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Chapter 541: People's Heart, Generals, Emperors, and Torrents (asking for monthly tickets)
Xue Peijun's breathing became a little rapid as she watched the scene happening in front of her. The emperor's favorite minister, Guanglu Doctor Guo Yanjun, died just like that. His neck was torn open and blood was spilled on the ground. It was a shocking sight.

She looked at the general in front of her.

"This, this is..."

Yuwen Lie spoke briefly and in a cold voice:
"You are Xue Daoyong's daughter, Jiang Yuan doesn't believe you."

"Qin Yulong is also implicated."

Xue Peijun had mixed emotions. She had a free and easy personality, so she was able to make friends with Qin Yulong while traveling around the world. They fell in love with each other and got married without telling Xue Daoyong.

She had some worries in her heart before.

He was worried whether his background would have any impact on Qin Yulong.

But these worries, before this, were not as direct as they are now, which made Xue Peijun look a little dazed. Yuwen Lie glanced at the Qin family's mansion and said, "Pack up your things."

Xue Peijun didn't react for a moment.

She bit her lip, knowing that her husband and Yuwen Lie were not on the same side. She knew about the conflicts between Yuwen Lie and the Xue family and Li Guanyi, and she was also secretly on guard. She just evaded the question by saying, "He is just a treacherous minister. Why are you so worried?"

Yuwen Lie said: "There are no treacherous ministers."

Xue Peijun was stunned.

The handsome general said coldly, "What the superior does, the subordinates follow. The so-called treacherous ministers are just speculating on the superior's intentions. If Jiang Yuan had not changed his mind, Guo Yanjun would not have come here."

"The treacherous one is Jiang Yuan."

"All those who died today were killed by his hands."

Xue Peijun was shaken in his heart, and had a hidden determination. At this time, when faced with great changes and dangers, it was difficult to make any judgments. However, she was Xue Daoyong's daughter after all. After a few breaths, he said, "... Then, I'll trouble you, General."

Yuwen Lie nodded: "You pick out your family members and pack your luggage."

"I'll come as soon as I go."

The great general Yuwen Lie, dressed in a white robe like a scholar and holding a heavy spear, walked out of the Qin Mansion. The people brought by Guo Yanjun were outside and they were all stunned. Yuwen Lie saw that there were halberds on both sides of the gate outside Qin Yulong Mansion, which were given by Jiang Wanxiang in the past as a token of military honor.

He moved the heavy gun in his hand, causing the halberds on both sides of the gate to whistle. He flew up and punched the end of the halberd.

The war spear roared like a dragon and pierced through.

Just spin out from the road ahead.

With murderous intent, he killed all the people brought by Guo Yanjun, and blood spilled on the ground. Yuwen Lie jumped on his horse, holding a heavy spear and rushed all the way to Guo's house. With a cold expression, he rode his horse directly into Guo Yanjun's mansion.

The spear was wielded across the sky, and Guo Yanjun's entire family was killed.

Then he came out, with a burning anger in his chest that he hadn't yet vented.

With a cold and indifferent look on his face, he pulled the reins and galloped out of the imperial city towards the gate of the imperial palace. The noise was so loud that everyone in the palace could sense it.

The Imperial Guards blocked the imperial road and actually saw Yuwen Lie coming with a gun.

The general of the Imperial Guard was shocked and terrified, but he suppressed his expression and shouted, "General Yuwen, why did you come here with a weapon?"

Yuwen Lie did not answer.

The fear in the heart of the Royal Guards general grew stronger and stronger.

He could only hold his weapon tightly and shouted, "Form a formation!"

The Imperial Guards formed a formation, trying to stop Yuwen Lie. Yuwen Lie held a heavy spear in his right hand, and the spear roared in the wind. He then raised it up and gathered momentum, and smashed it forward.

There was a loud crisp sound.

A horse spear was swung out horizontally, blocking Yuwen Lie's spear. Yuwen Lie looked sideways and saw He Ruoqinhu in robes, holding a weapon to block the move. He Ruoqinhu's eyes were red with anger, as if he was disappointed with someone who was not as good as him. He said angrily:

"Yuwen Lie, what are you doing?"

He held the weapon in both hands, suppressed the heavy spear and retreated towards Yuwen Lie, lowered his voice, and quickly scolded: "Riding a horse and holding a weapon to break the forbidden area, Yuwen Lie, do you want to rebel!"

Yuwen Lie said: "I just come to seek justice."

