Chapter 5: The Astonishment of Friendly Countries

  In the late Eastern Han dynasty, a small country called Goguryeo was established by Jumong of the Buyeo people in Liaodong. It took advantage of the situation to rise up and swallow up the four counties of Lelang, Xuantu, Zhenfan, and Lintun that originally belonged to the Han Dynasty, which were later inherited by Wei and Jin. After several hundred years of operation, its national strength expanded day by day, far surpassing Baekje and Silla, becoming a regional hegemon.

  In the 18th year of Kaihuang, Gao Juren, the king of Goguryeo, led a cavalry of over 10,000 elite soldiers to invade Liaoxi and besiege Yingzhou. Emperor Yang Jian was enraged and launched a large-scale military campaign with 300,000 troops on both land and water routes to punish them. However, due to the sudden outbreak of the incident, the preparation of food and grass was insufficient, and the army stopped advancing when it reached the Liao River. Coincidentally, Gao Juren also felt guilty and fearful, so he sent an envoy to apologize and submitted a memorial calling himself "Liaodong's humble subject Yuan". The Sui dynasty took advantage of this opportunity to withdraw its troops, and Emperor Yang Jian reappointed Gao Juren as the king of Goguryeo. Goguryeo also resumed its tributary relations with the Sui dynasty.

  After this dragon-head and snake-tail war, both the Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo knew that the outbreak of war between the two countries was only a matter of time. However, it has been only two years since the last war ended. According to common sense, the king and officials of Goguryeo should have shrunk their heads and pretended to be kings, but how dare they speak out of turn and provoke maliciously at the Sui Dynasty's New Year's banquet?

  The country of Goguryeo was divided into five parts, with one governor for each part. The central governor's jurisdiction was the original place where Goguryeo first rose to power, also known as the Central Governor, which included Pyongyang Castle, Domestic Castle, and Han Castle, collectively referred to as the "Three Capitals". This Yi Sa-bu called himself the mayor of Domestic Castle, which translates to a directly governed city in modern language. Look at him, he's only in his thirties and already holds a high position, he must be someone who knows what's important. Just now, his words suppressed the cheers of tens of thousands of people, his inner strength is indeed not to be underestimated. However, with the elite of Sui gathered here, there are at least thirty-seven or eight people who can do the same thing effortlessly, so it's not necessary to worry about him causing any big waves. For now, everyone held their breath and waited to see what he was going to do next.

  Yizhi Wende was so rude, he didn't put the great Sui emperor in his eyes at all. Yang Jian was naturally furious. He turned black with anger and coldly laughed, then turned around and sat back down. He gave a slight nod to the current Shangshu You Pushe, Yueguo Gong Yang Su, who was sitting beside him. This chief minister of the great Sui understood the hint and immediately stood up, stepped forward, and scolded: "In front of our great Sui emperor, you dare to speak recklessly and threaten the monarch! You are a foreign envoy, how can you be so rude? Yizhi Wende, do you know your crime?"

  Yizhi Wende said proudly: "The words of the outer minister are all true. I didn't expect that the great Sui emperor would have such a narrow mind and not accept loyal advice. Now that things have come to this, what more can be said? Yizhi Wende is alone here, whether he wants to kill or execute me, it's up to the great Sui emperor to decide. But I didn't expect that the affair of Bi Gan from the time of King Zhou would reappear today."

  As soon as these words came out, the officials in the imperial court changed color instantly. Yang Su was deep and calm, always happy and angry without showing his emotions, but at this time he couldn't help but move his anger. He said in a low voice: "How dare you! Yizhi Wende, your words are simply absurd. Guards, take this madman down from the hall and temporarily detain him at the Ministry of Justice!"

