Chapter 15: The Great Building Will Collapse, Alone Supporting It (Part 2)

  At this anxious moment, Zhou Wenbo suddenly heard a faint "ding" sound, which was the prompt tone set by Zhou Wenbo's system for new situations.

  Open the system interface, and you can see a new task appearing in the taskbar.

  Sudden Task: "To Stem the Tide Just as It Arrives, To Support the Great Edifice on the Verge of Collapse"

  The Zhao State Duke's mansion has fallen into unprecedented disaster and predicament. If you don't make an effort, the Zhao State Duke's mansion will be destroyed in an instant.

  Task difficulty: Seven-star level

  Task Reward: Calculating...

  Series Mission First Ring: "Uncover the Truth"

  Mission Briefing: Zhou De-yuan's death was unexpected, you need to find out the real reason behind his death in battle.

  Task difficulty: Four-star level

  Quest Reward: 200 Experience Points, 30 Gold Coins, and an Excellent Equipment Item.

  Seeing this task prompt, Zhou Wenbo was deep in thought.

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  "Zhou Deyan is dead?" A tall and handsome old man with a majestic appearance was extremely shocked upon hearing the news.

  This old man is already in his sixties, with white hair at his temples, yet he has a majestic air about him that commands respect.

  This old man was Li Siyuan, the adopted son of Li Kiyu, the Chancellor and Commander-in-Chief of the Later Tang.

  Li Siyuan was a foster son of Li Kuangwei and also belonged to the Shatuo people.

  Li Siyuan followed Li Kuangyi to fight for nearly thirty years, overcoming difficulties and resolving troubles, fighting bravely with bloodshed, his body covered in scars, repeatedly achieving great merits. In 896 AD, he led his troops to defeat the Liang army at Rencheng, lifting the siege of the Jin army, earning him the title "Li Hengchong" among the soldiers. The next year, he again defeated the Liang general Ge Congzhou at Qingshan Pass, being hit by four arrows and bleeding profusely, thus becoming famous throughout the land.

  After Li Ku-yue's death, Li Siyuan became the main general of Hedong, successively serving as the governor of Dai State, Xiang State, and the military governor of Zhao De Jun and Tian Ping Jun. He continued to serve as the commander-in-chief of the infantry and cavalry inside and outside the pass (Shou Jiang), and also assisted Emperor Li Cunxu of Later Tang in bloody battles for over a decade, finally establishing the Later Tang Dynasty. In October 923, Li Siyuan led the main force of the Jin army to capture the capital of the Later Liang, Bianjing, and welcomed Emperor Li Cunxu on the way.

  At that time, Zhuangzong was overjoyed and grabbed Emperor Li's clothes with his hand, knocking his head against the emperor's and said: 'I have the world because of your bloody battles. I should share it with you.' He then promoted him to also serve as Zhongshu Ling.

  He was later granted a golden tally and promoted to Taifu, enjoying unparalleled honor and favor at the time.

  However, Li Siyuan was after all a meritorious and awe-inspiring figure; as the adoptive son of Li Kuangwei, he naturally had the right to inherit the throne in that era. Therefore, Li Conghou, who was nearly twenty years younger than him, naturally looked up to him with great respect, giving him extremely high official positions and honors, but keeping him confined in the capital city without allowing him any opportunity to come into contact with the army, while secretly dispatching the military officer Zhu Shouyin to keep a close watch on his daily activities.

  Li Siyuan lived in seclusion and rarely went out, never asking about government affairs, fearing that he would bring disaster upon himself.

  The person who informed Li Siyuan of this shocking secret was an old man with a white face and no beard, with a warm smile on his face, looking like a eunuch.

  This is Ma Shaohong, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Later Tang Dynasty.

  Ma Shaohong was originally above Zhou Deyan in status, but unfortunately he didn't understand military affairs, so he had no war achievements.

  After the establishment of Later Tang, Zhou Deren recommended Zhang Juhan as the Shumishi, but demoted Ma Shaohong to Xuanhuaishi, who had no actual power on a daily basis.

