Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 29 He'll Be a Duke Sooner or Later
Upon seeing Li Shimin from afar, Zhang Shigui immediately tightened the reins and slowed down.

Seeing his anxious expression, Li Shimin subconsciously looked at Wen He, his eyes full of doubt.

Wen He shook her head in surprise.

"I don't remember any other major events. According to the history books, after you received the decree to appoint the crown prince, you should have taken down the Eastern Palace and Xue Wanche, Xie Shufang, Wei Zheng, and the others. Although there were some twists and turns, they did not affect the overall situation."

There are very few historical records about what happened after the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

It roughly means that Li Shimin successfully ascended to the position of Crown Prince, and then two months later Li Yuan abdicated, making him the Retired Emperor.

As for how Li Shimin stabilized the court in the middle of the period, there are very few records.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nodded. At this moment, Zhang Shigui had already arrived in front of him.

"Your Highness, the Eastern Palace Guards and Xue Wanche and others outside Xuanwu Gate have all been captured. However, my scouts have reported that Wei Zheng and Xie Shufang are leading troops to the Prince of Qin's residence. Upon learning this, the Duke of Yi has personally gone there."

Li Shimin was taken aback.

He hadn't expected that Xie Shufang and Wei Zheng would actually fight him to the death.

He had made all the necessary preparations, believing that as long as Qin Qiong captured Xue Wanche, the Eastern Palace Guard could be dismantled.

But he underestimated Wei Zheng's determination.

"No wonder you pushed over Wei Zheng's tombstone after he died." Wen He hadn't expected such a change.

Historically, it was Xue Wanche who besieged the Prince of Qin's residence. In the end, Cheng Zhijie arrived with reinforcements, forcing him to flee Chang'an.

Now that Li Shimin had made advance arrangements and devised a plan to capture Xue Wanche, Xie Shufang just happened to appear.

"I remember in the original history, Xie Shufang was supposed to lead his troops to Xuanwu Gate. Could it be that he was desperate after capturing Xue Wanche?"

Wen He was analyzing the situation and didn't notice Zhang Shigui's completely bewildered expression.

What is that boy saying?
What is the original history?
And isn't Wei Zheng still alive?
"cough!"

Li Shimin gently nudged Wen He, signaling him that there were outsiders present and he shouldn't talk nonsense.

Wen He then remembered that Zhang Shigui was still there, and chuckled dryly, "Duke Guo, I have hysteria, just take it as me talking nonsense."

"???"

Zhang Shigui was even more confused. He pointed to himself, as if asking Wen He if she was talking to him.

Wen He blinked, looking puzzled.

Did I call the wrong person?
I remember Zhang Shigui was the Duke of Guo, and he was later granted the title of Duke of Xun.

"He is the Duke of Xinye County!" Li Shimin slapped Wen He on the head in annoyance, but he had no time to care about such things at the moment.

With Qin Qiong leading troops back to reinforce the Qin Prince's palace, there's enough for him; he doesn't need to worry.

If Xue Wanche were leading the troops, he would certainly go back in person.

Even if Qin Qiong didn't return, Xie Shufang and Wei Zheng alone wouldn't be able to take over the Qin Prince's mansion.

"So what if I'm a county magistrate? Sooner or later I'll be a duke."

Wen He rubbed her head and snorted indignantly.

It's just that I remembered the time wrong.

"In that case, I must thank you for your kind words, young man."

Zhang Shigui felt incredibly pleased to hear this.

Who wouldn't want to be a duke?

What he didn't know was that in the original history, he had to wait another seven years.

"Let's go."

Li Shimin did not want to discuss the matter of bestowing titles further.

Although Zhang Shigui is one of the meritorious officials in today's events, in his consideration, it is not yet time for him to be granted the title of Duke.

Zhang Shigui nodded in agreement and followed behind him, heading towards Xuanwu Gate.

……

at the same time.

At Xuanwu Gate, Chang He helped the injured Jing Junhong to a resting place. The army's medical officer rushed over, lifted the armor on his chest, and saw a hideous wound about an inch long, from which blood was flowing.

Not long ago, Xue Wanche, who had noticed something amiss, wanted to go to see Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, but was stopped at the door by Chang He and the others.

Upon seeing this, Xue Wanche realized something was wrong. Just then, he saw someone standing on the city wall carrying two human heads.

He looked closely and was immediately taken aback.

Those two heads belonged to Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng.

Suddenly, someone on the city wall shouted.

“Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji plotted a rebellion and have been executed. However, His Majesty is merciful. If you surrender, he will pardon you.”

At the same time, thousands of soldiers surrounded them from all sides.

Jing Junhong, Liu Shili, Chang He, and others then charged out from inside the door.

Xue Wanche cursed loudly, spurred his horse, and charged towards Jing Junhong with his sword. The two exchanged blows for only a few rounds before Jing Junhong, caught off guard, was struck by a blade.

Fortunately, he dodged quickly; only his chest armor was cut open. Had he been a fraction of a second later, his head would have been severed.

Jing Junhong spurred his horse and fled back, pursued by Xue Wanche. Just then, Qin Qiong and Xue Wanjun led their troops to attack.

Xue Wanche, who was already in a weak position, had no chance of survival. He wanted to repay Li Jiancheng with his death, but Qin Qiong knocked him off his horse and captured him alive.

He is currently being persuaded by Xue Wanjun.

The two were brothers, and Li Shimin sent Xue Wanjun here with the intention of persuading Xue Wanche to surrender.

"How did you get so badly injured?"

Li Shimin, who had just arrived at Xuanwu Gate, frowned upon seeing this scene.

However, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Jing Junhong is not dead!
Looking at Jing Junhong's pale face, Wen He was also somewhat dazed for a moment.

His arrival brought forward the Xuanwu Gate Incident, but everything seemed no different from what happened in history; he seemed to have played no role whatsoever.

But Jing Junhong is still alive.

This means he truly changed history.

After that, could he change more?

To prevent the Tang Dynasty from falling into internal strife.

Let the chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, like that of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, never happen again.

"This humble general is incompetent and no match for Xue Wanche. I beg Your Highness's forgiveness."

Jing Junhong wanted to get up to apologize, but Chang He, who was standing nearby, quickly helped him up.

Li Shimin also hurriedly dismounted and held him down.

"Why do you say that, General? Xue Wanche is in his prime. If you were a few years younger, how could he be your match?"

Xue Wanche was only twenty years old, while Kejing Junhong had already reached the age of knowing one's destiny. The two really cannot be compared.

It's already quite remarkable that he can still ride a horse and fight at his age.

Jing Junhong felt somewhat ashamed, and Li Shimin comforted him, instructing the physician to take good care of him.

Then he took Wen He and headed towards the place where Xue Wanche was imprisoned.

On the way, he used the excuse of transferring Zhang Shigui away, leaving only himself and Wen He, when he suddenly stopped and asked, "Tell me about Xue Wanche."

He seemed somewhat hesitant.

Wen He understood his thoughts; he was worried that Xue Wanche might change his mind in the future.

It seems that Li Shimin was worried about the officials left behind by Li Jiancheng because of his previous remark about Li Yi's rebellion.

Wen He quite admired Xue Wanche.

"He was a good man who could bend and stretch, but it was a pity that he was too simple-minded. In the end, he was implicated by Fang Yi'ai and died on the execution ground instead of on the battlefield."

(End of this chapter)