Chapter 438
Japanese Queen
...
Just as Emperor Toba was swiftly taking over the reins of the Japanese court and negotiating peace with Wanyan Wuzhu, a very special woman, through the mediation of her family and a large number of people who wanted to surrender to the Song Dynasty, quietly left Heian-kyo and headed to the Song Dynasty.
This extremely special woman was Fujiwara no Shōko, the former Empress Consort of Emperor Toba, the mother of Emperor Sutoku, and the mother of Prince Michihito, Prince Kimihito, Prince Masahito (Emperor Go-Shirakawa in history), Prince Honin, Princess Kōko, and Princess Tōko.
Furthermore, Fujiwara no Shōko was born into the Fujiwara clan of the Kan'in school. Her father was Fujiwara no Kimizuke, the acting Grand Councilor of the Second Rank, and her mother was Mitsuko, the daughter of Fujiwara no Takakasa, the Left Vice-Chūben, and the wet nurse of Emperors Horikawa and Toba. Her half-brother was Fujiwara no Shigetsugu, the Grand Minister of State (ancestor of the Sanjō family), and her full siblings were Fujiwara no Michiki, the acting Grand Councilor of the Second Rank (ancestor of the Saionji family), Fujiwara no Saneyoshi, the Left Minister (ancestor of the Tokudaiji family), and Fujiwara no Tsunezane, the wife of the Ōkami-no-Mikado family (maternal grandmother of Emperor Nijō).
In short, Fujiwara no Shōko was not only the recently deposed Empress of Japan and Empress Dowager, but also one of the most prominent noble families in Japan, whose family had an extremely large network of connections and influence in the country.
However, Fujiwara no Akiko, who was doing well as Empress and Empress Dowager, had her life changed as soon as Emperor Toba took power. Emperor Toba began to rule and command the court officials. He reinstated Fujiwara no Tadashi, who had been dismissed by Shirakawa-in. He not only made Tadashi's daughter, Fujiwara no Yasuko (Kōyō-in), Empress, but also flirted with Fujiwara no Tokuko (Mifuku-in). Sooner or later, they would get together. As a result, Fujiwara no Akiko was banished to the cold palace by Emperor Toba.
Thus, having lost his power, Fujiwara no Shōko was forced to become a nun at the young age of Hōkō-in Temple of Ninna-ji, taking the Buddhist name Shinnyōhō.
This was only because the Fujiwara clan's power remained strong, and Emperor Toba dared not go too far; otherwise, Fujiwara would likely have faced certain death.
Of course, Fujiwara no Akiko also knew why Emperor Toba treated her this way.
It's nothing more than suspicion that she has an immoral personal life, or even suspicion that none of the children she gave birth to are Emperor Toba's.
Fujiwara no Akiko was also helpless about this!
Her father, Fujiwara no Kimizuke, died when she was seven years old. She was then raised by the then-ruling Emperor Shirakawa and his favorite concubine, Lady Gion.
Later, before she came of age, rumors spread that she had an affair with her adoptive father, Emperor Shirakawa.
When she grew up and reached the age of marriage, Emperor Shirakawa wanted her to marry Fujiwara no Tadamichi, the eldest son of the then Regent's family.
—The regent and chief minister at the time was Fujiwara no Tadashi, and not long before that, the regent and chief minister was Fujiwara no Tadamichi.
Undoubtedly, Emperor Shirakawa intended to ease political tensions with the then-regent family through this marriage, and even hoped to gain some power from them.
At that time, the Regent family held unparalleled power in Japan, and even the Imperial Family had to defer to them.
This made the regent family at the time unwilling to form a marriage alliance with Emperor Shirakawa.
Therefore, Fujiwara no Tadashi firmly declined the marriage proposal on the grounds that Fujiwara no Shōshi was of questionable character (i.e., having an affair with Emperor Shirakawa).
The fact that the regent family dared to disrespect Emperor Shirakawa in this way, even at the cost of ruining Fujiwara no Shōshi's reputation, must have greatly displeased, or even angered, Emperor Shirakawa.
