Chapter 1637: Using Religion to Control Religion, Using the Japanese to Control the Japanese

Just as Naitō Tadashige had predicted, after the Great Han used cannons to blast open the city walls and launched a direct general assault, the resistance of Kurume Domain's castle was quickly broken by the charge of the Great Han army. After the outer castle fell, the resistance in the keep did not last long either and was soon breached by the Great Han forces.

Soon, under Zhao Song's orders, the domain armies of the other domains were also thrown into the battlefield and followed by charging into Kurume Castle. These domain armies had previously been watching the battle from the sidelines next to the Great Han army. After the Great Han began their devastating bombardment of Kurume Castle, they had already been scared out of their wits. Hearing Zhao Song's command, how could they dare disobey?

While the siege battle was still raging, Zhao Song remained outside the city, waiting for news of victory from within, and he was not disappointed. That very afternoon, the entirety of Kurume Castle was captured by the Great Han army and the domain armies. Part of the defending forces inside the city was wiped out by the Great Han army, while the rest chose to surrender in terror. Naitō Tadashige's original hope of holding out for a few days to buy the Shogun a little more time had once again come to nothing.

"Arima Tadayori, the lord of the Arima clan, was killed in the keep by the Shogunate Elder Naitō Tadashige, and Naitō Tadashige committed seppuku before we breached the castle. Kuroda Tadayuki, the lord of Fukuoka Domain, surrendered to us with his troops." After the battle ended, Li Huanghe, a Regiment Commander under Zhao Song, came to Zhao Song's tent. While reporting the victory, he also relayed what had happened inside the city to Zhao Song. "Many members of the Arima clan also committed suicide, but some still fell into our hands. May I ask, Commander Zhao, how should they be dealt with?"

"Why was Arima Tadayori killed by Naitō Tadashige?" Zhao Song found it somewhat strange.

"…Arima Tadayori had previously wanted to surrender to our Great Han, but because they had already been listed as enemies the Great Han must exterminate, we sternly refused them. I'm afraid Naitō Tadashige also sensed something and wanted to execute this traitor before the castle fell." Li Huanghe hesitated for a moment, then still reported truthfully. "That is why, when the castle was falling, instead of committing suicide on the battlements, he first went back and killed Arima Tadayori."

To thank Li Huanghe for his obedience and cooperation after the landing, Zhao Song had specifically entrusted him with the battlefield command of the siege of Kurume and the subsequent general assault. After the Great Han army besieged the city, the Arima clan was already scared witless and wholeheartedly wanted to preserve themselves, but fearing the Shogunate troops Naitō Tadashige had brought, they dared not openly discuss surrender and only secretly sent people to negotiate capitulation.

Upon receiving his subordinate's report, Li Huanghe refused the Arima clan's surrender without much consideration.

First, the Great Han had already issued a proclamation across Kyushu. The "Kyushu Reward and Punishment Edict" had made it very clear: those who oppose the Great Han's heavenly might shall die without a doubt. The Arima clan was now the last resisting force in Kyushu, and the Great Han needed to make an example of them before the various domain lords of Kyushu, to establish a warning to others.

Second, this was also out of personal consideration — Li Huanghe viewed this siege as his last and best opportunity to earn merit in the Great Han's initial campaign. In his view, capturing this city and achieving great merit was a certainty. If he accepted the Arima clan's surrender, this victory and merit would be somewhat diminished.

Indeed, although he appeared steady on the surface and willing to consider his superior's interests, Li Huanghe was still a young man after all, and a sense of competition still existed within him. Now that the other two Regiment Commanders, Bi Su and Ma Tongji, had already accumulated a great deal of merit, Li Huanghe also wanted to achieve a great merit of his own, to surpass these colleagues and bring glory to his entire regiment.

"This Naitō Tadashige has some ability after all… at the very least, he's a tough character. Give him a proper burial. Our Great Han is at war with Japan, but since he is already dead, there is no need to dishonor him." Zhao Song understood some of the thoughts in Li Huanghe's mind, but he did not intend to call him out on it. In his view, as long as his subordinates could complete the tasks he assigned, having a competitive spirit in secret was actually a good thing. "As for those people from the Arima clan, screen them. If they are adults and closely related by blood, execute them. If they are minors or distantly related, spare them."

