Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 558 Who Can Be More Loyal Than Me?

After nightfall, the gates of all the wards in Luoyang were closed. Except for the guards sent by the Left and Right Martial Guards who were allowed to patrol between the wards, the residents of the wards were not allowed to move between the wards.

However, communication within each neighborhood is not prohibited.

Restaurants and shops were also set up within the various wards of the outer city to cater to the local residents.

After the banquet at Huantaifang, the gates of the Duke of Yan's mansion and the Duke of Lai's mansion opened almost simultaneously.

The night wind was biting, carrying a bone-chilling cold.

Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai saw the young men from Huai Shuo and Wu Chuan off at the gate.

The two groups of people met.

Without prior arrangement, Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai began to approach each other.

The disciples from Wuchuan and Huaishuo also followed behind their respective leaders, maintaining order.

However, the disdain they had shown for each other earlier in the mansion was gone, and both of them smiled.

"The Duke of Yan!"

"The Duke of Lai!"

Yuwen Tai said something, but Hou Jing, who was standing to the side, corrected him:
“Black Otter, you’re wrong about that.”

Yuwen Tai was puzzled, but then he heard Hou Jing say:
"He Liuhun was recently granted the title of Duke of Wei by the Emperor for his merit in quelling the bandits in Yecheng. The imperial edict will be issued soon."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Tai smiled slightly.

"In that case, congratulations to the Duke of Wei!"

Those familiar with Yuwen Tai know that this cold-faced king rarely smiles; if he does, it's probably because he's angry.

"A little merit, not worth mentioning! In this cold winter, why doesn't Black Otter buy his sons some fur coats?"

When the two groups met, it was obvious that the people from Huai Shuo looked richer, as they were all wearing fine fur coats.

“We military officers are used to fighting on the battlefield and enduring hardship. Unlike you, He Liuhun, you know how to enjoy life.”

Upon hearing Yuwen Tai's words, the people behind Gao Huan all snorted coldly.

Gao Huan looked at Yuwen Tai, and being somewhat drunk, he glanced at Yuwen Hu beside Yuwen Tai.

“Sa Bao is doing well in Xiangzhou; he’s been promoted to the rank of fifth-grade general.”

Gao Huan's seemingly approving remark displeased the group of disciples from Wuchuan.

Yuwen Tai then said:

"It's not bad that Sima Xiaonan became the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies."

Gao Huan waved his hand and said:

"Sima Xiaonan's misfortune was just a coincidence. The child only knows how to use his strength foolishly, unlike Sabao, who is wise!"

After Gao Huan uttered the word "wise," the people behind him laughed.

Yuwen Hu was furious, but Yuwen Tai pressed him down and said:
"The Duke of Wei is right. I'm afraid he's too wise. He has no merit, but he can make a name for himself with his words."

After Yuwentai finished speaking, the disciples of Wuchuan behind him all laughed.

Behind Gao Huan, Sun Fengzhen, son of Sun Teng, revealed her anger.

The suppression of the bandits in Ye City, which Hou Jing just mentioned, was also caused by Sun Fengzhen's unforeseen circumstances, and Gao Huan later had to clean up the mess.

Gao Huan also suppressed Sun Fengzhen and looked at Yuwen Tai.

Gao Huan took a step forward, and Yuwen Tai did not back down.

The two men grew closer and closer, and their respective disciples were all eager to fight, secretly preparing to strike first and give the other a good beating if a fight broke out.

Hou Jing, quite excited, took a step back and asked Gao Cheng:
Is Gao Yang there?

"exist!"

"Go and call him out; your younger brother is better at fighting."

Gao Cheng glanced at Hou Jing and asked suspiciously:
"Uncle Hou, why don't you call Hou He out?"

"That's a lie. Even if Hou He and you were together, you might not be able to beat Gao Yang."

A cold wind blew, and a snowflake fell, landing between Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai, bringing a chill and sobering them up from their drunken stupor.

