LFHYB -Chapter 184 The Anger of Wei Zheng After Being “Stood Up”

After the Battle of Nanyang ended and Zhu Can was executed, the siege of Luoyang had also concluded.

The Wagang Army declared that, out of admiration for the righteousness of Prince of Longxi Li Shimin and Prince of Taiyuan Li Xuanba, they gave up the chance to jointly enter Luoyang.

Some mocked them as foolish, but in chaotic times, such “fools” were worthy of respect.

At least Dou Jiande, who was leading troops south to attack Jiangdu to avenge Yang Guang, publicly expressed admiration for Zhai Rang and hoped he would join him.

A peasant rebel force in Qi Prefecture also admired Wagang’s choice.

Qi Prefecture had originally been Wang Bo’s territory.

After killing Yang Guang, Wang Bo and his wife Sun Xuanya briefly returned to Qi, distributed their wealth, and then sailed away before the public.

After that, the Qi rebel forces fell apart until Wei Zheng—formerly Wang Bo’s strategist, whom Wang Bo had placed under house arrest—returned and reunited them.

Although Wang Bo was condemned by scholars nationwide, people tacitly avoided implicating his subordinates.

The Qi rebels were rare “good people” among rebel forces. After becoming strong, they never plundered, instead farming and restoring production.

Wang Bo had to be condemned, but his followers were highly sought-after by major powers.

Dou Jiande had long believed that after Wang Bo left, his troops would submit to him.

Wei Zheng also appeared close to Dou Jiande, saying that Wang Bo’s former generals were arrogant and hard to control. Although he supported Dou Jiande, Dou lacked major victories and territory, so the generals were unconvinced.

Just then, rumors spread that Li Shimin was heading east from Bashu to avenge Yang Guang in Jiangdu, but had been besieged by Xiao Xian and Zhu Can.

Dou Jiande decided to seize Jiangdu first, claim the moral high ground of avenging the emperor, then use it to win over former Sui officials.

After taking Jiangdu, he would march north to Qi Prefecture, which would then be isolated and forced to surrender.

Recently, Dou Jiande had recruited several capable advisors, including the registrar Ling Jing.

Ling Jing advised: “Although Yang Guang was the Sui emperor, avenging him must not give Your Majesty less prestige among former Sui officials than Li Shimin. The world is no longer Sui’s world. Rather than focusing on winning over old Sui officials, you should think about how to defeat Li Shimin, the greatest threat…”

Although Li Shimin was powerful, his father, Li Yuan, was rather weak. He was surrounded by Sui general Yao Junshu, bandit leader “Flying from Mount Li,” and the former Sui general Liu Wuzhou who had rebelled.

“‘Flying from Mount Li,’ Wei Dao’er, intends to ally with Your Majesty. Why don’t we first take Taiyuan and capture Li Shimin’s parents?” Ling Jing suggested.

Dou Jiande did not accept Ling Jing’s advice.

“Although Li Yuan appears to be trapped in Taiyuan, isn’t he actually helping to divert the Sui dynasty’s attention for Li Shimin? If Li Shimin is so capable, how could his father be weak?” Dou Jiande said. “Moreover, Taiyuan is well fortified. Even Yao Junshu, Wei Dao’er, and Liu Wuzhou together couldn’t take it. If I waste too much time there, Li Shimin may rush back and coordinate with Li Yuan from inside and out. It’s better to take Jiangdu. It’s safer and more in line with righteousness.”

Ling Jing wanted to say that in his opinion, Li Yuan really didn’t seem very capable. But he also knew that Dou Jiande’s thinking was the most cautious, so he stopped insisting.

Thus, Dou Jiande left the capital, Le Shou, and marched south to attack Yuwen Huaji in Jiangdu.

“He finally left. If he hadn’t, I would’ve had to ask the lord for reinforcements,” Wei Zheng said with relief.

Zhang Jincheng muttered, “Ask for help? I’m not necessarily worse than Dou Jiande.”

