Diplomatic affairs were never something that could be settled simply through a private discussion between Pei Shiqing and Mitarai no Tsuchi.
Their conversation was more about exchanging views and confirming general direction. The finer details still had to be negotiated step by step by the Office of Protocol under the Court of State Ceremonial together with the entire envoy delegation.
As for the overall plan, it could hardly be called complicated, at least from Mitarai's perspective. In fact, the terms Pei Shiqing offered made him uneasy with gratitude.
After all, everything this Assistant Director of the Court of State Ceremonial said made perfect sense.
If the Wa Kingdom truly admired the culture of the Central Plains, then why not send a group of sons from noble families to Tang? Let them grow up in Huaxia from a young age, learn refined Chinese speech, understand Chinese institutions, observe Chinese craftsmanship, and study Chinese classics. Once they came of age and completed their studies, they could return to Wa to put their learning to use, strengthening friendly relations between neighboring states. Was that not a beautiful outcome?
And to demonstrate sincerity, the Assistant Director also promised that Tang could dispatch teachers and craftsmen to Wa to establish schools and teach skills.
With such goodwill on display, opening a port for Tang's naval forces to station themselves, allowing large ships to conveniently transport Tang and Wa people back and forth, also felt entirely reasonable to Mitarai.
Tang even considered Wa's poverty and meager resources. Maintaining supplies for a stationed fleet would be a heavy burden, so Tang offered another suggestion.
As long as the land leased together with the port was large enough, Tang soldiers could simply work harder and farm it themselves.
This proposal moved Mitarai to the brink of tears. Only now did he feel he truly understood the bearing of a superior realm.
Such magnanimity and breadth of spirit were things the Wa people could scarcely imagine possessing.
How laughable it was that before coming, those noble families had been busy speculating over how lavish Tang's return gifts might be.
Now that Mitarai had quietly settled in Chang'an, all he wanted was to mock them for their shallowness.
Within the Wa envoy delegation, not everyone agreed with such a sweeping plan. Many raised objections of their own.
When Mitarai compiled these objections and presented them before Pei Shiqing and Du Ruhui, the two could not help but fall silent in amusement.
Some members argued that since they were the first Wa envoys to Tang, the first batch of Wa youths sent to study in Tang should give priority to the sons of envoy members.
Others objected strongly, insisting that it was unbecoming for Tang's heavenly troops to labor in the fields themselves. They vowed to jointly submit a memorial requesting the Heavenly Emperor, no, requesting the Wa King, to allocate provisions for Tang troops.
Du Ruhui's expression turned subtle.
"They are not worried about unforeseen consequences?"
Pei Shiqing shook his head.
"Once one has come to Chang'an and witnessed Tang's civil governance and martial might, who would believe that Tang harbors any designs on a poor and remote land across the sea?"
"And besides, they harbor ulterior motives of their own."
"Oh?" Du Ruhui's interest was piqued.
Pei Shiqing paused briefly, then calmly recounted what he had learned from Mitarai about the internal situation within the Wa Kingdom.
Simply put, three years earlier, Empress Suiko had died without appointing a crown prince. A succession struggle erupted within Wa. The powerful Soga clan seized the opportunity, forged an imperial edict, executed the heads of rival clans, and forced their descendants to commit suicide, severing their bloodlines. They then supported Prince Tamura to ascend the throne, becoming the current ruler.
The newly risen Soga clan flaunted their power openly. Their mansions and tombs rivaled those of the ruler, and they privately levied corvée labor to construct palaces.
Du Ruhui felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"Holding the Wa King hostage to command the powerful clans?"
"That is only the internal trouble," Pei Shiqing said, shaking his head.
"Silla and Baekje have held grudges against Wa for a century. Warfare has never ceased. This mission to Tang was secretly ordered by the Wa King, seeking to ally with Silla and Baekje to eliminate elite troops and plot the downfall of the Soga clan."
Du Ruhui shook his head again.
"A three way standoff?"
At this point, how could he not understand? Their careful planning had been driven by fear that Wa might harbor rebellious intentions, hence the cautious arrangements at every step.
Yet unexpectedly, the Wa King himself was unwilling to remain constrained by powerful clans and likewise sought external aid to eliminate a Soga clan that might as well have been named Cao. In truth, both sides were perfectly aligned.
