Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5176 Father and Son "Japanese Traitors"

Mononobe Ashikaga was furious: "Listen to what you are saying. You are a Japanese, so you should do your best to inherit the country of Japan. Even if it is a small place and a remote corner, it is still our country of the Japanese! Even if the situation is urgent and the country is in danger, you just need to endure it and ensure that your bloodline continues. One day you will rise up strong and repay the sufferings that the surrounding countries have inflicted on Japan a hundredfold and a thousandfold!"

He was very angry: "I spent all my efforts and countless costs to send you to the Tang Dynasty, and this is all you learned from me? Even though I have not read many Tang Dynasty classics, I know the story of 'sleeping on firewood and tasting gall'. Goujian was able to work hard and fight back after the fall of his country. We can't be worse than Goujian, right?"

Facing his father's harsh words, Mononobe Maro was neither trembling nor rebellious. He smiled bitterly and said respectfully, "Father, since you know the story of Gou Jian's 'sleeping on firewood and tasting gall', do you know why this story has been passed down to this day?"

Mononobe Ashikaga was stunned: "Isn't it because it is inspiring enough to educate and set an example for future generations?"

Mononobe Mamoru shook his head and said, "As the saying goes, 'scarcity makes things valuable'. The reason why the story of 'sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall' has been passed down for a long time is mainly because it is too rare. Think about it, father. The Zhou Dynasty lasted for 800 years, and there were more than a thousand vassal states. So many countries gradually disappeared in history, and most of them are even unknown to later generations. Only 'sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall' has been passed down, which is impossible to replicate. It is not an exaggeration to describe the probability of success of this thing as 'less than one in a hundred'. Do you still think that Japan can emulate it?"

The reason why many things are recorded in history books and passed down by later generations is not necessarily because of how replicable they are, but more because of their rarity.

Whether it is "fighting with one's back to the river" or "burning one's boats", these are all classic examples of defeating the enemy with a smaller force in Chinese history. The reason why they are classics is that they are unique in that they are put to death and then reborn.

If anyone were to imitate this in actual combat, he would first put himself to death, and most likely die a horrible death, with absolutely no chance of survival...

Monobe Ashikaga was silent.

Mononobe Maro looked solemn, leaning forward slightly, looking directly into his father's eyes: "Now that Goguryeo has perished, Baekje has been destroyed, and Silla has annexed the Tang Dynasty, there is no force on the peninsula that can contain the Central Plains. If the Tang people are willing, they can go all out to attack Japan. How can we stop them, sir?"

Mononobe Ashikaga remained silent.

The Tang army was so powerful that it was invincible in the world. Whether it was the heavily armored cavalry and heavily armored infantry armed to the teeth, or the navy that rode the wind and waves and roamed the seven seas, Japan could not resist them.

Mononobe Maro continued, "The reason why the Tang Dynasty supported the Ainu people to attack the main island and allowed the Goguryeo people and Baekje people to cause trouble for the Japanese is that from the beginning to the end, the Japanese country never challenged the authority of the Tang Dynasty. It is a bit sad to say that the Japanese country is not even as good as Baekje, but this is also the luck of the Japanese country."

Mononobe Ashikaga sighed.

How could the Japanese not know what the Tang people were thinking?

However, the Tang Dynasty was too powerful, and Japan was in internal turmoil due to a problem with the succession of the throne. Its national strength was declining again and again, and it had no ability to compete with the Tang Dynasty. It could only watch the Tang people send weapons and equipment to the Ainu people and indulge them in launching a war against Japan...

As long as the Tang Dynasty does not openly declare war on Japan, Japan must endure everything.

Even though they knew that the Ainu people were bewitched and supported by the Tang people and invaded the Japanese territory, they still had to ask for help from the Tang Dynasty and would rather sell their ports and mines...

Mononobe Maro spoke sharply and aggressively: "Although the Tang Dynasty has never declared war on Japan, and it probably won't do so in the future, Japan will still perish in the end!"

The Tang Dynasty's strategy towards Japan was already very clear, and anyone with insight could see it clearly. However, compared to devoting the entire country's strength to destroy Goguryeo, a different model was adopted. Although the means were different, they had the same goal. There was only one real purpose - to eliminate all hidden dangers in the surrounding areas.

Mononobe Ashikaga sighed, not knowing what to say.

Mononobe Maro said: "Since the Japanese nation will eventually fall, all Japanese people will become slaves of the fallen nation and be enslaved by the Tang people, why don't we take the lead?"

Mononobe Ashikaga asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"When Japan is destroyed, we Japanese will be slaves of our lost country. We hope that the Tang people will be merciful and spare our lives, and all our family property will be added to the national treasury... But if we surrender now, we will be meritorious officials of the Tang Dynasty. When Japan is destroyed, the Tang people will still use Japanese to govern Japan."

For the Tang Dynasty, Japan was just a tiny country, but after all, it had several large and thousands of small islands under its jurisdiction, with mountains and rivers crisscrossing the region, and it needed a lot of effort to govern it. Instead of sending countless Tang people to Japan to familiarize themselves with the terrain, investigate the people's conditions, and formulate strategies, why not use the Japanese to govern Japan directly?

As long as the Tang Dynasty has such a policy, why can't the Mononobe clan fight for it?

