Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 288 Your Majesty, why not summon Xu Jingzong?
In the Lizheng Hall, Wu Meiniang was practicing calligraphy, while Wu Ruyi was watching with Li Xian in her arms.

Since Wu Ruyi entered the palace, Wu Meiniang would always accompany Li Xian whenever she taught him.

Every time Wu Meiniang taught Li Xian a lesson, Wu Ruyi would stand by and speak up for Li Xian.

Over time, Li Xian also found that Wu Ruyi could become his backer, and he became obsessed with his aunt, and he talked about her all the time.

Wu Meiniang was helpless with her sister, and as her belly grew bigger and her energy declined, she had no choice but to let it go.

Zhang Duohai's injury has not healed yet, and the eunuch serving him in Lizheng Hall is Wang Hong.

He came into the palace and said to Wu Meiniang, "Your Highness, His Majesty is coming this way."

Wu Meiniang then put down her pen and went out with Wu Ruyi to welcome the emperor.

After a while, Li Zhi arrived at the Lizheng Hall and was welcomed into the bedroom.

After Wu Ruyi bowed to Li Zhi, she was about to leave. Li Xian saw her leaving and twisted around in his guardian's arms, shouting, "I want my aunt to hold me, I want my aunt to hold me!"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "It seems Xian'er really likes me. Ruyi, take Xian'er out to play."

Wu Ruyi smiled, pinched Li Xian's little face, and carried the little guy out.

Li Zhi sat next to Wu Meiniang, staring at her belly for a while, and said in surprise: "Meiniang, your belly seems to be bigger than the imperial concubine's!"

Wu Meiniang stroked her belly gently and said with a smile: "Maybe this baby is growing stronger."

Li Zhi laughed and said, "I remember when Xian'er was born, he weighed more than seven pounds. I'm afraid this child will be even fatter than Xian'er."

The two chatted for a while, and Wu Meiniang noticed that Li Zhi was worried and asked with concern, "Is there anything worrying about your majesty?"

Li Zhi sighed and said, "Just now at the court meeting, the ministers were all clamoring to attack Goguryeo."

Wu Meiniang was secretly puzzled. In her opinion, Li Zhi was very similar to Emperor Taizong. Both of them were brave and aggressive in military affairs. Why would he worry about military affairs?
In recent years, under the leadership of Li Zhi, the court has fought many wars. Although she is in the harem, she has been secretly paying attention to it.

"Your Majesty, do you not want to fight this battle?" she asked tentatively.

Li Zhi said slowly: "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that the time is not right yet."

Wu Meiniang asked curiously, "Timing?"

Li Zhi glanced at her and said, "I can predict that within ten years, Goguryeo will be in civil strife. That will be the best opportunity to attack Goguryeo."

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Is it the same as your Majesty's assertion that I am pregnant?"

Li Zhi touched his nose and said, "That's about right."

Wu Meiniang pondered for a moment and said, "If Your Majesty does not want to fight now, I do have a plan."

Li Zhi held her hand and asked, "What's the solution?"

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Your Majesty can summon Li Chunfeng to the throne and ask him to cooperate with Your Majesty and use astrology to predict the division of Goguryeo. The ministers will probably believe it."

Li Zhi frowned and said nothing.

Although the feudal superstitions of this period could indeed be used as tools, if used too much, it would make the people more superstitious, which was not what Li Zhi wanted to see.

Wu Meiniang saw his expression and knew that he was unwilling, so she changed the subject and asked, "Your Majesty, have you caught that Baekje spy?"

Li Zhi said: "He has been caught and has surrendered to us." His heart suddenly jumped and an idea came into his mind.

"Mei Niang, do you want to meet her?" he asked with a smile.

Wu Meiniang noticed that he looked strange and said, "I was just looking forward to seeing her."

Li Zhi nodded and said to Wang Fusheng, "Summon Jin Yan to an audience."

After a while, Wang Fusheng brought Jin Yan to Lizheng Hall.

Jin Yan had changed into clean and decent clothes and had done her makeup carefully.

She was not bad-looking to begin with, but with Empress Wu around, most women would pale in comparison to her.

Li Zhi looked at her for a moment and asked, "Lady Jin, I heard that you are the daughter of a Baekje princess. Is this true?"

