Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 178: Japan's Provocations and Destruction
"From today on, Dadushe will take over the throne of Xueyantuo Khan. Tulishi, you must assist him carefully. Only in this way can Xueyantuo remain standing."

Yi Shiyinan held on to his last breath and spoke slowly. His face was as pale as paper and his voice trembled slightly.

On his deathbed, he knew he had to make a decision to pass the throne to his eldest son Datushe, so that Xueyantuo could safely survive the turbulent period.

"Father Khan's order!"

Tulishi knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and a barely perceptible fierce look flashed in his eyes. Even though he was not convinced, he had no choice but to obey at this moment.

Otherwise, he will not be able to leave this tent. In order to ensure a smooth transfer of power in Xueyantuo, Yinan will not be merciful.

"Dadushe will definitely not forget his father Khan's wish. One day he will lead my Xueyantuo men to attack Chang'an and capture the Tang Emperor alive."

Dadushe knelt heavily on the ground, his voice low and powerful, full of ambition.

Seeing this scene, Yishi Yinan's mouth slightly raised, revealing a relieved smile. However, as the smile bloomed, his life gradually faded away.

A great hero left in such a lonely way.

He rose from ruin, defeated the Eastern Turks, and established the extremely powerful Xueyantuo Khanate, which even the Tang Empire feared.

Now, his legendary career has come to an end.

The Xueyantuo rose because of it, and would inevitably decline because of its fall.

A few days later, the area outside the Xueyantuo camp was covered with white cloth.

Teams of soldiers marched through it, revealing a bit of weirdness.

"Your Majesty, Xueyantuo Khan Yishiyinan died in September. His second son Tulishi launched a coup, killed Datushe, and became the new Khan of Xueyantuo Khanate. Now he has the momentum to march south, and will soon lead 100,000 cavalry to block the pass."

Li Junxian hurried into the hall and reported to Li Shimin.

Upon hearing this, all the ministers' faces changed. The drastic changes in Xueyantuo would also affect the Tang Dynasty.

For Tulishi, who came to power through rebellion, a great victory was necessary to eliminate his negative influence on Xueyantuo.

"The Xueyantuo army is marching southwards. Who among you is willing to lead the troops to resist them?"

Li Shimin swept his eyes over all the ministers and showed a look of doubt.

When I looked around, I found that no one was capable of taking on this important task.

Generals and commanders such as Li Ji, Li Daozon, Xue Wanche and Zhang Shigui were all stranded in Goguryeo.

The Tang Dynasty general was cut off from his power by Li Chengqian.

Apart from this, Li Shimin really couldn't see who could be capable of resisting the 100,000 strong troops of Xueyantuo without the arrival of additional troops.

"Could it be that I am required to lead the army in person again?"

After a long time, no one dared to ask for his life, and Li Shimin could not help but get angry.

He wanted to lead the army in person, but he was no longer able to do so.

The battle was extremely bumpy and his current body definitely couldn't bear it.

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten that there are already people guarding the northern border? General Zhishisili has been fighting the Xueyantuo for many years, so he must have a plan to deal with the enemy. In my opinion, all we need to do is to increase the number of troops and supplies."

Changsun Wuji opened his mouth and shouted.

Zhishisili was originally a member of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. After the demise of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, he surrendered to the Tang Dynasty because the rise of the Xueyantuo was built on the ruins of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.

Therefore, after surrendering, the Eastern Turks were always in a state of war with the Xueyantuo.

This is also what the Li Tang Dynasty wanted to see, while the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.

The descendants of the Eastern Turks were a force supported by Li Tang to contain the emerging new forces around them.

However, the Xueyantuo were powerful, and during the war, the Eastern Turkic tribe was always at a disadvantage and could only hide in the Tang territory.

The overall loss of power of the Eastern Turks did not mean the failure of Zhishisili. On the contrary, in the war against Xueyantuo, Zhishisili had inflicted heavy losses on Xueyantuo many times.

Zhishisili, Heichi Changzhi and Qibi Heli were the three famous generals in the early Tang Dynasty.

"That's all we can do. Send orders to all states and provinces to mobilize the troops to support the northern border."

How ironic it is that the Tang Dynasty, which was visited by all nations, had to send a foreign general to guard the country's borders at this time.

"Your Majesty, we must also guard against Goguryeo in the east. I am worried that if our dynasty keeps troops in the north, Li Chengqian will take advantage of the situation and invade. Then, we will be attacked from both sides."

Xiao Yu said again, this is very possible. Anyone would choose to take action at this time.

