Chapter 153: I Will Command All the Armies Under Heaven

Gu Yi had been silently watching all of this, and at this moment an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.

Disfiguring himself to help—

In the end, between family and sentiment, Gu Quan still made what he believed to be the right choice.

Only the price paid was truly a little too cruel.

Regardless of whether this battle was won or lost;

The moment Gu Quan took this step, the Gu clan's Gu Quan was already completely dead—at least on the surface, he would never appear again.

And this move was likewise adding bricks and tiles to the Gu clan.

He was just like those generations of clansmen, aiding the Gu clan in his own way.

Gu Yi's emotions were somewhat complicated.

In truth, it was not that he had never considered using the Spirit-Link Jade to interfere with the clansmen's choices, directly making them go all-in on Li Shimin.

This move—

Would absolutely let the entire Gu clan rapidly recover to its peak within the coming dynasty.

But after a brief deliberation, he ultimately suppressed this idea.

The Gu clan absolutely must not participate in the struggle over the imperial succession.

Once it participated even once, in the future the Gu clan could no longer be the family trusted by everyone as it was now—afterwards it would surely be drawn into endless struggles.

Even with Gu Yi's help, the Gu clan could win every time.

But human nature is fickle; the Emperor it supported might even, after ascending the throne, come to eradicate the Gu clan.

This was a Burden Carried the Gu clan could not bear.

The Gu clan's current position was precisely forged over hundreds of years by the effort and restraint of generation after generation.

He absolutely could not affect the Gu clan's foundations for the sake of momentary glory.

This night was destined to be extraordinary.

Whether it was Li Shimin, or Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, all were preparing their own killing moves.

That's right—Li Jiancheng also intended to endure no longer.

Li Yuan's attitude;

Li Shimin's prestige within the army had already become a nightmare in his heart; no matter what, he had to make his move!

For both sides, all contradictions had to be thoroughly resolved in the near future.

The entire night, none of them departed.

Li Shimin had already made all preparations, only awaiting the final strike.

The next day.

Early morning.

Though Wang Fei Changsun had never, from beginning to end, asked Li Shimin exactly what he intended to do, when she saw those familiar faces one after another, she already had some guesses in her heart.

Just as in the years past when Li Shimin went on campaign, she personally armored Li Shimin, her expression utterly calm.

"Today—"

Looking at his wife, Li Shimin's expression was complicated, as if he wanted to speak with her.

But before he could say it.

Empress Changsun directly covered Li Shimin's mouth with her hand and said solemnly: "This concubine will, as on that day, hold a blade and guard the gate of Chengqian, awaiting Your Highness's return."

A single simple sentence, yet it completely declared every attitude.

Li Shimin's gaze instantly changed, and he immediately pulled the woman before him into his embrace.

His eyes were somewhat reddened.

At this moment, Li Shimin truly felt himself still fortunate.

Even having reached such a point, there would still be a group of people willing to follow him unto death, and there would be those willing to give up everything to support him.

His gaze grew increasingly resolute.

The invincible heart cultivated over these years was, at this moment, further solidified.

He absolutely could not lose!

He could not let down these heavens, nor the common people who looked to him.

Scene after scene from these years kept appearing before his eyes.

The young man who, at a tender age, set a grand ambition;

The daring spirit at the start of the uprising, racing a thousand li to reach Julu without fear of danger;

The aspiration set upon witnessing the rise and fall of ten thousand people;

The general before Tiger Prison Pass who dared, with mere thousands of troops, to boast "what can a million men do to me";

The gentle breeze by the Yangtze when ten thousand people knelt and cried out "Qin Wang's heavenly grace";

The wariness in the eyes of the Turkic Khagan;

Scene after scene from these years echoed ceaselessly through Li Shimin's mind at this moment.

Until at last;

They transformed into the ministers' steadfast support, Gu Quan's disfigurement, and Wang Fei Changsun's loyalty.

Li Shimin took a deep breath, held Wang Fei Changsun tightly, and said no more—only ringing out the words: "Wait for me."

Having spoken.

He turned and headed toward the outside of the room.

—Boom rumble rumble!

It seemed even the heavens sensed the extraordinariness of this day; beneath the overcast sky, rolls of thunder sounded ceaselessly—though no rain fell, it still gave people an especially heavy feeling.

The soldiers had long since made all their preparations.

Seeing Li Shimin step out, they rose one after another, every gaze resolute.

