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

Six days later.

The army successfully reached the mountains less than ten miles from the Nakatomi no Shogunate.

These Japanese were not strong in combat, but they were extremely adept at traversing rainforests and mountains. Their warhorses were not very effective on the island, but they could travel very quickly barefoot.

On the day of his arrival, Li Yuanchang learned from the islanders outside the city that the Zhongchen clan had dispatched all their elite troops to reinforce Qingmu City.

Numerous hoofprints and traces of military marches were also found along the main roads.

Li Yuanchang acted decisively and ahead of time, sending Ishihara Satohira to trick the city gates open under the guise of the Minister of the South.

This was an excellent plan, but it was rejected by Nakatomi.

He thought Ishihara Satoshi had come to control the situation and mediate, but he had already made up his mind to eliminate the Ōtomo clan, who had taken the initiative to attack him.

And so, by a twist of fate, Nakatomi escaped a calamity.

When one plan failed, Li Yuanchang had no choice but to try other methods.

Late that night, he ordered Ishihara Satohira to lead three hundred men in an attack.

At first, the attack went extremely smoothly.

The entire Nakatomi no Shogunate was stunned, completely caught off guard by the attack. Within fifteen minutes of the battle starting, hundreds of people had climbed the city walls.

However, the Nakatomi no Shogunate, which revived in the dead of night, unleashed its true strength, with a large number of family samurai mobilizing to put up a fierce resistance.

Under immense pressure, Ishihara Sato sought help from Li Yuanchang.

But he ignored him and instead ordered them to fight to the last man.

Ishihara Satoshi had no choice; in less than half an hour of fighting, less than a third of his three hundred men remained.

At this point, Li Yuanchang ordered them to retreat.

Enraged, Nakatomi no fell for the trap and ordered his men to pursue them out of the city.

As he pursued, the city gates were flung open.

After observing the situation through his telescope, Li Yuanchang immediately ordered the remaining 380 men to attack.

By the time Nakatomi realized what was happening, it was too late to turn back, and he could only passively fight back at the foot of the city wall.

A large number of troops were sent to the front lines, leaving him with only five or six hundred men as his main force. The two sides fought fiercely under the city walls, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

Compared to the wars of the Tang Dynasty, this was as simple as child's play.

But even with a force of over a thousand, the killings left corpses everywhere, soaking the entire moat.

The two sides were evenly matched in combat strength, and the battle was extremely fierce. The tactics that Li Yuanchang had arranged in advance were rendered extremely ineffective by these people.

With the outcome seemingly indeterminate, casualties were mounting.

Li Yuanchang personally led the charge, penetrating deep into the enemy ranks with only ten riders. He disregarded the hundred-man guard and swept through the enemy lines with overwhelming force.

First, he cut down the banner, then he chased after Nakatomi and killed him the entire time.

Nakatomi's men were unable to hold them off and retreated in defeat. They tried to escape back to the shogunate and set up a pontoon bridge, but Li Yuanchang did not give him that opportunity.

Nakatomi was eventually killed by Li Yuanchang himself and kicked into the moat.

It wasn't until his dying breath that Nakatomi saw clearly who was chasing him.

His body plummeted downwards, and his pupils reflected Li Yuanchang standing amidst the flames, looking down at him. He let out a desperate and unwilling cry.

boom!

Water splashed everywhere in the moat, and blood stained the area.

With Nakatomi no's death in battle, the Nakatomi shogunate suffered a crushing defeat, and the fleeing soldiers were as numerous as carp crossing a river.

With Li Yuanchang luring the enemy out of the city and forcefully beheading them, the hollowed-out Nakatomi no Shogunate was captured in one battle!

Two days later.

Outside Aoki Castle, Guo Chao, Arato, and the main force, along with the samurai of the Ōtomo clan, engaged in a decisive battle with the Nakatomi clan's army.

