ebookland Chapter 330 Bad Uncle Shi Siming Gets into Trouble
Chapter 330 Bad Uncle Shi Siming Gets into Trouble
Si Zi had already heard the news of Qiu Rongmu's bloody battle on the southeastern front.
At that time, Shi Siming was methodically leading his troops into Hebei, and his offensive unfolded step by step like peeling back layers of a cocoon. Every county city trembled under his premeditated attack.
An Lushan, having completely shed his mask of hypocrisy, raised his battle flag in the southeastern borders of the Tang Dynasty. Wherever his iron hooves swept across, cities fell in quick succession. As Shi Siming's military might spread like wildfire in Hebei, and as An Lushan's army broke through numerous passes in the southeast, the fall of Chang'an was already inevitable.
The rebels were in high spirits, and the sounds of their weapons seemed to have pierced through the natural barrier of Tongguan and reached the very foot of the imperial city.
The once glorious Tang Dynasty, where all nations paid tribute, is now teetering on the brink of collapse under the iron heel of a traitorous general. The smoke of gunpowder permeating the red walls and yellow tiles seems to foreshadow the tragic end of the dynasty.
Sizi returned to the palace to continue being the Imperial Observatory doll. She cleared her throat, patted her fluffy rainbow scarf, blinked, and lowered her mysterious voice:
"Shh—! Lean in closer and listen to the princess tell you a story that's about to happen, the story of the 'Black Cloak' and the 'Iron Hippo Legion' in the Rainbow Candy Kingdom! Ready? Let's begin—"
"Soon, near an ice and snow castle called 'Yingzhou Ningyi' in the north, future maps will tell you that it's called Chaoyang, Liaoning, where a special person lives. His real name is Sugan, but everyone fears his other name even more—Shi Siming!"
When she mentioned the name, Si Zi deliberately shook her little belly. "He was no ordinary man; the blood of a brave Turkic warrior flowed through his veins! But this warrior later brought a lot of trouble to the Seven-Colored Candy Kingdom. He even sewed himself a cloak of 'Little Swallow Emperor' and insisted that he was the emperor of Great Yan. As a result, he violated a taboo, or rather, a boundary."
"But this Mr. Shi Siming is indeed quite capable. He is as strong as a bear! Most amazingly, he can understand the languages of six different small animals, or rather, the languages of six different tribes whose souls are animals! He can understand all of them, from the gibberish to the babbling 'gibberish' and the 'kilikara'!"
Si Zi began imitating various strange sounds: "With this skill and his brute strength, he climbed up the ranks in the army like he was riding on wheels of fire. By the time the Tang Dynasty calendar turned to the year 742, he was already a majestic 'Great General,' in charge of military affairs in the 'Pinglu' area, just like managing a whole bunch of incredibly powerful 'Iron Hippos'!"
"Ten years later, in 752, an even more formidable 'Great Demon King of the Hippo World,' An Lushan—yes, the guy whose belly was so big it was said to take several people to lift—set his sights on Shi Siming. He patted him on the shoulder and said, 'Hey! Shi Siming, go be the Hippo King of Pinglu, the Pinglu Military Commissioner!' Now, Shi Siming had even more 'Iron Hippo Warriors' under his command!"
"However, the good times didn't last long! Four years later, in 756, something happened that made the entire Seven-Colored Candy Kingdom weep. Shi Siming, with his 'Iron Hippo Army,' swept away the sturdy candy castle of 'Changshan' like a black tide, which is the future Zhengding City in Hebei. He also captured the brave and upright guardian of the castle—Grandpa Yan Gaoqing!"
"Yan Gaoqing?"
Sizi made a sad expression, "Don't you guys recognize him?"
The young man and the eunuchs and maids watching all shook their heads.
"Oh dear, let me interject with the story of the 'Golden Lion Heart'—Yan Gaoqing's name once echoed like a bell in the tent. In 692, when the calendar of the Seven-Colored Sugar Kingdom turned to this page, our little hero was born in a honey jar called 'Jingzhao Wannian' next to Chang'an! His ancestors came from a magical place called Langya Linyi, a place abundant with bamboo and wise men!"
As Sizi spoke, he drew a glowing family tree with a brush.
“Look! Wisdom flows in the veins of this tree! Yan Gaoqing is the fifth-generation grandson of Grandpa Yan Shigu, the guardian of the library, and also the beloved son of Grandpa Yan Yuansun, the old city lord of Haozhou City. However, this little lion’s initial job was to manage the honey warehouse in Fanyang City for a ‘hippopotamus demon king’ named An Lushan.”
Zi'an explained, "Is the princess referring to the Military Advisor of Fanyang?"
"That's right—no one expected it, whoosh—! The black wind of rebellion has risen! While the great demon king An Lushan is revealing his big mouth and devouring city after city, Grandpa Yan Gaoqing, with his golden lion heart, and his little lion Yan Jiming are guarding the brave stone castle of 'Changshan'!"
Sizi circled Changshan on the map. "He also has a remarkable brother, Yan Zhenqing, who raised a golden shield at the 'Plains' castle! (Eyes light up) Guess how brave they were? They cleverly set a trap, like the most experienced hunters, and dealt with the rebel general Li Qincou, easily capturing the two villainous generals Gao Miao and He Qiannian! Throughout Hebei, seventeen gleaming castles raised golden sunflower banners in response! Even the old Emperor Xuanzong, residing in the golden palace of distant Chang'an, clapped his hands and said, 'Well done! Well done! Reward them!'"