My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

Soon, Li Chenggan and Fuyu Fengmei arrived outside the prison.

Returning to this familiar place, Li Chengan was filled with emotion.

He had thought that once he left, he would never come back.

Unexpectedly, for various reasons, he returned again.

Li Chenggan said to Fuyu Fengmei, "You stay here and guard this place. Don't move around. I'll go and take a look."

Fuyu Fengmei's heart pounded wildly, and she grabbed Li Chengqian's collar: "Your Highness, are you sure you can get into the prison?"

They discovered that there were four jailers guarding the prison gate.

"There shouldn't be any problem."

"No, that's too risky," Fu Yu Feng Mei's eyes darted around. "How about this, we can do it like this."

"Haha, you have a lot of ideas."

Li Chenggan and Fuyu Fengmei had already made their plans and split up to act.

The four jailers had their heads drooping, overcome with drowsiness, and were extremely sleepy.

Just then, one of the jailers saw a white horse gallop past them.

He shouted to the other three, "Brothers, wake up! Someone's breaking into the jail!"

"What? Someone's trying to break out of the prison?"

Where is he?

The four jailers mounted the horses tied to the side and gave chase: "Stop! You can't escape."

At that moment, an old man strode into the prison.

He searched and searched and finally found the cell where Fuyu Fengzhang had been imprisoned.

However, when he arrived at the prison cell, he found that Fuyu Fengzhang was not inside.

The old man was none other than Li Chenggan.

However, he wore an old man's mask, making him look like an old man.

Li Chenggan's forehead was also sweating, and he wondered what was going on.

Could it be that Fuyu Fengzhang has been killed?

If that's the case, then I can only blame myself for being too late.

But it hasn't been a month yet.

Li Chengqian also felt a bit of regret.

He had just stepped out of the prison gate when the four jailers returned.

"Who goes there? Stop right there!"

Li Chenggan thought to himself, "These four people came back pretty quickly."

Li Chenggan was nervous inside, but outwardly remained calm.

He steadied himself, then took out a bag of silver from his pocket and handed it to one of the men who looked like a leader.

"You four have worked hard. Here, take this and buy some tea!"

The underling weighed the bag of silver in his hand; it was quite heavy, at least five hundred taels.

"Old man, who are you?"

What brings you here?

"To be honest, I am a merchant from Baekje."

Our King Buyeo Uija entrusted me to come and see Buyeo Pungjang.

Is he still here?

"I see.

"Looks like you've made quite a name for yourself in Baekje, managing to get in touch with the King of Baekje." the minor leader said.

"So-so, so-so!" Li Chenggan waved his hand.

"It is true that Fuyu Fengzhang is here with us, but tonight he was summoned by our king."

"Oh, what does your king want with him?"

"I don't know."

"So, Fuyu Fengzhang is still alive."

"Of course, he's perfectly fine."

"Thank you, thank you! Since Prince Fengzhang is not here, I shall take my leave."

After Li Chengan finished speaking, he turned around and prepared to leave.

However, another tall, thin jailer said, "Your identity is unknown, yet you dare to come to our prison. Today, you're not leaving."

We need to capture you, find out your identity, and see if you are indeed a spy.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengan thought to himself, "This guy took the benefits from others, yet he still wants to arrest them. He's really being unreasonable."

At this moment, Buyeo Pungmi returned on his white horse and called out to Yi Seung-kyung, "Your Highness, mount your horse quickly!"

Li Chengan leaped onto the white horse in one swift motion.

Fu Yu Feng Mei slapped the horse's rump with his whip, and the horse, in unbearable pain, galloped forward.

Four jailers chased after him for a while, but failed to catch up, so they turned back.

Seeing that there were no pursuers behind her, Buyeo Pungmi slowed down.

Li Chengqian looked at Fuyu Fengmei and asked, "Didn't you just tell me you sprained your ankle?"

"Ah, I just sprained my ankle, but I feel better now," Fu Yu Feng Mei said with a smile.

"I never knew you were such a good rider!"

"In your eyes, am I just an alcoholic who can only drink and can't do anything else?"

"That's not entirely true."

Li Chenggan and Fuyu Fengzhang rode white horses straight to the palace of King Shuming.

