I, the military god of the Tang Dynasty, have risen since I destroyed the Turks

Chapter 755: Jianghu surrenders, hidden dangers of aristocratic families

Inside the Taiji Hall, the floor was paved with golden bricks and nine dragons coiled around the pillars. Li Zheng leaned on the dragon chair, tapping the armrests with his fingers from time to time. The sound was particularly crisp in the empty hall. There were tiny footsteps coming from outside the hall, approaching from far away, but stopped outside the middle door, as if hesitating whether to come in.

"Xuan." Li Zheng didn't even raise his eyelids, and just uttered a word lightly.

The chief eunuch Wang Dequan immediately sang loudly: "Announcement - Tie Wuxin, the leader of the Iron Sect, Liu Ruyan, the leader of the Qingxia Sect, Xiao Bieli, the owner of the Xuanjian Villa, Xue Wuhen, the leader of the Blood Knife Sect, and Qingxuzi, the leader of the White Crane Temple - come to the audience!"

The palace door slowly opened, and five people in various costumes walked in cautiously. They usually called the shots in the martial arts world, but at this moment, they were like frightened birds, and even their footsteps were very light.

Tie Wuxin walked in front. This tough guy, known as the "Iron Palm Opener", had beads of sweat on his forehead. He glanced at the situation in the hall and saw dozens of golden-armored guards standing on both sides, their hands on the hilts of their swords, their eyes like lightning. The young emperor on the dragon throne half-closed his eyes, seemingly unconcerned about their arrival.

"Your Majesty, I bow to you. Long live your Majesty!" Five of them knelt on the ground in unison, their foreheads pressed against the cold floor tiles.

Li Zheng then slowly opened his eyes and scanned the five people one by one. His eyes seemed casual, but they made the five people feel uneasy, as if all their secrets were seen through.

"Tie Wuxin." Li Zheng suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it scared Tie Wuxin so much that his whole body trembled.

"Grass, the people are here!"

"I heard that you have practiced Iron Sand Palm to the eighth level, and can break stones and crack rocks?" Li Zheng picked up a white jade paperweight on the table and said, "Come, show me how to do it."

Tie Wuxin swallowed his saliva and took the paperweight tremblingly. He took a deep breath and used all his strength. His palm instantly became as dark as iron. With a crisp "snap" sound, the white jade paperweight shattered.

"Good skills." Li Zheng nodded, and suddenly changed the subject, "However, I heard that you said when you were drinking at Yueyang Tower last month, 'The emperor's son is just relying on the influence of his ancestors. If we talk about real ability, he may not be as good as people like us in the martial arts world'?"

Tie Wuxin's face turned pale instantly, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He kowtowed hard, and his forehead hit the gold brick with a dull "dong dong" sound: "Your Majesty, please understand! That, that was drunken nonsense, don't take it seriously!"

Li Zheng sneered, pulled out a secret letter from under the dragon table, and threw it in front of Tie Wuxin: "Then this letter you wrote to the leader of the wolf tribe in the northern border, was it also written when you were drunk? The letter agreed to start a rebellion in the autumn, and you, the Iron Sect Leader, would be the insider, was it also drunken talk?"

When Tie Wuxin saw the letter, he was struck by lightning and collapsed to the ground. Of course he recognized the letter - it was a secret letter written by him and hidden in the interlayer of the secret room, which could never be leaked!
"Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me!" Tie Wuxin suddenly burst into tears, and a puddle of water oozed out from under his body - this dignified leader of the Tie Zhang Sect was so frightened that he became incontinent.

Upon seeing this, the other four sect leaders all turned pale and fell to the ground, not daring to even breathe.

Li Zheng frowned in disgust and waved his hand, saying, "Drag him away, and execute him by slow slicing. Hang his head on the city gate for three days as a warning to others."

Two golden-armored guards immediately stepped forward and dragged the limp Tie Wuxin out like a dead dog, leaving only a wet trail and a mournful cry for mercy echoing in the hall.

"As for you..." Li Zheng turned his gaze to the remaining four people, and the four of them immediately trembled like sieves.