Guo Chao used standard Tang army border warfare tactics, dividing his forces into three routes: left, center, and right, successfully cutting off Zhongchen's army and inflicting a major defeat on three thousand of them!

Even if the Japanese pirates' tactics were not executed perfectly, their basic understanding of the game was still enough to allow them to maneuver and win.

After the defeat of 3,000 men, there was still a chance to regroup, but just then, news came that Nakatomi had been beheaded and the shogunate had been captured.

This was like a thunderbolt, completely shattering the enemy's will to resist.

In just five days, the Nakatomi clan's army was either killed, fled, or surrendered, and no scattered troops could stop them anymore.

In addition, Li Yuanchang's decision-making was swift and bold. With a total of less than two thousand people, he swept through the country like autumn leaves in the wind, quickly gaining control of the Nakatomi Shogunate, Aoki Castle, and the port of Daigen.

When the news reached the Ōtomo Shogunate, it shocked the entire clan!

They breathed a sigh of relief and wept with joy.

Qiandao was overwhelmed with excitement, and his worship of Li Yuanchang was almost godlike.

She then began a rapid expansion, promoting almost all the clansmen who could be promoted, and then sending them to the Nakatomi clan's territory to take over and clean up the mess.

The entire process took nearly a month.

end of February.

The Nakatomi clan was completely devoured by the Ōtomo clan, whose wealth, land, and population were countless, and more than two thousand samurai surrendered.

The Ōtomo clan became the dominant power in southern Japan.

But after such a long period of time, the truth about the numerous military operations could not be concealed forever.

"Your Highness, another imperial edict has arrived!"

"The higher-ups no longer trust me; the army will probably be here soon," Ishihara Satomi said in a deep voice, his face grim.

After taking down the Nakatomi clan, the Ōtomo clan's strength increased dramatically, giving him more confidence. Also, since he had no way to retreat after leading the attack, and his family had already been taken to the Ōtomo clan, he had changed his mind and was now putting in the effort, not out of reluctance.

If Ōtomo falls, he will also die!

This kind of close relationship is more effective than any promise.

Li Yuanchang took the imperial edict and glanced at it.

"Delay it any longer, delay it for another ten days!"

"No matter what method you use."

Ishihara Satoshi was in a dilemma.

"I could use the excuse of mobilizing troops to quell the rebellion and that we are about to capture the Ōtomo clan to delay for another ten days, but Your Highness, this is ultimately limited."

"The Emperor will definitely notice, and he'll come sooner or later."

"Such a big thing happened in the south, it's enough to spread by word of mouth," Ishihara Sato reminded him.

Li Yuanchang said, "I understand."

"I have a solution to this."

"Based on the timeline, if you delay for another ten days, it will take another ten days to mobilize troops in the north and another ten days for the south to resist. By then, the supplies and equipment should have arrived."

As he spoke, his gaze became deep, looking towards the East China Sea.

Although Ishihara Sato didn't understand why the Prince of Han of the Tang Dynasty was getting involved in this mess, he figured that with the support of the Tang Dynasty, there might actually be hope for a division between the North and the South.

However, a bloody storm is inevitable.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

After the person left, Li Yuanchang looked at Guo Chao beside him and asked, "Has Qiandao not replied yet?"

Guo Chao shook his head.

Li Yuanchang frowned. Why hadn't he returned yet? Could something have happened at the Ōtomo Shogunate?

Just as I was thinking.

"Report!"

"Your Highness, Miss Akari has arrived!"

Li Yuanchang raised an eyebrow. "They've finally arrived!"

Soon after, Akari arrived at the main hall of the Nakatomi Shogunate.

"Your Highness." She was overjoyed, her face flushed, and she knelt down to pay her respects.

"Get up," Li Yuanchang said with a smile.

Seeing that there were many people around, Mingli was too embarrassed to reveal their relationship: "Your Highness, it's a secret letter from Mother."

Li Yuanchang accepted it.