-III-
The Fall of Dazaifu
Hakata Bay, Chikuzen Province, August 11, 1281
The ponderous Mongol ships sailed on the gentle summer breeze into Hakata Bay. To Kim Bang-gyeong, the air seemed so humid and sweltering it might be as dense as the sea. A few attendants, including a newly captured Japanese slave woman, fanned the room as the Yuan generals sat in council. Despite the great success of his plan, Hong Dagu seemed incredibly sour.
"You STILL expect me to storm the wall at Hakata Bay?" he said, his eyes greedy and incredulous. "Nonsense! Why am I even here? Wang On has far less skill than I do at these matters!"
"Wang On? Call him Alatemur [1]! He lives like a regular Mongol, you do not!" Hundun shouted back. Kim smiled--it was good someone besides him was here to check that bastard. "Your expedition cost us half our troops and gained a city that the Japanese can easily cut off with reinforcements. You're going over that wall, Hong Dagu!"
"Then tell Arakhan and Fan Wenhu to land their reinforcements there and not Hakata Bay!" Hong shouted back. "I'm not going over that wall!"
"You agreed to those conditions," Kim added. "You WILL follow them. Because of you, we have scarcely 1,000 men and are sailing on a fleet with just as many scarecrows as we made before."
"I don't need to follow anything, not when the Great Khan has my side on such a petty matter. We won, and our comrades in the Southern Route Army will surely win too. What else matters?"
"You will obey your promise, Hong Dagu, lest I order my men to throw you overboard. You are the most depised man in Goryeo, and many will cheer at the news you died of pestilence, your body thrown overboard to prevent the outbreak of disease," Kim replied. He drew his sword for emphasis as Hundun stood by the door, ready to open it in case Hong tried something foolish.
"The only pestilence is people like you, people who willingly bow before whichever ruler orders them to submit and praises them with the same hollow words. All the corruption in this world derives from actions like yours."
"Save those words another time, Lord Hong, we're nearing the shore now," Hundun said, opening the door. The three generals walked to the top deck of the ship, guards in tow, and glanced upon the coast. The faint outline of the seawall still stood, as did the great encampment of some force behind it. Hong's eyes widened in panic.
"N-no, I'm not going over there!"
Hundun smacked his back, shoving him forward.
"Oh you are, but see, you're in luck!" the Mongol lord laughed, pointing to an impromptu drydock on the beach. "Those are OUR ships!"
Kim squinted, his eyes poor from age. Yet from what he could tell, those were indeed the sails of a few Chinese ships being inspected for damage on the beach..
"O-our ships...? Yes, yes, those are our ships! Everything worked according to our plans." Hong's demeanor changed at once from craven to his usual braggart self. "And now I will be the first to report to Lord Arakhan the great victory we gained in Mouji, and my plan that saved our fleet from needless attrition from the Japanese."
Hong walked off, no doubt looking for a ship and some men to row him to the shore. Kim looked at Hundun with some worry.
"Are you sure it's wise to let him do that?" he asked. Hong didn't need anything to inflate his ego even more.
"Let him. He'll eventually make a mistake not even he can bounce back from. Until then, let him continue to benefit the Great Khan."
Kim wanted to complain to Hundun, but said nothing.
He benefits the Great Khan, but the Great Khan does not benefit us equally.
How many more will Hong Dagu trample?
---
Komenoyama Pass (米ノ山峠), Chikuzen Province, September 13, 1281
Shouts and screams of continuing battle rose from the distance, but they had calmed down from earlier. To Shouni Kagesuke, they were pleasing noises--the cowardly foreign invaders were fleeing the field, but being attacked from the shadows of dusk at every step.
The disasters at Hakata and Mouji were but flukes. We need only realise our superior spirit and we will win every time.
Kagesuke looked to his brother Tsunesuke, whose nervous demeanor lifted more and more with every report he received.
"It seems your dishonour at Hakata has been cleared, brother," he said. "The enemy is running everywhere they can, and rumour has it their leader is on the brink of death." Yet Tsunesuke shook his head.
"I swore it to myself--the invaders will be driven from Japan by my sword, or my spirit will. Until then, I will remain disgraced."
"And now we are one step closer," Kagesuke pointed out, drawing his blade and inspecting the blood on it. It seemed as if it would still function well in cleaving through hordes of those invaders from the mainland. "Now you give the report to Lord Houjou, I have some matters to attend to."
Kagesuke climbed onto his horse and galloped off toward the source of the noise, one hand on his reins, the other on his bow. The breeze in his face felt wonderful on the humid summer evening, although not as wonderful as the killing he prepared himself to do.
The invaders must pay for daring to set foot on Japanese soil with such evil intentions.
He scanned the area around him, wondering where the enemy might show up and with instinct loosed an arrow into a bush nearby. He stopped at once, noticing a choking man in the robes worn by the enemy coughing up blood. He already bore wounds, so no doubt he merely finished him off. Content with his work there, Kagesuke continued forward toward the source of the greatest noise.
