Li Yuanji recalled his words and said in shock: “Elder Brother, are you saying that Sister-in-law conspired with Second Brother?”
Li Jiancheng said hatefully: “If not for this, how could we see no trace of them until now? That bitch—I should never have trusted her!”
Li Yuanji had wholeheartedly wanted to catch Li Shimin forcing the palace, then naturally support Li Jiancheng to take the throne. Who knew that suddenly, they had become the ones forcing the palace first. At a loss, he said frantically: “Then what do we do now? Should we retreat?”
Li Jiancheng bit his teeth fiercely and said coldly: “From the moment we stepped out of the Eastern Palace, there was no way back. The only plan now is to rush into Taiji Hall before Li Shimin arrives and control Father Emperor. Then even if Shimin comes, we can use Father Emperor to force Li Shimin to lay down his weapons. Fortunately, Chang He is our man. With him here, even if we’ve lost the initiative, we can still control the situation!”
At this point, he could only stake everything on one throw!
Li Yuanji had always followed his orders, so naturally he had no objections. He immediately led his men to rush toward Taiji Hall with Li Jiancheng, but they had barely run a few steps when the sound of footsteps could be heard behind them.
“Elder Brother!” Hearing this voice, Li Jiancheng paused and slowly turned around. Indeed, he saw Li Shimin standing not far behind him, with the personal guards who had followed him. The two groups formed a standoff.
Li Jiancheng said coldly: “Shimin, what do you mean by bringing so many people into the palace?”
Li Shimin looked at the personal guards behind him and said indifferently: “Then what about you, Elder Brother? What do you mean?”
Li Yuanji, who was the most impatient, shouted loudly: “Naturally, we came to capture you, this treacherous rebel who forces the palace!”
Zhangsun Wuji sneered: “Judging by the current situation, it seems that you, Prince Qi, are the one forcing the palace and rebelling, right?”
“You have no right to speak here!” Li Yuanji rebuked him without courtesy, then said to Li Shimin: “If you know what’s good for you, surrender obediently. Otherwise, don’t blame us for not remembering our brotherhood!”
Faced with his words, Li Shimin shook his head: “If you had half a thought for brotherhood, you wouldn’t have reached this point today. Elder Brother, Fourth Brother, I have yielded to you again and again, but you have always pressed me step by step, determined to put me to death. Have you forgotten that we share the same blood?”
“The one who forgot is you!” Li Jiancheng pointed at him and said coldly: “You clearly knew that Xuanba was killed by Yang Yunyi, yet you still took her as your concubine. And there’s Liu Hongji—I clearly invited him first, but you snatched him away. You’ve repeatedly competed with me for credit before Father Emperor. Li Shimin, have you ever treated me as your elder brother? Have you ever thought about Xuanba, who was burned to charcoal by Yang Yunyi? No, you’ve never thought about any of this. You only think about yourself!”
“I have never thought about competing with you for credit. You are the one who cannot tolerate me, repeatedly trying to put me to death. As for Xuanba…”
“Enough!” Li Jiancheng interrupted him. “You needn’t say more. In any case, today, between you and me, only one can live!”
Staring at Li Jiancheng’s cold gaze, Li Shimin’s eyes gradually grew cold as well: “Yes, between you and me, only one can live!” With these words, he slowly raised his hand. With this motion, a row of personal guards behind him stepped aside, revealing the archers behind them.
Li Yuanji’s face changed dramatically as he hurriedly said: “Protect the Crown Prince!”
Hearing his words, those personal guards quickly drew their swords and surrounded Li Jiancheng. As for Li Yuanji, after saying this, he drew the sword from his waist and attacked Li Shimin, knowing well the principle of shooting the rider before the horse.
Unfortunately, his wishful thinking didn’t work out. Just as he moved, Yuchi Jingde came up to block his offensive, preventing him from getting within half a step of Li Shimin!
At the same time, Li Shimin’s hand, raised in mid-air, suddenly dropped. Countless sharp arrows shot toward Li Jiancheng and his men like lightning. In just one round of attack, all the personal guards in the front row had fallen to the ground, each with at least three or four arrows in their bodies—a devastating loss.
However, Li Jiancheng showed no signs of panic. He put his fingers to his lips, and a sharp whistle sounded. Soon, some black-clad figures emerged from various places and engaged the archers. These men had strange movement techniques and elusive actions—the archers were no match for them and many quickly died.
These were the death warriors that Li Jiancheng had ordered Jirong to secretly train, and besides Chang He, they were his greatest reliance. Not to mention ordinary soldiers—even if they encountered Li Yuan’s secret guards, they had the strength to fight.
However, Li Shimin’s men were also no ordinary people. After the initial panic, they regained their composure and became entangled in combat with those death warriors and Li Jiancheng’s personal guards.
At this time, Chang He finally arrived with a large contingent of Imperial Guards. His appearance lifted Li Yuanji’s spirits. Taking advantage of forcing back Yuchi Jingde, he shouted: “Chang He, immediately capture Li Shimin, this rebel, and assist the Crown Prince in protecting the emperor!”
Chang He glanced at him and drew his sword, saying sternly: “All soldiers, listen to my command! The Crown Prince is forcing the palace and rebelling. Immediately follow this commander to assist the Prince of Qin in capturing him!”
Hearing this, Li Yuanji’s heart shook violently, nearly being struck in a vital spot by Yuchi Jingde’s blade. Although he barely avoided it, he still received a bloody wound. While blocking Yuchi Jingde’s attacks, he roared: “Chang He, are you deaf? I told you to deal with the Prince of Qin—why are you doing the opposite?”
Chang He said coldly: “We are soldiers of the Great Tang, eating the Great Tang’s salary. How can we assist rebellious ministers and traitors? I advise you to lay down your weapons immediately to avoid losing your lives!”
Li Yuanji was so angry he couldn’t speak. At this point, how could he not see that he had been played by Chang He? He was Li Shimin’s man from the beginning—his previous claims of defecting to them were just false compliance!
Li Jiancheng also realized this, his face turning iron-blue. Chang He was his greatest support, yet Chang He was also Li Shimin’s man. With him and those Imperial Guards assisting, his defeat was certain!
Seeing his advantages turn into Li Shimin’s one by one, he was nearly driven mad with rage. No, he couldn’t lose—he had to win, absolutely had to win!
But where was the chance to win?
Li Jiancheng didn’t know. He could only use the sword in his hand to desperately fight for a slim chance of victory!
With Chang He and the Imperial Guards joining the battle, the balance was broken. Li Jiancheng’s personal guards and death warriors were killed one by one. After all, the numerical difference was too great—no matter how fierce and unafraid of death those death warriors were, they couldn’t reverse the defeat.
Li Yuanji supported himself with his sword, gasping heavily. His current situation was really not good—he had several wounds on his body, with blood continuously dripping from the injuries. While staring at Yuchi Jingde not far away, he secretly glanced toward Li Jiancheng’s direction from the corner of his eye.