People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 408 No one understands Han people better than me

When the Song Dynasty was mentioned, everyone in the room fell into silence.

The Song Dynasty defeated the Liao Kingdom in February this year.

Non-governmental trade was developed between Song and Japan, and the news naturally spread to Japan.

It also frightened them to learn that the once arrogant Liao Kingdom was almost wiped out by the Song Dynasty.

Others don’t know what this means, so how could they, as the top people in Japan, not know?

The Tang Dynasty was once the most powerful empire they knew. Since the Nara era, Japan has maintained humility and respect for the Tang Dynasty.

However, after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Song State was established, but the attitude of the Japanese upper class towards the Song State took a turn for the worse. Not only did they close the country, they no longer sent Tang envoys, and they even refused to have normal inter-state exchanges.

The reason lies in the Japanese nation's inherent tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong. When you are strong, I will treat you with respect, and when you are weak, I will sneer at you.

For example, in the first battle between China and Japan during the Tang Dynasty, at the Battle of Baijiangkou, an army of 40,000 Japanese pirates was defeated and defeated by 10,000 Tang troops. Since then, Japan has been obedient to the Tang Dynasty and never dared to offend again.

After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the Khitan won a great victory in the Battle of Gaoliang River, which caused the Song Dynasty's prestige in surrounding countries to plummet.

If it was really the Song State that was behind the rebellion of local forces, then the situation would be different.

If it weren't for the powerful navy of the Song Dynasty, which would come for a stroll from time to time, and the situation in their own country was not good, they would have turned against them long ago, and naturally it would be impossible to give Song a good look.

Even though Japan has a lot of gold, silver, copper, sulfur and other materials, in fact it is an island country after all and is very lacking in resources and technology.

Fujiwara Noriichi nodded and said: "The Song people sold a large number of weapons and armor to them, which gave them the confidence to dare to rebel."

"What Da Taizheng means is that the wealthy families in these places purchased weapons and armor from the Song people?"

As a result, the amount of steel in Japan at that time was extremely low, and only high-ranking generals could own steel swords and armor.

This naturally frightens Japan's top brass.

After all, even if there is no internal strife, the Fujiwara family can only muster up to 10,000 troops, and their strength is far from strong.

Even though the Song Dynasty was separated from them by the ocean, no one would feel comfortable if they had a powerful neighbor with whom they had a relatively bad relationship.

Ordinary soldiers or armed teams without the support of a large force only have a few low-quality iron knives, and most of them use sticks, wooden sticks and the like as weapons.

In fact, a few months ago, Emperor Goreizumi discussed with Fujiwara Yorimichi and others whether to send envoys to express congratulations to the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, a small number of craftsmen and workshops who are good at making weapons and armor are concentrated in the city, and are closely watched by the local rulers.

However, if a local power not only possesses thousands of troops, but also possesses quite elite equipment, it will be a great threat to the emperor's rule.

Emperor Go Lengquan immediately understood what he meant.

After he said this, everyone except Fujiwara Yorimichi frowned.

So for a long time, they could only use charcoal to smelt iron. Therefore, the furnace fire temperature at that time could only reach a maximum of about 1150 degrees Celsius, which was far from reaching the melting point of pure iron of 1535 degrees Celsius.

Several people looked at each other and didn't understand what Fujiwara Yorimichi meant.

Although the melting point of ore containing impurities is much lower than that of pure iron, it is still difficult for iron ore to completely melt at such a low temperature.

Once they lose their equipment advantage over local wealthy families, their foundation will be seriously shaken.

Seeing everyone's puzzled expressions, he explained: "You should know that Mutsu produces gold, and there is the Hiraizumi gold mine. In the past few years, gold mines were also discovered in the Sado area of ​​Echigo Province."

When Fujiwara Gyotong heard what his brother said, he frowned and said, "Could it be that Song Guo is behind it?"

Many countries, including Goryeo, slowly severed their relations with the Song Dynasty and surrendered to the Liao Kingdom. Even the little Vietnamese Li Dynasty dared to invade the border many times, let alone Japan, which was alone overseas.

To make it by hand requires the blacksmith to have extremely high skills and experience.

The imperial army not only has a righteous name, but also has a large number and relatively advanced weapons and equipment. It can be said that it is more than enough to deal with those local wealthy families who don't even have many iron swords.

Emperor Go-Lengquan said: "What does Otaimasa mean?"

However, Fujiwara Yorimichi shook his head and said: "Yes and no."

Now that Fujiwara Yorimichi mentioned the Song Dynasty again, everyone looked unhappy.

After all, in the eyes of Japanese high-level officials, Tsushima is their territory. The Song Dynasty stationed troops on the island, which was tantamount to invasion.

In the late Heian period in 1047 AD, although Japan was in the Iron Age, they were unable to obtain high-temperature fuel due to geological and geographical environmental problems.

