Then, after a quick check against his memory, he recognized these people as Hou Junji, Zhang Liang, Liu Hongji, and others. Seeing this, Lin Yang couldn't help but shake his head. It just goes to show how many military generals Li Shimin had under his command.
After assessing his internal energy, Lin Yang's smile vanished. Unbeknownst to him, he had already depleted most of his internal energy.
However, it wasn't a complete loss; at least they learned about the fighting capabilities of Cheng Yaojin and his group. Since that's the case, for safety's sake, it's time to leave.
"The green hills remain unchanged, and the clear waters flow on forever. Li Shimin, you are lucky today. I hope your luck will be as good as today every day in the future. Hahaha..." After saying this, Lin Yang arrogantly strode away in front of everyone.
"Do not pursue. Stay where you are and protect the King of Qin. We'll discuss everything when the main force arrives," Qin Qiong immediately ordered.
After a long while, eight hundred elite soldiers arrived, and Li Shimin, clad in armor and protected by the crowd, finally appeared. At this time, the area within a radius of one hundred and fifty paces was filled with torches and soldiers. It was truly a net of heaven and earth, with layers upon layers of protection.
"Uncle Bao, what are the casualties tonight?" Li Shimin asked with a grim face.
"The bandits were incredibly fierce. Although the time it took from their initial surprise attack to their eventual escape was less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, we suffered heavy casualties."
"Thirty-five of them died in battle alone. Eighteen were seriously wounded and rendered unable to fight. Thirty-two were slightly wounded. It's truly, truly tragic, and truly astounding," Qin Qiong said in shock.
"How does this person's strength compare to Yuanba's?" Li Shimin asked, frowning.
"I'm afraid King Wei Huai (Li Yuanba) is no match for him. In my opinion, he is probably close to being the number one martial artist in the world, if not the number one."
To be honest, before today, he had never imagined that anyone could fight him alone, plus Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde. Perhaps Li Yuanba could have done it if he hadn't died. But it was absolutely impossible for him to do it as easily as this villain.
While Li Shimin and the others were discussing this matter, Lin Yang hid in a large tree two hundred paces away. At this time, he had already taken off his two swords and all his armor, and changed into a set of extremely light black bodysuit.
"Heh heh, Li Shimin, you've finally appeared. Two hundred paces away, with the range of the Divine Arm Crossbow, it can still inflict effective damage. Although it may not kill, we can apply poison. Let me see the fortune of you, the chosen one. If you have to blame someone, blame the Land of Reincarnation."
After saying that, he raised the crossbow and began to aim.
bump
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Chapter Twenty-Seven: Today's battle is one of advance or retreat. Today's battle is one of death or survival!
June 4th, sunny.
With a cheerful clatter of hooves, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, Prince Qi Li Yuanji, and their protectors Lin Yang, Shi A, and others arrived outside Xuanwu Gate with a troop of elite soldiers.
“Your Highness, please allow all these guards to remain outside. After all, this is Xuanwu Gate, and I beg Your Highness not to make things difficult for me,” a general stepped forward and said.
Upon hearing this, Li Jiancheng nodded, agreeing that it was only natural. After all, with the establishment of the Tang Dynasty and the improvement of various rules, there were more and more regulations, such as the prohibition of carrying weapons in the imperial palace.
“Alright, Feipeng, you and Shi A stay here. Yuanji and I will go in together,” Li Jiancheng said with a smile.
He was indeed very happy, because after this day, Li Shimin would inevitably be sent to his fiefdom. At that time, no one would be competing with him for the position of crown prince.
In truth, from the day he was born, he was destined to be the future head of the Li clan. However, Li Shimin had always been unwilling to acknowledge this, always coveting the position. This was not good; if everyone were like him, wouldn't everyone be living in a constant state of intrigue and treachery?
Why can't this second brother understand such a simple truth? Hopefully, after he arrives at his fiefdom and a few years have passed, he will be able to figure it out.
