"This envoy from the Tang Dynasty has indeed had a plan for a long time. Fortunately, Your Highness has already taken precautions!" Zhongchen Kazuzu was startled and said with a smile, "Of course it is the prince, the eldest brother of Zhongda!"
"Wait a minute, you are talking about the prince of Zhongda Brother? So he has not yet ascended the throne?" Wang Wenzuo pretended to be surprised: "How is this possible? The person who issued the letter is the emperor of our country, and the person who receives the letter naturally also You can only be the head of your country, how can you leave it to a prince?"
"What the envoy doesn't know is that before the death of the late king, he had already entrusted all the affairs of the government to the prince, the eldest brother, so he naturally accepted this letter of credence!"
"My Lord, it is one thing to entrust political affairs, and it is another thing to be the leader of a country. How can we talk about it in general? During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Xianzhu entrusted all state affairs to Ge Gong in Baidi City. From then on, the government of Shu Han was governed by the Ge family, and sacrifices were made by the Ge family. Even so, the official letter of the two countries Wei and Wu was written to the latter, not to Duke Ge!"
"This -" Nakatomi Kamazushi was speechless. He was familiar with Chinese history books, and of course he knew that the example cited by Wang Wenzuo came from "The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms". Liu Chan, the emperor of the Shu Han Dynasty, once said to Zhuge Liang, "Political affairs are governed by the Ge family and Ji Ze. "Ignorant", that is, all government and military affairs were handed over to Zhuge Liang, and he was only responsible for the work of worshiping the ancestral gods of heaven, earth, society and the land (the emperor of ancient China actually served as the chief priest, commander-in-chief, and head of government all in one). Even so, the monarch of the Shu Kingdom at that time It's still Liu Chan, not Zhuge Liang. Therefore, even though Prince Zhongdaxiong had actually taken control of the government as early as Emperor Qiming, as long as he did not ascend the throne as king, he would not be able to accept the credentials of the Emperor of Tang on behalf of the Japanese state. In a sense, he would not even be able to offer sacrifices. Princess Saitama, the chief priest of Amaterasu, the highest deity of Japan, is more qualified to receive the certificate of credence than Prince Nakadai. After all, in the ancient world, the first duty of the monarch was to sacrifice to the gods of heaven and earth and obtain the approval of the gods of heaven and earth. (The Qin jade seal is engraved on it: I have been ordered to live long and prosperous by heaven.)
"What's wrong? Is there something difficult for you, Mr. Zhongchen?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
At this time, Nakatomi Kamazu knew that he had fallen into the trap of the other party, but there was nothing he could do. After all, as long as the prince, the eldest brother of Nakatomi, did not ascend the throne as king, he would not be able to accept the credential of the Emperor of Tang. Otherwise, Tang The envoy could immediately use this to legitimately raise an army to investigate. He hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice: "As far as I know, when the King of Qin of your country was the prince overseeing the country, he also accepted the credentials of other countries on behalf of the emperor. Now there are many things in our country, and there is no one on the throne. Your country is a ceremonial authority. Bang, why can’t we just follow the precedent?”
Wang Wenzuo was stunned when he heard this. The King of Qin he was talking about obviously meant Li Shimin. Li Shimin was only established as the prince after the Xuanwu Gate Incident and had the power to supervise the country. How many months had it really been since he ascended the throne as emperor? During this period, Li Shimin was the de facto emperor, so it was not surprising that he accepted the credentials. This example of Nakatomi Kamazu is very narrow-minded. Wang Wenzuo can't say that Emperor Taizong of this dynasty overstepped his duties and acted wildly when he was the prince!
Wang Wenzuo was speechless when he was asked, but Cui Hongdu on the side couldn't help it and said loudly: "You Japanese, you are so rude. Emperor Taizong Wen held the bow and arrow to control the world, and he had unparalleled achievements, billions of mondes, He looks up to the sky, how can the son of a Japanese chieftain compare with him?"
Nakatomi Kamatzu calmly confessed his crime and said with a smile: "The achievements of Emperor Taizong of your country are naturally known to all over the world, and I have heard about them even in foreign countries. But in my country, the eldest brother, the prince, is a hoe for his female ministers. He fights off barbarians, establishes national laws, and establishes grades, and everyone in our country respects him as high as heaven. Although he does not dare to compare with Taizong of your country, he is still the most heroic master that this small country has not seen in hundreds of years!"