Jin Yan held her chin high and said calmly, "Your Majesty, my mother is none other than Princess Yuya of Baekje!"

Li Zhi said, "I also heard that Baekje was ruled by the Buyeo people and the Mahan people. Your mother seems to have Mahan ancestry?"

A trace of sadness appeared on Jin Yan's face and she lowered her head.

"My mother and I both have Mahan blood."

Then he raised his head and said proudly, "The Buyeo people are nothing special. Back then, Baekje was just a small tribe that migrated from Goguryeo and had to rely on the Mahan people."

Li Zhi asked, "Then how did they become the host?"

Jin Yan thought for a moment and said, "At that time, there were many countries in Mahan, and Baekje was only a very small one, called the State of Boje."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "I know that there are fifty-eight countries in Mahan."

Jin Yan asked in surprise, "How do you know?"

Li Zhi said: "Of course I saw it in history books."

Jin Yan said, "We in Baekje also have history books, called 'Shuji'."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "I'd like to take a look at the history books you've recorded someday if I have the chance."

Jin Yan said, "My mother once taught me how to write. If not, I wouldn't know the origins of the Buyeo people."

Wu Meiniang suddenly said, "Since your history books were recorded by the Fuyu people, they may not be true."

Jin Yan frowned, showing a somewhat unconvinced expression.

However, Li Zhi knew that Wu Meiniang was right. Not to mention Baekje, even the rulers of the Central Plains dynasties would tamper with history.

Not to mention the distant past, let’s just talk about Li Shimin. In Li Zhi’s impression, many of his behaviors were different from history.

Furthermore, even if the monarch did not change, the historians would still add personal emotions when recording history. Even someone like Sima Qian had two different attitudes when recording Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Li Guang.

"Mrs. Jin, please continue."

Jin Yan nodded and said, "At that time, Mahan consisted of fifty-eight nations, with the leader being Muzhi. However, because they led the other nations in a war against the Central Plains dynasty, they were defeated and their prestige was greatly diminished. Baekje then replaced them as leader."

Wu Meiniang asked: "Which dynasty was the Central Plains dynasty at that time?"

Jin Yan hesitated and said, "The secretary didn't record it. I think it might be Han."

Li Zhi didn't know much about this period of history. When he was thinking about how to verify it, Wu Meiniang beside him said softly:

"Your Majesty, why not call Xu Jingzong over? He is quite familiar with the history of various dynasties."

Xu Jingzong compiled the national history for a long time. In the court, when it comes to understanding the history of various dynasties, I am afraid no one can surpass him.

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Alright, summon Xu Jingzong to the throne."

Xu Jingzong was sitting in the Ministry of Rites. When he heard that the emperor summoned him, he came to the Lizheng Hall at a very fast pace. His running speed did not seem like that of a man in his sixties.

Li Zhi saw him coming into the hall panting, sweating profusely as he saluted, and said with a smile: "Xu Qing, there is no need to be so polite. Fu Sheng, please take a seat."

After Xu Jingzong sat down, he said to him: "Xu Qing, I asked you to come here to ask about the situation in Baekje."

Xu Jingzong wiped his sweat and said with a smile, "Baekje, they are a country founded by the descendants of Jumong. Which part do you want to know about, Your Majesty?"

Wu Meiniang said, "Let's talk about how Baekje became the leader of the Mahan tribes."

Xu Jingzong smiled slightly and said, "That was during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The Han Dynasty had already fallen and the country was divided into three kingdoms. The north was controlled by the Wei Kingdom, and the leader of the Mahan Alliance was the Muzhi Kingdom, also known as the Yuezhi Kingdom."

Seeing that the old man was so familiar with his country's history and knew it like the back of his hand, Jin Yan couldn't help but glance at him and secretly admire him.

Xu Jingzong continued, "During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty was in turmoil, and the Mahan tribes took advantage of the situation to invade Daifang County. Daifang's prefect, Gong Zun, led his troops to defeat the Mahan people, but he was seriously wounded and died on the battlefield."

"Mahan was severely weakened, and Muji was unable to gain the support of the people, so it was replaced by Boje, which is now the Baekje Kingdom."

