Chapter 151 Xu Shiji

After receiving the letter and gifts from Prince of Yan, Li Jiancheng couldn't help but sigh that the former crown prince was a good man, and the children he left behind were also good, but it was a pity that they had such a grandfather.

"My dear, the news from Luoyang."

After receiving the report from Li Jin, Yang Xuangan finally managed to stabilize the internal situation after being besieged for so long. He sent troops outside the city to fight against the Sui army. With the city at his back, he was in a good position.

However, the emperor's brave army was so powerful that it was no match for the troops of Wei Wensheng and others. Therefore, it was difficult for both sides to achieve victory, and the battle was mostly a stalemate.

To suppress a rebellion requires thunder and lightning, which is the time for the imperial court to demonstrate its ruling power, just like when Li Jiancheng suppressed Liu Yuanjin, he won victory after victory from the beginning, so it is natural that he will be unstoppable now.

The people behind Liu Yuanjin are now eager to distance themselves from him. How could they still secretly help him or even obstruct Li Jiancheng's army?

As the emperor pacified Yang Xuangan, a stalemate occurred. The majesty of the court and the emperor began to fade, and the opportunity was about to come.

But there was one thing he had to consider. No matter what, in the eyes of the people of the world, he was deeply favored by the emperor. No matter how many faults the emperor had, there was no reason for him to rebel.

This was also the reason why Yang Xuangan was unpopular, so Li Jiancheng had to find a way to solve the problem. Otherwise, he would be unjustified and even if he succeeded, he would be nothing more than a thief.

At this time, another urgent report came that a monk from Fufeng, Xiang Haiming, claimed that Maitreya had been reincarnated and that anyone who wanted to submit to him would have auspicious dreams. He was very prestigious in the Sanfu area. Now he had proclaimed himself emperor, changed the era name to Baiwu, and conferred titles on his ministers.

Han Xiangguo, a native of Liang County, raised an army to respond to Yang Xuangan and was named Marshal of Henan Province. He conquered two counties in succession, gathered 70,000 troops, and eyed Xiangcheng covetously.

Peng Xiaocai, a native of Donghai, raised an army to respond and was named Marquis of Donghai by Yang Xuangan, with an army of 30,000 men.

The bandit leader Lu Mingxing personally led 8,000 brave soldiers to the Eastern Capital to support Yang Xuangan.

Before Li Jiancheng could finish reading, the emperor's decree arrived again, urging him to wipe out Liu Yuanjin as soon as possible, and then immediately put down the rebellion along the way, and issued an edict to all counties and prefectures across the country to confiscate the property of any thief!
The key point is the last one. Li Jiancheng understood the emperor's urgency, but he delegated the power to judge the bandits to the county officials, which was tantamount to sending a sheep into the tiger's mouth.

The word "official" has two openings, so whether someone is a thief or not can be decided by themselves, and their property can also be directly confiscated. This is so great of the emperor's grace.

Li Jiancheng set out for Shan Xiongxin's army. His movements were clearer than any military orders. Shan Xiongxin was so ruthless that he captured three counties in a row. Qin Shubao completely cleared out an entire county. Luo Yi had also led his troops south to completely crush the remnants over there.

Liu Yuanjin gathered his troops and retreated to Licheng to put up a desperate resistance, but under pressure, fierce fighting broke out within the Wu Kingdom. Just when Li Jiancheng arrived at the central army, Licheng was opened.

The surrendered soldiers were the elite troops of Wu. Zhu Xie, the Minister of the Left, knelt before Li Jiancheng holding the head of his own emperor and said, "General, please forgive these soldiers. They were only conscripted by us."

Li Jiancheng nodded: "You are quite responsible."

"Thank you, General."

After saying this, he was dragged away by the guards. He was going to be escorted to the capital. In this situation, the courage to come alive and beg for mercy was much greater than that to die.

As the only remaining high-ranking official of the Wu State, he could only bear the emperor's wrath alone. Just thinking about it, he would be in a situation where he could neither live nor die.

Just after defeating Liu Yuanjin, Li Jiancheng reorganized his army and led the surrendered soldiers northward, clearing out bandits and pirates along the way. Those who committed heinous crimes were killed, and those who were forced to rebel were sent into exile.

.........

In the Wagang Village, Zhai Rang was walking around worriedly, and the confidants below him were the same, exchanging glances from time to time, but obviously did not dare to express their attitudes. Finally, their eyes focused on Xu Shiji, who was on the left. After a long thought, Xu Shiji advised: "Mr. Zhai, you should still go."

Zhai Rang hesitated to speak, and finally said: "I'm afraid. You haven't seen him so you don't know. He...ah!"

A rough and sturdy man whispered: "He is just a noble relative with a good family background."

"There are so many nobles in Guanlong, why don't they all become generals? They marched all the way north, killing so many people that the river water turned red. Many famous heroes died under their swords. If you have the courage to shout in front of him, I will be convinced by you."

The sturdy man wanted to show off, but after thinking about it, he knew that his kind was worse than an ant in front of such a noble. It would not be worth it for his reputation to be heard by the noble.

Xu Shiji had no choice but to say: "I will go with you."

Zhai Rang also knew that he could not avoid this matter. Li Jiancheng was really furious and had many ways to kill him. He regretted being so proud for a while, but when he saw that Li Jiancheng had lost his power, he cut off contact with him without authorization.

Who could have imagined that Li Langjun, who was already all-powerful, would suddenly become a general of the imperial court, commanding nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses to wipe out the bandits.

"Okay, prepare some valuable gifts, anything good from Curry, don't leave anything out, take them all!"

Only after three ships full of rich gifts did Zhai Rang dare to keep the appointment. Apart from Xu Shiji, he only brought a hundred or so good fighters. The reputation of Wagang was still quite famous, so he was not worried about being robbed at his doorstep.

They arrived at the agreed place with trepidation, and began to wait. It was a cold night and they did not dare to leave. They could only light a bonfire to keep warm.

It was not until early morning that Li Jiancheng arrived by boat, bringing with him Shan Xiongxin, Qin Shubao and twenty family generals.

Qin Shubao looked around and saw that they were all good fighters, but they were not to be feared, especially since there were elite cavalrymen waiting for orders not far away.

When he saw Li Jiancheng, Zhai Rang's calves began to cramp. He was even more frightened than when he had just been released from prison. Back then he was only afraid of death, but now he was not only afraid of death, he was also afraid of losing his current luxurious life.

"I haven't seen you for a long time, you are still as charming as ever."

Li Jiancheng didn't even look at him, his eyes fell on Xu Shiji, a very young and heroic young man.

Seeing that Li Jiancheng ignored him, Zhai Rang could no longer stand and knelt down with a thud: "I deserve to die, I deserve to die!"

Li Jiancheng then looked at him and said, "I thought you were a smart person, so I saved your life. Have I treated you badly by giving you clothes and food?"

"No, no! My dear, you saved my life and gave me the foundation of Wagang. This is a great favor!"

Li Jiancheng looked at the people brought by Zhai Rang. Each of them was strong and healthy, and was obviously Zhai Rang's confidants.

With a wave of his hand, Qin Shubao and Shan Xiongxin led twenty generals and rushed forward without hesitation, killing dozens of people. Only then did they come to their senses and roared to resist.

But how could a group of martial arts masters without even armor be able to defeat the armored enemies? They were too weak. In a short while, they began to flee in all directions, but were all shot and killed on the spot by the guards who rushed over on horseback.

………………

(End of this chapter)