The Chen family will not allow Your Majesty to do this. In the end, Goguryeo will definitely be incorporated into Kyushu and may become part of Liaodong."

"Not many people would want to stay in such a bitter and cold place. As long as we have made enough contributions, you and I can stay here."

Lu Weihong frowned: "Are you willing to stay in such a poor place?"

Zhongsun Xie shook his head: "Of course not."

He grinned like an Avenger, or rather, he was an Avenger himself.

"If Yang Jian can be the emperor, why can't we?"

"The old brothers from that time have not all died yet, and they are all accumulating strength."

Zhongsun Xie reached out his hand and took out a broken jade pendant: "This was given to us by the attendant named Ying'an who was beside the Emperor Wansui before he died. Let's divide them into several parts."

"We have never known its function, but I discovered the secret a while ago."

There was a strange light in his eyes: "When these jade pendants are combined into one piece, we can find out the truth about the death of the "Emperor Wansui" that Ying'an left behind. That was Ying'an's last words."

"And this proves that Yang Jian was a regicide."

"He is in an illegitimate position!"

"When you and I have accumulated enough strength, we can take out this last letter and rise up in the name of revenge for the Wansui Emperor!"

"In this world, where Yang Jian sits, we sit too!"

Lu Weihong shrugged his shoulders: "Okay, I'll listen to you anyway. If it weren't for you, I would have died a long time ago."

He stretched himself and said, "I will work hard for you. When you take that position, you can make me a duke."

Zhongsun Xie laughed loudly: "Don't worry, when I become emperor, you will be my general! Second to none, above ten thousand people!"

Liaodongnan County
Li Erfeng and Chen Qilu walked on the desolate street and finally found the barracks. Then they were respectfully invited to the county magistrate's mansion by the soldiers.

Chen Qilu scratched his head, knowing that something was wrong.

He had forgotten that the county magistrate here was a disciple of their Chen family. After his father found out that he was missing, he would definitely write to the county magistrate, which meant that there was a high possibility that he would be sent back.

But that's not the most important thing.

He subconsciously glanced at Li Erfeng in front of him. What if the county magistrate revealed his real name?
He and Li Erfeng hit it off these days, and some time ago they even killed a yellow chicken and swore to heaven to become sworn brothers. Now his discovery is suddenly exposed. Isn't it a bit embarrassing?

Li Erfeng was also a little uneasy, because he suddenly remembered that his father had some friendship with the county governor here, after all, they were both disciples of the Chen family.
I won’t be exposed, right?

Then how can he continue playing with his second brother?

In this awkward atmosphere, footsteps were heard in the distance, and then a strong man walked in.

The sturdy man was eight feet tall, with a muscular body. His face and body were a little dark because he had been at the border for many years, but he looked more charming because of his big beard.

After he walked in, he looked around at the two brave kids who had sneaked out of the house, with a hint of amusement in his eyes: "Qi Lang, Er Lang, why did you two sneak out of the house?"

"My teacher and my senior wrote to me at the same time, saying that you two had come to my place and asked me to take you back."

Teacher? Senior?
Li Shimin and Chen Qilu were both stunned at the same time, looking at each other in confusion.

They naturally knew who the senior/teacher was talking about, but.
Seeing this situation, Guan Shan wanted to laugh even more. He knew about the story of two people beheading a yellow chicken to become sworn brothers, so he suppressed his laughter and said, "Come on, I'll introduce you to each other."

"You two shouldn't know each other."

"This is Chen Qilang, Chen Lin'an, the second son of my teacher, Chen Zhan, the King of Zhenguo. This is Li Erlang, Li Shimin, the second son of my senior brother, Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang."

He smiled and said, "According to seniority and reason, Erlang should call Qilang your uncle. After all, Erlang and your father are of the same generation, and both are disciples of the teacher."

Li Erfeng, no, Li Shimin was completely stunned.

The second brother whom I just became sworn brothers with has become my uncle?

Seeing the two kids collapse, Guan Shan couldn't hold back any more and burst into laughter. He patted their shoulders, making a rumbling sound: "Alright, stop standing there."

"Teacher and senior brothers all know about your sworn brotherhood. You two don't have to follow the previous seniority. Anyway, you two are about the same age, so just call each other elder brother and younger brother." Li Shimin recovered, held his forehead with his hand and sighed helplessly, looked at Guan Shan and said, "Uncle Guan, you just know how to tease us."

"You should have known we were coming a long time ago, right?"

Guan Shan nodded: "That's right, the teacher sent me a letter saying that you and Qi Lang are here, I have been waiting for you two for half a month, who knew that you two are so slow and you only arrived now."

"how?"

"I know what you two are capable of. I'll give you two the rank of lieutenant first. Then you can slowly gain some merit and you can go back when you're ready."