After hearing this, Jin Yan was stunned and speechless.

According to the history she read in the book, the Mahan tribes were clearly at war with the entire Central Plains dynasty, which was why they were defeated.

How come in the history of the Central Plains dynasty, it became a war with a county in the Central Plains?
Looking at the old man's appearance, he didn't seem to be lying, so she immediately became suspicious.

Li Zhi said, "Mrs. Jin, please continue."

Jin Yan's chin was no longer raised as high as before, and she whispered, "Later, Baekje used its position as leader to continue to grow stronger, unifying the tribal alliance into a large country."

After a pause, he continued, "The records show that Baekje went to war with the Central Plains dynasty again, and two generations of kings died in this battle. The royal family's rule was unstable, so they began to marry into the Jin clan. Every generation of Buyeo kings would marry a woman from the Jin clan."

After saying this, he looked at Xu Jingzong.

Xu Jingzong interjected, "This should be the period of the Five Barbarians' invasion. The Baekje people also wanted to take advantage of the situation and attacked the Jin Dynasty's Lelang County, but were repelled by the prefect."

After hearing this, Jin Yan fell silent.

Wu Meiniang's eyes lit up with a smile, and she said, "Madam Jin, please continue."

Xu Jingzong also blinked, as if urging her to speak faster so that he could continue to add.

Jin Yan whispered, "Since someone in your country knows about Baekje's situation, Your Majesty and Your Highness, why are you asking me?"

Li Zhi said sternly, "You are speaking from the perspective of the Baekje people, and Xu Qing is interpreting from the perspective of the Central Plains dynasty. Only by corroborating each other can the true history be restored."

Jin Yan glanced at him and said, "After Goguryeo became powerful, Baekje was often defeated and its status was shaken. It could only support more nobles to help them maintain their rule."

Li Zhi asked, "Are these nobles all from Buyeo?"

Jin Yan said: "Of course, Baekje has three classes. The top class is the Buyeo royal family, the second class is the Buyeo nobles, and only the bottom class is the Mahan common people. People with Mahan blood cannot become officials."

Li Zhi frowned and said, "The number of Mahan people in Baekje should be greater, right?"

Jin Yan said: "Yes, more than 90% of the country's population are Ma Han people."

"Then why didn't the Mahan people rebel against the Buyeo people?"

Jin Yan said, "Silla once secretly supported the Mahan people and wanted to overthrow the Buyeo people. Later, with the help of Goguryeo, they put down the rebellion."

After listening to this, Li Zhi couldn't help but marvel at it.

Baekje was like a combination of Goguryeo and Silla, with relationships with both sides. If one side wanted to deal with them, the other side might help.

This is how the peculiar relationship among the three countries was formed.

Li Zhi said, "Then let me ask you, if Baekje were to be destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, would the people of Baekje be more inclined to submit to the Tang Dynasty, Silla, or Goguryeo?"

Jin Yan said without hesitation: "Of course it is Silla. If you destroy Baekje, you will hit the Buyeo people, and the lower-level Mahan people will only turn to Silla."

Wu Meiniang suddenly asked, "Is the language of the Mahan people the same as that of the Silla people?"

Jin Yan nodded and said, "That's right. This is also the reason why the Mahan people are willing to accept Silla's rule."

After listening to her explanation of the situation in Baekje, Li Zhi nodded secretly.

No wonder after Su Dingfang destroyed Baekje, Baekje was taken over by Silla.

They have a popular base, and no matter how strong the Tang Dynasty's army is, it cannot win the hearts of the people.

Li Zhi glanced at Xu Jingzong and said, "Mr. Xu, do you think that after the Tang Dynasty conquers Baekje, we can protect Baekje?"

Xu Jingzong was about to reply when Empress Wu glanced at him. He was startled and said hastily, "Your Majesty, I think it will be difficult to save her."

Li Zhi asked, "If that's the case, do you still support Li Qing's plan to attack Goguryeo?"

Xu Jingzong hurriedly said, "I was not thoughtful enough before. From this point of view, the matter of attacking Goguryeo requires long-term planning."

Li Zhi nodded and waved his hand to order Xu Jingzong and Jin Yan to leave.

(End of this chapter)