plumnovel Chapter 2056 - 1502: Amitabha, Your Tribe Is Fated with the Shiba Clan!
Chapter 2056 - 1502: Amitabha, Your Tribe Is Fated with the Shiba Clan!
The sun rises and falls, celebrations and dances all turn into red hummingbirds, etched into people’s hearts. After the blood-red ritual, it is a night both hot and quiet. Hot are the warriors of the Kingdom, and the warriors of the Shandan and Jurchen. Quiet are the Japanese captives and the Ainu tribes. This dynamic and static coexist like the sun and moon reflecting each other, yet who knows what such an integration of bloodlines will create in the future, perhaps a Gummy People Tribal Group?"May the Chief Divine protect us! Let’s do it like this! All tribes are to conscript five hundred tribespeople for me, and I will distribute weapons based on the numbers to each tribe. For every twenty people, you will receive a suit of Japanese iron armor! Hmm... The faster, the better, so they can reach the Kutadai Peninsula sooner, avoiding consuming your winter provisions."
"At your command, Great Chief!"
"Yes! Brother-in-law... cough... Great Chief!..."
As a new dawn arrived, Zuwaro, along with the Beiyu and Ishikari tribes in the confederation, agreed on the quota for conscripting tribespeople. The Kingdom captured so many Japanese this time, nearly five hundred. Next year, when the Kamchatka Mountains tribe migrates south, there will be a scale of a thousand people. Therefore, he requested the Ainu tribes in the confederation to conscript five hundred tribespeople and send them to Kutadai Port for farming and hunting, to increase the food output of the port camp. Naturally, this also further clarifies the hierarchical relationships, increasing the Kingdom’s influence on the tribes and balancing the tribal proportions at Kutadai Port.
However, as a result, the population of Kutadai Port quickly surged, turning from over a thousand to over two thousand in the blink of an eye. The thousand stones of grain obtained from Mori no Kiyoshi seem insufficient. Furthermore, the Maha tribe of Nurgan also needs food assistance from the Kingdom, and later, they need to travel far into the forest tribes to buy horses, prepare three months of food for the Ocean Shielding Ship’s return, and aid the Kinship from Kamchatka Mountains...
"Oh Chief Divine! Food, food! Whether it’s rice, millet, or soybeans, it’s the grain traded from the Japanese that is most crucial! The Golden Trade Route with Japan indeed cannot be severed!..."
Estimating the consumption of each tribe, Zuwaro deeply realized that in the Kingdom and Japan’s golden trade, the most critical traded goods are actually the most bulk and affordable food! If the grain input from Japan is interrupted, given the current limited potato cultivation and harvest at Kutadai Port, along with a not-so-abundant fish catch yield... Not to mention further expansion, even maintaining the Kingdom’s outpost would be somewhat troublesome!
Thus, when Ryuzoji Temple Jia Hong hurriedly arrived, speaking of the Great Monk’s proposal, Zuwaro immediately gathered all the leaders and went to the tent where the captives were held.
Later, in front of the flickering fire basin, Chief Priest Zuwaro, High Priest Loshanda, Warrior Captain Tamicao, Vanguard Captain Fu Shan, Priest Ali, Priest Ryuzoji Temple Jia Hong... six pairs of eyes with different expressions formed a semicircle, all focused on Master Juehui. These "Shandan barbarians’ fierce gazes" made the Great Monk shiver and clutch the Buddha seal in his hand, making it crooked.
"Jia Hong, what exactly does this Japanese Elder Priest, hmm, ’Master Juehui’, mean by that condition? Can Japanese noble titles be bought with gold? Can their divine bloodlines be sold?"
"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! Lord Ancestor High Priest, what Master Juehui means is... hmm, is to entrust the honorable bloodline of the Shiba Clan, a dignified branch left in the Tiantai Sect Mountain Gate, specifically the direct descendant of Minister of Governance Lord Shiba Yoshinari, to our Golden Clan for ’care’!"
When mentioning the bloodline of the Shiba Clan, Ryuzoji Temple Jia Hong was very careful and deliberate with his words. The deep-seated respect for the famous clans of Japan remained entrenched in the heart of this legitimate descendant of the Kyushu Martial Family. Although he has devotedly converted to the Chief Divine, he still cannot ignore the things embedded in the bones of the Martial Family. Because it is difficult for people to deny their foundational roots. The Martial Family of Japan, the reason they can govern various regions of Japan fundamentally derives not only from the bows and blades they wield but also from the bloodlines they proclaim...
"May the Chief Divine protect us! Specifically, it is to let the only remaining grandson of Lord Shiba Yoshinari, Shiba Rongdong, granddaughter Yue Ji, along with a mere twenty following retainers, to go to Ezo land. Then, through the workings of the Nobles, receive the official position of Shogunate Ezo Guardian, rebuild the inn, establish a city, and form a branch of the Shiba Clan! This branch of the Shiba Clan can certainly be referred to as the Ezo Shiba Clan. If operated well, it could even be elevated to being called the Northern State Shiba Clan!"
"Of course, this is the overt explanation, recognized as the legitimate title by the Shogunate General! While covertly, this branch of the Shiba Clan would naturally be controlled by the Kingdom. Whether the Kingdom sends a noble lady to marry Shiba Rongdong to birth a new heir, or lets Yue Ji marry into the Nobility of the Kingdom, using the maternal line to inherit the Shiba bloodline... These are both acceptable methods within the Japanese Martial Family’s tradition!"
