Chapter 123: Fujiwara in a Panic

(ps: Brothers, the author's heart is dead; compared to before National Day, traffic has plummeted, requests for updates and comments have become scarce, I can't accept this gap… Help, any reader save my dog's life!!!)

When he stood before the tiny silver mountain, watching his subordinates continuously haul out silver ore, he trembled with excitement.

He knew he had bet correctly. Clinging to the Wang Family's thigh was the best decision he'd ever made.

Within moments of the news spreading, messengers heading to Zhendong City arrived in endless streams. They all wanted to become the next "Matsura Town."

Wang Meng, following Wang Po's orders, accepted anyone who came. He sold different goods and weapons at varying prices to different powerful warlords.

Soon, the whole of Kyushu fell into an arms race and proxy war secretly orchestrated by the Wang Family.

The warlords fought until they were bloodied, while the Wang Family reaped a full purse. Vast amounts of gold, silver, minerals, grain and cheap labor flooded into Zhendong City like a tide.

All this finally drew the attention of the nominal ruler, the Fujiwara clan, far away in Heian Capital (Kyoto).

Heian Capital, the Fujiwara's residence.

The lavish mansion was now shrouded in a stifling, restless atmosphere.

The current Regent, Fujiwara Chuhei, wore a dark expression as he sat on the main seat. Kneeling before him was a messenger who had fled back from Kyushu in disarray.

"What did you say? Say it again!" Fujiwara Chuhei's voice, unable to contain his fury, forced each word out as if squeezed through his teeth.

The messenger, terrified, trembled all over and shakily repeated what had happened in Kyushu.

"…The minor house of Chikuzen Province and the Ōtomo house of Bungo Province, fighting over the trade rights of a place called 'Zhendong City,' clashed in a great battle last month in Hakata Bay.

Both sides employed a fire‑spitting iron tube, and in the blink of an eye, over a thousand people died…"

"And that Matsura Town in Hizen Province, originally just an obscure minor player.

Now it has annexed several families of Arima and Omura, becoming one of Hizen Province's biggest powers. Rumor has it that behind it are the Black Ship merchants who claim to come from the Celestial Empire."

"Now the whole of Kyushu is in chaos. Those rural samurai act like madmen, seizing territories and buying weapons everywhere. In their eyes, the Court no longer exists!"

After speaking, the messenger buried his head deep into the ground, daring not to speak again.

The hall fell into dead silence.

Seated were the core members of the Fujiwara clan and the highest‑ranking high ministers of the Court. They lived in luxury, spending their days either composing poetry or playing cuju and sipping tea. Who had ever heard such a bloody and vulgar matter?

"This is absurd! Absolutely absurd!" a high minister dressed in splendid court robes, his face powdered white with two thick eyebrows, trembled with anger.

"A bunch of rustic peasants dare such arrogance! This is treason! This is a great disrespect to Your Majesty the Emperor!"

"We must immediately dispatch the Court's army to subdue these rebels!" another minister shouted, filled with righteous fury.

"Subjugation? That's a light word!" a slightly more pragmatic official sneered, "Who shall we send? The guards in the Capital who can barely lift a sword? Or those regional governors who also harbor ulterior motives?"

At those words, the ministers who had just been roused fell flat instantly.

They all knew in their hearts that the Court's orders could never reach the four corners. The central military had long been in decay.

And in the provinces, those regional governors they dispatched each became a local emperor, ignoring the central commands. Sending them to quell the Kyushu rebellion would be fine even if they turned against us together.

"So… what exactly is the background of those Black Ship merchants?" Fujiwara Chuhei rubbed his aching temple and asked gravely.

"Re…re, Regent," the messenger answered cautiously, "It is said they come from a country called 'Wu.' Their king's surname is Wang. Their weapons are sharp, and everyone wears armor…"

"King Wu?" a learned minister furrowed his brow, pondering for a moment, "I recall that ten years ago, the envoy from Tang reported that the Tang Empire had perished. The world fell into a chaotic era of warring fiefdoms. This 'Wu' must be one of those powerful fiefdoms."

"Regardless of what it is, daring to meddle in our divine nation's affairs is unforgivable!" the white‑powdered high minister erupted again.

"We should immediately, in Your Majesty the Emperor's name, issue a royal decree condemning that so‑called King Wu! Order him at once to withdraw his people from our lands!"

