Chapter 324: Knocking on the National Gate

The Art of War says that knowing yourself and the enemy is the only way to win a hundred battles.

Li Shimin always felt that he had done a good job in knowing himself.

For example, in the war to pacify the world before the founding of the Tang Dynasty, many of his generals advised him not to take risks, but he certainly did not listen.

The result was that after the battle to pacify the world, six of his mounts died in the battlefield, and he himself was not seriously injured once.

He likes to take risks but never encounters them. This is what Du Ruhui said about his military formation when he was chatting with him before.

Li Shimin was quite proud of this.

After all, winning a risk may still be luck.

He can still laugh at the end after taking risks every time, which can only mean that General Tiance really knows himself and the enemy.

The same is true in governing the country. He can temporarily endure the humiliation of the Wei River when advancing, and can rest and recuperate and eat locusts alive as a model for the people when retreating.

But through the narration of his descendants, he gradually realized how failed he was in educating his son.

Wei Zheng endured it, but finally said:

"Your Majesty, there is a reason why father and son are different. Maybe it is because the Master taught me to be upright, but the Master did not come from the right path."

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui looked at each other sideways, and had a new understanding of Wei Zheng's neck toughness. Can this really be said to his face?

The allusion of this saying itself is quite normal. It comes from the dialogue between Mencius and Gongsun Chou, and the content of the conversation is about teaching by exchanging children.

The "right" in it should be interpreted as strict and normative, that is, if the father strictly educates his son, the son will definitely complain:

Dad, you ask me this and that, but you yourself have not set a good example.

But this sentence is too harsh when it is said at this time.

After all, it is well known that the root of Xuanwu Gate is two words, the prince.

What is the prince? It is also "out of the right path".

Therefore, this sentence is simply a double entendre, which not only accuses Li Shimin of not setting a good example for the prince, but also implies that Xuanwu Gate set a bad precedent for the successors of Li Tang.

Considering Wei Zheng's background, even though Du Ruhui believes in the emperor's magnanimity, he still sweats for Wei Zheng's head instinctively.

As expected, Li Shimin's face turned three points pale.

Unexpectedly, there was no anger on his pale face.

Finally, Li Shimin sighed quietly, not looking at Wei Zheng who was stiffening his neck, but facing the map of the Tang Dynasty territory next to him, he said:

"He who can seek the welfare of the people is the righteous emperor."

Wei Zheng pondered for a moment and nodded. What made Du Ruhui relieved was that Wei Zheng did not dwell on this too much. He nodded and continued

"Mencius also said that father and son should not blame each other for good, and if they blame each other for good, they will be separated."

"Your Majesty has previously been suspected of demanding perfection and demanding perfection from the prince."

Li Shimin sighed in his heart. He had also read this chapter of Mencius, but he never thought that it would be so perfectly fulfilled in himself.

Mencius believed that the relationship between father and son should not be mixed with the relationship between the teacher and the student, because if a teacher is inevitable to demand perfection and blame the student.

But in this way, it is inevitable that the father will be angry and the son will be resentful, and thus the separation will be achieved. In the end, the father will not be a father, and the teacher will not be a teacher. This is called missing the point.

After a pause, Li Shimin slowly said:

"Xuancheng will have dinner with me in the palace today."

Wei Zheng bowed his hands, knowing that His Majesty was probably going to talk to him about the education of the prince.

As for Liu Renyuan, Wei Zheng would not say much, after all, he has not yet entered the government, and I believe that His Majesty will make proper use of him now that he knows about him.

And the failure of Gaozong's management of the Korean Peninsula will also become a reference for the court's future strategy of attacking the Korean Peninsula.

All of the above are things that are open to the public. Wei Zheng is very tactful and thinks that such issues do not need to be elaborated.

【However, Liu Renyuan is not the only one who did well in the Korean Peninsula but was not recorded in the history books.

After the Tang Dynasty destroyed Goguryeo, the war did not end completely, because there were still remnants of Goguryeo fighting guerrilla warfare with the Tang army on its old land.

And here comes the interesting part. You say Gaozong is smart, but he single-handedly promoted the complete control of the Xiongjin Governor's Office, providing Silla with an opportunity to take advantage of.

But you say Gaozong is incompetent. He would hesitate when it comes to fighting. If we only talk about diplomatic means, he is enough to compete with Erfeng.

After the defeat of Dafeichuan, while worrying about Tubo, Gaozong also keenly noticed the unusual atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula:

The remnants of Goguryeo were in chaos, and Silla was also ready to move. Would the next step be to contact Japan to attack the Tang army again?

At this time, the Tang Dynasty had little money and it was difficult to support a long expedition. So Gaozong took a different approach and summoned Guo Wucong to send him to Japan.

This was not the first time Guo Wucong was sent to Japan. After the Battle of Baekgangkou, Li Zhi was trying to create the leading position of the Tang Dynasty and sent Guo Wucong to Japan.

