Start from the thief

Chapter 622 Persuading Surrender

Less than two days after General Sun took over the defense of Jianmen Pass, the military order from Chang'an arrived.

All the civil and military leaders followed all the necessary procedures, even the emperor's seal was stamped, but even so, General Sun still couldn't believe it.

The military order ordered him to lead his troops back to Yizhou and hand over Jianmen Pass to the Red Lotus Sect.

How is this different from treason?

"Prime Minister Di, General Wang, these two are selling out their country for personal gain. How dare they forge an imperial edict?!"

General Sun put the general order back on the table with trembling hands. He wanted to keep the order privately, but the laws of the Tang Dynasty stated that when a military order is announced, it is never given to the commander-in-chief alone. Instead, all high-ranking military officers, including military supervisors and other civil officials and eunuchs are present to read it out in public.

The generals below had already changed their expressions when they heard the military order, and their expressions changed even more when they heard what General Sun said subconsciously.

Li Qi was defeated in public and taken away by a Tibetan inner guard, which dealt a devastating blow to the morale of Jianmen Pass. If General Sun had not returned to the army immediately, the struggle for command alone would have cost half of the men their lives.

However, when Jianmen Pass was finally stabilized and everyone was preparing for the next Tibetan attack, the Tibetan army did not arrive, but the first military order was finally sent from Chang'an. This meant that the siege of Chang'an had been lifted, but it was not good news.

General Sun gave a bitter smile. The Xue family was preparing to rebel, and he was still hesitating whether to punish the rebels for the country. Now, in the blink of an eye, he was about to become a rebel.

If he obeyed the order, he would become a traitor in his own eyes. If he did not obey the order, he would probably be tied up and handed over to the officers who were watching him covetously, and be labeled a traitor.

What's wrong with this world?

"Let's prepare to hand over the city defense."

General Sun gave up struggling, slowly took off his helmet, and turned to the eunuch supervising the army: "I will ask for a prison cart to be taken to Chang'an."

The military supervisor's eyes flickered, and he finally nodded: "Yes."

After being defeated in several moves on the city wall, Li Qi had already accepted his death, but strangely, this inner scene with two faces did not kill him. Instead, he sealed his meridians and took him directly to a camp very close to Chang'an. Looking at the flags flying everywhere in the camp, he realized that this was the coalition force from Nanyang and Xiangzhou.

Here he met some unexpected people.

Yang He had changed back into his red clothes and put on his mask again, sitting on one side. Zhao Yushu sat on the other side, close to Lan Rong. However, the person sitting in the main seat was a famous Tang Dynasty figure whom Li Qi had met many times.

Di Xiang.

The Red Lotus Sect, the interior of Tubo, Di Xiang, how could these people get together?

"Thank you for your help, Bodhisattva. Please take this letter to Songzhou, and my sect will give way."

Yang He took out a letter and handed it to the Joyful Bodhisattva. The Joyful Bodhisattva twisted his head and changed from a furious male appearance to a smiling female appearance. He took the letter, turned around and left without saying a word.

"Prime Minister Di, what's going on?"

Li Qi was untied, but at a glance, except for Di Xiang, all those present were great cultivators of the seventh level. No matter how confident Li Qi was, he didn't dare to say that he could get away with it at the hands of these people.

"Let's take a look at this first."

Prime Minister Di handed over an imperial edict, which Li Qi took hastily, read through it quickly, his face full of disbelief.

"Your Majesty has abdicated?"

"It's not abdication, it's abdication. Li Huan knows that he has no virtue and ability, and he has no face to be the ruler of the Tang Dynasty anymore, so he issued an edict to abdicate and went to Emperor Taizong's mausoleum to guard the spirit of his ancestor."

Lan Rong stroked his beard and mentioned Li Huan without any respect.

Li Qi sneered: "It's just a thief usurping the throne, what's the point of saying these high-sounding words."

"Li Qi, I remember you were the head of Chang'an Academy."

