Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 364 The Second Prince's Cockfight

In the early morning, the red sun rose from the east, and a light mist rose on the sea, and everything was blurry two miles away.

The air in the early morning is particularly fresh, with the unique salty smell of sea water, which makes people feel refreshed.

Brother Zhong stood on the cliff, looking far into the west with a hint of worry on his face.

"Your Highness, are you worried about the Third Prince?" Nakatomi Kamatari's voice came from behind.

Zhong Daxiong said, "He, like you, is the person I trust most. After I die, only he can make the Japanese nation stronger. Unfortunately, in order to gain the trust of the Tang people, sending a prince is the best option."

Nakatomi Kamatari whispered, "I believe that the Third Prince will return safely."

The elder brother waved his hand and said, "There's no point in overthinking. Is Mother meeting the Tang people?"

Nakatomi Kamatari smiled and said, "Yes, the Tang Dynasty sent the Deputy Governor of Yingzhou this time. It seems that they have been deceived by you."

Zhong Daxiong said, "In their hearts, they don't take us seriously at all. They are indeed powerful, but in this ocean, nothing is impossible. The weak can defeat the strong, and the inferior can overcome the superior!"

Nakatomi Kamatari said, "It's a pity that the army is still led by Abehirafu. If it were led by Onijima Kawakiyo, the chances of victory would be greater."

Zhong Daxiong said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Since the plan has failed, we can only retreat for now. Mother has also made concessions and let Guidao serve as deputy general. Among the twelve armies, three are under Guidao's command."

Nakatomi Kamatari asked, "Your Highness, have you and the Queen decided on the time to dispatch the troops?"

Zhong Daxiong narrowed his eyes and said, "It's already been decided. It will happen when the Tang people are most vulnerable and defenseless."

Nakatomi Kamatari had an idea and guessed when Nakano-oe would take action.

"Your Highness, should we summon Prince Dahai back in advance?"

"No, he must stay in Chang'an to minimize the vigilance of the Tang people."

"But if war breaks out, the Tang people will definitely kill him to vent their anger."

Zhong Daxiong was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't worry, I have made all the arrangements. At the appropriate time, I will have the Shenzhao Army lurking in Chang'an inform him of the situation and help him escape."

……

"Your Highness, it's already this late, and you're still in the mood to go shopping!"

"Cun Guo, relax a little. It's a rare opportunity to come to Chang'an City. Have you ever seen such a prosperous place in your life?"

Cun Guonan snorted and said, "I haven't seen it, but you should know how dangerous it was this time. They didn't allow you to go back and made you stay until December. Isn't this..."

Dahairen interrupted, "Murakoku, this is Chang'an." He turned his head and looked at him coldly.

Murakami whispered, "I speak Japanese, and the Tang people can't understand."

Dahairen said in a deep voice, "Is there no one in Chang'an who can understand Japanese?"

Murakami whispered, "Yes."

The seaman looked at the dazzling array of goods around him and said with emotion, "The people of the village country and the land are indeed rich in products and look different. Look, their horses are so tall and strong."

Murakami whispered, "They all call our horses ponies."

When Dahai saw people buying rice, he walked to the rice shop and asked about the price of rice. He found that after converting it into Japanese money, it was ridiculously low.

In Japan, even members of the royal family cannot eat rice casually.

Ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty could afford to eat it, which made him sigh at the vastness of the Central Plains and think that it would be great if such a rich place belonged to Japan.

At this time, there was a commotion on the street. A group of people gathered in front of a tea stall, talking about something loudly.

Dahairen walked over and heard someone say, "Really? Are you sure it's the Second Prince?"

"No doubt, it's His Royal Highness the Second Prince."

"Who is so bold as to bet with His Royal Highness the Second Prince?"

"Hehe, I heard it was the young man from the Duke of Ying's mansion."

"No wonder, that young man is fearless. You don't usually see this kind of excitement. Go and have a look!"

"Let's go and take a look!"

A group of people immediately ran towards the street.

"Murakoku, did you hear that? They seemed to have mentioned the second prince just now. He should be a prince of the Tang Dynasty." Dahairen asked.

"Yes."

The seaman narrowed his eyes and said, "Let's go and take a look at what kind of person the prince of a great country is."

The two immediately followed the crowd, quickly left the East Market, and came to Pingkangfang North Street, where they stopped outside a magnificent pavilion.

Looking up, I saw the words "Mo Jia Xuan" written on the upper floor.

Mojiaxuan's business was booming in the Tang Dynasty and it has recently expanded. Two small buildings were built on the left and right sides of the original main building. One is called the Chicken Building and the other is called the Insect Building.

The guests who came to Mo Jiaxuan at this moment were all here to see the cockfighting between the Second Prince and the eldest grandson of the Duke of Yingguo.

The hall of the Chicken Building is more spacious than that of the Insect Building. In order to leave room for cockfighting, there is no furniture in the hall. There is only a cockfighting arena about ten feet square in the center.

