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

To achieve this level of skill in cutting someone with a knife, the knife must be extremely sharp, and the person must possess great strength to accurately strike the neck and kill instantly without the bone getting stuck.

Otherwise, being an executioner responsible for beheading wouldn't be a technical job.

Li Yuanchang reached out and ran his hand over the knife mark left on the carriage wheel, the size of a bowl, the force penetrating three inches.

"The murderer slashed at the carriage wheel with his knife, cutting through the heavy iron-clad timber that was as thick as an arm, and then the entire carriage overturned and smashed to pieces."

"This is certainly not something an ordinary person would do."

"Ordinary bandits don't have this ability."

Li Yuanchang's eyes were cold: "Have the identities of these deceased been confirmed? Are there any missing persons?"

"Your Highness, it has just been confirmed that there were 53 people registered at the previous few post stations, and there are also 53 corpses at the scene, not one missing. There should be no possibility of an inside job."

"Besides, even if there were a traitor, they wouldn't choose to act after landing. Simply dumping the bodies at sea would be much safer, wouldn't it?"

"The murderer must be in the Far East Peninsula." The post station envoy's analysis was extremely reasonable.

Upon hearing this, Guo Chao frowned and whispered, "Your Highness, the post road passes through Baekje, which was initially unclaimed territory. Could it have been done by the Baekje people?"

Li Yuanchang's eyes were icy. This was no longer the only problem of the post roads being plundered and threatened: "I suspect it was done by the Baekje government!"

Everyone was shocked!

"official?"

"Baekje has such audacity?"

"He had an agreement with His Highness. His Highness gave them a lot of benefits at the time, and they gave up a ten-mile radius of the post road. It was all in black and white."

Li Yuanchang said, "Written rules in black and white cannot restrain people's greed. At that time, the post road was a no-man's land, where even birds would not pick where to defecate."

"But now the post roads have officially become the Silk Road. With the court's lifting of restrictions, the goods from just two trading companies, one from the Northern Song and the other from the Southern Qin, have been flowing in and out in an endless stream."

"How could Baekje officials not be envious?"

"At the time, they didn't realize that the post road would bring so much wealth. It's not impossible that they would regret it now."

"Only in this way can these corpses be explained." He glanced down; the person behind this was definitely a professional.

Guo Chao and Yuan Tong found it increasingly plausible and couldn't help but curse, "These bastards, aren't they just paying lip service while secretly disobeying us?!"

"They took our money and then stole our goods!"

"This road belongs to the Far East Royal Palace; it's our territory. How dare they cross the border?!"

"Destroy them!"

"Don't rush," Li Yuanchang interrupted. "These are just guesses."

"Baekje is also a vassal state of the court. If I take action against them without evidence, it will most likely damage my relationship with Chang'an. If Changsun Wuji and his ilk instigate further, war will break out again, and my grand plan for the next century will be thwarted."

"As he spoke, a glint flashed in his eyes: "Go prepare a batch of goods, continue along this route, and spread the word in advance that the goods are salt and copper."

Guo Chao and his companion's eyes lit up: "Your Highness, what do you mean?"

Li Yuanchang nodded, his eyes sharp: "They'd better know when to stop and never come out again. If they can't resist the temptation and strike again, hehe..."

He gave a cold laugh.

"yes!!"

……

The Far East Royal Palace reacted within a day, but it was merely a cover-up.

A caravan of thirty carriages departed from Chubu Prefecture, claiming to be heading to Japan, with only one hundred people escorting them.

They didn't set off secretly, but instead made a big show of buying supplies, and they walked very slowly.

Inside the caravan's carriage, a dignified and handsome young man slowly lifted the curtain, gazing at the scenery outside the city. It was none other than Li Yuanchang himself.

The changes in Goguryeo in the past two years have been tremendous. By replicating the Liangzhou model, they avoided many detours, carried out extensive land reclamation, built roads and bridges, and facilitated trade, allowing civilization in this Far East region to begin its journey.

Most importantly, this place has been gradually localized into Chinese.

From farming to housing, from clothing to food, everything is quietly changing.

He stared for a long time before looking away.

"Slow down your pace and try to do so at night when you are about a hundred miles from the Sanshe Post Station."

"Yes!" The one driving the carriage was Huang Tu.

Li Yuanchang lowered the curtain, turned his gaze back to the carriage, and took out Wu Meiniang's latest letter from his pocket.

He had looked at it countless times, but he couldn't help taking it out to look at it again and smelling it. It seemed that some of her fragrance still lingered on it.

Besides Wu Meiniang's deep concern and longing, the letter also contained some confidential information she had gathered in Chang'an.

This woman is something else.

She has risen from a minor official in the Eastern Palace to the current fifth-rank "Shanggong," responsible for palace affairs. She enjoys the deep trust of Emperor Gaozong and has established extensive connections in the court.

Song Sanlang was fully responsible for the affairs of the Northern Song Dynasty and had extensive dealings with the Southern Qin. He also became an important economic pillar of Li Zhi's reign, almost replacing half of the role of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families in terms of money and grain.

It can be said that even though Wu Zetian did not take the path of the imperial harem, she was still active in the imperial court and possessed the power to manipulate events.

In the past two years, she has tipped off Li Yuanchang countless times and helped him a great deal.

Li Yuanchang sent messengers more than once to tell her that he wanted to bring her over, and that he no longer cared about Chang'an.

But she was unwilling. She had the blood of an empress in her bones and wanted to do something. She also felt that she could gradually become Li Yuanchang's biggest trump card, so the two remained separated.

Given this situation, Li Yuanchang had no choice but to have some of the Black Ice Guard's forces cooperate with her while keeping an eye on her.

Given her personality, she was bound to clash with some people. The first person in history to fight her to the death was Empress Wang.

If Wu Meiniang's life is truly in danger, then it will be time for Li Yuanchang to make his appearance.

Perhaps she had this confidence in her heart, which is why she dared to make a big splash in Chang'an.

time flies.

The caravan had gradually moved away from the central prefecture. With a hundred people and dozens of carriages, this was already considered a large merchant caravan.

Moreover, the convoy deliberately broke away from the escort of the post road soldiers, making it appear all alone.

On the first night, the caravan stopped at the inn without encountering anything unusual.

The next day, they continued their journey and passed the third post station on the Silk Road at dusk, officially entering the middle section of the post road.

The middle section of the post road was also a frequent site of robberies, because this section of the road was accompanied by high mountains and dense forests, the terrain was more complex, and the distance between the sections was longer, limiting the range of officers and soldiers.

The most important point is that this is the border between the former Goguryeo and Baekje. In feudal society, the border between two countries was usually the most chaotic.

This place was originally a barren and desolate land, but it was later discovered by Li Yuanchang, who built the Silk Road, which made it famous and an important route for merchants from various countries to travel between the two countries.

In particular, Japan's exchanges with the Far East depended entirely on this route; taking other waterways would require navigating long detours through uninhabited areas.