Sui and Tang Dynasties: You were driven out of Wagang, but you surrendered to Yang Guang and were ma

Chapter 226 Departure 4 Pingshan

Don't worry too much.

Yuwen Chenglong, unusually serious, patted Luo Cheng on the shoulder and spoke in a tone of someone who had been through it all.

"I dream every day that my father is being beheaded by His Majesty and the prince, and he is beheaded so badly that he is covered in blood."

He's doing just fine now; he even wrote to me the other day, telling me to earn more money and send it back home.

Luo Cheng looked up, a glimmer of hope in his eyes: "Really?"

These words did put him at ease a little.

Dreams are perhaps just dreams, and shouldn't be taken seriously.

"It must be true!" Yuwen Chenglong patted his chest to assure him, then scratched his head. "I even dreamt last night that my brother, Yuwen Chengxiang, was torn apart by Li Yuanba."

This dream was truly strange.

He and Li Yuanba had barely met or spoken more than a few words, yet he dreamed of the other.

But it doesn't matter, most of his dreams never came true.

Otherwise, his own father, Yuwen Huaji, would have been hacked to pieces long ago, and wouldn't be alive now.

"Thank you for your comfort."

Luo Cheng sighed. It was no use thinking about it now that things had come to this.

Now we can only wait for news from Beiping Prefecture and hope that my father is safe and sound.

He stood up, straightened his armor, and tried to suppress the lingering unease.

"Let's go, let's assemble." Yuwen Chenglong waved his hand. So many days have passed, it's time for them to go to Siping Mountain to keep their appointment.

The challenge has already been accepted. If we arrive a few days late, those rebels might think that our imperial army is afraid.

That won't do; we can't lose face for the Prince of Shuo.

Before long, the group appeared at the Jiangdu Palace.

This temporary palace was originally built by Yang Guang when he went south. Although it could not compare to the magnificent palace in Luoyang, it was still decorated with carved beams and painted rafters and was extremely luxurious.

At this moment, Lü Xiao was sitting on the throne in the main hall of the imperial palace.

That was originally the throne used by Yang Guang when he went south, adorned with a golden dragon, high above him.

Below, a group of generals stood solemnly on both sides.

This palace is very well built; it has everything except for the lack of imperial concubines.

The imperial study and the imperial garden were both present.

Lu Xiao sat on the throne, his legs casually propped up on the desk in front of him, a military report in his hand, his posture languid.

"Your Highness, you've now experienced the throne once."

Yuwen Chenglong walked into the main hall and looked at Lü Xiao's appearance with amazement.

"Seriously, it's actually quite decent. Is it comfortable to sit in? Does it hurt your butt?"

He said this without any attempt to hide it from others.

After all, those who can stand in this hall are all old brothers who have gone through life and death with Lü Xiao. What can't they say?

"This is boring." Lü Xiao casually tossed the military report onto the imperial desk, stood up, and walked down the imperial steps.

He sat on the throne, but it was all just a formality.

When I was a kid, I was forced to do homework until midnight every day, which was annoying enough.

If I were to sit on the throne now, I would have to review endless memorials every day.

Watching those ministers scheme against each other and impeach one another must be incredibly annoying.

I don't know what those people were after, fighting tooth and nail for the throne.

"If you won't sit, I will." Yuwen Chenglong rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining, and lifted his leg to walk up the steps.

However, he had only taken two steps when he saw Lü Xiao, without turning his head, kick out and hit Yuwen Chenglong squarely in the chest.

With a loud bang, Yuwen Chenglong was sent flying.

"Ouch!" Yuwen Chenglong cried out, rubbing his chest as he got up, looking aggrieved. "Your Highness, why did you kick me?"

"If you want to die, don't drag General Tianbao down with you," Lü Xiao said calmly, withdrawing his foot.

This throne is one that only Lü Xiao can sit on, but no one else can.

It wasn't that he was domineering, but rather that given his position in Yang Guang's heart, sitting on the throne was nothing special.

If Yang Guang knew, he would at most laugh and scold Ju Lie, that brat.

However, if it were someone else, such as Yuwen Chenglong who lacks self-control, it would be considered a crime of usurpation if word got out.

At best, they'd be beheaded; at worst, they'd take the entire clan with them.

"Then I won't sit." Yuwen Chenglong got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and muttered to himself.

If you don't want me to sit, then don't. Why kick me?

That kick used quite a bit of force, thankfully Yuwen Chenglong was physically strong.

Otherwise, anyone else would have been kicked to death long ago.

Lu Xiao ignored him, lowered his head, and patted the sleeping tiger at his feet.

Then, he reached out and picked up the Wufang Fangtian Halberd that was leaning against the side. Its familiar weight gave him a sense of security.

Come to think of it, he hadn't done anything himself in a long time, and his hands were even a little rusty.

Looks like I'll have to chop off a few heads to get back to that old feeling.

"Have all the people been brought back?"

Lu Xiao, carrying his halberd, strode to the outside of the hall and asked without turning his head.

"Your Highness..." Li Jing stepped forward, clasped his hands and bowed, his words tinged with resentment, "Shen Faxing escaped, please forgive me, Your Highness."

So many people were arrested: Shen Faxing's clansmen, confidants, and cronies—hundreds of them, both big and small.

The only one that got away was the biggest fish, Shen Faxing himself.

"Run." Lu Xiao didn't care, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Then I'll use his entire clan as a sacrifice."

Upon arriving outside the city, they saw hundreds of people dressed in prison uniforms pinned to the ground by the Red Guard soldiers, unable to move.

Among these people were Shen Faxing's relatives, as well as the families of local officials who colluded with Du Fuwei and betrayed the imperial court.

When the garrison commander of Jiangdu sent Colonel Song Hao to attack Du Fuwei, the campaign was ultimately defeated, and Song Hao himself died in the chaos of battle.

His failure stemmed from his underestimation of the enemy and his reckless advance, but even more so from the collusion between local officials and Du Fuwei, who acted as a double agent from within.

Now, Song Hao is dead.

But these people who once betrayed the court are to be used today as a sacrificial offering to the flag, to commemorate the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country.

"Cut them all down." Lü Xiao glanced at the men, then mounted his steed, Red Hare.

"Kill!" Zhao Chong stepped forward and shouted.

Immediately afterwards, a series of soft, popping sounds were heard.

The soldiers of the Red Valiant Army raised their broadswords high and then brought them down heavily.

A flash of cold light, and heads rolled to the ground.

"Send word throughout the Jianghuai region: whoever presents Shen Faxing's head will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces."

Lu Xiao sat on his horse, waving his hand with an air of grandeur.

In any case, all this money was ill-gotten gains obtained by Yuwen Chenglong and his men through ransacking homes and digging up graves.

He spends money without any restraint, without feeling the pinch at all.

When you run out of money, just wipe out a few more tribes and dig up a few graves, and you'll have money again, right?

The world has no shortage of rich people.

"Your Highness, this is too... too much..."

Upon hearing the words "a reward of a thousand gold pieces," Yuwen Chenglong gasped in shock, feeling as if his heart was bleeding.

Even if this money is easy to come by, it shouldn't be used like this!