Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 1943 1413: A Spark Ignites—Ikko Sect and the Hummingbird Chief Divine!

"Family Head! The second batch of two hundred residents has been settled!… In total, the two batches comprise 80 households and 400 people, mostly strong men. Half are settled in Shengshan Main Hall, and the other half in Bi Stone Hall. Each household should be able to open up ten to twenty acres of dry farmland before spring plowing in May and plant some millet…""Hmm, Shoudo, did you provide them with rice?…"

"Yes! Each household received two bales of millet, which I personally checked to ensure there was no shortfall. By eating sparingly and mixing it with acorns, wild vegetables, leaves, and insects, it should last until the autumn harvest… According to the regulations, each household registered one farmer as a peasant soldier. If these new households have too many mouths to feed and can't last until the autumn harvest, they can register another peasant soldier to receive an additional bale of millet! I estimate that once these 80 households settle down, they will be able to provide the Main Family with a hundred peasant soldiers!"

"Very good! Also, give each household a spear and have them familiarize themselves with the weapons! These residents come from Kansai, and they appear somewhat timid and incapable. After the autumn harvest, it's necessary to assign skilled team leaders to train them properly! Hmm, provide meals during their training!… Otherwise, let alone fierce Shandan people, even the tribal soldiers of the Ezo people could defeat them easily!…"

"Yes, the Family Head is generous!…"

The Auditor Kaozaki Shoudo bowed respectfully and then also bowed to House Elder Mori no Kiyoshi before turning and rushing out of the main hall. Mori no Kiyoshi was seated cross-legged in the hall, personally pouring a cup of tea for Kaozaki Mitsuhiro, and he said with a smile.

"Mitsuhiro, you took in these 400 refugees and settled them in the Northern Country to escape the continuous warfare in Kansai... In the merciful presence of Buddha, this is indeed a great act of virtue!"

"Haha! Uncle, the fields in Ezo land are barren, and after working hard for a year, not much rice can be harvested, incomparable to the fertile lands of Kansai. The fact that these residents have come to cultivate the land and are not cursing me in their hearts is already Buddha's mercy!…"

"Mitsuhiro, you may not know this… Although Kansai is fertile, the heavy taxes and burdens on the farmers there far exceed those of the Northern Land! Kansai is directly under the Shogunate, with the usual ratio of six parts public to four parts private, additional offerings to Temples and Shrines, and the daily needs of the Nobles; not to mention the exploitation by local National Peoples, extortion by Ranger warriors, and plundering by unruly soldiers. These villagers fled simply because they couldn't survive there! The sight along the way, of the elderly and weak starving to death and the young and strong escaping, not to mention the massacres by the defeated Samurai… sigh!"

Speaking of the turmoil in Kansai, Mori no Kiyoshi shook his head, showing reluctance. He paused for a moment before continuing.

"These villagers were initially taken in by the Monks of my Tiantai Sect, carefully rescued and sheltered for two months before being handed over to me, to board the ships heading north to Ezo land!… To tell the truth, the heads of the Temples and Monks were initially unwilling to aid these refugees. But my Master urged Buddha's merciful intent, and with disciples of the Kaga Ikko Sect coming to gather refugees to the north; all the Sects and Temples were stirred, leading them to send Monks to intercept and comfort them actively!"

"And if you are able to settle them properly, the expenses for their transport along the way will be covered by our Sect! This is a good deed recognized by the high monks of Miao Courtyard, contributing to the reputation of your Kaozaki clan, and may even benefit the greatest wish of Lord Nobuhiro during his lifetime… Subsequently, if Capital City faces unrest again, there will be more residents coming… Sending them to open up land in Ezo land and grow the power of the Kaozaki clan is far better than leaving them to fall into the hands of the Ikko Evil Sect!"

"Ah? Kaga Ikko Sect?... Uncle, are you referring to the True Pure Land Sect? I heard that Qingluan Shangren also came from the Tiantai Sect, and the True Pure Land Sect is also a branch of the Tiantai Sect. Why is it called the Ikko Evil Sect?…"

"Do not speak such words!"

Mori no Kiyoshi scolded sharply, interrupting the disrespectful words. Then, after ensuring no one was around, he smiled bitterly and said.

"Buddha protect us! Mitsuhiro, in the future, never utter such disrespectful words in front of the monks of the great orthodox sects… Qingluan Shangren, hmm, Master Jian Zhen indeed once practiced under the Tiantai Sect for over twenty years… but when he defected from the sect to join the 'Pure Land,' he had long severed ties with the Tiantai Sect!…"

"As for the 'Pure Land Original Vow Method' advocated by Master Jian Zhen, from our sect's perspective, it is undoubtedly a heretical method, nearly a taboo that must not be mentioned within our sect!"

