Tang Dynasty: The Holy Prince, the Dragon that Reigns Over the World

The three armies of the Tang army landed in Japan smoothly as planned, and the news of the victory of the Tang navy annihilating the Japanese navy was sent back to the Tang Dynasty. On the day when the news of the victory of the Tang Dynasty destroying the Japanese navy arrived, Li Ling'er gave birth to Li Chengqian's third son, and Li Chengqian named him Li Wuhai to commemorate the Tang Dynasty's military conquest of the Sea of ​​Japan.

Li Wuhai was born with a big head and bright eyes, and a pair of very strong hands. Li Shimin liked him very much. In addition, the victory news of the Japanese naval battle came on the same day as Li Wuhai's birth, and Jin Shengman gave birth to a daughter who was only four hours older than Li Wuhai. Li Shimin was overjoyed by the three good things. He ordered to confer the title of Kyushu County Prince on Li Chengqian's fourth son, and to grant him the fiefdom of Kyushu Island and Shikoku Island in Japan. He also conferred the title of Jincheng County Princess on Li Chengqian's fourth daughter, Li Xin.

After Li Chengqian found out, he couldn't stop complaining: "The old man is really good at playing. The Japanese haven't been pacified yet, and the outcome of the war has not been decided, but he has already granted two islands to his son, and it's a real grant. Where is the face of the Celestial Empire? We promised not to be too harsh on the Japanese, but he was so happy that he swallowed up the two islands in advance."

And his little daughter was named Princess Jincheng, which was the capital of Silla. Fortunately, under the promotion of Li Chengqian, the title of the Tang Dynasty was only an honorary title and enjoyed corresponding treatment. In addition to the direct enfeoffment of the fief, there was no actual fief. Otherwise, Silla would have cursed.

Li Chengqian already had four sons and four daughters. The eldest son, Li Yun, Prince of Zhongshan, born to his wife Su Wan'er, was born in September of the tenth year of Zhenguan. The second son, Li Yao, Prince of Wujun, was born in July of the twelfth year of Zhenguan, born to Qu Jingwen. The third son, Li Nianqian, the future King Seondeok (originally named Jin after Seondeok, Li Shimin was very dissatisfied when he knew that he was not surnamed Li, and issued an edict to give him the surname Li and canonized him as the crown prince of Silla), was born in August of the twelfth year of Zhenguan, born to Queen Seondeok of Silla. The fourth son, Li Wuhai, Prince of Jiuzhou, was born in June of the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, born to Li Ling'er.

The eldest daughter, Princess Yong'an Li Le, was born in May of the 12th year of Zhenguan, to Ashina Yun. The second daughter, Princess Yongle Li Yue, was born in July of the 12th year of Zhenguan, to Ashina Zhen. The third daughter, Princess Yicheng Li Wuyou, was born in September of the 12th year of Zhenguan, to Yu Moyun. The fourth daughter, Princess Jincheng Li Xin, was born in June of the 13th year of Zhenguan, to Jin Shengman.

On this morning, Li Chengqian was playing and chatting with his three sons, four daughters and other ladies in the Prince's Mansion. The three-year-old Li Yun looked at the newly born Li Wuhai and Li Xin and teased them carefully. The two babies giggled and Li Yun also laughed. Li Yun was smart, cute and lovely, and was deeply loved by Li Shimin and his wife and everyone in the Prince's Mansion. He was regarded as a treasure by everyone. His status in the Prince's Mansion was sometimes higher than Li Chengqian. Changsun Wugou even gave Li Yun a nickname Zhennu.

"Zhennu, do you like your brothers and sisters?" Li Chengqian asked with a smile.

"Yes, I like it. Father, please ask mother and aunt to give Zhennu more brothers and sisters, okay?" Li Yun nodded and smiled. The girls laughed softly when they heard this.

"Haha, kid, do you want to tire Grandpa to death? Tell Grandpa why you need so many brothers and sisters." Li Chengqian laughed.

