Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 303 You think you're worthy to see me? (Seeking monthly votes)
On the first day of her holiday, Wen He's plans were simple.

Sleep soundly at home until the sun sets.

There's no need to report to the Hundred Cavalry Camp, and no need to worry about those complicated government affairs.

Even the trivial matter of cleaning the wool has been handed over, and it is expected that there will be no problems in the next two or three days. It will not be too late to go to the palace then.

"It's no use whoever calls me today."

Before going to bed, he specifically instructed the three little ones to keep a close eye on Wenrou and absolutely not let her wake them up.

He was determined to sleep until the sun was high in the sky, and he wouldn't care if the sky fell down until he woke up.

But the very next morning, he was fast asleep in his warm bed, fast asleep.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking on the bedroom door, which startled him.

"Xiao Lang-jun?"

It was A-Dong's voice, tinged with a hint of caution.

Wen He rolled over, covered her head with the blanket, and ignored it.

"Bang!" Another muffled thud, as if a heavy object had hit the door frame.

"Adong!"

Wen He sat up abruptly, her hair sticking up in a mess, her eyes filled with anger at being disturbed.

"You'd better have something really serious to say, or I'll throw you into the pigsty and make you sleep with the pigs for three days!"

A-Dong, standing outside the door, shivered and muttered to himself with a bitter expression.

He said he wasn't coming, but Steward Zhou insisted. If he had known, he would have asked the young lady to come instead.

He forced a smile and replied, "Young master, we have guests, envoys from a foreign land... Steward Zhou dared not act on his own, that's why..."

Before he could finish speaking, the bedroom door was flung open with a "whoosh".

Wen He was only wearing a thin undergarment, the collar of which was loosely open. He stared at him with a gloomy expression: "What are you doing here, foreign envoy, instead of going to the Court of State Ceremonies?"

He gritted his teeth and said, "Tell them I'm on leave and won't see any guests!"

With that, the door slammed shut again with a loud bang, making the door frame tremble.

Adong pursed his lips, looking helpless.

When his young master gets angry, he absolutely dares not knock on the door again.

If you really push them too far, being thrown into a pigsty is no joke.

He tiptoed out of Wen He's yard and jogged back to the front yard.

When Zhou Fu saw him return alone, he guessed the outcome without even asking and couldn't help but chuckle.

He straightened his clothes and went to the door to greet the guests.

"Distinguished guests, I am truly sorry."

Zhou Fu cupped his hands in greeting to the two people at the door.

"My young master is on leave today and it is really inconvenient for him to receive guests. Why don't you come again tomorrow?"

Two strangers stood at the entrance of Wenhe Mansion.

A short, stout man, barely five feet tall, held a finely carved wooden box in his hands, its surface adorned with intricate patterns.

Beside him was a middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing an ill-fitting Tang Dynasty round-necked robe with sleeves that were noticeably too short, making him appear somewhat cramped.

Both of them were taken aback upon hearing this.

They made a special trip after finding out that Wen He was home today, only to be turned away at the door.

The short man spoke first, speaking in broken Tang Dynasty Mandarin, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth: "Since the magistrate of Gaoyang County has matters to attend to, I will not disturb you any longer."

He handed the wooden box forward, saying, "I would like to trouble you, steward, to deliver this gift to the county magistrate and tell him that it is a token of appreciation from Soga Kenjiro of Japan."

Zhou Fu struggled to understand before he could finish, and quickly waved his hand, saying, "This old servant dares not make a decision for the young master..."

Before he could finish speaking, the middle-aged man in front of him also took out a brocade box, embroidered with the unique intertwined branches pattern of Goryeo: "I am an envoy of the King of Goryeo, and I have specially presented this small gift to my king. Please accept it, sir."

Zhou Fu straightened up, still wearing a polite smile, but his tone was very firm: "I appreciate the kindness of you two distinguished guests, but my young master did not give instructions, so I dare not accept it. Please take it back."

He dared not accept gifts on Wen He's behalf without authorization.

If word gets out that the magistrate of Gaoyang County has accepted gifts from foreign countries, wouldn't that ruin the young master's reputation?

The Japanese envoy, Soga Kenjiro, and the Korean envoy were both stunned, clearly not expecting to be rejected so decisively.

In their own country, it is common for officials to accept gifts from foreign countries, especially since Wen He is a favorite of His Majesty. Logically, he should be given some face.

After exchanging a glance, the two decided not to press the matter further.

"In that case, I will visit you another day."

Soga Kenjiro put the wooden box back and bowed slightly in greeting.

"I'll come and bother you again another day."

The Goryeo envoy also put away the brocade box and bowed in return.

The two turned and left at the same time.

Soga Kenjiro walked to the street corner, where several Japanese people were already waiting.

With a hint of gloom on his face, he whispered to his companion in Japanese, "This Wen He is even more difficult to approach than rumored."

"Ono-kun once said that if we want to find out the Emperor's intentions, we must rely on this person."

A Japanese man wearing a light blue round-necked robe spoke with a solemn expression.

"Before Minister Soga arrives in the Tang Dynasty, we must meet this Prince of Gaoyang."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "The ministers plan to use this mission to bring Prince Yamabe to Chang'an as a hostage, so that Prince Tamura can be rightfully elected as the crown prince. However, there is no precedent in the Tang Dynasty for sending a foreign prince as a hostage. The ministers are afraid that the Tang Emperor will refuse, so they asked us to find a way to get close to Wenhe."

Kenjiro Soga and the others suddenly realized what was going on, and they exchanged glances, all showing signs of understanding.

