Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 633 The World Shakes Up
No one expected that a seemingly ordinary imperial edict could cause such a turmoil across the land.

We used to talk about an irresistible trend, but now we realize that some people are born to create that trend.

But what was this person doing when all the heroes in the world were feeling insecure?

He was squatting by the door telling people a story.

"This book can be called The Tragic Life of Li Shimin, or the Reign of Zhenguan."

Emperor Jingtai was full of curiosity, but Li Shimin was very dissatisfied: "Why should my tragic life be called that? Don't you have anyone else to make up stories about?"

"Let me explain in detail."

To be honest, all it takes is to rewrite Li Shimin's life in a different version, and that would be fascinating enough.

Xia Lin recounted the true story of Li Shimin's life in detail. The truth is often more moving than the script. When he heard that Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident less than two years after losing his sister because of the persecution by Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng, he actually clenched his fist.

But when he heard himself carrying the heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to Li Yuan and saying, "Father, please abdicate!" he slapped his thigh and cried out, "Brother killing...brother killing...cruel and inhumane!"

As he entered middle age and old age, and began to lose things step by step, the story took a tragic turn: his first wife passed away, his eldest son became unruly, his favorite concubine seized power, and ultimately the Li Tang dynasty perished under the second emperor.

The story ends with Wu Zetian replacing the Tang dynasty, and Li Shimin's soul hangs on Longshou Plain, silently watching the Zhou banner rise from the imperial city.

"You beast! You beast!"

Li Shimin pounded the ground and cried out, "What's the point of you making up stories about me like this? Huh? I ask you, what's the point?"

Emperor Jingtai chuckled and said, "Very good, I think it's very good. Daosheng, after things have settled down, you should adapt this into a play, and I will personally go to the Fuliang Theater to watch it."

"You!" Li Shimin shouted, slapping his thigh. "Even if I become emperor, how could the dynasty perish after only two generations?! Chengqian is such a good child. How could he break his leg and be so fond of men, not to mention plotting a rebellion? He is the eldest son of the legitimate wife."

"Things are unpredictable." Emperor Jingtai sighed, "I never thought my second brother would rebel, but what happened? He was my own brother, and he still wanted to kill me. The little follower who used to chase after me in my childhood died on that day."

Li Shimin was indignant at this moment: "What kind of beautiful and bewitching concubine could I be so reluctant to kill? She has made so many mistakes, why keep her alive? And Li Zhi even married her? Isn't Li Zhi your son? Why would he marry my concubine? And in the end, she even seized the throne? Absurd, utterly absurd."

“Alas, a page full of absurd words, a handful of bitter tears, everyone says the author is crazy, but who can understand the taste in them?” Xia Lin leaned back and laughed: “Putting aside everything else, just ask yourself if your life was exciting or not. Even someone as great as Li Shimin could not escape his fate. After the Wu Zhou Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty began to decline rapidly, followed by the rebellion of the military governors, and then the celestial empire fell and barely survived.”

Li Shimin sat there without shouting anymore, his eyes fixed on the distance. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Although I know it's false, it sounds so real, as if it really is."

Emperor Jingtai fell silent, seemingly deep in thought, before finally shaking his head and saying, "This is good. Daosheng, write more so that future generations may take heed."

“It’s no use,” Xia Lin laughed. “The only lesson that people have learned throughout history is that they never learn from their mistakes.”

After saying that, he stood up and said, "Alright, Erfeng, you should go back now. This is a golden opportunity. I also need to return to Jinling for investigation. Farewell. If we meet again, it will probably be on the battlefield."

Li Shimin didn't say anything polite: "Please wait patiently for good news."

As he spoke, he bowed to Emperor Jingtai, then stood up, mounted his horse, and left swiftly without the slightest hesitation.

The remaining Emperor Jingtai and Xia Lin stood there, exchanged a glance, and after a while, Emperor Jingtai asked, "Shall we set off as well?"

"Let's go."

This time, Xia Lin rode in the same carriage as Emperor Jingtai, while Jinlian rode alone, which meant she missed the chance to be close to Lord Xia again, and could only sit in the carriage sulking.

Emperor Jingtai's trip to Lingnan ended abruptly, simply because nearly 500,000 troops from the north were already pressing down on them.

However, Emperor Jingtai really stole the show this time. Xia Daosheng attributed almost all the credit to the emperor. It was the same old formula: the emperor should take care of the country's face. All the glory was just a matter of his need for face.

Many people don't understand this principle and always like to flaunt their wealth, making themselves look bad both inside and out. In the end, they end up pleasing neither side.

