Chapter 838: Japan: We Are Undefended

Japan, in fact, once had a north-south division as pronounced as China's, except that because the country of Japan is one long strip extending from southwest to northeast, what history shows most often is the pairing of Kanto and Kansai.

Of course, this is a rough concept: Kanto is roughly the area around Tokyo, and Kansai is the Kobe and Osaka region.

The conflicts and development of Japanese history were, for the most part, expressed through clashes and reconciliations between the Kanto and Kansai blocs.

Historically, Japan's political and cultural center was always in Kansai, led by Heian-kyo and Heijo-kyo, while Kanto was somewhat akin to China's lands beyond the passes.

Until Tokugawa Ieyasu tamed the Kinu, Tone, and other rivers and turned the Kanto Plain into Japan's most important agricultural base, Kanto was a relatively wild and uncivilized land.

The title Seii Taishogun, which so clearly carries the character of frontier expansion, was originally called Seito Taishogun or Seito Taishi; one can tell just from the literal meaning that it was the concrete expression of successive Japanese central governments continually pushing into Kanto.

And this situation also meant that the armies stationed in Kanto had something of the quality of elite frontier troops.

Thus, in the internal struggles of successive Japanese eras, the warriors of the eastern provinces basically always beat down the warriors of the western provinces.

Even in the later era of the devils, the Kwantung Army was still the elite representative of the devil armies, while the Osaka Division of Kansai and the like were even saddled with all sorts of comical nicknames and storylines.

And as for the lands west of Kansai, the warriors of Hizen, Chikuzen, Buzen, and other provinces of Kyushu, and of Nagato, Iwami, Izumo, and other provinces of the Chugoku region, were the lowest of the low among the western warriors, basically synonymous with dead weight.

The reason for this situation has much to do with the fact that the northern Kyushu region was historically a cradle of civilization comparable to Nara and Kyoto in Kansai.

If the Kansai region was a civilization born from the union of toraijin immigrants and native aborigines, then Kyushu and Chugoku were purely toraijin kingdoms, with no localization whatsoever.

For example, the famous Yamatai kingdom and Queen Himiko, who often appears in Three Kingdoms games, along with the occasionally appearing Kunu kingdom and so on.

Judging from their close ties and relations with the Gongsun clan of Liaodong, this Yamatai state was very likely a kingdom established by peninsular peoples crossing the sea to northern Kyushu.

Their culture should have been different from the Wa culture centered on Nara.

So for this reason, after the Wa court unified the Japanese islands, on the one hand it did its utmost to take in the toraijin, such as the Eastern Han and Qin clans, as vassals, ordering them to relocate to the Kansai region to be won over.

On the other hand, it imposed strict restrictive policies on the local powers of the northern Chugoku region and the Kyushu region.

Specifically, besides establishing the Dazaifu to keep watch, and stationing the Mikasa, Onga, and other army corps at the Dazaifu, it also strictly limited the armaments of the warriors of these two regions.

This meant that the so-called warriors of these two regions were equipped with only a few possessing bamboo-strip armor, bows of only three or four dou in draw weight, arrowheads sharpened from animal bone, and melee weapons that were mostly wooden spears; a single broken iron sword could become a symbol of status.

With military strength like that, their fighting ability goes without saying — hmm, they probably still couldn't beat the fishermen of Southern Tang and Wuyue. No, not probably; they definitely couldn't beat the fishermen of Southern Tang and Wuyue.

So when Qin Pingtong saw a Zhou army in which every man wore iron lamellar armor, gripped fine iron hengdao sabers, used war bows of seven or eight dou, and had six or seven kinds of crossbows large and small.

Warhorses taller than a man himself, and armored up like primordial behemoths — he was simply scared witless.

After standing stunned for a full time it takes a cup of tea to cool, he threw himself forward, rolling in the dust and kowtowing ceaselessly, crying out in an exaggerated voice:

"So it is the heavenly troops of the homeland, arrived at last! The heavenly troops my ancestors remembered without end have arrived! The Qin clan of the Saikaido is willing to serve His Majesty to the death!"

