Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

The Flying Dragon Stable is located north of the Chongxuan Gate, the main gate of the inner city, and is the first of the "Six Leisurely Places".

The *Zhou Li* (Rites of Zhou), in its section on the Summer Official, states: "The Son of Heaven has twelve stables, with six types of horses; the states have six stables, with four types of horses; the households have four stables, with two types of horses." The Sui Dynasty established these six stables for this reason, a practice continued in the Tang Dynasty. These stables were in charge of the imperial horses and were managed by the Imperial Stables Bureau of the Palace Secretariat. During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, they were named Feilong, Xianglin, Fengyuan, Yuanluan, Jiliang, and Liuqun, also known as the "Six Stables." After the Kaiyuan era, like the "Six Stables Within the Palace Guard," they were managed by the Stables Commissioner of the Inner Palace Secretariat.

After Li Yu was made crown prince and placed under house arrest in the Eastern Palace, Cheng Yuanzhen was transferred by Li Fuguo, who was concurrently serving as the head of the imperial stables, and became the deputy head of the Flying Dragon Stables. This was a heavy responsibility, as he was in charge of the finest imperial horses. However, for a eunuch, this also meant being far removed from the core of the court and could be considered as being sidelined.

Li Yu said to himself, "My horse is not good. Go and call Cheng Yuanzhen to bring another good horse." Then he stood up in front of Lingxiao Gate and refused to move or call for the gate. He just stood there and waited.

It seemed as if they could hear hurried footsteps and voices coming from inside the door. They wondered if they had discovered Li Yu and his group outside and were planning to send someone out to inquire.

A short while later, while chaos still raged inside the gate, Cheng Yuanzhen hurriedly arrived on horseback. Upon seeing him, he didn't even dismount to pay his respects before urgently asking, "Why has Your Highness come to Lingxiao Gate?"

Li Yu replied, "The Emperor summoned me, intending to enter the palace through the Lingxiao Gate."

Cheng Yuanzhen then jumped off his horse, approached Li Yu, and whispered, "I fear there may be trouble in the palace!"

Li Yu leaned down: "What do you mean?"

"There was some unusual activity at Xuanwu Gate just now. I sent someone to inquire, and they said that the Shence Army had taken over the defense... The inner court should have been guarded by the Yingwu Army at the various gates. Why was the Shence Army changed at this time? I wonder what about Lingxiao Gate..."

Li Yu was shocked to hear this: "There was also some unusual activity inside the gate just now!"

Cheng Yuanzhen suggested, "In that case, Your Highness should not enter without permission. You may come with me to the Flying Dragon Stable for the time being. I will send someone to inquire and find out the details before we escort Your Highness into the palace!"

This time, Li Yu readily agreed and immediately followed Cheng Yuanzhen to the Flying Dragon Stable.

Before long, the men Cheng Yuanzhen had sent to investigate the palace returned, covered in sweat, and said, "The northern gates have all been taken over by the Shence Army. When asked who ordered them, they said it was an imperial edict..."

"Since the Emperor appointed me to oversee the country, why wasn't I informed of such a momentous event beforehand?!" Li Yu also realized something was amiss—"This must be a rebellion by the Shence Army—where is Yingwu? Are we just going to sit idly by and watch them act recklessly?!"

Cheng Yuanzhen said, "It seems that someone in the palace has forged an imperial edict, and the Yingwu Army cannot distinguish the truth... Please summon Li Ji immediately."

Li Yu shook his head: "I have already sent someone to inform Li Ji about my entry into the palace, but I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to arrive quickly..." The main force of the Yingwu Army is stationed in the outer court. If the Shence Army closes all the gates of the outer court, the Yingwu Army will be surrounded. Even if Li Ji has extraordinary abilities, how easy is it for him to fight his way from the south of the palace to the north?

Besides, Li Ji is most likely not in the palace; after get off work, when it gets dark, he always has to go home...

After a moment's thought, he finally made up his mind and said to Cheng Yuanzhen, "Quickly send someone on a fast horse to go around to the Right Silver Terrace Gate and inform Li Fuguo."