"I think we can ask the vassal states to send troops to harass the inland of Xueyantuo and disperse Xueyantuo's forces. When the time is right, we can counterattack. We can also provide funds and materials to let Wakoku and Mohe station troops on the border of Goguryeo and Baekje, so that Li Chengqian will have no time to worry about other things, and our dynasty can concentrate on dealing with Xueyantuo."

Ma Zhou stepped out and spoke.

At that time, Wakoku was still a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty and was not yet called Japan. The name Japan was changed during the reign of Wu Zetian, who conferred the title of Wakoku on Japan.

Wakoku was actually conferred during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Wakoku also means the country of dwarves. When the Tang Dynasty society was opened up, Wakoku was baptized by the Central Plains culture and knew the meaning of Wakoku, so it requested the Tang Dynasty to change its name many times.

"That's fine, but the treasury is tight, so how can we give it as a gift?"

Although Japan and Mohe were vassal states, the Tang Empire still had to pay a huge price to get them to send troops.

When all nations paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty, it was actually the Tang Dynasty that suffered the most.

The tributes brought by the envoys were mostly local specialties, not valuable items, and the quantity was not large, just a few pieces or a few carts.

The greatest significance of tribute is that it represents the country's recognition of the Tang Empire's status as a suzerain state.

However, the Tang Dynasty also had to pay a price, which was rewards. The rewards were mainly gold, silver and cloth, which meant that money was used to buy a certain degree of control over the country.

Compared with starting a war, this cost was much smaller for the Tang Empire.

However, the money required is not a small amount.

The national government had spent too much in its previous policies, and Li Shimin wanted to use this as an excuse to get the clans to contribute money and manpower again.

In the hall, all the ministers looked at their noses with their eyes and their hearts with their noses.

"How about we, the Tang Dynasty, promise to reward them after the war is quelled?"

When Shangshu Youcheng Liu Li saw others speaking, he stepped forward.

"The small foreign countries are all barbarians. If there is no benefit, they will not allow us to order them around."

Chu Suiliang immediately retorted.

Liu Li and Chu Suiliang had always been at odds with each other, and their political views were even more different.

"Yes, the barbarians are all uncivilized people, without integrity and etiquette, so this plan is not feasible."

Li Shimin also shook his head. He was trying to get something for nothing. Those vassal states were not fools.

"Why not donate it?" Changsun Wuji could guess the emperor's intention.

"In times of national crisis, the people of Tang also have their responsibilities. I think that we should collect a military tax, which is a tax paid by each household for military service, to pay for the military pay."

Cui Yi said, the wool grows on the sheep, and it is impossible to ask only their clan to pay.

Even if it comes out, it will be extremely limited.

"I and your humble servants second the proposal. In the face of national crisis, we should adopt a military tax!"

Immediately, a large number of ministers came out and agreed with Cui Yi's proposal. When the country prospers, the people suffer; when the country perishes, the people suffer.

Wars were frequent and various taxes increased.

During the prosperous times, various buildings flourished and the people had to perform many labors.

The matter is settled. If we want to get more money and grain, we still need to squeeze it from the people.

The military tax was determined, and the burden on the Tang people became even heavier.

In comparison, the people on the Liaodong Peninsula have enjoyed a historic bumper harvest this year. Although they are not rich, they are able to survive the long winter without having to worry as much as before.

The material wealth of the entire society is sufficient. In the past, most of it was monopolized by the upper class, who enjoyed both spiritual and material supplies, while the material wealth obtained by the lower class was perhaps only enough to barely get by.

Once an emergency occurs, the family will be broken up.

Clap!

In the palace, sparks flew and the air was warm and pleasant. Li Chengqian lay comfortably on the imperial concubine's legs, his face filled with satisfaction, enjoying the soft touch.

Although there were no major disturbances in Goguryeo in the past few months, there were still some minor setbacks. However, Pei Xingjian, Li Zhen and other capable generals were able to deal with these problems properly.

Therefore, Li Chengqian began to relax and enjoy life. He often visited Gao Zang's harem, and the woman in front of him was Gao Zang's favorite concubine, who was naturally beautiful and lovable.

click!
With a slight sound, Lin Zhi gently pushed open the palace door and stepped inside cautiously.

"What's the matter?"

Li Chengqian lazily opened his eyes, then sat up straight, his expression becoming serious. If there was nothing important, Lin Zhi would never barge in at this time.

"Your Highness, the ocean-going fleet has returned. These are the items they brought back. I wonder if they are the sweet potatoes and potatoes that Your Highness mentioned before."

