Martial Arts World Assassin

Chapter 399 Changes in the Capital
After a night of reorganization, the Li family's forces in Luoyang City were completely eliminated.

The core of this force is the commander of the imperial guards who protect the Eastern Capital and the Imperial Palace. They are all Li Yuan's direct subordinates and only obey the orders of Li Yuan.

However, after Li Yuan was captured, in order to save the lives of Li's family members, he agreed to cooperate with Huang Sixi and ordered the commander of the imperial guards to lay down his arms. This allowed Huang Sixi to take over the entire city without bloodshed.

This time when Huang Sixi went south to Luoyang, he did not bring any confidants with him. In order to maintain order in the city, he disbanded and reorganized the imperial guards and temporarily handed them over to Dugu Feng and Yuwen Shang respectively.

By noon of the next day, all the Li family members and their families in the city had been imprisoned by Dugu Feng and Yuwen Shang.

Both of them thought that Huang Sixi would immediately deal with Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin's troops outside, so they rushed to the Qianyang Hall of the imperial palace to receive orders. However, they were shocked by the news of a sudden change.

At this time, Huang Sixi was discussing matters with Master Ning Daoqi and Feixuan in the hall.

Shi Feixuan brought up the old matter again and asked Huang Sixi whether he would respect Taoism and exclude Buddhism in the future.

Huang Sixi knew that this was what she was worried about, so he told her clearly: "In the future, I will respect Taoism, but I will not exclude Buddhism. Buddhism will remain the same as it was before! I will let the government support Taoism, but I will not let the government suppress Buddhism. The disciples of Cihang Jingzhai can eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha with peace of mind, and their practice will not be affected in any way!"

Shi Feixuan did not question Huang Sixi's promise. Since Huang Sixi said so, he would not go back on his word in the future.

However, if the government heavily supports Taoism, the number of Buddhists will definitely decrease, and it will still impose certain restrictions on Buddhism.

Shi Feixuan glanced at Ning Daoqi, and then asked Huang Sixi: "Please forgive me for being so nosy, but how does Jianglong Langjun plan to support the Taoist sect?"

Ning Daoqi was also very curious and was looking forward to Huang Sixi's answer.

But Huang Sixi only had a rough plan, so he said in general terms: "Maybe we will set up a government office to take care of Taoist affairs and build Taoist temples in various places, and all expenses will be borne by the government! I have founded the Jianglong Academy, and in the future I will open a Taoist school in the academy, recruit Taoist disciples, and then send them to Taoist temples to preside over them!"

"Ok?"

When Ning Daoqi first heard about the government funding, he was very satisfied. He thought that in the future, the money from Taoist incense donations would continue to flow in, which would surely allow Taoist temples to flourish all over the world.

But Huang Sixi asked Jianglong Academy to train Taoist disciples, which would greatly restrict Taoist missionary work in the future.

The key is, are the students taught by Huang Sixi Taoist priests who live a carefree life, or disciples of the emperor who govern the country and maintain its peace?
Ning Daoqi immediately asked, "Fellow Daoist Jianglong, you plan to teach the Taoist disciples yourself. This is a blessing for them, but you yourself are not a Taoist priest, so how can your students have the status of Taoist priests?"

Huang Sixi chuckled: "You keep calling me a Taoist friend, so how can I not be a Taoist? If you feel that the students I teach are not qualified enough, you can come to Jianglong Academy to teach in person. I will hire you as the vice president, so that these Taoist disciples can become our common students in the future!"

Ning Daoqi suddenly fell into deep thought.

After a moment, he replied carefully: "I have heard of the great name of Jianglong Academy, but unfortunately I have never had the opportunity to visit it. Why don't I go to the academy to observe it first, and then decide whether to serve as the vice president? After all, apart from Taoism, I don't know anything else. If I accept the offer hastily, I am afraid I will mislead the students!"

Huang Sixi readily agreed: "No problem! At present, there are three branches of Jianglong Academy, and a fourth one will be built in Dali City in the future. You can take your time to visit. Anyway, the world has not yet been unified, and there is no sign of money and food to support the Taoist sect. You have plenty of time to visit!"

Huang Sixi's support for Taoism was not a sudden idea to win over Ning Daoqi, but rather a strategy that must be promoted over the long term.

The main purpose of this strategy is to resolve border issues.

After the Sui Dynasty, the Arab Empire in the Western Regions would rise, and would reach its peak in the next few decades, spreading its religion everywhere, and their methods of preaching were extremely terrifying.

Huang Sixi wanted to take advantage of the expansion of the Arab Empire to allow Taoism to establish a foothold in China and its surrounding areas, and at the same time use Taoism to facilitate Huang Sixi's other major strategy.

After Huang Sixi unifies China, he will reopen the Silk Road and allow all foreign wealth to flow into China through silk, tea and other commodities, thereby creating a prosperous new dynasty.

He first used the Taoist disciples' missionary work to explore the way, and then used the Chinese army to conduct trade. Huang Sixi would show no mercy to any country, tribe, or other organization that hindered the missionary work or the flow of Chinese goods, and would crush them all with the Chinese army.

