Li Jue's words not only stunned Gao Zhiyuan, but also made Yuchi Fan, who had been eager to try, pause for a moment. He thought to himself, why is His Highness the eldest grandson speaking so directly? Why not just appease the other party and find out that so-called treasure king?

In fact, Li Jue was too lazy to even bother with perfunctory treatment towards Goguryeo.

If the Goguryeo royal family cooperated, he would let King Bojang continue to reign for a few more years, helping him to perfectly assimilate Goguryeo.

If the Goguryeo royal family did not cooperate, he would go on a killing spree until the Goguryeo people learned to be grateful and to obey!

This kind of thing was not difficult for the Tang Dynasty. If it weren't for Li Jue's obstruction, the military group led by Li Shiji would have already started a massacre in Goguryeo.

For these killers, how can they gain military merit without killing people?

Only by killing thousands upon thousands can one rise above others!

Gao Zhiyuan paused for a moment, and seeing that Li Jue was not joking with him, he replied with a stiff expression.

"I...I will relay Your Highness's words to the Treasure King exactly as they were said..."

"casual!"

"But my personal advice is to speak more gently, lest you scare your treasure king to death!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhiyuan's expression froze again, and then he asked nervously.

"May I ask, Your Highness, if the Treasure King surrenders to the Tang Dynasty, what guarantees can the Tang Dynasty provide?"

Li Jue replied calmly upon hearing this.

"We can only guarantee the life of the Treasure King; everything else is not guaranteed!"

"this……"

Although Li Jue's conditions were very poor, Gao Zhiyuan still thought about it seriously for a moment.

"Can!"

"I will immediately return to see the Treasure King and ask our sovereign for a decision!"

"Get out!"

Li Jue waved to Gao Zhiyuan, then stopped Yuchi Fan, who was about to send someone to follow them.

"Yuchi Fan, do not send anyone to follow him. Let this person leave safely!"

"ah!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhiyuan bowed deeply to Li Jue as a way of thanking him for his care.

After Gao Zhiyuan left, Yuchi Fan couldn't help but complain.

"Your Highness, this is the closest we've ever come to capturing the Treasure King!"

Li Jue replied without any politeness.

"wrong!"

"It wasn't us, it was me!"

"You've been searching for months without finding a trace of him. If it weren't for my clue, you'd probably be beaten to death by my grandfather by now!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Chi Fan blushed with embarrassment.

"Your Highness, there's no need to be so blunt..."

Li Jue rolled his eyes dramatically upon hearing this.

"I would have preferred to be tactful, but I was afraid you wouldn't understand..."

"The reason I didn't let you send someone to follow you is mainly because I think your people are too incompetent. Not only will they be unable to keep up with people, but they will also easily become a laughing stock."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Fan immediately objected.

"Your Highness, I'm not bragging, but our Hundred Cavalry..."

Upon hearing this, Li Jue quickly made a gesture to stop.

"Shut up. I was the one who designed the organizational structure of your Hundred Riders Division. You're bragging about that?"

"I……"

"Your Highness, aren't you afraid he'll run away?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue shook his head firmly.

"Don't be afraid!"

He can't escape!

"Besides, Goguryeo is such a tiny place, where do you expect him to run to?"

"Go to Silla or Baekje?"

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Fan lowered his head and thought about it, and it seemed that what the eldest grandson said made sense.

After all, if King Baozang surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty could at least allow him to be a minor king. But if he went to seek refuge with Silla and Baekje, he would only be treated as a "treasure" and offered to the Tang Dynasty by those two countries.

Since we're all going to come to the Tang Dynasty anyway, why not take the initiative to come?

"They have no other choice. What our Great Tang can give them is one last way out!"

"Of course, this path to survival is only temporary. It could be as short as a few years or as long as a decade or more before the Goguryeo royal family becomes history!"

Gao Zhiyuan left Pyongyang and kept a low profile all the way, fearing that he would be followed by the Tang people. It took him three days to reach Jiuyue Mountain.

However, even though Gao Zhiyuan was so careful, when he arrived at Jiuyue Mountain, he still found it to be an empty mountain.

The Treasure King had already fled to an unknown place with only a few hundred men, leaving behind only an old servant named Park.

When the old servant met Gao Zhiyuan, he only asked him a few questions to make sure he wasn't being followed before pointing him in a direction and telling him when to arrive at a certain location.

In order to see the Treasure King, Gao Zhiyuan had no choice but to do as the old servant said and walk west along the path. However, what puzzled him was that he walked until dark and still did not see anyone who came to meet him.

In fact, several pairs of eyes were already watching Gao Zhiyuan when he entered Jiuyue Mountain. As he traveled westward, he was always followed by several people.

As for the Treasure King, he didn't actually go far; he was hiding in another secret cave in September Mountain.

Their reason for doing this was not that they doubted Gao Zhiyuan's loyalty, but rather that they feared Gao Zhiyuan would attract the Tang people's pursuers.

It wasn't until nightfall, when the Treasure King was certain that no Tang people were following him, that he ordered Gao Zhiyuan to be brought back.

When Gao Zhiyuan saw the Treasure King again, he immediately knelt down happily.

"Your humble servant has finally seen Your Majesty! Waaaaah!"

"Please rise, Minister Gao!"

"Did Minister Gao manage to glean any useful information during his infiltration of the enemy's lair?"

"Your Majesty, I have met the eldest grandson of the Great Tang Dynasty!"

"What?"

"You met that eldest grandson of the Tang Dynasty who breached two of my Goguryeo's fortified cities and can control lightning?"

"right!"

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