Since the moment had already arrived.

There was no need for further words.

Li Shimin said nothing more, and at once led the men toward the imperial palace.

—He had chosen the site of this battle to be Xuanwu Gate.

This was his one and only chance.

Now he had only eight hundred troops; Gu Quan had indeed prepared some die-hard loyalists for him, but altogether it was still less than a thousand men.

He could not possibly compare with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.

Besides that;

He also had to take into account the Imperial Guards of Chang'an.

Only by keeping the battlefield within the palace could he have even a slim chance of survival.

Li Shimin had to end the fighting swiftly and settle everything once and for all, so that Li Yuan could be forced to accept the reality of it all.

His strategic vision was beyond that of any ordinary man.

For this reason, Li Shimin had long since bribed Chang He, the garrison commander of Xuanwu Gate, and hidden his men inside Xuanwu Gate.

But before that.

He still had to go and see Li Yuan.

This too was one of the cores of this plan.

Li Shimin had to keep Li Yuan steady, or at least prevent him from swiftly mobilizing the Imperial Guards.

Once the Imperial Guards moved.

Then his meager force could never stir up any great upheaval.

The wind howled.

Accompanied by peals of thunder, as if even the heavens themselves were watching over all the Nine Provinces.

Even Gu Yi began to feel tense.

He watched everything intently, unwilling to miss a single detail.

The Hall of Supreme Ultimate.

When Li Yuan heard that Li Shimin had come, he did not think much of it; with a wave of his hand he had Li Shimin brought in.

But as Li Shimin stepped into the great hall, he immediately knit his brows.

Li Shimin was actually holding a weapon in his hand!

And judging by the way he walked.

Li Yuan could tell at a glance that Li Shimin was wearing armor today!

"Why do you carry a weapon?"

He stared hard at Li Shimin and asked, frowning.

"Father." Li Shimin's face betrayed no emotion as he fixed his gaze on Li Yuan: "Your son has come today to bid you farewell!"

—He did not address him as Imperial Father.

Ever since Li Yuan proclaimed himself Emperor.

The relations within this family seemed to have already changed.

Suspicion; conflict;

So-called kinship was so trivial before the throne of Emperor.

"Bid farewell?" Li Yuan was instantly bewildered, looking at Li Shimin in disbelief: "Where are you going?"

"Could it be that you want to go fight the Xiongnu?"

He instinctively assumed Li Shimin had such an idea, and at once advised: "Erlang, the Grand Tutor has already led the army off, and you—"

"Father!"

Li Shimin cut Li Yuan off directly, then dropped straight to his knees before him: "Your son has heard that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi mean to kill me; the Prince of Qi even boasted in the Donggong that he would personally take my head."

"Your son's Day of Death is at hand."

—Boom rumble rumble!

A peal of thunder exploded the instant Li Shimin's words fell.

"What?" Li Yuan's expression changed at once, his face full of disbelief as he stared at Li Shimin: "How could that be?"

"I have my own agents!"

In an instant—

Pain flashed across Li Yuan's face; he stared hard at Li Shimin, his body trembling slightly, and his eyes suddenly reddened at that very moment.

"Have you brothers truly come to such a pass?"

A note of pain crept into his voice as well.

Looking at the weapon in Li Shimin's hand and the armor on his body, he rose slowly and said again: "Things have come to this—what do you want?"

"It is not what your son wants, it is what the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi want!"

Li Shimin's gaze grew colder still: "Since my Li clan raised its army, has your son ever committed any wrong? Where have I fallen short of my Great Tang?"

"But the Crown Prince? The Prince of Qi?"

"Since I returned to Chang'an."

"My personal guards were stripped away one after another, my attendants dismissed one after another."

"Your son would like to ask—"

"Father, are you truly so heartless as to want to watch your son die at the hands of the Crown Prince and the Qi Wang, and be mocked beneath the earth by those traitors you once cut down with your own hands?"

Each of these questions struck like a needle straight into Li Yuan's heart.

Others might not know, but how could he possibly be unaware?

How could he ever forget the promise he once made to Li Shimin?

"Second Son."

Li Yuan's eyes instantly reddened. He hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Li Shimin: "Father will help you. Quickly! Summon the Crown Prince and the Qi Wang to the palace at once."

Perhaps it was because he had truly reached a desperate impasse.

At this very moment.

