Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 377 Drive the Japanese away from my Yinshan Mountains
Chen Qingsi received Liu Rengui's reply and nodded with satisfaction when he saw Hei Te Changzhi's performance on the battlefield. The tiger finally showed its claws.

The strength shown by Hei Te Changzhi is no exception at all.

My dear friend, this general had no temper at all when he was fighting against Tubo at its peak. When it comes to military strength, looking at the many generals of the Tang Dynasty, they are all outstanding.

For this reason, he specially wrote a letter to Hei Te Changzhi as a reward.

As for the issue of Liu Rengui, Chen Qingsi had already decided. He did not let Liu Rengui continue the attack, but guarded the captured land, letting Liu Rengui appease the people while understanding the surrounding terrain and buying trustworthy people.

As for the attack, Chen Qingsi was waiting, not only for Li Zhi's authorization, but also for Japan's reaction.

Chen Qingsi did not intend to destroy the Japanese country in one fell swoop this time. It was not because of lack of strength, but because it was not necessary and it was impossible to get Li Zhi's support.

It is true that in my childhood I feared power rather than morality, but the basic national resilience is still there. It will not be easy to make them surrender, and it is more likely to lead to the Annan accident in the Ming Dynasty in history, which will plunge the Tang army into a quagmire of war.

The Japanese country is located on the sea, and its army has difficulty in logistical supplies. It is really stuck in the quagmire, which is extremely detrimental to the Tang Dynasty.

After all, the Japanese country was not qualified to be a son to the Tang Dynasty. How could they have the honor of becoming an opponent, so Tang Ting focused on them.

In this era, Datang had only two opponents, one was Tubo and the other was Dashi. Of course, there might be another one internally.

All in all, the current one-third-acre land of the Japanese country is not worthy of the Tang army's labor and force.

Of course, Chen Qingsi did not intend to let the Japanese go because of this. He would have to break their bones so that when they saw Mr. Tang in the future, their first reaction would be to bend down and salute. Perhaps in the future, when Datang is really invincible, it can be destroyed with one kick.

Chen Qingsi's memorial was sent across the East China Sea to Luoyang.

Li Zhi has always been a troublesome emperor, and he has to find something to do when he has nothing to do.

Historically, Li Zhi was interested in running Dongdu Capital and came to Luoyang many times to work.

Just because of the appearance of Chen Qingsi, the Tang Dynasty's funds have been very tight, which made Li Zhi'an a little less busy, and he did not travel to Chang'an and Luoyang as he did in history.

After more than a year of recuperation, the economic situation of the imperial court improved. At the beginning of this year, Li Zhi ordered him to travel to Luoyang, intending to live in Luoyang for a while.

Therefore, Chen Qingsi's memorial was sent directly to Luoyang and to Fang Renyu.

Yes, it was Fang Renyu who returned to the Central Plains from Baekje.

Fang Renyu returned to Luoyang and met with the emperor.

Li Zhi did not punish him, but encouraged him a few words. Soon after, he was appointed as the minister of the Ministry of War and served in the center of the temple.

Chen Qingsi has the power to directly reach Tianting, but he never abuses this power.

His memorial followed the normal process and was passed to the Ministry of War, and then from the Ministry of War to the prime minister in the Council Hall. After being reviewed by the prime minister, it was passed to Li Zhi.

In the more than a year since Chen Qingsi left, a lot of things happened in the temple.

Among them, what concerns the Ministry of War is that Jiang Ke, the former Minister of the Ministry of War, was promoted to the third rank of Tong Zhongshu, replacing his old boss Ren Yaxiang and becoming the prime minister of the military generals in the temple.

As for Ren Yaxiang's death due to illness...

Now that the position of Minister of the Ministry of War is vacant, Fang Renyu, the Minister of the Ministry of War, has naturally become the top leader of the Ministry of War.

Seeing Chen Qingsi destroy Fu Yufeng in one battle, and also take care of the 40,000 Japanese soldiers and horses who supported him, Fang Renyu's rough hands even shook, and he couldn't help but press one hand on his chest, feeling his heart throbbing.

In fact, when he left Baekje, he already knew that Chen Qingsi would succeed.

Not only did he explore the road by himself and use practical actions to point out the direction that the other party should avoid, but in the few months of handing over to him, Chen Qingsi's courage, ability and means were indeed superior to him.

But even so, he felt that it would take Chen Qingsi a while to solve the problem in Baekje.

Now, less than half a year later, Baekje’s situation is set.

Doesn't this make you look incompetent?
After waiting for a while, Fang Renyu continued to read. He saw that Chen Qingsi had counterattacked to the Japanese mainland, and proposed to continue the attack, forcing the Japanese to cede territory and beg for surrender. His expression was a little emotional, but also a little uncertain.

I admire Chen Qingsi's ability, but also feel awkward. The better Chen Qingsi performs, the more incompetent he appears.

An old face turned red with anger.

However, no matter how grudged he was, Fang Renyu did not dare to withhold Chen Qingsi's memorial. After reading it, he sent it to the council hall in person as soon as possible.