According to Li Shi, Li Fuguo failed to control the Shence Army, so this palace rebellion was most likely not the old eunuch's idea... It must be that the Empress wanted to harm him, so she lured him into killing Li Fuguo during the day—perhaps they hadn't actually teamed up again. Now, turning back is too dangerous; he can only gamble that Li Fuguo is still an ally and quickly ask him to come and protect him.

But just as Cheng Yuanzhen was about to send someone out, the Chongxuan Gate opposite him suddenly burst open with a "boom," and a troop of soldiers filed out. The first man, clad in splendid armor and riding a tall horse, called out loudly, "Is His Highness the Crown Prince in the Flying Dragon Stable? Your humble brother has come to greet you!"

As soon as Li Yu entered the Flying Dragon Stable, Cheng Yuanzhen ordered the gate to be closed. He then fetched a ladder, climbed over the wall to peek over, and turned back to report, "It is the Prince of Yan."

Li Yu frowned deeply, then immediately instructed Cheng Yuanzhen: "Ask him why he entered the palace and what changes have occurred there?"

Cheng Yuanzhen asked as instructed, and Prince Yan, Li Xian, replied: "It was Li Fuguo who rebelled and wanted to harm the Emperor and the Empress. Therefore, the Empress summoned us and His Highness the Crown Prince to the palace to express our grievances. Now that I have taken command of the Divine Strategy and control of all the gates, I heard that His Highness is in the Flying Dragon Stable, so I came here to welcome him and enter the palace to make a decision on the grand plan."

Li Yu instructed Cheng Yuanzhen to convey the message: "Your Majesty, please do your best. However, in the darkness, it is difficult to distinguish friend from foe, and there is a risk of failure. It would be best for Your Highness to remain here for the time being and wait until things have calmed down before entering the palace. Your Majesty need not come to greet us; please go and kill the traitors yourself."

Upon hearing this, Li Xian knew that Li Yu was indeed in the Flying Dragon Stable—he couldn't hide it from him for long anyway—so he raised his voice and said, "Although His Highness the Crown Prince has given the order, please forgive my foolish brother for not daring to obey. Who am I? How could I preside over the plan to quell the rebellion? It is only right that I go in personally to welcome His Highness—please forgive my foolish brother for offending you!" He then ordered the soldiers to break down the stable door.

Cheng Yuanzhen was so frightened that he tumbled down from the wall, his face contorted with grief. He ran back to Li Yu and asked, "There are no soldiers in the Flying Dragon Stable. What should we do?"

Li Yu asked him, "How many men do you have under your command?"

"They are just grooms and minor officials, less than a hundred men, and they have no weapons. How can they possibly resist the Divine Strategy outside the stables?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu's expression changed drastically. He stamped his foot and sighed, "My son's plans of many years have all come to naught... I told him long ago that matters concerning the state should be handled with virtue and prestige, and with non-contention as the means of contention. Those who rely solely on scheming and trickery will ultimately fail to achieve great things. Now it seems that I am unworthy to assist the emperor and father and eliminate the villains, and thus I deserve to die here..."

Cheng Yuanzhen stamped his feet repeatedly: "Where is the Prince of Fengjie at this time? Where is Li Ji?!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a loud shout came from behind—"Here I am!"

Chapter Twenty-Five: Horizontal Sword and Powerful Crossbow

According to modern timekeeping methods, it was approximately three hours ago.

As Li Ji jumped down from Wangchun Tower, his gaze swept across the scene, and he was immediately shocked.

It was already completely night by then, but fortunately the weather was good that night. It was a full moon, with no clouds in the sky, the silvery moon hanging high, and the clear light covering the ground, so the visibility was barely acceptable.

Li Ji had long anticipated—and confirmed it from the noise—that Jingjing'er's henchmen would be swarming downstairs. He had initially thought that even if they numbered, they would be nothing more than江湖豪客 (jianghu heroes) wielding short knives and clubs. However, to his surprise, as soon as he landed, he saw enemies surrounding him from three sides. Within his sight alone, there were at least ten people, and although they were dressed in plain clothes, they were—

A shield in his left hand and a sword in his right—both standard military weapons!

