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

With the rapid reinforcement of the 100 cavalry, the Turkic assassins, who were already no match for them, were even more outmatched and were crushed on the spot!

More than a hundred people were killed on the spot, and more than half of them were hacked to death.

If Li Shimin hadn't ordered that these people be taken alive, they might not even have been found with a complete corpse.

The scene was extremely bloody; the fighting with cold weapons was purely brutal hacking and slashing, with severed hands and feet everywhere.

Li Shimin arrived with his men, their armor gleaming under the torches.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

"Ke'er, how are you?" Li Shimin frowned, his majestic face filled with anger.

Li Yuanchang is bandaging Li Ke's wound.

Li Ke, shirtless and with blood streaming from his arms, said with a pale face, "Father, I'm alright. It was my seventh uncle who saved me."

"Imperial physician, come quickly!" Li Shimin shouted, barely suppressing his anger.

Then he looked at Li Yuanchang.

"Is Seventh Brother injured?"

Li Yuanchang shook his head.

"What exactly happened?" Li Shimin asked again.

Li Yuanchang took a deep breath and briefly recounted everything that had happened not long ago.

Li Shimin was furious after hearing this and went directly to the remaining twenty or so prisoners.

"Who sent you?"

The immense pressure from the Heavenly Khan permeated every pore of their being. They wanted to commit suicide but couldn't, and they wanted to rise up and cause trouble but couldn't either.

They glared at Li Shimin with fear and hatred.

Li Shimin was a man of great stature. Upon seeing that the assassins were Turks, he made a judgment almost instantly: "You are Turks?"

"Western Turks?"

The Turk, his identity exposed, glared fiercely and roared through gritted teeth, "Heaven will destroy the Tang Dynasty!!"

puff! !

Scalding blood splattered ten meters high, and the man's head was shaved off on the spot.

"Where are the accomplices?"

"Who from the Western Turkic Khaganate sent you?"

Upon seeing their comrade killed, the prisoners unanimously cursed, revealing their viciousness: "These treacherous dogs of the Tang Dynasty! Everyone has the right to kill them!"

"The Western Turks swear they will never surrender to the Tang!"

"You slaughtered my brothers and people; the Turks and Han Chinese will fight to the death!"

"One day, we will bury your people in our ranch!!"

"ah!!"

This thoroughly enraged the emperor, who immediately issued an order to execute him.

The scene was filled with screams of agony as the hundred riders hacked and slashed people like watermelons, executing them all with brutal force.

In Chang'an, a case still requires evidence, but assassination, in ancient times, was considered an act of terrorism and did not require any evidence at all.

If Li Shimin knew that it was the Western Turks who did it, the entire Western Turkic Khaganate would be in big trouble.

Even on their deathbeds, the Western Turkic assassins continued to curse and resist, harboring deep hatred for Li Shimin and the Tang Dynasty.

They believed that the Tang Dynasty had swallowed up their resources.

Li Yuanchang witnessed it firsthand; these Turks were actually quite courageous, traveling thousands of miles to carry out an assassination.

He couldn't get a word in edgewise, nor did he want to.

There is no right or wrong in this kind of thing, only perspectives.

This is a racial struggle and a struggle for survival between the Han and Hu people that has lasted for thousands of years. It is a fight to the death, and although it is cruel, one must never have a compassionate heart.

If the Western Turks are not suppressed, then it will be the Han people who are plundered.

In just a short while, all the prisoners were executed on the spot, and almost none of them had intact bodies.

Despite being assassinated while hunting, Li Shimin remained calm, only displaying the fury of an emperor of all time. After executing the prisoners, he issued several orders.

"Immediately order Zhang Liang, the Minister of Justice, to thoroughly investigate the accomplices of the Western Turkic assassins. I need to know where these military armors came from!"

"Anyone implicated will be killed without mercy!"

"Immediately issue an urgent order to Guo Xiaoke, the Protector-General of Anxi, instructing him to expel the Turks from the border and to launch a military campaign against the Western Turks on a chosen date!"

"Seventh Brother, immediately lead men to search the entire Wangchuan area to prevent any escapees and ensure a smooth sacrificial ceremony tomorrow!"

"yes!!"

"..."

Thus, the assassination attempt directly led to a military operation.

The title of Heavenly Khan wasn't given lightly. If anyone is to blame, it's these Western Turks for courting death. The only ones who are truly pitiful are the innocent Western Turkic herders.

Assassinating Li Shimin would inevitably lead to targeting and exile.

The last assassination attempt at the Nine Palaces was similar, directly resulting in the relocation of hundreds of thousands of people.

This commotion brought the banquet to an end, and the relaxed and pleasant hunting atmosphere vanished, replaced by extremely tense military control.

The Imperial Guards were responsible for close protection.

Li Yuanchang led his troops to conduct a thorough investigation, checking all soldiers of non-Han descent.

They were lucky to have encountered Li Yuanchang. If it had been someone else, they would have been suppressed without any investigation. After all, for safety reasons, law enforcement officers in such cases would generally adopt the principle of "better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free."

Li Yuanchang didn't sleep a wink all night, and finally completed the internal investigation of Wangchuan before dawn.

By then, it was almost dawn.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites began to arrive in droves to prepare for the sacrificial ceremony.

Because of the assassination attempt, many people advised Li Shimin to abandon the sacrificial ceremony and return to Chang'an as soon as possible for safety, but Li Shimin refused.

He exclaimed, "The King of Han holds his sword, the King of Wu stands on his horse, who can come near me?"

The sacrificial ceremony was held as scheduled in Wangchuan, with offerings weighing up to a thousand catties and nearly ten thousand people watching.

Li Yuanchang stood below and watched as Li Shimin ascended the sacrificial altar at the mountain peak.

He also took a closer look at the memorial tablets. Almost all of the people who were killed in the Xuanwu Gate Incident were there, except for one person.

Even after so many years, Li Shimin refused to restore Li Yuanji's title, and Li Yuanji was not even included among the people who performed the sacrificial rites.

How much hatred must there be?

After Fang Xuanling finished reciting the eulogy, Li Shimin personally offered incense.

He gazed sadly at the memorial tablets, his expression filled with regret, pain, and helplessness...

"If we hadn't overthrown the tyrannical Sui Dynasty back then, we would have been such good brothers."

"If you want to kill me, I won't blame you."

"If I want to kill you, don't blame me."

"If you have to blame someone, blame us for being born into an imperial family. Everyone has their own perspective. I know your abilities; if you were emperor, you wouldn't be any less capable."

"Since the beginning of the Zhenguan era, I have never dared to rest for a moment, just to prove that I am the true Son of Heaven and to make up for the blood shed at Xuanwu Gate back then."

"The fratricide within the Li family will never happen again."

"Today I offer sacrifices to you at Wangchuan, restoring your title. May you rest in peace."

"I have let go of everything from the past."

"..."

Only two of Li Shimin's close associates heard his mutterings: Fang Xuanling and Li Yuanchang.

Fang Xuanling remained silent; he was a witness to what happened back then.

Li Yuanchang remained silent. Li Shimin's willingness to restore his title and confront the events of that year was itself an act of repentance and acknowledgment—a mindset only a strong person possesses.

But the fratricide within the Li family... I'm afraid...

This is almost a historical inevitability, a curse upon royalty.