The person on duty at the Council Hall at the moment is Shangguan Yi...

After Chen Qingsi left, Shangguan Yi quickly received Li Zhi's attention.

He needed a Confucian leader to lead the literary world in order to suppress the status of the Kanto gentry in the hearts of scholars.

In the absence of Chen Qingsi, Shangguan Yi, the spare tire, naturally stepped forward.

It is worth mentioning that Shangguan Yi replaced Master Xu Yu.

As for Master Xu Yu, he was demoted and punished by Li Zhi and sent to Xiangzhou as the governor...

The demotion of Master Xu Yuen was actually related to Chen Qingsi.

Li Zhi is an emperor and does not trust anyone. He will decisively avoid unknown threats if he can avoid them.

Chen Qingsi went to Baekje and held local military and political power. He was also responsible for local promotions. He had the most power and was the head of the border commanders.

Li Zhi understood that these powers must be delegated to the situation that Baekje was facing.

Li Zhi is suspicious, but he will not make mistakes because of his suspicion, and he does not dare to delegate power.

For the great cause of the Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi dared to employ people.

However, he will also make corresponding adjustments in the temple, such as demoting and punishing Xu Yushi.

Master Xu Yun highly admired Chen Qingsi's literary talents and was still his old boss.

A high-ranking prime minister and a frontier commander with military and political power. If the two collude, the harm will be immeasurable.

So Li Zhi dismissed Xu Yushi neatly.

Shangguan Yi looked at the memorial handed over by Fang Renyu, and saw Chen Qingsi calming down the civil strife in Baekje like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, and felt tangled for a while.

He knew that his current status was closely related to Chen Qingsi's departure.

If Chen Qingsi doesn't leave, it won't be his turn to be the Confucian leader. It is impossible for him to be promoted to prime minister and give orders to the scholars in the capital.

It was precisely because Chen Qingsi left that he could sit in the position of prime minister.

Now that Baekje has been decided, he won't come back, right?

Shangguan Yi's face was tense and a little panicked. If he was given a year, he would be confident in cultivating a group of Shangguan Party members who would not be afraid of Chen Qingsi's return.

Now he has only been the prime minister for a few months, which is not enough to develop a power comparable to Chen Qingsi who received Laiji's inheritance.

After calming down, Shangguan Yi continued to read and saw that Chen Qingsi had the intention to attack the Japanese country. Seeing his plan, he felt relieved and was sure that Chen Qingsi would not come back so soon.

Shangguan Yi said: "Master Fang, you and I will face the Holy Spirit together and report this matter to His Majesty!"

As the prime minister, Shangguan Yi knew that what Chen Qingsi said was important, so he directly led him to meet the emperor. Li Zhi was handling government affairs in the Qianyuan Hall, and Queen Wu was helping to sort out the memorials.

There are two of them.

Li Zhi was feeling unwell, and the imperial doctor asked him not to take any trouble, and could only leave some simple memorials to Empress Wu to handle.

Empress Wu is good at seizing opportunities and handling things properly, and has become Li Zhi's arm in work.

In the past, Li Zhi would ask Empress Wu to get out of the way when meeting courtiers, but now she listens from behind the curtain.

After learning that Shangguan Yi and Fang Renyu had brought Chen Qingsi's memorial to ask for an audience, Li Zhi, who was concerned about the situation in Haidong, immediately let them enter the palace.

Empress Wu also wisely retreated behind the curtain. The curtain was so dense that they could not see each other.

Empress Wu pricked her ears and listened carefully, with a solemn look on her face.

Empress Wu was indeed thoughtful, but she had never been involved in government affairs until Li Zhi asked her to listen and let her take over some simple affairs. Only then did she realize that there was such an interesting job in the world. With just a wave of the ink pen, everything in the world could be decided. It’s just that she has learned female training since she was a child, has never been exposed to government affairs, knows nothing about administration, and can’t understand many things clearly.

But she was willing to learn, and whether she understood it or not, she kept it in her head and thought about it over and over again, and her level has improved greatly.

In the palace, Li Zhi asked Shangguan Yi and Fang Renyu to sit down, and he couldn't wait to read the memorial in his hand.

I saw Chen Qingsi defeat the Baekje rebels at Wuwuling, capture Fu Yufeng alive, and show his head to the public...

"Good, good, good!"

Li Zhi said hello three times in a row, put down the memorial in his hand excitedly, stood up and took two steps to express his joy.

Three good sounds refer to three things.

The first good thing: defeat the Baekje rebels and put down the civil strife in Baekje.

The second best: destroy the Japanese country and annihilate them all.

The third best thing is to show Fu Yufeng his head directly to the public.

The third best, in particular, directly addresses an unknown political dispute.

The national rejuvenation campaign launched by Fu Yufeng in Baekje had a considerable impact.

The imperial court regards Buyeo Yiji as Baekje's orthodoxy, but now some Baekje people regard Buyeo Feng as orthodox. If Chen Qingsi promised to spare Buyeo Fong's life in order to appease the Restoration Army, it would leave a lot of political risks. .

