Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 358 Revenge on My Father! Even I am not favored by the Emperor [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"Your Highness, the entrance is right there in that cave!"

"You want me to crawl through a dog hole?!"

"No, no, it was a slip of the tongue. It was the secret passage!"

"Oh……"

The city of Voeux was shrouded in thick fog at night.

Although it was also a capital city, it was worlds apart from Chang'an.

Perhaps because the Tang army had been advancing rapidly recently, the entire city wall of the capital was filled with Tuyuhun soldiers, as well as countless torches that could illuminate both inside and outside the city wall.

At the slightest sign of trouble, the entire city's defense system will be activated.

It can be said that the entire capital is now in a state of high alert and defense.

At this very moment, the Imperial Guards, who already knew Fu'e City inside and out, were secretly leading Li Chengqian into Fu'e City through a secret passage.

It is said that this secret passage was dug by order of the previous Tuyuhun Khan, specifically for the Murong family to escape.

As the eldest son of the current Tuyuhun Khan, Fuyun, Murong Shun naturally knew about this secret passage.

Therefore, when Li Chengqian threatened him to hand over the defense maps of the two major Tuyuhun cities, Fu'e City and Shanshan City, he even revealed this secret passage to Li Chengqian in order to get Li Chengqian to let him return to his country.

This is also the main reason why the Embroidered Uniform Guard was able to find out information inside Fu'e City.

After all, in Li Chengqian's view, no matter how strong the defense is, it can be easily destroyed if it is broken from the inside.

"Pei Xingjian, are you sure the guard shift change at that white building is only a quarter of an hour?"

Li Chengqian lowered his voice and glanced at Pei Xingjian beside him.

Pei Xingjian grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth, and said, "My men tampered with their dinner tonight. It should take effect in about 15 minutes. If we sneak in while it's in effect, there shouldn't be any problems."

"What tricks did they use? How could they be so punctual?"

"It's nothing, just the latest super croton powder developed by the medical school!"

"Uh,"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian's lips twitched involuntarily. He thought to himself, "Is this how you use the medical school I established?"

However, he heard that the medical school has been doing quite well recently, which gave him a lot of comfort.

"clang--"

Just as the two were talking, the sound of a night watchman's clapper came from afar.

Li Chengqian raised his hand and waved, and the six people, like ghosts, disappeared from the shadows and disappeared into the corner of the white house.

Meanwhile, not far from them, a guard was clutching his stomach and staggering toward the toilet.

"on!"

At Li Chengqian's command, several Imperial Guards immediately formed a human ladder and lifted Li Chengqian onto the wall in the blink of an eye.

Immediately afterwards, Li Chengqian leaped and quickly jumped into a garden inside the wall.

Meanwhile, Pei Xingjian and the others also climbed over walls and sneaked in silently.

Where is that guy?

Li Chengqian lowered his voice again and asked.

Pei Xingjian quickly replied, "In the room on the far right!"

"Alright! You guys stay here and keep watch, I'll go alone!"

"But."

"There are no 'buts,' just listen to me!"

Seeing that Pei Xingjian was about to spout nonsense about worrying about him, Li Chengqian interrupted him without any room for argument. Then, in a flash, he jumped onto a stone bench, flipped over, and appeared in the corridor in the blink of an eye.

Pei Xingjian and the others were dazzled by the sight and couldn't help but admire it.

Although they knew that Li Chengqian was very brave on the battlefield, sneaking into the enemy's headquarters required not only bravery but also various skills.

Li Chengqian's abilities, it seemed, only showed them the tip of the iceberg.

Soon, Li Chengqian easily found his way to the window of the rightmost room.

Although windows in the Tang Dynasty did not have glass, they still had paper windows.

There was only one dim lamp in the room, which was placed in a corner by the window. If someone stood by the window, their shadow would be reflected in the lamplight.

Therefore, just as Li Chengqian arrived outside the window, he happened to see the shadows of two people.

"Ok?"

Li Chengqian was slightly taken aback, wondering why there were other people around.

Could it be that there's more than one person locked up in this house?

Despite his confusion, Li Chengqian did not make any move to alert the enemy.

