Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 449 East of the Tang Dynasty, there are no more enemies.

Li Shen was taken aback and stared blankly at Wei Daijia.

Wei Daijia's eyes flashed with a strange light as he slowly said, "In the war against Goguryeo, our Tang Dynasty's elite soldiers fought valiantly on the front lines, and many of them were buried far from home."

"These纨绔贵子 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) in Chang'an only know how to abuse the power given to them by their parents, committing all sorts of evil deeds and bullying men and women. The ordinary people they bully may be the relatives of some soldier at the front. If they are not dealt with severely, wouldn't it chill the hearts of the soldiers?"

Li Shen remained silent for a long time, then sighed softly: "I understand this principle. But after all, they are children I have watched grow up. It would be hard for me to just stand by and do nothing."

Wei Daijia said in a deep voice, "Your decision to save Zhou Boyu now may not be for his own good. If someone makes a mistake and goes unpunished, does that mean he will repent and never do such a thing again?"

Li Shen raised his hand and said, "No need to say anything more, I understand. Let's go back."

Wei Daijia cupped his hands and said, "You may go back now; I still need to go to the palace."

Li Shen asked in surprise, "You still want to see the Emperor?"

Wei Daijia nodded: "I want to plead with His Majesty on behalf of someone."

Li Shen knew that the person was definitely not Zhou Boyu. He was in a low mood and had no interest in asking questions. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's part ways here."

Wei Daijia immediately dismounted from the carriage and rode his horse toward the palace.

Upon arriving outside Chengtian Gate, inform the gatekeeper.

It was already past 9 AM, and Li Zhi was handling state affairs in the Ganlu Hall when he heard that Wei Daijia was requesting an audience. His brows furrowed immediately.

"Fu Sheng, what do you think Wei Daijia's purpose was in entering the palace?"

Wang Fusheng said softly, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Wei family held a banquet this morning, and even the Dowager Consort Wei was invited to welcome Prince Shen."

Li Zhi said, "According to you, Wei Daijia should be attending the banquet at the Wei residence."

"That's right, and Princess Linchuan should also be attending the banquet."

Li Zhi glanced at him and said, "You mean to say that Wei Daijia was entrusted by Princess Linchuan to plead for Zhou Boyu?"

Wang Fusheng said, "Very likely."

Li Zhi thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "No, if Princess Linchuan wanted to ask someone to plead for her, it should have been Prince Ji. Why didn't Prince Ji come, but instead Wei Daijia did?"

Wang Fusheng guessed, "Perhaps they sent Wei Daijia to sound out his intentions first."

Li Zhi shook his head, too lazy to think about it anymore.

He had already racked his brains over this matter and was unwilling to expend any more energy. Even if Li Shen really came to plead for him, he would refuse outright.

"Summon him to the throne."

Before long, Wei Daijia arrived at Ganlu Palace.

After the formalities were completed, Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "Rise. I have already heard from Lord Li that the Battle of Shicheng Valley was Zheng Rentai's fault. Minister Wei bravely took the lead during the breakout, helping the army to successfully break through. He deserves credit and has no fault!"

Wei Daijia cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the army's ability to break through the encirclement is not due to my efforts, but rather to General Zheng's composure and skillful command."

Li Zhi asked in surprise, "You didn't come here to plead for Zheng Rentai, did you?"

Wei Daijia knelt on one knee and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I only wish to inform you of the details of the battle in Shicheng Valley."

Zheng Rentai almost lost his military power due to the unfavorable battle of Shicheng Valley. Fortunately, Xue Rengui and Qibi Heli made a successful advance, which allowed him to redeem himself through meritorious service.

Unfortunately, the Battle of Pyongyang ended with the surrender of the Goguryeo people, and Jeong In-tae failed to make any contribution. Logically, he should still be held accountable.

It's understandable that Wei Daijia, as Zheng Rentai's deputy general, would come to plead for mercy at this time.

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Alright, go ahead and speak."

Wei Daijia recounted in detail how Xincheng lured the army into a rash advance, how the army was trapped in the canyon and unable to move forward or backward, and how Zheng Rentai calmly commanded the army to break through when Zhao Chiman came to the rescue. Every detail was explained clearly.

Li Zhi listened silently, and nodded after he finished.

If Wei Daijia's words are correct, the successful breakthrough is indeed thanks to Zheng Rentai.

What pleased him even more was that Wei Daijia was willing to sacrifice his merits to tell the truth and protect Zheng Rentai, a quality that was even more commendable.

Li Zhi originally did not have a good impression of the Wei family, but after seeing Wei Daijia, his opinion changed somewhat.

