Chapter 171 Emperor of Southern Tang: You can kill my son Chang'an! (23)

Luzhou, the deep palace of Southern Tang Dynasty.

The fat emperor of the Hong family was listening to an eunuch analyzing the situation.

"Your Majesty, Li Yang is very powerful and may attack us in two years."

"Western Chu is not weak either. It still has more than 100,000 elite soldiers. We cannot afford to offend them."

The emperor's eyes rolled around and he was suddenly confused.

"I listened to you yesterday and agreed to this marriage. What should I do next?"

The eunuch showed a shrewd look and said, "Hospitalize the Western Chu delegation well."

"We will agree to the marriage for now, but we will not agree to lend you troops. We cannot offend Li Yang at this time."

The emperor thought about it and felt that it was still inappropriate, "But the marriage..."

A trace of coldness flashed across the eunuch's face, "Your Majesty, Chang'an was born to a palace maid, and he is a young child."

"We cannot say how much we value his marriage to the Xichu Emperor's precious daughter."

"If the Liyang court wants to blame you in the future, just hand over the little prince. Your Majesty can still sit firmly on the throne."

After hearing these words, the emperor suddenly understood. After all, he was just the son of a palace maid, so he didn't need to feel sorry for him!

That night, there was a grand banquet in the palace.

The Emperor of Southern Tang personally received the Western Chu delegation, the level of which was so high that it was astonishing.

The chief envoy of the delegation was Grand Tutor Sun Xiji, who was known as the Twin Pillars of Western Chu together with the Military Saint Ye Baikui, and was a famous minister throughout the world.

For the first time ever, Li Changan was arranged to attend the banquet and was seated at a relatively front row seat.

Sitting next to him was a delicate little girl in a yellow skirt.

Although the little girl's eyes were bright, she was obviously a little reserved.

Jiang Si was indeed nervous. She was so young and had to choose a husband, and she didn't understand anything yet.

The Southern Tang court was corrupt and incompetent. Those with some ability were excluded, and most of the ministers in the palace were flatterers.

Sun Xiji saw this and shook his head secretly.

But now in the world, the only one who can help Western Chu is Southern Tang.

"Your Majesty, the Liyang army is now at its peak and has already destroyed five countries."

"Western Chu still has 100,000 elite soldiers, and your country has 100,000 elite soldiers and 100,000 naval forces."

"I wonder what your Majesty thinks of our country's proposal to unite and defend against the enemy?"

The emperor had a naive smile, but he didn't tell the truth.

"Grandmaster Sun, the Southern Tang is a small country with weak soldiers. This number of troops is not enough to guard the country's borders."

"But don't worry, Grand Master Sun. Since our two families are related by marriage, I will not stand idly by when Western Chu is in trouble..."

This is an obvious excuse. They can't even do a joint defense, and by the time Western Chu is about to be destroyed, it will be too late to rescue them.

With Li Changan's current level of cultivation, he of course heard these words clearly.

Although Li Changan was born with a broken back, his appearance is actually the same as in his previous two lives.

The system has prompted that this is the reason for the strengthening of the soul during the reincarnation process.

As reincarnation progresses, the soul and body can even become one, and the body can travel directly through time.

Although Li Changan was only nine years old, he already had a face that made the palace maids blush and their hearts beat faster at the sight of it.

He found it really boring. The court was filled with decadent music and there was nothing interesting to talk about.

Li Changan felt bored, so he started eating the tangerine in front of him.

This fruit, which he had never eaten in his previous life, was one of his favorites.

Two of the three tangerines were quickly eaten, leaving only the last one.

He turned his head and looked in front of Jiang Si, and saw three unpeeled tangerines.

"Jiang Si, give me one of your rake oranges."

Jiang Si seemed to be sitting upright, but she had actually glanced at Li Changan several times.

I have to admit that this brother is very handsome.

But when she heard Li Changan wanted something from her, she subconsciously said, "No!"

Li Changan curled his lips. This stingy guy is destined to be a money-grubber in the future.

