My wife, Wei Gui, was 1.9 meters tall and fought against the Tang dynasty for the throne.

In the evening, Li Ju changed into his official clothes and rode to Yang Xuangan's residence for a banquet.

The Yang Mansion is located in the southeast of Luoyang City, covering a vast area. The stone lions in front of the gate are majestic, and the vermilion gate is tightly closed, with only the side gate open.

Li Ju handed over his visiting card, and the gatekeeper led him inside. They passed through two courtyards and arrived at a side hall of an inner study.

The hall was small and simply furnished, unlike the magnificent outer hall, but a guqin was placed on the table and famous paintings hung on the wall, revealing the owner's refined taste everywhere.

Yang Xuangan was already in the hall. He had changed into a black Taoist robe, and was not wearing a crown or jade ornaments. He casually sat in the main seat, and when he saw Li Ju enter, he stood up and said with a smile, "Young Master Li has arrived, please sit down."

Li Ju bowed and sat down in the guest seat. He glanced around the hall—there were only two guests, both trusted advisors of Yang Xuangan, one surnamed Liu and the other surnamed Cui, both in their forties, with sharp features and few words, but their eyes kept lingering on Li Ju.

Li Zixiong and his son were not present.

Li Ju felt a little more at ease.

Before long, Li Xiaochang arrived. He had changed into a dark blue brocade robe and looked very energetic. As soon as he entered, he cupped his hands to Yang Xuangan and said, "I was summoned by the Duke of Chu, and I am late. Please forgive me."

Yang Xuangan smiled and said, "General Li, you are too kind. Today's small banquet is just for us, with no outsiders. Please have a seat."

Li Xiaochang sat down opposite Li Ju. The father and son exchanged a glance; Li Xiaochang's gaze was complex, while Li Ju's expression remained unchanged.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

Yang Xuangan raised his wine cup and first toasted Li Xiaochang. Li Xiaochang quickly raised his cup, and the two drank it together.

Yang Xuangan put down his wine glass, his smile gentle, his tone casual as if he were having a casual chat.

"General Li, I know you are a veteran general of the nation and a pillar of the Li family of Longxi. Now, His Majesty has been waging war against Liao for years, exhausting the people's strength, and treacherous officials are in power in the court." He paused, his gaze deepening, "If the world changes in the future, only I, Yang, can protect the wealth and honor of the Li family of Longxi."

Li Xiaochang paused slightly in the hand holding the wine glass.

That's quite blunt. The world is changing—what's changing? The opposite.

Only Yang Xuangan can guarantee the Li family's wealth and prosperity—this clearly states: With me, the Li family will not fall.

Li Xiaochang put down his wine cup, cupped his hands, and said, "The Duke's kindness is deeply appreciated by the Li family."

He didn't respond to the suggestion that "the world is in flux," but he didn't refuse either.

Yang Xuangan smiled slightly and did not press the matter. He turned to look at Li Ju, his smile deepening.

"Young Master Li is a brilliant young man, now in charge of the lifeline of the Grand Canal. His future is limitless. When you achieve your goal, I, Yang, will guarantee you the title of Marquis of the Founding State, and the eldest daughter of the Wei family will be your principal wife. The Li family will be honored beyond compare."

Founding Marquis. The eldest daughter of the Wei family.

Two words precisely captured Li Ju's deepest thoughts.

Li Ju rose, left his seat, bowed deeply to Yang Xuangan, and then kowtowed in gratitude: "Your Excellency's kindness is immeasurable, even if I were to die a thousand deaths. I will follow Your Excellency's lead and serve you with utmost loyalty."

Yang Xuangan nodded in satisfaction and gestured for him to get up.

"Sit down. There's something else for you."

He clapped his hands, and two servants carried in a box, placed it in the hall, and opened it.

The box was divided into two layers. The top layer was gold, neatly stacked, dazzlingly bright yellow.

Beside them were the harnesses for two fine horses from the Western Regions—the horses were not in the hall, but the gold ornaments and jade buckles on the harnesses indicated their value.

Yang Xuangan pointed to the pile of things and said to Li Xiaochang, "A thousand taels of gold and two fine horses from the Western Regions are for General Li." He then took out a waist token from the box and handed it to Li Xiaochang, "Imperial Guard token. In the future, I, Yang, will not mistreat you, General."

Li Xiaochang accepted the waist token with both hands, his fingers trembling slightly.

The Imperial Guard's tally. This meant that military power had been handed over to him.

He bowed deeply: "I will never forget the Duke's great kindness."

Yang Xuangan then turned to Li Ju and took out a token from the box. It was made of ebony with copper trim and the character "Li" was engraved on the front.

"The confidential token for the Liyang grain transport dispatch." Yang Xuangan handed over the token. "With this, you have full authority to dispatch the grain route from Liyang to Luoyang. I will not guard against it, nor will I send anyone; I will entrust it all to you."

Li Ju accepted the token with both hands and kowtowed, saying, "I will certainly not fail the Duke's trust."

He put the token into his pocket.

He appeared respectful, but in his heart he thought: This key was given to him by Yang Xuangan, and it was also his own pledge of allegiance to Yang Xuangan.

If we accept it, then we're one of our own.

Refill the glass.

Yang Xuangan's smile slowly faded.

He put down his wine glass, his face darkened, and suddenly slammed his hand on the table.

"His Majesty's first campaign against Liaodong resulted in the deaths of a million soldiers, widespread suffering, and countless starving corpses. Now he intends to launch a second campaign, which will utterly destroy the Sui Dynasty!"