Therefore, Emperor Jingtai was very satisfied with this trip to Lingnan. He even felt that he could hold more such events, which would not only save the people money but also benefit most people.

Why did you predict so early that Li Mi would surrender?

While in the carriage, they were finally able to talk about some very private topics, since there were some things that were not convenient for Li Shimin to hear.

"How could he not surrender? His position is surrounded on three sides. Liu Heita's troops are only three days' journey away. So how long do you think it would take us to send troops there? At least thirty days, at most forty-five. They've already thoroughly defeated us, and we've only just left the northern gate. What can we do if he doesn't surrender? Li Mi is a very smart man; he certainly won't fight to the death." Xia Lin's eyes darted around, and suddenly he exclaimed, "Why is Yang Ying suddenly so confident?"

"With an army of 400,000, plus Li Mi's 70,000, and the eighteen warlords gathered together, anyone would feel confident."

“No.” Xia Lin shook his head and leaned back on the cushion in silence for a long time: “Most of their personnel are temporary conscripts. Although they are numerous, they are not well trained and lack equipment. Four hundred thousand cannot withstand three rounds of attacks. And the person who gives him such confidence must be someone else.”

"Li Tang? That's the only thing I can think of."

Xia Lin shook his head again: "Li Tang is not stupid. Although Li Yuan is indecisive and slow in doing things, he is by no means a fool. He must know what they will face once the heroes of the Central Plains gather together and take over the south. So Li Tang is indeed our staunch ally at present."

"It's funny, not long ago we were called traitors, and now we're allies. How ridiculous!"

"That's how things are between nations. They don't act like children, saying they'll stop playing with you just like that." Xia Lin patted his thigh lightly as he spoke, then clapped his hands: "I suspect the grasslands borrowed troops!"

“The grasslands? You mean that grassland Han? Hahaha, Liu Bilie, right?” Xia Lin ignored his sarcasm, and simply took out a map from the box under the cushion and spread it out in front of himself and Emperor Jingtai: “If the Northern Han is willing to join forces with them, it will surely gain tremendous benefits. It should be by ceding territory.”

After searching the map, his eyes immediately fell on the Yan and Yun prefectures. These were places that the northern barbarians dreamed of. Firstly, these two places were the horse farms of the Central Plains Empire. Losing such a large area would be like crippling the Central Plains Dynasty. If they wanted to defeat them again, they would have to wait for muskets and the Great Luck.

Secondly, these two places are the best communication points between the north and south, the northern gateway to the Central Plains and the best trade routes for the grasslands. With these, the grasslands can easily learn the technology of the Central Plains without any checks and balances, and even complete its institutionalization and civilization within a few years.

This is indeed a very good entry point and fully demonstrates that there are experts under the command of the Cao Han, but they may not have truly realized one problem: Xia Lin has both muskets and great luck.

After this massive migration, Jiangnan Province might leap directly into the early steam industrial civilization era. At that time, the Turkic cavalry might really be unable to fight against the Gatling guns that spew blue flames.

"Turks." Xia Lin smacked his lips. "Looks like they really are Turks."

"These barbarians from the Grasslands are really tough. Can you handle them?"

"Let's give it a try." Xia Lin immediately began to plan on the map: "We'll head north and garrison troops in Xuzhou, using Xuzhou to block Shandong. We'll use Songzhou as a springboard to advance north, passing through Longchi and Chanzhou to meet up outside Handan. After capturing Handan, we'll rest and regroup. Then, the second force from Xuzhou will advance again through Yizhou and Haizhou into Qizhou. The two armies will block each other, forming a pincer movement to shut down the troubled area. I estimate the major battle will likely occur in the Hengzhou area of ​​Hebei Province. We'll try to push them to Zhangjiakou. At that moment, we'll order the Guo family from Shanxi to lead troops out of Yanmen Pass to outflank them. We'll surround them on the grasslands and estimate annihilating 100,000 enemy troops."

Would Wang Shichong agree?

"Wang Shichong will agree."

At this moment, Emperor Jingtai cast a surprised glance at him: "That old fox Wang Shichong, how could he so easily agree to our order to station troops? He will definitely make all sorts of excuses."

"No, Wang Shichong is not the same as before. In the past, he had ambitions to become emperor. But now, with his son poised to conquer the world and establish his own legacy, he will not easily ruin his son's future, nor will he erase his own chance to be remembered in history. Between the titles of 'fighting a losing battle' and 'a hero of the Central Plains,' which would Wang Shichong choose?"