  This made Ma Shaohong naturally hate Zhou Deyan so much that he could be said to be the most jealous person of Zhou Deyan under the sky.

  "Usually, when news of the Shu war arrives, I am the first to know. But yesterday, Zhang Juhan secretly intercepted military information and went to the palace to report it! Luckily, I was cautious and found the messenger in the military camp, only then did I learn of this great joyful news!" Ma Shaohong was so overjoyed that he couldn't open his eyes. He had been cursing Zhou Deyan for three years, and finally, the day has arrived.

  Li Siyuan was feared by Li Cunxu, and many scoundrels rose up to attack him, naturally in a state of disarray. Ma Shaohong resented Zhou Deyan, but he himself was ignorant of military affairs, so he intentionally pulled Li Siyuan over to his side, thus the two had much contact with each other on ordinary days.

  "Zhou Deyan is gone, and in the imperial court, there's no one better at fighting wars than you, sir. I think this vacant position of Imperial Envoy will naturally fall to you." Ma Shaohong said with a smile.

  "The old man now holds the positions of Taifu and Zhongshu Ling, although they are nominal titles, he is still feared by the emperor. How can I take on this heavy responsibility? It seems that Master Ma has already gotten the moon first with his water tower!" Li Siyuan, despite not liking this somewhat sinister eunuch, still flattered him with courtesy.

  "Ah, haha, Miscellaneous family has been waiting for this day for a full three years!" Ma Shaohong naturally knew that Li Sisheng could not serve as the Privy Councilor, while he himself had served as the Central Gate Messenger before Zhou Deyan and Meng Zhixiang, and was very close to the Emperor. Now that Zhou Deyan, that old scoundrel, was dead, and Zhang Juhuan was just a yes-man, if he became the Privy Councilor, wouldn't all the military power of the Tang Dynasty fall into his own hands?

  "But Zhou De-yuan, that old scoundrel, has been suppressing me for three whole years. The Emperor even made him the Duke of Zhao State! Bah, he's not worthy of it. In terms of military merit, he can't compare to General Li, and in terms of loyalty, he can't compare to our family either. Yet he gets to be a duke? I'll make sure his family is ruined and he dies without peace!" Ma Shao-hong shouted with a ferocious expression, then gently clapped his hands.

  A thin middle-aged scholar soon walked up.

  "Junior Qin Shou, requesting an audience with General Li, requesting an audience with the Grand Herald!" As soon as this scholar entered the door, he fell to his knees with a thud and kept kowtowing.

  "Li Taizai, this Qin Shou is actually my man planted beside Zhou Dejian's fourth brother Zhou Dexiu. He has become his confidant over the past two years. According to what I know, today Zhou Dexiu was also invited by the Lu family to discuss matters at the Zhao State Duke's residence. Haha, no matter how they respond, the Zhao State Duke's residence will not escape our grasp!"

  Ma Shaohong was introducing with great relish.

  "Alright, you can withdraw now. Be careful for the next few days. If you achieve great merit, our family will surely reward you heavily!"

  "A humble person will not betray the trust of a superior. I, a humble one, take my leave." But surprisingly, Qin Shou did not rise to his feet; instead, he knelt on the ground and backed away on his knees, his head bowed until he reached the door before standing up.

  His flattering words naturally made Ma Tai very satisfied: "This little guy is a wonderful person, these bookworms are like this, they spend their whole lives studying with their heads down and only learn to be poor and pretentious. Feed them some food and they'll run faster than dogs, pouring out their hearts to show loyalty."

  Li Siyuan himself was a military general of Sha Tau origin, illiterate and uneducated. Although he was dissatisfied with the massacre of Zhao Yanshou's family by Ma Ling, he did not express his discontent openly, as they were currently allies and Ma's actions would not harm his interests.

  Moreover, the existence of Zhou Dewei also affected his position in the court. After all, with Zhou Dewei holding down the center, he could only stay in Luoyang City to appreciate flowers and drink tea. Now that Zhou Dewei is dead, if there's another big war, Li Cunxu will probably have to use this older brother of his.