Chapter 430
The Great Demon Tamamae
...
Before coming to the Song Dynasty, Japanese envoys such as Fujiwara no Tadashi and Minamoto no Tameyoshi (including Emperor Shirakawa behind them) were already mentally prepared for Japan to be severely exploited by the Song Dynasty.
There's no way around it. If they were in their shoes, they would definitely seize this golden opportunity to take advantage of Japan's urgency and their own monopoly, settle old scores and new grievances with Japan, and make a fortune.
In fact, Fujiwara no Tadashi came here to take the blame.
Fujiwara no Tadashi was the eldest son of Fujiwara no Moritsugu. He succeeded as Kanpaku in 1106 and assisted Emperor Toba in ascending the throne the following year, becoming the most powerful person in Japan—equivalent to a powerful minister in the Chinese dynasties, like Cai Jing. His power was even greater than that of Cai Jing.
Later, Emperor Shirakawa pulled off a clever escape, passing the throne to his son, Emperor Horikawa, and having Fujiwara no Tadashi and others fight against Emperor Horikawa and the royalists. He then seized the opportunity to establish the "Insei" (Insei government) and set up the "In-cho" (In-cho), relying on the samurai in the north to continuously expand his power. He also took advantage of the fact that Emperor Horikawa was too young to handle political affairs alone, and ultimately seized the highest power in Japan.
From then on, all major national policies in Japan were issued by the Retired Emperor's Office, known as "Insen," whose prestige surpassed that of the Emperor's edicts. The power of the regents plummeted, and Japan entered the Insen era.
Fujiwara no Tadashi was forced to retire to Uji last year due to a power conflict with Emperor Shirakawa, but his son Fujiwara no Tadamichi was still appointed as Kanpaku (regent), while Fujiwara no Tadashi retained his position as a regent.
The invasion of the Jurchens has caused Japan enormous losses. Even if we manage to drive them out and save Japan someday, someone will have to take responsibility for this.
The person most responsible is none other than Emperor Shirakawa, the current supreme leader of Japan.
Retired Emperor Shirakawa is undoubtedly Japan's top political strategist at present; he realized the consequences immediately.
Therefore, Emperor Shirakawa had long been on guard against his political rivals.
In reality, Emperor Shirakawa only considered two people as political opponents: his grandson, Emperor Toba, and Fujiwara no Tadashi, whom he defeated.
Therefore, when Emperor Shirakawa was thinking about how to deal with the Jurchen invasion, he was also thinking about how to suppress his two political rivals, Emperor Toba and Fujiwara no Tadashi.
Later, a Japanese minister suggested borrowing troops from the Song Dynasty to suppress the Jurchens. Emperor Shirakawa quickly realized that even if this could save Japan, Japan would be extorted by the Song Dynasty in the future, and Fujiwara no Tadashi had to take the blame.
Emperor Shirakawa then took this opportunity to send Fujitsubo, a concubine whom Emperor Toba greatly admired, to Zhao Yu, as a way to put Emperor Toba in a bad light.
Three birds with one stone.
Fujiwara no Tadashi had been the most powerful person in Japan for over a decade, so how could he not see Emperor Shirakawa's plans?
Fujiwara no Tadashi chose to remain silent in the face of this, because he knew very well that Emperor Toba would not be content to be oppressed by Emperor Shirakawa forever, and that he would eventually rebel.
And once that day comes, Emperor Toba will inevitably have to cooperate with Fujiwara no Tadashi.
Furthermore, while Emperor Shirakawa is indeed powerful, he is already nearly seventy years old. If we let him keep jumping around, how many more years can he keep jumping around?
What Fujiwara no Tadashi needs to do now is to be patient and make as few mistakes as possible.
However, sometimes, the more you try to avoid making mistakes, the more those mistakes seem to follow you.
Fujiwara no Tadashi had considered that the Song Dynasty might take advantage of the situation and make exorbitant demands for military assistance, but he never expected that the Song Dynasty would ask for military expenses in the hundreds of millions. Moreover, the Song Dynasty demanded that Japan cede Tsushima Island, Iki Island, and Hakata Bay in Chikuzen Province in northern Kyushu, and that Japan, which was originally closed off, be fully opened to the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty even requested that Japan establish a concession in Kyoto for the Song Dynasty.