  Yizhi Wende publicly insulted the great Sui emperor, and the civil and military officials on the platform could no longer hold back their anger. At Yang Su's order, more than a dozen guards on the platform rushed out like wolves and tigers, determined to teach this arrogant man a lesson. Yizhi Wende, however, sneered coldly, his hands clasped behind his back, his head held high, completely unrepentant. Suddenly, a dark figure flashed in the hall, someone leapt from their seat and shielded Yizhi Wende behind them. The person's palms came together, shouting "Homage to Amitabha!" as they suddenly spread their arms apart to the left and right.

  In an instant, the two gusts of wind, one extremely cold and the other extremely hot, burst forth like a mountain flood, surging forward with overwhelming momentum. The force was so overbearing and violent that it far exceeded imagination. Even masters like Yang Su, Yuwen Shu, and Li Yuan in the hall, who were caught off guard by the residual waves, couldn't help but secretly take a deep breath and hastily mobilize their internal energy to defend themselves. Those more than ten warriors, although they were all elite soldiers handpicked from thousands, after all, found it difficult to contend with true masters. In an instant, they were all invaded by the swirling air that had entered their bodies.

  Only to see the left side of the warriors' skin was covered with a layer of snow-white frost, frozen stiff on the ground. The right side of the warriors seemed to have been burned by fierce fire, their bodies charred black, falling to the ground in pain and screaming miserably. The scene was so tragic that it was frightening and terrifying!

  The crowd was shocked and angry, the over 100 soldiers who had just presented "Broken Array Music" and had not yet retreated took a step back, instantly surrounding Yizhi Wende and others with their spears. The golden spears shone brightly, exuding a fierce killing aura. However, two voices shouted in unison: "Retreat!" Two figures flew out, each slapping down a palm, coincidentally releasing two extreme internal energies of the inner family, one extremely cold and the other scorching hot. The palm force was everywhere, freeing the frozen warriors, while those who had been burned felt their bodies cool down. Before the cries of pain subsided, the two figures descended from the sky like flying eagles, attacking the master protecting Yizhi Wende from both sides. The master showed no intention of retreating and countered with a fierce palm strike. The four palms clashed, producing a low, muffled sound as the cold and hot energies mixed and swirled together, bursting into the air and shattering the roof of the Taiji Temple. Countless tiles and debris fell down, filling the great hall with smoke and chaos.

  Finally, the dust settled, and everyone looked closely. It turned out that the master who was protecting Yizhi Wende had dark skin, wore a kasaya, and had a rosary around his neck, and he was indeed a monk from Tianzhu. The two men who were attacking him together were both tall and slender, and they were both elegant young masters. On the left side, his skin was bright red, and his fire energy was fierce, and it was Yang Su's eldest son, Yang Xuangan. On the right side, his face was as cold as frost, and his whole body emitted a chilling aura that oppressed people, and he was indeed Yuwen Shu's eldest son, Yuwen Huaji.

  Yang Xuanzhen practiced the ultimate skill of "Lingyan Qigong", and was known as one of the most outstanding figures among the younger generation in the Sui court. Yuwen Huaji, on the other hand, possessed the family heirloom "Bingxuan Jing", and was also renowned alongside Yang Xuanzhen. This was well-known to everyone in the imperial court. Unexpectedly, today these two joined forces to attack together, yet they still couldn't defeat this unknown monk from Tianzhu. What kind of background did this foreign monk have, and what kind of extraordinary skill had he practiced?

  Suddenly, everyone in the Grand Duke's court was shocked and uncertain, whispering to each other. Especially Yang Zhao, who was watching from the side. When he heard the three words "Ice Xuan Jin", it was like a punch to the head, making his mind chaotic. He exclaimed: "How is this possible? Isn't Yuwen Huaji's martial art supposed to be 'Desert Demon Wolf'? How did it become 'Ice Xuan Jin'? This is actually a martial art from 'The Legend of the Twin Dragons'! Ah, yes, 'Jade Emperor Dynasty' also adapted 'The Legend of the Twin Dragons' into a comic book version. But... but... isn't this all mixed up? What kind of world is this?! Everything is jumbled together, can people even survive?! This is outrageous, truly outrageous!"

