You have truly caused me great suffering!

At the beginning of the establishment of Ise Province, Toba and Fujiwara symbolically sent people to attack it once or twice.

After Guo Hao repelled him, he did not pursue him.

Fujiwara no Tadashi also began to organize his forces and actively prepare for battle.

It was a rare occasion for the Imperial Household Agency and the Regent to truly unite, and the results were quite positive.

Guo Hao was only responsible for defending Ise Province; according to the imperial edict, the Kyoto region was to be conquered by the mob themselves.

He demolished the Ise Grand Shrine and slaughtered all the people inside. He is now locked in a life-or-death struggle with the Emperor and the Regent of Kyoto, as well as the top nobles of Japan.

After all, Shintoism is the foundation of their nation.

Then wait until the mob personally wipes out the Emperor's lineage, and carries out a purge like Huang Chao's invasion of Chang'an.

Then the aura of the Emperor's unbroken imperial line will completely fade away.

Conquering this land will be much easier.

In March, Ise Province received an imperial edict ordering the entire country to switch to speaking Chinese.

The sons of the Kitada clan, as well as the sons of powerful families in Ise Province, took turns coming to the Central Plains to study, and upon returning, they were to begin reforming customs and traditions.

Immediately following, a second imperial edict arrived: "Many of the old Japanese scriptures contain falsehoods and mislead the people. From this day forward, all Japanese books, sutras, and songs that are not translated into Chinese (Buddhist scriptures, Confucian classics, or legal codes) must be burned and are strictly prohibited from being kept!"
Kitada immediately put the order into action, searching for old Japanese books in junior high schools. Regardless of their content, all books published before independence were burned.

In mid-March, a group of monks gathered at Enryaku-ji Temple in Ise Province to discuss matters.

The leading monk was not very old, but he seemed to be of high status. While the others sat on prayer cushions, he sat on a chair covered with a white fox-like animal skin. The snow-white fur was about an inch long and exceptionally smooth.

"Kitada Kenjiro has gone mad. He's burning books like crazy and even smashing statues."

“A few days ago, he sent people here and demanded that we hand over all the Buddhist scriptures.”

"This is absolutely non-negotiable!"

The monks were filled with righteous indignation. The youngest monk at the head of the group was Enryaku-ji, a senior monk with the bloodline of the Hermitage.

Listening to his subordinates' discussion, he asked, "Lai Tong, what do you think?"

All eyes turned to an old monk whose face was pale, swollen, and with a drooping piece of fat under his chin.

Yorimichi was originally a servant of the Fujiwara family. He accompanied the young master, En'in, to become a monk. Although he is now the head of the temple, En'in still calls him by his original name instead of his Buddhist name, Seishu.

Upon hearing his former master, now the head monk, ask him a question, Lai Tong quickly crawled a few steps on the ground. “We can’t burn the Buddhist scriptures in our temple. If we do, then whatever they say will be the truth. Without the scriptures, how can we argue with them?”

"That's right, we can't burn it!"

Enji nodded and yawned. "Then I won't give it to you. Kitada Kenjiro is just a village fool. Back in Kyoto, he had to send me gifts and couldn't even get through the gate."

At this moment, a monk suddenly spoke up: "What if he sends troops?"

"Does our Enryakuji Temple fear the Kitada clan?"

"What if Jing Jun comes too?"

All the monks fell silent.

Lai Tong glanced at the person in the seat of honor and, seeing his impatient expression, quickly said, "What are you afraid of? If the Jing army wants to rule the people here, they still need our temple."

Over the years, he was able to climb to the position of abbot by currying favor with the former young master, who is now the head monk.

Sure enough, upon hearing the old servant's words, En'in nodded, "Is there anyone who can turn the world upside down?"

After the monks dispersed, the one who had spoken out against the monk arrived at a Zen temple with a worried expression.

The monks in the Zen temple wore black robes and had varying numbers of incense scars on their shaved heads.

At this time, everyone puts their hands together, looks down at their nose, focuses on their heart, and recites scriptures.

"Lecturer, the abbot and senior monk have decided to defy Kitada Kenjiro's decree and refuse to hand over the scriptures."

In Japanese Buddhist temples, the title of lecturer is a rare honor. Lecturers are responsible for expounding Buddhist scriptures and must pass examinations such as the "Eight Lectures on the Lotus Sutra" to be eligible for the position.

He slowly opened his eyes, sighed helplessly, and said, "Disaster is imminent."

At the foot of Enryakuji Temple's main gate, soldiers from Ise Province, who had been waiting for a long time, were cooking over a fire.

