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

Su Ming raised his lips slightly, as if smiling, "I am where I am today because of my own efforts. Don't you know that there are geniuses in this world? Three hundred years ago, Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng worked together to create Tui Bei Tu. The prophecy was pushed forward to a thousand years later and was listed as a banned book."

"Age doesn't mean anything. If the older you are, the stronger your skills are, then the most powerful person in the world is not a human, but a turtle."

This answer made Li Maozhen silent. His sister was a genius and had reached the great heavenly realm when she was a teenager. Otherwise, he would not dare to entrust the country of Qi to her.

But this kid is younger than his sister, yet his skills are so strong. Although he almost went crazy just now, he was not completely unconscious. It is not something that ordinary people can do to defeat him within a few moves.

But the more this happened, the more depressed he felt. He thought he was full of confidence after coming out of retirement. Although he was not the strongest, he was considered one of the best masters in the world.

As a result, he was forced to reveal all his cards in his first battle, and was beaten so hard that he went crazy and couldn't take care of himself, which almost made him doubt his life.

What have I been doing for the past sixteen years?

"Li Maozhen, am I qualified to stand in front of you now?"

Silence, long silence.

You beat me up like this, and you still ask me?

Li Maozhen's face twitched, and he almost walked away in anger. He suppressed his anger and said, "You are indeed a rare talent. I underestimated you."

"Now, am I qualified to manage Qiguo's affairs?"

Li Maozhen's forehead veins popped out, and he shouted angrily, "That's enough, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you are a martial arts master. I can ignore the affairs between you and my sister, but it is not your turn to interfere in the affairs of Qi State!"

"Oh!"

However, the next moment, he only saw a flash before his eyes, and before he could move, a hand pressed down his head directly, hitting the ground heavily, sinking three inches into the ground and submerged in the mud.

"Do you dare to say this again?" Su Ming pinched his throat with one hand and said expressionlessly.

At this moment, Li Maozhen actually felt the breath of death. The irresistible power made him subconsciously think of the nightmare hidden deep in his memory.

Just as domineering, just as powerful, and irresistible!

"Don't think that I can't deal with you just because you have the Meteoric Gu. Killing you is too easy for me. Due to my status, I can't kill you, but I can cripple you. Without your martial arts, what qualifications do you have to be the King of Qi? What can you use to negotiate terms and cooperation with Li Siyuan?"

"In Yuan Tiangang's eyes, you are just a chess piece to open the Longquan Treasure Box. It won't be difficult to find another person like you in the Twelve Caves!"

"Besides, the Longquan Treasure Box and the Longquan Sword are both in my hands. What can you use to open the Longquan Treasure?"

Su Ming let go of Li Maozhen and put his hands behind his back, as if waiting for his answer.

However, Su Ming's words were like a sharp arrow that pierced Li Maozhen's chest, exposing all his bloody secrets to the public.

From the beginning to the end, he was just a chess piece, a chess piece for the king's pioneer!

Can the King of Qi, who has been away from the throne for sixteen years, really return to his position?

Li Maozhen's face turned pale in an instant, his eyes were dazed, and his golden-red pupils lost their luster. After a long time, he struggled to stand up from the ground.

"what do you want to do?"

A strange look flashed in Su Ming's eyes. As expected of Li Maozhen, he reacted quickly and knew that he was still useful to him.

He turned around, stared at Li Maozhen, and said in a deep voice, "This world already has a master. The bloodline of Li Tang is not extinct. You traitors will never be able to take the throne. This is true for Zhu Wen, Li Cunxu, and you too!"

"Although Qi State is already the top vassal state in the world, after so many years, it has long lost its ability to rule the world. At the most appropriate time, you are not in Qi State."

"If you miss it, you will never have another chance, so you should wake up from the dream of taking over. In the past, you stepped out of the Shen Ce Army and made great achievements. Now, I want to give you another chance, a chance to take charge of the army again."

