Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5280 The Flames of War Are About to Ignite
As you exit Yanxi Gate, snow falls heavily on Chunming Gate Street, but it does not hinder pedestrians from walking in the snow at all. People from Chang'an who have been working hard to make a living all year return from Ba Bridge and enter through Chunming Gate. Carriages and horses rumble and pedestrians come in an endless stream. Apart from the white snow, everything in sight is decorated with red and green, and is full of joy.

Inside the warm carriage, Coronard lifted the curtain and looked around with great curiosity.

Zhenla is far in the south. After annexing Funan, its territory is vast, backed by mountains and plateaus and facing plains and the sea. The climate is warm and the rainfall is abundant. How could it have ever seen such a northern landscape of thousands of miles of ice and silver-clad scenery?

What intrigued him even more was how such a barren, icy place, where rice could only be grown once a year, could support such a large population.

In Linyi and Zhenla, rice is harvested three times a year, yet the people still go hungry and suffer from starvation, and the population has never exceeded the limit...

How did the Tang Dynasty quickly recover and rise from the chaos of war, not only sweeping across the world and conquering cities and territories on land, but also exterminating or driving out the barbarian tribes that had previously devoured the flesh and blood of the Chinese people, bringing peace and tranquility to the world?
How did such a vast land-based country manage to ride the waves on the sea, defeat those ancient seafaring nations that had been sailing and playing the seas, and become invincible?
Kelunweng felt that the Tang Dynasty was full of mysteries and that he needed to immerse himself in it to understand its essence in order to uncover the answers.

But he was now full of confidence. While the other foreign envoys were all waiting for the Tang emperor's summons, hoping to obtain the Tang emperor's pardon and save their countries through various means, he went straight to Chongrenfang to visit Fang Jun.

Zhuge Di, an ally of Zhenla Kingdom, had already informed King Ishanavarman of Zhenla that although the Tang emperor was indeed noble and the ruler of the world, on the high seas, the voice of the entire Tang Dynasty could not drown out the powerful and prestigious Grand Commandant of the Tang Dynasty.

The only way to avert the impending war is to obtain a pardon from the Grand Commandant of the Tang Dynasty...

As the carriage entered Chongrenfang, Kelunwengding looked at the wide and straight streets and alleys, with ancient trees towering behind the brick walls and black tiles on both sides, their canopies covered with white snow. He felt an even stronger sense of grandeur and weightiness that was completely different from that of Zhenla.

Upon turning into the alley where the Fang family lived, they were surprised to find that the south side of the spacious alley was already full of carriages, with only the north side open for carriages to leave...

After driving to a quiet spot, Coron got out of the car. The cold air and heavy snow made him shiver. He tightened his coat and hurried to the stone steps in front of the door. A guest of the Fang family came forward, bowed, and inquired about his identity and purpose.

As Kelun presented the visiting card and gift list with both hands, he slipped a gold coin into the usher's hand and said with a beaming smile, "I come from Zhenla. The journey has been arduous and difficult. Please inform the Grand Commandant in advance."

The guest was slightly surprised. This man looked very different from the Han people, but spoke fluent Mandarin. However, he did not ask any questions. He simply nodded, carefully put away the gold coins, and accepted the visiting card and gift list: "Guests can wait in the carriage or go to the gatehouse to rest. I will go to the mansion to report now... However, with the New Year approaching, officials from all over the country will come to the capital to pay their respects to the head of the household and the second son. The waiting time may be a little longer."

"It's alright, it's alright!"

Krononding smiled and seemed unconcerned, but he was inwardly annoyed. "I've already given you the money and you've accepted it. Shouldn't you make an exception and go through some back door?"

Taking the money and not doing the service?

The clerk said no more, turned around and quickly walked up the stone steps to go into the mansion to report.

Instead of going to the gatehouse, Kronon turned around and wanted to go back to the carriage to wait. Just then, a young general in full armor and with a tall, imposing figure strode out of the mansion, and the two met face to face.

The general stopped in his tracks, his piercing gaze sweeping over Kronondin's strange attire and appearance. His tall figure loomed over him, exuding an air of oppression: "A real wax figure?"

Kronwon swallowed hard, sensing a faint but chilling killing intent, and forced a smile: "I am the Minister of Zhenla, may I ask who the General is..."

The general sneered, his tone extremely arrogant: "Li Jinxing, Royal Navy of the Great Tang Dynasty! Remember this name. If you can return safely to Zhenla, we will surely meet again."

After saying this, he strode away, walked to a group of soldiers not far away, mounted a warhorse, and the group galloped away.

Kronen was baffled.

Both Zhenla and Linyi have long admired and been deeply influenced by the culture of the Celestial Empire. All the nobles in the country take pride in speaking Chinese, and Chinese characters have been the official script since ancient times. All laws, national policies and classics are written in Chinese characters.

So it took him a while to process Li Jinxing's words, and it wasn't until he was back in the carriage that he finally realized—this Li Jinxing was about to attack Zhenla?!
……

It wasn't until after 1 p.m. that a guest came to escort Kelun Weng Ding into the mansion.

Inside the magnificent main hall, Kelun Wengding finally met this legendary Grand Commandant of the Tang Dynasty, who was renowned and influential in foreign lands.

His skin was somewhat dark, which was similar to that of a real wax figure. However, his eyebrows were sharp as knives, his sideburns were like those of a knife, and his thin face was refined and elegant. His eyes, which swept over people casually, were like lightning. A tall and upright aura came over people and was very imposing.