The one who came to confiscate the scriptures was Kitada Kenshin, the third brother of Kitada Kenshin.

He stood in front of the mountain gate, quietly waiting for a reply from above, praying in his heart that Enryaku-ji Temple would hand over the Buddhist scriptures as soon as possible.

He didn't want to carry out his older brother's orders.

His orders were: if Enryaku-ji Temple did not hand over the Buddhist scriptures, it should be completely destroyed.

Like many powerful and noble families, Kitada Kenshin was a devout Buddhist.

Allowing him to massacre the temple would have caused him immense psychological harm.

But Kitada Akinobu also knew that his family had been pushed to the edge of a cliff and had to grit their teeth and move forward, because taking a step back would mean falling into an abyss.

The Ping family was incredibly powerful, and the family had not made any major mistakes; it had been growing stronger for decades.

The Great Jing dynasty annihilated them in just one month; anyone even remotely connected to the Ping clan was executed.

Taira no Kiyomori, whom he had once had to fawn over, died right before his eyes, his head rolling on the ground for a long time.

The bloody scene often appeared in his dreams, and the entire Kitada family was filled with fear.

Finally, as he eagerly awaited it, the mountain gate slowly opened.

A monk came down.

“As our leader said, burning books is easy, but extinguishing the heart is difficult. If we burn all the paper and ink today, people will still remember the old ways tomorrow—this is not education, but tyranny.”

"If you wish to burn the Buddhist scriptures here, please first burn the bodies of the monks to purify them with fire."

After saying this, he put his hands together in prayer and chanted a Buddhist prayer.

Upon seeing this, Kitada Akinobu was deeply moved. His hand holding the sword trembled slightly as he said to his men, "Guard this road and do not act rashly. I will go and consult the lord!"

After saying that, he glanced at the monk who had come down and said to him respectfully, "Master, please go back."

The monk could tell at a glance that the leader of the Kitada clan was clearly a devout Buddhist, which gave him even more confidence. He said with a righteous expression, "Please tell General Jing that if we want to transform Japan, we should not burn books, but open schools; we should not censor speech, but read together."

"I have learned a great deal."

The warriors stepped forward with smiles, and soon a series of mournful cries rang out.
-
The capital of Ise Province was located on the site of the ancestral home of the Kitada clan.

At that time in Japan, there were no cities at all; military outposts were generally manors or residences.

The Ping family mansion was just a group of wooden halls, perhaps surrounded by earthen ramparts and wooden fences. If Guo Hao wanted to attack, he would have taken it long ago.

He only wanted to intimidate the powerful clans of Ise Province.

Kitada Estate, now renamed Ijo, is located not far from Enryakuji Temple.

Kitada Kenjiro was looking at the gifts bestowed upon him by Jingguo, but to be honest, he couldn't feel happy at all.

These things weren't easy to take; he couldn't even imagine what would happen if things went wrong. In fact, Kitada Kenji was terrified by the fate of the Taira clan.

They felt that if they disobeyed even slightly, they would be treated as a second Taira clan member and thus executed, or even their entire clan would be exterminated.

In reality, the Great Jing Dynasty wasn't that brutal; only the Jurchens would act that way.

The reason the Taira clan met such an end was because they had too deep roots in Ise Province, and Chen Shao did not want them to continue to rule Ise Province. It's that simple.

"Your Majesty, the Third King has returned."

The name of Ise Province also began to align with that of the Central Plains, using the term "Three Great Kings".

In the past, this would have been reserved for a prince.

"Let him in."

After Kitada Kenshin entered, Kitada Kenshin didn't turn around, but simply asked, "Is everything done?"

Kitada Akinobu knelt down with a thud, his forehead touching the ground. "Brother, please spare them!"

“The monks of Enryaku-ji Temple said that if we want to transform Japan, we should not burn books, but open schools; we should not prohibit speech, but read together.”

Kitada Kenjiro was stunned for a moment, making sure he hadn't misheard, then flew into a rage and grabbed a glass lamp, smashing it over.

"You bastard, are you trying to wipe out our entire clan?!"

He walked to the wall, took down his Japanese sword, drew it, and hurriedly walked outside.

Upon reaching the doorway, he kicked Kitada Akinobu to the ground.

"Men, gather all troops and follow me to attack Enryaku-ji Temple!"

Lord Kitada Akiyoshi led his men to attack Enryakuji Temple, but the Kitada clan's samurai didn't care about such things.

Ise Province was not large. After it was divided up by the Kageto, the land, ports and people were limited, and Enryaku-ji Temple occupied a large part of it.