And while he was wailing, Murong Xinzhang was also dumbfounded. Recalling the analysis of Japan that he and his father Sage Zhang had made, Murong Xinzhang felt for the first time that his father, who was like a god, had miscalculated somewhat.

Where was this Japan with its five million people? Where were its hundred thousand armored soldiers?

Estimating from the situation in Kyushu and the Chugoku region that Qin Pingtong provided, the whole of Japan had at most three million people, an area roughly the size of Hedong plus Hebei, yet its armaments were utterly lax.

Reckoning by the four army corps, six thousand men in all, stationed at the Dazaifu, the whole of Japan had at most fifteen or sixteen thousand standing troops; it was just that there were large numbers of warriors among the common people, and if one were willing to spend money to recruit them, one could probably raise around fifty thousand men.

But Murong Xinzhang laughed — what fighting strength could conscripted warriors like that have? How could they compare with the battle-hardened warriors under his command?

He had thought Japan would be the hardest to fight, but now it turned out that Japan was actually a soft persimmon with no military preparedness to speak of.

Actually, Murong Xinzhang's judgment was still off. The Dazaifu had indeed once stationed four army corps, but that was already a hundred years ago; now, who knew if there were even a thousand men.

As for his estimate of fifteen thousand standing troops for the Wa court, although Murong Xinzhang had already tried his utmost to imagine the lower limit of Japan's military, he still overestimated by a great, great deal.

Because the good son still did not know that Japan at this time had no standing army at all.

The ones now guarding Heian-kyo and Heijo-kyo were basically warriors from the estates of the emperor and the court nobles, numbering around six or seven thousand in all.

The imperial guard units responsible for protecting the emperor's forbidden palace numbered at most a few hundred men; the rest were rotational palace guards made up of the sons of nobles from various regions.

Of course, this was still far better than my being fooled by the later devil island's powerful cultural propaganda industry, Sage Zhang.

Looking across the whole of Japanese history, to say their fighting was entirely village warfare is not correct.

At least by the late Warring States period of Japan, that is, the era of Toyotomi the Monkey and Tokugawa the Old Turtle, Japan's internal wars could still field tens of thousands or over a hundred thousand men.

For example, in the Wanli Korean War and the slightly later Siege of Osaka, Japan was already able to dispatch armies of around two hundred thousand to fight decisive battles.

But for a long period before that, especially in the mid-Heian period, village warfare is a very apt description.

In the decisive battle of the Taira no Masakado Rebellion, the "great army" led by Taira no Masakado numbered a full four hundred men.

And the great army led by Fujiwara no Hidesato, who came to destroy him, reached a "terrifying" total of as many as three thousand two hundred men.

As soon as the battle began, Taira no Masakado, a monarch, mounted his warhorse and charged at the head of the attack, paying no heed whatsoever to command.

Even more miraculous, upon seeing Taira no Masakado so valiant, roughly two thousand nine hundred peasants in Fujiwara no Hidesato's punitive army instantly scattered in all directions, leaving only three hundred elite troops still holding their ground.

So in fact, the Japanese blow it up into shrine maidens manifesting divine power, and the vengeful spirit of Masakado killing people, and shadow warriors with sixfold doppelgangers, and so on, making it look like a battle of gods and demons.

But the actual Taira no Masakado Rebellion was simply Fujiwara no Hidesato using three hundred men to defeat Taira no Masakado's four hundred.

The results achieved were a total of about two hundred dead on both sides combined, the capture of three hundred Taira shields (a kind of small wooden shield), about two hundred bows, and roughly fifty war swords.

Shabby enough, isn't it? And please note, among these spoils, there is no mention of armor.

This either means Fujiwara no Hidesato and Taira no Sadamori feared the court would confiscate it and concealed it without reporting, or there really was no armor.

Murong Xinzhang was somewhat itching for action. He said to Li Hanqiong beside him: "If Japan's armaments are no more than this, it seems there is no need to build great warships or mass the armies. If we strike now, we can easily wipe out the Wa people."

