Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Dou Jiande was the son of the chief of the Douyu clan in the Jing River. After coming ashore, he threw himself into the tide of humanity. However, because he possessed a destiny against the heavens, he grew from a first-class rebel to a rebel king who occupied Hebei and divided the world into three.

He had gathered a group of talented human warriors under his command, and the river demons of the original seven forces in the Jing River had also joined him. He also received assistance from Luo Cheng (Luo Cheng) of the Snake Pool, making his army powerful.

Luo Cheng was originally a river demon from Snake Pool, a trusted subordinate of Liu Qing. Later, he emerged from the water to travel to the human world, where he met Dou Jiande's daughter, Dou Xianniang. They fell in love and joined Dou Jiande's army as a vanguard general.

As Luo Cheng's origins were revealed through repeated battles, Li Shimin and Wang Shichong gradually came to know him. However, due to Luo Cheng's background, and the fact that he was a powerful demon god who had served under Li Shimin and Wang Shichong, they dared not harm him, leaving Luo Cheng temporarily without a head or any power.

Upon seeing Li Shimin, Wang Shichong became wary of him, and Luo Cheng, feeling emboldened, seized the opportunity to conquer cities and territories for Dou Jiande, achieving numerous military merits. Furthermore, because he had been taught by Changsun Wuji in his early years and was proficient in military tactics, he earned the title of an invincible general and was known as the number one general in Dou Jiande's army.

On Wang Shichong's side, there was also a river demon from Snake Pool, namely Shan Xiongxin, the Eel-like Demon. Back then, Shan Xiongxin traveled the human world with Luo Cheng. Later, Luo Cheng married Dou Xianniang and joined Dou Jiande's army.

Luo Cheng went to Dou Jiande's army, while Shan Xiongxin continued his travels alone. Later, he arrived in Luoyang, where he met and fell in love with Wang Yufeng, the daughter of Wang Shichong.

Subsequently, like Luo Cheng, Shan Xiongxin became Wang Shichong's son-in-law and fought for Wang Shichong. He was skilled in his own way and had Liu Qing, his former master, as his backer. He quickly became a prominent figure at the end of the Sui Dynasty.

As for Li Shimin, Liu Qing's clone left behind had already returned to its original form, leaving only Li Jing, Qiu Ran Ke, and Hong Fu Nu, three river demons from the Snake Pool.

Originally, out of consideration for past friendship or out of concern for Liu Qing's displeasure, Li Shimin never dared to send troops to attack Dou Jiande's army and Wang Shichong's army.

However, as other minor rebel forces were gradually devoured and annexed by the three powers, the three powers divided the world into three. Driven by the general trend of unifying the world, they had no choice but to regard each other as enemies.

As for Liu Qing's Jie Sect, the pilgrim team arranged in Li Shimin's army also had to continue their journey eastward.

Therefore, whether for the sake of unifying the world or for the eastward expansion of the Jie Sect, Li Shimin needed to lead his troops eastward.

Driven by the prevailing trend, the war broke out suddenly and soon became extremely brutal.

Li Shimin led the Tang army eastward, and the first city to bear the brunt was Luoyang, located on the opposite bank of the Yellow River.

Inside Luoyang, Wang Shichong appointed his son-in-law Shan Xiongxin as commander, leading all his soldiers to defend Luoyang to the death and wait for an opportunity to counterattack. At the same time, he secretly contacted Dou Jiande's army in Hebei, asking Dou Jiande to lead his troops to attack Li Shimin's rear. Then Wang Shichong would attack from the front, and the two sides would attack each other and break through Li Shimin's Tang army in one fell swoop.

On this day, Li Shimin appointed Li Jing as the commander-in-chief of the siege and attacked Wang Shichong's army inside Luoyang. Wang Shichong, on the other hand, appointed his son-in-law Shan Xiongxin as the commander and defended Luoyang to the death.

Dou Jiande's army secretly marched out of Hebei, with his son-in-law Luo Cheng as the vanguard and himself in command of the central army, trekking thousands of miles straight to Li Shimin's Tang army camp.

Li Shimin, who was left to guard the main camp, soon received news that Dou Jiande's army was coming. Facing the aggressive vanguard of Dou Jiande's army led by Luo Cheng, he did not panic. He still ordered the carp spirit Li Jing, the bearded man Hong Fu Nu, and the three of them to lead the army to attack Luoyang.

He himself led fierce generals such as Li Xuanba, Luo Shixin, Qin Qiong, and Yuchi Gong to confront Dou Jiande's vanguard, Luo Cheng.

Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, who were in Li Shimin's camp, made no move, determined not to help either side.

Despite being second- or third-generation disciples of the Jie Sect, the four were entrusted with the important task of traveling east by the sect leader, Liu Qing.

However, compared to the confidants of the sect leader in Snake Pool, they are far inferior.

Neither Shan Xiongxin on the walls of Luoyang nor Luo Cheng, Dou Jiande's vanguard general, could afford to offend them.

So he had no choice but to pretend he hadn't seen anything and hide in the military camp to avoid hurting anyone and displeasing the sect leader.

It is true that in this world of changing dynasties, in the final struggle for the Central Plains, it is the few people who came from the Snake Pool who decide the success or failure.

Of the first river monsters to be created in Snake Pool, Knife Loach perished early, Crucian Carp was peaceful and had no great ambitions, and still serves as the master's gatekeeper. The other snakes and pythons are the gardeners in the master's mansion.

Only the restless three-tailed carp spirit, along with the eel Shan Xiongxin and the snail Luo Cheng, threw themselves into the torrent of humanity.

And by a twist of fate, they have joined three different factions, and today they are fighting each other.

Little did they know what their master, Liu Qing, thought when he saw this.

They were all from the same lineage as Snake Pool, yet they threw themselves into the tide of humanity, engaging in acts of suicide and slaughter. Is this something to regret or something to lament?

The Tang army under Li Shimin, the Hebei army under Dou Jiande, and the Luoyang army under Wang Shichong engaged in a fierce battle within a radius of hundreds of miles around Luoyang, which lasted for several months before the fighting subsided.

The Tang army was strong, and many powerful demons and wild gods joined its ranks. In addition, they had benefited from Liu Qing's assistance with salt and other supplies in the early years. As a result, the Tang army was well-equipped and had high morale, ultimately winning the war.

Dou Jiande was captured alive by Li Shimin. Dou Jiande's vanguard general, Luo Cheng, was trapped but refused to surrender. After kneeling and bowing to the leader of the sect to the north, he drew his sword and committed suicide.

Shan Xiongxin, standing atop Luoyang city walls, never used his talent for "wearing mourning clothes" until his death, fearing it would implicate his adoptive father, Shan Yu the Eel.

He ultimately refused his former friend Li Jing's offer to surrender, fought to the very last moment, and was personally killed by Li Jing.

After Shan Xiongxin's death, his adoptive father, Eel Shan Yu, who was now the lord of the Great Bay Lake, seemed to have a premonition and rushed over, but it was too late. He watched helplessly as Li Jing beheaded Shan Xiongxin with a single stroke. Eel Shan Yu wept bitterly, pointing at Li Jing and cursing, "You wield your blade against your former friend, have you forgotten the friendship we shared in Snake Pool?"

"As the commander-in-chief of the Tang army, how can I disregard military discipline for the sake of personal relationships?"

"Haha, haha, what a fine example of Li Jing, blinded by power and ambition, all for the sake of the Tang army!"

The eel laughed mournfully, blood streaming from its eyes. Ignoring the swords and spears of thousands of Tang soldiers, it arrived at the top of Luoyang City, found Shan Xiongxin's body, and personally stitched Shan Xiongxin's head back to the body.

Shan Xiongxin's wife, Wang Yufeng, and his half-demon son, Shan Tianchang, both came to the city wall to weep and pay homage to their father. The eel Shan Yu picked up Shan Xiongxin's corpse, summoned the demon cloud, and then captured Wang Yufeng and Shan Tianchang onto the demon cloud.

“Little Tianchang, come with your grandfather to Dawan Lake. There is no place in this world for you and your mother.”

