The blood-stained Black Tortoise Sect was quickly cleaned up.
The stone slabs that would bubble with a single step, the broken limbs on the ground, and the corpses piled up like a small mountain all scared the palace maids who were responsible for cleaning the ground until their faces turned pale and they trembled with fear.
Li Changqing ordered Li Jingsu to bring the white-robed army back to the camp outside Chang 'an City, leaving only 5,000 Dragon Cavalry Guards to guard the Imperial City.
……
Taiji Palace.
Li Yuan sat on the dragon throne with a dispirited expression. His eyes were sunken and lifeless, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
Outside, even if he saw his sons killing each other, he had to maintain his imperial dignity and not cry like an ordinary old man.
Even in the depths of the palace, he couldn't completely release his emotions.
"Your Majesty, this old servant has already inquired about the matter you instructed.”
After an unknown period of time, Li Yuan's personal eunuch, Wang Chengren, the chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, walked into Taiji Palace.
Li Yuan raised his head again, and the sadness on his face instantly disappeared, leaving only a dignified look that no one dared to look at.
Wang Chengren bowed and said," The deposed Crown Prince released the news and sent a memorial to His Majesty to marry Princess Pingyang to the Great General of the Right Xiao Wei. Not long after the news spread, General Tian Ce hurried to the palace.”
Hearing this, Li Yuan's expression kept changing. He was shocked, frowning, and terrified.
Just as Li Yuan was deep in thought, the guard outside the door reported that the King of Qin, Li Shimin, requested an audience.
As soon as Li Shi Min entered Taiji Palace, he hurried to Li Yuan and said worriedly,
"Eldest Brother plotted to ambush Sixth Brother. This son misses Imperial Father and has come to see him. Now that things have come to this, I beg Imperial Father to sympathize with you. You must not be too sad and damage your dragon body!”
At this moment, Li Yuan only wanted to verify his thoughts and was not in the mood to talk about other things with Li Shiming.
"Shi Min, I ask you, is there anything that Changqing and Xiu Ning are hiding from me?"”
Li Shiming was stunned, but he quickly realized what Li Yuan was asking.
He pretended to hesitate for a moment before saying with a sorrowful expression,"It's not that your sons and subordinates intentionally hid this from Imperial Father, but this matter is truly shocking. If this matter were to spread, the entire world would curse and laugh at you.
Long before his father's uprising, Sixth Brother and Third Sister had secretly had an affair. With the establishment of the White Robe Army, the two of them joined hands and galloped on the battlefield, their relationship deepening.
We were worried that Imperial Father would be furious about this humiliation, so we didn't inform him.”
Li Yuan's face darkened. Li Shiming's words confirmed his guess.
"No wonder, no wonder Changqing always interfered in the marriage arrangements for Xiuning." No wonder he was so easily lured into the Black Tortoise Sect by Jiancheng.”
In an instant, the things that Li Yuan couldn't figure out before were all cleared up.
Although he doted on Li Changqing more than Li Shimin, the world could not tolerate the relationship between siblings.
Whether it was for Li Changqing and Li Xiu Ning, or for the face of the Li Tang royal family, he would never allow such an immoral thing to happen.
He stood up and shouted,"Wang Chengren, hurry to the Huo Mansion and pass on the decree." He ordered Chai Shao and the Imperial Astronomical Supervisor to discuss an auspicious day to marry Princess Ping Yang!”
"Yes!"
The Chief Eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Wang Chengren, bowed and left Taiji Palace.
……
In the imperial garden of the imperial palace, flowers bloomed all over the ground and butterflies danced. It was a fragrant scene.
Li Changqing and Li Xiu Ning walked side by side along the path of the imperial garden.
The eunuchs and serving girls who passed by along the way all bowed respectfully when they saw them.
The White Robe Army's fame shook the world. It wasn't just due to Li Changqing's contribution, but also because of Li Xiu Ning.
Li Xiuning opened her mouth and said,"Recently, the border has been repeatedly attacked by the Turks. The Tubo are also eyeing us covetously." Since ancient times, every time the Central Plains underwent a revolution, these foreign tribes would be restless.
Evergreen, you can guard Youzhou against the Turks. As for the Tubo side, Imperial Father also planned to send General Li Ji to oversee it. The danger at the Great Tang's borders can be temporarily resolved."
Li Changqing nodded." Li Ji is proficient in the art of war. He's a commander." With him here, Tubo can hardly make a difference. However, I don't want to defend the city when I go to Youzhou.
I plan to lead the Dragon Cavalry deep into the desert and engage in guerrilla warfare against the Turks. I'll do my best to eliminate the small and medium-sized tribes of the Turks so as to intimidate the Turkic Court and prevent them from wantonly pillaging the Great Tang's borders. This will give the Imperial Court more time to recuperate.”
The Turks had plundered the Great Tang's borders by relying on their swift cavalry.
The border guards could only defend passively.
Thus, every time the Turkic cavalry retreated after looting, the defenders could only watch helplessly, unable to pursue.
As for the 5,000 Dragon Knights in the White Robe Army. He is more brave than the Turkic cavalry.
If they encountered a small Turkic army, they could easily annihilate them.
"Although the Turks are a nomadic race, the various tribes are scattered. Five thousand dragon cavalry could indeed move unhindered in the desert. However, once they were surrounded by them, it was almost a situation of death.”
Li Changqing looked at a caterpillar struggling to break out of the cocoon and fly away.
"As the Heavenly Strategy General, I can't just watch as the people on the border suffer endless harassment from the Turks."
Some things had to be done by someone. Just like this insect, if it did not break out of its cocoon and become a butterfly, it could only die in its cocoon.
Facing the foreign invaders, we can't just blindly defend and be weak. Only by completely defeating the Xiongnu like the Han Dynasty could they get it done once and for all.”
Li Xiu Ning was silent. Her eyes, which were as bright as black gems, were filled with worry.
However, she did not persuade Li Changqing anymore because she understood Li Changqing's feelings for his country the best. She also understood that Li Changqing had the ambition to protect his family and to cure Huo Qubing.
Passing by a cluster of flowers, Li Changqing carefully plucked a bright-colored rose and inserted it into Li Xiuning's hair.
"I don't know when we'll meet again on this trip to Youzhou," he sighed.”
Li Xiuning lowered her head, her pretty face slightly red, and she looked beautiful.
Even the rose on her head seemed to be overshadowed. It could be said that she was more delicate than a flower.
But soon, her expression changed again.""Imperial Father has issued an imperial edict to recruit Chai Shao as his son-in-law.”
The emperor's words were like gold and jade. The words he said were like water that had been poured out and could not be taken back.
Now that the imperial edict had been issued, Li Xiu Ning and Chai Shao's marriage was already set in stone.
Even if Li Yuan regretted it, it was useless.
Li Changqing was silent for a while. Then, he turned his back to Li Xiu Ning and walked out of the palace, leaving behind a sentence.
"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, Chai Shao won't dare to accept the decree.”
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