Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

Da'an Palace.

The old eunuch stood beside Li Yuan and vividly recounted the events that had occurred at the Lizheng Hall and the Changsun clan's territory outside the city.

"puff!"

Li Yuan spat out a mouthful of rice and pointed at the old eunuch, bursting into laughter.

"Good! Very good. Go and serve me another bowl. I have a good appetite today."

The old eunuch quickly took the large bowl and handed it a cloth.

Li Yuan wiped his mouth haphazardly.

"That second son seems quite capable usually, but when it comes to crucial moments, he's not as decisive as his wife."

Li Yuan snorted.

"Guanyinbi usually seems quite docile, but when she was really pushed to the limit, she actually flipped the table."

"That fool Changsun Wuji has really fallen for his own sister's trick this time."

The old eunuch chimed in from the side:

"Your Majesty, the Empress is truly enraged this time. I heard that the Duke of Qi was given a beating at the ancestral hall."

"Should!"

Li Yuan slapped his thigh excitedly.

"They even dare to covet the military rations in Liaodong. Do they really think the swords of the Great Tang are no longer sharp?"

Go and grind the ink for me.

Li Yuan stood up and walked to his desk.

The old eunuch quickly ground the ink and laid out the paper.

Li Yuan picked up a brush and wrote eight large characters on the imperial edict.

A mother should be like this, embodying the virtues of the nation.

After writing it down, Li Yuan grabbed his seal and stamped it on.

"Frame it and send it to the Lizheng Hall in a grand manner by a few loud-voiced eunuchs."

Li Yuan gave the instructions.

"Let all the officials see this, I acknowledge this daughter-in-law."

The old eunuch accepted the order and withdrew.

Sending this calligraphy to the Lizheng Hall is tantamount to the retired emperor personally supporting the empress.

Changsun Wuji will never be able to turn his life around in the imperial court.

Although Li Yuan no longer holds much power.

However, there are still many veteran officials in the imperial court.

Li Yuan's smile vanished as soon as the palace doors closed.

"Come out."

A dark figure tumbled down from the roof beam and knelt on one knee in front of Li Yuan.

These are the Shadow Guards that Li Chengqian left behind in Da'an Palace before he left.

Li Yuan took out a dragon-shaped jade pendant from his pocket and threw it to the shadowy figure.

"Sent to Liaodong by express courier, to Gao Ming."

Give him a message.

Li Yuan, with his hands behind his back, said in a very domineering manner,

"Tell Gao Ming that his mother is more courageous than him. Tell him to stop dawdling in Liaodong and hurry up and take over the capital of Goguryeo for me."

The dark figure clasped his hands in a fist salute, then vanished from the spot in a flash.

Liaodong.

The Tang army camp was less than 100 li away from Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo.

This journey brought great joy to the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty.

By now, the wealth of ordinary soldiers has increased hundreds of times.

Central command tent.

Li Chengqian looked at the secret report in his hand.

The document details everything the Empress Dowager did in Chang'an.

As Li Chengqian watched, his eyes gradually reddened.

He casually slammed the secret report on the table, tilted his head back, and burst into laughter.

Li Jing and Wei Zheng, standing below, looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Your Highness, something has happened in Chang'an?"

Wei Zheng asked tentatively.

"It's nothing, it's a good thing."

Li Chengqian rubbed his eyes, stood up, and walked to the sand table.

"My mother has ripped apart the Changsun family's power."

Wei Zheng and Li Jing were completely confused and were about to ask further questions when a shout came from outside the main hall.

"Report!"

A shadow guard, covered in snow, walked in.

"Your Highness, an urgent message from the Emperor Emeritus."

The Shadow Guard raised the dragon-patterned jade pendant above his head.

Li Chengqian walked over, took the jade pendant, and looked at the Shadow Guard, asking:

"What did Grandfather say?"

The Shadow Guard began to repeat:

"The Emperor Emeritus said your mother is more courageous than you, and told you to stop dawdling in Liaodong and quickly take over the capital of Goguryeo."

