Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 721 Bloodstained Chang'an

The cold wind howled, blowing up snow all over the sky, and the world looked desolate.

The heavy clouds hung low, as if pressing down on people's hearts, making even breathing heavy. On the snow, a dark warhorse stood with its head held high, its mane as hard as iron, fluttering in the cold wind.

White mist came out of its nostrils and the snow under its hooves crunched, as if silently announcing the upcoming fight.

The horse's hooves sank deeply into the snow, and every time they were lifted, they brought up a cloud of snow mist that splashed into the cold air.

The warhorse's body was tense, its muscles bulging like iron, as if it was ready to break through this world covered in silver at any time. Its eyes flashed with a wild light, as if it had merged with the wind and snow, fearless.

Li Baochen, who was on the horse, had a stern face and his eyes seemed to be shooting out ice chips. He just stared at the tall and majestic Chang'an City in front of him with an expressionless face.

The biting cold wind cut off the last bit of warmth in this prosperous imperial capital and blew away the last bit of softness in his heart.

The snow was falling heavily, like the sky was collapsing, and the whole city was shrouded in a pale silence. Li Baochen led his troops through Chunming Gate without any hindrance. The eaves on both sides of the street were covered with icicles, crystal clear, but freezing cold.

Li Baochen led the cavalry team through the spacious Zhuque Street, but he could not sense any trace of the human atmosphere of fireworks.

In the distance, the Daming Palace has towering palace walls and a vermilion gate tower that looks particularly bright in the snow, as if it is out of tune with this cold world.

The bright red was filled with deathly silence, and it didn't look like a place where living people lived.

In the alley beside the street, there were several ragged beggars huddled together, their bodies frozen stiff, their faces covered with a thin layer of frost, their lips blue and purple, their breathing weak.

The snow fell on them, as if covering them with a thin shroud.

Not far away, a frozen body lay in the middle of the street, no one cared. His fingers were bent, as if he wanted to grab something, but in the end he couldn't grab anything.

Seeing this scene, Li Baochen stopped, dismounted, took off the cloak behind him, and covered the corpse with it.

He took a deep breath, and a flash of pity appeared on his face, but it was quickly replaced by coldness.

"Father, all the officials are already waiting in the Purple Palace."

Li Baochen's son Li Weijian came galloping on horseback from the direction of Suzaku Gate, dismounted, saluted and reported to the commander of the Chang'an Imperial Army.

"Ma Lin, the defense commander of Puzhou, and Wei Jian, the right prime minister, colluded with each other to disrupt the government, held the emperor hostage and massacred the ministers. Their crimes are extremely heinous!"

Li Baochen glanced at Li Weijian and continued indifferently: "When our army arrived at the Purple Palace, we found that the place was already full of corpses. I am late!"

Hearing this, Li Weijian's pupils suddenly shrank!
Li Baochen has been cultivating Taoism for two years. It is hard to say whether he is still interested in women, but it is true that "Heaven and earth are unkind and treat all things as straw dogs" exists in him.

All I can say is that those who understand will understand what Li Baochen just said.

The last heavy snow before spring in Chang'an was indeed used to bury human corpses!

"You're not going to carry out the military order. Do you want to go to the Purple Palace for a drink? There should be a welcoming banquet there, right?"

Li Baochen showed a trace of sarcasm and mockery on his face. Li Weijian lowered his head embarrassedly, clasped his fists and saluted, then jumped on his horse and left.

Some of the powerful people in Chang'an believed that when Wei Jian was in power, they would listen to Wei Jian, and when Li Baochen was in power, they would listen to Li Baochen.

Those seats are occupied by their people on both sides, so it doesn't matter.

Generally speaking, this is true. No matter who you are, you have to cooperate with these "Guanzhong Tianlong people" when you enter Guanzhong.

However, there are exceptions to everything, because Li Baochen is just an ordinary person, not a pure political animal.

Ordinary people have the ignorant impulses and bloodiness of ordinary people, and they have the reckless indignation and revenge after being angry and humiliated!
Why bother with you so much? I'll kill him first! Regret later, that's for the future!

At this moment, Li Baochen's thoughts were so simple and pure. Li Shiyu, who was standing by, sighed and did not stop him, nor did he know how to say it.

Just kill him. From a certain perspective, the death of a prime minister and the death of a beggar seem to be no different.

If those noble Guanzhong Tianlong people died, they would be just like the beggars who were frozen to death on the roadside just now.

Both of them have only one life, and they will die if killed!

The imperial power changed hands, the divine weapon collapsed, and the halo of the rulers had faded. These people were no different from the working people.

We are all human beings, we are all afraid, and we are all going to die.

Li Shiyu, who had climbed up from the bottom, understood Li Baochen's mood at the moment.

