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

Li Wei's face turned liver-colored.

"What are you still standing there for?" Fang Xuanling pressed.

The stunned army finally moved.

"What are you doing?"

"Let me go! Let me go! Fang Xuanling, this is rebellion!"

"Don't touch me! Fang Xuanling and Li Yuanchang are in cahoots!"

Li Wei struggled fiercely, and even considered ordering an attack, praising Fang Xuanling and Cheng Yaojin.

But this was to no avail; Fang Xuanling and Cheng Yaojin ultimately managed to quell the situation.

Li Wei was captured on the spot and stripped of his military power.

A crisis fraught with carnage was thus averted, and a farce came to an end.

Li Yuanchang witnessed the whole thing and immediately ordered the three armies to lift their guard, but he knew very well that this matter was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

About fifteen minutes later.

On the vast plain, no large-scale army could be seen; only the patches of grass trampled by warhorses told the story of the perilous scene that had just occurred.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Han!"

Fang Xuanling and Cheng Yaojin rode slowly towards them, without even a few people with them. The old hands were indeed old hands.

Li Yuanchang performed the hand-in-hand ceremony, consistently showing respect to the two.

"Thank you both."

"No, Your Highness, it is I who should thank you. If it weren't for Your Highness's trust and restraint, things would not have ended well today."

"Yes, it is indeed a misunderstanding. Your Highness, please don't take it to heart. The imperial court has not issued such an order."

"His Majesty still holds high hopes for the Prince of Han."

Cheng Yaojin was also frantically trying to smooth things over.

Li Yuanchang smiled and said, "Gentlemen, judging from the commotion just now, it seems there's more to it than a simple misunderstanding, isn't it?"

Fang and Cheng exchanged a glance and gave each other an awkward smile.

"Your Highness, it is indeed a misunderstanding. This is certainly not His Majesty's decree. Otherwise, do you think the two of us would dare to disobey His Majesty's will?"

Li Yuanchang said, "I know this is not His Majesty's intention."

"Since the two of you are here, the imperial court will not make such a foolish move."

"But you and I both know that the army just now was definitely premeditated. Someone wanted to harm me, even wanted me dead, didn't they?"

Fang and Cheng were speechless.

After a long silence, he said solemnly, "Your Highness, I will strictly discipline my subordinates, and such a thing will not happen again."

"The Great Tang belongs to His Majesty; petty villains will not succeed."

Li Yuanchang added, "This is how the current situation came about."

"His Majesty's indulgence has led to our predicament."

Fang Xuanling hesitated, wanting to explain, but the words wouldn't come out.

Li Yuanchang understood many things, and he understood them all too well; to put it bluntly, it was all just a simple matter.

Cheng Yaojin said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, however, this stalemate is not good for you either. The court's patience is always limited."

"Now the whole Tang Dynasty is talking about the Prince of Han's rebellion, and many people have already petitioned the emperor to send troops to suppress it."

"It would be beneficial for Your Highness to reach an agreement sooner rather than later."

"Your suggestion to execute Lord Changsun is impossible. You are a wise man; His Majesty would never execute anyone for such a matter!"

"Please, Your Highness, calm your anger and resolve this border issue peacefully, allowing those tens of thousands of men to return to their camp."

Both of them had a pleading look in their eyes.

Li Yuanchang looked up and took a deep breath.

Then he said, "Very well, I will not insist on executing Changsun Wuji."

Upon hearing this, the two raised their eyebrows in delight!

"But the imperial court cannot do nothing!"

"If Your Majesty wishes to allow me to return to Chang'an and the army to retreat to camp, and not to advance further, Your Majesty must first release all the family members associated with the Prince of Han's residence," Li Yuanchang blurted out, finally stating his true conditions.

Their expressions of joy faltered for a moment, but it wasn't an expression that they couldn't discuss it: "This..."

"We are meritorious officials of the Tang Dynasty, but our wives, children and elderly parents are imprisoned by the court. If the hostages cannot be released, I really don't know how to explain this to my subordinates." Li Yuanchang said calmly and resolutely.

Fang Xuanling frowned: "Your Highness's request is not without reason."

"However... this is not something we can decide, and His Highness's army has indeed already raised an army. If we want to release him completely, this will probably be quite difficult."

"How about I petition His Majesty to release and pardon half of them, and release the other half after Your Highness leads the army back to camp and arrives in Chang'an? What do you think?"

"As long as His Highness and his subordinates admit their mistakes, they will not be punished!"

Li Yuanchang shook his head.

"No, they must all be released!"

He was so resolute that even Fang Xuanling and Cheng Yaojin didn't know how to persuade him anymore.

After much deliberation, releasing the hostages seemed more prudent than killing Changsun Wuji.

"Your Highness, where do you intend to release these people?"

"Liangzhou?"

"There is such a place?" Fang Xuanling asked.

"Here! I'll go with you as soon as I see people," Li Yuanchang said.

"This..." Fang Xuanling and Cheng Yaojin smiled wryly. They wanted to, but Li Shimin would definitely not agree.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid this won't work."

"If we release everyone, the court will worry that His Highness will be unrestrained and might turn against us, launching an attack. What then?"

"I keep my word."

"Your Highness, such things are not proven by words alone. We may believe it, but some in the court may not."

"So, does that mean Your Majesty's promise to me was just empty talk?" Li Yuanchang retorted.

Fang Xuanling and Cheng Yaojin were speechless once again; the logic was indeed sound.

It looked like things were once again at a stalemate.

Cheng Yaojin said, "Your Highness, why don't we each take a step back?"

"We persuaded His Majesty to release all the family members of the Prince of Han who were under house arrest. At the same time, Your Highness will depart to return to Chang'an."

"Furthermore, all the family members of the Prince of Han's household can be relocated to Liangzhou, which is the Prince of Han's fiefdom, and he is familiar with it. Your Highness will feel more at ease there. What do you think?"

Li Yuanchang remained silent.

Seeing this, Cheng Yaojin continued to persuade him: "Your Highness, to tell you the truth, since the Liao River Incident, His Majesty has mobilized several elite troops from Anxi, Shuofang, and Guanzhong to prepare for suppressing the rebellion."

"The troops inside Dayan Pass are only those from Yingzhou Zhechong Prefecture and other places."

"The reason these troops haven't appeared here is because His Majesty doesn't want his brothers to fight each other; he's been waiting for Your Highness to return."

"But if an agreement cannot be reached soon, war may be unavoidable."

"His Majesty has always been proud, and has already made compromises and promises this time. We will try to secure some even more favorable terms for Your Highness. Your Highness, please consider this carefully."

After listening, Li Yuanchang suddenly agreed: "Okay!"

"Can!"

"However, we cannot move to Liangzhou, because I fear someone intends to harm my family, as evidenced by today's events!"

"The people must be sent to the Liao River."

The two men frowned, but could not find a reason to refute it. Today's events were indeed a problem within the court, and they had not yet had time to investigate.

But it's easy to imagine that someone didn't want Li Yuanchang to go back alive.

"Alright, we'll try our best for His Highness!"

"We will also report today's events to His Majesty."