Chapter 75
Li Xudong was born for war. His violent bloodthirsty nature was completely released on the battlefield, but he was not as delicate as a prince should be, he could endure starvation and hardship even better than the poorest soldiers.
From a prisoner guard to a vanguard and then to a commander-in-chief, in only a short period of two years, he’d already achieved a high status in the army. And as for Gao Nian, he became a good companion to win over the soldiers, his help was very effective. Gao Nian wasn’t made for war, but he loved to boast that he was, and his hobbies were grabbing other’s military work. He pushed others to the front line, while he hid in the rear, trembling. Then when someone else got a kill, he’ll immediately harvest the head of the dead body to claim the work.
But, his name was Gao, who could fight him? Although the soldiers didn’t say it, they’d lost a lot of respect and admiration for Gao Min, they didn’t respect him as a great War God anymore.
While Li Xudong won over the 800,000 troops in the South, Li Jin Tian was also disintegrating Gao Min’s millions of private troops. He divided them into several shares, then sent them piece by piece to Six Princes’ side.
After three years of investigation, there was no doubt in his mind that Six Princes was the most suitable future Emperor. The other princes he’d sent to Beijing were just a few shields he’d put up. He placed the eighth and ninth prince in high positions, but they were successfully damaged by the Gao family, and now, even Seven Princes was accused of misconduct by the courtiers and was facing a ban. Only Six Princes avoided trouble because he was away in the army.
Because he couldn’t go abroad to get rid of Six Princes, Gao Min entrusted a confidant to assassinate him, but although they tried frequently for three years, they had no success. Li Jin Tian knew of this matter, but he couldn’t directly accuse Gao Min. He thought that if Gao Jia was destroyed, Gao Min would calm down and obediently stay with him, just like Qi Xiujie.
So, he didn’t stop the attacks, but he sent a lot of manpower to protect Six Princes.
Li Xudong was stabbed in battle and was sitting in the tent, waiting for the exceptionally comely looking military doctor to open his back bandage to observe the wound.
“Did you just bathe?” Li Xudong’s nose twitched.
The military doctor lowered his head and muffled out an affirmative.
“You always have a very quiet and elegant fragrance, you know?” Li Xudong was now eighteen, his height was a full 6ft 3in. He had bronze skin and strong muscles peeking out from his semi-open shirt. His extraordinary appearance and cold temperament made him infinitely charming.
He leaned slightly closer to sniff the military doctor’s exposed white neck, his expression seemed intoxicated.
The military doctor was shocked, he quickly covered his neck with his hands, his cheeks flushed, his handsome face filled with color. For these three years, because there weren’t any beauties, the military doctor was always molested by different soldiers because of his feminine appearance.
Li Xudong smiled deeply, he grabbed the doctor’s arm and sighed, “What use is covering it up now, I saw you when you showered the other day.”
The military doctor’s eyes widened in panic.
Li Xudong’s voice became hoarser and lower, “You deliberately led me to your camp to be medicated, wasn’t that to make me see the Zhusha Zhi on your neck? I’m not a narrow-minded person, Gao Min is a Ger, yet he can lead the army, why can’t you save lives?”
The military doctor’s eyes instantly lit up, he gave Li Xudong a grateful look. When Li Xudong reached out to touch his Zhusha Zhi, he unexpectedly didn’t struggle.
Li Xudong lifted up the layer of fake skin, slowly stroked the Zhusha Zhi and sighed, “How much did Gao Min give you to seduce me? Do you intend to steal military secrets from me, then sell them to our enemies, so I will die by their hands? He’d even disregard the safety of our country’s people to get ahead, Gao Min is really too much. He’s the Great General of Da Yanguo? What a joke.”
Not affected by the doctor’s sudden struggle, his fingers neatly pinched the other’s neck and tore out the neck skin containing the Zhusha Zhi, then he threw it into the lit brazier. He glanced at the gaping hole in the neck.
His expression gradually changed from ruthless to reminiscent and gentle. Jun Father’s Zhusha Zhi was also on his neck, it was small, red, and very cute. Many times, whenever he hugged him from behind, he wanted to put his mouth on the Zhi, licking and biting. These thoughts started when he was 15. One night, he was so excited that he couldn’t fall asleep. Those thoughts had kept him hard for several hours, when he finally felt too uncomfortable, he gave up his restraints.
Soon, very soon, Jun Father will be mine. He gave a determined smile, then tore open his bandage and poured a layer of alcohol on the wound.
Two guards walked in and skillfully dragged the dead body out of the tent.
The next day, the war drums beat as usual, and Li Xudong lead the South army and directly took the enemy commander’s head. He heard the sound of an arrow being released so he waved his sword, splitting it in half, then he looked back to see Gao Nian in the archery position, his expression stunned.
Did the assassin fail too many times so you decided to do it yourself? This job is beyond your capabilities coward.
Li Xudong gave him a mocking smile while he reached for the bow on his back. Gao Nian tried to escape, but a stream of arrows penetrated the back of his head, finishing him off.
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In Zi Chen Palace, Zhou Yun Sheng was reading the letter sent by the wolf cub. He actually killed Gao Nian in front of all the soldiers, that child is still the same, no tact. So, Gao Lang must now be even more tempted to turn me into a bundle of firewood, right?