This treaty is not just harsh, it is humiliating and detrimental to the nation's sovereignty.
If Fujiwara no Tadashi had signed such a treaty, he would undoubtedly have become the greatest sinner in Japanese history, cursed by future generations for all eternity. Moreover, even if Emperor Shirakawa died one day and Emperor Toba became the supreme leader of Japan, he would not have been able to regain power in Japan.
To put it simply, although Fujiwara no Tadashi was burdened with a lot of pressure imposed by Emperor Shirakawa and was mentally prepared to be ripped off by the Song Dynasty, such conditions had already exceeded his bottom line.
The problem is that Japan is already in dire straits, like an egg on a chopping block. Under these circumstances, if he cannot persuade the Song Dynasty to send troops to rescue Japan, he will certainly be beheaded by Emperor Shirakawa when he returns, becoming the "culprit" of Japan's fall.
What's more troublesome is that the Song Dynasty and Japan are far apart, and Fujiwara no Tadashi has no way to go back and shift the blame to others or find others to share this huge responsibility.
Having no other choice, Fujiwara no Tadashi could only reason with Cai Jing and appeal to his emotions, hoping that the Song Dynasty could ask for less.
However, the one who was in a hurry about this matter was not the Song Dynasty at all. Cai Jing, who was over seventy years old, was as steady as an old dog and simply refused to budge.
Having no other option, Fujiwara no Tadashi tried to contact Princess Soko, Princess Yoshiko, and the hundred Japanese beauties, hoping they would whisper sweet nothings in Zhao Yu's ear.
Soon, Princess Consort Consort, Princess Consort Nozomi, and the hundred Japanese beauties replied to Fujiwara no Tadashi. They all said that Emperor Zhao Yu disliked women interfering in politics, and that none of them were actually favored concubines by him. They were too insignificant to help Fujiwara no Tadashi.
This delay meant that more than half a month had passed.
On this day, Wang Lun, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial in charge of receiving the Japanese envoys, brought news to Fujiwara no Tadashi and his men: in the recent battle, the Jurchens had defeated the Japanese Dazaifu, and the Japanese army of 50,000 was easily defeated by the Jurchens of 30,000. Now the Japanese Dazaifu had retreated from northern Kyushu to Shikoku, and northern Kyushu was about to be completely occupied by the Jurchens. Now the Jurchens were burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities in northern Kyushu.
Upon hearing this news, Fujiwara no Tadashi and the other Japanese envoys were all shocked! They never expected that the Jurchens would conquer northern Kyushu so quickly.
So, will the Jurchens continue their strategy of swallowing up Japan like a snake trying to swallow an elephant?
Recently, Fujiwara no Tadashi and other Japanese envoys have learned from Wang Lun and his group about the rise of the Jurchens, and that they destroyed and swallowed up the vast Liao Empire in just a few years.
Moreover, at the beginning of the Jin uprising, there were only more than two thousand men.
After learning about this history, Fujiwara no Tadashi and other Japanese envoys couldn't help but wonder if Japan would become a second Liao Dynasty.
Of course, Fujiwara no Tadashi and the other Japanese envoys did have their suspicions. They believed that this was a false message spread by the Song Dynasty to force them to pay exorbitant employment fees in order to deceive them.
However, just a few days later, Emperor Baihe sent another envoy to the Song Dynasty.
This time, the envoy sent by Emperor Shirakawa presented Emperor Zhao Yu with one hundred Japanese beauties, as well as 500,000 taels of gold and 5 million taels of silver, continuing to request the Song Dynasty to send troops to rescue Japan.
The new envoy also brought Fujiwara no Tadashi an oral decree from Emperor Shirakawa, instructing him to do everything in his power to secure military aid from the Song Dynasty to Japan. The decree further stated that if Fujiwara no Tadashi failed to obtain reinforcements, he should not return to Japan.
Although Emperor Shirakawa had already offered Fujiwara no Tadashi a way out, he still insisted on bargaining with the Song Dynasty and refused to accept their exorbitant demands. In order to persuade the Song Dynasty to lower its conditions for sending troops, Fujiwara no Tadashi specially sent someone back to Japan to obtain a beautiful Japanese woman, intending to use her influence through his wife's pillow talk.
