Chapter 288: Clan Disciples
Autumn of the ninth year of Li Yuan.

When his son married the daughter of a local noble in Jiaozhi and had children.

Capital.

The merchant ships that were previously sent to Japan have also returned from Japan.

It also brought Zhao Xin the latest news about Japan.

“You mean, in today’s Japan, the emperor seems to have little power, as the relatives of the emperor are in power?”

The person who came back said, “That’s right. Their regent is called Kanpaku, and his last name is Fujiwara. The Fujiwara family married every woman of their generation to their emperor in order to control him. And… they didn’t seem to welcome us to the island. They almost drove us out.”

Zhao Xin also said: “This is normal. After all, they probably still remember how the Tang Dynasty beat them. How many people are there? How is their food and clothing?”

The person who came back said, “The clothing is very similar to that of the Tang Dynasty, but it has its own style. As far as the nobility are concerned, the food and clothing are not bad. Moreover, since there has been peace for many years, the capital Heian-kyō is still prosperous, with many temples. The population of the capital is said to be no less than 200,000. The capital is about a quarter of the size of Chang’an City in the Tang Dynasty. Its architecture is also quite Tang-style.”

Zhao Xin then asked, “What do you think of their strength? What about their population?”

The person who came back said: “It is said that the population of the country is no less than three to five million. I think its strength is not much worse than that of Goryeo. I even heard that they dared to be disrespectful to Goryeo.”

Zhao Xin said, “That’s a good excuse. Now that the world is at peace, only Japan has not yet submitted to the Song Dynasty. This makes me feel uneasy!”

Zhao Xin said this…

Ouyang Xiu, Fu Bi and others below all had speechless expressions on their faces.

I thought to myself, of course you are not at ease, sir. Are you planning to cause trouble again and beat someone up?

I had no choice but to persuade him: “Sir, I have something to say.”

Zhao Xin said, “Go ahead.”

Ouyang Xiu said: “Over the years, the government has been developing Ryukyu and attacking Jiaozhi. It is really not appropriate to continue the war. If we continue to fight, the national finances will easily collapse. If something unexpected happens at that time, I am afraid it will be difficult to have any money to turn around.”

Zhao Xin also sighed and replied: “Time waits for no one!”

After a pause, he continued, “I am already thirty-four this year. In three months, I will be thirty-five.”

“What is the 35-year-old Emperor Taizong Wen doing now?”

Zhao Xin looked at everyone, hoping that they could give him an answer.

Seeing no one spoke.

Fu Bi finally had to stand up and replied: “Emperor Taizong Wen was in the hall at that time. He just asked Jie Li Khan to dance and ordered the southern barbarian chief Feng Zhidai to recite a poem. He also said that the Hu and Yue were one family, which had never happened since ancient times.”

Zhao Xin said, “Although I have been familiar with Tang history since I was three years old, I have really forgotten this.”

Ouyang Xiu also said at this time: “It seems that the emperor has never read a book for a day.”

Ouyang Xiu was talking about Zhao Xin. There were so many great scholars, but they were not allowed to play their roles.

Good thing…

Now the emperor has used it against the prince.

But those university scholars also said that the prince seemed to have listened, but it seemed that he did not listen.

He simply continued, “Some ministers said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn’t seem to be very interested in studying.”

Zhao Xin asked, “Is there such a thing?”

Ouyang Xiu replied: “Geniuses like you are rare after all. I think it is the right way for Your Highness to study with the great scholars.”

Zhao Xin said, “I will go back and confirm it with the prince. Let’s go back to Japan. I must fight against Japan.”

“Didn’t you say some time ago that there are too many members of the Zhao clan, nearly 10,000 people, and the annual salary is also high, reaching 840,000 strings of cash, which is almost one-sixtieth of the tax revenue of the court? The key is that most of them don’t have to do anything?”

“I think this is really not a good idea.”

“After all, he has done nothing for the country, yet he enjoys such a high salary. This is really a bit too much!”

“Then find a place for them to go and develop Japan and become officials in Japan.”

Ouyang Xiu and Fu Bi also looked at Zhao Xin and asked, “But will Japan agree?”

Zhao Xin said: “Don’t worry about whether Japan agrees or not. During the Tang Dynasty, Japan dared to attack the Tang Dynasty. In the future, they may also dare to attack the Song Dynasty. As long as we defeat Japan, we don’t need their consent. So… I want to ask, what is their strength?”

