Chapter 1596: Will Not March on Kanto

"Is there anyone in the trading house who can shave heads? Shave my head as soon as possible. Even if we approached the Mitsui family and not the Shimazu family, it's still better to disguise ourselves."

"There is someone, actually." Liu Jing couldn't help laughing too. "But my lord, you really are willing to go all out. I've been here in Japan and don't find much wrong with it, except for one thing — their hairstyle... shaved halfway and left halfway, neither one thing nor the other, it's truly rather ridiculous."

"Ugly it may be, but with such important matters at hand, how can we fuss over that?" Zhou Pu laughed and shook his head. "Besides, some people will sacrifice even their lives and fortunes for a great cause. I'm merely losing some hair — what does that count for! It will grow back sooner or later anyway, and when that time comes, who gets to keep hair on their head will be for you and me to decide."

"My lord is right — it will grow back sooner or later." Liu Jing also laughed heartily. "By the way, speaking of the Mitsui family, they really are quite amusing. When they approached us, they were always unwilling to admit they were commoner merchants. Instead, they liked to claim they were descendants of the Fujiwara clan, legitimate descendants of court nobility. I asked them if they had a family tree, and they said that over many years of inheritance, through various wars, their genealogical records had been lost, and it was only passed down orally within the family — but their bloodline was absolutely beyond doubt. And they kept insisting on it with me... My lord, you haven't seen how earnest they were about it. They really had the nerve to boast like that!"

"Fond of clinging to bloodlines — anyone with a bit of wealth likes to find themselves a noble ancestor. There are plenty of such people in China, let alone Japan." Zhou Pu laughed and shook his head. "Didn't Toyotomi Hideyoshi take both the Taira and Fujiwara surnames? And is the Tokugawa family truly descended from the Minamoto clan? It seems to me this Japanese obsession with pedigree and lineage hasn't changed in a thousand years."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was originally born to commoners, with no noble bloodline. After he rose to power and wealth, he desperately tried to attach himself to a noble lineage, first taking the clan names Kinoshita and then Hashiba (both surnames tracing back to the Taira clan, which is why during the war between the Great Ming and Japan, the Ming court referred to Hideyoshi as Taira Hideyoshi). In the end, he even took the court noble Konoe Sakihisa as his adoptive father and changed his surname to Fujiwara. Although he was eventually granted the surname Toyotomi by the Emperor, he could hardly escape the mockery of being a "three-surname house-slave."

"My lord speaks truly... I fear this nature of the Japanese will never change." After hearing Zhou Pu's words, Liu Jing nodded in deep agreement, then sighed with great feeling. "However, having traveled far and wide across many lands over the years, I've seen that people elsewhere are much the same as the Japanese — all willingly prostrating themselves at the feet of nobles with ancient bloodlines. The cry 'Are kings and lords born of noble stock?' — I fear only we people of China could utter such words. Ha... The former Ming founder openly declared to all under heaven that he was but a commoner from Huaixi, and our dynasty's Son of Heaven has never shied away from saying he was a son of a good family from Xuzhou. This breadth of spirit — I wonder how far it surpasses Tokugawa Ieyasu."

"Exactly." Zhou Pu nodded repeatedly.

The new dynasty had seized the realm by supplanting the Great Ming. As an official, praising the former Ming founder too highly was politically taboo, so although Zhou Pu thoroughly agreed with the other man's point, he quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.

Liu Jing had not been boasting. After settling on the plan with Zhou Pu, he immediately had someone contact the Mitsui family's man in charge at Nagasaki and relayed their request. Of course, he could not tell them the true purpose; he merely said that an official newly arrived from the Great Han at the trading house wished to tour Kyoto and see its historic sites, and asked them to help.

The Mitsui people, fearing they might be held responsible, were initially reluctant and used every excuse to decline, even going so far as to say things like "Kyoto was actually burned to a wasteland long ago, most of the historic sites have been destroyed, and the present Kyoto has only been rebuilt in the last few decades — there's nothing worth seeing." But Liu Jing, claiming that this official had very powerful backing at home, that his future prospects were limitless, and that he himself could not afford to offend him, still insisted on the request. He even subtly threatened the Mitsui family's future standing in the trade between the two nations. Left with no choice, after much hesitation, the Mitsui family ultimately agreed to his request.