Before long, they arrived outside the palace.

Li Chenggan said to Fuyu Fengmei, "You wait outside, I'll go in and take a look."

"Then be careful!"

Li Chengan nodded: "I understand."

Li Chengqian had a rope wrapped around his shoulder, with a grappling hook attached to the end of the rope.

He threw the grappling hook onto the top of the courtyard wall.

Then, they climbed up the rope.

He crouched down and peeked inside.

Inside the palace, hundreds of guards were on duty, and two patrol teams were shuttling back and forth.

Under the cover of night, Li Chengqian slowly moved to the back of the king's palace.

tonight,

The king's palace was brightly lit, and laughter and cheerful songs could be heard from within.

Li Chengqian dangled his legs over the eaves, bent down, and poked a hole in the paper window to look inside.

King Shuming and Queen Shuming sat in the center, with Inugami Mitaku and Yakushi Ebisu seated to their left.

Sitting to his right was a stunningly beautiful young woman.

Li Chengan observed carefully and saw that the young woman was exceptionally beautiful, with stunningly fair skin. Strangely...

She was dressed in royal robes and wore a crown, exuding a noble and elegant air, quite unlike ordinary women.

Li Chengan wondered who this woman could be.

He didn't see it when he came to Wa (Japan) last time.

The young woman was none other than Queen Kim Deok-man of Silla.

I have been invited by King Shuming of the Wa Kingdom to attend this banquet.

In the center of the hall stood a cage, and inside the cage was Fuyu Fengzhang.

Fu Yufengzhang was seen with disheveled hair and a very long beard.

His eyes were sunken, he was emaciated, and he wore a shackle around his neck and handcuffs on his hands and feet, leaving him no freedom.

Everyone raised their glasses frequently.

At this moment, King Shuming put down his wine cup: "Our Wa Nu Kingdom cherishes peace the most."

Silla and Baekje were originally friendly neighbors of ours. It was precisely because of this that, in order to show mutual trust, Buyeo Uija sent Prince Pungjang to us.

At the beginning, I treated Prince Fengzhang with great courtesy.

However, to my surprise, Buyeo Uija secretly sent his general, Ngai-sik, to lead troops to launch a surprise attack on us.

This matter truly chills my heart.

Regarding this matter, Kindeman expressed doubt: "Your Majesty, is there something wrong with your information?"

Prince Fengzhang is the beloved son of Buyeo Uija.

How could he possibly lead troops to attack you when he sent his own son to you as a hostage?

That doesn't make much sense.

King Shuming looked at Fuyu Fengzhang and said, "I also find it a bit surprising. Logically speaking, this shouldn't have happened."

However, our intelligence work is extremely meticulous, and it is absolutely impossible for us to make a mistake.

I am very angry about this.

Therefore, I wrote to Buyeo Uija, asking him to surrender to our Wa (Japanese) Kingdom within a month.

Otherwise, Fuyu Fengzhang, I will have to make an example of you and punish you.

"I didn't want to do this; I was forced into it by your father."

"Now that it's in your hands, do whatever you want with it!"

Fu Yufengzhang said with a sigh.

In fact, Fu Yu Feng Zhang felt very bad after hearing this news.

Because he really couldn't believe that his father would be so cruel and do such a thing. Did he mean that he wasn't his biological son?

Doesn't this mean forcing King Shuming to kill himself?

Fu Yu Fengzhang didn't know what he had done wrong, and couldn't understand why his father was treating him this way.

Sometimes, he really wanted to end it all, but he felt wronged to die like this without knowing why.

He was unwilling to accept it.

He hoped that one day he could return to Baekje and ask his father in person what he really meant.

Why do this?

Jin Deman, standing in the middle, advised: "Your Majesty, it is probably a bit too much to ask Buyeo Uija to surrender to you."

Although Buyeo Uija was the king of Baekje,

However, this matter is not something he can decide alone.

He also has so many civil and military officials under his command.

In my opinion, we should minimize the problem and resolve it altogether.

"You're a master; release Fuyu Fengzhang, and that's the end of it."

Before King Shuming could express his opinion, Inugami Mitaku sneered: "Queen Seondeok, you're making this sound too easy."

