Chapter 23: Auntie could not bear it, let alone Uncle

  Du Fuwei defected to Li Yuan, did Du Fuwei's brain go wrong? Now Li Yuan has only one Li Yuanbao. Others can't even take it out! In the official history, it is also recorded that when Du Fuwei was at his peak, he inexplicably defected to Li Yuan, who was much weaker than him. Guessing the reason, Du Fuwei really didn't have any ambition to contend for the world, and only wished to safely guard one side...

  Du Fuwei's surrender to Li Yuan was also a mistake. When Du Fuwei's power reached its peak, Li Yuan had him placed under house arrest and eventually poisoned to death!

  Li Yuanba is an otaku, which is an undisputed fact. He was born into a very powerful family in this world, but that can't change his personality! Having grown accustomed to being alone and yet yearning for excitement, he can be said to be out of place with the people of this world!

  A shut-in, who crossed over to ancient times, even with his formidable martial arts skills, found it difficult to blend in with this completely different world. Firstly, it was due to his cognition and habits, which made him incomprehensible to the people of that era. Secondly, during those chaotic times where heroes rose and fell, he wandered alone without establishing his own power base. What do you think would happen? Either he'd be a genius or an idiot! Apparently, Li Yuanba had a prior record, and his reputation was that of a powerful yet foolish man!

  Even legendary masters cannot act recklessly against a force with an army, so people of this era realized that as long as I have a massive force, even if you have unparalleled martial power, in the end, you will still submit to me. And what about Li Yuanba? As long as I have unparalleled martial power, although I may not be able to kill everyone under the sky, but as long as I can kill you, I will live very comfortably! These are two extremes...

  Du Fuwei came to rely on him and also brought his daughter to marry Li Yuanba. The current situation is basically a special case, completely eliminating many lectures, no matter what, Li Yuanba can be considered remarried.

  Dufu Wei's wife, Danyunying, was very dissatisfied with this and the famous heroine in history made a big fuss about her daughter getting married so hastily. Under everyone's and Du Lingyue's persuasion, she suppressed her anger and left for Huainan on the day of her daughter's wedding with a group of people!

  In May, Li Yuan killed the puppet emperor and proclaimed himself emperor, with the country name Tang and the year number Wu De. He established his capital in Chang'an. Then he ordered Pei Ji, Liu Wenjing and others to revise and fix the laws and orders, making adjustments based on the Kaihuang Laws, and abolishing all the complicated and harsh laws used during the Sui dynasty. He also created 53 articles of law, emphasizing simplicity and convenience for the people.

  In June, Emperor Gaozu of Tang appointed Crown Prince Li Jiancheng as the Crown Prince, Li Shimin as the King of Qin, Li Yuanbao as the King of Wei, Li Yuanji as the King of Qi, Li Baizong as the King of Pingyuan, Li Xiaojie as the King of Yong'an, Li Daoxuan as the King of Huaiyang, Li Shuliang as the King of Changping, Li Shentong as the King of Yongkang, Li Shenfu as the King of Xiangyi, and Li Deliang as the King of Xin'xing. Also in the same month, Emperor Gaozu appointed Li Shimin as the Minister of Works, Li Huan as the Vice Minister of Justice, Pei Ji as the Right Assistant Director of the Department of State Affairs, Liu Wenjing as the Remonstrance Official, Dou Wei as the Director of the Imperial Secretariat, Li Gang as the Minister of Rites and concurrently in charge of selecting officials, Yin Kaisan as the Vice Minister of Personnel, Zhao Cijing as the Vice Minister of War, Wei Yijie as the Vice Minister of Rites, Chen Shuda and Cui Minggan as both Attendant Gentlemen at the Imperial Gate, Tang Jian as the Director of the Imperial Secretariat, and Pei Xiu as the Left Assistant Director of the Department of State Affairs. He also appointed Xiao Yu, a former Minister of the Ministry of War of the Sui dynasty, as the Director of the Imperial Secretariat, Dou Jue, a former Minister of Rites of the Sui dynasty, as the Minister of Revenue, Jiang Tuo, a former General of the Sui dynasty, as the Minister of War, and Dugu Huairen, a former Magistrate of Chang'an, as the Minister of Works.

  At this time, unlike the orthodox history, Yuwen Huaji led his army to attack Li Mi. His son, Yuwen Chengdu, rode alone and killed into the Wagang Army, killing Li Mi! However, Yuwen Chengdu was seriously injured and was rescued by the army at the cost of their lives.

  Li Mi's generals Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong and Yu Junde etc. defected to Wang Shichong! Xu Maogong, Wang Boda etc. surrendered to Li Shimin's camp, only Wei Zheng alone defected to Li Jiancheng!

  Li Yuanba and Du Lingyue went sightseeing every day, on this day they heard the common people discussing: "Do you know? The Western Qin King Xue Ju is leading his troops to attack Chang'an, you'd better prepare quickly!" "What? King Xue Ju is coming? This isn't a good thing! It seems we're going to change dynasties again..." At that time, the hearts of the people were terrified, and undercurrents surged in Chang'an.

