Three Kingdoms: Li Shimin, dressed as Liu Shan, forcibly abducts Sun Shangxiang.

Chapter 16: Liu Bei: I'm waiting for A Dou to come back!

Baidi City, Yong'an Palace.

"Your Majesty, Li Yan requests an audience."

"Announce..."

Tap tap tap~

A moment later,

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the palace, and then a figure in a wide robe and flowing sleeves appeared in Liu Bei's blurry vision.

"Your subject, Li Yan, Prefect of Jianwei, General Who Assists Han, and Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"Yes, yes, it's the affirmative side."

Looking at Li Yan, who was bowing deeply to him, the Han emperor's cloudy eyes were unfathomable...

This man served as the magistrate of Chengdu under Liu Zhang in his early years, and was known for his military and political talents. He surrendered after entering Shu.

Later, bandits Ma Qin and Gao Sheng gathered tens of thousands of people to rebel in Qi County and captured Zizhong.

At that time, he was engaged in a fierce battle with Cao Cao in Hanzhong and had no time to spare. It was Li Yan who led only 5,000 soldiers from Jianwei County to launch a swift attack and kill the rebel leader.

Shortly after,

Gao Ding, the leader of the Yi people in Yuexi County, led his army to besiege Xindao County. Li Yan led his army to its aid and successfully repelled the enemy, thus maintaining stability in southern Shu.

In his local area, he promoted water conservancy projects and improved people's livelihoods.

At the central government level, he, along with Kongming, Fazheng, and others, jointly formulated the "Shu Code," which rectified official corruption and strengthened the authority of the central government.

He was a man of both literary and martial talents, truly a rare genius.

Therefore, I have also designated Li Yan and Kongming as important ministers to be entrusted with the care of the young emperor.

In terms of talent, Li Zhengfang is indeed beyond dispute.

However, regarding this person's character...

"Cough, cough!"

Liu Bei's health no longer allowed him to overthink and worry: "Zhengfang, is there any news of the Crown Prince?"

"I am guilty!"

Li Yan knelt on the ground: "I have sent out more than a hundred scouts, but Zigui City has suddenly been placed under martial law, and the scouts cannot pass through."

"Therefore, no news of the Crown Prince has been found to this day."

Liu Shan (A Dou) shot Lu Xun down with an arrow.

It is likely that even if Lu Xun is not dead, he is seriously injured and on the verge of death. Therefore, the martial law in Zigui City is indeed necessary.

This wretched child,

By accomplishing such a momentous task, he ultimately brought trouble upon himself.

Otherwise, how could we not find out any news about him?

I wonder if that rebellious son is alive or dead right now...

Thinking of this, Liu Bei's face was filled with sorrow: "I...I...I lost my wife in middle age, and now in my old age, could it be...could it be that I still..."

"We also need white-haired people, white-haired people..."

Do we really have to let the elderly bury the children?

"Your Majesty, please cease your grief; your health is of utmost importance." Upon seeing this, Li Yan quickly stepped forward to comfort him: "The Crown Prince is benevolent; good fortune will surely protect him."

"only……"

Li Yan glanced at Zhuge Liang beside the bed without showing any emotion: "It is commendable that the Crown Prince went deep into enemy territory to share the burdens of his sovereign and father."

"However, the country is currently in turmoil, and His Majesty's health is failing."

"Without a crown prince by my side, I fear the people will live in fear and the officials will be in unease! I dare to ask..."

Li Yan gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I humbly request that you prioritize the well-being of the Han dynasty and the people of the world..."

"Change the crown prince!"

"Choose another heir!!"

Li Yan had barely finished speaking...

Click~

boom!!!

A pale flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder that echoed throughout Baidi City!

The rain poured down...

But even the fiercest thunder couldn't drown out those eight words from Li Yan at this moment...

Change the crown prince,

Choose another heir!

On the sickbed,

The Han emperor's weak breathing suddenly stopped.

"Li Zhengfang!"

Zhuge Liang stepped forward and almost spat out the words through clenched teeth: "Cao Mengde has been dead for three years."

"I never imagined that someone in my great Han Dynasty would want to emulate the traitor Cao Cao!"

"Kongming! What do you mean by this?" Li Yan's face flushed red instantly.

Who was Cao Cao?

He is a traitor who usurped the Han throne!

They are traitors and rebels like Wang Mang!