This is called a smokescreen; it's a premeditated act.

Buyeo Ui-ja first sent his son to us.

They're trying to paralyze us.

Don't blame me for being sharp-tongued, but Buyeo Pungjang was born to Buyeo Uija's concubine; his mother was not favored.

Therefore, Buyeo Pungjang was a superfluous presence in Baekje.

However, Buyeo Uija couldn't possibly kill his own son, could he?

If we do that, we won't be able to explain it to the world.

He took this opportunity to send Fuyu Fengzhang here.

Logically speaking, the fact that Baekje sent a hostage was a gesture of goodwill.

Therefore, we relaxed our vigilance and precautions against Baekje.

Taking advantage of the situation, Buyeo Uija sent his general, Nee-sik, with troops to launch a surprise attack.

This move can only be described as ruthless!

They want to take advantage of our unpreparedness and wipe out our Wa (Japanese) kingdom in one fell swoop.

Kindeokman straightened his posture, his hand resting on the table: "Inuue Mitasuki, it's understandable if you say that Prince Toyosho's mother is not well received in Baekje."

However, it would be a stretch to say that Buyeo Uija wanted to kill his own son.

Even tigers don't eat their cubs; who doesn't love their own child?

As for your claim that Ni Zhi wanted to ambush you, there might be other motives involved.

It's probably impossible to explain in a short time.

Moreover, I heard that they encountered Li Chengqian, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, halfway there and were persuaded to turn back.

Since neither side suffered any losses or serious consequences,

"I suggest Your Majesty simply release Fuyu Fengzhang and let it go."

Li Chengan heard it clearly from outside and thought to himself that Queen Kindeman's words were quite fair.

Judging from the tone of her voice, it seemed as if she had heard of my name before.

At this moment, King Shuming looked at Buyeo Pungjang, who had been tortured beyond recognition, and said, "Don't blame me, blame your father for not valuing you."

You might as well surrender to me.

I promise you high office and future rewards.

Historically, there have been instances of princes surrendering to other countries.

"Kill me if you want, torture me if you want, no need to say more. You think I'll surrender to your Japanese slave country? No way."

Moreover, your treatment of me is against the rules.

"Rules? What are rules?" King Shuming sneered. "What I say is the rule."

"You have not only imprisoned me, but also Gao Biaoren, the envoy of the Tang Dynasty. How can this be in accordance with the rules and morality?"

We, Baekje, are a small country, but the envoys from the Tang Dynasty are of great honor.

How dare you treat Gao Biaoren like that?

As far as I know, you previously sent the physician Hui Ri to the Tang Dynasty to learn about Central Plains culture, Tang Dynasty institutions, and Buddhist scriptures, etc.

The Tang Dynasty treated you with great courtesy.

Out of courtesy, the Tang Dynasty dispatched envoy Gao Biaoren to escort you back.

How could you imprison Gao Biaoren?

That doesn't seem to make sense.

"Those are all things of the past, why bring them up again?"

Gao Biaoren has also returned to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Chengan heard everything clearly from outside, because he had come to the Wa (Japanese) Kingdom with a mission.

His father made it very clear to him that the Wa (Japanese) Kingdom must give an explanation and a reason for being disrespectful to the Tang Dynasty's envoy.

That doesn't mean that once Gao Biaoren goes back, the matter is over. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

At this moment, Inugami Mitaku said, "Your Majesty, there's no need to waste time arguing with him. Buyeo Toyotomi is just a spineless scoundrel."

"It seems we have no choice but to torture him."

As soon as he finished speaking, two guards walked in from outside the door, one of them carrying a brazier.

Another person put a branding iron in a brazier and heated it until it was red-hot.

It's easy to imagine how hot that branding iron must have been. If it landed on a person, would they be alright?

A moment later,

Inugami Mitaku said to Buyeo Toyosho, "I'm giving you one last chance. Will you surrender or not?"

Your father wants to kill you, why are you going back?

Your only way out is to surrender to our Japanese kingdom.

"We swear we will never surrender!" Fu Yu Feng Zhang's voice rang out.

"Very well, you asked for this," Inugami Mitaku turned around and bowed to King Shuming. "Your Majesty, I suggest that Buyeo Pungjang be tortured!"