Li Ji thought to himself, "This is terrible." If it were just sticks or something, he could rely on his thick skin and take a few hits and still have a chance to break through the encirclement. But now, they were all facing long swords and shields, making it extremely dangerous. The key problem was that he was unarmed. Although he could seize the enemy's weapons for his own use, the enemies were all very close together, and with them supporting each other, how could he possibly get a chance to grab them?

I reckon I'm doomed to die here today... Why did I panic so much as soon as I heard Qingluan had been kidnapped? If I had brought my armor pouch with me and put it on before going upstairs, I wouldn't be in such a passive position. At least with the armor's strength, I dared to take a couple of Jingjing'er's throwing knives head-on!

However, wearing armor would inevitably reduce my agility considerably. I might not have been able to dodge that dart from five steps away, and it would have been unlikely that I could have successfully flipped down the stairs...

However, when faced with life and death, some people may become weak and unable to move, while others may become disheartened and resigned to their fate. But that is definitely not Li Ji. If he had a similar mindset, he would have died several times over. At least at the beginning of his transmigration, he might not have been able to protect Li Bi and leave Tanshan.

So no matter how turbulent her heart was, filled with regret, her body still moved instinctively.

The enemies opposite were naturally caught off guard by Li Ji's leap down the stairs, and instinctively froze. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Ji rolled over, then launched a flying kick from his back, striking the man in front of him squarely in the shin. With a "crack," the man screamed and fell sideways.

Li Ji reached out to snatch the knife and shield from the man's hand, but several knives slashed down at the same time, forcing him to quickly withdraw his hand and roll back to the edge of the building. However, although the enemy lost one person, they pressed closer, and the encirclement almost closed in, with several shields joining together to form a wall.

Li Ji threw a punch, striking a shield on the side. His opponent's wrist jolted, almost losing his grip on the shield's handle. However, a blade came slashing from the opposite direction. Li Ji dodged to the side, but a shield slashed through him, nearly hitting him in the face.

Li Ji raised his arm to parry the shield, but couldn't help but be secretly shocked—this guy was very skilled with his shield. Most people would definitely use their swords first when given the chance, but this guy was wielding his shield instead. This was not a military skill, but a martial arts technique. But... what kind of weapon did this guy use in the martial arts world?

As the enemy drew ever closer, and his room to dodge and weave dwindled, with footsteps approaching from afar—Jingjing'er's henchmen certainly wouldn't just block this side, but would be scattered around Wangchun Tower, intending to encircle it, and reinforcements would arrive from other flanks, as expected. Even if he were lucky enough to defeat the enemy in front of him, there were probably three or five more layers behind him; how could he possibly break through?

Jingjing'er didn't take the opportunity to throw darts. Did he think that victory was in his grasp and that he didn't need to lift a finger?

Just as they were at their wits' end, they suddenly heard a shout: "Who goes there?" followed by the sound of a crossbow twang.

Li Ji instinctively felt that he was saved.

If the enemy had crossbows—given that they possessed standard military weapons, it wouldn't be surprising if they had several crossbows—they wouldn't need to block themselves up with shields like this. A single volley from multiple directions would surely kill them. Therefore, it's clear that the person using the crossbows is not one of Jingjing'er's accomplices.

But who exactly are they? Who will come to their rescue? Could it be that Jingjing'er and her group's infiltration of Chang'an has already been discovered by the authorities, who are now taking the opportunity to encircle and suppress them?

Several crossbow bolts rang out, followed by screams of agony, causing a commotion among the enemies in front. However, Li Ji's attention instantly shifted, focusing primarily on what was above him. Sure enough, a gust of wind came from above. He hurriedly dodged backward, his entire body pressed against the building wall, only to see a dart embedded itself firmly in the ground, less than an inch from his toes…

Yes, reinforcements did arrive, making it difficult for Jingjing'er to control the situation, so she had no choice but to take action herself.

Li Ji crossed his fists in front of his chest, concentrating on his guard—if you dare to charge, then come at me. As long as you can't kill me in a short time, judging from the current situation, I still have a chance to escape.

She heard Jingjing'er's voice coming from upstairs: "Who is it, ruining my plans?!"

