"Overseas Foreign Affairs" records: "In September, Daishan Nakatsu Morien Jixiang, Daiyichu Iki Shibotoku, Monk Chiben, etc., called Chikushi Taizai Ci, which is actually an edict. Tell the guests and others: 'I see the guests and others now. The person who came to complain was not an envoy from the emperor, but a private envoy from Baekje Town. He also restored the document and sent the deacon a private message. As a result, the envoy was not allowed to enter the country, and the letter was not sent to the court. Therefore, if the guests are doing their own thing, Just put it in words.'" The supervisor who gave Guo Wutai a formal reply was Jin Shoulian Jixiang. The reason why he was put in charge was obviously because he served as deputy envoy to the Tang Dynasty five years ago, had an audience with Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, and had rich experience in negotiating with the Tang people. The last one was a diplomat, and his official position was the same as that of the previous female concubine, Da Shanzhong. Ikishi Hokuto is Igiren Hokuto who went to the Tang Dynasty with Tsumori Renkisho and left important historical materials "Igiren Hokusho" for future generations (he became the protagonist's subordinate in this book). This time, he will serve as Tsumori Renkisho again. deputy, a famous diplomat in later generations. Samana Chibian, who had previously received Guo Wutai, was also among the receptionists, with the meaning of being a guide.
The three reception envoys announced the decree of the Yamato court to Kuo Wutai, Ni Jun and others, but they falsely claimed that this was the reply of Chikushi Dazai. This Chikushi Dazai was none other than the famous naval general Abe Hirafu of Kaito. The edict stated that Guo Wutai and others were not ordered by Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, but were appointed privately by Baekje Town, such as Liu Renyuan. Therefore, they could not constitute state diplomatic regulations. The Japanese refused to accept the ultimatum items and refused to allow Tang envoys to enter the country. They could only deliver the text orally and send it to Tsukushi. Dazai responded privately accordingly.
It can be said that Prince Nakadai, Kamado, and others worked hard to come up with such a response strategy, which actually achieved three goals: first, preventing Tang envoys from entering to prevent them from taking the opportunity to spy on the situation in Japan; second, not communicating with Baekje in the name of the imperial court. He negotiated with private envoys and used the local bureaucrat Zhuzi Dazai to come forward and see through Liu Renyi's conspiracy to lower the international status of the Japanese country. Thirdly, he did not block the way of exchanges between the Tang and Japanese countries. In fact, it was a hint that if Emperor Gaozong issued an edict, he would come to visit. They will receive corresponding treatment, which also foreshadows the reconciliation of relations between the two countries. In this way, the two malicious intentions of Liu Renyuan and others were not achieved, and the two purposes of appeasing and improving diplomatic relations that were beneficial to both sides were met. The clever political strategies of Zhongdaxiong Wangzi and Zhongchen Kamado were so impressive that they actually made Guo Wutai and Ni Jun passive. The Tang envoy and the Baekje envoy were at a loss.
On the first day of October, the Yamato court issued an order to dispatch Guo Wutai and others. This meant that the Japanese had issued an order to expel guests. On the same day, the minister Kamzu sent the monk Zhixiang to give gifts to Guo Wutai; on the fourth day, he held a banquet and presented it to the envoys of Tang and Baekje. These were all to send off the Tang envoy on his return, hoping that relations between the two countries could be further improved. However, Guo Wuteng and others still refused to give up. They even ignored the Japanese dispatch order and stayed in Xikai Road and refused to leave. This delay lasted for more than two months, let’s not mention it for now.
At the same time, Tang's troops in Baekje had problems due to problems with the government's military system. During the Tang Dynasty, the garrison soldiers in Baekje were rotated regularly, that is, Bandai. The veterans who had put down the rebellion had been in Baekje for more than three years, and they were eager to return. However, because the imperial court's preferential treatment of the Tang Dynasty soldiers was not as good as before, the enthusiasm of the people was significantly reduced, and those who were rich and powerful were unwilling to do so. Joining the army, and the government's lack of overall coordination during recruitment, resulted in insufficient food and clothing for the enlisted sergeants, and insufficient replacement soldiers, which undoubtedly weakened the strength of the Baekje Tang Army.