King Shuming did not comment.

Inugami Odenkuchi's gaze was fixed on the Queen, whose eyes kept glancing at him.

"Come on, brand him with the hot iron!" Inugami Odenkuchi had already given the order.

At this moment, a guard pulled open the clothes on Buyeo Pung-jang's chest, revealing his thin chest.

Li Chenggan saw that Fuyu Fengzhang was much thinner than when he last saw him in the prison cell; he was skin and bones, practically skin and bones.

Could a person withstand being branded with such a hot iron?

A guard restrained Buyeo Pungjang's body, rendering him unable to move.

Another guard held the red-hot branding iron, intending to place it on Fuyu Fengzhang's chest.

Let alone a hot iron, even a flatbread would be unbearable for a person!

The guard had just raised the branding iron when someone shouted, "Wait!"

At this moment, Queen Seondeok stood up and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to say a few words."

King Shuming waved his hand, and the two guards temporarily stopped what they were doing, awaiting the king's final instructions.

Kim Deok-man cleared her throat: "Your Majesty, to be honest, I also have reservations about Baekje."

We are all vassal states of the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty has treated us very well.

It is because of the existence of the Tang Dynasty that our surroundings have become so peaceful.

It can be said that the Tang Dynasty provided us with a stable environment.

Without the Tang Dynasty, who knows how many countries would have invaded us.

Now, we are just getting started, but Baekje's Buyeo Long, under the instigation of Goguryeo's Yeon Gaesomun, is attempting to unite and attack our Silla.

This is something we absolutely cannot allow or agree to.

Although our country is not particularly powerful.

but,

If they dare to invade us...

Then we will fight to the last soldier.

It stands to reason,

Buyeo Pungjang was a prince of Baekje, and I should hate him.

But Buyeo Long is Buyeo Long, and Buyeo Pungjang is Buyeo Pungjang.

It cannot be generalized.

Fu Yufengzhang was known for his virtue.

Unlike Buyeo Long, he was not easily swayed by others and lost his rational judgment.

Now, Fuyu Fengzhang is imprisoned here, powerless to resist.

If you're going to treat him like a prisoner, I can't stand it either.

I came to this banquet with a friendly and pleasant mood.

We hope that some agreements can be reached between our countries.

There are some collaborations, for example, we can offer some of our local specialties for mutual benefit.

If you treat Buyeo Pungjang in such a simplistic and brutal way,

Moreover, their utter disrespect towards the Tang Dynasty's envoys is something I cannot imagine, nor can I tolerate.

Therefore, I request Your Majesty to release Buyeo Pungjang.

Furthermore, we should apologize to the Tang Dynasty and reconcile our differences.

Upon hearing this, Inugami Odenkuchi sneered, "Queen Seontoku, now that you're here..."

Do you think you can still walk?

You must form an alliance with our Wa-nu Kingdom.

Whatever our king commands you to do, you shall do it.

Only in this way can we possibly release you back.

Upon hearing this, Kindeman abruptly stood up, his gaze fixed on King Shuming: "Your Majesty, were the words spoken by Inugami Mitaku just now your intention?"

King Shuming put down his wine cup, rested his hand on the document, and slowly said, "Back then..."

Emperor Yang of Sui launched three campaigns against Goguryeo, but failed to conquer it and suffered heavy losses in troops and generals.

Ultimately, Emperor Yang of Sui was killed by Yuwen Huaji in Jiangdu.

The Sui Dynasty was replaced by the Tang Dynasty, so Goguryeo became arrogant and thought itself great. In particular, their powerful minister Yeon Gaesomun was arrogant and domineering, and had the potential to replace King Yeongnyu, Go Geonmu.

Gao Jianwu has now become nothing more than a figurehead.

Yeon Gaesomun had the final say on all matters, big and small, in the court.

Goguryeo has big ambitions. He wants to unite with Baekje, destroy Silla first, and then he may confront us next.

Little did they know that while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole lurks behind.

Let me put it this way for you.

We have made meticulous plans and have been preparing for this for several years.

I intend to destroy Baekje first, and then Goguryeo.

If your Silla surrenders to our Wa (Japanese) kingdom, what are your thoughts?

