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

Today, they don't have many cards to use in their hands, so they have to be cautious if they want to place a bet. This is also the reason why they did not intervene when Su Ming and Li Siyuan were fighting in the court.

If they bet wrong, their little remaining political capital will be exhausted, and they will not even have room to turn things around. Political struggle is not as simple as treating people to a meal. If you stand on the wrong side, not only will you die, but your family will also be implicated.

The swallows that used to fly in front of the mansions of the wealthy and powerful now fly into the homes of ordinary people. This is not just talk. They no longer have the qualifications to place bets in multiple places.

"Oh, that's all it can do."

Several people looked at each other, feeling exhausted. They thought about their family's glorious history a hundred years ago, and then thought about the present, and felt how desolate it was.

But the situation has come to this point, and they have been forced into a desperate situation.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that once the new rules for the imperial examination are released, the advantages of the aristocratic families will gradually disintegrate, because there are too few of them. How can a mere family compare to thousands of children from poor families?

Without the privilege of the imperial examination, even if they had passed the imperial examination ahead of others due to their family tradition of poetry and literature, they would not be able to gain an advantage and become evergreens in the political arena.

At this time, the atmosphere between the few people was no longer as harmonious as before.

Now that they have decided to send a girl away, the families are no longer partners, but competitors.

There is only one position of queen, which has great political significance and can even interfere in state affairs. Whichever woman can ascend to the throne will have an advantage in the subsequent court affairs. Conversely, the status of noble concubines, imperial concubines, etc. will be much lower.

They looked at each other and could see the wariness in each other's eyes, and the party ended unhappily.

……

The empress smiled and reminded him, "The Ministry of Personnel has just introduced new rules for the imperial examination. Li Siyuan will definitely not sit idly by. You better be careful."

"No, Li Siyuan will never compete with me at this time." Su Ming shook his head gently, "Prince Xue is bringing up old scores in the court. What he did before is totally untenable. The court has its own rules. He needs to clean up the mess and can't take care of this now."

Li Cunli was the Prince of Xue and also the Deputy Minister of the Central Secretariat, holding a high position of power. In addition, he was Li Siyuan's confidant and knew all about his dark history.

If Li Siyuan didn't want to be exposed, he had to clean up the mess quickly and not give the court any evidence against him, otherwise he would be embarrassed in the court.

The empress was stunned, her lips slightly raised, her eyes moving, "That's right, if Li Cunli wants to join you, he must have a token of surrender. Since he has already betrayed Li Siyuan, he can only go down this path to the end. Li Siyuan has been in a very difficult situation recently."

Li Cunli's defection brought great changes to the court. The most obvious change was that the Secretariat, which had never been strong, could now compete with the people of Prince Jin's faction.

In addition to the negative information about Prince Xue, Li Siyuan reflected on his mistakes in seclusion, and the officials of his faction were very sad in the court. However, with the presence of Sansi Shi Ren Huan and Privy Councilor An Zhonghui, the people of Prince Jin's faction could still hold on.

Both the Three Commissioners and the Privy Councilor were important officials of the court, one in charge of financial power and the other in charge of military power. Together with Li Siyuan's old nest in Taiyuan, such power could be called the number one prince in the world.

The Hedong area is rich in resources, and has soldiers and people. As long as you guard the pass, you can become a local emperor and enjoy yourself.

If it were not for the geographical advantage of Hedong, Li Keyong would have been defeated by Zhu Wen, who dominated the Central Plains, and Li Cunxu would not have had the chance to turn the tide.

"In two days, I will ask Li Cunli to stop. It's enough to stop at that point. Just showing his stance is enough." Su Ming put down the teacup in his hand, stood up and walked to the screen in the back hall.

The empress was also traveling with him, following closely behind. After a little thought, she understood the key point, "Are you afraid of pushing Li Siyuan too far?"

Su Ming nodded. "I have few soldiers and generals now, so it is not appropriate for me to break up with Li Siyuan. If he is really determined to return to Taiyuan and become a local emperor behind closed doors, that would be a disaster."

The reason why the newly born Tang Dynasty court can still keep the situation under control is not because of him, but because Li Siyuan is here.

When he first ascended the throne, he had no one at his disposal but only five hundred Khitan soldiers. It can be said that any governor in the world was stronger than him.

At that time, if Li Siyuan was not in Luoyang, the surrounding military governors might have bullied him as the emperor.

You know what, that's what Li Maozhen did after he became rich. On the contrary, Li Keyong was more inclined towards the Tang Dynasty.

Although they were all traitors, they were afraid of comparison in everything. If it weren't for the idiot Emperor Zhaozong who attacked Li Keyong and lost, the Tang Dynasty might not have collapsed so quickly.

Speaking of Emperor Zhaozong, Li Xingyun's father, he was really stupid. After failing to attack Li Keyong, he was bullied by Li Maozhen.

