In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

After this trip, Li Yuanchang entered a new phase of his life.

Neither holding a position in the court nor being able to return to Liangzhou, yet still having to attend court every day, this bizarre situation persisted in the Liangyi Hall for a whole month.

The civil and military officials had gotten used to seeing Li Yuanchang every day and didn't know what was going on.

The position of Minister of War has been delayed and remains unresolved, seemingly unrelated to Li Yuanchang.

However, despite holding no official position, he was still able to enter and leave the Hall of State Affairs.

Li Shimin originally intended to use this method to prevent Li Yuanchang from having the idea of ​​retiring and being granted a fief, but Li Yuanchang simply went through the motions without putting in any effort.

Not only that, he also mentioned returning to his fiefdom to his ministers on several occasions.

Fang Xuanling's advice was of no use.

This left even the resourceful Li Shimin helpless, and it seemed he was about to give in and let Li Yuanchang go.

Even Li Yuanchang himself clearly sensed this signal.

But suddenly, a major event occurred in the northern desert!

"Your Majesty, more than twenty tribes have openly defied the imperial decree, refusing to accept the Tang Dynasty's order to relocate to the tributary prefecture. Such a serious crime must not be lightly forgiven!"

"That's right!"

"They're incredibly audacious. If left unchecked, they might unite and form another steppe regime!"

"It just so happens that the Grand Commander is still stationed in the southern desert; now is the perfect time to send troops and solve the problem once and for all!"

"That's right!"

The ministers all spoke with righteous indignation, and the Liangyi Hall was in an uproar.

The story begins with the Tang Dynasty's policy of indirect rule. The Tang Dynasty was inclusive and always practiced the policy of joint governance between the Han and non-Han peoples. Later, due to an assassination attempt, Li Shimin began to divide the Han and non-Han peoples and unified the administration of the non-Han peoples.

This unification involved gathering everyone in one state, the famous Jimi State.

After the Xueyantuo were captured, the Tang Dynasty wanted to concentrate the various tribes of the grasslands and divide them into two tributary states.

However, this aroused the dissatisfaction of various tribes on the grassland, who believed that it would harm their tribal interests and deprive them of their freedom, thus creating a division.

News recently came from the northern desert that the more than twenty tribes that initially fought for the Tang Dynasty, along with the remnants of the Xueyantuo, disbanded themselves after receiving their rewards and stopped obeying Li Ji's orders.

And so the conflict unfolds.

For the Tang Dynasty, this was a provocation and a betrayal.

Just as the discussions about sending troops were becoming increasingly heated in the court, suddenly, imperial guards outside shouted: "His Highness the Prince of Han has arrived!!"

For a moment, the court fell silent, all eyes turning to look.

Everyone knows that most of these tribes were gathered by Li Yuanchang, and it was also Li Yuanchang who led the team that swept across the northern desert.

Da da da……

Li Yuanchang strode inside, his expression serious. He had rushed over immediately upon receiving the news, a stark contrast to his usual lazy and unmotivated demeanor.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"

"Your Highness, how dare you be late for the morning court!" A remonstrating official stepped forward to question him.

Li Yuanchang said, "I am not part of the court."

Upon hearing this, the remonstrating officials, who were just about to impeach him, froze in their tracks, realizing that there seemed to be nothing wrong with what he said.

At this moment, Li Shimin, sitting on the dragon throne, smiled knowingly and asked, "Then what brings you here, Prince of Han?"

Li Yuanchang cupped his hands in greeting.

"Your Majesty, I have heard about the affairs of the various tribes on the grasslands and have come here specifically to pay my respects."

"Your Majesty, please calm down. The matter of relocating the Jimi Prefecture is already open to discussion, and it is certainly wrong for the various tribes of the grasslands to act prematurely after receiving word of it."

"But if the imperial court imposes severe punishment at this time, it may worsen the already calmed peace on the grasslands."

Li Shimin's lips curled up, as if he had caught Li Yuanchang by the nose.

"Just now, all the civil and military officials were requesting that I send troops to teach them a lesson."

"You want me to calm down?"

"That's right, those twenty-odd tribes are incredibly audacious! If they aren't punished, they will surely continue to follow suit!"

"Not only should this not be tolerated, but it must be severely punished!"

"The twenty-odd units are a disorganized mob; sending troops will quickly end the battle."

"..."

Upon hearing such radical remarks, Li Yuanchang's expression changed slightly, after all, most of them had followed him in battle.

If he doesn't protect it, who will? This matter wasn't even a life-threatening one to begin with.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

"The war has ended; to rashly send troops again now would be detrimental to both the country and its people!"

"The grasslands need to be appeased, not slaughtered. If the court launches repeated campaigns, it will only cause the Tang Dynasty to lose the hearts and minds of the people on the grasslands that it has worked so hard to build up."

"The relocation can be done gradually and is open to discussion."

Many ministers wanted to voice their opposition.

But Li Shimin stood up, and the ministers had to stop talking.

"King of Han, have you forgotten your place?"

"By what right do you speak to me?"

"Is such a matter of national importance something you are qualified to participate in?"

Li Yuanchang was instantly speechless.

This was definitely intentional, absolutely!

"His Majesty."

Li Shimin interrupted him directly, showing no respect.

"Alright, you can go now."

"I will discuss this matter with my ministers. You are retired and have no interest in court affairs, so please don't get involved."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Li Yuanchang shouted.

"Guards, escort the Prince of Han away." Li Shimin showed no respect whatsoever.

The Imperial Guards came in directly to invite the person.

Li Yuanchang was forced to leave, but he did not give up. Instead, he remained in the palace, and the imperial guards could not drive him away and could only let him stay.

It was around noon.

All the civil and military officials dispersed, but Li Shimin's imperial carriage still did not appear.

"Your Highness, please don't wait any longer. His Majesty has already walked in another direction for quite some time."

Yuchi Gong, then commander of the Northern Imperial Guards, came over to remind him.

"what?"

"Duke of E, where has His Majesty gone? What was the court's decision just now? Could you please convey it to me?" Li Yuanchang seemed somewhat anxious.

From both a public and private perspective, directly sending troops to teach more than twenty tribes a lesson over this matter is not the best option.

Yuchi Gong shook his head and laughed, "Your Highness, we made you slack off and resign repeatedly. Now look what we've done, His Majesty has found a way to use it against you!"

"More than twenty units are disobeying orders. Everyone knows they were brought by you, the Prince of Han, and they are all causing trouble. It's just good luck that you weren't held accountable and that you returned early."

"Now let's see how you handle this."

Li Yuanchang was also in a real bind. He even wondered if Li Shimin had deliberately done this to force him to submit. How could such a thing have suddenly happened?

When he left the northern desert, Li Ji promised him that he would keep an eye on things for him.

But regardless of whether it was genuine or intentional, once something like this happened, he had to intervene.

"Duke of E, please don't mock me."

"This could kill people."

"Hurry up and inform them for me."

Yuchi Gong stroked his beard and chuckled, "The report is one thing, but what about my eight hundred catties of distilled liquor?"

"I'll be there tomorrow!"

"No, a thousand catties!"

Li Yuanchang's forehead was covered in black lines. This old bastard, taking advantage of the chaos!