Only Wang Pu maintained a measure of clear-headedness. He reminded Murong Xinzhang that in case this intelligence was untrue, they must still collect information from many sources and must not underestimate the enemy.

On Iki Island, the Qin Pingtong family was not merely connected to the Governor of Iki — their father was the Governor of Iki, and yet one could also say he was not the Governor of Iki.

The reason for saying this is that the court's Governor of Iki was a great court noble in Heian-kyo.

At this time the government was corrupt, and the court nobles and aristocrats mostly bribed the ministers of internal affairs to seek offices such as provincial governors.

But after obtaining such posts, few people were actually willing to take up office in a desolate place like Kyushu, let alone Iki, the most desolate of desolate places.

This gave the local strongmen — that is, the brave and fierce local warriors — an opportunity.

The court nobles and meritorious officials of Heian-kyo wanted the post of provincial governor not out of loyalty to the throne, but in order to squeeze the localities.

They had no interest in holding office, but a great interest in making money.

Therefore, local strongmen like Qin Pingtong's father, upon receiving word, would go to Heian-kyo to work connections and pay visits.

Once they made contact, they could obtain the status of family members of the court nobles and meritorious officials, and "contract" all the affairs of that place from their hands.

Of course, the price was that every year he had to pay a large sum of money to some meritorious minister in the capital who held the office of provincial governor.

Qin Pingtong's father was exactly such a case. Although the islanders called him the Governor of Iki, in reality he was only a front man. Every year he had to send five hundred koku of unpolished rice as tribute to the true governor in Heian-kyo just to keep his position.

But this pitiful island of Iki, even by the time of the Tokugawa shogunate, had a rated yield of only three thousand koku. Collected by those devils' insane fifty-fifty tax method, it could at most bring in fifteen hundred koku of grain.

And if you added the cost of shipping it to Heian-kyo, even supposing Iki still had its three thousand koku today, after paying off the great man in Heian-kyo, Qin Pingtong's father would be left with nothing but scraps.

So what father and son cared about was not this trifling rated yield of Iki.

What they cared about was that Iki sat astride the key trade route between Goryeo and Wa. They could run maritime trade on one side while colluding with Goryeo and even the Toi pirates on the other, working as guides and fences for stolen goods.

But the arrival of Murong Xinzhang completely dismantled all of that. The defeated Goryeo navy poured into Tsushima Island in a single flood and swiftly merged with the Wa governor on the island.

These men knew they would surely be wiped out by Murong Xinzhang's fleet, so they were desperate to find a foothold somewhere in Wa.

After their request to come ashore was refused by the Governor-General of Dazaifu in Chikuzen Province, these men simply attacked Wa like madmen, hoping by this means to force the Governor-General of the Dazaifu to yield.

Trade was cut off, and war blazed up on every side.

With that, Iki Island, lying southeast of Tsushima, was plunged into utter desperation.

With no chance left to play the local boss on the sea trade route, Qin Pingtong and his father simply could not pay the five hundred koku of tribute.

Without those five hundred koku, they would have no choice but to crawl back to the countryside of Buzen Province and live on wild vegetable gruel.

With no other way out, father and son had to find another path. In the end they decided to take the few dozen sailors under their command, accept the Dazaifu's orders, and help the Governor-General exterminate the Goryeo pirates from Tsushima, hoping to win rewards through battle merit to fill the shortfall.

In the end, they fought the battles, gave their strength, and suffered heavy casualties, but the Governor-General refused to honor his word. Not a single coin of reward or compensation was paid.

Desperate and with no way out, Qin Pingtong and his father had no choice left. They hardened their hearts. Wasn't it just using bandits to make themselves indispensable? As if they couldn't do that too. To hell with it—I'll go straight and summon the heavenly troops of the Great Zhou from the Central Plains.

Qin Pingtong held up a suit of finely crafted ring-mail armor and respectfully presented it to his father, Koremune no Tairao.

"Father, these are gifts bestowed upon you by His Highness the Prince of Yan. As long as we are willing to submit, Father can immediately become Governor of Buzen Province."

