Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 366: Beheading
After the Japanese army set out, Nakada-e stayed awake all night, standing on a high cliff and looking into the distance to the north.

At this time, the sky gradually brightened, and suddenly Nakatomi Kamatari came walking quickly, his face pale and his expression very panicked.

Zhongdae-niang knew something was wrong and asked anxiously, "Kamatari, what happened?"

Nakatomi Kamatari said, "Prince, the Tang envoy from Kameikan has escaped."

The elder brother's face changed slightly. He said, "I gave you three thousand men to capture him, but he only has a hundred men around him. How can he escape?"

Nakatomi Kamatari said, "He escaped before we could capture him."

Zhong Daxiong's face changed drastically.

The Tang people escaped early, which means they guessed that they would take action. Could it be that the plan has been leaked?
"Chase them quickly, mobilize all your forces and make sure to catch them!" said the eldest brother in a stern voice.

Nakatomi Kamatari received the order and was about to leave when he suddenly stared blankly at the sea with his eyes wide open.

When the eldest brother turned around, he was also petrified on the spot.

Dozens of warships appeared on the sea, coming with the wind, their formation was disorganized, and the flags on the bow were crooked.

When they set out, the troops were in good order and the flags covered the sky, but now they are in such a state. If they had not been defeated and fled back, then what else could it be?

Zhong Daxiong ran down the cliff and came to the vicinity of the water fort. He looked up and saw a general getting off the boat. It was Abehirov.

Nakano-ohie's eyes were bloodshot, and he shouted, "General Abe, what's going on?"

Abebirov was not polite at all. He gripped the hilt of the knife and said coldly, "Your Highness has a good plan. You have led us into a trap set by the Tang people!"

Zhong Daxiong lost his voice and said, "How could this be?"

At this time, Queen Bao also received the news and came over with her attendants. Looking at Abehirov and others who had returned in defeat, she trembled and said, "General Abe, how could this be?"

Abehirov pointed at Nakano-oe and gritted his teeth, saying, "Your Majesty, we have fallen into a trap set by the Tang people. If we had not listened to Your Majesty and held our ground on the Japanese coast, how could we have suffered such a crushing defeat?"

Nakatomi Kamatari shouted, "You agreed at the beginning, but now you're putting the blame on His Highness the Prince?"

Abebirov said coldly: "That's because Her Majesty the Queen has been bewitched by the prince!"

Queen Bao's face turned pale and she asked anxiously, "How many men and horses were lost?"

Abebirov glanced back, shook his head and sighed, "Except for those who returned, the others have sunk into the Baekje Sea."

Queen Bao staggered and almost fell.

She took a deep breath, slowly turned her head, and stared at Zhongdaxiong.

"At this point, what else do you have to say?"

The eldest brother said in a deep voice: "Mother, please calm down. Right now..."

Queen Bao waved her hand and angrily shouted, "I don't want to hear your explanation anymore. Come, take the prince away and put him under house arrest!"

With a "clang", Abebirov drew his sword from its sheath, and the army he brought back quickly surrounded Naka no Oe.

Brother Zhong felt a chill on his back.

Queen Bao obviously intended to take advantage of this defeat to put all the blame on him, remove him as an obstacle, and take control of Japan!

There are not many guards around Zhong Daxiong, so if they fight, they will be no match for him.

"Put down your blades, I'll leave it to mother to deal with." The eldest brother waved his hand.

He knew that this risky attack was a big mistake.

Although Queen Bao is not good at state affairs, she is brave and ruthless in power struggles. Now that she has seized the opportunity, she will not let it go.

Two guards walked towards Zhong Daxiong holding iron chains.

At this moment, a large ship came over on the sea, and someone exclaimed: "It's a Tang Dynasty warship, the Tang people are coming!"

……

With two "ding ding" sounds, the iron chain tied up Dahaiman tightly.

Murakami was furious and drew his sword. However, before he could draw his sword, a man came over and kicked him in the hand holding the sword, then turned around and kicked him away.

Dahairen looked at his men who were knocked away by Li Yuanfang and asked angrily, "What are you doing?"

Di Renjie stood at the foot of Chunming Gate, folding his arms, and asked, "Prince Dahairen, where are you going?"

Dahairen turned his back and showed Di Renjie his bow and arrows, saying, "I just want to go out hunting."

Di Renjie asked, "Before you go out hunting, do you want to burn all the letters and take the envoy's seal with you?"

The sea man's face changed color and he asked, "Have you been watching me?"

"You can't go back to Japan, so you'd better stay in jail for a few days. Come, take you away!" Di Renjie waved his hand.

After taking Dahairen to Dali Prison, Di Renjie went straight to the palace to report to Li Zhi.

When Li Zhi heard that Dahai was preparing to escape, he knew that the Japanese had already taken action.

Sure enough, six days later, an urgent message came from Yingzhou, which was sent over 800 miles away, saying that the Tang army had won a great victory at Xiongjin Port, beheaded more than 20,000 people, and captured nearly 10,000 people.