  Yizhi Wende took a step forward, raised his arm to block the way and said: "Master, please stay." He looked up with a cold smile and said: "The great Sui Dynasty is a powerful country in the world, known for its etiquette and morality. It claims to rule the country with benevolence and righteousness. But I didn't expect that it would do things so violently and overbearingly. First, at the state banquet hall, you ordered soldiers to show off their military might, singing 'Conquering a million miles, inside and outside, the barbarians are exhausted after a hundred years'. As an envoy of a foreign country, I dared to speak out for the sake of the Sui Dynasty, but unexpectedly, the emperor's tolerance is so narrow that he wants to arrest me and put me in prison.

  "Yiwen Deyi is just a humble vassal of the state. Whether he lives or dies, what does it matter? But the Emperor of Sui has exhausted his military strength and bullied the weak, greatly violating the etiquette of the Central Plains and the reputation of the country. If this continues, not only will the people of neighboring countries be shocked and puzzled, but also the Sui dynasty itself may perish. For the sake of all living beings under heaven, I hope the Emperor of Sui can suddenly awaken to his mistakes. Otherwise... Hehe, although our small border state cannot compare with the prosperity of Sui, we still understand the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold."

  This speech was like a revelation, making people suddenly enlightened. It turned out that Yizhi Wende's actions today were actually intended to buy the hearts of the small countries around them. Now that they understood each other's intentions, there was no need to hide anything, and it was much more convenient to speak freely. Yang Su looked back at Yang Jian, and the two nodded slightly. Just as Yuen Guo was about to speak, someone suddenly stood up from their seat, shouting loudly: "Korean stick, what nonsense are you spouting? You barbarians should just stay behind closed doors and be arrogant on your own, but instead you dare to come to China and spread rumors. Are you tired of living? Our heavenly dynasty is a country of benevolence and righteousness, but that only applies to our own people. When dealing with barbarians and enemies, we only have swords, guns, bows, and arrows! Are the friendly countries shocked? I'll give you a kimchi head!"

  Although these words are crude, they really hit the hearts of all the officials and ministers. At this time, all the military generals at the table applauded loudly, and the civil officials couldn't help but smile with their fingers, feeling pleased with themselves. Yu Zhi Wende was caught off guard, and for a moment he looked embarrassed, frowning and saying: "Who is this?"

  "This is my great-grandson, the Crown Prince." Yang Su couldn't help but glance at Yang Zhao. As for the usually unremarkable Crown Prince suddenly speaking up like this, he also found it a bit strange. Yizhi Wende shook his head and said, "The Crown Prince's words are forceful and unreasonable, truly too overbearing."

  "Hmph, what about the overbearing way?" Yang Zhao said proudly: "Since ancient times, truth has been within the range of a large army's sweep. Whoever has the biggest fist and the hardest power has reason. Our Great Sui destroyed Northern Qi, pacified Southern Chen, and defeated the Turks, relying not on benevolence, righteousness, and morality, but on invincible power! Those who follow me will prosper, those who oppose me will perish."

  "Invincible under the heavens? Your Highness is indeed confident." Yizhen Wende retorted, "Although Goguryeo is weak, it still has 100,000 elite cavalry and 1,000 good generals. Let's not mention that for now. Based solely on the current situation, are you daring enough to make a bet with us? It doesn't matter if it's a one-on-one duel, as long as there's someone on your side who can defeat my friend, Zhū Fǎrǎn. If that happens, not only will I, Yizhen Wende, immediately surrender, but Goguryeo will also be a vassal state of the Great Sui for generations to come. If we lose, then the royal bloodline of the Goguryeo kingdom will be severed and never rise again!"

  When he finished speaking, Wende took out an object from his bosom and held it high above his head. The lights in the hall shone brightly, and everyone could see clearly. It was a golden plaque with the pattern of a three-legged crow under the sun carved on it. It was indeed the golden token of the first ancestor of the Gao family, who was known as the son of the sun, Zhu Mong!