"Your Highness is right. The two armies have never fought before and the outcome is still uncertain!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "But at the beginning, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty failed to win in all three campaigns against Goguryeo, and every time Goguryeo clearly won the battle, he still sent envoys to beg for peace. Do you know why? "?" Wang Wenzuo did not wait for the answer from the eldest brother, the prince, and said directly: "Because if Goguryeo wins, the people will be destitute and their treasury will be empty; if they lose, the country will be destroyed and the ancestral temple will be in ruins!"
Faced with Wang Wenzuo's self-questions and answers, the prince, the eldest brother, could not help but be speechless. As a politician who had been in power in the Japanese country for twenty years, he certainly knew that although Wang Wenzuo's words just now were aggressive, they were an ironclad fact.
If analyzed only from a military perspective, Goguryeo has won brilliant victories in all three wars and is a big winner; but from a diplomatic and political perspective, Goguryeo is a complete loser. When a behemoth like the Sui Dynasty broke out into a direct military conflict, it would be a failure no matter whether it was losing or winning. Wang Wenzuo cited this example to undoubtedly remind his eldest brother, the consequences of the war between the prince and the Tang Dynasty. Regardless of whether he won or lost, it was a disaster for the Japanese country An unacceptable disaster.
"Haha!" The prince, the eldest brother in the middle school, laughed twice: "I just made a mistake, please forgive me. Fuyu Fengzhang came to join him in a hurry, and he was like a flying pigeon in his sleeve. This country has always governed the country according to the Buddha's law, and the whole country has followed it. Buddha Dharma, I just want to imitate the compassion of Buddha!"
Wang Wenzuo laughed when he heard this. It turned out that what the eldest brother, the prince, just said was an allusion from the Buddhist scriptures: Before Sakyamuni became a Buddha, he went out once and happened to encounter a dove being chased by an eagle. He fled into the In the sleeve of Sakyamuni, Sakyamuni hid the dove in his arms to protect it. The eagle said to Sakyamuni: "You have shown great mercy and saved the life of the dove. Do you want me to starve to death?" Sakyamuni replied: "I don't want the dove to die, and I don't want you to starve to death. I am willing to give the same weight of meat as the pigeon in exchange." After saying this, he took a scale, put the pigeon on the other side of the scale, and then started to cut his own flesh with a knife. It is strange to say that the pigeon is not heavy, but Gautama Buddha cut off a lot of meat and still could not balance the scale. Finally, he jumped into the scale himself, and the weight was finally balanced.
Prince Zhong Daxiong quoted this allusion to compare Fuyu Fengzhang to the dove, himself to Sakyamuni, and Wang Wenzuo to the eagle, and asked how much he had to pay to keep Fuyu Fengzhang.
"Your Highness, since you are quoting Buddhist scriptures, let me give you an example: During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a country called Xu in the east of Han Dynasty, with an area of 500 miles. Its king was benevolent and righteous, and he ceded the territory to the thirty-six kingdoms. King Wen of Chu was afraid that it would harm himself. Also, he raised his troops to defeat Xu and then destroyed it. You must have heard this story, right?"
"Han Feizi's five beetles?"
"That's right!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "But the reason why King Xu acted benevolently and righteously and the country perished was not because benevolence and righteousness were used in the past but not today, but because King Xu was just an ordinary prince, not a Fang Bo!"
"What does your Majesty mean?"
"The original text of Han Feizi's Five Cockroaches is that King Wen lived between Fenghao and Hao, with a land of hundreds of miles. He acted benevolently and righteously and ruled the world, and then compared it with King Xu's benevolence and righteousness. But it did not say that although King Wen only had a land of a hundred miles, he was the Shang Dynasty at that time. The Fang Bo in the northwest has the power to guard one area, and it is his duty to be benevolent and righteous. Although King Xu has a place of 500 miles, he is just an ordinary prince. His benevolent and righteous actions attract thirty-six people. If you pay tribute to the country, you have exceeded your duty, so why should you die?"
Wang Wenzuo's words are quite profound. The political behavior of ancient China was wrapped in the words of ritual and music and cannot be simply understood literally. For example, the history books say that King Wen practiced benevolence and King Xu Yan practiced benevolence and righteousness. This does not mean that they were good to the people and that the rulers were kind and moral. It means that the rulers adopted a comparative approach to the weak countries (usually barbarian forces) in the surrounding areas. An equal foreign policy, such as marriage, trade, wooing, and differentiation, rather than military expulsion, political exclusion, plunder, and embezzlement.