Later, he felt that the imperial guards were useless, so he trained an army of 100,000 and conquered Western Sichuan. However, he ended up helping Wang Jian and lost the entire Sichuan region. All these actions exhausted the remaining vitality of the Tang Dynasty.

If he hadn't done this, no matter how the Tang Dynasty played, it would still be able to hold on for a few decades.

Otherwise, why do you think Yuan Tiangang set up such a big plan? It was because those emperors were so treacherous that he couldn't help them up at all.

However, Su Ming's current situation is even more serious than that of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang.

The Tang Dynasty had already collapsed once, and its prestige and appeal had been greatly reduced. He was able to establish himself as the Son of Heaven only thanks to Yuan Tiangang. Without Yuan Tiangang, everyone knew very well how much weight he would have left.

However, in a sense, this can be regarded as a case of breaking down before building up. In the court, apart from Li Siyuan, there were no other constraints, and there were no old and young people who disgusted him and competed with him for power.

Therefore, Li Siyuan must not be pushed too far. If he runs away, it will be difficult for him to defend Luoyang with his current strength. If other Jiedushi bully him, he will have to invite Li Siyuan back.

He couldn't go find Yuan Tiangang, could he?

He is not the real Li Xingyun, he does not have that much confidence, and he does not want to be told what to do by him.

Therefore, he has always held on to the army tightly, starting with 500 Khitan soldiers and later with thousands of veterans sent by the empress. He used these veterans as a foundation to slowly expand the imperial guards and finally took control of the entire imperial city.

But compared to those Jiedushi, it is still not enough!

Luoyang alone is too small. He needs to control the counties and transportation routes around Luoyang before he can feel at ease. To achieve this, he needs at least tens of thousands of soldiers.

Chapter 114 Reward: Sixty Years of Internal Strength

As an emperor, military power is of paramount importance, not to mention the imperial guards who guard the imperial city. Under Zhang Zifan, he set up several deputy generals to share power.

In time, his identity will be exposed and Zhang Zifan will turn against him. At most, he can only control a part of the troops. He will not be like the stubborn Emperor Zhaozong who cannot even control his generals.

……

The pitch-black sky enveloped the night sky, and you couldn't see your hand in front of you. The cold wind blew, and the chill was deep and biting.

In the Qianqiu Palace, the red curtains fluttered like a dancing mad snake. The whistling wind made the lights sway. The flames on the Lotus Palace lanterns cast mottled shadows, making it difficult to see clearly.

Su Ming sat alone in the hall, tapping his fingers lightly on the imperial desk. The dull sound was like footsteps, full of rhythm.

Suddenly, he stopped tapping and said slowly, "You're here."

"Your Majesty, your humble servant, pays his respects." In front of him, a dark figure knelt on one knee.

"Stand up." Su Ming raised his head, his eyes showing no sadness or joy. "Tell me, what did you find out in Hedong?"

"promise."

"Your Majesty, Li Siyuan has 15,000 troops stationed in Taiyuan, and the garrison troops in the various counties of Hedong total about 30,000. The number of soldiers capable of fighting is more than 50,000, and the number of cavalry should be more than 3,000."

Fifty thousand combat-ready soldiers!

This number made Su Ming feel a heavy pressure. This number of troops was ten times his current strength. His imperial army was just a group of elite soldiers from Qi State, with the old leading the new.

The 50,000 troops of Li Siyuan were veterans who had followed him in his battles with the State of Liang and survived. Although the elite among them were probably no more than 10,000, the combat effectiveness of those veterans was far beyond that of ordinary soldiers.

After a moment of silence, Su Ming took the initiative to ask, "Do the brothers of Jinyiwei have enough monthly salary? Are their families supported?"

The black-clothed man's voice was agitated, with a feeling of respect and gratitude, "Your Majesty, the brothers of the Jinyiwei who are hiding outside have doubled their monthly salary and rice, which is enough to support their families. Moreover, the people under his command dare not deduct it."

Su Ming smiled faintly, "That's good, you go down first."

"Wei Chen retire."

The sound of light footsteps faded away, and he was once again the only one left in the hall.

Seeing the dark twilight in the distant sky, Su Ming couldn't help but let out a sigh.

He formed the Jinyiwei by drawing on the elite members of the Xuanming Sect. There might be spies from the Bad People among them, but he didn't care. As long as they could be used for his own purposes, it was enough.

Under the leadership of Meng Po, the Xuanming Sect lurked in various places to help him monitor the military governors of the former Liang State. The Xuanming Sect was originally an intelligence organization of the Liang State, so it was naturally easy to capture the prisoners with them monitoring them.

He even asked the Xuanming Sect to send out spies to investigate the southern princes and Shu.