All you could hear was the incessant "clucking" sound as two high-crested roosters fought fiercely in the cockfighting arena, with feathers flying everywhere and blood dripping everywhere.

The people watching nearby were waving their fists as if they were injected with chicken blood.

"Bite it! Peck it!"

Oama and Murakuni were both very shocked when they saw Tangren's crazy look.

In Japan, the chicken is one of the five beasts. In Japanese mythology, it is the messenger of God and it is forbidden to kill it.

The fact that the Tang people actually enjoyed cockfighting, and that the prince was the leader, really shocked the two of them.

The seaman raised his head and looked upward.

On the second floor of the cockfighting arena, there are two VIP buildings located at the east and west ends respectively.

The windows on both floors were open, and behind each window stood a row of people, standing in the best viewing position, watching the cockfighting below.

Dahairen glanced to the left and right, and saw a handsome young man in his twenties standing in the center of the east building.

In the west building was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old, surrounded by a group of people.

Dahairen asked, "How old is the Second Prince of the Tang Dynasty this year?"

Murakuni Nanyi said: "It should be no more than twenty."

Dahairen nodded and looked at the young man in the west building.

He didn't look particularly good, but he was staring at the cockfighting arena with an excited expression on his face.

"Hmph, the prince of the Tang Dynasty is nothing more than this." He made an internal assessment.

Just as the two chickens were fighting happily, there was a sudden "bang" sound from outside. It turned out that a young man kicked the door and walked in.

"Stop fighting!" the young man shouted.

Dahairen looked at him and saw that he was slightly shorter than the second prince, but his limbs were strong and sturdy, and it was obvious that he practiced martial arts frequently.

Everyone around looked at the uninvited guest in surprise.

Everyone was wondering where this young man came from. How dare he disturb the Second Prince and the young man from the Duke of England's cockfighting? Isn't he asking for a fight?
However, the expected situation did not happen.

The two rooms on the second floor were completely silent, and no one scolded the young man.

Finally, someone recognized the boy.

"My God, the Third Prince is here too."

"What, he is the Third Prince?"

The Third Prince, Li Yong, had only just opened his own residence this year, so not many people knew him. Dahairen looked at this younger Tang prince and thought to himself, "It seems that Tang princes aren't all fools after all."

Everyone was stunned by Li Yong's shout, and Li Xiao and Li Jiye on the second floor did not say a word.

However, the two chickens on the cockfighting stage continued to fight fiercely!
Li Yong was furious. He jumped into the cockfighting arena nimbly and reached out to grab a chicken by the neck.

Li Yong's guards outside the door were shocked and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, danger!"

Fighting cocks are different from ordinary chickens. Once they become aggressive after fighting, they will peck you regardless of whether you are a human or a chicken.

When the chicken saw Li Yong coming to catch it, it turned around and pecked at it. Unexpectedly, Li Yong reacted very quickly. With a flip of his wrist, he grabbed the chicken's neck.

Next, he did the same thing, grabbed another chicken by the neck, walked to the chicken coop, and locked the two chickens in.

Everyone around was stunned. They didn't expect that the third prince, at such a young age, had such agile skills.

In the hearts of Dahai people, Li Yong's evaluation was once again improved.

Li Yong strode up to the second floor on the west side, pushed the door open, and said to Li Xiao inside, "Second brother, you are a prince, how can you fight cockfighting in a place like this? If father knew, how could he forgive you?"

Li Xiao stared at him for a while without saying a word, then walked past Li Yong and left the house.

Li Yong looked at his indifferent back and felt extremely uncomfortable.

When he and Li Xiao lived in Daji Hall together, their relationship was very close.

However, since Li Xiaokai opened his government, his personality has changed drastically.

He spent all his time hanging out with a bunch of sons of nobles. He no longer liked playing Cuju or reading. He spent his days cockfighting, running errands, or having fun at Qujiang Lake, and even visited brothels.

Li Yong was afraid that he would be led astray by that group of people, so he beat them up, which led to the deterioration of their relationship.

Later, every time Li Yong heard that he was making trouble, he would rush to dissuade him. However, every time he dissuaded him, their relationship became worse and worse.

In less than two years, the close relationship between the two brothers suddenly became like strangers.

When Li Yong left Mojiaxuan, he found that Li Xiao had already left in a carriage. Feeling lost, he rode his horse towards the palace.

The prince who left the palace could not enter the palace at will. He needed to ask the eunuchs for permission, and the eunuchs would report to the emperor or empress.

Only with the permission of one of them can you enter the palace.

After Li Yong opened his office, he often entered the palace and went straight to the Eunuch Bureau. After waiting for a while, a eunuch from the Palace Bureau came over and said that the emperor had allowed him to enter the palace.

