Chapter 90

**Domestic City Government Office!**

Gao Shu listened to one piece of extremely bad news after another, becoming as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, completely at a loss.

In any country, there are always loyal ministers, and Gao Shu was one of them. He was the administrative governor of Domestic City, equivalent to a prefect in the Li Tang dynasty, responsible for all the administrative affairs of Domestic City. He was also a trusted minister of the Goguryeo King, Gao Jianwu.

Since ancient times, the paths of civil and military officials have been different, and their conflicts have been frequent. This was even more so in Goguryeo, where the military generals held too much power. The civil officials, either out of envy or genuine concern for Goguryeo's future, were mostly the main force behind the policy to reduce military power.

Therefore, the relationship between civil and military officials was like water and fire.

Gao Shu was a pioneer in the policy to reduce military power. In Domestic City, his relationship with Gao Hui's military power was extremely tense. However, due to his status as a trusted minister of the King, and Gao Hui's weaker position, he had always endured Gao Shu.

Gao Shu was not afraid of authority and constantly found ways to catch Gao Hui in Domestic City.

Today's assassination, in Gao Shu's view, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He knew all his opponents well and was aware of Li Yu's fiery temper. He deliberately took advantage of Li Yu's loss of reason to persuade him, using cold sarcasm and hidden ridicule to provoke Li Yu into losing his temper and attacking him.

Sure enough, Li Yu attacked.

He had always looked down on Gao Shu, a civil official who only talked. The death of his father, combined with the ridicule, directly led to Gao Shu being beaten half to death.

Gao Shu was in pain but also delighted. As his (delicate) wife applied medicinal wine to his wounds, he proudly curled his lips: In Domestic City, the military was led by Gao Hui, followed by Li Zicheng, and lastly by Li Yu. In terms of status, Li Yu was far below Gao Shu. Yet, Li Yu had brazenly beaten him. This perfectly reflected the lawlessness of the military generals, who disregarded the law. He could use this to criticize Gao Hui for his poor management, allowing his subordinates to act recklessly and harm the people.

However, he never imagined that the situation would develop in such a terrifying way.

Domestic City, which had been peaceful for nearly ten years, was now facing such a terrible attack.

The military camp was the first to fall, and the remnants of the Sui Dynasty were rushing to the city gates. It seemed that Domestic City was about to fall, and Gao Shu was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Gao Shu had some understanding of the remnants of the Sui Dynasty and knew their military strength. He had once tried to turn the tide.

Alas, alas... He had done too much in Domestic City, and the soldiers and generals had no good feelings towards him. They preferred to fight randomly rather than follow his orders.

Domestic City was not without the ability to organize a counterattack, but the fighting was chaotic and disorganized, unable to carry out effective resistance, and could only passively endure the attacks.

"The cunning bandits have seen through our weakness and are targeting it! If this continues, the city gates will surely fall one by one, and it won't be long before Domestic City is captured. Our Goguryeo will become a laughingstock, and the economy will suffer a severe blow." Gao Shu did not believe that the remnants of the Sui Dynasty would capture Domestic City just to exchange for Zuo Tiancheng. They would not ignore the strategic resources in the city.

"Sir, the only solution now is to ask the old general to take charge. Only the old general can control the situation and lead all the chaotic soldiers to follow his orders!" Gao Shu's right-hand man, You Hao, suddenly sighed.

An image of a person appeared in Gao Shu's mind, and he exclaimed, "Damn, why didn't you say so earlier? I actually forgot about the old general. The old general could destroy the Sui Dynasty's 300,000 troops with a snap of his fingers. A mere thousand remnants would be no match for him." He scolded himself for being so foolish, having forgotten that there was still a military god in Domestic City... the savior of Goguryeo.

"Quick, quick, prepare my horse! I must go and ask the old general to come out of retirement!" In that moment, Gao Shu was extremely excited, his whole body showing a feverish enthusiasm. It was not just because he saw a lifeline, but also out of admiration and blind trust in a hero.

**********

Luo Shixin was waiting near the military camp, lazily stretching and twisting his body, walking around and looking around.

In military operations, unless it was a last-ditch effort, a small team would always be prepared to deal with the rapidly changing battlefield.

Luo Shixin led a hundred men to undertake this arduous task. Although everything was under control now, no one could guarantee that something unexpected would not happen.

Unexpected events are unpredictable.

As the saying goes, plans can never keep up with changes. No matter how perfect a plan is, it can change due to various uncontrollable factors.

Just like Jin Deman's plan, which was reasonable but failed. Because there was Luo Shixin, a man with bold courage and the ability to think what others dare not.

Luo Shixin, Li Yuncun, and others' plan to capture the city was meticulously detailed.

But it did not mean that there would be no unavoidable accidents.

What Luo Shixin was guarding against was such an accident, to avoid being caught off guard.

"Hey! Why are you here!"

Luo Shixin was feeling bored when he suddenly saw Pei Qingyi leading Jin Deman and Jin Shengman, the sisters, walking over from a distance. The former seemed very anxious, and he quickly walked over to meet them, saying, "This is very dangerous."

The whole of Domestic City was in chaos, and it was hard for three beautiful women to walk around without attracting attention.

Pei Qingyi, seeing Luo Shixin's concern for her safety, felt secretly pleased but maintained her usual calm demeanor, saying, "They insisted on seeing you, saying they had urgent matters. If it was too late, they would be waiting to collect your body. I was worried, so I brought them here."

Luo Shixin's surprised gaze fell on Jin Deman and Jin Shengman, finding it hard to believe that anyone could have the ability to destroy them at this point.

Jin Shengman playfully stuck out her tongue.

Jin Deman, however, remained calm and said, "If I didn't say that, do you think this young lady would bring me to see the general?"

"You..." Pei Qingyi realized she had been tricked, her hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of her sword. After a moment's thought, she suppressed her anger, her gaze filled with hostility as she looked at the almost identical sisters.

Luo Shixin did not dare to underestimate Jin Deman, the future queen of Silla, and said, "May I ask, Princess, what urgent matter brings you to see Luo Shixin?"

Jin Deman said, "General Luo Shixin's plan is well thought out, step by step, from the assassination of the leader, to confusing the enemy, luring them, and launching a surprise attack, breaking them down one by one. It is truly brilliant, but you have overlooked one person."

Luo Shixin was somewhat surprised, not knowing why Jin Deman knew their plan so well.

He did not know that the one who had leaked the information was Pei Qingyi, the female knight who cared for him.

After assassinating Li Zicheng, Pei Qingyi could not go out and hid in a secret place to guard Jin Deman, Jin Shengman, and Jin Yuxin.

But Pei Qingyi was really worried about Luo Shixin's safety and kept checking on his whereabouts. Jin Deman and Jin Shengman, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, did not lower their voices, so they knew everything about Luo Shixin's movements. Both were very intelligent, and after summarizing the information, they had a good understanding of Luo Shixin's plan.

Given the lives of thousands of people, Luo Shixin did not dare to be careless and bowed, saying, "Please enlighten me."

Jin Deman said, "The Goguryeo military god, who with less than ten thousand troops, completely annihilated the Sui Dynasty's 300,000 troops—Yi Jiwen!"

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