Looking at the halberd that had accompanied him for half his life, King of Tang was expressionless. He didn't speak for a long time.
At this moment, Eunuch Ma appeared beside him. "His Majesty, His Highness the Ninth Prince requests an audience."
"Permission granted." King of Tang didn't look up.
After a while, Li Qiong, the Prince of Duohe, appeared in the royal study. "Greetings, father."
"What's the matter?" King of Tang was still looking at the halberd. The edge of the halberd reflected the light, reflecting his face.
"Father, you sent Big Brother to Northern Qi. Do you want to protect him?" Li Qiong asked.
In this life, the most rude moment he had ever faced King of Tang was probably today.
King of Tang wasn't angry.
He just didn't answer and asked, "Do you want to exchange with him?"
Li Qiong asked, "As long as I want to, can it come true?"
"A king doesn't joke." King of Tang gently wiped the blade of the halberd.
Li Qiong fell into silence.
After a long time, he spoke again. "I … don't want to exchange!"
King of Tang finally put down the halberd in his hand and stood up to face his son.
Li Qiong's eyes were slightly red and his breathing was rapid. "Father, you've only given me this one chance in my life. I don't want to give it up!"
He looked at King of Tang. "I want to fight for it!"
"You're not calm. How can you fight for it?" King of Tang was expressionless.
Li Qiong took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down.
Seeing that he calmed down quickly, King of Tang finally nodded. "Okay, I'll give you this chance."
Slowly, he walked past Li Qiong to the window and looked at the distant sky.
"If I fail in the battle with Chang 'an and lose the country, Hong' er will be the only surviving member of the Wang family.
If I succeed, as long as you're alive, you'll be my Crown Prince. If I die but the country remains, you'll be the new monarch of Tang. "
Li Qiong took a deep breath and knelt to King of Tang. "Thank you for your kindness, father!"
"Get up."
King of Tang's tone was slightly gentler. "I've seen everything you've done since you were a child. This country will eventually be handed over to the most outstanding person. Hong 'er had the chance. Now, let me see your performance."
"Yes, Father!" Li Qiong was excited, but he soon became serious. "Father, please forgive me for speaking bluntly … What you said earlier seems to be inauspicious."
King of Tang calmly said, "That's only natural. Unless we set up layer upon layer of traps, mobilized numerous martial art masters, and made meticulous preparations, only then would we have the confidence to capture Hong Xiao and so many people, without letting a single one escape.
In other words, the strength of Chang 'an was at least equal to that of the Tang Empire, if not even greater.
Therefore, it's natural that I don't have absolute confidence. "
That day, although the Secret Pavilion found out that the Dahe Longmen had used the water route to lure the tiger away from the mountain, they didn't find out that the leader of the Dahe Longmen, Li Jie, had already broken through to the ninth realm. As a result, King of Tang made a mistake in the plan, and in the end, Li Jie escaped. A large number of survivors from the Dragon Gate also escaped.
"As the old saying goes, be careful when you anticipate the enemy." King of Tang said, "My path has been smooth these past few years, and I've been slacking. The Dahe Longmen and Chang 'an made me realize that I can't take down Chang' an alone. Even if everyone works together, we may not be able to win."
"I'll follow your teachings, Father," Li Qiong said.
"You may leave. Be prepared. The war may break out at any time." King of Tang waved his hand.
Li Qiong immediately left.
His eldest brother, the Crown Prince of Eastern Tang, Li Hong, was preparing to go to Northern Qi.
Eastern Tang's long-cherished ally, King of Qi, was also summoning a group of officials.
"Not only the Sixth Prince, but now even the Second Prince has been trapped in Chang 'an. Chang' an has no intention of coexisting peacefully with Qi."
The Prime Minister of Northern Qi stepped out and said, "His Majesty, please issue an edict to join forces with Eastern Tang to destroy Chang 'an and rescue the two princes."
"The Second Prince and Deputy Director Yan have been trapped in Chang 'an. No wonder you're worried."
Beside him, the Grand Tutor of Northern Qi said calmly, "But you need to calm down. Don't speak of war lightly."
The Prime Minister of Northern Qi looked at him coldly. "This concerns Qi's national security. How can I act rashly?"
"Your Majesty, up until now, Chang 'an City has never invaded a single blade of grass or tree of our Qi Kingdom. We haven't even seen the Chang' an garrison on our border with Longbei County of the Eastern Tang."
The Grand Tutor ignored the Prime Minister and spoke directly to King of Qi. "Think about it. Up until now, those who have been troubled by Chang 'an have all gone to Chang' an of their own accord. Apart from that, Chang 'an has nothing to do with us."
Everyone in the hall frowned slightly, looking thoughtful.
Northern Qi's Prime Minister, Qin Bo 'an, looked serious. He knew what the Grand Tutor was going to say.
As expected, the Grand Tutor continued, "There has been no news from Chang 'an. The current situation is unclear. We don't know what happened, but all signs point to the fact that the people who have been detained in Chang' an have acted inappropriately and angered them."
"It's all speculation," Prime Minister Qin said coldly. Prime Minister Qin said coldly, "But Chang 'an has trampled on Qi's national security. If we don't deal with this, how can Qi continue to have a foothold in the Eastern Border?"
"Hong Xiao of Eastern Tang is also gone," someone suddenly said faintly.
Everyone's breathing paused slightly.
The Grand Tutor of Northern Qi smiled slightly. "If we're talking about humiliating the national security, it's Eastern Tang first."
"Without the lips, the teeth will feel cold." Prime Minister Qin retorted.