He Ruo captured the tiger and said, "How fair!"

Yuwen Lie said coldly: "Your Majesty, no matter how lustful you are, the ancient kings had three palaces and six courtyards, and he has sixteen courtyards of beauties, but it is not enough for him, so he actually set his eyes on Qin Yulong's wife."

He Ruoqinhu felt a surge of anger in his heart.

He could hardly hold his weapon, and wanted to turn around and rush in with Yuwen Lie, but his identity and his connections determined that he could not act rashly. He said, "This matter may be suspicious, how can we use knives and guns like this?!"

"Yuwen Lie, put away your weapons. I will go with you to see His Majesty."

Yuwen Lie did not take back his weapon.

He Ruoqinhu saw that the situation was gradually getting out of control and said:

"Lord Jingwu, General Shenwei, you don't know how to endure the situation?!"

Yuwen Lie said coldly: "General Shenwei can bear it."

"Yuwen Lie couldn't stand it."

The white tiger roared fiercely, and actually summoned up its courage to shake off He Ruo's weapon. Yuwen Lie was over 40 years old, and his basic realm might be similar to that of He Ruo, but his surging blood and the white tiger's strong physique were superior to the aging He Ruo.

But someone else shouted, "General Yuwen doesn't know about the Yuwen family?!"

"General Yuwen, are you going to destroy the late emperor's empire?"

Yuwen Lie paused.

It was Wei Yiwen who came. Although this prime minister had conflicts with Emperor Jiang Yuan many times, at this time, he stood on the side of imperial power without hesitation. Yuwen Lie looked coldly at the other famous generals and ministers who came here.

They all blocked in front of me.

Yuwen Lie's powerful energy caused a crack in the gate of the imperial palace, but these famous ministers and generals stood in his way. Yuwen Lie suddenly realized that his spear could not penetrate his opponent this time.

His opponent this time is not just Emperor Jiang Yuan, who began to indulge himself after he ascended the throne after three years of disguise.

But it is the destiny of the Daying State, the civil and military officials, and their loyalty.

This has been the way of relationship between rulers and ministers for thousands of years.

The so-called emperor is just the person who presents these countless intertwined interests to the outside world.

Wei Yiwen's palm knocked Yuwen Lie's spear, lowered his voice, and said: "...The Grand Master is still fighting outside. If the Grand Master comes back, Qin Emperor Li Guan will march straight in. What can we do?"

"Have you forgotten the late emperor's kindness to you?"

Yuwen Lie's heavy spear slowly dropped down.

He realized that he was facing an opponent that could not be defeated by his personal bravery. The cold general glanced at the worried Wei Yiwen and the mature He Ruoqinhu in front of him, and said coldly: "You gentlemen came quickly."

"Why was it so late when Qin Yulong's wife got into trouble?"

Everyone was speechless.

Yuwen Lie placed the heavy spear on the hook on the side of his mount, suddenly grabbed the bow on the side, raised his hand to pick up the arrow, and squeezed the horse's back. The horse neighed and stood up. Yuwen Lie stood on the horse's back, pulled the bow, and the arrow was locked in front of him, in a panic.

The arrows shot through the crowd like flowing light.

Under the influence of the country's fortune, the power of the arrows was reduced, but they still pierced through the pavilions and gardens in front. Jiang Yuan heard Yuwen Lie making a fuss outside and felt annoyed. He just joked with the beauty, with eunuchs serving him.

"Yuwen Lie, well, what I'm saying is that General Yuwen Lie, a great general from a big family, just doesn't obey discipline. Everyone knows that this mighty general only respects His Highness the Prince of Zhao, and doesn't even care about Your Majesty."

Jiang Yuan was annoyed and just said, "Yuwen Lie is a pillar of the country, how dare you make up stories about him."

But suddenly, his eyes blurred and the eunuch screamed. He was nailed to the wall by an arrow. Blood was flowing. After a moment of daze, he continued to scream. Jiang Yuan sat there in a daze. He raised his hand tremblingly and stroked his cheek.

Some burning and stinging sensation.

When I pulled my hand back, I saw the glaring blood.

Jiang Yuan suddenly jumped up, his face pale, and he stepped back, stunned for a long time, unable to utter a word. He just felt a tightness in his chest and weak under his feet. He had to press hard on the table beside him to barely keep his balance.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, help me, Your Majesty!"

A scream was heard.

