People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 414 Someone from Song Dynasty is selling arms

At the end of the seventh year of Qingli in the Song Dynasty, the Lu Dynasty reached an agreement with the Qingyuan clan, a wealthy family in the Deyu Kingdom, to exchange ordnance for mineral resources.

Soon the seventh year of Qingli passed like this, and by the end of the year, there were many fewer ships traveling between Song and Japan.

In the northeastern region of Japan, heavy snow fell on the ground, and goose-feather snowflakes covered the earth, making it seem like the only thing left in the world was the icy bitter cold.

At the end of the year, the wealthy Abe family of Mutsu country opened a warehouse to store grain, and even distributed clothing to recruit poor farmers and expand their manpower.

At the end of the same year, envoys from the Japanese court also arrived in Mutsu Kingdom and saw Fujiwara, the governor of Mutsu Kingdom, taking office.

Emperor Goreizumi discussed with Fujiwara Yorimichi and others and decided to first attack the Abe clan who did not pay tribute and recover the minerals of Mutsu Kingdom.

Then it will gradually encroach on Sado Island in the Echigo Kingdom. When it has a certain economic foundation, it will then purchase weapons and equipment from other countries such as the Song Dynasty or the Liao Kingdom to strengthen its own military force.

Once the time is right, they will immediately wave their hands and issue an order to completely take back the mining rights of the Iwami Silver Mine, and even restore control of Tsushima Island.

It can be said that this plan is quite complete, step by step, and the Japanese are sure that the Song Dynasty is too far away from them to make a major war.

Fujiwara Yorimichi sat down after entering the room, and then said: "Your Majesty, please don't panic."

I have to say that Xiaoli is indeed a country that is good at learning. Whether it was the Daika Reform, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's vigorous introduction of firearms, or the Meiji Restoration, this has been proven.

Morioka, the prefectural seat of Iwate Prefecture further north, belonged to the territory of the Ezo people at that time. It can be said to be on the border between Japan and northern Ezo.

At the beginning of February, spring was already blooming in Ping'an Jing, and the city was full of wooden bungalows. Each city was lined up in rows and arranged in an orderly manner, imitating the planning of Chang'an in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Tanzawa Castle in Mutsu Province was actually Oshu City in Iwate Prefecture, Japan in later generations. This place was a fairly developed area in later generations, but in ancient times it was a bitter cold place in the Northeast and a place of exile for criminals.

The national code of Mutsu Province was located in Shirakawa County in the south, which was relatively warm and later became Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture.

Therefore, if everything goes well, Japan will get the Iwami Silver Mine, which has been developed by the Song Dynasty for nearly ten years, the Sado Gold Mine, which has been developed for five or six years, and the original mineral deposits of the Mutsu Kingdom.

Once the emperor defeats the Fujiwara family, he can take back power like Emperor Shirakawa did later.

"Your Majesty, I already know everything."

When Emperor Go Lengquan saw them coming in, he hurriedly said: "O Taizheng."

So now is the time for the top management of Xiaoli to implement the first step of the plan, but because Heian-kyo is too far from Mutsu Kingdom, the straight-line distance alone is more than 600 kilometers, and the actual distance is close to 1,000 kilometers.

There seems to be nothing we can do now.

This was not yet the shogunate era, and although the emperor had little power, it was essentially an era in which relatives were in power. The Fujiwara family married off their daughters, allowing generations of Japanese emperors to have Fujiwara family blood.

After the beginning of spring, Fujiwara Nobuhiro led a mighty army to the north. Abe Yoriyang learned the news, so he also raised his troops to go south. The two sides fought in the Sendai Plain, and Fujiwara Nobuhiro was defeated in the first battle.

"The Abe family has no royal eyes and should be punished for his crime."

If we really want to mobilize the whole country, in addition to the Fujiwara family's own manor troops, tens of thousands of national guards from various places can be gathered.

