Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 766 Who could resist such a great temptation?
In the days that followed, Soga Irishika continued to maneuver among the various factions, trying every possible method.

Neither the southern nor western overlords were suitable, so he approached the envoy of the grasslands, who readily agreed.

"Since you've already asked, then leave this matter to us," said the grassland envoy.

Upon hearing this, Soga no Iruka was so excited he almost foamed at the mouth. He quickly asked, "Then, when will the Han envoy begin his intervention?"

"The matter is not difficult to handle, but you need to prepare a port for us to access the sea first."

Soga Iroshi was struck dumb; he stood there frozen, his mouth moved slightly, and then fell silent...

The Northern Han was a landlocked country. If the Northern Han were to launch a military campaign, the first step would be to conquer Goguryeo. However, how would they cross the Huangyaguan Pass? If they couldn't cross Huangyaguan, they would have to traverse the vast mountains of the Greater Khingan Range. A million soldiers could enter that area, and it would be a miracle if three thousand Yue soldiers emerged…

Then, during a lull in their campaigns, the Tang Dynasty will launch an attack from Longcheng, striking right at their heart. At that point, besides living like savages in the mountains, they'll probably only have the option of performing in Chang'an and Jinling.

Therefore, the promise made by the Northern Han envoy was actually just a pie in the sky that could never be made, merely a way to make him happy.

Soga no Iruka left, and the envoys from the Northern Han Dynasty laughed non-stop when they talked about it: "They think that as long as they can recognize a father, they can be guaranteed peace. What a small country, so short-sighted."

“Exactly.” Another envoy chimed in with a joke, “The Khan has spent real money, hoping to get a share of the spoils. Asking us to support them at this critical juncture is not a worthwhile deal.”

"Yes, if we can sit here and get 20% of the profits out of thin air, why should our Northern Han go to war with the other two great empires for a vague future?"

They are all cunning foxes, and they are very united on the issue of dividing up Japan. Although the Northern Han did not openly invest, it secretly invested a lot of money in this matter through merchants from the grasslands. After all, silver is a hard currency. Since the last time 100,000 cavalrymen were almost wiped out by the Great Wei, the Northern Han also realized the importance of keeping a low profile and recuperating.

The Li Tang dynasty was one of the major investors in this war, and they naturally couldn't stand by and watch the Northern Han destroy the interests they were about to gain.

Currently, the three driving forces of East Asia are tied to the same warhorse. Unless Soga Iruka is a yokai who can control people's minds, he has no chance at all.

"How come they managed to provoke King Xia so much this time?"

"Haven't you heard? This Soga no Iruka sent Japanese pirates to invade our coastal borders. Their methods were extremely cruel, angering not only the Xia king but also the Li Tang empress."

"He deserves to die."

After the two envoys talked about Xia Lin, one of them suddenly sighed, "Speaking of which, His Majesty really had to thank King Xia for making him the Great Khan back then. Isn't it strange that King Xia? The Great Khan promised him the title of King of the same rank, and even the eldest prince treated him with the respect due to a father. Why didn't he come to the grasslands?"

Another person laughed and said, "If the Xia King really came to the grasslands, the Great Khan would probably look down on him. On the contrary, it is his noble and virtuous deeds that will make people look at him differently."

"That's true, but no matter what, the grasslands should thank King Xia. If it weren't for him, let alone us standing here looking respectable, with this year's severe cold, eight members of your family would probably have starved to death, and six members of mine would have starved to death as well."

"Yes, the Northern Han never forgets to thank the King of Xia, and so does Your Majesty."

The two were still chatting when someone called out that Emperor Jingtai had invited them.

The number of people attending this closed-door meeting was not large, unlike the previous celebration which had a large number of attendees. The main members were some officials from the current tripartite division of the Three Kingdoms, including the Empress and others.

The main topic of discussion was the partitioning of Japan. Everyone present was a major investor in the war, and the current issue they faced was the final distribution of the spoils.

Seeing this lineup, Douyazi finally understood why Xia Lin said she couldn't even handle 20% of it; it was a massive interest that could shake the very foundations of the nation.