Wei Zheng nearly ripped his beard off when he heard this.

Li Jing was completely dumbfounded.

These grandfather and grandson are now passing on messages that they don't even care about the slightest bit of royal decorum anymore?

Cheng Yaojin walked in from outside at that moment and happened to hear those words.

"The Emperor Emeritus is right. Your Highness, what are we waiting for? Let's just push through."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Li Chengqian burst into laughter again and slapped the edge of the sand table hard.

"Go and report back to Grandfather the Emperor."

Li Chengqian pointed to the wind and snow outside the tent,

"Tell the old man that his grandson will immediately cut off Gao Jianwu's head and send it back to Chang'an as a chamber pot."

The Shadow Guards acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Li Chengqian picked up his sword, its blade pointing directly at the city of Pyongyang on the sand table.

"I command you to wear my robes."

The entire army abandoned all baggage. They carried only three days' worth of fried noodles as provisions. Lightly equipped and traveling at full speed, they marched.

Li Jing frowned and said:

"Your Highness, Pyongyang is a fortified city with deep moats, and Yeon Gaesomun still has 150,000 troops under his command."

We've abandoned our baggage train and even left our siege equipment behind. If we can't take Pyongyang within three days, our army will run out of food.

"Siege equipment?"

Li Chengqian snorted coldly.

"Changsun Chong's artillery battalion just needs to carry gunpowder. What I want is not a siege, but to raze it to the ground."

Wei Zheng opened his mouth, but in the end he kept it closed.

"What are you all standing there for? Go and give the order."

Li Jing said no more and turned to walk out of the tent.

Half an hour later, the desolate sound of a cow horn echoed across the snowfield.

One hundred thousand soldiers, each carrying a cloth bag full of fried noodles and armed with crossbows, charged straight towards Pyongyang.

The walls of Pyongyang.

The cold wind howled, whipping up the remaining snow on the city walls.

Yeon Gaesomun placed his hands on the battlements covered in ice shards.

His gaze remained fixed on the north.

At the horizon, the Tang army had arrived.

This was three days faster than he had expected.

When news of Ansi City being bombed and leveled reached Pyongyang, the entire government and public were terrified.

King Gao Jianwu even packed up his gold, silver and other valuables, preparing to abandon the city and flee overnight.

He led his personal guards into the palace, placed Gao Jianwu under house arrest, and forcibly took over the defense of Pyongyang.

"Da Molizhi, judging from their formation, the Tang army didn't even bring any supplies. They're going to launch a full-scale attack."

The lieutenant stood to the side and spoke.

Yeon Gaesomun remained silent, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.

He turned his head to look at the densely packed civilians below the city wall.

Those were the 100,000 Goguryeo people he ordered to be forcibly driven out of Pyongyang.

"Pass down the order. Take all the Han slaves in the city, as well as all the captured Sui prisoners of war, and bring them to the city walls."

Yeon Gaesomun pointed to the people below.

"And these 100,000 men, give them sticks and hoes, and drive them outside the city gate."

The lieutenant said in great alarm:

"Da Molizhi, if these 100,000 men go out, the Tang army will kill them all in one charge."

Yeon Gaesomun grabbed the vice-general by the collar and pulled him in front of him.

"How can we deplete the Tang army's firearms if no one dies?"

Yeon Gaesomun gritted his teeth and roared.

"Doesn't Li Chengqian like killing people? Today I'll give him 100,000 to kill."

"Go and relay the order: anyone who dares to retreat even a step will be met with immediate arrow fire from the commando unit."

Below the city wall, 100,000 Goguryeo people were driven out of the city by soldiers.

It created a flesh-and-blood defense line on the outside.

At the same time, thousands of ragged Han Chinese slaves were brought up to the city walls.

Yeon Gaesomun drew his long sword from his waist and pointed it at the ever-approaching torrent of Tang Dynasty troops:

"Tie these Han Chinese to the battlements."

I want to see if the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty dares to blow up his own people as well.