A Pawn’s Passage

The ninja hierarchy consisted of three main ranks—genin at the bottom, followed by chunin, and jonin at the top. The ones who carried out this ambush were likely just genin, skilled in concealment and the use of various tools, such as disguise, poison, shuriken, and firearms.

When Qi Xuansu entered the dense forest, he found it littered with landmines, which also fell under the category of ninja tools.

In addition to close combat techniques, the chunin and jonin were also skilled in ninjutsu, which was akin to Daoist arts in the sense that they fell under magical techniques.

In essence, ninjas were somewhat like Rogue Cultivators—jack-of-all-trades, master of none. In close combat, they were inferior to samurai warriors. In long-range magic, they fell short of the Onmyoji. Their true strength lay in their stealth and concealment techniques, making them natural scouts and spies.

Places like this would not have any chunin or jonin around, just as one would not expect Heavenly Beings to appear in the small Fengtai County. Such beings either lived in secluded mountains or luxuriated in rich and beautiful lands. When trouble arose, the Heavenly Being stationed nearby would need time to respond, and Qi Xuansu's group was capitalizing on this time gap, leaving before any such beings could arrive.

Crossing this river marked their official entry into Kusu District, where a fortified residence called Mori Jin'ya was located. This indicated that a high-ranking samurai, also known as a hatamoto, resided there.

Before the Toyotomi clan rose to power, real authority was held by the shogunate, and the hatamoto class was its foundation.

The term "hatamoto" originally referred to the elite guards under the commander's banner, akin to Western knights, positioned between great lords and commoners. Those with less than 10,000 koku of land but more than 3,000 koku maintained their own jin'ya. Those below 3,000 koku often entrusted governance to local daikans, who collected annual tribute. The hatamoto could serve in the government and have their own retainers. A few were given special privileges like the daimyos, granting them sankin-kotai, or alternate residence in both their own domain and in the Capital.

Today, there were over 4,000 hatamoto in Fenglin, and with their retainers and affiliated families, there were around 80,000 guards.

From this perspective, the fortified residences functioned somewhat like military outposts or garrisons. Like the hatamoto themselves, they were vital pillars of the shogunate.

The Shogun was the highest military office, while the Kampaku, or regent, was the highest position within the Fenglin Court. The Toyotomi clan chose to become Kampaku rather than Shogun for two main reasons.

First, the shogunate's power relied heavily on a large, established network of hereditary vassals and family clans, which the Toyotomi lacked, being of common origin. Without an illustrious lineage, it would have been nearly impossible for them to cement a hereditary military leadership. Thus, they had to elevate their family status through affiliation with the Fenglin Court and could not completely sever ties with it.

Second, by taking the position of Kampaku, a civil post, while coming from a military background, they became the Fenglin emperor's top advisor and the supreme figure over both civil and military officials. It was indeed a clever strategy to bring both spheres under their control. Moreover, as the Fenglin Court's authority waned, the Toyotomi clan gained a legitimate pretext to revitalize the court and punish the disloyal under the name of imperial mandate. From the Fenglin Court's perspective, this also offered a path to restore its lost prestige.

For these two reasons, the Toyotomi clan ultimately chose to become the Kampaku, modeling their government on that of the Central Plains and establishing the Chancellor's Office, aiming to unify civil and military powers.

However, since Toyotomi came from a samurai background, this so-called Chancellor's Office was essentially still akin to a traditional shogunate, a military government complete with a large number of hatamoto under its command.

The hatamoto of Kusu District did not belong to the Chancellor's Office but was subordinate to the Matsue Domain of Izumo Province.

When Qi Xuansu and his group approached the area near the Mori Jin'ya, they saw a large stockade perched atop a hill, primarily made of wood with some stone structures. Its perimeter was enclosed by pointed wooden stakes, resembling a small-scale city. Thick smoke billowed upward, visible from a great distance.

"Is it on fire?" Lu Yuting raised her pocket-sized telescope and peered toward the stockade.

Tang Yongshui, being from the Tianji Hall, could judge with his naked eye and shook his head. "It's not a fire. That smoke is coming from iron smelting furnaces."

The others were startled. "Isn't this supposed to be a fortified residence? Why is it an ironworks?"

Qi Xuansu replied, "That's not surprising. Even in the Central Plains, many gentry with land have sold off their ancestral farmland to build large workshops. This hatamoto seems to understand business. Rather than starving on farmland, it's better to mine and smelt iron. But with a smelting operation of this scale, it's unlikely he's footing the bill alone or keeping all the profit. He'll be considered well-to-do if he even gets 30% of the profit."

"Why only 30%?" Han Yongfeng asked, puzzled.

Lu Yuting answered for him. "Does the Liaodong Daoist Mansion get to keep all of its annual revenue? Don't you have to hand most of it over to Jade Capital?"

Han Yongfeng immediately got it. "Oh, I see...70% goes to the top."

Qi Xuansu nodded. "That's only logical. If Jade Capital doesn't have funds, it can't maintain so many flying ships and Spirit Guards. The local offices won't handle fiscal and personnel matters because they've learned from the mistakes of the previous dynasty."

"Deputy Hall Master, shall we go around this place?" Li Mingshan was not interested in politics. He just cared about whether they could safely leave the area.