Naturally, Liu Jing also guaranteed that this official would absolutely not cause any trouble. Zhou Pu even met with their people in person, revealing the sakayaki hairstyle — so popular among samurai and commoners nowadays — that he had recently imitated, and behaved with great humility, openly stating that he truly merely admired the culture of Japan and wished to visit its capital to broaden his horizons.

After several such negotiations, he finally secured the Mitsui family's cooperation. Then, taking advantage of an occasion when their trading post needed to send people to their home base in Ise, he set out with them on the journey northward.

Kyushu and Honshu lie very close together, separated only by the narrow Kanmon Strait. After departing from Nagasaki, they quickly crossed the northern part of Kyushu, then took a ferry from Kokura to Shimonoseki, setting foot on the soil of Honshu.

Unlike Kyushu, which was regarded as a frontier, Honshu is the largest of the Japanese islands and occupies the most central position. Once he actually stepped onto the land of Honshu, Zhou Pu naturally felt a somewhat different sensation.

Zhou Pu participated in the merchant caravan in the capacity of a merchant escort. Over the years, Japan had been largely stable everywhere, and the samurai offspring of the various domains had begun to multiply in great numbers. Yet the shogunate had no need to levy so many samurai, and the financial situations of the various domains were growing increasingly strained. As a result, the impoverishment of the samurai class in territories not directly controlled by the shogunate had begun to appear on a large scale and was becoming an ever more serious social problem. Large numbers of ronin were roaming everywhere, causing very severe social issues that even the shogunate found troublesome. Naturally, merchant caravans also had to take corresponding precautions.

Because he knew in his heart that the route he was now traveling was very likely the line of march he would take when he led a great army northward in the future, he paid close attention along the way to observing the terrain and local customs. He even recorded some important information in his notebook.

His behavior was naturally somewhat odd. However, under the Tokugawa shogunate's rule, the realm had been largely stable and peaceful for over thirty years and had long since become a flourishing age of peace, and commerce was thriving. So no one paid any attention to this merchant caravan, much less to his strange behavior.

Moreover, the people in the caravan knew he had come to Honshu simply to travel and sightsee, much like those Southern Barbarian missionaries of years past, so they took it in stride and assumed he was merely keeping a travel journal.

Shimonoseki, under the ancient administrative divisions, belonged to Nagato Province within the San'yodo circuit. By the present day, it had become part of the Choshu Domain, the territory of the Mori family.

The Mori family had once been extraordinarily illustrious during the Warring States period. Under the leadership of successive generations of capable and ambitious lords — especially Mori Motonari and Mori Terumoto — through generations of accumulation and unscrupulous expansion, they came to possess Nagato, Suo, Aki, and other provinces of the San'yodo circuit, as well as parts of Kyushu. In the Warring States era, they became one of the largest and most powerful daimyo.

When Oda Nobunaga rose to power, the Mori family, bent on contending for supremacy over Japan, naturally came into great conflict with him. The two sides mobilized large armies against each other several times. The Mori family allied with the daimyo of Echigo, Uesugi Kenshin, to resist the Oda clan's expansion together. At that time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi — then still called Hashiba Hideyoshi — was the Oda side's frontline commanding general facing off against the Mori family.

Because the Oda faction's power swelled too rapidly, after many years of warfare, the Mori family gradually found itself at a disadvantage. Its vassals defected one after another, and even long-time subordinate daimyo such as Ukita Naoie began to waver and instead went over to the Oda side. Faced with this extremely unfavorable situation, the family had no choice but to temporarily abandon its ambition of dominating Japan and instead seek a settlement with the Oda regime.

Just at that moment, Akechi Mitsuhide launched the Honno-ji Incident, driving Oda Nobunaga and his eldest son to their deaths. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, desperate to return to the Oda clan's heartland and claim Nobunaga's political and military legacy, quickly reached a peace settlement with the Mori family. He then executed the lightning-fast "Great Return from Chugoku," leading his army on a forced march to Kyoto to suppress Akechi Mitsuhide, thereby seizing for himself the opportunity to inherit all of Oda Nobunaga's assets. Afterwards, at the Battle of Shizugatake, he defeated his greatest rival, Shibata Katsuie, and formally became the next ruler of the realm after Oda Nobunaga.