Because of Li Jinxing's previous words, he knew that the Tang Dynasty would likely take military action against Zhenla, so he couldn't help but feel fear and trepidation at this moment...

Fang Jun took a sip of tea. He had been meeting with more than ten officials from various places and his former subordinates since morning, and now he felt a little tired. He said impatiently, "What are you standing there for? Speak quickly if you have something to say!"

Kelun Wengding quickly bowed and said, "I have traveled thousands of miles to the Great Tang to pay my respects to the Grand Commandant in order to express the King's admiration for him."

Fang Jun scoffed: "Are those gifts you brought your country's king's way of expressing respect? Then take them with you when you go back. I don't need his respect."

"Uh……"

Kelun Wengding was a quick-witted man, otherwise he would not have been entrusted with the important task of being sent as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty. However, he was speechless for a moment when faced with Fang Jun's seemingly arrogant but actually rude words.

Forcing himself to remain calm, he cut to the chase: "Although Zhenla and the Tang Dynasty are thousands of miles apart, Zhenla is also a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty..."

Fang Jun interrupted forcefully: "A vassal state that hasn't paid tribute or held homage for fifty years? That's quite rare."

Kronen was once again speechless.

In fact, it has been fifty years since the King of Zhenla sent an ambassador to pay tribute in the second year of the Daye era of the Sui Dynasty.

This only strengthened his conviction over what he had just heard from Li Jinxing: if the Tang Dynasty had not planned to go to war with Zhenla in order to understand Zhenla's internal and external strengths and weaknesses, how could it have remembered the last year that a country thousands of miles away came to China to pay homage?
I was extremely terrified.

Fang Jun, however, was unwilling to listen any longer. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "In times of war, envoys are not to be harmed. You can rest assured of your safety and set off for your country immediately. Inform your king that he must either return power to the Prince of Funan and restore the old Funan system, or wait for the Tang navy to punish him and uphold the legitimacy!"

Kelun Wengding's face flushed red as he angrily said, "The Great Tang has brazenly interfered in the internal affairs of Zhenla by relying on its military force, which is extremely arrogant! Zhenla is not comparable to a small country like Linyi. If the Great Tang really intends to send troops to invade our borders, please think twice!"

He felt confident that he could say that.

Although Zhenla is not as powerful as the Tang Dynasty, its territory spans thousands of miles and its population is in the tens of millions. It is currently at its peak, with thirty major cities, each with thousands of households and its own ruler. The capital city of Ishanapura alone has over twenty thousand households within its walls, and the ruler can raise hundreds of thousands of soldiers in an instant…

Furthermore, fighting on home soil while the Tang Dynasty's army is on a long and arduous expedition, the outcome of which is still uncertain!

Fang Jun said calmly, "If that's the case, what more is there to say? Just wait for the Tang army to punish you, such disloyal, unjust, and shameless barbarians!"

"Hmph! Farewell."

Corinthian left in anger.

After leaving the mansion, they boarded a carriage and returned to the Honglu Temple. After tidying up their belongings, they left the imperial city with their servants without stopping and headed straight for Chunming Gate. Braving the heavy snow, they crossed Ba Bridge and traveled along the Xiaohan Road to Luoyang. From there, they traveled to Huating Town and sailed back to China.

Judging from the attitude of the Grand Commandant of the Tang Dynasty, he no longer harbored any illusions about peace and only wanted to return to Zhenla as soon as possible to report to the king, then gather troops and supplies to fight the Tang Dynasty head-on.

As for his ally, the Kingdom of Lin-yi, he had no intention of going to inform them. That fool Zhuge Di was probably still dreaming of blackmailing the Tang people and breaking free from their puppet status to gain even a sliver of autonomy...

Then let him bear the brunt of the Tang people's anger.

Even though Lin-yi was weak, it was once a large country with a vast territory. If it could withstand the first wave of attacks from the Tang army and hold out for three to five months, it would not only buy Zhenla more time to prepare, but also wear down the morale of the Tang army.

Who knows, the mighty Tang Dynasty, which dominated the seas, might suffer a defeat in Zhenla?

The Tang army was invincible on the high seas, but once they landed, the complex geography of Zhenla, with its crisscrossing mountains and valleys, would surely drag them into a quagmire of war...

*****
At 3:45 PM, the Imperial Study was brightly lit.

Li Chengqian rubbed his temples, unable to hide his exhaustion, and looked at Fang Jun who walked in: "Has the Zhenla envoy already left the capital?"

"Yes, we just left the city."

Fang Jun took his seat, and Wang De quickly served him tea.

Liu Ji still did not support using force against Zhenla: "Linyi Kingdom is disobedient to the king's orders and unruly. It's fine to send troops to teach them a lesson. After all, we have already fought all the way south from Annam. Some of the bandits have either been wiped out or fled into the mountains. Fighting them again is not a big deal... But Zhenla is different. Its territory is vast and its terrain is complex. Without an army of 200,000, it would be difficult to pacify the entire territory. However, such a large-scale mobilization of troops would inevitably cost a lot. The little bit of resources we have accumulated with great difficulty would be wiped out in one battle."

Fang Jun picked up his teacup and drank water, completely ignoring him.

From Liu Ji's perspective, he would not support this battle, either for public or private reasons. However, from Fang Jun's strategic point of view, this battle was unavoidable.

Instead of arguing and getting entangled in endless debates, it's better to do things your own way.

Moreover, this battle doesn't require 200,000 troops at all; with Su Dingfang in command, a single naval force is sufficient...

(End of this chapter)