By then, although the Mononobe clan was not the King of Wa, they had more power than the King of Wa...

Mononobe Ashikaga was somewhat tempted, but still expressed his doubts: "For the Tang people, even if the Japanese rule Japan, the best choice is still the King of Japan... The current King of Japan is from the Soga clan, and the Soga clan has always had a close relationship with the Tang Dynasty. How can we replace him?"

Mononobe Maro said calmly: "This is easy. We just need to kill Soga no Akari, and then we can offer a tribute that the Tang people cannot refuse. How could the Tang people refuse?"

Soga no Iruka killed all of the King of Wa's descendants and died in the mutiny. His cousin Soga no Akaoe became the new King of Wa with the support of all parties.

But the Soga clan has run out of luck, and the so-called King of Wa is just a puppet...

Mononobe Ashikaga was stunned: "Brother Soga Aka is in Asuka-kyo, how difficult is it to kill him? Besides, what do you mean by the tribute that the Tang people cannot refuse?"

Mononobe Maro suddenly looked ferocious and gritted his teeth: "Lure him to Matsuyama Castle and kill him, then give Iyo Island to the Tang Dynasty, and the Mononobe clan will move to Edogawa."

Monobe Ashikaga: "..."

He stared at his son with wide eyes, as if he were a monster.

It took him a long while to calm down the shock in his heart, and hesitantly said: "You learned these things when you went to study abroad in the Tang Dynasty?"

Mononobe Maro was silent for a moment, then said, "I studied at the Imperial Academy and read almost all the history books of China. I found that they all pointed out one truth: the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit!"

Right and wrong, good and evil, have never appeared in this world.

Only the words "success" and "failure" will last forever.

As long as you can win, what does it matter if you kill your brother or force your father to abdicate?

When you are victorious, not only will no one care about your past actions, they will even sing your praises and whitewash them. There will always be great scholars who will debate for you!

Mononobe Ashikaga fell into deep thought, and it must be said that he was indeed moved.

Back then, the Mononobe clan and the Soga clan were on par with each other, and even had the upper hand, and jointly controlled the government of Japan. As a result, the conflicts that had accumulated between the two sides for many years broke out completely over the issue of how to treat Buddhism.

The Soga clan tried to disrupt the stable political structure of the country by promoting Buddhism and replacing the local belief in gods, which was intolerable to the Mononobe clan, an ancient family. The Mononobe clan even rushed into the temple built by the Soga clan, smashed the face of the Buddha statue and threw it into the sea...

After the death of King Yongming of Wa, the two families finally started a war over the dispute over the succession to the throne.

The result was a great victory for the Soga clan, and the Mononobe clan was forced to step down in disgrace.

To this day, although the Soga clan suffered a great loss of strength and was almost wiped out in the mutiny, the throne of the King of Wa fell to Soga no Akae with the support of the Tang people. It can be imagined that as long as the succession of the King of Wa continued, the Mononobe clan could only be a noble family and would never be able to enter the inner circle and hold the core power of Wa.

If Soga no Aka-nee died, it would mean that the Soga clan would be completely erased from the history of Japan.

"It's a good idea, but it's not easy to do! Not to mention that it's hard to kill Soga no Akane while he's hiding in Asuka-kyo. Even if he's killed, the Soga clan has the support of the Tang people behind them, so they can easily choose another Soga clan member to become the King of Wa. Anyway, they're all puppets, so there's no difference."

Mononobe Maro's eyes were burning: "May I ask, father, why do the Tang people support the Soga clan?"

Mononobe Ashikaga looked at his son and said nothing.

Mononobe Maro said: "Of course it's for the sake of interests! Because the Wa King's line blocked the interests of the Tang Dynasty, so the Tang Dynasty wanted to destroy the Wa King's line, and the Soga clan could give the Tang Dynasty the interests they wanted, so the Tang Dynasty supported the Soga clan to become the Wa King... If our family can give what the Soga clan can't give, the Tang Dynasty may not be unable to support the Mononobe clan!"

Would the Tang people care who is the King of Japan?
Of course not.

In the eyes of the Tang people, the Japanese were no different from those savages who ate raw meat and drank blood. Why would they care whether they lived or died?

After a long while, Mononobe Ashikaga made up his mind and asked, "The first priority is to contact the Tang Dynasty and get their commitment. How do we implement it?"

In the final analysis, this matter must be negotiated with the Tang Dynasty for an exchange of interests. It depends on what kind of interests the Tang Dynasty needs in order to support the Mononobe clan, and whether the Mononobe clan can provide the interests that the Tang Dynasty needs. Only when both parties reach an agreement and obtain the Tang Dynasty's commitment can it be implemented seriously.

Mononobe Maro was in high spirits and said, "Don't worry, father. I have found a very suitable candidate who can influence the Tang Dynasty's Grand Commandant Fang Jun through this person. Father should know that the Tang Dynasty Emperor can only control the land, and outside the sea, Fang Jun is the omnipotent god."

Mononobe Ashikaga frowned and nodded. It seemed that his son had already made a plan and was confident about it.

He suddenly asked: "If this is accomplished, what can you get?"

"what?"

Mononobe Maro was stunned. He didn't expect his father to ask such a question.

After hesitating for a moment, he said honestly, "Maybe... I can get a chance to study at Zhenguan Academy."