Qi Xuansu paused in thought, then asked, "Superintendent Tang, do you think those firearms the ninjas used might have come from here?"

Tang Yongshui was not surprised and replied immediately, "To be honest, I have the same suspicion. But whether that's truly the case, we'd need to investigate in person to be sure."

Qi Xuansu said, "The Daoist Order has governed Fenglin under Chancellor Toyotomi's Office for nearly a century. That's long enough to leave a strong impression. After all, even the Golden Horde only lasted about that long. So, what do you think? If we visit this hatamoto openly, how would he respond?"

Li Mingshan did not agree with this suggestion but could not openly oppose his superior. He replied tactfully, "It's unfortunate that due to the Iga Ninjas, we didn't have the chance to scout the Mori Jin'ya beforehand. Otherwise, we'd be walking in with more certainty."

Qi Xuansu remained silent, not out of discontent but because he had fallen into deep thought.

If not for the injured among them, he would not have sought anyone's opinion and would have chosen to investigate directly. That was because he was confident he could retreat unscathed. But with wounded companions, he had to consult others and consider all potential consequences.

"What about you guys? What are your thoughts?" Qi Xuansu looked toward the others.

"I think we should investigate. There are differences in the details between the smelting technology that the Daoist Order provided to the Fenglin Court and those imported from the Western Holy Court. We'd be able to tell at a glance!" Tang Yongshui was the first to voice support.

Han Yongfeng said, "Deputy Hall Master, you've saved my life, so I will follow whatever you say."

Lu Yuting hesitated for a moment, then said, "As far as I know, the Matsue Domain is known for its business acumen. To boost revenue, it runs monopolies on items like wood wax, ginseng, cotton, and iron. By the time the fifth daimyo, Nobuzumi, was in power, iron production was fully managed by the Tanabe, Sakurai, and Itohara families. The domain's stance was relatively neutral. The Daoist Order's analysis suggests that while the Matsue Domain leans toward the imperial faction, they are wary of retaliation due to the Toyotomi clan's long-standing dominance and backing by the Daoist Order. In short, they've been sitting on the fence, not openly siding with anyone. If we're merely visiting one of their hatamoto without touching on major interests, it shouldn't be a big issue."

Han Yongfeng asked, "Daoist Lu, if the Matsue Domain is neutral, then who sent those ronin, sohei, and ninjas to attack us earlier?"

Lu Yuting replied, "The sohei are Buddhist warrior monks. In the Central Plains, while the Daoist Order is the orthodox religion, the Buddhist Sect and Confucian School have had a long-standing influence in the realm. In Fenglin, aside from the Tenmon Sect, the Buddhist Sect is a formidable force, above even the Onmyodo. Buddhist influence is widespread and holds transcendent status. Ordinary daimyos don't dare interfere. Many daimyos are even Buddhist devotees. The last person who dared strike at the Buddhist Sect was Oda Nobunaga, who nearly unified Fenglin and earned the title of being the Enemy of Buddha.

"We took remote trails in the beginning to avoid nominally neutral daimyos but also to steer clear of the ever-present forces of the Tenmon Sect and the Fenglin Buddhist Sect. We've been fairly lucky so far that we only ran into the sohei and genin, not those from the Tenmon Sect."

Qian Daren sighed. "Ugh...these Buddhists are really haunting us. We fought them in the Western Region, and now in Fenglin."

Lu Yuting chuckled. "Even if you went to Borneo or Shakya, the Buddhist Sect has a presence there too."

"There's not an inch of clean soil left in the world," Qian Daren said, shaking his head.

After weighing everyone's input, Qi Xuansu finally said, "We're already close to Hita Castle. Even if the chunin or jonin show up, we can retreat swiftly. Let's go take a look."

Having made their decision, the group headed toward the jin'ya and happened upon a caravan of livestock-drawn wagons on the same route. There were dozens of them, all loaded with iron ore.

Upon seeing the Daoist group, who were dressed quite differently from the locals, the wagon drivers showed little hostility. Rather, they appeared somewhat reverent.

Just as Qi Xuansu had said, the Daoist Order had been indirectly ruling Fenglin for nearly a century, with deep and solid foundations.

The Daoist Order was the power behind Chancellor Toyotomi's Office, an invisible emperor of sorts. It maintained its guiding principles by not interfering too much in civilian life or governance, choosing only to keep tight control over Fenglin's commerce. As a result, while many people were unhappy with the shogunate, few actually hated the Daoist Order. To much of Fenglin's population, the Daoist Order was akin to a bringer of fortune. Many daimyos who benefited from trade supported the Daoist Order, while those who were excluded and envious opposed it. This financial disparity was also the root cause of the "revere the emperor, expel the Dao" movement, and why it never became a full-scale rebellion. Ultimately, it was all driven by greed.

Before the Sonno-joi movement erupted, the ironworks had frequent dealings with the Fenglin Daoist Mansion and the Shibo Hall. It was only after the uprising swept through the region that those interactions dwindled. Thus, the people here were not unfamiliar with Daoists. They simply assumed the Daoists were here to discuss business.

The leader of the group stepped forward. To their surprise, he spoke some official speech of the Central Plains and took on an ingratiating tone. "Honored Mages, what brings you here?"

Li Mingshan immediately introduced, "This is High Mage Qi."