Dark Territory

By Terry Cole

The city before our eyes was so magnificent in the past, worthy of being one of the largest cities in the world. The sight of all nations coming to pay tribute was so shocking. But now, no one realizes that it is declining step by step.The disastrous defeat in the Korean expedition did not wake up the master of this city

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dark Territory
• Release date: May 27, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869395221

Book preview

Volume 1: Imperial Capital

Volume 1: The Imperial Capital Chapter 1: Prince Yang Ling of Qi

The city before our eyes was so magnificent in the past, worthy of being one of the largest cities in the world. The sight of all nations coming to pay tribute was so shocking. But now, no one realizes that it is declining step by step.

The disastrous defeat in the Korean expedition did not wake up the master of this city. He continued to indulge in debauchery, unaware that his empire was already in turmoil and would collapse at any moment. Suzaku Street at night was a microcosm of the depression hidden behind the prosperity.

A carriage stopped in front of Fengtian Gate

Master, we are here. The man sitting next to the driver said to the people in the carriage.

Oh, I see.

As he spoke, a young man in his twenties walked out of the car. He was none other than Prince of Qi, Yang Ling, the prince and grandson of the emperor who was once the most beloved by Emperor Wen and Emperor Yang.

Stop! The imperial palace is a restricted area, no outsiders are allowed to enter. Who are you? Please state your name. The general guarding the gate saw someone coming. Although the person's identity could be seen from the carriage he was sitting in, his duty was to guard the palace gate and prevent anyone from breaking in.

How dare you, a mere goalkeeper like you, stop our prince?

Xiao Shunzi, didn't I teach you to be polite to others? Why do you always forget it? Yang Ling interrupted the eunuch named Xiao Shunzi.

Yes, Your Highness. I forgot in the excitement. Please punish me. Ever since my own prince nearly died from excessive drinking half a year ago and had a close call with death, he has become a different person after waking up. He has done many puzzling things, but he is not as depressed as before when he fell out of favor.

Fall out of favor? The prince fell out of favor? Yes, when it comes to falling out of favor, we have to mention Yang Ling. Yang Ling was the son of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty and Empress Xiao, and was named the King of Qi. Yang Ling was very handsome and was liked by Emperor Wen Yang Jian since he was a child. During the Kaihuang period, Emperor Wen made him the King of Yuzhang, with a thousand households. When he grew up, he was proficient in classics and history, and was very good at riding. The history books said that he was especially good at riding and shooting. He was initially the Minister of Internal History, and during the Renshou period, he was appointed as the General Manager of Yangzhou and the military affairs along the Huai River to the south. After Yang Guang became emperor, he named Yang Ling the King of Qi and increased his fief by 4,000 households. Ling served as the governor of Yuzhou in the early years of Daye, and later transferred to the governor of Yongzhou, and then transferred to the Yin of Henan and Kaifu Yitong Sansi. In the second year of Daye, the crown prince Yang Zhao died. Yang Ling was once regarded as a popular candidate to succeed the crown prince, but Ling was quite arrogant, close to villains, and did many illegal things, and he also caused dissatisfaction from Emperor Yang. Later, the censor Wei Deyu impeached Yang Ling. Emperor Yang ordered more than a thousand soldiers to search Yang Ling's mansion, exposing some of Ling's bad behavior. After that, Ling's favor declined day by day.

What? I haven't been in the palace for many days, and no one recognizes me? Every New Year's Eve, the royal family always holds a dinner. It's called the royal family, but in fact it's just a meal for the emperor's family to eat together. The emperor invites the princes, grandchildren, princesses, and prince consorts in the capital to the dinner to communicate and bond. It seems that the original owner of this body has not attended a royal banquet for several years.

Prince? The general guarding the gate was confused. He had been on duty in the palace for two years and had never seen or heard of such a person.

Seeing the goalkeeper's expression, Yang Ling suddenly realized that Nan Ge was being ignored. No, it was the King of Qi who was being ignored. Well, it seemed that he had really fallen out of favor, no wonder he had fallen into such a state. However, if he had not fallen into such a state of drinking to drown his sorrows, he would not have almost died, let alone been resurrected by his brother.