Though Koremune no Tairao was short in stature, he was still an old hand on the battlefield. One look at this armor and he knew it was no ordinary piece. In Heian-kyo, this would probably instantly rank as some sort of divine demon great armor.

"His Highness the Prince of Yan bestows such lavish gifts—does this mean he does not intend to send troops?" Koremune no Tairao asked, somewhat disheartened.

In his view, for the Prince of Yan across the sea to produce a treasure on the level of divine demon great armor at the very first move, he must be lacking in confidence, and only wanted to buy him off now as a secret agent planted within.

It might even be that he would be required to expend great effort to create conditions for the Yan army.

If he were truly full of confidence, certain he could crush Wa, then why would he pay such a high price to buy a mere warrior who was not even Governor of Iki?

Qin Pingtong grinned. He finally understood how the Zhou people must have felt when they looked at him.

"Father thinks this is precious? Not at all—because the Zhou have this many of them!"

As he spoke, Qin Pingtong raised his right hand and spread his palm, five fingers pointing to the sky.

Koremune no Tairao's spirits lifted. If there were fifty suits of such great armor, then the lesser ones would number at least three hundred, perhaps even five hundred.

With that much armor, the court at Heian-kyo would not be able to handle it easily. At the very least, taking the Saikaido circuit would be within reach.

Qin Pingtong drew a deep breath, then shook his head. "Father, the Great King has five thousand suits!"

"Five thousand suits!" Koremune no Tairao let out a piercing cry and sprang to his feet, then immediately felt the dizziness of blood rushing to the crown of his head. The world spun, and he dropped straight down onto the floor.

"Five thousand suits of divine demon great armor! With treasure armor like that, one could overturn the whole realm. Would His Highness the Prince of Yan even need us father and son? What could we possibly do?"

Faced with his father Koremune no Tairao's self-doubting question, Qin Pingtong's face took on a ruthless look.

"The Great King needs our Qin clan to contact a group of warriors, to map out the mountain and river routes from the Saikaido to Heian-kyo, and to record every court noble, meritorious minister, and member of the imperial family in Heian-kyo."

Koremune no Tairao was stunned. "What does the Great King want those for? They're meaningless! If he has five thousand suits of divine demon great armor, plus tens of thousands of sharp blades and sturdy armor, he only needs to fight his way through. There's no need to consider mountains and rivers at all! In the entire Land of the Rising Sun, no one has the fighting strength to ambush such warriors."

If we had five thousand divine-demon great armors, plus tens of thousands of sharp blades and sturdy armor, we would simply need to fight our way through — there would be no need to consider mountains, rivers, or terrain at all!

In the entire Land of the Rising Sun, no one has the fighting strength to ambush these warriors."

But as he spoke, this old warrior, well educated and hiding a restless heart, suddenly started, then was overcome with wild joy. He looked at his son, his lips trembling twice.

"The Great King..."

"If your son guesses correctly, the Great King has come to take these five thousand li of mountains and rivers back into the Celestial Dynasty. The court nobles, meritorious ministers, and imperial family of Heian-kyo, ever since they abolished the envoys to the Tang, have become true Wa people, no longer of the Hua lineage!"

The court nobles and meritorious ministers of Heian-kyo, and the imperial family itself, have become true Wa people since they cut off the envoys to the Tang — they are no longer of the Hua line!"

"Good! Good!" Koremune no Tairao clapped his hands and laughed. "If the Great King of Yan did not want to kill people, it would be hard for us to submit, because once he left, we would be the ones purged. But if he is willing to kill, then you and I, father and son, have a future as court nobles ahead of us!"

If he were willing to kill, then you and I, father and son, would have the future of court nobles!

"Forget this broken Iki Island. Pingtong, you and I must hurry back to Buzen Province and report to the clan head. We'll organize the warriors of Kyushu and Iwami and the other provinces for the Great King of Yan."

The Kingdom of Dali, Mengkui Ridge. This mountain lay between what would later be Yiliang and Zhaotong in Yunnan; at this time it stood between the territories of the Apang and Wumeng tribes.