"You are a veteran of the battlefield, and you are also the governor of a region. You know how to train elite soldiers."

Li Maozhen smiled sadly, self-deprecatingly and sadly, "What about my sister? Are you going to let her follow you without any status?"

"I will give her a status in the future, but not now. The situation is different now. I still need her to help me deal with Li Siyuan in the court." Su Ming did not avoid the question and made his promise.

Although they didn't say it, he and Li Siyuan both understood that it was impossible for an empress to sit on the throne of empress. Even if the Khitan princess was naive, the Khitan Kingdom behind her was not a pushover.

As long as Khitan is not destroyed, Yelu Zhiwu's position as queen will be as stable as Mount Tai and no one can shake it. Even if Su Ming wants to change the queen, the pressure from the court and the public will be enough to make him retreat.

What's more, Su Ming had never thought of making the empress the queen.

Chapter 178 Li Maozhen Surrenders

If Su Ming were to recruit Li Maozhen for his own use, he would definitely make him a general. He was not like Emperor Zhaozong, who trained the troops but was unable to control them.

When training the troops, there will naturally be a lot of brainwashing about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. At the same time, the deputy generals and grassroots officers in the army must be personally reviewed by him before they can take up their positions.

The imperial guards in Luoyang were the officers he trained. Before the Third Reich launched the war, it trained a large number of officers and expanded the army to one million in a short period of time.

Although it is not possible with the current human and material resources, it is still easy to follow their example and expand the army to tens of thousands.

More importantly, every time military pay was distributed, Su Ming would show up instead of having it go through the hands of the generals. It was only natural for soldiers to get paid.

But these people must know whose food they are eating and who they are working for!

Instead of being like in the late Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, where the upper-level generals gave a call and the soldiers below followed suit and directly changed their ranks.

If this could still make Li Maozhen upset, then Su Ming might as well just commit suicide.

However, if the female emperor became the empress, Su Ming would never let Li Maozhen take charge of the army. Aren’t the lessons from the rebellions caused by the foreign relatives of the Han Dynasty enough?

The empress became the empress, and Li Maozhen was in charge of the army. If she gave birth to another prince, he would not be able to sleep well.

Therefore, the empress could not become the empress.

Even if he liked her, it was not possible! This had nothing to do with love, it was just the most basic way of balancing power. On the contrary, although Yelu Zhiwu had the support of the Khitan Kingdom, he had no foundation in the court and no one to use, so he was alone and helpless.

As long as she is the queen, Su Ming can sleep soundly.

Li Maozhen remained silent. It seemed that Su Ming was giving him a choice, but in fact he had no choice at all. If he did not agree, he would definitely die here today, and it was inevitable that his martial arts would be completely destroyed.

Alas, times have changed.

He sighed in his heart, and in a trance he had a feeling that he had grown old. Looking up, most of his old friends were gone, and he was the only one still alive in the world.

Now, he is also about to take his leave.

Li Maozhen lowered his proud head, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands together, and saluted solemnly, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

He had not expected that this would be the situation when he entered the palace today. The emperor was wiser and more decisive than he had imagined, and did not give him any chance to breathe.

If the emperor let him go now, he would turn around and cooperate with Li Siyuan. However, the emperor did not let him go, but forced him to surrender.

He had to do it, he had to do it. Having come to this point, his road had come to an end. His dream of dominating the world and sweeping across the north and south was finally coming to an end.

In the future, he will be the sharpest knife in the emperor's hand.

Su Ming accepted Li Maozhen's greeting, and when he finished, he helped him up, with a relaxed smile on his face, "Now, we are considered a family."

After saying that, he turned and looked in a certain direction in the Imperial Garden, "Come out, don't worry."

As soon as the words fell, a charming figure walked out from the colorful flowers, her beautiful face was full of complex expressions, and there were still traces of tears on it.