Into the next clearing, Kagesuke saw a most terrible sight. A wall of warriors on both sides clashed against each other, the enemy looking to be nearly driving his forces off. He shot an arrow into the crowd and prepared to rally the soldiers when he noticed the cause--one of his own commanders was wounded by an arrow and gradually retreating.
Why is this not being reported to Tsunesuke or Lord Houjou?
Regardless, Kagesuke sounded his shell trumpet, trying to signal more forces to the area. Arrows soared around him as his horse galloped in a circle, Kagesuke firing his remaining arrows as fast as possible to make the enemy think reinforcements had arrived.
Thanks to his efforts, reinforcements actually did arrive. A few men of the Kousai clan, his good vassals, arrived on horseback, followed by a few exhausted-looking footsoldiers with their spears. Kagesuke was just about to join their charge before he heard another sound behind him--his brother's retainer Kousai Norikage (香西度景) signalling to him.
"Lord Kagesuke, we're not to press the attack further and risk more! Lord Houjou has personally ordered this!"
"Ex-excuse me? In the moment we're about to cut down hundreds more of them? We could drive them all the way back to Mouji if we keep fighting!" Kagesuke could not believe the words he heard.
"V-very well, my lord. But be aware that Lord Houjou will probably personally report this to the Regent himself."
"I care not what he thinks anymore. That he wouldn't spare a single man to defend Iwato Castle and called half its defenders over to make a stand at Mizuki Castle SHOWS he knows or cares nothing of what he's defending." Kousai sat on his horse, a distraught look on his face. All the lords of these provinces know it.
We are under direct threat while the Houjou Clan sits back and orders us around without caring of our concerns, and we dare not speak it. Even Houjou Tokimune, wise as he is, isn't grasping the full situation.
"V-very well then. Shall we charge, my lord?"
"Indeed we shall. Onward!" Kagesuke drew his sword and led at the head of the group of Kousai clan warriors. Even if he was punished by that Houjou Sanemasa or the Regent, even if the enemy was already about to break, Kagesuke knew for the sake of his clan, his vassals, and Japan that he must fight the invader until his last.
Suddenly he pulled back, seeing an archer fire a burning arrow right toward him. The arrow burst into flames with a great crack, knocking him to the ground beneath his horse. Beside him, Kousai Norikage lay breathing his last, his neck broken by his own horse's fall.
Bloodlust within him, Kagesuke crawled out from under his horse, trying to run toward the enemy. Yet the enemy kept moving further and further away, and he noticed a sharp pain with every step. Kagesuke suddenly stopped, taking a deep breath to quell the emotions within him. He looked back at Norikage's body, shaking his head in annoyance.
Had you reported only what you needed, you'd still be alive. Damn those invaders--and damn the Houjou too.
---
Mutsu Bay, Mutsu Province, July 10, 1282
The Japanese warriors came right at Taxiala--now that they finished seizing his ship, they'd seize his head as well. Yet he was too swift for them. He ran the first warrior through with his knife, cast aside his helmet at a second man, and lept into the water. His whole body shivered, for even on a summer day it was still frigid, yet submerged beneath it he might swim to safety, evading the arrows Japanese archers fired at him.
He popped his head above the water and at once grabbed onto the oar of a barbarian
ibune [2], its hull covered in distinctive hides.
"I am your commander!" Taxiala shouted in the Jiliemi tongue to a wary oarsman, before repeating himself in Guwei and the Water Tatar's language. The oarsman looked at his partner before the two shrugged and helped him into the ship.
"Thank you! You will be rewarded for your deed, but now, we must retreat back to the main fleet!" As the oarsmen relayed the order, Taxiala grabbed his soaked shell trumpet to signal his fleet to retreat.
This has fast become a disaster.
They passed directly alongside a Japanese warship, able to do nothing but look up and pray the archers focused their shots some place else. Fortunately, they were busy contending with several other
ibune somewhat further away that made easier targets.
The occasional arrow still struck the waves as Taxiala grasped the situation. Nearly all his advance force of large ships had been captured, sunk, or forced to retreat, with the
ibune and war canoes either sunk or with heavy losses. A few ships sat burning, the thunder crash bombs and fire arrows effective at their job. He felt like a fool for not realising it before hand--the ibune made poor fighting platforms compared to the taller Japanese ships, and his attempts at mitigating that by using his fleet as the main spearhead failed entirely due to the enemy's leadership--and tenacity.
Taxiala said a quick prayer for those brave warriors who were fighting to the death in that melee and giving him and the survivors enough time to escape. The Japanese did not seem to be pursuing and fortunately, the fleet flagship was drawing near to cover their escape.
"That ship. Let me pull alongside it," Taxiala said. As the barbarian captain followed his order, the ship lowered a rope down and Taxiala ascended. As he threw off his dripping wet armor and outer cloak, he saw the man he least wanted to see--the young Hong Jung-hui, wearing much too fine a robe to be doing any fighting.
"Well, why'd you retreat? If you'd fought more, my push would've been enough to send them packing!" His shrill voice gave Taxiala a headache just listening to it.
