Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

Li Ke brought back a large number of local specialties from the coastal areas on his return this time.

Leaving aside things like pearls and corals, frozen seafood, as well as... a large amount of whale meat, refined oil, fish bones, baleen, etc., obtained from whaling, are the main focus of the cargo carried this time.

"Holy crap... is that the Kun from the Classic of Mountains and Seas?"

When Li Tai was pulled by Li Ke onto a boat, and saw the huge fish skeleton in front of him, which was more than 30 meters long, his mouth dropped open.

It looks like it could swallow a fist.

The boatmen that Li Ke brought with him from Dengzhou are now skillfully breaking down the fish bones into pieces and carefully packing them into wooden boxes lined with straw.

Li Ke stared at the wreckage of the massive creature before him, his eyes somewhat glazed over.

"If it weren't for my elder brother, the Crown Prince, saying that this thing called a whale is actually a much larger deep-sea monster, not the legendary Kun, I would have almost ordered the ship to turn around and run for my life when I first saw it..."

Li Ke said with a smile.

Noticing Li Tai's shocked expression, he smiled and pulled him into another warehouse.

Have the workers lift the lid of a sealed wooden barrel.

A slightly fragrant, yet somewhat sticky, scent wafted out.

Here is a bucket of watery whale oil.

"Hehe, Qingque, can you imagine that just one whale can produce hundreds of barrels of oil? Moreover, according to my brother, this whale oil can not only be used as a lubricant, but also as lighting, and it also has certain medicinal value."

"And those fish bones you just saw can also be used to make bone products..."

As he spoke, Li Ke suddenly pulled a dagger from his waist.

He handed it to Li Tai, who was standing there in a daze.

"Here, give it to you."

Li Tai took it and used whale bone to make a dagger handle, which felt excellent in the hand.

It is adorned with inlaid gold filigree patterns and a gemstone that serves as the finishing touch.

It looks as if it were made of white jade.

"This year, we only caught two whales during a naval training voyage. One set of skeletons is what you just saw, and it will be sent to the palace for the Emperor and the others. I had someone keep some of the other set for you."

Upon hearing this, Li Tai's eyes lit up immediately.

The flintlock pistol with its precious wooden grip at his waist suddenly seemed less appealing.

After viewing the items Li Ke had brought back from Dengzhou, Li Tai hosted a banquet for him at his residence in Luoyang, but at the same time, he asked a question out of curiosity.

"Third Brother, is Goguryeo completely in chaos now?"

"Has the Emperor not yet ordered you to send troops?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ke, who had just picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, curled up a strange smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Sending troops? Of course we'll send troops! But... it might be a little different from what Qingque is thinking..."

Goguryeo was located on the southwestern coast of Liaodong Commandery.

On three towering warships, the banners of the Tang Dynasty, bearing the sun, moon, and stars, fluttered in the wind.

One by one, the tall, tanned soldiers of the Tang Dynasty navy, with long swords at their waists and muskets on their backs, stood guard.

Some people stood on the watchtower, keeping watch over the surroundings, while others stood in front of the ballista platform equipped with explosives, staring coldly at the simple port where people were now surging.

"Sir, sir, I can speak Tang language, I understand Tang language! Please take me in, I can work, I'm also a carpenter..."

"Soonmin! Where are you! Soonmin!"

"Don't push, damn it!"

At the dozen or so registration points set up by the Tang soldiers, the Goguryeo people, and even some who did not appear to be of poor origin, crowded together anxiously and nervously.

They might be holding identification documents from Goguryeo or certificates proving they had worked for the Tang Dynasty Chamber of Commerce.

Some Goguryeo people who understood Tang language held tightly to the hands of their wives, daughters and relatives in the crowd, while anxiously and humbly pleading with the Tang naval clerk in front of them.

"Sir, please, take me in! We can work! My whole family can work!"

"If we stay in Goguryeo, we will all die! Please, sir, please..."

The wailing and pleading had long since numbed the soldiers and officials of the Tang Dynasty.

An official looked at the pleading Goguryeo man. Although the man's Tang accent was inaccurate in many places, it must have been learned from merchants from various parts of the Tang Dynasty.

However, being able to speak Tang language is indeed a significant advantage.

The official said solemnly, “I must remind you that because you Goguryeo have harbored and concealed wanted criminals of our Great Tang Dynasty and disobeyed the imperial orders of our Great Tang Dynasty, you can only sell yourselves into slavery to our Great Tang government.”

"This period lasts ten years! After ten years, the government will issue you with official documents identifying you as subjects of the Tang Dynasty..."

"I'm willing! I'm willing! My whole family is willing! Whether it's repairing the river or building the city, as long as you let our whole family onto the boat, we're willing to be slaves!"

The man spoke urgently in broken Tang dialect.

The war against Goguryeo has now reached a fever pitch.

