Chapter 432
2 Million Gold and Silver in Hand
...
The Japanese of this era, especially the nobles and courtiers, were so engrossed in sightseeing, burning incense and praying to Buddha, reciting poetry, studying calligraphy, and cultivating their minds that they never even considered developing national defense.
Moreover, Japan in this era was extremely "civilian-oriented and anti-military".
From the time Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyo, the new Japanese dynasty broke free from the shackles of temple interference in politics and the fragmentation of power by the old aristocracy during the Nara period.
Having learned from history, the new Japanese dynasty made the same choice as Zhao Kuangyin: to regard "civil governance" as the guiding principle of the country, to regard Chinese learning as the orthodox civilization, and to gradually marginalize the samurai class, making them subservient to the power structure.
As a result, the civil service group completely controlled the core power in the imperial court.
The aristocratic class, represented by the Fujiwara clan, monopolized all high-ranking official positions, from Grand Minister of State to Councilor, thanks to their mastery of classical Chinese studies.
They took the Analects and the Book of Rites as their code of conduct, and their core functions were composing and exchanging poems, drafting imperial edicts, and compiling national history. They even regarded the quality of their writing as a key criterion for the promotion and demotion of officials.
The Japanese emperor himself considered himself a "literary monarch," indulging in waka poetry composition, Sinology research, and garden gatherings, while entrusting military and political affairs to his maternal relatives, the Fujiwara clan, who were well-versed in literature.
During festivals, poetry gatherings and debates on Confucian classics were popular in the Japanese imperial court. The winners would be rewarded with imperial robes, paper, and writing implements by the Japanese emperor, an honor that far surpassed the military achievements of a samurai.
In this way, the samurai class was completely excluded from the core of power.
This emphasis on civil over military affairs was essentially a means for the aristocratic class to maintain its privileges. By making classical Chinese learning the sole requirement for entering officialdom, the Fujiwara clan and other nobles monopolized knowledge and power, forming a closed ruling circle.
Lacking cultural influence and political resources, the warrior class, like the military generals of the former Song Dynasty, had no status whatsoever.
Furthermore, this "respect for literature and suppression of military affairs" mentality led to a stagnation in Japan's military technology and tactics for centuries. Compared with the Jin Dynasty, which dominated the north at the same time, Japan's equipment and tactics showed an insurmountable generational gap.
Most importantly, the Jurchens had truly experienced battlefield combat and were tempered by the flames of war, while Japanese samurai usually engaged in street brawls, at most suppressing rebellions and fighting in groups.
How could the Japanese fight the Jurchens?
After several wars, Emperor Shirakawa and the Japanese court nobles had come to understand all of this.
They understood even better that if they didn't seek military aid from the Song Dynasty, Japan would soon be occupied by the Jurchens, and they, as the current rulers of Japan, would certainly not have a good end.
Therefore, even if asking the Song Dynasty to send troops to rescue them was like drinking poison to quench their thirst, they had no choice but to accept it.
They have no choice.
Two days later, the Jurchens invaded the Shikoku region, shocking the Japanese government and public.
Emperor Shirakawa knew he could not delay any longer, so he addressed the lower house:
"Merchants pursue profit and do not engage in production, thus contributing nothing to the country. They shall be required to hand over all their gold and silver to the government offices within three days. Those who fail to do so within the deadline will have their property confiscated, the men exiled to the army, and the women demoted to the rank of Gui Nu."
Japanese society in this era was shaped by the traditional social hierarchy of "samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants," but in reality, it focused more on the "noble-samurai-commoner" hierarchy. Merchants were regarded as "profit-seekers" who did not engage in production but relied on distribution for a living. They were excluded from the mainstream social system, and their profession was looked down upon by the noble and samurai classes, and even despised by commoners.
During this era, commercial activities in Japan were still strictly controlled by the Japanese imperial court. Merchants had to pay heavy taxes or tributes to nobles and temples to obtain business licenses. They had no independent political rights and could even be deprived of their property for "overstepping their authority."
To put it simply, Japanese merchants of this era had extremely low social standing. Noble Japanese literati regarded commercial activities as "impurity," and the sons of merchants found it difficult to enter the upper class through the imperial examinations or marriage alliances. Social mobility was virtually zero.
It was precisely for this reason that when Emperor Shirakawa needed gold and silver, he ordered the merchant class to hand over all the gold and silver they possessed without hesitation.
Of course, some big merchants have nobles, temples, or privileged people behind them, and under normal circumstances, no one would dare to mess with these big merchants.
But now, Japan is facing a life-or-death crisis. Not to mention these big businessmen, even the nobles, temples, or privileged people behind them are not immune to the crisis, let alone the lowest-ranking people in Japan.
As expected! Immediately afterwards, Emperor Shirakawa issued another decree:
"The amount of gold and silver needed for the Song Dynasty's military campaigns is enormous. The court is doing its utmost to meet the demand and has already used up all the gold and silver stored in the treasury. It has also spared no expense on offerings for ancestral temples and other sacrificial vessels. As for the families of princes and officials, they have been notified to contribute their full share, but we are still afraid that this may not be enough. Loyal and righteous people should put the country first and submit any private property they wish to use to help the country by the deadline to the relevant government offices."
