"In a world full of Haotian's Divine Light, the Skyscraping Devil's Dance should not have appeared. Facing the pressure of West-Hill Taoism, especially that abbey, who can protect you? Your Majesty, the Headmaster of the Academy, the Abbey Dean, or that person? "
"The former Emperor was the Tang Emperor. He only needed to say one word, and hundreds of thousands of cavalries would sweep the world and smash all the Taoist temples into scrap iron. He had the Academy behind him, so he could ignore the Haotian Divine Light falling from the sky. But why would he turn against the West-Hill Divine Kingdom for a Saintess of the Devil's Doctrine?"
"That person went to cultivate the Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation. I'm afraid that he has already forgotten you, his disciple, during the transformation. Then who can protect you? Me? But I'm just a general with brute force. I'm neither the Headmaster of the Academy nor the Abbey Dean. I don't have that kind of power … So I can only protect myself with your death. Because I need to survive, because there are more important people in my life waiting for me to protect. "
Many years later, in the military camp on the border between the Tang Empire and the Yan Kingdom, the general whose mane had long grown grey recalled the Skyscraping Devil's Dance that had confused the Three Realms. There was no emotion on his face.
It started from a letter sent by the hierarch of Haotian Taoism of the West-Hill Divine Kingdom to the capital of Chang 'an. In that letter, the hierarch of Haotian Taoism changed his attitude of getting along with the royal family of the Tang Empire on an equal footing and avoiding conflicts. He expressed extreme anger to the royal family on behalf of hundreds of millions of believers of Haotian Taoism. He severely accused a general of colluding with the remnants of the Devil's Doctrine and demanded an explanation from the royal family of the Tang Empire.
At the same time that the letter was sent, three Great Divine Priests of high status who rarely left the West-Hill Divine Kingdom led countless masters of their sect to pass through Yan Xi. They came to the vast Min Mountain not far from the border of the Tang Empire. The warning they expressed was very strong. If the Tang Empire did not give the believers of Haotian Taoism an explanation, then Haotian Taoism would not mind taking the risk of falling out with the Tang Empire to kill the remnant of the Devil's Doctrine.
Not many people knew about that storm. Before the Tang Imperial Family could react in time, General Xiahou cruelly cooked the beautiful woman to death. Haotian Taoism was very satisfied with the explanation given by the Tang Empire, and the Tang Empire avoided another war with the world because of the woman's death.
The people of the Tang Empire would never be afraid of a war with the world, but no one would be willing to shed blood for a Saintess of the Devil's Doctrine. Therefore, only a few people who knew the inside story had been guessing whether the Tang Emperor's benevolence towards General Xiahou was to comfort him from the pain of losing his arm.
This kind of speculation was not necessarily in line with the facts, but the truth of history was always hidden in the gutter at the door. If one wanted to see it, one would have to endure too much mud and stench, and no one would be willing to take the initiative to uncover it.
Many years had passed in the blink of an eye. In the autumn of the 13th year of the Tianqi era of the Tang Empire, the former Saintess of the Devil's Doctrine, Murong Linshuang, had become the poor nameless concubine who was cooked alive in the memories of the common people. And in this autumn, there was another letter written by the hierarch of Haotian from the West-Hill Divine Kingdom to the capital of the Tang Empire, Chang 'an.
"I haven't seen that letter, but I heard that my father was very angry at that time. He tore the letter into pieces and scattered them all over the palace. On one hand, he sent Eunuch Cui to the Yan territory to ask Xiahou if it was true, and on the other hand, he secretly ordered the Defender-general of the State Xu Shi to secretly mobilize troops, ready to attack the West-Hill Divine Kingdom once they turned hostile."
Prince Li Peiyan of the Tang Empire looked at the letter in his hand and shook his head with a wry smile. The wrinkles at the corner of his eyes disappeared as soon as they appeared. He said angrily, "What on earth do those old Taoists want to do? Now they even ask me to deliver this letter to my brother. Although the tone is calm, Yan Suqing's death is after all the internal affairs of the empire. Even if he used to be a disciple of your West-Hill, there is no reason for him to send a letter to ask about it. How can my brother not be angry? "
A steward of the prince's mansion stood behind him obediently and said with a smile, "Everyone knows that His Majesty doesn't like those Taoists of West-Hill. The hierarch of Haotian is also the most honorable person in the world. He probably doesn't want to directly deliver a letter to His Majesty, only to be directly slapped in the face by His Majesty. That's why he asks Your Highness to deliver it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the steward immediately said respectfully, "In this world, only you are qualified to mediate between His Majesty and the hierarch of Haotian."
"Humph, do I want to be the messenger?" Li Peiyan sneered and said, "In the first year of Tianqi era, my brother had just ascended the throne and was inspecting the Great Swamp in the south. He asked me to stay in the capital city of Chang 'an to supervise the country. I was young and impulsive at that time, and I really believed the West-Hill swindlers. As a result, my brother was very angry after that, and it took many years to ease the relationship."
Everyone knew that the imperial family of the Tang Empire and the West-Hill Divine Palace were at loggerheads in the secular world and the West-Hill Divine Palace. But this Prince could be regarded as an exception. He not only had a good relationship with the South School of Haotian in the Tang Empire, but also had occasional correspondence with the West-Hill Divine Palace. The communication between the two sides started from a certain cooperation in the first year of Tianqi era.
The steward looked at the Prince's slightly frowning eyebrows and thought that he had served His Highness for so many years, but still could not understand why His Highness would risk His Majesty's displeasure to befriend the West-Hill Divine Palace. He never dared to ask about this matter. But at this time, seeing His Highness holding the letter written by the hierarch of Haotian in a daze, he finally made up his mind. Looking out of the window, he summoned up his courage and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, there is strong support from the outside, and we will be safe inside …"
Hearing this, Li Peiyan was slightly startled. Then he looked at the steward who had followed him since he was a child with a faint smile. Suddenly he reached out and patted the steward's shoulder, and said in a gentle voice, "You are indeed worthy of being an old man in the mansion. You can see through my mind."
After the steward left, the smile on Li Peiyan's face suddenly faded. He gently knocked on the copper bell beside the table and called a guard. After a moment of contemplation, he said in a cold voice, "There is something wrong with the steward. Inform the palace to send secret guards to keep an eye on him …"
"No, just kill him directly!" Li Peiyan said in a deep voice, "How dare he provoke the relationship between me and my brother. This kind of person can't be left alive. Then inform the Military Ministry and ask them to investigate how the chief steward entered the Prince's Mansion when I left the palace. Focus on investigating whether he has any relationship with the West-Hill."
After arranging these matters, His Highness stayed alone in the study for a long time. He sat at the desk and recalled what happened that year. His straight and thick eyebrows slowly knitted together. Regarding the Xuanwei General's Mansion and the massacre in the Yan territory, he did not think that he did anything wrong. Because he insisted that he did those things for the Tang Empire.
Now the Tang Empire had countless cavalry generals, the Academy and the Headmaster of the Academy. Even the West-Hill Divine Kingdom did not dare to show any hostility. However, the Tang Empire had to survive for thousands of years. What if the national power weakened after a few generations? The Headmaster of the Academy would leave this world one day. What would happen then? What if the prophecy of the Seven Tomes of Arcane in the temple came true? In order to maintain a good relationship with the Haotian Taoism, whose believers were all over the world, so what if some unimportant people died?
As long as the foundation of the Tang Empire was not affected, he did not care about those innocent people who died.
He believed that his brother would not care either.
…
(To be continued … If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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