Reincarnation? That's right, this prince is no longer the real Prince of Qi Yang Ling, but Yang Jian, a young man in the 21st century who was bathed in the sunshine of the Celestial Empire. He enlisted in the army during college and gloriously became a soldier. Of course, due to his good performance, he was promoted to platoon leader after completing his military service. It happened that the Philippines broke out in a naval battle due to occupying the Celestial Empire's islands, and Yang Jian's troops were transferred to the front line. In the end, he was tragically hit by a shell during the landing battle, and ended up traveling through time and space, and traveling through time and space to a prince.

Who is making a scene in front of the palace gate? Let me judge for you. When Yang Ling was about to speak, someone suddenly spoke from behind. Yang Ling turned around and saw a luxurious carriage coming towards them. The person who spoke was a young girl, no, it should be a young woman, you could tell by the way her hair was tied up, and she was pulling open the curtain of the carriage and looking around.

After seeing the person's face clearly, Yang Ling immediately found the person who matched the person from his memory. That person was Princess Nanyang, the most beloved daughter of Emperor Yang and Empress Xiao.

Of course, the goalkeeper also saw who was coming and trembled unexpectedly. He felt depressed, wondering why it was this young lady. He kept praying in his heart that she would not cause trouble, otherwise he would suffer.

Princess Nanyang was the most favored of all the princesses of Emperor Yang. Emperor Yang loved her the most, and she was also the only daughter of Empress Xiao, so you can imagine how favored she was. She had made the palace a mess since she was a child. None of her brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces dared to mess with her. Moreover, her acting skills were top-notch. No one could match her in pretending to be pitiful, innocent, and pure. Fortunately, she was married to Yuwen Shiji, the youngest son of Yuwen Shu, last year, and the palace suddenly became much quieter. Of course, in addition to being a good baby in front of Emperor Yang and Empress Xiao, Princess Nanyang was also a good baby in front of another person, that person was the former King of Qi Yang Ling. Yang Ling was handsome, talented, and both civil and military, so he was deeply admired by the little girl.

Hey, it's my second brother. Second brother, second brother, I'm Nanyang. Stop the car, stop the car quickly. He jumped out of the car without waiting for it to stop and ran straight towards Yang Ling. Everyone present was sweating. . .

You, you are not a child anymore and you are married, but you are still so willful. Yang Ling said lovingly. Although she is no longer his biological sister, but due to the influence of the memories left by this body, he also has a kind of close feeling towards Princess Nanyang.

Okay, okay, I'm obedient, isn't that enough? Hey, Lai Jun, it's you. I was wondering who dared to do this to my second brother. Don't think that just because General Lai Huer is your uncle, you can ignore others. Humph!

The general who called the army complained in his heart, Can I blame you? Who told you not to come to the palace? You are not famous, so who would know you? After hearing the princess call him Second Brother, he knew it was not good. Alas, it was not easy to have a good time during the New Year. Fortunately, this prince looked relatively gentle.

Well, don't blame General Lai. He is also doing his job well. Don't blame him. I guess my father and mother have been waiting for a long time. Let's go in quickly.

At this time, Yuwen Shiji also got off the carriage and walked to the front. Yuwen Shiji greets the King of Qi

We are all family, don't be strange, just follow Nanyang and call me brother. Okay, let's go in quickly and don't make them wait too long.

Ye Ting Palace

The banquet had already been set. Emperor Yang and Empress Xiao were chatting with several imperial grandchildren. Of course, the atmosphere was not very harmonious. After all, the people here were all members of the royal family, and intrigue was very common. Although they did not have much power, at least there would not be so many open and secret struggles, and there was more family affection than in the royal family.

In fact, by the time of Yang Guang, the royal family was already very thin. He only had two sons left, the second son, Prince of Qi Yang Li. The Crown Prince Yuande had already passed away, leaving only three sons, Prince of Dai Yang You, the second son Yang Tong, and the third son Yang Tan. The third son had died early, and he had two daughters. The eldest daughter was Princess Nanyang, and the second daughter was Li Shimin's Consort Yang.

As soon as Yang Ling and his companions walked outside Shangyang Palace, they heard singing and dancing inside and a voice laughing wildly. Without looking, one could tell that except for Emperor Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty, no one dared to be so wild in the palace.

The long sleeves are good at dancing, and I still feel pity for her. The mist and rain gently scratch the beauty's back, and the silk and bamboo dance in the wind. What a scene of singing and dancing, which is in sharp contrast to the cold winter outside the palace walls. The palace is the most luxurious, and this is absolutely true.

