Chapter 71

The curfew had just been lifted, and the Tonghua Gate had just opened. A group of armored soldiers, their horses neighing, galloped swiftly into the city. There were about two hundred of them, all with stern faces and not a word spoken. A new recruit was about to scold them but was pulled back by an old soldier.

"You're clearly a new recruit. Do you know who these people are?" the old soldier said after the group had passed.

"Whoever they are, they shouldn't gallop so recklessly in the capital. This is the capital of the Tang Dynasty; how can they be so audacious?" the new recruit said,不服气 (unwilling to back down).

"That's the Six Armies of the Crown Prince, the personal guards of the current Crown Prince. Even if they kill you, they won't be punished. You'll die for nothing!" the old soldier said.

"Crown Prince's personal guards? Why are they entering the city now? Could it be that...?" The new recruit wasn't stupid and immediately made many connections.

"Don't think too much. Just guard the gate properly. The affairs of those important people are not something we small soldiers should worry about." The old soldier had long been worn down, only wanting to live out his remaining years in peace. He had barely survived the battlefield and didn't want to lose his life now that the world was at peace.

"It looks like the sky is about to change!" The new recruit didn't know what to do. He knew that pretending to know nothing was a good choice, but a voice in his heart told him that doing so would make him no different from the dead in the graves.

No, this can't be. Even the Crown Prince's personal guards cannot violate the laws of the Tang Dynasty. The new recruit thought and quickly ran towards the city tower. The old soldier watched his back, a nostalgic look on his face. He had once been full of patriotic fervor, but it had been worn down on the battlefield. Without a good general to lead him, he had been stationed in Luoyang with the unpopular Prince Qi. When Wang Shichong's army approached the city, the highest commander, Prince Qi Li Yuanji, abandoned all his subordinates and fled for his life. This had cooled his patriotic fervor.

"Uuuu..." The mournful sound of the horn echoed through Chang'an, carried far by the morning breeze. The people of Chang'an were awakened from their sleep, quickly dressed, and ran outside. This was the horn for an attack. Could something be happening in Chang'an?

Li Kuan was also interrupted by the horn while setting up his boxing stance. He was dressed in a short shirt and a pair of deer leather gloves, his current attire for practicing the ultimate training method of Xinyi Quan, striking the trees in the courtyard with his gloved fists to both accelerate his strength consumption and protect his hands from injury. Hearing the horn, Li Kuan frowned. This was not a good sound. It meant that an army with unclear intentions had arrived at the gates of Chang'an, or even entered the city.

"Could it be that the Crown Prince has made his move?" Li Kuan thought of this possibility but quickly dismissed it. The Sixteen Guards would not all rebel, so if the Crown Prince were to force the palace, the Sixteen Guards would certainly counterattack, and the drum of the general would sound. However, the horn had been sounding for a while, but no drum had been heard. Therefore, the size of this group must not be large, no more than three hundred, not enough to storm the palace.

"Then what is it? Could they be targeting the Prince's residence?" Li Kuan thought of this possibility and felt a cold sweat on his back. Li Er (Li Kuan still called him Li Er in his heart) was about to return to the capital, so the Crown Prince and his men must want to strike first, intending to capture the people in the Prince's residence to threaten Li Er. This meant the Prince's residence was in danger. The fifty or sixty Black Armor Guards left by Li Er would be no match for the two or three hundred Crown Prince's personal guards. Even defending the residence would be difficult, unless they abandoned some of the courtyards and concentrated everyone in one place.

With this thought, Li Kuan quickly ran out of the small courtyard and into the main hall, where a large gong hung, used for emergency gatherings of the people in the Prince's residence.

Li Kuan picked up the gong hammer and struck the gong: Bang... Bang...

The sharp sound spread throughout the Prince's residence, waking up the sleepy little girl and bringing Changsun, who had already risen, running over.

"Second Son, why are you striking the gong?" Changsun asked as she reached the main hall and saw Li Kuan.

"Call everyone to gather. Something big might be happening!" Li Kuan said seriously.

"What? Could it be the horn?" Changsun, a wise woman, immediately thought of the horn that had not yet stopped.

"Mother, hurry. We don't have much time. Have the Black Armor Guards choose a defensible position and concentrate everyone there!" Li Kuan was becoming anxious as he could faintly hear the sound of hooves, the urgent sound of hooves on the stone pavement, like a death knell.

"Black Armor Guards, listen to my order!" Changsun pulled out a small tiger token from her sleeve and called out.

"Your order, my lady!" A deep voice responded, accompanied by the sound of armor clinking on the ground.

"Choose a defensible position and guard the area. Anyone approaching the Prince's residence, kill without mercy!" Changsun, a decisive woman, issued orders after guessing what was about to happen.

"Your order, my lady!" The deep voice responded again, and the sound of footsteps moved away.