Then several more crossbow bolts rang out, half of which hit near Li Ji, while the other half were clearly fired upstairs.

The enemy in front was thrown into complete chaos. Several of them turned around hastily, and Li Ji seized the opportunity to leap forward and tackle one of them to the ground. As soon as he fell, he twisted his waist, lay on his back, and hoisted the other man onto his back—the sound of blades piercing flesh and the man's screams rang out at the same time.

Taking advantage of the situation, Li Ji snatched the horizontal sword from the opponent's hand, immediately leaped up, and with a twist of the long sword, deflected several weapons. Then, he slashed sideways, hitting the enemy squarely in the face, and blood fell like rain.

With his sword in hand, Li Ji regained his vigor, leaping and slashing at anyone in sight. Indeed, his opponents were all martial arts practitioners who, for safety's sake, had abandoned their usual weapons and switched to swords and shields. Their movements were either clumsy or too elaborate, unlike Li Ji's bold and decisive style in the military. He would seize any opening and strike with a straight cut or a horizontal slash, using clumsiness to overcome skill, and no one could withstand him.

So after taking down four people in succession, the remaining enemies finally couldn't hold on any longer and turned around to flee in panic.

Li Ji, holding his knife to the shadows, wary of the darts flying overhead, called out, "I am honored to have been rescued. May I ask who you are, my friend?"

Footsteps sounded, and a dark figure rushed closer, but stopped five steps away from Li Ji and did not move forward—what if Li Ji instinctively slashed at him when it was still difficult to distinguish friend from foe?

"Please rest assured, Chief Secretary Li, your concubine has been rescued."

Li Ji stared intently at him: "Who are you?"

The figure was indistinct, dressed in black and masked, with only his eyes visible, almost blending into the darkness. In the distance, several people were running and chasing, some likely Jingjing'er's henchmen, others dressed similarly to him—it was too dark to see clearly.

Where did this group of people come from? Although they seemed to be fewer in number than Jingjing'er's gang, they brought seven or eight powerful crossbows and launched a surprise attack, so they quickly gained the upper hand.

Looking at the man in black in front of him, he had his arms outstretched to show no hostility—although he was still holding a crossbow in one hand, the string was clearly taut and not drawn—then he slowly approached Li Ji, and when he reached him, he reached out and pulled the veil down to his chin, revealing his true face—

"Does Chief Secretary Li still remember me?"

Li Ji stared intently. The other person was quite young, only in his early twenties, with a fair complexion and short beard. His appearance seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place him... This person... I seem to have seen him once before, several years ago, on some occasion. Where was it? Who was he?

He shook his head blankly: "Please forgive my poor eyesight, but who exactly are you...?"

Judging from the other person's expression, he seemed somewhat embarrassed and disappointed, but then he interrupted Li Ji's question with a shout.

The shout came from a high place, but not from Wangchun Tower; it must have come from a nearby... tree? The words came from Jingjing'er; that fellow certainly jumped fast!

"So it was you, you wretched maid, who came to ruin my plans!"

Li Ji understood. The person Jingjing'er could call a "lowly servant" must be a complete stranger, and the rescue must have been purely coincidental. Who else could it be? He immediately asked the young man, "Has my concubine really been rescued?"

"Don't worry, Chief Secretary Li, your concubine is unharmed."

Li Ji nodded, then looked up and called out in the direction Jingjing'er had just shouted, "No need to chase after them, lest we lose something."

A sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he abruptly turned back to face the young man: "So it was you!"

He finally remembered that when he first went to Lu Miaozhen's house in Pingkangfang for a banquet, he was forced to compose a poem and had plagiarized a poem called "Sympathy for the Peasants." But before him, a scholar at the next table had also written a poem called "Ode to Roasted Lamb Chops," which went something like this: "The meat is tender and the bones are soft, the taste is delicious, pepper seasons the fat and it is fragrant. Who took the loyal servant from the North Sea and gave it to the cook to accompany with millet and sorghum?"

