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

With a shout that no one could understand from all the samurai present, Ōtomo Jisaburo stepped down, his face beaming: "Hahaha, the Emperor of Han of the Great Tang Dynasty has arrived! What an honor for our Wushe!"

"Master Jisaburo, I have long admired you."

The two met and exchanged polite greetings.

"Master Cisaburo, I came in a hurry this time and was unable to prepare. This blade is an imperial artifact of the Tang Dynasty court. I will take it as a gift." Li Yuanchang took out a Tang Dynasty horizontal sword, which was actually the most ordinary one, but he had to boast about it.

Upon hearing that it was a royal object, Jisaburo's eyes immediately lit up. He took it with both hands and stroked it carefully.

"What a fine knife! What a fine knife!"

"I have always believed that the weaponry of the Great Tang Dynasty has reached its pinnacle, the best in the world. Now that I have seen the imperial weapon, it is truly extraordinary."

"If only my Ōtomo clan had more of these divine weapons," he said, his face full of envy.

Li Yuanchang cursed inwardly, thinking, "This life is really something. They've wanted everything since their ancestors."

"No problem, no problem. If our discussion goes smoothly, these things won't be an issue."

He got straight to the point, throwing out a huge bait.

Upon hearing this, Jisaburo's eyes immediately turned fiery, and then he laughed loudly, ordering his men to put away their swords.

"Your Highness, let's talk inside, let's talk inside."

"good!"

Jisaburo attached great importance to this meeting and put on a whole welcoming ceremony, but in Li Yuanchang's opinion, it was a bit like "shamanistic ritual".

Upon entering, several maids came forward to remove his shoes, dust him, wash his hands, and burn incense for him, kneeling throughout the process, revealing a strong culture of female slavery.

In the Tang Dynasty, kneeling was not a customary form of greeting, and many Han Chinese dynasties did not use it either.

Finally, Li Yuanchang entered the council hall and sat opposite Cisaburo, each with their own subordinates behind them.

They all sat cross-legged on bamboo mats, with murky wine and a large amount of food, mainly fish, on the table.

After exchanging pleasantries and drinking several rounds of wine...

Jisaburo then got to the point: "May I ask, Your Highness, the person you sent to tell my men that you have important matters to discuss? What are these matters?"

"If you need anything from me, Jisaburo, just ask, and I, Ōtomo, will certainly do my utmost to help!"

He acted extremely righteously, and his eyes were quite serious.

Li Yuanchang took a sip of sake, said nothing, but glanced at the beautiful maid beside him and the large number of other people.

Jisaburo squinted, immediately understood, and waved his hand, at which point the large number of idlers in the council hall withdrew.

Only the trusted men of both sides remained.

"Your Highness, can you speak now?"

"Don't worry, Otomo-san has always respected the Tang Dynasty and would never reveal our conversation," said Jisaburo.

Li Yuanchang nodded, then his expression became more serious.

"During my recent arrival in Japan, I had some disagreements with the Nakatomi clan."

"Oh?" Jisaburo raised an eyebrow and exchanged glances with Yamazaki and the others, but he wasn't actually surprised. He must have heard about it from Kurisegawa.

"May I ask, Your Highness, what festival is it?"

"He seized my treasure ship and even tried to threaten me."

Upon hearing this, the senior members of the Otomo family exchanged bewildered glances.

"I see, Your Highness. That Nakatomi no has been unruly and lawless for more than a day or two. It's one thing for him to act arrogantly and domineeringly on ordinary days, but now he actually dares to cause trouble for His Highness the Prince of Han. He deserves to die!" Jisaburo said in indignation, but that was all he said.

Although he and the Nakatomi clan were mortal enemies, the adult world is essentially about the exchange of interests.

Li Yuanchang said, "I am determined to get the ship and the people back."

"The Zhongchen clan has shown disrespect to the Tang Dynasty, and I will teach them a lesson."

"Would you be interested in collaborating with us?"

Upon hearing this, the council chamber fell silent.

Jisaburo took a sip of sake. If anyone else had said this, he would have ignored it, but since the words came from the King of Tang, he saw hope.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, you know that we are both from Japan. If we take action, it will be tantamount to declaring war."

"If the Emperor were to blame us, we'd be in deep trouble."

Li Yuanchang said, "Clan Head Cisanlang, let's speak frankly. I think it's not the Emperor's fault that will make you suffer."

"But it's now that Suwo and the alliance formed by the Nakamura clan have made you regret it, hasn't it?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Ōtomo clan changed their expressions, looking quite displeased, as their words had hit the nail on the head.

Li Yuanchang continued, "You need an ally, an ally who will support you."

"To counter their pressure."

"But such things no longer exist within Japan, so you have to look outside."

"This time, my decision to deal with them presents an opportunity for the Ōtomo clan. If the head of the clan is willing to give his all now, I can promise to help you establish your dominance in southern Japan."

Jisaburo was moved, but he hid it well, his eyes revealing a deep longing.

"Your Highness, you are a Han Chinese. Don't you know that the Zhongchen clan is one of the four great families, and they are our brothers, our dearest relatives and friends?"

Li Yuanchang laughed on the spot upon hearing this.

"Since I dared to come, I naturally know the relationship between you."

"Lord Jisaburo, I think we should speak frankly and openly. There's no need to hide anything. Look at me, I'm just saying it openly and honestly when I want to deal with them."

Jisaburo paused briefly, tapping his fingers on the bamboo table, his eyes constantly sweeping over the guards inside the tent.

Finally, he asked, "How many of you are there?"

What you see is what you get.

Jisaburo frowned: "Only this much?"

"If I had enough men with me, I wouldn't have bothered with you," Li Yuanchang blurted out.

Jisaburo was speechless, but the worry and unease in his eyes were impossible to hide.

"Head of the Jisaburo family, you only have one chance. It's up to you whether you want to take a gamble or cower in fear."

"When advancing, we march forward triumphantly."

"If we retreat, we will slowly perish," Li Yuanchang said calmly.

Jisaburo asked in a deep voice, "How do we get in?"

Li Yuanchang said crisply, "I will take back what is mine, and you will take more territory and resources."

"Seizing it by force laid the foundation for the situation in southern Japan."

The people behind Jisaburo kept whispering to each other, and every now and then they would bend down and whisper something in his ear.

They were tempted, but also wary.

"Seize by force?"

Do you know how many troops the Nakatomi clan has?

"How do we win?"

"What can you offer my men?"

Li Yuanchang said domineeringly, "A mere Zhongchen is nothing to fear. How does the Xueyantuo Khan compare to him?"

"Weren't hundreds of thousands of troops still captured alive by me?"

"As long as you listen to me, I can lead you to victory in this family war. It's a win-win situation for both of us."

"This is all I can offer you."

Jisaburo immediately frowned.

Does that mean we give them nothing and expect them to contribute manpower and effort so we can just go and snatch it ourselves?

"Your Highness, I'm afraid this isn't a mutually beneficial arrangement?"