"This guy is so difficult to deal with. As expected, no one who can leave his name in the history books is easy to deal with!" Wang Wenzuo thought to himself. On the surface, what Nakatomi Kamazu said just now sounds innocent, but in fact, Pi Liyangqiu , for example, he said that Emperor Taizong’s achievements were known to all over the world, and he had heard about them in foreign countries. This could be explained by the fact that Li Shimin’s literary and martial arts were far ahead of the previous dynasties, and he had heard about them in the Japanese country; but it could also be explained that the former emperor of your country killed his brother. Brother, I know all about the scandal that forced my father to seize the throne. Please stop bragging here. If Wang Wenzuo wanted to talk about the incident of the eldest brother, the prince, killing Prince Youjian, he would be asking for trouble.
"Hongdu!" Wang Wenzuo raised his hand to stop Cui Hongdu, who was still aggrieved, and said with a smile: "I don't know much about the various achievements of the prince, the eldest brother in your country, and I don't know whether what the minister said is true or false. Let’s take the power as real! But he went to war rashly and provoked a big country, causing his master and disciple to die at sea.
In addition, the children's liver and brains are ruined, the boat is empty, the people are resentful, and the treasury is empty. These must be facts, right? Did Emperor Taizong Wen of my country ever do anything like this? I am not just lying, but I am afraid that there is something wrong with comparing your eldest brother, the prince, to me, Emperor Taizong Wen! "
Faced with Wang Wenzuo's questioning, Nakatomi Kazuzu suddenly became speechless. To be honest, the prince, the eldest brother of Zhong, deserved his evaluation, otherwise Wang Wenzuo would not have regarded him as a serious problem and deliberately planned to get rid of him. But the problem is that history has always judged heroes based on success or failure. No matter how reasonable the mainland policy of Prince Zhongda is, no matter how excellent his planning and layout is, the disastrous defeat at Baijiangkou is an ironclad fact. At this time, for him The best evaluation is that he overestimated his capabilities. After all, he had not had time to complete the subsequent reform of the country with laws and orders, so the credit cannot be attributed to him. To use an inappropriate analogy, if Li Shimin died in the rebellion when he was defeated by Xue Ju in Jingchuan, or if Li Yuanji stabbed his neck with a dagger instead of strangling him with a bowstring during the Xuanwu Gate Incident, history would naturally have a lot to say about Li Shimin. different.
"Your Excellency," Wang Wenzuo coughed, "I have the guts to ask, the late master of your country has been dead for some time, right? Why is the throne still empty?"
Wang Wenzuo's question was like a pebble falling into calm water, causing ripples in the pond. The minister Kazuzu hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "The ambassador doesn't know something. My country is different from your country. After the death of the previous king, the successor to the throne will A person must be recommended by everyone, and it cannot be awarded privately by the former king with just an edict!"
"I see. So what does it mean that the eldest brother, the prince, is just one of the successors?"
Nakatomi Kamazu nodded with difficulty. This was exactly what he tried his best to hide. If the matter had reached this point, it was no longer possible to hide it anymore.
"How about this? If your country cannot decide who will be the king in a short period of time, then just let several possible heirs accept the credentials together!"
"Accept the credentials together!"
"Yes, anyway, the future king of your country must be one of them, and I have completed my destiny! Otherwise, delaying it like this is not an option!"
Nakatomi Kamazu didn't say anything. Of course he knew that this was a clever move by Wang Wenzuo - in this way, the prince, the eldest brother, at least confirmed his identity as one of the heirs in meeting with the Tang envoys, and also recognized the other two. The status of heir is nothing less than a huge concession. Things like this are not something he has the authority to agree to.
"This matter is of great importance. I cannot give you a definite answer. You must go back and report it first!"
"That's fine, but it's best not to delay for too long!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile.
"Definitely!" Nakatomi Kamazu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I dare to ask you, what is the content of your country's credentials, so that I can talk to the superiors after I go back!"
Nakatomi Kamazu's request was not excessive. It was also the practice in international relations at that time. After all, when the two heads of state accepted the credentials, it was already at the final stage. If at that time it was discovered that there were any excessive clauses written in the credentials or It was a taboo word. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to break up at that time? Therefore, at the beginning, you must go through the draft of the credentials and conduct preliminary negotiations. In the end, it is just a formality. Therefore, Wang Wenzuo was prepared and followed the script: "Actually, there are three main points: first, the Japanese state must surrender to the Tang Dynasty! Second, hand over Fuyu Fengzhang and the traitors who fled to the Japanese state with him; third, hand over Baekje Regarding the relics treasured by the royal family, I would like to add that the matter of the relics was personally instructed by the Queen of our country, and there is absolutely no room for evasion!"
"Promise yourself and hand over Fuyu Fengzhang and the relics?"
"Yes, it's almost these three!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I can reveal one thing first. If the peace agreement between the two countries is reached, then all the soldiers captured by your country in the Battle of Baijiangkou can be released. In order to express our Sincerity, we have brought thirty prisoners this time, Zhongchen Qing can take them back this time!"
