The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 862 Muddle through
Li Yan felt very uncomfortable when he saw Hou Junji kneeling on the ground and crying.

Ask yourself, with all your abilities, you won't be able to live a hard life no matter where you are.

In the Turkic empire, he was a prince who was second only to the emperor and above everyone else. The grassland was even more backward than the Central Plains, and the slavery system without any human rights was still practiced.

As the king, he has the power of life and death over those below him at will, and is even more powerful than the emperor of the Central Plains.

In the past five years, it was as if I had traveled to another world of film and television, and I didn't miss the Central Plains that much. Now seeing Hou Junji's loss of composure, Li Yan realized how incompetent he was, and an indescribable sense of guilt surged in his heart.

Yes!

You are not alone, you have parents above you and a wife and children below you.

Although he abandoned his family and his career for the sake of the world and the mission, he actually failed in his responsibilities and left a mess to his relatives.

Others can empathize or dodge here.

Only Hou Junji and Haitang and his mother in Chang'an City can silently endure the pain of separation.

Being in the East Palace, a place full of disputes, there will inevitably be attacks from both sides.

Li Yan kept the orphans and widows there, perhaps because he wanted to be cunning and use this self-torture tactic to divert Li Shimin's suspicion of him who was gradually growing up.

However, the pressure that these parties have to bear is ignored.

Hou Junji was a famous general in the previous dynasty. He fought with spears, bayonets, knives, and arrows, and was wounded countless times, but he was never defeated. Being pushed to the extreme, the man who dared to confront Li Shimin, the Heavenly Khan, was now so lost and haggard.

It is clear how the situation he left behind has weighed on this veteran who is just in his forties.

Silently waiting for the other party to vent the emotions that had been pent up for many years, Li Yan helped him sit down behind the desk.

A banquet has been prepared here, waiting for Hou Junji's arrival.

After the two of them sat down, Li Yan picked up the wine jar and filled them both. He then picked up the wine bowl and looked at Hou Junji, who had recovered a little, and thanked him sincerely, "Father-in-law, you have worked hard for so many years. Cheng Qian knows your efforts and is deeply grateful."

After saying that, he raised his head and drank it all, then asked Hou Junji softly, "Father-in-law, has Haitang been doing well these years?"

Hou Junji put down his wine bowl, his eyes still on Li Yan, as if he was afraid that the prince he had been waiting for six years would disappear again.

At this moment, seeing that the other party was safe and sound, without any of the accidents that I was worried about, and appearing in front of me in good health and full of energy, I felt a lot more comforted.

After waking up, his mind began to calm down.

As soon as he entered the door, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince called himself father-in-law, rather than Duke or General. This is enough to show that in His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's heart, personal feelings are more important than justice.

Now the first thing he asked was about his daughter, which shows that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is most concerned about his daughter.

In this case, my daughter's waiting for me all these years has not been in vain.

Hou Junji took out the handkerchief from his arms, as if this handkerchief could deeply connect the two of them, placing them in a special environment where they were not between the monarch and his subjects.

"Your Highness, there has been no news from you in the past five years."

Hearing that Li Yan didn't know much about Chang'an, Hou Junji suppressed his doubts and excitement and said, "At first, the emperor and the court sent people to look for you. Half a year later, everyone accepted that you were dead. No, you were missing."

"Only Haitang shed tears all day long, standing at the north gate of Chang'an City every day, hoping that His Highness would return safely."

"Under Haitang's instructions, I and Ashina Yun of the Mo Nan Grand Commandery have been sending people to the desert. But no matter how many people we send, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. There is no trace of His Highness. Everyone in Chang'an thinks His Highness is in danger."

Hou Junji recounted the situation in Chang'an and finally asked, "Your Highness, where have you been all these years?"

"Why are you in Liaodong City and with these Turks?"

Hou Junji then began to look around curiously at the environment he was in. Just now, the man named Hermu did not seem to deliberately conceal his whereabouts, and the buildings here were tall and noble, not like ordinary houses.

Hou Junji, who was very familiar with Huaiyuan City, vaguely guessed that such a mansion had a high status in Liaodong City.

In this era of strict hierarchy, the buildings where people live are subject to strict restrictions, and everyone must abide by the standards of their level.

The wealth of a courtyard is often reflected in its wide range and depth, but its nobility is reflected in the height of the porch and special main hall of the house. There are strict regulations on the number of steps in the foundation, the width of the gate, the number of copper nails on the door, the size and type of the beasts at the door, and the height of the roof of the main hall.

Without that status, raising it without permission is against the rules and the law.

As he walked along, Hou Junji discovered through details that this building seemed to be much more magnificent than the City Lord's Mansion in Huaiyuan City. This meant that the status of the Crown Prince among the Turks was not low, which was completely different from what Hou Junji had previously guessed that the Crown Prince's freedom was restricted. This made Hou Junji very confused, and there was a hint of doubt in his words.

