Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 180 Guanhe Empty Locks Ancestral Dragon Residence

Inside the tent, Liu Sixia, disguised as a man, stood beside Li Shuang, her eyes wide with curiosity as she stared at the scene unfolding inside.

The leaders of the Hu people knelt before Li Shuang, their faces showing obsequious expressions.

"Lord Tang, we submitted to the traitor Xiao Baoyin only because we were forced to do so by his tyranny. Now that you have come to us, we voluntarily surrender and beg you to take us in."

Li Shuang rested her chin on one hand and did not immediately express her opinion.

Soon, a dozen or so men walked in.

Led by Lu Zuqian, they were all Han generals under Xiao Baoyin. Looking at this group of Hu leaders, they wished they could devour them alive.

The tent quickly split into two groups.

The group of Hu leaders looked at Lu Zuqian and the other Han generals with a mixture of fear and apprehension after doing something wrong, but more than anything, they looked at them with contempt and even some provocation.

"Duke, these are all traitors under Xiao Baoyin's command. We should take them to the court to request a reward."

Lu Zuqian was unaware of the current situation, let alone Li Shuang's attitude. With the mindset of taking as many scapegoats as possible, he said:
“Are we traitors and you aren’t? What did you say about the Duke of Tang in front of Xiao Baoyin? Do I have to repeat it?”

Seeing that their secrets were about to be exposed, the leaders of the Hu people became anxious, and a dispute broke out, with them hurling insults at each other for a long time.

Li Shuang coughed softly, and the tent fell silent instantly.

"Stop arguing! You are all traitors!"

"..."

The group of Hu chieftains and Han generals who had pledged allegiance to Xiao Baoyin were stunned, but then they heard Li Shuang say:

"You must know what I did in Huazhou before you came, otherwise you wouldn't have rushed to seek refuge with Xiao Baoyin. Let me be honest with you, the Guanzhong region is not large, and I can only take in one of you. Tell me what your abilities are!"

Upon hearing this, the leaders of the various Hu peoples all revealed their abilities.

“Our tribe has many brave warriors. Whatever the Duke commands, we will follow without hesitation. We are familiar with the terrain of Qinzhou, Qizhou, and Binzhou. We can help the Duke to raid the Hu people in those areas.”

Li Shuang listened with little interest.

That's such a vulgar looting skill!
Li Shuang looked at Lu Zuqian and the others, and asked:
"what about you?"

"Many of our brothers in the army were recruited by Xiao Baoyin after being misled by him. They come from all walks of life. Some know how to farm, some know how to repair houses, some know how to make furniture, some know how to plant trees, and some know how to raise fish..."

Lu Zuqian became increasingly uneasy as he spoke, and just as the group of Hu people were laughing, Li Shuang waved his hand.

"No need to say anything more, you're the ones!"

The smiles on the faces of the Hu leaders disappeared.

After accepting the surrender of the Qi army soldiers, Li Shuang looked at the group of Hu leaders.

"As for you..."

The Hu chieftain smiled, and then said:

“I’m giving you three choices: either go out of Tongguan to Luoyang, go out of Wuguan to Jingzhou, or be buried alive on the spot.”

The faces of the Hu leaders turned deathly pale.

"What's the difference? Aren't we all just making us leave our own land to make room for your men?"

"Of course it's different!"

The group of Hu people looked at Li Shuang, only to hear him say:
"You'll have to give me money to go to Luoyang, and you'll have to bring your own money and supplies to go to Jingzhou. As for being buried alive on the spot, you'll have to dig the grave yourselves!"

"..."

A fierce look appeared on the faces of the group of Hu leaders.

"Duke Tang, don't push us too far! There's still another way we can go!"

These Hu chieftains had already considered the worst possible outcome when they arrived. If they were to break ties with Li Shuang, their tribes would immediately flee.

Li Shuang smiled and said:

“Of course I know you have another path, but where can you go?” Li Shuang calculated for them one by one.

"Would you like to go south to join the Liang Kingdom, or go to Lingzhou to join Wanqiu Chounu, or go to Qinghai to join the Tuyuhun, or even go far west to Gaochang?"

Li Shuang outlined all the possibilities, but with each one he mentioned, the expressions on the faces of the Hu leaders darkened.

"Stop fooling yourselves. You've been living in comfort for too long, relying on the Luoyang court for support and taking advantage of its power. You can only bully these farmers and fishermen in Guanzhong. If you go elsewhere, who can you defeat?"

The Hu chieftains were all pale-faced, but Li Shuang seemed to have seen through them all along.

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have knowingly come to me knowing what I'm going to do, and risked everything to come and pledge your allegiance."

Everyone seemed to have all their strength drained away, and collapsed to the ground.

"Those who want to go to Luoyang should pay as soon as possible. There has been some unrest in the imperial court recently, and if you are late, you may not be able to go."

After Li Shuang finished speaking, a large number of armored soldiers walked in, while most of the leaders of these Hu tribes went out.

But in the end, some people still stayed.

Why don't you leave?

“Our tribe has what the Duke needs.”

"tell me the story!"

"We can support Xiao Zan as Emperor of Qi and continue the foundation of the Qi Kingdom!"

Li Shuang looked at the leading man and asked:
"Who are you?"

"Hedoulingbufan!"

Just as the man finished speaking, Hou Jing rushed in and shouted:
"My lord, Chang'an has been burned down!"

……

Chang'an City stands on the north side of Longshou Plain, witnessing the rise and fall of the Han Dynasty for four hundred years, as well as more than three hundred years of chaos.

Now, the raging flames soar into the sky, and billowing black smoke rises continuously, heralding the end of this city.

Outside the city walls, the people of Chang'an, who had been plundered by Wanqichounu's soldiers, sat paralyzed on the ground in despair. Many men had lost everything, and many women were barely clothed.

Lu Zuqian and other Han soldiers rushed over, their faces filled with tears as they looked at the apocalyptic scene.

Many of them had already settled in Chang'an, but now they have nothing left.

It's unclear who started crying first, but it sparked a chorus of cries from many others.

The Wei River flows on and on, and the cries of weeping never cease!
Liu Sixia stood on the high slope, her face not looking well.

The old capital of the Han Dynasty that she had heard about in stories since childhood was now right in front of her, but it had been completely changed.

"So you didn't see it after all!"

Liu Sixia gave a wry smile.

Perhaps some stories are just stories, and the Han capital that exists only in stories may only be beautiful in stories.

A gust of wind blew by, flipping Liu Sixia's hat over. Her black hair flew wildly, revealing a beautiful face. In her line of sight, a man was riding by on horseback.

Behind him followed a group of knights from both the Han and non-Han ethnic groups.

Surrounded by armored soldiers and with banners waving, Li Shuang saw the ground strewn with weeping people and shouted:
"Stop crying! You're not dead yet!"

Upon hearing these words and seeing this procession, the desperate people of Chang'an wiped away their tears and prostrated themselves on the ground.

On this day, the man rode his horse, cracked his whip, and pointed to the surging Wei River, giving everyone hope.

"If Chang'an is gone, then we'll build another Chang'an!"

……

(End of this chapter)