Then, he thought of another person. "Right, that Fukuoka Domain lord Kuroda Tadayuki — although he surrendered to us, since we previously stated in our proclamation that we would deal with him, he cannot be spared either. Kill him. As for those domain soldiers who surrendered to us, break them all up and disperse them, and assign them to labor camps. We are very short on manpower right now and can make use of them."

"Understood!" Li Huanghe said nothing more, accepted the order, and withdrew.

"Now Kyushu is entirely under our Great Han's control…" Yan Guang, the Advisor who had remained silent by his side the whole time, suddenly laughed and congratulated Zhao Song. "Commander Zhao, in just over ten days, we have achieved such military success — it is rarely seen even since the founding of our Great Han."

"Advisor Yan is usually stern and rarely smiles, yet today he's flattering people — how rare." Zhao Song also laughed. "But, praising me like this, I'm afraid you're also praising yourself in a roundabout way, aren't you?"

If one spoke of pride, Zhao Song was indeed somewhat proud.

Just as Yan Guang said, after the Great Han began its campaign against Japan, in just over ten days, almost the entire island of Kyushu had fallen into the Great Han's hands. The Great Han army had not suffered many casualties, and the domain lords of Kyushu could be said to have surrendered at the mere rumor of their approach — these brilliant victories, one after another, had long since exceeded the expectations he and his advisors had set when they formulated their plans earlier.

These domain lords, who previously could act tyrannically within their domains, practically local emperors, now all had their lives hanging in his hands, their survival or destruction resting on his whim alone.

How could this not make a person somewhat proud?

However, Zhao Song also knew that the capture of Kyushu was only the first step. Greater challenges still awaited him ahead, and this was not yet the time for complacency.

"I am merely stating facts. Our victories are laid out here — is there any fear that someone might question them?" Yan Guang did not feign modesty. "As long as we continue to fight like this, the rewards after the war will certainly not be small. His Majesty has been watching us all along…"

Just at that moment, Zhou Pu, the envoy sent by the Great Han Emperor, suddenly barged into the tent.

"Sir Zhou? Has something happened?" Seeing Zhou Pu's somewhat unusual expression, Zhao Song hurriedly interrupted his conversation with Yan Guang.

"General Zhao, something major has indeed occurred…" Zhou Pu's face was rather grave. "Just now, several domain lords who have submitted to us came to report to me, saying that there are Catholic believers rebelling within their domains. Because the garrison domain troops left behind are weak in strength — most of the men having already followed the General into battle — and they have no time to attend to it, they can no longer suppress them. Several domains have fallen into chaos. Therefore… they wish to request our Great Han army's assistance in putting down the rebellion."

"What? Unable to suppress them? Aren't they just some peasants? These domain troops can't even suppress a few peasants — what useless trash!" Yan Guang was both anxious and angry. "Are they being double-dealing, or what do they mean by this?"

"I'm afraid it is not double-dealing…" Zhou Pu laughed with a hint of sarcasm. "Advisor Yan, our Great Han army has now clashed with the domain troops several times. Have you not yet seen for yourself what kind of character these local domain soldiers have? They aren't much stronger than peasants, and what's more… what's more, now their courage has been utterly shattered by our army…"

Because Kyushu had long maintained trade relations with the Spanish and Portuguese, many missionaries came and went. Most of these missionaries possessed extremely high religious zeal. Using medicine and weaponry to pave the way, they quickly spread their faith in some domains. During the Warring States period, not only did many lower-class people believe in Catholicism, but even some domain lords and samurai began to embrace it.

This situation naturally aroused the vigilance of the Shogunate, which styled itself the protector of Japan. After the Tokugawa Shogunate pacified Japan, it issued edicts several times, strictly prohibiting the spread of Catholicism to safeguard the purity of the "Divine Land's" faith.

Under the frenzy stirred up by the Tokugawa Shogunate, many believers and clergy suffered severe persecution, either forced to convert or losing their lives, while many believers chose to temporarily endure and go into hiding.

This time, after the Great Han attacked, it inflicted severe losses and shocks upon the Shogunate and many domains. The old social structure faced the risk of collapse, and thus many believers saw hope in this. They immediately rose in revolt, hoping to turn these domains into a realm of the believers.

