Chapter 245 Three Hundred Years is Too Long, We Must Seize the Day
"I didn't know the Marshal was coming to Taiyuan. I was unprepared and rushed to meet him. Please forgive me."

In the backyard of the Ba Mansion in Taiyuan City, two figures were seen, one kneeling and one standing.

It was the end of August, and the weather in Taiyuan had gradually changed from scorching heat to autumn. The trees and flowers in the backyard of the Ba Mansion also added a touch of autumn. It was already past evening, and the air was beginning to show the beginning of autumn, and it was quite cool.

However, Sanqianyuan spoke after a moment of silence, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat on his back, which was obviously not caused by the heat.

Just like at the beginning, when he and Xiao Yan teamed up to cause trouble in Luoyang, he was just thinking of playing with this guy out of boredom, but as a result, something bad happened.

He replaced Bal and stole the secrets of Tongwenguan's secret connection with Liu Shouguang and private communication with Mobei. He traveled between Jin, Yan and Mobei, constantly disrupting the information sources of each party, and manipulated several parties to make things go in the direction of Xiao Yan's predetermined plan because of the various illusions he created, thus prying the foundation of the entire Mobei in one fell swoop, and cooperating with Xiao Yan to swallow up most of Hebei in one bite.

These things are what fit the bad personality. Wandering among the heroes, watching the various forces fighting for life and death from the perspective of a semi-God, and finally the bad guys reap the benefits.

In fact, this is indeed the case. Xiao Yan started spreading his net before entering Hebei and let the Three Thousand Courts enter Mobei, so he got a one-year-long God's perspective on the main opponent in that battle. After that, he controlled Liu Rengong and quickly grasped the vitality of the Youzhou Army in his hands. His bad men were spread all over the northern border of Yan, and they fought like cheats. Naturally, they had one more perspective than the opponent, so how could they not win?

I have to say, from just playing around in the beginning to enjoying it in the end, the experience of the past two years has been the most unrestrained and refreshing time in the past thirty years of Sanqianyuan.

To put it bluntly, he enjoyed being an undercover agent.

Isn't it the thrill of walking on a tightrope, under the eyes of people like Yelu Lage, Shi Jingtang, and Li Siyuan, that makes him worthy of the title of Three Thousand Courts and Three Thousand Faces?

But one thing is that these matters were decided by him and Xiao Yan on their own. Even when he was hiding in Tongwenguan on behalf of Bal, he had never sent a letter to report to Cangbinggu.

In other words, Yuan Tiangang should not know that Baer of Tongwenguan is the Three Thousand Courtyard...

So when Sanqianyuan returned home in the evening, as soon as he entered the backyard, he subconsciously broke out in a cold sweat after seeing Yuan Tiangang's iconic blue shirt and bamboo hat, and he could only greet him immediately.

Fortunately, Xiao Yan handed him a letter some time ago, so Sanqianyuan was more or less mentally prepared and already understood what was going on.

What Xiao Yan said in the letter was simply that Sanqianyuan didn't need to worry about him and should just do what was necessary. It was as if he had already anticipated that Yuan Tiangang would come to Taiyuan.

Therefore, at this time, Sanqianyuan just bowed respectfully without saying much. And when he was silent just now, he was indeed deciding whether to continue to help Xiao Yan.

"Were you the one who facilitated the beginning and end of the Mobei incident?"

Unexpectedly, Yuan Tiangang went straight to the point. He flicked his hand lightly, and the hem of his clothes moved without wind. He sat naturally on the stool next to the stone table in the yard.

Sanqianyuan pondered for a moment, then bowed and said, "To be honest, Marshal, although I was the one who ran around and acted in Mobei, most of the actions were made after the decision of Tian'anxing Xiao Yan. If there was no Tian'anxing, I, your subordinates, would not be able to do these things alone."

"Are you optimistic about him?" Yuan Tiangang asked in a hoarse voice, which was unusually calm.

Sanqianyuan did not hesitate and responded directly: "Indeed, although this person is a junior, his courage and vision far exceed those of his peers. Compared with me, he is far superior, and his passion for restoring the Tang Dynasty is not fake. Based on this, before I set off for Mobei, I gave him the command of the commander-in-chief, so that he can mobilize the bad people in various rudders in time when necessary."

After saying that, he paused and continued, "At that time, Tian Anxing was caught in the infamy of surrendering to Liang. When I gave him the order to lead, I also wanted to take responsibility for him. I hope the commander-in-chief will punish me for my own actions..."

Yuan Tiangang did not respond, but continued to ask: "So, you want to follow him to the end?"