"Exactly! Our divine nation will not tolerate foreign intrusion!"

"We must let them experience the majesty of our Court!"

The hall erupted again with a hollow display of shouting.

Fujiwara Chuhei listened to these useless shouts, growing increasingly irritated. He knew these people could only talk and could not devise any real solutions.

"Condemn? They can't even lift a finger against you."

What he worries about most now isn't the rustic Kyushu samurai, but that mysterious Black Ship fleet.

From the messenger's description, the opponent's strength is unfathomable. If they truly reveal themselves, their fleet could sail straight to the gates of Heian Capital. Then what could they use to resist a weapon that can 'summon thunder'?

No, we cannot meet force with force.

Fujiwara Chuhei's mind raced swiftly. He is a competent politician, adept at weighing pros and cons, and also at compromise and exploitation.

"Everyone, calm down," he raised his hand, silencing the chatter.

"The chaos in Kyushu is indeed detestable, but its root lies with those foreign merchants. We know nothing about them; launching a war rashly is not wise."

"In my view, we should take a two‑pronged approach."

"On one hand, we indeed must, in Your Majesty the Emperor's name, issue a decree with stern wording.

Not to that so‑called King Wu, but to all the warlords of Kyushu, ordering them to cease private fighting immediately and to cut off all contact with those Black Ship merchants."

"Anyone who disobeys shall be deemed a traitor to the Court, and the realm shall strike them down together!"

"This is to demonstrate the legitimacy and majesty of our Court, letting them know who truly rules this land."

The assembled nodded in agreement, thinking the Regent truly wise.

Fujiwara Chuhei paused, then continued: "On the other hand, we also need to send a messenger of sufficiently noble status and flexible adaptability,"

"See them?" the war‑favoring high minister immediately objected, "We are the Celestial Empire, how can we go meet a bunch of low‑born merchants? They should come to the Capital to pay respects to Your Majesty and the Regent!"

"Foolish!" Fujiwara Chuhei retorted bluntly, "Do you think they will come? They now even dare to turn away ordinary officials we send! Sending you, you probably won't even get past their city gates!"

The high minister's face flushed crimson, and he dared not speak further.

Fujiwara Chuhei softened his tone, saying, "We send a messenger not to seek peace nor to show weakness, but to ascertain their true intentions.

What do they truly want? Gold and silver, or land? How strong is their power? And what kind of nation is that 'Wu Kingdom' behind them?"

"Know yourself and know the enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles. Once we have uncovered everything, we will decide whether to fight or make peace."

When he reached the final two words, Fujiwara Chuhei's gaze turned vicious.

In his view, these foreigners, though powerful, are like rootless duckweed. If used properly, they could become a blade for the Fujiwara to suppress local warlords and consolidate central rule.

"The Regent is wise!"

Everyone echoed in unison.

Then, the imperial edict—I will draft it myself. Tengyuan Zhongping stood up, "As for the choice of envoy……"

His gaze swept slowly across the hall.

Those high officials who had just been shouting the loudest all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze. Everyone knew that this trip to the Nine Provinces was a bitter assignment, and moreover a dangerous one.

If they provoked those lawless 'barbarians', their very lives could be lost there.

Seeing their appearance, a hint of contempt flickered in Tengyuan Zhongping's heart.

Finally, his gaze fell upon an inconspicuous young man in the corner.

"Yuan Jingji."

The young man named Yuan Jingji staggered for a moment, then stepped forward and knelt on the ground.

"I am here."

"You are the provincial governor of Musashi Province, and you also know something about local warriors." Tengyuan Zhongping said lightly, "This time you will go to the Nine Provinces as an imperial envoy of the Court."

"Remember, your task is not to argue with them, but to gather information. You may lower your posture; do not provoke them. As long as you can get a clear picture of their situation, that will be a great merit."

Yuan Jingji's heart sank. He knew he was being pushed out as cannon fodder.

But he dared not refuse.

"I… accept the order."

Thus, amidst the self‑important scheming of the high officials in the Capital of Peace and Tranquility, a nonbinding imperial edict from the Emperor and an unwilling, ill‑fated envoy, bearing the Court's last semblance of dignity, set out on the journey to the Wang Family's gathering place.