Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4964: Suicide
In front of the Lizheng Palace, Li Anyan led his rebels to launch wave after wave of charges regardless of casualties. Even though the courtyard in front of the palace had been dyed red with blood and a trickle of water had formed after the melted snow, the corpses were piled up layer by layer and densely packed, and countless wounded soldiers were rolling and wailing on the ground, Li Anyan and all the rebels were blood-thirsty and would rather die than not rush into the Lizheng Palace.

This is what they have to do. At this point, death is not the most tragic outcome; the annihilation of the entire family is.

Only by breaking into Lizheng Palace and threatening the prince can the family be exempted from prosecution. Otherwise, considering the act of treason they committed, it would not be surprising if the three clans were exterminated.

At this moment, they were no longer fighting for their own wealth and glory, but for their wives and parents at home. Naturally, they were like crazy and fearless of death.

The soldiers in armor charged in the front and would not stop as long as they had breath left. The archers followed behind and shot the crossbows and arrows they carried one after another. Although it was pitch black in the hall and they could not aim at all, they ignored their numb arms and gritted their teeth to shoot all the arrows.

Bang bang bang!
A burst of rapid gunfire sounded behind him. Li Anyan looked back and saw countless Zuo Jinwu Guards coming like a tide from the direction of Yi Qiu Palace Gate. Although there were a large number of people, they marched in an orderly manner without any chaos. The soldiers in front arrived at the square in front of Guangtian Palace, stood in formation at a distance of dozens of steps, and fired with their muskets.

More and more Zuo Jinwu Guards arrived, forming a tight encirclement. Hundreds and thousands of muskets fired at the same time. Gunpowder smoke rolled up the snow and flew wildly. The bullets were like a dense rain curtain. The rebels who were attacking Lizheng Palace were attacked from both sides and were immediately in chaos.

Li Anyan gritted his teeth and roared, "Don't worry about what's behind you, just charge forward! If we rush in and force the prince to death, there's still a way to survive. Otherwise, both you and I will die here!"

tom!
Another cannon shot was heard, and a cannonball was fired from the hall. Its fuse burned out in mid-air and it exploded.

Li Anyan was caught off guard. He felt his eardrums buzzing, his vision went dark, and he staggered and fell to the ground.

Seeing their leader fall to the ground, his life or death unknown, the rebels' morale completely collapsed.

Fang Jun and Li Ji appeared not far away. The former shouted, "Li Anyan is a traitor and a traitor. He is guilty of the ten unforgivable crimes! You should quickly put down your weapons and surrender on the spot. Do not put down any meaningless resistance. I promise you that I will sort you out later. As long as you are forced to join the rebellion, I will forgive you for your past!"

Upon hearing this, most of the remaining rebels immediately laid down their weapons and squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands.

Only Li Anyan's death squad was left, surrounding Li Anyan and fighting endlessly.

Li Ji glanced at Fang Jun and frowned, saying, "Treason is one of the ten evils. No matter what the reason is, since you participated in the attack on Lizheng Palace, you are a traitor and will definitely not be forgiven... Your words are really inappropriate."

What the emperor can't tolerate the most is treason. As long as Li Chengqian is safe and sound, all those involved in treason will be sentenced to death, and must be sentenced to death. Otherwise, how can the majesty of the imperial power be demonstrated?
If one can survive after committing treason, then what is the value of imperial power?
Anyone who wants to rebel can do so, and even after the rebellion they can escape the imperial punishment, how can that be tolerated? !

But if Your Majesty is allowed to execute all the conspirators of rebellion, Fang Jun will be breaking his promise, which will be a huge blow to his prestige.

So why do this?
Fang Jun shook his head and said, "The low-ranking soldiers can't read a word. They were deceived by their superiors and forced to do wrong things. They should be given a chance to repent. How can we generalize and judge them without asking right or wrong? They are all soldiers of the empire. Even if they die, they should die on the battlefield of expanding territory and guarding the border, not be forced to die in a mutiny by ambitious people, let alone die in the venting of anger by some people."

Li Ji was a man of such high standards that he would naturally not think that Fang Jun had suddenly developed a kind heart. After thinking for a moment, he understood Fang Jun's intention.

He sighed and said, "Why are you doing this?"

The imperial power is supreme, how can it be violated?
Doing so will cause endless trouble.

Fang Jun smiled and asked, "Do you think Mr. Ying can agree?"

Li Ji couldn't be tricked by him, so he said calmly: "You do it yourself, I'll watch from the side."

Fang Jun said: "Sometimes not opposing is also approval, so I will assume that Lord Ying also agrees."

Li Ji shook his head and said nothing.

……

Li Anyan shook his head, and the distorted and chaotic scene in front of him finally returned to normal. Looking around, he saw many soldiers squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands. Only his own personal soldiers and death warriors were still guarding him and continuing to fight. He realized that the game was hopeless.

My heart is filled with confusion.

It's not that he can't accept failure, he's just very unwilling to do so.

The soldiers under his command are the most elite fighters, possessing the most outstanding tactical qualities in the world today and extremely strong individual capabilities. However, faced with the defense line built by firearms, they can only watch and sigh, unable to cross the line.

The archers who once swept across the Turkic Empire and dominated the outer regions could only draw their bows and arrows from a distance, taking advantage of the flashes of fire produced by the soldiers in the palace firing or the explosions of thunder bombs in front of the palace to shoot. One can imagine how inaccurate they were.

