Chapter 55: War! Someone Always Has to Offer Their Blood to the Flags!

As the flame of the flint was personally extinguished by Li Xiaochang, all their hopes were completely shattered.

And this seemingly farcical rebellion appeared to come to an end just like that.

At this moment, Li Shimin took a deep breath and slowly stood up from the imperial throne.

Although the scene just now had been fraught with peril and tension, he carried himself with the poise of an emperor who would remain completely unfazed even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him.

Yet, if one were to ask about his true feelings at this exact moment,

to be honest, he really longed to raise a hand and wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Your Majesty—!"

Just as Li Shimin rose and walked down the raised dais, Qin Qiong hurried to his side, cupped his hands, and said,

"Your Majesty, the rebel traitors Zhangsun Anye and Li Xiaochang have already been subdued. Please issue your verdict, Your Majesty!"

"Hmm!"

Li Shimin gave a faint nod, then walked straight toward Li Xiaochang and Zhangsun Anye.

At this moment, Li Xiaochang was pinned to the ground by Yuchi Gong, his face ashen like dead ashes.

As for Zhangsun Anye, he knelt on the ground with extreme composure, his arms each held down by Cheng咬金 (Cheng Yaojin) and Xue Wanche.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Li Shimin asked, looking down at the two men with chilling indifference.

"Ha!"

Zhangsun Anye let out a cold laugh. Straining to lift his head, he cursed with arrogant defiance:

"Li Shimin, since ancient times the legitimate eldest son takes precedence. You condoned Zhangsun Wuji to usurp our rightful lineage, you usurper emperor..."

"Shut your mouth!"

Before Zhangsun Anye could finish speaking, the voices of Empress Zhangsun and Zhangsun Wuji rang out simultaneously inside and outside the hall.

Zhangsun Wuji strode furiously up to Zhangsun Anye, delivered a sharp slap across his face, and roared,

"You rebellious and unfilial wretch! You constantly claim to be the heir of the Zhangsun family, but what have you ever done for the clan? How dare you instigate a rebellion—are you trying to drag the entire Zhangsun family down to die with you? How could you ever face our deceased father in the netherworld?"

"I..."

Zhangsun Anye spat out a mouthful of blood from the blow, rage surging within him. "How dare you hit me?"

"I am striking you on behalf of our father, you unfilial scoundrel!"

With that, Zhangsun Wuji raised his hand to strike him again, but was held back by Empress Zhangsun.

Ignoring them entirely, Zhangsun Anye unleashed a frantic tirade:

"Don't think that just because you've won this time, you will win forever! The sins you have committed will eventually meet their retribution! The curse of the Xuanwu Gate will haunt the Tang Dynasty forever!"

"In the netherworld, I shall keep company with the former Crown Prince and the former Prince of Qi, watching the two of you..."

Seeing Zhangsun Anye hurling abuses with spittle flying, Li Shimin instead wore a calm expression.

"In the past, Jing Ke attempted to assassinate the King of Qin with a mere dagger in an effort to change the world, yet history has never heard of his success! Today, you, Zhangsun Anye, hoped to change the world with a few fire-thunder charges. Even if I, Li Shimin, had died at your hands, this realm would still bear the surname Li. But as for you, Zhangsun Anye, would you even exist?"

Zhangsun Anye paused to catch his breath from cursing, then replied with icy malice, "Whether I exist or not is beside the point. As long as I can ensure a wretched death for you, Li Shimin, that is quite enough for me!"

"Hahaha!"

Li Shimin could not help but burst into laughter. Suddenly feeling that bickering with such a person beneath the dignity of an emperor, he restrained his laughter and said calmly, "Where did you get those fire-thunder charges?"

"Even if I knew, do you think I would tell you? Success makes a king and failure makes a bandit—nothing more!"

"Since you know that success makes a king and failure makes a bandit, your death is hardly unjust!"

Realizing nothing useful could be extracted from him, Li Shimin raised his hand toward Qin Qiong.