Wei Zheng glanced at him. “Haven’t you been losing battle after battle, with nearly half your troops gone? If Shi Xin hadn’t rescued you in time, you’d already be dead under one of Dou Jiande’s generals’ blades.”

Li Zitong saw the usually arrogant Zhang Jincheng shrink his neck under Wei Zheng’s scolding and couldn’t help laughing.

Wei Zheng also laughed. “What are you laughing at? Laughing at how you wanted to head south and build your own power, but almost got tricked and killed by Du Fuwei? Do you think Shi Xin’s title is ‘Rescue General,’ whose only job is saving people?”

Li Zitong covered his face. “Sir, please stop scolding… And I wasn’t trying to build my own power. I just wanted to occupy more commanderies so I’d have some standing before the Prince of Longxi. Sigh, he has so many fierce generals under him. The pressure is huge.”

Wei Zheng scolded, “I told you long ago to submit to our lord as soon as possible. You insisted on making a name for yourselves first. And now?”

Li Zitong: “…” What else could he say? He regretted it.

Zhang Jincheng turned his head away in silence. Most of his troops had deserted. How could he dare speak? Get scolded again?

Hao Xiaode tried to smooth things over. “It’s not too late for us to return to the Prince of Longxi now. The Wagang Army has set a good example for us. We have plenty of reasons to submit.”

“Why would submitting to our lord need any reason?” Wei Zheng crossed his arms irritably. “Forget it. At least you’ve finally stopped causing trouble. You’ll behave better under him. His camp can’t tolerate troublemakers, because he and his brother Li Sanlang are the biggest troublemakers of all.”

Luo Shixin, who had been acting as background, coughed lightly to signal Wei Zheng to show some respect to the lord and the strategist.

Wei Zheng felt he had already been very respectful.

When Li Shimin and Li Xuanba sent Luo Shixin, Wei Zheng, and Xue Shou to Qi Commandery, they had said that after pacifying Liang Shidu, they would immediately join forces from east and west with Wei Zheng and seize Henan.

And then?

Li Xuanba made what he thought was an unlikely move—and it became a brilliant stroke. Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were made princes. They didn’t support an emperor but instead acted as if “holding the emperor to command the lords,” directly taking Guanzhong and Bashu.

Li Xuanba wrote to Wei Zheng: plans couldn’t keep up with changes, so they had decided to go south. Wei Zheng was told to hold on by himself—and if he couldn’t, he should run.

Wei Zheng: “???”

So this so-called strategist and mastermind just means “plans never match reality,” throwing pieces randomly and leaving everything to fate?

Wei Zheng finally understood why Li Sanlang’s strategies were so hard to break—because even he himself didn’t know what move he would make next!

Although Li Shimin and Li Xuanba’s forces were developing better, Wei Zheng and the others were utterly screwed.

Qi Commandery was an isolated enclave: Dou Jiande to the west, Luo Yi to the north, Du Fuwei to the south. With Wang Bo, their backbone, gone, morale collapsed and combat power dropped sharply.

Only then did those who once mocked Wang Bo as “weak” realize that they really weren’t as good as him.

Luo Shixin was still young. He was good at fighting, but inexperienced as a regional commander. Xue Shou went overseas to look for his old friend Chen Ling to persuade him to surrender. Wei Zheng was left to hold everything together alone.

He was just an ordinary scholar of diplomacy. He was good at planning, but not at fighting.

Wei Zheng felt like a patchwork tailor, stitching things together everywhere, utterly exhausted.

What angered him more was that Li Xuanba even wrote: “I trust you. The greater the pressure, the better you’ll perform. My brother thinks so too.”

Li Shimin added in the margin: “What A-Xuan says is very true.”

Wei Zheng took a deep breath.

The number one treacherous minister beside the lord was his benefactor—Li Sanlang, Li Xuanba!

When he returned to his lord’s side, he would definitely impeach this villain properly!