During this process, Huang Sixi needs a large number of diplomatic and military talents, and Jianglong Academy will become the only base for training talents.

Huang Sixi was well aware of the limitations of the current era, so the academy he founded only trained elites and would not promote similar private schools everywhere. After all, the people had no means of food and clothing, so it was unrealistic to expect them to read and learn to read.

Huang Sixi's trade was only for the purpose of absorbing wealth from outside the country and making China rich and strong, but he would not promote commerce everywhere. It was still a conservative feudal period, and it was also unrealistic to suddenly transform the business environment.

Whether it is missionary work or trade, the ultimate goal is to prosper Middle-earth and weaken the outside world.

Of course, Huang Sixi’s true thoughts will not be revealed to the outside world.

Ning Daoqi and Shi Feixuan both took it for granted that Huang Sixi used Jianglong Academy to train Taoist disciples in order to prevent Taoism from becoming too powerful and retaliating against the imperial power in the future.

Huang Sixi did not explain.

After he extended the invitation to Ning Daoqi, he said to Shi Feixuan, "Master Fairy can also visit the academy!"

Shi Feixuan smiled and said, "Jianglong Langjun has already retrieved the Heshi Bi and occupied the Eastern Capital. Feixuan can no longer help if she stays here. So she will set off for Chang'an today to visit the Jianglong Academy in the capital. I wonder if Jianglong Langjun can write a letter of recommendation for Feixuan, so that she won't be turned away!"

Without waiting for Huang Sixi to answer.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside the palace. Dugu Feng and Yuwen Shang entered the palace together and said solemnly, "Khan, we just received a message from Chang'an that Li Shimin has already conquered the capital and captured Song Que!"

"what!"

Ning Daoqi and Shi Feixuan were both surprised, thinking that Li Shimin was too brave.

Elite troops of the Song warlords were stationed in Chang'an City, and Li Shimin had entered Guanzhong alone. No matter how strong Li Shimin's ability to command troops was, it would take him several months to capture a strong city like Chang'an. How did he do it?
Ning Daoqi and Shi Feixuan secretly assessed the situation. Even if the capital was controlled by Li Shimin, it would not have much impact on Huang Sixi. After all, Huang Sixi had no family relationship with the Song clan, and Li Shimin could not use the Song clan's family to threaten Huang Sixi.

"Where's the letter?" Huang Sixi reached out to Dugu Feng and Yuwen Shang: "Show it to me!"

This was a letter sent by carrier pigeon. There were relatively few words on it, and it did not give a detailed account of how Li Shimin captured Chang'an. It only said that Li Shimin's army had occupied the capital and the clan leader Song Que had been captured alive.

How he was captured alive is still unknown.

Huang Sixi closed the letter, turned around and asked Ning Daoqi: "Besides you, Sanren, who else in the Middle-earth can defeat Song Que?"

"I am not sure I can defeat the Song clan leader!"

Ning Daoqi spread his hands and said, "The only Grandmaster in the Central Plains who can compete with the Song Clan Master is the Evil King Shi Zhixuan. But it is impossible for Shi Zhixuan to capture the Song Clan Master alive. He must have been besieged by a siege, or he fell into some vicious trap, otherwise he would not have ended up like this!"

Huang Sixi nodded, as if agreeing with Ning Daoqi's inference.

He looked at Dugu Feng and Yuwen Shang again: "What experts are around Li Shimin?"

Dugu Feng revealed a secret: "Before Li Shimin led his troops to the west, a group of Goguryeo envoys secretly paid homage to him and were warmly entertained by Li Yuan. These envoys were led by Fu Cailin, the leader of the Goguryeo clan. Because you, Khan, were attacking Goguryeo at the time, Li Yuan did not make it public due to the impact. Li Yuan knew that Tian Dao Song Que was highly skilled in martial arts, so he asked Fu Cailin to accompany Li Shimin on the expedition!"

Goguryeo and the Sui Dynasty had a deep hatred. The two sides fought for more than ten years, with casualties reaching as high as one million. As a result, Goguryeo did not have a good reputation among the people of China, and like the Turks, it was rejected by the government and the public.

Although the Sui Dynasty had already perished, Li Yuan still did not make a big fuss about his attitude of taking in Fu Cailin. He knew that Huang Sixi had already broken through the Goguryeo royal city, and Fu Cailin was a lost dog, and he had a deep hatred for Huang Sixi, so he let Fu Cailin join Li Shimin's army to deal with Tiandao Song Que.

In order to seek revenge, Fu Cailin readily agreed to fight for the Li family.

At the beginning, in the Goguryeo palace, Fu Cailin escaped from Huang Sixi and disappeared on a boat.

Huang Sixi had always thought that Fu Cailin was hiding on a deserted island somewhere overseas to recuperate, but he never expected that this person had sneaked into China and became a thug under the Li family.

Huang Sixi asked again: "Fu Cailin was hit by my sword in the Goguryeo palace and was seriously injured. He should not have recovered yet. Even if he found some magic medicine, he can't capture Song Que! What other masters are there around Li Shimin?"

