Chapter Thirty-Fifth: If at the Beginning of Sorrow

  (Update! The longest chapter so far, I'm begging for your votes! Please don't scold me in this chapter... I didn't want to write it either...)

  One day in August, Dou Jiande's general Liu Heita launched a rebellion! This man was brave and good at fighting, with clever strategies. When Dou Jiande had not been captured, he felt the need to break through, so he retreated to the mountains and forests to meditate! He and Dou Jiande had been close friends since childhood, with a deep relationship. For one year, he meditated for a year and a half, becoming a legendary figure! But before he could share his joy of emerging from meditation with others, he heard the news that his good friend Dou Jiande had been killed!

  He had great prestige in the military, and when he raised his arm to start a rebellion, many people responded. Even generals who had already surrendered to Emperor Gaozu of Tang repeatedly turned against him. Xu Yuanlang, Duke of Lu Commandery and governor of Xiang Prefecture, who had previously been under Wang Shichong's command, was the first to raise his flag in response to Liu Heita; the magistrate of Shen Prefecture, Cui Yuansu, killed the prefect of Pei, Pei Xi, and delivered Pei's head to Liu Heita.

  Luo Yi, now also surnamed Li, is in charge of Youzhou. This turncoat, since not being killed by Li Yuanba, after Wang Shichong's defeat, has again surrendered to Li Yuan and changed his name to Li Yi!

  Led by Li Yuan's order, the army merged with the troops under the command of Huai'an Wang Li Shentong, who had already surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and arrived at Jizhou. The Tang court again mobilized more than 50,000 soldiers from Xingzhou, Luozhou, Xiangzhou, Weizhou, Hengzhou, and Zhaozhou, and joined forces with Liu Heita in Raoyang (now near Baoding, Hebei), deploying a long array of over ten miles. Just as the snow was falling, Li Shentong took advantage of the wind to attack Liu Heita, but the wind turned back, and Li Shentong was defeated by Liu Heita, losing two-thirds of his soldiers, war horses, and military supplies.

  At this time, since the uprising in Jinyang, Li Shimin had gone through countless battles and was highly respected. Emperor Gaozu of Tang believed that the Duke of Qin's achievements were great, and the official positions of previous dynasties were not enough to reward Li Shimin, so he specially set up the position of "Tian Ce Shang Jiang" in the ninth month of Wu De Four (621), which was above the king. He appointed Li Shimin as Tian Ce Shang Jiang, concurrently serving as the Minister of Works, Shan Dong Dao Da Xing Tai Shang Shu Ling, and increasing his fief by 20,000 households. The Tian Ce Fu was reopened, and officials were set up. Then, in the west wing of the Qin Wang Palace, he invited scholars from all over to discuss literature. He appointed Dou Rucheng, Fang Xuanling, Yu Shinan, Chu Liang, Yao Silian, Li Xuandao, Cai Yungong, Xue Yuanching, Yan Xiangshi, Su Hui, Tian Ce Fu Cong Shi Zhong Lang Yu Zining, Jun Yi Ji Jiu Su Shichang, Ji Shi Xue Shou, Cang Cao Li Shousu, Guo Zi Zhu Jiao Lu Deming and Kong Yingda, Ge Wenda, Song Zhou Zong Guan Fu Hu Cao Xu Jingzong as scholars of the Literature Museum. Li Shimin divided them into three batches to take turns on duty, and whenever he had a spare moment, he would go to the Literature Museum to discuss books with the scholars until late at night. The Duke of Qin also asked the famous painter Yan Liben to paint portraits of each scholar, and Chu Liang wrote inscriptions for them, known as the "Eighteen Scholars". At that time, people attached great importance to the scholars of the Literature Museum, and if they could become scholars, they would be called "Deng Yingzhou".

  In November, Liu Heita captured Dingzhou and Tang Dynasty's General-in-Chief of Dingzhou, Li Xuan Tong was captured. Liu Heita admired Li Xuan Tong's talent and spared his life, intending to appoint him as a general, but Li Xuan Tong refused and was imprisoned. In prison, his old friends sent him wine and meat, and Li Xuan Tong drank with them. When he was drunk, he asked the jailer for a precious sword, saying he wanted to dance with it while drinking. The jailer didn't know what Li Xuan Tong meant and lent him the sword. After dancing, Li Xuan Tong sighed: "A great man who received heavy trust from his country, guarding one side, but couldn't keep his ground, what face does he have to live in this world?" He then took the sword and killed himself by cutting open his abdomen. When Emperor Gaozu of Tang heard about Li Xuan Tong's death in Chang'an, he was deeply moved by his loyalty and integrity, and appointed Li Xuan Tong's son, Li Fu Hu, as a general.