Father, mother, Nanyang is here. As soon as the dance was over, Princess Nanyang couldn't wait to run to Emperor Yang and Empress Xiao to act coquettishly.

Oh, Nanyang is here? Come and let father see if you have been wronged in the Yuwen family. Emperor Yang said with a smile.

As expected, she is the most favored princess. Even after she got married, her favor has not ceased. Several princes and princesses were full of envy.

No, my daughter is very obedient, okay? Princess Nanyang said coquettishly, shaking Emperor Yang's hand.

Your Majesty, your Majesty, Nanyang is virtuous and filial to her parents. My father has always praised Nanyang as a good daughter-in-law. Nanyang has never suffered any grievances at home. Yuwen Shiji hurried to explain. Your daughter's reputation in the palace is well known to everyone. I was afraid that it would be difficult to serve her after marrying her home. Fortunately, she is good to her family, although my prestige in the princess's mansion is a little low.

That's good. If Nanyang is wronged by your Yuwen family, I might as well visit your Yuwen family as a guest. Emperor Yang said half-jokingly and seriously.

Yuwen Shiji looked a little uncomfortable when he heard this. What was going on? It was not right to protect one's own people like this. You said that as an emperor, being a guest in a minister's home was a blessing you could never ask for, but why did these words sound so wrong?

Okay, is General Yuwen Shu all right? Emperor Yang looked at Yuwen Shiji again and asked.

Your Majesty, my father is doing well. He has been thinking about the days when he would follow him to fight in the battlefields. Yuwen Shiji was also very thoughtful. When he heard Emperor Yang asking about his father, he immediately spoke well of his father.

Well, it seems that General Yuwen has a very leisurely life. I am very busy. It seems that it is my turn to relax.

When Yuwen Shiji heard this, his eyes lit up and he immediately understood the meaning of Emperor Yang's words.

Well, now that everyone is here, let's start the banquet.

Wait a minute, there is still one person who hasn't come in yet. As soon as Emperor Yang finished speaking, Princess Nanyang spoke up.

There is still one person. Everyone is here, so how could there be someone else?

Just when everyone was looking at Princess Nanyang in confusion, a person walked in. Needless to say, this person is of course our protagonist. Isn't it said that the protagonist is the last one to appear, just to give others a surprise. However, here, there is a surprise, but there may be no joy. You can tell from everyone's expressions.

Your son greets the Emperor, Father, and the Empress, Mother. Ignoring other people's expressions, Yang Ling walked straight up to Emperor Yang and Empress Xiao to greet them.

Oh~, it's Ah Hai who is here. How come you finally decided to come and see me? Emperor Yang said expressionlessly.

It's A'hai, come closer and let your mother see you. Child, you haven't come to visit your mother for several years. Empress Xiao said lovingly. After all, he was her own flesh and blood, so there was no reason to love him too much. It's just that being in the royal family, family affection would be thrown aside sometimes. For example, when Yang Ling was punished, everyone in the court spoke with one voice. Even if Empress Xiao could whisper in Emperor Yang's ear, it would not have much effect.

To answer your question, father and mother. New Year's Eve is the time for families to reunite. I live alone in such a huge palace and feel particularly lonely. I especially want to be with father and mother and enjoy the joy of being their children. But I'm afraid that father is still angry with me, so I dare not go out and have to stay in the palace to reflect on my mistakes and study hard. I have endured this for several years, but I really miss you, father and mother. That's why I came to the family dinner without permission today. I hope father and mother will not chase me away. Yang Ling said with tears in his eyes, but he felt disgusted in his heart. He was so old and still pretending to be like this. If he didn't want to win the sympathy of Emperor Yang and the motherly love of Empress Xiao, he would not have pretended like this.

What? Are you still blaming me? You did go too far back then, and you really have to consider the opinions of the court. Your punishment is relatively light, and it's for your own good. Think about how domineering you were back then! Emperor Yang now looked like a strict father educating his child.

Yes, I know I was wrong. I was indeed young and frivolous back then, and I went too far. I know that my father did it for his own good. Over the years, I have been at home reflecting on my mistakes, concentrating on studying, and tempering my temper. Well, since you are young and frivolous, even if you are the emperor, you shouldn't dwell on it too much. Think about how you looked back then, you were even more majestic than me. Young Master Heng was the most popular person in the entire Southern Chen Dynasty. If you didn't have a good wife, it would be your turn to be the emperor, and you would have been sent away to be an idle prince. Of course, I could only slander him in my heart, and I dared not say it out loud.

