Zhuge Liang's Journey to Dominate the World: Starting from Another World

The carriage sped through the bustling streets when Li Chengqian suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "Mr. Ji, I heard in prison that An Tingjing, one of my father's old subordinates, had seized control of three northern prefectures and proclaimed himself Prince An. Is this true?"

Ji Yizhi nodded: "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. With the late king gone, facing the Empress's purge, former subordinates were either dead or scattered. To save his own life, the northern border general An Tingjing opened the border gates wide, allowing the Ming army to invade. The Empress paid a huge sum of gold and silver and sent several princesses to appease the Ming army, but this action aroused the greed of the Song Dynasty to the south. However, the Tang Dynasty has no capable generals, leading to the current very bad situation!"

bang...

Li Guangling slammed his fist heavily onto the carriage, his face extremely grim.

Ji Yizhi sighed, then continued, "But it was precisely because of this that the young prince had the opportunity to escape. Although some of the former king's subordinates were dead or scattered, there were still a few who held important positions. If they were all like An Tingjing, then the Tang Dynasty would truly be in danger! The emperor's uncle, Changsun Wuji, explained the pros and cons to the court, which forced the empress to release the young prince and appease the hearts of these guards."

“A humiliation! A humiliation… If my father were still alive, how dare they invade our Great Tang? How dare An Tingjing collude with the enemy and betray the country?” Li Guangling said with a ferocious expression.

"Alas! Some things are self-inflicted. If An Tingjing hadn't rebelled, he would have died. But after rebelling, he's living a good life. Let's see where this wicked empress will lead our Tang Dynasty." Seeing that Li Guangling was a little agitated, Ji Yizhi quickly comforted him.

Li Chengqian took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. With the Tang Dynasty beset by internal and external troubles, how could he, as a descendant of the Li Tang, feel good?

However, the Tang Dynasty was now completely controlled by Empress Wu, and the Li family was powerless to change it.

After a stick of incense had burned, the carriage was stopped by the soldiers guarding the north gate.

"Who has left the city?" the city guard shouted, holding a long spear and looking languid.

Ji Yizhi stepped down from the carriage, took out Changsun Wuji's token, and handed it to the soldiers guarding the city.

Upon seeing the token, the soldiers immediately abandoned their lazy demeanor, their faces filled with reverence as they bowed and said, "So it is the Imperial Uncle's pass. Please forgive my poor eyesight."

The soldiers guarding the city dared not be negligent in the slightest and quickly waved to signal them to let them pass.

"Wait!"

But just then, a young man dressed in a brocade robe and holding a folding fan slowly walked towards them with several attendants.

Upon seeing the young man in brocade robes, the soldiers guarding the city all showed fear on their faces and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Greetings, Young Master Wu."

This young man was a distant relative of Empress Wu. Since Empress Wu came to power, his status has naturally risen, and he has become even more arrogant and domineering. He doesn't even respect the Li family of the imperial family. In his words, the world now belongs to the Wu family.

The young man in brocade lifted the carriage curtain, stared at Li Guangling and Li Muling inside the carriage, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

"The token of the Imperial Brother-in-law must be given due respect, but these two in the carriage seem somewhat unfamiliar." The young man in brocade robes spoke with a mocking tone.

Ji Yizhi frowned, sensing the hostility emanating from the young man in brocade robes. He was secretly on guard, but outwardly remained calm and respectfully replied, "This is Prince Li Guangling, who is on a mission to his fiefdom of Yuliang County. May I ask who you are?"

"Humph!"

The young man in brocade sneered, "I don't even consider a prince a threat, let alone a mere county lord." A disdainful smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"In the eyes of our Young Master Wu, the bloodline of the Li family is no longer worth mentioning. The Tang Dynasty now belongs to the Wu family; the Li family is merely clinging to life," a follower said arrogantly.

Upon hearing this, Li Guangling trembled all over and clenched his fists, but he suppressed his anger and remained silent.

Ji Yizhi was worried that Li Guangling would be unable to bear the humiliation and would explode on the spot, and he was even preparing to give him a wink. Now it seems that he was overthinking it.

The five years of imprisonment seem to have greatly changed Li Guangling. Without undergoing trials, how could he become such a deadly weapon?

Seeing that Li Guangling had no reaction, the man in brocade felt bored and quickly lifted the white veil at the edge of Li Muling's cloak with his folding fan.

"Ah!" Li Muling exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes. This was not because she herself had been slighted, but because she was filled with resentment and worry at seeing her brother being treated so disrespectfully.

The young man in brocade robes saw Li Muling and a hint of amazement flashed in his eyes. He looked Li Muling up and down a few times, and a lewd smile appeared on his lips.

"Oh! I didn't expect there to be such a beautiful girl hidden in the carriage." The young man in brocade said, and actually reached out to touch Li Muling's cheek.

Li Guangling's anger was completely ignited. He suddenly stood up, drew his sword, and slashed out.

"You...you...you actually dare to..." Blood slowly seeped from the young man's forehead, his eyes wide open, as if he couldn't believe that Li Guangling actually dared to make a move.

However, before he could finish speaking, his head split open, blood spurted out, and he collapsed into a pool of blood.

Li Guangling sheathed his sword, his voice icy: "How dare you insult my sister! Today, I will make you bleed on the spot!"

The air around them seemed to freeze as the soldiers guarding the city stared in astonishment at the scene. They never expected Li Guangling to dare to kill a distant relative of Empress Wu in broad daylight.

Murder!

Murder!

The young man in brocade robes' attendant shouted loudly.

Immediately, a group of imperial guards rushed out and surrounded Li Guangling's carriage.

"You audacious madman, how dare you kill a member of the Wu family! Do you know your crime?" The commander of the Imperial Guards roared, pointing his spear at Li Guangling, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Li Guangling remained unfazed. He glanced coldly at the commander of the Imperial Guards, then turned to look at Li Muling, who was pale with fright in the carriage, and said softly, "Don't be afraid, your elder brother is here."

Ji Yizhi was also startled, but he quickly regained his composure. Although he was a scholar, he had seen many such scenes in the years he had served in the army. He quickly took out a horn from his body and blew it out.

The muffled sound spread out, surprisingly preventing the Imperial Guards from making any rash moves.

Before long, the sound of horses' hooves rang out outside the city gate, and a cloud of dust rose from afar. Hundreds of iron cavalrymen rode in on the wind, and a chilling aura instantly filled the entire city gate.

"Li Guangling, are you trying to rebel?" The commander of the Imperial Guards' face darkened, and he gripped his spear even tighter.

Faced with the iron cavalry left behind by Li Chengqian, the Prince of Zhongshan, his heart began to waver slightly. These men were no ordinary army; each of their soldiers exuded a fierce and bloodthirsty aura, clearly elite warriors who had been through many battles.

Li Guangling did not answer, but looked coldly at the commander of the Imperial Guards, and then said, word by word.

"The Tang Dynasty does not belong to the Wu family, but to my Li family..."