Therefore, King Wen's benevolence and righteousness and embracing Xirong meant that King Wen adopted various diplomatic strategies and formed an anti-Yin Shang alliance with the tribes of Xirong. The subsequent King Wu used his power to eliminate the Yin Shang. As for King Xu Yan's benevolence and righteousness, he also attempted to form an alliance centered on the Xu State (judging from the consequences, it should be aimed at the Chu State at that time), which aroused the alert of the Chu King at that time and sent troops to destroy the Xu State.
"I understand!" Prince Zhong, the eldest brother, laughed: "You mean that unless I am the Fang Bo of your country, otherwise
Then he has no right to practice benevolence and righteousness? "
"If Your Highness is just doing kindness and justice to the people of your country, this is certainly a good thing, but Buyeo Fengzhang is from Baekje, so I'm afraid he has exceeded the limit!"
The eldest brother, the prince, smiled and did not continue to argue, because there was no need to argue anymore. Wang Wenzuo has already revealed Datang's trump card: Datang will not allow a secondary power center to appear in the Haidong region, and this is contradictory to the "little heavenly tributary system" that Japan has established over hundreds of years with itself as the center. , in fact, this is not new. All neighboring nations that imitated ancient China and learned the culture of the Central Plains to build their country, such as Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Xixia, Liao, Jin, and Northern Wei, all like to develop their own tribute system. In this system Inside, they are the supreme kings and sons of God.
Many of them paid tribute to the Central Plains Dynasty while requiring their own states to pay tribute to them. The rules, procedures and titles were almost exactly the same as the tribute system of the Central Plains Dynasty. Take Japan as an example. In the eyes of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Japanese were barbarians, and the Japanese also had their own barbarians, the Eni people. The warriors of the Eastern Kingdom were also labeled as Dongyi and joined the ranks of barbarians. This was quite similar to the way the Chang'an court scolded the Hebei people Hu Feng Po Sheng and regarded them as barbarians.
In the next two days, the prince, the eldest brother, stayed in his cabin and never went out. Wang Wenzuo understood the other party's feelings very well. He was playing an aggressive role now. If he changed, he wouldn't like it. Sticking to someone else's cold ass with a warm face. But that’s fine, it’s best if the two don’t hate each other.
"That's the capital of the Japanese?" Cui Hongdu looked at the scenery in the distance: "It's strange, why is there no city wall?"
"This place is surrounded by mountains, and there are no strong enemies around. If you have the strength to build a city wall, why not guard the passes of the surrounding mountains!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I estimate that if there is an invasion by foreign enemies, the Japanese will retreat to the surrounding mountain cities to defend themselves. Leave the unwalled capital to your opponent!"
"So that's it!" Choi Hong-do said with a smile, "Isn't this similar to what the Baekje people do?"
"They are originally from the same clan!" Wang Wenzuo sneered: "The so-called Japanese people originally migrated from the mainland to this big island and then multiplied to this day. Most of them are Baekje people. That's why it was so easy for Fuyu Fengzhang to borrow troops! "
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be difficult to get them to surrender?"
Wang Wenzuo sneered and said nothing. After a while, he whispered: "Just act according to the situation!"
About half an hour later, the ship docked, and the prince, the eldest brother, went ashore directly. An official was left behind to welcome Wang Wenzuo and his party to a hotel, and asked them to have a good rest.
On the west side of Asukakyo, there is an open space near the lake, about two hundred paces square, in the shape of a square. This is the market of the Japanese. The market is surrounded by mud-brick huts, livestock pens, and lime-washed wine shops. In the center of the market is a raised hill. The Japanese dug many holes around the hill as storage rooms. A huge straw shed protruded from the entrance of each hole, and the Japanese traders did business under the straw shed.
Sha Zha Xiangru walked through the wine shop carefully, bypassing two drunken men lying on their backs and snoring, and walked quickly. Around him, businessmen were busy delivering goods and unloading goods, and the air was filled with all kinds of strange things. the taste of. At the other end of the aisle, two businessmen were haggling. The fat one was shaking his head, and the braid hanging behind his hat was also swaying.
After passing two huts, Sha Zha Xiangru stopped and stood in front of a shop selling dried fish. While he was bargaining with the merchant, he carefully scanned the surroundings with the corner of his eye to look for possible spies. He knew that Asuka Beijing should be full of spies from all forces at this time. This was indeed not a good opportunity to come out for a meeting, but he had no choice.