Zhuge Liang saying he wanted to emulate Cao Cao was an insult even greater than pointing a finger at him and cursing him!

"What do you mean?"

"The matter of deposing and establishing an heir apparent is solely the emperor's decision! How dare a subject interfere?"

Zhuge Liang spoke sternly and harshly, showing no mercy to Li Yan.

"The Emperor is gravely ill, and the nation is in peril, yet you dare to depose the Crown Prince?!"

"Do you think our Han Dynasty isn't turbulent enough already?"

Kongming's voice rose higher and higher, echoing throughout Yong'an Palace: "Taking advantage of the Emperor's serious illness, they dare to recklessly shake the foundations of the nation and ruin the Han dynasty, showing no respect whatsoever as a subject..."

"How is this any different from the actions of the traitor Cao Cao?!"

"You!!" Li Yan trembled all over, barely able to speak.

But he still took a deep breath and steadied himself: "Prime Minister, I now know of your eloquence in debating with the scholars of yesteryear."

"But I still have a question for the Prime Minister..."

"Now that the Crown Prince's fate is uncertain, are we simply going to abandon the Han imperial lineage?"

"Furthermore, although the Crown Prince is benevolent, he neglects state affairs and indulges in pleasure; how can this be the mark of a ruler!"

"Even if he succeeds to the throne, how will he differ from Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling in the future?"

At this point, Li Yan was almost in tears: "Prime Minister! I earnestly beg you, Prime Minister, for the sake of the Han Dynasty and the people of the land!!"

Inside the palace,

A brief silence fell, broken only by the faint sound of the increasingly heavy rain outside the hall.

Who were Emperors Huan and Ling?

The current emperor hates these two emperors the most, believing that the decline of the Later Han Dynasty was due to these two emperors.

He was undoubtedly a foolish and incompetent ruler!

Li Yan is comparing the Crown Prince to these two emperors, which shows he is determined to establish a new heir!

At this point in time,

Kongming gripped the feather fan even tighter.

He softened his tone: "The Crown Prince did indeed indulge in pleasure in the past..."

"But this time, His Highness the Crown Prince, passing through the Stone Gate and heading towards Zigui, shot down Lu Xun, displaying great wisdom and courage; his brilliance has already been revealed!"

"Such a valiant ruler, how could he not shoulder the responsibility of governing the Han dynasty?"

"We await the Crown Prince's return..."

"Prime Minister!" Li Yan retorted sharply, refusing to yield an inch: "I'm afraid the Crown Prince will have a hard time returning."

Li Yan made no attempt to conceal anything.

He directly stated what Zhuge Liang was most unwilling to admit.

The crown prince and his small retinue of just over a hundred people passed through Zigui and went to Yiling.

But this place, the heartland of the Sun family,

Once His Highness the Crown Prince's identity is exposed, will he really be able to come back?

If it really comes to that, what will happen to the overall national situation?

"even so……"

Zhuge Liang remained silent for a long time before finally managing to reply, "Apart from the current Crown Prince, I'm afraid there is no other wise prince in His Majesty's bloodline who can inherit the throne."

"have!"

This is exactly what Li Yan was waiting for.

Without hesitation, he said, "Prince Yong of Lu and Prince Li of Liang are intelligent, benevolent, and filial, with noble character! They closely resemble Your Majesty..."

"He will surely inherit the throne and fulfill the emperor's ambition!!"

Prince Liu Yong of Lu!

King Liu Li of Liang!

Li Yan, Li Yan actually wants to choose one of my two sons as the crown prince?

On the sickbed,

Liu Bei's breathing became increasingly rapid...

Yong'er is eight years younger than A Dou.

Li'er was thirteen years younger than A Dou.

Both sons are still children, yet Li Zhengfang wishes to support one of them to succeed to the throne; his intentions are utterly despicable!

I am not dead yet!

The crown prince is not dead yet...

For a moment, Liu Bei felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow.

some people,

So you can't sit still anymore?

"Absurd! Both kings are young children! Deposing the eldest son in favor of the youngest is the root of national turmoil. Haven't you seen the stories of Yuan Shao and Liu Jingsheng?"

"Yuan Shao and Liu Biao's eldest sons are both alive! Therefore, establishing a younger son as heir is the root of chaos. But now that the eldest son of our great Han dynasty is in danger, how can there be talk of deposing the eldest son and establishing a younger son?!"