"Apologies, my lord," Taxiala said, bowing before his nominal superior. "The barbarian warriors and their ships proved far more fragile than I believed in the face of the enemy warships and their tenacious marines."
Damn him for making me blame our allies like that when all of us are at fault.
"Warriors reflect their leaders," Hong mused. "But no matter, how many are still trapped in that melee?"
"I estimate a few hundred, rapidly being eliminated by the Japanese. I escaped with only a few hundred myself. The rest have perished."
"Tch...may they have taken as many possible with them. We need to shift strategies. Any ideas?"
"First, continue the general retreat, my lord," Taxiala advised. "The remaining
ibune are not worth saving and are useless in battle."
"Useless? And after all we spent convincing those stingy chiefs to give us their ships and warriors! Imagine how much those gifts we handed those Guwei chiefs would've been worth! All of that wealth, up in smoke now!"
Hong looked at the burning clouds, with anger as more trumpets signalled to pull the fleet away. Fortunately, it seemed like an orderly retreat might be made with the presence of the many large ships.
Up in smoke...wait a minute. Hong Jung-hui's words brought a sudden idea to Taxiala's mind.
"Set the
ibune ablaze," Taxiala said. "Let them serve as fireships to cover our retreat."
"Hmm...I like what you're thinking," Hong said. "We'll make them even more dependent on us, and we'll take far less losses."
"The enemy strategist is an aggressive one, so we may yet even win this battle if he errs in his response," Taxiala added. "Let's hurry and set those ships ablaze." Hong went about the ship, shouting orders to his men. The few Jiliemi and other ship owners looked aghast.
"My lord, this is not a good idea." Yanxue protested. "They will demand much compensation for those ships."
"I know. But Japan is wealthy, and once our armies in the south have succeeded, we'll give them great stores of Japan's wealth."
In the water around them, Hong saw distraught-looking Guwei warriors reluctantly telling their crews to abandon their ships. A few remained to crew the ships now being set ablaze.
"May our great disaster be followed by our comrade's great victory," Taxiala murmured.
If it isn't, we have wandered into the greatest disaster imaginable.
---
Itsukushima, Aki Province, August 2, 1282
Shinto priests in white stood alongside Takeda Tokitsuna as he watched the main host of the enemy. The boat gently rocked from a cool morning sea breeze. The sun rising behind the mountains marked two months into the siege, and the invader still defiled the sacred Itsukushima Island with their vulgar presence. A morning campfire still burned on the outside of the shrine, visible through the grand torii atop the water [3].
A small ship came up to the side of Tokitsuna's vessel with an unusual cargo--live deer. The animals looked pathetic all restrained by ropes and snares.
"Five more deer removed from the island, my lord," a local peasant leader said. "All deer our healthy and my lord's requirements met."
"Good," Tokitsuna replied. "Did you encounter the enemy?"
"Not once today, just as yesterday. I wonder they are?"
"Bring the deer to the mainland and see to their wounds. You may keep two deer for yourselves." As Tokitsuna dismissed the peasant leader, a messenger from the shogun, Mouri Tokichika (毛利時親), appeared before him as always.
"Kamakura once again refused your request, my lord. Itsukushima's sanctity must not be violated and all available soldiers are traveling south with Houjou Tokikuni and Adachi Morimune to expel the invaders from Kyushu. Therefore, you will..."
"'Defeat the enemy and spill not a drop of blood,' you're about to say," Tokitsuna said, interrupting the youth. "Argh, I've trying to that for two months now to no avail. It was the best idea I came up with, but will this strategy really work?" One look at Mouri's face showed he doubted it too.
Once the sun rises a little higher, we will sound the trumpets as usual to unnerve them...wait, that's the problem!
He looked to the trumpeter beside him and shook his head.
"Don't signal this morning. Let's ensure not a single trumpet sounds from our ships," Tokitsuna ordered, continuing to ponder the matter. Surely the monks he knew would have much to say about how he ignorantly repeated the same strategy to the point of meaningless. His mind expanded from the possibility of what else he had been doing wrong.
We've removed hundreds of deer and other game animals from Miyajima and looted the land of edible mushrooms and roots. We know exactly where the enemy is and keep him awake every night through beating drums near his camps. We've even kidnapped some of his soldiers and set fire to his stocks. Yet he still won't surrender? What is the last push we need?
"Lord Mouri, is the rumour that the enemy covered their retreat from Hakata Bay using a fleet of scarecrows true?" Tokitsuna asked, suddenly remembering something he heard.
"I believe so, my lord. Why do you ask?"
"Scarecrows aid retreats, but rarely aid attacks. Will our enemy expect that? So let us build scarecrows and give them crude armor and weapons and push the ships toward the island at high tide."
"The enemy surely isn't that stupid, my lord," Mouri protested. "They will just knock down the scarecrows and curse us for making fools of them."
