Chapter Thirteen: Panting and Uneven, I Admit Defeat

  The scenery of the Cold Weapon Era is indeed pleasing to the eye, but compared to modern times, it's a matter of personal preference. The scenery along the way is beautiful, with lush trees and wildflowers everywhere! Although the scenery is great, the atmosphere is not as good as modern times by a long shot...

  Li Yuanba got tired of the ancient scenery after a few days. Do you think an otaku would be interested in traveling?...

  Finally arrived in Chang'an, Li Yuanba felt a sense of relief: "The dull journey has finally come to an end!" But thinking about going back, Li Yuanba slumped again...

  Chang'an is the ancient name of Xi'an, from the Western Zhou to the Tang Dynasty, a total of 13 dynasties and regimes were built in Chang'an, with a total construction time of 1077 years. It is the earliest, longest-lasting, and most numerous ancient capital in Chinese history, with the greatest influence on Chinese history. It is listed as one of the four great ancient capitals of China and one of the world's four great ancient capitals. It is the birthplace of Chinese civilization, the cradle of the Chinese nation, and an outstanding representative of Chinese culture. It was designated by UNESCO as one of the earliest "World Historical Cities" and was named one of the first batch of National Historical and Cultural Cities by the State Council. It is a world-renowned tourist destination.

  The above introduction to Chang'an is just a boring synonym in Li Yuanba's heart! Although this place is said to be prosperous and has many things, it is the holy land that people in this era yearn for the most. However, there is no Computer City here, nor any pollution sources such as electrical appliances, and Han Lin is not here either. What a boring city!

  Standing outside the walls of Chang'an City, the majestic and thick city walls lost their former shock value in Li Yuanba's eyes. Compared to those tens or even hundreds of high-rise buildings, these ancient structures were too short.

  On the gate above, the two characters "Daxing" were written. Li Yuanba knew these two words and turned to ask his second brother: "Is this the capital? Why is it Daxing? Isn't this Chang'an? Where is Chang'an?"

  Li Shimin and Li Yuanba were both stunned, Li Yuan turned his head and asked: "Yuanba, are you saying that Chang'an is actually Daxing? I remember that before the Qin Dynasty it was called Chang'an... Chang'an... Long-lasting peace... What a great name!"

  Li Yuanba hastily pulled his second brother to his side and asked in a low voice, "Second Brother, haven't you heard of Chang'an? The capital city should always be called Chang'an!"

  Li Shimin also said with a puzzled expression: "The earliest records here should be from the Zhou Dynasty, when it was called Guodu Fengjing or Hanyuan, and later renamed Chang'an during the Qin Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was called Xidu, and during the Jin Dynasty, it was renamed Chang'an again. When our Sui Dynasty built its capital here, this new city was named Daxing City by my father! However, I think the name Chang'an is quite suitable for the capital." Li Yuan also nodded in agreement beside him. Later, Li Yuanbao lost interest and thought that all these names were the same anyway. Damn it, ancient people just loved to make things complicated. But this Chang'an couldn't have been renamed by his father after he became emperor, could it? Li Yuanbao shook his head and put the matter aside, immediately forgetting about it. However, his guess was correct, and Chang'an was indeed renamed by Li Yuan after he ascended to the throne...

  After the group calmed down, on the second day early in the morning, Li Yuanba was scolded and served by his servants to wash up and meet Emperor Yang Guang. Li Yuan scolded Li Yuanba's national scolding and warned: "Yuanba, this is not our home, there are many mouths under the emperor's feet, your scolding will cost you your head! And my daughter-in-law doesn't want us to get into trouble either..." Li Yuanba was already staring with one eye, suddenly thought of something, hung his head and shut up. Li Shimin and Li Yuan looked at each other, it seemed that only his daughter-in-law could control him!

  Li Yuanba and Li Shimin waited outside the main hall to be summoned, while Li Yuan was summoned first. Li Yuanba sat on the ground with a thud, and Li Shimin tried to pull him up but couldn't, so he just let him be. No one knew what Li Yuan said to Yang Guang, but Yang Guang led the way, followed by a group of civil and military officials who all came out in a rush. Behind Yang Guang were Li Yuan and a general in armor, with Li Yuan looking embarrassed and anxious, while the general looked defiant and arrogant.

  Yuwen Chengdu, known as the number one brave warrior in the world! He was a man of extraordinary martial arts skills and came from a prominent family. His father Yuwen Huaji was the Left Wing Guard General and was enfeoffed as Duke of Xu State. Later he worked together with Su Wei to control the selection and appointment of officials, participating in court politics, becoming an important figure in the upper echelons of the Sui Dynasty's ruling group. His grandfather Yuwen Shu was a pillar of the state during the Northern Zhou dynasty, enfeoffed as Duke of Puyang Commandery, and at the beginning of the Sui dynasty he became Right Guard General. He relied on his connections with Prince Jin Yang Guang to gain favor, becoming a powerful official in the court by helping Yang Guang seize the position of Crown Prince.

