There were cries inside and outside Kokenda Palace, and everyone knelt on the ground to see Emperor Suiko off.
On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the fourth year of Yuanzhen of the Tang Dynasty, the first queen of Japan, Emperor Suiko, died...
On her deathbed, Queen Suiko Nedabe ordered Prince Shotoku's son, Yamagata, to succeed him, and Prince Yamamura and Souma Rishi would assist him in the government.
Much like when Emperor Suiko first ascended the throne, Prince Yamamura was equivalent to Prince Shotoku Yutaka Toyohi as the regent.
Sumama Lishi is equivalent to Sumama Zi, a minister who controls the ministers.
In fact, it is still the same old story. The royal family and the powerful officials of the Soga family are in charge of the government, forming a delicate balance.
The arrangement looks good, but in fact Yamabeko is not Queen Suiko, and Prince Yamamura is not Prince Shotoku. Sumama Rise is very supportive of Yamabeko's succession to the throne, but Sumama Rise cannot be as powerful as Sumako.
The same control over the Soga family.
When Queen Suiko passed away, everyone seemed to calmly accept the result.
However, the shortcomings of this act of giving orders before death gave the Japanese country signs of civil strife. The reason why it did not break out immediately was because Soga Ezo was not there and some people from the Soga clan were still watching.
And the most dangerous thing is that, except for the eldest brother Shanbei and the prince Yamamura, no one knows what Queen Suigu said before she died.
Therefore, rumors spread widely in the Japanese court. Many people said that Queen Suigu did not make a will at all when she died. Brother Yamabei and his faction tried their best to argue, but Prince Yamamura did not say a word, which further proved the authenticity of the rumors.
The house leaked and it rained continuously all night. Generally speaking, the situation in Japan was very bad now.
The first thing that Brother Shanbei did when he ascended the throne was to send an envoy to the Central Plains to reaffirm the friendship between the two countries to the Emperor of the Central Plains, just like Queen Tuigu did when she interacted with the Tang Dynasty and lived in peace.
In the winter of the Tang Dynasty, the name finally spread to the island, and the people of the Japanese country were deeply impressed.
Originally, the Silla people wanted Tang Dynasty to send envoys to the Japanese country to embolden them.
However, this proposal was rejected by Du Fuwei. It was a taboo for the border generals to send envoys to foreign countries without following the imperial edict. Even if Du Fuwei did not think of this, the people around him would dissuade him.
Therefore, only the Silla envoys came to the Japanese country this time, but the chaos caused to the Japanese country was the same.
The Japanese nation was defeated and sent envoys to sue for peace. This was the first decision Shanbei made after he ascended the throne.
During the reign of Queen Suigu, Japan's diplomacy has always been very good. During the period of civil strife in the Central Plains and Goguryeo's heavy losses, Japan looked like a little overlord in East Asia.
But now they were beaten hard by the emerging Tang Dynasty. The little overlord had almost no room to resist in front of this behemoth.
Even if they win this naval battle, the outcome will not change at all. Just like later, all their delusions will come to nothing under the premise of unifying the Central Plains.
The strategic environment between East Asia and the one in the west is very different, because Europe has never formed a completely unified whole...
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The first decree issued by Brother Shanbei when he came to the throne was undoubtedly wise.
But it was impossible to implement it, because no matter what he said, there would be people who would object. The root cause was that he seemed to be in an improper position, and there were too many doubts about Queen Suigu's deathbed order for people to investigate and criticize.
In fact, no matter whether Prince Yamamura or Brother Yamabei ascends the throne, the situation they face will not change in any way. Even if the Japanese nobles are aware of the current danger, they cannot escape the vortex of being driven out by interests.
In the first month of the fifth year of the Tang Dynasty, the signs that civil strife was about to break out in Japan became increasingly obvious.
The nobles of the Japanese country were not discussing what to do if the navy was defeated, but they were arguing about the authenticity of the news and the legitimacy of Brother Shanbei's accession to the throne. The quarrel was so fierce that even Queen Tuigu
Funerals have been postponed.
When the news of Queen Suigu's death reached Silla, and then to Goguryeo... well, no one cared. The previous naval battle had kicked Japan out of the East Asian chess game and became an insignificant passerby.
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Compared to the Japanese country, where undercurrents were surging and everyone was in danger, the capital of the Tang Dynasty finally became lively again after celebrating the New Year. People are looking forward to the arrival of this year's Lantern Festival.
At this time, Chang'an can be considered to be decorated with lanterns and colorful fireworks, with the sound of firecrackers, and the atmosphere of celebrating the festival is truly felt.
In the streets and alleys, children were running around, there were no more weird nursery rhymes, and the little babies with runny noses were having fun playing.
In the palace, on the first day of the first lunar month, Li Po held a banquet for all the ministers.
The climax of this banquet was not that the emperor wrote another poem, but that the emperor announced that the construction of Lingyan Pavilion and Gongde Forest would start this year.
We extensively solicited opinions on this matter last year, and I am somewhat mentally prepared.
Lingyan Pavilion is very much like a royal ancestral hall. It will enshrine the founding heroes of the Tang Dynasty. Whether they are alive or dead, there will be portraits stored in it.
