The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

From being a powerful official to being a warlord, what a failure this was. Li Siyuan would never easily withdraw from Luoyang unless it was absolutely necessary.

Su Ming was not too happy or complacent about Li Siyuan's defeat in the court this time. Instead, he was alert at the first moment and went to discuss the matter with the empress. After all, the only one who could give him advice on political affairs now was the empress.

Zhang Zifan and Lu Linxuan, their opinions can only be used as a reference at best. The underworld and the court are completely different things and cannot be mixed together.

In the martial arts world, the most brutal means is to destroy the enemy physically, and once killed, everything is settled. However, in the imperial court, death does not mean the end of a dispute, but rather the beginning of another one.

The empress had been the King of Qi for sixteen years. She was well versed in government affairs and had a certain understanding of war. At least her vision far surpassed that of most princes. It was most appropriate to consult with her.

When dealing with government affairs, it is so pleasant to have a beautiful woman to accompany you in reading at night. It is much better than having two grown men together.

After hearing Su Ming's explanation, the empress looked at him deeply, her heart full of admiration. He was worthy of being the person chosen by Yuan Tiangang. His political sense was so sharp that he could clearly perceive Li Siyuan's thoughts. If it were her, even if she did not relax her vigilance at this time, she would never think of this level and guess Li Siyuan's next move.

At first, the empress did not believe that Li Siyuan wanted to start a war, because the battlefield was ever-changing and no one could guarantee that he would be the one who had the last laugh. Li Cunxu's ability to lead the elite imperial army to repel the Khitan did not mean that Li Siyuan also had the ability to do so.

Once the Khitan marches south to start a war, the land of Jin will be the first to be hit. By then, even if Li Siyuan wants to retreat, it will be impossible!

But now, she really believed that Li Siyuan dared to do this, because he had a way out.

To take a step back, even if this war failed, the greatest losses would be borne by the imperial court. Even if he lost some territory and civilians, it would not matter.

After dealing with Tongwenguan for so many years, the empress knew very well what kind of person Li Siyuan was. He was always ruthless and ruthless in his actions, and he would never sit and wait for death in the court. He would definitely fight back.

This move is the one he is most likely to make.

Su Ming walked to the imperial desk and sat down. He had already seen everything he needed to see, and there was no point in continuing to stare at the map. The empress followed him and sat down to one side.

He frowned and said, "Provoking a war is not an easy thing. I will send someone to contact the Khitan in advance."

The empress narrowed her eyes slightly and instantly understood what he said, "You mean, in the short term, Li Siyuan will not provoke a war, and we still have room to maneuver."

Su Ming looked at her with appreciation. It was easy to talk to smart people.

"Are you planning to ask Yelu Abaoji for help? I'm afraid he is sitting on the mountain watching the fight between the two tigers, hoping that you and Li Siyuan will fight to the death. I'm afraid he will not agree to your request."

In fact, it was not just Yelu Abaoji. The military governors and princes in various places all held the same idea, which was to sit back and watch the civil strife in the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, how could there have been peace for more than half a year.

Chapter 98: The charm of men, heart-pounding

"Moreover, if Yelu Abaoji goes south to the Central Plains, Jin will be the first to bear the brunt. This will be the first battle after you ascend the throne. Li Siyuan will definitely ask the court for money and food to expand armaments. He may have reached some kind of cooperation with Yelu Abaoji in secret to preserve his strength and divert the disaster to the west." The empress frowned and said worriedly.

Su Ming took a deep breath, his expression very solemn.

What the empress said was not possibility, but inevitability. As an outstanding representative of the old coin, Li Siyuan would never do such a clumsy trick of setting himself on fire. He might fan the flames, but it would definitely be others who would be burned.

The military governors around Jin State were not as strong as him. Once Jin State's defense line was breached, those military governors would not be able to resist the Khitan cavalry. The best outcome would be the destruction of the city and the death of people.

Su Ming absolutely did not believe that Li Siyuan was able to develop such a powerful force under the leadership of Li Keyong and Li Cunxu, and that he had no secret collusion with the Khitans.

Before this, Zhang Zifan and Lu Linxuan got married in Tianshi Mansion. Qingguo Qingcheng presented them with a valuable gift and said that Yelu Abaoji was originally going to come but left halfway due to something.

At that time, Li Cunxu had already died at the hands of Jing Xin Mo, and the turmoil in Luoyang had just been settled. Who else in the world and in the Central Plains could be valued by Yelu Abaoji and go to see him in person?

You know, during the period of civil unrest in the Tang Dynasty, the Khitans did not take this opportunity to go south to the Central Plains. With such a good opportunity, not only did the Khitans not go south, but their king even came to the Central Plains in person.

Attending Zhang Zifan's wedding was obviously an excuse, and the real purpose was obviously to meet someone.