"Perhaps we send a few archers behind them and fire arrow to set the scarecrows alight?" Tokitsuna said, grasping at straws. "If we attack in the night, the enemy will be in panic and believe they have offended the heavens."
"I-I think if they cared about that, they wouldn't be on Itsukushima to begin with," Mouri stammered, taken aback by Takeda's unconventional thinking.
"The enemy will believe we've been reinforced not just by more warriors, but by the heavens themselves. If they're as hungry and exhausted as I think, their mind will play many tricks on them," Takeda replied. "And we might insert
anything into a mind so given over by desire."
---
Itsukushima, Aki Province, August 3, 1282
Everything seemed like a nightmare to Wang On, from the rocking of the boat to the painful binding of his wrists and legs. He hadn't slept well ever since raiding that island shrine on Hong Dagu's advice thanks to the enemy's siege, and on the night the enemy stopped blasting their trumpets and banging their drums from the surrounding forest, he awoke to the horrifying sight of burning men in ships crashing against the shore. All he could do was surrender when the enemy ships so increased in number and their attack so imminent as the wind had blown choking smoke toward his camp.
The enemy warriors dragged him before the enemy's leader, a lazy-looking middle-aged man who sat on a simple mat in a room on his ship surrounded by two armed warriors. Something smelled incredibly delicious, and Wang On saw a plate of roasted venison over rice, much as he'd eaten before the deer seemingly vanished from that island. His stomach growled, having eaten barely anything besides meager portions of rice, moss, and berries.
"Are you the enemy leader?" the man asked him, his command of Chinese poor.
"Y-yes. I-I am a prince of Goryeo, descendent of the great King Hyeonjong. I demand to be treated fairly according to my status."
"Then I expect you act like one," the enemy leader said. "A proper ruler knows temperance and gives proper obedience to the heavens. You have clearly failed in the latter, but will you fail in the former?"
Wang On had no idea what the enemy meant by that. Was he just speaking nonsense, perhaps because he spoke so poorly the language of civilised people?
The enemy leader and his guards arose from his seat and with a quick cut of a short blade, hacked the restraints from Wang On's wrist. Wang On's heart beat faster as he feared he'd be forced into some battle against the man, but the man simply smiled.
"I will leave this plate of food here along with a cup of barley tea. Prove to me you're worthy of the title of prince by consuming neither." With that, he left the room and sealed the door, leaving Wang On confused at his intentions.
"Just what the hell is his problem?" Wang On shouted out loud, completely delirious. "He uses such mad tactics, he babbles on mindlessly!" His thoughts turned to Hong Dagu, who led him into this trap to begin with. "And this damn shrine was FAR more protected than I was told! Just what the hell is this place!?"
While the more rational part of him thought it best to sleep and wake up having completed that Japanese man's challenge, his stomach thought it otherwise. He grabbed a pair of clean chopsticks sitting by the food and immediately started eating a surprisingly tasty meal.
As he kept eating, his head seemed more clouded than ever and his stomach clenched and burned with a strange fire that soon spread to his throat. It became harder and harder to breathe.
Is this poison? Did I really just...? How can a man like me die of such plots.
Wang On fell over, praying sleep might grant him freedom from whatever poison he just consumed. The darkest thought burned in the back of his mind that all he would be free of was his soul.
Damn you, Hong Dagu. Had I not listened to such a foolish idea...
---
Tokuyama Bay, Suou Province, August 15, 1282
The tempest showed no sign of stopping. Far from the storm of iron Houjou Tokikuni expected he'd encounter as the divine wind drove the Mongols from Japan, he encountered a storm of pure malice. The gods of the sea were angry, and bringing out his anger at his fleet.
Perhaps it's because we let the enemy occupy Itsukushima and devastate so many shrines.
"My lord! The only way we can move these ships is sheltering in that bay!" the ship captain shouted. "The weather is far worse than it was a few hours ago when I last advised that!" Tokikuni grit his teeth, annoyed at that ship captain's attitude.
"What's Adachi's son, that Morimune doing?" Tokikuni asked, peering out onto the deck of the ship. The rain had become so intense he could barely see the ships around him, let alone the ship carrying the son of that bastard whose indolence led to the invaders striking so far into Japan.
"I don't know sir! But he's probably looking for a sheltered anchorage as well!"
"Very well, then let's pull into there!" Tokikuni pointed ahead toward what looked like a bay. He was unsure just where it was, but it seemed to close enough to their destination.
The blasts of the shell trumpet signalled the fleet to begin turning, but a sudden burst of wind ensured it impossible. The ship rocked and groaned violently and Tokikuni fell to the ground at once. Worse still, the ship wasn't righting itself--it was taking on water!
"How poor of a sailor are you that you'd steer your ship like that!" Tokikuni shouted at the man. "Guards, arrest him at once and throw him over, for he just cost us this ship and its provisions! Abandon the ship!"
The captain screamed in protest as Tokikuni's armed guard tackled the man to the ground and began dragging him to the deck. Tokikuni threw on his cloak, following them above deck to where sailors from the neighbouring ship were tying ropes so his ship might be safely evacuated. The wind and rain made standing difficult and soaked him to the bone in mere seconds.
