83: Chang'an garrison, Su Dingfang

Chang'an City, outside the main hall.

Li Chengqian began a massacre!

Li Shimin reluctantly maintained his last semblance of imperial dignity, refraining from roaring on the spot.

He had to wait, he must wait.

Finally, thunder rumbled, coming from the distant end of Chang'an Avenue.

The sound was initially faint, like the pulsation deep within the earth's veins, or the muffled thunder of a thawing early spring.

Everyone on the square, whether the trembling Civil and Military Officials or the clan heads of the aristocratic families prostrating on the ground, subconsciously held their breath.

What's happening?

Is it an illusion?

No.

The vibration grew clearer, stronger.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Uniform, heavy, and powerful.

It was the sound of tens of thousands of iron boots simultaneously striking the bluestone slabs!

An army was advancing!

Li Shimin suddenly raised his head, his eyes bursting with a light of bewildered uncertainty.

Xuanjia Army?

Had his Xuanjia Army arrived?

No, that's not right, the direction is wrong!

The Xuanjia Army was stationed outside the city; even at full speed, it was impossible for them to come from the direction of the Vermillion Bird Gate!

Soon, the answer was revealed.

At the end of their sight, on Zhuque Avenue, a black tide surged forth!

Banners embroidered with the character "Su" fluttered in the wind, rustling loudly.

Following closely behind were dense, boundless soldiers!

They wore dark iron armor, held long spears, and carried bows and crossbows on their shoulders, forming a steel torrent that, with an irresistible Aura, instantly filled everyone's vision.

Chang'an Defenders!

It was Su Dingfang and his hundred thousand Chang'an Defenders!

They had actually appeared here at this moment!

"It's... it's General Su Dingfang!"

A sharp-eyed Official exclaimed, his voice trembling with the joy of surviving a catastrophe.

"Heavens! It's the Chang'an Defenders! A full hundred thousand-strong army!"

"Your Majesty! It's Your Majesty's troops!"

The crowd stirred, the atmosphere of despair instantly ripped open, allowing a fierce wind named hope to rush in.

Li Shimin stared intently at that black ocean, at the leading rider, a general clad in heavy armor with a face as resolute as iron.

Su Dingfang!

The towering rage that had been suppressed to its extreme in his chest was instantly replaced by ecstasy!

It was an ecstasy of returning to the human world from Hell, of seeing a way out of a desperate situation!

He almost burst into laughter!

Su Dingfang galloped to the front of Taiji Hall, abruptly reining in his horse a hundred paces from Li Shimin.

The warhorse reared, letting out a long neigh.

He dismounted, his armor plates clashing with a crisp, metallic sound.

He didn't look at anyone, not even glancing at the Crown Prince in the center of the square, holding a clan genealogy and surrounded by golden armored guards and Shu Mountain Sword Cultivators.

In his eyes, there was only the man in the Dragon robe.

Su Dingfang strode forward, each step landing on everyone's heart.

He walked directly to the foot of the imperial steps, without the slightest hesitation, and with a "thud," knelt on one knee, his voice like a great bell.

"Your subject, General of the Left Wuwei, Su Dingfang, leading one hundred thousand Chang'an Defenders, has come to protect Your Majesty!"

"Your subjects are late in coming to Your Majesty's rescue, causing Your Majesty to be startled; our crime is punishable by ten thousand deaths!"

"Boom!"

As Su Dingfang knelt, the hundred thousand-strong army behind him, moving in perfect unison, instantly knelt on one knee.

The butts of one hundred thousand long spears struck the ground heavily, creating a colossal sound that converged into a thunderclap, making the entire Taiji Hall hum!

"Protect His Majesty!"

"Protect His Majesty!!!"

The unified roar of one hundred thousand people, a tidal wave of sound!

At this moment, only this overwhelming Aura, loyal to the imperial power and to Li Shimin, remained between Heaven and Earth!

Li Shimin looked at Su Dingfang kneeling before him, looked at the boundless steel forest behind him, his chest heaving violently.

His taut body finally relaxed, and a huge, indescribable warm current surged through his entire body.

He won!

He was still the Son of Heaven of the Great Tang!

"Good! Good! Excellent!"

Li Shimin uttered three "good"s in a row; he slowly descended the imperial steps and personally helped Su Dingfang up.

