Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 260 Li Yi is Bound

Li Yi led his fleet, pursuing and killing the fleeing rebel navy across the vast ocean, thoroughly enjoying himself.

The warships cleaved through the waves, sending up flying boulders that sank the enemy ships to the bottom of the sea.

The small boats and warships set sail and caught up with the rebel ships, then used their rams to sink them.

The sea hawks rowed at full speed, firing powerful crossbow bolts at the enemy ships, causing blood and flesh to fly everywhere.

When pursuing the fleeing enemy, the Guangzhou Navy finally gained the upper hand and fought with exceptional gusto.

Because Zhu Wen launched a surprise attack on Guangzhou, taking away many elite soldiers, and the army lacked fighting spirit during the escape, the bandits were no match for the pursuing government navy in boarding action.

The government sailors roared and pounced on the rebel ships like wolves and tigers, venting their anger over their initial setbacks. Many of the sea falcon ships that had been captured by the rebels were taken back, and the rebel soldiers on board were all killed and their bodies thrown to the bottom of the waves.

Li Yi, dressed in a brocade robe embroidered with gold thread, stood with his back to the wind on the command platform. The sunlight reflected off the gold thread on the robe, making it look like the sun shining on dragon scales with thousands of points of gold.

The towering warships stood firm and stable on the sea, like mountains.

Surrounded by thousands of sails, Li Yi felt the sea breeze blowing and watched the fragments of enemy ships floating on the sea and the enemy's blood gradually dissipating on the surface of the waves. He felt a great sense of exhilaration and felt as if he were about to transform into a dragon and fly into the sky.

He has royal blood flowing through his veins, which is dragon blood.

Dragons fight in the wild, flying dragons soar in the sky, killing thieves is as easy as grass, how delightful!

Li Yi thought to himself, his grandfather was known as the Sea God, and also as the Dragon King of Lingnan. But as his grandfather grew older, he gradually handed over command of the naval battles to him.

This time, sailing freely and defeating the bandits, I truly felt the exhilaration of being as unrestrained and free as a dragon.

With the bandits on the verge of defeat, the father and son's grand ambitions remain promising. Although Xin Dang, the military governor of Lingnan West Circuit, hails from the Xin clan of Longxi, he has always been on good terms with his father. Once his father recovers from the trauma of the bandit rampage and invites Xin Dang to join him in raising an army, Xin Dang will likely agree. If Xin Dang refuses, Li Tiao has planted many of his protégés and former officials in Lingnan West Circuit; he can easily set a trap and kill Xin Dang.

Commander Li Guochang has now raised an army in rebellion, wreaking havoc in the northern frontier and repeatedly defeating the armies sent to quell the rebellion. The imperial court is caught off guard and unable to quell the rebellion, leaving it in a state of utter chaos.

With the Emperor sending troops north again, the court will be caught in a pincer movement, and the matter will be settled!
Li Yi was filled with wonderful visions for the future, brimming with ambition, feeling as if the golden throne was within his grasp.

As for Youdi, that stunningly beautiful woman, once I become the crown prince and the emperor, wouldn't she be eager to be my woman?

Li Yi was immersed in such wild fantasies, unaware that this was his last moment of triumph before his defeat!
Suddenly, a merchant ship of foreigners who had escaped from the port of Guangzhou sped by, bringing with it news that the city of Guangzhou had fallen.

"The city of Guangzhou has been breached by bandits who entered through the sea wall and captured it. The bandits have set fire to and killed people in the two foreign quarters on the east and west sides. The military governor has also been captured!"

Li Yi, who was originally immersed in an endless dream, suddenly turned his fair face into an ugly purplish-brown.

His chest heaved violently, and he almost fainted from lack of breath.

Li Yi felt dizzy and disoriented. The clear sky seemed to suddenly be filled with lightning and thunder, and then covered by boundless black clouds.

Without a second thought, a few words escaped from his parted lips: "This... what should we do?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Li Yi realized he had spoken out of turn.

