Chapter 127 Li Xiang's New Business
The cavalry under Yeon Gaesomun were very fast and took advantage of the city gates being wide open to rush into the city.

The central axis of Pyongyang is a spacious street, modeled after the Northern Wei capital of Pingcheng, which is large enough to accommodate cavalry galloping down the street.

Two hundred light cavalry took the lead and rushed directly into the palace city which had not yet been closed.

Yuan Nanchan had been waiting on horseback here for a long time. When he saw his own cavalry charging over, he immediately shouted, "Follow me! This is the time to make achievements!"

As subordinates of Yeon Gaesomun, these cavalrymen certainly knew the third son of the Yeon family.

Seeing the Third Young Master leading the way, they, who were originally unable to find the main hall, immediately followed Yuan Nanchan and rushed forward.

Along the way, there were loyal palace guards who tried to stop them, but they were cut into two pieces by a single sword.

In the main hall, Gao Jianwu had already heard the rumbling sound of horse hooves.

He knew something was wrong and wanted to run away, but he heard a shout.

"Great, you're still here, brothers, kill him!"

Before Gao Jianwu could even utter a sound, he was chopped to the ground by the cavalrymen who rushed forward.

Afterwards, Yeon Gaesomun also rushed into the palace with his cavalry. Seeing Gao Jianwu who had been chopped into meat paste, he couldn't help but sigh.

He raised his hand to stop the soldier who wanted to move forward.

"Drag him away. After all, he was once a great king. We should give him some respect and give him a proper burial." Yeon Gaesomun said.

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone shouting outside.

"Lord West, the Ninth Guard has been dispatched and is attacking the palace!"

"What?!" Yeon Gaesomun was furious. Why was the Ninth Guard so fast? !

He walked out of the hall, looked up and asked, "Where is the Ninth Guard now?"

"In front of the north gate!" his subordinates reported.

The royal palace of Goguryeo was located in the north of the city. The North Gate was not only the north gate of the entire Pyongyang city, but also the north gate of the royal palace.

Yeon Gaesomun immediately mobilized some of his troops and headed towards the north of the city.

The Ninth Guard was preparing for war, and one could even see people outside cutting down trees and building ladders.

Yeon Gaesomun pondered for a moment and felt that it was not a good idea to continue defending like this, but if he launched an attack on the enemy, the casualties would certainly be heavy.

He only has greater power in the west, while the eastern part of the kingdom is still loyal to the royal Gao family.

It would be somewhat inappropriate to use all the troops in a fight with the Ninth Guard.

He called the people around him, wrote a letter, and shot it out with a whistling arrow.

Soon, the people of the Ninth Guard received the flare and handed it to the general Yin Chengmin of the Ninth Guard.

Yoon Sung-min took the flare, looked through it carefully, and his face looked a little grim.

"General, what's wrong?" asked the captain next to him.

"The king has passed away." Yoon Sung-min's face was gloomy. "Yeon Gaesomun sent a letter saying that the traitor had murdered the king. When he arrived at the palace, it was too late."

"Bullshit!" the captain cursed, "It was clearly this traitor who murdered the king!"

Yin Chengmin took the letter and read it twice. "Yeon Gaesomun is threatening me with the lives of the people in the city. What should I do?"

The captain wanted to comfort him by saying that Yeon Gaesomun was not that kind of person, but after thinking about the deeds of this beast, he felt that this might not be convincing.

After all... Yeon Gaesomun's temper is indeed not very good.

"Well, I'll go talk to him." Yoon Sungmin sighed again.

He called a few of his followers, mounted his horse, and came to the front of the city.

"Let Lord Xibu come out and answer!" Yoon Sung-min shouted loudly.

To protect him from hidden arrows, the people around him held shields to protect him.

In the palace, Yeon Nanchan ran to Yeon Gaesomun and reported, "Father, the Ninth Guard General Yin Chengmin is calling you outside the city."

"Oh?" Yeon Gaesomun raised his eyebrows and immediately got up and rushed to the top of the city wall.

Yuan Nanchan followed behind him. Seeing that Yin Chengmin was standing relatively close, he asked the person next to him, "Are you sure you can hit the target at this distance?"

"Nonsense!" Yeon Gaesomun glared at Yeon Nanchan, then immediately walked down the city wall, jumped on his horse, and rode out with several personal guards.

"General Yin." Yeon Gaesomun touched his chest and saluted.

"Lord West." Yoon Sung-min also returned the greeting.

"It is meaningless for you and I to continue to confront each other like this." Yeon Gaesomun spoke first, "The king has been killed by traitors. The most urgent thing is to cut the Gordian knot and don't let the Silla clowns find an opportunity to send troops to invade Goguryeo!"