He leaned against the wall by the window, holding his breath and listening intently to the sounds coming from inside the room.

At first, the room was completely quiet, as if two mannequins were standing by the windowsill.

But as time went on, one of the 'dummy figures' on the left couldn't help but fall silent first, and said in a deep voice, "King Tianzhu, you can't deal with the Crown Prince of the Great Tang. You should stop resisting. My father Khan and Dayan Mangjiebo have both fled. What are you still holding on to?"

King Tianzhu?
Upon hearing the voice, Li Chengqian immediately realized that the voice belonged to Murong Shun.

This King Tianzhu was the highest administrative official of Tuyuhun, and he was very tough on the Tang Dynasty, repeatedly sending troops to plunder the Tang.

It was actually the two of them?
Li Chengqian seemed somewhat surprised, but still did not make any move to alert the enemy.

But Tianzhu King sneered, "What do you know? This is the Great Khan's strategy! The Tang army is coming with great force, so we must avoid their sharp edge and preserve our strength."

"Heh, they're probably just preserving Dayan Mangjiebo's strength!"

Murong Shun sneered and continued to press, "Can your Fu'ai City withstand the attack of the Tang Crown Prince? Do you know how powerful the Tang Crown Prince's firearms are? Or are you unaware of the Tang Crown Prince's brutal massacre of 70,000 Xueyantuo soldiers?"

"This"

King Tianzhu was visibly taken aback by Murong Shun's three consecutive questions, and then retorted with an annoyed look, "If the Crown Prince of the Great Tang is really as powerful as you say, why hasn't he attacked my Fu'ai City yet? Perhaps he can't stand the harsh climate here and is already unable to move!"

"Is that so? Since you know so much about it, why don't you send troops to harass them?" Murong Shun asked sarcastically.

"I"

King Tianzhu was speechless.

But Murong Shun continued, "I told you long ago that what you did before might be tolerable for the Heavenly Khan for a while. But for the Crown Prince of Tang, it's unbearable. I had several encounters with him when I was in Chang'an, and he's the kind of person who holds grudges!"

"This expedition against Xueyantuo is the best proof of that!"

"The ridiculous thing is that that fool Dayan Mangjiebo actually wanted to ally with Xueyantuo to deal with the Tang Dynasty. In the end, he brought trouble upon himself, didn't he?"

At this point, a flash of coldness crossed Murong Shun's eyes, but it vanished in an instant. He then said coldly, "My father Khan favors Dayan Mangjiebo, violating the clan rules of seniority by making Dayan Mangjiebo the crown prince. I can tolerate all of that. But how can I tolerate them dragging Tuyuhun into an abyss of no return?!"

"What do you mean by an abyss of no return? You're being far too pessimistic!"

King Tianzhu couldn't help but retort again: "My Tuyuhun Kingdom has a vast territory. Even if the Tang army is unstoppable, it is impossible for them to easily destroy our country. On the contrary, we can use our geographical advantages to stretch the Tang army's battle lines, making them exhausted while searching for our main force, thus hindering their logistics and combat operations, and ultimately wearing them down!"

"Hahaha!"

Upon hearing Tianzhu Wang's words, Murong Shun burst into laughter.

King Tianzhu's face darkened, and he coldly interrupted him, saying, "What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, I just laughed at how naive you all are."

Murong Shun shook his head and said, "You really underestimate the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. My Tuyuhun has only suffered a few defeats and has already scattered like rats and birds. Even our scouts have disappeared without a trace. With the wisdom of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, do you think he can't guess that our army's morale is low and we have no will to fight?"

"Only my father Khan and Dayan Mangjiebo were so clever as to think that the Crown Prince of the Great Tang would search for them so desperately!"

"You mean the Crown Prince of Tang will not be looking for our main force at all?" King Tianzhu quickly realized something was wrong and hurriedly asked.

Murong Shun looked at him with amusement, thinking to himself, "I've already given Li Chengqian the map of Tuyuhun's defenses. He must be crazy to search for Tuyuhun's main force."