Liaodong Commandery, in particular, was the most fiercely contested area between Gao Jianwu and Yuan Taizuo.

The Goguryeo people here were either conscripted into the army or robbed by rebel forces.

In some households with female members, the vast majority suffered terrible humiliation.

This made the people of Goguryeo, who had previously been loyal to Go Geonmu or Yeon Taejo, realize that neither side was a good person.

Now the Tang Dynasty came to Goguryeo to "buy" slaves.

Instead, it gave them hope of survival.

Amidst the man's excited expressions of gratitude, he solemnly held up a document bearing a clear "slave" character as if it were a precious treasure, and was released by the Tang soldiers.

The Tang soldiers, seeing the man, knelt down with a thud before the fluttering Tang banner.

Tears of excitement, as if they had been reborn, welled up in their eyes as if they were free.

They spoke in Goguryeo, a language they couldn't understand, saying things that sounded quite joyful.

The man's wife and children were bowing deeply to the document in his hand, their joy drawing envy from the Goguryeo people on the other side.

"This is the Tang Dynasty... truly a powerful and terrifying nation..."

Soga no Masakado was dressed as a Japanese samurai general, with a Tang sword at his waist that he had bought for a high price from a Tang Dynasty merchant. His expensive equipment was completely different from the surrounding Japanese samurai.

This directly reveals his status as a Japanese nobleman.

He looked solemnly at the three treasure ships of the Tang Dynasty.

The large ship, hundreds of meters long, looked like three islands at the port at this moment.

Their Japanese ships looked no different from rafts compared to these behemoths.

He clenched his fists involuntarily.

When will we, the people of Japan, also possess such large ships...? Then we, the mighty general of the Soga clan, won't have to bow and scrape before these local soldiers of the Tang Dynasty...

"General Soga, you didn't really need to come. As you can see, the Goguryeo soldiers don't dare to come here to cause us any trouble."

In the first year of the Zhenguan era, Liu Rengui was still just a young man in his twenties.

But at this time in the Tang Dynasty, he was in his twenties and came from the prestigious Liu family of Weishi. He was already a very outstanding general in the Dengzhou Navy of the Tang Dynasty.

Even though they didn't understand why a perfectly good civil official was transferred by the Crown Prince.

They sent Dengzhou here to join the naval training.

However, after Liu Rengui truly came into contact with the modern navy, he demonstrated exceptional talent and diligently studied naval warfare tactics.

Unsurprisingly, he became the commander of the navy after Li Ke returned to Chang'an.

Liu Rengui said this.

However, Suga, with a humble and sincere expression, hurriedly replied.

"General Liu, His Highness the Crown Prince is willing to let our Japanese students go to Tang Dynasty to study. We already owe Tang Dynasty a great favor. We are just here to help out. It's nothing big."

His humble demeanor naturally led him to embody the role of a loyal dog from the Tang Dynasty.

however.

Liu Rengui glanced sideways at the Japanese "ships".

I complained in my heart.

I'm so fed up with you guys causing trouble! These few broken planks of wood, any wave stirred up by the treasure ship could send you all to feed the fish on the spot...

Just as a large number of Goguryeo people, who had already obtained the Tang Dynasty's slave documents, had gathered at the dock, they arrived.

One after another, the Tang Dynasty ships that had just sent back a batch of slaves reappeared on the vast sea.

Upon witnessing this scene, the people of Goguryeo were so excited that they cheered as if they had seen a savior. Some even jumped and danced, seemingly singing folk songs from the Goguryeo region.

Sue solemnly warned that the gloom in her eyes had vanished in a flash.

The Tang Dynasty was too powerful!

The Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty now wants to deal with Goguryeo, which is why he is trying to win over Japan and the Soga clan.

But what if Goguryeo were destroyed?

Although Japan is poor, there are many things that the Tang Dynasty would not value.

However... they also have people in Japan, who can also be enslaved.

The Tang Dynasty has now dispatched troops to Tsushima Island in batches.

According to their intelligence, the next batch of Tang Dynasty troops, along with artisans, will head to Tsukushi Province, which their Soga clan has agreed to lease to the Tang Dynasty.

There, the port of Fukuoka, as described by the Tang Dynasty prince, was established...

Su Wu's expression turned serious as he solemnly warned him.

Although the ruler of Tsukushi Province would certainly resist, this was the Tang Dynasty. The small vassal state of Tsukushi Province could not even compare to the power of a single county in the Tang Dynasty.

How could we resist the occupation by the Tang army?

After calculating in his mind, Su Wu became increasingly worried.

Then look at these three Tang Dynasty treasure ships that resemble sea fortresses, and the huge ballistae mounted on both sides of the ship.

Su Wo's heart stirred with emotion.

Their Japanese students have been studying at the Imperial University of Bingzhou in the Great Tang Dynasty for a year now... Could they perhaps think of a way to send something back to them?