“What Lord Xixi said is exactly what I meant.” Yin Chengmin sighed and said, “The Silla clowns have a grudge against us, and when they see such a good opportunity, they will definitely not let it go!”

"In that case, why don't you lay down your weapons and stop fighting?" Yeon Gaesomun said with a smile, "If you can join me in fighting against Silla, Silla will be defeated in no time!"

"But the country cannot be without a king for a day. I wonder who Lord West wants to welcome as the king?" Yoon Sung-min asked again, his eyes fixed on Yeon Gaesomun.

"The king's younger brother, Go Sang, the son of Prince Go Dayang, is both knowledgeable in literature and martial arts, and is also benevolent throughout the world. He is the most suitable candidate." Yeon Gaesomun gave his answer without hesitation.

Yoon Sung-min breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Yeon Gaesomun did not usurp the throne, he could accept it.

Seeing that his expression had softened, Yeon Gaesomun began to strike while the iron was hot: "If the general is willing to let the Ninth Guard lay down their weapons, I promise you that I will treat the general and the soldiers of the entire Ninth Guard well."

Yoon Sung-min's expression changed. Since Lord West has made such a guarantee, what else is there to worry about?
"Really? Can you promise me?" Yoon Sungmin asked anxiously.

"Yes, I promise you my credit." Yeon Gaesomun held the whip and felt that this was not enough, so he pointed to the surging river not far away and swore: "I swear to the Taedong River that I will guarantee the general's safety, guarantee that the general will continue to serve as the general of the Ninth Guard, and guarantee that the lives of the soldiers of the Ninth Guard will not be threatened. If you break this oath, I will die by the sword!"

"Okay!" Yin Chengmin's eyes lit up, and he made the final decision: "Since Lord Xifang is so sincere, then I will not be a villain any longer. Let's conclude a gentleman's agreement between you and me!"

"Okay, I'll do as you say, General!" Yeon Gaesomun nodded.

Afterwards, the two separated. "General, Yeon Gaesomun is cunning and cannot be trusted!" The captain wanted to persuade Yoon Sungmin not to surrender to Yeon Gaesomun without a fight.

Yun Sung-min said, "The king has passed away. If I fight with Yeon Gaesomun, what should I do if Silla takes the opportunity to join forces with Baekje to attack my country?"

"General! It's not like we can't defeat Yeon Gaesomun!" The captain was almost dying of anxiety.

However, Yoon Sung-min was not moved at all and insisted on laying down his arms and surrendering to Yeon Gaesomun.

That afternoon, Yoon Sung-min led his troops to formally submit to Yeon Gaesomun.

Afterwards, Yoon Sung-min was tied up and sent to Yeon Gaesomun.

"You...you made a gentleman's agreement with me! You swore an oath in front of the Taedong River!" Yoon Sung-min twisted and protested loudly to Yeon Gaesomun.

Yeon Gaesomun had a gloomy expression and stared at Yoon Sungmin.

After a while, just when Yoon Sung-min was about to curse, Yeon Gaesomun waved his hand, and the guards behind him immediately let go of Yoon Sung-min.

"We were just joking!" Yeon Gaesomun said with a smile, and stepped forward to personally untie Yoon Sungmin.

Cold sweat broke out on Yoon Sungmin's forehead. He looked at Yeon Gaesomun with a heavy breath, not knowing what Yeon Gaesomun was up to.

"If it was any other villain who went back on his word, the general would have been killed by the sword by now!" Yeon Gaesomun patted Yoon Sungmin with his hand and said kindly, "Do you know that there was once a man named Sima Yi in the Central Plains who, like me, swore by the Luo River that as long as Cao Shuang surrendered, he would keep his wealth and glory. In the end, he not only broke his promise, but also killed Cao Shuang's entire family!"

"However, I, Yeon Gaesomun, am not that kind of villain. I will keep my word. From now on, the general will still be the general of the Ninth Guard!"

Yin Chengmin knew what Yeon Gaesomun meant, and he said with tears of gratitude: "From now on, I will follow the orders of Lord Xibu!"

"Well, from now on, you and I will work together and contribute to the great cause of our country!" Yeon Gaesomun said with a smile.

That night, a celebration banquet was held in the palace.

"Thank you!" Yeon Gaesomun raised the wine glass in his hand. "We were able to rectify the situation in time this time, thanks to your timely decision... Come, let's celebrate our success and drink this glass!"

Just as everyone was about to drink, Yoon Sung-min, who was beside Yeon Gaesomun, interrupted them.

"Ah, please wait a moment." Yoon Sung-min said.

Yeon Gaesomun did not take it as an offense, but looked at him kindly.