This person was certainly not Yuan Tiangang. If Yelu Abaoji had met Yuan Tiangang, he might have been crushed to death. How could he survive until now? At that time, the only person in the Central Plains who was qualified to be valued by him was Li Siyuan.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty was in a state of civil strife. In order to prevent the Khitan from moving south and disrupting Li Siyuan's plan, he had to secretly cooperate with the Khitan and pay certain benefits in exchange for their not launching a war.

Why couldn't he use the same trick this time? Even if they were the ones who started the war, as long as they offered enough benefits, Yelu Abaoji would surely be tempted to start a war. A few deaths would not matter.

As long as he could obtain enough money, food, and population to strengthen the Khitan, Yelu Abaoji would probably be very willing to do this deal.

契丹部落之中，可是有不少人一直在嚷嚷着南下劫掠，虽然当初他们被李存勖揍了回去，但那已经是数年前的事了，这么长一段时间已经足够他们舔舐伤口，卷土重来。

In a short period of time, Su Ming analyzed the information he had obtained in his mind one by one and quickly came to a conclusion.

However, facing such a situation, he could not find a way out for a while and could only sigh, "Alas, it is such a troubled time. Li Siyuan is really difficult to deal with."

Looking at his sad expression, the empress couldn't help but feel her heart beating fast and her cheeks flushed. It seemed that Li Xingyun was even more charming like this.

Before, she had a good impression of Li Xingyun because she saw that Li Xingyun was risking his life for Ji Ruxue and even dared to become an enemy of the Bad Leader. No woman would not envy such infatuation.

But now, the empress found that Li Xingyun, after becoming the emperor, was more attractive to her than before.

As the monarch of Qi State, she is more adept at scheming and scheming, and she walks between various forces to protect herself. She is tough when she needs to be tough, and retreats when she needs to. It is not easy for a woman to preserve such a large foundation in such a chaotic world.

The empress is not a simple girl. Romance and love are her dreams, but they do not meet her expectations. He has been carrying the shackles for too long and can no longer take them off.

Now Li Xingyun has begun to show the political strategy and style of a true emperor, at least in his character and appearance.

If a man wants to be beautiful, he must either be rich or powerful. As for infatuation, it is the most useless thing.

What's the use of being infatuated?

If infatuation were useful, there wouldn't be so many troubled people in this world.

Although the empress envied Li Xingyun's infatuation with Ji Ruxue, she did not want her man to be an infatuated person as well. She was not an ordinary woman. She hoped that her man could achieve great things and leave his name in history.

A hero's short temper and a young man's deep love, if you have either of these two things, you are doomed to achieve nothing great.

Soon, the empress came to her senses and felt her face burning and her heart beating fast, as if an impulse was about to burst out of her chest. However, she firmly suppressed the impulse in her heart and did not show it.

Su Ming, who was standing by, noticed her rapid breathing, but he didn't pay much attention to her expression as usual. He thought for a moment and said to himself, "We still have time to prepare. Yelu Abaoji is not that easy to bribe."

"Things are different now. For Yelü Abaoji, comparing the two products will give him the greatest advantage. Don't worry, once Li Siyuan sends someone to contact Yelü Abaoji, he will definitely reveal the news to us, no matter what channel he uses, he will definitely let us know."

Awakened by Su Ming's words, the empress came out of her state and returned to normal. She calmed down and said, "Yes, Yelu Abaoji is a qualified monarch who knows how to get the greatest benefit."

"Before, he had no choice. Now he has a choice. The result is naturally different. If Li Siyuan wants to cooperate with him, he must pay a greater price."

Hearing this, Su Ming knew in his heart that his guess was correct. Li Siyuan had indeed cooperated with the Khitans before, otherwise the empress would not have said that.

He nodded, then changed the subject, "You have a point, but it's still early. Take this opportunity to gather the available people in the court. Once the war starts, there must be officials in the court who can support you. You can't hold out for long alone."

Li Siyuan has a lot of cards in his hand, but there are only a few ways to play them. Now that Su Ming and the others have predicted his next step, they can naturally take precautions in advance.

Starting a war is not an easy task. It requires a long period of preparation, and they also have some buffer time.

The empress nodded silently. Li Siyuan had been suppressed in the court. Now was the time to press on and press on with his victory. Naturally, he had to win over more people to serve them. Even if he could not accomplish anything with so many followers, it would be good to enhance his prestige.

Of course, the empress would definitely not entrust the most important things to these people. She had just entered the court and was not clear about many things in the court. The only one she could barely trust now was the Secretariat.

In order to reorganize the Secretariat, she promoted a number of officials from the State of Qi from local areas. These people were all supported by her and were loyal and reliable. They were much more trustworthy than the officials of unknown origins in the Secretariat before.

Chapter 99 Yuan Tiangang Appears

Snowflakes fell from the sky, and soon the earth was covered with white.