"Simply put, this is actually similar to the illustrious Lord Takeda Nobuhiro entering the Kaozaki Family, but done in reverse. The Golden Clan entering the Shiba Clan branch, through Shiba Rongdong or Yue Ji, giving birth to the next generation heir of the Qinghe Minamoto bloodline, thoroughly acquiring the bloodline and family name of the renowned Shiba Clan! From then on, the Kingdom would no longer be a mere Shandan barbarian, being collectively attacked by the Honshu Daimyo..."
"Chief Divine bless us! In just one generation, we will fully establish ourselves among the Martial Families of Japan! And once the Northern State Shiba Clan is built and has a truly stable title, we can rightfully recruit samurai craftsmen from all over Honshu, trade food and supplies... even with such a noble ’family name,’ Shiba Clan’s former samurai retainers, and wandering rangers from various regions, will travel far to seek refuge in the Ezo land!"
As he spoke, Ryuzoji Temple Jia Hong’s face showed envy once more. This so-called "samurai family name" clearly stirred his soul, irresistibly igniting a longing. Zuwaro and Loshanda exchanged a glance, each understanding the other’s thoughts.
"It seems... although Ryuzoji Temple Jia Hong devoutly believes in the Chief Divine, he is deeply ingrained with the Japanese Nobles’ ways! If he returns to Japan, it wouldn’t take two years before he’d surely become a noble of Japan once again..."
A moment of contemplation flashed by. Zuwaro frowned, pondering in silence. The task he assigned to Ryuzoji Temple Jia Hong was merely to exchange Master Juehui for a batch of urgently needed yet rare gunpowder for the Kingdom. Yet unexpectedly, the Great Monk presented such a surprise condition, offering the ’Noble Title’ of the Japanese Kingdom! This entry-level title was indeed what the Kingdom needed, worth exchanging for a thousand jin of gold. However...
"Chief Divine witnesses! The key decision-makers of Japan, the Shogunate General, and that Honorable Nobility, Shiba Clan... will they willingly let our ’Shandan clan’ acquire the Japanese noble title? This whole matter just seems like a scam! Great Monk, aren’t you deliberately deceiving us, thinking our Shandan clan is naive and honest?"
Zuwaro’s gaze turned sharp, drawing the Bronze Axe from his waist, wavering it near Master Juehui’s neck, indeed showing ’naive and honest’! The Great Monk’s body quivered, cursing ’Shandan barbarians’ in his heart, his expression unable to hold up.
"Ahem! Buddha’s compassion! Dear believer, could you please move your axe a bit farther from my neck? Just a little farther..."
"Amitabha! In front of the Buddha, everything is fate; how could deception be justified? Rebuilding the Shiba Clan in Ezo land, leaving a branch’s legacy, this is a true good karma!"
"Indeed! Lord Shiba Yoshinari entrusted his descendants to our Tiantai Sect, leaving a flame to be passed down, a tremendous trust in our Sect! If not for this serendipitous meeting, confirming your tribe possesses enough samurai prowess and astonishing wealth of gold to be entrusted with Shiba Clan’s descendants... otherwise, even at the cost of my life, I couldn’t possibly propose such a suggestion!"
Master Juehui sighed, his face sincere, showing no hint of contradicting his true intentions. It seemed not only did he say this, but he truly believed it.
Beside him, Ryuzoji Temple Jia Hong translated while his heart couldn’t help but drum. This high monk from the Tiantai Sect was indeed somewhat eerie. Who knows how he cultivated the Buddha’s heart, selling out the Shiba Clan’s lineage without batting an eye, showing no hint of contradicting his true intentions!
"One thought arises, one thought fades. The fate between Shiba Clan and Tiantai Sect has come to an end. The Asakura family now controls Echizen; the remnants of Lord Shiba Yoshinari’s lineage hold no hope of reclaiming the Guardian of Echizen! Meanwhile, Oda Clan supports the Shiba Yoshinari’s branch, increasingly controlling Owari, leaving no place for Lord Yoshinari’s descendants to stand!
"If they continue to stay at the Tiantai Sect in Omi, sooner or later they’ll fall victim to Asakura family’s poison, completely severing Lord Yoshinari’s bloodline! And our Tiantai Sect, facing the prospering Asakura family, despite our willingness to protect, how long can we offer shelter?... Rather than leaving them in the dangerous Omi, it’s better to send them far away to Ezo land, seeking a chance to escape the whirlpool!"
"The Middle Ahan Scripture says, Buddhist Law is like a raft, once having crossed the river should be abandoned. Our Tiantai Sect serves as such a raft, carrying Shiba Clan to Ezo, out of Honshu’s Kansai sea of suffering! And as Shiba Clan meets your tribe, is it ’rebirth’ or ’nirvana’? That depends on its own destiny!"
"The Ahan Sutra also says, ’This exists because that exists, this arises because that arises, this doesn’t exist because that doesn’t exist, this ceases because that ceases.’ This poor monk’s discerning eyes seldom misjudge people. Once I assess, it’s rarely mistaken! I see the cause for Shiba Clan, and the good karma for Golden Clan, their encounter is an amalgamation of cause and condition!"
"Amitabha, conditions arise from emptiness, all is but dependencies and causes. Your tribe is Shiba Clan’s opportunity, Shiba Clan is also your tribe’s opportunity. In this poor monk’s view, the fate between Shiba Clan and your tribe is truly a heaven-sent union, just started now!"