Today's meeting was chaired by Xia Lin as usual. This was not the first time they had met in the dark room. They had discussed it about five times in total, but they still could not reach a final agreement on the distribution of benefits.

"Let's continue with the topic from last time, which is the mining rights and allocation rights of the Japanese silver mines. As I said before, I'm a straightforward person, and there's no room for beating around the bush right now. My idea is to maintain the previous allocation method, but I can solve the corresponding employment problems for the other two companies. Of course, I won't make you have too many concerns, because if the price I offer is really too outrageous, you probably won't be able to get the major silver mines to produce smoothly."

Ultimately, the conflicts between nations boil down to the struggle for interests. He was well aware that even if his Great Wei could monopolize the interests of the entire Japanese kingdom, if it wasn't shared with the other two, the silver mine could certainly be found, but whether it could be successfully mined was another matter. After all, there were too many variables involved. The only solution was to expand the pie and divide a portion among the other parties. Even the opposing sides in the conflict would be bound together as a community of shared interests in this matter.

Of course, this was another cordial and friendly discussion, and in the end, the parties reached a delicate balance that was satisfactory to everyone.

In any case, this matter will definitely change in the future depending on the overall national strength of each country, but at present, there is basically no objection.

The only one who suffered a particularly bad time was Xiaodouya. Her Dugu family was the only one to join the negotiations with family power rather than national power. Even though she was the nominal husband of the Empress of the Tang Dynasty and the actual biological mother of Xia Lin's daughter, in the face of the struggle for national interests, she could only be the humble head of the Dugu family.

What angered her most was that Xia Lin did not squeeze her profit margin; the person who truly deprived her of her profit margin was her staunch ally, her nominal wife.

This made her realize something profound at that moment: as Xia Lin said, a successful and qualified leader will not hesitate to give up his own interests when faced with the choice between personal interests and the interests of the overall situation.

Of course, the distribution they were discussing here was all based on the suffering of the Japanese people. But at this moment, no one cared about the Japanese people who were caught in war and massacre. All they cared about was their covetousness and interest in the mineral, fishing and commercial resources within their territory.

After reaching a consensus on the distribution of benefits, they naturally had to discuss the sports meet and the war observers, which was not something that could be resolved overnight.

So during a break in the discussion, Li Shimin and Xia Lin hid in the backyard of the manor and each lit a cigarette.

"So, what about the captain's matter?"

"Alright, I'll definitely do what I promised you." Xia Lin exhaled a puff of smoke, then smacked his lips. "But your identity definitely can't be the King of Shu anymore, otherwise it wouldn't make sense for a foreign king to be in command of our warship."

"Just let me apprentice under a captain who is familiar with naval warfare."

"Is that really so, young master?"

"Indeed, after I went back, I thought about it carefully for a while and realized that there are so many things in this world that I don't know. I plan to recruit some people from Fuliang and bring them back to Chang'an so that I can set up a military academy there as well."

"Learn from me?" "Yes, learn from you." Li Shimin said bluntly, "I won't beat around the bush with someone like you, I'll just learn from you. If you, Xia Daosheng, can succeed, why can't I, Li Shimin?"

"Then you shouldn't try to poach people. I'll send a batch of people over to you."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's guard was instantly raised. He squatted there for a long time without saying a word, and finally said after a long while, "No, I can handle this myself."

"Those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die." Xia Lin didn't waste any words, leaving behind eight words before getting up and leaving.

But before he could get far away from his peace and quiet, he bumped right into Dugu Douyazi, who came rushing out looking pitiful.

"what happened?"

Douyazi glanced at him, flicked her sleeves and left. At this moment, Li Shimin moved forward and nodded with his chin: "She must have quarreled with my sister. You know, she's very greedy. She wanted to get a share from you and then wanted to get a share from me. Who knew her plan wasn't very good. She didn't expect that she would get a share from the combined profits of the three kingdoms."

Xia Lin chuckled and shook his head.

"Aren't you going to try and comfort her?"

"Coax her?" Xia Lin quickly shook her head and said, "I'd rather coax you."

"Hey, you rascal, it's broad daylight." Erfeng waved her hand: "So many people are watching."

