My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

(Thanks to Yu Yu, Yi Xiu Yan Er 4, AminosXZ, Chen Guang Chu Ying, Ling Yun, Ye Chen Yuan who likes macaques... and many others for their donations! There are too many people to list them all, thank you so much!)

He understood what the other person was saying, but he didn't dare to translate.

"What? Are you mute?" Li Jing's eyes turned cold, and he slammed the handle of his spear heavily onto the bluestone slab, making a deafening thud.

"A direct translation of the original words, missing even half a word, and I will use you as a sacrifice for my flag."

The translator's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, stammering as he spoke.

"These...these barbarians say...they claim to be noble nobles. They say our army dared to slaughter their people without cause, that it was an act of barbaric banditry..."

The translator swallowed hard, his voice trembling like a leaf.

"I said we are an army from the Tang Dynasty."

"They said it was impossible, that there was an endless sea between them, and that they had tribute to the Tang emperor, so it was impossible for them to invade without a reason."

"He also said... he said the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was... a fool..."

Upon hearing this, the Tang soldiers standing around instantly turned red-eyed. Several blood-dripping Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) were thrust forward and placed directly against the necks of the daimyo, leaving bloody marks on the blades.

Li Jing's eyebrows suddenly twitched, and a chilling ferocity finally surfaced on his usually calm and collected face.

"Go on," Li Jing said, his voice icy cold.

"He...he said that every time they went to Chang'an to pay tribute, they only needed to bring a few broken folding fans and some worthless local specialties that nobody in their own country wanted to swindle them..."

"That foolish emperor of the Tang Dynasty would give away the best silk, the most advanced agricultural blueprints, and the most precious books and records for free just for the sake of the so-called face of the Celestial Empire... How... how could they possibly send troops over..."

After the translator finished speaking, he was practically lying face down in the mud, completely soaked, and barely daring to breathe.

And at this very moment.

In Chang'an, thousands of miles away, inside the Ganlu Hall of the Taiji Palace.

Li Shimin rested his hands on the golden nanmu wood imperial desk, staring intently at the mysterious water mirror placed in the center of the table.

The water mirror rippled with faint waves, and the image clearly captured the interrogation scene on Li Jing's side.

Not only the visuals, but even the translator's trembling voice was transmitted word for word to Li Shimin through the array.

Quiet.

The vast Ganlu Hall was deathly quiet.

Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling stood at the lower end, their heads bowed, staring intently at the gold bricks beneath their feet, deliberately suppressing their breathing to the lowest possible level.

Foolish emperor.

They use unwanted, low-quality local specialties to scam people.

The best technology and books are given away for free.

These words were like several barbed iron hammers, smashing hard on Li Shimin's proud imperial dignity, tearing his face as the Khan to shreds, and then throwing it into the mud and stomping on it a few times.

Combined with the mountains of corpses and seas of blood seen in "The History of Time", these beasts used the technology they tricked back from the Tang Dynasty to arm themselves, and then hundreds of years later, they turned their butcher knives on the necks of the Tang people!

"Whoosh—hiss—"

Li Shimin's breathing instantly became extremely heavy, as if he had a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat.

The veins on his forehead bulged out, like earthworms writhing violently under his skin. His once majestic dragon eyes were now completely filled with bloodshot veins, turning as red as a man-eating demon.

Without any warning.

Li Shimin suddenly raised his right foot, and with a thunderous and furious rage, slammed it heavily onto the priceless golden nanmu imperial desk in front of him.

boom!

With a loud crash, the heavy imperial desk was kicked over and smashed to the ground. The memorials, writing brushes, and priceless Duan inkstones on the desk were all smashed to pieces, and ink was splattered all over the floor.

Li Shimin grabbed the water mirror, his hands bulging with veins, and roared at the mirror, a roar that nearly lifted the roof of the Ganlu Palace.

"Li Jing!!!"

A castle town located on an island in the East China Sea.

The communication crystal in Li Jing's bosom suddenly lit up with a red light, and then Li Shimin's furious roar, filled with overwhelming killing intent, exploded directly in the courtyard.

"Skin these bastards alive!"

"Kill! Slaughter them all! Within a hundred miles, I don't want to see a single living creature breathing! Cut off all their heads and build a mound of skulls for me! Build the tallest and biggest mound of skulls!"

Upon hearing the emperor's voice echoing from the void, all the Tang soldiers in the courtyard knelt on one knee and shouted "Long live the emperor!"

Although the Japanese daimyo couldn't understand the Tang emperor's roar, the terrifying killing intent emanating from him finally made them realize that disaster was imminent, and they began to frantically kowtow and beg for mercy.

Li Jing slowly stood up and threw the silk handkerchief in his hand into the brazier next to him.

This military genius of the Tang Dynasty may have still held onto a sliver of the traditional rule that "generals of the Celestial Empire do not kill surrendered prisoners," but after hearing the confession and the emperor's fury, that last bit of compassion vanished completely.

Keeping such an ungrateful venomous snake alive is an insult to the swords held by the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Jing walked up to the leader of the powerful figures and looked down at his ugly face, which was covered in tears.

He slowly drew the sword from his waist, its blade flashing a chilling light in the firelight.

No nonsense.

Li Jing stepped forward, raised his arm, and with a sudden burst of strength, the sharp tip of his sword accurately pierced the still-open mouth of the man, penetrating his throat and the back of his head, completely silencing his noisy pleas for mercy.

puff.

Li Jing, expressionless, flicked his wrist, the blade swirling around in the other's mouth before coldly withdrawing it.

Daming stared wide-eyed, then fell straight down in a pool of blood, dying with his eyes wide open.

"Pass on my orders."

Li Jing tossed the blood-dripping longsword to his adjutant beside him, turned and walked back to his armchair, his voice cold and sharp as iron.

"These people, according to His Majesty's decree, should be skinned and their tendons removed, and hung on the city gate to dry in the wind."

"The Mo Dao (陌刀) team and the crossbowmen immediately dispersed and thoroughly cleansed all the villages and fortresses within a radius of a hundred miles."

Li Jing raised his hand and pointed to the empty square in the center of the fortress, a cold cruelty flashing in his eyes.

"Pile all the severed heads here. I was going to see a mountain of barbarian heads before sunset."