Chapter 354

Li Shimin was the guest of honor at this victory banquet, but he left after staying for less than an hour.

It wasn't about putting on airs; it was time for his cultivation.

At the third level of Qi Refining, just having entered the path, he had to meditate for two hours every day; otherwise, the Qi in his meridians would run wild, and the aftereffects were even more unbearable than a hangover.

Empress Zhangsun returned to her own sleeping quarters.

She was cultivating as well, at the first level of Qi Refining, having only just sensed the Qi a few days ago.

She sat on a meditation cushion with her eyes closed, her breathing long and steady, her complexion rosy; she looked several years younger than she had half a year ago.

Li Shimin pushed the door open and entered, changed his clothes quietly, sat on the meditation cushion opposite her, and began to meditate.

The two sat facing each other, their breathing gradually synchronizing, and the spiritual energy flowed slowly between them.

The candlelight flickered a few times, as if some invisible force had disturbed the air, and then it returned to calm.

Early the next morning, after Li Shimin finished processing the last few memorials, he summoned Li Chengqian to the Imperial Study.

When Li Chengqian entered, his steps were steady, his back was straight, and his gaze was composed.

He was no longer that impulsive and absurd Crown Prince.

Over the past half year, Ying Zheng had taught him how to read people, and Liu Bang had taught him how to tolerate them.

Liu Che taught him how to employ people, Liu Xiu taught him how to maintain a legacy, and Li Shimin taught him how to weigh power.

Five people, five types of imperial strategy; he had absorbed them all.

"I am preparing to abdicate," Li Shimin said, getting straight to the point.

Li Chengqian's hand trembled, but he quickly steadied himself: "Father is in the prime of life, why must—"

"It is not that my health is failing."

Li Shimin interrupted him, "I am going to follow Immortal Master Gu."

"Don't ask where exactly we are going."

"You only need to know that from today on, the Great Tang is handed over to you."

Li Chengqian was silent for a long time, then knelt down and kowtowed three times.

"Your son will certainly not fail Father's trust."

Li Shimin nodded and took a roll of yellow silk from his sleeve; it was the abdication edict he had written overnight.

He handed the edict to Li Chengqian and added, "Qingque, I have arranged for him to be a vassal king overseas; you are not to make things difficult for him."

Li Chengqian took the edict, his voice a bit hoarse: "Your son understands."

The day Qingque left, there was no send-off.

Li Shimin stood on the city gate tower, watching that ship head east along the Wei River, the sails growing smaller and smaller until they finally became a dot on the horizon.

He said nothing, turned, and left.

Empress Zhangsun stood behind him, her eyes slightly red, but she did not cry.

Early the next morning, seven people stood on the open ground in front of the villa.

Gu Shanhe, Ying Zheng, Liu Bang, Liu Che, Liu Xiu, Li Shimin, and Empress Zhangsun.

Li Shimin turned his head and glanced at Empress Zhangsun: "Stay close."

Empress Zhangsun gave a soft affirmative.

Gu Shanhe raised his hand and drew a circle in the air; where his fingertips passed, the air rippled like the surface of water, and the ripples spread, revealing a gate of light.

The door frame was golden, and inside there was no color, only a vast expanse of white light.

"Let's go."

Gu Shanhe was the first to walk in.

Ying Zheng was second, his steps very steady, his back very straight.

Liu Bang was third; he stepped in, and the light swallowed him.

Liu Che and Liu Xiu walked in side by side.

Li Shimin held Empress Zhangsun's hand, looked back once in the direction of Chang'an City, took a deep breath, and stepped into the gate of light.

The gate of light closed, and the courtyard returned to calm.

When the gate of light opened again, the seven people were standing by a wheat field.

The sky was very blue, the wind was very light, and there was the sound of cattle in the distance.

Liu Bang looked around for a while and kicked a clod of dirt on the ridge of the field.

"This soil is even harder than that in my Peixian; the crops won't grow well."

No one paid him any mind.

Ying Zheng closed his eyes and felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around them.

The concentration of spiritual energy was slightly lower than in the Tang Dynasty, but the difference was not large and would not affect cultivation.

He opened his eyes and nodded toward Gu Shanhe.

Empress Zhangsun stood behind him, looking at the village and the cooking smoke in the distance, and said softly: "The commoners here look poorer than those in the Great Tang."

Gu Shanhe said: "Zhao Kuangyin has only been emperor for three years."

"The world is still in chaos; several separatist regimes in the south haven't been dealt with, and the Liao Kingdom is pressing from the north."

"His life as an emperor is not easy."

Liu Che asked: "Where is Zhao Kuangyin? How do we find him?"

Gu Shanhe took a small sword from his sleeve.

The sword was only a palm's length, entirely cyan, with fine patterns on the blade that looked like water ripples or cloud motifs.

He tossed the sword into the air; it spun three times, let out a soft hum, and then grew larger.

The blade grew from a palm's length to twelve feet, its width doubled, and the surface was flat and smooth, enough for four or five people to stand side by side.

Liu Bang was stunned: "Your sword looks different every time I see it."

"A flying sword can change its form according to one's divine sense."

Gu Shanhe jumped onto the blade and said: "Come on up. I'll fly you in; it's easier."

Ying Zheng was the first to stand on it, steady and firm, his feet one in front of the other, as natural as if he were on horseback.

Liu Bang was second; his center of gravity swayed when he got on, and Liu Che supported his waist from behind.

"Don't support me! I can stand steady!"

"Gaozu, stop trying to be brave."

Liu Xiu was third, Li Shimin supporting Empress Zhangsun was fourth, and Liu Che was fifth.

The seven people stood firm on the sword.

Gu Shanhe cast a spell, and the flying sword rose from the ground.

The farmers on the ground finally couldn't hold back.

They threw down their bowls, ignored their cattle, and plopped down to kowtow, shouting in a dialect that couldn't be understood, but the word "Immortal" was shouted very clearly.

No one on the flying sword paid them any attention.

The speed of the flying sword was not slow, the wind was loud, and nothing could be heard.

Flying north from the wheat field, the terrain gradually opened up, the villages became denser, the roads became wider, and the population became thicker.

Occasionally, someone on the ground would look up and see a sword flying through the sky, with seven or eight people standing on it, five of whom were wearing dragon robes and one wearing a phoenix robe.

A whole area knelt down.

Liu Bang looked down and sighed: "If I could have flown into Xianyang back then, Xiang Yu would have surrendered directly; why bother with the Hongmen Banquet?"

Liu Che said: "Gaozu, can you stop relating everything to yourself?"

"I am summarizing historical experience!"

Ying Zheng looked ahead with a cold face, too lazy to pay attention to them.

When the flying sword passed over a city, the soldiers on guard on the city wall saw it first.

One soldier rubbed his eyes, thinking he hadn't woken up yet;

Another soldier collapsed to the ground, pointing at the sky, unable to speak.

The commoners in the city reacted quickly—kneeling and kowtowing, all in unison.

From the city to the imperial palace was another quarter of an hour.

Bianliang City was smaller than Chang'an and lacked the overwhelming momentum of Chang'an, but it had an indescribable sense of human life.

The streets were not wide, but clean;

The houses were not high, but dense;

There were not many people, but it was lively.

When the flying sword swept over the city, children on the ground chased after it, shouting "Immortal, Immortal" as they ran.

Adults shouted behind them, "Don't run, don't fall," the scene chaotic yet real.

Liu Bang leaned over the edge of the sword to look down and almost fell off, only to be pulled back by Liu Xiu.