Start from the thief

The geographical location of Daming Palace is very peculiar. Unlike Taiji Palace which is located in Chang'an City, Daming Palace is an isolated piece sticking out in the northeast corner of Chang'an.

The Tubo fled and the Liao ruler retreated fifty miles. Logically, the siege of Chang'an was lifted.

But the siege of Daming Palace was not lifted.

There were only two people surrounding, or blocking, the Daming Palace.

General Wang and Prime Minister Di.

The two men knelt at the gate of the Daming Palace, and Prime Minister Di sent in a memorial, which was now in Li Huan's hands.

As the only cultivator in the Daming Palace, and a great cultivator of the Ninth Heaven who is only one step away from the inner scene, Li Qi's hands were shaking with anger over a small memorial.

Or maybe he was scared.

The content of the memorial was very simple. Taizong's mausoleum had not been taken care of by Li's descendants for many years. It was feared that it would fall into disrepair and outsiders would not be trusted. The emperor wanted to ask Your Majesty to move there and serve his ancestors there in the future.

"He is forcing me to abdicate!"

Li Huan's voice trembled: "I am right here, do they dare to come in? I am not going anywhere!"

He had said this once before during the grand court meeting, but at that time he was targeting the coalition forces of the Liao people and Tubo, but now his target has changed.

As Li Huan became more and more angry, a terrifying spiritual power gushed out without restraint, instantly blasting the two palace guards on duty in the hall into two pools of debris.

"Clean it up!"

Looking at the palace servants who were trembling with fear as they went up to the palace to clean, the anger in Li Huan's eyes did not diminish at all, and he even hoped that these people were Prime Minister Di and General Wang.

Li Huan closed his eyes angrily, and when he opened them again, his pupils had changed.

"You know this is futile. Who would have thought it was Li Tong? Even today you didn't know she had ascended the throne, but she had long ago colluded with countless old officials in Chang'an."

"Then I will kill her!"

"Humph."

The Qionglong snorted coldly and said nothing more.

"If I die, you will die too."

"Then go to the Imperial Mausoleum. No one will embarrass you there. This is the escape route he has thought of for you."

The "he" that Qiulong was referring to was naturally Di Xiang.

Li Huan knew that he had failed. Since he ascended the throne, almost every step he took had been a failure. Was he really not suitable to be an emperor?

"I don't accept it."

"As long as you are alive, you have a chance to refuse to obey. There is also the Human Emperor Sword."

"Do you have a way for me to get the Human Emperor Sword?"

"I do not know."

The hall fell silent again.

A full half day later, the gate of the Daming Palace opened, and a eunuch came out trotting and handed a scroll of imperial edict to Prime Minister Di.

"Three days?"

General Wang looked at the imperial edict, which stated that he should go back three days later. General Wang was a little confused: "Prime Minister Di, is this a trick?"

Prime Minister Di shook his head: "I just don't give up. The country cannot be without a king for a day. We still have to stabilize the situation in three days and wait for our emperor to return."

"Li Tong, um, when will His Majesty come?"

"Who knows? After all, the Eastern Capital is still under siege, and Tongguan and Wuguan are still in the hands of the Liao people. But I believe her."

Di Xiang achieved his goal, and his departing figure looked much more relaxed, with even a hint of smile in his words.

I wonder if this famous Tang Dynasty paperhanger would have the chance to become a bricklayer of the New Tang Dynasty after serving three emperors.

Li Qi looked at the empty official road outside Jianmen Pass and felt a little at a loss.

But he couldn't show any lack of confidence in his heart.

The Tibetans who were originally blocking the city went to attack Songzhou according to the alliance. In order to show their sincerity, all 15,000 Tibetan troops left, and Jianmen Pass only needed to send out 10,000 troops. In other words, Jianmen Pass had the ability to poke the back of the 15,000 troops at any time, and the only reward required was that after Songzhou City was captured, it would belong to Tibetans.

Li Qi chose to send General Sun, who had just recovered from his injuries, to lead troops to deal with his old rival, the Red Lotus Sect, while Li Qi himself stayed at Jianmen Pass just in case.

The war had already started. According to reports from spies, the fighting was very brutal, with heavy casualties on both sides. At one point the coalition forces suffered a reduction of more than 30%, but the Red Lotus Cult in Songzhou suffered even greater losses.

It stands to reason that defending a city is always easier, but the Red Lotus monks are no match for the coalition forces. They can only try their best to hold back the great monks, and then use their flesh and blood to fight against the lower-level monks.

But Songzhou was not captured.

The commander on the city wall was a veteran of the Red Lotus Sect, and then two young monks led the vast majority of the monks to form an elite team. In the difficult situation, they always managed to use the majority to defeat the minority locally and have held on until now.

But it's not over yet.

Just last night, a letter sent by flying sword came from Chang'an and landed directly in the hands of General Xue. Then General Xue, with his two children, went straight to find Li Qi and presented him with a long sword and several official hats.

"Angel, either kill me or allow me to resign and return to Chang'an to bury my parents."

Li Qi looked at the contents of the flying sword handed over by General Xue, as well as the three pairs of blood-red eyes.

The Li family, or the Li family of the Chang'an royal family, has become a mortal enemy of the Xue family, the pillar of the army. If these three people leave alive, they will inevitably use all the border military connections accumulated by the Xue family over the generations and raise the banner of anti-Tang. They cannot leave!

But do we really want to kill them?

What are they doing wrong?

General Xue, who had devoted his entire life to the Tang Dynasty, was forced to death. The reason was not even a struggle for power, but the emperor's ridiculous self-esteem, or a simple venting of his impotent rage.

Does the king want his subject to die?

Chang'an Academy teaches us to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but what if the emperor is wrong?

Li Qi was in a dilemma.

"Master Li, is it so difficult to take action?"

General Xue raised his head and looked at Li Qi with disdain: "Since Lord Li doesn't want to take action, then we will leave first. If Lord Li regrets it, with your ability, it will be easy to kill him."

The father and his two sons were all dressed in white. They turned around and left, leaving Li Qi with three determined backs.

"How long do we have to hold out?"

Zhu Huo slowly sat down against the parapet with difficulty, put his cane beside him, and threw two wine bags to Gao Xu and Fu Yun, who were covered in scars, with a tired look on his face.

"Even you are afraid, and the people below are even more afraid. If you kill them another 1,000 or 2,000, they will collapse."

Gao Xu counted on his fingers and said, "By tomorrow at the latest, all their soldiers will have completed two rounds of attacks. They won't be able to hold out for another round."

Fu Yun drank the wine silently. In just a few days, he fell in love with strong liquor. As a cultivator, the wine had little effect on him. It only made him feel slightly tipsy, but it could eliminate fatigue and relieve worries.

I wonder if I will have the chance to see Miaoyinhai again. Where is she now?

"somebody is coming!"

A cultivator came from afar, running very fast. He was obviously an expert in footwork. Although his cultivation was not high, he was not discovered until he was close to the wall of Songzhou. He must have used some treasure to deceive the army under the city.

"Who are Gao Xu and Zhu Huo?"

The man landed on the top of the city wall, holding a token in his hand and facing the monks who surrounded him in an instant.

"The leader's token?"

Gao Xu hurried forward and asked, "Who are you, brother?"

"Master Nanyang Lan, I am here to deliver an urgent letter from your master."

Gao Xu made way for Zhu Huo, who stepped forward to take the envelope. His face was filled with shock at first, then turned into ecstasy.

"How exactly?"

"Send an envoy, make way, the war is over."