Fortunately, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba didn’t attack Jiangdu. Instead, they moved north along the Yangtze, slowly drawing closer to Qi Commandery.

Li Xuanba once again proved that “man proposes, heaven disposes” by recalling the Wagang Army—an undercover move. Wei Zheng had become numb.

If Luoyang fell, so be it. They could retake it later. Anyway, the lord would lead the troops. If he got injured forcing the attack, Li Sanlang could regret it himself.

Now that Dou Jiande had gone south, leaving an “escape route” in the west, Wei Zheng decided he couldn’t hold on anymore. He would abandon Qi Commandery and lead forty to fifty thousand men to find the lord.

If he didn’t leave now, once Dou Jiande returned from Jiangdu, he’d have no choice but to pretend to surrender and then stab him in the back later.

As for Xue Shou returning with no one to meet him—wasn’t that Li Sanlang’s fault? The “all-calculating” Prince of Taiyuan would surely think of a solution. Why should a subordinate worry?

Abandoned by Li Xuanba and Li Shimin, Wei Zheng’s mentality collapsed. He gave up struggling.

“Our Qi Commandery Army has always had only one wish,” Wei Zheng straightened his expression and said solemnly. “To find a benevolent and righteous ruler who can let the people live well. The Prince of Longxi fits our expectations perfectly. Since Wagang has gone to him, so will we!”

Zhang Jincheng, Li Zitong, and Hao Xiaode: “We request a reconsideration!”

At last—they could finally go and seek out the Prince of Longxi. If they kept losing, they would be too ashamed to even show their faces.

Luo Shixin asked, “What about the common people who want to follow us?”

If not for the support of the people of Qi Prefecture, they would have long ago been carved up and devoured by Dou Jiande and the others.

Wei Zheng said, “We can’t take too many people with us. Dismiss some of the local young and able-bodied men and send them back to their hometowns. Leave them some weapons so they can organize for self-defense in the countryside and wait for our return. Although Dou Jiande is not a great ruler, he isn’t someone who harms civilians either. He won’t deliberately plunder the people.”

Luo Shixin sighed. “If only I were stronger—strong enough to defeat Dou Jiande and head west to reunite with our lord. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about things like this.”

Luo Shixin had always been proud of his martial strength.

Now, he was still confident in it, but no longer arrogant. This mission of independently recruiting and pacifying the righteous army in Qi Prefecture alongside Wei Zheng had made him see many of his shortcomings.

It turned out that his lord and Third Young Master were right to constantly urge him to read more books. Only when he truly needed the principles written in them did he realize how shallow his learning was—completely unusable. Pure bravery alone was useless.

After privately receiving Li Xuanba’s letter, along with Li Shimin’s nagging annotations scribbled between the lines, Wei Zheng knew that after the lord and Third Young Master changed their strategy, they had never expected to break through from Qi Prefecture.

Originally, the lord’s plan had only been for him, Luo Shixin, and Xue Shou to come to Qi Prefecture to gather Wang Bo’s remaining forces and bring back the remnants of the righteous army that had been ideologically shaped by Wang Bo. Everything else was secondary.

But since the lord had not given them higher expectations, did that mean they should just give up on greater achievements? Or was it simply that they were too weak?

Still, shame could give rise to courage.

Wei Zheng wasn’t sure if he himself could become stronger, but Luo Shixin was still young. Since he could reflect on himself, his future would surely be limitless.

Wei Zheng’s former ambitions had long been worn away by the tedious work of carefully managing Wang Bo’s forces. Now he felt that becoming the “remonstrating minister” foretold in Third Young Master’s prophecies—someone who criticized anyone he disliked—wasn’t such a bad idea.

He had long wanted to verbally tear apart certain idiots.

“Let’s set out quickly while Dou Jiande hasn’t returned yet.” Putting on a perfunctory motivational front, Wei Zheng resumed his role as the “nanny” of the Qi Prefecture army, urging the unreliable leaders to get moving.