Suddenly, a great flash of lightning illuminated the bay to where he saw a terrifying sight--the sails of distant ships, their cabins ever-so-faintly illuminated by lanterns.
It has to be the lights of villages and sheltering fishermen...it HAS to!
But there was no mistaking it--it was a fleet, and based on the size of their ships, it was the fleet of the invaders. Houjou leaped to the other ship, falling on his hands on knees on the slippery deck.
"M-my lord, are you alright?" a retainer on the ship stated, the captain of that vessel running up beside him.
"Y-yes. G-get a signal at once that we must prepare for battle! Th-those are enemy ships! We've found their main fleet!"
"In a storm, my lord?" the captain asked. "We'll cause panic if we send up battle signals like that."
"DO IT!" Tokikuni screamed. "We'll cause even more panic if we let the enemy ambush us!"
Suddenly he was blown to the soaked wooden deck as another gust of wind swamped over the fleet. A loud crack signalled the ropes between the ships breaking as his old ship drifted off, perhaps sailing toward the bottom. The horns started blowing as he ordered, but drowned out by the wind as they were, Tokikuni feared they signalled something far more ominous than battle.
---
Tokuyama Bay, Suou Province, August 16, 1282
A few Japanese ran toward Ataghai with spears, but Ataghai was prepared. He shot his bow and skewered one instantly before dodging the spear thrust and gutting the other two men with his dagger. His comrades made quick work of the last group, as the boarding party was finished off without incident.
"Clever of them, hiding in a seemingly abandoned ship," Ataghai mused.
It's fortunate divine intervention turned this bay of water into a bay of wood.
"That makes five ships you've captured this morning, general," a captain said, making Ataghai smile with pride.
"Indeed. Hong Dagu will have nothing to complain about once we return to Mouji. I only regret I couldn't capture the entire fleet."
"You can still capture many of its timbers!" the captain joked. Then, Ataghai noticed one of the sailors of the ships cautiously dipping his oar in the water to ensure they didn't strike a rock or a remnant of a ship. The sailor screamed as he pulled up a drowned body.
"What are you waiting for, throw it back in!" Ataghai ordered.
This isn't just a sea of wood, it's a sea of bodies. "There's only tens of thousands more like it!"
"S-sorry, sir!" the sailor said, but the captain only laughed.
"Next time, fish up a beautiful woman or something!" he joked.
"May we be that lucky in our future," Ataghai said. "I wonder if we've used up this lifetime's luck with our victory here.
One look around the bay seemed to confirm it. Ataghai had never seen this much ship wreckage. Even his battles against Southern Song on the Yangtze led to nowhere near this much carnage. No doubt bloated corpses would be washing ashore for months, and for ages to come, fishermen would be finding bones and remnants of the armour and weapons belonging to the countless number of drowned Japanese warriors.
They must have outnumbered us at least twice over. I would have been lucky to retreat with my force intact, yet instead the enemy has been completely destroyed.
"No matter, where will you send us next? That island where lord Wang On perished?"
"Tempting, but they'll be expecting us there, and I fear we offended the gods with our actions on that island. For now, let us loot the surrounding villages, kill any soldier who made it to shore, and reunite with Hong Dagu in Mouji. Much work remains to be done in the south before our final victory."
---
The Yuan Dynasty launched their second invasion of Japan in summer 1281 as the culmination of Kublai Khan's drive to punish the island nation. A decisive campaign against Japan, it was to be the largest naval invasion in history up to that point. Nearly seven years of arduous planning and intrigue proceeded this dramatic moment that would reshape the history of East Asia.
The overall Yuan leader of the expedition was the Mongol general Arakhan (阿剌罕), a long-time compatriot of Kublai Khan's who distinguished himself against the rebellion of Ariq Boke and especially against the Southern Song. Beneath him were the leaders of the Southern Route Army under Fan Wenhu (范文虎), a commander of Southern Song recommended by Kublai's favourite general Bayan, with 30,000 warriors and sailors. Most of Fan Wenhu's army consisted of warriors from Southern Song hoping to regain their status under the Yuan, while others included disgraced leaders such as Qaradai or Liu Fuheng.
The other large Mongol force was the Eastern Route Army, consisting of 10,000 warriors and sailors from Korea under the Mongol general Hundun. Its command staff included leaders such as Kim Bang-gyeong and Hong Dagu who sought to avenge his failure from the previous invasion. As before, this force consisted mainly of warriors from Goryeo, and its ships were somewhat more seaworthy than the large river ships used by the Southern Route.
In response to the northern threat, the Japanese under
shikken Houjou Tokimune assembled a sizable host in the north under the
chinjufu-shogun Houjou Tokimura, numbering around 10,000. Such a force reduced the number Tokimune might send against the Mongols in Kyushu. Although Tokimune rallied clans from all over the country, ultimately it was Kyushu's lords who bore the greatest burden. The assembled Japanese army numbering about 35,000 traveled south under Houjou Clan member Houjou Sanemasa (北条実政), expecting victory against this invasion, known as the Kou'an Invasion after the era name Kou'an (弘安), due to their coastal fortifications and divine providence.
