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

Stab it!

She was stunned when the wooden splinter in her hand tore through the tent.

A dense, black-clad line of soldiers stretched out, overlapping each other, each holding a crossbow with its dark arrowheads pointed at them.

Li Yuanchang sat there calmly with a smile, and even waved to her.

There was no sign of being attacked in the middle of the night; this was just another trap!

The Silla elite troops who rushed in froze on the spot, motionless, while those behind them, not understanding what was happening, continued to charge in.

boom!

Jin Shengman dropped her weapon, her face grim, filled with resentment and despair. She had repeatedly confirmed her intentions before attacking, but Li Yuanchang had deliberately let her in.

"Stop!"

She shouted, and the sounds of the hand-to-hand combat gradually subsided and eventually stopped, leaving only the torches and the howling of the night wind.

"I lost." Kim Seung-man was in despair, completely disoriented, with no confidence in her eyes.

After seven consecutive crushing defeats, she couldn't even touch Li Yuanchang's clothes.

If it were truly war, she would have died seven times already.

Li Yuanchang stood up with a smile and ordered his men to put down the crossbows, none of which were actually loaded.

After several days of competition, although Kim Seung-man kept losing and was unwilling to accept it, both sides still abided by the rules and did not use real weapons. If someone was caught, they would be considered dead and would not fight again.

Strictly speaking, Kim Seung-man has a sense of contractual obligation, but she is stubborn, arrogant, and once wanted to beat Lee Won-chang.

As a result, the more he lost, the more he slept, and the less confident he became.

"Your Majesty, you may leave."

"I'll give you one more chance," Li Yuanchang said calmly, his eyes filled with magnanimity.

Jin Shengman looked up at him, her eyes filled with complex emotions, no longer showing the resentment and unwillingness she had before.

She had realized that even if she tried a hundred more times, she would still lose; she was no match for him.

You're risking your life, but the other person is just playing a game; it feels like the helplessness of facing a god.

"No."

"I accept my loss!" She lowered her head, her mood heavy and somber.

These words essentially signaled the official end of the competition.

The Silla soldiers were dejected, while the Han army soldiers were laughing and discussing among themselves.

But Li Yuanchang did not ridicule or mock him at this moment. Instead, he displayed a strong leadership style and reached out to help Jin Shengman up.

Although Kim Seung-man's face was stiff, she did not resist, nor was she too embarrassed to resist.

"I greatly admire the Queen's courage and ability."

"Now that the results are in, you should lead your troops back. This is not the place to talk. In ten days, I will personally visit the Silla capital to discuss how to benefit the people of Silla."

Upon hearing this, Jin Shengman's eyes flickered uncertainly as she repeatedly glanced at Li Yuanchang's face.

They won, but didn't mention the conditions or the ranch at all, and now they want to benefit the people of Silla?

Is that just high-sounding talk?

But that doesn't matter anymore. After losing seven times in a row, her confidence has been completely shattered. There's nothing more to say. Only by keeping the agreement can she preserve the last shred of dignity.

"it is good."

After saying that, she turned around and left with her people, her departing figure carrying a hint of loneliness.

Having been captured seven times in a row, he lost his confidence and pride, and the blow to his heart was not something he could recover from in a short time.

Li Yuanchang watched them leave with a smile throughout.

"I thought I'd have to capture her several more times."

"Yes, I think this Queen Zhende will never accept this and will keep challenging us," Huang Tu said.

"It's less about giving up and more about despair; there's no chance of winning at all."

"Given that things were already like this, she had no choice but to accept the conditions."

Huang Tu frowned: "Then Your Highness, doesn't that mean this woman still doesn't submit to you?"

"Let's accept it halfway. Subduing people with force is one-sided, and subduing people with virtue is also one-sided. The true way of the king is to use both methods, combining both soft and hard approaches."

"Now that we've made her despair with force and shown her the vast difference in power, the next step is to win her over with virtue."

Huang Tu and the others listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion.

"Your Highness, it's still up to you to tame the Queen of Silla!"

"Hahaha." Li Yuanchang couldn't help but burst into laughter. In ancient times, "taming" simply meant submission, but in the 21st century, it has a double meaning.

……

Ten days flew by, arriving in the blink of an eye.

A vast army, carrying the banner of the Far East King, marched towards the capital of Silla.

Just a few days ago, the two sides were on the verge of war, but today the Han army appeared in the heart of Silla without any hindrance.

Li Yuanchang's trip was quite grand. In addition to his personal attendance, he was accompanied by a large number of business owners, led by Qin Zun.

Don't underestimate these people just because they are merchants. Things are different now. The commodity resources they hold are something that the entire Silla Kingdom wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Large quantities of grain, cloth, porcelain, salt, and some production tools—any one of these items would be something Silla would have dreamed of.

In addition, they had a large number of caravans that could travel to the Western Regions and the Northern Desert, trading a wide variety of goods.

As soon as the procession arrived, the Silla royal army came out of the city to greet them.

From afar, Li Yuanchang was startled.

"That's... the Queen of Silla?"

He was a little unsure; he had seen Kim Seung-man before, but she didn't look like this.

Kim Seung-man, who was at the very front, no longer wore armor like a man, but instead changed into the royal robes of Queen Jindeok.

The unique three-color royal robes of Silla, modeled after the dragon robes of the Tang Dynasty, exude exotic charm while maintaining a sense of luxury and grandeur.

Most people couldn't pull off such an outfit; it would look sloppy. But she, at 1.8 meters tall, carried it off perfectly.

His entire personality was exceptionally striking, like a crane standing among chickens.

With her golden hairpin and light makeup, Wang Mian exuded femininity and queenly aura.

If this were in the 21st century, even international supermodels probably wouldn't have her aura; this is something truly cultivated by power.

"Goodness, I hadn't realized he was so good-looking before," Li Yuanchang muttered, then jumped off the carriage.

The two sides immediately went forward to meet.

"I have been waiting for the King of the Far East for a long time."

"We pay our respects to the King of the Far East!"

It was obvious that the Silla ministers were somewhat unfamiliar and unnatural at this moment, and some were even rather resistant, though they didn't say it out loud.

But Lee Won-chang didn't care at all; he was confident that he could win over the entire Silla kingdom.

"Haha, of course, of course. It's been so many days, and I've missed the Queen dearly!"

Kim Seung-man forced a smile, unsure how to face Lee Won-chang.

"Our department has prepared a sumptuous banquet for the Far East King and his guests. Why don't we go inside and discuss this further?"

"No rush, no rush," Li Yuanchang waved his hand.

"I have prepared some gifts for Silla. Please take a look."

Jin Shengman and her subordinates exchanged glances. At first, they didn't pay much attention, thinking it was just a formality of giving gifts, like before, mainly gold and silver jewelry.

But soon, they were speechless.