Thinking this, Li Jiancheng walked towards the Xuanwu Gate. Seeing this, Lin Yang immediately stopped him, saying, "Wait, General Chang, something seems amiss. Could it be that you've already sided with the Prince of Qin?"
Upon hearing this, Chang He's face instantly turned pale, then quickly became ashen. Could it be that his betrayal of the Crown Prince and his collusion with the King of Qin had been discovered? That couldn't be!
After thinking it through, Chang He recalled the solution Fang Xuanling had told him the day before, and immediately said with a livid face, "Lin Yang, even if you are the head of His Highness the Crown Prince's household guards, you cannot humiliate me like this. Explain yourself, how did I end up siding with the Prince of Qin?"
To be honest, it's no secret that Chang He is Li Jiancheng's man. Even Li Yuan tacitly approved of it; otherwise, would they really think Li Yuan is a useless fool who can't even control the palace?
But at this moment, Li Jiancheng pricked up his ears, listening intently. To be honest, Li Jiancheng was quite flustered after hearing that Chang He had already sided with his second brother. If this were true, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Heh, do I need to say anything? Then let me ask you, why don't I recognize any of the soldiers here? I remember that many of them should be direct guards from the Crown Prince's palace, right? They're usually on duty, so why don't I recognize any of the soldiers on duty today?"
It's important to understand that after Chang He defected to Li Jiancheng, Li Jiancheng infiltrated the guards of Xuanwu Gate with many traitors over the years. Just as Li Shimin could cultivate relationships with military generals, Li Jiancheng could naturally infiltrate their ranks, a practice also tacitly approved by Li Yuan.
Therefore, if the soldiers here were still the guards of the Eastern Palace, they couldn't have remained indifferent during the Xuanwu Gate Incident in history. They would have watched helplessly as the Crown Prince was killed by Li Shimin.
Therefore, after careful observation, Lin Yang was absolutely certain that he did not recognize any of the guards here. This was highly illogical.
As Li Jiancheng's most trusted confidant and head of the household guards, he knew just as many secrets as Li Yuanji. Therefore, the fact that he didn't recognize any of them could only mean that something was wrong at Xuanwu Gate.
Hearing Lin Yang's words, Li Jiancheng seemed lost in thought, instead scrutinizing Chang He closely. After all, the sudden disappearance of all the spies from the Eastern Palace was enough to spark speculation.
"Protect His Highness the Crown Prince." As soon as Lin Yang finished speaking, Li Jiancheng was firmly protected by elite soldiers and surrounded in the center.
"Do I really have to say this?" Chang He asked somewhat hesitantly.
"Of course, it concerns His Highness the Crown Prince's safety, how could we not be cautious?"
“It was the Emperor’s order last night,” Chang He said.
Upon hearing this, Li Jiancheng frowned. "Father? So, Shimin is leaving, and that's why he's starting to investigate my power?"
In response, Li Jiancheng stated that while he found it emotionally difficult to accept, he could actually understand it. The essence of politics lies in checks and balances. Without checks and balances, even good things can turn bad.
Previously, when he was the crown prince, his second brother was a pawn to check and balance him. With Shimin around, he would never become arrogant.
But now, after today, Shimin will be gone. At that time, no one will be able to check and balance him. Therefore, to prevent internal strife and to prevent father and son from fighting, it is understandable that Li Yuan is now making arrangements to weaken his own power.
In truth, it's all the fault of power! Fathers are not fathers, sons are not sons, brothers are not brothers, what a miserable situation!
Having thought of this, Li Jiancheng said, "Alright, I understand the reason now. Feipeng, there's no need to ask General Chang any further."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang's expression changed. Damn it, Li Jiancheng could automatically conjure up a perfect reason for such an important question; he really didn't know what to say.
Could this be the legendary will of Heaven, destined to enter Xuanwu Gate? If so, then Li Shimin's protagonist aura is far too domineering.
"How about this, Your Highness, let Shi A lead a team of guards in."
"Okay, then."