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

Li Yuanchang witnessed all of this firsthand. He felt no joy at the successful suppression of the rebellion, only sorrow for the times and lament for the evildoers.

Some things seem to have no right or wrong.

There are very few truly wicked people, and very few truly virtuous people. The vast majority of people are caught in the middle, simply because of their different perspectives.

Immediately afterwards, all three hundred-plus suicide soldiers surrendered.

Li Yuanchang's men seized control of the entire Qi Prince's residence.

When he rushed up to the third floor, Li You was holding Yin Hongzhi's body and crying like a child, refusing to let go even in death.

This scene represents the greatest damage Li You inflicted on Li Shimin and the entire royal family.

The guards were to go up and take the man away.

Li Yuanchang reached out to stop him.

"Just put the knife away."

"yes!"

"..."

Everything around him seemed irrelevant to Li You; his expression was vacant, his face pale, like a living dead.

This farce ultimately ended in tragedy.

It's unclear how much time has passed, but the only thing still billowing in the entire city of Qizhou is thick smoke, and the shouts of battle have completely ceased.

Li You suddenly raised his head and stared blankly at Li Yuanchang.

"Seventh Uncle... could you do me a favor?"

Tears streamed down his face.

Li Yuanchang asked in a deep voice, "What kind of busyness?"

"Leave my uncle's body intact!" he sobbed, kowtowing to Li Yuanchang while holding the corpse.

The guards present remained silent; after all, humans are not plants or trees, how could they be without feelings?

Li Yuanchang glanced at Yin Hongzhi's corpse, but did not answer. Instead, he said...

"You shall come with me first."

"Waiting to return to Chang'an for trial."

"Alright, I'll go with you to see Father!" Li You's face was covered in blood, and his unfocused pupils held no hope or fear, as if he wasn't going to be interrogated.

Li Yuanchang almost saw the shadow of Li Chengqian in that look, and almost saw the source of Li Shimin's loneliness in his later years.

Ugh……

In the very end, all that remained for him was a sigh.

Soon after, the cleanup and manhunt began in Qizhou.

Although the ringleaders Li You and Yin Hongzhi have been captured, a large number of accomplices are still at large. However, the entire city is under lockdown, so they cannot escape and are forced to hide.

Li Yuanchang dispatched a large number of troops to handle the aftermath, maintain order, and at the same time search for and capture those who had fled.

Fortunately, the war did not last long, and Li Yuanchang ordered his troops not to loot, thus protecting the people, so the damage to Qizhou City was limited.

The next day.

A piece of news ignited the entire military.

Li Yuanchang rushed to a warehouse in Qizhou early in the morning without even having breakfast, where the Tang army had already surrounded the place.

Large quantities of grain and fodder, along with box after box of pay, were moved to the open ground and eventually piled up like a mountain!

Their terrifying numbers were enough to support an army of ten thousand.

"Hiss!" Several sergeants gasped in shock.

"Is Qizhou really that wealthy?"

"This isn't the Cang Cao area!"

"It seems that the King of Qi has been plotting a rebellion for quite some time now, hoarding so many supplies. Given time, how many private soldiers can he raise?"

There was a lot of discussion around.

Li Yuanchang remained silent, his brows furrowed. He walked closer, casually opened a box, and found it filled with copper coins, as numerous as hairs on a cow.

Something's not right!

From the early years of the Zhenguan era in the Tang Dynasty, copper was in short supply, and many places still used barter. Logically speaking, Qizhou should not have had so much "cash".

Secondly, although Qizhou was considered wealthy in the Tang Dynasty, none of its counties responded to the rebellion; instead, they all held their own cities and defended themselves. Furthermore, with Wan Ji in power, Li You had no chance to withhold the annual revenue.

Quan Wanji has only been dead for a little over a month. How could Li You have had time to take action?

A batch of money and grain could be considered Li You's private stash.

But such a massive amount is unreasonable, and it's not something Li You could have achieved in his entire career.

"First, inventory the contents and guard them carefully. No one is allowed to approach without my order."

"Yes!" The officers and soldiers clasped their hands in a fist salute.

Li Yuanchang arrived and then left again.

He arrived at the Prince of Qi's residence, where he was under close guard by his personal guards. Li Shimin had not yet ordered his execution, so Li Yuanchang could only be kept under house arrest until the matter was resolved and he was escorted back.

creak...

Li Yuanchang pushed open the door and entered.

As sunlight streamed in, Li You, pale-faced and dazed, was fiddling with a memorial tablet—Yin Hongzhi's. Upon seeing someone enter, he immediately hid it behind his back.

Li Yuanchang glanced at it but pretended not to see it.

He was only responsible for suppressing the rebellion; he didn't care about anything else, as the grudges and grievances involved were too complicated.

"King Qi."

"You didn't know that a large amount of money and grain was found in that warehouse in the west of the city?" he asked bluntly.

Perhaps because Li Yuanchang turned a blind eye, Li You, who was extremely hostile to Chang'an and Li Shimin, surprisingly did not oppose Li Yuanchang and even cooperated with him.

"I don't know where those funds and provisions came from. I only heard my uncle mention them to me. He said they were collected by him for unforeseen circumstances and were originally intended to fight against the court, but we failed to hold onto them," Li You said in a hoarse voice.

Li Yuanchang frowned in suspicion.

"A group gathered together?"

"Do you know how large that number is?"

"I know," Li You said.

"Where did they gather these people from?" Li Yuanchang asked again, suspecting that some powerful clan might be supporting this rebellion.

If that's the case, then the suppression of the rebellion is not yet over.

Li You shook his head, his hair disheveled.

"I really don't know. I rarely get involved in these matters. My uncle handled everything for me. To avoid being monitored by people like Quan Wanji, my uncle also kept it all in secret."

"Seventh Uncle, I have already been defeated, there is no need for me to lie to you."

His voice and tone were extremely calm.

Li Yuanchang looked into his eyes and remained silent for a long time. In the end, he saw no trace of lying. Only when a person is about to die will their words be kind.

"Very well, I understand."

With that, Li Yuanchang turned and left.

He stopped at the door and looked at Li You in the dark room.

"Think carefully about how to confess your crimes when you return to Chang'an; perhaps there will still be a chance."

He kindly reminded him that Yin Hongzhi had already taken the main responsibility, using his death to gain a reputation for surrender. In addition, he was Li Shimin's own son, so if he begged for mercy, he would have a chance.

Upon hearing this, Li You gave a wry smile, hummed in agreement, and then performed the Tang Dynasty-style hand salute: "Thank you, Seventh Uncle."

After his defeat and capture, he became as well-behaved and refined as a member of the royal family, completely devoid of any violent tendencies. This was a complete departure from his usual behavior, as if he had become a different person altogether.

Li Yuanchang nodded and then left.

The door was closed again.

With people watching both inside and outside, Li You could not possibly commit suicide.

After leaving, Li Yuanchang led his men to the underworld immediately to conduct a thorough search.