Gao Huan stared at Yuwen Tai and said coldly.

"Farewell!"

Yuwen Tai also stared at Gao Huan and replied, "See you at Xianyang Palace tomorrow!"

……

The heavy snowfall turned the winter city of Luoyang into a blanket of white.

The snow stopped temporarily the next day.

The Left and Right Wuhou Guards and the Henan Prefectural Government dispatched personnel to organize the people to clear the snow from the streets of Luoyang.

Outside Xianyang Palace, palace servants got up early in the morning and cleared a walkway outside the palace.

At this moment, a group of attendants and summoned court officials walked along the cleared path toward Xianyang Hall.

"The Duke of Lai!"

Yang Yin saw Gao Huan from afar and greeted him, but the other party completely ignored him.

Then Yang Yin saw Yuwen Tai walking up from behind and greeted him, but Yuwen Tai only gave him a cold look in return.

Yang Yin didn't dare to greet them again for a moment. While waiting outside the hall, he kept a distance from the two clearly separated groups of people, approached Zu Ting, and whispered:

"Xiaozheng, what's wrong?"

Zu Ting grinned mischievously, beckoned, and whispered:
"They almost got into a fight last night."

Yang Yin was taken aback and asked:

"How did you know?"

“You live in the south of the city, which is far away. Last night I was drinking in Huantai Fang when I saw these two groups of people not far from my doorstep…”

Yang Yin was listening to the gossip when, before he could finish, a summons came from inside the palace.

At that moment, everyone lined up, took off their shoes, and entered the palace.

Unlike the biting cold wind outside, inside the palace, a blanket was laid on the floor, and charcoal was burning, making it very warm.

Li Shuang, dressed in a black brocade robe with gold thread, sat on the throne. Upon seeing the arrival of the guests, he spoke:

"The King of Wu reports that the King of Anyuan harbors rebellious intentions. After I dispatched a secret envoy to investigate, I learned that Anagui, the Khan of the Western Rouran, is colluding with Gao Baoyan to launch a pincer attack on our Great Tang from the east and west. Gao Baoyan even intends to collude with Wu and Chu to launch a joint attack. What do you all think?"

Just as Li Shuang finished speaking, Gao Huan stepped forward and loudly proclaimed:

"Strike! Strike hard!"

Li Shuang asked with great interest:
"how?"

"I believe that the Western Rouran and Goguryeo are separated by thousands of miles. We should attack the east first and then the west, conquering them one by one!"

Li Shuang nodded.

Just as Gao Huan finished speaking, Yuwen Tai also stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said:

"I believe that simply fighting is not enough; we must defeat them so that they will never dare to offend our Great Tang again!"

Li Shuang then looked at Yuwentai beside Gao Huan and smiled:
What should we do?

"I believe we should raise an army of 100,000 and advance by land and water!"

"A combined land and water offensive?"

"Send one army out of Yingzhou to recruit troops from the vassal states of Liaodong to jointly attack cities such as Wugu and Guonei. Then send another army out to sea from Dengzhou to lead troops from Baekje directly to Pyongyang. With both armies advancing simultaneously, we will destroy Goguryeo!"

Yuwen Tai spoke fiercely, and Gao Huan, standing beside him, added fuel to the fire:

"That's not enough!"

Everyone was shocked. The country had already been destroyed, what more could they want?

"Goguryeo has been destroyed before. Back then, Guanqiu Jian burned down all the cities in the country, but the Goguryeo people still rebuilt them, didn't they? We should destroy their state and relocate their people to another place!"

Upon hearing this, Yuwentai added:

"I believe that it is not enough to simply relocate the people of their country to other places. They should burn down all the cities, level all the fields, and slaughter all the livestock."

The assembled officials from aristocratic families were somewhat shocked and looked at Li Shuang, only to see him faintly smiling.

Saint, you can't do that!

"Your ideas are all good, but they're too expensive."

……

(End of this chapter)