The Demon Prince

Li Taiping wondered:

"Did your men see the murderer?"

"no."

Li Taiping stood up:

"If it wasn't you, then it could only be Li Xuansi. He really wouldn't let go of anyone who might leak secrets."

Xiao Xingyue simply smiled and said nothing more, his gaze growing ever deeper and more profound.

Li Taiping couldn't stand seeing him laugh like that!

She could accept Xiao Xingyue's usual playful and joking demeanor, but once he stopped joking and revealed such a confident look, she couldn't help herself...

Without a word, Li Taiping walked directly in front of Xiao Xingyue. As she walked, her graceful waist swayed gently, as if she had a sword at her waist that could cut down a fool like Xiao Xingyue and drain his marrow.

Xiao Xingyue, possessed by his spider-like senses, looked at Li Butaiping:

"You've stopped writing in your diary?"

Li Taiping stared intently at him:

"Smile like you did just now?"

Xiao Xingyue refused to laugh.

Li Taiping charged directly at Xiao Xingyue with the ball, landing on top of him:

"Give me a smile!"

Xiao Xingyue's back bumped into the back of the chair:

"I'm laughing, I'm laughing."

"No, it's too late. Dual cultivation!" Li Taiping looked down at Xiao Xingyue:

"Don't hide!"

Before Xiao Xingyue could speak, a beautiful woman pressed her red lips to his forehead, causing the chair to sway.

The next day, the news in Kyoto was in an uproar, with many versions of Mikami's death circulating.

In the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Zhang Erhe sat in the main seat of the main hall, with stacks of documents in front of him. He had compressed reports that originally required several days to process into half a day.

He kept explaining various things, and the officials below quickly took notes.

Overnight, he seemed to have aged.

After Zhang Sanjin died, the Prime Minister's Mansion did not hold a public funeral; everyone continued to go about their business as usual.

Half an hour later, the last official closed the document, bowed and withdrew, leaving only Zhang Erhe and Li Xuansi in the main hall.

Li Xuansi sat to the side. He had hardly rested for a day and a night, but his energy and spirit had not weakened. On the contrary, they had become even sharper, and his internal energy flowed almost imperceptibly.

Zhang Erhe looked at him: "Where are all the other forces?"

Li Xuansi sensed the energy within his body:

"We are approaching the capital. Since the day I returned to the capital, I have been secretly making arrangements to have all forces enter the city separately, instead of taking the official roads."

"Are we manpower enough?" Zhang Erhe asked again.

Li Xuansi nodded:

"The army we've been secretly maintaining over the years isn't large, about 20,000 people, and each one is an elite soldier selected from the military."

At this point, Li Xuansi's eyes revealed a sharp glint:

"Back then, Li Chengqian only had eight hundred men, yet he dared to vie for the throne amidst the chaos..."

"I now have 20,000 men, that's enough."

In the power struggle of that year, Li Chengqian, with only 800 men, fought his way through the gaps between several forces and eventually ascended the throne as emperor.

Now Li Xuansi commands 20,000 elite troops, a force far greater than in his prime.

"Although the number of people is small, their strength lies in their efficiency and skill."

Zhang Erhe slowly opened his mouth:

"But the more troops there are, the harder it is to hide them."

"I know."

Li Xuansi sniffed the aroma of the tea, but didn't drink it.

"Where are the Imperial Guards of the Northern Garrison?"

Zhang Erhe took a list from the table:

"The Northern Army is the emperor's personal guard, so it is not easy to infiltrate it completely."

Currently, the Northern Garrison is controlled by three people. The first is the Grand Eunuch Fu Delu, who commands the Imperial Guards and the Dragon Martial Army, with approximately three thousand men under his command.

A dark glint flashed in Li Xuansi's eyes:

"Da Lu is beyond our control."

Zhang Erhe continued:

"Secondly, Wei Changgeng, the Right Valiant Guard General of the Northern Army, has already joined our side and has about nine thousand Imperial Guards under his command."

However, some of the captains below were former subordinates of the emperor. Those people only recognized the emperor, not Wei Changgeng. When it came time to mobilize troops, they might not all obey orders. In the short term, Wei Changgeng could only mobilize a portion of them.

Li Xuansi nodded slightly: "And three?"

"Gu Zhou, General of the Left Guard of the Northern Army".

Zhang Erhe said in a deep voice:

"This man is unyielding. He commands eight thousand imperial guards. No matter how much gold and silver, how many official positions, or any other excuses are offered, he will not budge."

He said he would only obey the emperor's orders, and if the emperor did not wake up, he would guard the northern palace and forbid anyone from mobilizing troops.

Li Xuansi's gaze turned cold:

"His loyalty is commendable, but unfortunately he's in the wrong place."

Zhang Erhe put the roster away:

"To mobilize troops, one needs a tiger tally and an official seal, and the seal is in the hands of Fu Delu."

Zhang Erhe paused for a moment:

"Several troop mobilization orders from the palace must be confirmed by Fu Delu. Without his approval, it will be difficult for the troops of the Northern Army to be mobilized smoothly. But if it really comes to the point of a coup, we can have Wei Changgeng intercept and kill the rest of the Imperial Guards to buy time for our people."

Li Xuansi leaned back in his chair. The Northern Army was his elder brother's last line of defense, and that was precisely why it was the most difficult to breach.

Even though Wei Changgeng has already defected to him, he cannot mobilize all nine thousand men overnight, and the eight thousand imperial guards under Gu Zhou's command will certainly not easily turn against him.

He frowned and asked, "What about the Sixteen Guards of the Southern Palace?"

"I already have it all under my control." Zhang Erhe said calmly.

"The authorized number of employees is 80,000 to 90,000, but there are many vacant positions, and only about 10,000 people can actually be mobilized."

Li Xuansi nodded:

"There's nothing we can do about it."

To maintain an army, you need money for armor, provisions, and pay. And those salaries paid to no one need to be filled...

Now, there are plans both inside and outside the capital. Li Xuansi still has 20,000 elite troops at his disposal, and the more than 10,000 men in the Southern Army are enough to suppress most of the forces in the city.

Even if some members of the Northern Army disobeyed orders, it would be difficult to change the overall situation immediately.

"We have enough manpower now."

Li Xuansi spoke in a gentle tone:

"During this period, we should try to control as much power as possible. If we cannot control it, we cannot delay any longer."

Xiao Xingyue has been gathering dragon energy for his elder brother every day, and according to previous calculations, it will take at least a month.

"I'm willing to give him another ten days!"

Li Xuansi's gentle tone grew increasingly low and urgent:

"Ten days from now, I will personally enter the palace."

"Your aura is growing stronger."

Zhang Erhe glanced at Li Xuansi:

"It's starting to get hard to hide."

Li Xuansi smiled gently, and an invisible aura spread out, causing the candlelight in the room to all tilt to one side.

"The ninth level of the Sacred Dragon Technique," Li Xuansi announced.

"Just one step away."

Ten days—this is what I gave him, and this is what I gave myself!

"Within ten days, I will reach the Grandmaster level. At that time, with the troops at my disposal, even if Li Chengqian awakens, it will be too late!"