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

In her mind, Li Yuanchang had already been labeled as a despicable and vile person.

Li Yuanchang was also aware of this.

Queen Zhende believed him to be a traitor from the bottom of her heart. Even if she verbally submitted, she was not convinced in her heart. She followed Emperor Taizong.

This also set the tone for the entire Tang Dynasty, a time when all nations paid tribute to the emperor.

Even though Li Yuanchang had great prestige, it was only within the Tang military and had no impact on these foreign states; rather, it posed a strategic threat.

Therefore, Li Yuanchang simply laid his cards on the table.

"Your Majesty, I absolutely must have the Silla ranch!"

Kim Seung-man's eyes darkened: "Finally, you've revealed your evil intentions! Finally, you're not pretending anymore!"

"Then let's fight!"

"Our Silla nation will never compromise!"

"Even if the imperial court doesn't intervene, we will never compromise!"

She spoke each word with fearless eyes, displaying a fierce determination that many men lacked.

King Yici was far inferior to her; she was the only foreign king to have a stone statue buried with him at Zhaoling Mausoleum, so she must have something special.

A hint of appreciation flashed in Li Yuanchang's eyes.

"very good."

"But a defeated Silla is not what I want, and I have no intention of starting a war, angering the court, or escalating the situation."

He was very direct, which made Kim Seung-man frown.

This statement seems to imply that he has the ability to instantly cripple Silla.

But it seems that this is true.

Then, her statement that she didn't want to escalate the situation and anger the imperial court brought her a sigh of relief.

"How about this?"

"Your Majesty, why don't we take a gamble?"

Kim Seung-man wasn't fooled: "Why should I gamble with you?"

Li Yuanchang smiled and glanced at her wary expression: "If you don't gamble, these two thousand people will have to go to the cold, icy wilderness north of Liaodong to dig for vegetable roots."

"Moreover, I will continue the blockade, preventing Silla from trading with the outside world. In the long run, Silla will suffer worse than death."

"Don't expect the court to help you. The court will consider the relative importance of you and me. Besides, even if the court makes any promises, they will be useless to me."

"Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. If I want to blockade, no one can help you. In other words, I don't even need to send a single soldier to take down Silla."

Kim Seung-man gritted her teeth: "You are truly despicable!"

"Now, shall we gamble?" Li Yuanchang raised an eyebrow.

"What are we betting on?" Kim Seung-man was forced to ask.

"It's simple. I know you're not convinced, so I'll give you a chance."

"We've heard that the Queen is a brave and fierce leader. Let's each lead a portion of our troops and have a competition in the form of a drill."

"If you lose, from now on you will have to listen to me. The ranch will be handed over to me. Of course, we'll be family now, and I won't be stingy. Whatever you want, whatever Silla needs, I will give you."

In short, I'll help you live a good life.

Jin Shengman sneered: "So, you lost?"

"I will immediately lift the blockade and promise never to invade again," Li Yuanchang blurted out.

Do you think I would trust someone like you?

Li Yuanchang said, "Do I look like someone who doesn't keep his word?"

"So alike, so very alike!"

Li Yuanchang was speechless.

"I have never broken my word in my life; that was just a misunderstanding on the part of the Queen."

"Is that so?" Kim Seung-man replied casually, though she was already starting to think about it.

"So, are you going to gamble or not?" Li Yuanchang came up behind her.

You don't know until you get close, and once you get close, you'll be shocked. He doesn't even seem to be as tall as Kim Seung-man.

However, since she was completely covered in armor, it was impossible to tell whether she had a good or bad figure, but there was no denying that it was difficult for a woman of that height to have an unattractive figure.

"bet!"

"But you must release them first, and the rules must be agreed to by me. Furthermore, you must swear to heaven and earth that you will not go back on your word!"

Wan Jun couldn't hold back any longer and sneered, "Why don't you just take the opportunity to ask for another 100,000 shi of grain?"

"Anyone who didn't know better would think His Highness wanted something from you."

"If you don't agree, then we'll fight to the death!" Kim Seung-man said firmly, looking at Lee Won-chang.

In fact, Li Yuanchang saw through her bluff; she wouldn't dare to do it.

But in order to convince her and subdue Silla, and peacefully unify the peninsula, Yi Won-chang agreed.

"Very well, I agree!"

Hearing this, Wan Jun and the others were unhappy, but they couldn't say anything more. They just gave Jin Shengman a look that said, "You're lucky."

"In a quarter of an hour, your two thousand men will be returned in full."

"Within twelve hours, you and I will finalize the form of the duel."

"Now I swear to Heaven and Earth that I will never go back on my word. If I lose the contest, I will never set foot on Silla territory again, and I will never restrict Silla's trade in any way, not even indirectly. Otherwise, may I be pierced by a thousand arrows and die a horrible death!"

Kim Seung-man was stunned. She hadn't expected Lee Won-chang to agree so readily, and she certainly hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

She didn't know what else to say.

"good!"

After saying that, she turned and left.

Wan Jun and the others gathered around.

"Your Highness, why did you agree to her conditions?"

"This woman is no ordinary person; she has a rebellious streak and might never return."

"We can't exactly send troops into Silla to arrest people."

Li Yuanchang laughed and said, "You're right, this woman does indeed have a rebellious streak, and that's exactly what I'm going to do to cure her."

"If Emperor Taizong could make her submit, then so can I!"

"As for never returning, there's no need to worry about that."

"The blockade of Silla is almost unsolvable. Even if she manages to seize a first-line space with great effort, it will only be a drop in the ocean. Silla will face a very difficult situation."

"Therefore, she will definitely come and gamble obediently."

"I bet she's already plotting how to beat me right now."

Wan Jun and the others nodded, then thought that downgrading the military conflict into this kind of competition was indeed good for both sides.

"But I'm afraid that this Queen Zhende will refuse to admit defeat, and will only pay lip service while actually doing nothing."

Li Yuanchang laughed and said, "Then let's see if I can tame this proud and arrogant woman."

"..."

Fifteen minutes later, Li Yuanchang released the two thousand hostages as promised. He even provided them with some dry rations when they left, which disgusted Jin Shengman, who immediately ordered them to be burned.

Afterwards, she gathered her subordinates and discussed the matter for two hours. At noon, she officially sent people to deliver the challenge to Li Yuanchang.

The first clause prohibited Li Yuanchang from using Hanlei.

Li Yuanchang agreed.

However, she proposed that each side bring one hundred people to conduct a flag-capturing drill.

Li Yuanchang rejected this, saying that the so-called flag-capturing exercise was a simulated combat format that had been passed down in the Tang army for a long time. It started with capturing flower balls to select military generals.

Later, it gradually evolved into flag-capturing drills, and sometimes the emperor would watch them when inspecting the new army on major holidays.