Princess Wanshou had miraculously returned from the dead, while Prince Shao, Li Yuanying, had secretly fought his way back to Chang'an. With the speed of thunder that left no time to cover one's ears, the siblings seized control of the Daming Palace and caught all their rival brothers in one net. Together, they reenacted the most classic struggle for the throne in the Li bloodline, striking back from a place of certain death. It seemed the Mandate of Heaven had truly fallen to them.
The Sage remained silent on the matter-another stroke had struck him during his illness. Unable to speak or move, he could only lie on the imperial bed with his eyes wide open and drool streaming from the corner of his mouth.
While the court and the country were still reeling from the Princess's "liberation from the corpse and ascent to immortality" and the coup, another incredible event occurred.
A cavalry force five thousand strong appeared beneath the walls of Chang'an City under the banner of coming to the sovereign's aid, like divine soldiers descending from heaven. Its commanders were Li Yuanying's trusted men, Yuan Shaobo and Lü Qiao. Calling them divine soldiers descending from heaven was no exaggeration.
Though this elite force riding sturdy Chengde horses was not particularly large, its journey had been astonishing. They had set out from Youzhou, racing day and night beneath the stars, passing through Chengde and Zhaoyi, cutting across the Taihang Mountains straight toward Luoyang in the metropolitan region, then crossing the natural defenses of Tong Pass. Over a journey of nearly ten thousand li, they had advanced as though through uninhabited territory.
Every Military Governor and local official along their route had played deaf and dumb, letting them pass unhindered. Until they stood beneath Chang'an's walls, the court had