Li Yuan had finally developed the desire to personally step in and intervene in the relationship between his two sons.

But clearly, it was already too late.

Li Shimin, without the slightest hesitation, named the location he had already arranged.

—Haichi!

Using the excuse of fearing an ambush, he had Li Yuan set the location on a boat.

Naturally, Li Yuan would not overthink it now.

Haichi was the core area of the Taiji Palace; he usually rested in the Lakeside Hall as well. How could he possibly grow suspicious?

Not to mention his mind was already completely disordered.

He was still naively thinking he could, in the capacity of a father, ease the conflict between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin.

Everything was going exactly according to plan!

Li Yuan led Li Shimin all the way toward Haichi, comforting Li Shimin continuously along the way.

"With me here, Second Son need not worry."

"Once this matter is over, your father shall appoint you Grand Commander of the Ten Directions of our Great Tang. From then on, just like Marquis Zhaolie of old, you need not return to the capital unless there is some important matter."

"."

He chattered on the entire way, never noticing anything amiss.

Under these circumstances, Li Shimin led Li Yuan directly onto the boat.

Without the slightest hesitation, he ordered the boat to set sail.

Until this very moment—

Li Yuan gradually sensed something was wrong. Looking at the unfamiliar Imperial Guards on the shore, his brow furrowed: "Who are these men? Why does it seem I have never laid eyes on them before?"

"Father, these are soldiers from the Qin Wang's residence," Li Shimin replied calmly, letting out a soft breath.

In an instant, Li Yuan's expression changed drastically.

Looking at the blade in Li Shimin's hand, he seemed to finally realize what was happening. He pointed at Li Shimin: "Second Son, are you rebelling?"

"Father."

Li Shimin tilted his head slightly to look at him, a deeply complicated smile on his face: "Your son no longer wants any Grand Commander of the Ten Directions."

He slowly tightened his fist and raised the weapon in his hand:

"Today—"

"My Great Tang can only have one Crown Prince!"

As he spoke, Li Shimin's eyes gradually reddened as well, but the resolve within his gaze did not diminish in the slightest.

He had already changed.

From that day he vomited blood and saw with his own eyes his wife and children standing guard by his side.

The Qin Wang who had once set his heart toward the sun, longing to become Grand Commander of the Ten Directions and forge a golden age for Great Tang, had already died.

Now he only wanted to be Emperor!

Li Yuan's expression changed completely as he looked at the son before him.

So utterly familiar.

Yet at this moment he felt him to be incomparably strange.

"Guards! Guards!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately began shouting.

But unfortunately, from the moment he had walked to Haichi and boarded this boat, he had already lost control of everything in the capital!

The troops hidden aboard the boat immediately emerged.

What followed was a small boat.

Li Shimin looked at Li Yuan once more. Under Li Yuan's utterly complicated expression, he boarded the small boat without the slightest hesitation.

"By imperial decree—"

"The Imperial Guards of Taiji Palace are not to move without authorization!"

A resonant, forceful shout rapidly traveled farther and farther, relayed from one messenger to the next.

Meanwhile, before Taiji Palace.

Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were heading toward the palace.

Li Jiancheng's expression was perfectly composed, but Li Yuanji carried a trace of worry.

"Brother, haven't there been reports that Li Shimin has already been making preparations? Today, why not listen to me and feign illness to avoid going?"

He earnestly made his suggestion to Li Jiancheng.

"Why so flustered, Fourth Brother?" Li Jiancheng smiled disdainfully: "The capital is entirely under our control. What tricks could Li Shimin possibly have left?"

"Father Emperor summons us today."

"If we do not go and displease Father Emperor, that would be the real trouble."

"And don't forget—"

"That Chang He at Xuanwu Gate is one of my men."

Li Jiancheng was not in the least concerned.

Hearing this, although a trace of worry still lingered in Li Yuanji's eyes, after thinking it over he finally nodded.

—Boom, boom, boom!

The thunder rumbled on without cease.

The two thus led their personal retinue all the way toward Xuanwu Gate.

Along with them were a host of ministers.

Li Yuan today had clearly intended to settle this matter once and for all, and had likewise sent word to them, but their pace was bound to be a touch slower.

Xuanwu Gate.

As the northern core of the Taiji Palace, it not only led straight into the Imperial Garden, but could also swiftly sever the connection between the palace city and the outside world.