This foreshadowed Emperor Shirakawa's later efforts to defeat the then-regent family.
Later, Emperor Shirakawa took advantage of Emperor Toba's youth and his status as a puppet at his mercy, and married Fujiwara no Akiko to Emperor Toba, making her Emperor Toba's empress.
As the daughter of a Grand Councilor, she became Empress. This is a feat achieved only by one Japanese Empress since the reign of Emperor Sanjō, the 67th emperor, Fujiwara no Shōshi.
Therefore, the appointment of Fujiwara no Akiko as empress did indeed cause some controversy in the court.
At the same time, Fujiwara no Shōko was also enjoying unparalleled fame.
After Fujiwara no Shōko married Emperor Toba, she gave birth to three sons and two daughters for him. (In history, she also gave birth to Prince Motohito for Emperor Toba, but because time travelers like Jomata changed history, Fujiwara no Shōko was unable to give birth to Prince Motohito for Emperor Toba as in history, and she didn't even conceive of Prince Motohito.)
During this process, Fujiwara no Shōko and Emperor Toba also had some sweet moments.
For example, when Fujiwara no Shōko gave birth to Emperor Sutoku, Emperor Emeritus Toba pardoned some prisoners whose crimes were relatively minor.
For example, when Fujiwara no Shōko gave birth to Prince Masahito (later Emperor Go-Shirakawa), she and Emperor Toba, who was in power at Shirakawa-in, often visited Kumano Shrine together.
However, all this beauty vanished as Emperor Toba grew up, understood the benefits of power, and began to clash with Emperor Shirakawa and his grandson.
Fujiwara no Shōko grew up in the palace from a young age and was deeply favored by the retired Emperor Shirakawa. The retired Emperor Shirakawa often held Fujiwara no Shōko in his arms. However, as Fujiwara no Shōko grew a little older, a scandal broke out between her and the retired Emperor Shirakawa (but the authenticity of this is highly controversial). It is said that Emperor Sutoku, the nominal eldest son of the retired Emperor Toba and Fujiwara no Shōko, was actually born to Fujiwara no Shōko and the retired Emperor Shirakawa. Therefore, he was disliked by the retired Emperor Toba and was called "uncle's son" (meaning the son of an uncle).
Moreover, the other four children that Fujiwara no Shōko bore for Emperor Toba were also rumored to be the offspring of Emperor Shirakawa under such public opinion, causing Emperor Toba to lose face and become a laughing stock of the world.
Now that Emperor Shirakawa has lost to Emperor Toba in the political struggle, one can imagine what Fujiwara no Shōko's life will be like.
The key concern for Fujiwara no Akiko was her children. Given Emperor Toba's ruthless attitude and the extent of his dislike for her, she feared that if he returned to power, none of her children would escape unscathed.
To be honest, Fujiwara no Shōko wasn't just making things up.
Historically, the children born to Fujiwara no Shōko did indeed have tragic fates, and almost none of them met a good end.
First of all, Prince Michihito and Prince Kimihito, neither of these children grew up to adulthood—they died prematurely at the ages of six and nine, respectively, due to illness.
Prince Masahito, on the other hand, was raised by Emperor Toba and his favorite concubine to be an idle prince who was neither literate nor martial, spending his days indulging in romance, poetry and prose, and was practically a good-for-nothing.
Prince Motohito, who was the youngest son of Fujiwara no Shōshi, was ordered by Emperor Toba to become a monk as soon as he was born.
Princess Kiko and Princess Toshiko were both forced to become nuns. The former died at the age of twelve, while the latter, being younger, was not greatly affected by this feud and lived to be over sixty.
As for Fujiwara no Shōshi's eldest son, Emperor Sutoku, Emperor Retired Toba was preparing to follow the example of Emperor Shirakawa and make him an emperor retiree as well. Historically, Emperor Retired Toba later allowed Prince Taihito, the son of his favorite concubine Fujiwara no Tokuko, to ascend the throne as the 76th Emperor Konoe of Japan.
And then there's Fujiwara no Akiko herself.