It's just that although the territory is large, there are fewer people and more land in the north, and the climate is not very good. Therefore, Abe Yoriyang only has empty territory, but not many soldiers and horses. The total force is only four to five thousand people, which is still quite weak.

Abe Yoriyoshi then captured Shirakawa County in late January, so that the entire Mutsu Kingdom, spanning the vast land that later became Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures, was occupied by the Abe family.

Soon, several senior members of the Fujiwara family gathered in the palace, and everyone sat in rows.

But they ignored one thing, that is, the population of Mutsu Kingdom was mostly exiled prisoners and Ezo prisoners, and these people did not have that much respect for the emperor.

As a result, in the battle of Sendai Plains, Fujiwara Noborito was beaten to a pulp, which was something they did not expect.

Seeing that the regent Guan Bai was still calm, Emperor Lengquan calmed down, but then asked hurriedly: "What should we do now?"

For example, Emperor Goreizumi's mother was actually Fujiwara Yorimichi's biological sister.

Therefore, under their assumptions, even if Fujiwara ascended the throne with relatively few troops and failed to defeat the Abe clan, he should not have suffered such a disastrous defeat.

Fujiwara Yorimichi fell silent.

Because their original plan was to let Fujiwara ascend the throne to test it out. Although Fujiwara ascended the throne did not have as many troops as Abe, Fujiwara ascended the throne but represented the imperial court.

Therefore, after receiving the instructions from Fujiwara Yorimichi, the head of the Fujiwara family as regent Sekishiro, Fujiwara did not hesitate when he took office and immediately implemented the order.

But even so, it shocked Japan's top brass. Because the news came back from the front line, Abe's soldiers and horses were equipped with blade armor, and Fujiwara's army was completely defeated.

Fujiwara Gyōdō, Fujiwara Yorimune, Fujiwara Nonobu, Fujiwara Nagaie and others looked at each other in confusion.

Fujiwara, the governor of Mutsu Province, was also a member of the Fujiwara clan. At this time, governors named "Fujiwara" accounted for more than one-third of all countries in the world, and they were extremely powerful for a while.

In the palace, Emperor Goreizumi, who had just learned the news, hurriedly summoned Fujiwara Yorimichi, Fujiwara Yumichi and others to discuss countermeasures.

He gathered about two to three thousand soldiers in the winter. In the eighth year of Qingli in the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the third year of Japan's Yongcheng, he sent troops to attack the Abe Family Danze Castle in Oryoku County.

After all, there is the authority of the emperor. When the soldiers and people owned by the Abe family heard that the emperor was crusading against rebellion, they were frightened and might turn their spearheads towards the Abe family.

Therefore, although the plan was formulated in October, it was not until December that the imperial envoy sent the order to Mutsu Province.

It's the beginning of spring and everything is coming back to life. The green mountains in the Northeast are lush and lush, and there are still unmelted snow on the mountains in the distance, standing like white-headed birds.

Most of the time, the reason why Japan rebels is to respect the emperor and seek treason. The reason why the emperor has rebellious ministers lies in the legitimacy and rationality of the emperor's regime.

Only the palace in the north, with its carved buildings, painted buildings, pavilions and pavilions, has a hint of the charm of the Tang Dynasty.

The authority of the emperor in Japan has been nearly deified. Perhaps he is not so sacred in the eyes of the powerful and wealthy, but in the eyes of the lower class people in Japan, he is a symbol of god.

In addition, for thousands of years, the Japanese emperor has sometimes had power, and sometimes has no power and is willing to be a virtual emperor. Therefore, those powerful people who are fighting for power rarely attack the emperor, and even use his name to rule Japan.

So at least in terms of gold and silver minerals, Japan has independent power. With gold, silver and copper in hand, it can restore its domestic economy, and it can also trade with foreign countries, buy more advanced technologies and materials, and upgrade its national strength.

Therefore, Fujiwara's appointment to send troops was essentially to use the authority of the emperor to give the Fujiwara family complete control over the Mutsu region in the name of crusading against rebellion.

