The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 78 Xingxiu River, Shen Cangming! (610)

The giant python broke through the water's surface and lunged at Zhou Yan. Its true form was enormous, stirring up a fierce wind. Bihen's true form was a green-eyed dragonfly. Pulled by this gust of wind, it suddenly lost its momentum, its toes barely touching the water's surface before it flew away into the distance, while the giant python rapidly approached.

Zhou Yan grabbed the tiger blood ointment, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it vigorously.

Magic Sword - Accumulating Power.

His gaze swept across the river, and his divine eyes spotted Shen Cangming's murderous aura.

Even though he trusted Shen Cangming to the extreme, Shen Cangming was injured after all, and this giant python had obviously exceeded the limits that an ordinary Xuan official could handle. Zhou Yan pushed his strength to the limit.

When Dahei ran ashore, the bundle fell into the water and sank.

The armor plates of the mountain-patterned armor emitted a faint glow.

………………

Chang'an City has gradually returned to its original peaceful state. With the restoration of the government's power, the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty seems to have reappeared in this city.

In the residence of Marshal Guangping.

Li Zhiwei was thinking about how to fulfill her promise to Zhou Yan.

Preparations have been completed, and the presence of the young mountain god has spread.

Prince Guangping was the commander who defeated the rebels, and his prestige was at its zenith. As the crown prince, everyone, from powerful families to civil and military officials, wanted to have a good relationship with him. Li Zhiwei was Prince Guangping's daughter, and she was a princess whose birth was praised by the Holy Emperor Sanlang as auspicious.

They were kind to the sons of the Prince of Guangping.

He simply hoped to leave a good impression on the Prince of Guangping through this.

If everyone does this, the Prince of Guangping won't remember your name, but if someone doesn't do it when everyone else is doing it, they will definitely be remembered.

Moreover, although the princess's painting is beautiful, it is merely a portrait of a mountain god.

Many powerful families and officials collected the engraved images, then reprinted them and distributed them to servants and men. As a result, the common people began to imitate them, and in a short time, just as Li Zhiwei had predicted, the images of the mountain god began to become popular.

What works first and what works next.

In such a short period of time, at least tens of thousands of households must have acquired this painting. Initially, it was to please the Crown Prince, but gradually it became fashionable. Li Zhiwei had Jiang Huaiyin adapt the story of Zhou Yan killing thieves and saving people into a Liyuan tune and spread it.

They even used their own money to promote the sale of New Year pictures in the market.

Li Zhiwei made very conscious use of her identity as the daughter of the Prince of Guangping.

He was making plans in his mind.

All that's missing is for the Pei family to fabricate even heavier charges against Li Zhenyue for 'colluding with Shen Cangming and Qingming Fangzhu,' and then we can take out Wuyin Peak and give the Pei family a hard time. That way, even Qingming Fangzhu will be implicated.

But who exactly is Shen Cangming?

The more Li Zhiwei deduced, the more surprised he became, because the Shuofang Army's pursuit of Shen Cangming indicated that this man was worthy of being led by several Xuanguan (mysterious officers). It should be noted that a Xuanguan was basically equivalent to the position of Guogan Duwei (a military officer in charge of bravery).

This could be considered the simplest problem for their ally, Zhou Yan.

While she was feeling troubled, she encountered a young boy in her own yard.

The child looked to be only five years old. He seemed to have gotten lost. Li Zhiwei recognized him as the youngest son of Guo Linggong, the deputy marshal of the army. He was also only five years old.

Li Zhiwei immediately realized that it was Guo Ziyi visiting her father. Analyzing that bringing his son was a normal occurrence, she made a quick judgment.

It can be used.

A hint of calculation flickered in the girl's eyes, and she gave a slight smile.

The little boy insisted on coming with his father today.

Guo Linggong had a son late in life, so he took him with him. However, the boy was only five or six years old. He mischievously ran off. The Guangping Prince's mansion was large, and he was so engrossed in looking at the flowers that he got lost. When he was anxious and scared, he heard a sound.