This was also one of the reasons Li Shimin had chosen this place for the operation.

Li Jiancheng, of course, had to pass through Xuanwu Gate.

He actually had his own scheme in mind; while passing through Xuanwu Gate, he instructed Chang He that as long as anyone bearing his token arrived, they were to be let through without exception.

This was also where Li Yuan, this Emperor, had failed.

Fundamentally speaking.

This Emperor of his had already been somewhat stripped of real power.

Whether it was Li Jiancheng or Li Shimin, both had been steadily infiltrating the palace with their own forces.

Although Li Yuan had always been the Emperor.

The control this Emperor wielded had long since weakened beyond reckoning.

This was also the result brought about by his own temperament.

His indulgence toward these two sons of his had allowed everything to develop to where it stood today.

—Boom!

The moment Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji passed through Xuanwu Gate, the heavy, forbidding city gates slammed shut.

The entire imperial palace was terrifyingly still, no different from usual.

But perhaps it was because the sky was so overcast.

Not only was Li Yuanji growing more and more tense, even beads of cold sweat had appeared on Li Jiancheng's brow.

The two pressed on toward Linhu Hall.

But just as they neared Linhu Hall, Li Jiancheng suddenly felt something was more and more wrong—the faces of the guards before him gave him a strangely familiar feeling.

And after merely taking a few careful looks, his expression instantly changed.

These were not the palace guards, but the men of Qin Wang's household!

The thought exploded in his mind like a sudden thunderclap.

Li Jiancheng did not hesitate for a moment; he immediately tightened the reins and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Retreat!"

Having said that.

He was about to wheel his horse around and fight his way out of the palace.

But just then—

A familiar, icy shout suddenly rang out.

"Big Brother!"

Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng both turned their heads almost in unison, and instantly saw Li Shimin, bow in hand, leading a contingent of men charging toward them!

And behind them as well, another force had appeared.

The two took only a brief glance and instantly felt as if they had fallen into an icy pit—they saw Yuchi Jingde!

Most critically—

Right in front of Yuchi Jingde stood another man.

That man looked as if he had walked straight out of hell, his face covered in dense, crisscrossing wounds, some of which were still seeping fresh blood, giving off an aura no different from a demon!

"What are you doing!"

Li Jiancheng immediately shouted: "I am the Crown Prince of Great Tang—how dare you lead troops into the palace? Is this rebellion?"

By now, how could he not know he had been ambushed?

But he had to act this way.

As long as he could stall, whether the palace guards noticed something or the troops he had arranged arrived in time.

He still had the strength to counterattack.

As Crown Prince, both publicly and privately he held the upper hand!

"Crown Prince?"

Li Shimin's voice rang out once more; a disdainful smile immediately curled across his face, and without a word of nonsense he directly gripped the bow in his hands.

"You dare!"

Seeing this, Li Yuanji, who had long since been prepared, changed drastically in expression and without the slightest hesitation was the first to draw his bow and loose several arrows at Li Shimin.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!

One after another, the whistling sounds of arrows cutting through the air rang out, and amid the rolling thunder the situation was instantly ignited.

Li Shimin's expression did not change in the slightest; he did not even stir.

His mastery of archetry was far beyond what Li Yuanji could match.

How could he fail to see that Li Yuanji's few arrows had gone wide purely out of panic?

The motion of his hands continued without pause.

Before Li Jiancheng could react, he had already loosed the arrow in his hand straight at him.

—Whoosh!

The force behind this arrow was truly beyond imagination.

Li Jiancheng's body instantly tumbled from his warhorse, fresh blood gushing out in torrents. He tried to rise, but the pain was more than he could bear.

In the end, he merely raised his head and looked toward Li Shimin.

In his gaze there was both remorse for himself and hatred toward Li Shimin.

But in the end, he could change nothing!

The situation had completely spiraled out of control.

How could Li Yuanji still care about so much at this point?

Without a single wasted word, he immediately tried to flee.

"Kill!"

Li Shimin fixed his gaze tightly on Li Yuanji. Without a single wasted word, he merely shouted once, then spurred his horse and gave chase!

—Boom, boom, boom!

The rumbling of thunder sounded again and again.

Adding a heavy, oppressive air to the bloody affair of this day.

Gu Quan did not pursue; instead, he led his troops hurrying back to Xuanwu Gate.

This too was part of the plan.