"You're so annoying." Xia Lin frowned. "I still miss your unruly spirit from when you were in Luoyang."

"Fine, when will you still be that worthless nobody? Look how arrogant I am. I need your help right now, so don't go..."

Xia Lin was actually a rather quiet person at heart, but he simply couldn't escape it. Despite Li Shimin's jovial demeanor, he was still the arrogant Emperor Taizong at heart; he was simply too anxious, forcing him to lower his guard.

This is manageable; it's simply a matter of following the steps and turning the tables on each other. The difficulty lies in the fact that Xia Lin is currently somewhat at a loss. At a glance, he realizes that there is no way to unify China at the current juncture. With the current population size, if peaceful evolution is not possible, the damage caused by a major war would be beyond his estimation.

Who knows where the great waves of history will take this little boat then? Perhaps it will be the Tanguts, perhaps the Goguryeos, perhaps the Northern Han, or even the Tibetans.

His ability to grasp the overall situation has improved over the years, but he is still only at the level of an ordinary regional official. His achievements today are purely due to a lack of virtue and ability. He can no longer see the future situation and can only do his best and leave the rest to fate.

Just as he was about to go get something to eat, deep in thought, Emperor Jingtai called out to him. Emperor Jingtai stood there, hesitating several times before finally speaking after a long silence: "I have something to discuss with you."

Xia Lin was taken aback: "You look so troubled, is there something you're having trouble telling us?"

"Not exactly," Emperor Jingtai sighed. "It's about my son."

What's wrong with your son?

This was a closely guarded secret within the palace, so Emperor Jingtai didn't dare to discuss it openly. He pulled Xia Lin to his resting place before speaking, "A letter just arrived from the capital saying that my son hasn't left the house for over a month, spending all his time in the residence..."

"Speak up, why are you so shy?"

Emperor Jingtai lowered his voice and said, "Indecently engaging with palace maids and... male entertainers."

"Wow, your son is quite the player! How old is he?"

"Sixteen."

Xia Lin paced back and forth with her hands on her hips: "So what do you think?"

“As you know, he lost his mother at a young age, and I haven’t really disciplined him over the years. The people around him who taught him are all old-fashioned people who have been brewing ancient recipes. I can’t escape the blame for how he has turned out this way.”

Xia Lin took a deep breath, glanced at Emperor Jingtai but didn't speak, while Emperor Jingtai seemed very remorseful at this moment: "I have a good father, but he doesn't. This always makes me uneasy."

"So what's the point of telling me this?"

"It's nothing much, it's just a matter of whether you have a solution. They say the imperial family is heartless, but I only have one son, and I can't just watch him sink into despair. You said before that after you finish this busy period, you'll go back to Fuliang to oversee the next phase of things, what do you think..."

"You mean you're bringing your son to Fuliang so I can take care of him?"

"What do you think?" Emperor Jingtai straightened up: "You know that I am frivolous and useless. The people I have trained are definitely not as good as you. Don't treat him as the crown prince. Beat him or scold him as you should."

"You know what kind of people I train will become. Aren't you afraid they'll lead the way and overthrow your throne?"

"I'll be dead by then! After I die, forget about the dragon throne. Even if the Golden Palace is overturned, what does it have to do with me? When I see my father after I'm gone, I'll just say that the people live in peace and the world is at peace under my rule. When he comes down from the throne, my father will punish him."

"You!" Xia Lin pointed at Emperor Jingtai, both amused and exasperated. "You're useless."

"I don't know if they're capable or not, but I know that someone is capable, and that's enough." Emperor Jingtai rubbed his hands together and said expectantly, "How about this... you take Li Zhi, Li Chengqian, and Tuoba Shang together and see who will overthrow the throne?"

"Are you raising poisonous insects here?" Xia Lin waved his hand. "Let's put this matter aside for now. Go back and tell them to put your son under house arrest somewhere. We'll talk about it after we finish dealing with the current matter. Destroying the Japanese is much more important than disciplining your son."

"Alright, then I'll play the villain." Emperor Jingtai shook his head helplessly and said, "I hope he can understand his father's good intentions."

(End of this chapter)