Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Emperor Toba, to be precise, should be called Emperor Toba.

Because on the day his five-year-old son was established as the crown prince, the old man abdicated and became the supreme emperor.

The Crown Prince was directly promoted to Emperor Sutoku only half a day after being enthroned.

Everything was arranged by Emperor Shirakawa, who made his grandson the emperor and his great-grandson the emperor. Layers of constraints, tight control!

Before the funeral of Emperor Shirakawa was completed, Emperor Toba began to set up a courtyard.

That is, outside the imperial court, the Supreme Emperor established another administrative agency directly under him to manage the country, bypassing the normal court.

If you want to do this, you must have reliable force as the backing.

This force is the Samurai of the North.

Their official positions are not big, they only serve as guards in the north of the courtyard. But once force is needed, the Supreme Emperor will send them to lead the army.

Today there are two most prosperous samurai in the north, one is Taira Takaramori and the other is Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was originally highly regarded by Emperor Shirakawa, but when he became Fujiwara's loyal son-in-law, he was immediately ignored by Emperor Shirakawa, and was even reduced to working as a security guard for the Fujiwara family.

Emperor Toba established a new court and needed to rely on the Fujiwara family, so he recalled Minamoto no Yoshi to the court.

At the same time, Emperor Toba also kept a hand in the Fujiwara family and chose to continue to reuse Taira Takaramori who was promoted by his grandfather.

At this moment, Ping Zhongsheng and Yuan Weiyi were sitting on their knees in the courtyard and were summoned by the Supreme Emperor.

Emperor Toba said: "Eleven large Chinese ships have arrived from Ishimi Province, and three thousand soldiers have landed from the ships. They have captured the city of Iwami State. I heard from the wealthy people of Ishimi State that the Chinese soldiers are very elite. Their iron armor can protect most of their bodies. If the courtyard wants to conquer, they must send tens of thousands of troops."

"His Majesty the Emperor!"

Yuan Weiyi stood up, stepped forward, and took the initiative to ask for help: "I am willing to raise ten thousand troops to clear out the bandits for Your Majesty."

Emperor Toba hesitated because Minamoto was too cruel. Historically, someone suggested that Generator should be sent to lead troops to quell a rebellion for justice. Emperor Toba directly asked: "If Generator is sent for justice, do you want the cities he passes along the way to perish (plunder along the way)?"

Although Emperor Toba hated his grandfather, at this moment he was looking at Taira Tadamori, the samurai whom his grandfather admired most.

Ping Zhongsheng said: "I read China's "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and knew that 'know yourself and the enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger'. Now we still don't know why China sent troops across the sea. We also don't know how much force the Chinese army has. I think that we should first Send envoys to find out more about it. At the same time, please ask the emperor to issue an edict to summon legions and athletes from all over the country, and let the state ministers and guards prepare military rations."

This answer made Emperor Toba very satisfied: "Then I will appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the army to control the soldiers and horses of all countries."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Ping Zhongsheng paid homage.

When Yuan Weiyi saw this, he was jealous and angry.

He was not favored by Emperor Shirakawa before, and even lost his status as a samurai from the north and worked as a security guard for the Fujiwara family to manage the estate.

Now that Emperor Shirakawa is dead, his father-in-law is also the father-in-law of Emperor Toba. I am brother-in-law to Emperor Toba, so why am I still not reused?

Emperor Toba looked at Minamoto no Yoshitsune and warned: "As you assist Tadamori in commanding the troops, remember not to plunder any more during the march!"

This man not only robbed the common people, he even ransacked the state halls and wealthy families in the counties.

"Yes!" Yuan Weiyi quickly knelt down and felt a little happier, but still felt unsatisfied.

Ping Zhongsheng added: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Shijian Kingdom in person, and as an envoy, I can find out the true nature of the enemy."

Emperor Toba praised: "Excellent, you are worthy of entrusting me with great things."

The two of them retreated and went home.

Taira Takaramori married the sister (Ikezenni) of the Gion Empress (the concubine of the Emperor Shirakawa). It can be said that he and the Emperor Shirakawa were brothers-in-law.

There is even a rumor that Emperor Shirakawa secretly gave the pregnant Gion maiden to Taira Tadamori as his concubine. What she was carrying in her belly was the future famous Taira Kiyomori.

Taira Takaramori is extremely prestigious among the northern samurai. Emperor Toba must rely on him if he wants to inherit this armed force.

In comparison, Yuan Weiyi is nothing.

Minamoto Weiyoshi went straight to his father-in-law, Fujiwara Tadashi's house, and said, "The Emperor has asked Taira Taira to command the army, and I can only serve as his assistant. This is because the Emperor does not trust you."

As the head of the Shekoseki family and the biological father of the Empress Dowager, Fujiwara Tadashi reprimanded: "If you don't act so cruelly, the Emperor will definitely make you the general of the army. Choosing Taira Taira to lead the army is the Emperor's compromise with the samurai from the north. , do you think the Emperor is willing?"

Yuan was so embarrassed that he didn't dare to say anything, and he was holding back his anger.

He just couldn't figure it out. What's the point of grabbing some food during the march? It's a normal thing.

Moreover, this father-in-law can't even handle housework, so what qualifications does he have to teach him a lesson? He dotes on his second son but hates his eldest son, who is still the regent Guan Bai. This matter has become a joke throughout Japan.

…

Several teams marched from Shijianguocheng towards the surrounding mountainous areas.

The team heading south has the largest number of people.

After advancing two or three miles, it is divided into three parts.