The most elite Tang army rushed fiercely into the position guarded by more than a hundred student soldiers, but it was like a tide hitting a reef, seemingly surging and overwhelming, but in fact, apart from stirring up a cloud of white foam, it was difficult to shake it at all.

Li Anyan calls himself a famous general, but he only really fought in battle 20 years ago. He has been trapped in the palace for many years and is responsible for the imperial guard. Although he has been training soldiers constantly, he has lost touch with the times. Even though he knows that firearms are rampant in the world and dominate the world, he still lacks real understanding.

Now I have a very deep understanding, but it is too late.

Li Anyan sighed and said hoarsely, "Stop it, since we are defeated, there is no need to kill each other and do not resist in vain."

"General!"

"So death is all there is to fear."

"Surrender means death, so why not fight till we die?"

Li Anyan's eyes were filled with tears, and he choked up and said, "I was the one who killed everyone because of my own selfishness. I will remember your kindness in my heart, and I will never forget it even in the afterlife. I deeply apologize for dragging everyone down in this life. If there is an afterlife, I will repay you with a piece of grass and a ring!"

After saying this, he held the knife in reverse and lightly scratched the neck with the blade. The sharp blade cut the trachea and blood vessels, blood splattered, and the strong body fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and died on the spot.

"General!"

The wounded and miserable personal soldiers and assassins surrounded Li Anyan's body, grieving and shouting and crying loudly.

Then, everyone looked at each other, grabbed the knife with their backhands, and committed suicide on the spot.

Li Ji watched this scene from a distance and sighed, "You are young and don't know what happened back then. This man was a fierce general under Prince Yin in the past. He also married the daughter of Zheng from Xingyang and became Prince Yin's brother-in-law. He was trusted and valued by Prince Yin the most. After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he changed his ways and was scolded by many people for being ungrateful, but he remained silent and never made any excuses. I didn't expect that he always had the idea of ​​revenge in his heart. Now he has achieved what he wanted, and he is worthy of Prince Yin's trust in him back then."

Fang Jun nodded: "This man is indeed powerful. He has long had the intention of rebelling, but he was able to hold back during the two previous mutinies. It can be seen that he has seen that neither Zhangsun Wuji nor the King of Jin can accomplish anything. It's a pity that he couldn't hold back this time and was dragged into the water by Li Shenfu."

"Rather than saying he was great, it's better to say that Your Majesty was great. He had been patient and showed weakness to the enemy, and finally used his own life as bait to lure out the snake and eliminate the opponents within the royal family in one fell swoop... This kind of mentality is rarely seen in emperors."

Fang Jun smiled and suddenly changed the subject: "Mr. Ying, do you know who is staying at Chengtian Gate tonight?"

"Since Erlang said so, he is obviously someone I didn't expect."

"Haha, it's Master Yang."

Li Ji raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

He naturally knew Yang Shidao. This man was a man of both civil and military talents, a general and a prime minister, and was highly regarded by Emperor Gaozu. However, he had retired long ago. Why did Your Majesty entrust him with such an important task?

In this game where he used himself as bait, the important task of guarding Chengtian Gate was given to an old minister like Yang Shidao, but not to him or Fang Jun. Apart from the degree of trust, there were naturally other considerations.

Li Ji's mind raced, and he understood His Majesty's intention. He sighed and said, "Your Majesty, if you use your life as bait to eliminate the traitors, it will definitely greatly boost your prestige."

The main reason why Li Chengqian was always unable to gain the support of more people, whether when he was the crown prince or after he ascended the throne, was that he lacked prestige.

Prestige is something that cannot be seen or touched. It seems illusory and there is no standard to measure it, but it does exist. If you have it, you can defeat the enemy without fighting. If you lose it, you will be restricted everywhere and abandoned by your friends and relatives.

Your Majesty's actions today are no less than those of the wise rulers of the past. Naturally, you can gain a wave of prestige and consolidate your foundation.

Fang Jun waved his hand to Cheng Wuting, who was standing aside and almost wanted to cover his ears, not daring to listen to a word more: "Clean up the battlefield, collect the bodies, identify the identities, and then go into the palace to greet the Queen and the Crown Prince."

"Here!"

Cheng Wuting felt as if he had been pardoned, and ran quickly towards the Lizheng Hall.

These two people are really something. How can a mere warrior like me listen to the topics you discuss at your level and realm?
Li Ji praised: "This kid is quite smart, and is not inferior to his father. He has the potential to be a famous general."

Fang Jun was implying something: "What is intelligence? It is nothing more than doing one's job, understanding one's own identity and responsibilities, knowing what to do and what not to do, and knowing what to listen to and what not to listen to. That's all. On the contrary, if one is unclear about one's own identity, is eager for quick success and instant benefits, and is stubborn and conceited, then one is naturally stupid."

Li Ji frowned. Although we both agree with each other, you are expressing your dissatisfaction in front of me by almost naming me. Isn't that inappropriate?
But this is exactly what he had in mind.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Perhaps this is your Majesty's nature, but you had to hide it due to various pressures in the past, so we were unable to detect it."

What is this nature?

He didn't say it explicitly, but Fang Jun knew it well.

It is nothing but stubbornness, arrogance, and extremism hidden under the appearance of "generosity" and "benevolence"...