However, after the Battle of Baekgang Village, Japan was completely frightened and believed that the Tang Dynasty would definitely come to destroy the country, so it refused to meet.

Now, facing the possibility of another wave of turmoil in Haidong, Li Zhi also became ruthless. Under the condition that the financial situation was not optimistic, he allocated 2,000 people and 47 warships to Guo Wucong and ordered him to succeed in his mission to Japan.

This behavior is a standard written as a peaceful mission, which is read as a military deterrent.

Guo Wucong also understood it very well and learned the lesson of being rejected by Japan last time. After leading the fleet to Tsushima Island, he first sent a small boat to Japan to notify it.

We don’t know the content of the notification. The history of Japan records that it “requested to come to the court”, which shows that Guo Wucong’s attitude was really not good, which scared Japan enough.

After informing that there was no war, Guo Wucong, regardless of Japan's reaction, forced the fleet to the vicinity of Hichi Island and knocked on the door of Japan.

What happened next was very intriguing. One month after Guo Wucong arrived in Japan, Emperor Tenchi died, and then Guo Wucong and his party stayed there.

They admired flowers and drank wine until the end of May of the following year. Guo Wucong received 1,673 pieces of 𫄟(pronounced the same as shi) from Japan, 2,852 rolls of cloth, and 666 kilograms of cotton. After that, the party patted their buttocks and reluctantly sailed back.

In Japan's own history, the wealth given to Guo Wucong was called "pouring gifts". 𫄟was Japan's own silk, and at that time, it was similar to the money and silk of the Han Dynasty. This 𫄟could be consumed directly in Japan .

In contrast, Japan later tried to enter the Korean Peninsula again cautiously and tried every means to win over Bohai. The most generous gift was 70 horses. Compared with the more than 1,600 horses that Guo Wucong took away, it is hard not to suspect that this was all the inventory of the Japanese treasury.

The above are all records from the New and Old Books of Tang. If we connect it with Japan's own history, this matter becomes particularly interesting. 】

Li Shimin's brows relaxed and a little smile appeared on his face again.

Wei Zheng was a little unpredictable:

"This behavior...seems too overbearing."

"How can a beast talk about overbearing?"

Li Shimin retorted with a smile, shaking his head:

"Studying Tang for hundreds of years, but not knowing loyalty and righteousness, reading Chinese classics for more than a thousand years, but not knowing propriety and faith."

"Beasts are monkeys in human form, how can they talk about virtue?"

As soon as Li Shimin opened his mouth, he drew Wei Zheng's attention and immediately wanted to argue with the emperor.

"What's more." Li Shimin said slowly:

"The Japanese invaded China in the future, and this is how they repay the Sui and Tang dynasties for their kindness in opening up?"

Speaking of the future, Wei Zheng was speechless. After all, if they were really vassal states, there would be something to say, but since it was about the crimes of the Japanese in the future, Wei Zheng couldn't say anything for them.

What's more, the one who accused the Japanese of crimes was the younger generation in the light curtain.

One is a descendant of the Chinese people who is not stingy with private collection and has deep feelings for their ancestors.

The other is a wolfish and ambitious person who received the favor of the Sui and Tang dynasties but acted unjustly and was untrustworthy.

Wei Zheng naturally knew how to choose, so he stopped talking, but then he frowned as he watched the changes in the situation in Japan behind him:

"If Guo Wucong really did such a thing... it's really inappropriate."

Wei Zheng never concealed his political advocacy of the kingly way.

What is the kingly way? No bias or party, the kingly way is vast.

Mencius explained this most clearly. To sum it up, there is a court that can govern the country with clarity and justice, and the people know the etiquette of honor and disgrace.

The core foundation of this advocacy is to rule the world with benevolence and righteousness.

If Guo Wucong happened to encounter this matter, Wei Zheng would not say anything, but if he really took the initiative to intervene, Wei Zheng felt that this move seemed to violate benevolence and righteousness.

Before Li Shimin could say anything, Li Jing shook his head in opposition:

"I think this course of action is appropriate."

"Taking their wealth is enough to benefit the people of our Tang Dynasty, and expropriating their land can pacify the borders of our Tang Dynasty. These two can also be regarded as benevolence to the people of our Tang Dynasty."

"What's more..." Li Jing narrowed his eyes slightly, as sharp as a falcon:

"The remnants of Goguryeo and Silla both have the intention of allying with Japan, and later generations also know that it is true."

"Knowing but not reporting is unrighteous. In this case, our Tang envoys forcefully knock on their country's door to deter their villains and eliminate the disaster of war in Japan. This can be regarded as benevolence."

For a while, Li Jing and Wei Zheng were tit-for-tat, and neither of them would give in.

However, Li Shimin on the side remembered the brotherly alliance between Liao and Song.

In this way, what Guo Wucong received should also be regarded as compensation for Japan's defeat, right?