Xia Yuqing took thirty soldiers from Salmon Island, a Zhejiang translator, two prospecting craftsmen, several local warriors, and dozens of local people, and headed straight south on the trail through the mountains.

Exploring the silver mine was just incidental. Their main task was to understand the nearby terrain as soon as possible and prepare for the next war.

Xia Yuqing personally climbed up to see the distance, communicated with the local warriors through an interpreter, and drew a simple topographic map of the nearby area.

The rest of the team cut down vegetation everywhere to expose low plants and rock textures for prospectors to look for clues.

The journey was very slow, and the journey was only seven or eight miles.

The translator said to Xia Yuqing: "This warrior said that the forest here is dense, and they call it Dasen Mountain. There are not many people in the mountain, and wild animals often appear. I hope the general will be more careful."

Xia Yuqing asked: "Is there a tiger?"

The samurai shook his head: "There are no tigers, but there are evil bears and monsters."

"Monster?" Xia Yuqing laughed when he heard this.

The warriors became excited and told various stories about monsters.

Anyone who has played video games knows that there were a lot of monsters in Japan during the Heian Era.

Rumor has it that the famous nine-tailed fox Tamamae is now the concubine of Emperor Toba. And Emperor Sotoku, who is not yet an adult now, is the Great Tengu!

If Ju Ming comes to Japan, he will definitely visit Abe Seimei’s grave.

This Onmyoji had only been dead for a hundred years, but his disciples and descendants were prosperous, and many monster stories were spread by them.

Several local warriors who were resting in the mountains at night were very scared, as if monsters might rush out at any time.

The food was pancakes baked before departure. Although they were not ground clean and contained wheat bran, the warriors seemed to be eating delicacies from the mountains and seas.

With nothing to do, Xia Yuqing began to communicate with the warriors through a translator.

After some conversation, he learned that there are three major samurai classes in Japan, from high to low: pillar samurai, powerful samurai and village official samurai.

For these little warriors in front of them, the Pillar Warrior is a legend, and they have never seen it in half their lives.

For example, Taira Takaramori and Yuan Weiyi, these two are the pillar warriors!

The Dongliang warriors do not need to be very good at fighting. Instead, they control the entire family power internally and many other samurai groups externally. They often responded to every call and were able to recruit a large number of warriors to join the battle. The recruited warriors even brought their own peasants and soldiers.

As for powerful warriors, Ishijian Country has none for the time being.

It is a depressed lower-level nobleman who paid bribes to buy officials to serve as state ministers, and actually went to take office. And integrate the resources of the place where he works, take root in the local area to cultivate power, and finally organize his own warrior group.

Such samurai orders have become more and more numerous in recent decades.

The reason is very simple. Emperor Shirakawa deliberately promoted middle- and lower-class nobles and sent them to local areas to develop forces close to the royal family. The Fujiwara clan, the regent family, also suffered a big impact on their business of collecting bribes and selling officials.

As for the Zhuangguan warrior group, it was composed of warriors from landlords' families and warriors from the common lands of counties and counties.

This type of warrior is very similar to the low-level knights in Europe.

Even the gameplay is similar. The lower-class knights in Europe often send their sons to the homes of superior nobles to work as free followers or attendants for them. There were even many erotic stories, such as the hostess having sex with the young attendant at home.

In Japan, sons are sent to be foster parents or foster children. The main family calls the clan boys as family sons and the non-clan boys as Lang Dang, in order to strengthen the loyalty of the samurai to whom they belong.

A samurai named Satoshi Masuda said: "I used to be a member of the Masuda family. I grew up with my little master. But the little master had a bad temper and often beat and scolded us."

Xia Yuqing asked: "Are your ancestors also warriors?"

Masuda Satoshi replied: "My father and grandfather are both samurai of the Masuda family. But my great-grandfather was a junior high school athlete. Athletes must be registered with the national government and recruited as soldiers when there is a war. Athletes are soldiers and farmers. Soldiers are different. They have to prepare their own weapons and armor, and they may even be transferred to the northeast to fight the barbarians. After returning to their hometown and being disbanded, their status is still that of jian'er, and their families can receive preferential treatment. Jian'er can farm and do business, but must accept wartime conscription. .”

This thing was learned from the Tang Dynasty, and athletes were the main source of soldiers in the late Tang Dynasty.

The low-level warriors of Ishigami Kingdom are actually all athletes from a legal perspective.

After chatting for a while, Masuda Satoshi asked weakly: "As a warrior of the Ming Dynasty, will I be able to eat pancakes more often in the future?"

Xia Yuqing laughed.

Get up early the next day and continue to explore the terrain and mineral veins along the way.

After only walking three or four miles, the old prospecting craftsman stared at the rock wall in a daze.

Xia Yuqing asked: "What's wrong?"

An old craftsman from Fujian said: "It's possible... it's not possible. There must be money here!"

Xia Yuqing said in disbelief: "How far have we gone after leaving Ishimi National City and entering the mountains? How could we find a silver mine? The Japanese are not fools. They have discovered it long ago when they are so close to the national city."

The bushes and vines on the rock wall have been cut down by soldiers.

The old craftsman first stood far away to observe, then came closer and carefully examined the rock texture: "There is a silver mine here, and it is a large mine. General, please look, those black textures on the rock wall are veins. The silver is buried very shallow here, and it is a little bit deep." Anyone with some experience can recognize it at a glance. It is a big mine, the only big mine I have seen in my life!"

Xia Yuqing stared at it carefully for a long time, but couldn't understand anything.

Xia Yuqing scratched his head. The important task assigned by the prince was completed in this way?