Yuwen Shang stepped out and said in a deep voice, "Two young masters have emerged in the martial arts world in recent years. Their names are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. I wonder if the Khan has heard of their reputations?"

Seeing Huang Sixi nod, he continued, "These two once stole the Secret of Immortality from my nephew Yu Wenhuaji. Since Yu Wenhuaji killed their adoptive mother Fu Junchuo on the way to retrieve the Secret of Immortality, the two held a grudge and had been looking for an opportunity to retaliate against Yu Wenhuaji. A month ago, they finally found an opportunity and stabbed Yu Wenhuaji to death! I sent people to track them down and found that they were in Li Shimin's army!"

Shi Feixuan frowned slightly after hearing this. She felt that Yuwen Shang's exposing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling at this time was a vengeance for personal gain.

She had met Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling before. Both of them were upright and kind-hearted people. Yu Wenzhi was a favorite of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, but he rebelled against his master and killed him. He deserved to be put to death. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did nothing wrong in stabbing Yu Wenzhi to death.

However, their adoptive mother Fu Junchuo was a true disciple of Fu Cailin. Fu Junchuo taught them martial arts and saved their lives, so she had a deep connection with Goguryeo.

The reason why the two men joined Li Shimin's army was probably to visit their master Fu Cailin. With Li Shimin's skills, it was not surprising that he recruited the two men to serve him.

Although Yuwen Shang had the intention to frame Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, it is very likely that the two of them were actually involved in the operation to capture Song Que alive.

Thinking of this, Shi Feixuan did not refute Yuwen Shang.

Yuwen Shang finally said, "Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have learned the superior Taoist methods in the "Eternal Life Secret". Although their martial arts have not yet reached the level of a master, if they join forces with Fu Cailin, they should have the ability to subdue Song Que, the Heavenly Blade. I think that Fu Cailin, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were responsible for Song Que's capture. Of course, this is just my guess. Please send someone to Chang'an to find out the truth as soon as possible, Khan!"

He did not think that the changes in the capital were bad news, because he did not want Song Que to ascend the throne. Now that Song Que was defeated by Li Shimin, the Song family could only rely on Huang Sixi to turn the tide in the future.

He thought, not without malicious intent, that it would be best if Huang Sixi and Li Shimin both suffered heavy losses, and then the Yuwen clan would reap the benefits.

Of course, he was just thinking about it. As long as Li Shimin couldn't find a way to deal with Huang Sixi, he would be stabbed to death by Huang Sixi sooner or later. Once Li Shimin was beheaded, the Li family would be completely destroyed.

He still firmly supports Huang Sixi and will not return to the Li family.

Huang Sixi pondered for a moment and looked at Dugu Feng: "Please ask the Dugu clan leader to send someone to Chang'an immediately to inquire about Li Shimin's experience of breaking the city, and by the way, hand over Li Yuan's imperial edict to Li Shimin!"

There was no bloody conflict in Luoyang City last night, but such a big change would definitely have news leaked out, and the remaining members of the Li family would send messages to Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng through different channels.

Perhaps it was because Li Shimin received the news that Li Yuan had been captured that he made a desperate attack on Chang'an.

Huang Sixi added: "Besides, your mother You Chuhong is in Chang'an. If she participated in the siege of Song Que, I hope you can persuade her to stay away from Li Shimin!"

"Uh...this..."

Dugu Feng's mother, You Chuhong, did live in Chang'an and was the Dugu clan's top master. She was also related to the Li clan by marriage.

In fact, Dugu Feng had always been worried that You Chuhong would be instigated by Li Shimin to rebel and help Li Shimin attack Chang'an City as an insider. However, Dugu Feng was also hoping for the best, thinking that Huang Sixi did not understand the situation of the Dugu clan and might ignore You Chuhong. He was conflicted and hesitated whether to express this worry.

As a result, Huang Sixi directly mentioned You Chuhong's name, and Dugu Feng hurriedly pleaded guilty: "Khan, if my mother really offended the Lord of the Song Clan, I am willing to be punished for my mother, but as far as I know, the Lord of the Song Clan has long sent people to guard my mother's old house. He does not trust my mother. Before Li Shimin attacked the city, the Lord of the Song Clan would definitely imprison my mother. My mother should not have the opportunity to serve Li Shimin!"

When Song Que's surprise attack on Chang'an was launched, many members of the Dugu clan were living in Xijiyuan, the old residence of the Dugu clan. Not only You Chuhong, but also Dugu Feng, the daughter of Dugu Feng.

However, since Song Que excluded the other three major families, You Chuhong secretly helped Dugu Feng escape from Chang'an and go to Dugu Feng in Dongdu. From then on, You Chuhong was placed under house arrest by Song Que.

What Dugu Feng said was also true.

Huang Sixi said: "Send someone to inquire about the situation first. Even if You Chuhong is really used by Li Shimin, it is not a serious crime. After all, she does not know that you have already drawn a clear line with the Li family. As long as she is willing to leave Li Shimin, I will not blame her. You can rest assured about this!"

(End of this chapter)