All those apparent concessions were pure profit.
Moreover, Du Ruhui could already imagine the choice the Wa King would make when forced to choose between Tang and Silla or Baekje.
Compared to Silla and Baekje, with whom Wa had a century of grudges, Tang lay across the sea and appeared focused on the Western Regions. No matter how one looked at it, Tang was the ideal force to borrow strength from.
Without delay, Du Ruhui organized these causes and effects and soon placed them upon Li Shimin's desk.
Li Shimin found the Wa envoys' requests entirely reasonable. With a grand stroke of his brush, he made a decision. All members of the envoy group could recommend their nephews or sons for priority admission to study in Tang, without consuming the quotas allocated to Wa's noble families.
As he issued his approvals, Li Shimin chuckled to himself.
The farce of merchant groups disguising themselves as tribute missions would never repeat itself. This time, he intended to squeeze gold and silver from these foreign vassal states.
Since the Han dynasties, Chang'an had long carried the saying that life in Chang'an was not easy. Now, Li Shimin felt it was only fitting to let foreign nobles experience that hardship for themselves.
Li Shimin was well aware that Chang'an's prices would not frighten away barbarian nobles. On the contrary, they would believe that such extravagance was only proper for the Central Plains.
After all, he himself came from a great clan and understood this mindset perfectly.
When Li Shimin finished writing his response, Empress Zhangsun, who had been waiting nearby to dine with him, smiled.
"My lord seems particularly pleased today."
Li Shimin nodded without hesitation.
Facing Jieli with patience before unleashing thunderous force to annihilate him was one kind of warfare.
In later years, confronting the distant Western Regions through alliances and gradual erosion of their foundations was another kind.
Now, laying long term plans for Wa was yet another.
There was no hierarchy among them. But this kind of wholehearted engagement made him feel as though he had returned to the battlefield, blood surging and spirit ablaze.
As he signaled the attendants to bring in dinner, he also shared his political triumphs with Empress Zhangsun.
After listening, she offered an opinion rarely voiced.
"If sons of foreign nobles come to Chang'an, perhaps Chengqian could find opportunities to meet them."
Years of marriage had given them perfect understanding. Li Shimin immediately grasped her meaning. After brief contemplation, he agreed.
"Good."
Li Jing and Su Dingfang fought on the frontiers.
Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Pei Shiqing devised plans in the court.
Then the Tang crown prince should also head toward a battlefield befitting the young.
At that very moment, the truly young Pei Xingjian sneezed violently and pulled his thickly wrapped body closer to the brazier.
It was useless.
Su Dingfang barged in from outside, bringing with him the bone piercing cold wind of Hexi.
Pei Xingjian shuddered at once and hurriedly retreated two steps back. This drew a burst of laughter from Su Dingfang, who promptly hoisted him up under one arm and strode back into the cold wind.
"Su Lie, are you trying to kill me?" Pei Xingjian struggled helplessly, squealing as he froze.
Su Dingfang paid him no mind. In a few strides, he climbed atop the walls of Liangzhou, breathing in the icy air.
"So this is the Pei Shouyue who boasted of earning merit on the battlefield when leaving the capital, yet cannot endure a bit of cold wind?"
Setting the youth down, Su Dingfang wasted no words.
"Spring has been underway for over a month. The good household soldiers have already assembled. The secret weapons of the Bureau of Five Thunders will arrive in Liangzhou shortly."
"All is ready. The army is about to set out. Shouyue, you must decide whether to march with us."
Only then did Pei Xingjian notice that there were only four people on the city wall. Himself and Su Lie, and in the distance, one old and one young general whose figures he knew well. Li Jing and Xue Rengui.
Only four people waiting here for the Bureau of Five Thunders' secret armaments. That alone showed how important they were.
Pei Xingjian recalled how Duke Li had once sighed during a military lecture, saying that with the advantage of its equipment, Tang's army could be invincible in the Western Regions.
At the time, Pei Xingjian thought it exaggeration. But Su Dingfang, usually carefree, had solemnly told him that Tang truly possessed such an item.
Its power surpassed even ghosts and gods. That was Su Dingfang's assessment.
Could what he was about to see today be that very thing?
Pei Xingjian's heart surged with anticipation.