Qin Qiong understood immediately, drawing his own sword and handing it to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin stepped forward with the longsword, aiming straight for Zhangsun Anye's chest.

Suddenly, Dai Zhou, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, shouted violently, "The Tang Code stipulates that the emperor may not execute private justice!"

Prompted by Dai Zhou's cry, Li Chengqian swiftly exchanged a glance with Wushe.

Wushe immediately lunged forward, snatched the sword from Li Shimin's grasp, and drove it fiercely into Zhangsun Anye.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

In a single breath, Wushe stabbed him mercilessly countless times, practically turning Zhangsun Anye into a bloody sieve riddled with holes.

Empress Zhangsun and Zhangsun Wuji turned their heads away in distress at the sight.

After all, regardless of everything else, he was still their elder brother.

Yet Zhangsun Anye had truly courted death this time; even if they wanted to save him, they could not.

Li Chengqian quietly breathed a sigh of relief and cast an unreadable glance at Fang Xuanling.

Catching the cue, Fang Xuanling's eyes rolled, and he immediately proclaimed in a loud voice, "The imperial eunuch protected the sovereign and executed the rebel—this is entirely in accordance with state law!"

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Gong, who was straddling Li Xiaochang, flashed a grim, ferocious smile and violently twisted Li Xiaochang's neck with a sharp reverse movement.

The entire grand hall instantly fell into a solemn silence.

Li Shimin stared with an iron-grey complexion at the corpses on the ground, uttering not a single word.

......

Meanwhile, at Da'an Palace.

Li Yuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, quietly gazing from the terrace toward the direction of Taiji Palace.

A myriad of thoughts rushed through his mind.

The rules of the game in power struggles were precisely thus; within those rules, every person was merely a helpless piece on the chessboard.

You might play a certain role, but you could never alter the inherent constraints of that role.

Trapped within the cage of history and the era, one could only adapt to the rules to the utmost extent, possessing no absolute power to rewrite them.

In other words, you could navigate the rules with ease, but you could never step outside of them.

The saying that a single mountain cannot harbor two tigers—Li Yuan had understood this far too late.

Otherwise, back then, he would not have broken the rules by continuously empowering Li Shimin, causing his faction to swell to unprecedented heights and directly threatening the position of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng,

ultimately precipitating the tragic Incident of the Xuanwu Gate.

Although nearly a year had passed since the Xuanwu Gate incident, whenever Li Yuan recalled everything he had done back then, he was consumed by deep remorse.

It was not that he had failed to make efforts among his three sons.

On the contrary, he had constantly strived to maintain an even balance.

Regrettably, while he broke the rules to let Li Shimin grow strong, he subsequently attempted to use the exact same method to elevate Li Jiancheng, hoping to achieve the equilibrium he desired.

The result, however, was completely counterproductive.

Just as people often said, every effort yields a result, but not necessarily a good one.

Everything he experienced now was simply reaping what he had sown.

However, he still had another chance.

The appearance of Li Chengqian had granted him a glimmer of an opportunity to alter his destiny—perhaps this was Heaven giving him a chance to make amends for the mistakes of his past.

"Let us hope this time brings a favorable outcome!"

Recovering from his reverie, Li Yuan muttered to himself, his gaze gradually hardening with determination.

"Grand Emperor, the Seven Princes are already at the gates. We must depart..."

At that moment, Du Caigan approached him.

"Where are they?"

"They have been brought here!"

No sooner had the words fallen than several guards in black armor escorted two women into Li Yuan's presence.

"Grand Emperor, Anye he..."

Consort Zhang could not help choking back a sob, while Consort Yin beside her wept bitterly, her face tear-stained like rain on pear blossoms.

Yet Li Yuan kept his back turned to them, saying with calm detachment:

"Do not blame me for being ruthless. Having lived through the Xuanwu Gate incident, I have come to understand one truth: people only ever applaud your success, and they never care what methods you used to achieve it."

With that, he turned around, his expression utterly expressionless as he declared, "In warfare, someone must always be used to consecrate the battle flags!"