Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 635 Simultaneous Development of Two Lines
In fact, there is still one overlord who has not yet appeared in the current situation, and that is the giant dragon entrenched in the northwest - Li Yuan.

There's a saying after crossing the Yellow River: "Whether the world is in chaos or not, Li Yuan decides." This statement is a bit grandiose, but it's not wrong. As one of the two giants of the north and south, the Li Tang Empire's vast territory and military strength were the foundation of its strength. And that doesn't even include the valiant Second Prince and the battle-hardened Xuanjia Army.

After the Northern Allied Army amassed 400,000 men, the first thing they did was to inform Li Yuan. They didn't even use a forceful tone, but instead addressed him as "Uncle Li Yuan."

In the letter, Yang Ying subtly explained his predicament. He explained that the military buildup was not for conquering the world but for self-preservation. Tian Wei's current actions were clearly aimed at them because it was their small group that had slandered Xia Lin. Once this was discovered, such an act that undermined the foundation of the nation would inevitably lead to war. Therefore, Yang Ying had no choice but to deal with the situation.

He also told Uncle Li to rest assured that the 400,000 men would retire after the war and would never set foot in the Northwest. He asked his uncle to give him a way out.

Yang Ying was quite a character, and his ability to be both flexible and assertive was evident on his face. Although Yang Ying was only three years younger than Li Yuan, he clearly elevated Li Yuan to a generation above him.

At this point, Li Yuan couldn't really say anything, since he was known for being proud and stubborn. So, he chose to remain neutral and observe the situation from the sidelines.

This was actually within Xia Lin's expectations. On the way back, he had talked to Emperor Jingtai about Li Yuan. He said that if Li Shimin were in that position, he wouldn't be Li Shimin if he didn't take the opportunity to conquer the entire North China Plain. But if it was Li Yuan, this guy clearly planned to negotiate terms after the war was over. Asking him to send troops would be harder than climbing to heaven.

However, he shouldn't expect to have a good life. Xia Lin has already sent eight hundred elite troops to the Northwest with Li Shimin. They will be directly under the command of the Eldest Princess. They will then carry out a version of the Xuanwu Gate Incident for them. If this happens, the Li Tang dynasty will not be able to recover for at least three years.

As for what will happen after they recover, what else can happen? Unless the Li Tang dynasty starts cultivating immortality, they will never be able to escape the infamy of killing their brother. As long as Emperor Jingtai refuses to abdicate, they can never hope to escape the predicament of being traitors and rebels.

The name must be righteous, and the words must be righteous. As for whether this will harm the eldest princess, it certainly will. But Xia Lin has other tricks up his sleeve. With them, the entire hidden front of soldiers will also be there. Whatever they do, they just need to provoke Li Jiancheng so that he will make the first move.

While this messy situation remains unresolved, Princess Chang is unlikely to kill her own brother, given her personality. Therefore, it is highly probable that Li Shimin will seize this prestige to force Li Yuan to abdicate, and Li Yuan will likely have to abdicate and become the retired emperor.

Then Li Shimin became emperor. He made it clear that he wouldn't kill his sister, nor would he dare to. After all, he was a shrewd man and knew that killing his sister would result in being bombarded by cannons...

However, as long as he doesn't kill the eldest princess, Li Jiancheng will not die. If Li Jiancheng doesn't die, his Longxi Group will definitely attack Li Shimin. In the end, given Li Shimin's wisdom, he will definitely not choose to fight head-on. He will inevitably compromise and everyone will take a step back. He will give up the throne of the Tang Dynasty, but he cannot let Li Jiancheng take it, because he also needs to live.

In the end, there were only two choices: one was to return the throne to Li Yuan, and the other was to pass the throne to his sister. Giving it to Li Yuan was unlikely. People had only ever heard of fathers passing the throne to their sons, never of such a reversal of the natural order. No matter what, Li Yuan couldn't possibly accept such a shameless act.

Then the throne would naturally fall to Third Sister.

Oh... As for Li Shimin telling Xia Lin that Li Zhi would become emperor in the future, it would be a miracle if Xia Lin believed him. The reason why he kept his son under tight control in Jiangnan is because if his son were released, he might ascend the throne at the age of five. Not only would he have no real power, but he would also be held hostage by others.

Adults should handle their own affairs and not involve children.

As the saying goes, in the political arena, easily trusting others can lead to a terrible end. Li Shimin was no pushover; his support for his sister was merely a ploy to gain the backing of the Jiangnan region. Whether his subordinates would later drape a yellow robe over him, he had no idea. If that day ever came, he would likely beat his chest in despair and lament, "You have all brought me great suffering!"

But that's a story for later. First, we need to stir things up with Li Tang so that Xia Lin will have time to deal with Yang Ying and his gang of scoundrels.

"It actually snowed this year."

Xia Lin, who was fishing on the island in the middle of the lake, suddenly felt ice shards fall on his face. He took off his straw hat and put it on. He heard a crackling sound and found that his bucket was empty. He bent down and scooped up a bucket of water from the lake and carried it back. After all, as the Buddhists say, "One flower, one world; one tree, one Bodhi," there are countless creatures in the water. At least he didn't come back empty-handed.

The snowflakes outside were pattering more and more rapidly, and just after Chenshi (7-9 AM), they had already turned into fluttering snowflakes. Jinling hadn't had such a heavy snowfall in many years, and in less than an hour, the whole world was covered in white snow.