Li Changan smiled at him, and little Jiang Si couldn't help but be stunned.

He picked up the remaining tangerine he had and put it on Jiang Si's table.

Jiang Si's eyes suddenly lit up and she could hardly suppress the smile on her face.

Li Changan said, "Look, do we both have a share of these four rake oranges?"

Six-year-old Jiang Ni nodded, thinking that this person was quite nice.

Although they belonged to two people, when they were put together, the little girl felt a sense of satisfaction.

Li Changan said in a persuasive manner, "Of course, the things between two people should be divided equally."

While Jiang Si was still not reacting, Li Changan immediately said, "But, I will give you another half banana."

Jiang Si just felt something was wrong, and then she was instantly attracted by half a banana. She got another good deal!

"Okay!"

Jiang Si was fooled, but she showed a smug smile.

"Then how about this? You get two oranges, I get two oranges, and Brother Changan gives you half a banana. Don't you think you're making a profit?"

As Li Changan spoke, he broke off half a banana and handed it to Jiang Si.

Jiang Si proudly took the banana and put it into her mouth, smiling sweetly, "Thank you, Brother Changan."

Li Changan took two tangerines and ate them quickly.

This little girl Jiang Si only cared about getting the upper hand, but didn't even notice that she was being taken advantage of.

Just after finishing his meal, Li Changan heard the emperor calling him drunkenly.

"Chang'an, you should accompany Princess Taiping to visit Luzhou these few days and show your hospitality!"

Li Changan looked up and found that the emperor was pointing at a eunuch and giving orders.

Li Changan had many sons in his previous life, but he knew each of them clearly.

It’s no wonder that the country was destroyed because of this foolish emperor.

In the next few days, Li Changan took Jiang Si and wandered around Luzhou City for several days.

In fact, Li Changan was discovering talents. He asked Cao Zhengchun to take note of the talents he discovered and secretly developed the Jinyiwei.

But during these few days, Jiang Si has developed a great dependence on Li Changan.

This was inevitable. Li Changan's casual remarks or stories were enough to make Jiang Si think for a long time.

Li Changan knew that this little fan girl was a natural swordsman and a genius in swordsmanship.

This princess of a fallen country will be kept by Xu Xiao with ulterior motives in the future, and placed in the mansion to serve Xu Fengnian as a maid.

Since she is his little fan girl, he will rescue her when he has the chance.

After all, the innate sword embryo is the embryo of a land sword immortal, and Xu Fengnian cannot get it for free.

In the end, in addition to the successful marriage engagement, the Western Chu delegation only received empty promises from the Southern Tang emperor.

A year later, the capital of Western Chu, Shenhuang City, was breached. The emperor and empress of Western Chu and hundreds of people in the palace committed suicide for their country.

Afterwards, Xu Xiao was named King of Beiliang.

The following year, the newly appointed general Gu Jiantang led his army south and met the Southern Tang general Gu Dazu.

Looking to the north and south, both were famous generals of the time.

It’s a pity that the outcome of a war is not determined by the generals, but by the court and national strength.

When the Liyang army was marching south, Gu Dazu suggested that they could not sit back and defend one corner.

The enemy was coming from more than fourteen different places, and the situation was tense on all sides.

He believed that in order to defend Southern Tang, it was necessary to fight outside Southern Tang.

Unfortunately, Emperor Hong did not listen to the advice, and was left with only 300,000 elite soldiers besieging Jiujiang and Luzhou.

During this period, Du Jiankang, a famous general of the Southern Tang navy, faked his death, and the Liyang navy believed it to be true and underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly.

General Gu Dazu personally led the Southern Tang navy to fight against the Liyang navy on Boyang Lake.

He first pretended to retreat to rush to Jiujiang to lure the enemy deep into his territory, and then he personally led 3,000 personal guards to block the narrow water barrier at the mouth of the lake.

This plan succeeded, and the Liyang Navy was cut in half. Du Jiankang suddenly appeared and led the Southern Tang Navy reinforcements to fight a bloody battle with the Liyang Navy.

