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

Chapter 840 Journey to the West to Suppress the Rebellion
Li Shangnian rushed down the city wall in a panic, but in order to save face for the Li Tang dynasty, he still straightened his clothes and walked up to Xia Lin.

At this moment, Li Shangnian looked up at Xia Lin riding on horseback. He felt himself trembling. But after all, he was a general. If he lost face at this moment, he would probably not be able to avoid being punished.

So he steeled himself and raised his voice several octaves: "Our army is ordered to guard Yangguan Pass. Who goes there?"

Xia Lin put away his riding whip and looked down: "The Western Expedition to Suppress the Rebellion."

"Who...who ordered you to come here..."

At this point, Li Shangnian was actually trembling a little, but he had no choice. The process had already come this far, and if he didn't complete it, he would really be judged as a traitor.

He knew perfectly well whose orders this unit was carrying out; the one issuing the orders was right in front of him…

Xia Lin didn't answer him, she just stared at him blankly. The silence was deafening. Li Shangnian looked up and opened his mouth, babbling twice, muttering to himself, "Don't be so loud..."

Xia Lin: ? ? ?
"Do you have His Majesty's edict, travel permit, and military tally? If not, I cannot grant you passage..."

There was really no point in making things difficult for the garrison commander below, so Xia Lin hummed in agreement: "Wait a moment."

After speaking, he raised his hand, and the clerk below immediately stepped forward. Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Xia Lin took out a thick stack of imperial edicts from the Tang Dynasty. He then found one that had already been written on, glanced at it, and selected the Tang Dynasty jade seal from among the many seals to affix his stamp.

"Here you are, the imperial edict." Xia Lin handed the edict to the garrison commander: "The rest will be ready in a moment."

Li Shangnian held the imperial edict, his hands trembling. This forged edict had reached the point of being unbelievable. What should he do?
However, Xia Lin then took out the travel document from the box and stamped it with the seals of the Minister of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Commerce. But after searching for a while, he found no stamps from the post stations along the way. He chuckled and simply signed his name on it: "This should be fine, since I didn't stay at any post stations, so there are no post station stamps."

“Ah…this…” Li Shangnian accepted the travel document, hesitated for a long time without withdrawing his hand: “Lord Xia, please give me a way out.”

Xia Lin laughed and handed over the tiger tally: "Do you recognize this?"

In his hand was the tiger tally of the Western Route Army, one of the twelve general tallies, belonging to the previous dynasty, namely the Great Wei. The problem was that the Li Tang dynasty had to recognize this; otherwise, he would be considered a traitorous usurper. Only by recognizing it could he uphold the legitimate dynasty and establish a new one. After all, the Third Princess had already found all of the Second Prince's long-lost offspring, all in preparation for one day conquering the Great Wei and smoothly inheriting the throne.

“I…I acknowledge it. It’s the General’s Talisman. If I don’t acknowledge it, wouldn’t I be considered a foreign race?”

"That's fine then." Xia Lin smiled at him and then lowered his voice and said, "Open the door, then go to Chang'an in person and hand over what you have to His Majesty. Make sure to hand it over in the court so that His Majesty can verify its authenticity for you."

"This...is feasible?"

"Don't worry. You know me, I don't have the habit of making things difficult for those who work under me."

Li Shangnian took a deep breath, glanced back, and then suddenly shouted, "Open the city gates! We are here to send the Iron Army of the Suppression Army out of the city!"

Xia Lin's departure went smoothly, but less than an hour after Xia Lin left, Li Shangnian, along with his entourage and the imperial supervisor, rode several fast horses and sped towards Chang'an.

The army failed to stop them, and they are to blame, but the problem is, who dares to stop or touch that thing? Now it would be better to throw the problem back to the court itself. If His Majesty is capable, he can issue an order to send people to pursue Xia Lin's army. Anyway, once the problem is shifted, it will be easier to deal with.

In just two days, while Xia Lin's side had only just entered the Western Regions and was still in the vast uninhabited area, Li Shangnian's side had already arrived in Chang'an City.

Heeding Xia Lin's advice, he did not meet with San Niang privately but instead brought the matter directly to the imperial court.

"Your Majesty, my troops were released after receiving the imperial edict and documents, but I still felt something was amiss, so I rushed here to see you. If the edict is forged, I will lead my men to pursue and capture them in one fell swoop."

Who can be taken down in one fell swoop? What a load of bull! With his paltry resources, he thinks he can take down Xia Lin in one fell swoop?
But he knew he was bragging, the entire court knew he was bragging, and even His Majesty knew he was bragging. The question was how to back down from that bragging.

The imperial edict was held in the hands of the eunuch who was writing it. He trembled all over. Falsely conveying an imperial edict was a capital offense. So, who would die was a matter of great importance. Although he was just a eunuch, he knew that death would not befall Xia Daosheng. This was evident from the fact that even the palace attendants dared not record Xia Daosheng's name.

Would the general guarding the pass who received the imperial decree die? Certainly not, because it's not his responsibility. After all, he can't disobey an imperial decree. No matter where the decree came from, the imperial seal is there, and he can't tell if it's real or fake, can he?

