Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 351 Your Majesty, please take care of your health!
Queen Bao listened carefully for a moment and heard not only the sound of weapons, but also screams.

Her expression remained calm as she spoke in a deep voice, "General Soga, go out and take a look at the situation. If the situation changes, break out and lead the troops here."

Soga no Akane agreed, drew his Japanese sword from his waist, and went out with a few guards.

Queen Bao glanced at Jin Renwen and said, "Something unexpected happened, and the foreign envoy was frightened."

Jin Ren asked, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. If the thieves come to kill us, I will do my best to protect Your Majesty's safety."

Queen Bao stared at him for a while and nodded slightly.

"Thank you."

After a long time, Soga Akagi came back with his men, his face covered in blood. None of the people who went out with him came back.

"Queen, there are assassins, there are a lot of them, they have already reached the second floor, I can't get out!" Soga Akio wiped the blood off his face, looking anxious.

Queen Bao sighed and said, "I was too careless. I was going to bring Abe with me today, but when news came from the Water Camp that a famous Tang spy had been captured, I sent him over to take a look. Now it seems someone deliberately transferred Abe away."

Abemaro said, "Queen, this must have been planned by Nakano-nii!"

Queen Bao's eyes flashed coldly, but she remained silent.

After a while, the shouting and screaming became closer and closer, as if they had already reached the door.

Soga no Akae and Abemaro commanded the guards and followers in the house to block several doors, preparing for a desperate resistance, and Jin Renwen also went to help.

After a while, someone started banging on the door, and someone broke in with a knife, killing several guards who were blocking the door.

Queen Bao's face turned a little paler, but her expression remained calm. She looked up at the ceiling, clasped her hands together, and murmured something in a low voice.

Suddenly, there was a more intense sound of fighting outside, then the sound became smaller and finally became quiet, and no one banged on the door anymore.

Just as everyone was wondering, a deep and powerful voice came from outside.

"Your Majesty, I am sorry for being late in rescuing you. Please forgive me!"

Queen Bao's face showed surprise and she shouted, "It's Abe, open the door!"

The door was soon opened, and a tall and handsome general in his thirties walked in.

Japanese people are usually short, but this one was different. He was slightly taller than Jin Renwen. He knelt on one knee and said, "I'm sorry to have frightened Her Majesty!"

Queen Bao hurried over, pulled him up, held his hand tightly, and said softly, "Abei, you saved me again."

At this time, another team came up to the third floor and walked quickly. The person leading them was Brother Zhong.

"Mother, are you okay? I'm late in coming to your rescue. Please forgive me."

Queen Bao withdrew her hand, glanced at Zhong Daxiong, and said lightly: "I'm fine, you came just in time!"

The eldest brother remained calm and said, "Mother, this place is dangerous. Please return to the palace as soon as possible."

Queen Bao stared at him for a moment and said, "Okay." She turned and winked at Abianmaro, asking him to greet Jin Renwen.

After returning to Chikushi Asakura Palace, Queen Treasure left Abehirafu alone in her bedroom.

"Abe, how did you know I would be in danger today?"

Abe said in a deep voice, "Today, the patrol team discovered a strange boat at sea. There was nothing on board except a letter saying that Brother Zhong was going to harm you. I was very surprised, so I brought people to protect you."

Queen Bao murmured, "Strange, who left this letter?"

Abe said, "Queen, can we put this matter aside for now? Should we strike back against Nakano-oe immediately?"

Queen Bao asked, "Did the assassin leave anyone alive?"

"No, they all committed suicide when they saw that they were doomed to fail."

Queen Bao sighed, "Then there's nothing we can do. Besides, even if there were witnesses, we wouldn't be able to do anything about him for now. For now, we should stick to our original plan and gather the army under the pretext of fighting the Tang Dynasty, with you leading it."

"You must quickly and quietly replace the generals loyal to Zhong Daxiong with our men, no matter what means are used. Once you control the army, it won't be too late to deal with him later."

"Yes." Abei agreed, and suddenly took two steps forward, put his arm around Queen Bao's waist, and said softly, "The Queen was frightened today. Let Abei comfort you."

Queen Bao smiled slightly, took his belt, and walked towards the tent.

The bed was shaking slightly.

