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

It is said that on the night when the Tang army attacked the city, a piece of ground slowly rose in a forest outside Kyoto, Japan. Two people in night clothes flashed out from the ground, looked around and saw that there was no one, then covered the secret passage and quickly ran towards the Tang camp.

Before the two of them had run a hundred steps, torches suddenly lit up on both sides, and a company of Tang soldiers pointed their bows at the two of them. The leader, Lian Zheng, held a knife and asked vigilantly.

"Who is coming?"

"Is it the Tang army on the other side?" asked one of the two men.

"We are the Flying Dragon Army under the command of the Tang Prince's Legion. You are wearing night clothes and sneaking around our Tang camp. What are you doing? Do you want to assassinate me?" The leader Lian Zheng shouted.

"This place is still thirty miles away from the outermost perimeter of the Tang army, yet the Tang army has set up such a large alert. The leading Tang general is really cautious." The man in black thought and then spoke.

"We have something important to discuss with Deputy Commander Wu of the Jinyiwei. Please let us pass. This is the certificate." The man in black handed over a waist badge. A soldier of the Feilong Army quickly took the waist badge and passed it to Lian Zheng. Lian Zheng took the waist badge and carefully checked it, confirming that it was a special waist badge made by the Jinyiwei. He then returned the waist badge to the man in black and gave the order.

"Send out a platoon to escort the two Japanese slaves to the main camp to meet Deputy Commander Wu. If they behave inappropriately, kill them immediately." Then a platoon walked out of the team and escorted the two men to the main camp.

Before the two entered the camp, Wu Qianyuan had received the news. Wu Qianyuan ordered the Jinyiwei to take over quickly and secretly meet the two in the tent. The two entered the tent and immediately knelt down to greet Wu Qianyuan.

"The retainer of the Right Minister of Japan, Soga Ishikawamaro, Hayakawa Ichiro/Imagawa Hiroji, pays homage to the angel of heaven."

"Get up. Ishikawa Maro sent you two here, but did you agree to the conditions of the Jinyiwei?" Wu Qianyuan said lightly.

"My master asked the two of us to come here to report to the angel. My master hopes to get a bigger reward after completing the mission in the Celestial Empire." said Ichiro Hayakawa.

"Oh? A bigger reward? What kind of reward does Ishikawamaro want?"

"My master wants to become the next ruler of Japan," said Hiroji Imagawa.

"Haha, you have a big appetite. Do you have the capital to eat as much as a lion?" Wu Qianyuan said sarcastically.

"Sir, my master helped the Tang Dynasty's Jinyiwei to plant spies in the palace, and also agreed to help the Tang Dynasty launch a coup and assassinate Soga no Emishi. Now he even agreed to cede the two large islands of Kyushu and Shikoku to the Tang Dynasty.

My lord believes that their achievements are no less than those of the Tang Dynasty's army, but they still have to bear the stigma of selling out their masters for personal gain. However, the Tang Dynasty only gave my lord the title of Grand Minister, which is a bit stingy.

And my master will replace Shu Ming as the master of Wa, so that my master can legitimately serve the Celestial Empire wholeheartedly. My master asked me to tell the angel that if the Tang Dynasty can agree to my master's conditions, my master will naturally serve the Tang Dynasty wholeheartedly. Otherwise, my master can only fulfill the duties of a minister of Wa. "Hayakawa Ichiro said.

"Haha, you are bargaining and even threatening the Tang Dynasty. Are you stupid or do you not know what is good for you? Ishikawa Maro helped the Tang Dynasty Jinyiwei to place spies in the palace because he was greedy for money and he intended to use the Jinyiwei to spy on the ruler of your country. You agreed to help the Tang Dynasty launch a coup and assassinate Soga no Emishi because Ishikawa Maro wanted to replace Soga no Emishi.

Moreover, our Tang Dynasty had already contacted him and proposed generous conditions many times, asking him to launch a coup to assassinate Soga no Emishi. But what happened? Ishikawa Maro not only turned a blind eye to our request, but also assassinated two of our Jinyiwei spies in order to protect himself. Do you think that all my Jinyiwei are blind?

Now my army is surrounding your Japanese capital, and the city will be broken soon. My master is kind-hearted and does not want to see the Japanese people suffer, so he sent me to negotiate with Ishikawa Maro. My master made it clear that as long as Ishikawa Maro can assassinate Soga no Emishi and persuade Shu Ming to open the city and surrender, his past will not be investigated, and the Tang Dynasty can still support him as the Prime Minister of Japan and take charge of the government of Japan.