"If that's the case, I will have the Ministry of Personnel recalculate the merits. However, this will reduce your merits."

Wei Daijia cupped his hands and said, "I dare not claim credit for what is not my doing. On behalf of General Zheng, I thank Your Majesty!"

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Alright, you may leave."

Wei Daijia bowed and took his leave, departing from the main hall.

The floor of Ganlu Hall was made of marble, as smooth as a mirror. After Wei Daijia went in and out, a row of dirty footprints were left on the floor.

This suggests that he did not bathe or change clothes before entering the palace, and it is very likely that he came to meet the emperor immediately after returning to the capital.

Logically speaking, if one's attire is inappropriate when meeting the emperor, one could be punished, even charged with a serious offense of disrespect.

Therefore, when people meet the saint, they usually wash their bodies, change their clothes, and some even fast for several days.

Wei Daijia's behavior towards the emperor can be described as rude.

However, his purpose was to plead for Zheng Rentai and give the credit to Zheng Rentai.

This, on the contrary, made Li Zhi appreciate him even more.

"Fu Sheng, what do you think of this Wei Daijia?"

Wang Fusheng laughed and said, "General Wei is exceptionally brave and righteous, and I believe he is capable of great things. However, I think there is another general whose performance in this battle against Goguryeo surpasses that of General Wei."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "You mean Zhao Chiman, right?"

"Your Majesty is holy."

Zhao Chiman's fourth army advanced with unstoppable momentum, capturing several cities in succession. They then rescued Zheng Rentai's troops, persuaded Quan Nansheng to surrender, and led their troops to intimidate the Mohe.

Upon closer examination, his contributions were no less than those of Xue Rengui and Qibi Heli.

In particular, his task of leading troops to guard Wandu Mountain was a thankless and arduous job. At such a young age, he had taken on such a responsibility, which truly made him a capable general.

In this war against Goguryeo, not only did the older generation of generals perform exceptionally well, but what pleased Emperor Li Zhi the most was the emergence of many new generation generals.

Besides Xue Rengui, Jiang Ke, and Gao Kan, there were also Zhao Chiman, Wei Daijia, and others, all of whom were capable of handling things independently.

To deal with a formidable enemy like the Abbasid Caliphate in the future, we need more young generals to step forward.

Only in this way can the spirit of the Tang Dynasty's army be passed down without being interrupted. The temporary problems in Liaodong have been basically resolved. Next, all that is needed is to fight a small-scale war in Japan to capture Nagato and Iwami, and then the matter will be settled.

Once Goguryeo and Baekje have stabilized, we can then conquer Silla, Wa, and the Mohe, leaving the eastern border of the Tang Dynasty without any enemies, making it a stable rear area like the Jiangnan region.

Of course, achieving this militarily is not difficult, but ethnic integration is a major issue. Various conflicts and rebellions are bound to arise among the different tribes in Liaodong due to their customs and cultures.

I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish this in my lifetime.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it, and asked Wang Fusheng, "Zhao Chiman did not return to the capital with Li Ji, did he?"

Wang Fusheng said, "No, he was originally transferred from Junzhou by General Li, but he was transferred back to Junzhou as soon as the war ended."

Li Zhi rummaged through a pile of memorials and quickly found the list of generals for whom Li Ji had requested merits, and found Zhao Chiman's name among them.

Li Ji recommended Zhao Chiman as General of the Left Valiant Guard, Marquis of Kaiguo County, and Deputy Governor of Junzhou.

Li Ji's decision to transfer him back to Japan was likely a preparation for future retaliation against Japan.

Once Jiang Ke leads his troops back to Xiongjin Port, we can take action against Japan.

Li Zhi then picked up an official document that Yingzhou had just submitted, which recorded the relocation of Goguryeo people and was proceeding smoothly.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi picked up the jade pen and wrote an imperial edict, instructing Junzhou to be on high alert and prepare for war.

The imperial edict had just been written and had not yet been sent to the Ministry of War when a palace attendant came to report that the Minister of War, Hao Chujun, was requesting an audience.

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Summon them."

A short while later, Hao Chujun entered the main hall.

"Your Majesty, news has just arrived from Hayabusa Province that Japan has split into four factions and is currently in a weakened state. Governor Liu requests permission to attack Japan."

Li Zhi had heard before that Japan was divided, but he did not know the details.

"Which four?" he asked.

Hao Chujun said, "Two of them are Naka no Oo and Queen Takara. The other two are the Chosokabe clan, which occupies Iyo Island, and the Soga clan, which occupies Mikawa Province, and other nobles."

Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) was not used to hearing place names and personal names from Japan, so he immediately ordered Hao Chujun to present the memorial for him to read carefully.

Liu Renyuan wrote in great detail, and after reading it, Li Zhi finally understood the current situation in Japan.

At that time, the eldest brother and the Queen temporarily joined forces to try to reclaim the land occupied by Silla, the Mohe, and the Emishi.

As a result of internal distrust, they were unable to even conquer Echizen, which was occupied by Silla.

Later, when the Tang Dynasty attacked Goguryeo, Japan secretly reached an agreement with Silla and the Mohe.

Silla and the Mohe withdrew their troops, and Japan also moved its troops westward, preparing to launch a surprise attack on Kyushu.

Unfortunately, Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) had taken precautions and issued an edict to Liu Renyuan to be wary of Japan, which led to the failure of Japan's surprise attack.

In fact, from the very beginning, Princess Bao and her elder brother Zhongda had a disagreement about the matter of attacking the Tang Dynasty.

Queen Bao was unwilling to be an enemy of the Tang Dynasty any longer and opposed the sneak attack.

However, Naka no Ōe believed that if the Tang army in Kyushu was not expelled, the Tang army would eventually cross the Shimonoseki Strait and annex the entire territory of Japan.

In order to gain Queen Bao's support, he proposed a plan that she could not refuse.

First, the plan was entirely executed by the army under Zhongda Xiong, with no involvement from Bao Nu. Moreover, she could time it perfectly to inform the Tang Dynasty.

If the timing is right, by the time Chang'an receives the news, the war will already be over.

If the surprise attack succeeds and we can reclaim Kyushu from the Tang Dynasty, then we will no longer need to worry about the Tang Dynasty. Our eldest brother can be stationed in Kyushu to guard against the Tang Dynasty.

Queen Bao's army was responsible for driving out Silla, Mohe, and Ezo.

If the raid fails, Zhongda will hand over all his troops to Queen Bao, and then he will personally go to Chang'an to apologize.

In this way, the Tang Dynasty could no longer pursue the matter.

As a result, the attack by the eldest brother failed, and the effect of the Queen Bao's betrayal was also not good. The Tang emperor directly ordered that the Japanese were not allowed to enter Tang territory again.

Seeing Goguryeo destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, the Japanese were filled with panic.

Queen Bao hoped that her eldest brother would fulfill his promise, hand over his troops, and then personally go to the Tang Dynasty to apologize.

Zhongda was absolutely unwilling to agree!

He said those things only to get the Queen to agree to a surprise attack on the Tang Dynasty and not cause trouble; he never intended to actually apologize.

Queen Bao was furious and sent her subordinate Abebirov to attack the eldest brother.

As a result of this internal strife, the subordinates revolted.

The Chosokabe clan broke away from Naka no Ōe and fled to Iyo Island (Shikoku Island), while the Soga clan broke away from Takara no Ōe and fled to the Mikawa region.

In other areas, the guardians no longer obeyed the orders of Queen Treasure and Brother Naka.

At this time, the Mohe and Silla also sent troops to Wa (Japan) to expand their territories. The Mohe, in particular, divided their forces into multiple routes and headed straight for the capital, Asuka Castle.

Queen Bao had no choice but to lead her troops to garrison Fei Niao, and could no longer afford to fight with her brother Zhong Da.

Chung-dai-shi led his troops to garrison Nagato and Iwami to guard against the Tang Dynasty.

He knew that the greatest threat to Japan was not the Mohe or Silla, but the Tang Dynasty, which occupied Kyushu.

Only by defeating the Tang army in a fair and square manner will his prestige in Japan, and even in the entire Liaodong region, reach its peak.

Only then can we integrate the internal forces of Japan and expel all external forces.

His idea was good, but in the current situation, the Japanese army had long lost its fighting spirit, soldiers were constantly deserting, and some even wanted to stage a coup.

Liu Renyuan recognized this point, which is why he requested permission to attack Nagato and Iwami.

After reading the memorial, Li Zhi asked, "Has Buyeo Boksin been eliminated by the Japanese?"

Hao Chujun said, "The report from Junzhou did not mention Fuyu Fuxin, so it is likely that he has been wiped out by the Japanese."

Li Zhi shook his head and said, "No news means the Japanese have hidden the information. Jun Province only has a little over ten thousand troops, so we cannot act rashly. Send an order to Liu Renyuan to be careful and await further instructions. We must not underestimate the Japanese!"

Hao Chujun cupped his hands and said, "Your subject accepts the decree!"

(End of this chapter)