"That still doesn't mean we should go suppress rebellions for them! Did our Great Han army come here to do this sort of thing for them?" After hearing Zhou Pu's explanation, Yan Guang was still annoyed. "Our Great Han's advance has a strict plan and timetable. Kyushu is such a large territory — if we go around helping them suppress rebellions in every single place, who knows how much time will be wasted! We don't have that much time to waste right now. Let them suppress the rebellions themselves!"

"Advisor Yan, do not be impatient…" Watching Zhou Pu's expression, Zhao Song felt that this envoy still had more to say, so he stopped Yan Guang. "Sir Zhou, I'm afraid you have some plan in mind?"

Zhou Pu was an envoy personally chosen by the Emperor, and during these days he had rendered tremendous service to the Great Han. He was certain to be heavily employed by the Emperor in the future, so Zhao Song had no intention of slighting or offending him.

"Advisor Yan is right. We did not come here to help these domain lords suppress rebellions. However, it would also not be good to completely wash our hands of the matter… After all, whether Kyushu is stable or not is of great importance to us as well." Zhou Pu indeed expressed a different opinion. "Furthermore, in my view, if we can dispatch troops to assist these domain lords who are troubled by rebels, not only will we gain even more gratitude and service from the domain lords, but it will also be of no small benefit to us in other areas…"

"What does Sir Zhou mean by that?" Zhao Song grew slightly impatient. "Advisor Yan and I are both military men; our minds aren't that agile. Please just speak plainly to us."

"Once the Catholic rebellion breaks out, it can provide us with other pretexts." Zhou Pu pretended not to notice the other's displeasure and answered with a smile. "If it weren't for the Shogunate's ineffective suppression, how could so many disgruntled believers still remain in Kyushu? This shows that the Shogunate has not, as it boasts, spared no effort in upholding Japan's original religious faith…"

After sizing up the two men and finding that they still looked bewildered, Zhou Pu felt no small amount of pride in his heart. "Therefore, we can step forward, suppress these believers, and dress ourselves up as the defenders of Buddhism. After occupying Kyushu, we will certainly issue proclamations to the various daimyo of Honshu and Shikoku. We can also pin the crime of failing to suppress the believers and corrupting Japan's faith onto the Shogunate."

"In other words, add another charge to the Shogunate's list of crimes — ineffective suppression of the believers? So as to make it appear as if we have come to help suppress the believers?" Yan Guang finally understood Zhou Pu's meaning, but he was still somewhat puzzled. "But how much use is that?"

"Simply saying a few words won't be of much use, but we can use this opportunity to fiercely denounce the Shogunate for oppressing Buddhists and corrupting the nation's faith, which is what gave the Catholics the chance to grow powerful." Zhou Pu continued to explain. "Then, we can take the opportunity to win over those monastic and temple forces dissatisfied with the Shogunate, and make them follow us."

Since the ancient Heian period, Japan's monasteries had always possessed very strong influence. After Buddhism was introduced to Japan, it was greatly loved and favored by the nobility and quickly became Japan's mainstream faith. Both during their rule and after their deaths, the nobility bestowed vast amounts of wealth upon the temples, and the temples thus came to control enormous riches.

After gaining control of this wealth, these temples, relying on their tax-exempt status and their transcendent political position, began annexing land and ultimately became great landlords centered around the temples. At the end of the Heian period, after the order of the realm began to collapse into chaos, these temple landlords started organizing warrior-monks to defend themselves and contend for interests.

Because of the brainwashing of religious faith, most of the warrior-monks were fearless in the face of death. Coupled with their vast wealth, some temples became powerful armed groups. At the end of the Heian period, monasteries such as Kōfuku-ji, Enryaku-ji, and Tōdai-ji became such armed groups, rivaling ordinary warlords.

And in the even more chaotic Warring States period, as social conflicts intensified further, the temple forces also expanded even more. The Ikkō-shū faction, centered around Hongan-ji, sought to establish a theocratic "Buddha Land" by inciting believers to riot. After launching multiple uprisings, the Ikkō-shū became the largest temple force, ruling over vast territories.

