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Chapter 635 0632 [Declaration of War]

They paid tribute and became vassals, and weakened the emperor's power.

The two consecutive pieces of news successfully angered the Japanese monarch and his ministers.

Mr. Yin took in the reactions of the emperor and his ministers in the hall, smiled slightly in his heart, and planned to add fuel to the fire.

"After Japan becomes a vassal of the Great Qi, it shall serve the Great Qi with its sons and nephews, pay tribute every year, and pay homage every year without shortage. Your Majesty has heard that Japan is rich in silver and copper, so from now on, it shall pay tribute of 500,000 taels of silver and 1 million catties of copper every year."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the hall.

Fujiwara no Tadamichi and other court officials glared at him with anger flashing in their eyes.

China is really going too far!

Paying a tribute of 500,000 taels of silver and 1 million kilograms of copper every year is not just an exorbitant demand, but a request to completely devour Japan.

Japan is indeed rich in silver and copper mines, but the problem is that Japan's exploration and mining technology is extremely backward, and it can only mine some shallow silver mines, so the annual silver production is only a pitiful 100,000 taels.

Even in the Central Plains, it was only in recent decades that the energy crisis in Tokyo City led to a surge in demand for coal, which led to rapid development in exploration and mining technology.

Emperor Toba took a deep breath and was about to speak when an old voice came from behind the screen behind him: "There is an old Chinese saying, 'Times have changed.' It has been nearly 700 years since King Wu paid tribute and was enthroned. During these 700 years, China has changed dynasties several times, and our great country of Japan has never been a vassal. We have been friendly neighbors with China and have lived in harmony until today."

"The golden seal is still there, but is the Chinese emperor's surname Liu?"

The person who spoke was none other than Emperor Baihe.

This old fox is very cunning. When Mr. Yin brought up the golden seal bestowed by the Han Dynasty, he used the enemy's spear to attack the enemy's shield.

It is true that Japan was enthroned by the Han Dynasty, but does the emperor of China today still have the surname Liu?
Mr. Yin was not surprised and answered loudly: "Although His Majesty the Emperor of Great Qi is not of the Liu family, he has received the mandate of heaven and has ruled the country in a very righteous way. He has inherited the will of the previous dynasty and continued the legacy of the Han and Tang dynasties."

This is not sophistry, this is the inheritance of the Central Plains dynasties.

After Zhu Yuanzhang established the country, he had to recognize the Yuan Dynasty, otherwise he would not be able to stand firm.

Similarly, Yuan and Qing also had to honestly acknowledge the previous dynasty.

Emperor Shirakawa said in a deep voice: "China is China, Japan is Japan, we cannot generalize them, and we should not mention the issue of vassalage anymore."

If we do not mention the matter of paying tribute and submitting to the throne, then there is naturally no need to discuss the subsequent self-abolition of the emperor and the annual tribute.

"Humph!"

Mr. Yin snorted and asked, "Have you made up your mind, King of Japan?"

"Insanity!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Fujiwara Tadamichi shouted and glared at him.

No matter how he fought openly or secretly with the Emperor's faction, it was their own business and they could do whatever they wanted behind closed doors. But now the Chinese envoys were so arrogant and domineering that it was a slap in the face of the entire Japan. As the Regent, he naturally had to stand up.

Taira Tadamori obviously did not want to miss this opportunity to improve his reputation, so he stood up and said, "Our country has always been courteous to China. Why did the envoy speak so arrogantly and be so disrespectful to our monarch?"

Yuan Weiyi and others began to criticize.

For a moment, everyone in the hall was outraged.

Emperor Toba and Emperor Shirakawa did not say anything to stop it, and allowed their ministers to criticize the Chinese envoys to vent their anger.

Mr. Yin stood proudly in the hall, calm and composed.

After a while, when the scolding sounds in the hall had become quieter, Mr. Yin continued in a questioning tone: "King of Japan, I will ask you again, have you thought it over?" Although he was speaking to Emperor Toba, everyone knew that his target was Emperor Shirakawa behind the screen.

Fujiwara Tadamichi's expression changed. He vaguely realized that something was wrong.

Coincidentally, Ping Zhongsheng turned his head to look at him, and the two looked at each other, and saw solemnity and worry in each other's eyes.

If the Chinese envoys were previously unreasonable and arrogant, then their current actions are a real humiliation.

China has always been a country of etiquette, and it is obviously unreasonable to humiliate the king of a country in this way.

When something is out of the ordinary, there must be something wrong!
There was silence behind the screen. Emperor Baihe frowned, and his old and skinny face was full of solemnity.

He was not a playboy, on the contrary, he was very smart. He was familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics when he was young, and practiced running script very well. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was an expert in calligraphy. Otherwise, he would not have been able to form alliances and win back some power from the Fujiwara clan when the emperor's power was hollowed out.

Looking through Chinese history books, whenever envoys took such action, it was accompanied by war!

Fu Jiezi, Ban Chao, Chen Tang, An Guo Shaoji, She He, Wang Xuance...

Thinking of this, Emperor Baihe's face became gloomy.

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But he would never agree to become a vassal of China. Japan had been free from paying tribute and becoming a friendly neighbor of China for seven hundred years. How could it become a vassal of China in his hands?

He could not accept either the abolition of the title of emperor or the annual tribute.

Besides, even if it refuses, what can China do?

According to him, Song had been defeated repeatedly in foreign wars, and there were powerful enemies in the north and west, which attacked China year after year, making China miserable. Even though China has changed dynasties, the powerful enemies in the north are still there. How could China dare to cross the sea to attack Japan when it could not take care of itself?

After a moment of silence, Emperor Baihe slowly spoke in a firm tone, "It is absurd to pay tribute. Please tell your Majesty not to mention this matter again. As our two countries have been friendly neighbors for many years, I will not pursue today's matter. Send him away!"

Upon hearing that the French emperor had ordered them to leave, several warriors on duty outside the door immediately walked towards Mr. Yin and his companion.

"Wait!"

Mr. Yin shouted loudly, and took out the declaration of war from his sleeve pocket without any hurry, and said in a loud voice: "All land under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are his subjects. Japan does not respect education and does not obey the king's orders. Naturally, the brave soldiers of the Great Qi will help your majesty to solve the problem. This declaration of war is given to you. In a few days, the navy of the Great Qi will conquer Heian-kyō!"

Declaration of war?
Including Emperor Toba, all the Japanese court officials changed their expressions drastically.

The eyes of Emperor Shirakawa behind the screen were full of disbelief. China actually dared to cross the ocean and go to war with them at the cost of money and manpower!
The reason why he is so confident is that he is sure that China will not go to war with them.

After all, Japan is an isolated island overseas, and in the past thousand years, it has only been invaded once by Liao pirates.

But he never expected that China would actually declare war.

After looking around the hall and taking in the shocked expressions of the Japanese monarch and his ministers, Mr. Yin slapped the declaration of war into the arms of a nearby warrior, then turned around and strode away.

Sun Zhi gave a sinister smile and followed closely behind, leaving the emperor and his ministers in the hall looking at each other in bewilderment.

Watching the two men's departing figures gradually disappear from his sight, Fujiwara Tadamichi stood up, took out the declaration of war from the samurai's arms, and opened it in public.

"how?"

Emperor Toba asked in a panic.

Fujiwara Tadamichi frowned and said, "I suspect that China has been planning this for a long time. Otherwise, why would the envoy bring a letter of credence and a declaration of war?"

(End of this chapter)