Gu Dazu's two sons filled their small boats with oil jars and set fire to them, destroying them along with the huge ship, thus killing all the unstoppable Liyang navy on Boyang Lake. This fire, visible to the whole country of Southern Tang, burned for three days and three nights.

In this battle, all of Gu Dazu's sons died, and his two daughters-in-law, who came from aristocratic families, committed suicide together in Boyang Lake.

Gu Dazu's family is full of loyal and brave people, but he is the only one who gives birth to a whole family of young people.

After this battle, the famous general Du Jiankang continued to be in charge of the navy.

Gu Dazu was disheartened and fled into the underworld, his whereabouts unknown.

At this time, the Jinyiwei had a size of several thousand people, and many of them were full of passion.

But Li Changan knew that his martial arts were not yet complete, Li Yang's luck was at its peak, and Southern Tang was weak and stupid, so it would be better to smash it and start over.

On the premise of preserving their strength, the Jinyiwei elite assassinated several cruel Liyang generals.

The defeat at Boyang Lake, coupled with the assassination and sabotage by the Jinyiwei, slowed down Gu Jiantang's offensive.

Li Changan knew that the old Southern Tang could not be preserved.

However, the way the Southern Tang Dynasty perished was too unfair.

Inspired by the loyalty of Gu Dazu's family and the secret assassination by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, a wave of resistance arose throughout the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Liyang Emperor Zhao Li adopted the strategy of his adviser Yuan Benxi and issued an imperial edict directly to the Emperor of Southern Tang.

"If Southern Tang surrenders, the ruler of Southern Tang can be made the King of Tang and continue to guard the territory of Southern Tang."

When Cao Zhengchun brought this news, Li Changan knew that the situation was hopeless.

In the original novel, Zhao Li only promised the Emperor of the Hong family the title of Duke of the South, and that made the Southern Tang surrender.

Now that he has been directly promised the title of a prince, why doesn’t that shameless Emperor of Southern Tang open the city and surrender immediately?

Du Jiankang led the remaining Southern Tang navy ashore and rushed to Luzhou for assistance.

Du Jiankang entered Luzhou and drank the welcome wine from His Majesty the Emperor.

I thought that after drinking this wine, I would fight to the death for my country.

But no one expected that the wine was poisonous, and the famous general died.

The Emperor of the Hong family wore sackcloth clothes, opened the city gate, held up a box to apologize, knelt down to welcome the Liyang Army, and the Southern Tang Dynasty was destroyed.

Prince Zhao Yi of Liyang and General Gu Jiantang were outside Luzhou City, preparing to accept the surrender of Southern Tang.

Suddenly, there was a heavy storm, and dust covered the sky.

The generals of Li Yang were terrified, except for General Gu Jiantang who was in the Celestial Realm and remained as steady as a rock.

"Gu Dazu!"

"Nan Tang is dead, are you dissatisfied?"

"Look, this is the Hong family emperor you are loyal to!"

The storm stopped for a moment, and a big knife was placed on the neck of the Hong family emperor.

Gu Dazu looked at the box in the emperor's hand and saw Du Jiankang's head.

My heart is broken and my tears are falling like rain!

Gu Jiantang knew that Gu Dazu was a loyal minister, so he deliberately provoked him.

"Behead him! Behead him! This dog emperor deserves death!"

Gu Dazu suddenly laughed out loud towards the sky and uttered a tearful accusation!

The power of the Celestial Realm was known throughout Luzhou City.

"From now on, people all over the world will be ashamed of having the surname Hong!"

After cursing, he vomited three liters of blood and died in a hurry.

Zhao Yi said to Gu Jiantang, "General, why don't you order the army to surround him?"

Gu Jiantang smiled complacently and said, "Gu Dazu is loyal to Southern Tang, but Southern Tang is such a thing."

"Just now, he has fallen to the Zhixuan realm. His heart is dead and he is nothing but a walking corpse."

Liyang, Tai'an City.

After the fall of Southern Tang, the whole world was unified and belonged to Liyang.