In this battle, more than 50,000 Japanese soldiers were killed, most of whom drowned.

The Tang Dynasty used beheadings to record military merits, so after a war, the Tang army would search by boat, salvage the bodies of Japanese who fell into the water, and cut off their heads.

However, the ocean currents were turbulent and many bodies were washed away, making them difficult to find, so only more than 20,000 heads and nearly 10,000 captives were recovered.

When the news of this great victory reached Chang'an City, the people of Chang'an were a little confused.

They only heard that the Japanese were preparing to attack Ezo, but they did not expect that the Japanese would suddenly attack the Tang Dynasty and be killed in return.

In any case, it was a victory news after all, which did not prevent the emperor from holding a banquet in Chengqing Hall to celebrate, nor did it prevent this victory news from becoming a topic of discussion during the New Year.

On December 28, the last day before the holiday, Jiang Ke returned to Chang'an.

The urgent report sent by Liu Rengui only briefly described the results of the battle, but did not mention the process at all.

Jiang Ke personally participated in this battle.

Li Zhi immediately summoned Jiang Ke into the palace and listened to his detailed account of the battle.

Jiang Ke entered the palace and said, "Your Majesty, the enemy attacked Xiongjin Port on December 16th. Thanks to the intelligence provided by the Internal Guards, we were able to prepare in advance."

He bowed to Wang Jishan who was standing beside him, and Wang Jishan returned the greeting.

Li Zhi asked for details of the battle.

Jiang Ke replied, "After the Japanese army attacked Xiongjin Port, our army feigned defeat and fled eastward, giving up the port. At the same time, we sent people to notify the main force of the Yingzhou navy under Commander-in-Chief Liu."

"We waited until Commander Liu's fleet arrived, then we turned back and attacked. We attacked from both land and sea, and after a night of fighting, we defeated the Japanese army. It's a pity that the Japanese commander escaped."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi asked, "What's the situation at Baijiangkou?"

Jiang Ke smiled and said, "It's easier to fight over there. General Sun Renshi will lead 30,000 naval forces to block the river mouth. The Japanese will directly fight our army at sea."

"The Japanese charged four times, but were repelled each time, unable to break through the mouth of the river." "General Sun Renshi also used rapid-fire rockets, throwing fire with the wind. When I arrived at the mouth of the Baijiang River, I saw smoke and flames rising to the sky, and the sea was completely red. Except for one Japanese unit that seized a ship and escaped, the rest of the Japanese were sunk to the bottom of the river."

Li Zhi asked, "Did the Japanese seize our warships?"

Jiang Ke said, "Yes, after their ships were burned, they took the initiative to approach our warships. Firstly, they wanted to set our warships on fire and perish together. Secondly, they wanted to seize our warships."

Li Zhi was moved and asked, "Can our warships be set on fire?"

Jiang Ke smiled and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. General Sun Renshi has made preparations in advance. He has wrapped iron sheets around the warships. The enemy ships cannot set our warships on fire, nor can they use grappling hooks to climb onto our warships."

Li Zhi was surprised: "Then why was another ship captured?"

Jiang Kexuan frowned slightly and said, "Among the Japanese, there is a group wearing sharkskin clothes. They are good at using a kind of rope and claw. They throw it on the edge of the boat to hook it and climb onto the boat."

"This group of people are very agile and should be the elite of the Japanese. However, they only captured one large ship, and only a few hundred people escaped. The rest of the Japanese were wiped out by our army."

Li Zhi nodded, feeling quite happy.

The result of this battle was even more complete than the previous Battle of Baekgang. It seems that his arrangements over the past few months have not been in vain!
Jiang Ke said, "When the news of our victory reached Baekje, Buyeo Ui-ji was extremely frightened, fearing that our army would take advantage of the situation and attack, so he fled to Gwangju."

"Hei Chi Chang Zhi led his troops south and conquered more than ten cities in three days. When I left Xiongjin Port, Hei Chi Chang Zhi had already reached Jinzhou. Sixty percent of Baekje's territory fell into the hands of Buyeo Bok Shin."

Li Zhi asked, "Can General Liu Renyuan escape from Japan successfully?"

Jiang Ke hesitated for a moment and said, "According to the Internal Guards, he has successfully escaped from Guijing Pavilion, but has not returned to Yingzhou."

Li Zhi's face darkened and he asked, "Did something happen?"

Jiang Ke said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Commander Liu said he might have gone to Ezo."

Li Zhi asked curiously, "What is he going to do in Ezo?"

Jiang Ke said, "Commander Liu said that before he left, he gave General Liu Renyuan a treasure bag and told him to open it in times of crisis."

"Oh, what's written in the sachet?"

Jiang Ke said, "Tell General Liu in the brocade bag that if escape doesn't go smoothly and the sea route is blocked, then take the land route, heading north along the Japanese route, and escape to the Emishi territory. The Japanese will never guess."