He looked up and saw a young girl standing there, holding a painting in one hand, smiling, with a graceful and beautiful demeanor. He asked her what was wrong.

That's it, the child couldn't hold back his emotions any longer and burst into tears, saying he was lost.

Li Zhiwei guessed that Guo Ziyi was here, and then an idea came to her. She wanted to clear her mother's name and find out about the situation with her ally Zhou Yan. She needed some support, even if it was just a little bit.

Moreover, a famous general like Guo Ziyi must have known Shen Cangming.

Li Zhiwei wore a warm smile. Like a kind-hearted older sister who knew nothing, she comforted the young child, gave him some snacks, and after thinking for a moment, told him a short story about the mountain god Zhou Yan.

Of course, the name is hidden.

For some reason, Li Zhiwei found it interesting to have the youngest son of Guo Linggong, who was pursuing Zhou Yan, admire the chivalrous Zhou Yan. Analyzing that there was no danger, she did just that.

In a gentle voice, the child quickly stopped being afraid.

Slowly, she started to smile.

Eating snacks and pastries, sitting on a rock by the lotus pond, swinging her little feet, she secretly watched her older sister over there. The girl was sitting on a rock away from him, a smile on her lips.

The little boy felt a strong attraction and longing for this unfamiliar older sister.

Li Zhiwei thought that if Zhou Yan were here, he would definitely say that she was pretentious.

I don't know what it means, but it's not a nice thing to say.

About an hour later, accompanied by his maids, Guo Linggong arrived in a hurry. As he walked over, Li Zhiwei saw that the man looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a transparent thunder unicorn slowly walking behind him.

He bowed to Li Zhiwei, then pulled his youngest son over to give him a scolding.

Li Zhiwei said, "Marshal, there's no need for that. The child is just lost."

The child, who was being scolded and started crying, felt that his older sister was his savior.

Guo Linggong said, "The princess is kind and benevolent."

Li Zhiwei asked, "Master Guo, you've come to visit my father, right? Is there anything you need?"

Guo Ziyi shook his head and said, "After Chang'an was pacified, I was only discussing the pursuit of the rebels with His Highness the Marshal."

Li Zhiwei rested the scroll in her hand on her chin, her eyes widening slightly. With a natural, innocent, and childlike demeanor, she asked curiously, "Rebels? I've seen them at Father's place."

"Who are those people? Why do we need a hundred men to chase them?"

This wasn't something that couldn't be discussed, so Guo Ziyi mentioned several of the generals whose names were known. Li Zhiwei said, "They're all notorious villains, but I remember there are a few of them who are of very low rank." "I remember one of them, I think his name was..."

"Shen Cangming?"

When Li Zhiwei uttered the name, he noticed a change in Guo Linggong's expression. What could it be? Was it a daze, regret, sorrow, or something else entirely?

“The princess has a very good memory.”

Shen Cangming of Xingxiuchuan

Seeing that the princess seemed interested in listening, Guo Ziyi looked at his son, patted his head, and, thinking of the princess's care just now, said, "He must be forty-two years old this year."

Li Zhiwei asked curiously, "Has he fought any battles?"

Guo Linggong succinctly stated: "In the twenty-sixth year of the Kaiyuan era, he participated in the battle to recapture Yanquan City, which was under the control of the Tubo Kingdom, and made significant contributions."

"In the first year of the Tianbao era, he participated in the Battle of Qinghai Lake under the command of Wang Zhongsi."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "I was just born that year."

Guo Linggong said, "That's how it is. Later, Wang Zhongsi, the military governor who had been kind to him, was transferred away. The treacherous minister falsely accused Wang Zhongsi of having rebellious intentions."

"Then, in the eighth year of the Tianbao era, we launched a strong attack on Shibao City."

"The border troops of the Great Tang Dynasty, including the Anren Army."

"Sixty thousand died."