"Li Zhengfang, are you really going to..."

"Cough, cough cough cough!"

The emperor's labored cough interrupted the argument between the two high-ranking officials.

"His Majesty!"

"Nothing, no hindrance...right, right."

"Your subject is here!" Li Yan quickly stepped forward.

The emperor looked at him gently: "I know you have planned for the country with all your heart and soul."

"His Majesty!"

"I...I accept...I accept your advice," Liu Bei said, his voice growing increasingly strained.

"If A Dou returns, he will become the emperor."

"If, if not, cannot... Li, Yong, the two sons, you, you may, may choose the virtuous to establish."

Become!

Li Yan was overjoyed.

After painstaking planning and skillful manipulation of circumstances, this great undertaking has finally succeeded!

"My lord, I obey your order!"

Step~

Step~

Step~

Listen to Li Yan's footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

"military adviser!"

The seriously ill emperor somehow found the strength to...

Suddenly, he grabbed Kongming's sleeve!

"Your Majesty, I am here! You must not be angry!"

Liu Bei still clung to Kongming's sleeve, his eyes already red: "Strategist, you...you saw everything..."

"I am nearing the end of my life, like a lamp running out of oil."

"But...but I dare not, I dare not die..."

Liu Yongcai is nine years old!

Liu Licai is four years old!

Li Yan had already revealed his ambition to become a powerful minister, and Liu Bei dared not gamble on it. Was Li Yan the Duke of Zhou or Wang Mang?

"A Dou, I'll wait, wait for A Dou to come back, cough, cough cough cough..."

"Your Majesty..." Looking at the scene before him, Kongming was filled with sorrow, but he was unable to utter a word.

He got up and walked to the palace gate.

His gaze turned south...

Because Zigui City is under martial law,

All intelligence gathering methods in Baidi City are no longer effective, and everything concerning the Crown Prince is now unknown.

Everything over there is unknown!

Not only Li Yan was investigating Liu Shan's movements,

After learning that His Highness the Crown Prince had shot Lu Xun, Zhuge Liang made several attempts to take advantage of Lu Xun's injury to launch a surprise attack on Zigui City.

However, the Wu army's defenses were so tight that the Han army had no opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Most importantly,

At present, Yizhou can only muster less than 10,000 truly elite troops!

The blood of Yizhou has truly been drained...

Splash splash~

Zhuge Liang slowly stepped into the rain.

look up,

Close your eyes,

He let the rain pour down on his face.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

"The destiny of the Han Dynasty, your fate..."

"We can only leave it to fate..."

……

Zigui City,

Most of the governors went to the palace.

"Grand Commander?"

"The Grand Commander has awakened!"

"Boyan, Boyan!!"

Lu Xun opened his eyes with difficulty, looked at the generals before him, and smiled weakly: "Thank you all for your trouble, I am grateful."

"Grand Commander, sob sob sob..."

Standing before the bed were all men who had fought fiercely. When they saw Lu Xun open his eyes and speak, many of them burst into tears.

These days have been so difficult.

The Grand Commander is unconscious.

The Han army attacked the city repeatedly.

This truly caused widespread panic and instability in Zigui City...

Good luck!

The Grand Commander has finally woken up today.

"Grand Commander!"

Some people couldn't help but ask, "What exactly happened that day?"

"How exactly did the Grand Commander get shot with an arrow?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes were focused on Lu Xun's face. This was the answer they most wanted to know since Lu Xun fell into a coma!

It should be noted that the Jiangdong army surrounded the city of Zigui.

It is absolutely impossible for anyone to assassinate the pillar of Jiangdong right under the noses of the main force of Jiangdong!

That day, only the lieutenant general Liu A was guarding the Grand Commander.

However, ever since the Grand Commander was shot with an arrow, Liu Afang has lost his composure, his speech is incoherent, and he cannot explain the situation that day at all.

Now they have no choice but to come and ask the Grand Commander in person.

"That day..."

Lu Xun spoke slowly, seemingly recalling the scene from that day: "That day I saw the troops from Shimen Mountain heading towards Zigui City..."

More than a hundred Wu soldiers passed through the Wu army camp outside Zigui City and headed straight for the city.

In front of Wu Jun's main force,

One arrow felled the Grand Commander...

The generals were already dumbfounded.