Jiang Yuan raised his head and saw the young eunuch nailed to the wall, twisting, struggling, and howling, but the energy on the arrow was fierce and murderous, with waves of sharp air. He watched the eunuch struggling on the wall, slowly becoming motionless, and then dying.

Limbs hanging down.

Jiang Yuan had also been on the battlefield and killed people, but as the emperor, this arrow almost grazed his face, which still brought him a huge shock and psychological trauma. His palms clenched, his teeth clenched, and there was a mixture of violence and fear in his eyes.

"Yuwen Lie!"

Outside the main gate of the palace, all the ministers and officials were terrified. He Ruo captured the tiger and said angrily: "Yuwen Lie!"

Yuwen Lie simply put down his bow and arrow, threw it on the ground, and said coldly:

"I didn't kill him."

"If you want to act, act in front of the emperor."

Yuwen Lie left coldly, his horse's hooves hitting the road, making crisp and rhythmic hoof sounds, and he rode away straight away, leaving behind everyone behind, all of whom had extremely ugly faces.

Yuwen Lie wiped out the entire Guo family, broke through the forbidden area with a spear, and then rode back on horseback. When he returned to the Qin Mansion, Xue Peijun had just packed up her things and came out with the child and some other things.

Yuwen Lie asked Xue Peijun and the child to sit on the horse's back, and he personally held the gun and led the horse.

He went directly to the Prince of Zhao's residence and said, "Qin Yulong and I are just colleagues. If you come to the Yuwen family, there will inevitably be gossip. With the Prince of Zhao taking care of you, no one dares to say anything."

King Jiang Gao of Zhao agreed without hesitation.

A courtyard was cleaned up for Xue Peijun and her son to live in.

He told them that he would protect them with both life and death, and told them not to worry about anything else and just live a good life. After settling Xue Peijun and the other two, Jiang Gao pursed his lips, walked out, and saw Yuwen Lie sitting quietly in front of a lake with a calm expression.

Jiang Gao tidied his appearance, stepped forward and said:
"Yulong was fighting for the country outside, but the emperor did something like this. It was really a big mistake. I heard that it was instigated by Guanglu Doctor Guo Yanjun, who has been executed by General Yuwen."

Yuwen Lie looked at the lake and said, "Traitor? Instigator?" "Then why didn't he become a traitor during the time of the previous emperor?"

Jiang Gao didn't know how to answer, so he just sighed.

Yuwen Lie said: "Ministers are just reflections in the emperor's mind. During the time of the previous emperor, Guo Yanjun was a diligent and capable minister. He was given the title of Guanglu Dafu and was highly valued and favored. He was a brilliant writer and was particularly adept at handling official affairs."

"The previous emperor passed away, and Jiang Yuan ascended the throne."

"How did he become such a treacherous minister now?"

"There is no such thing as a treacherous minister or a loyal minister. People like him are just ordinary people who go with the flow. If the emperor is capable, he is a loyal and capable official. If the emperor is like Jiang Yuan, he is a treacherous minister who only knows how to curry favor with the emperor."

Jiang Gao sighed and said, "General Yuwen's words cannot be said carelessly."

Yuwen Lie said: "Before Jiang Yuan ascended the throne, he could still endure pretending. But after ascending the throne for only two years, he has completely stopped pretending and has gradually become more unbridled in his actions."

"Now, how can we be the opponent of King Qin?"

Jiang Gao looked around and talked about other things, not responding to Yuwen Lie's words.

Yuwen Lie pointed it out directly.

He said succinctly: "If you have this intention, I can help you."

Jiang Gao said: "How can you do such a treasonous thing?"

Yuwen Lie looked at Jiang Gao and asked, "Your Highness, do you care more about the world or your own reputation?"

Jiang Gao remained silent, sighed, and said, "General Yuwen knows military books, so he probably didn't read much history. In history, emperors who only built palaces but did not interfere in national military affairs were often considered mediocre or even good emperors."

"What I fear most is that even though they are in the palace, they are stubborn and self-willed."

"He is the kind of person who must personally take charge of the battlefield and tell soldiers thousands of miles away how to fight. What Yuan'er did is actually nothing compared to the many emperors in history. Besides..."

"If I ascend the throne, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the Great Ying Kingdom."

Yuwen Lie asked, "If you ascend the throne, will you recall Jiang Su?"

Jiang Gao shook his head and replied, "If I ascend the throne, I will naturally not call back Grand Tutor Jiang Su. I still won't do such a thing."