They are not like the inexperienced Li Weijian, Li Shiyu and Li Baochen. They have all witnessed death, fighting and purgatory on earth!
Since beggars can be killed...then of course the prime ministers and ministers can be killed too!

Who is more noble than who?
"I'll leave the aftermath to you."

Li Baochen patted Li Shiyu on the shoulder and said.

"Please rest assured, Marshal. This is not the first time I have seen such a thing."

Li Shiyu saluted Li Baochen with his arms crossed.

"Where's Princess Taihua? Did she go to Taiyuan with Wei Jian?"

Li Baochen suddenly remembered this and turned his head to mention it.

Li Shiyu smiled bitterly and said, "If we really went, it would be a good story. But the problem is that we didn't go. Wei Jian cheated a pair of children who were still in their infancy and left this stupid woman in Daxingshan Temple, crying her eyes out. How to deal with it, everything is up to the Marshal to decide."

As Li Baochen's "housekeeper" and right-hand man, he naturally dealt with these chores at the first opportunity. This was also the main reason why Li Baochen trusted Li Shiyu so much that he even trusted him more than his own children.

"Write a divorce letter for me and give it to Princess Taihua. We don't need to meet again."

Li Baochen sighed and said nothing more, and he had no interest in going to Daxingshan Temple to humiliate Princess Taihua.

He always carries the simplicity of an ordinary person. He is compassionate but not too much; he has experience and wisdom, but they are also common; he has a violent temper, but it does not happen often; he is rebellious towards the strong, sympathetic to the weak, and will seek revenge when he has a grudge.

According to the principle of maximizing political interests, Li Baochen really should not "divorce his wife" now.

The real solution is to use Princess Taihua's interpersonal relationships to stabilize the situation in Chang'an, and it is also the inevitable choice for political animals.

Li Shiyu thought about it and wanted to say something several times, but when he saw Marshal Baochen's face full of the melancholy of a wounded man, he could only sigh and let it go.

What else can he say in this situation?

"I will place my new residence in Xingqing Palace. This name is not auspicious, so I will change it back to the original name, Xingqingfang."

Li Baochen waved his hand tiredly, turned around, got on his horse, and headed towards Xingqing Palace in the east with some boredom.

……

The cold wind, carrying a strong smell of blood, rushed straight towards the Purple Palace in the Daming Palace.

All the ministers in the hall had expressions of astonishment. They did not even touch the wine and delicacies on the table with their chopsticks.

The iron hooves of the imperial guards under Li Baochen's command shattered the tranquility of the palace gates.

Team after team of soldiers in full armor rushed into the Daming Palace. The team led by Li Weijian headed straight for the Purple Palace. The sounds of armor rubbing against each other and weapons colliding interrupted the ministers' thoughts.

Li Weijian walked into the hall, pointed at the ministers who looked familiar but whose names he could not even pronounce, and shouted to the guards beside him: "According to the emperor's order, these traitors will be executed to thank the world!"

isn't it?
The ministers present were shocked, but before they could run away, those ferocious soldiers rushed towards them with swords in hand.

"Aaaaaaaaaaa!"

The screams echoed in the empty Purple Palace, like the howling of ghosts and wolves. Swords and sabers were wielded wantonly in the palace, as if they were going to tear apart this palace that symbolized the glory of the Tang Dynasty.

The torches in the hall had gone out at some point, leaving only a few wisps of smoke floating in the air, which looked particularly glaring against the blood flowing all over the ground.

A minister of the imperial court dressed in purple robes was forced to the corner of the palace by the rebels. His official hat had already fallen to the ground, and his messy white hair was stuck to his forehead.

He still held tightly in his hand a scroll of memorials, as if that was his last bit of dignity. It was an imperial edict from the "imperial court" enthroning the new emperor and conferring Li Baochen the title of king.

These people thought that the rules of the game were the same as before, but they didn't expect that Li Baochen, who had practiced Taoism, had a sudden enlightenment and realized that human nature is very simple, so he simply stopped pretending!

The blades of the imperial guards chopped down mercilessly, and blood splattered on the pillars of the palace, staining the carved dragon patterns red. The minister's body slowly fell down, and the memorial in his hand fell to the ground, soaked in blood, and the handwriting on it became blurred.

No one cares what he wrote!
Li Weijian glanced at him and didn't recognize his name at all. Maybe this man was not Wei Jian's die-hard party member, but he must be a politician who is very good at political speculation.

In another place, at another time, such a person might have a bright future, and might even be granted a title of nobility or become a prime minister.

But who made him meet the current Li Baochen?

An old man wearing a Shangshu official robe tried to escape from the side door, but was stabbed in the chest from behind by the rebel's sword.

His official uniform was soaked in blood, and the cloud pattern embroidered with gold thread was particularly dazzling in the blood. His fingers tightly grasped the door frame, and he seemed to be struggling to stand up, but he finally slipped down powerlessly, leaving a bloodstain.