Today is the Spring Festival. Except for the necessary staff on duty, all other court officials have been closed for three days. The imperial city is unusually quiet, and there are not many people in the palace. Even if the beauties presented by the princes and vassal states are included, there are only a few hundred people, which is not many in such a huge palace.

It was the New Year, so Su Ming did not ask anyone to serve him and gave holidays to all the eunuchs and maids in the palace.

In the square in front of the main hall, Lu Linxuan was making a snowman with Xuan Jingtian and four others. A group of girls were vying with each other for beauty, and they were so beautiful that Zhang Zifan followed them and had a lot of fun.

Although he has the intention but not the courage to do it, it's good to take a look.

Su Ming stood side by side with the empress on the steps. The snowflakes around him were bounced away by an invisible force before they could fall on him.

When the empress saw this scene, her eyes sparkled with surprise. She obviously didn't expect Su Ming's martial arts to be so high that he could silently use the invisible air shield to cover himself and separate all the snowflakes.

Before this, with her strength at the peak of the Great Heaven Realm, she had not noticed the depth of Su Ming's martial arts. It was conceivable that Su Ming's martial arts was no less than hers. When he was in Bianzhou, his martial arts was only at the Small Heaven Realm. It was truly amazing that he had reached this level in such a short period of time.

However, when she thought of Yuan Tiangang standing behind him, the empress felt relieved.

Tiangang Jue is really good!

The two walked in the snow, no one spoke, experiencing the rare peace.

The sound of the wind was mixed with snowflakes, and the two people left faint footprints on the ground.

In the snow, Lu Linxuan had just built a snowman when he turned around and saw Su Ming and the Empress coming over. He waved excitedly, "Brother, today is New Year's Day, come and play with us."

As soon as she finished speaking, she was stopped by Zhang Zifan next to her, "Brother Li finally has some free time, let's not disturb him. Look, Xuan Jingtian and the others didn't disturb the empress either."

After Zhang Zifan said this, Lu Linxuan immediately reacted, showing an awkward smile and slowly lowering his raised hand.

With Su Ming's hearing ability, he naturally heard what they were saying. He smiled lightly and didn't take it to heart. It would be too hasty to push the relationship forward now, so he just let things take their course.

If you are too proactive with a woman like the Empress, she will retreat even further away. Just let nature take its course and take it slow.

Su Ming and the empress followed the imperial road to the imperial garden. Most of the exotic flowers and plants here had withered, leaving only dozens of plum blossoms blooming in the snow. Their light white and pink fragrance set off the snow scene in a beautiful contrast.

Suddenly, he sighed, "There has been no war in the Central Plains for half a year."

The empress also nodded. As a military governor, she had the most say. "Yes, since you ascended the throne, there has been no war in the Central Plains for half a year. The military governors of various places are watching the court."

Su Ming suddenly revealed a smile. He wondered how the real Li Xingyun would feel when he saw this scene. There had been no war for half a year, and countless people had been able to find a chance to breathe and survive in this chaotic world. Just this one time, he had saved countless lives.

Compared to his wandering around the world, the love between young women is much better.

Everyone dies equal but is born unequal. Li Xingyun is, after all, just one of the countless people in the world, except that he is special.

Everyone has his own destiny, which is a responsibility and a burden. Li Xingyun does not want to accept his own fate, and he has been fighting against it. Unfortunately, his fight is meaningless.

What is supposed to come will eventually come.

Yuan Tiangang disappeared after appearing once in Luoyang. In the past six months, he asked Meng Po and contacted Shangguan Yunque, but found that neither of them knew where Yuan Tiangang was.

Combining this information, Su Ming roughly guessed it.

He is probably on that isolated island overseas now, with Li Xingyun and the others.

……

The sky was as clear as water and cloudless.

Seabirds fly across the sea, leaving a white trail. Waves hit the coast, stirring up water splashes.

On the rocks by the sea, Li Xingyun suddenly asked, "Xue'er, is it Chinese New Year today?"

Ji Ruxue sat beside him, was silent for a moment, and said uncertainly, "It should be almost the New Year."

After learning that there was no hope of leaving the island, Li Xingyun used a special notch to record the time so as not to forget. Several months passed, and except for the first ship that approached, no other ship came near here.

As time passed, he lost interest in leaving. As long as Xue'er was by his side, nothing else mattered.

Li Xingyun looked out at the sea, a flash of memories in his eyes. He thought of Zhang Zifan, Lu Linxuan and others, wondering how they were doing. Then, he shook his head gently to dispel these thoughts.

Why think about these things? These things have nothing to do with him anymore.

Li Xingyun stood up from the reef and said excitedly, "Xue'er, today is Chinese New Year. Let's prepare some delicious food. After all, this is our first New Year here. Let's celebrate it properly."

Ji Ruxue also showed a happy smile on her face, "Okay."

After saying that, Li Xingyun quickly ran back to the beach, picked up the harpoon, and rushed into the sea. Today, he was going to go big!