  In the same month, a severe famine occurred in Youzhou, and Gao Kaidao promised to provide relief with grain. Li Yi sent old and weak civilians to Gao Kaidao's place to receive food, and Gao Kaidao treated them generously. Li Yi was very pleased and again sent out 3,000 civilians, along with hundreds of carts and over a thousand donkeys and horses to transport grain. However, Gao Kaidao detained all of them and severed his relationship with Li Yi, proclaiming himself King of Yan. He allied with the Turks in the north and Liu Heita in the south, leading troops to attack Yizhou but failed to capture it, plundering civilians along the way before returning. Gao Kaidao then sent his general Xie Lian to pretend to surrender to Li Yi, asking him to send troops to welcome him. Li Yi responded by sending troops to rescue Xie Lian. However, when they reached halfway, Xie Lian suddenly attacked Li Yi's army. Gao Kaidao also colluded with the Turks, causing harm to the states of Heng, Ding, and Yi.

  After Liu Heita rose up, he won every battle. In the Battle of Raoyang, he defeated Li Shentong's Tang army with a smaller force and weaker strength. In December 621, Liu Heita attacked and captured Ji Province, killing the Tang governor Mou Rang. The old generals of Dou Jiande in Zhao, Wei, and other provinces also responded to Liu Heita's call to arms. The Tang government sent Right Camp Commander-in-Chief Li Xiaochang to lead troops to suppress the rebellion. Liu Heita led tens of thousands of soldiers to besiege Zongcheng, but Tang general Li Shiji abandoned the city and retreated to Weizhou. Liu Heita pursued the Tang army, defeated Li Shiji, and annihilated 5,000 Tang soldiers, forcing Li Shiji to flee. The local landlord in Luozhou opened the city gates to welcome Liu Heita, who then offered sacrifices to Dou Jiande before entering the city. Next, he captured Xiangzhou (now Anyang, Henan), capturing governor Yan Huan, and then marched south to capture Lishi and Weizhou, retaking all of Dou Jiande's original territory in less than half a year. Liu Heita also sent envoys to form an alliance with the Turks, and Qilibi Khan sent his general Ashina Songna to lead Hu cavalry to aid Liu Heita. Tang Right Guard General Qin Wutong, Luozhou governor Chen Junbin, and Yongning county magistrate Cheng Mingzhen all fled from Hebei back to Chang'an.

  Li Yuan, in a great rage, immediately ordered Li Shimin, the King of Qin, to lead the Tian Ce army and other generals to attack Liu Heita next spring!

  "Liu Hei Tian is now very powerful and proficient in strategy, and it's said that he's about to enter the realm of myth! We already have few legendary masters, do we really need to use our secret weapon? But this is what I'm using to deal with my three... What methods do you have to deal with Liu Hei Tian?" Li Shimin asked the civil and military officials below him with a look of worry.

  The generals of the Tian Ce Fu looked at each other, and finally their eyes fell on two people - Xu Shi Ji and Chang Sun Wu Ji! The two men who were under scrutiny exchanged a glance, smiled, and Xu Shi Ji spoke up: "In order to deal with Liu Hei Tuan without exposing our secret, there are only two methods. One is internal, one is external! Externally, we need to recruit people with the same military strength as him right now. One option is to see if we can recruit other hidden and closed-off Jin-level experts, but this is very difficult; internally...". He glanced at Chang Sun Wu Ji, who nodded in understanding and took over: "I heard that the fourth sister of the prince, Princess Pingyang, has a very good relationship with the King of Wei! Moreover, the Maiden Army led by Princess Pingyang has strong combat power. Last year, the princess also entered the legendary realm... If the princess falls into some kind of crisis, we can also send troops to invite the King of Wei at the fastest speed! And I heard that the princess's master has also become a myth... At that time, the king will not be able to refuse..."

  "Is this suitable? What if my third brother finds out about the situation inside..." Li Shimin said with concern.

  "Your Highness, who doesn't know about the Crown Prince's character? Let's keep this matter a bit more discreet and let His Majesty issue an edict himself..."