As long as he occupies the two major cities of Tuyuhun, he can divide his troops into two groups, outflank and encircle them, and launch a large-scale sweep. What kind of monsters and demons won't he wipe out?

You want to stretch his battle lines and wear him down step by step? Others eat your food, drink your water, and even surround you to fight. How can you do anything to him?
Seemingly sensing the mockery in Murong Shun's eyes, King Tianzhu seemed to have already received his answer and fell silent once again.

Shortly after the two fell silent, a Tuyuhun soldier rushed in and reported, "King Tianzhu, we have discovered enemy activity in the city. It seems that the enemy has infiltrated!"

"What!?"

King Tianzhu's expression changed, thinking to himself, "How could it be so fast?!"

He glanced at Murong Shun again, only to hear Murong Shun sneer, "I already told you, what you saw was what the Crown Prince of Tang wanted you to see. You think he can't handle a mere harsh climate? He told us in front of everyone that he has a miraculous medicine to overcome the effects of the climate!"

"you!"

Upon hearing this, King Tianzhu was so angry that he immediately pointed a finger and roared, "Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

Why should I have said so sooner?

Murong Shun said expressionlessly, "I am now just a prisoner, a prisoner imprisoned by my father and waiting to die!"

"This"

King Tianzhu was speechless again, but dared not linger there any longer. He immediately ordered, "Keep a close eye on him! If he does anything disobedient, kill him without mercy!"

"Yes!"

The Tuyuhun soldiers around him quickly obeyed the order and then watched as King Tianzhu hurriedly left the room.

After a short while, Murong Shun suddenly said, "Friends outside, how long are you going to keep eavesdropping?"

"What!?"

The soldiers around them changed their expressions, then heard a soft laugh, and immediately afterward, several needle-like darts shot into their necks.

"Bang bang bang!"

In the blink of an eye, the surrounding soldiers fell to the ground.

"This"

Upon seeing this, Murong Shun's pupils constricted sharply, seemingly not expecting the newcomer to be so formidable.

But then the newcomer suddenly laughed and said, "Long time no see, my old friend!"

"Um?!"

Upon hearing the voice, Murong Shun looked on in astonishment and turned to look in the direction of the sound, his voice trembling as he asked, "Li Chengqian?"

"Oh? Now you dare to call me by my name? It seems I didn't leave a deep enough impression on you in Chang'an!"

As a mocking voice fell, a familiar figure slowly appeared before Murong Shun, leaving him speechless with astonishment.

He never expected that Li Chengqian would sneak into this place alone.

It should be noted that this is the capital of Tuyuhun. Although Fuyun has withdrawn most of his troops, there are still tens of thousands of Tuyuhun elites in the city.

Even if Li Chengqian possessed unparalleled bravery, venturing into the lion's den would still be extremely dangerous.

"Your Highness, what are you doing here? Could it be you who infiltrated the city just now?"

After a period of shock and uncertainty, Murong Shun finally recovered and hurriedly pressed Li Chengqian for answers.

But Li Chengqian said with a hint of amusement, "If I'm not mistaken, we should be enemies now, right? Why didn't you greet me when you saw me?"

"Uh, this."

Murong Shun was embarrassed for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "I'm sure His Highness the Crown Prince heard it clearly outside the window. I am already a prisoner, so what enemies do I have left?"

"Oh, I'm quite curious, how did you know I was outside?" Li Chengqian asked calmly, raising an eyebrow.

Murong Shun glanced at him, then at the window, and silently walked to the windowsill. Pointing to a small, barely noticeable hole, he explained, "From the left, you can see what's happening outside through this hole; from the right, you can't see anything!"

"is it?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian couldn't help but step forward to take a closer look.

In just a moment, he realized that the hole Murong Shun was pointing to was actually slanted.

Moreover, the window paper is not one layer, but two layers. This misalignment means that you can only see out from one side, and you can't see out from the other side.

But then he nodded in sudden realization and said, "You did this on purpose?"

“This house originally belonged to Xiao Wang, so naturally no one knows this house better than Xiao Wang.”

Murong Shun shrugged, then smiled and looked at Li Chengqian, saying, "Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, there should still be people in my garden!"

