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

Li Yuanchang took a deep look at the woman by the firelight. He had been tricked once before and used as a pawn, so he was extra vigilant this time.

"If you're lying, I'll kill you all!"

"Are you willing to take responsibility for a single word you utter?"

"dare!"

The woman in white blurted it out, her eyes showing no fear whatsoever.

"very good!"

"From now on, you few will follow us and lead the way, but don't try anything funny. We'll give you food when we catch someone," Li Yuanchang said.

"it is good."

"Give them some food," Li Yuanchang said as he left.

"yes!"

Guo Chao and the others immediately took out some dry rations and threw them to the group.

"You're lucky to be alive. Don't try anything funny. The seven of you will have to make do here for the night. You can't wander around anywhere. You can only go to pee in one place."

The group nodded repeatedly, not daring to show any emotion.

Only after everyone else had left, leaving just the seven of them eating alone under the tree canopy, did one of them whisper, "Miss Jiang, are you really taking them to Gancheng?"

"Yes, this is the only way to get food, otherwise everyone in the village will starve to death," Jiang Yuan said.

"We might live to take it, but not to spend it. If we offend the Gan family, our village will be burned to ashes. We might as well have just left."

"Yes, it's too dangerous."

"Judging from their appearance, they seem to be looking to cause trouble for the Gan family, but with so few of them, they're no match for them!"

The men looked grim, lowered their voices, and expressed their unease and fear.

But it seems that Jiang Yuan is the one in charge.

"No, this person is not simple!" Jiang Yuan said in a deep voice, her eyes fixed intently on the direction where Li Yuanchang was, her large, dark eyes filled with light.

"I have read many Tang Dynasty books. Just now they called that man 'Your Highness,' but in the Tang Dynasty only princes were called 'Your Highness.'"

"A prince?" The six men paused in their eating, their pupils slowly dilating before finally revealing expressions of horror.

"Him, him, him??"

"That can't be!"

"Why not? Don't you think these people are unusual? They encountered a ghost but didn't run away; instead, they captured us. Are they ordinary people?"

"Moreover, this guy knew it was the Gan family who did it, but he didn't even ask how many people were in the Gan family. He's too confident."

"Most important figures don't have that kind of aura about them. He's probably the new Far East King!" Jiang Yuan said in a deep voice.

The six people gasped in shock; they had actually encountered a ghost and scared even the gods.

They felt a chill run down their spines; they were amazed that they hadn't been chopped into mincemeat!

"So, does that mean the Gan family might be wiped out?"

Jiang Yuan nodded: "We can not only get food, but also get rid of this cancer for the people in the Gancheng area."

"But if this matter escalates too much, the king will surely intervene. What will we do then?"

Jiang Yuan, not one to back down, declared: "The bigger the commotion, the better! Everyone in Goguryeo has enough to eat now, and I've heard everyone has land. But what about us?"

"King Uija's tyranny is unacceptable; I would rather the King of Far East conquer Baekje!"

Upon hearing this, the six people were stunned. Although they were afraid, a hint of expectation began to appear deep in their eyes.

From this perspective, it is indeed an opportunity for all of them.

"..."

The next day.

Its daybreak.

The heavy rain in the second half of the night came quickly and went quickly. Although the ground was muddy, the post road was still walkable. Although it was very different from the cement ground of later generations, at least the wheels and hooves would not get stuck.

"Your Highness, everything is ready. If it is indeed confirmed that it was done by nobles from Baekje, we can immediately break through the town and suppress them," Guo Chao reported.

Li Yuanchang nodded, and then walked towards the location where the seven-person group had been the previous night.

Upon seeing Li Yuanchang arrive, the seven men reflexively stepped back and bowed their heads.

"The road is a bit muddy. How long do you estimate it will take to walk?" Li Yuanchang asked, as they were about to enter Baekje territory.

"Two days, it will take two days to get there. There are no roads this good in Baekje. There are many mountains and forests, so it will take longer to travel. But I guarantee that the person you are looking for will definitely be there," Jiang Yuan said.

"Alright, let's mount the horse."

"Come with me," Li Yuanchang said.

Jiang Yuan and her companion exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, and followed Li Yuanchang into the carriage.

The procession started, and the carriages swayed.

Jiang Yuan seemed a little reserved, her eyes occasionally glancing furtively at Li Yuanchang, trying to find more proof of his identity.

Li Yuanchang glanced at the woman; she was quite young, rather tall, with an oval face and big eyes, but her skin had become somewhat rough and sallow from sun exposure.

Jiang Yuan noticed the gaze and instinctively reached out to cover her chest.

Li Yuanchang was amused. He had seen all kinds of women, and Jiang Yuan's was at most a normal size. Most of the women in the palace were larger than her.

"What's the background of that Gan family?" he asked first.

Jiang Yuan took a deep breath and slowly lowered her hand.

"They are local nobles, equivalent to what you in the Tang Dynasty would call large landowners or powerful families."

"Does he have any connection with King Yi-ci?" Li Yuan-chang asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.

His biggest concern right now is whether King Uija was the mastermind behind this, and whether he nodded to his subordinates. This is the most important thing.

"Yes!" Jiang Yuan blurted out, perking up as if recounting their evil deeds.

"The Gan family pays tribute to King Ui Ja every year. The two sides are in a relationship of monarch and subject, as well as allies. Some of the Gan family's daughters have married into the royal family."

"The constant robberies and killings of your Tang Dynasty's goods and personnel cannot be blameless on King Yici!"

"He might have orchestrated it. His tyranny and insatiable greed are well-known throughout Baekje. If you want revenge, you'd better go all the way, otherwise they will definitely retaliate."

"This post road has long been coveted by Baekje; everyone wants a piece of it. If you don't find a way to get a share, you'll face endless troubles in the future!"

She spoke one sentence after another, as if she were persuading Yi Won-chang to conquer the entire Baekje.

It was obvious that her tone carried a strong sense of hostility towards King Yi-ja, so Li Yuanchang naturally couldn't listen to everything she said.

He remained silent and quite calm.

"So, what's the situation in Gan City?"

"Are you sure that group of people you're talking about is the Gan family's army, and are they definitely in the city?"

Jiang Yuan was somewhat disappointed by his attitude, but she didn't want to appear too anxious.

"Amagi..."

"..."

For a long time afterward, she explained the situation there to Li Yuanchang in detail. It was a large city with a population of over 30,000, but it was extremely poor.

The pyramid effect was fully demonstrated in a small country like Baekje, where almost everyone was a slave to the Gan family, much like an ancient tribe.

The Gan family's army was probably between two and four thousand, but its combat strength and equipment were unknown.

However, given Baekje's overall national strength, these few thousand people were probably just there for show.