"Your Majesty, spare my life!" Liu Ruyan was the first to collapse. The usually cold and aloof leader of the Qingxia Sect was now crying, "We are willing to serve Your Majesty at our utmost!"

"Your Majesty, please have mercy!" The other three also kowtowed repeatedly, and one of them even fainted from fright.

Li Zheng looked at the ugly appearance of these usually arrogant Jianghu tyrants, and a trace of contempt flashed in his eyes. He slowly stood up, walked in front of the four people with his hands behind his back, and the hem of his bright yellow dragon robe dragged a majestic mark on the gold brick.

"I will not kill you today." Li Zheng's voice echoed in the hall.

The four of them seemed to hear divine music. They looked up at the emperor in disbelief, their eyes filled with ecstasy at having survived a calamity.

"If I wanted to kill you, why would I go to so much trouble to summon you to the palace?" Li Zheng turned around and walked back to the dragon throne, leaning against it lazily, "Go away." "Thank you, Your Majesty, for not killing us!" The four of them crawled out of the hall as if they had been pardoned, fearing that the emperor would change his mind.

When the palace door closed again, Li Zheng suddenly chuckled and said, "Come out."

A middle-aged man in a purple robe came out from behind the screen. It was the Minister of War, Hou Junji. He bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty is very smart. These gangsters are really vulnerable."

"That's because those people don't know the rules." Li Zheng played with another paperweight, his eyes deep, "They always think that the Jianghu can be more powerful than the court, but I tell them that the Jianghu is still the Jianghu, and they still can't escape the fate of being slaughtered."

Hou Junji smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise. But..." He hesitated to speak.

"But what?"

"Those aristocratic families may not be as easy to deal with as these martial arts sects." Hou Junji whispered, "According to secret reports, the seven major families including the Cui family of Qinghe, the Wang family of Taiyuan, and the Zheng family of Xingyang have been in frequent contact recently, and they seem to be planning something."

Li Zheng's eyes flashed with coldness: "I know. These aristocratic families are intertwined and indeed much more difficult to deal with than the martial arts sects." He stood up, walked to the window of the hall, and looked at the palace wall in the distance, "But I can even pacify the wolf tribe in the northern border, so why should I be afraid of these parasites?"

Hou Junji bowed and said, "Your Majesty is so powerful that I am not afraid. But the noble families are different from the underworld. They have great power in the court, and their students and former officials are all over the world."

"That's why I have to start with the martial arts sects." Li Zheng interrupted him, and when he turned around, his dragon robe brought up a gust of wind. "These sects seem independent, but in fact, most of them are in collusion with the aristocratic families. After today's scare, they will definitely seek protection from the backers behind them when they return."

Hou Junji's eyes lit up: "Your Majesty means..."

"Play the long game and catch the big fish." Li Zheng sneered, "I have ordered the shadow guards to secretly monitor these four people. I want to know who they met and what they said."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Hou Junji praised sincerely, "I will arrange it right away."

"No hurry." Li Zheng waved his hand, "Let's talk about the Northern Frontier Army Report first."

Hou Junji immediately said seriously: "It is reported that the wolf leader Yelu Hongji has withdrawn his troops from the border after learning that Tie Wuxin was arrested. It seems that they are indeed colluding."

Li Zheng nodded: "It's as expected. Tie Wuxin is just a pawn, so if he dies, he dies. But the person who sent the secret letter to me..." He narrowed his eyes, "Have you found out?"

"It has not been found out yet." Hou Junji looked embarrassed. "The letter appeared directly on the desk of the Shadow Guard Commander in the middle of the night. No one saw who put it there."

Li Zheng thought thoughtfully: "Interesting. He can deliver the letter quietly under the eyes of the shadow guards. This person is quite capable."

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the palace. Wang Dequan hurried in and knelt down to report: "Your Majesty, the leader of Qingxia Sect Liu Ruyan is outside the palace gate asking for an audience, saying that she has something important to report."

Li Zheng and Hou Junji looked at each other and smiled meaningfully: "You came so soon? Xuan."

Not long after, Liu Ruyan entered the hall again. Unlike before, she had regained her cool and elegant look, but there was still a look of shock in her eyes.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." She bowed gracefully, her voice gentle and graceful.

(End of this chapter)