Li Zhi, don't be a coward

Once things like layouts start, things sometimes develop involuntarily. When the situation gets out of control, the black hands behind the scenes may not be able to recover.

Li Qinzai, the mastermind behind the scenes, is like this. When the Wa people get excited, they are like a donkey that has run off its rein, and no one can pull it.

Things were a little unexpected, but in general, it was basically manageable.

Empress Wu obviously doesn't think so, you have fun, who will clean up the mess?After all, this matter was still going to be brought up in the court, and it was Li Zhi who was unable to step down by Liu Rengui's Qingliu face-to-face admonition.

"The envoys of Silla were taken into the Wannian County Prison by Marquis Wu. They said they were indecent, and they are still locked up in the prison. Jingchu, what do you say? Will the court arrest or release?" Empress Wu said dissatisfiedly.

Li Qinzai said innocently: "I think that the imperial court might as well pretend to be deaf and dumb and lock him up for a few more days, so as to make an example to those immoral and immoral exotic monkeys."

Empress Wu laughed angrily: "Continue to shut down, what do the envoys of all countries think of me?"

"The kingdom of Silla broke the courtesies. Everyone knew that the envoys of Silla dared to bribe my courtiers of the Tang Dynasty. They all waited to see how the emperor would deal with them. As a result, the envoys of Silla were put in prison, and his charges were the same as those of bribery. The courtiers have nothing to do, Your Majesty, Queen, I have to say, this kind of handling is actually very good."

Empress Wu raised her eyebrows: "Where is the magic?"

"The wonderful thing is that no matter whether you are a person who thinks he understands or a person who thinks he is confused, the result is the same. No one in the government and the public cares what the crimes of the Silla envoys are. They only see that the Silla envoys are locked up. The Tang Dynasty maintained the dignity of the law, and the monarchs and ministers of the Tang Dynasty also maintained their dignity."

Li Qinzai smiled and said: "On the contrary, Silla's face was lost in our Tang Dynasty. If it was interrogated for bribing the courtiers, it would be regarded as failure at any rate, and the loss would be tragic. However, the envoys of Silla were interrogated. The charge is against public morals..."

"When the news reached Silla, the Lord of Silla was probably disgusted, but he still had to send an envoy to apologize to the emperor. The matter of bribery could not be brought to the table. The reason for the Lord of Silla's apology could only be that the people of the country were immoral... "

Li Qinzai blinked at Li Zhi with a smirk: "Your Majesty, are you relieved?"

Li Zhi laughed loudly: "Excuse me, this is a shame. I want the ruler of Silla to remember it for the rest of his life, and let the official historian record this matter in the annals of history, so that the people of Silla will know from generation to generation that their ancestors lived in the Tang Dynasty for a long time." Such a disgraceful experience."

Seeing that Li Zhi was very satisfied, Empress Wu did not dare to contradict him, and gave him a charming look: "Your Majesty is getting more and more out of shape."

After Li Zhi laughed, he suddenly asked: "I just heard something, Jing Chu, you seem to be hostile to Silla, why?"

Li Qinzai said neither humble nor overbearing: "If you are not of my race, your heart must be different. It doesn't matter whether I have any hostility towards Silla. I just hope that your majesty should remain sober and vigilant towards all foreign countries."

Li Zhi's expression became serious: "Why did Jing Chu say that?"

Li Qinzai was silent for a moment, and then said: "Your Majesty knows the nature of the minister. The minister only wants to hide in the mountains and wait for death. I have never developed ambition in this life. I have always avoided government and state affairs when I can. I seldom make false comments..."

"But today, I have made plans for the great Tang society and a century-old country, so I have no choice but to speak directly to Your Majesty."

Li Zhi said with a smile: "Just say it, I will listen with all my ears."

Li Qinzai said slowly: "Your Majesty, Baekje must not be abandoned. Not only that, Silla must also be under the control of the Tang Dynasty. After the king's master destroys Goguryeo in the future, the entire peninsula should be included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Zhi and Empress Wu were taken aback, and Li Zhi said with a downcast face: "Jingchu, you don't dare to talk nonsense, Goguryeo and Baekje are fine, but since the Zhenguan year of Silla, all the rulers of the past dynasties have respected the Great Tang Dynasty. Loyal and loyal, if the teacher came out of nowhere and cut him down, wouldn't the people of the world feel cold towards me?"

Li Qinzai said: "The envoys of Silla wantonly bought courtiers and conspired in the capital of the Tang Dynasty in order to fight for the land of Baekje. This incident itself is the betrayal of the Lord of Silla to His Majesty. How can Your Majesty say that they are 'loyal'?"

Li Zhi was taken aback, opened his mouth, and found himself speechless.

"Your Majesty, the loyalty of a foreign country is only temporarily surrendering to the military power of the Great Tang. If the Great Tang becomes weak, they will definitely tear off the so-called loyal coat, reveal their ferocious faces, and conspire to bite off a piece of Datang's flesh. .”

"When the Tang Dynasty is now strong, they dare to conspire to steal the land of Baekje. Can your Majesty imagine how they will behave if one day we are weak?"

"The old minister thinks that the Tang Dynasty should take advantage of its prosperity, and should take and reap everything. Make other people's things completely your own, and then use them as kings."

"Use the Confucian philosophy to make them return to the Tang Dynasty, and take pride in being registered in the Tang Dynasty. If there is such a day, the Tang Dynasty will be the real power that will benefit the world, and the people of China and foreign countries will happily follow it."

Li Zhi was slightly moved, and looked at each other with Empress Wu.

Empress Wu smiled lightly and said, "Your Majesty, what Jing Chu said seems to be exactly the same as Liu Rengui's. Liu Rengui's memorabilia also argues with reason, urging His Majesty not to give up Baekje. The land that Wang Shi and his soldiers shed blood and sacrificed, how can they be compared with outsiders?" Bang Dongyi."

Li Qinzai said again: "The minister said frankly that the minister and Liu Rengui did not deal with each other, but they did not agree with Liu Rengui's words."

"However, there is still a difference between ministers and Liu Rengui. Liu Rengui values ​​righteousness, while ministers value profit."

"Liu Rengui's starting point is that he doesn't want the blood of the soldiers to be shed in vain, and the minister's starting point is to obtain the peninsula, which will be of great benefit to the Tang Dynasty's century-old history."

Li Zhi sat up straight suddenly, and said with interest: "Where are the benefits?"

Li Qinzai twitched his lips, this guy is actually a profit-seeker, and when it comes to profits, he immediately feels relieved.

"Your Majesty, do you still remember the world map I drew for Your Majesty?"

Li Zhi nodded: "Of course I remember, I know it by heart."

"Then Your Majesty recalls the whole picture of the map again, and then thinks again, if the three peninsula countries are included in the territory of Datang, will it be beneficial for Datang to explore the whole world?"

Li Zhi then began to recall the whole picture of the map, extending from the east to Australia, to North and South America...

Then Li Zhi was taken aback. He suddenly discovered that if Silla or Wa was used as the port of departure and explored to the east of the ocean, regardless of the distance of the voyage, the convenience of logistics supplies, or just as a horizontal strategic buffer zone, They are all great ideal places.

In the past, the strategic focus of the Tang Dynasty was either the Turks in the north, or Tubo or the Western Regions in the west. Now that Li Qinzai's map was available, Li Zhi changed his mind a little and found that if he occupied the peninsula and Japan, it would be of great benefit to the Tang Dynasty. strategy to the west.

In the face of great interests, even if Silla was Datang's most loyal watchdog, Li Zhi had to slaughter this dog, swallowing even the belt and bones.

God-given good harbor, don't take the blame.