It is early morning now, and the sunlight shines in from the window and falls on the curtains.

Wang Fusheng stood near the gate, looking at the shaking Luo bed with a look of worry on his face.

Lately, this has been happening every morning.

The emperor is in his prime, and if he indulges in excessive sexual activities, it will definitely damage his body.

The Empress was the same! She used to be more sensible and would get up earlier than the Emperor every morning, not giving him any chance.

However, recently, she has been getting up later and later, which has led to the emperor's indulgence!
"Your Majesty, it's already two quarters past noon." Wang Fusheng came outside the tent and reminded gently.

"Is there anything wrong?" Li Zhi's voice came from inside the tent.

Wang Fusheng said, "General Wang just reported that the Baekje envoys have arrived in Beijing. They are here to ask for something."

The curtains swayed, and Li Zhi poked his head out from the gap and asked, "What do you want?"

"I don't know either. Your Majesty can ask General Wang." Wang Fusheng said in a low voice.

He actually knew it, but just wanted to find a reason to wake up the emperor.

Li Zhi got out of bed and started to put on his clothes.

What surprised Wang Fusheng was that Li Zhi's breathing was steady and he didn't look like he had been doing strenuous exercise.

Empress Wu in the tent was slow to come out to help him change his clothes.

After the maids had served her for half of the time, Empress Wu finally came out of the tent. Her face was flushed, she was breathing slightly, and there were fine beads of sweat on her forehead.

Wang Fusheng was greatly surprised and thought to himself, "A few days ago, His Majesty was sweating profusely and breathing rapidly. Why is it the other way around today? Could it be..."

He didn't dare to think too much and walked out of the room with his head down.

After a while, Li Zhi came out dressed.

After breakfast, Li Zhi headed towards Ganlu Palace. As he walked, he asked, "Fusheng, what day is it today?"

After waiting for a long time but hearing no answer, Li Zhi turned around and saw Wang Fusheng standing in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.

Li Zhi waved his hand in front of him and asked, "Fu Sheng?"

Wang Fusheng was awakened at this moment and quickly bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty."

"What's wrong with you? You look listless. Didn't you sleep well last night?" Li Zhi asked.

Wang Fusheng hesitated for a moment and said, "I slept well last night. I wonder if Your Majesty has been sleeping well these past few days?"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "I've been sleeping well recently."

Wang Fusheng whispered, "Your Majesty, I once heard Divine Doctor Sun say that to maintain good health, one must regularly engage in light exertion, but never to the point of excessive fatigue."

"Well, if a person is too tired, it will damage the body and it will take many years to recover." Li Zhi nodded, remembering that when he was studying, he played games all night long, which made him physically weak.

Wang Fusheng hesitated for a moment, then added, "Divine Doctor Sun also said that getting up early is like a priceless remedy, like the elixir of longevity."

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look at Wang Fusheng. Seeing that Wang Fusheng looked strange, he smiled and said, "Fusheng, you have something else to say."

Wang Fusheng knelt down with a plop, bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I beg you to take care of your health!" and kowtowed to the ground.

Li Zhi helped him up and said with a smile, "I understand. You think I get up every day and indulge in lust with the queen and concubines, right?"

Wang Fusheng was stunned for a moment and said, "Could it be that Your Majesty is not..."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "I am just doing a kind of fitness exercise."

A while ago, Concubine Zheng caught a cold again. She would get sick almost every time the seasons changed.

Concubine Zheng had been in poor health because of the miscarriage she had suffered that year. Li Zhi was worried that if this continued, she would die sooner or later.

During one of Li Zhi's routine pulse checks, Sun Simiao asked him how to improve Concubine Zheng's health. Sun Simiao replied that medication alone would be ineffective and that she needed to improve her physical fitness.

Because she is too weak, strenuous exercise is not recommended at the beginning. You can start with some simple exercises to increase her physical strength. Exercise in the morning is most effective.

Li Zhi thought about it and finally came up with a solution.

That night, Li Zhi went to Xunfeng Palace. The next morning, after getting up, he taught sit-ups to Concubine Zheng.

For some reason, Concubine Zheng felt that sit-ups were too embarrassing and insisted on pulling the curtains tight before she would try.

After Li Zhi taught her to do it several times, he thought that if this method were popularized, the physical fitness of the concubines would be greatly improved.