Later, around the time Emperor Konoe ascended the throne and Fujiwara no Tokuko became empress, curse incidents such as the Hiyoshi Shrine curse incident and the Hirota Shrine curse incident, which were believed to have targeted Fujiwara no Tokuko, were discovered one after another, and rumors spread that Fujiwara no Akiko was behind it all.
Under the suppression of Emperor Toba and Fujiwara no Tokuko, Fujiwara no Shōko never had a chance to turn the tide and eventually died in despair at the age of forty-five.
It was as if a voice from the depths of her being was telling Fujiwara no Akiko that if she didn't do something, she and her children would all meet a bad end.
It was at this time that those Japanese who were not optimistic about the alliance between Japan and the Jin Dynasty approached Fujiwara no Akiko.
They told Fujiwara no Shōko that even at its peak, the Jin dynasty could not defeat the Song dynasty and was destroyed by the Song. Only a few thousand people escaped to Japan. Japan could not even defeat the Jin dynasty with only a few thousand people. Their weakness was obvious. Could such a Jin dynasty and such a Japan together defeat the Song dynasty, which had almost swept across Northeast Asia?
They also told Fujiwara no Akiko that Zhao Yu's greatest hobby was collecting beautiful women, especially those of noble status such as empresses, empress dowagers, queens, and princesses from other countries.
They hoped that Fujiwara no Shōko would consider the nation's interests and personally travel to Beijing, the capital of the Song Dynasty, to meet with Emperor Taizong of Song (Zhao Yu) and request that he send troops to aid Japan, help quell the rebellion led by Emperor Toba, and drive out the Jin invaders.
Fujiwara no Akiko understood that the main reason these people sent her to the Song Dynasty was to make her seduce Emperor Zhao Yu.
It wasn't that Fujiwara no Shōko was arrogant; when it came to beauty, she never lost. If it weren't for her devastatingly beautiful face, she wouldn't have attracted so much controversy.
Crucially, she held the titles of Empress and Empress Dowager, which were Zhao Yu's favorites.
Well, her status as empress has already been revoked by Emperor Toba.
But then again, a deposed empress is still an empress, isn't she? Besides, she also has the status of empress dowager.
The crucial point is that she's only twenty, which is the most charming age for a woman.
Therefore, Fujiwara no Akiko believed that as long as she used all her skills, she could definitely win over Zhao Yu and get him to lend her troops. Then she would lead the Song army that had swept across Northeast Asia back to Japan to take revenge on that scoundrel, Emperor Toba.
Oh, and there's also Fujiwara no Tadashi, Fujiwara no Tadamichi, and Fujiwara no Yasuko.
If it weren't for the fact that Fujiwara no Tadashi and his son Fujiwara no Tadamichi were power-hungry, she wouldn't have earned such a bad reputation and ended up in this situation.
In short, Fujiwara no Akiko was filled with hatred. She planned to go to the Song Dynasty and use her status and beauty to win over Zhao Yu, so that he would help her avenge her family.
……
After more than ten days of bumpy travel, Fujiwara no Akiko arrived at Jizhou Port.
Upon arriving here, Fujiwara no Shōko discovered that even Heian-kyō, which they considered the most prosperous place in the world, was inferior to a port city in the Song Dynasty.
When Fujiwara no Shōko arrived in Beijing and saw this premier international metropolis, her previous confidence vanished.
When Zhao Yu learned that Fujiwara no Akiko, the former empress of Japan, had come to request an audience, he immediately understood that the pretext he wanted to use to annex Japan into the Song Dynasty had arrived. Therefore, he immediately summoned Fujiwara no Akiko to an audience.
When Fujiwara no Akiko arrived at the Daqing Hall, Emperor Zhao Yu sat on the dragon throne and looked down.
Fujiwara no Akiko's face was exquisitely shaped, with delicate features, smooth skin without any flaws, and a stunning figure. More importantly, she possessed a natural and elegant temperament and a confidence that ordinary young women lacked.
Zhao Yu looked at Fujiwara no Akiko and asked her, "Who are you? What brings you to my Great Song Dynasty?"