  "It's probably just that! Alright! I'll take care of the rest, I'll go ask Father Emperor right now!" Once Li Shimin made up his mind, he acted swiftly and decisively!

  "Your Highness..."

  "Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" Li Shimin left! But in the end, this matter developed in an unpredictable direction for Li Shimin...

  Li Yuan didn't know how he was persuaded by Li Shimin, and on the second day of court, Li Yuan again issued an edict, ordering Li Xiuning, who was defending Nanzhao Pass, to lead his troops with the Prince of Qin to launch a punitive expedition against Liu Heita!

  Half a month later, Li Xiuning led his troops to Chang'an!

  After Li Xiuning got married, she never saw her third brother again. When Li Xiuning arrived in Chang'an to arrange the army, the first thing she did was to find Li Yuanba!

  The two siblings were very close, and Li Yuanba was deeply moved by the sight of his younger sister Li Xiuning's face, which still retained its beauty and elegance from years ago. It felt great to be with one's own family!

  Li Xiuning cried several times for her unfortunate third brother, and Li Yuanba had to use a lot of effort to comfort his sister in this life! It was said that after Li Yuan's uprising, with the help of Ping Shan Sheng Mu, the master she had just worshipped, Li Xiuning established the Nu Er Jun (Daughters' Army), and helped him in several crucial battles! Li Yuanba truly admired his sister, unlike himself who could only fight alone against the world.

  Every day, Li Xiuning would come to see her third brother, because a woman's sixth sense told Li Xiuning that only her third brother had no ulterior motives towards her, and it was also the most pure familial affection. She also felt that this third brother who made everyone in the world fearful was very lonely, and at the same time, he had an air of detachment that looked down on the world. In the end, Li Xiuning simply moved into Li Yuanba's residence, just to spend a limited amount of time with this proud and lonely third brother, perhaps there wouldn't be another chance in the future.

  The spring is open, and Li Xiuning has left! The army set out straight to Liu Heita's territory! On that day, Li Yuanba brought out the rare double hammers to see off Li Xiuning. This was a treatment that even Li Yuan himself had never received! If Li Yuanba liked history in his previous life, if he played games and looked up information on these famous people during the Tang Dynasty Double Dragon... But there are no ifs!

  After pacifying Chang'an, Princess Pingyang was no longer seen in the records of orthodox history. Due to the continuous war, judging from the situation where Princess Pingyang defended Nanzheng Pass and other places, Princess Pingyang had always been very active, leading troops to conquer the world for the Tang Dynasty.

  In February of the 6th year of Wu De (623 AD), her death was suddenly recorded in historical books. The reason why this record was made was mainly because her funeral was different from others, and she was buried with military honors (with a procession of flags, drums, and forty swordsmen).

  The actual cause of death of Princess Pingyang in history, according to the speculation of later generations with the greatest possibility, is that she died in battle during the campaign to eliminate Liu Heita. In November 622, Li Yuan sent Li Jiancheng to lead troops to attack Liu Heita, and both sides had victories and defeats. It wasn't until December 25th that they were thoroughly defeated. The Nanzhao Pass where Princess Pingyang was stationed was right on the front line, so she would naturally have led her troops into battle. Therefore, the possibility of dying in this battle is very high. If she died at this time, it would take about half a month to transport her body back to Chang'an. Since she was a princess, the preparation work for her burial also took about half a month. So the timing also matches.

  Li Xiu Ning died a tragic death in this historical record: Princess Pingyang's large knife was unable to be wielded freely in the forest, and it got stuck in the tree trunk. The enemy soldiers took advantage of the opportunity to thrust their long spears, and Princess Pingyang was hit by several spears, her intestines spilling out, she let out a tragic cry, fell off her horse, and made a heroic sacrifice. The enemy general saw that Princess Pingyang had fallen, and he cut off her head to display as a trophy. At this time, Li Shimin arrived with reinforcements, scattered the enemy soldiers, and retrieved the princess's body. Li Shimin saw that the princess's head was covered in bloodstains, so he washed her head in a nearby water pool beside the Niangzi Pass. This water pool is today's "Princess Washing Head Pool".

  Li Yuanba would never have thought that his dearest sister, from now on, would walk into the depths of hell! Li Shimin could not have imagined that this emperor, who forced his father to kill his brother in history, would be the first to send his own sister, Princess Pingyang Li Xiu Ning, into hell.