Li Zhi stroked his chin and said, "Since we're fighting Japan, I assume Ezo won't dare to embarrass General Liu. This is indeed a solution. But since Liu Renyuan escaped successfully, why did he still go to Ezo?"

Jiang Ke scratched his head and smiled bitterly, "Maybe he wants to persuade Ezo to join us in dealing with Japan?"

Li Zhi was speechless.

The Tang Dynasty generals under his command seemed to be willing to risk their lives in order to achieve merit.

Li Zhi asked, "What's the latest news from Japan?"

Jiang Ke laughed and said, "Things are very lively over in Japan. According to the Internal Guard, the Queen of Japan has shifted all the blame onto Zhong Daxiong and is planning to capture him and seize power."

"However, another group of Japanese arrived on our warships and thwarted the Queen of Japan's plan."

Li Zhi's heart moved, and he said, "Could it be the group of Japanese who escaped from Baijiangkou?"

Jiang Ke said, "Your Majesty is wise, it's them. The leader of that group is called Guidao Kawakiyo, originally a pirate. After he rescued Nakano-ohie, the two factions in Japan began fighting among themselves!"

Li Zhi said, "They already had conflicts, and they only temporarily united to deal with us. Now that they've been defeated, they're going to blame each other."

Jiang Ke said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. Their internal fighting this time was extremely fierce. It is said that the Chikushi Asakura Palace was littered with corpses and blood flowed like a river."

Li Zhi asked, "Who won?"

Jiang Ke said, "Nakadae-niang won. Queen Bao escaped from Wa and went to Baekje under the protection of Abehirafu."

Li Zhi was stunned and asked, "Did she go to Fuyu Yici?"

Jiang Ke smiled and said, "That's right. She probably wants to use the power of Buyeo Yici to make a comeback. It's a pity that Yici was also beaten back by Fuxin and is unable to help her."

Li Zhi touched the short beard on his chin, looking thoughtful.

Although the Queen of Japan failed in the battle, she still has certain power in the country. If we want to destroy Japan in the future, we may be able to make use of this queen.

It is easy to defeat the Japanese army, but it is not easy to invade Japanese territory and destroy them. It requires careful planning.

In any case, after this great victory, the initiative is firmly in our hands.

Li Zhi was in a good mood. He praised Jiang Ke a few words and then let him leave.

With his mind in turmoil, he could no longer sit still in the palace, so he put on a cloak and walked along a path in the harem.

The flowers in the harem had all withered and were covered with frost, and icicles hung on the branches of the trees, making it look like silver trees blooming.

Li Zhi felt that this year was not as cold as in previous years.

"Fusheng, it hasn't snowed this year, right?" he asked.

Wang Fusheng said softly, "It was only in mid-December that there was a hailstorm, and it hasn't snowed since then."

Li Zhi frowned. It snows in Chang'an every winter. The climate this year is abnormal, and he is afraid that there will be some disaster next year.

Although the battle of Xiongjin Port lasted only one or two days, a lot of money and food were consumed in the early preparations. We cannot just focus on fighting anymore, we need to replenish this money and food.

The target of replenishment is naturally Japan.

This battle severely damaged Japan. However, in order to destroy them, they had to be consumed from within. Signing a war reparations agreement was the first step.

But there is no rush. The battle at Xiongjin Port almost exhausted Japan's elite main force, which will disrupt the regional balance.

In the next few months, all countries will take action, and I am afraid that there will be unrest within Japan.

When the situation in Japan becomes worse, with internal and external troubles, that will be the best time to force them to sign a compensation agreement.

Li Zhi was so engrossed in his thoughts that he walked too fast and slipped on an icy blue brick.

Wang Fusheng moved very quickly and rushed forward to support Li Zhi, but his feet slipped.

The moment he tilted, he pushed his palms against the ground and fell forward. When Li Zhi fell, he fell on his back.

All the eunuchs and palace servants were shocked and went forward to support Li Zhi and Wang Fusheng. At this moment, a burst of "puff" laughter came from a distance.

Li Zhi turned around and saw a young girl hiding far away behind a rockery. She looked at him for a moment with her big, bright eyes, then turned and ran away.

An eunuch was about to chase after him, but Li Zhi stood up and said, "No need to chase," and pulled Wang Fusheng up.

"Fu Sheng, who was that girl just now? She doesn't look like a palace maid, does she?"

Wang Fusheng also saw the girl and frowned, saying, "A palace maid trained by Consort Jiang and Consort He would never be so presumptuous! Your Majesty, would you like me to investigate?"

Li Zhi shook his head.

Wu Meiniang often invited ladies of noble birth into the palace. Perhaps this girl followed one of them into the palace, which was not worth making a fuss about.

He continued along the path, his pace slowing down a bit.

As we were walking, we suddenly saw a group of people walking quickly towards us from a distance.

(End of this chapter)