"But my thinking and philosophy are not based on war. I will definitely try to negotiate peace with Li Guanyi to avoid the suffering of continuous wars and the loss of lives. However, Grand Tutor Jiang Su is definitely an absolute advocate of war."

A trace of self-mockery appeared on Jiang Gao's face: "Do you know?"

"Yuwen, the real problem is not that there is an emperor in the court who spends money recklessly and indulges in pleasure; it is that there is a new emperor in the court who is rubbing his hands and intends to really do something."

"By then, there will be two voices in the court and the army."

"One advocates war, the other advocates peace. What should the officials and soldiers do? In such a critical situation, there can only be one voice in the country. Enjoyment like Yuan'er's is actually the least destructive to the country."

Yuwen Lie looked at Jiang Gao's determination. It was not that this former crown prince did not understand the current situation, but he understood more clearly the character he had developed and the intense and irreconcilable conflict between him and Jiang Su.

Now, Jiang Yuan was building a palace and indulging in sensual pleasures.

For a country at the level of the overlord in the Central Plains, it is not a matter of upsetting the country, but if it has to fight sometimes and make peace sometimes, it will be troublesome. Jiang Su and Li Guanyi are fighting on the front line.

Li Guanyi discovered that the old guy had started rotating his troops.

Jiang Su mobilized troops from the rear to replace the troops that had previously fought against the Qilin Army, with a rotation every three months, so that all the elite troops of Ying State would have experience fighting against the Qin Emperor and the Qilin Army.

Po Jun said: "It's training..."

"Jiang Su is trying to get the Ying army to adapt to the suppression of our military soul battle formation."

"We even want to make Ying's elite troops get used to fighting us..."

The purple-eyed strategist seemed to be thinking about something. From the actions taken at this moment, one could roughly guess the overall strategy that Jiang Su was going to adopt. Li Guanyi looked at the geomancy map and said, "I'm afraid the final decisive battle won't be too far away..."

"Jiang Su is already preparing for the future decisive battle."

Pojun nodded. This young pair of king and minister actually knew very well that it was impossible for the aged god of war Jiang Su to compete with the 24-year-old Emperor Qin for the future. He could only bet everything on the present.

"We also started training."

"Also, I heard that Jiang Yuan caused too many troubles in the capital of Ying State."

Po Jun said: "Yes, Jiang Yuan indulged in sensual pleasures and wasted a lot of gold and silver every day, but the family fortune left by Jiang Wanxiang, let alone Jiang Yuan's food and drink, his indulgence in sensual pleasures for a year is not as much as the loss in a war."

"I just heard that he seemed to have a different opinion about General Qin Yulong's wife, and caused quite a stir."

Li Guanyi paused, he was shocked:
"When the world is in turmoil, you attack the general's wife and children?!"

Po Jun said: "Are there not many such things in history? Is what Chen Dingye did back then unique?" Li Guanyi was silent for a long time, and said: "If you can't bear it for General Qin Yulong, you should give Zhenbei City a letter."

"Tell Marshal Yue not to force the battle line, and give General Qin Yulong some time to deal with this matter."

Pojun looked at Li Guanyi and said, "My lord, he is, after all, the enemy's general."

Li Guanyi said: "What I have conquered is the whole country of Ying State. How can I use this to coerce them and let their loyal ministers and generals suffer humiliation?"

Po Jun saluted, so Li Guanyi wrote a letter to Yue Pengwu to inform him of this matter. Yue Pengwu was also a man of upright character, so he did not take the opportunity to suppress him. Yuwen Lie also wrote a letter to tell Qin Yulong about this matter.

Although He Ruoqinhu and Wei Yiwen both hoped that Yuwen Lie would suppress the matter, Yuwen Lie was cold and arrogant. He claimed to be sick and refused to see them, so the two of them were turned away. After staying for a few hours, they had no choice but to leave.

But he heard the sound of Yuwen Lie playing the piano and humming a song to break the formation.

He Ruo was helpless in capturing the tiger, and Wei Yiwen listened to him singing the song of breaking the formation and said, "What a good tune."

He Ruoqinhu said: "He is full of energy, a general of the ninth heaven. Even if he doesn't command troops, he is still the world's top martial arts master. What disease can defeat him? He just doesn't want to see you and me."

Not only did he refuse to meet them, he also deliberately told the two generals that he did not want to see the famous prime minister.

This person's arrogance is evident from this.