Li Ji immediately thought the poem was quite good. Although it was still somewhat doggerel, it contained profound meaning and was far superior to the previous rubbish. He then paid more attention to the scholar. Later, in Longyou, he discussed poetry with Du Fu. Du Zimei said that Li Ji's poem "Sympathy for the Peasants" was "said by a minor official under my command when I was in the Censorate, who said he heard it at the home of Qu Lü Miaozhen in Pingkang." Upon returning to Chang'an, Li Ji learned that the poem "Sympathy for the Peasants" had also reached the ears of Cui Guangyuan and Yan Zhuang.

Several years had passed, and his impression of the scholar had become quite faint. Although the face seemed somewhat familiar, he couldn't recall it at all. Unexpectedly, the phrase "lowly servant girl" made Li Ji realize who had come to his rescue. Following this line of thought, he connected the three events, and finally, the face of the young man in black matched the white-clad scholar in his memory.

Li Ji felt a chill run down his spine... So Cui Guangyuan had already sent people to watch me back then! This young man entered Lü Miaozhen's house before I did. Could it be that when I asked around in Pingkangfang about where to find good food, they had already made arrangements... I only knew that Cui Guangyuan kept some strange people in the martial arts world, but I didn't know that he was so skilled in espionage!

Fortunately, Old Cui wanted to win me over, not harm me, otherwise... I wouldn't even know how I died!

Just as he was feeling a chill, he suddenly heard a "whoosh" and a small figure landed in front of him. The young man immediately took half a step back and bowed, saying, "Third Sister."

"I told you not to call me that!"

This was naturally Cui Qi, also known as the "lowly maid" in Jingjing'er's words. She originally held an important position in Cui Guangyuan's secret organization. When Cui Guangyuan recognized her as his daughter, her companions all changed their address to "Third Sister"—because there were two legitimate daughters of Cui Guangyuan who were already married—but Cui Qi was extremely disgusted by this title.

Upon seeing Cui Qi, Li Ji instinctively opened his arms, intending to rush forward and embrace him. Cui Qi quickly dodged backward, avoiding him, and said with a hint of anger, "Chief Secretary Li, please have some self-respect!"

Li Ji smiled and said, "Anyway, we'll be husband and wife soon..." Of course, although he acted on impulse, he knew that he should remain respectful in front of others. In fact, he instinctively stopped halfway through his pounce and then asked seriously, "Were you staring at me or at Jingjing?"

Cui Qi said, "You have everything... How come you were like a lost soul when Zou was kidnapped? You didn't even wear armor or bring any weapons, yet you dared to go upstairs to see Jingjing?"

Li Ji laughed and said, "If you are in danger, let alone armor, I will rush to your rescue without even having time to put on my clothes!"

The young man next to him coughed and voluntarily stepped back to a distance.

Cui Qi spat, "Stop talking nonsense!" He paused, then said, "It's a pity that Jingjing escaped, but we did capture two people alive. Zou Shi has been rescued. Come with me to meet her and interrogate these assassins—who they are and how they obtained the standard military weapons?"

Li Ji's expression darkened: "But you have crossbows..."

Obtaining Tang army swords and shields wasn't particularly difficult, especially since the rebels were likely originally Zhou Zhi's "Shenji Guard," meaning their weapons were almost identical in form and quality to Tang weapons—of course, the fact that they infiltrated Tang territory so deeply, carrying so many swords and shields, all the way to the outskirts of Chang'an, makes the matter even more perplexing. However, compared to that, obtaining a powerful crossbow was an impossible task.

Ultimately, while craftsmen could forge swords and shields, virtually none of them knew how to make a proper crossbow.

Cui Qi sneered, "Is Chief Secretary Li going to denounce us?"

Li Ji thought about it for a moment. Cui Guangyuan had served as military governor three times and held military power. So stealing a few crossbows from the treasury would be a piece of cake for him. He naturally wouldn't delve into this issue. He looked around, frowned, and took two steps closer to Cui Qi.

Cui Qi instinctively wanted to back away, but Li Ji stopped him with a look. Then Li Ji lowered his voice and said, "I won't go see Zou Shi for now. Please take good care of her for me and send her back to her home in Pingkang Lane after dawn... Zou Shi is pregnant, so please be careful..."