Lin Zhi respectfully handed an exquisite wooden box to Li Chengqian.

Since the beginning of the expedition to Silla, Li Chengqian has devoted all his efforts to building sturdy iron ships and sending soldiers to sail to faraway South America to explore sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Even with the help of a compass and a map, it took nearly three years before we heard news of this ship again.

Li Chengqian was so excited that he could hardly contain himself. He took the box impatiently and opened it quickly. He saw two fruits lying quietly in the box, one red and one white, one large and one small.

Aren’t these the sweet potatoes and potatoes he has always dreamed of?

"found it!"

Li Chengqian was overjoyed and held them carefully in his palms, completely ignoring the dirt on his hands.

"Reward, title!"

he shouted excitedly.

For other soldiers, this voyage was just a relaxing adventure. Some even felt that they were just trying to gain credit, after all, they did not experience real fighting on the battlefield.

But only Li Chengqian knew that these seemingly ordinary sweet potatoes and potatoes were actually the key to changing the future development of agriculture and would change the family's situation.

"How many potatoes and sweet potatoes did they bring?"

After Li Chengqian gradually calmed down, he asked with concern.

The amount also affects the speed of development.

"There are about several thousand pounds, and the boat is full."

Lin Zhi replied.

"Good! Good! It's freezing cold, so make sure they keep warm. After spring comes, I will personally teach them how to graft and sow seeds."

The cultivation of potatoes and sweet potatoes is quite special. As emerging crops, not many people understand them.

Thousands of kilograms of seeds will definitely not be able to be promoted next year. They will need to go through a year of breeding before they can be distributed to the people for planting.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. The potatoes and sweet potatoes have been put into the cellar and are under special supervision."

Li Chengqian attached so much importance to him that no one dared to look down on him.

"That's good!"

Li Chengqian nodded repeatedly.

"In addition, Japanese ships often appear outside the Baekje Sea, plundering the surrounding people, and there are signs of a large-scale invasion."

As the Tang Empire issued its orders, the major vassal states began to launch varying degrees of intrusion into the area ruled by Li Chengqian.

The contradictions and conflicts of interest between these countries have made the whole situation more and more chaotic.

Baekje was not only a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, but also had close ties with Japan.

The Japanese navy was strong, and before the Battle of Baekgang, they were the dominant force in the southeastern coastal areas, and no one dared to challenge their position. The fall of Baekje undoubtedly touched the bottom line of Japanese interests.

The reason why the Battle of Baekgang broke out was very simple, that was Japan's interests and overconfidence in its own strength.

Japan believed that it had a powerful navy that could compete with the Tang Dynasty.

They want to expand their territory and influence through war, and at the same time obtain more wealth and resources.

Now that Li Chengqian was isolated by the Tang Empire, Japan saw an opportunity. They could gain more benefits from the Tang Empire and seize the territory of Baekje with justification, thus extending the territory from the sea to the inland, killing two birds with one stone.

Attacking Baekje was a requirement of its national policy and also due to its geographical location. It was an island country with more limited resources, which it could only obtain from the inland.

As a result, in subsequent dynasties, Japan has always been a scourge to China's southeastern coast, partly to obtain supplies, and partly because of its wolfish ambitions.

Since ancient times, the contradiction between China and Japan has been very sharp, and it can be said that they have been enemies for generations.

The reason why Japan was able to survive in history was largely due to its geographical advantage of being an island, making it a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

However, what is more important is the despicable scheming of the Japanese. They are good at forbearance and disguise. Once China becomes strong, they will kneel down and submit, secretly waiting for the opportunity to prepare for a counterattack.

"Japanese country?"

Li Chengqian's eyes instantly became extremely sharp, and his disgust for Japan was beyond words. For such a country and nation, only the destruction of the country and the extinction of the race can eradicate its hidden dangers.

"Liu Rengui's army, how is the shipbuilding going?"

Li Chengqian asked. He was well aware of the threat and meanness of Japan, so he had made preparations long before.

Build ships and train navy.

"About 600 ships were built, including three iron ships."

Lin Zhi replied. These ships have already reached a certain scale.

"enough."

Li Chengqian nodded with satisfaction, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

"Order Baekje and Silla to gather food and fodder, and in the spring of next year, we will march south to attack Japan and put an end to the maritime threat in one fell swoop."

Originally, Li Chengqian planned to wait a few years, until the people's livelihood in the country recovered better, before launching a war against Japan.

But now, Japan has taken the initiative to provoke, and the noble families of the Tang Dynasty are restricted by the Xueyantuo, which is also a good opportunity for war.

(End of this chapter)