"Hmm...that makes sense. Also, let me ask you one more question: are you really not going to help me? Are you really going to rely on the new army alone to deal with their 400,000 men?"

"It could be 500,000 or even 600,000."

Xia Lin looked up at Emperor Jingtai as he spoke: "The Polu Army cannot be moved, because the Polu Army cannot afford to lose. It is an invincible army, but victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Once the Polu Army is defeated, the myth will be shattered. Simply put, it's like showing its health bar in public. Hmm... if you don't understand showing its health bar, let me put it this way: the Zhou Dynasty fell because of an arrow shot by Zhu Dan. Do you understand what I mean? Regardless of whether the New Army or the Green Forest Army has surpassed the Polu Army, we must give them a consensus: if they are already this difficult to defeat, wouldn't the Polu Army be as difficult as climbing to heaven?"

Emperor Jingtai suddenly realized what was happening and laughed sheepishly, "I really know nothing about military affairs."

“Then you’ll have to take the initiative to press forward.” Xia Lin finished speaking and held up two fingers: “Your Majesty, this is the second time.”

"What do you mean? You did this to me a few years ago, saying it was your first time. How come this is the second time?"

Xia Lin pursed her lips, lowered her head, and fiddled with her fingers, seemingly hesitating whether to tell him.

"Did you promise Father that you would save me three times?"

"No," Xia Lin shook his head, "I promised the late emperor to save the Great Wei three times. This is the second time."

Emperor Jingtai's heart skipped a beat when he saw his expression, and he immediately asked, "What will happen if we exhaust ourselves three times?"

"We don't know yet. Maybe by then the tide will really be over. Since the tide has turned, what's the point of struggling? You can be your poet or do what you can. China is still China after all. Isn't that good?"

Emperor Jingtai fell silent. He rested his chin on his hand, leaning against the carriage and looking at the scenery along the way. His emotions were complicated, but seeing that the homes of the people who had been destroyed by the flood on both sides of the road were beginning to take shape, and the lush Lingnan scenery and the people working in the fields, made him feel much better.

He thought to himself, "Yes, perhaps being a poet is a good choice."

They returned to Jiangnan Circuit as quickly as possible along the official road. The scene after entering Jiangnan Circuit was quite different. A total of 80,000 soldiers were gathering in the two camps in Hongdu Prefecture and Fuliang County, including 3,000 heavily armored cavalrymen who had been trained for ten years. Their equipment had been upgraded eight times, from a thousand-pound iron armor for both man and horse to composite armor weighing only about thirty pounds. Their lances had been replaced with fine steel Qiankun swords, and they were also equipped with the latest rapid-fire guns and composite bows that could be drawn with three stones of force to draw an eight-stone string. They had never actually been on the battlefield before.

Upon arriving in Hongdu Prefecture, his brother-in-law personally came out of the city to greet him. He was also Emperor Jingtai's cousin, and Tuoba Jing would address him as "brother" in private.

"Your Majesty must be tired. Please rest for a while."

"It's too late, brother." Emperor Jingtai waved his hand and said, "Military affairs are urgent and cannot be delayed."

The brother-in-law glanced at Xia Lin, and Xia Lin nodded: "Then just prepare some food. Have you prepared all the military rations that you asked me to prepare?"

"Let's go to the Prince's mansion first."

The eldest brother-in-law had actually been in charge of logistics for ten years. Although he usually kept a low profile, he was not only the heir apparent but also a prolific scholar who had studied everything from logistics to agriculture. This heir apparent was truly a genius.

In just the time it takes to eat a meal, the young master explained the entire war preparations clearly and thoroughly, including the quantity, losses, transportation time and routes, etc. The clarity of the arrangements and the precision of the coordination were so impressive that even Xia Lin was amazed.

"We have plenty of food and supplies right now, but with the harsh winter approaching in the north, the clothing factories in the city are working hard to produce winter clothes and cotton-padded coats." The brother-in-law pushed up his glasses and said with a mix of refined gentleness and shrewdness, "Daosheng, I have mobilized nearly 200,000 men to support the army this time. We must not return defeated."

Xia Lin's eyes lit up after hearing this: "Your brother-in-law has eaten all the refugees?"

"It's not enough. I hope they drive more over, the more the better."

The elder brother-in-law's words were full of confident arrogance, while Emperor Jingtai, who was standing next to him, had been looking at his elder brother in the family. After a long while, he suddenly blurted out: "Brother, your glasses are nice. Get me a pair. They make you look too much like a refined scoundrel."

The brother-in-law exclaimed, "Your Majesty, are you praising me?"

(End of this chapter)