Anyway, the Xuanming Sect is just a sieve. He doesn't care whether it can be done or not, or whether the information is timely or not. As long as the information can be collected, it's fine. Those places are temporarily out of his reach and he can't get involved.

He personally formed the Jinyiwei, which were his real secret agents. Due to financial constraints and in order to maintain secrecy, he only selected a thousand people, who were mainly lurking in the vicinity of Luoyang and various counties in Hedong.

He had long regarded Li Siyuan as his opponent. As the saying goes, only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. Some things always need to be prepared in advance.

However, he would not believe all the news from the Jinyiwei. These messages could only be used as a reference at most and were not counted.

He is a suspicious person. Until now, there is no one he can truly trust. He only believes in himself!

Suddenly, a familiar mechanical voice sounded in his mind, [The progress of the fake Li Xingyun has reached 80%, reward: 60 years of internal strength]

The long-lost system reappeared, which made Su Ming feel inexplicably surprised. His previous role-playing progress had reached 70% and stopped there. He did not deliberately imitate the role-playing, but just went with the flow.

He had tried it before, but being too deliberate would only lead to failure, the real role was to devote the whole heart and soul, as long as he was not a fool, sitting in his current position would gradually get closer to the real Son of Heaven, and that was also the goal and dream of the fake Li Xingyun.

A Jiazi period is sixty years, and sixty years of internal strength is enough to push his skills to a higher level.

When the system's voice stopped, Su Ming used the Lingbo Weibu technique and stepped on the Bagua. His figure flashed in an instant and he left the hall as if teleporting. He couldn't wait to go to the training room to receive his reward and refine his internal strength.

In the training room, Su Ming ordered the guards to guard the door and not let anyone in.

"boom!"

As the heavy stone door of the stone chamber closed, the lights were lit, illuminating the dim room. The room was not big, about ten square meters, and was furnished with a stone bed, incense burners and other items.

Su Ming came to the stone bed, sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing, with his five hearts facing the sky. As he continued to regulate his breathing, his breathing became more and more steady, and his excited mind gradually calmed down.

"System, collect the reward!"

After he calmed his mind, a pure internal force appeared in his dantian. The amount of this internal force was huge, several times more than his own internal force.

When this internal force appeared, Su Ming only felt warm all over and very comfortable. This internal force flowed through his limbs and bones. Although the amount was huge, it was very gentle.

He immediately focused his mind and used the Tiangang Jue to refine it.

Tiangang Jue, as the martial art practiced by Yuan Tiangang, naturally would not remain unchanged. Apart from anything else, his three hundred years of internal strength alone could not be controlled by ordinary martial arts.

As his skills improve, he will have to modify his techniques to allow his body to adapt. Otherwise, the huge amount of internal force will definitely burst his tendons and veins, and even if that doesn't happen, it will be very difficult to control it.

The Tiangang Jue, which he had continuously modified, was definitely stronger than the innate Gangqi. After all, the innate Gangqi had flaws, but the Tiangang Jue did not.

If we have to say there is a reason, it is that the body of a practitioner would probably have too much Yang energy, which needs to be harmonized with pure Yin energy. However, besides the path of harmonizing Yin and Yang, there is another way.

That is, Yang gives birth to Yin, Yin cannot be born alone, Yang cannot grow alone, Taiyang gives birth to Shaoyin, Taiyin gives birth to Shaoyang. Although Tiangang Jue is known to be the most rigid and the most Yang, but when it is practiced to a deep level, there will definitely be a way for Yang to give birth to Yin.

Otherwise, how could the little bit of Yin energy in the pure Yin girl's body resolve the burning of Yang energy brought about by his three hundred years of practice?

Think about how powerful three hundred years of internal energy is, and it is masculine internal energy at that. If the woman's yin energy enters it, it will not harmonize yin and yang, but will add fuel to the fire.

How could Yuan Tiangang, who used to be a sorcerer, not understand the principle that Yang generates Yin?

Compared to the extremely yang internal force of the Tiangang Jue that can run for three hundred years, the Xiantian Gang Qi is also extremely strong and yang, but it pursues power too much and does not understand the concept of "a full moon will be filled and a dragon will regret it", which leaves a fatal flaw.

Therefore, Su Ming used the Tiangang Jue to refine these internal forces.

Chapter 115: Risky Moves, Attacking Acupuncture Points

Sixty years of pure internal energy continued to flow through Su Ming's body. The warm true energy condensed and did not dissipate. As he circulated it around his body over and over again, this internal energy still caused him great trouble.

It doesn't mean that once the internal force is given to you, it will become yours. The larger the amount of internal force, the more cautious you should be. In the original anime, Li Siyuan sucked away the Tiangang Jue internal force that Li Xingyun had practiced for more than ten years, and he was fine. His power increased greatly and he was almost invincible.

That's because he has practiced the Supreme Heaven and Earth Skill for decades, and his foundation is solid, so he can control it.