Li Yong followed the eunuch, passed through the palace gate, and walked all the way to Penglai Palace. He soon arrived at the side courtyard of Penglai Palace and paid a visit to his biological mother, Yang Cairen.

Due to the recent tightening of clothing and austerity measures in the palace, Yang Cairen, who has a low rank, has been greatly affected and is currently cutting new clothes in the palace.

Li Yong saw this and asked in surprise, "Mother, how can you do these servants' work?"

Yang Cairen didn't want to tell her son about her predicament, so she smiled and said, "I have nothing to do, so I just cut it for fun."

Handing the clothes to a maid, she asked him, "Why do you have time to come and see me today?"

Li Yong sat on the chair, dejected, and said, "Mother, I met my second brother again today. He seems to hate me more and more."

Yang Cairen asked, "Is he still not doing his job properly?"

Li Yong nodded and muttered, "I really don't understand. Second brother used to be such an honest person, how could he change so much after leaving the palace?"

Yang Cairen waved at him and said, "Come here and talk to mother."

Li Yong walked over and sat down next to Yang Cairen.

Yang Cairen said softly, "Yong'er, you must remember that when you grow up in the royal family and have wealth that others cannot enjoy, you will also lose something."

Li Yong was stunned and asked, "Are you referring to brotherhood?"

Yang Cairen nodded and said, "As long as you leave the palace, you will not only be brothers, but also ministers in the same palace. It will be easy to fall into the hands of a certain faction in the court."

Li Yong said thoughtfully, "Are you saying that Second Brother has been pulled over by some force?"

Yang Cairen asked, "What do you think?"

Li Yong was silent for a while, then said, "Yes, the two people Second Brother trusts the most right now are Wei Yue from the Wei family and Zhou Boyu from the Zhou family."

In today's court, the original major forces have been divided into several smaller groups.

The Wei, Zhou and Yuwen families have close relationships and belong to one of the small groups.

This group was originally secretly promoted by Xiao Siye, but unfortunately Xiao Siye died before he could develop and expand it.

Yang Cairen stared at him and said, "Yong'er, now that you have left the palace, you must be sensible in your heart."

Li Yong muttered, "I won't be like my second brother."

Lady Yang looked at her son with pity and said, "Silly boy, don't you have descendants of the Taiyuan Wang family around you?"

Li Yong was slightly surprised.

He was indeed very close to Wang Bo, and Wang Bo also introduced some people to him, all of whom were descendants of Shandong aristocratic families.

Could it be that the rift between him and Li Xiao was due to the fact that they were both involved in different court forces?

The more Li Yong thought about it, the more frightened he became.

Yang Cairen clapped her hands, and all the servants in the room left.

"Yong'er, have you been learning martial arts from General Xue Rengui?" Yang Cairen asked in a low voice.

Li Yong hurriedly said, "I didn't take him as my teacher. I just went to the Forbidden Garden occasionally to ask General Xue for advice."

Yang Cairen whispered, "Mother knows you admire General Xue, but you must remember that he is a great general in the army. As a prince, you cannot get too close to him."

Li Yong was stunned and lowered his head.

Yang Cairen said seriously, "Even if your second brother continues to act recklessly in Chang'an City, your father will at most reprimand him. But if you make friends with military ministers, the consequences will be much more serious."

Li Yong whispered, "I just want to improve my martial arts, I don't think too much."

Yang Cairen said: "As a prince, you must think more in the future."

Li Yong sighed and said, "I always wanted to leave the palace before, but now I would rather stay in the palace forever."

Seeing that the scolding was almost over, Yang Cairen reached out and patted his shoulder, comforting him: "Just be more careful next time."

Li Yong said "hmm".

Yang Cairen changed the subject and asked, "What's the situation in Liaodong recently? Will there be more fighting?"

Li Yong suddenly perked up when he talked about the war and said, "Probably not, but I can't say for sure. The situation is very complicated right now."

Yang Cairen was not interested in these things and asked again, "I heard that Prince Chen was also involved in the Liaodong incident?"

Li Yong said enviously, "Yes, my elder brother has been sent to Laizhou, and he can also participate in the training of the navy. When I am sent to the vassal state, I must go to Yingzhou!"

Yang Cairen smiled and said, "Then you have to please your father."

Li Yong puffed out his chest and said, "Of course my father likes me. He even discussed military affairs with me in the Shenlong Palace."

Seeing him cheer up, Yang Cairen smiled and said, "I've heard you say this eight hundred times. Now, go and pay your respects to your father."

Li Yong agreed and rushed to the door when he heard Yang Cairen say, "Don't forget to pay your respects to Her Majesty the Queen as well."

At the beginning, due to the chaos in the Ministry of Rites, Li Yong was unable to open a government office. It was only after Yang Cairen went to find Empress Wu that he was able to open a government office.

So she always kept this feeling in her heart.

Li Yong agreed and quickly left Penglai Palace.

……

(End of this chapter)