This is undoubtedly a compliment to the ministers, and it is also the best treatment in the past dynasties. It is not impossible for the subsequent ministers to enter Lingyan Pavilion, but the requirements on merit will make many people despair.
In addition, the Gongde Forest is a cemetery, which can also be said to be a forest of steles.
Originally, Li Po wanted to build a building like a Victory Monument or a Victory Gate, which would be used to celebrate victory in the Tang Dynasty in the future, but in the end, it was replaced by the Gongde Forest.
Countless inscriptions will be used to record the meritorious deeds of the Tang Dynasty's meritorious soldiers.
In fact, both Lingyan Pavilion and Gongdelin have various considerations to reward meritorious ministers, boost people's morale, and promote the martial spirit of the Tang Dynasty.
Naturally, the ministers were very supportive of this. Those who had some slight objections thought that this kind of article praising virtues was written too early, and it would be more appropriate to wait until His Majesty came to do it in his later years.
These people are mainly young men in the court who want to extend the time period and have their names, surnames and portraits included in Lingyan Pavilion.
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Two small projects, but their weight is extraordinary.
In addition to the above, the emperor will once again show his kindness and righteousness to the world, and will not forget those who have made contributions and shed blood for the Tang Dynasty.
After a banquet, when the ministers left drunkenly, they were all thinking about the candidates who could live in Lingyan Pavilion.
There are many people who can be called the founding heroes, but there are very few who are really qualified to have their portraits hung in the palace.
Most of those who surrendered after Li Po took control of Chang'an will be excluded. It is estimated that only Li Jing, Du Fuwei, Pang Yu and a few others can barely reach the threshold.
Su Yuanzai, for example, came to Wen Yanbo's side and said proudly, "Pushe and I should be shown in front of others."
Wen Yanbo didn't want to pay attention to him. He felt that the accountant was too proud and was too frivolous. Even if the portrait was hung in Lingyan Pavilion, it would be a fool's errand and lower the quality of others.
But Su Tan was right. He, Chen Xiaoyi, and Wen Yanbo were the three giants under the throne of the Han Dynasty when they were in Jinyang. They took the lead among the founding ministers. It would be really embarrassing if they were not in Lingyan Pavilion.
There is a ghost.
Outside are the generals. Wen Yanbo can already imagine the scene of murderous intent and sharpness in Lingyan Pavilion.
After all, the work of pacifying troubled times is not the home of civil servants. Otherwise, it would not be easy to conquer the world and difficult to govern the world. Why are the civil servants not convinced?
Wen Yanbo's plan was longer than that of Su Dan. He felt that it would be proper to raise Feng Deyi, Xiao Yu and others into Lingyan Pavilion in the future, and he could not let Yu Chigong and others be too proud.
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Li Po didn't care about so many things. He had a relatively free time in the first month. He originally planned to listen to his wife's advice and walk around the harem to see how beautiful the flowers he had raised for two years were.
But in the end, reason prevailed over impulse, and he felt that for the sake of a happy time in the future, it was better not to go too far, but to take it slow first, and the most important thing was to appease his wife's emotions.
For a man to do his career, his backyard must be stable. This is what he has experienced over the years, and it can be said that he has deep feelings.
It was with Li Bi who stabilized his rear that he could devote all his energy and ingenuity to pacifying the world.
So he honestly returned to Qingning Palace and suffered some nagging from his wife, but he could still feel her happiness. Even if they exchanged a few words, her wife had no desire for harmony.
Li Chun spent more time in the palace, obviously trying to eliminate the previous influence and pave the way for his subsequent trip to Luoyang with Mrs. Cheng Guo, Mrs. Xiao.
Before we knew it, it was the Lantern Festival.
The long-prepared Lantern Festival started on time. This time it was even more lively than last year. At night, the Imperial City was brightly lit.
The people of Chang'an came out in droves, and even people from the vicinity of Jingzhao came to Chang'an in advance. People rubbed shoulders and almost broke through the gates of the imperial city.
That is to say, there is no clocking equipment, otherwise the recorded number will be an unprecedented number.
Only this time, the emperor and empress did not come to join in the fun.
On the gate tower of Chengtianmen, the envoys of the Western Turks who had stayed in Chang'an came here. They looked down at the grand scene in the imperial city, pointed and pointed, and made sounds of admiration from time to time.
Next to them, several dark Funan envoys were shocked to the point of being unable to speak. They wrapped their robes tightly, endured the cold, and looked at all of this with fascination, as if they were seeing the Western Paradise.
The officials of Honglu Temple who accompanied them patiently explained everything in front of them, trying hard to make them understand that the Tang Dynasty is the holy land on earth, and you will definitely not lose money if you surrender to the Tang Dynasty.
The envoys nodded frequently and soon turned into studious students, asking a hundred thousand questions. Especially the Funan envoy, when he heard that the Lantern Festival and Buddhism were closely related, he made up his mind to return to the temple.
After Funan, I must invite the king to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
No need to ask, this is cultural invasion, it can also be called civilized assimilation...