Zhutian: My skills are not serious

Chapter 637 - The Twin Dragons of Yangzhou Transformed into Twin Insects
On the third day, news of the death of the Tang Emperor was reported from the palace. According to Li Shimin and clan ministers Li Shenfu, Li Xiaoji and others, Li Yuan died at the hands of Dong Shu Ni. This woman was actually sent to Chang'an by the Demon Sect to confuse the emperor. She was a daily sower and a talker. The deaths of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were also closely related to her. On the day of Li Yuan's death, this evil woman and the eunuch Wei beside the emperor disappeared without a trace, which indirectly proved this statement.

Even if we go by the content of the folk rumors, the new prophecy of the He Shi Bi in the Battle of Funiu Mountain was that Li Shimin killed Li Yuan. However, the army was in his hands, and anyone who dared to spread the rumor would be thrown into jail. Guanzhong, Longyou, Jinyang and other areas under the control of Li Tang were simply unable to resist. Even if the people were unhappy, they could only watch Li Shimin take over from Li Yuan - somewhat similar to when Yang Guang ascended the throne.

……

The fourth day after Li Yuan was buried.

Li Shimin, who had completely controlled all the civil and military officials in the court, walked into the Zhaode Hall wearing the crown and robes that only the crown prince could wear.

"Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling... Hey, you two have lost weight."

Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were still dressed as before, with their golden arches hairstyles that revealed their big foreheads, and they were dressed in warrior costumes, but their cheeks were much sunken than before, and they both looked tired, as if they had not yet recovered from the journey.

"Li Shimin, forget about the pleasantries. I want to ask you, where is Xiuning? Where did you take Xiuning?"

Kou Zhong was very rude, and there was a hint of hostility in his words.

This is normal. They thought they were deceived by Li Shimin, and although it was Chai Shao who forced her, Song Yuzhi actually died at the hands of Li Shimin, who always claimed to love her. The two of them did not fight because they already cared about their old friendship.

As for why they came to Chang'an, it was very simple. After taking Song Yuzhi's ashes to Lingnan for burial, the two heard the news of Li Yuan's death on the way back to their hometown in Yangzhou. Recalling the prophecy of Li Shimin's patricide that they saw at the foot of Funiu Mountain, they were worried that Li Xiuning would be implicated. God knew whether a despicable man like Li Shimin would kill his own sister. So they traveled west together and came to Chang'an. As a result, they couldn't find her after searching for a long time, and Hong Fu Nu was also missing. So the two went to the palace to ask Li Shimin for an explanation.

"Xiuning went to guard her father's grave. Don't you know about this?"

"Guarding the tomb?"

"Yes, she should be in the courtyard outside the Xianling Mausoleum at this moment."

After hearing what he said, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's expressions eased a lot.

"You arranged for her to go?"

Li Shimin said: "How could that be? She asked to go herself."

"In that case, let's go." Xu Ziling winked at Kou Zhong, looking like he didn't want to stay in Taiji Palace.

Kou Zhong turned around and left without saying goodbye.

Li Shimin said: "Wait a minute, both of you."

The two looked back.

"Chai Shao is such an evil heretic, using despicable means to seduce Miss Shi, can Ling Shao really swallow this?"

"Humph, how much better are you than him?" Kou Zhong said sarcastically.

Li Shimin was not angry, and continued: "Mr. Ling, are you going to give up just like that?"

Xu Ziling said with a gloomy face: "Li Shimin, if you have something to say, just speak directly, don't beat around the bush."

"If I say I can help you get your mistress back, would you believe me or not?"

Kou Zhong continued to tease, "I think you should worry about yourself first."

Like Li Xiuning, both of them didn't think that Chai Shao would let him go. It was simply because foreign forces such as DTZ, Goryeo, Khitan, and Shiwei had been active recently, and Chai Shao had not yet had the time to deal with him.

Li Shimin smiled and clapped his hands. An old man in blue walked into the hall. He had a long sword on his back and a beard like a halberd. He stood there with the demeanor of a master and the majesty of a sword saint.