Fujiwara no Shōko replied, "This humble nun, Shinnyō, was formerly the Empress of Japan, and my eldest son is none other than the current Emperor Sutoku of Japan..."
Fujiwara no Akiko was very clever. Fearing that her original position as Empress would no longer be useful, she deliberately emphasized her other noble identity—the mother of the current Emperor of Japan, who could also be called the Empress Dowager of Japan.
Fujiwara no Akiko thought to herself, 'Given my status, let's see if you'll be moved by me.'
Fujiwara no Akiko made the right bet. Killing Japanese men and having sex with Japanese women was always one of the things that Zhao Yu was most interested in. Having sex with the Japanese empress, even if she was just a former empress, was something Zhao Yu would do even if it meant he would faint on the spot. What's more, this former Japanese empress was the mother of the current Japanese emperor.
This gave Zhao Yu an even greater sense of conquest and the thrill of revenge.
Therefore, Zhao Yu made no attempt to conceal his admiration for Fujiwara no Akiko's stunning figure.
Facing Zhao Yu's blatant gaze, Fujiwara no Akiko showed no anger whatsoever; instead, she seemed somewhat smug. 'Tch~ Men!'
At that moment, out of the corner of her eye, Fujiwara no Akiko caught sight of Tamamo-no-Mae standing next to Zhao Yu.
She knew this woman.
When Emperor Toba first saw this woman, his eyes were immediately fixed on her and he couldn't look away.
At that time, Fujiwara no Akiko knew that this woman would be her greatest enemy for life.
So Fujiwara no Shōko went to Emperor Shirakawa and asked him to help her get rid of Tamamo-no-Mae.
Emperor Shirakawa also wanted to warn Emperor Toba, so he gave Tamamo-no-Mae to Emperor Zhao Yu.
Unexpectedly, that one wrong decision back then created a formidable enemy for her by Zhao Yu's side.
Fujiwara no Shōko felt like she had "lifted a rock only to drop it on her own foot."
Fujiwara no Akiko regained her composure and then said to Zhao Yu, "Your Majesty, our retired Emperor of Japan, misled by treacherous officials, launched a coup and led samurai to seize the rule of our Retired Emperor. They even intend to collude with the Jin invaders and become your enemies. Your Majesty, I and some others who have received Your Majesty's favor dare not keep Your Majesty and the Song Dynasty in the dark. Therefore, I have crossed the ocean to inform Your Majesty and request that Your Majesty quickly send a large army to rescue Japan and our Retired Emperor."
After a pause, Fujiwara no Akiko gritted her teeth and said, "Before I came here, my Emperor issued a decree stating that as long as Your Majesty is willing to send troops to rescue Japan, Japan is willing to annex the Song Dynasty, serve as its subjects for generations, and never betray it."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu and the ministers of the Song Dynasty knew that Fujiwara no Akiko was lying.
Even if Emperor Shirakawa was senile, even if he hated Emperor Toba who overthrew him, he would never issue such an edict.
After all, no matter how strained things were between Emperor Shirakawa and Emperor Toba, they were still grandfather and grandson, and Japan was still in their home. They understood the principle that the flesh rotted in the pot.
However, Fujiwara no Akiko not only made such a statement with great conviction, but she also produced an "imperial edict of Emperor Shirakawa" and asked someone to present it to Emperor Zhao Yu.
Zhao Yu took the edict from Emperor Baihe with some skepticism and read it carefully.
It turned out to be an empty imperial edict, with not a single word written on it.
However, if it were just that, it wouldn't really matter. It's just an empty edict. If Zhao Yu wanted it, how could he not get it?
The problem is that this blank imperial edict bears the Japanese national seal and the signature of Emperor Shirakawa.
In other words, as long as words are filled in on this imperial edict, it becomes a genuine imperial edict.
As for what words to fill in, that depends on what Zhao Yu wants.
Zhao Yu put away the imperial edict, looked at Fujiwara no Akiko, and thought, 'Even something like this exists; this woman's relationship with Emperor Shirakawa is probably not so simple. Perhaps the rumors are true...'
...(End of chapter)