"It will be more lively with more brothers and sisters. When we all grow up, Zhennu will take the brothers to fight for Aye, beat up those bad guys who don't listen to Aye, and carve out a big territory for Aye. The sisters will stay at home to take care of Aye, mother and aunts. How about Aye?" Li Yun said while gesturing.

"Haha, my son is very filial and has lofty ambitions. I am very pleased as a father. But when Zhennu becomes the ruler of the Tang Dynasty, Aye will have left a large territory for Zhennu. Zhennu just needs to govern it well." Li Chengqian smiled while touching Li Yun's head.

"Yu Niang, you gave me a good son. Please give me more." Li Chengqian smiled at Su Wan'er who was pregnant again, and Su Wan'er rolled her eyes. Just when everyone was feeling warm, Chang Sun Chong walked in.

"Oh, are we having fun as a family?" Chang Sun Chong said with a smile.

"Well, what brings you here, cousin?" Li Chengqian asked with a smile.

"I have a private matter with Yun'er and the others. Changle hasn't seen Yun'er and the others for a long time. I miss them so much that I have to bring Yan'er (Changsun Chong's eldest son Changsun Yan) and related people here in the evening. Let me tell you in advance to prepare lots of wine and food in the evening. This is a business matter with you." Changsun Chong said.

"Wait, who are these relevant persons?" Li Chengqian asked with a frown.

"I, your cousin." Chang Sun Chong pointed at himself and said.

"You're using Changle's name to come to my house for a meal again." Li Chengqian rolled his eyes and said speechlessly. The two of them came to the study, sat opposite each other, and Li Chengqian said.

"Well, if you have any business, please tell me briefly and concisely. This prince is very busy, and the prince's mansion does not allow anyone to eat for free."

"Here it comes." Chang Sun Chong said lightly, and then kept silent.

"Is it done? It's coming? What's coming?" Li Chengqian asked in confusion.

"Don't you want to be brief and to the point? I thought the prince had the ability of foresight. What are you guessing about?" Chang Sun Chong said sarcastically.

"Cousin, I am a human, not a god. Just two words, guess them for me. Also, only you dare to speak to me, the prince, like this. Anyone else would probably not live to see tomorrow morning." Li Chengqian covered his head and said speechlessly.

"Be more confident. What do you mean by afraid that he won't live until tomorrow morning? If anyone else dared to talk to you like this, I'm afraid he would have been buried in the ground by A Long and A Hu, and I, the Jinyiwei, would have to help bury him." Chang Sun Chong rolled his eyes and said.

"Okay, let's stop making trouble. What's the matter?" Li Chengqian said with a wry smile.

"The Tibetan spies reported that Tibet plans to send envoys to the Tang Dynasty for marriage, and they want to ask the saint to marry a Tang princess to their king Songtsen Gampo." Chang Sun Chong said.

In the third year of Zhenguan, Songtsen Gampo, who was only 13 years old, succeeded to the throne. He suppressed the rebellion and unified Tibet. Songtsen Gampo also carried out many reforms. He moved the capital to Lhasa, and Lhasa became the political, economic and cultural center of Tibet.

He established a political and military system from the central government to the local level with reference to the central government and military system of the Tang Dynasty. In order to meet the needs of economy and politics, Songtsen Gampo began to adopt the calendar, set unified weights and measures, created the Tibetan language (which later developed into today's Tibetan language) based on the Yutian and Tianzhu scripts, and formulated cruel laws.

"This Songtsen Gampo is quite a character, and he is quite friendly towards the Tang Dynasty. But it is a bit too much for him to want to marry my Tang princess." Li Chengqian said after thinking about the information about Songtsen Gampo.

"So you don't agree?" Chang Sun Chong asked.

"Well, you can offer Tibetan women to the Tang Dynasty, but we will never offer Tang women to anyone else. This is the principle. By the way, how are things going with Subi and Yang Tong?" Li Chengqian said.

Shortly after Songtsen Gampo conquered the ancient Qiang tribes of Subi and Yangtong by force and unified Tubo, Li Chengqian ordered the Jinyiwei to infiltrate Tubo and secretly contact the two tribes of Subi and Yangtong. He privately instigated the two tribes to rebel and secretly provided them with weapons and armor.