"How...how is this possible?"

"A mere hundred or so men, all shot down by a single arrow from their leader..."

"Who exactly are they?!"

"And who is the leader of this force?!"

The generals initially believed that a powerful army had launched a surprise attack on Zigui City that day.

never thought,

The newcomer actually disregarded tens of thousands of Wu soldiers' elite troops, accomplishing such a great feat with just one man and one arrow!

terrible!

That's absolutely terrifying!

Such audacity is unheard of in the world today.

"This person is definitely not an unknown individual!"

"This time, he shot me to the ground, yet he circled around Zigui and headed south; I fear his ambitions are not small..."

Lu Xun's face grew even paler: "His intentions might even be unknown to the Marquis of Wu!"

Is his intention to target Lord Wu?!

Now that Yiling has won a great victory, Jiankang's defenses are very lax.

That fellow was dressed as a Wu soldier again.

What if that scoundrel manages to sneak into Jiankang City and shoot an arrow at Lord Wu...

hiss!

Upon realizing this, all the generals felt a chill run down their spines and their hair stood on end.

"Bring me pen and ink..."

"I want to write a letter to Bu Zishan!"

Lu Xun could no longer lie still. He struggled to his feet and did not forget to comfort his generals: "It's alright. Bu Zishan's ten thousand righteous men from Jiaozhou are on the south bank of the Yangtze River."

"If the assassin wants to cross the river, he must first get past the Buzi Mountain pass."

"As long as I go to Nobukoyama and warn him to be careful... hehe, that assassin will be powerless!"

Meanwhile, on the south bank of the Yangtze River,

Bu Zhi Camp!

But all that could be heard was shouting of men and neighing of horses...

"Xingguo, when Ma Shizhong left, did you see him pickle Bu Zhi's head with lime?"

"Your Highness, rest assured, I personally cured Bu Zhi's head; it can't be wrong!"

Liu Shan nodded in satisfaction: "That's good then."

In this hot weather, if the head is not preserved with lime, it will rot in a few days. At that time, Bu Zhi's facial features will become blurred, and how can Ma Liang use it to intimidate the counties of Jingnan?

"Your Highness..."

It was Guan Xing who spoke: "This time, Attendant Ma has gathered together the various prefectures of Jingnan, but he only brought five hundred Han soldiers and five hundred barbarian soldiers."

"Isn't this a bit too weak a force?"

Guan Xing also learned some information about the situation in Jingnan from the Jiaozhou soldiers under Bu Zhi's command.

The various prefectures in Jingnan are now each holding their own troops, observing the situation.

Ma Liang only took a thousand soldiers with him...

In Guan Xing's view, these thousand soldiers were probably not enough to be considered by the warlords who controlled Jingnan.

"A thousand soldiers is a bit too few..."

Liu Shan looked around, surveying Bu Zhi's camp: "But Ma Liang also brought Bu Zhi's head."

"This one head alone is worth at least ten thousand soldiers!"

Why do the counties in Jingnan only dare to watch and not take the initiative to annex each other?

It was precisely because of Bu Zhi's 10,000 troops that their might shook the south bank!

Once they see Bu Zhi's head, they will naturally understand that Bu Zhi's 10,000 troops have been defeated. As for how many troops would be needed to defeat Bu Zhi...

Heh, let these local bullies be suspicious and uncertain.

"Just wait..."

His Highness the Crown Prince said calmly, "As soon as Bu Zhi's head arrives, the various prefectures of Jingnan will surely be pacified with a single proclamation."

As he spoke, Liu Shan turned his head to look behind him...

The massive, dark army, overwhelming the sky, almost burst through Bu Zhi's camp.

Bu Zhi's remaining 7,000 soldiers!

Three thousand soldiers rescued from Bu Zhi's camp!

Apart from the thousand soldiers that Ma Liang took with him, Ma Liang and Sha Moke's remaining troops still had six thousand men!

There are now a total of 16,000 troops!

This large army is enough for me to make a name for myself on both sides of this great river.

"Your Highness!"

Shamoke approached Liu Shan and said, "The army has rested here for a day. Please give your instructions, Your Highness."

wow~

The emperor's great banner fluttered freely, making a loud rustling sound.

Sizzle~

Liu Shan mounted his horse.

The whip lashed sharply towards the north bank...

"Cross the river!"

"Heading north to Yiling!!!"