"This"

Li Chengqian was immediately taken aback by these words, and his brows furrowed: "You knew all along that I was coming to find you?"

"No, I did not know that His Highness the Crown Prince would come to see me in person. I only know that you would definitely send someone to find me, because your people have come here to gather information more than once. Apart from the secret passage information that I gave you, no one else should know."

Murong Shun explained with a smile.

Li Chengqian gave him a deep look, then said coldly, "Since you've already guessed that I would come looking for you, you must already have a plan in mind!"

"Well, before answering Your Highness, I would like to know what Your Highness needs me to do for you? Or rather, how does Your Highness intend to arrange things for me?"

Murong Shun said very sincerely.

Li Chengqian said with amusement, "Is this your first time meeting me? If you want to negotiate with me, you must first demonstrate your value. The higher your value, the greater the benefits I will offer!"

"this."

Murong Shun hesitated for a moment, then seemed to have made up his mind and said, "I can lead the Tuyuhun to submit to the Tang Dynasty!"

"It's not that I look down on you, but you're just a prisoner now. What ability do you have to lead Tuyuhun to submit to the Tang Dynasty?" Li Chengqian asked with a sneer.

"Then I can help you take Fue City, right? I have quite a few trusted men in the city who can assist you in breaching it!"

"As you just said, Fu'e City, including Shanshan City, are already in my possession. Do I need your assistance?"

"Uh, this"

Murong Shun's lips twitched, thinking to himself, if it weren't for the defense map I gave you, could you have easily taken down these two cities?

Clearly, his value to Li Chengqian was no longer significant.

But he still couldn't understand why Li Chengqian would risk his life to sneak in and meet him if he was already so confident of victory.

Could it be
As if he had thought of a possibility, Murong Shun knelt down before Li Chengqian with a thud and said respectfully, "Your subject is willing to go through fire and water for Your Highness the Crown Prince, without hesitation!"

"hehe."

Li Chengqian smiled, a smile full of meaning: "Since ancient times, there has always been a saying in the Central Plains: those who understand the times are heroes. I think you still have some value."

"Please enlighten me, Your Highness!"

"Alright! Just listen!"

Li Chengqian immediately said solemnly, "I want you to kill Tianzhu King, establish yourself as Khan, and lead your troops to attack Shanshan City with me, and assist me in defeating the traitor Fuyun and the false crown prince Dayan Mangjiebo."

"what?!"

Upon hearing this, Murong Shun was so astonished that he was speechless.

But then Li Chengqian said in a deep voice, "If you can do it, I will petition my father, the Emperor, to bestow upon you the title of Prince of Xiping and Khan of Gandou!"

"This"

Murong Shun was somewhat tempted.

The investiture by the Tang Dynasty emperor was of great significance.

Even if there are voices of opposition within the country, with the Tang Dynasty as his backing, he is not afraid.

"However, Fu Yun is my father. If I were to send troops to punish him, wouldn't that be morally inappropriate?"

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian smiled, then looked at him meaningfully and said calmly, "Does someone like you really care about morality? You acknowledge him as your father, but does he acknowledge you as his son?"

"When you were sent to the Sui Dynasty as a hostage, how did he treat you, and how did he treat your brother?"

"After you came back, the position of crown prince should have been yours, but he gave it to your younger brother. Is he a qualified father?"

Does he know how much you've sacrificed for this country?

"This"

Upon hearing this, Murong Shun was deeply shaken. A surge of pent-up resentment welled up inside him, causing him to tremble all over and even clench his hands involuntarily.

However, Li Chengqian had not finished speaking.

Then he said earnestly, "To be honest, my experience is similar to yours. I am not favored by my father either, but so what? I can become the ruler on my own!"

"This means that my fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven."

"I hope you think this through carefully. I'm giving you one day. Will you ally with me to take revenge on everyone and reclaim everything that belongs to you, or will you die a miserable death in the cage your father gave you?"

After saying this, he expressionlessly took out a musket from his robes, placed it in Murong Shun's hand, and turned to leave, saying, "Fate is only real if it is in your own hands!"

(End of this chapter)