Chapter Three: The Lonely Female Phoenix

  "Big brother, where are you taking us?" Li Shimin asked as they walked down the street, because people on the street were staring at them with their eyes, feeling strange, so he asked.

  "Haha... just follow me and you'll know." Li Jiancheng smiled slyly. The first time I came to the city, I already knew that they were in Daxing, which was the capital of the Sui Dynasty, and it was now 603 AD, with Emperor Yang Jian still on the throne. However, he probably wouldn't be on the throne for much longer. It was September, and Li Jiancheng remembered that next July, in 604 AD, Emperor Yang Guang would ascend to the throne. Although he didn't know if Yang Guang had killed his father Yang Jian to take the throne, news of Yang Jian's serious illness had already spread throughout Daxing, making Li Jiancheng worried. Because once Yang Guang took power, their family was framed by the Yuwen family and sent to Taiyuan, and on the way there, they were even ambushed and killed, but fortunately, someone saved them. In fact, the historical Yang Guang wasn't as bad as he was portrayed on TV; Li Jiancheng knew this from reading many books.

  In the year 589 AD, Yang Guang, who was only 20 years old at the time, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Sui army and led a force of 510,000 soldiers to conquer the Chen Dynasty in the south. The Chen Dynasty was not a small or weak country, but rather a rich and powerful one. At that time, people believed that "the Yangtze River is a natural barrier, separating the north and south..." Under Yang Guang's command, the Sui army was well-disciplined and brave, breaking through the Yangtze River barrier with ease. Wherever they went, they were victorious, but they did not harm the civilians, taking nothing from the Chen Dynasty's treasury. They won widespread praise from the people, who called Yang Guang a wise leader.

  In 590 AD, he was appointed as the governor of Yangzhou and put down a rebellion by Gao Jiong in Jiangnan. The powerful families of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui, and Jiangxi all rebelled against him, with some having tens of thousands of followers. However, Yang Guang learned the local dialect, married a woman from Jiangnan, befriended scholars from the region, and employed them to compile books. He spent ten years in Jiangnan, winning over the hearts of the people, alleviating their resentment and suspicion towards the Sui Dynasty.

  After the military conquest, he implemented reasonable administrative policies, breaking down many political and cultural barriers that had prevented southerners from becoming loyal subjects of the Sui Dynasty. From then on, the south was finally reunited with the central government, paving the way for the Tang Dynasty's rule in the region. In 600 AD, Yang Guang led a campaign against the Turks and defeated them.

  These achievements were unmatched by his brothers. The Book of Sui praised him, saying: "Yang Guang pacified Wu and Yue, repelled the Xiongnu, and among his brothers, he alone achieved great merit." At the age of 20, Yang Guang completed the grand task of unifying China, ending the division that had lasted for over a hundred years. He also brought an end to the era of war that had lasted for three or four centuries. From then on, China entered a period of peace and prosperity.

  Emperor Yang of Sui reigned for 14 years, and in those short 14 years, he achieved great feats that others could hardly match. However, Emperor Yang did not care about the people's hardships and treated his subjects like cattle. He left behind some so-called imperial achievements, but the people's resistance is the best evaluation of these so-called achievements. History tells us that territorial expansion, global empires, tributes from all nations, and grand infrastructure projects can only temporarily astonish foreigners, but ultimately they are just fleeting clouds. Whether the people have a way to survive is the foundation of a country's existence.

  Li Jiancheng knew that Emperor Yang of Sui was a capable ruler, but he erred in not treating the people as human beings, which led to violent uprisings and ultimately the downfall of the dynasty. Now, Li Jiancheng is not concerned with whether Yang Guang is good or bad, but rather how to better protect himself and his family.

  "Big brother, what are you thinking about? Have we arrived at the place you wanted to take us?" Li Shimin called out, seeing Li Jiancheng sink into deep thought beside him.

  "Almost there, look, see that 'Yue Lai Hotel' up ahead?" Li Jiancheng said, pointing to a hotel in the distance.