Finally, when Sha Zha Xiangru confirmed that there was no follower behind him, he quoted a very low price to the merchant. Unsurprisingly, the other party showed an angry expression: "This is impossible! No one can accept this price, no, Even if we add half of it, no one will be able to accept it!"
"Really? But I remember that a few days ago there was another family who was willing to pay this price. It's right here, it seems over there!" Sha Zha Xiangru pretended to be serious.
, smiled.
"Hell, go find that one!" The businessman waved his hand and made a driving gesture: "If I accept this price, I will be beaten to death by my peers!"
"Then I'll look for you. If I can't find it, I'll come back to you!" Shazha Xiangru ended the conversation with a smile, and then quickly walked in the direction he pointed just now. The businessman's curse came from behind: "The devil has got you, you miser!"
Sha Zha Xiangru passed through two huts, then turned right and entered a hole. He untied his cloak and asked in a low voice: "Is anyone here?"
"Here it comes, right inside!" a woman whispered.
"Very good, you can show off at the door!" Sha Zha Xiangru whispered, and then he walked up the steps into the basement in the dark. With the faint light of the torch on the wall, he saw a barefoot man sitting at the table against the wall. When the man saw Sha Zha Xiangru, he complained dissatisfiedly: "You're late!"
"Please forgive me!" Shazha Xiangru took out a leather bag from his arms and threw it over: "This is your reward. There are spies everywhere now, so I have to be very careful!"
The barefoot man took the leather bag, opened it and poured some into his hand. He looked carefully with the help of the light. Under the dim light, the powder gave off a beautiful light.
"The finest gold sand!" Sha Zha Xiangru poured himself a glass of water: "You can rest assured on this, I will never lie to you!"
"Of course!" The barefoot man poured the gold sand in his hand into his bag and tied it tightly again: "The Ampei family controls the trade routes in the north. Who else has more gold sand than his family?"
"Friend, you are a smart man!" Sha Zha Xiangru sneered: "But these days only those guys who know how to keep their mouths shut can live longer!"
"Don't worry, I will shut my mouth as tight as a dead man!" The barefoot man said with a smile, "If you give me two more bags!"
"What do you mean?" Sha Zha Xiangru's eyes narrowed dangerously: "Our agreement is only for one bag, you want to play tricks on us?"
"Stop, stop!" the barefoot man said with a smile: "Don't come closer, otherwise I will be scared and scream like a woman!"
Sha Zha Xiangru snorted coldly: "My sword is very fast, and your voice can't be much louder than a cat's cry of spring!"
"Okay, Baekje people. I admit that you are very powerful. I don't want to blackmail you! But too many of us died this time!" The barefoot man said sincerely: "The guards of the Tang envoys are too powerful. More than twenty people died each time, and more than twice as many were injured. A bag of gold sand is not enough for so many lives!"
"What does this have to do with me? I made it clear at the beginning that all the loot from the ships that attacked the Tang Dynasty is yours. In addition, I also paid you a bag of gold sand as reward, and you agreed! Now you want more , does this make sense?"
"Yes, it was indeed the agreement at the beginning, but the problem is that we didn't know how powerful the Tang people were, and you have fought against the Tang people. You know very well how powerful the Tang people are, but you didn't tell us from the beginning. Isn't it your responsibility to watch us die?"
Sha Zha Xiangru did not speak. He snorted coldly and lowered his head. Seeing this, the barefoot man continued: "And now the government soldiers have begun to search along both sides of the Yamato River. They even set fire to the refugee villages. My People must leave as soon as possible, but we don’t have gold to buy enough food now. Think about it, what will be the consequences if my people are caught by the government soldiers? Everything will be said!”
"Okay!" Shazha Xiangru exhaled a long breath and whispered: "I can agree to your request, but your people must leave here immediately and remain silent!"
"No problem!" Seeing that his request was granted, the barefoot man laughed happily: "I will buy food immediately after taking the gold sand, and then we will leave!"
"Forget it!" Sha Zha Xiangru sighed: "At this juncture, if you go to buy food and still use gold sand, isn't that giving credit to the secret agent? Where is your person now? I'll have people send the food there!"
"That's great. There's a cave next to the stream on the mountain behind Kasuga Taisha Shrine. There's a large cherry blossom tree next to it - ugh!" The barefoot man suddenly let out a scream, but was stabbed by Sha Zha Xiangru. Enter the heart.
I feel cold all over. I must not be Yang, right?