My master is so kind, and the Tang Dynasty is so sincere, but Ishikawa Maru still has the nerve to bargain with the Tang Dynasty. Do you think the Tang Dynasty's hundreds of thousands of troops are just for show? Do you believe it or not, the Tang Dynasty can break your capital and slaughter Ishikawa Maru's family within three days? Humph, the country is about to be destroyed, and the extinction of the clan is not far away, and you still dare to bargain with the Tang Dynasty. Is Ishikawa Maru qualified? Or do you want to die? "Wu Qianyuan said sternly.

"Hmph, go back and tell Ishikawa Maro that before I came here, my master gave me a message: I can make you the second Soga no Emishi, or the second Yeon Gaesomun. Whether the Soga family will always be the ruling family of Japan, or become a graveyard, is up to you.

I don't have time to talk nonsense with you Japanese slaves. Go back and tell Soga Ishikawa Maru that the conditions of the Tang Dynasty will never change. The patience of the Tang Dynasty is limited. If the task cannot be completed in three days, the Tang Dynasty does not mind to occupy the country by force. But by then, hehe, Ishikawa Maru and his entire family will die.

Also, if he doesn't want to cooperate with the Tang Dynasty, I think there are many Japanese nobles who want to cooperate with the Tang Dynasty, such as the Fujiwara family. "Wu Qianyuan sneered.

Upon hearing this, Hayakawa Ichiro and Imagawa Hiroji had no choice but to say goodbye and leave, returning to Kyoto, Japan, through the secret passage overnight. Wu Qianyuan found Li Xiaogong and others, and informed them of the purpose of his visit and the process of secretly meeting with Ishikawa Maru's secret envoy. The generals pondered for a while, and Li Xiaogong spoke.

"Did the prince plan this in advance?"

"That's right. As early as the tenth year of Zhenguan, the prince secretly formulated an action plan to 'annihilate Japan'. My Jinyiwei continued to infiltrate Japan and took advantage of Soga no Ishikawa Maro's greed for money and his desire to replace Soga no Emishi. We kept in touch with Soga no Ishikawa Maro and gradually infiltrated various places in the Japanese court according to the plan.

After the war between Japan and the Tang Dynasty went to war, the Jinyiwei made an agreement with Soga no Ishikawamaro according to the plan. If he could assassinate Soga no Emishi and persuade the leader of Japan to surrender, the Tang Dynasty would help him become the new Prime Minister.

At first, Soga no Ishikawamaro wanted to play both sides and wait for the opportunity to raise the price. Unfortunately, the Tang army was strong and quickly wiped out all the Japanese troops in Goryeo and landed on the Japanese mainland. Ishikawamaro still wanted to raise the price at this time, which was simply a pipe dream. After Japan surrenders, the lord will support the Japanese lord and other nobles to fight against the Soga family, and eventually cause civil strife in Japan. "Wu Qianyuan said with a smile.

Li Xiaogong closed his eyes and thought, from the assassination of Li Chengqian to the war to destroy the Japanese. All the things emerged in Li Xiaogong's mind and finally connected into a line. Suddenly, Li Xiaogong opened his eyes and said in surprise.

"Could it be that from the time the crown prince was assassinated until now, everything was planned in advance by the crown prince. Is all this part of the plan to destroy Japan?"

"Of course, everything is under the control of the lord. The only variable is that Japan takes advantage of the national mourning to attack Goryeo, but overall it is proceeding according to the plan." Wu Qianyuan nodded and smiled.

"If we take the risk of being assassinated by Japan, we can use this as an excuse to declare war on Japan. Even if the emperor did not die, Japan would have to send troops to Goryeo. If we allow Japan to cause civil unrest in Goryeo, we can get rid of those who have two minds and take the opportunity to kill people in Goryeo to establish our authority. At the same time, we will arrange for the Jinyiwei to secretly contact the Japanese ministers to trigger a coup.

I'm afraid that the Jinyiwei not only secretly contacted Soga Ishikawamaro, I guess they also contacted the Lord of Japan and other Japanese nobles. The army swept across Japan, forcing the Japanese ministers to submit in order to protect their wealth and glory. It was a chain reaction, and every step was carefully planned.

