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

After a thousand cavalrymen entered the city, Gan City could be said to be under actual control.

With so many people entering the city, it naturally caused quite a stir, but those who could make decisions were basically all in the city lord's mansion.

By the time they realized what was happening, a thousand cavalrymen had already arrived and surrounded the city lord's mansion.

The militia outside were ordered to let people in as usual, so the whole process was almost effortless and did not provoke any resistance.

The third quarter of the hour of Zi (11:45 PM).

The city lord's mansion was brightly lit.

Gan Chengwan and a large number of his sons and nephews, who were all the minor leaders of Gancheng, were all tied up and taken to the headquarters.

After stabilizing the situation, Li Yuanchang sat in the main seat and ate meat and wine.

"Have you thought it through?" he asked casually.

Everyone trembled, their faces turned pale, and many were even dragged directly from their sleep. Looking at the densely packed Han army on both sides, they felt as if the sky had fallen.

Gan Chengwan was in a sorry state, his eyes filled with terror.

"Far, the King of the Far East, this is none of our business."

"I……"

"This is none of your business. How did that kind of horse end up here? You're not going to tell me you bought it, are you?" Li Yuanchang mocked.

Gan Chengwan was on the verge of tears: "Yes, it was Prince Yici who ordered us to do it!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang's eyes flashed with murderous intent. Although he had roughly guessed it, he still couldn't help but get angry when he heard Gan Chengwan admit it!

"How did he make you do it?"

"I told you, could you please not kill me?"

"You have no right to negotiate. If you don't speak up, I will start a massacre right now!" Li Yuanchang warned, each word distinct.

Under the torchlight, Gan Chengwan trembled, his heart pounding with fear, and was forced to say, "King Yici took your favor and gave up that desolate road. At the time, he only thought it was a desolate road, but he never expected that this road would later become the Silk Road, with so many goods coming and going, and so much profit."

"King Yici deeply regretted this and wanted to get a share of the spoils. In addition, half a year ago, King Yici sent someone to the Tang Dynasty court to request a batch of fine copper, but was refused."

"King Yici then sent someone to inform me, instructing me to plunder along the Silk Road, to fish in troubled waters while putting pressure on you, and to take advantage of the situation to..."

"What can I do?" Li Yuanchang asked coldly.

"We can renegotiate the price!" Gan Chengwan gritted his teeth, having no choice but to confess in order to save his life.

Pooh!

A chorus of curses erupted from all around.

"That bastard, looks like he doesn't want to live anymore!"

"You untrustworthy wretch!"

"They took the benefits and still wanted more, they even dared to rob and kill our people, they're insatiable and despicable beasts!"

"The money for building the post road came from the Prince of Han's palace, and now he wants a piece of the pie? Does he think our Han army is easy to bully!"

"..."

The crowd was outraged and utterly disgusted by such behavior.

Li Yuanchang remained calm, but the calmer he was, the bigger the trouble was!

"Nine robberies in total, were you the ones who committed them all?"

The Gan family members knelt under the torches, lined up and staring at each other, not daring to raise their heads.

"Speak!!" Li Yuanchang roared.

"Yes, we did it, but... but it was all forced upon us by King Yi-ja. If we didn't comply, the consequences would be severe!" Gan Cheng-wan stammered.

"But the things are still there; we didn't dare take them. Those were all what Prince Yici wanted!"

"Please, Your Highness, show mercy!"

Li Yuanchang, of course, did not believe these nonsensees. It was true that King Yici had given an account, and it was also true that they were greedy and wanted to rob merchant caravans.

They only started shirking responsibility after the scandal broke; they weren't like this not long ago.

"Would you give them a break?"

"Those Han Chinese you killed, did you spare them any lives?"

Upon hearing this, the Gan family members trembled collectively, and all raised their fearful eyes.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

"No! If you kill us, King Yi-ja will surely hold you accountable, and that will lead to war!"

"Goguryeo and Baekje have kept to themselves! We'll just pay double the compensation!"

Li Yuanchang scoffed and said disdainfully.

"Don't even mention you, I, the Righteous Prince, will deal with you all!"

"Double compensation! If I kill you all, this is all compensation!"

Upon hearing this, the Gan family fell into immense despair, and for a time they cried out and begged for mercy.

"No!"

"No...!"

But it was no use. They were all tied up and dragged away. Although they were not executed immediately, they were about to face the countdown to their deaths.

The reason for not killing him immediately was that Li Yuanchang needed to deal with King Yi-ja first, and Gancheng could not make too much noise for the time being, otherwise it would alert the enemy.

With the overwhelming advantage of black powder and overall strength, he became increasingly reluctant to use large-scale military operations to achieve his goals.

Because in that case, no matter how overwhelming or certain the victory, the military expenditure would be enormous, and there would be casualties.

"Guo Chao, you shall immediately set out in person with this letter written by the King himself to the capital of Baekje."

"yes!"

Li Yuanchang found paper and pen and quickly wrote an "invitation letter".

Once he understood King Uija's purpose, he already had a plan in mind.

This time, he planned to turn the tables and capture King Uija.

After Guo Chao left, he made several arrangements. First, he sent a letter back to the Central Government, ordering Wan Jun to lead another 3,000 troops to reinforce the area.

In addition, he acted first and reported later, sending a memorial to Chang'an by someone else.

By the time this memorial arrived, King Yi-ja was certainly dead, but with the evidence and the perpetrators caught red-handed, the court had no grounds for complaint.

"..."

Baekje was a small country, less than a third of the peninsula. Guo Chao arrived at the capital of Baekje in just five days by fast horse.

This place was at most the size of a prefecture in the Tang Dynasty. By submitting to the Tang Dynasty and cultivating a relationship with Li Yuanchang, Baekje gained a lot of benefits. From architecture to clothing, it had a strong Han Chinese flavor.

But they weren't honest!

Guo Chao's revelation of his identity quickly alerted King Uija of Baekje.

Inside a magnificent palace.

King Uija was dressed in magnificent robes, with a thick beard, a square face, and squinty eyes. He had a very amiable smile, making him a typical smiling tiger.

"What wind has blown the Far East King's men here? Has something happened?"

"Your Majesty, the King of the Far East sent me here on business."

"This is His Highness's own letter. I'm sure Prince Yici will understand once he reads it." Guo Chao cupped his hands, his face revealing no emotion whatsoever.

King Uija and his confidants exchanged a glance before he accepted the gift.

Upon reading the contents of the letter, a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips, a smug and happy expression that was harder to suppress than even an AK could.

When he turned around, his face became serious again.

"They must be pirates from the sea! How dare they rob passing merchants!"

"To be honest, some of my caravans were also looted!"

Guo Chao raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

"Baekje was also captured?"

King Yi-ja frowned and said in a deep voice, "Who says it isn't?"

"In recent years, with continuous war, there have been far too many bandits roaming the land. The Far East King is right; we must deal with this properly!"

"Since the King of the Far East has extended such a generous invitation to discuss important matters concerning the post roads, how could I possibly refuse?"

"only……"

"Just what?" Guo Chao asked.