In December of that year, the Japanese court once again issued an order to expel guests, requiring Guo Wutai and others to leave quickly. "Overseas Foreign Affairs" records: "In December, Bode received a letter from General Zhenxi: "Japan Zhenxi General Zhuzi's ultimatum is in charge of the march of the Tang Dynasty in Baekje. The people dispersed in court. The official Guo Wutai was waiting for him to read the incoming ultimatum and find out what it meant. He was neither an envoy from the emperor nor a letter from the emperor; he was only an envoy in charge, and he was the deacon. The ultimatum was a private message and had to be delivered orally; he was not an official envoy, so he did not order it. Enter the capital.'" It is not difficult to see that the content of this ultimatum is similar to that of September, but the words are much harsher. Apparently, the prince of the middle brother has realized that the comparison of strength between the Baekje Tang Army and his own side has changed to his advantage. changes, the natural attitude will also change.
Although Wang Wenzuo had not read the above-mentioned history books before traveling through time, he was far superior to the Tang army generals in history on two points: 1. Through the channels of the relics and Liu Yuanzhen, he had obtained the favor of the Japanese comfort ambassador. Regarding official positions, historically Liu Renyuan and the others could only send envoys in the name of the Xiongjin Governor's Office, and the prince, the eldest brother, only had to send an equivalent civilian official to block him in Northern Kyushu. The envoy sent by Wang Wenzuo represented the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and the prince, the eldest brother, had to let him come to Beijing to receive him, otherwise it would be disrespectful to the Tang Dynasty. And as long as after entering Beijing, all kinds of divisions will collapse, and the tactics of bribery will be used.
Secondly, due to the betrayal of Mononobe Renkuma and Morijun Oishi in the Battle of Shirakawakou, the Japanese fleet that entered Shirakawa was basically wiped out. After losing the fleet, except for the thousands who followed Ampere Hirafu to aid Imunyama Castle, A total of four groups of expeditionary troops sent to Baekje by the prince of Zhongda brother were forced to surrender to the Tang army. Wang Wenzuo had tens of thousands of captured Japanese soldiers in his hands, as well as Monobe Renxiong, Shoujun Oishi and other wealthy Japanese families who were familiar with the situation in Japan and wanted to overthrow the prince of the middle brother. They had no secrets about Wang Wenzuo's Japanese country.
This is also the reason why Wang Wenzuo agreed to Dinghui and Yijilianbode's request so easily. From the beginning to the end, he did not regard conquering the Japanese country as his own goal. He had only one goal, and that was to oust the prince Zhongda brother and prevent the formation of the Yamato Ritsu system. Although the Tang Dynasty had two capitals, Chang'an and Luoyang, it was actually an empire with the Guanzhong region as its core. In other words, compared with the Song, Ming, Qing, and even modern China, the Tang Dynasty's political and economic center of gravity was more focused on the Guanzhong region. Northwest. Coupled with the factors of geographical changes (such as the existence of Liaoze, the Western Liaoning Corridor in the Tang Dynasty was narrower than in modern times and more susceptible to ocean erosion), Hebei's independent tendency, and the largest natural boundary in the northeast in the Tang Dynasty was the Liaodong and Liaonan regions. , the northern half of the Korean Peninsula.
If military adventures are carried out in more distant areas for the purpose of territorial expansion, even if a short-term military victory is achieved, the cost of governance will be too high in the long run, and the result will most likely be making wedding dresses for others. The conquest of France is a good example. Less than ten years after the Baekje Rebellion was quelled, a new war broke out between Tang and Silla. Both sides claimed that their side was victorious, but the result was that Tang gave up the old land of Baekje and part of Goguryeo's territory, and Silla He appealed to the Tang Dynasty and the two sides used the Datong River as the boundary to demarcate the boundary. Although it is not known who won and who lost on the battlefield, it is obvious from the results that the Silla people achieved most of their goals. Not to mention that the real purpose of Emperor Gaozong granting Wang Wenzuo the post of ambassador to comfort the Japanese was to relieve his worries so that he could go all out to destroy Goguryeo. If the Tang-Japanese war was triggered and the strategy of Goguryeo was delayed, then Wang Wenzuo would probably be dismissed immediately.
(End of chapter)