Well, now that A'hai is here, we should be happy. Our family hasn't had a meal together for a long time. And from what A'hai said, he is not only reflecting on his mistakes at home but also studying hard. This is also good. The queen came out to mediate. After all, one is her husband and the other is her child. It is always good to reconcile conflicts.

Emperor Yang did not comment on Empress Xiao's words. Although he was now extremely incompetent, he still respected his first wife very much. He believed that she had contributed half to his obtaining the throne.

Well, since you said you are devoted to learning, I won't test you on anything. Just write a poem. I won't ask you to write one to suit the occasion. Emperor Yang's literary talent was quite good. When he was young, he was an absolute talent with both civil and military talents.

Since the emperor wants to test my knowledge, I will show my humility. I present the poem Man Jiang Hong to the emperor. I think it is better to use a poem to express my feelings at the moment. I'm sorry, Master Yue Wumu, I can only plagiarize your masterpiece, please forgive me...

(Newbie, please collect! Please vote! Please do whatever you want!! I hope everyone can support Baige, thank you!)

Chapter 2 A Song of Red River

Let’s start from the beginning, defeat Goryeo and head towards Tianque.

Good, good, it's a good way to deal with Goryeo. Liang'er's poem touched my heart. Little Goryeo has repeatedly defied my will. Humph, this time I must teach them a lesson. I will prepare for the second conquest of Goryeo in the spring.

Yes, it seems that Ling'er has made great progress in his studies at home in the past few years. You should also come to the New Year's meeting in a few days.

Haha, with this poem written by Ling'er to support my father, I wonder which officials would object, humph.

Well, since you are here, please take your seat. Emperor Yang was obviously very happy.

Take a seat? Where did the seat come from? Everyone was confused.

Well, just sit here. Emperor Yang obviously realized the problem in his words, but after hesitating for a moment, he pointed to a seat and asked Yang Ling to sit down.

When everyone saw the position that Emperor Yang pointed to, their faces changed, especially those in the East Palace. That position was where the Crown Prince sat. Although there was no new Crown Prince yet, that seat had never been replaced. Now that Emperor Yang pointed to it, didn't that mean... Everyone was guessing.

Yang Ling obviously did not expect this to happen after Emperor Yang's return. He hesitated for a moment and then walked over and sat down. Since the emperor asked me to sit here, what should I be afraid of?

Everyone stared at Yang Ling. When Yang Ling walked towards that position, Yang You looked at Yang Ling with an even more unfriendly look.

The night is getting darker, and the New Year's Eve in Daxing City is particularly cold

Yuwen Mansion Study

What did you say? Was this poem written by the King of Qi?

Yes, big brother. And the seat he sat in tonight was where the prince sat before. Yuwen Shiji said. He had just finished a dinner at the palace and hurried back to the Yuwen Mansion to tell his father, Yuwen Shu, and his big brother, Yuwen Huaji, about the situation in the palace.

Haha, what a great King Qi! It seems that this lord is unwilling to be mediocre and can't wait to jump out. Father, what do you think of this matter... Yu Wenzhi asked Yu Wenshu

I'm going to change this day. All kinds of monsters and demons have jumped out. However, the chaos in the world is an opportunity for our Yuwen family to rise again. Back then, the Yang family was just an in-law of our Yuwen royal family. How could they replace our Yuwen family? Humph! Now our Yuwen family's opportunity has come. The glory of our Yuwen family will reappear!

Huaji, you need to work harder on Yang Guang. Just let him indulge in debauchery. The generals in the army cannot lose their relationship. Once the time is right, no one in the world can stop our Yuwen family from rising again. Yuwen Shu said to Yuwen Huaji

Yes, father, I will try my best. But, father, although our Yuwen family has not fallen out of favor, our influence in the court has declined a lot since you were dismissed. Yu Wenzhi replied respectfully.

Don't worry. Since Yang Guang is preparing for the second expedition to Goryeo, he will certainly re-employ my father. My father's comeback is inevitable. I am old. The future of our Yuwen family depends on you brothers. I will do my best to pave the way for you. Yuwen stood up and walked to the door, looking up at the sky, his eyes flashing with a strange light.

"I will remember my father's teachings and will definitely restore the