No matter how hard they struggled, it was in vain. The beautiful articles and eloquent speeches of the civil officials were nothing in front of the blade. The lowly soldiers, holding knives in debate, were almost invincible.

The imperial guards under Li Baochen's command stepped over him with a grin as if he were trash, as if what they were crushing was just an insignificant body.

Old and ugly!
The imperial guards had no psychological burden in killing these officials, as they normally disliked these people. Now, rather than executing orders, they were using the opportunity to vent their resentment!

In the center of the hall, an elderly imperial censor, dressed in a scarlet official robe, knelt on the ground, holding a jade tablet high in his hands, muttering: "I will die in the service of my country! I will die in the service of my country!"

The blade of the imperial guard chopped down without hesitation. The jade scepter broke with a sound, and fragments flew everywhere. His head rolled to the ground, his eyes wide open, as if he was unwilling to believe this cruel reality until his death.

Blood gushed out from his neck, staining the gold bricks in the hall red, merging with the blood of his colleagues who had already fallen.

Facts have proved that whistling while walking at night can only comfort oneself. He must have known whether he was "loyal to the emperor and patriotic" or not. Even if he shouted louder, it could not change the reality that his political speculation had failed.

If I had not coveted power and stayed at home, I would not have suffered such an unexpected disaster.

In a corner, a young official tried to protect himself with the body of a colleague. However, this "little clever guy" was still picked out by the grinning imperial guards like a chicken.

The sword pierced his chest.

The official's uniform was torn, revealing the cotton coat wrapped in yellow silk underneath, which was still slightly warm.

While cotton-padded clothes were not yet widely popular in Bianzhou, officials in Chang'an actually all had cotton-padded clothes to wear. It has to be said that these people lived a pretty good life.

Blood dripped down his clothes, staining his feet red. His lips trembled slightly, and he stretched out his hand as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, no sound came out.

His body slowly fell down and overlapped with that of his colleague, and the two seemed to be complaining to each other for being a drag.

The killing continued in the palace; the screams, the clashing of swords, and the hideous laughter of the imperial guards intertwined together, like a dirge from hell.

Those ministers who were once at the highest positions in the government were now being mercilessly crushed like ants. Their blood dyed every inch of the floor of the palace red, and their bodies lay scattered on the ground, as if silently accusing the catastrophe.

The golden tiles of the Purple Palace still flickered in the cold wind, but they could no longer conceal the tragedy and sadness inside the palace.

After an incense stick of time, there was no one standing in the main hall of the Purple Palace except the imperial guards.

A lieutenant general in Li Baochen's army, who was also Li Weijian's confidant in the army, came over and whispered to Li Weijian, "General Li, these people are all in Chang'an, and one move could affect the entire body.

If we kill one person, we become enemies with the entire family.

As the saying goes, things change over time. These people are either rich or powerful, and have many connections. Who knows, they might be able to turn their fortunes around one day."

"How are you doing?"

Li Weijian asked back, thinking about what the other party said.

These days, the individual and the family are one.

They killed so many ministers in the hall today. Won’t the family members of these ministers seek revenge on them, the little Karamis, in the future?
If revenge really comes, regardless of whether Li Baochen can withstand it, they, the "operators", will definitely be dead!
"It's better to kill him to prevent future troubles and put the blame on Wei Jian."

The lieutenant general made a chopping gesture.

“Wasn’t that a bit too much?”

Li Weijian asked uncertainly.

"No matter how many more we kill, it won't be as many as when we fought the Crane Control Army. We were fighting on the front line, while these insects were sitting in Chang'an, enjoying the wine in their cups and the beauties in their arms.

Do you think this is fair, General?"

The centurion continued to seduce.

Li Weijian nodded. He understood that there was no way out now. He also came to his senses and wondered why Li Baochen had to do this "dirty and tiring work" himself.

It's really unreliable for both sides to have outsiders handle such matters.

"You go check their identities, and then..."

Li Weijian wanted to say more, but heard the general complaining in a low voice:

"Hey, General Li, how long will it take to investigate this? They will run away as soon as you investigate!

There are only a few neighborhoods in Chang'an where officials live. We can go there directly and kill all the wealthy families there.

Among these people, who is innocent? Who has not exploited the people's wealth?
I've already killed them, so why worry about killing the wrong person?"

The lieutenant general asked back.

These words woke Li Weijian up.

"You are right, we have to kill, but we can't do it.

Let’s go find the county lieutenant of Chang’an County and ask him to kill. He kills the people and we take the treasures!”

Li Weijian slapped his thigh and exclaimed as if he had suddenly realized something, praising himself in his heart for being such a smart guy!
(End of this chapter)