Watching Wei Zheng urge them along as if wielding a feather duster against their backs, Luo Shixin couldn’t help but laugh, even though he had seen it countless times.

After Wang Bo left, Teacher Wei had worked extremely hard to protect as many of Wang Bo’s subordinates as possible.

“Finally, we’re going back to our lord’s side. I heard Jihong has become the Duke of Tang and is stationed in the Western Capital. I wonder if his martial skills have improved.” Luo Shixin muttered to himself, clenching his fists, itching for a fight.

…

“Achoo.” Li Zhiyun rubbed his nose. “Father sent another letter? So annoying.”

Gao Jiong gave him a calm glance, and Li Zhiyun immediately shut up.

Now he was surrounded by his brothers’ teachers and didn’t even dare breathe loudly.

Li Zhiyun suspected that his brothers had sent him to guard the Western Capital on purpose—because he’d been living too comfortably in Longxi and neglecting his studies.

He missed Longxi terribly. His third sister doted on him there. Unlike his two brothers, who scolded him every day.

Now it wasn’t just once a day—he was being scolded several times daily.

Were his brothers treated like this when they studied? He regretted not sticking close to them when he was younger to watch them get lectured.

He zoned out for a moment and was immediately pierced by his teachers’ gazes.

Embarrassed, he said, “Now that Luoyang has fallen, we have no excuse not to go support Father. What should we do? My brothers told me to come up with a plan myself. What plan can I possibly come up with? They’re just making things hard for me!”

The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt.

How old is your little brother? How am I supposed to devise strategies for something this important? Do you think everyone is like you—killing a few khans for fun at this age?

The teachers sighed inwardly.

They had tried hard to educate Li Zhiyun. Though he was smarter than most, he was still only normally intelligent—far behind Li Shimin and Li Xuanba.

They had mostly raised Li Shimin and Li Xuanba freely, assigning homework and only personally teaching them for a few years.

Now that they finally had time to closely guide their third disciple, they had raised their expectations.

But Li Zhiyun was not as extraordinarily brilliant as his brothers. Disciples like Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were probably once-in-a-lifetime.

Seeing that Li Zhiyun truly had no ideas, Yuwen Bi was the first to soften. “Not having a plan is also a kind of plan. The Duke of Tang is still young. It’s normal for him to wait for his brothers to decide.”

Changsun Sheng said, “Just reply that you’ve already urged your brothers to return. That’s enough.”

Li Zhiyun was stunned. “That’s it? It’s that simple?” And here he had been worrying for so long.

“The only thing you can do now is secretly send people to protect your mother and your aunt,” Xue Daoheng said sarcastically. “Although Li Yuan probably won’t stoop so low as to use your mothers as hostages, it’s better to guard against his subordinates with poor character.”

Li Zhiyun’s lips drooped, and a chill flashed in his eyes. “My aunt is one thing—she’s only Father’s concubine, and he can deal with her as he likes. But Mother is also Li Jiancheng’s mother. If he lets her be confined without protest, he’s no son at all.”

Xue Daoheng sneered. “What gave you the illusion that he’s a good son? If he hadn’t forced Li Yuan into a hasty uprising, would things have come to this? I hear Li Yuan is quite valiant now, personally leading every battle—worthy of the Prince of Longxi’s bloodline, father and sons alike.”

Li Zhiyun: “…”

He realized his teachers were probably dissatisfied with his father as well.

Gao Jiong said, “Since Li Yuan has received so many hints from us and still refuses to give up the throne, we must prepare to oppose him. Jihong, you must not be soft-hearted.”

Li Zhiyun lowered his head. “Yes.”

Soft-hearted? After learning that he and his third brother had been in danger while their father reacted passively, he could no longer be soft-hearted.

Compared to their eldest brother, and compared to their father himself, he and his second and third brothers were nothing. Among the three of them, they could only plan for themselves. As for anything else… forget it.