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's meteoric rise and his subjugation of most of Japan, the then-head of the family, Mori Terumoto, assessed the situation and decided to submit for the time being to the Toyotomi regime. At that time, Hideyoshi was also anxious to placate the powerful daimyo across the land, and the two sides reached an immediate accord.

At that time, through land surveys and land grants, Toyotomi Hideyoshi confirmed the Mori family's territory at 1,200,000 koku. (Because the Toyotomi regime was newly established and deliberately sought to appease the various daimyo, the land survey was done very crudely, and the Mori family's territory actually exceeded 2,000,000 koku.) By virtue of holding such vast territory, Mori Terumoto, along with Tokugawa Ieyasu — who had been assigned to the Kanto region with a domain approaching 2,500,000 koku — became one of the Five Great Elders of the Toyotomi house.

However, the good times did not last. A little over a decade later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died of illness in the shadow of two failed invasions of Korea. His heir was his six-year-old son, Toyotomi Hideyori, too young to govern. The power of rule thus fell into the hands of the Five Great Elders and the Five Commissioners. In their struggle for power and to inherit Toyotomi Hideyoshi's political legacy, these powerful lords began a fierce and bitter contest of open and covert strife.

Among them, being the strongest, Tokugawa Ieyasu naturally became the target of all. A large group of daimyo under the Toyotomi regime, led by Ishida Mitsunari, began to rally against Tokugawa Ieyasu. The ambitious Mori family also chose to stand on their side, jointly opposing the Tokugawa house, hoping to use the opportunity to further expand their own power.

After another Great Elder, the eldest among them, Maeda Toshiie, passed away from illness, there was no longer anyone left to mediate between the two sides. Ieyasu himself felt that the time had come to end his dormancy and seize Japan, so he cast aside all restraint and began to press forward step by step. Ishida Mitsunari's faction likewise refused to back down, and in the end, the two sides could only choose war to decide the outcome.

At the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tokugawa side won a complete victory. The Western Army was utterly routed, and the Tokugawa house naturally began to settle accounts with the daimyo who had opposed them. Among the Great Elders, Ishida Mitsunari was executed as the chief instigator; Ukita Hideie was forced to flee and his domain was completely confiscated; while the Uesugi Kagekatsu and Mori Terumoto families had no choice but to bow their heads in submission to the Tokugawa house. At the same time, they suffered the punishment of having their domains reduced. The Uesugi family's territory was slashed from 1,200,000 koku to around 300,000 koku, while the Mori family's territory was reduced to 360,000 koku — a drastic shrinkage of their domain.

Although a domain of 360,000 koku still ranked among the top tier of the tozama daimyo as defined by the Tokugawa shogunate, it could not be mentioned in the same breath as the family's heyday, and they would never regain their former glory. Because of this, the Mori family naturally harbored deep resentment toward the Tokugawa house.

From Zhou Pu's standpoint, this resentment was something he originally should have considered exploiting. However, after arriving in Kyushu and giving it careful thought, he had temporarily set the idea aside — because he had already approached the Shimazu family.

During the Warring States period, the Mori family entrenched itself in the San'yodo circuit while the Shimazu family entrenched itself in Kyushu. The two sides had naturally fought many battles in the course of their expansion, and over the years, a deep enmity had accumulated. For the sake of safety, having already secured the Shimazu family's support, Zhou Pu was unwilling for the moment to contact the Mori family. First, he feared the Shimazu family would be displeased and break off their cooperation; second, he feared the Mori family, because of the Shimazu, would be unwilling to cooperate and might instead report him to the shogunate.

In waging war against Japan with a great army, the first priority was to secure a foothold for himself before proceeding with the next stage of the campaign. Therefore, Kyushu was the initial objective. The Shimazu family, being situated in Kyushu, could naturally provide greater assistance in this regard. As long as they could capture Kyushu, everything that followed would be easy to handle. When the time came and a massive army pressed upon their borders, winning over the Mori family would be a matter of course — there was no need to rush.

Besides, he now had two "escorts" by his side, making it truly unsuitable to take any actions that might create complications.

"My lord, the caravan is about to move on. Please stop your recording for now." Just as Zhou Pu was still recording and pondering at the same time, Togo Shigekata, who was beside him, suddenly urged him on.

