Chapter 734 0729 [Silver Mine Is Right Under Our Noses]
Emperor Toba, to be more precise, should be called Emperor Toba.
Because on the day when his five-year-old son was appointed as the crown prince, this guy abdicated and became the retired 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 retired emperor and his great-grandson the successor emperor. Layer upon layer of constraints, tight control!
Before Emperor Shirakawa's funeral was handled, Emperor Toba began to set up the In-hall.
That is, outside the court, the retired emperor set up another direct administrative agency to bypass the normal court to manage the country.
To do this, you must have reliable military force as a backing.
This force is the northern samurai.
Their official positions are not high, and they only serve as guards in the north of the In-hall. But once military force is needed, the retired emperor will send them to lead the troops.
There are two most glorious northern samurai now, one is Taira Tadamori and the other is Minamoto Tameyoshi.
Minamoto no Tameyoshi was originally highly valued by the Shirakawa Reign, but when he became Fujiwara no Tadashi's son-in-law, he was immediately neglected by the Shirakawa Reign and even fell into the position of security guard for the Fujiwara family.
The Toba Reign established a new court and needed to rely on the Fujiwara family, so he summoned Minamoto no Tameyoshi back to the court.
At the same time, the Toba Reign also kept a hand for the Fujiwara family and chose to continue to use Taira no Tadamori, who was promoted by his grandfather.
At this moment, Taira no Tadamori and Minamoto no Tameyoshi were kneeling in the court and were summoned by the retired emperor.
Emperor Toba said: "Eleven Chinese ships have arrived from Iwami Province, and 3,000 soldiers have landed on the ships. They have already captured the castle of Iwami Province. I heard from the nobles of Iwami Province that the Chinese soldiers are very elite, and their armor can protect most of their bodies. If the imperial court wants to conquer them, it must send tens of thousands of troops."
"Your Majesty!"
Minamoto Tameyoshi stood up and stepped forward, volunteering: "I am willing to lead 10,000 troops to clear out the bandits for your majesty."
Emperor Toba hesitated because Minamoto Tameyoshi was too cruel. In history, someone suggested sending Minamoto Tameyoshi to lead troops to quell the rebellion, but Emperor Toba asked directly: "Send Minamoto Tameyoshi, do you want him to destroy the castles along the way (rob along the way)?"
Although Emperor Toba hated his grandfather, he looked at Taira Tadamori, the samurai that his grandfather admired the most.
Taira Tadamori said: "I read China's "The Art of War" and know that 'know yourself and know the enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles'. Now we don't know why China sent troops across the sea. We don't know how much military power the Chinese army has. I think we should send an envoy to find out first. At the same time, please ask the emperor to issue an edict to each country, summon the legions and warriors from all over the country, and let the governors and garrisons prepare military rations."
This answer made Emperor Toba very satisfied: "Then appoint you as the general to command the troops of various countries."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Taira Tadamori paid homage.
Minamoto Tameyoshi was jealous and resentful when he saw this.
He was not liked by Emperor Shirakawa before, and even lost his status as a northern samurai, and worked as a security guard to manage the estate for the Fujiwara family.
Now Emperor Shirakawa is dead, and his father-in-law is also the father-in-law of Emperor Toba. He and Emperor Toba are brothers-in-law, so why is he still not valued?
Emperor Toba looked at Minamoto Tameyoshi and warned him: "You assist Tadamori in commanding the troops. Remember not to allow the troops to plunder during the march!"
This guy is not just robbing the people, he will even plunder the government office and the nobles of the counties and states.
"Yes, sir!" Minamoto Tameyoshi knelt down quickly, feeling a little relieved, but still not satisfied.
Taira Tadamori said again: "Your Majesty, I would like to go to Iwami Province in person as an envoy to find out the enemy's strengths and weaknesses."
Emperor Toba praised: "Excellent, you are worthy of being entrusted with important matters."
The two withdrew and went home.
Taira Tadamori married the sister (Ike Zenni) of Gion Onomi (concubine of Emperor Shirakawa), so it can be said that he and Emperor Shirakawa are brothers-in-law.
There is even a rumor that Emperor Shirakawa secretly gave the pregnant Gion Onomi to Taira Tadamori as a concubine. The one in her belly was the future famous Taira Kiyomori.
Taira Tadamori was very prestigious among the northern samurai. If the retired Emperor Toba wanted to inherit this armed force, he had to rely on him.
In comparison, Minamoto Tameyoshi was nothing.
Minamoto Tameyoshi went straight to his father-in-law Fujiwara Tadashi's house and said, "The retired emperor asked Taira Tadamori to lead the army, and I can only be his assistant. This shows that the retired emperor does not trust you, sir."
As the head of the regent family and the father of the empress dowager, Fujiwara Tadashi scolded, "If you were not so cruel, the retired emperor would definitely let you be the general. Choosing Taira Tadamori to lead the army is the retired emperor's compromise with the northern samurai. Do you think the retired emperor is willing?"
Minamoto Tameyoshi was speechless and was full of anger.
He couldn't figure it out. What's the big deal about grabbing some food during the march? It's a normal thing.
And this father-in-law, who can't even sort out his family affairs, what qualifications does he have to teach him? He favors the second son and hates the eldest son. This eldest son is also the regent. This matter has become a joke in the whole of Japan.
…
Several teams headed from Iwami Castle towards the mountains on all sides.
The team heading south had the largest number of people.
After advancing two or three miles, they split into three again.
Xia Yuqing led thirty Shamen Island soldiers, a Zhejiang translator, two prospecting craftsmen, several local warriors, and dozens of local people, and headed straight south over the mountains and took a small path.
Exploring the silver mine was just a side job. Their main task was to find out the nearby terrain as soon as possible and prepare for the next war.
Xia Yuqing personally climbed up to look far away, communicated with the local warriors through the translator, and casually drew a simple topographic map of the nearby area.
The remaining personnel cut down vegetation everywhere to expose low plants and rock textures for prospecting craftsmen 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 Tamamo Mae is the current 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.
Resting in the mountains at night, several local warriors 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 capable in fighting, but 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 peasant and soldier troops.
As for powerful warriors, Ishijian Kingdom has none for the time being.
It is a depressed lower-level noble 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 Zhuanguan warrior group, it was composed of warriors from landlords' families and warriors from prefectures and public lands.
This kind of warrior is very similar to the low-level knights in Europe.
Even the gameplay is similar. The lower-class European knights 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 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. They may even be transferred to the northeast to fight the barbarians. After returning home and disbanding, their status is still that of jian'er, and their families can get preferential treatment. Jian'er can farm and do business, but he 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 Ishima 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 city."
The bushes and vines on the rock wall have been cut down by soldiers.
The old craftsman first stood far away to observe, and then came closer and carefully examined the texture of the rock: "There is a silver mine here, and it is a large mine. General, please see, those black textures on the rock wall are veins. The silver is buried very shallow here, and there are some Experienced people can recognize it at a glance. It’s the only big mine I’ve ever seen!”
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 such a muddle?