After a while, General Fujiwara said: "Although Fujiwara was defeated when he ascended the throne, the majesty of the imperial court cannot be lost. I think we should send another army there."

"No."

Fujiwara Yorimichi immediately scolded: "We must not send any more people."

"why?"

Fujiwara Gyōdō was dissatisfied and said: "Are you just watching Abe declare himself king?"

Fujiwara Yorimichi shook his head and said: "You still haven't figured out the problem. According to the messenger's report, Abe's soldiers all have blades, thick-backed swords, and even some armor."

"Song people?"

Fujiwara Yudong's eyes widened instantly.

He didn't know this information yet, he only knew that Nobuhiro Fujiwara was easily defeated.

"good."

Fujiwara Noriichi nodded: "The Song Dynasty people are selling weapons and armor to the Abe family!"

"how many?"

"If you just look at it, their soldiers all have blades and hundreds of armors." "Even so, with the strength of our family, we can still put them down!"

Fujiwara Gyomichi was a little unconvinced.

In addition to the more than 10,000 soldiers owned by the Fujiwara family under the family's estate system.

There are also many Fujiwara family members responsible for the national defense forces in other places.

Basically, as long as brothers Fujiwara Yorimichi and Fujiwara Gyomichi ascend to the top and make a call, it is not a problem to raise 20,000 to 30,000 or even 30,000 to 40,000 people.

Moreover, their power is already great, and it is not impossible for them to produce thousands of blades and hundreds of armors.

However, Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "In that case, even if we win, we will definitely pay a heavy price. What's more, the Song Dynasty people may continue to sell weapons and armor to them. What if we lose?"

"Uh"

Fujiwara Gyomichi was speechless for a moment. Although he was at odds with his eldest brother, Fujiwara Yorimichi's words did make sense.

The enemy is not only powerful, but also getting stronger.

If they are not sure of winning, if they really do this, they are gambling with their family's destiny. Once they lose, the consequences will be disastrous.

"What should we do?"

Emperor Lengquan panicked again.

After all, Fujiwara Yorimichi is an old fox. After pondering for a moment, he said: "The Abe family is indeed not easy to provoke now, but the Echigo Kingdom is different."

"Oh?"

Everyone looked at each other, and Fujiwara Nonobu asked: "What do you mean, brother?"

"We hope to take back those mineral deposits and make the country rich, so that we can go to the Song Dynasty to purchase weapons and armor and strengthen the country's strength."

Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "But these mineral deposits are occupied by local wealthy families, and the court cannot get a single cent. This is obviously wrong, so we have to put down these rebellions, right?"

"good."

Everyone nodded. Although it was a robbery, the problem was that they were legally national and these mineral deposits belonged to them. How could the Song people and local wealthy families occupy them and profit from them?
Fujiwara Yorido: "Now that the Abe clan cannot be defeated, it is better to attack the weakest one first. There are Song troops in the Iwami area. Once attacked, it is easy to cause problems. Sado Island in Echigo Kingdom is different. Only with gold can we have the confidence to become a strong country.”

"Ah."

Everyone thought it made sense and nodded.

"So now we want to change our plan. Instead of attacking Abe, we will capture Sado Island first, then use the output to exchange for what we need from the Song Dynasty, and then put down the rebellion step by step."

Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "Only in this way can we strengthen our own country, just like the Song Dynasty now."

"rational."

Fujiwara Gyōdō thought for a while and said: "Besides, the powerful families of Echigo Country are not strong, and the Tachibana clan has also declined. It would be much easier for us to remove Tachibana Nomonaka's national guardian and let people take the army to take over Echigo Country. "

"This is a good idea." Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "But we must also be careful with the Song State. I heard that the Song State also has operations on Sado Island. We cannot give the Song State an excuse to intervene."

"What are you afraid of?"

