Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 233: Dragnet, Corpses Everywhere (Part )
Li Chengqian stood on the city wall, his hand on the long sword, and on both sides were countless guards in red and golden armor, holding long spears and pointing them at the people below the city.

Under the city wall, Li Tai's face looked extremely ugly.

Li Chengqian turned slightly and said calmly, "Duke Weiguo!"

"I'm here." Li Jing, dressed in red and golden armor, walked up calmly. After reaching the parapet, he looked sternly at Hou Junji and the nearly four thousand soldiers below.

Hou Junji looked up at this moment, and the moment he saw Li Jing clearly, his face became extremely ugly.

Li Jing, Li Jing.

The reason why Hou Junji could become the commander-in-chief in the Tang army, second only to the emperor, was because Li Jing retreated.

Even if there was some affection between them in the past, it was just a tacit understanding under the pressure of the emperor.

It has been used up over the years.

Especially the matter of Su Dingfang.

Although Hou Junji and Su Dingfang had a good relationship, Su Dingfang had not been able to make any further progress in recent years and had no chance to make more meritorious service.

It was only after Li Chengqian paid attention to Su Dingfang that Su Dingfang's opportunities gradually increased.

Especially now, Su Dingfang was taken on the eastern tour by the emperor, which shows that the emperor also began to pay attention to him.

As a result, the relationship between Li Jing and Hou Junji has become terribly cold.

At this moment, Li Jing and Hou Junji looked at each other, and their positions were clear.

The moment Hou Junji saw Li Jing, he couldn't help but think of Gao Shilian, Wei Zheng, Qiu Xinggong, and many other important officials in the court who were stranded in Chang'an for various reasons but were ignored. Where are they now?
……

On the Suzaku Gate, Li Jing stretched his hand back, and a triangular flag appeared in Li Jing's hand.

He held the flag high and waved it downwards with force.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The rhythmic sound of war drums came from the big drum three meters away on the right. In an instant, countless flames lit up at the same time on Zhuque Street several miles away.

Almost in an instant, the sound of horse hooves clattered loudly.

Hou Junji turned around immediately and ordered his elite soldiers to gather in the direction of Zhuque Street.

The sword and shield soldiers, the spear soldiers, and the longbow soldiers all lined up on Suzaku Street in an instant.

The sword and spear are sharp and cold, and his face is stern.

Under the gaze of thousands of soldiers, dense cavalry in blue and black armor rushed forward, but a mile away, the cavalry suddenly stopped.

A general in blue clothes and black armor rode out from the crowd on horseback, with an extremely shiny long spear hanging diagonally to the ground.

"General Qibi Heli of the Right Guard." Zhang Liang couldn't help but grit his teeth and stare at Qibi Heli in the distance. He certainly understood why the other party stopped a mile away.

One mile of space is just enough for the cavalry to charge. Once they charge, their four thousand people may not be able to withstand the charge of one thousand cavalry.

"Hou Junji!" Zhang Liang turned and looked at Hou Junji, shouting, "Is this how you look at Chang'an City?"

Hou Junji is the Chief Secretary of Yongzhou. Chang'an and Wannian counties are all under his jurisdiction. As the Minister of Personnel and the Chief Secretary of Yongzhou, everything in the entire Chang'an should be under his supervision.

However, when Qibi Heli led so many Right Guard cavalrymen to appear on Zhuque Street and behind them, Hou Junji was completely unaware of it.

This can be said to be Hou Junji's dereliction of duty.

At this moment, Zhang Liang was only angry. Among the 4,000 soldiers under his command, no one knew how many of them had their minds completely shaken.

At first, they thought they were coming to investigate the prince's witchcraft case under the emperor's order.

Although some people felt something was wrong, almost all of them had received favors from Hou Junji and Zhang Liang. Even if they were not die-hard loyalists, they were absolutely their confidants.

Now, the imperial edict they hold is fake, and the so-called prince's witchcraft case seems to be coming to an end.

Not to mention that the Right Guard Army is now behind them.

Even though these people were full of loyalty to Hou Junji and Zhang Liang, they couldn't help but waver at this moment.

Especially among these three groups, Hou Junji's subordinates have the highest loyalty, followed by Zhang Liang, and finally Li Tai.

Li Tai's men were not only the weakest, but also the least loyal to him.

……

Li Jing stood on the city wall and saw everything clearly.

The elite troops under Hou Junji stood in the front line facing the Right Guard Army, the soldiers under Zhang Liang stood behind, and the people under Li Tai stood at the back to protect Li Tai.

Almost everyone was facing Suzaku Street.

At this time, the military flag in Li Jing's hand waved again.

The sound of the drum changed, and the "dong dong dong" sound suddenly slowed down.

But at this moment, countless flames lit up simultaneously on the streets of Wannian County, towards Chunming Gate, where Hou Junji and his companions had come from, and on the streets of Chang'an County, towards Jinguang Gate. Then, bursts of rapid, heavy, and steady footsteps could be heard from the direction of the flames.

Hou Junji and Zhang Liang looked in two directions respectively.

Countless soldiers in red and golden armor came quickly from the long streets on both sides, holding long spears.

Together with the Right Guard Army on Suzaku Street, Hou Junji and his men, who were backed by Suzaku Gate, were almost completely surrounded.

Zhang Liang's heart was cold, but even so, he still ordered his trusted soldiers to immediately form battle arrays on both sides.