He thought for a moment, then after he sent an urgent letter to order the wolf cub to lead the army night and day back to the capital, he personally went to Yang Xin Temple.
Li Jin Tian wanted to completely strip away Gao Jia from Gao Min. As long as Gao Min stayed at his side, he didn’t care if Gao Jia or even if Five Princes died. When he received the impeachment request for Six Princes after he murdered the second son of Gao Lang, he only slightly glanced at it, then ignored it.
Gao Jia and Li Wang’s power had been greatly reduced, he didn’t need to endure them anymore.
Then when he heard Qi Xiujie’s request to bury the bones of his family, he immediately agreed to it, and even personally picked out a Feng Shui treasure to bury them with.
His every move made Gao Min angry, puzzled, and even disheartened. He didn’t understand why the man’s feelings for him had suddenly changed.
But Gao Lang saw the warning signs better than his brother and sneaked into the temple for a secret meeting.
“This intolerance isn’t sudden. The Emperor has hated our Gao Jia since three years ago, he is planning to take us out. He wants Six Princes to be the heir candidate, choosing your son was nothing but a pretext.” Gao Lang slowly opened.
“Impossible.” Gao Min immediately denied.
“Six Princes was supposed to be a waste, but when he went to the border his legs miraculously improved, he also repeatedly built up meritorious service. How do you think he constantly escapes our monitoring and assassination attempts? Without Li Jin Tian’s protection, he wouldn’t be alive today. If Li Jin Tian wasn’t helping him, he wouldn’t have his status today. Min, stop fooling yourself, Li Jin Tian has changed. He wants to destroy Gao Jia, destroy you, me, and even kill your son. You know it’s true, look at his actions these days. Gao Nian was murdered by Six Princes but he didn’t even rebuke him, he also gave Qi permission to bury his family. His heart is completely biased to that father and son.”
Gao Min was silent. A chill started in his bones and gradually spread throughout his body.
“Brother… what can I and Li Xu Yan do?”
“Do you still have the Hu Fu?” Gao Lang’s eyes had killing intent.
“The Hu Fu, I’ve already returned the Hu Fu to Li Jin Tian.” Gao Min’s voice was hoarse.
Gao Lang’s expression twisted for a moment, but he soon calmed down. Since Li Jin Tian was preparing for such a long time, he naturally wouldn’t let brother keep mastery over the army. It’s more likely that in these three years, brother’s military staff have either been conquered, or suppressed by him. They’ve become scattered sand, Gao Jia won’t be able to use them anymore.
He thought for a moment, then he slowly pulled out a porcelain bottle from his pocket and handed it over, “This is called Hun pills, it’s colorless and tasteless in water, after taking this medicine, the body will gradually weaken and die in a month, no cure. Although the frontier are returning to the capital from their victory, Li Xudong’s arrival will take at least two months, we have time. Give this drug to Li Jin Tian every two days, there are 15 tablets. In these 30 days, I’ll make the other courtiers push harder for your son to get the throne, then we can easily strangle Six Princes. If he still stubbornly refuses to give us the throne, after he dies, we’ll take Qi Xiujie hostage and force Six Princes to commit suicide.”
Gao Min struggled with this plan. His straightforward nature and military education made him reluctant to use such means.
“What are you hesitating for? This means our life and death. Don’t forget, we also have hundreds of people in our family. Six Princes values Xiujie, he’ll definitely behead all of our family, including your son, in vengeance for him.” Gao Lang wanted to slap his brother awake.
After listening to this, Gao Min clenched his teeth, grabbed the porcelain bottle and left.
Their dialogue was soon reported to Zhou Yun Sheng’s desk, he sneered when he saw their plans.
He’d expected this outcome.
Qi family, although they had a large presence, always acted cautiously, low-key, and they would always take time to assess the situation. When they’d pledged allegiance to Xuan Wang, they only wanted stability, they had no ambition. Gao Lang was the opposite, he’s paranoid, ruthless, and also ambitious. The more adversity he faced from the top, the more his desire to rule increased.
007 didn’t send much data about what happened to Li Xu Yan after he was enthroned, but if Li Xu Yan was really such a wise Emperor, he would have ultimately had to fight against his uncle, to prevent his relatives from stealing his throne.
And Gao Min was the youngest Gao son, although he had a resolute personality, he couldn’t conceal his weakness. At any crucial moment, he always lost his confidence, and he became indecisive and easily confused. His weakness was Five Princes, for Five Princes, he could give up on all his principles and become the world’s most vicious person.
Zhou Yun Sheng mastered the weaknesses of everyone’s character and took advantage of it. The second dream he’d sent the Emperor was not something he’d produced on a whim, but a refraction of reality. After he pushed Li Jin Tian, everyone else followed him onto the chess board, forming today’s outcome.
Life is like chess, it’s either a fiasco or a victory, all the ups and downs were in your hands. That’s why Zhou Yun Sheng liked fighting- fighting people and fighting with the Lord God. This was the best amusement.
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T/N:
Hu Fu- Wiktionary “Two-piece tiger-shaped tally issued to generals as imperial authorization for troop movement in ancient China, with one issued to a military officer which would be matched with the other half.”
Hun- Soul