The structure of the Japanese defense remained similar to 1274. Tokimura's leading generals were the two leaders of Kyushu's government, Otomo Yoriyasu and Shouni Tsunesuke. While a few officials from the Shogunate were present leading their own forces, the Otomo and especially Shouni clan contributed much to the leadership of the army. Their own chief lieutenants consisted of the leading clans of Kyushu.
The Eastern Route Army's force under Kim Bang-gyeong was first into battle, taking the islands of Iki and Tsushima. Like in 1274, Mongol firearms and bombs combined with their numbers to overwhelm Japanese defenders on the islands in the bay. Japanese commander Tsunesuke lost much of his nerve upon hearing his son Suketoki (少弐資時) fell in battle while attempted to storm the islands in Hakata Bay. Yet delays in the Southern Route Army forced Kim to wait at Iki for arrival of reinforcements, giving the Japanese crucial time to prepare. The small size of the Eastern Route Army prevented any direct attacks against the sturdy Japanese seawall and its defenders.
In disobedience of Arakhan's orders, Hong Dagu convinced the Eastern Route to leave only a token force at Hakata Bay and instead attack the Kanmon Straits. Through swift attacks, they captured the city of Mouji on the northern end of Kyushu after a quick siege and sudden assault in mid-July, albeit at great cost.
Fortunately for the Japanese, they quickly discovered the Mongol ruse and annihilated the detatchment in Hakata Bay using a night attack that burned the Mongol ships. Yet as they prepared to march toward Mouji and destroy Kim's beachhead, the main Mongol fleet under Fan Wenhu and Arakhan's main force arrived, seizing the islands in Hakata Bay in mid-July. Hong's disobedience was overlooked, and he was reinforced with 5,000 more men and given leave to pillage Nagato Province across the Kanmon Straits. Arakhan's force at Hakata Bay was met with the same harassing night raids, but against Fan Wenhu's advice chose to wait for the return of the Eastern Route Army instead of retreating to Tsushima.
These events spared the Mongols disaster. On August 15, a great typhoon struck Tsushima and destroyed many ships there, yet passed by Hakata Bay and the Kanmon Straits with no damage. Hearing false news the Mongols supply line had been cut (some ships were sank, but quickly replaced), Japanese commander Sanemasa pressed the attack on August 17 after a series of night raids. Although morale was high, the Mongol ships chained together served as better fighting platforms and destroyed much of the Japanese fleet.
Seeing the destruction in the harbor, the Japanese on shore lost morale. The Yuan army breached the seawall with their bombs and broke their lines, completing their defeat of the Japanese. The Mongols stormed the port of Hakata on August 18, fighting a several day battle against Japanese stragglers as the main Japanese force retreated to Mizuki Castle, the main fortress defending Dazaifu, seat of Kyushu's government. Others holed up in the nearby Ono Castle or the Shouni Clan's Iwato Castle--together these fortresses ensured no siege of Dazaifu could proceed.
Kim Bang-gyeong attempted to outflank these fortresses, so Houjou laid in ambush for the Eastern Route Army as they crossed the mountains at Komenoyama Pass [4]. It was an arduous journey for the Yuan forces, who lost many from desertion and Japanese raids. Yuan general Wang On stayed behind at Mouji with several thousand soldiers, ostensibly to coordinate supplies and reinforcements. However, with the Mongols in their rear, the Japanese could not take full advantage of the situation and supplies became tight.
On September 13, 1281, around 10,000 Japanese under Shouni Tsunesuke attacked a slightly smaller number of Yuan soldiers. Kim stood his ground as he gradually pulled back with his men, losing most of his army but inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese. Shouni wished to press the attack, especially after hearing rumours the enemy general was wounded, but was held back by messengers from Houjou Sanemasa requesting he conserve his strength.
Kim was indeed gravely injured in the fighting--he died several days later at Mouji. Rumours abounded he was assassinated by his rival Hong Dagu, for Hong reportedly mocked his death in a poem and demanded his be buried in Japan, lest his corpse take up too much space on a ship returning booty to Korea. However, Hong eventually acquiesced to this demand, as well as to the demand of his ethnic Korean soldiers to appoint a countryman in Kim's place--this position went to Kim's former lieutenant Pak Gu (朴球) instead, known for supervising the deception operation that let the Yuan fleet sneak away from Hakata Bay.
The defeat at Komenoyama ended Yuan ambition to outflank Dazaifu. Instead, the Mongol force intensified their sieges. Their siege weapons proved deadly as the engineers who took the nigh-impregnable castles of Southern Song went to work with their bombs, rockets, and trebuchets. Despite the age of the fortification, tenacious Japanese resistance prevented the Yuan from storming the damaged castle. They refused to surrender even as the seasons passed, reduced to cannibalism, eating grass, for they expected at any point a sudden relief force.