  "What is that place for?" Five-year-old Li Shimin didn't know what a hotel was, and four-year-old Li Yuanji knew even less.

  "Anyway! This is hard to explain, just know that this is a place to eat and it's fine." Li Jiancheng said simply after seeing the explanation didn't work.

  "Ah!" Li Shimin nodded in understanding, and therefore did not see the sly smile at the corner of Li Jiancheng's eyes.

  Three people walked into the inn, and the guests who were drinking and eating were surprised. What are three little brats doing here? The boss hurried over to ask: "Little ones, where are your parents? This is not a place you should be coming to." The boss thought they had gotten separated from their parents, so he asked.

  Li Jiancheng then took out some silver and placed it on the counter, "Bring up some of your store's signature dishes, and a few bottles of top-grade wine." The boss fainted, while the surrounding customers also fainted, and several hidden people also fainted. Is this a child?

  "Boss, why aren't you preparing? Li Jiancheng looked at the boss and saw no reaction, so he immediately raised his voice to ask."

  "Oh, okay. I'll go prepare right away." After saying that, he took the silver and quickly walked away. Li Jiancheng saw the boss preparing, so he led Li Shimin and Li Yuanji to a private room upstairs. They found a room by the window and sat down.

  "Big brother, what is wine?" Li Shimin asked in puzzlement.

  "Wine is something you drink, just like water." Li Jiancheng replied with a stifled smile.

  "Really? Then why is it called wine?" Li Shimin continued to ask.

  "Why are you asking so many questions! Wait till it's your turn, and you'll know after you drink." Li Jiancheng said seriously. Seeing Li Jiancheng become serious, Li Shimin stopped asking questions.

  "Wow, which family's little girl is so pretty!" A light and flirtatious voice came from outside the room, followed by a shout "Ah, this rascal dares to make a move, let's beat him up." Then there were sounds of fighting.

  Originally, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji heard the noise and wanted to go see what was happening, but when they saw Li Jiancheng sitting in his seat, they could only stare at the door of the private room, as if they could see through it.

  It was as if the heavens had opened to satisfy his wishes, and the door of the package room seemed to have been knocked open by someone. A nine-year-old boy rushed in, followed by a six or seven-year-old girl who also ran in, panicked, and helped him up from where he had fallen, indicating that the two were together.

  "Hey, what's with these three little brats?" The frivolous voice from before rang out again. Looking up, it was four or five youths dressed in finery, with slicked-back hair and oily faces, around 14 years old. Li Jiancheng thought to himself that there were always people like this in every era. In his past life during middle school, he had been bullied by people like them. He hadn't expected to run into them again in this life, so he decided to teach them a lesson. Although he didn't have the ability himself...

  "Where is the guard?" Li Jiancheng shouted loudly. The few people who saw Li Jiancheng shouting like this looked around worriedly, but no one appeared; while the young man and girl were both worried, and Li Shimin was puzzled, there was no one when he came out? Those young men walked up with a gloomy smile on their faces after seeing that no one was there.

  "Give them a good beating and throw them out." At this moment, Li Jiancheng's commanding tone was so impressive that it made Li Shimin's eyes shine brightly, while the little girl stared at him in infatuation.

  "Yes, young master." Several men emerged from the shadows, grabbed the youths and beat them up before dragging one away. Li Jiancheng naturally knew that every time he went out to play, there were guards following him, so he didn't need to worry about anything happening. With his father's current status, very few people could threaten him.

  "Huh? Big brother, when did these guards start following us? I didn't know!" Li Shimin scratched his head, a look of puzzlement on his face.

  "Hehe, you'll know later." Li Jiancheng smiled and went away, not telling him the answer, leaving Li Shimin with a gloomy face.

  "This young master, thank you for your help. I am Dugu Wen, and this is my little sister Dugu Feng." The nine-year-old boy bowed his fist in gratitude to him.

  "Thank you for your help, young master." said Du Gu Feng in a soft voice.