He is the commander-in-chief of this powerful fleet.

This fleet is the only military force in Lingnan East that has not been captured by bandits.

How could he utter such wavering words that would shake the morale of the entire army?

But Li Yi's life, which had always been smooth sailing, had never experienced such a dramatic rise and fall.

Reinforcements arrived in a fierce attack, and the enemy forces were utterly routed at sea. The bandits were on the verge of being completely annihilated, like snow being poured over boiling water.

But in an instant, the situation changed dramatically.

Or it was because of the fatal mistake he made.

How could reality be like this?

How can he accept that?
Li Yi's steps were unsteady, and his heart was pounding like a drum.

At this moment, the once-oblivious sea waves suddenly became ferocious, like monstrous beasts and ghosts, filling him with dread.

Li Yi once deeply resented his father's way of educating him.

But without his father's protection, he felt like a helpless fledgling.

There's a story about a kind of eagle that lives deep in the mountains. When the eaglets grow a little bigger, the eagle will take them to a cliff edge, and before they can even stand properly, it will push them off. To survive, the eaglets have no choice but to flap their wings desperately.

The eaglets would always fall into the ravine after flying only a short distance. The parent eagle would then pull them out and make them practice again. In this way, after enduring much hardship, the eaglets finally learned to fly freely.

Many eaglets also tragically crashed into rocks during this process, shattering into pieces.

Li Yi finally understood the gap between himself and top young talents like Zhu Wen, Wang Jian, and even Gao Yan.

He was like a fledgling eagle that had never been pushed off a cliff and didn't know how to fly on its own!

How many fathers would be so heartless as to let their children risk being smashed to pieces?
Especially after they risked their lives to build such a great empire, how could they bear to let their children walk the same path they had taken?
This is also known as the successor problem.

Many ruthless fathers do not raise sons who are forged in hardship and adversity. For example, Cao Cao, the most powerful warlord at the end of the Han Dynasty, had a son, Cao Ang, whom he carefully nurtured, but who died tragically in the Battle of Wancheng due to his father's negligence.

Humans are different from eagles.

Eagles can produce many eaglets, which they then throw off cliffs one by one.

In chaotic times, even raising a child requires immense effort from heroes and heroines. This makes fathers even more hesitant to take risks.

They can only do everything they can to pave the way for their children, create momentum for them, and win their hearts.

If the overall situation is settled, it often cultivates a capable leader who can maintain the status quo.

For example, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi, the successor of Emperor Taizong of this dynasty, was weak-willed and afraid of taking responsibility. He needed Empress Wu Zetian to do many dirty jobs for him. After his death, Wu Zetian seized power and ascended the throne as the first female emperor.

In terms of maintaining the status quo, Li Zhi was passable, building upon the foundation left by his father to establish numerous achievements.

But how many emperors throughout history have had such powerful fathers as Emperor Taizong Li Shimin?

The future of this chaotic world remains shrouded in mystery.

A fledgling bird that relies on its parents to pave the way can never be a match for a soaring eagle that can flap its wings and sing on its own.

His subordinates offered words of encouragement and support to Li Yi, which finally roused his courage.

The generals argued that the fleet's strength was still intact, and Jiaozhou had not yet been occupied by bandits. They suggested that leading the army to Jiaozhi now to make contact with the imperial court offered a chance for a counterattack and revenge.

Some say that since they failed to capture the Guangzhou navy, the bandits would not dare to kill Li Jiedu and would try to use Li Tiao as a means of inducing surrender.

Li Yi's anxiety gradually subsided.

He suddenly had a plan.

At this moment, in order to boost morale, why not adopt a strategy of feigning distress?
Tears streamed down his face as he wept, saying, "I am grateful for your love and care, but this defeat is my fault. You have suffered greatly in the repeated bloody battles. Today, I, Li Yi, am incompetent, causing the city to fall and my father to be captured by the enemy. Today, I will drown myself to atone for my sins. Now, you may all go your separate ways!"