Wasn’t this how chaotic times were? Wasn’t this how royal families were?

At least he still had his brothers, and his brothers still had him.

Li Zhiyun said, “I understand. I’ll write to Father at once and secretly send people to protect Mother and Aunt.”

Mother… Mom… you must take good care of yourselves.

In Taiyuan Prefecture, as soon as news of Luoyang’s fall arrived, the city burst into celebration.

Whether they knew about the conflict between Li Yuan and Li Shimin or not, everyone knew that the last remnant court of the Sui Dynasty had been destroyed. On the surface, Li Shimin could no longer remain at odds with Li Yuan.

As for what would happen afterward, they would decide after meeting Li Shimin. In any case, they had to leave Taiyuan first.

Li Yuan also let out a sigh of relief.

With Luoyang fallen, Yao Jun’su would no longer block his path and fight him to the death. At last, he could leave Taiyuan and head for Guanzhong.

Now that Li Shimin was not in Guanzhong, only the young Li Zhiyun remained in the Western Capital. Once he arrived there, he would effectively become the ruler of the Western Capital, and proclaiming himself emperor would finally be justified in name and reality.

Thinking of Li Shimin, Li Yuan felt both sorrowful and resentful.

But there was no point thinking about it now. Li Shimin had already resolved to compete with him for the throne, and he had no choice but to accept the challenge.

At the same time, Li Yuan wondered whether none of this would have happened if he had established Li Shimin as crown prince earlier.

But then he thought: if Li Shimin dared to force his own father, the emperor, to abdicate before even becoming crown prince, wouldn’t it be worse after he became one?

As for Dou Huiming’s words—that the empire had been won by Li Shimin in the first place—Li Yuan subconsciously “forgot” them.

“Finally, we can leave Taiyuan,” Li Yuan said to his subordinates. “Hurry and persuade Yao Jun’su to surrender.”

Although he spoke of persuasion, Li Yuan had already decided that once he took control of the Western Capital, he would find an opportunity to kill Yao Jun’su, his greatest obstacle.

The envoys Li Yuan sent soon returned.

Their faces showed a mixture of shock and fear.

“Before Luoyang fell, His Majesty issued an edict conferring the title of Prince of Qin upon the Second Young Master, and Prince of Jin upon the Third Young Master. He also said that once Luoyang fell, Sui officials no longer needed to die for the Sui Dynasty and should seek another worthy lord.”

Li Yuan’s voice trembled. “And what else?”

The envoy trembled even more.

“And… and His Majesty said that among all the heroes of the realm, only the Second Young Master is truly benevolent. He hopes the Second Young Master will shoulder the burden of the world and not be bound by worldly titles. He asks… asks the Second Young Master…”

He did not finish speaking, because Li Yuan, in fury, swept everything off the table onto the floor.

“Good, good! So even this was calculated by those two unfilial sons?!” Li Yuan was so enraged that he suddenly covered his face and laughed. “The sons I raised with my own hands turned out to be such capable men! Good! Very good! Truly impressive!”

The envoy knelt on the ground, not daring to speak.

With the dying emperor’s absurd words, the conflict between the lord and the Second Young Master could no longer be concealed.

…

“Huh? You did this?” Li Shimin asked in surprise.

“Not me,” Li Xuanba replied, equally surprised.

The twins, both with injuries on their faces, stared at each other.

“Forget it, it doesn’t matter,” Li Shimin said after a moment. “Let’s just treat it as a generous gift from our cousin. Now we can openly compete for the realm. So, who do we fight first?”

Li Xuanba said, “You’re asking me about strategy?”

At the mention of this, he felt somewhat aggrieved.

After being granted princely titles, it was his second brother who decided to change their strategic goals. What did that have to do with him, a mere logistics minister who only knew how to place chess pieces?

Although Wei Zheng had suffered badly after being stood up, and cursed him fiercely, that really wasn’t fair.