His tone was intense, and his gaze swept across the faces of the father and son.

"As the Duke of Chu, I, Yang, cannot bear to see the people suffer and the Sui Dynasty perish!"

The hall was silent.

The two aides kept their heads down and remained silent.

Yang Xuangan's gaze fell on Li Xiaochang.

"General Li, do you think—can the current emperor still bring peace to the realm?"

A fatal question.

Li Xiaochang remained silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

"Your Majesty works tirelessly for the country, but the people suffer greatly from the continuous wars."

He neither said "can" nor "cannot." He only spoke of the people's suffering, giving Yang Xuangan face and leaving himself a way out.

Yang Xuangan glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions. He then turned his gaze to Li Ju.

"Li Lang is in charge of the canal transport and knows best the difficulty of procuring supplies for the front lines. Tell me, can we win these two campaigns?"

Li Ju rose, cupped his hands, and said, "I only know about the Grand Canal, not about court politics. I only know that if the grain supplies are insufficient, the front lines will surely be defeated. If Your Highness has a good plan to save the people from their suffering, I will do my best to help."

Yang Xuangan's eyes flickered slightly.

That's well said. They didn't talk about being unable to win, only about supplies; they didn't talk about opposing Yang Guang, only about saving the people. But the four words "to provide full assistance" already made their stance clear.

Yang Xuangan nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He stood up, walked to the door, and said to the servants guarding outside, "Stand back. Don't let anyone come near."

The servants responded and retreated into the distance.

Yang Xuangan closed the door and returned to his seat at the head of the table. He lowered his voice and his expression was solemn.

"To be honest, I, Yang, have already made a grand plan with the Duke of Pushan. With His Majesty personally leading the expedition, Luoyang is now undefended. I, Yang, will launch an uprising in Liyang, seize control of the Grand Canal, purge the court of corrupt officials, secure the state, and establish a new, wise ruler."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaochang's expression changed slightly, while Li Ju remained expressionless.

Yang Xuangan stared at Li Ju, enunciating each word clearly: "Li Lang, you control the Yellow River and Luo River waterways. From Luoyang to Liyang, everything is in your hands. On the day the army rises, all you need to do is remain still, block the Luoyang grain route, and prevent a single grain from entering Liaodong. That would be a great achievement. Are you willing to do this?"

The ultimate pledge of allegiance.

If you accept, you'll be an accomplice to treason. If you don't, you won't leave this room today.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Ju rose, knelt, and kowtowed.

"The Duke's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain; even if I were to die a thousand deaths, I could not repay even a fraction of it! On the day the army rises, I will surely block the grain supply route from Luoyang, ensuring that not a single grain reaches Liaodong, and help the Duke achieve his great cause!"

He raised his head, his gaze intense, and added, "Ju is willing to replace all the core personnel of the Luoyang wharf, the river embankment camp, and the canal escort team with the Duke's trusted confidants ahead of schedule to ensure absolute safety!"

They proactively increased their investment. They demonstrated their loyalty to the very end.

A glint flashed in Yang Xuangan's eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Li Ju then turned to Li Xiaochang and said solemnly, "Father, the Duke's great cause is the great cause of our Li family! My son and I swear to follow the Duke to the death!"

Li Xiaochang looked at his son with a complex expression. He remained silent for a moment, then stood up and bowed deeply to Yang Xuangan.

"Xiaochang is willing to serve the Duke."

Yang Xuangan laughed loudly, helped Li Xiaochang up, and then helped Li Ju up.

"Excellent! Excellent! Li Lang is truly my right-hand man! With the help of you and your son, what great undertaking cannot be accomplished!"

He turned around, took a bronze wine cup from the table, filled it with wine, then took out a silver needle from his sleeve, pricked his fingertip, and dripped blood into the wine.

Li Xiaochang and Li Ju also took turns drawing blood.

Three drops of blood dissolved in the wine, mixing into a dark red hue.

Yang Xuangan picked up the wine cup, tilted his head back and drank half of it, then handed it to Li Xiaochang. Li Xiaochang took a sip and handed it to Li Ju. Li Ju took it and drank it all in one gulp.

They swore an oath by blood. There was no written agreement, no concrete evidence.

But from then on, the Li family father and son were tied to Yang Xuangan's ship.

After they finished drinking, Yang Xuangan patted Li Ju on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Young Master Li, Lord Pushan is a man of profound wisdom and foresight, whom I have always relied on. You just said you were willing to obey Lord Pushan's orders; is that truly the case?"

Li Ju cupped his hands in greeting: "I have always admired the wisdom of Master Pushan. If the opportunity arises, I would like to pay him a visit in person."

Yang Xuangan nodded in satisfaction.

The night is deep.

Li Xiaochang and Li Ju left the Yang residence and boarded the same carriage.

The curtain fell, and the carriage slowly drove away.

The father and son sat facing each other in silence for a long time.

Li Xiaochang spoke first, his voice low and hoarse: "Huairun, you agreed too quickly at the banquet just now."

Li Ju looked at his father and said calmly, "If you don't agree, you won't be able to get out of this situation."

Li Xiaochang remained silent.

"Father, rest assured," Li Ju said. "Your son knows what he's doing."

Li Xiaochang glanced at him but didn't ask any more questions.

The carriage moved forward in the night, its wheels clattering over the cobblestones.

Li Ju leaned against the carriage wall with her eyes closed.

They appear respectful, swear blood oaths, and are utterly loyal.

But he knew in his heart—

Lock down the grain supply route to Luoyang? He locked down Yang Xuangan's grain supply route.