C41

At the foot of the Southern Mountains, Emperor Taizong of the Emerald Palace, upon learning that the Crown Prince Li Chenggang had colluded with the Marquis of Chen and King's Assembly to rebel, immediately summoned his personal guards and prepared to return to the capital. Although the personal guards were the emperor's guards in name, as they were in charge of the emperor's daily necessities, they did not put many officials or even court officials in their eyes. However, after all, they were only the personal guards of the Emperor. They were just a group of guards with extraordinary martial arts and skills. There were still many people in the entire imperial government who could control them. For example, the prime minister of the imperial court, Wei Zheng, or the general assembly of the dukes and marquis of Chen who worshipped all under the heavens …

They were afraid of Fang Xuanming because he was a senior official in the imperial court, a powerful official in the country, and Wei Zheng because of their respect and admiration for this powerful order that was a must, and Hou Junzhu was the kind of respect and obedience a subordinate had towards his superiors! Now, the person in front of them was one of the three, Hou Junchen!

Hou Junjun had been through hundreds of battles in his life, and not to mention his wisdom and brain, his toughness from training on a war horse and his imposing manner when he was not angry could overwhelm all the men in the world! Now that he was the crown prince's father-in-law and the marshal of the world's forces, his influence could be said to be as powerful as the imperial court!

However, since the emperor had an order, he had no choice but to accept it. Although he knew that the path ahead would be a path of death, a path of death! Emperor Taizong did not have the time to change his clothes. This was because he was dressed in casual clothes and was travelling on the same road as everyone else. Furthermore, he was riding on that large and eye-catching red horse at the very front of the group!

Of course, the journey wasn't smooth. They didn't have to walk more than five kilometers to see the group of men in black lying in ambush by the roadside. Emperor Taizong was not surprised, because he knew that even though the crown prince had a weak personality, he was still a very intelligent person. Adding on the fact that he was the accomplice of a king, it was not hard to calculate that after he received the news of the two usurping power, he would immediately return to the capital to clean up the mess. At that moment, he ordered his guards to dress up like colorful streams of people. As long as they saw Emperor Taizong, they would immediately behead him!

Since the crown prince had ascended to the Dragon Throne, he had to obey orders. Otherwise, not to mention whether Emperor Taizong could return, even if he could preserve his own life before he returned to the throne, it was still a question. How many people in history would be forgiven for swaying left and right? By then, he would have already died!

Mount South was currently within the borders of Shaanxi, and belonged to a branch of the Qin Mountains. Although the mountain was not tall, it was rich in spirit energy. In total, the Qing Dynasty's White Lotus Cult, the Church of Heaven and Earth, and later Hong Men and Qing Gang were all inextricably linked to the True Supreme Sect. Under normal circumstances, these anti-Qing and anti-Ming organizations would usually give out manpower, instructing martial arts from the whole sect as well as the other factions. It was because the several falls of the palace had more or less connected with the whole sect.

The palace built at the foot of the mountain was about a hundred and twenty miles away from the governor of the city. However, in this short distance of one hundred and twenty miles, there were at least six or seven obstacles. Later, when he saw that the two were ineffective, he would force the people in the villages by the roadside to kneel down. The killers would use these people as hostages to force this Emperor Taizong, who loved his people like children, to show himself. His methods could be said to be all-consuming. He only had one goal, and that was to kill Emperor Taizong on his way back to Chang'an! Even though Crown Prince Li Chengkang and the Marquis of Chen have taken control of the imperial government and suppressed a group of important officials loyal to Emperor Taizong. But in the end, Emperor Taizong had already reigned for nearly twenty years. Moreover, his politics were clear and bright, and he loved his people like they were his sons. He was deeply loved and respected by the people. It was Emperor Taizong who had ordered them to provide relief. He had even led them to only eat two meals a day, calling upon the people of the world to save a single ration of food for the people of the city …

Li Chengqian knew his father's prestige, so when he decided to usurp the throne and act, in his heart, he had no intention of letting his father return to Chang'an. After all, with Emperor Taizong's prestige and achievements, everyone would rather him sit in the throne of the Emperor than himself, the crown prince!

However, everyone, including Li Chengqian and Hou Junchen, had underestimated Emperor Taizong and the personal guards of less than five hundred people by his side. The two of them had been obstructing him six or seven times along the way. It was evident how important they were to each other. Without even meeting an assassination attempt, Emperor Taizong's heart had cooled down a bit. His own son wanting him dead in a place of his own was probably the most chilling thing in the world for his parents!

After Li Chengqian and Hou Junchen had sent out seven groups of men and horses, they thought that things were already certain. As long as Emperor Taizong dared to return to court, he could kill him with confidence. After that, he could inherit the throne as the crown prince of Li Chengqian. The two of them had fought for a long time, but it was not to their liking. Not to mention killing Emperor Taizong, they didn't even have the chance to approach Emperor Taizong. They were blocked by the guards on the outside one by one like deathsworn, one by one they acted as meat shields to block the attacks of Emperor Taizong. However, after these seven batches of enemies attacked, the personal guards that originally had less than five hundred soldiers had already been reduced by half. Excluding those that couldn't fight, even if they went up into the clouds, they could only barely reach the figure of three hundred people.

Sometimes, more money and less money was just a number, but at this point in time, three hundred people were far from being able to compete with five hundred people. Moreover, right below Chang An city, the personal guards of three hundred men met the Duke of Chen, Feng Jianxue, who was standing right in front of the moat …

As he rode on the red horse, Emperor Taizong, who was dressed casually, saw the person sitting across the river from him. His resolute and useless expression finally revealed some sadness, and some resentment …

He looked at Hou Junchen, and Hou Junchen was also looking back at him. The two men who had originally been subjects of the throne were now enemies. The river that was neither wide nor deep was now separating the two of them like a deep chasm! Behind Emperor Taizong were the three hundred untidy personal guards, wearing a set of colored clothes. On the other hand, there were the thousand guards of the Sixteenth Guard who stood behind Hou Junchen. The silver armor reflected the dazzling sunlight, making everyone's eyes hurt.

Emperor Taizong looked up at the sky and gave a long sigh. He silently retracted the eyes that were filled with hatred and sorrow, and returned the tears that were about to spill. Then, he turned around and looked straight at the person standing on the other side of the moat. His gaze was like a knife, scraping his face until it hurt …