"Not very good. Songtsen Gampo is very wary of the two tribes. Neither tribe dares to expand their military training blatantly. Therefore, the time for the uprising cannot be determined." Chang Sun Chong said.

"Are they all pig-brains? They cannot train in Tubo territory, and they will not secretly enter the Western Province of the Tang Dynasty in batches and disguise themselves as Tang troops for training. Tell the Suobei and Yangtong tribes that this prince will give them another year. If they rise up in a year, I will immediately ask the saint to confer the two tribes as the Suobei Kingdom and the Yangtong Kingdom, and recognize their legal status, and make them vassal states of the Tang Dynasty and protected by the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty will grant them as much territory as they can conquer in Tibet. If they can conquer Tibet, Tibet will be divided into two parts as a reward to them. If they do not take any action, the Tang Dynasty will terminate cooperation with them and hand over the evidence of their two tribes' rebellion to Songtsen Gampo.

Let the Jinyiwei convey my original words: If the cooperation is terminated, Tubo will be furious. Our Tang Dynasty is not afraid of Tubo. If Tubo attacks our Tang Dynasty, our Tang Dynasty can take the opportunity to annex Tubo. As for you two tribes, I am afraid that Songtsen Gampo will destroy your clans.

By the way, after the two ministries receive this letter, if they follow my instructions, 10 months later, I will order the Jinyiwei in Tubo to spread rumors that the two ministries intend to rebel. And let the secret agents urge Songtsen Gampo to deploy troops to guard against them. If they do not follow my instructions, hehe, I will immediately expose the evidence of the two ministries' rebellion.

At the same time, he ordered the Anxi Protector General Guo Xiaoke to prepare troops, on the one hand to guard against the two training troops entering Tang territory, and on the other hand to prepare for or prepare to invade Tubo. "Li Chengqian said.

"Da Lang, since you want to support the two tribes in their rebellion, why do you still need to warn Songtsen Gampo?" Chang Sun Chong frowned.

"My cousin, Songtsen Gampo is a great ruler. Under his rule, Tubo's national strength is growing day by day, and it will surely become a strong enemy of the Tang Dynasty in the future. Therefore, the constant war in Tubo is in the interests of the Tang Dynasty. The chaos of the Three Kingdoms greatly reduced Tubo's national strength, and the Tang Dynasty was able to develop the Western Regions steadily.

Moreover, the two tribes submitted a letter of submission and became vassal states of the Tang Dynasty. If the two tribes failed in the war, they would ask for help from the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty would have a sufficient reason to send troops to Tubo. By then, the three kingdoms would have been greatly weakened after a long war, and the Tang Dynasty could easily sweep across Tubo. If the two tribes defeated Songtsen Gampo, I could also instigate discord between the two tribes by demarcating the border. I could also order the Anbu to assassinate the heads and ministers of the two tribes and support puppets.

By the way, I have appointed Zhuge Fu as the governor of Xizhou, with full authority over the affairs of Tubo. Zhici knows my intentions very well, and will surely make Tubo uneasy. "Li Chengqian explained

"You are so insidious. I admire you. But why are you always scheming others as you are the crown prince of the Celestial Empire? When Zhici gets scheming, he is no less cunning than you. Tubo will be in trouble." Chang Sun Chong sighed.

"Will you die for saying something nice? What sinister person? This is called a strange plan. Sun Tzu said: In every battle, use the normal to unite and the unusual to win. Therefore, those who are good at making unexpected plans are as infinite as the heaven and earth, and as inexhaustible as the rivers. Do you understand?" Li Chengqian said dissatisfiedly.

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear you bragging shamelessly." Chang Sun Chong said disdainfully. The two chatted for a while, and then Chang Sun Chong said goodbye and left.

At this time, the Japanese monarch and ministers ordered the Japanese army to concentrate near Kyoto in order to concentrate their manpower to deal with the Tang Dynasty's attack and to protect their own safety. The people who did not have time to migrate formed advance teams in various places and guarded the territory under the leadership of the local lords.