  Yuwen Chengdu was born with divine power and practiced the family's traditional Diamond Body Scripture from a young age. By his teens, he shook the capital city with his might. At 18, his extraordinary martial arts skills were unmatched, even surpassing those of his master! After Yang Guang was ambushed by the Turks, he became increasingly unstable and often had nightmares. His favorite pastime, womanizing, also decreased significantly. Given this situation, Yang Guang personally ordered Yuwen Chengdu's son, General Tianbao, to guard him day and night in armor. If it weren't for Yuwen Chengdu blocking the sneak attack by Shibi Khan at the time, he would have been killed!

  Yang Guang's martial arts skills were not low either. At the beginning of Xiantian, he heard that Li Yuan had brought his three sons with him. Yang Guang had also sent imperial doctors to treat Li Shimin, who was dying at that time... Hearing that Li Shimin was now exceptionally brave, he casually asked: "Can your three sons compare to the great general Tianbao?" A joking remark made Yuwen Chengdu feel insulted: "Hmph! I heard that this son's bravery is exceptional when he's crazy, but after that, even a gust of wind can take his life! Such a sickly person dares to be called exceptionally brave in front of the Duke of Tang? Are you mocking us for being incompetent?" His son was looked down upon, so Li Yuan naturally argued strongly: "Since my son recovered from his illness, he can now wield an 800-jin heavy hammer as if it were a piece of grass!"

  Yang Guang suddenly became interested, if it's really like that, then I'll have another guarantee by my side! He immediately left the driving hall and brought his ministers to see if this person had such bravery. It must be known that Li family's Gong Fa is also top-notch, innate divine power combined with top-notch Gong Fa is not as simple as one plus one! "All loving officials, you can follow me to witness the bravery of Tang Guo Gong San Zi and General!"

  Then there was this. Li Yuanba and others were about to fall asleep, sitting on the ground with their heads nodding off. Seeing Li Shimin, that rude and unrefined person was indeed Li Yuanba. Yuwen Chengdu immediately furrowed his brow, not having even a bit of elegance, just an uncouth and unrefined person! However, this person wanted to compete with him in bravery, Yuwen Chengdu felt even more insulted! His brow twitched: "Your Majesty, since I want to compete with this child, it's inevitable that there will be accidental injuries. Why not have me compete with him in archery instead? What does Your Majesty think?"

  Yang Guang was taken aback for a moment, then immediately thought this idea wasn't bad. He pointed to the large bronze cauldron in front of the hall: "Then let's compare with that!"

  Yuwen Chengdu nodded in agreement, ignoring Li Shimin's anxious and frantic gestures towards Li Yuanba. He walked to the front of the gigantic bronze cauldron that was almost as tall as he was. Bending down, he grasped the thick legs of the cauldron with both hands, and a faint golden aura burst forth from his body. With a deep breath, he shouted: "Rise!"

  That huge bronze cauldron swayed slightly and slowly rose into the air!

  Li Yuanba was woken up by Li Shimin, opening his blurry eyes: "What's going on?" Li Shimin raised his hand, which looked like a carrot: "The Emperor has arrived! Look, General Tianbao has already lifted the big tripod!" Li Yuanba couldn't help but roll his eyes: "What does it have to do with me?" Li Shimin had no choice but to explain the situation to his third brother in detail. Afterwards, he took Li Yuanba to pay respects to Yang Guang. "A very spirited old man..." This was Li Yuanba's first impression of Yang Guang. Due to Yang Guang's debauchery, his body, which had been trained for a long time, had long since deteriorated; if not for the nourishment of true energy, he would have died long ago!

  After the ceremony, Yuwen Chengdu also successfully lifted the large tripod of over 3,000 kilograms, walked a few steps and put it down, with a slight sweat on his face and a hint of self-satisfaction, he walked to Yang Guang's front, bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, I have completed it, let Tang Guogong Sanzi!" After finishing speaking, he still looked at Li Yuanba with contemptuous eyes.

  "Huh? Who are you looking at?! You're just a useless, broken cauldron! Look at me! A broken cauldron, and I'm still not out of breath. That's what it means to be defeated!" Li Yuanba looked at this legendary second-rate hero with even more disdainful eyes. But in his heart, he thought: "Damn, I've been disdained by a non-existent ancient person!"

  He casually brushed aside the somewhat obstructing Yuwen Chengdu, took a few steps to the front of the large tripod, turned his head to look at the newly stabilized Tianbao General, and said: "Watch!" His right foot lightly touched the large tripod, and he had a plan in mind! With the momentum, his right foot slid along the bottom of the large tripod, and with a loud "thud", the large tripod was lifted two meters off the ground. His right hand followed through with a strong pull, accompanied by a grinding sound "screech", and the large tripod was steadily held aloft by Li Yuanba's single hand with ease!