In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

At the end of the seventh year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, the Lu Dynasty reached an agreement with the powerful Kiyohara clan of Dewa Province to exchange weapons for mineral resources.

Soon, the seventh year of the Qingli period passed, and by the end of the year, there were fewer ships traveling between Song and Japan.

In the northeastern region of Japan, heavy snow fell, and goose feather snowflakes covered the earth, making the world seem to be left with only this cold and bitter cold.

At the end of this year, the powerful Abe clan of Mutsu Province opened its warehouses to release grain, and even distributed clothes, recruited poor farmers, and expanded its manpower.

At the same time, the Japanese court's envoys arrived in Mutsu Province at the end of the year and met with Fujiwara no Toshihiro, the governor of Mutsu Province.

Emperor Go-Reizei discussed with Fujiwara no Yorimichi and others and decided to first attack the Abe clan who did not pay tribute and take back the minerals of Mutsu Province.

Then, step by step, they would erode Sado Island in Echigo Province. When they had a certain economic foundation, they would buy weapons and equipment from other countries such as Song or Liao to enhance their own military power.

Once the time is right, they will immediately wave their hands and give an order to completely take back the mining rights of the Iwami Silver Mine, and even restore control over Tsushima Island.

It can be said that this plan is quite complete, and the Japanese are also sure that the Song Dynasty is too far away from them to start a war.

Therefore, if everything goes well, then Japan will get the Iwami Silver Mine that Song Dynasty has developed for nearly ten years, the Sado Gold Mine that has been developed for five or six years, and the original mineral deposits of Mutsu Province.

Then at least in terms of gold and silver minerals, Japan has independent power. With gold, silver and copper in hand, it can restore the domestic economy, and it can also trade with foreign countries, buy more advanced technology and materials, and achieve national power upgrade.

It has to be said that Xiaori is indeed a country that is good at learning. Whether it is the Taika Reform, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's vigorous introduction of firearms, or the Meiji Restoration, all prove this.

So now is the time for Xiaori's top leaders to implement the first step of the plan, but because Heian-kyo is too far away from Mutsu Province, the straight-line distance alone is more than 600 kilometers, and the actual distance is close to 1,000 kilometers.

Therefore, although the plan was formulated in October, it was not until December that the imperial envoy sent the order to Mutsu Province.

Mutsu Province Governor Fujiwara no Tomoya was also a member of the Fujiwara clan. At that time, more than one-third of the governors of the world were surnamed "Fujiwara", and they were extremely powerful.

If the whole country was to be mobilized, in addition to the troops of the Fujiwara family's own manors, the troops of the governors of various places could also gather tens of thousands of people.

Therefore, after receiving the instructions from the regent Fujiwara family head Fujiwara no Tomoya, he did not neglect it and immediately executed the order.

He gathered about two or three thousand soldiers in the winter, and at the beginning of the third year of Eishō in Japan in the eighth year of Qingli in the Song Dynasty, he sent troops to attack the Abe family's Ozawa Castle in Oroku County.

It was the beginning of spring, and everything was revived. The green mountains in the northeast region were lush and dense, and there was still unmelted snow on the distant mountains, standing like a white-headed old man.

The dawa castle of Mutsu Province is actually the Oshu City in Iwate Prefecture, Japan in later generations. This place is a fairly developed area in later generations, but in ancient times it was a bitter cold place in the northeast, where criminals were exiled.

The Morioka, the prefectural capital of Iwate Prefecture further north, was the territory of the Ezo people at that time, and it can be said that it was located in the border area between Japan and the northern Ezo.

The governor of Mutsu Province lived in Shirakawa County in the south, which was relatively warm and was Shirakawa City in Fukushima Prefecture in later generations.

After the beginning of spring, Fujiwara no Tomoya led a large army to the north. Abe Yoriyoshi learned the news and also led his troops to the south. The two sides fought on the Sendai Plain, and Fujiwara no Tomoya was defeated in one battle.

Abe Yoriyoshi then captured Shirakawa County in late January, so the entire Mutsu Province, spanning the vast land of Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Fukushima Prefecture in later generations, was occupied by the Abe family.

Although the territory is large, the north has fewer people and more land, and the climate is not very good. Therefore, Abe Yoriyoshi only has territory, but not many soldiers and horses. The total force is only four or five thousand, which is still quite weak.

But even so, it shocked the Japanese high-level officials. Because the news from the front line was that Abe's soldiers and horses were all equipped with blades and armor, and Fujiwara no Tomo's army could be said to be defeated.

In early February, Heian-kyō was already in the spring, and the whole city was full of wooden bungalows. The various markets were lined up in an orderly manner, and were built in imitation of the planning of Chang'an in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Only the imperial palace in the north, with its carved buildings and painted buildings, pavilions and towers, had a hint of the charm of the Tang Dynasty.

In the palace, Emperor Goreizei, who had just learned the news, hurriedly summoned Fujiwara no Yorimichi, Fujiwara no Kyomichi and others to discuss countermeasures.

Soon, several high-level officials of the Fujiwara family gathered in the palace, and everyone sat in rows.