Just then, a small boat slowly approached on the steaming lake. A person wearing a cloak disembarked, looked around furtively, and then disappeared into the villa on the island in the middle of the lake.

He flashed his token and easily entered the courtyard. Reaching the gate, he said in a high-pitched voice, "My lord, His Majesty, considering that you have not yet left an heir, has specially sent me to mate with you."

"Zhang Zhongchun, are you even alive?!"

Old Zhang pushed open the door: "Hey, how did you figure that out? I thought I had imitated it perfectly, and I even went to ask the head of the theater for advice."

"Go to hell." Xia Lin leaned against the bed, staring at the steaming water on the stove. Bored, he started calculating how long it would take for a pot of water to boil completely on this inefficient coal stove. "The moment you open your mouth, I can smell your stench."

Old Zhang turned around, closed the door, sat down at the table, crossed his legs, and began to drink tea from the teapot spout: "You've pulled off a big one this time. The Investigation Department is so busy they're practically flying off their feet, but you're still so leisurely."

What's the prevailing sentiment in the imperial court?

"Who dares?" Old Zhang chuckled. "At this critical juncture, whether you plead for leniency or demand severe punishment, you'll end up dead without a trace. Gao Shilian has even feigned illness and is staying home, refusing to see anyone. Everyone's acting like you don't exist. As long as you're not involved, everything's fine; if you are, you're doomed." Xia Lin laughed. This was the effect he wanted. Some people in the court definitely needed a wake-up call; a sapling won't grow straight if it's not pruned.

"Where is that dog emperor?"

"They've set off for the campaign. They left this morning. Prince Teng is currently acting as regent, and Ma Zhou is assisting in governance. I've been promoted to Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince. I guess they're going to send me to the central government."

"Oh~~~ Zhang Shaobao, congratulations." Xia Lin said sarcastically, "No wonder you look so rosy-cheeked, Zhang Shaobao, it turns out you've been promoted."

"Kneel down." Old Zhang pointed to the ground: "You, a dismissed fifth-rank official, a good-for-nothing who only passed the imperial examination, dare to lie down and talk to me? I'm currently a fourth-rank official, and in a few days I'll be a third-rank official! You still dare to be arrogant?"

“Guards, throw Zhang Zhongchun into the lake and drown him. Tell them that Zhang Shaobao accidentally fell into the water and died of fright.”

Several soldiers in golden armor strode in, brandishing their swords and spears. Old Zhang chuckled and said, "Alright, you little punk, if you don't make a move today, you're nothing but a dog."

Xia Lin tilted his head and looked at Old Zhang: "Go, hang him up for me. Tell him that Young Master Zhang is possessed by a ghost. I know a little about incantation magic, so I will perform a ritual to exorcise the evil spirit for him right now."

"Hey hey hey!!!" Old Zhang stood up and started playing the game of "Qin King circling the pillar" with the golden-armored warriors: "Okay, stop! I'm not playing anymore."

He didn't believe Xia Lin was going to drown him. But he had no doubt that the bastard had hung him up and fed him some vomiting liquid.

Knowing when to be strong and when to be weak is a long-standing habit in officialdom; one must understand...

After dismissing the golden-armored warriors, Zhang Shaobao sat back down and began rummaging through the pastries on the table: "What kind of junk is this? Not even a single roast chicken? This is what you serve me?"

"Stop talking nonsense, none of them have any backbone." Xia Lin waved his hand: "The Ministry of Rites' house arrest rules are damn annoying. Do you want a piece of fat meat or not?"

"also."

The two set up a stove in the midst of the heavy snow and started preparing crispy pork belly in the yard. Hearing the crackling of the firewood, Zhang Shaobao asked curiously, "Aren't you going on this expedition?"

"Can I go? I'm the catalyst for the medicine." Xia Lin added a handful of firewood to the earthen stove: "A thorough investigation of the entire country is equivalent to a reform, you know that? I hope it can extend the life of this dilapidated Wei state by a few years."

"I'll extend it for a few more years. I haven't even been prime minister properly yet," Old Zhang said casually, crossing his legs. "Once I've had my fill of being prime minister, then you can clean up this mess."

"Now that half of the civil and military officials in the court are from Jiangxi, if you become the prime minister and really cause chaos, you will be the first to be dismissed and investigated. You haven't embezzled, have you?"

"I'm not corrupt, but I've done other things to some extent. For example, when Gao Shilian was reforming the tax system, I secretly took three hundred acres of his land. Wouldn't that be considered embezzlement?"

"Where is the land?"

"sold."

"Where's the money?"

"They went to build a school." Old Zhang spread his hands: "What else could I do?"

"Alright, that's not considered greed. No wonder Tuoba Jing wanted to promote you to curb Gao Shilian's power; the way you forced him is quite wicked."

After the two chatted for a while, Xia Lin suddenly thought, "What are you doing here?"

"Interrogation, huh? I'm the head of the Investigation Department, I'm interrogating the main culprit."

"Wait a minute, isn't this supposed to be Anmus's responsibility? Don't mess around with this, or he might really impeach you."

"Do you think Anzi is stupid?" Old Zhang curled his lip. "He authorized the Investigation Department of the Court of Judicial Review to personally investigate the main culprit, Xia Daosheng. What he wants is to restore the glory of Legalism. He hasn't forgotten the experience of being so angry with you that he vomited blood back then."

(End of this chapter)