"The reason why we can drink together to celebrate today is because of the wise decision of Lord Xi, who made the difficult decision at the beginning and led us to set things right and achieve success!" Yin Chengmin said flatteringly: "If it weren't for Lord Xi's magnanimity and tolerance, how could the soldiers of the Ninth Guard be able to join Lord Xi's sect without any harm today? Let us wish Lord Xi's health and drink this cup to the full. What do you think?"

"Okay!" Yuan Nanchan said first, followed by his two brothers.

Seeing that the three princes all said so, and Yeon Gaesomun's face looked even more satisfied, no one dared to object and immediately applauded.

Yeon Gaesomun became more and more satisfied with Yoon Sungmin. This guy... really knows how to behave!
"Come, I'll give a speech." Yin Chengmin said with a smile: "I wish you, Mr. West, good health and long-term success!"

As he spoke, he raised his glass high.

"Good health wins the day!" Everyone raised their glasses and cheered.

The next day, Yeon Gaesomun welcomed Go Jang, the son of Go Dayang, the younger brother of King Yeongryu, into Pyongyang and officially established him as king.

Yeon Gaesomun established himself as the Great Molizhi and took charge of all government affairs of Goguryeo, holding both military power and national affairs in his own hands.

Daemoliji was a new highest official position created by Yeon Gaesomun to replace Daedeulu. It was not any old official position. Its functions actually exceeded the nature of a prime minister and had the characteristics of a temporary special official position created by a despotic minister to usurp the throne.

Although there is no corresponding official position in the Central Plains, it is actually equivalent to the combination of "adding the Nine Gifts" and "not bowing when entering the court, praising and bowing without naming, and wearing sword and shoes when entering the palace."

It’s up to you to abolish or establish something, but the procedures still have to be followed.

During the Wude period, Goguryeo's King Rongliu, also known as Gao Jianwu of Gangliang, sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty twice to pay tribute. Li Yuan sent the Minister of Punishment Shen Shuan to Goguryeo to confer Gao Jianwu the title of Shangzhuguo, Prince of Liaodong, and King of Goryeo. From then on, Goguryeo became a nominal vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

During the Zhenguan period, Gao Jianwu sent envoys to congratulate the Tang Dynasty and presented a map of the territory, which undoubtedly strengthened the vassal relationship between the two countries.

Therefore, after the new king ascended the throne, he naturally had to send envoys to the Tang Dynasty to request an enthronement.

Otherwise, anyone who has read a little history knows what the temper of a unified Central Plains dynasty is like, especially a Central Plains dynasty that is on the rise.

The envoys naturally need time on the road, and Chang'an at the moment certainly has no idea about the dramatic changes that have taken place in Goguryeo.

Li Xiang is now carrying a stove and installing it in the bedroom of Crown Princess Su Yi and Li Chengqian, as well as a simple heating system.

"Are these things really that useful?" Li Chengqian looked suspiciously at Li Xiang who was directing the eunuchs to extend the chimney out of the window.

Li Xiang turned around and gave him a look that said "you are too young": "Don't worry, Aye, didn't you notice that Juer has been staying in my room and doesn't want to come out these past two days?"

"This chimney can lead the smoke out of the house to avoid smoke poisoning." Li Xiang squinted his eyes. The clanging sound was really loud.

In fact, the stove was not in the side hall where they slept, but there was a main hall between the two of them.

"The key is not the stove, but the heating system." Li Xiang said with a smile, "Don't worry, Aye, you and A Niang will be able to sleep well tonight."

"Really?" Li Chengqian couldn't help but feel a little moved. It was cold recently and he really didn't want to move. If he could get warmer...

Su Yi stared at the heater with interest, not for the sake of warmth, but mainly to have a restless and peaceful sleep.

This radiator... Li Xiang made it with pure copper.

Pure copper is expensive these days, but it is not unavailable. After all, Huainanzi of the Western Han Dynasty recorded that "Zengqing turns into copper when it meets iron", which is the wet method of copper smelting.

Pure copper has good thermal conductivity, much better than iron, and with the technology of this era... forging copper is always much simpler than forging iron.

As the saying goes, seeing is believing. Li Chengqian decided to take Su Yi to Li Xiang's bedroom to try it out first.

Not long after, the two of them came back happily.

"Xiang'er's heater is truly a magical item!" Li Chengqian was quite excited, but he seemed to have thought of something and suddenly said with a depressed look: "If it can be popularized, perhaps fewer people will freeze to death this winter."

As for why he looked so depressed... this pure copper was very expensive. Not to mention ordinary people, even ordinary noble families could hardly afford it.

This reminded Li Xiang. After all, in his previous life, only drunkards would be frozen to death in the middle of winter. He didn't expect that this was actually normal.

(Please give me votes and go to sleep)

(End of this chapter)