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

"Your Highness, those villains just landed, attempting to seek protection from the Nakatomi and Mononobe clans. It was only then that we learned from them that they had defied our king's wishes and committed such a shameless act..."

"Our patriarch personally led the clan warriors, and after a fierce battle, we have beheaded the current patriarch of the Mononobe clan, and now we are presenting his head to His Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Tang!"

"Please believe in our loyalty to you!"

After saying this, the messenger sent by the Soga clan slammed his head to the ground with a thud.

The prostrate kneeling posture did not make Li Chengqian feel any better; on the contrary, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

He merely glanced at the head that had been delivered to him, its eyes wide open in death, and waved it away.

"Take it away, take it away..." Wang De hurriedly urged the little eunuch, taking away the head of the Soga clan, which had been severed at the cost of hundreds of elite warriors' lives, as if throwing away trash.

Li Chengqian remained silent.

The assembled officials also wore displeased expressions, their eyes fixed coldly on the Japanese envoys.

Today's grand court assembly is attended not only by the civil and military officials of the Tang Dynasty, but also by envoys from various vassal states, whose numbers and scale are now quite considerable according to the records of the Ministry of Rites of the Tang Dynasty.

Silla and Baekje in Northeast Asia.

Siam, Jiaozhi, and Pyu in Southeast Asia.

The Tibetan kingdoms of Niva, Zhangzhung, Dongnu, Tangut, Supi...

The Sasanian Persians in the Western Regions, and the Harsha and Chalukya kingdoms on the Indian subcontinent, among others.

Each country had only one envoy, yet there were dozens of people present. Not to mention, this year, due to the Tang Dynasty's several voyages to the sea, many more small countries came to pay tribute when passing through the South Seas.

Such as Mayi Kingdom, Borneo Kingdom, Hayashu, Yilifozhe...

Because these countries were visiting for the first time, and many were unfamiliar with the procedures for establishing diplomatic relations, none of their envoys were summoned to the main hall today.

Even so, pairs of piercing, fierce eyes stared down on the Japanese envoys present, turning their faces pale and causing them to break out in a cold sweat.

Li Chengqian remained expressionless, one hand resting on the dragon throne in a languid posture: "Oh? So, the Soga clan means that they hope I will let this matter rest and leave all the blame to these dead people?"

The Japanese envoy opened his mouth, already feeling the extremely cold killing intent surrounding them all.

Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard an angry shout coming from the direction of the foreign envoy at the palace gate.

"Your Highness, this fellow is clearly deceiving you! My king has corresponded with the feudal lords of Wa more than once, and those feudal lords have mentioned more than once that the Soga clan and the Mononobe clan are mortal enemies!"

The Baekje envoy quickly stepped forward, pointed at the group of Japanese envoys kneeling on the ground, and began to hurl insults.

"You think you can get away with your crimes by using the enemy's head to create a false sense of justice? You're courting death!"

After the envoy finished his fierce cursing, he turned and bowed to Li Chengqian.

"Your Highness, the Japanese are utterly shameless and have defied the imperial authority! Baekje is willing to send troops to punish them on behalf of the Great Tang!"

The Japanese envoy's expression changed drastically.

However, this seemed to be a signal.

Before the officials of the Tang Dynasty could speak, the envoys from foreign countries, even those from countries as far away as Japan as the Kingdom of Cherukchi and Sassanid Persia, all expressed their indignation.

“Your Highness, although I am merely an envoy, my king told me before sending me to Chang’an that if any thieves dare to offend Your Highness, I, Zhelouqi, am willing to send troops to punish them!”

"Our nation of Niva is blessed by Your Highness's divine grace. How can we allow such a vile and rotten person to deceive the emperor with his words?! Your Highness, our nation of Niva is willing to send two thousand elite cavalry!"

"Our Silla is willing to exhaust the national treasury's provisions and fodder, and we beseech Your Highness King Liang to send troops to quell the traitors!"

"Our Pyu Kingdom has three thousand brave warriors, who can all be sent out to punish the Japanese!"

"Our Siam is willing to contribute two thousand elite soldiers!"

"I......"

Amidst the fierce shouts and cries of killing directed at Japan, the Japanese envoy, after a rough calculation, felt his vision blur.