Togo Shigekata and Eka Meiken had originally been sent by Shimazu Tadatsune to his side to protect and also keep watch over him. When Zhou Pu made this journey north to Kyoto, they naturally insisted on coming along.

Zhou Pu considered the matter and ultimately felt that he still needed to maintain his current relationship with the Shimazu family, and that traveling north alone without two escorts would indeed be unsafe, so he agreed to their request.

The merchant caravan was originally quite displeased with this private act of bringing extra people along. However, as a high-ranking official of the Great Han, it was perfectly normal for him to have two escorts. Moreover, the Mitsui family wished to curry favor with this official, so they tacitly accepted it. The two men were also taciturn throughout the journey, interacting very little with others, and in the end did not cause any trouble for anyone.

However, just as Zhou Pu had guessed, they did not like the Mori family and did not wish for Zhou Pu to take the opportunity to have dealings with Mori people. Therefore, they had been deliberately urging Zhou Pu to move quickly. Although Zhou Pu would not follow their arrangements, he still had to keep up appearances.

"If we put in more effort now, we'll suffer less hardship later." After being urged once more, Zhou Pu replied with a smile. "Don't forget, after our Great Han captures Kyushu, we will still need to continue north and enter the capital to force the shogunate into submission. That means the route we travel next is very likely to be a future battlefield — perhaps you yourself will be a commanding officer then. How can you not make some preparations in advance?"

"If one prepares in haste, then no matter how earnestly one tries, the effect will be minimal." Togo Shigekata's expression remained very stern. "Our Satsuma Domain has campaigned in these places for many years and knows the terrain by heart. As long as we rebuild our army, we can march according to our previous experience. There is no need to rush to write records in these few days."

His words carried a faint hint of mockery, implying that Zhou Pu was cramming at the last minute to no avail. Zhou Pu understood his meaning but merely smiled and did not answer.

It is precisely because you know everything far too well that I must take early precautions against you. This official has risked his life to come to Japan for his own glory and wealth, not for your Shimazu clan.

"By the way, before our departure, the family head had some words he wished us to relay to you, my lord. We originally intended to wait until you reached Kyoto before conveying them, but after thinking it over, we decided to explain the situation to you today, so as to avoid hindering your activities in Kyoto." Togo Shigekata suddenly spoke with a more emphatic tone.

"What is it?" Zhou Pu was somewhat puzzled.

"The family head has been purging traitors with disloyal hearts within the Satsuma Domain recently. I presume my lord is aware of this?" Togo Shigekata asked in return.

"That matter... I do have some knowledge of it." Zhou Pu nodded.

As preparations deepened, Shimazu Tadatsune had already gathered the men most loyal to him. To further expand his mobilization capacity, he had begun to move against the forces within the family that opposed him, purging a batch of family members who refused to obey him. These actions were so large in scale that rumors had even begun to spread within Nagasaki city.

"If even my lord is aware of it, then it must have spread all over Nagasaki." Togo Shigekata and Eka Meiken exchanged a rather worried glance. "My lord, please urge your country to advance its troops as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the magistrate's office in Nagasaki will sooner or later send people to our domain to investigate this matter and relay all this information to the shogunate. When that happens, things will be dire."

"Please rest assured, gentlemen. Our country has no desire whatsoever to delay. We have been making intense preparations all along. I have repeatedly asked our home country to accelerate preparations and dispatch troops as soon as possible, and the court has agreed to my request." Zhou Pu, however, had no intention of altering his country's original plans for Shimazu Tadatsune's sake and merely offered soothing, perfunctory words. "We will absolutely not harm your domain lord. How could we people of the Great Han do something that pains our friends and delights our foes?"

"Then we thank you, my lord." Togo Shigekata bowed slightly.

"Was this the matter you wished to ask about?" Zhou Pu asked again.

"That is not it. What the domain lord wanted us to inform you of, my lord, is another matter — he has now essentially completed the purge of the elders and the family's internal ranks, and has informed them of his decision. After discussion among everyone, a conclusion was reached: our domain can unconditionally support the Great Han's punitive expedition against the shogunate, and is willing to dispatch troops to assist the Great Han's march on Kyoto. However, our domain's military manpower and finances are both extremely strained, making it truly difficult to support any further advance. Therefore, our domain's forces will not march on Kanto."