During the Heian period, the vast majority of skilled craftsmen were concentrated in Heian Kyo. This was also the basis for the emperor and the regent family to control Japan.

Fujiwara Noriichi said: "The Abe family became more and more powerful because of the Song Dynasty, but it was not necessarily the people of the Song Dynasty who were behind it."

Emperor Lengquan was a little panicked at this time.

Therefore, Japan's attitude towards the Song Dynasty became cold. Although it was limited by its weak national power and did not dare to actively provoke the Song Dynasty, it no longer had the awe it once had.

However, this time the Song State defeated the Liao State, which meant that the Song State truly rose and returned to its status as the most powerful country in the world like the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty.

It's just that the Song Dynasty's behavior of stationing troops on Tsushima Island has always made Japan feel offended, so the matter was left alone.

"good."

"What does this have to do with the Song Dynasty?"

"Forehead"

This resulted in Japanese iron tools containing many impurities, requiring blacksmiths to hammer and forge them repeatedly to create steel.

This would seriously threaten the emperor's rule.

"This"

Emperor Go Lengquan panicked and said: "If this is the case, wouldn't the imperial court be in danger?"

"Da Tai Zheng."

As he said that, he quickly looked at Fujiwara Yorido: "What should we do?"

Fujiwara Yorimichi frowned.

After a moment, he said in a deep voice: "The Abe family must be eliminated. The most important thing is the attitude towards the Song Dynasty in the future."

"Is the Great Taizheng planning to send an envoy to the Song Dynasty?"

Emperor Gorensen asked.

Fujiwara Yorimichi nodded and said: "Of course I want to send an envoy to show that our country, the Land of the Rising Sun, is willing to forever be friendly with the Song Dynasty."

"But it's about Tsushima."

Emperor Go Lengquan frowned.

Tsushima Island is recorded in Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms".

It was already Japanese territory at that time.

It's just that the island has little land and is not suitable for farming. Therefore, the population of this area is very sparse, with only a few thousand people. Until the Warring States Period in Japan, there were only 1.2 people.

Moreover, it has long been a trade transit hub between Japan and Korea, and is a very important external channel for Japan.

Therefore, the Japanese high-level officials were still very disgusted with the Song Dynasty's behavior of garrisoning troops here.

But there was nothing they could do against Da Song.

If Japan behaved like the Tang Dynasty and bowed to the Song Dynasty, wouldn't Tsushima Island be forever occupied by the Song Dynasty?
Fujiwara Yorimichi naturally understood the emperor's intention and said: "This is a tactic of making mistakes. If it succeeds, maybe Japan can also become stronger."

"Oh?" Emperor Go Lengquan said hurriedly: "Daizheng, please elaborate."

"In the past, although powerful people in various places occasionally rebelled, they could take advantage of His Majesty's divine power and never dare to offend. However, nowadays, powerful people in many places have a disobedient heart, especially in Iwami, Mutsu, Echigo and other places."

Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "All this is due to their trade with the Song people and their growing power."

"Ah."

Emperor Go-Lengquan nodded in agreement.

In fact, not only the local power has grown, but the power of the Fujiwara family has also grown a lot.

Because the Iwami Silver Mine initially wanted to prevent the emperor from interfering with it, Song Cai and Su Jian not only bribed local dignitaries, but also gave the emperor and the Fujiwara family some shares.

This is also what Zhao Jun meant.

After all, the Song Dynasty had not yet completed its reforms and was not very powerful. If you want to complete the seizure of Japan's resources, you must first ensure the safety of these resources.

If Japan's high-level officials objected and even sent troops at that time, with the powerful enemies of the Liao Kingdom in the north and the Xixia invasion in the northwest, the Song Dynasty might not be able to free up their hands to protect their interests in Japan.

Therefore, the best option is to bribe the Japanese high-ranking officials and ask them to turn a blind eye to it.

Because of this, the Fujiwara family made a lot of profits, so they continued to expand the manor and recruit farmers, which made the Fujiwara family have a lot of troops in recent years.

Even the forces as far away as Heian Jing have benefited, not to mention the areas directly producing minerals and the local wealthy families.

Fujiwara Yorimichi continued: "If Japan wants to be strong, it must trade with the Song Dynasty. What if those weapons and armors are not Abe's, but His Majesty's?"

Emperor Go Lengquan thought, in the final analysis, it still belongs to his uncle.

But he didn't say it out loud, he just said: "Then I can truly suppress all rebellions."

"Yes."

Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "Therefore, the Abe family must be eliminated, and at the same time, the Hiraizumi gold mine, the Echigo gold mine, and the Iwami silver mine must be recovered."

"This"

Fujiwara Jedong said hurriedly: "Most of the Iwami Silver Mine is occupied by the people of the Song Dynasty. We want to take it back. What should the Song Dynasty do?"