Soon after, he issued another edict: "All the gold and silver of princes, inner princes, dukes and ministers shall be surrendered. Anyone who dares to conceal or transfer them shall be punished according to military law. All gold and silver used by palaces, temples, monasteries, the tombs of Fengxian and Pu'an, and the public funds of the court shall be confiscated and stored in the treasuries of the court."
Two days later, Emperor Shirakawa summoned his ministers to a meeting to report on the progress of the gold and silver collection.
At this time, Japan had already gathered half of the gold and silver, but this was still far from the amount required by the Song Dynasty.
Emperor Shirakawa knew full well that the Song Dynasty would never send troops to rescue Japan if it did not obtain the gold and silver it desired.
With a determined effort, Emperor Shirakawa ordered the collection of gold and silver from temples such as Kiyomizu-dera, Nison-in, Ninna-ji, and To-ji, as well as the collection of gold and silver vessels used in ancestral temple ceremonies in the palace. The total value was estimated at seven million taels of gold and sixty-five million taels of silver.
However, this is still some distance from the gold and silver that the Song Dynasty wanted.
Emperor Baihe also took the opportunity to dismiss several noble families who possessed vast amounts of gold and silver but did not claim them from his possession, and sent people to confiscate their homes and private mines.
Emperor Shirakawa told the men who came to confiscate the gold and silver: "If any of you dare to show favoritism and conceal anything, or go into hiding, you are allowed to report it to the authorities. Once the information is verified, the informant will receive half of the reward. Anyone who goes into hiding will be punished according to military law."
This brought Emperor Shirakawa a considerable amount of gold and silver.
Emperor Shirakawa believed that the Jurchen offensive was too fierce and that they might reach Kyoto soon. Moreover, it would take time for the Song Dynasty to send troops, and he needed to allow that time. If he did not quickly raise gold and silver, the Japanese state would be in danger of destruction at any moment.
Emperor Baihe also believed that as long as the Song Dynasty could send troops to drive out the Jin people, the ancestral state and empire could be preserved. Therefore, quickly accumulating enough gold and silver was urgent, and he was willing to do anything for it.
Emperor Shirakawa racked his brains and put in a lot of effort to raise the required amount of gold and silver as soon as possible.
On this day, someone told Emperor Shirakawa that the families of courtesans such as yujo, shirapai, kui-ko, karu-ko, yu-ko, and chōja were rich in gold and silver.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Baihe immediately issued an edict demanding that these families hand over their gold and silver immediately. Anyone who dared to conceal this information and was reported would be punished according to the severity of the offense.
Later, a wise man suggested to Emperor Shirakawa that he could sell official positions and buy pardons with gold and silver.
Once these two openings were made, it was as if a dam had been breached, with massive amounts of gold and silver continuously pouring into the treasury of the courtyard.
By this time, Japanese society was rigidly hierarchical. Nobles inherited their official positions through family lineage, samurai held military power through ancestral privilege, and merchants and commoners were labeled as "lower class" for their entire lives, without even the right to marry into the upper class.
The official titles offered by Emperor Shirakawa, even if they were just minor local officials, honorary officials in the capital, or even just empty honorary titles, became "ladders to heaven" for crossing social classes.
Those wealthy merchants who had accumulated fortunes in the business world but were always looked down upon by the nobility knew that "money can move mountains but it can't change one's social status." Now, all they needed to do was take out enough gold and silver to free their descendants from the stigma of being "profit-seekers," allow them to join the ranks of scholars, bring glory to their ancestors, and even enable their descendants to participate in the imperial examinations, thus truly achieving a leap in social class.
How could this not drive these businessmen crazy, even to the point of taking a huge gamble?
A merchant who ran a silk business in Kyoto learned of this and took out all the gold and silver he had hidden very well, and donated it to obtain the local official position of "Settsu no Kami".
The same applies to commoners. Those who possess a lot of gold and silver but have a low social status also want to take this opportunity to become superior people and achieve a leap in social class. Naturally, they are willing to take out all the gold and silver in their hands, and even borrow gold and silver to buy official positions.
As for those criminals, as long as they have it and can get it, they will definitely be willing to take this opportunity to buy their freedom with gold and silver.
It is said that there was a notorious bandit who robbed dozens of wealthy households. No matter how severely he was tortured, he would not reveal the location of his stolen goods. When he learned that he could buy a pardon with gold and silver, he not only spent a lot of gold and silver to buy himself a pardon, but also bought himself a considerable official position.
In conclusion, thanks to the tireless efforts of Emperor Baihe and his ministers, they finally raised the two hundred million strings of gold and silver that the Song Dynasty demanded.
With the war situation urgent, Emperor Shirakawa and his court dared not cause any further trouble. Instead, they immediately sent the gold and silver to Toba Port, ordering the Song Dynasty navy to transport it back to the Song Dynasty and requesting that the Song Dynasty send troops to rescue Japan as soon as possible...
...(End of chapter)