The Japanese beauty that Fujiwara no Tadashi sought this time was no ordinary woman. Renowned for her exceptional intelligence and stunning beauty, she was hailed as "Japan's First Talented Woman." Adopted by the samurai Sakabe couple, she blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She was as beautiful as a flower, gentle and refined, and proficient in all the arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—making her extremely famous in Japan at the time.
She is the Algae Girl.
In Japan, she also has a well-known name—Tamamo-no-Mae.
It is said that Emperor Toba had always wanted to bring Mōyō into the palace to become his favorite concubine. Unfortunately, Emperor Shirakawa and Emperor Toba had been engaged in a fierce power struggle recently, and he was too busy to bring Mōyō into the palace.
Fujiwara no Tadashi had met Momo once, and he was certain that she would be a bewitching enchantress who could bring ruin to a country, and no man could resist her beauty and charm.
Fujiwara no Tadashi believed that if Japan offered the maiden to Zhao Yu, they would surely be able to persuade him to lower his demands for military action.
At the same time, Fujiwara no Tadashi also sent someone back to Emperor Shirakawa with the conditions for military action that the Song Dynasty was currently demanding, so that Emperor Shirakawa and the court officials in Japan would know that it was not that he was unwilling to do his job, but that the conditions that the Song Dynasty was currently demanding could not be agreed to.
Putting everything else aside, once the conditions for sending troops to the Song Dynasty are agreed, those hundreds of millions of taels of gold and silver will have to be sent to the Song Dynasty immediately. If the amount is not reduced, where will the Japanese court find so much gold and silver in such a short time?
More than half a month later, the Japanese sent someone to bring Zaono over, and at the same time brought back news from the front lines to Fujiwara no Tadashi: the Jin army had expanded to 100,000 and was reorganizing its forces, and it might attack Shikoku and China soon.
However, this time Emperor Shirakawa did not say that he would do anything to get the Song Dynasty to send troops to rescue Japan. Obviously, the conditions that the Song Dynasty wanted for sending troops were unacceptable to him.
Fujiwara no Tadashi carefully instructed Zaono before sending her into Zhao Yu's harem through proper channels.
Later, Fujiwara no Tadashi spent a lot of money to bribe officials so that Zhao Yu could see the maiden.
It's no exaggeration to say that even Zhao Yu, a man of great experience and with many beauties under his belt, was stunned by Zaono's appearance at first sight.
Alluring, seductive.
How to describe it?
She's like a vixen.
If she were to play a role like Daji or a fox spirit, she wouldn't even need makeup; it would be a natural performance.
Zhao Yu looked at Zaonv and asked her, "Who are you? When did you enter the palace?"
Zaonv replied in Mandarin that was even more fluent than that of Yui Hatano, almost indistinguishable from that of a Han Chinese: "My name is Zaonv. I am from Kyoto, Japan. I arrived here three days ago and entered the palace yesterday."
Zhao Yu had already suspected the identity of Zaono, but now that he heard she came from Japan, he immediately realized that she was most likely a yokai from the late Heian period of Japan, also known as the "Golden-haired, White-faced Nine-tailed Fox," and was considered one of the "Three Great Evil Yokai" along with "Shuten-dōji" and "Ōtengu."
Legend has it that Tamamo-no-Mae was the Chinese nine-tailed fox Daji. After the fall of the Shang Dynasty, she fled to India and transformed into Huayang Tian, the queen of Prince Banzu of Magadha. Later, she returned to China and lived a life of anonymity. During the Tang Dynasty, she disguised herself as a young girl and boarded the ship of the Japanese envoy Kibi no Makibi to Japan. She was later adopted by a samurai and was hailed as "Japan's first talented woman" because of her intelligence and unparalleled beauty. She entered the palace and became the favorite concubine of Emperor Toba.
As time went by, Tamamo-no-Mae's power grew increasingly stronger thanks to Emperor Toba's favor.
However, not long after, Emperor Toba suddenly fell seriously ill and was bedridden, and the imperial physicians were unable to determine the cause of his illness.