Following his example, several concubines started doing sit-ups in the morning, except Wu Meiniang, who refused to try it no matter what.

Her reason was very good: she was in good health and didn't need to exercise.

Li Zhi did not force it. Every time he came to Lizheng Hall, after getting up early, he asked Wu Meiniang to press his feet while he practiced sit-ups.

His trick was indeed effective. This morning, Wu Meiniang couldn't resist her curiosity and decided to try it.

That's why Wang Fusheng saw her face flushed and she was panting.

After Li Zhi explained a few words, Wang Fusheng suddenly understood and thought to himself, "I want to try this exercise method myself someday."

As he was speaking, Li Zhi came to the main hall of Ganlu Palace. Not long after he sat down, Wang Jishan came over and reported to him about the affairs of Baekje.

After hearing this, Li Zhi was surprised and asked, "They want 10,000 pieces of armor?"

Wang Jishan said solemnly, "That's right, but judging from the news from Jin Yan, they just wanted to give it a try and didn't hold out much hope."

Li Zhi nodded. The armor of this period was more precious than war horses.

The grassland peoples were skilled in riding, but they were always beaten by the Tang Dynasty. One reason was that the Tang Dynasty soldiers were indeed fierce, and the other was that they had the advantage of armor.

Armor is not easy to manufacture. The armor rate of the Tang army is about 70%, which cannot fully cover the entire army. How could there be any spare capacity to provide armor for the Baekje people?

Wang Jishan added, "Your Majesty, there is news from Jinyan that Prince Nakano Oe of the Japanese Kingdom is planning a coup to overthrow Queen Bao's rule."

Li Zhi was surprised and asked, "Is the news true?"

Wang Jishan said, "It should be correct." He told him about the situation of the Japanese guards escaping to Baekje.

After listening to this, Li Zhi remained silent.

Of the two people, Queen Bao and Zhong Daxiong, Zhong Daxiong is definitely more difficult to deal with.

After Queen Takara's death, Naka no Oe succeeded him as King of Wa, and it was he who fully implemented the Taika Reform and learned the advanced systems of the Tang Dynasty.

Just as he was about to issue an order, a eunuch entered and said, "Your Majesty, Minister Hao of the Ministry of War wishes to see you."

Li Zhi ordered someone to call him in. After a while, Hao Chujun entered the hall with a memorial in his hand.

"Your Majesty, urgent news from Yingzhou."

"Send it up."

The memorial soon came into Li Zhi's hands. After reading it, Li Zhi smiled slightly.

Liu Rengui had already made a decision for Li Zhi in advance and secretly sent the inner guard to tell the Queen of Japan the news.

Li Zhi had originally given him the power to make arbitrary decisions, so this matter should be dealt with as soon as possible. Naturally, he would not be angry. He said to Hao Chujun, "Give Liu Qing the order and tell him that I have already understood and that he has done a good job."

Hao Chujun agreed and left.

Li Zhi then instructed Wang Jishan, "Have the people from the Honglu Temple receive the Baekje envoys. Don't agree to their request. Let me reconsider this matter."

Wang Jishan agreed and withdrew.

Li Zhi sat on the dragon throne, pondered for a moment, and then ordered, "Send an order to summon the chief officer of the Military Equipment Supervisor to see the emperor."

The Military Equipment Bureau was located on the east side of Chengtianmen Street, adjacent to the Guanglu Temple. It was under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu Bureau and was a department specializing in weapons manufacturing.

Throughout the dynasties, military equipment manufacturing has been undergoing complex changes.

Before the Tang Dynasty, the manufacture of military equipment was always under the jurisdiction of the Nine Ministers and the Shaofu, who were responsible for the skills of all kinds of craftsmen.

In the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of Tang merged the two departments of armor and bows and crossbows under the Shaofu Bureau, as well as the local weapons bureaus and the Baigong Bureau across the country to form the Military Equipment Bureau.

The people of the Tang Dynasty were martial and open to civilian possession of weapons. Even the government soldiers who were conscripted to fight had to bring their own weapons.

Only heavy weapons such as armor, bows and crossbows, and lances were manufactured by the Military Equipment Supervisor, distributed during wartime, and returned after the war.