  Xue Ju, a native of Fen Yin (now Shanxi Wanrong West), was the son of Wang. His father moved to Lan Prefecture's Jin City (now Gansu Lanzhou). In his youth, his father accidentally obtained Xiang Yu's cultivation method - Kai Tian Jue! Later, after failing to cultivate it himself, he passed it on to his son, who made rapid progress despite his own lack of understanding. He later relied on military power to accumulate a vast fortune and in 617, Xue Ju rose up in arms, proclaiming himself the Western Qin Hegemon, with the era name Qin Xing. He occupied the land west of Long Mountain, gathering an army of 130,000 men. Soon after, he declared himself emperor and moved his capital to Tianshui (now Gansu Tianshui).

  Li Yuan learned of this and ordered Li Shimin as the commander-in-chief to lead the eight total managers' troops to resist them, digging deep trenches and building high walls without fighting.

  Xue Ju, claiming to be the Hegemon King, must have unmatched martial prowess! In his youth, he traveled the world and fought dozens of rounds with his master Yang Su without a clear winner. Later, he fought for three days and nights against Cheng Xuan Ying, who had not yet entered the realm of legend, and was narrowly defeated by half a move. Now, after more than ten years have passed, his cultivation is unfathomably deep, and with the heavy 300-jin long spear in hand and the ruthless shooting skills of the Lunar Bow on his back, he is invincible!

  Duling Yue curiously asked Li Yuanba: "Ba Wang, did you hear the unspoken anger?" Li Yuanba rolled his eyes: "Many people are called Ba Wang! I've never even heard of Xue Ju! Is Xiang Yu still Ba Wang? Do you want me to go back to the Qin Dynasty and kill him with one hammer strike?!"

  "Hum! Do you have the ability to go back to the Qin Dynasty? But it's also unknown whether you can defeat Xiang Yu, who is known as the God of War. He faced tens of thousands of troops and never retreated, only taking his own life allowed Liu Bang to become emperor!" Du Lingyue's eyes sparkled with stars, having a strong fan flavor for this ancient overlord.

  "Hmph, if I were to travel back in time with my current strength, who knows who would wipe out whom among the hundreds of thousands of troops?" Li Yuanba thought to himself as he chased after Du Lingyue, who had walked far away.

  Li Yuan is now anxious and furious, his head is about to smoke! Today, news came that Liu Wenjing, Yin Kaisan and others did not listen to Li Shimin's advice "not to respond to the battle", and stationed troops in Gaoshangxi. Xue Ju launched a surprise attack on their rear, and the two armies fought at Shallow Water Plain. All eight generals were defeated, 15 or 16 soldiers died, and the great generals Murong Ruoye, Li Anyuan, and Liu Hongji all died at the hands of Xue Ju. The army's long history Liu Wenjing and Yin Kaisan were captured, and their whereabouts are unknown!

  Xue's troops were elite and numerous, his son Xue Ren-guang was strong and brave, skilled in archery, known as the enemy of ten thousand people in the army. The big knife in his hand cut through everything!

  In these years, Li Yuan only remembered his third son Li Yuanba at this time. He sent someone to order Li Yuanba to go on an expedition, but the third son did not obey him...

  At this time, Wei Zheng, the officer in charge of maps and documents under Li Jiancheng, suggested to the Crown Prince that the invincible general should take action. Li Jiancheng and Wei Zheng explained the situation, and Wei Zheng said: "Your Highness, this is not a time for being impulsive! This Xue Ju's current abilities are comparable to those of a legendary figure, and the longer he opposes us, the greater the damage will be! If nothing is done within a few days, even the Prince of Qin may be killed by Xue Ju. By the time we attack Chang'an, everything will be too late! I heard that the Crown Prince attaches great importance to his current wife, can you ask her to persuade the Crown Prince? And spread some rumors from outside, saying that Xue Ju is going to...

  It wasn't necessary for Wei Zheng to come up with this idea in the official history, there were already such rumors circulating outside! Xue Ju claimed to be the Hegemon King, and naturally he would scoff at those stories about Li Yuanba that had been spreading throughout the land. Moreover, when Li Shimin's army arrived, he waited for Xue Ju's third brother to come, saying "Let's see if Xue Ju will tuck his tail between his legs and run away with his tail between his legs". Xue Ju was furious and cursed Li Yuanba as a despicable and shameless person who couldn't compare to him. He gave Li Shimin some time to summon Li Yuanba, otherwise Li Shimin would have been killed by Xue Ju's charge...

  Li Shimin knew his third brother would not understand these things, so when he sent someone to ask for help, he took the opportunity to...

  So the city spread secretly: "Ah, King Yama is indeed unstoppable! Chang'an is in danger, even the invincible Li family's three sons are powerless..." But in the streets and alleys, it was said with disdain: "Look at this Li family, they're all talk! They call themselves the Invincible General, but they don't even dare to fart in front of King Yama! What kind of thing is that? What are they boasting about? They might as well go die somewhere cool!"

  It spread throughout the entire Chang'an City in just two days! Uncle could tolerate it, but Aunt couldn't. When Du Lingyue heard such a terrible rumor, she immediately ordered someone to call Li Yuanba and asked him to kill Xue Ju! But then someone came to report that the Crown Prince had gone out for a walk after dinner and soon returned in a rage, carrying a pair of hammers...