Traveling the Heavens in Thunderbolt

Chapter 59: Xuanwu Gate Incident (Part )

Xuanwu Gate, the northern gate of Taiji Palace, is a direct entry into the center of political activities in the early Tang Dynasty. It is also the place where Donglai and Li Gong once "broken the void". The collapse of Xuanwu Gate caused by the battle between the two has left the rubble cleared and most of it has been repaired, especially the urn city part which has been completely renovated.

Today, only a group of dozens of people came here. It was Li Jiancheng (Chengqian) and some of his civil and military officials from the Prince's Mansion who received the imperial edict, asking them to bring their confidants to Taiji Palace to defend themselves regarding Li Yuanji's rebellion.

Just after the last person passed through the city gate, a group of guards suddenly emerged from outside, holding spears. Their leader was none other than Yuchi Gong. After forcing everyone back, they blocked the city gate from the inside. Just when everyone was in doubt, a voice suddenly came from the direction of Taiji Palace.

"The Crown Prince and the King of Qi are planning to rebel and murder the Emperor. This has now been discovered. I have specially ordered the King of Qin, Li Shimin, to receive the Emperor's oral order and kill them immediately. Those of his close associates who lay down their weapons will not be held accountable."

"Ridiculous! We came to the palace to defend ourselves under the emperor's decree. How could the emperor give any other oral order? It is obvious that you falsely conveyed the emperor's order and intended to kill the crown prince. Aren't you afraid of being executed along with your entire clan?" Wei Zheng, as Li Jiancheng's chief adviser, was the first to react and refute.

A team of armored soldiers appeared. They were the imperial guards. They drew their bows and pointed them directly at Li Jiancheng (Cheng Qian) and his men.

"The Emperor's order has been delivered. If anyone except the Crown Prince continues to resist, they will be killed on the spot!"

Seeing the other party's firm attitude, Wei Zheng had to make a final effort, starting from the country and the people, hoping to persuade everyone, "You. How can this be unreasonable. You falsely spread the imperial edict and attempted to harm the country. Aren't you afraid that this will affect the inheritance of our Great Tang royal family and bring disaster to future generations?"

"Xuancheng (Wei Zheng's courtesy name), there is no need to persuade me anymore. Did you see that those who are besieging us today are all the King of Qin's men? It seems that the King of Qin wants to take this opportunity to get rid of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." The person who spoke was Fang Xuanling, another important strategist in the Crown Prince's Mansion.

After hearing this, Wei Zheng seemed to accept his fate and remained silent. At this time, Li Jiancheng (Chengqian), who had seen all the changes on the scene, spoke.

"Would you like to follow me to meet my second brother?" After saying this, he rode his horse forward without waiting for everyone's answer. Everyone was moved by the prince's calmness in the face of danger and his open-mindedness, and without exception, they followed Li Jiancheng (Cheng Qian) forward.

When everyone arrived before the Imperial Guards, he shouted to the crowd, "My dear second brother, at this time, don't you still want to see me for the last time?"

"Brother, there is no need to do this. This is the last time we meet. Even if you don't tell me, I will definitely see you for the last time." As soon as he finished speaking, the imperial guards gathered and made way for the newcomer.

Li Shimin led Shuanglong, Ba Fenghan, Yuwen Shang, the leader of the Yuwen clan, You Chufeng, who was actually in charge of the Dugu clan, Fan Qinghui, the master of Cihang Jingzhai, and his successor Shi Feixuan, and everyone from Tiance Mansion, and arrived before the Forbidden Army in high spirits.

Then he said: "Now if you have any last words to say, I will do my best to fulfill them."

But Li Jiancheng (Chengqian) smiled and said, "I will do whatever I ask, but the prerequisite is that you are really my second brother!"

Hearing this, Li Shimin was shocked, thinking that his true identity had been exposed. He said calmly, "Brother, what do you mean by this? Are you questioning my bloodline as a member of the Li Tang royal family? If so, you are just trying to escape." Li Jiancheng (Chengqian) ignored Li Shimin and said directly to Shuanglong and Ba Fenghan, "I didn't expect that the three of you would choose to stand on Li Shimin's side. It seems that you have forgotten your promise to me that day."

When Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling heard this, even though they had been tempered by the hardships of the martial arts world during this period of time, their faces couldn't help but blush, because that day they had vowed to Li Jiancheng (Cheng Qian) that they would persuade Kou Zhong to surrender and the three of them would never be enemies with Li Tang in this life. However, they were breaking this oath by surrounding and killing him here today.

Seeing this, Kou Zhong would not let Li Jiancheng go, and said, "Li Jiancheng, you think too narrowly of us. We came here today, not to break our oath. It's just that Ling Shao, Lao Ba and I are here to help Li Shimin rectify the Tang Dynasty, which is obviously beneficial to your Li Tang country, how can it be considered..."

This nonsense helped Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan strengthen their determination to help Li Shimin.

When Li Jiancheng heard what Kou Zhong said, he burst into laughter and said, "What a twisted and heretical theory that confuses right and wrong! I have lived for so long, but this is the first time I have seen someone talk about breaking an oath so refreshingly. It seems that you still don't understand why Ling Donglai didn't accept you two as his disciples. It is your cold and indifferent personalities that are the main reason why Ling Donglai didn't accept you two as his disciples."

After saying this, without even looking at Kou Zhong, as if he was not worth his attention, he directly asked Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan: "You made the oath that day, now it's time for you to give me the answer."

After these words were spoken, the two people who had been determined began to waver again.

Seeing this, Shi Feixuan said, "Your Highness, why do you have to fight this desperate battle? You will surely die today, why ruin these two pillars of talent?" The implication was that Li Jiancheng (Cheng Qian) wanted to use the oath of the two men to leave a psychological flaw in them, making it impossible for them to reach the peak of martial arts in their lifetime.

"Whether we want to destroy them is another matter. This has nothing to do with your Cihang Jingzhai. What right do you nuns with no Buddhist heart have to speak? I have not yet punished you for causing the internal strife of the Tang Dynasty royal family. Just because you are good-looking, I will not scold you."

Shi Feixuan had never been insulted like this since he came out of seclusion. Seeing that the man was not respectful to him, he became so angry that he couldn't even speak clearly.

"You and I."

Li Jiancheng (Cheng Qian) interrupted him and said, "What are you talking about? You are a monk, but you are famous for your sex life. You are a Buddhist, but you do the things of the devil. Do you think those people really respect you? They just want your body. You are so cheap! No wonder there were rumors that your Cihang Jingzhai was the ninth branch of the devil. Now it seems that it is true. It should be that your ancestor Di Ni hooked up with the leader of the devil by selling her body, and then secretly learned the devil's secrets, and then founded Cihang Jingzhai. He blocked the whore and wanted to establish a brand. Bah!"

"Your Highness, why must the Crown Prince embarrass a woman like Shi Feixuan in this way? This will only make Your Highness seem less noble." The one who came to Shi Feixuan's defense was naturally the flower-guarding messenger (number one bootlicker) Xu Ziling.

"Since you choose to speak up, I guess you have already thought it through. Now tell me the answer!"

But Xu Ziling bowed respectfully to Li Jiancheng (Chengqian) and said: "."

(End of this chapter)