If it was someone he liked, Yuwen Lie would drink with him even if he was a beggar; but if it was someone he disliked, he would treat him as trash even if he was a famous general with whom he had shared life and death on the battlefield, or a prime minister who was second only to the emperor.

Wei Yiwen just said: "General Yuwen Lie is still too arrogant."

"This is not a good thing."

He Ruoqinhu said coldly: "It was thanks to you and I that we helped him settle the previous matter! Humph, this boy doesn't know etiquette!" Yuwen Lie had almost killed all of Guo Yanjun's family before, which had a very bad impact.

He Ruo captured the tiger, Wei Yiwen and other veteran generals and civil officials tried their best to protect Yuwen Lie's innocence. Jiang Yuan agreed and acted as if it was Guo Yanjun's own actions and had nothing to do with him. Instead of blaming Yuwen Lie, he rewarded him even more.

But everyone knows that this is just increasing favor, but the true situation is shallow.

Yuwen Lie wrote a letter to tell Qin Yulong about this.

Qin Yulong was born into a family of chivalrous men. He was furious, but he could not abandon the border because of the affairs of his country. When he was fighting with Yue Pengwu, Yue Pengwu showed him Li Guanyi's letter, and Qin Yulong finally put aside his last worry.

If it is He Ruo who captures the tiger, or even Grand Tutor Jiang Su.

Qin Yulong would never believe that you can go and deal with your family affairs and we will not attack you at this time.

But he recognized the promise made by Li Guanyi and Yue Pengwu.

He galloped for several days in the night and rushed back to the capital. Qin Yulong was relieved to see that his wife and children were safe. Xue Peijun had been calm and brave before and behaved very firmly, but when she saw Qin Yulong, she couldn't help feeling heartbroken and sad, and she couldn't stop crying, telling him all the sad things that had happened in the past few days.

Qin Yulong just felt angry and his disappointment with Ying Guo grew.

He just wanted to pick up a gun and break the ban. He remained silent for a long time, grabbed Xue Peijun's hand, seemed to have made up his mind, and said: "Peijun, let's go."

Xue Peijun had just coaxed the child to sleep at that time, and was stunned when she heard this, and said:

"Leave? Where to?!"

"Are you going to Jiangnan?"

Qin Yulong shook his head in silence, feeling disheartened, and said:
"The late emperor was very kind to me, I cannot betray him and join the Emperor of Qin. However, Jiang Yuan is a bastard, and I absolutely cannot fight for him for treating me like this! As things stand now, you and I have no choice but to give up the disputes and major events in this world."

"Just find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters and ride your horse around the world."

"Or..."

Qin Yulong fell silent. He held Jiang Wanxiang's sword and said:

"Your Highness Prince Zhao, restore order and ascend the throne!"

At this time, it was already May of the third year of Daye. Jiang Yuan, who was used to living in the palace, finally couldn't stand the boredom. Even though he was a skilled craftsman and was good at carving the wonders of the world, he was truly unique.

But no matter how beautiful the scenery is, if you see it too much, you will feel bored.

Therefore, the imperial edict said: "Listen to the poems of the emperor and consult with the common people, so that we can judge the success or failure of the criminal law and politics; now I will tour the four directions to observe the customs of each place."

His Majesty the Great Emperor Yingguo wants to travel around the world, doing what the ancient emperors did when they toured the country. However, there are two disadvantages. One is that traveling by land is too tiring, as the journey is exhausting. The first emperor who toured the country died on the way due to exhaustion from traveling by horse and carriage.

Then the only option is to take the water route.

Secondly, the waterway was controlled by Qin Emperor Li Guanyi.

Jiang Yuan, however, looked arrogant and domineering, saying: "The mountains and rivers of the world are all governed by the emperor. How can human power not overcome the laws of nature?"

"The waterway is not under our control?"

"Then open a new one!"

"Break the four rivers, divert them into the sea, and guide all the waterways under the thief emperor into our Great Ying Kingdom!"

Before Guanglu Dafu died, Jiang Yuan and him were as close as brothers and met every day. But after Guanglu Dafu died, Jiang Yuan was sad for a few days, and then a new minister came.

Then he returned to his old disposition and his old enjoyment.

It’s as if there has never been a person named Guo Yanjun.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Yu Shiji, and others reported to the emperor that he was powerful, and Jiang Yuan issued an order:

Reopen the waterway.

Build a new Grand Canal!
(End of this chapter)