This meant that Hou Junji's men were facing Qibi Heli's Right Guard, while Zhang Liang's men were facing Zheng Rentai and Zuo Kuangzheng's Left and Right Jinwu Guards.

While facing Zhang Liang with an almost murderous look, Hou Junji was looking at Zuo Kuangzheng, the general of the Left Jinwu Guard, who was coming from the direction of Wannian County.

Compared to the Right Guard Cavalry who stopped a mile away from Zhuque Street, the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, led by Zheng Rentai and Zuo Kuangzheng, marched forward step by step.

It was not until they were three hundred steps away from Hou Junji and his group that the two men waved their hands and their soldiers stopped.

At three hundred steps, they could almost hear each other's breathing.

At this moment, the sound of drums on the city wall also stopped at the same time.

Li Jing turned around and bowed slightly to Li Chengqian, and the cavalry dispatch was completed.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly and glanced at the inner palace avenue. The Left Guard General Li Daliang was already riding on his warhorse, ready to charge at any time.

"Qingque." Li Chengqian's voice echoed calmly at the Vermillion Bird Gate. Many people couldn't help but turn around, only to see Li Chengqian continue, "I still say the same thing. Put down your weapons. You, Duke Chen, and Duke Xun, come into the palace together. We will investigate the Eastern Palace. If there is any witchcraft, I will handle it. If not, you will surrender."

Li Tai raised his head, stared at Li Chengqian and said through gritted teeth: "Royal brother, I don't trust you."

How could Li Tai possibly trust Li Chengqian? He was almost going crazy now.

It was clearly their ingenious plan that could have taken over the palace and captured Li Chengqian, but now, they were the ones who were stepping into the trap step by step.

"Qingque, I will tolerate you once more." Li Chengqian turned sideways and said, "Prime Minister Fang."

"I'm here!" Fang Xuanling finally walked up from the back. At the same time, Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang, Ma Zhou and others also walked up.

"Prime Minister Fang, as soon as Qingque enters the palace, please take Qingque with you and conduct a thorough search of the area he designated." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "Once Qingque enters the palace, you will personally lead your men to protect him. No one, including me, is allowed to harm him."

"Your Highness, why do this? Charge forward. With the Duke of Wei here, we can capture the King of Wei in less than half an hour." Fang Xuanling bowed with a serious expression.

"Qingque is my younger brother after all. Swords and spears are merciless, and I don't want to see him die at the hands of Suzaku." Li Chengqian turned and looked at the countless soldiers below, saying softly, "And these, too, are the most loyal warriors of our Great Tang... Qingque, do you really want to order a massacre outside the Suzaku Sect, leaving only corpses strewn across the ground?"

Li Chengqian's final angry roar caused many people under the city to tremble uncontrollably.

On one hand, everything can be solved peacefully by just standing still, and on the other hand, there are mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield. Those who have come down from the battlefield know this best.

Li Tai bit his lips tightly, not knowing what to say for a moment.

At this time, Fang Xuanling stepped forward, looked at Li Tai and said, "Your Highness, Prince of Wei, I would like to ask you something. The Crown Prince has been extremely tolerant of today's incident, but Your Highness has made one mistake after another. Could it be that Your Highness is truly planning a rebellion?"

Li Tai looked up at Fang Xuanling, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.

If Fang Xuanling had not distanced himself from the Prince of Wei's Palace in recent years, with his support, Li Tai would have been much more convenient in many aspects, and would not have reached the point where he had to be involved in treason today.

They are plotting rebellion, and many people know this in their hearts. However, some words cannot be said. Once they are said, everything will change.

Especially Fang Xuanling's identity is different. He is the prime minister of the current dynasty and the regent minister left by His Majesty. Now he accuses Li Tai of treason. Among the soldiers from the three different parties, many people's morale is shaken.

Li Tai finally spoke: "Emperor..."

"Your Highness!" Fang Xuanling suddenly interrupted Li Tai and said, "I'd like to interject. Your Highness may not understand what treason is. According to Tang law, anyone who plots treason or high treason will be beheaded, regardless of whether they are the leader or the accomplice. Their father and sixteen-year-old sons will be strangled. The rest will be forced into slavery, their property will be confiscated, and uncles and nephews will be exiled three thousand miles. Those who plotted but failed to carry it out will be strangled."

Among the four thousand people under the city, even the most resolute ones couldn't help but change their expressions at this moment.

"I have something to say, my lords. If you lay down your weapons and surrender now, you will not be treated as a treasoner. But if you still persist in your wrongdoings," Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly.

A series of jerky sounds were heard, and Hou Junji and Zhang Liang under the city suddenly changed their expressions.

Fuyuan crossbow, Fuyuan crossbow, that is the incredibly powerful Fuyuan crossbow on the city wall, it can kill with one strike even at five hundred steps away.

Even Hou Junji felt a chill down his spine at this moment.

"Surrender or not?" Li Chengqian asked lightly.

Although they couldn't see it, Hou Junji and Zhang Liang were almost completely certain that there were more than two Fuyuan crossbow arrows aimed at them.

Looking up, their eyes fell on the densely packed Jinwu Guards around them and the Youxiao Guards in the distance. The next moment, their eyes met.

With a "clang" sound, two swords were swung out at the same time and quickly landed on Li Tai's neck.

Li Tai was confused.

(End of this chapter)