"Then let us unite against the Tang Dynasty."

Upon hearing King Shuming's words, Kindeman took two steps back: "No, no, Your Majesty, you are mistaken."

Our Silla was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

Our relationship with the Tang Dynasty is one of shared prosperity and shared loss.

"The Tang Dynasty has been kind to Silla, and we will never betray the Tang Dynasty."

Li Chengan overheard this from outside and thought to himself, "No wonder people say that the Japanese have small noses and small eyes, but their ambitions are huge."

I never imagined you would have such grand ambitions, not only to destroy Baekje and Goguryeo, but also to subjugate Silla, and then attack the Tang Dynasty.

Human greed is insatiable; it's like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.

Besides, what has our Great Tang Dynasty ever done to wrong your Japanese slave country?

King Sumin was displeased to see that Kim Deokman was unwilling to submit to him, but he patiently said, "Queen Seondeok, I hope you can recognize the situation."

Our Wa nation will surely rise, just as the Xiongnu rose on the grasslands in the past.

We want to build a community of shared prosperity.

Our Wa nation will inevitably become the leader of all nations; this is an inevitable trend that no one can stop.

If you are not always aware of current events and cannot see the situation clearly, you will probably regret it in the future.

As for your claim that the Tang Dynasty treated you well, you're just fooling yourself.

Let me put it this way...

I've been dealing with the Tang Dynasty for so long

The Tang Dynasty was most adept at deceiving others.

Do you know what strategy they are using?

A distant alliance is an offensive strategy!

They plotted to attack all the surrounding countries.

For example, the Tanguts, Tuyuhun, and Eastern Turks have all been conquered by them.

Next,

In the Western Regions,

I heard that they have already formed a marriage alliance with the Tibetan king, Zan Gampo.

This is their conspiracy.

First, stabilize Songtsen Gampo, then free up resources to destroy other countries. After destroying the other countries, find a reason to destroy Tibet.

He treats the Western Regions countries this way, and he treats our eastern countries the same way.

He first tried to keep you occupied, and then he could use his resources to attack Goguryeo.

Once they've destroyed Goguryeo and Baekje, then it'll be their turn to deal with us.

If you have even a little political acumen, you should be able to see this clearly.

Kindeman shook his head: "Your Majesty, you are wrong, quite the opposite."

There were profound historical reasons why the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Eastern Turks.

The Eastern Turks, confident in their military strength, frequently violated the borders of the Tang Dynasty and even ventured deep into its territory.

On one occasion, shortly after Li Shimin ascended the throne, Khagan Jieli and Khagan Tuli led their troops directly to the outskirts of Chang'an.

Li Shimin formed an alliance with Khagan Jieli on the banks of the Wei River, which can be called the Wei River Alliance.

However, not long after, Khagan Jieli unilaterally broke the alliance and led his troops to attack the Tang Dynasty, advancing all the way to Mayi and Chang'an.

Who would allow him to do that?

The Khan was furious and sent his general Li Jing to lead troops to fight back against the Eastern Turks, ultimately destroying them.

All of this was brought on by the East Turkestan people themselves, so how can you blame the editor?

As for Tuyuhun,

Back in the Sui Dynasty, the Tuyuhun had already been driven away by Yuwen Huaji and Yang Xiong, the King of Guan.

Emperor Yang of Sui established four prefectures in Tuyuhun.

Later, the Heavenly Khan helped Tuyuhun save the prince's life.

However, Tuyuhun did not consider these factors. Once he had the strength, he rose again and came back to fight against the Tang Dynasty.

During this period, the Tang Dynasty helped the Tuyuhun eliminate other enemy states.

Thus, Tuyuhun gained a firm foothold.

Without the support of the Tang Dynasty, the Tuyuhun people might have been wiped out long ago.

However, Fu Yunke didn't consider these things.

He still intends to fight Li Shimin to the bitter end.

The Heavenly Khan, having reached his limit of tolerance, dispatched Li Chengqian, who then annihilated the Tuyuhun.

Therefore, these things have profound historical reasons, and we can't blame the Heavenly Khan.

King Sumin sighed, "Queen Seondeok, it seems you are deeply poisoned and beyond cure."