"Thank you for your generosity!" Nakatomi Kamazu hurriedly bowed and thanked him. Regardless of the request made by the Tang Dynasty, taking the initiative to release thirty prisoners now is a real kindness, and this thing cannot be faked.
"There is one more thing that I need to tell you, Mr. Zhongchen. It can be regarded as a private matter. Please agree to it!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile.
"Ambassador Wang, please speak!"
"This time I was ordered to go on a mission to your country. I carried a lot of cargo in the cabin as a gift to your country. In order to avoid loss during the journey, I brought a lot more. I didn't want the journey to be uneventful, so the loss was much less than expected. , it is impossible to bring these extra things back, so I will sell them to your country and exchange them for some local products. Is it okay?"
Hearing this, Nakatomi Kamazu wondered why he still didn't know what Wang Wenzuo was thinking. However, in his eyes, these were just innocuous trivial matters. Not to mention that there were still many things to negotiate with the Tang envoy. He only said that he Since his son has taken care of the current favor, it is impossible for him to refuse it.
"For some trivial matters, if Ambassador He Lao speaks up, someone will remember it!" Nakatomi Kamazu said with a smile.
"Thank you very much, Nakatomi-nii!"
The request was granted, and Wang Wenzuo's title became a lot more affectionate.
"I don't dare. There are still many things that need Brother Wang's advice. Once things are done, everyone in this country will accept the ambassador's kindness!"
Wang Wenzuo breathed a sigh of relief after seeing off Nakatomi Kamazu. Of course he knew that this was just the beginning of a long diplomatic game: This is like an auction. Wang Wenzuo is offering a price. It is not certain whether the other party will accept it or lower the price, or even raise the price. Their trump cards were not revealed, and no one knew what the final result would be until the last moment. But Wang Wenzuo has an advantage, and that is that he has the first hegemony in East Asia at his back. Whether he is pretending to be powerful or taking advantage of the situation, he has already gained a three-point lead.
"Master!" Sancho came in from the outside and reported, "The Japanese are here. They asked us to get off the boat and have a rest. They also asked us about arranging the location of the market!"
"Well, this Nakatomi Kamazu is very quick to do things and gets immediate results!" Cui Hongdu said with a smile.
"People like him don't like to owe other people's favors, especially our favors!" Wang Wenzuo paused for a moment: "He is so eager to return our favors just so that he can fight with us without giving up any ground!" "
"That's true!" Cui Hongdu nodded: "This guy is indeed not an easy master to deal with!"
"Easy to deal with, difficult to deal with, you have to deal with them in the end!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "But now that we have made a move, we can only wait for them to strike back. There is nothing we can do anyway, so we should just wait for business!"
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Flying birds in Beijing, traces of the house.
"It's so beautiful, you can touch it too, that's okay!" Ji Jian Chiying handed the celadon long-necked wine bottle to his wife. The wife reached out and touched it. The surface of the porcelain bottle was as smooth as water, flowing through her fingertips. She had never encountered such a smooth porcelain bottle, and it seemed that it might be damaged at any time. She quickly withdrew her hand: "Is this really for us?"
"This is a gift given to us by Heiroku!" Jimi Akatsuki laughed: "This porcelain vase comes from the Tang Dynasty. Heiroku happened to be working in Namba Tsu. The envoy of the Tang Dynasty wanted to dry the goods that were wet by the sea water. Heiroku helped with a small favor. , the envoy of the Tang Dynasty gave him this porcelain vase. I want to place this porcelain vase in the main hall of my home. This will definitely improve the style of my home!"
"It turns out to be a treasure from the Tang Dynasty. No wonder it is so beautiful. It looks like a jade vase! Ping Liu, I really want to thank you!" Mrs. Ji Jian smiled and nodded to Hei Liu who was kneeling in the hall.
"Don't dare!" Heiroku hurriedly lowered his head: "The fact that I can serve as an official in Nambazu is because of my master's recommendation. This is just a way of repaying a favor!"
"Aiya, in today's world, there are not many people who can remember kindness like you Heiroku!" The lady sighed tenderly, and said to her husband: "Husband, you have recommended many people, but there are some Someone like Heiroku? If there are any benefits in the future, don’t forget him!”
"Yes, yes, Madam is right!" Looking at the celadon vase in Madam's hand, Ji Jian Chiyang felt more and more pleased with Hei Liu who was kneeling in the hall. He stretched out his right hand and waved twice: "Hei Liu, you Come up!"
"Come up?" Pingliu was slightly startled. According to his status, he was not qualified to enter the main hall of his master's house.
"Come up, Heiroku!" Madam laughed: "My husband means that you can go to court whenever you come to our place from now on!"