Fujiwara Gyōdō smiled and said: "Can they still cross the sea to attack us? The Tang State did not have the ability to do this back then, let alone the Song State, whose national power was weaker than the Tang State."

This is also the reason why they dare to take back the mineral deposits.

After all, the Song Dynasty had been cowardly for so many years, and its prestige and majesty in surrounding countries had declined significantly. Even if it rose once, it would be difficult for them to change their traditional impression.

In addition, the island country of Japan is very far away from the Song Dynasty, the maritime risks are huge, logistics cannot be guaranteed, and the cost of attack is extremely exaggerated.

That's why Japanese officials decided to pacify the wealthy families and local forces that own mineral deposits and take back the minerals.

Even if this would harm the interests of the Song Dynasty, they felt that as long as they sent people to flatter the Song Dynasty, flatter the Song Dynasty, and help the Song Dynasty step down, they would not be able to send people to find trouble in the Song Dynasty.

"But we still have to maintain the appearance, at least not until our force becomes stronger."

Fujiwara Yorimichi still maintained his rationality and said: "If you really want to recover them all, you must first exchange the gold and silver seized from the hands of those local wealthy and rebellious families for weapons and armor from the Song Dynasty. Then, only our soldiers are strong, and the national strength To be powerful.”

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"so be it."

"Eldest brother is right."

Fujiwara Yorimune, Nobu, and Nagaie all thought there was nothing wrong with it.

This is a mature view.

Seeing this, Fujiwara Gyoutong didn't say anything.

Emperor Go Lengquan said: "Okay, if that's the case, then let's do what the Great Taizheng said."

"Then who should be sent to Echigo Kingdom? What about the other Mutsu Kingdom?"

Fujiwara Gyoutichi said: "Are we just going to watch the Abe family occupy Mutsu and become more powerful?"

"Let Tsuna go to Echigo Country. This kid is very capable and should be able to solve the problem."

Fujiwara Yorimichi was silent for a moment, and asked one of his adopted sons, Fujiwara Yoshitsuna, to serve as the guardian of the Echigo Kingdom, and then said: "As for the Mutsu Kingdom, just ask Minamoto Yoriyoshi of Kanto to go."

Minamoto Yoriyoshi's father, Minamoto Yorinobu, was once the general of the garrison. This position was somewhat similar to the Western Region Chief of the Han Dynasty. It belonged to the garrison chief who conquered barbarians on the border. He was responsible for external development and suppressing barbarian invasions on the border.

This position is usually based in Mutsu Province, and it is mainly set up for the Ezo people.

However, due to the Taira-Tadadsune rebellion, the imperial court had to recall Minamoto Yorinobu from Mutsu Kingdom to deal with Taira-Tadadsune.

After the rebellion was put down, the Kanto region of Taira Tadatsune was controlled by the Genji, and the garrison of Mutsu Kingdom and the garrison general no longer existed.

However, Minamoto no Yorinobu has been in Mutsu Kingdom for many years and has repeatedly used troops against Ezo, and has a high prestige in the local area.

Although Minamoto Yorinobu died of illness at the age of 81 at the beginning of this year, the power of his death is still there. Relying on his father's prestige, Minamoto Yorinobu may not be able to stabilize the situation.

Even if the Abe clan's rebellion cannot be quelled, it is enough to curb the development of the Abe clan and prevent them from continuing to expand their power.

When the imperial court takes control of Sado Island in Echigo Kingdom and has enough financial resources to import a large amount of weapons and equipment from the Song Dynasty, there is no harm in turning back to deal with the Abe family.

"Well, I think this arrangement is good, so let's do it according to what Da Taizheng said."

Emperor Goreizumi didn't have any real power anyway, and there was nothing wrong with what Fujiwara Yorimichi said, so he nodded and agreed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Fujiwara Yorimichi bowed and stood up to give the order.

Although he can't defeat Abe, there is still no problem in handling a Tachibana clan and a few small tyrants from Echigo Kingdom.

(End of this chapter)