Before Jing Jun arrived, we were suppressed by Yanli Temple. After Jing Jun arrived, we were still suppressed by Yanli Temple. Then Jing Jun's trip was for nothing!
Seeing that the king was about to get serious, the samurai were overjoyed and wanted to massacre the Enryaku-ji Temple.

In fact, across the entire Japanese archipelago, the samurai class is now the most active in resisting the old aristocracy and the temple system.

They belong to a newly emerging force, eager to gain their own status and interests. Furthermore, this social class highly values ​​force and violence.

Historically, Taira no Kiyomori, the leader of the Taira clan, used the power of the samurai class to lead the Taira clan to complete rise.

Kitada Kenji led more than 2,000 men to the foot of Enryaku-ji Temple, adding to the 500 men already stationed there, for a total of 2,500 soldiers.

This time, instead of sending anyone to negotiate, he ordered Enryaku-ji Temple to be surrounded and then set on fire.

The samurai wrapped linen soaked in hot oil around their bows and arrows, lit them, and shot them into the temple.

A group of people, bent over and holding sharp blades, blocked the road at the mountain gate.

The flames quickly spread and grew larger, as Enryaku-ji Temple was mostly made of wood.

The panicked monks fled down the temple grounds, while the excited samurai, their faces flushed red, blocked the road with screams and began to hack and slash.

Those who came down after them were completely engulfed in flames.

The monks in the temple had long been dispatched to various places to quell rebellions through repeated conscriptions.

The rest of these people were used to a life of luxury and had no idea how to fight.

The abbot, Raitsu, protected the senior monk as they fled, their imperial dignity now gone.

"Kitada Kenjiro, open your eyes and see who this is!"

Kitada Kenjiro sneered and waved his hand, ordering, "Shoot this disgusting ball of flesh into a hedgehog!"

The Emperor Emeritus’s daughter and the High Priestess of Ise Grand Shrine have both been beheaded. What are you all shouting about?
"You said you wouldn't hand over the scriptures? Then let's burn them all! Burn them, burn them all up, burn the whole mountain to the ground!"

Having heard the king's words, the warriors had no more reservations. With sinister smiles, they tied the captured monk's hands behind his back and threw him back into the sea of ​​fire.

Someone dragged the seated En-yin to Kitada Kenjiro's side.

En-yin had lost his former arrogance; he was limp and wanted to beg for mercy, but found himself unable to even speak.

Watching him tremble, as if there was a stone stuck in his throat, Kitada Kenji felt a surge of pleasure while simultaneously feeling contempt for him.

Back then, I waited anxiously for two days in front of the gatekeeper Fujiwara, but in the end, I couldn't even get through the gate.

"Your Majesty, what should be done?"

"You can leave it to me."
-
Looking at the temple reduced to ashes.

Guo Hao felt a toothache and clicked his tongue a few times.

What an idiot! What an idiot!

Before leaving, Doctor Yuwen specifically taught him that wood is extremely precious nowadays.

These monasteries were not only wealthy, but also had servants who depended on them.

The wood used is of the highest quality, and many temples even cover it with gold leaf.

It was all burned down in one fire.
He rode his horse around the old site of Enryaku-ji Temple, making half a circle, but ultimately did not blame them.

This at least demonstrates Kitada Kenji's attitude.

He was originally just a puppet ruler in a temporary period of power.

When the time is right, this area will be completely incorporated into Dengzhou Prefecture and become an overseas county.

By then, this place will definitely become a military county. Before leaving, Doctor Yuwen said that countless workshops would be set up here.

There were smelting workshops, shipbuilding workshops, glassmaking workshops, and salt-making workshops.
I wonder if Tsukushi and Iwami will eventually be incorporated into the Central Plains.

"Lord Kitada, you have done very well this time. I will report the truth to His Majesty."

"Thank you, General Guo!"

Kitada Kenjiro speaks Chinese very well lately; it's obvious he's put in a lot of effort.

Like the Yoshimi clan of Iwami Province, the Kitada clan was a local minor powerful clan, the kind that used to be very weak.

They can only maintain their current rule by relying on the Great Vision.

Therefore, they had to help Da Jing slaughter the original nobles to show their loyalty, which further offended the local powerful families. In order to avoid retaliation, they could only rely on Da Jing even more.

In this way, they fell into an abyss that kept getting deeper and deeper.

The best outcome would be to escape to the Central Plains and settle down after fulfilling their puppet mission.

Or perhaps they really will kill them all, so they won't have to fear retaliation anymore.

For Da Jing, they were the most loyal, even more loyal than his own people.

After all, it concerned their own lives, and these people were the last to want the old Japanese aristocracy to make a comeback. (End of Chapter)