After speaking, Li Yi walked to the bow of the ship, took off his armor, and jumped into the sea.

Then there were several more splashes as Li Yi had expected, and several officers jumped in and struggled to grab him in the waves, rescuing him.

Li Yi thought to himself, "If I show my determination to die, my generals will be inspired. I can use this to my advantage and plan for the future."

Historically, there have indeed been instances where powerful figures, after suffering a major defeat, feigned suicide to atone for their sins, only to be rescued by their generals and thus regain popular support.

But when Li Yi was pulled out of the water, he saw the soldiers' faces full of dejection.

The officers who rescued him looked somber, but their eyes gleamed. Suddenly, they grabbed the ropes on the boat and tied Li Yi up.

"We originally intended to help our young master make a comeback, but we never expected him to be so incompetent! Fine, fine, let's tie him up and send him to the bandit army!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

As soon as he got out of the water, the sunlight shone on Li Yi's face, making it dazzlingly white.

At that moment, Li Yi felt like a clown.

……

Zhu Wen was unaware that Li Yi's subordinates had already bound Li Yi and were bringing their navy to surrender.

He felt that Li Tiao's last plan was extremely insidious.

Ordinary people would never fabricate stories about their ancestors, but Li Tiao deliberately made a fuss about his ancestor Li Jiancheng.

Who was Li Jiancheng? He was the crown prince of the founding Tang Dynasty and the elder brother of Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin).

If he were truly reincarnated, why wouldn't he plot to seize the throne?

Li Tiao's words were half true and half false.

A month ago, Li Tiao did indeed execute Zhang Wei, his subordinate military advisor, without cause. The reason for this is now impossible to verify.

Li Tiao's choice of words is also quite intriguing.

What does "similar in spirit" mean? It means that when someone hears it and then looks at a portrait of Li Jiancheng, they will feel that Zhu Wen and Li Jiancheng do look quite alike!
This is not even the most ingenious part of the plan.

The strategy of sowing discord is actually the easiest to see through. The reason it works is because people already have suspicions and estrangement in their hearts, which are then amplified by the sowing discord.

Zhu Wen, while serving in the rebel army, was already showing signs of surpassing his master in merit.

Unfortunately, Zhu Wen was not mature enough before. When he was in Fujian, he became arrogant because of his favored status and made up a story that Huang Chao was the reincarnation of the Di Ting divine beast under the seat of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. He also claimed that the monk Mulian accidentally released eight million evil ghosts in order to save his mother from hell. These evil ghosts were reincarnated as aristocratic families, corrupt officials, arrogant soldiers and fierce generals who harmed the people. The Di Ting divine beast was about to come out to subdue them.

This strategy was originally intended to counter the rumor spread by Qian Liu that "Huang Chao has killed eight million people and is doomed."

Zhu Wen thought that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was compassionate and could not kill people himself, so he used the story of Di Ting.

However, no matter how intelligent and powerful Di Ting was, it was still a beast with fur and horns. Huang Chao was going to become emperor in the future, so such propaganda was ultimately inappropriate.

Zhu Wen, acting expediently in a moment of crisis, sent people to spread the word before reporting to Huang Chao.

Huang Chao, of course, laughed it off, gave it a slight reprimand, and didn't blame him further. But what would Huang Chao think when Li Tiao used the same tactic against him, fabricating a story that Zhu Wen was the reincarnation of Li Jiancheng?
Zhu Wen was not without ambition. Huang Chao had no heirs at the moment, and Zhu Wen had once considered hoping that his master would make him his successor.

When people try to guess each other's thoughts, they create an endless chain of suspicion that is impossible to break.

If Zhu Wen had killed Li Tiao with one blow, the matter would have been resolved. But he never expected that Li Tiao had such a cunning scheme.

Now, everyone has heard Li Tiao's words. If Zhu Wen were to go up and stab Li Tiao to death, it would only prove that he has something to hide.

(End of this chapter)