Before the Tang Dynasty even sent troops, Japan already had nearly 20,000 enemies!

Although these people will most likely just be cheering, since many of them don't even have the ability to land in Japan.

But... if the Tang Dynasty really wanted them to conquer Japan.

If the Tang Dynasty simply dispatches some ships to transport soldiers, these countries would absolutely not dare to commit any acts of deceiving the emperor and would certainly take action.

Twenty thousand enemy troops... For Japan, whose current conflicts among feudal states are still at the level of mere village skirmishes in the Tang Dynasty, this is tantamount to the destruction of the country!

In particular, Japan is currently in a state of nominal unity, but in reality, it is divided among various feudal lords.

This was the last straw for them.

Li Chengqian was now too lazy to listen to the Japanese slaves' sophistry and pleas for mercy.

The soldiers of our Great Tang have plenty of time and means to completely conquer that island nation!

"I have heard that there is a volcano in Japan with a beautiful snow scene. It is a pity that the area below the mountain is desolate despite the snow scenery. Our Tang Dynasty has cherry blossoms, which can be planted at the foot of the mountain to complement the snow scene."

Li Chengqian finally spoke.

He coldly looked down at the desperate Japanese slaves below the stage.

Potatoes are available, and so is Baikal County.

Wouldn't that be perfect for sending these little dwarfs to Siberia to grow potatoes?

"Japanese envoy, please say no more. The Japanese king is tyrannical, and I despise him greatly!"

"Go back and tell your family head, and your Japanese king, to prepare your troops and get ready for war!"

Li Chengqian even resorted to the most lame excuses, no longer mentioning the other party's collusion with corrupt officials of the Tang Dynasty to smuggle military equipment. With a simple "Let's go to war," he sent the Japanese envoy reeling.

He fainted on the spot in the main hall.

At the end of October in the seventh year of Zhenguan, Gongsun Wuda, the Duke of Donglai, who was then serving as the Prefect of Suzhou and returning to the capital to report on his duties, was ordered by the court to mobilize troops from various prefectures in Hebei and Jiangnan, with Liu Rengui, the naval commander of Dengzhou, serving as his deputy, to jointly attack the Japanese.

As soon as the news came out, the thresholds of the residences of all the officials in the Ministry of War who could get involved in the expedition against Japan were practically worn down.

They were all people who tried every means to send gifts, hoping to join this eastern expedition.

Military merit!

Those damned Tibetans didn't dare to put up any resistance. They changed the flags on the city walls and it became the Tibetan route of their Great Tang.

However, this left many soldiers who were eagerly anticipating the start of the war feeling frustrated for a long time.

Now that military merit is right in front of us, how can we not fight for it?

Just as the Tang Dynasty was busily preparing for its eastern expedition along the coastal routes, a sparse caravan of carriages also set off from Chang'an.

Zhang Liang sat in the carriage, dressed in a plain cotton coat, and looked noticeably older.

After a series of heated debates among the officials, the Crown Prince finally made the final decision and determined the punishment.

The five hundred adopted sons and their relatives involved in the case, totaling more than a thousand people, were all beheaded and their property was confiscated.

More than 700 officials, both high and low-ranking, from Jiangnan Circuit, Hebei Circuit, Luoyang, and Chang'an were involved in the case.

After verifying his identity, he was handed over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard to be skinned and stuffed with straw as a warning to others.

Duke Zhang Liang was lax in managing his subordinates and there was concrete evidence that he had accepted bribes. Moreover, after the emperor wrote a letter to testify that the weapons and armor in his mansion were all privately bestowed by the emperor, in consideration of his past merits, he was stripped of his dukedom, his family property was confiscated, and he was demoted to a commoner.

He was exiled to Jiannan Road.

"Waaah, thank you, Your Highness! Thank you so much for your divine grace, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Zhang Liang was in tears. Fortunately, his whole family was saved, and his eldest son had not given up on him.

It was said to be an exile to Jiannan Road, but in reality, it was a way to send him to join Li Shimin, the "local emperor" of Jiannan Road.

If he sincerely repents, with his abilities, it's not impossible for him to make a comeback.