This relief force was a reserve army of around 8,000 men raised by the Rokuhara Tandai (effectively the Houjou clan's internal security force in western Japan). Although many of its numbers had already joined the main Japanese force, enough remained to land in Kyushu and keep Yuan supply lines harassed. Utsunomiya Sadatsuna (宇都宮貞綱), a talented youth of 15 favoured by the Houjou clan, led this force. In several skirmishes, he showed great skill at keeping the Yuan forces at Mouji isolated from those besieging the castles in the region.
Meanwhile, another force was being assembled far to the north. From Shikoku, Japanese forces assembled and garrisoned Kyushu's towns in 1282, further limiting the damage the Mongols might cause. Elsewhere, thousands of more soldiers were raised, although their quality was dubious. The new Japanese force numbered 30,000 men, which far outnumbered the 20,000 Yuan soldiers in Kyushu. Taxes were increased further to pay for this force, and local lords from yet more provinces faced new duties of service. It was to be jointly commanded by Adachi Morimune (安達盛宗) (who had narrowly escaped Kyushu with his life) and Houjou Tokikuni (北条時国). These men would travel by sea, and innumerable merchant ships and fishing boats in addition to large warships were commandeered to move them to Kyushu.
Among these redeployed forces were those stationed in the north. While Taxiala's small force of 4,000 remained limited to small-scale coastal raids, Andou Gorou knew they would return in force should the shogun order his soldiers elsewhere. Yet he had little choice in the matter due to his Nichiren fanaticism alienating many lords from him and he thus faced the Mongol army with his own forces and vassals.
In winter 1282, Taxiala concluded an alliance with several Ainu headmen who had suffered at the hands of Andou Gorou's forces, raising an additional thousand Ainu warriors and their ships. Learning the Japanese had moved south, they invaded Mutsu Bay in July 1282 with their entire force of 5,000 warriors, intending to crush the Andou clan's fleet and open all northern Honshu for future invasion.
At the head of the Andou fleet, Andou Gorou intercepted Taxiala with a lesser force of perhaps 3,000 warriors, with his distant relative Andou Suemura (安藤季村). However, Andou outnumbered the Yuan in terms of large ships, for most of their ships were smaller
ibune of native design rather than the sturdier Japanese or Korean vessels. This made it difficult for his auxiliaries to board ships and rendered them easy targets for Japanese archers. Pulling his ships back, Taxiala ordered the natives to board the larger ships so he might render the smaller ones into fire ships. This tactic severely damaged the Andou fleet and drove them off (despite Suemura's objections). Each side suffered heavy casualties, preventing the Mongols from taking advantage of it.
In the south, the Yuan knew the dire threat posed by Japanese counterattack. Their fleets scoured the coast of the San'you region, burning villages and denying the Japanese safe harbours. At several places they clashed with advance elements of Japan's fleet, but to no conclusive result. Cooperation between the Japanese forces was hindered by internal struggles between Adachi Morimune and Houjou Tokikuni. The latter was accused of corruption and evil deeds by Adachi, and was nearly stripped of his authority by Adachi's father, the prominent Adachi Yasumori (安達泰盛), before being reinstated by Houjou Tokimune himself, who decreed Japan needed unity in these times.
Internal conflict riddled the Mongol forces as well. On August 2, 1282, Mongol commander Wang On (王雍) died in battle while attempting to raid the sacred island of Itsukushima. Some allege he was lured into attacking by Hong Dagu, who concealed information of how defended it was--as a result, he died at the hands of Takeda Tokitsuna (武田時綱), military governor of Aki Province [5].
Takeda's victory was famed in Japanese history--to avoid spilling blood, he removed all food and even wild animals through the island by using peasants, priests, and disguised warriors (in later times, these men were commonly portrayed as ninja) who eluded Mongol patrols. A favourable wind blew, letting him storm the island with a boats loaded with scarecrows that burst into flames from fire arrows. These makeshift fire ships destroyed many Mongol boats as well as further depleted their supplies. Low on supplies and fearing enemy reinforcements arrived, around 3,000 Mongols surrendered. Yet this did not stop the Yuan advance, for they were reinforced by the general Ataghai (阿塔海) and his marines and the campaign continued unabated.
On August 16, 1282, a typhoon blew the concentrated Japanese fleet into Tokuyama Bay, sinking and damaging many ships. As the storm subsidied, the Mongol fleet emerged and dashed the smaller Japanese ships into the rocks and islands, drowning countless Japanese warriors, including Houjou Tokikuni. While Adachi Morimune attempted to rally the survivors and their fleet, many were Houjou clan vassals who accused him of assassinating Tokikuni under cover of the storm. Only some goukenin vassals and their soldiers survived through beaching their ships and fleeing to the hills. Over 20,000 Japanese died or became prisoner in one of the greatest defeats in their history. Morimune was dissuaded from seppuku by his grudge against his co-commander, blaming the defeat on the rival.
