Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 244 Eight hundred it is!
"This dragon boat is so incompetent that the Imperial Workshop Director is to blame!"

In the silence, the shrewd and experienced Pei Ju stepped forward and shouted loudly.

"His Majesty has unfortunately fallen into the water; the whole world mourns his passing."

"Your Majesty~ Your Majesty~~~"

Countless eyes were fixed on Pei Ju, who staggered to the edge of the pool and cried out in respect as he bowed to the remains of the dragon boat.

Everyone's thoughts were pretty much the same.

'You shameless old man.'

They've admitted it themselves, and with so many people watching, everyone knows it was Lin Dao who sank the dragon boat.

You're still trying to whitewash this?

But then something even more puzzling happened.

More and more ministers, having received the news, rushed to Pei Ju's side, crying and shouting.

Intelligent people are gradually realizing what's going on.

This is not about whitewashing the murderer; it's clearly about saving the Tang Dynasty.

After the last incident of storming the palace and killing the concubine, Li Yuan greatly strengthened the palace's defenses.

Tens of thousands of the best-equipped soldiers of the Tang Dynasty guarded the palace.

But the result?

Lin Dao entered the city a second time and got things done with lightning speed, even faster than last time!

What does this mean?
This shows that during the Tang Dynasty, people could destroy whomever they wanted!
It is only right and proper to avenge one's father.

However, if the crown prince and other princes were to bite the bullet and seek revenge, the only result would be that they would all be killed.

The world that has finally achieved stability will soon fall apart and plunge into endless suffering of warring factions and bloodshed.

Don't forget, the Turks are also watching us from the north.

Pei Ju understood these points and directly addressed the root of the conflict.

The emperor's problem was that the dragon boat had a problem, causing it to dissolve in water; it had nothing to do with the forest path.

Since it has nothing to do with Lin Dao, the princes and crown princes don't need to be morally compelled to seek revenge on him.
Or rather, they went to their deaths.

The smart people understood these things, and one by one they followed Pei Ju in expressing their opinions.

Only the master craftsman was so frightened that he fainted.

The dragon boat was built under the supervision of the Imperial Workshop.

Lin Dao, sitting in the armored vehicle, also came to his senses.

He glanced at Pei Ju and said, "As expected of you, Evil King."

The ministers' performance didn't matter.

Lin Dao's gaze fell upon the three Li brothers.

"What do you say?"

Is it to avenge his father, or...?
There is definitely a father-son bond, but given their social status and position, the father-son bond ranks very low.

After a moment of silence, Li Jiancheng spoke first, "My father unfortunately drowned; I am deeply grieved."

"After I ascend the throne, I will naturally give my father a grand and glorious funeral."

An uproar immediately erupted around them.

Such words should only be spoken by a subject; how could you presume to say them yourself?

Li Jiancheng was also helpless, with Erlang watching him intently from the side, making him extremely anxious.

The ministers who had been weeping for Li Yuan on the riverbank stopped crying and returned to argue fiercely.

"The King of Qin has made outstanding contributions and should succeed to the throne!"

"Bullshit! The crown prince will succeed to the throne! Do you even know what a crown prince is? When the emperor dies, the crown prince succeeds to the throne!"

"Did you ask the military officers of the Prince of Qin's mansion before you said that?"

"Then you should also ask the Six Commanders of the Eastern Palace!"

Amidst the sound of swords being drawn, the two distinct groups began brandishing their weapons and hurling insults at each other.

"Do you think my sword is ineffective?"

"Your sword is sharp, but mine is no less sharp!"

At first, it was the civil officials arguing, but when the military generals drew their swords and entered the fray, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Lin Dao, who was watching the commotion, couldn't stop laughing.

He can laugh, but it's purely a laugh of watching the fun.

But those caught up in the situation have no time to laugh.

The difference between winning and losing is like heaven and earth!
If we win, everything will be fine, and promotions and titles will be just around the corner.

But if you lose, you lose your life!
According to the tradition of the past few hundred years, the losing side would basically suffer a brutal purge.

How terrible was it?

Starting with killing the whole family~
The situation became increasingly tense, especially when Yuchi Jingde stared at Li Jiancheng with ill intent, and the two sides were on the verge of fighting.

Then~
The sound of the turret turning instantly extinguished everyone's anger.

Everyone stared in astonishment at the infantry fighting vehicle.

The strange thing on the metal cart was pointing its long tube at Gyeongbokgung Terrace not far away.

'Thump thump thump thump~~~'

In one go, they unleashed over a hundred tracer-guided incendiary bombs, blasting Gyeongbokgung into burning fragments.

The explosions, burning, and bursting sounds like thunder, with top-notch sound and light effects.

As the cannon slowly turned back, everyone retreated in unison!

Lin Dao stepped out of the armored vehicle and stood on it, with the burning Gyeongbokgung Palace as a backdrop.

Everyone fell silent as they watched him walk away.

Even the hot-tempered Yuchi Jingde, upon seeing the broken planks floating on the lake and the burning Jingfutai, quietly put down his spear.

Everyone understood that at this moment, the power of speech was in Lin Dao's hands.

"Li Er."

Lin Dao looked at Li Erfeng and asked, "How many men do you have?"

"Eight hundred!"

Lin Dao nodded, then turned his gaze to Li Jiancheng. "Li Dalang, how many men do you have?"

"two thousand."

The last question was asked of Li Yuanji, "A-Si, how many people do you have?"

Li Yuanji: "500."

“If that’s the case, then you two should have a fight.” Lin Dao said bluntly, “When words can’t convince your opponent, then use your fists.”

"Whoever has the bigger fist is right."

