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

Just then, Queen Seondeok, Buyeo Pungmi, Buyeo Pungjang, and Yakushi Hyeja also arrived.

Li Chengan then recounted the events surrounding Songtsen Gampo's disappearance.

Everyone was at a loss after hearing this.

Jin Deman advised, "Your Highness, you don't need to be too nervous. Songtsen Gampo is no ordinary person."

He was exceptionally intelligent and possessed superb martial arts skills.

He might be feeling bored staying in his room, so he went outside for a stroll. He'll probably be back soon.

"I hope so!"

At this moment, Fuyu Fengzhang came over to Li Chenggan and said, "Your Highness, thank you so much."

Without you, I would be dead.

Li Chenggan waved his hand: "That's nothing."

"I heard you're really kind, you poured a basin of foot-washing water down my throat."

"Uh," Li Chengan said, feeling a little embarrassed, "the situation was urgent at the time, so that's what happened."

"This is the only way I can do it."

Fu Yu Fengzhang stepped forward and grasped Li Chengqian's hands with both of his: "Your Highness, this basin of foot bath water you gave me is wonderful. It's like a folk remedy curing a serious illness. Without this basin of foot bath water, I might have already been poisoned to the point of heart failure, and I wouldn't have been able to wait for the antidote."

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Li Chenggan pondered for a moment and said, "Let's split up and go find Songtsen Gampo."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Therefore, Li Chenggan divided his troops and dispatched generals.

The pharmacist Huizi said, "I am quite familiar with the situation here. I will go to the palace to find out if Songtsen Gampo has entered the palace."

Li Chenggan agreed.

It turns out that Inugami Mitako was furious because he failed to catch Li Chenggan.

One of his subordinates reported to him: "Li Chenggan did not come alone. He was accompanied by a man named Songtsen Gampo, who is staying at an inn in Chang'an."

When Inugami Mitako heard this, he was taken aback, because he had also heard of Songtsen Gampo's great name and knew that he was the king of Tibet.

He was surprised that Songtsen Gampo would come to the Wa country with Li Chenggan, without having heard any rumors beforehand.

Inugami Oda-kubi dared not act on his own. After returning, he met with the Queen.

The Queen was heartbroken to see that Inugami Oda had been injured.

She held the dog, Oden, in her arms, asking him all sorts of questions and showing concern for his well-being.

The queen was graceful and alluring.

Inugami Oda couldn't help but wrap his arms around her waist, and the queen's body trembled slightly.

"According to our spies..."

Recently, Songtsen Gampo and Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty have become engaged.

Judging from its current strength, Tibet can be considered the strongest country in the Western Regions.

With its vast territory, large population, and strong military, Tibet and the Tang Dynasty, when united, could dominate the world.

In the future, if we want to attack the Tang Dynasty, Tibet will definitely help the Tang Dynasty to deal with us.

"Now that Songshan Ganbu has come to us, why not capture him and take him hostage? If we do that, when we attack the Tang Dynasty again, Tibet will not dare to act rashly."

The queen was horrified: "We are an island nation in the east, while Tibet is in the west, thousands of miles away. Is it really necessary for us to do this?"

Inugami Oda waved his hand dismissively: "Your Majesty, you are mistaken."

Precisely because we are an island nation at sea,

Therefore, our country is resource-poor, and if we want to survive, we must plunder the land and resources of other countries.

but,

If we cross the sea to attack the Tang Dynasty,

The Tibetans will then send troops to fight us.

Because Songtsen Gampo is now the son-in-law of the Tang Dynasty,

Could he stand idly by and watch other countries invade the Tang Dynasty?

"He just happened to arrive in our Wa (Japanese) country. This is a golden opportunity, one that won't come again!"

The queen listened and nodded, agreeing that what Inugami Odakuchi said made sense.

"But,

"Do we really need to go to war with the Tang Dynasty?" the Queen asked, her expression worried.

"Oh, Your Majesty, how can I explain it to you so that you will understand?"

"It's not that we want to start a war with the Tang Dynasty, but rather that we're trying to protect ourselves." Inugami Odenkusa said solemnly.

"Self-preservation? What do you mean? Hasn't the Tang Dynasty attacked us?" the Queen asked, puzzled.

"I'll tell you a piece of history, and you'll understand."

This is similar to why, during the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang of Shu launched six expeditions to Qishan to attack Wei.

Knowing he was no match for the enemy, why did he still insist on sending troops to fight?

This is called using offense as defense, in order to protect oneself.