His voice sounded peaceful, but the Three Thousand Courts did not dare to be careless and immediately said, "I am wholeheartedly loyal and will naturally follow the commander-in-chief... The reason why I cooperated with the Dark Star was that I thought it would be harmless to discuss everything with the commander-in-chief, so I did it. If this boy disobeys the commander-in-chief's century-long plan, I will definitely take the position of the chief leader and clean up the mess for the commander-in-chief!"

The last ray of afterglow outside the skyline completely fell. In the Ba Mansion, servants had already begun to light candles, so in the silence, the night slowly came. When Sanqianyuan lowered his head, he did not hear Yuan Tiangang's voice, and of course his heart tightened.

As expected, Yuan Tiangang laughed without any emotion and just said, "Clean up the house? Is that really the case?"

Sanqianyuan could sense the overwhelming gaze above his head. He lowered his hands for a moment, sweat breaking out on his forehead, and he didn't know how to respond.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Tiangang's voice rose again, quite aggressively: "I order you to clean up the mess at this time, what do you do?"

Sanqianyuan was startled, but he forced himself to hold back the urge to look up. He just gritted his teeth and said, "I dare not disobey the order of the Marshal, but I have a question, and I dare to ask the Marshal to answer it."

He was worried in his heart, obviously knowing that Yuan Tiangang could see through his trick, so he could only speak boldly. This statement was earned by exhausting his decades of loyalty.

This time, Yuan Tiangang actually spoke very quickly, but he was still laughing, but it was just a sneer.

"Are you wondering why I should be partial to him when he is also a prince and of the Li Tang bloodline?"

Sanqianyuan was shocked again, not knowing why his general knew that he knew Xiao Yan's identity, but now that things have come to this, how can he retreat? He can only grit his teeth and continue to say: "I have such doubts... In my humble opinion, whether Tian Anxing is a prince or not, he must really want to restore the Tang Dynasty. I can guarantee it. In this case, why don't you give him a chance and give me, the Bad People, a chance? Didn't you regret it when Zhu Ni committed the crime?"

After he finished speaking, his Adam's apple moved, but after hesitating for a while, he still lowered his head and spoke boldly, but this time his voice was a little dry: "Back then, Zhu Ni was in power and dominated the court. He used the Xuanming Sect to hunt down and kill the Bad People. Marshal, you followed the emperor's order and did not go out. The Bad People fell apart and became increasingly weak. They had no choice but to hide from the world. It seems like yesterday that they have endured humiliation and lived in seclusion for decades! Zhu Ni usurped the throne and allowed the Xuanming Sect to intimidate the court and the people. He tampered with history books and fabricated a bad reputation for us Bad People, the previous emperor, and the Tang Dynasty..."

Finally, he boldly looked up at Yuan Tiangang who was sitting beside the stone table, and there was bitterness in his voice: "I am a stupid subordinate. I was appreciated by the Marshal and became the chief leader. I have been cautious in everything over the years, and I have been keeping a low profile for the glory of the Bad People. But no matter how stupid I am, I understand the truth that Tian Anxing told me in the past..."

At this time, the world has not known the Bad People for thirty years, and the people have abandoned the Tang Dynasty for thirty years. No matter how much we, the Bad People, keep a low profile, if we do nothing, how many people will still remember the Tang Dynasty and the Bad People? Zhu Ni spent thirty years trying to win over the people's hearts, but now, he has become an official in the Xuanming Sect, and we, the Bad People, have become thieves..."

At this point, he had already spoken out all that was in his heart, and then, under the last ray of light in the sky, he bowed his head to the ground.

"I understand your loyalty to the Tang Dynasty for three hundred years, and I also know that several generations of emperors have been wary, suspicious, and afraid of you... But I don't have three hundred years, and I dare not wait for many years before I enter the museum. I still can't see the Tang Dynasty recorded in the book, let alone the bad people of the past...

Therefore, I have to believe what Tian Anxing once said to me -

Three hundred years is too long, we should seize every moment..."

……

Sanqianyuan's Adam's apple twitched, his lips were dry, and he subconsciously grasped the ground with the back of his hands, his veins bulging. In fact, his mind was already in a mess, but he just pressed his forehead against the ground.

Yuan Tiangang, who was sitting opposite him and looking down at him, was unmoved when he heard the previous words. It was not until the last sentence was uttered by Sanqianyuan with difficulty that he hesitated for a moment, but no one knew what he was thinking.

What was beyond Sanqianyuan's expectation was that after a moment, Yuan Tiangang's tone was still calm, but there was no sneer anymore.

"In that case, you will follow him no matter what."

"No." Sanqianyuan raised his head and said, "If the commander-in-chief gives an order, I will die for it. Even if it means getting rid of the Dark Star, I will die for it. But I dare to resign from the position of the chief leader after this matter. I will be a bad person and work for the commander-in-chief for the rest of my life."

Yuan Tiangang laughed, even laughing loudly. "Is he really worthy of your kindness?"