Li Yan knew that if there was no reasonable explanation for this matter, even if Hou Junji cared about his status, he would not let it go. After all, it was indeed his fault that he abandoned his new wife for five or six years.

Any old Taishan will have resentment in his heart.

Fortunately, Li Yan had already thought of a plan for this. He sighed, reached out and took the handkerchief on the table, his face showing endless longing and sadness: "In the past few years, I have lost everything. The only thing left is this brocade handkerchief that Haitang left for me."

"How many times have I been on the verge of despair, on the verge of death."

"It was Haitang's handkerchief that gave me endless support and encouragement. Every time I saw it, it reminded me of Haitang who was waiting for me to return home in Chang'an, and my child whom I had never met. That gave me the courage to survive the brink of death time and time again and live until now?"

Li Yan was very shameless. Instead of explaining himself, he first talked about his longing for Haitang and exaggerated his situation, laying the foundation for further deception and bluffing.

Hou Junji was pleased that His Royal Highness was so concerned about his daughter, and nodded silently, but he still couldn't wait to ask: "Your Highness, what happened back then? Why didn't you return to Chang'an for so many years?"

Hou Junji was full of questions. From the fact that he could enter Liaodong City without any hindrance tonight, it could be seen that the Crown Prince seemed to have a very high status among the Turks. If that was the case, and he came to Liaodong, which was so close, why didn't he return to the Tang Dynasty?

"Don't worry, father-in-law. Let me tell you in detail."

Li Yan then raised his head and fell into deep thought. "Five years ago, I was held hostage in the Yi Nan army. Later, I was dragged by the army to chase Jie Li's defeated army and head to Mobei. During that time, Yi Nan was like a madman. He didn't care about anything and vowed to kill Jie Li."

"The remnants of the Xueyantuo, the Bibi tribe, and the Jie Li army fought each other until the sky was dark and the sun and moon were dim."

"After more than half a month of fighting, I was separated by the chaotic army and lost the people who were protecting me. As for the Turks, I couldn't tell who was who and which tribe they belonged to. I didn't dare to recognize them. The battlefield was full of killing and blood. I just wanted to return to the Central Plains."

“Just like that, I left the crowd and headed south alone.”

"At this time, we often encountered soldiers attacking each other on the Tongmo Avenue. When they saw me, a Central Plains person, they killed me without any explanation."

"I had no choice but to avoid the chaotic army, but I ended up in a desolate desert. After a few days, I was thirsty and short of food. The desert seemed endless and I could not reach the end. Finally, I fainted due to exhaustion."

"In a trance, I seemed to see Haitang appear in front of me and try to pull me up, but I couldn't open my eyes and finally lost consciousness."

At this point, Li Yan described it vividly, with fear on his face, as if thinking about it now, it was as scary as a nightmare.

Even Hou Junji looked frightened. He knew that Li Yan must have panicked and mistakenly entered the Mandal Gobi Desert. Hou Junji was now very familiar with this Gobi Desert. It was thousands of miles wide from north to south and thousands of miles from east to west.

It is deserted, the land is dry, and outside there are sandstorms and rocks, as well as various wild animals.

Li Yan was alone in such an environment, and there was no chance of survival. As for seeing his relatives, it was just an illusion before he died.

Hou Junji knew that when this situation occurred, people were not far from death.

So he asked anxiously: "Then how did His Highness survive?"

"When I woke up again, I had been rescued."

Li Yan explained: "Later I found out that the one who saved me was none other than the Jie Li father and son who escaped from the Tang Dynasty."

"what"

Hou Junji was immediately as if he had lost his parents. He looked at Li Yan with a bit of sympathy and sighed, "Your Highness has just escaped from the tiger's den and entered the wolf's den. But at that time, Shi Luodie had just rescued Jie Li from Zhang Baoxiang."

"It was through the Mandal Gobi that they fled to the eastern grasslands."

"Your Highness fell into their hands when he was on the verge of death. I really don't know whether this is a blessing or a disaster for Your Highness."

Li Yan felt a little relieved when he saw that Hou Junji's thoughts had been aroused by him. All the reasons could only be attributed to the objective environment and he was helpless. He could not say that it was his own active choice, otherwise Hou Junji would have turned against him on the spot.

"Later, Jie Li asked about my identity. I knew that if he knew that I was the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, the son of Li Shimin."

"Jie Li will certainly cut me into pieces to avenge my defeat."

"I have the facial features and clothing of a Central Plains person, and I have fair skin and tender flesh. It is obvious that I come from a noble family. It is hard to say that I am just an ordinary person. In a hurry, I said that I am the eldest son of Li Jiancheng, and I have an irreconcilable feud with Li Shimin. I came to the grassland just to find Jie Li to avenge me."

Hou Junji was speechless for a while, thinking that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was really bold to drag Li Jiancheng into this. However, since they were surrounded by enemies, from the perspective of the enemy of my enemy is my friend, it was not wrong to say that Li Jiancheng's son and Jie Li had the same mortal enemy.

(End of this chapter)