"This Original Vow Method contains three major evil arguments for extinguishing Buddhism… One is Inverted Speech, replacing True Dharma with Evil Method… another is inciting evil deeds, breaking many precepts of True Dharma... the third is eliminating dissent, resorting to mass killings within the sects of True Buddhism... to practice this method is to practice the extinguishment of Buddhism, inevitably resulting in a long fall into Avici Hell!"

After discussing the "debate between True Dharma and Evil Method," seeing Kaozaki Mitsuhiro's blank, disinterested expression, Mori no Kiyoshi privately sighed. Compared to the Ikko Sect, which only requires the simple repetition of the "True Word" for "Buddha's salvation and rebirth in Pure Land," their "True Buddhism" seriously lacked appeal!

Especially for the suffering common people and middle to lower class warriors who wielded blades, they neither had the wisdom, wealth, nor energy to "practice True Dharma," hence no hope of transcending and being saved. The "simple and infinitely effective" methods of the Ikko Sect thus became their only posthumous salvation and even their only hope during their present life!...

"Alas! Mitsuhiro, six years ago, when the Ikko Sect launched the Ikko Ikki and seized Kaga Province… the Ikko Sect established a real foothold in Kansai, founding the so-called 'Kaga Buddha Country'... High monks from various sects expressed great concern, repeatedly appealing to the Shogunate's higher echelons. Eighth Generation General Ashikaga Yoshinori had planned to campaign against Kaga and almost led troops into battle! The Tenth Generation General Ashikaga Yoshizumi also harbored the same intentions… Yet, with the Shogunate in constant flux, changing generals four times, the proposal to campaign against the Ikko Sect became nothing more than an illusory idea, and had to be reluctantly abandoned…"

"Now, as the Ikko Sect grows ever stronger, they have already driven out the Kaga Protector and Noble Martial Families, suppressing the National Peoples. They have set up their own temples and sect members, managing the localities and the believers in the villages themselves!… Their implementation of the 'People's Hold,' creating Ikko Sect village societies and seizing the taxes levied by the Martial Family for their own use, holds tremendous appeal for local residents!…"

"Ah! They dare to expel the noble Martial Families, ruling the territories directly with the Temples and Shrines, using deceptive words and heresies to confuse the hearts of the people?! This... this is too evil! Indeed, they are no less than Evil Demons, no, truly are Evil Demons!"

Upon hearing about the actions of the Ikko Sect, Kaozaki Mitsuhiro was greatly shocked, promptly labeling the original "True Pure Land Sect" in his mind as "Evil Demons." On such matters of "right and wrong," as part of the ruling class, the Martial Family could never betray their principles, unless they themselves also became "Evil Demons!"

In actuality, whether it was the "True Pure Land Sect" or the subsequently introduced "Christian Cutzdan," these armed congregations that directly associated with the grassroots farmers and managed to unite the scattered populace were naturally the most dangerous enemies to Japan's military family rule, likely to trigger one uprising after another!

In this era, although Japan's area was only slightly more than 300,000 square kilometers, merely one-fifth of Central America's 1.8 million square kilometers, Japan's population of over 11 million was almost comparable to that of the entire Central America outside of the Maya, without the high-yield American crops, the people's suffering was evident!

Such a densely populated, feudalized ironware kingdom, having the natural advantage of being an island, was naturally impossible to be conquered by foreign forces. Even the once-dominant Mongol Yuan could do nothing about it. But such densely packed populace also meant that the internal people-land conflict in Japan was always on the verge of erupting like a volcano.

Against the backdrop of a dense population and limited land, the joint oppression of grassroots farmers by Japan's Martial Family and traditional Temples and Shrines was truly overwhelming! The taxes and labor they demanded were unimaginable even to the Ming Dynasty and Korea. To such an extent that even "four parts public to six parts private" governance was a remarkable virtue. This has led to Japanese society being like dry firewood, liable to ignite into a raging wildfire once sparked!

Now, history has shifted to a new course, with everything changing silently. While the "Ikko Sect" was taking root and growing in Kansai, drawing the vigilance of national protectors, the Southern Barbarians' "Cutzdan" was also about to arrive. The vanguard fleets of the Portuguese people were sailing towards India, spreading the "glory of the Almighty" along the way…

Meanwhile, in the northern reaches of Ezo land, and on the not-too-distant Kutadai Island, the Northern Barbarians' "Hummingbird Chief Divine" had been engraved on the foreheads of Japanese captives and farmers, gradually taking root in the hearts of these believers.

The priests of the Chief Divine, similarly eager, were seeking the fertile southern soil for belief, from Kamchatka to the Great Island of Maoshili, awaiting the moment when the hummingbird soared over the Northern Country!