"My dear minister, what crime have you committed? Your ability to lead troops here at this moment is a great meritorious deed! I shall richly reward you!"

His hand gripped Su Dingfang's arm tightly, with such force that he poured all his hope and lingering fear into it.

With this hundred thousand-strong army, his Li Shimin's backbone was straightened once more!

This was the confidence he should have as an Emperor!

The entire court of Civil and Military Officials also completely came back to life at this moment.

Their gazes towards Li Shimin were once again filled with awe and adoration.

"Your Majesty is indeed a True Dragon Son of Heaven, planning strategies and having a backup plan early on!"

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard, whispering to Du Ruhui beside him with a face full of emotion.

"Indeed, Your Highness Chengqian is still a bit young, thinking that he could overturn the world with some surprise troops, unaware that Your Majesty's methods are beyond his comprehension."

Du Ruhui nodded slightly, his eyes filled with understanding.

Those Officials who had previously been scared pale now also straightened their backs, whispering to each other.

"I knew it, how could Your Majesty not be prepared?"

"Your Highness Chengqian, this time, is probably going to take a big fall."

"Hmph, assassinating court Officials, coercing his sovereign father, how could such a rebellious act not fail?"

The tide turned completely in a very short time.

Those who had previously feared Li Chengqian like a tiger now looked at him with a hint of pity and schadenfreude.

And those clan heads of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans who had just sworn allegiance were struck as if by lightning.

They lay stiffly on the ground, not even daring to look up.

Their guts were green with regret.

They had just... just pledged allegiance to a Crown Prince on the verge of ruin?

Wang Gui felt a sudden blackness before his eyes, the world spinning, almost fainting on the spot.

Li Shimin felt the reverent gazes returning to him, and the delight in his heart reached its peak.

He slowly turned around and looked back at Li Chengqian in the center of the square.

At this moment, he was no longer the father driven to a dead end, but the Emperor holding a hundred thousand elite troops and the power of life and death as the Dominator.

His gaze was condescending, carrying the cruelty and pleasure of a cat playing with a mouse.

"Chengqian, my good son."

Li Shimin's voice was unhurried, yet it was like an ice-tempered steel knife, cutting into people's hearts word by word.

"You just said that these Five Surnames and Seven Clans are dogs wagging their tails for scraps."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Su Dingfang and the hundred thousand-strong army behind him, a cold arc curving at the corner of his mouth.

"Now you look again, are your dogs more numerous, or are my soldiers stronger?"

This devastating remark was returned to him, word for word!

Li Chengqian remained silent.

He just stood there quietly, not a trace of panic visible on his handsome, unparalleled face.

Li Chengqian's gaze slowly, slowly swept across the crowd, across the face of every minister.

Finally, his eyes met Li Shimin's again.

Father and son gazed at each other from afar, separated by the crowd, by the kneeling aristocratic families, by the boundary of life and death.

One was the Emperor who had regained control of the universe, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent and satisfaction.

The other was the Crown Prince surrounded, the depths of his eyes holding a cold calm.

The game of chess was not yet over.

Outside Chang'an City, the sky was clear for thousands of miles, yet there was a chilling Aura of death.

Yuan Tiangang, in a wide Daoist robe, moved without wind in the Void Realm.

His figure was ethereal, merging with this Heaven and Earth.

Opposite him were three thousand blurred yet incomparably sharp figures.

Three thousand Shu Mountain Sword Immortals.

They formed a Sword Array, silently suspended there, each person a drawn sharp sword, their Sword Intent piercing the sky, tearing apart the clouds.

That pure and ancient righteous Qi was the tangible Incarnation of the Heavenly Dao itself, cold, just, allowing no evil demons or crooked Dao to exist.

Yuan Tiangang's eyes were as deep as an ancient well.

These Shu Mountain Sword Immortals, rather than Cultivators, were more like a thousand-year-old chain.

They had suppressed the Demon Lock Tower for generations.

Engaging them, regardless of victory or defeat, would trigger an unimaginable catastrophe.

That was Karma capable of overturning the entire world and causing widespread suffering.

He, Yuan Tiangang, prided himself on being able to glimpse Heavenly secrets and manipulate destiny, but in the face of such ancient forces that maintained the order of Heaven and Earth, he was merely a slightly larger ant.