"Otherwise, if you really get hurt, with broken arms and legs, your father will kill me."

Chen Linan and Li Shimin shook their heads at the same time, both of them looked very determined.

"Uncle Guan, we are not here to gain credit, but to really kill the enemy for the country."

Chen Linan's voice was firm, without the childish tone from before.

There was a solemn look in his eyes: "I have been reading the books and deeds of my ancestors since I was young. My Chen family has produced so many generals and dukes, and even the top title of "Wu'an Jun" among military generals. How could I be willing to be a parasite?"

"In my bones, I have the Chen family's never-give-up blood."

"I want to restore the glory of my ancestors and realize my own wishes."

"Protect the country and the people, and be at peace on the battlefield!"

"Since I have taken this name, I will not live in disgrace."

"I will write to my father. You don't have to worry about me. I will just be an ordinary soldier among the soldiers."

"Hiding in the background to seek credit is not what a gentleman does."

Li Shimin also nodded: "Uncle Guan, I have the same idea."

His eyes were filled with admiration and pleasure for Chen Linan. It was truly a happy thing to have such a brother.

This is a confidant!

Guanshan looked at the two of them seriously, but the two did not retreat like they did when they were children. Instead, they stared at Guanshan closely.

After a long time, Guan Shan burst into laughter.

He stood there with his hands behind his back, a smug look on his face: "I knew you wouldn't let me down."

Guan Shan took out two letters from his bosom: "I have an agreement with my teacher and senior brother that if you two are here to get credit, then I will just send you two back."

"And if you two really want to kill the enemy and serve your country, and protect the country and the people, then I will guarantee that you will stay in the army!"

He turned around, and the murderous energy in his body surged up.

"This is a battlefield, not a game!"

"This is a battlefield made up of countless corpses of soldiers! The ground is full of corpses! Which of the corpses buried in this ground is not a treasure of the family? Which of them is not a family inheritance? But for the sake of their family and country, they are willing to die here!"

"Their dignity cannot be violated!"

"Now that you have the thought of protecting the country and the people, you have grown up."

Guan Shan said with great satisfaction: "But let's not talk about the ordinary soldiers. You two are skilled in archery and horse riding, and you are familiar with military books. I know your abilities, so I will let you two be captains."

"How about you two lead two teams?"

"Are you confident?"

Chen Linan and Li Shimin bowed and said, "We greet the general!"

At this point, they were no longer the young masters who had sneaked away from home, but ordinary captains in the Liaodongnan County!
Kill the enemy! Kill the enemy! Kill the enemy!
The thirteenth year of Kaihuang, autumn and winter.

Every autumn rain brings a chill. This autumn rain, approaching winter, fell in Kyoto, making the people of Kyoto feel cold.

Chen Ruohan stood in the tavern, looking into the distance.

This place is called "Zhuangyuan Building".

Standing next to him were two or three good friends whom he had just met not long ago.

"Brother Xuancheng, are you confident about this scientific expedition?"

Wei Zheng glanced at Chen Ruohan standing there, with a calm expression on his face: "I do have confidence, but I don't know if Brother Xuanling and Brother Keming have confidence."

Du Ruhui laughed: "You, Wei Xuancheng, are confident, but am I not as good as you?"

"Brother Xuancheng, you must know that in the previous examination, you only ranked 13th, and I, Du Keming, was 8th, hahahahahahaha."

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard and said, "It's really strange. Here the first and second place winners haven't said anything yet, but the thirteenth and eighth place winners are talking nonsense here. It's really strange."

He looked at Chen Ruohan and said, "Brother Cheng Tao, do you think what I said makes sense? Isn't it very strange?"

Chen Ruohan had a suppressed smile on his face. It seemed like Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui would feel uncomfortable if they didn't quarrel for a day. He had gotten used to it over the past few days.

So, he suppressed his smile and said, "Of course, of course."

He pretended to be arrogant and said, "You two are ranked 8th and 13th respectively. Why are you making such a fuss in front of me, the champion?"

Wei Zheng pretended to be angry and patted Chen Ruohan on the shoulder: "Okay, after Brother Cheng Tao won the first prize, he looked down on us poor scholars. We deserve to be beaten, we deserve to be beaten."

For a moment, the Zhuangyuan Building was extremely lively.

Chen Ruohan held a glass of wine and looked into the distance at the imperial palace located in the center of Luoyang, but the smile on his brow did not diminish at all.

"Kyoto."

"I am coming."

In the fourteenth year of Kaihuang, it was between spring and winter.

A heavy snow fell, covering all traces.

On a path somewhere on the border between Goguryeo and Sui Dynasty, a team was marching quickly.

This was an ordinary day in the war between Goguryeo and Sui that lasted for half a month, but it was destined to be an unusual day.

Because he will go down in history.

(End of this chapter)