Being said to be the master of a country is actually no different than a bird in a cage. This is a great insult to the subjects of a country.
As long as the king has some backbone, he will not be willing to be imprisoned. He will either launch an army to resist or set himself on fire.
However, the eldest brother Zhong had no choice in either case. He chose to live in an ignoble existence.
Li Qinzai was very satisfied with the choice of Brother Zhong. The Tang Dynasty needed a leader of the Japanese country who could live quietly, and those who were too courageous could only be killed.
When Li Qinzai and his party arrived in front of the palace on horseback, the eldest brother Zhong and all the ministers who had been waiting for a long time knelt down one after another.
"The eldest brother among the vassal ministers and the lord of the Japanese country, pays homage to the lord of the Tang Dynasty, His Excellency Duke Li County of Shangguo."
Li Qinzai's slightly stiff Chinese language actually had a bit of a weird Guanzhong accent. Li Qinzai smiled and then dismounted.
Striding forward, Li Qinzai helped up the eldest brother, patted his shoulder affectionately, and said with a smile: "It's been a few years since I said goodbye to you. How are you doing, Your Highness?"
Brother Zhong showed an expression of honor, as if being patted on the shoulder by Li Qinzai was an affirmation for him, and he quickly stood up on tiptoes to allow Li Qinzai to pat him more smoothly.
"His Excellency Duke Li is looking younger and more rosy, which shows that his fortune is booming. The vassals are very happy for Duke Li."
Li Qinzai laughed loudly: "His Royal Highness is becoming more and more approachable. When I negotiated with you in Japan, you didn't have such a good temper."
Brother Zhong was not embarrassed and said in a deep voice: "This moment is the same as that moment. The vassal officials have long since changed their minds and repent every day that they should not have used swords and halberds against the Righteous King of the Tang Dynasty."
"The sect leader's virtues were transferred to the Japanese country by the king. This is the supreme glory of the Japanese country. The vassals are preparing to welcome him with their bowls of food and drink. It is really a great sin to use swords and soldiers."
Li Qinzai smiled. It was not surprising that such spineless words came from the mouth of the head of a country, but Li Qinzai secretly increased his vigilance.
The humbler the posture, the more hatred in the heart, and behind the hatred, there may be a violent storm brewing.
Looking at the Japanese ministers who were still kneeling behind his eldest brother, Li Qinzai glanced at them indifferently.
The official uniforms of Japanese ministers were very distinctive. The style was the same as that of the Tang Dynasty, but the colors had a lot of meaning.
As early as the Sui Dynasty, the Japanese state had a wise king, known as "Prince Shotoku" in history books. He strongly advocated the introduction of Sui Dynasty Central Plains culture, respected Buddhism, and launched the "Seventeen-Article Constitution" to carry out drastic reforms to the Japanese state.
I have to admit that the reform was quite effective. After learning the culture and official system of the Central Plains sages, the civilization of the Japanese country became more and more prosperous, and the prototype of a civilized country was already in place at that time.
Later, he probably felt that he could do it, and the Japanese gradually became a little tougher on the Sui Dynasty. The famous sentence "The emperor wrote a letter to the emperor where the sun rose, and the emperor was fine when the sun disappeared." This was due to the instruction of Prince Shotoku.
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was displeased when he received this letter of credence, so he ordered the Japanese envoys to be kept out of the palace and not allowed to visit him.
Later, Prince Shotoku introduced the Japanese official system that imitated the Tang Dynasty, called the "Twelve Levels of Crown Ranks". The official uniforms of Japanese ministers were divided into six colors: purple, green, red, yellow, white, and black. There are twelve official ranks in total, divided into different sizes.
These six colors respectively correspond to the six qualities of virtue, benevolence, etiquette, faith, righteousness, and wisdom in the Chinese Sage Sutra.
Familiar? The authentic Central Plains culture was plagiarized without even thinking, and was directly represented by six colors.
From then on, the Japanese country entered the so-called "Asuka Period". To this day, even though the country was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, the rulers and subjects of the country still followed the traditions and laws of the original Asuka Period in terms of etiquette and clothing.
Perhaps they believed that the etiquette established by Prince Shotoku in the Asuka era was the most glorious time for the Japanese country, and they could not abandon those glorious days.
Li Qinzai didn't care what etiquette he used or what color he wore.
These etiquette things are all vain and useless. When the Confucian scholars sent by the Tang Dynasty brainwash and educate the Japanese subjects, they will slowly abandon everything they have and have to accept the cultural occupation from the Tang Dynasty.
If you want to destroy your country, first kill its army, then kill its heart, and your country will be settled.
A dead country? The country is dead!
After the eldest brother Zhong and his ministers saluted, they respectfully welcomed Li Qinzai into the palace.
That night, there was a banquet in the palace, which was extravagant and expensive.
A group of women wearing Tang Dynasty palace dresses danced in the palace hall. The beauties even made various seductive and provocative movements directly in front of Li Qinzai. They stretched their arms and legs, and the beauty suddenly appeared, appeared again, and appeared again...
At the banquet, Li Qinzai had to sit in the main seat at the strong request of Brother Zhong. Brother Zhong carefully accompanied him and kept toasting to Li Qinzai during the banquet. social dinner party.
The way the guests and hosts were seated at the banquet made Li Qinzai look like the emperor of Japan.
As the wine reached its peak, Li Qinzai's mind became clearer and clearer.
He should not forget himself when he is proud, especially in the palace of Japan. No matter how respectful and fearful the monarchs and ministers of Japan are to him, theoretically speaking, this is still an enemy country.
Halfway through the banquet, the dancing beauty was not noticed by Li Qinzai, so he had to leave in disappointment after a few songs.
A Japanese minister suddenly stood up, walked to the center of the hall, knelt down facing Li Qinzai, and then cried bitterly and said a series of words. Li Qinzai didn't understand, but still looked at him with a smile.
Unexpectedly, after the minister finished speaking, he suddenly pointed at himself, then at the eldest brother, and shouted something loudly, and then his expression became more decisive.
Suddenly he pulled out a delicate dagger from his arms and stabbed himself hard in the heart. The minister trembled several times and fell heavily to the ground.
The guests and hosts in the hall were shocked. After a brief silence, there was an uproar. Many ministers hurriedly ran out of the hall. The eldest brother of the king was so frightened that his face turned pale. He lay limply next to Li Qinzai. His face was pale and he was muttering something unknown.
Li Qinzai's face turned livid as he stared at the Japanese minister who committed suicide in the center of the hall, and did not look away for a long time.
Something unexpected happened during the banquet, and a life was lost. The soldiers of the Tang Army in charge of the palace hurriedly came. At the same time, Liu Asi and other tribesmen entered the palace.
Seeing a person lying in a pool of blood in the center of the hall, Liu Asi's eyes shrank sharply, and then with a wave of his hand, the tribe stepped forward to surround Li Qinzai, and several horizontal knives were immediately placed on the neck of the eldest brother among the kings.
Brother Zhong seemed to have lost his soul. He was completely unaware of the knife on his neck and was trembling all over.
After a long time, Li Qinzai glanced coldly at the eldest brother, and said to Liu Asi: "I ordered Liu Renyuan to seal off the palace. The king was frightened, so he was invited into the palace to rest. No one is allowed to see him."
"You escort me out of the city and back to the camp, summon the Baiqisi subordinates into the palace to investigate, and report the cause and effect to me tomorrow."
After saying this, Li Qinzai waved his robe sleeves and walked out of the hall without greeting the eldest brother, and left the palace.