But our prince is really shady. He also wants to cause civil strife in Japan. How did this Japanese offend Dalang? Dalang wants to make Japan uneasy for generations.

But our Tang Dynasty can obviously annex Japan directly, so why go to so much trouble?" Li Dejian said with a wry smile.

"Dejian, be careful with your words. We are Dalang's subordinates and brothers. Where Dalang wants, we will die. No matter it is an open or secret plot, as long as Dalang gives the order, we will complete it at all costs. How can we guess what Dalang means?

You should also remember that although Dalang is our brother, he must not criticize the master rashly. If Dalang ascends the throne in the future, and someone uses this to criticize us, what should we do, and what should Dalang do? "Qin Huaiyu said seriously.

"Brother, we will remember your teachings in our hearts." All the generals in the Prince's Mansion, except Xue Li, stood up and saluted Qin Huaiyu. Although Qin Huaiyu was not the most famous or the highest-ranking among them, he was deeply loved by them.

After discussing for a while, they decided to follow Li Chengqian's plan and bombard the Japanese capital Kyoto for two days, making a siege posture to force Soga no Ishikawamaro to make a decision.

After learning of the Tang Dynasty's attitude, Soga no Ishikawamaro knew that he had no room for bargaining with the Tang Dynasty at this moment, so he could only grit his teeth and agree to the Tang Dynasty's conditions. On the second day, Soga no Ishikawamaro, together with Prince Naka no Oe (later Emperor Tenji) and Nakatomi Kamatari (the founder of the Fujiwara clan), launched a coup and led his retainers to besiege Soga no Ezo's residence. Prince Naka no Oe sent Kyoto Tokutaka as a lobbyist.

The Soga no Emishi's subordinates were caught off guard and were persuaded by the great power Tokudo, so they were defeated without a fight and fled. Soga no Emishi set his own house on fire and burned himself to death. From then on, Soga no Emishi, who had once held great power in the Japanese government, withdrew from the stage of history.

Soga no Ishikawamaro was highly praised by the ruler of Wa. After discussion, the ruler and his ministers of Wa decided to surrender to the Tang Dynasty with the consent of Emperor Shumei, and appointed Prince Nakano Oe as the envoy to negotiate the terms of peace with the Tang Dynasty.

The Japanese peace delegation held a white flag and walked out of the Japanese capital to the Tang army camp, begging Li Xiaogong to stop attacking the capital. Li Xiaogong saw that Japan had already surrendered, so he readily agreed. He kindly allocated some food and grass to help the Japanese people, and ordered the Tang army fleet to stop blockading the Japanese waters.

However, the ruler and ministers of Wa were not allowed to flee Kyoto, and the Tang army would continue to blockade Kyoto. The people of Wa were also not allowed to flee Wa, otherwise it would be regarded as a provocation to the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang army would immediately launch an attack.

The Japanese people readily agreed to Li Xiaogong's conditions, and Prince Zhongdaxiong immediately rushed to Chang'an. After arriving in Chang'an, Prince Zhongdaxiong immediately asked to see Li Chengqian and presented him with generous gifts.

Li Chengqian ignored the prince for two days, and after consulting Li Shimin, Li Shimin issued an edict that the prince should be fully responsible for the affairs with Japan, and ordered the prince to discuss peace talks with the Japanese delegation in the Yanying Hall in the name of the ruler of the Tang Dynasty. After the edict was issued, some ministers with bright minds saw that Li Shimin was preparing to let the prince succeed to the throne. Yanying Hall was the place where the emperor of the Tang Dynasty held court and discussed government affairs. The prince met with foreign envoys in the name of the ruler of the Tang Dynasty in the place where the emperor of the Tang Dynasty held court and discussed government affairs. Li Shimin's intentions were obvious.

When Prince Nakadaeo arrived at Yanying Palace, he immediately knelt down and saluted, speaking in a humble tone.

"The Japanese envoy, the son of the Japanese king, Katsuragi, pays respect to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Celestial Empire. I have come to ask the Celestial Empire to forgive the sins of my small country. My small country is willing to submit to the Celestial Empire."

"Prince Nakada, please stand up and have someone take a seat. Your distinguished envoy has come from afar, and I have been very busy with government affairs in recent days, so I have neglected your distinguished envoy." Li Chengqian smiled as he looked at the future Emperor Tenji, a famous politician and reformer in Japanese history.