Zhao Yushu couldn't help but say: "From your attitude and performance, Chang'an Academy is always inferior to Baima Academy, and it should be so."

"you!"

Li Qi was furious, pointing his finger at Zhao Yushu, but he finally smiled bitterly: "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. Your Majesty cannot defeat you, there is nothing to say. What do you want to do by arresting me? I will never recognize your fake emperor as my master."

Zhao Yushu and Li Qi are of similar age and are considered peers. When Li Qi was emotional, he would not listen to anything Zhao Yushu said, but there was someone who could.

Lan Rong glanced at Zhao Yushu, and Old Zhao immediately lowered his head and shut up, pretending to be a coward. Putting aside their cultivation, everyone present was apparently his elder. Even Yang He, now that he put on the mask, he was the leader of the Red Lotus Sect who controlled one-third of the world.

"You think too much. The Tang Dynasty is full of talented people. If Li Huan and Li Jian hadn't acted like this, how could the world be torn apart and the people suffer? You are just a stubborn fool. Your participation in the court may not be a blessing for the people."

Lan Rong narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was too lazy to look Li Qi in the eye. The sarcasm from his superiors and elders made Li Qi's face turn pale, but he couldn't refute a word.

"I captured you just to make the handover of Jiannan Road smoother and reduce the number of deaths. After all, they are all citizens of the Tang Dynasty. We can't let them die in vain because of you. Okay, Li Huan went to the imperial mausoleum, and Li Jian also fled to the southeast. Now the Tibetans have retreated, but the Liao people are still there. But the new Tang Dynasty doesn't need you anymore. Do you plan to accompany Li Huan to guard the mausoleum, or go to the southeast to support Li Jian again?"

Zhao Yushu smacked his lips as he listened. The older, the wiser. Lan Rong tore Li Qi's self-esteem and arrogance to pieces with just a few words, then stomped on him and trampled on him several times.

What do you mean the Tang Dynasty doesn’t need you anymore?

How old is Li Qi? He is already in the seventh heaven, and is favored by Emperor Taizong. Except for his weak brain, this person is a perfect candidate for a lone minister. You just sent his political career to hell with a casual remark that you are no longer needed. How cruel.

No, I have to be nicer to Lan Ling in the future. I must not live with my father-in-law after marriage. By the way, does Lan Rong have any memory of the modern times? If he still remembers, it will be even more troublesome. Then he will ask me for a house or a car. Speaking of which, I don’t seem to have a chance to tell Lan Ling the story of the future.

Zhao Yushu's mind kept jumping around, and he completely forgot that the poor Li Qi in front of him looked as pale as death, and his Taoist faith was about to be shattered.

"Ahem, Lord Lan."

After the villain had finished playing his part, the good guy Di Xiang felt that it was almost time for him to take the stage.

Lan Rong hurriedly cupped his hands and asked, "What do you want, Prime Minister Di?"

"Everyone serves his master, and cannot say he is wrong."

"That's what Prime Minister Di said."

Prime Minister Di turned his head and looked at Li Qi: "Although Li Huan abdicated, Your Majesty is still holding on in the Eastern Capital. Although the overall situation has been determined and the Liao people will be defeated soon, Tongguan and Wuguan are still in the hands of the Liao people, and the two capitals in the east and west have never been able to communicate."

Prime Minister Di paused and said, "Although the Liao Lord has retreated, he is still lingering. Tomorrow at the latest, Governor Lan will lead his army north to drive out the Liao Lord. The leader will also go south to pacify Jiannan Road and keep an eye on Tubo to prevent them from making a comeback."

Li Qi frowned, not understanding why Di Xiang said all this.

"General Wang will personally go to take back Tongguan. This is the general trend of the world. As a descendant of the Li family, can you bear to see the world continue to be divided?"

Li Qi shook his head subconsciously.

"In this case, are you willing to go to the southeast and persuade Li Jian to surrender?"