Later, when the Tang Dynasty was stable and wars decreased, the status of the Military Equipment Supervisor declined and it was made a subordinate agency of the Shaofu Supervisor.

Therefore, the rank of the chief officer of the Military Equipment Supervisor is lower than that of the Supervisor of the Imperial Household, only the fourth rank, and is currently held by a man named Ouyang Tong.

Li Zhi had heard the name Ouyang Tong several times, and he was also a celebrity in Chang'an City.

He was famous not for his skill in making weapons, but for his filial piety to his mother. When his mother, Xu, died of illness, he mourned with all his heart and was known as the most strict mourner in the court.

The people of the Tang Dynasty attached great importance to filial piety, and Ouyang Tong was respected by his contemporaries for this reason.

In addition, Ouyang Tong's father was Ouyang Xun, one of the four great calligraphers of the early Tang Dynasty. Wu Meiniang highly admired Ouyang Xun's calligraphy and often copied his calligraphy.

Although Ouyang Tong's calligraphy was not as good as his father's, it was still of a fairly high standard, which made him very prestigious among the literati.

Of course, Li Zhi was not interested in any of this. He summoned Ouyang Tong just to find out about the military reserves of the Tang Dynasty.

Not long after, Ouyang Tong came into the hall and saluted Li Zhi.

Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "No need to be so polite, Lord Ouyang. If I remember correctly, you have been the Military Equipment Supervisor for three years."

"Your Majesty, I was transferred from the Supervisor of the Imperial Household to the Supervisor of Military Equipment in the first month of the eleventh year of Yonghui. It has been more than three years and two months since then." Ouyang Tong answered meticulously.

He was a typical scholar, about forty years old, tall, with three long strands of beard under his chin and a graceful demeanor.

Li Zhi said, "Then you should be quite familiar with the various weapons in the Military Equipment Bureau."

Ouyang Tongdao: "Your Majesty, what kind of weapons do you want to know about?"

Li Zhi said: "Armor."

Ouyang Tong pondered for a moment and then spoke slowly.

"Your Majesty, our dynasty has a total of thirteen types of armor: Mingguang armor, Guangyao armor, Xilin armor, Shanwen armor, Wuchui armor, chain mail armor, infantry armor, leather armor, wooden armor, horse armor, white cloth armor, soap silk armor, and cloth back armor."

"Of these thirteen types of armor, the first six are iron armor, which has the strongest defense. The middle four are leather armor, which has the second lowest defense but is lighter."

"The last three types are cloth armor, worn by generals during court or ceremonial occasions, and are not used for combat purposes."

Ouyang Tong's answer was concise and to the point. Li Zhi nodded and asked, "How much armor is currently in stock in the Military Equipment Bureau?"

Ouyang Tongdao said, "There are about 120,000 suits of armor in the sixteen warehouses, and another 200,000 suits of armor are distributed among the weapons supervisors and military commissions in various prefectures and counties."

Li Zhi asked, "How many sets of armor are there in the entire country?"

Ouyang Tongdao: "About 430,000 to 450,000."

Li Zhi nodded secretly. The Tang army had about 600,000 soldiers, and more than 400,000 of them were wearing armor, which was consistent with the 70% armor rate mentioned in the memorial.

Li Zhi thought for a moment and then asked, "Where are the main iron ore deposits in the country currently distributed?"

Ouyang Tongdao: "Most of them are in Jiangnan. The iron ore areas in Jiannan Road and Jiangnan Road account for nearly half of the country. In addition, several new iron mines have been added in Mobei recently."

Li Zhi was quite satisfied with his proficiency and asked, "Mr. Ouyang, Baekje hopes that the Tang Dynasty will provide them with 10,000 sets of armor. What do you think?"

Ouyang Tong pondered for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, I dare not speak rashly on matters of military and political importance. However, in my humble opinion, the treasury's treasury is in very short supply of high-quality iron armor and should not be supplied to foreign nations. If Your Majesty requires it, the Jiangnan Road has over 3,000 sets of old iron and leather armor available for use."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Very good, I understand. You may leave now."

Ouyang Tong bowed and left.

Li Zhi immediately drafted an edict and instructed Wang Fusheng, "Send it to the Honglu Temple."

Wang Fusheng agreed and left.

(End of this chapter)