Prince Zhongdaxiong hurriedly stood up and said he dared not, with an extremely humble attitude.

"Since Japan has sincerely admitted its mistake, our Tang Dynasty is not arrogant and unreasonable. As long as Japan agrees to the conditions I proposed before, our Tang Dynasty will withdraw its troops." Li Chengqian said with a smile.

"Your Highness, can we discuss it again? Japan is small and sparsely populated. If we cede the two islands to the Tang Dynasty, the living space for the people of Japan will be too small." Prince Zhongdaxiong said with a bitter face. Li Chengqian and Prince Zhongdaxiong discussed the terms of peace for a long time, but they could not reach an agreement on the issue of ceding land. Finally, Li Chengqian said impatiently.

"What is there to argue about? I think you, Japan, are still not sincere. So, I can agree to one condition in private. I, the Tang Dynasty, can help you become the regent of Japan, and privately support you to become the actual ruler of Japan. Is that ok? If you still want to talk nonsense, I will immediately order the annexation of Japan by force."

"Will the Tang Dynasty really help me take power in Japan?" Prince Naka no Oe said in surprise.

"I can give you resources and titles, but whether you can completely take power depends on your ability. Japan will lease Iwami Province to the Tang Dynasty. I will send a 5000-man troop to be stationed in Iwami Province, nominally to guard the leased land, but in fact as your foreign aid." Li Chengqian nodded.

"In this case, I agree to the conditions of the Tang Dynasty." Prince Zhongdaxiong said happily.

Prince Naka no Oe returned to Japan without stopping. Under Prince Naka no Oe's strong persuasion, Emperor Shumei of Japan agreed to the conditions of the Tang Dynasty, led his ministers to open the city gates, tied himself up and left the city to surrender. Emperor Shumei of Japan personally came to Chang'an to sign a peace treaty with the Tang Dynasty. It is called the "Tang-Wa Chang'an Peace Treaty". The content of the treaty is as follows:

1. Japan must apologize to the Tang Dynasty for this war.

Second, Japan is a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. The ruler of Japan can only be called a king and must come to Chang'an to accept the canonization of the saint. The rulers of Japan in the future will also do the same. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty could send troops to conquer Japan.

Second, Japan will pay 8000 million guan as compensation to the Tang Dynasty. The compensation can be paid in one lump sum without interest. It can also be repaid in 10 years, but 2% interest will be added. Japan can exchange it with silver, one tael of silver for one guan.

3. Japan ceded Kyushu, Shikoku and Tsushima Island to the Tang Dynasty.

10. Japan's national military strength shall not exceed , and it shall not have heavy armored troops.

100. Tang Dynasty leased Iwami Province from Japan for 100 million kan per year for 5000 years. During the lease period, all the products of Iwami Province belonged to Tang Dynasty, and the land tax was also set and collected by Tang Dynasty. Tang Dynasty stationed troops in Iwami Province to protect Tang Dynasty's interests in Japan and the safety of the people.

6. Japan will fully open its trade with the Tang Dynasty. The people of the Tang Dynasty will enjoy diplomatic immunity in Japan, and the Tang Dynasty will enjoy most-favored-nation treatment in Japan.

5. The Tang Dynasty Commerce Bureau is responsible for collecting the Tang Dynasty's trade tariffs, which are % of the agreed tariff rate. Japan cannot change the tariffs without the consent of the Tang Dynasty, and has no right to collect or increase the Tang Dynasty's trade tariffs.

50. Japan will purchase 1000 jin of grain, 5000 cattle and sheep, and some seeds and agricultural tools from the Tang Dynasty. In view of Japan's limited financial resources, the Tang Dynasty can lend Japan 10 million guan interest-free to purchase the above items. The loan will be repaid in 2 years. If it is not repaid in time, an additional % interest will be charged.

9. As of the signing of this treaty, the Tang Dynasty and Japan shall cease war and make peace. The Tang Dynasty's troops shall withdraw from Japan within six months.

After Emperor Shumei of Wa signed the treaty, Emperor Li Shimin personally appointed the ruler of Wa as the King of Wa and bestowed upon him the golden seal. Under the intervention of the Tang Dynasty, Soga no Ishikawamaro became the Prime Minister of Wa and Prince Naka no Oe became the Regent of Wa.

In order to gain the right to govern Japan, the two men tried to win over Japanese nobles, showed goodwill to the Tang Dynasty, and fought openly and secretly against each other.