“No wonder we were sent to visit the Prince of Gaoyang County, not the Little Wild Horse, as soon as we arrived in Chang’an,” Soga Kenjiro said, clapping his hands.

"Exactly."

The Japanese man nodded.

"Although the Ono family is the minister's most loyal ally, there is a saying in Tang: one should always be wary of others. Especially at times like these, one should not easily trust others."

Several Japanese people agreed.

"If we can't see you today, we'll come again tomorrow."

Kenjiro Soga changed the subject.

"Just now, we saw people from Goguryeo also visiting Wenhe. Do you know why they came?" Everyone shook their heads.

"Never mind, we should ask the Ono family about this."

The leading Japanese man waved his hand.

"Let's go back to the inn first."

The group boarded the carriage, its wheels rolling over the snow, and quickly disappeared around the street corner.

Unbeknownst to them, behind a pile of debris not far away, a scout from the Hundred Cavalry Battalion quietly emerged after the carriage had driven away, wiped the snow off his face, and turned to disappear into the depths of the alley.

When the sun was high in the sky, Wen He finally stretched comfortably and walked to the front yard.

Li Yifu had already brewed fresh tea and quickly served it to him when he came out.

"Brother is a lazybones!"

Wenrou put her hands on her hips and made a face at him.

Wen He scooped her up and pinched her soft cheeks: "Little brat, how dare you laugh at your brother?"

The little girl quickly begged for mercy, her silvery laughter filling the courtyard.

Just then, Zhou Fu led a hundred riders in.

Wen He gave the three little ones a wink, and Li Ke immediately understood, pulling Wen Rou, Li Tai, and Li You towards the backyard.

Only Wen He and the hundred riders remained in the main hall. He then picked up his teacup and slowly asked, "Who came this morning?"

“Hui Xianzi is an envoy from Japan and Goguryeo.”

The hundred riders bowed and replied.

"The leader of the Japanese is Soga no Emishi's younger brother, Soga no Kuramaro, and his son, Soga no Kenjiro. It seems they are paving the way for Soga no Emishi's mission to Tang Dynasty."

“Soga no Ezo?” Wen He raised an eyebrow slightly.

Historical records state that Soga no Emishi's father, Soga no Umako, was an envoy to the Sui Dynasty, but there is no mention of him personally going to the Tang Dynasty.

It seems that it was once again my own "butterfly" that flapped its wings and disrupted the course of history.

"What are they doing here?"

"It seems to be related to the struggle for the crown prince position." The Hundred Riders said somewhat awkwardly.

"I only heard bits and pieces of the words 'eldest brother' and 'prince', and that they said they would send a prince as a hostage."

Wen He didn't blame him.

Those who knew how to speak Japanese before all went to Japan with Little Wild Girl.

Those who remained could only understand bits and pieces of what the Japanese said.

However, Wen He did guess some of it.

Judging by the timeline, Queen Suiko should be dying soon; she must be seriously ill right now.

She wanted Prince Yamashiro Ōe to succeed to the throne, but Soga no Emishi favored Prince Tamura.

It seems that Soga no Emishi is about to start making moves.

"interesting."

He stroked the rim of the teacup, a sly glint in his eyes.

The waters of Japan could be stirred up even more.

"Report any movement from Japan to me immediately."

Wen He gave instructions.

Although he sent spies to Japan, the news was still slow to travel due to the sea.

"I obey my orders."

"What about Goguryeo?" Wen He took a sip of tea and asked casually.

"King Goguryeo, Go Geonmu, seems to be planning to take action against Yeon Gaesomun. He sent people this time to ask for the help of the Tang Dynasty."

Wen He raised an eyebrow.

Well, yet another one influenced by him.

Goguryeo, or more accurately, Goryeo at that time.

This was the name used at least in official documents during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

When Emperor Wu of the Southern Liang Dynasty conferred the title of "General Ningdong and King of Goryeo" upon Gao An in the first year of the Putong era, the country's name had already been changed to "Goryeo".

In the seventh year of the Wude era, Li Yuan conferred upon Gao Jianwu the titles of Shangzhuguo, Liaodong Junwang, and Goryeo Wang.

However, in private, they still prefer to call it Goguryeo.

Gao Jianwu was not a wise ruler, but he was not a fool either.

Keeping him around is a good check and balance for the Tang Dynasty.

However, if he were to actually eliminate Yeon Gaesomun, allowing Goguryeo to recuperate, it would not be a good thing.

The stability of neighboring countries may not necessarily be a blessing for the Tang Dynasty.

"Thank you for your hard work." Wen He put down her teacup.

"Go back and collect ten strings of cash from Changsun Huan. This time you've done a good job."

The hundred riders were overjoyed, bowed respectfully, and withdrew.

Wen He then summoned Zhou Fu: "Go to the Honglu Guest House and invite the Goryeo envoy to the mansion for a chat."

Zhou Fu was taken aback: "What about the Japanese envoy?"

"Let them wait," Wen He said calmly. "We'll talk when their chief envoy arrives."

Soga no Emishi didn't come, and you people who only have a name in historical records want to see me?
Wouldn't that be lowering my status?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Fu was somewhat surprised.

Has the young man changed his ways?

Why are you taking the initiative to do things again?
Hey, why should I say it again?

Zhou Fu was stunned for a moment.

I remember now, the last time my young master took the initiative to do something like this was with Zheng Yuanzhu.

So this time, Goguryeo and Japan are the unlucky ones?
(End of this chapter)