Chen Qingsi directly executed him here, and never recognized Fu Yufeng's political identity.

This was done very beautifully, and Li Zhi was very satisfied. It was impeccable.

Li Zhi calmed down, returned to his seat, picked up the memorial again and read it carefully. He saw that Chen Qingsi arranged for Liu Rengui to invade the Japanese mainland and had no objection.

Li Zhi did not have a good impression of the Japanese country.

The barbarians surrounding the Tang Dynasty were only allowed to call themselves kings, not emperors. However, the Japanese nation fawned over the imperial court openly, but secretly they always regarded themselves as the emperor of the East.

Li Zhi didn't know about this situation. The Ministry of Rites was vaguely aware of it, but there was no real evidence and it was inconvenient to investigate. He just had a cold attitude.

After the Ministry of Rites became cold, Li Zhi naturally had no impression of the Japanese country.

Now it seems that the Japanese country dared to support Fu Yufeng and sent 40,000 troops. It is reasonable to teach the opponent a lesson.

But seeing Chen Qingsi's proposal to attack Japan, the emperor Li Zhi looked a little unhappy.

As an emperor, he hates things that are beyond his control.

Chen Qingsi's main task was to pacify Baekje and prepare for the future conquest of Goguryeo.

The Japanese country is just a small country. It doesn't know the heights of the sky and the earth, and it doesn't know how to behave as a king. It's enough to teach them a lesson to let them appreciate the majesty of the Tang Dynasty. Why give up their own grand strategy and waste their energy on in-depth disputes with the Japanese country?

He patiently continued to look at it, and his originally unsightly expression gradually changed, and his mind turned into a shining silvery white.

A stone can see a mountain of silver.

Chen Qingsi understands Li Zhi's character very well. His biggest wish now is to destroy Goguryeo and then grant Zen. At this time, it is impossible to get his consent if he is distracted to fight against Japan.

Unless there are benefits he can't refuse.

Chen Qingsi moved out of the large silver mine in Shimane County, Japan.

Although Chen Qingsi didn't know much about the history of Japan, he also knew the value of Shijian Yinshan.

Whether it is true or not, Chen Qingsi does not know. It is said that the storage capacity of Iwami Ginzan is extremely amazing. In the late Japanese Warring States Period and the early Edo Period, the output of Iwami Ginzan was as high as one-third of the world's at that time.

I don’t know whether this ratio is true or not, but one thing is certain. The Japanese daimyo Ouchi Yoshihiro, Ouchi Yoshitaka and his son, Niko Tsukuyoshi, Niko Haruhisa, and Mori Motonari and other Japanese lords around Iwami Ginzan wanted to snatch the Iwami Ginzan dog. My brain was knocked out.

Later, when the Japanese white monkey Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea, the main source of funds was Iwami Ginzan. The Tokugawa shogunate also relied on this silver mountain for its foreign trade.

The Japanese people have been relying on Iwami Ginzan for several generations, which shows that Iwami Ginzan does have considerable reserves.

The common currency of the Tang Dynasty has always been Kaiyuan Tongbao, but rare metals such as gold and silver have been hard currencies since ancient times.

As long as you have gold or silverware, you can exchange them for a certain amount of Tongbao in a slightly larger county.

All kinds of exquisite silverware are the best-selling goods for wealthy people, and silver from the far west is their currency, so they have no worries about sales.

All kinds of thoughts turned into one idea in Li Zhi's mind: drive the Japanese away from my Yinshan.

Li Zhi's expression completely changed. After reading the last word carefully, he immediately invited Xu Jingzong and Liu Xiangdao to set the tone.

Then discuss the matter in the court.

At this time, Li Zhi had already begun to cultivate conservatives. The destruction of Goguryeo and the enfeoffment of Zen were the things Li Zhi cared about most in the future.

As long as these two wishes are fulfilled, he is also willing to rest with the people and truly calm down to recover from the wounds left by the continuous military use over the years.

So when they first heard that Chen Qingsi was going to attack Japan, many officials were ready to come out to oppose it and were already preparing their arguments in their hearts. But when they heard about Shi Jian Yinshan, they were even more indignant.

"Your Majesty is just a Japanese country, a clown! He dares to despise the power of heaven. This is intolerable. I agree with the governor's proposal to conquer the Japanese country and capture the Japanese king to come to Beijing for questioning."

The conservatives in the Tang Dynasty were not afraid of fighting, they just wanted to rest with the people.

If you fight a small Japanese country, you can get a big silver mountain.

No fool would fight this fight.

All in all, in a word, it is just one sentence to let the Japanese country get out of Yinshan in the Tang Dynasty.

Seeing the rare consensus between civil and military officials, Li Zhi immediately decided to let Chen Qingsi have full authority to handle all matters dealing with the Japanese country.

He believed that with Chen Qingsi's political and military talents, he could handle this matter properly.

(End of this chapter)