As soon as the thought came to his mind, Li Shimin said leisurely:

"If it weren't for the instigation of Japan, how could Baekje have so many incidents?"

"If there weren't so many incidents in Baekje, Goguryeo could have been conquered several years earlier."

"Over the years, the laborers have died of toil, money has been lost, and the pensions for the soldiers have amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. This compensation is only a penny. How can it be unkind?"

Li Jing was stunned for a moment and then reacted. He couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh, praising your majesty's kindness!

Wei Zheng frowned, always feeling that something seemed wrong.

"And..." Li Shimin spread his hands and said slowly:

"The death of the King of Japan is because he was timid and fearful of the power of the Tang army, and died of fear. What does it have to do with our Tang envoys?"

[According to Japan's own historical records, not long after Guo Wucong arrived in Japan, he happened to catch up with the Japanese Renshin Rebellion.

This matter is not complicated. The defeat in the Battle of Baekgang led to the decline of Emperor Tenji's prestige.

Under this circumstance, Emperor Tenji's younger brother, Prince Oama, gained more political voice and was eventually appointed as the Crown Prince in 668.

Shortly after Guo Wucong arrived in Wakoku, the seriously ill Emperor Tenji announced a new appointment:

Appointing his son, Prince Otomo, as the Grand Minister of State, a position that is basically equivalent to the Prime Minister or the Chancellor.

In this way, as the Crown Prince, Oama was sidelined in terms of political power, but Emperor Tenji was still worried and summoned the Crown Prince to his bedside and told him:

I am dying soon, and I am ready to give the throne to you.

Emperor Tenji was a master at power struggles. He had experienced the rebellion of Prince Ooe, the Soga Ishikawa Maro incident, and the change of Prince Arimima. He was experienced in many battles.

In this situation, Oama was very sensible and took the initiative to decline. He recommended the prime minister, Prince Otomo, the biological son of Emperor Tenji, as the crown prince. In order to avoid suspicion, he became a monk.

After Emperor Tenji died, Prince Otomo, who succeeded to the throne, did not intend to let his uncle go.

The conflict eventually evolved into a real fight, and the final result was that Oama, who was in the opposition, won. He not only completely defeated Otomo, who held the government army, but also forced his own nephew to hang himself.

After Prince Oama won, Guo Wucong patted his butt and returned to the country. He waved his sleeves and took away a lot of wealth on the ship.

There were many rebellions in the history of Japan, but few rebels were able to overturn the central army, so this civil strife is very intriguing, and we have no way of knowing what role Guo Wucong played in it.

After ascending the throne, Oama was named Emperor Tenmu, and once again promoted the Tang-style reform, officially starting to learn from the Tang Dynasty from the inside out.

Emperor Tenmu was also the first emperor in the history of Japan to learn the use of reign titles from the Tang Dynasty, and officially abolished Japan's own calendar and switched to the Yuanjia calendar of the Tang Dynasty.

The ending of Emperor Tenmu was also very Tang-style: after his death, his niece and queen became the third female emperor in the history of Japan after a power struggle, namely Emperor Jitō.

After seven years in office, Emperor Jitō gave up the throne to her grandson and became the first retired emperor of Japan, and held power with her grandson to handle government affairs.

This is a story of brothers fighting, the queen becoming emperor, the two saints ruling the court, and finally returning power to the court, as well as the retired emperor system, etc.

It is hard not to remind people of Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Kuangyi, Wu Zetian, Li Zhi and other figures. It can only be said that they are too similar.

Unfortunately, the Central Plains dynasty has never been interested in the ocean, so the name of Guo Wucong, who may have changed the history of Japan, is not found in the New and Old Tang Books, but only in the national history of Japan.

Some people also believe that Guo Wucong was a Tang army general of the Xiongjin Dudufu, and this entry into Japan to beg for money was a temporary idea.

However, according to Japanese historical records, Guo Wucong brought a letter of state when he entered Japan, and the beginning of this letter made the Japanese very uncomfortable, because the beginning was written by Li Zhi:

"The Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty respectfully asks the King of Japan, etc."

The Japanese later felt ashamed, after all, they had already called themselves the emperor when they submitted the letter of state to Guangshen, but they were demoted to the King of Japan by Li Zhi, and they had many complaints about this.

Since he brought a letter of credence, it was clear that Guo Wucong was an envoy formally appointed by Li Zhi, and his style was quite strong in the style of the Tang Dynasty. 】

In the Bianliang Imperial Garden, Zhao Guangyi, who lowered his head and focused on the light screen, felt the hairs on his neck stand up.

He knew without raising his head that his brother must be looking at him with a sharp gaze at this moment.

And thinking of the jade axe on his brother's waist, Zhao Guangyi couldn't help but feel confused.

The LOL work has come to an end for the time being, and we are waiting for the finals on Saturday. After four days of hard work, I slacked off for a while, and tomorrow will be normal.