The expansion of the temple forces quickly aroused the wariness of the strongmen of the secular world. Oda Nobunaga, a powerful figure who rose during the Warring States period, began seeking to restrict the power of these temples and strip them of their armed forces, and soon came into armed conflict with the Ikkō-shū.

In the Ishiyama War, Hongan-ji and its ally, the Asakura clan, fought a decisive battle against Oda Nobunaga, but were ultimately defeated by him. The Ikkō-shū suffered a devastating blow as a result, and the uprisings across various regions came to an abrupt halt.

Under Oda Nobunaga's ambition, other temples also suffered similar blows. Among them, Enryaku-ji, which had a long history, possessed immense wealth, and held an extremely high status in the Buddhist world, also became a key target of his attacks because it repeatedly disobeyed his orders.

He ordered his troops to march on Mount Hiei, the head temple mountain of Enryaku-ji, and declared that he would raze this sacred religious mountain to the ground.

Under his orders, his subordinates sealed off all paths down the mountain, then set massive fires and began a brutal encirclement and annihilation campaign against Enryaku-ji. It is said that the Konpon Chūdō and all twenty-one Sannō shrines below it were burned to ashes, and approximately three to four thousand people, including monks and believers, regardless of gender or age, were all brutally slaughtered.

The Burning of Mount Hiei thus earned Nobunaga the bitter resentment of numerous temples and shrines, who bestowed upon him the title of "Dairokuten Maō" (Demon King of the Sixth Heaven). Everyone spread the rumor that Oda Nobunaga had committed these mad acts because he had converted to the foreign religion brought by the Southern Barbarians — although in truth, Nobunaga did not do these things out of religious faith.

After Oda Nobunaga's death, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and later Tokugawa Ieyasu successively ruled Japan. Their approach to the temple forces was no longer as radical, but behind the scenes, they still primarily focused on restriction.

Under the blows sustained over three generations, the once vast temple forces began to dissipate. Most of the temples' land and wealth fell into the hands of the Shogunate and the various domain lords. Hongan-ji, with the support of Tokugawa Ieyasu, underwent a great schism and could no longer pose a threat to the Shogunate's rule.

From this, one could also surmise that the former temple forces must also be very dissatisfied with the Shogunate. If the Great Han raised the banner of eliminating the foreign religion, assisting Japan in restoring the purity of its faith, and guaranteed a willingness to restore the temples' former wealth and status, these temples and shrines would likely incline their hearts toward the Great Han.

After hearing Zhou Pu's explanation, Zhao Song and Yan Guang fell into deep thought, clearly beginning to be swayed.

"Haven't these temples and shrines already been beaten down terribly? What strength do they have left to support us?" After a moment, Zhao Song raised a doubt.

"A centipede dies but never falls down. Although the temples and shrines are far from what they once were, their faith has been passed down for over a thousand years, and they hold great discursive power, especially respected among the lower classes." Zhou Pu answered immediately. "In invading Japan from the outside, what we must avoid most is allowing the Japanese people to unite in purpose. Therefore, winning over the temples and shrines to destabilize the Shogunate's popular support is the best strategy. If we suppress the Catholics, then declare we want to help the temples and shrines restore their status, we will certainly win their great favor."

After a pause, he continued, "Furthermore… for our post-war arrangements, the more fragmented Japan's power is, the easier it will be for us to control…"

Zhao Song and Yan Guang exchanged a glance. They finally felt that what Zhou Pu said was very reasonable.

"This proposal is feasible." Zhao Song said in a low voice. "Right now, our main army needs to rest and regroup anyway. We can only continue large-scale operations after Nagasaki Port is more or less repaired. So, pulling out some troops to assist the various domain lords in suppressing the Catholics — we can spare the time."

"If we're putting on a show, we should do it thoroughly. Since you two have decided to help with the suppression, I can't just sit idle either." Seeing that they had agreed to his proposal, Zhou Pu's face lit up with delight. "I'll receive the monks and temples from all over Kyushu during this time as well, and let them see the sincerity of our Great Han. The Demon King and the shogunate are their enemies — that makes us their friends."

After destroying so many hostile daimyo, Kyushu now had plenty of lordless lands. Though Great Han had promised to give the entire island of Kyushu to Shimazu Tadahiro, giving a bit of land to the various temples was surely something the Shimazu clan could not object to.