Although Yuchi Jingde had previously decided not to speak anymore, seeing this scene, he truly couldn’t restrain himself. He rushed forward and grabbed Li Yuan’s clothes, saying through gritted teeth: “If you dare spout more nonsense to slander His Majesty, even if you’re some worthless Grand Emperor, I’ll still smash your head!”
Li Yuan paid him no heed, only addressing the watching soldiers: “You all saw it – Li Shimin and his subordinates don’t regard me at all. Why? Because this so-called Grand Emperor, in their eyes, is merely a decently dressed prisoner, nothing more!”
“Li Shimin is harsh and ungrateful. Following such a person, do you think you’ll have good days ahead?” After a brief pause, Li Yuan continued: “I know what you’re thinking. Yes, Li Shimin has treated you fairly well before, but that was merely his false mask. He doesn’t even care for his own brothers or father – how could he cherish you!”
This time, not only Yuchi Jingde but even Du Ruhui couldn’t restrain himself, saying coldly: “Don’t spread your bewitching words here. His Majesty has never imprisoned you. On the contrary, you’ve everywhere treated His Majesty as an enemy, repeatedly helping the deposed Crown Prince harm His Majesty.”
Li Yuan sneered: “You’re his lapdog, naturally you speak for him everywhere.” At this point, he suddenly raised his voice: “Do you know that over ten years ago, Li Shimin once helped people from the old Sui to harm his own blood brother, then even took that old Sui woman as concubine – that so-called Noble Consort Yang. They lived their carefree, happy days, while my poor third son died with eyes wide open!” Speaking thus, he pretentiously wiped away tears.
Du Ruhui struggled to suppress his anger, whispering in Li Shimin’s ear: “Your Majesty, we can’t let him continue speaking, or military morale will truly become unstable. I’ll take him back to Taiji Palace immediately.”
Li Shimin said with lowered eyes: “Let him continue speaking. I want to hear how much more dirty water he has to splash on me!”
“Your Majesty!” Du Ruhui spoke earnestly: “Now is not the time for acting on impulse. If the soldiers believe his nonsense and open the city gates, that would be disastrous. Even if the gates aren’t opened, morale will be severely damaged, making it impossible to resist the Turkic army!”
Faced with Du Ruhui’s repeated urgings, Li Shimin remained firm in his stance: “I know what I’m doing – you needn’t worry.” Seeing Li Shimin wouldn’t heed his advice, Du Ruhui, though extremely anxious, was helpless and could only respond as circumstances demanded.
At this moment, Jieli Khan’s voice came from afar: “This Khan brought troops here initially to seek justice for a friend, not to wage war with Great Tang. This Khan says again: as long as Li Shimin abdicates and no longer serves as Emperor of Great Tang, this Khan will immediately withdraw troops and absolutely never set foot on Great Tang territory!”
Li Jiancheng spoke at the right moment: “Shimin, these soldiers have followed you through life and death, some even saved your life. Are you really going to personally push them onto the path of death?”
Li Shimin stood on the city tower, facing the wind: “I will absolutely never hand Great Tang over to a despicable, shameless person who would even collude with foreign tribes to seize the throne. No matter how many times you say it, my answer will never change!”
Li Jiancheng sighed: “It seems you truly don’t care for these soldiers’ lives at all. So be it, I have nothing more to say!” Speaking thus, he said to Jieli Khan beside him: “Please prepare, Khan!”
Jieli Khan nodded slightly and shouted to the commanders below: “Have all soldiers prepare to attack the city!” His voice was loud, and though separated by some distance, the soldiers atop Chunming Gate’s walls still heard him clearly, and the hesitation and uncertainty on their faces grew even deeper.
Li Yuan knew well how to seize the moment, immediately shouting loudly: “Once the Turks begin attacking the city, it will be too late. While there’s still time, immediately open the city gates to avoid meaningless casualties. I guarantee the Turks absolutely will not enter Chang’an!”
The soldiers looked at each other. Though they had experienced baptism by blood, they still disliked warfare and death. If opening the city gates could truly make the Turks withdraw, then for them, it would indeed be the best choice. Driven by this thought, some soldiers began quietly moving toward the city gates.
Liu Hongji whispered something in Du Ruhui’s ear. The latter nodded, quickly descended from the tower, and came to the city gates to block those soldiers, saying sternly: “What are you trying to do?”
Those soldiers exchanged glances, and one boldly said: “We don’t want to die!”
“So you plan to let the Turkic army into the city?” Faced with Du Ruhui’s words, that soldier said: “They said that as long as His Majesty abdicates, they won’t enter the city!”
“Turks have always been crafty – they’re saying that to trick you into opening the city gates. How can you believe them!” Before his words finished, another soldier said: “That’s just your one-sided claim – equally untrustworthy!”
“Right, this meaningless battle isn’t worth our lives!” This statement drew agreement from many soldiers. It seemed Li Yuan’s words had greatly impacted them, causing them to lose fighting spirit.
“Not worth it?” Du Ruhui let out a cold laugh, barely restraining his urge to curse, saying coldly: “You’re all battle-hardened soldiers of Great Tang, many of whom have followed His Majesty onto battlefields. Now when His Majesty faces difficulties, you say it’s not worth fighting, calling it a meaningless battle – how shameless of you to say such things!”
These stern words made some soldiers lower their heads, but they didn’t retreat. After a while, the first soldier to speak said: “In any case, we have the right to choose our own path!”
“Your path is to betray His Majesty, to betray Great Tang!” With these words, Du Ruhui drew the gleaming steel blade from a soldier’s waist beside him, holding it horizontally before him: “Whoever wants to pass here must first ask my blade!”
Du Ruhui usually appeared gentle and refined, making people almost forget that like Yin Kaishan and others, he was also a military commander. Only now, with blade in hand, did they remember he had also crawled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, radiating a cold, ruthless aura.
Though the soldiers were momentarily intimidated by Du Ruhui’s presence, they wouldn’t abandon their plan. Several bold ones stepped forward: “General Du, you may block us few, but you can’t possibly stop a hundred thousand soldiers in the city!”
“This matter needn’t concern you. In any case, as long as I’m here, you people can forget about passing!” After a pause, he continued: “If you retreat now, I can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, after we repel the Turks, not one of you will escape!”
Under these stern words, several soldiers actually did retreat, but most remained in standoff. At this moment, Li Jiancheng on the tower spoke again: “Shimin, this is your last chance. Give up – don’t let innocent soldiers die needlessly. Chang’an shouldn’t be soaked in blood!”