Taking a Hostage

"The mechanisms in Xianghou Palace are insufficient!"

"This place is full of crossbow bolts with springs. What a pity! If we had some kind of bell jar with boiling oil, we could have smothered him and burned him to death!"

"Only those conditions are suitable for defending city walls!"

Gongsun Gui's technique is not unbreakable. As long as the location is determined, it is covered by something, then sealed with grease, and then set on fire, the opponent will be suffocated.

The mechanism itself is not complicated; the complicated part is how to lure the other party into the trap.

Tonight there is indeed a chance to defeat Gongsun Gui with the weak, but the traps in Xianghou Palace are of a different type.

Listening to Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun's hushed conversation, the new emperor took a deep breath, feeling that their methods of fighting were completely different from the philosophies he was currently embracing.

The new emperor was taught that he must be strong and possess overwhelming, suppressive power to tear his enemies apart.

Even when Emperor Jing was still alive, when he was teaching him, Emperor Jing only mentioned finding an opportunity to strike a fatal blow, and rarely discussed the idea of the weak defeating the strong.

Zhang Xuezhou was only a pseudo- Divine Ability Realm cultivator, his cultivation was still at the Body Transformation Realm, but Gongsun Gui remained extremely calm whether he was being chased or fighting back.

Li Shaojun's cultivation level and Technique Method are unknown, but it is estimated that his cultivation level is inferior to Gongsun Gui's, and his Technique Method are difficult to counter. Otherwise, there would be no need for him to flee in such a panic.

In other words, both of them were fighting against a stronger opponent with a weaker one.

Moreover, the two men acted with composure and never acted rashly or greedily.

"When you are powerful, you naturally use the methods taught by Wei Wan and Wang Zang, but how can you be domineering and display the majesty of an emperor when you are weak!"

If you make one wrong step in the education you receive, you'll make a series of wrong steps afterward.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, he was extremely powerful, placing Zhao Wan and Wang Zang, among others, in the court to take over the reins of power. However, he was then dealt a series of blows by the Empress Dowager, and his throne was almost in jeopardy.

If his empress hadn't been from the lineage of the Grand Empress Dowager, he would have already lost his throne.

Even so, his throne was still in jeopardy, and he only gained a chance to catch his breath after the real and fake Red Empyrean Sword were properly arranged.

If he had spent more time with Zhang Xuezhou, Li Shaojun, and others in his youth, the new emperor felt that those years would never have been so miserable. Even without the fake Red Empyrean Sword, he would have been able to advance and retreat with composure.

"What a pity!"

Several years have passed, and he is now living peacefully with the Empress Dowager, so there is no need to repeat himself.

At this moment, he was either quietly biding his time to grow stronger, or waiting for the Empress Dowager to completely relinquish power.

"Speaking of which, while King of Liang enjoys the favor of the Empress Dowager, his sons do not. If King of Liang fails to ascend the throne in the Great Han Dynasty, his King of Liang will become a source of future trouble for the court and may very well be targeted by the Empress Dowager!"

The King of Liang was qualified to inherit the Great Han Dynasty, King of Liang five sons were naturally well-educated.

If these people were given another ten or twenty years to develop, they would inevitably become extremely outstanding, and might even be able to challenge the imperial court for power.

These people did nothing wrong; their only mistake was that the King of Liang did not become the emperor of the Great Han Dynasty.

If the situation were reversed, with the King of Liang ascending the throne and the new emperor being ousted, his fate would not have been much better than that of the King of Liang.

In these royal power struggles, the winner takes all, while the loser almost always dies without a burial place.

The new emperor did nothing, but someone was constantly paving the way for him and eliminating any threatening factors within their power.

The continued targeting led Gongsun Gui to infiltrate Chang'an City to investigate.

If he is of low intelligence and highly suspicious, he might suspect that the assassination attempt was orchestrated by Li Shaojun and his associates.

Through continuous analysis, the new emperor gradually came to understand the ins and outs of many events, and he learned the reason why a sudden calamity had befallen them tonight.

"Oh no! The assassin has captured the sick child!"

When Wei Shao'er outside the side hall of Xianghou Palace shouted, the new emperor was suddenly awakened.

"Gongsun Gui, how could you act so despicably!"

The new emperor cursed and shouted, not caring for the burning gray robe or the puppets fighting fiercely with Chen Zhang and others outside the palace.

He ran a few steps quickly, and his hands had already pulled open the iron bolts of the main hall door.

"Oops!"

Zhang Xuezhou let out a low exclamation, and Li Shaojun's heart skipped a beat as well.

For Gongsun Gui to be reduced to kidnapping a toddler, Gongsun Gui situation must be extremely dire.

If the situation hadn't deteriorated to such an extreme degree, Gongsun Gui would have forcefully retrieved his Law Treasure instead of resorting to such despicable means.

If they manage to break Gongsun Gui's spell, Gongsun Gui will most likely become a cripple, and even if the opponent has the cultivation of the Sole Self Realm, he will be killed by a long-range attack.

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun instantly understood Gongsun Gui's physical condition. Their behavior was still somewhat conservative, but when facing a powerful cultivator who was skilled in stealth and assassination and had a higher cultivation level, they could not be too cautious, otherwise the slightest carelessness would lead to disaster.

Gongsun Gui's poor health is a good thing, but the new emperor and others losing their composure is a bad thing.

"Return my Law Treasure!"

The side hall of Xianghou Palace opened, and everyone saw an elderly man, naked with gray hair, carrying a toddler about a hundred meters away.

He grabbed the toddler and gestured to Wei Shao'er and Chen Zhang.

Wei Shao'er stopped attacking with her short sword, but the battle between Chen Zhang and the wooden puppet did not stop. They continued to entangle, making it difficult for the wooden puppet to shake off Chen Zhang.

Stop the sword fight, and I can return this child to you!

Gongsun Gui's gaze swept over Wei Shao'er and Chen Zhang, then settled on the new emperor who had opened the main hall door.

"Could this be your illegitimate child with this woman?"

In the area of Xianghou Palace, Chen Zhang was still engaged in fierce fighting. Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun in the side hall seemed indifferent, while only the new emperor and Wei Shao'er were anxious.

This caused Gongsun Gui's gaze to constantly sweep back and forth between Wei Shao'er and the new emperor, comparing the child's appearance with that of the two men.

"Put down the sick child, and I'll let you go!" the new emperor roared.

"Sick child, is he sick?"

Gongsun Gui's gaze swept over the child in his arms.

The toddler cried incessantly when he grabbed him, but once he held him in his hand, the child became extremely obedient and stopped crying, staring at him with wide eyes.

Gongsun Gui touched it, feeling much relieved.

If it's a sickly toddler, even if he's an illegitimate child of an emperor, he's of no use. It's better to exchange him for his life than to let him live a few more years.

However, the child in his possession is perfectly healthy, making it possible for him to kidnap and exchange him.

Once he gets his hands on the Law Treasure, not only is it possible for him to escape, but he could also quickly kill everyone present.

Gongsun Gui grabbed the toddler and lifted him into the air.

"I'm only giving you three seconds to stop attacking my treasure and let me leave, or I'll smash it to death!"

Gongsun Gui pointed to Chen Zhang, who was entangled in a fierce battle with the treasure, and then to the child in his own hands.

"Three!"

He shouted loudly, giving everyone no time to discuss or any opportunity to take action.

Compared to other areas, the Marquis of Pingyang was practically a dead mansion. Despite the long struggle, only two skilled guards from the mansion came, and no one else came.

If he could win this exchange quickly, Gongsun Gui felt he might even have a chance to achieve a swift counterattack.