He slowly turned his head, his gaze penetrating the spatial barrier and landing on the majestic city walls of Chang'an.

On the city wall, that line of poetry written in blood, even from such a distant place, still clearly entered his eyes, each character burning with black flames, exuding endless resentment and murderous Qi.

"When my flower blooms, all other flowers die!"

What a "all other flowers die"!

The corner of Yuan Tiangang's mouth twitched, unable to tell if it was sarcasm or a sigh.

Your Highness Chengqian, your ambition has been proclaimed to Heaven and Earth, but will Heaven and Earth give you this opportunity?

An inexplicable palpitation struck without warning; a cold hand clutched his heart.

Yuan Tiangang suddenly looked up at the sky.

It was this glance that made his blood, as an old Daoist who had lived for an unknown number of years and considered his heart as still as water, almost instantly freeze.

The sky had changed.

The edges of the originally bright sun were rapidly being eroded by an indescribable darkness; it was not clouds obscuring the sun, but a true devouring.

An invisible ancient Vicious Beast was slowly dragging the sun into its gaping maw.

The Heavenly Dog devouring the sun!

However, what was even more bizarre and spine-chilling was that beside the devoured sun, a cold, pale moon had also quietly appeared.

Sun and Moon shining together!

One hot, one cold, one bright, one dark, two completely different lights intertwined, showering down upon the human world.

The entire world was enveloped in a strange halo that was neither gold nor silver, neither bright nor dark; mountains, rivers, plants, and living beings were all coated with a color of death.

Great Omen!

This was an unprecedented great omen!

Yuan Tiangang felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head; for the first time, his eyes, which could perceive all things, showed horror.

He quickly calculated with his fingers, his knuckles flying like lightning within his sleeves, so fast that only a blur remained.

However, the Heavenly secret was a Chaos, and all divinations pointed to the character "death."

Not the death of one person, nor the death of one city.

It was the impending doom of a nation, with blood flowing like rivers!

"How could... how could it come to this..."

He murmured, his voice dry.

Just as his mind was violently shaken, before his eyes, that strange halo twisted and changed, gradually revealing the scene outside Taiji Hall in the imperial city.

The picture was so clear, he was standing on that white jade square.

He saw it.

He saw the man who had single-handedly created the Reign of Zhenguan, Li Shimin.

At this moment, the delight and cruelty on this Emperor's face were even more ferocious than the Heavenly Dog in the sky.

His gaze was like a knife, slicing piece by piece at the solitary figure opposite him.

He also saw the Crown Prince, Li Chengqian, on whom he had once placed great hopes.

The Crown Prince stood there, his figure as tall and straight as a pine, and even though he was surrounded by a hundred thousand-strong army, his face still held that cold calm.

Only, the veins on his hands, which held the clan genealogy, bulged, almost crushing the thin paper booklet into dust.

Father and son.

Sovereign and subject.

Life and death.

Swords drawn, bows strung, all in a breath.

Yuan Tiangang understood.

He understood everything.

The Heavenly Dog obscuring the sun, obscured the light of the Emperor.

The Sun and Moon shining together, signified father and son fighting each other to the death!

This palace coup was no longer a simple change of imperial power.

It had affected the celestial phenomena, attracted great ominous signs, and dragged the entire Great Tang into an abyss of eternal damnation.

He had wanted to intervene before, had wanted to make a move for the Crown Prince in this game of chess; now, it seemed, how ridiculous it was.

How was this a game of chess?

This was clearly a bonfire already burning fiercely, and he himself was already within it, with no escape.

The line "When my flower blooms, all other flowers die" on the Chang'an city wall was no longer poetry, but a prophecy.

A prophecy of death... that would come true for everyone.

Yuan Tiangang slowly closed his eyes; when he opened them again, the horror had faded, leaving only a stillness and sorrow like stagnant water.

At this moment.

Li Shimin roared, "Su Dingfang!"

"Your subject is here!"

"Annihilate the rebels! Capture the ringleader Li Chengqian!"

Yes!

Su Dingfang acknowledged the order, and the battle suddenly erupted!

Li Chengqian smiled and said to Li Shimin, "Imperial Father, do you think you've won?"

"What do you say, traitor!"

"Imperial Father, do you know, in the Battle of Xiangji Temple, whoever loses, they are the rebels!"

"