And as early as three years before, the great and petty chieftains of the Apang and Wumeng tribes had all been bought off by Guo Rong, who was garrisoned at Nanxi Prefecture.

Well, perhaps "bought off" is not quite accurate. In the eyes of these great and petty tribal chieftains, this was the weak Zhou people constantly using large quantities of salt, sugar, tea, and cloth to buy peace. They would never admit that they had already submitted to the weak Zhou state.

These chieftains, who had taken so many benefits from Guo Rong, looked down on him greatly. They even gave him a mocking nickname meaning "Useless," to ridicule his weakness.

And now, that weak, useless Zhou official had summoned them again to gather below Mengkui Ridge for a feast.

The chieftains of the various tribes were overjoyed, because in the past, whenever the Zhou people invited them to a feast, it basically meant another large delivery of wealth and goods was coming.

How could anyone not love such a fine thing? So without Guo Rong even needing to publicize it heavily, just the release of a tiny bit of news was enough.

The Qiong, Luolan, Lianglin, Adu, Shama, Wumeng, Aganlu, Mangbu, and Weisa—nine great tribes situated on the border between Dali and the Zhou state—along with more than twenty small tribes that followed them.

In all, nearly forty chieftains and their two hundred guards came rushing almost over each other toward the northern foot of Mengkui Ridge, afraid that if they arrived late, they would receive a smaller share of the benefits.

Guo Rong was still wearing the white side-slit robe he often wore, but the expression on his face was extremely grave.

Zhang Yongde walked into Guo Rong's room and said to him in a low voice, "The chieftain of the Apang tribe has been taken. He knows that if he dares leak even a hint of this, not one of the hundred and twenty members of his family will live."

Guo Rong nodded. Before he could speak, Zhang Fei, Zhang Xiaobao, came limping on one leg but very quickly into the room.

"Commander, the Duke of Zheng is personally leading twenty thousand troops of the Sichuan provincial army. They have already reached north of Qingxi Pass. The moment we seize the tribal chieftains here, he will immediately march south and strike straight at Jianchang Prefecture."

The Duke of Zheng was none other than Yin Zhengqi, Yin Yaozi, who held Chengdu.

Not long after, the eldest imperial son, Zhang Xiancun, who had been enfeoffed as Duke of Dian, also hurried over. The assembled men hastened to pay their respects to their half-sovereign.

Zhang Xiancun of course knew he could not put on airs in front of men like Guo Rong and Zhang Fei. As he hurriedly helped them up, he excitedly waved a letter in his hand and said in a loud voice:

"The messengers of Cui Huxin, Military Supervisor of Ya'an Prefecture, Su Shangzhi, Pacification Commissioner of Kangding Prefecture, and An Youquan, Pacification Commissioner of the Tibetan and Qiang tribes of the Eight Tribes of Xishan and other places, have just arrived."

They have already gathered the Tibetans and various Qiang tribes of the western mountains, along with the two guard-battalion armies of Ya'an Prefecture — twenty thousand men in all.

They plan to march south on schedule in the fourth month of next year to attack Yuji City (Deqin County, Diqing, Yunnan). Before the sixth month, they will certainly be able to join forces with us at Yangju City (Dali)."

Qingxi Pass lies in Jianchang Prefecture — that is, north of what later generations call Xichang. Once Qingxi Pass falls, Jianchang Prefecture, which is Xichang, cannot be held.

Add to that Cui Huxin and Su Shangzhi driving south through the Hengduan Mountains straight at Dali, and it is enough to catch the Kingdom of Dali unprepared.

"Good!" Guo Rong clapped his hands sharply and, looking around at the officers and generals, said in a loud voice: "For three full years we have slept on brushwood and tasted gall. Everyone has treated us as weaklings. Even your families back in your home villages felt ashamed to show their faces — all of it to lull the Kingdom of Dali into complacency.

Now, at last, the time has come to wash away our shame. Pass the order down: the brave men who came with me today are to heighten their vigilance. Tomorrow we seize the headmen of the various tribes and take Wumeng City (Zhaotong)."

(End of Chapter)

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