Zhao Xin turned around and looked at the person who came back.

The people who came back also said: “I see that there are not many soldiers in their country. And they have been at peace for so long that they may have forgotten how to fight.”

Zhao Xin said, “Let’s talk to Gao Li first. If Gao Li agrees to serve as our rear base and provide us with food, guides, etc., then we will spend two years training a group of new soldiers.”

“At the same time… this royal family member should also join the army.”

“After we conquer the land, we will reward people according to their merits.”

Zhao Xin then gathered many clan members and spread the news.

For a while…

Everyone has a headache.

Who would want to go to Japan when they can live a good life instead?

Although Japan has undergone so many years of development from the Tang Dynasty to the present, it is no longer much worse than the Central Plains.

But after all, in the eyes of many people, it is still a wild place.

And the key is…

Many members of the royal family are now fat and big-eared, and fighting is really not suitable for them.

Some of them even had difficulty getting on their horses.

Take Zhao Zongshi for example.

But Zhao Zongshi’s son is okay.

For example, the eldest son Zhao Xu.

At the banquet, Zhao Xin also said to Zhao Xu: “I have a good relationship with your mother. We are old acquaintances. You are now in your twenties. A person’s life is only about 20,000 to 30,000 days.”

“Don’t you want to build some achievements so that people in the future can remember you?”

“Besides, if a person has no dreams, what’s the difference between him and a salted fish? Do you think it’s really interesting to live like this doing nothing every day?”

“What do you think? Zhao Xu, do you want to consider it?”

Zhao Zongshi’s family alone had eight children.

There are four men and four women.

And they were all born by Gao Taotao.

Gao Taotao is really fertile.

If we let them reproduce further…

indeed!

The country will surely be destroyed by them.

As a young man, Zhao Xu actually had some ambitions.

But the problem is…

It was stipulated at the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty that the children of the royal family were not allowed to take the imperial examinations, but could only study in royal schools. After graduation, those with excellent grades could only be awarded honorary titles, but could not hold real positions, let alone fill vacancies of local officials.

This also led to the situation that even though he had great ambitions, he had nowhere to vent them.

And Zhao Xin could also see that the young Zhao Xu was still eager to try.

Zhao Xin said, “Go back and ask your parents if they agree with you going. The same goes for the rest of you.”

soon……

The news spread among the royal family.

The good news is that they can finally become officials and are also given land.

The bad news is that they have to fight for this land by themselves, and they also need to join the army.

in fact……

Logically speaking.

Many royal family members have made no contributions to the country and are indeed not suitable to be kept by the court. Your eating and drinking for free is morally unjustifiable no matter how you look at it.

The only thing they need to consider now is whether their future interests will be affected after they get out.

and……

How does Japan compare to the Song Dynasty? They have never seen it with their own eyes, so how can they know whether Japan is suitable for living? Zhao Xin also asked someone to tell them in detail about the current situation in Japan.

in fact……

Basically, everyone has caught up.

For example, in terms of architecture, it is basically Tang Dynasty style.

The only thing that is not so good is that tables and chairs with high legs have not yet been developed, and people basically still sit on their knees like in the Tang Dynasty.

But this does not affect the quality of life.

and……

Some of their senior officials received annual salaries of up to tens of thousands of dan of grain.

People who are forced to go usually have no enthusiasm.

Zhao Xin felt that it would be best to let them go actively on their own.

After Gao Taotao learned about this, he also knew what kind of person Zhao Xin was.

He told his family, “When I was a child, during one Chinese New Year, the official asked me to peel an orange for him. Not only that, he also asked me to taste it to see if it was sweet before he ate it.”

“At that time, he would still be several hours away from turning four.”

“This man is very shrewd.”

“To put it bluntly!”

“Letting you go to Japan actually means that the government doesn’t want to pay you anymore.”

Then she said to Zhao Xu with a serious face: “Although mother knows that you really want to go, you are the eldest son of the family! What if something unexpected happens on the way? Who will inherit your father’s incense?”

Zhao Xu then pleaded, hugged Gao Taotao’s thigh and said, “Mom, I don’t want to be like Dad.”