"The Anren Army, with a full strength of 10,000, has been largely reorganized."

Li Zhiwei's smile froze. Even she could instantly realize that a cliff-like presence had appeared in front of the young cavalry general.

But fate seems determined to seize any opportunity to kick someone when they're down.

Guo Ziyi said, "In the same year, Wang Zhongsi passed away."

"Stone Fortress has been lost again."

"Shen Cangming sought justice and was exiled to guard the beacon tower."

"Afterwards, he must have harbored resentment and dared to rebel against our Great Tang."

Li Zhiwei asked, "When Shen Cangming came, did he also indiscriminately kill innocent people?"

Guo Ziyi said, "The number of rebels is very, very large, Princess."

He couldn't be too explicit, but he didn't believe that man would raise a knife against the people. Guo Ziyi patted his son and said, "Guo Nuan, bid farewell to the princess."

Guo Nuan politely bowed and took her leave. She watched as the woman, with a smile on her face, walked away like a fairy, and kept looking back at her.

He had only met Li Zhiwei once.

However, he later realized that this meeting would bring him bad luck for the rest of his life, because the wrong impression made him have a layer of longing and a filter on the Li family's daughter.

When a marriage alliance with the Li family was needed, he bravely stepped forward amidst the gazes of his relatives who saw him as a hero.

He married another princess from the Li family, Princess Shengping.

The story of "Drunkenly Beating the Golden Branch" has been passed down to this day.

At this time, he was just an ignorant and confused child. Guo Ziyi walked out of the Marshal's Mansion, thinking about Wang Zhongsi's sudden death. The Anren Army only had 10,000 men, and when they captured Shibao City in one fell swoop for the sake of the emperor, they were almost all wiped out.

For a sage, it's just a matter of changing troops.

The young Shen Cangming stood there, gripping his knife, and turned around.

Whether it was the initial general, Wang Zhongsi, or Anren Army.

Those who taught him martial arts, those who fought with him.

Singing and drinking on the battlefield, looking at the stars and talking about the people from his hometown, those who made him sew clothes, those who took him to practice swordsmanship and scared him to death, and then after the victory, they would rub his head hard and say, "Kid, you did a good job."

They're all gone now.

Shen Cangming...

Guo Linggong's face was filled with complex emotions: pity, regret, and disappointment. This was not only directed at Shen Cangming, but also at the unmentionable sage. Whether it was Wang Zhongsi or the forced attack on that stone fortress, it was all just a matter of the sage's whim.

What can be done about it?

Li Zhiwei stood at the door seeing them off, then, suddenly curious, asked:

Why was he selected for the Qinghai Lake match?

Guo Linggong knew that this little girl was different. He remained silent for a long time, then read a familiar battle report and said: "In the twenty-sixth year of Kaiyuan, 400,000 Tibetan troops invaded and reached Anren Army. Hunya Peak Cavalry General Sheng Xiye led 5,000 men to defeat them."

"Shen Cangming was also among those five thousand people."

"He is the deputy commander in charge of the attack."

Five thousand, breaking four hundred thousand?!

Li Zhiwei was stunned. Suddenly, everything about Shen Cangming—his murderous aura, his past—seemed clear. Guo Ziyi stood there, filled with regret, loneliness, and the most intense heartache of a general.

It seems to be looking back at the past, at that stubborn and fearless boy on the battlefield.

He uttered the final sentence that left Li Zhiwei stunned.

"He was sixteen years old that year."

[In June, 400,000 Tibetan troops attacked Chengfeng Fort, reaching Heyuan Army, then westward to Changning Bridge, and finally to Anren Army. Hunya Peak cavalry general Sheng Xiye, with 5,000 men, attacked and defeated them.] — *Old Book of Tang*

Meanwhile, far away, in the turbulent Jing River.

Just when the giant python was about to truly threaten Zhou Yansheng's life.

Shen Cangming of Xingxiuchuan.

Opened his eyes.

(End of this chapter)