He had to hold back Li Jiancheng's forces, to buy Li Shimin the time to settle everything once and for all!

At this moment, the great battle at Xuanwu Gate had already begun.

Xue Wanche of the Donggong had long since led Li Jiancheng's Changlin soldiers charging over, furiously assaulting Xuanwu Gate.

The situation grew ever more dire.

When Gu Quan's devil-like face appeared at Xuanwu Gate—

Not to mention those Changlin soldiers, even Chang He—a man who had long since defected to Li Shimin—was startled.

He was not one of Li Shimin's core confidants, so naturally he could not have known Gu Quan's identity.

There was no need to even raise a hand.

Gu Quan's current appearance alone was enough to make many feel panic.

Gu Quan did not interfere with the defense of the gate.

From beginning to end, he never spoke a single word, merely ordering his men to help hold the gate.

Dense arrows rained down like drops of rain, falling without cease.

Neither side had any room to retreat.

But after all, this was the imperial city.

To think that with just this handful of troops one could completely breach the imperial city was undoubtedly the dream of a fool.

Xue Wanche was no ordinary man either.

He quickly perceived this point, then made a decisive call at once, intending to strike at Li Shimin's Qin Wang residence, to pull the rug out from under Li Shimin.

—This was absolutely a killing move!

But for Gu Quan, wanting to leave so easily was not so simple.

Compared with the great battles he had faced in the past, this one was actually much simpler.

The tactics either side could employ were limited.

Upon noticing Xue Wanche's intent to withdraw, he did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately ordered Chang He to open the city gate!

He was going to lead his troops out to fight!

—Creak.

The heavy, grim city gate suddenly swung open.

Xue Wanche had not expected such a turn of events, but watching helplessly as the gate was already open, he naturally had to rush at once to rescue Li Jiancheng!

Full-scale battle erupted between the two sides!

Gu Quan had even switched his weapon.

In the past he had used a long spear—also the weapon favored most by the Gu clan children since Gu Chen.

But now he had switched to a cavalry lance.

This was only natural for a Gu clan child, who had been handling weapons since childhood.

"Kill!!!"

Shouts upon shouts instantly rang out across the heavens and earth.

Compared with a normal siege, this kind of head-on charge was clearly far more bloody.

Gu Quan charged at the very front.

As the cavalry lance in his hand swept down again and again, fresh blood instantly drenched his entire body, making his already terrifying face all the more horrifying!

"Advance and die; surrender and live!"

He bellowed the command in a hoarse voice.

Just like that, he stood at the head of his men before Xuanwu Gate, and the aura he radiated truly made the Changlin soldiers dare not take a single step forward.

At the same time, at Linhu Hall.

Li Yuan had already been invited down from the lake, and now sat upon the so-called Dragon Throne, his face full of grief.

Accompanying him, besides Li Shimin's confidants.

Only his most trusted minister, Pei Ji, remained.

This minister, who had once even advised Li Yuan to beware Li Shimin's rebellion, had now completely lost his composure, his face deathly pale.

How could he fail to understand what would happen after this?

No matter who won or lost.

His greatest backing, Li Yuan, would become a figurehead; even if he did not die, the power in his hands would surely be stripped away.

When that time came—

A man like him who had played both sides would likely never be able to preserve his current position.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

The two of them looked over almost instantly.

They saw Li Shimin, his hair disheveled and his body stained with blood, slowly walking into the hall with Yuchi Jingde.

His expression was complex.

There was no joy, nor was there any sorrow.

The moment Fang Fu entered the hall, he dropped directly to his knees before Li Yuan and said without emotion: "Reporting to Father Emperor, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi plotted rebellion and have been executed by your son!"

"Now the Donggong troops are attacking the imperial city. I beg Father Emperor to issue an order at once to halt the Donggong forces!"

—Boom!

Rolls of thunder sounded at just the right moment.

They exploded in the hearts of Li Yuan and Pei Ji along with Li Shimin's words.

Pei Ji nearly collapsed on the spot.

And Li Yuan's body also began to tremble.

He stared fixedly at Li Shimin, slowly rose to his feet, shaking his head continuously, and finally kept repeating: "Impossible! Impossible!"

Li Yuan refused to believe it!

Li Shimin said nothing more, still kneeling there without moving a muscle. There were tears welling in his eyes, but they never fell.

Li Yuan's emotions grew more and more agitated.