The Japanese defenders were all peasants who had just put down their hoes. Their fighting power was far inferior to that of the Tang army. The three armies of the Tang army were invincible and occupied the Japanese cities with great momentum. The Tang army had strict military discipline. Those who did not carry weapons and the old, weak and disabled who had put down their weapons would not be killed. However, the Japanese took advantage of this and let the elderly and children hide sharp blades to attack the Tang army. The Tang army lost a lot of people.

Li Xiaogong was furious when he heard this and ordered the strict implementation of Li Chengqian's order. Anyone who held a weapon and was hostile to the Tang Dynasty, regardless of whether they were women or children, would be killed. He also ordered the Tang army to plunder military rations and money, and told the soldiers that the prince promised that in the battle against Japan, 2% of the money plundered by the Tang army would be given as a reward to the soldiers, but they were not allowed to keep it privately.

As soon as the search order was issued, the Tang army was instantly excited. Ashina Heluogu even shouted to rob all the Japanese and not leave a single copper coin for the Japanese slaves. The Japanese people, especially the local lords and landlords, suffered. The Tang army began to plunder in an organized manner. All Japanese people who were hostile to the Tang Dynasty were ruthlessly killed by the Tang soldiers.

When a soldier raped a Japanese woman after getting drunk and was not punished, the Tang soldiers began to let themselves go. They dragged any Japanese woman they liked into the bushes and houses and raped her. The Japanese men turned a blind eye to this and even offered their wives and daughters to the Tang soldiers to play with them. Some Japanese women even offered themselves to the Tang soldiers in order to seek their protection.

After the war, a large number of mixed-race people with Tang blood appeared in Japan, and the Japanese were proud of them. Of course, this is a story for later.

Seeing that the Tang army was doing this in Japan, Li Dejian wrote a letter to Li Chengqian, asking him to order a ban. Li Chengqian replied with a simple statement.

"How do the crimes committed by Japan in Goryeo compare to those committed by the Tang army? Misfortunes sent by heaven can be forgiven, but those committed by man cannot. This is the cycle of cause and effect, and retribution will come. Our Tang army can act recklessly in Japan, but anyone who dares to do so in other places, especially in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, will be killed without mercy. I heard that Japanese women are gentle and petite, so you can relax a little." After receiving the letter, Li Dejian smiled bitterly and started to work.

At this time, Japan was in great pain. Li Chongyi divided the fleet into several groups and patrolled the coast of Japan in different areas. All Japanese ships were sunk, regardless of whether they were military or civilian. Japan was an island country that relied on fishing for its livelihood. The Tang army prevented Japan from going out to sea, and Japan's food supply was greatly reduced.

At this time, the Japanese food reserves were stretched to the limit, and Soga no Emishi ordered that food should be supplied to the royal family, ministers and the army first. The common people only had a bowl of porridge every day to fill their stomachs, and the people had to dig tree bark and eat wild vegetables. However, with so many people, no amount of tree bark and wild vegetables could satisfy them.

After discussing with his ministers, Soga no Emi decided to fight a decisive battle with the Tang army at the Seta River in Omi Province in the hope of promoting peace through war. The Left Minister of Japan, Soga no Akae, led the Japanese generals Nobi and his brothers and 30 Japanese troops to the Seta River.

At this time, Tang army Li Dejian had occupied Shikoku Island, Xue Li's troops had also arrived and occupied Tamba and Wakasa, leaving Li Xiaogong with only Chikuzen and Buzen left on Kyushu Island. When the Tang army learned that the Japanese army was going to fight a decisive battle with the Tang army at the Seta River in Omi Province, Li Dejian ordered to cross the sea to attack Settsu and join Xue Li's troops in Tamba to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army. Li Xiaogong ordered to speed up the capture of Chikuzen and Buzen and march towards Honshu Island.

The three Tang armies followed their orders in an orderly manner. Li Dejian's army landed in Settsu, defeated the defenders within a day, and marched quickly to Xue Li's army. After the two armies joined together, they rested for a while. The two armies of 15 troops set out to fight the Japanese army. The decisive battle between Tang and Japan was about to begin.