Chapter 157 Danger
So the emperor once again put forward the proposal that had already cost the Sui Dynasty half its life. He planned to launch a third expedition against Goguryeo.

"Why, no one is talking, are they mute?"

In response to the emperor's questions, Yuwen Shu and others hurriedly flattered him, while the others remained silent. Silence was the last resort of resistance.

But this also made the emperor aware of their weakness, and that the weak do not need to be taken seriously.

But to save face, the emperor only had one explanation: "The Yellow Emperor fought fifty-two battles, and King Tang fought twenty-seven times. Only then did they extend their virtue to the princes and enforce their commands throughout the country."

What it means is that saints like Huangdi and Cheng Tang did not achieve success in one go, so we should not be discouraged by two failures.

The emperor was willing to condescend to appease them, but that was only because all the disobedient people in the court were killed, and it was impossible to kill all the obedient people as well.

So the matter was settled, and the emperor formally ordered all counties to mobilize troops and collect grain again, just like the previous year.

But at this moment, in Chang'an, the nursery rhyme of Taoli Zhang was sung again, and Yuwen Shu and others directed their attacks on the Duke of Tang's Mansion without any hesitation. It was obvious that they had deliberately dug up this old story.

Li Jiancheng was not furious, as he would have taken the opportunity to attack Yuwen Shu. Yuwen Shu had finally regained power after clearing out the remnants of Yang Xuangan, and of course he would not miss the opportunity to completely get rid of Li Jiancheng.

Although the prophecies originally put forward by Li Jiancheng did have some influence, the time was short after all. The emperor only used them to kill a few people whom he wanted to kill but was difficult to kill, and he obviously didn't take it too seriously.

Compared with the two long-standing prophecies "Tao Li Zhang" and "Li Hong", it is still far behind.

Fortunately, Li Jiancheng reacted quickly. After all, there was no Li Hun or Li Min to protect him from disaster, so he naturally had a contingency plan in place.

"Chang Yun's surname is Mao Jindao, his name is Yi Wanri, and Liu Yingwang is the Emperor of Wanri."

"The Han Dynasty will be revived, the system will be the foundation, Mao Jin will cultivate virtue, the Red Emperor will be the successor, and the Sui Dynasty will be the next!"

There was even a rumor in Chang'an that there was a white snake over ten feet long on the mountain outside the city, waiting for the noble lady Liu to go and slay it and accept the mandate of heaven.

The Maojin Knife has appeared since Wang Mang usurped the throne. Emperor Guangwu also proved that he sent troops to arrest unrighteous people and cultivated virtues for the sake of the emperor.

After the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Chang, Liu Ni, Liu Mangdang, Liu Li, Liu Lingzhu and others successively rose up in arms. Even during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei established Shu Han, and in the late Western Jin Dynasty, Liu Yuan, Liu Gen and Wang Mi rose up in arms against the Jin Dynasty. All of these were carried out under the "Mao Jindao" and "Han Zuo Renaissance".

Li Jiancheng saved this until the end to prevent his political enemies from doing this.

Before the emperor could react, Yuwen Shu and others attacked again. "There is a pool of water under the poplar tree. If you let it flow, it will flow. If you don't let it flow, it will drip."

This means that the Yang family's empire would either be replaced by the Liu family or abolished by the Li family.

It seemed that the Li family would not be left out at all. The sensitive and suspicious emperor was so angry that he ordered to find out the mastermind behind the scenes. But would his trusted ministers report him?

Obviously not, Yuwen Shu told the emperor that these nursery rhymes were sung by a monk and a Taoist priest in Chang'an, but these two people have disappeared.

Yuwen Shu did not mind making a big deal. Anyway, those who died were either people with the surname Li or Liu. What did it have to do with his Yuwen family?

The emperor had to believe it even if he didn't want to, so he summoned the famous fortune tellers and monks in Chang'an City to interpret the prophecy. Although Li Jiancheng never lacked incense and offerings, since Yuwen Shu had set up the trap, he naturally had preparations.

As a result, the Duke of Tang's Mansion became the center of controversy again. Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng immediately went to the palace to meet the emperor and said that they were already in the mourning period and were unable to leave due to the national crisis. They, father and son, requested the emperor to show mercy and allow them to resign and continue to observe mourning.

Yang Guang looked at the two men in front of him. Li Yuan was not worthy of praise as he was neither good at literature nor martial arts. Li Jiancheng had some abilities, but he also found out that he was not good at military affairs. He relied on two powerful generals borrowed from Zhang Xutuo to fight against Yang Xuangan and pacify Liu Yuanjin.

But the court could no longer afford another noble family rebellion, and he no longer had much trust in them. Yang Guang's eyes became colder. At this moment, the eunuch outside the palace rushed in and said, "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the Ministry of War. The Minister of War requests to see you."

"pass."

Soon the Minister of War stepped in and said, "Your Majesty, the Fufeng bandit leader Tang Bi has enthroned Li Hong as the emperor, named the country Tang, and has 100,000 followers!"

Li Hong, this name made Yang Guang tremble, but then he was furious. Li Jiancheng saluted and said: "I am willing to lead the troops to fight against the enemy for your majesty!"

Yang Guang looked at Li Jiancheng deeply and asked, "How many soldiers do you want?"

"I know that I am incompetent, and although the enemy is just a mob, I would like to ensure that nothing goes wrong. I ask Your Majesty to give me 50,000 soldiers and horses."

Yuwen Shu immediately said: "The army is preparing to conquer Goguryeo. How can we lightly mobilize 50,000 troops to conquer a group of rabble? I only need 20,000!"

Yuwen Shu didn't want Li Jiancheng to lead the troops anymore. The emperor thought the same thing, but he did not appoint Yuwen Shu to lead the troops. Instead, he appointed someone else.

It's not that he didn't trust Yuwen Shu, but because he trusted him too much, he was indispensable in the expedition against Goguryeo.

Yang Guang looked at Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng and said, "You and your son have made great contributions to the country. How can I abandon your meritorious service because of rumors?"

"Your Majesty is wise and wise. I, your father and I, will do our best to repay your grace."

Yang Guang asked them to leave and looked at Li Jiancheng's back, thinking, after all, he will be able to use him, so he should use him first, and when I die, he will be buried with me, this way the relationship between the monarch and his subject will be fulfilled.

Li Jiancheng only felt a chill on his back. He knew without much thought that there must be some bad intention behind this, but such days would soon be over.

No one can look at me like this anymore, never again!
After the father and son returned home, Li Yuan asked, "Is that Li Hong your man?"

Li Jiancheng shook his head: "No, but Tang Bi is my man."

Li Shimin and Li Yuanji walked in covered in dust, with injuries on their hands and faces. At their age, there was nothing they didn't understand, but they were powerless and could only vent their anger on each other.

Li Shimin whispered: "Are we going to live in fear like this for the rest of our lives? Whenever someone sings Taolizi, our whole family will have to walk through the gates of hell. If that's the case, I'd rather die!"

Li Yuanji's eyes were red as well: "The Yang family can rebel, and so can our Li family. Father, brother, I am ready to fight at any time!"

Li Yuan was very pleased that none of his sons were cowards. Maybe, maybe...

Li Jiancheng snorted coldly: "How dare you say that? Do you think our family is not dangerous enough? Get out!"

"Big brother!"

"Big brother!"

"Go out, those who need to practice martial arts should practice martial arts, those who need to read military books should read military books. If you don't have a calm mind, how can you dare to talk about important matters?"

"Humph!"

...............

(End of this chapter)