"Mother, quickly wake up Lizi, Xiaowei, Chenggan, Qingque, and the Third Prince. Time is running out; those people are already here!" The sound of hooves was becoming clearer, urgent like rain on banana leaves.

Changsun's face changed, and she issued another order: "Bring all the princesses, princes, and concubines to the chosen location!" More footsteps moved away, and Li Kuan knew without guessing that another Black Armor Guard had gone. He wondered how these people could hide so well without being detected by his sensitive senses.

But now was not the time to think about such things. Li Kuan stored the question in his mind, planning to ask later if the opportunity arose. For now, he had to get through the current crisis. Li Kuan continued to strike the gong, and Changsun directed the servants to begin retreating to the chosen location.

Time ticked by, and Xue Wanche, leading two hundred cavalry, could already see the red lanterns hanging high at the Prince's residence. But the sound of the gong from inside the residence made his thick brows furrow: It seems the Prince's residence is prepared. It's all because of those two soldiers at the gate. If they hadn't sounded the war horn, how would the people in the Prince's residence have been alerted!

Even if you are prepared, so what? The two hundred cavalry behind me are enough to flatten the Prince's residence. Xue Wanche thought and gave the order: "Speed up, charge! Break the gate!"

Following the general's order, the cavalry obeyed. The front row of ten cavalrymen released their lances and took out the large hammers they had prepared, charging towards the Prince's residence.

"Kill..." The cavalrymen shouted, their voices echoing through the sky. This morning, Chang'an was in turmoil. The people, hearing the sound, quickly returned to their houses, closing their doors tightly, not daring to watch.

In the northwest of Chang'an, in the Xiu Zhen Fang, a white-haired, silver-bearded old man stood at his door, looking east: "Sigh, the bloodshed has begun. The White Tiger, once it sees blood, will become even more deadly. It seems the Tang Dynasty will walk through a period of bloodshed."

"Why worry, Uncle? The Prince of Qin is a man of great talent and noble destiny. How can he be suppressed by a Metal White Tiger? I believe the Tang Dynasty will flourish even more. This White Tiger, growing with blood, will be a sharp blade for the Tang Dynasty's expansion." A middle-aged Taoist stood behind the old man, with three long strands of beard hanging to his chest, his hair tied in a bun with a wooden pin, standing with a unique aura, like a crane among chickens, or a transcendent being.

"It seems you have surpassed me in divination. Truly, you are a born pure body. But without the secret elixir, it will take two more years to break through this constraint. That little boy's pills are truly good, but he doesn't believe in fate." The old man said with a hint of regret.

"Doesn't believe in fate? I will use action to make him believe!" The middle-aged Taoist said confidently.

"Two days ago, I divined again, but this time I couldn't see the future. The entire destiny is shrouded in chaos, and I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse!" The old man sighed.

"Uncle, don't worry too much. Whether it's a blessing or a curse, no one can avoid it. Besides, the Prince of Qin ascending the throne is already a certainty. With such a capable ruler, what obstacle can't be overcome? Even if Jiali comes from the south, what can the Turks do against the strong Tang army?" The middle-aged Taoist said with a sharp edge.

"Let's not talk about this. Now the Crown Prince is making his final move. We'll see if the Prince of Qin can survive. Whether he is a dragon or a worm will be decided today!" The old man stroked his beard, looking at the gradually brightening sky, his expression serious and silent.

At the Prince's residence, everyone, including the servants, had gathered. The young and strong males were given weapons to help the Black Armor Guards defend against the enemy. These were the hired guards of the Prince's residence, usually doing miscellaneous tasks and not allowed into the inner quarters.

Including the sixty Black Armor Guards, the Prince's residence had only about a hundred combat-ready men, all on foot. The two hundred cavalry of the Crown Prince's personal guards had already charged into the Prince's residence. With such a disparity in strength, could the Prince's residence hold out?

Li Kuan was sitting in the middle of the guard circle, holding a small knife and making something. A large tree branch was being whittled down. This was the branch of the oldest peach tree in the Prince's residence, which Li Kuan had already cut down.

What is he doing? Readers are probably familiar with what Li Kuan is making. He is making a slingshot, using the heartwood of the old peach tree for the body and the best cowhide for the band. Of course, the slingshot Li Kuan is making is not the type used in the Tang Dynasty, which is similar to a bow and arrow and too large for Li Kuan, who is only 1.5 meters tall. So, a small slingshot is better, both convenient and, with the specially processed cowhide, capable of a three-stone pull, comparable to a bow and arrow. As for accuracy, Li Kuan was a master of slingshots in his childhood, able to hit a chicken's eye from ten meters away.

Besides Li Kuan, a few other children were also there, watching curiously. The older ones had some fear on their faces, but the younger ones didn't know what was happening.

PS: Thank you, Yan Ershao, for the tip! The otaku bows in gratitude!

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends