Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

The guards dragged Du Xingmin's body away.

Yan Hongxin pulled out a steel knife and held it to the woman's neck.

This woman's life would end with just one order from the King of Qi.

Meanwhile, Liang Mengbiao, who was drunk, developed a certain interest in Du Xingmin's concubine.

It must be said that the woman who made our Sergeant Du take with him on his escape must have something truly remarkable about her.

"Your Majesty, it's a pity this woman is dead. Why not give her to me?"

Liang Mengbiao directly controlled the brain with his cerebellum and made a request to Li You.

Seeing Li You's displeasure, Yan Hongxin quickly said, "Biaozi, you even want a woman like this? Isn't that disgusting?"

Li You waved his hand, indicating that he wasn't worried about women at all.

"Meng Biao, since you want it, here you go."

Liang Mengbiao was overjoyed upon hearing this.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The woman, who had closed her eyes to await death, suddenly felt a glimmer of hope in her eyes upon hearing this.

She stared intently at Liang Mengbiao with her alluring eyes.

Biaozi was drawn to the woman's eyes and was quite tempted, so he went forward to pull her up.

But then King Qi said, "You four, come with me!"

Liang Mengbiao stopped his restless hands.

The lord's summons and commands are far more important than matters of love and sex.

However, Biaozi still gave the woman a look: Wait for me.

He then followed Yan Hongxin, Yan Hongliang, and Zan Junmo into the inner courtyard to discuss matters.

……

Li You stood.

The four burly men, on the other hand, adopted a kneeling posture.

This is the formal sitting posture of people in the Tang Dynasty on formal occasions.

You need to press your buttocks against your heels and keep your upper body straight.

Although high chairs and similar items had already appeared by this time, etiquette should not be neglected when masters and servants discussed matters.

"Gentlemen, let me ask you a question first: If the Tang army launches a full-scale attack, can we win?"

"able!"

"Definitely!"

"I am willing to die for Your Majesty!"

Seeing that his several fierce generals were all full of confidence, Li You almost cursed them out loud.

Who gave you the courage?

Of the group, only Yan Hongxin remained silent.

"Hongxin, what's your word?"

"Your Majesty, I have considered this. If the court only sends a detachment to attack, we are confident that we can hold our ground."

"If we hold firm, will there be a way?"

"What Your Majesty says is absolutely right!"

"Then let me ask you, if it were a renowned general like Li Ji leading a detachment of 100,000 troops, could you hold them off for me?"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty will certainly do your utmost..."

Seeing Yan Hongxin stammering, Li You couldn't help but sigh.

Military strategists are all forged and honed through countless battles amidst thousands of troops; the success of one general is built upon the bones of ten thousand.

Because they've seen and killed so many, these guys have developed absolute confidence on the battlefield.

Only a general who dares to lead eight hundred brave men to storm the camp and survive is worthy of the title of Supreme General.

Huo Qubing did this, Xiang Yu did this, Zhang Wenyuan did this, and Li Shimin also did this.

If one does not possess absolute confidence that one will go even if there are thousands of people against one's will, then one can never call oneself a military strategist.

If Yan Hongxin's answer had been fierce and decisive enough, he might have had a chance.

At this moment, Yan Hongxin was clearly lacking in confidence.

This cannot be blamed on him; it can only be blamed on King Qi's own arrogance.

"Your Majesty, Emperor Li Shimin is currently preparing to launch a campaign against Goguryeo, and all the best troops are ready to be sent beyond the Great Wall. I estimate that even if the rebellion is quelled, the force will not reach 100,000."

Upon hearing Yan Hongliang's reminder, Li You's eyes lit up.

In the sixteenth year of the Zhenguan era, Jeon So-gae-mun, a powerful minister of Goguryeo, launched a coup and seized control of the country.

In the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, Goguryeo allied with Baekje to attack Silla, and Tang envoys tried to persuade them to surrender but failed.

In April of the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict to send troops to Goguryeo.

In other words, due to the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula at this time, the military focus of the Tang Dynasty was in the north.

But the problem is... it is now March of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan.

Li You couldn't help but curse aloud in his heart.

My dear brother King Qi, if you had delayed your uprising by even a month, the situation would have been very different!

Now, if military reports from the north and news of the rebellion of the Prince of Qi in Shandong appear on Li Shimin's desk at the same time, what should he choose?

For a politician of Li Shimin's caliber, this was easy.

To repel external threats, one must first secure internal stability.

In reality, war requires preparation time, which could be quite long in classical agrarian civilizations.

When Li Shimin was truly ready to resolve the Goguryeo problem, it was already the eighteenth year of the Zhenguan era.

Four years later, in May of the twenty-third year of the Zhenguan era, Li Shimin himself passed away.

If Prince Qi, Li You, could have endured for six years, waiting for the sun of the previous era to set behind the mountains before launching a rebellion, his chances of success would have been much higher.

At that time, the emperor would be Li Zhi, the Prince of Jin.

Li Zhi, who was so volatile that even his wife Wu Zetian couldn't control him, was definitely easier to deal with than the iron-willed Li Shimin.

Li You shook his head, dismissing these unimportant historical materials from his mind.

No one wants to die if they are given a second chance at life.

Right now, we must do everything we can to increase our chances of survival.

Good things can only happen if you're alive.

……

How many soldiers do we have now?

"Uh...it's definitely worth at least twenty or thirty thousand..."

"They don't even know the exact number of troops they have, yet they want to rebel? What a load of rubbish!"

Seeing the King of Qi's anger, the four strong men could no longer sit still and immediately knelt down.

Li You took a deep breath: "Where is our main camp?"

"It's in the east of the city. I've asked Gao Shun and the others to keep an eye on it."

"Go and muster the troops now!"

Li You had no desire to drink anymore; he needed to immediately address the issue of his personal safety.

Seeing the King of Qi's hurried manner, the four trusted men quickly got up from the ground and prepared to get to work.

As they passed through the front hall, they didn't forget to call out to the others.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and follow!"

The burly men drinking in the front hall immediately abandoned their wine and women and chased after them.

The women who had been drinking with the hostesses began clearing away the leftover wine and food from the table.

Du Xingmin's concubine, who had survived by chance because of her beauty, also joined in.

While packing her things, she didn't forget to stuff something into her mouth.

I was running too fast with my ex-husband and got scared, so I desperately need some food to replenish my energy.

……

East Camp of the City.

Although the uprising of the Prince of Qi's mansion was hasty, the official armed forces in Qizhou City had already sided with Prince Li You.

Although the original owner of this body, Li You, was incompetent, he still managed to win over many people in Qizhou during his years there, relying on his status and wealth. It's important to understand that in classical society, the lower classes held an instinctive reverence for the imperial family and nobility. Some people who rose from the lower classes may have genuinely believed that Li You was a master they could rely on, which is why they swore allegiance to him.

At the start of the uprising, in order to bolster their momentum, Li You's soldiers marched out of the city and drove the surrounding populace into the city, forcing them to join the Prince of Qi in rebellion. The "twenty to thirty thousand people" that Yan Hongxin mentioned were these very people.

As Li You entered the camp, the air was filled with a mixture of the smells of blood and sweat.

Some of the unruly individuals were tied to pillars.

Soldiers with whips are lashing them.

"Trying to escape? Believe me or not, I'll beat you to death!"

Li You did not stop the soldiers from carrying out the execution, but instead looked around by the torchlight.

Many people in the camp were sleeping on the ground, including many elderly people and children.

Through the clothing and appearance of these sleeping people, Li You gained his first understanding of the living conditions of ordinary people at the bottom of society during the Zhenguan era.

Most people still had clothes to wear, but the clothes were mostly patched and very thin.

In terms of nutrition, there are relatively few strong and muscular people; most are thin.

It is clear that the food supply was not necessarily abundant, after all, this was an agricultural era with low productivity.

Li You sighed inwardly: "You, Prince Qi, actually thought of relying on these people to fight head-on against the Tang Dynasty's regular army."

"Go, summon all those who can be of use; I have questions for you."

"promise!"