"Sister, have you been here all the time?" Li Maozhen's pupils shrank and his face looked a little embarrassed. He didn't expect that his sister would see his embarrassing situation. How could he maintain his dignity as the eldest brother in front of her in the future?

The empress nodded her head and walked over. "Brother, it's been so long, you should take a break. The future Qi Kingdom doesn't need you, nor me."

King Qi nodded with mixed feelings and said nothing more.

At his position, it might be an exaggeration to say that his words are golden, but doing what he says is the most basic principle. Since he has already surrendered to Su Ming, he will not betray him like he did decades ago.

In the past, he did that because the emperor could not give him much and could not restrain him, and the cost of betrayal was minimal.

But now, if he betrays again, there will be no place for him in the world, and he can no longer go back to Qi State. Li Siyuan will not give up the opportunity to give him a beating when he is down.

What's more, he made a promise in person in front of his sister. No matter how shameless he is, he will never break his promise again. Some things are enough to be done once.

He is no longer young and has no capital to make a comeback. This is his last chance. If he misses this opportunity, he will completely withdraw from the stage of history and miss this era of great changes.

After the empress appeared, Su Ming did not stay here, but left directly, leaving the space to them, the brother and sister. Now, they must have a lot to say.

……

The empress walked up to Li Maozhen, her beautiful eyes revealing unspeakable emotions, "Brother, have you really decided?"

What familiar words! How long has it been since I became King of Qi?

It's been so long that he can't remember clearly.

Li Maozhen cut off his memories, sighed, and nodded, "I've made up my mind. I won't regret it. In this world, no one else will give me a second chance except him."

"We are all pawns anyway. It's better to be his pawn than to be Yuan Tiangang's pawn."

After saying that, he looked at the empress again, his expression hesitant, "Sister, have you made up your mind?"

The empress pursed her red lips and subconsciously clenched her fists, "Brother, I've made up my mind. I won't change. After sixteen years, I can finally put down the burden on my shoulders, find my own happiness, and pick up my own life."

"Fortunately, it's not too late."

Hearing this, Li Maozhen felt ashamed again. If it weren't for him, his sister wouldn't be still unmarried at this age.

"Don't worry, I won't show up in front of people. From now on, you are Li Maozhen."

The empress's shoulders relaxed, and the heavy stone in her heart finally fell.

No one knew how worried she was just now. On one side was her own brother, and on the other side was her beloved. No matter who was hurt, she would be very embarrassed.

Fortunately, the matter was resolved perfectly. Although my brother was beaten, it was all worth it.

The court will no longer be in turmoil, the State of Qi will be able to stabilize, and most importantly, the brother who cares about her has returned.

……

Li Maozhen's return was just a splash of water in Luoyang, very inconspicuous.

When Li Siyuan learned that Li Maozhen had never come out since entering the palace, he fell silent. He did not expect this result.

Since Li Maozhen did not show up, his idea of ​​shaking the position of King Qi had failed.

More importantly, he didn't know how Li Maozhen was doing now, whether he was alive, dead, or had already left. He didn't know any of this.

He was in charge of Luoyang's defense and had spies throughout the city, but there was one place he could not control.

Imperial Palace. Ever since the Empress sent the Three Holy Princesses into the palace, his spies hidden in the palace were dug out one by one. Until today, he has been unable to get any news from the palace.

The palace guards were organized by the emperor himself, and they lived and ate in the military camp, so he had no way of deploying anyone there.

After a few more days, he finally gave up.

Chapter 179 Twelve Caves of Raojiang

Half a month later, at Prince Jin’s Mansion.

"Brother, Li Maozhen actually fell into the hands of the emperor! It's a waste that you invited him into the palace before. He is really a man with nothing in reputation!" Li Cunzhi looked angry.

Li Siyuan narrowed his eyes, his expression gloomy, "I didn't expect that Li Maozhen, who had dominated the world for decades, would be captured so easily by the emperor. He couldn't even leave the imperial city. It seems that I have always ignored the emperor's strength."