Shangyuan Prefecture, Prefectural City, Auspicious Peace.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the streets of Auspicious Peace City. Located in the hinterland of the Han Tang, this strategic town was known as Little Anyang in Jiangnan. However, it did not shed its bustling exterior. The streets were filled with people, and the city was not closed at night.
Tang Yong and the others had entered Auspicious Peace City and thoroughly experienced the feeling of visiting a night market. As soon as they entered Auspicious Peace City, they were immediately shocked by the bustling noise. There were peddlers hawking their wares on both sides of the street, and the shops next to them were all lit up. It was as if they did not close their doors at night.
When Tang Yong and the others entered, they immediately attracted the attention of the patrolling soldiers. Liu Neng immediately went forward to negotiate and showed his identity. The two soldiers were shocked and quickly left one to guard while the other went to report.
After a while, a figure suddenly flew over from the prefectural city in the distance. That person was extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, he had already arrived in front of the group.
This person was eight feet tall and had a burly figure. His face was slightly flushed, and his two sword-like eyebrows seemed to be carved on his face, leaving a deep impression. His sword-like eyebrows complemented his pair of bright tiger eyes. He did not need to say anything. Just a glare from his eyes was enough to make people speechless.
He was General Li Jianying, who was in charge of Shangyuan Prefecture.
Although Tang Yong did not have a good memory, he knew a lot about General Li Jianying. It was said that he was a child picked up by the old General Li Yushan on the battlefield. He was good at both civil and martial arts since he was young. Although his cultivation talent could only be considered above average among his peers, he was upright and plainspoken. Originally, there were many geniuses in his generation, but later on, those people died in two great wars.
However, this Li Jianying was lucky to survive. After two great wars, his body and mind were baptized. When he reached middle age, he actually had a second spring. His cultivation broke through one after another and reached the Martial King realm!
Just last year, this general had completely made a name for himself in Shangyuan. It was said that before he came, the river demons in Shangyuan had harmed the people, causing the people here to have no way of making a living. After some consideration, the Emperor sent this General Li.
On the first day he took office, he went straight to the bottom of the river and killed a hundred thousand river demons. He even had a great battle with the Dragon King in the river. No one knew who won the battle, but since then, the river demons had completely stopped and no longer went ashore to kill people on a large scale.
After that, the name of General Li as the God of Slaughter spread throughout Shang Yuan Manor.
However, the Killing God was not a derogatory term in the hearts of the people of Shang Yuanfu. Instead, he possessed a very high status.
Therefore, when the people on the street saw General Li, they were very excited. Of course, there were also people who looked at Tang Yong and his group with strange eyes. They seemed to be trying to guess their identities. If the God of Slaughter came out to greet them personally, they must be extraordinary.
After Li Jianying arrived, he immediately scanned the crowd and locked his gaze on the Third Prince. He did not kneel to the Third Prince. Instead, he cupped his fists and nodded slightly. In the Han Tang, martial artists had extraordinary status. Ordinary martial artists did not need to kneel to officials, but they had to bow to the royal family, their ancestors, and parents. In the Han Tang, Martial Kings were extremely noble. They did not need to bow to the royal family, but their ancestors and parents were still the same.
"Greetings to the Third Prince. May I know why the Third Prince has come all the way here?" Li Jianying's words could be said to be very rude.
Ordinary officials would greet the princes with a smile or at least show some respect. However, he directly asked the Third Prince what he was here for. It could be said that he did not give the Third Prince any face.
However, the Third Prince was not angry. He had been in the capital for many years and already knew the temperament of the officials in the imperial court. To put it nicely, Li Jianying was upright and plainspoken. To put it bluntly, he did not want to get into trouble while fighting for the throne.
He was a well-known neutral party in the imperial court. He only supported the Emperor. In the future … he would support whoever became the Emperor. As for now, he did not want to interact with any of the princes.
The Third Prince naturally understood what Li Jianying was thinking. He smiled bitterly and said, "General Li, I have something important to discuss with you. Let's go back to the government office first."
"This …" Li Jianying hesitated.
If he let the Third Prince enter the government office like this, it was possible that the fellows in the capital would put him in the Third Prince's camp tomorrow. This was not in line with his original intention.
"General Li, do you think I am joking?
This is an extremely urgent matter. As a prince, I order you to quickly return to the government office to discuss this matter! "Seeing that Li Jianying was still hesitating, the Third Prince's expression suddenly became serious and he sternly said.
"Let's go to the government office!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The silver-armored cavalry did not give Li Jianying a chance to think and immediately set off.
The surrounding onlookers had already started to chatter among themselves.
"Oh my, this is incredible. I can still see a prince in my life!"
"So it's the Third Prince. No wonder I thought he looked noble when I saw him just now. Where are these people going?"
"Hey, Old Madam Li, you are ignorant. I heard from my aunt's youngest son who is studying in the academy that the Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin. The people who will participate in the Han Tang Tournament this year will be led by the Third Prince.
Seems like these people are the ones. "
"Who are those in silver armor?"
"Hey, they should all be …"
In fact, not only were the onlookers discussing excitedly, but one of the silver-armored cavalry was also extremely excited. This person was the middle-aged man they had just saved. He looked at the Third Prince who was walking at the front with excitement, and then looked at General Li who was beside him.
Although he had already guessed that these people were of high status, he did not expect that the noble young man who had just listened to his story was actually the Third Prince!
He was the son of the emperor and might become the emperor in the future. As long as he cozied up to him, there was no need for him to return to Taoxi Village in the future!
He could have a meteoric rise and become a small official!
The middle-aged man looked at the back of the Third Prince and his eyes lit up. He had long forgotten about all the unlucky fellows from his village.
However, when he glanced at the group of noble young men, his gaze paused. He saw the servant who was riding a mediocre Longma and was talking and laughing with Zhang Xiu.
A gloomy light flashed in his eyes and a sinister smile suddenly appeared on his face.
"How dare a lowly servant humiliate me with such nonsense. I will show you the consequences of offending the tyrant of Taoxi Village in a while."
The crowd walked very quickly and arrived at the government office in a short while. Half of the silver-armored cavalry dismounted from their horses and entered the government office with the genius warriors, while the other half stood guard outside the door to guard the Longma.
General Li saw that the silver-armored cavalry was well-trained and could not help but nod his head. He entered the government office with the Third Prince and the group of genius warriors. It seemed that after the battle just now, these originally arrogant fellows had matured a lot. No one said anything and everyone walked into the government office silently.
When the Third Prince saw that everyone had entered and there were no outsiders around, his face suddenly darkened. He said to Li Jianying, "General Li, something bad has happened!"