"Then I'll have to trouble Prime Minister Qin to ask the Dean of your Academy to come out and help King of Tang." The Grand Tutor was still unhurried.
Prime Minister Qin was about to retort when a voice suddenly sounded. "I'll go to Eastern Tang."
Everyone in the hall quieted down and looked at the middle-aged man in the front row.
"If Master Lin is willing to help, it will be successful." Prime Minister Qin let out a sigh of relief.
Everyone else had complicated expressions.
Most of the people in the hall were dressed in Northern Qi's court uniform.
The middle-aged man was dressed in eye-catching clothes made of coarse hemp.
But everyone present, except for King Qi, was in awe of him.
This was because he was one of the six giants of Northern Qi, the Master of Misty Sky Peak, "Sky Fog Sword" Lin Ying, who was also a ninth-realm martial artist like King Qi.
He was named after the Fourteen Sky Fog Swords of his sect. With his attainments in swordsmanship, he was one of the few masters of Misty Sky Peak since ancient times. Even if the founder of Misty Sky Peak came back to life, he might not be able to defeat him.
Lin Ying spoke and immediately made the final decision.
"Thank you, Master Lin." King Qi finally spoke.
Lin Ying nodded and walked out of the hall.
He first returned to Misty Sky Peak.
Hearing that Lin Ying was going to Eastern Tang, the other elders in the sect were shocked.
"Senior Brother Sect Master, this is obviously Gao Tiankai's scheme to kill with a borrowed knife!" Someone hurriedly advised.
"I know." Lin Ying nodded slightly. "But I have to go. Junior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Wang, Yulin, Gao Jun, and other disciples are all in Chang 'an."
"But there is news that Hong Xiao from Eastern Tang's White Horse College hasn't returned either."
The people around him were worried. "The bastards of Eastern Tang are still suppressing the news. It's like they're tricking people to go to Chang 'an to be their vanguard!"
Lin Ying said, "Although we've never fought, I've heard of Hong Xiao's name. I don't have the confidence to defeat him. Since he was defeated in Chang 'an, it's useless for me to go alone.
Since the Eastern Tang wants to drag people into the disaster with them, I'll fulfill their wish. But we have to face the disaster together. "
He looked at the group of disciples who were still worried. "I'll be careful and won't take risks easily. You don't have to worry about me. I know I'm carrying a heavy burden.
But after I leave the mountain, you guys have to keep a low profile and guard against the royal family in case King Qi takes the opportunity to attack. "
Seeing that he had made up his mind, they could only agree. "Please take care, Master."
…
The Eastern Tang Dynasty wanted to suppress the news that Hong Xiao, the dean of White Horse College, had fallen in Chang 'an. But this matter was too explosive. Paper couldn't contain fire, and it finally spread.
While the Eastern Tang royal family was vexed, Zhang Dongyun, who was in Chang 'an City, was similarly displeased.
After knowing what happened to Hong Xiao, others would definitely be vigilant.
And there were very few people like Hong Xiao, who knew that there were tigers in the mountain, but still wanted to go there.
Therefore, Master Zhang looked at the experience points he had obtained from the guardian mission. Looking at the 4,300 experience points difference, he couldn't help but worry.
After thinking for a while, he shook his head and temporarily cleared his mind.
Of course, there was good news.
Several of his armies advanced side by side and basically took down Yunzhong County and Longnan County.
Hong Xiao, Li Xuannian, and the others were all wiped out. This greatly shocked the Eastern Tang.
The Eastern Tang could no longer organize a defensive counterattack like they did in Hexi County.
The Eastern Tang defenders in Yunzhong County and Longnan County were almost defeated at the first attack.
The problem left for Hu Yinghua, Gu Hechuan, and the others was not to conquer the city, but to follow Mr. Dark Cloud's instructions and capture a large number of Tang Army prisoners.
Of course, this could also be the Eastern Tang's plan.
He temporarily retracted his fist so that he could hit harder the next time.
Zhang Dongyun collected information and made a rough judgment of King of Tang's temperament.
He was arrogant, ambitious, and unwilling to be under others.
It was destined that he would not retreat or surrender to Chang 'an.
He would rather die together with the enemy. This was his more likely choice.
Since that was the case, his reaction was weak now. He must have a bigger plan to maximize his chances. Once he did, he must eliminate the threat in Chang 'an.
Zhang Dongyun, as the target, wanted to say:
Please use more strength!
A certain City Lord surnamed Zhang prayed in his heart.
The Eastern Tang would not come for the time being, so he was busy with the improvement of his cultivation level and the construction of Chang 'an.
After conquering Longnan County, Gu Hechuan brought him a good gift.
It was a local force in Longnan called Sky Beacon Mountain.
In terms of strength, it was slightly stronger than the Hanshan school and the Perak Dynasty, which could only cause trouble in Qinzhou Prefecture and Tongzhou Prefecture.
Of course, in the beginning, the Hanshan school could not even monopolize Qinzhou Prefecture and had to face the competition of Shan Hu Tang.
Sky Beacon Mountain, on the other hand, occupied several prefectures in the southeast of Longnan County.
Their leader was at the Sixth Realm. He was stronger than the Hanshan school's leader, Guo Zi, and the Perak Dynasty's leader, Wu Qiong, who were at the Fourth Realm.
There were also many experts in the sect.
However, these were not the reasons that attracted Zhang Dongyun's attention.
What made Zhang Dongyun emotional was that the entire Sky Beacon Mountain sect was very good at smelting weapons.
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