When Zhao Zongshi heard this, he almost slammed the table and said, “Is your father so bad now?”

Zhao Xu also said: “The emperor has said that a person’s life is only more than 20,000 days. Are you willing to waste every day like this?”

Zhao Xu then said, “Besides, the emperor allowed his own sons to go. Didn’t Zhao Hong and his men also go to Jiaozhi? The emperor didn’t treat them preferentially either. I think the emperor is actually quite fair.”

Gao Taotao was also distressed to be honest.

but……

From the perspective of future development, yes!
If you go, maybe it will be better.

……

This winter.

Zhao Xin also sent someone to inform Gao Li.

It is said that the Song Dynasty wants to attack Japan.

This day has finally come.

Wang Hui also summoned all the ministers to discuss what to do at this time.
Some timid ones said, “If we just want to borrow the road for the Song Dynasty, then it’s fine.”

Some were more worried: “The Song Dynasty wants to swallow up the world. If they really defeat Japan, will we be the next one to be defeated?”

So, one of the ministers also said: “It’s fine to borrow the road, but we don’t have much food to provide. After all, we didn’t take Liaodong in the first place.”

Four years ago, Cui Chong, Confucius of Haidong, passed away.

Today, the remaining officials certainly want to overturn their original idea of ​​reconciliation with the Song Dynasty.

and……

At this point, can’t you see the evil ambitions of the Song Dynasty?

but……

Some officials also expressed concerns: “We couldn’t defeat the Liao Kingdom in the beginning, let alone the current situation where the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom are combined. If we don’t agree, we may be in danger of losing our country.”

Someone asked, “What if we spread this news to Japan and form an alliance with Japan?”

Many people didn’t speak.

Because they actually have a rough idea of ​​Japan’s combat power.

Besides, Japan was defeated by the Tang Dynasty hundreds of years ago, and more than a hundred years ago, it took the initiative to cancel the system of envoys to Tang Dynasty. Now, it is estimated that those who are still alive in the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, will not be able to come out in the third year of Longshuo.

How can they improve their military strength without communication with the Central Plains?

Do you think you can trust such an ally?
At least……

To most people, this is not very credible.

While the emperor and his ministers were holding a meeting, they also sent someone to sound out the Song Dynasty envoy’s attitude.

For example: Why does it have to be like this? If Japan is disrespectful to the Song Dynasty, we can just help the Song Dynasty teach them a lesson. Why does the Song Dynasty government have to do it themselves?

After some inquiries, we learned that the Song Dynasty was determined to acquire Japanese land.

They could only come back with a serious face and say to their king: “I am afraid that Goryeo is really going to perish.”

Because the other party doesn’t just want to beat you up.

Instead, they want to actually control the other party’s land.

So will there be anything good for them in Goryeo in the future?
It seems…

It’s really impossible not to resist!

After listening to this, Wang Hui had to prepare for the worst.

in fact……

Wang Hui also felt that there would inevitably be a war between them and the Song Dynasty.

only……

I never thought it would come so soon.

Immediately, Wang Hui rejected the proposal of the Song Dynasty envoy.

The Song envoy was naturally very angry and asked, “Do you know that doing this might bring disaster to you?”

Wang Hui also said firmly: “If the Song Dynasty wants to fight, then let’s fight.”

The Song Dynasty envoy turned around and left the hall.

soon……

Zhao Xin also learned the results of the negotiations.

This basically means the talks have broken down.

but……

It’s not that bad!
In fact, he had wanted to attack Goryeo a long time ago.

I just can’t find a good excuse.

nowadays……

If Goryeo was disobedient, it would give him an excuse to attack Goryeo.

of course!

There’s no rush yet.

after all……

Over the years, their financial pressure has indeed been quite great.

and……

What kind of ruling policy should be adopted towards Goryeo?
I feel that if I learn from Jiaozhi, the ministers in my country will definitely not agree.

But now, it is no longer the Tang Dynasty.

Even though the Tang Dynasty conquered Baekje and Goguryeo, it ultimately became a wedding dress for Silla.

They have to learn from the Tang Dynasty’s lessons.

After learning of Goryeo’s attitude, Zhao Xin first placed all cities near the Yalu River border under martial law to guard against Goryeo’s sneak attack.

As for when to fight, he would have to wait until his other two sons came back.

(End of this chapter)