"Whoever wins will be the emperor of the Tang Dynasty." The crowd erupted in an uproar.

It's not surprising; there's nothing surprising about it. For the past few hundred years, it's been almost always the same.

The Son of Heaven is the one who has strong soldiers and horses.

Surprisingly, Lin Dao was clearly biased towards Li Jiancheng.

Li Jiancheng had a full two thousand armored soldiers.

Even if Li Er and A Si, who have always been at odds, joined forces, they would still be no match for Li Jiancheng.

I won't fight!

Amidst the commotion, Li Yuanji shouted, "I support my elder brother! Let's join forces!"

Li Erfeng narrowed her eyes, her gaze sweeping over them like lightning.

His fingers trembled slightly, and his earlobes were also red.

This is because I was so angry that my high blood pressure went up.

In this way, it becomes 800 against 2,500.

With a three-fold advantage, the outcome is predictable.

After all, we're all armored warriors, so who's afraid of whom?
Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, Pei Ju, Pei Ji, and the others all stepped back and stood by the sea pool to show that they would not participate.

They were originally Li Yuan's men, so it's understandable that they didn't take sides at this time.

However, if you become a fence-sitter now, you'll be in trouble later.

Unlike the jubilant crowd from the Eastern Palace and the Qi Prince's residence, the people around Li Erfeng had solemn expressions.

Yuwen Shiji stepped forward, wanting to offer some words of advice.

But Li Erfeng immediately roared.

"Eight hundred it is!"

With their blood boiling, the generals raised their weapons and shouted in unison, "Yes, sir!"

"In that case," Lin Dao, on the armored vehicle, pointed to Xuanwu Gate, "you shall settle this matter right here in front of Xuanwu Gate."

"Victory or defeat is up to them; I will never interfere."

Lin Dao is a veteran who has been on the battlefield many times and has rich experience in combat.

He had already seen the advantages and disadvantages of both sides.

The guards and soldiers of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were indeed clad in bright, shining armor, and their men were all handpicked, fierce men.

The problem is that they have almost no experience in actual combat.

Moreover, Li Da and Li Si were not very good at commanding battles.

Li Jiancheng rarely fought battles; he mostly quelled bandits and mountain thieves or fought against barbarian chieftains.

Li Yuanji fought more battles, but he was still far inferior to Li Erfeng.

Moreover, they were so confident of winning that they became somewhat conservative in their mindset.

After all, winning means getting everything, so who wants to fall in the final battle?
In contrast, it's different with Li Erfeng.

His troops all went to Xuanwu Gate with the determination to die.

They knew that if they lost, not only would they die, but their families and clans would also suffer.

In this situation, everyone is determined to fight to the death.

Even civil officials such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji, and Yuwen Shiji donned armor, carried bows and arrows, and took up spears and lances.

So be it, I shall die!

Furthermore, Li Erfeng had anticipated that the situation would be very serious before she returned to Chang'an.

They secretly replaced a group of their own retainers and private soldiers.

Hundreds of extremely powerful Xuanjia soldiers were brought into Chang'an City under the guise of being family retainers and private soldiers.

These Xuanjia soldiers were all fierce men who had fought their way out of bloody battles and fought their way out of battlefields filled with corpses and blood.

When they face difficulties and are determined to fight to the death, the fighting power they unleash is astonishing.

By this time, the commotion inside the palace had already spread throughout Chang'an.

People from all walks of life flocked to the scene.

Examples include Princess Pingyang and her husband Chai Shao, Li Shentong, a general of the Li Tang imperial family, and Li Jing, a former general who surrendered from the Sui Dynasty.

Chai Shao wanted to help Li Erfeng, but Princess Pingyang stopped him, saying that they were both her brothers and she would not help either of them.

Li Shentong firmly stood on Li Erfeng's side, which aroused the dissatisfaction of Li Jiancheng and others.

Feng Li, the General of the Eastern Palace Guard, shouted to Lin Dao, "Can we add more people? If so, we want to add more too!"

Lin Dao nodded. "The commander can be chosen personally, but he cannot bring his family retainers; he must go alone."

Chai Shao broke free from Princess Pingyang and ran to Li Erfeng's side.

Everyone gave him friendly smiles.

This is what it means to choose sides.

If they win, wealth, honor, and rapid advancement will be just around the corner.

If we lose, the whole family will suffer the same fate.

Upon hearing the news, the generals and civil officials who rushed to the scene also began to choose sides.

What's rather strange is that most of the generals from the Li Tang imperial family stood by Li Erfeng's side.

The military generals were much the same; most of them chose Li Erfeng.

The civil officials, however, mostly sided with Li Jiancheng.

Don't look down on the civil officials of the Tang Dynasty, especially those in the early Tang period.

They're all ready to mount their horses, wield swords, and start killing!
They were completely different beings from the useless people of later generations who couldn't lift a finger or carry anything.

Of course, many people also chose to remain neutral, standing by the sea pool like fence-sitters.

These people's choices seem to have temporarily saved them.

But once the outcome is decided, they will be the first to suffer.

In reality, if it weren't for the forest road and the infantry fighting vehicles suppressing the enemy from the side, both sides would probably have already wiped out all the opportunists.

"Ok?"

Lin Dao saw a military officer and walked towards the edge of the pool with his head down.

People around him were calling his name, 'Li Jing~~~'

With a slight raise of his eyebrows, Lin Dao jumped off the infantry fighting vehicle and, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, approached Li Jing, who was walking with his head down.

Li Jing looked up in confusion, wondering why this person was blocking his way.

Lin Dao raised his leg and kicked Li Jing, knocking him to the ground.

"Li Er is over there, which way are you going?"

(End of this chapter)