The whole country celebrated the Li Yang Dynasty and held a grand celebration ceremony.

The two great heroes, King Xu Xiao of Beiliang and General Gu Jiantang, as well as the princes Zhao Chun, Zhao Yi and Zhao Heng all participated.

Even the Southern Tang emperor who had just surrendered, now the King of Tang, sought a seat at the end.

Emperor Zhao Li was hosting a banquet for his ministers. When they were half drunk, he suddenly saw King Tang sitting in the corner.

"King Tang, why did you only see Du Jiankang's head, but not Gu Dazu's?"

Du Jiankang and Gu Dazu lost 100,000 naval troops from Liyang.

Zhao Li lost face in front of Xu Xiao, and he was very unhappy.

The Hong family emperor bowed to the ground and answered loudly, "I have long wanted to submit to the Heavenly Dynasty!"

"Gu Dazu has already gone into seclusion. When I return to my country, I will definitely capture him!"

Zhao Li smiled and said, "Have you been wanting to submit for me for a long time?"

"I heard that you once formed an alliance with Western Chu to fight against our Chaotian Army?"

Upon hearing what Zhao Li said, Emperor Hong broke out in a sweat and trembled like a sieve.

"Your Majesty, at that time, Western Chu sent Sun Xiji to force us, and I had no choice but to deal with them."

At this time, Sun Xiji, who was still valued by Zhao Li after the demise of Western Chu, was present at the scene.

Zhao Li smiled and said, "Sun Xiji, listen! Listen!"

"Nan Tang was just fooling you guys, hahaha!"

As a surrendered minister, Sun Xiji dared not say anything more.

"Your Majesty is so powerful, and the King of Tang spoke so confidently at that time that I really believed him."

After Sun Xiji said this, Emperor Hong became even more nervous.

He suddenly shouted, "My loyalty to Your Majesty is known to all the world!"

"If your majesty does not believe me, I can execute my son Chang'an after I return home to prove my mind!"

Hearing the words of the Hong family emperor, even a Liyang butcher like Xu Xiao was stunned.

"Hey! This grandson, even a tiger won't eat its own cubs!"

Zhao Li even smiled contemptuously, "How can people be so ruthless as to be this cruel!"

"King Tang, you don't have to return to your country. Just stay in Tai'an City."

"Let my son Zhao Yi guard the old territory of Southern Tang."

The Hong family emperor was startled, but then he thought, how could the king of a fallen country live in the old place?

He surrendered voluntarily, and even offered the head of his general and his son. What else did Zhao Li have to worry about?

That night, the Emperor of the Hong family died in the palace of Tai'an City.

The next day, Zhao Li called his old partner Yuan Benxi.

Yuan Benxi, together with Li Yishan, Huang Longshi and Nalan Youci, is known as one of the four great strategists of the Spring and Autumn Period.

"Benxi, while the Emperor of the Hong family is alive, there are always people in Southern Tang who are obsessed with restoring their country."

"So, it's better for him to die."

"However, I have also announced to the world that the ruler of Southern Tang can become king if he surrenders."

"The country has just been settled. What our dynasty needs is the support of the people. What do you think we should do?"

Yuan Benxi's eyes rolled rapidly. What does that mean? You want both?

"Your Majesty, of the Tang prince's heirs, leave the most useless one to inherit the title, and kill all the others!"

Zhao Li pondered and said, "Why not keep the son Hong Chang'an that the Tang king wants to kill, and then tell him that the Tang king wants to kill him."

"We have to find a way to stop the Southern Tang survivors from thinking about restoring their country."

Yuan Benxi said, "There are two feasible strategies."

"First, changing Hong Chang'an's surname to Li means leaving his homeland and becoming disloyal!"

"Secondly, the new Tang King Li Changan cannot stay in the old land of Southern Tang. He must go to Yongzhou."

When Zhao Li heard these two ideas, his eyes lit up.

"Yongzhou, on the border of Beiliang...wonderful!"

PS: Snow map.

(End of this chapter)