"Do you know who he is? Feng Qingyang! That's right, the swordsman Feng Qingyang who is beside Empress Xiao."

Then, he recounted what Feng Qingyang had said to him.

"I am destined to be the ruler of the world. Once Chai Shao is forced to break the void, Xu Ziling, do you have another chance? And Kou Zhong, when Xiuning's term of guarding the mausoleum is over, I will arrange a marriage for you two as the emperor's brother. What I promised you at the beginning is not considered a breach of promise, right?"

After hearing what he said, the two looked at each other and both had their own ideas.

"How about it? Come back to me and lend me a hand, and then you will have a successful career and love life." Li Shimin walked over to the two of them and patted their shoulders: "I'll give you three days to think about it."

After saying that, he laughed and walked outside.

"Time and again, Chai Shao thought he had me under his feet, but he failed to kill me every time. Why? Because the prophecy of the Heshi Bi was absolutely correct. I, Li Shimin, am the son of destiny."

A confident voice floated from outside the hall.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. Can you say that Li Shimin's words are wrong? No.

He lost the bet at Pegasus Ranch, suffered a great loss in the attempt to rob Yang Gong's treasure house, and gained nothing from the alliance with the Song clan. The sneak attack plan of Funiushan, DTZ, and Daming Zunjiao failed at the last moment... Along the way, he was able to regain hope every time he fell to the bottom. Can you say that he is unlucky?
When the two of them showed hesitation, "Feng Qingyang" glanced at them coldly, followed them and left Zhaode Hall.

……

Midwinter.

A explosive piece of news spread across China.

Because Gao Kaidao, Luo Yi, Liang Shidu and other northern warlords died in the Battle of Funiushan, DTZ was also facing collapse. Khitan joined forces with Guo Zihe, who survived the Battle of Funiushan, and with the East Sea League and Beiba Gang as the vanguard, they launched a storm of encroachment in the northern border, occupying large tracts of Hebei territory and squeezing the living space of the Han people. Du Xing, the leader of the Beiba Gang, had dual Khitan and Turkic bloodlines, and Ku Ge, the leader of the East Sea League, was the son of Mohui, the leader of the Khitan people.

No one knows how Chai Shao, the Duke of Xiaochu, got the news that Guo Zihe, Mo Hui and his son, Du Xing and the northern border horse thief leader Huyan Jin were meeting at Shanhaiguan. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he entered the city alone, swept through the Khitan barracks, and killed all of the above-mentioned people and more than 3,000 Khitan soldiers.

However, just when he finished this and was about to leave, an old man with extremely strong swordsmanship suddenly appeared. The two sides fought a fierce battle. In the end, the old man was injured and defeated. While chasing him, Duke Xiao Chu flew into the sky uncontrollably and became an immortal.

This was the scene witnessed by the people living near Shanhaiguan and the surviving soldiers. If one person said it, no one might believe it. But if a hundred or a thousand people said so, it would inevitably raise doubts.

Moreover, after this incident, Luoyang significantly strengthened its security patrols, and Xiao Chu even pushed the troops originally stationed in the Xiangyang area hundreds of miles northward, increasing the garrisons in Xuchang, Xiangcheng, Nanyang and other places.

This seemed to indirectly confirm the news from Shanhaiguan - Chai Shao, the Duke of Xiaochu, was forcibly extradited back to heaven by the Jade Emperor because he used magic and violated the heavenly rules.

Just over half a month later, Li Tang, who was stationed in Guanzhong, issued a statement saying that the swordsman who forced Chai Shao to ascend to heaven was the former Empress Dowager of Sui Dynasty, Xiao Meiniang, a distant relative of the apparent empress of Xiao Chu. When she returned to Luoyang from Jiangdu, she had taken action to eliminate Duan Da, Rong Fengxiang and others who were dissatisfied with Xiao Meiniang.

The reason why he helped Li Tang and not Xiao Chu was because Empress Xiao Meiniang was just a puppet of the evil sect Xieji Sect and Yingui Sect, while Li Shimin was the son of destiny. His destiny was so strong that even Chai Shao, who obtained the evil emperor's relics and became an immortal, was unable to change it.