When Emperor Goreizei saw them coming in, he hurriedly said, "Daidai."

"Your Majesty, I already know everything."

Fujiwara no Yorimichi sat down after entering the room, and then said, "Please don't panic, Your Majesty."

Seeing that the regent was still calm, Emperor Goreizei calmed down, but hurriedly asked, "What should we do now?"

Fujiwara no Yorimichi fell silent.

Fujiwara no Kyomitachi, Fujiwara no Yorimichi, Fujiwara no Nobuobu, Fujiwara no Nagaie and others looked at each other.

It seems that there is really no way now.

Because their original plan was to let Fujiwara no Nobutoshi go to test it. Although Fujiwara no Nobutoshi did not have as many troops as the Abe family, Fujiwara no Nobutoshi represented the court.

In Japan, the authority of the emperor has been almost deified. Perhaps he is not so sacred in the eyes of those powerful and wealthy families, but in the eyes of the lower-class people in Japan, he is a symbol of God.

In addition, for thousands of years, the Japanese emperor has sometimes had power, and sometimes has no power and is willing to be a virtual emperor. Therefore, those powerful people who are fighting for power rarely attack the emperor, and even use his name to rule Japan.

Most of the time, the reason why Japan rebels is to respect the emperor and seek treason. The reason why the emperor has rebellious ministers lies in the legitimacy and rationality of the emperor's regime.

This was not yet the shogunate era, and although the emperor had little power, it was essentially an era in which relatives were in power. The Fujiwara family married off their daughters, allowing generations of Japanese emperors to have Fujiwara family blood.

For example, Emperor Goreizumi’s mother was actually Fujiwara Yorimichi’s biological sister.

Once the emperor defeats the Fujiwara family, he can take back power like Emperor Shirakawa did later.

Therefore, Fujiwara's appointment to send troops was essentially to use the authority of the emperor to give the Fujiwara family complete control over the Mutsu region in the name of combating rebellion.

Therefore, under their assumptions, even if Fujiwara ascended the throne and had relatively few troops and failed to defeat the Abe clan, it should not have been such a disastrous defeat.

After all, there is the authority of the emperor. When the soldiers and people owned by the Abe family heard that the emperor was crusading against rebellion, they were frightened and might turn their spearheads towards the Abe family.

But they ignored one thing, that is, the population of Mutsu Kingdom was mostly exiled prisoners and Ezo prisoners, and these people did not have that much respect for the emperor.

As a result, in the battle of Sendai Plains, Fujiwara Noborito was beaten to a pulp, which was something they did not expect.

"The Abe family has no royal eyes and should be punished for his crime."

After a while, General Fujiwara said: "Although Fujiwara was defeated when he ascended the throne, the majesty of the imperial court cannot be lost. I think we should send another army there."

"no."

Fujiwara Yorimichi immediately scolded: "We must not send any more people."

"Why?"

Fujiwara Gyōdō was dissatisfied and said: "Are you just watching the Abe family proclaim themselves king?"

Fujiwara Yorimichi shook his head and said: "You still haven't figured out the problem. According to the messenger's report, Abe's soldiers all have blades, thick-backed swords, and even some armor."

"Song people?"

Fujiwara Yudong's eyes widened instantly.

He didn't know this information yet, he only knew that Nobuhiro Fujiwara was easily defeated.

"good."

Fujiwara Noriichi nodded: "The Song Dynasty people are selling weapons and armor to the Abe family!"

"how many?"

"If you just look at them, their soldiers all have blades and hundreds of pieces of armor."

"Even so, with the strength of our family, we still can't put it down!"

Fujiwara Yudong was a little unconvinced.

In addition to the more than 10,000 soldiers owned by the Fujiwara family under the family's estate system.

There are also many Fujiwara family members responsible for the national defense forces in other places.

Basically, as long as brothers Fujiwara Yorimichi and Fujiwara Gyomichi ascend to the top and make a call, it is not a problem to raise 20,000 to 30,000 or even 30,000 to 40,000 people.

Moreover, their power is already huge, and they can afford thousands of blades and hundreds of armors.

However, Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "In that case, even if we win, we will definitely pay a heavy price. What's more, the Song people may continue to sell weapons and armor to them. What if we lose?"

"Well"

Fujiwara Gyomichi was speechless for a moment. Although he was at odds with his elder brother, Fujiwara Yorimichi's words did make sense.

The enemy is not only powerful, but also getting stronger.

If they are not sure of winning, if they really do this, they are gambling with their family's destiny. Once they lose, the consequences will be disastrous.

"What should we do?"

Emperor Lengquan panicked again.

Fujiwara Yorimichi is an old fox after all. After pondering for a moment, he said: "The Abe family is indeed not easy to mess with now, but the Echigo Kingdom is different."

"oh?"

Everyone looked at each other, and Fujiwara Nonobu asked: "What do you mean, brother?"

"We hope to take back those mineral deposits and make the country rich, so that we can go to the Song Dynasty to purchase weapons and armor and strengthen the country's strength."

Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "But these mineral deposits are occupied by local wealthy families, and the court cannot get a single cent. This is obviously wrong, so we have to put down these rebellions, right?"

"good."

Everyone nodded. Although it was a robbery, the problem was that they were legally national and these mineral deposits belonged to them. How could the Song people and local wealthy families occupy them and profit from them?

Fujiwara Yorido: "Now that the Abe clan cannot be defeated, it is better to attack the weakest one first. There are Song troops in the Iwami area. Once attacked, it is easy to cause problems. Sado Island in Echigo Kingdom is different. Only with gold can we have the confidence to become a strong country.”

"Um."

Everyone thought it made sense and nodded.

"So now we want to change our plan. Instead of attacking Abe, we will capture Sado Island first, then use the output to exchange for what we need from the Song Dynasty, and then put down the rebellion step by step."

Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "Only in this way can we strengthen our own country, just like the Song Dynasty now."

"rational."

Fujiwara Gyōdō thought for a while and said: "Besides, the powerful clan of Echigo Country is not strong, and the Tachibana clan has declined. It would be much easier for us to remove Tachibana Nomonaka's national defender and let someone bring the army to take over Echigo Country. "

"This is a good idea." Fujiwara Yorimichi said: "But we must also be careful with Song State. I heard that Song State also has operations on Sado Island. We cannot give Song State an excuse to intervene."

"What are you afraid of?"

Fujiwara no Kyomitsu laughed and said, "Can they still cross the sea to attack us? The Tang Dynasty did not have the ability to do so back then, let alone the Song Dynasty, which was weaker than the Tang Dynasty."

This is also the reason why they dared to take back the mineral deposits.

After all, the Song Dynasty had been cowardly for so many years, and its reputation and majesty in the surrounding countries had declined greatly. Even if it rose up, it would be difficult for them to change their traditional impression.

In addition, the island country of Japan is very far away from the Song Dynasty, the risks at sea are huge, the logistics cannot be guaranteed, and the cost of attack is very exaggerated.

So the Japanese officials decided to pacify the nobles and local forces that own the mineral deposits and take back the minerals.

Even if this would harm the interests of the Song Dynasty, they felt that as long as they sent people to flatter the Song Dynasty, flatter the Song Dynasty, and give the Song Dynasty enough steps, the Song Dynasty would not send people to make trouble.

"But we still have to maintain it on the surface, at least not before our military strength becomes strong."

Fujiwara no Yorimichi still maintained his rationality and said: "If we really want to recover all of it, we must first use the gold and silver seized from those local nobles and rebels to exchange for weapons and armor from the Song State. Only when our soldiers are strong can our national strength be strong."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"Then let's do it."

"My eldest brother is right."

Fujiwara no Yorimichi, Nobuobu, and Nagaie all thought it was okay.

This is a mature view.

Seeing this, Fujiwara no Yorimichi said nothing.

Emperor Go-Reizei said, "Okay, in that case, let's do as the Great Prime Minister said."

"Who should be sent to Echigo? And what about Mutsu?"

Fujiwara no Yoshimichi said, "Are we just going to watch the Abe clan occupy Mutsu and grow stronger?"

"Let Sukina go to Echigo. This kid is very capable and should be able to solve the problem."

Fujiwara no Yorimichi was silent for a moment, and asked one of his adopted sons, Fujiwara no Yoshimichi, to serve as the governor of Echigo. Then he said, "As for Mutsu, let Minamoto no Yoriyoshi from Kanto go."

Minamoto no Yoriyoshi's father Minamoto no Yorinobu was once the general of the garrison. This position is a bit like the Western Regions Chief of the Han Dynasty. It is a garrison commander who conquers barbarians on the border and is responsible for external development and suppressing the invasion of barbarians on the border.

And this position is usually stationed in Mutsu, mainly for the Emishi.

But later, due to the rebellion of Taira Tadatsune, the court had to recall Minamoto no Yorinobu from Mutsu to deal with Taira Tadatsune.

After the rebellion was quelled, Taira Tadatsune's Kanto region was controlled by the Minamoto clan, and the garrison and garrison general of Mutsu Province naturally ceased to exist.

However, Minamoto no Yorinobu had been in Mutsu Province for many years and had repeatedly used troops against Ezo, and his prestige in the local area was extremely high.

Although Minamoto no Yorinobu died of illness at the age of 81 at the beginning of this year, his power remained. Relying on his father's prestige, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi might be able to stabilize the situation.

Even if the Abe clan's rebellion cannot be quelled, it is enough to curb the development of the Abe clan and prevent them from continuing to expand their power.

When the court controls Sado Island in Echigo Province and has enough financial resources to import a large number of weapons and equipment from Song, it will be fine to turn back and deal with the Abe clan.

"Well, I think this arrangement is very good, so let's do it according to what the Great Prime Minister said."

Emperor Go-Reizei didn't have much real power anyway, and there was nothing wrong with what Fujiwara no Yorimichi said, so he nodded and agreed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Fujiwara no Yorimichi bowed and stood up to issue orders.

Although he couldn't defeat Abe, it was no problem to control the Tachibana clan and several small warlords in Echigo Province.