Just as Shan Yu was about to take away Shan Xiongxin's body, as well as his wife and children, Li Jing ordered his soldiers to stop him.

"Your Excellency, this is unacceptable! Shan Xiongxin is the ringleader of the rebels. His body must be displayed far and wide, and his wife and children must be escorted to Chang'an by me and handed over to the Tang King for judgment!"

Enraged, Shan Yu pointed at Li Jing and cursed, "You've not only been blinded by power and forgotten our past friendship at Snake Pool, but you've also become so ruthless that you won't even spare the orphans of your former friend, wanting to use them to exchange for your wealth and status?"

"Bah! How did the Lord of the Manor ever create such an ungrateful beast as you?"

"Li Jing, I'm taking them away today. If you dare to stop me, then all the river demons under my Great Bay Lake will fight you to the death!"

Eel-like Shan Yu, carrying Shan Xiongxin's corpse and along with Shan Xiongxin's wife and children, rode straight away on a cloud, ignoring the Tang army archers surrounding them.

Li Jing's face was ashen, and his eyes flashed with a fierce light.

The bearded man frowned at Li Jing and whispered, "Li Jing, killing someone is just a matter of a head falling to the ground. Alright, let them go."

Hong Fu Nu also advised, "Yes, husband, you have already killed Shan Xiongxin, why bother to desecrate his corpse and humiliate his wife and children?"

Li Jing said coldly, "If I let them go, what will happen if the Tang King blames me in the future? Perhaps the military achievements I have made over the years will be lost because of what I did today!"

Li Jing suddenly turned his head: "All generals, listen to my command! Fire the arrows!"

In an instant, countless Tang archers drew their bows and shot arrows straight at Shan Yu, the eel.

Just then, a large hand suddenly appeared and swept away the arrow that was aimed at Shan Yu the eel.

Liu Qing stepped out of the chaos, frowned and looked at Li Jing: "I've done you a great service, only to have you turn your knife against your own brothers?"

Li Jing was suddenly shocked, his body trembling, and he knelt down in front of Liu Qing.

He never imagined that the master, now standing at the pinnacle of the Three Realms, would not concern himself with the affairs of the Three Realms, but instead have the leisure to pay attention to a battle in the mortal realm below.

"Master, please listen to my explanation, it's really because..."

Liu Qing was too lazy to listen to Li Jing's nonsense. He flicked a gust of cold wind from his fingertip, which instantly appeared in front of Li Jing and blew away Li Jing's physical body and soul.

"If only I had known, if only I had known, my husband, you shouldn't have done that."

Hong Fu Nu wept and knelt at the spot where Li Jing had disappeared. Her eyes gradually lost their vitality, and she soon severed her own soul, disappearing into the Three Realms along with Li Jing.

The bearded man gave a bitter smile, bowed to Liu Qing, and then, carrying the corpse of Hong Fu Nu and the soil from the place where Li Jing's soul had been scattered, left Luoyang and headed overseas.

"Brother, sister-in-law, let your elder brother take you far away from this place of sorrow, and never come back."

Li Jing and Hong Fu Nu both perished, and Qiu Ran Ke took their remains and fled overseas.

After bowing to Liu Qing, the old eel Shan Yu took Shan Xiongxin's body, along with his wife and children, back to Dawan Lake.

Several hundred years after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Shan Xiongxin's descendants, together with Huang Chao, the "Heavenly Killer," attacked and captured Chang'an, killing countless descendants of the Li family. This can be considered as avenging Shan Xiongxin's death today.

When Li Shimin returned and heard what had happened in Luoyang, he dared not express any dissatisfaction. He burned incense and prayed, begging Liu Qing for forgiveness. He then ordered that Luo Cheng's body be properly buried and that Luo Cheng's wife and children be treated well.

A year later, Li Shimin led the Tang army to wipe out all the rebel forces and completely unified the country.

His father, Li Yuan, enjoyed the fruits of his labor and ascended the throne in Chang'an, adopting the reign title Wude.

Li Yuan's first imperial edict upon ascending the throne was to appoint Liu Qing as the Guardian Dragon God, in charge of all rivers and lakes in the mortal realm. (End of Chapter)