Now it's not so hard to guess who will die. The only person who could have access to both the imperial edict and the imperial seal was someone chosen from their eunuch team.

The simplest scenario is if both the imperial edict and the imperial seal are forged; everyone would be fine. However, this is also the least likely scenario, because if both can be forged, then His Majesty would be in deep trouble. On the other hand, if the imperial edict is forged but the imperial seal is genuine, then the eunuch in charge of rites and his entire family would be wiped out.

If the imperial seal is fake and the imperial edict is genuine, then the eunuch who wrote it will have his entire family wiped out.

Is it possible that both are true? If both are true, it would directly reveal a message to the world: the Li Tang dynasty is nominally ruled by the Li family, but beneath the gilded facade lies a massive Xia dynasty. In that case, the Li Tang dynasty itself would be doomed.

It must be said that Xia Lin played a very good game.

Just then, a messenger rushed forward and reported: "Report! A letter has arrived from the Xia Lin tribe, requesting Your Majesty to open it personally."

Upon hearing about the letter, the Third Sister, who was caught in a dilemma, breathed a sigh of relief. After looking around, she scolded with a fierce expression, "Read it!"

"To His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Greetings, Third Sister..."

Upon reading the first sentence, the messenger froze. He looked up tremblingly at his emperor and then at the assembled court officials, unsure of what to do.

"Keep reading." Third Sister's eyelids twitched twice, but she had no other choice but to gamble that Xia Lin wouldn't do anything outrageous.

"It has been two years since we last parted. I have missed you very much. Li Zhi has made some progress in his studies, but he is somewhat fond of the world and has an ambiguous relationship with his senior sister. But I think it is just the beginning of their love. If they are still inseparable after they come of age, it would not be a bad idea to make her the Crown Princess."

Hearing these mundane family matters, the ministers were somewhat bewildered, but when they heard that their Crown Prince was in a relationship, they became quite displeased. After all, what family doesn't have a daughter? Why should someone of unknown origin become the Crown Princess?
You must know that Li Zhi is the Emperor's only son, and he will inevitably ascend the throne in the future. So, isn't the current Crown Princess the future Empress?

Hearing this nagging, Third Sister's anger subsided somewhat, and she couldn't help but start to worry about her son's mental health...

However, what followed was like pouring a cup of water into a pot of boiling oil.

"This trip west to quell the rebellion was sudden. Moreover, I knew from the beginning that you and that bastard Changsun Wuji were plotting against me, so I forged official seals and documents, which you must know by now. That's right, I forged everything. If you're not happy about it, wait until I come back, or send troops to chase me. Let's see if I can lead you into the encirclement of the Northern Han."

Hearing this, Third Sister was both amused and exasperated. She raised her hand, wanting to stop the messenger from continuing to read. But after thinking about it, she decided against it and let the messenger continue reading.

"Don't blame the general guarding the pass. You know, he knows, and all the officials in the court know that the small Yangguan Pass can't stop me. This is better for everyone, since from the outside, it looks like this is His Majesty's will. I think you should have someone read this letter aloud in court now. Please tell those people under your throne that anyone who says I'm going too far can find out what my status is in Northern Han and what my behavior is in Northern Wei. If you talk nonsense, come back and I'll tear your mouths apart."

"Stop...stop for a moment." Third Sister raised her hand to stop the messenger: "You may go and collect your reward."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty..."

The messenger left, and the atmosphere in the court became tense. Changsun Wuji, known as "that dog," slowly stepped forward: "Um..."

All eyes in the court were on him, which made Changsun Wuji feel embarrassed and helpless: "Colleagues, do not believe his nonsense. You all know that Xia Daosheng has always been full of nonsense. His Majesty already knew about this decision. It was His Majesty who ordered me to let his army pass. He wrote this letter just to... make a joke. He is a habitual offender who disrespects his elders. This is nothing more than playing around. He is still just a child."

Oh, it was just a joke. I thought it was a joke...

The officials below had no choice but to turn around, cup their hands, and bow to the Third Lady, saying, "Your Majesty is truly farsighted, allowing that old rascal to leave as soon as possible."

The Third Lady, sitting on the throne, didn't know what expression to make. She simply waved her hand helplessly and said, "I'm tired. If there's nothing else, let's adjourn the court."

What else could it be? If it were anyone else, even Emperor Jingtai of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who wrote such a letter, it would be a fight to the death. But the one who wrote the letter was Xia Lin.

To put it simply, whether the Li Tang dynasty was a traitor doesn't lie in the proclamation issued by Emperor Jingtai, but in a single sentence from Xia Lin. He said the Li Tang dynasty was a traitor and that all the feudal lords should punish them, so all the various warlords would rise up to attack them. And he has never questioned the historical status of the Li Tang dynasty, so the meaning behind his statement is self-evident.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say." The newly appointed top scholar of this year's imperial examination, his face filled with grief and indignation, stepped forward and said, "How dare you insult our mighty Tang Dynasty like this..."

However, before he could finish speaking, someone covered his mouth from behind, and then someone shouted, "Help! Lord Lin of the Ministry of Revenue has gone mad!!!"

(End of this chapter)