This statement seemed to raise a huge wave on the calm water. Soon, Li Mi, who had annexed Du Fuwei and half of the territory of Liu Wuzhou, responded to the call and was willing to join Li Tang. He led the Wagangzhai army to join the coalition forces to attack Xiao Chu. Then Dou Jiande, who had swallowed up part of the territory of Li Zitong, Gao Kaidao and Luo Yi, expressed his surrender.

At this point, most of Jiangbei and Hebei, except the area between Luoyang and Xiangyang, were under the jurisdiction of Li Tang.

In Changsun Wuji's opinion, things were going too smoothly, but Li Shimin did not worry too much, because he was the son of destiny who had defeated the immortals. He failed time and time again, but he got up from failure and finally saw the moon through the clouds. With his achievements and fame, wasn't it normal for people from all over the world to come to him?
……

Spring March.

Li Mi led the heroes of Wagangzhai, including Qin Qiong, Cheng Zhijie, Xu Shiji, Zu Junyan, Mo Cheng and others, and Dou Jiande brought his generals Liu Heita, Ling Jing, Yu Shinan, Meng Haigong and others to Chang'an to meet Li Shimin, and at the same time discuss sending troops to attack Xiao Chu together.

The leaders of the two forces led their confidants to Chang'an, which was basically a manifestation of submission to him, the son of destiny. Li Shimin, who had ascended the throne years ago, was very pleased. He ordered the whole city to decorate to welcome the Wagangzhai and the heroes of Hebei, and accepted the worship of Li Mi and Liu Heita in the Taiji Hall.

The scene was grand.

Li Shimin was wearing a dragon robe and a nine-tassel crown and sitting on the dragon throne. Below him were Li Mi and Dou Jiande's troops, and on both sides stood civil and military officials.

He was not worried about safety because Shuanglong was just down the stairs, and next to him stood Feng Qingyang, the swordsman who had forced Chai Shao to ascend to heaven - the best master in the world today.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Now our army is under the command of heaven and the people, and we have the help of Lord Mi and Lord Dou. Why should we worry about the destruction of Xiao and Chu?"

"Your Majesty is right. Without Chai Shao, the masters of the Yingui Sect are suppressed by Senior Feng, and there are only a few big cats and small cats from the Xieji Sect left. There is really nothing to worry about." Dou Jiande complimented while lowering his head.

Li Mi no longer looked like he was trying to win the support of Buddhism and Taoism at the foot of Funiu Mountain. He said in a slightly flattering tone, "Now that Li Tang's army has left the pass and is heading west, our Wagangzhai will attack from the northeast. As for the Luoyang garrison, there is really nothing to worry about."

"Hahaha……"

Li Shimin raised his sleeves, stood up from the dragon throne, and stood on the imperial platform, looking down at Li Mi, Dou Jiande and others who came to surrender: "Gentlemen, please follow me to the battle. One day, I will ride my horse to the south of the Yangtze River and achieve great achievements. I will not let you down."

He was very happy and excited.

The prophecy of the He Shi Bi that Monk Yi Xin saw should be similar to the current situation. If all the heroes from Jiangbei come together to surrender, as long as they take over the fertile Jiangbei region, why would they worry about not being able to defeat Xiao Chu?
Liu Han, Wei and Jin, Yang and Sui... I have never seen a dynasty that unified the north of the Yangtze River but failed to eventually conquer the south of the Yangtze River.

However, at this moment, a discordant voice sounded.

"Li Shimin, you are a despicable villain who killed your brother and father. You are going to die!"

Li Shimin just felt that the voice was somewhat familiar.

Everyone looked behind them and unconsciously made way for them. They saw a woman in white mourning clothes, holding a long sword, standing in the sunlight at the entrance of the hall.

Kou Zhong's eyes suddenly widened, because the person who created this discordant note was none other than Princess Pingyang Li Xiuning, whom he had been thinking about all the time.

(End of this chapter)