Our current situation is not much different from that of the Shu Kingdom back then.

If we don't send troops to attack the Li Tang dynasty...

In the near future, the Tang Dynasty will have to come and attack us.

Isn't that obvious?

Now, Silla has completely submitted to the Tang Dynasty.

They wholeheartedly supported the Li Tang dynasty, and did whatever Li Shimin told them to do.

An alliance had been formed between Baekje and Goguryeo.

The power of Goguryeo should not be underestimated.

then,

Emperor Yang of Sui led an army of one million to conquer Goguryeo three times, but failed to capture it.

Therefore, the surrounding environment is not a optimistic situation for our Wa (Japanese) nation.

That is why, if we can capture Songtsen Gampo, we can use him to blackmail the Tang Dynasty and Tibet.

As long as Songtsen Gampo remains in our hands, Li Chenggan will not go far.

"I'll arrest Li Chenggan too. He broke my leg, and I haven't settled that score with him yet."

The queen was still a little worried: "I heard that Songtsen Gampo was very brave. He was already tall and strong when he was eleven or twelve years old. He was very courageous."

You think catching him won't be that easy?

"No matter how powerful he is, can he withstand so many of our men?"

"Should we discuss this with the King?"

"No need!"

"I'll capture Songtsen Gampo first."

Seeing that Inugami Oda was confident in his plan, the Queen decided not to forcefully stop him.

"Then be careful."

"I know, I'll be fine. I'll take care of you when I get back."

"You bastard, get lost!"

Therefore, Inugami Odenkuchi led 1000 men and rushed to the Chang'an Inn, surrounding it.

Songtsen Gampo was sleeping in his room, half-asleep.

He heard a commotion and the sound of horses' hooves outside and wondered what was going on.

In any case, he never expected that those people were there to arrest him.

Just then, he heard someone outside shouting, "Capture Songtsen Gampo alive! Don't let Songtsen Gampo escape!"

Songtsen Gampo was taken aback when he heard this, wondering what was going on.

Who did I offend by sleeping here?

Are all the people of Wa (Japan) so unreasonable, and is this how they treat the kings of the Western Regions?

Matsuyama Kanbu was also stubborn, and he thought to himself, "I want to see who has the guts to come looking for trouble with me."

Songtsen Gampo was dressed neatly, holding a sword in his hand. The sword was inlaid with a particularly beautiful golden-winged bird pattern, symbolizing wealth and power.

Songtsen Gampo stepped outside the inn and saw a man riding a tall horse.

His legs were still wrapped in gauze.

Songtsen Gampo looked at him and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Inugami Odenkuchi, are you Songtsen Gampo?"

"That's right, what do you want with Xiao Wang?" Songtsen Gampo asked calmly.

"I've come to ask you, have you already become engaged to Princess Wencheng of the Li Tang dynasty?"

"That's right, not long ago, Prince Wang did indeed get engaged to Princess Wencheng."

"So, it seems that your Tibet and the Tang Dynasty have formed an alliance."

"That's natural."

"We, the Tibetans and the Tang Dynasty, are now one family."

"Why did you come to our Wa (Japanese) country without permission?"

Songtsen Gampo crossed his arms and said, "I've come here to take care of some personal business."

Inugami Mitaku sneered: "Songtsen Gampo, as the king of Tibet, you have secretly infiltrated our Wa (Japanese) country. I'm afraid that is not quite appropriate."

If you've come on official business, you should present your official seal and speak with our king in person.

If you are here on personal business...

So, what private matter is it?

Songtsen Gampo was quite displeased by the aggressive tone in which Inugami Oda-kusa spoke.

However, Songtsen Gampo was, after all, a man of refinement.

He suppressed his anger: "It's alright to tell you. I heard you had some conflict with Baekje, and you captured Buyeo Pungjang as a hostage."

Then, he wrote a letter demanding that King Buyeo Uija of Baekje surrender to the Wa state within a month. Isn't that a bit unreasonable?

Therefore, Xiao Wang intends to mediate between you two, hoping to resolve this matter peacefully and turn hostility into friendship.

Inugami Mitako dismounted, leaning on a cane in his right hand: "What a joke! You Tibetans are to the west of the Tang Dynasty, while the Japanese are to the east."

We are thousands of miles apart and have nothing to do with each other, so what are you trying to mediate?

What does this have to do with you?

Upon hearing this, Songtsen Gampo raised his eyebrows: "As you say, this matter does not have much to do with our Tibet."

But don't forget, Xiao Wang is now the son-in-law of the Tang Dynasty.