"That's what I want to say."

Fujiwara Yorimichi looked around at the crowd and said: "So we must have a good relationship with the Song Dynasty, be humble, and start sending envoys to the Song Dynasty to learn their advanced knowledge, and then find a way to pray for them to withdraw their troops from Tsushima Island."

Emperor Go Lengquan frowned and said, "Will they agree?"

"Han people are generous. As long as we are humble, they will be happy to show their generosity."

Fujiwara Yorimichi smiled: "As long as we can get them to withdraw their troops from Tsushima Island, we can take back those gold and silver mines, and then send merchant ships to the Song Dynasty by ourselves to buy weapons and armor, and we can form an army ourselves. A powerful army.”

He continued, "This way we will have the confidence to defend our homeland. Even if Song is unhappy, it is very likely that they will not send troops over. We are too far away from them. Moreover, even if they send troops, they will not send too many. We can definitely defeat them. We just need to apologize to them afterwards."

"Is that so?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Fujiwara Yorizune thought for a while and said, "It seems to be a feasible solution."

"That's natural. No one knows the Han people better than me."

After finishing speaking, Fujiwara Yorimichi smiled.

He knows very well what the Han people think.

It is a huge country with a vast territory and abundant resources, and it considers itself a state of Chinese etiquette.

Therefore, starting from the Han Dynasty, the ancestors of the Japanese people who were still called the Japanese nation paid tribute to the Han Dynasty in exchange for the golden seal of reward from the Han Dynasty emperor.

During the Tang Dynasty, Japan paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty many times, not only changing its name to the Land of the Rising Sun, or Japan for short. I also received many rewards and learned many advanced systems, knowledge, culture, and technology.

The Central Plains dynasty has always been generous to the outsiders who obey and surrender at their feet.

Because in their view, this is nothing more than a time to show off the demeanor of a great country.

Not only did they spread their culture, but they also fully demonstrated their status as a great country.

Therefore, the Central Plains dynasty was very happy to see the grand scene of "nine heavens closing the palace, and all nations wearing robes and hats."

Therefore, as long as Japan pays tribute, the Song Dynasty will definitely still be like the Tang Dynasty, not only giving them rewards, but also allowing them to send people to learn.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Japan can study various advanced products of the Central Plains Dynasty.

This is also the consistent style of the Japanese.

The Battle of Baijiangkou in the Tang Dynasty allowed the Japanese to see the power of the Tang Dynasty, so they sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty many times to learn from it.

During the Song Dynasty, they found that the Song Dynasty was far less powerful than the Tang Dynasty, so they had a cold attitude towards it.

Later, during the Warring States Period in Japan, missionaries brought firearms and new understandings of the world to Japan, which immediately made Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and others aware of the changes in the times.

So they changed their original plan to establish a political power with commerce and urbanism as the core, and began to choose to actively accept the introduction of new things.

The same principle applies to the Meiji Restoration in modern Japan.

Therefore, from ancient times to later generations, Japan has actually been a nation that loves strength and is also very good at learning.

Now that the Song Dynasty is strong again, Japan has obviously begun to think about learning (plagiarism) again.

Fujiwara Yorimichi's wishful thinking is simple.

At the official level, paying tribute to the Song Dynasty showed an extremely humble attitude.

Then privately, they tried to defeat the local forces that owned minerals in various places, took the gold and silver mines into their own hands, and then purchased new weapons and equipment from the Song Dynasty.

In this way, as long as they arm their troops and re-establish the central authority of the Japanese court, they will be able to integrate the power of the entire Japan.

At that time, even if the behavior of gold and silver mines in various places touches the interests of the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty will send people over to hold them accountable.

They could also keep kowtowing to the Song Dynasty and begging for mercy, showing a respectful, humble and pitiful attitude. While stepping up his efforts to accumulate strength, he was ready to strike back at any time.

As the saying goes, don't hit someone with a smiling face, not to mention that the Central Plains dynasty has always been relatively tolerant. As long as Japan sends envoys to pay tribute and respects the Song Dynasty as its superior country, it is estimated that it will show the demeanor of a great country when it comes to the Song Dynasty.

When they sent people to learn (steal) everything from the Song Dynasty, they established a more powerful country themselves.

Perhaps in the future it might be possible to annex Goryeo and become the overlord.

It has to be said that although Japan has been closed to the outside world in recent years, there has not been much official communication with the Song Dynasty. But the Japanese still understand the Han people very well and understand their arrogance and generosity in their hearts.

If this method is implemented, the idea that the Celestial Kingdom will not care about the small country of Zuer may really appear in the court of Song Dynasty.

At that time, perhaps Fujiwara Yorimichi's strategy will really succeed.

However, there are always surprises in this world.

such as.

There is a man named Zhao Jun who dislikes this country very much.

therefore.

Facts will always change.

(End of this chapter)