Sanqianyuan shook his head. "I don't believe in him, I believe in the vision of the bad guys he drew for me. For decades, I have been running around in the frontier, Hebei, and the Central Plains, waiting, but I don't know what I'm waiting for. Now I understand that I'm waiting for such a person... Since I followed the Marshal, I have never been afraid of life and death, let alone the so-called years. But the first half of my life is fine, but I'm afraid of the second half of my life. I don't even have a vision."

With these words, the courtyard instantly became quiet, and even the noise from the front yard slowly came over. Sanqianyuan stared at the ground, knowing that he might have to go to Xiao Yan for help.

He might even not even have the chance to join Xiao Yan.

Yuan Tiangang stroked a few fallen leaves floating on the table. In the night, he could clearly see the patterns on them. Then, after looking at all the branching points of the leaves, he nodded and spoke.

"You have a point, but I was biased."

Sanqianyuan was delighted when he heard this and immediately looked up.

But Yuan Tiangang's voice did not stop, but continued: "However, I have never liked to be bound by the situation, so I set up a bet with others. This destiny has always been fought for, Taizong is like this, and so is the Tang Dynasty. Is it useful to draw this vision?"

Sanqianyuan was stunned and still didn't understand what he meant.

Yuan Tiangang ignored him, as if he was not talking to the Three Thousand Courtyards. He just stood up and said, "What does the Ninth Prince want you to do in the Tongwen Hall?"

Sanqianyuan was stunned for a moment, and when he reacted to the sudden change of topic, he hurriedly replied: "It's just a matter of watching the situation, monitoring the movements of Saint Lord Li Siyuan, and finding out what he has done in secret."

"He does have a unique vision." Yuan Tiangang commented, apparently referring to Xiao Yan.

However, he immediately said, "Let's stop the action against Li Siyuan. Bal can be kept alive, and you still have to cooperate with that person. But there is only one thing. You must report everything you did to the Cangbing Valley. Do you understand?"

Sanqianyuan didn't understand why he gave up on Li Siyuan, but he was overjoyed and quickly replied, "I will obey your orders."

"One more thing."

Yuan Tiangang said with his hands behind his back: "Li Siyuan has an adopted son, Zhang Zifan. You can make some arrangements and let him go to Fangshan to have some fun."

"Subordinates obey orders."

Sanqianyuan responded immediately and bowed his head in greeting.

But when he looked up, Yuan Tiangang was nowhere to be seen. Only his 'wife' led a few maids to the back, looking at him blankly with lights on: "My dear, why are you kneeling here?"

"What do you know?" Sanqianyuan glanced at him and said nonchalantly, "During this trip to Mobei, I got a new technique... Don't disturb me without permission in the future."

"Oh oh oh..."

------

A donkey cart that had been parked for a long time began to move slowly on the road.

However, there was no one in the donkey cart.

In front of it, Yuan Tiangang walked with his hands behind his back, just looking at the yellow flowers, the west wind was blowing hard, the night sky was blue, and the northern geese were flying south.

The northern capital of the Tang Dynasty, Taiyuan Jinyang Prefecture, has finally taken on the feel of autumn.

The donkey pulling the cart snorted from behind and followed slowly, step by step, in a very human manner, as if it had a telepathic connection.

And on the donkey's back, there appeared a figure with his chin propped up as if thinking, twisting the white hair beside his ear and admiring it.

"After so many years, I can actually see that Brother Yuan changed his mind because of a word. Wonderful, wonderful..."

Yuan Tiangang stood with his hands behind his back and did not answer.

But the man on the donkey behind him continued chattering.

"Three hundred years is too long, we must seize the day... This is in line with Brother Yuan's tyranny. Hmm... But do you mean to mock Brother Yuan?"

"That's enough." Yuan Tiangang sneered, "If it weren't for your bet, why would I do this? I would have already..."

"Has he been sent to some corner like Li Zhen?" the man behind asked with a smile.

Yuan Tiangang just sneered.

But the man behind him continued to tut: "But Brother Yuan also held back because of this sentence, didn't he?"

Yuan Tiangang stopped and looked at the waning moon in the sky with his hands behind his back. He could still hear the man's chattering in his ears: "Seize the day... It's been three hundred years. Brother Yuan has been pursuing the hegemony. Have you ever fought for the day?"

"Ah."

He sneered to himself without saying a word, climbed onto the donkey's back, but he cut off the carriage and suddenly turned back.

……

The next day, Tongwenguan.

Li Siyuan pulled his beard and walked towards the wooden pavilion beside the snake pit.

Whenever he encountered a difficult matter, he would think and make a decision here.

But today, he suddenly became suspicious, and saw a figure in a green robe sitting quietly in the wooden pavilion, making tea for him.

(End of this chapter)