Finally, the Onmyoji Abe no Yasachika determined that it was Tamamo-no-Mae who was responsible. She was a nine-tailed fox with a jade-like face and golden hair. Before the Onmyoji incantation, Tamamo-no-Mae revealed her true form as a white-faced, golden-haired nine-tailed fox. She absorbed the Emperor's essence day and night, hoping to one day take over the throne and rule Japan. When her plot to usurp the country was exposed, Tamamo-no-Mae fled from the palace.
After Tamamo-no-Mae fled to Nasuno, the Japanese imperial court dispatched troops to suppress her. Abe no Yasachika used a divine mirror to shoot her down, and she was eventually defeated. Her body turned into the "Sessho-seki," which emitted poisonous gas, until it was destroyed by the monk Gen'ō during the Nanboku-chō period.
Zhao Yu looked at Tamamo-no-Mae, sighing inwardly, 'I never imagined I would actually see this most famous yokai in Japan, and what I never expected was that she would become my woman!'
Since Tamamo-no-Mae is a "demon," we don't need Tamamo-no-Mae anymore.
What a joke.
Putting aside the fact that this so-called "monster" was mostly fabricated by the Japanese, even if Tamamo-no-Mae were truly a white-faced, golden-haired, nine-tailed fox, Zhao Yu wouldn't mind playing the role of King Zhou.
Leaving aside the actual history.
Take King Zhou of Shang in "Investiture of the Gods" for example. He lost his country entirely because he indulged in wine and women, neglected state affairs, listened to slander, and persecuted loyal officials, which led to the downfall of the Shang Dynasty.
Daji was just a woman. If King Zhou hadn't been such a tyrant, how much trouble could she have caused?
Zhang Chun, standing nearby, didn't stop Zhao Yu from taking Tamamo-no-Mae as his concubine. She was simply puzzled, 'Historians speculated that Tamamo-no-Mae's prototype might have been Fujiwara no Tokuko, Emperor Toba's favorite concubine. Now it seems that speculation was wrong.'
Subsequently, Zhang Chun suggested to Zhao Yu that Zaonv be renamed "Tamamo-no-Mae".
To Zhao Yu's surprise, after he accepted Tamamo-no-Mae as his concubine, she did not plead for Japan.
Zhao Yu was puzzled and asked Tamamo-no-Mae, "Why doesn't my beloved consort plead for our lost country? Could it be that you have forgotten the kindness shown to your former country?"
Tamamo-no-Mae replied: “In the past, I was a subject of Japan. Although I cherished the thoughts of Japan, I was not entrusted with the heavy responsibilities of the country and was just an orphan girl from humble origins. Now, thanks to Your Majesty’s favor, I have been placed in the inner palace. I have already taken the Three Obediences and Four Virtues as the foundation of my life. After marriage, I will follow my husband. My husband is heaven and I am earth. I will take Your Majesty’s worries as my worries and Your Majesty’s joys as my joys.”
"Although my homeland is dear to me, I now belong to the Great Song Dynasty. How dare I interfere with Your Majesty's wise decision with my personal feelings? If Your Majesty pities Japan for the suffering caused by war and wishes to send a royal army to its aid, there is no need for me to say more; Your Majesty will make a benevolent decision on your own. If Your Majesty assesses the situation and considers the well-being of the Great Song Dynasty more important, and does not wish to mobilize the army, then if I were to strongly advise against it, I would only put Your Majesty in a dilemma, which is not the proper conduct of a concubine."
"Your Majesty's only wish is for Your Majesty to be healthy and for the Song Dynasty to be secure forever. As for matters concerning the country, Your Majesty shall make the final decision."
After speaking, Tamamo-no-Mae raised her eyes to look at Zhao Yu. Her eyes were filled with both respect and intelligence, showing no sign of coercion, but rather revealing her thoughtfulness.
Zhao Yu praised Tamamo-no-Mae for her understanding, and then issued an edict: "Tamamo-no-Mae has won my favor. Japan has rendered meritorious service by offering this woman, so I hereby grant her the following condition for military action: payment of 200 million taels of gold and silver, a lease of Tsushima Island for a hundred years, and the opening of trade between Japan and the Song Dynasty..."
...(End of chapter)