Hearing news of this defeat, Mizuki Castle surrendered on September 15, 1282. Houjou Sanemasa and Otomo Yoriyasu both committed suicide alongside dozens of leading Japanese. Ono Castle surrendered days later, and the remaining garrison at Dazaifu put up only a token resistance as on September 30, Mongol forces leveled the city and massacred the entire population.
However, resistance around Dazaifu remained, thanks to the Shouni Clan and their tenacious defense. Shouni Tsunesuke led the defense from Uchiyama Castle, the main castle of the Shouni, while his younger brother Morisuke (盛資) defended Iwato. Kagesuke, alongside his nephew (and heir to the Shouni clan) Moritsune (少弐盛経), commanded roving patrols that harassed Mongol lines. However, both were injured and Moritsune's younger brothers killed in battle aiding the escape of the other two Japanese lords.
Most of the Shouni clan would die by early 1283. Knowing the small number of forces guarding them, Yuan general Arakhan ordered them stormed. Explosives made clearing the interior of the castles relatively easy. On January 15, 1283, Shouni Tsunesuke committed suicide as Uchiyama Castle fell to the Mongols. Dozens of his retainers shared in this fate, as well as the Shouni clan in its near-entirety. Only Kagesuke, Moritsune, and Moritsune's young sons--having retreated south to their castles in Hizen Province--remained of the male members of the clan, each one of them determined to resist.
Following this victory, Mongol forces reached across the entirety of Kyushu, mounting continual raids and isolating major cities and fortresses. Even after the collapse of central headquarters, it was a slow grind as the Japanese defenders proved remarkably tenacious. Utsunomiya's reinforcements along with Shouni clan remnants helped assemble resistance to the Mongol forces. Even ordinary peasants fought the Mongols with everything they had and paid a bloody price for it.
Although the conquest of all Kyushu seemed imminent, the fall of Dazaifu, defeat of two major Japanese armies, and capture of numerous castles was but the opening act of a campaign that was to be as grueling as anything the Mongol Empire ever attempted. Losses of manpower, horses, and ships was already enormous. Worse, new fronts were opening all around the Yuan Dynasty as neighbouring powers supposed the Yuan Dynasty must be exhausted from warfare against Southern Song and Japan. From the Pagan Empire of Burma to the Tran Dynasty of Vietnam, numerous powers sought to challenge the authority of the Great Khan from both within and without. An intense era of warfare like few others would soon descend on the East.
---
Author's notes
I felt like writing a lot of short vignettes for this chapter to capture the decisive feel of it. I'm not sure just how many I will do in the future, and maybe I will even stop at some point. I hope it was enjoyable enough and I captured the scale of such a campaign, since in the past year or so I've developed a real interest for how a Mongol campaign in Japan would proceed (since too many people seem to think the next result "inevitable capture of all Kyushu" or even "inevitable capture of Kyoto"). The running inspiration will be the Southern Song and Goryeo campaigns, both of which involved much maritime action and campaign in mountainous, well-fortified lands (indeed, Mizuki Castle mentioned here was actually designed by engineers from the early Korean state of Baekje in the 7th century).
There is somewhat of a discrepancy from OTL in that Arakhan seems to have died immediately before the invasion was launched--he wasn't too old, so he survives TTL. Also, Shouni Tsunesuke and Kagesuke's father, Tsuneyoshi, is named in some sources as the Japanese leader, but he was 82 years old and died around the time of the invasion, so I've written him out. Otherwise, all named characters are OTL as always.
My largest discrepancy from OTL sources is the numbers. I'm very skeptical of the numbers given in Chinese sources, and to a lesser extant the numbers given in Japanese sources, which is in line with modern criticisms of these sources. Thus I've reduced the sizes of each army accordingly.
Next update will be a mix of OTL and ATL as I examine how this invasion of Japan and the massive amount of resources for it affects the other Mongol campaigns in this era. Thanks for reading as always!
[1] - Wang On is known in some sources as Alatemur because he was raised among the Mongols (as per a tribute demand where Goryeo princes were to be sent to the Mongol court) and held a certain cultural affinity toward them. Despite that, he was still a prince of Goryeo as he was descended from King Hyeonjong of Goryeo, who ruled in the early 11th century
[2] -
Ibune is the term given to traditional seagoing ships of the Ainu, Nivkh, and some Tungusic peoples, especially in the medieval period. They were sturdy, fast, and capable ships for transporting people and cargo, but would have been at a disadvantage in a naval battle against East Asian ships
[3] - Even if you don't know where it is, you've probably seen a picture of the famed gate (torii) outside Itsukushima as its frequently used to illustrate Shintoism and Shinto shrines. The current gate dates to the Meiji era, but a similar gate stood in the water overlooking the shrine since the 12th century.
[4] - Today this is Prefectural Route 65 in Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast of Dazaifu
[5] - It is not clear if Takeda Tokitsuna was shugo of Aki (unlike his father, who we know for certain was), but he was a prominent local figure in the late 13th century. He's also an ancestor of the far more famous Sengoku-era warlord Takeda Shingen.