If it's related to the Tang Dynasty, then it's related to Little Wang.

Inugami Oda-kubi, upon hearing this, said, "In my opinion, you'd better not get involved in this matter."

If Baekje does not submit to our Wa (Japanese) kingdom

Our king is going to kill Fuyu Fengzhang, that's for sure.

This has nothing to do with you, and we suspect you infiltrated our Wa (Japanese) Kingdom to steal our military secrets. I'm going to capture you and hand you over to our King.

Upon hearing this, Songtsen Gampo flew into a rage; he was a man of temper.

He thought to himself that he had never seen anyone as unreasonable as him. He added that even if it were King Shuming himself, he would have to treat the young king with utmost respect.

Matsuyama Kanbu was furious, but instead laughed and said, "Inu-gami Mita-ku, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue in the wind? Not to mention you, even if King Shuming came, he would still have to be treated with courtesy."

Inugami Odenkusa ignored all of that: "Songtsen Gampo, your mistake was..."

You came with Li Chengan, who is the most outrageous. Look at my leg, it was broken by him. Whether it will heal in the future is still unknown, and it may leave me with a lifelong disability.

If you came with him, then you're his accomplice.

Songtsen Gampo examined it closely and was surprised, because he hadn't expected that the injury on Inugami Mitako's leg was inflicted by Li Chenggan.

It seems Li Chengan is quite ruthless.

Come on!

At this moment, ten armored warriors approached and saluted: "General, please give your orders!"

"Arrest Songtsen Gampo!"

"promise!"

His men didn't care about any of that; they did whatever they were told and rushed forward immediately.

Songtsen Gampo was furious and immediately retaliated.

Songtsen Gampo considered that there was indeed no connection between Tibet and the Wa (Japanese) kingdom.

Therefore, he did not kill them; he only knocked them to the ground without drawing his knife.

Otherwise, some of my men would probably already be beheaded.

"What? You dare resist arrest?"

Inugami Mikawa was also greatly surprised when he saw it; he had not expected Songtsen Gampo to be so powerful.

That's incredible!

He quickly gathered his five hundred archers and surrounded Songtsen Gampo, aiming the dark arrows at him.

Inugami Odenkuchi shouted, "Songtsen Gampo, you better watch out! If you dare to act recklessly again, I'll order the arrows to be fired!"

Songtsen Gampo realized that there were too many of the other side's people, and if he tried to be aggressive, he would really suffer a loss.

There's a saying, isn't there? Being single isn't a loss in the short term.

Songtsen's cadre thought for a moment, then took off his sword, gently placed it on the ground, and raised his hands to indicate his surrender.

Inugami Odenkuchi shouted, "Tie him up!"

His soldiers, as fierce as wolves, rushed forward and tied Songtsen Gampo up tightly.

Songtsen Gampo stared at Inugami Mitako, thinking to himself, "Damn kid, we've got a grudge now, and we'll settle this score someday."

Inugami Mitsuko, however, ignored all that and escorted Songtsen Gampo into the palace to find King Shumin.

However, after searching for a long time, they still couldn't find King Shuming.

Later, however, he met the pharmacist Eri.

Inugami Odenkuchi then asked, "Yakushi Ebisu, where has the king gone?"

It turns out that when they were at the inn, Yakushi Eri was trying to protect Li Chenggan, but he was captured by Inugami Mitaku and brought back.

Little Mouse Eyes advised, "General, back when you went to the Tang Dynasty, you were the chief envoy and Bhaisajyaguru was the deputy envoy. It's not appropriate for you to treat him like this. Please release him."

then,

Inugami Oda-kuchi then ordered his men to untie Yakushi Ebisu's ropes.

Pharmacist Eri then regained his freedom.

Yakushi Ehime asked Inugami Odenkusa, "What business do you have with the king?"

Inugami Odenkuchi briefly recounted the process of capturing Matsugabun.

"What? You've arrested the king of Tibet? This is outrageous!"

What you're doing is probably inappropriate.

"We can't worry about that now. Tell me quickly, where is the king? I need to see him immediately!" Inugami Oden grabbed Yakushi Ebisu's arm.

"Oh dear, you don't know this, but one of the king's most beloved concubines has been acting strangely lately. She's been acting like she's going crazy, making a scene, crying and screaming, and sometimes she even tries to hang herself."

It's like they're possessed.

At this moment, that concubine is again threatening to kill herself!

"Oh, is that so?" Inugami Oden was also taken aback when he heard this.