Sure, he had offered advice on the side and reassured his brother that Wei Zheng wouldn’t die—but it was his second brother who made the final decision. The blame should fall on him.

Seeing his brother’s obviously fake “grievance,” Li Shimin rolled his eyes.

Wei Zheng used to respect A-Xuan so much. Now whenever he saw him, he went cross-eyed with anger. Didn’t A-Xuan feel any need for self-reflection?

Still, bullying the future most-feared remonstrating minister was quite satisfying.

“Hasn’t Dou Jiande gone south?” Li Shimin said. “Let’s seize his homeland. That way we can fulfill our promise and bring back Xuancheng and Shixin. Bapao should also be coming ashore soon.”

Li Xuanba reviewed the map in his mind.

“Bypass Luoyang and take Hebei, Qi Prefecture, and Yan territory first? Then what about Jiangdu? Du Fuwei and the others definitely aren’t a match for Dou Jiande. Are we just handing the south over to him?”

Li Shimin smiled and shook his head.

“A-Xuan, Dou Jiande’s forces are all northerners, just like Yang Guang’s back then. Even if he takes Jiangdu, he’ll have to bring his army back north, or else face mutiny. Besides, Li Yaoshi is in the south. After absorbing Xiao Xian’s forces, he can easily hold the middle Yangtze. You should trust the ‘Great Tang God of War’ in your prophecies.”

Li Xuanba said, “Third Sister is in Longxi, Li Yaoshi guards the Yangtze, and our teachers hold Guanzhong. Second Brother, conquering the realm is way too easy for you. I demand higher difficulty. How about the enemy unlocking the skill ‘Meteor Strike from the Heavens’?”

Li Shimin: “…Shut up.”

Li Xuanba burst out laughing.

The favored son of fate in the late Sui was Second Brother. If anyone was going to unlock the ultimate move “Meteor Strike,” it would be him—no one else deserved it.

But speaking of meteor strikes…

“Second Brother, when you go fight Dou Jiande, I won’t go with you,” Li Xuanba said. “I’m heading back to the Western Capital. Chen Tieniu’s father has forged something good, and I want to see it. If you’re worried, you can escort me back to Daxing first.”

Li Shimin actually hesitated for a moment, leaving Li Xuanba speechless.

That serious illness really had frightened his brother badly.

“With Luoyang fallen, defeated troops will surely flee toward Guanzhong. You can gather the remaining Sui forces along the way. If there’s a chance, persuade Yao Jun’su to surrender. If he refuses, don’t bother with him.”

Li Shimin said seriously, “Put your own safety first in everything.”

He realized that even keeping his younger brother by his side could not prevent him from going to the battlefield and getting injured (even though he himself had beaten him up for it). As a result, his obsession with always taking his brother along with him gradually weakened.

“I’ll leave the logistics to Wei Xuancheng after I’m gone. He started from nothing under Wang Bo and should already be used to managing supplies,” Li Xuanba said with a smile. “Squeeze him hard—don’t let him slack off. Otherwise, that sharp tongue of his will give you trouble.”

Li Shimin grinned mischously. “Got it.”

After only a few days of rest, the brothers parted ways in haste, having received news that they had been granted princely titles—and that the second brother had even been awarded the useless Nine Bestowments (after all, even the emperor was gone).

This time, Li Xuanba took Zong Luohu and Chen Tieniu with him. Chen Tieniu had realized that the moment he left, his lord would head straight to the battlefield. So he begged Li Shimin for another fierce general to replace him as commander.

He didn’t care about being the main general or earning merit. If his lord were ever in danger again, Chen Tieniu believed that even if he didn’t kill himself in apology, his father, Chen the Blacksmith, would smash him to death with a hammer.

Chen Tieniu complained, “My lord, my colleagues are all saying I must have died in battle!”

Li Xuanba replied coldly, “Oh.”

Zong Luohu couldn’t help laughing.