Pei Ji seemed to finally come back to his senses. Seeing Li Yuan about to collapse, he hurriedly rose to support him and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, issue the decree."

He meant to use this act to show goodwill toward Li Shimin.

The situation had completely changed.

The fact that Li Shimin had been able to return here alive said everything.

Even if he could not keep his current power, he needed to avoid Li Shimin's reckoning as much as possible.

Those words finally brought Li Yuan back to his senses.

As if his very sinews and bones had been pulled from him, he slumped into the dragon throne. His clouded gaze swept over Pei Ji, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty, and at last he raised a trembling hand.

The moment the old Prime Minister fetched the yellow hemp paper, his withered fingers gripped the wolf-brush and set it down with a tremor.

"Then I ask the Prime Minister to go and pacify the Donggong troops." Li Shimin's grave, solemn voice pierced the stagnant air.

The decree rustled in Pei Ji's hands; when he raised his head, he met squarely the cold, naked killing intent in Yuchi Jingde's eyes.

The old minister's body gave an instant shudder.

Even he had already felt the threat of death.

He hurriedly accepted the order, rose and prepared to depart, and Yuchi Jingde followed directly behind him.

As the hall doors slammed shut, dragon-spittle incense mingled with the smell of iron and rust churned within the hall.

Li Yuan looked at Li Shimin before him and suddenly slammed the imperial desk; the bronze candlestick on it shook violently. He could not help but howl: "Of four sons, only you remain now—is this the price of winning the realm?"

Tears kept rolling from his eyes.

He seemed to be reproaching himself, and also regretting.

Regretting why he had watched all of this happen with his own eyes and said nothing.

Li Shimin knelt on one knee. The clotted blood on his black armor gleamed dark red in the candlelight; his knuckles dug deep into his palms, yet his eyes remained lowered in silence.

"What more do you want?!" Li Yuan's emotions suddenly flared again. He staggered down the crimson steps, the tassels of his crown sweeping across Li Shimin's brow. "The throne is already in your grasp—what more do you want?!"

"I want command of all the armies under Heaven!" Li Shimin suddenly raised his head; the crimson in his eyes seemed ignited by the candlelight within the hall.

He slowly rose to his feet, staring straight at Li Yuan, letting tears fall continuously from his eyes, his gaze unwavering in its resolve.

Under Li Yuan's astonished gaze—

He drew a deep breath, his hands clenched into fists, his voice growing louder and louder:

"I want command of all the armies under Heaven!!!"

"I want—"

"Command of all the armies under Heaven!"

—Boom!

Accompanied by another peal of thunder, as if proclaiming it to all under Heaven.

From this day forth, the Great Tang had utterly changed!

——————

"In the sixth month, on the day Gengshen of the ninth year, Taizong led Changsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Hou Junji, Zhang Gongjin and others to ambush troops at Xuanwu Gate.

At the break of dawn, Jiancheng and Yuanji rode side by side into the palace; upon reaching Linhu Hall they sensed the change and hastily turned to flee.

Taizong spurred his horse and cried: 'The altars of state are in peril! What happens today rests with you, my lords!'"

"Before long, two thousand elite troops from the Donggong and the Prince of Qi's mansion galloped to attack Xuanwu Gate. The gate was at first shut, and the defenders fought with all their might.

Arrows rained down; the Qin Wang's personal guards were nearly annihilated.

Suddenly, a burly man whose face was covered in knife scars rode out at the head of his troops; the blade marks were densely packed across his face, his muscles twisted like a fiend's, and no one could make out his features.

He wore heavy armor (Bearing Heavy), gripped a cavalry halberd, and single-handedly blocked the palace gate, fighting dozens of men at once.

The Changlin soldiers attacked with long spears, but wherever his halberd swept, spears snapped and men fell, blood spraying three paces.

One fierce soldier rushed forward and grabbed his armor; the scarred-faced man roared in fury, swung his halberd down, and cleaved the soldier—armor and all—in two, sending the rest of the men fleeing in terror.

From early morning he fought until the hour of si, corpses strewing the ground, and the morale of the gate-guards soared because of his might.

Afterwards, officials memorialized the court requesting to commend this man, but Taizong paid no heed.

When some privately asked the participants of that day, all answered: "He seemed familiar, but his face was unrecognizable—there was no way to verify his identity."

— *Old Book of Tang. Basic Annals of Taizong*

(End of this chapter)