The Sorceress' Revolt -
Ko Eiji's Story
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Part Seven: Commander of the Army
The advance of such a large army under the aegis of two famed generals sent Beizhou Castle into a panic. The castle was protected by a little less than ten thousand soldiers and thirty sorcerers.
Sei Koko, on her own initiative, distributed a large amount of money to the soldiers tasked to protect the city. She also recruited more soldiers from the surrounding region. Her efforts swelled the Beizhou army’s size to twenty thousand. Many people sold their loyalty for money, especially those who had lived through the lean times under harsh taxes previously.
Sei Koko’s recruits were better-integrated with the sorcerers than Ou Soku’s. They committed many heinous crimes alongside the sorcerers, making the city’s common people suffer greatly.
However, not all of the new soldiers in the city were corrupt. Rou’s recruiting efforts also bore fruit, and the men he won to his side were good people and good soldiers.
The divide between Sei Koko’s side and Ou Soku’s grew wider by the hour.
In order to raise morale in the city, Sei Koko brought out the enemy general Tian Bin, who’d been imprisoned after his defeat, and had Jin Sen execute him in the public square.
Tian Bin wept and begged to surrender.
Ou Soku was against the execution of those who surrendered.
Sei Koko ignored Ou Soku’s objections.
Tian Bin was decapitated by Jin Sen’s shadow blades. His head flew fifty feet through the air before it came to rest on the ground.
The onlookers were not heartened by this sight. Most of them were afraid.
Sei Koko didn’t care. She ordered the conscription of more people, making them work to transport supplies and food. Those who refused to work were killed on the spot.
When there were no more able-bodied people to press into service, Chō Ki went to the asylum and dragged out the sick and dying.
“As long as you’re alive, you can work. Don’t waste my time with excuses.”
Rou caught Chō Ki doing this and lost patience with the sorcerer. He hauled Chō Ki in by the collar and said, “Stop it, you vile monster!”
Chō Ki sneered. He enjoyed it when people picked fights with him. “So you’re actually willing to go against Sei Koko’s orders? Interesting. Sadly, this is where you die.” He yanked himself out of Rou’s grip and pushed him away.
Rou wasn’t fast enough to avoid the blast of fire that engulfed him as he took a step back. He dropped and rolled, but the fire wouldn’t go out.
Chō Ki snorted.
No one could deny the sorcerers anything. The sick, the old, and the infirm had no choice but to comply with what they said.
After hearing what had happened to Rou, Ou Soku rushed to the palace and resolutely protested to Sei Koko, but all his protests fell on deaf ears.
“Beizhou is in a state of emergency,” Sei Koko said in a clipped tone. “Those who are not with us are against us, and must be punished.”
Ou Soku barely restrained himself from striking Sei Koko. He spun on his heel and left the room in a rage.
Ko Eiji followed him.
An eerie silence enveloped the castle.
Women and children were brought to the front of the outer wall and used to make a fence of wooden spears meant to prevent the enemy from charging at the walls. There was no telling when Bungen Haku’s army would arrive. The women and children’s place outside the safety of the city was precarious. If the Imperial Army came without warning, they would be the first to die.
It wasn’t just the enemy that these innocent people were scared of. If they took even a moment’s rest, the whip of the sorcerer overseeing them would crack against their backs.
Ko Eiji gazed upon this horrific sight through an arrow slit in the tower above the wall. Her face twisted in despair.
Ever since she’d rescued Ou Soku from the ambush, she’d been permitted to move freely through Beizhou. Sei Koko didn’t try to speak to her much, if at all, perhaps because the Obon Festival was approaching. She might have realized that opposing Ko Eiji’s wishes too often before the festival might backfire.
War is not just about soldiers. With a single command from a superior, even weak women and children can be hunted down and forced into the war effort. What a cruel thing it is, ruling over others, Ko Eiji thought.
Atop the tower where she stood, soldiers were waiting with their crossbows and weapons ready. The castle was well-supplied with lances, arrows, darts, swords and spears. Some of the towers sported cannons, logs with iron nails set into them that could be used to knock down climbers, and shield walls to protect against enemy arrows.
As Ko Eiji descended from the tower, she shook all over. There was activity all around her, but it was all strangely muted. The calm before a storm.
***
Ryū En’i, the governor of Jizhou, provided Bungen Haku and Cao Wei all the information he had on Sei Koko and her sorcerers. Bungen Haku decided that the best way to end the rebellion was to get Ou Soku, who was not a sorcerer, to submit. After that, his vast army could focus its attention on dealing with the sorcerers and taking back the city of Beizhou.
Beizhou was heavily fortified and would be difficult to conquer, even for a hundred thousand cavalrymen. Bungen Haku entrusted twenty thousand soldiers to Cao Wei and placed his men to the left of the main force. He gave twenty thousand other men to General Wang Xin and placed him on the left flank of the main force. He himself would lead thirty thousand men. The remaining twenty thousand soldiers would serve as a rear guard led by General Ming Hao.1
The vast army encroached on various areas under the control of Beizhou Castle. Bungen Haku’s main force was deployed at the front. The army’s main camp was in Jizhou Castle, which Bungen Haku took the time to fortify. Jizhou was strategically placed along the Yellow River and could receive supplies more easily than Beizhou could.
***
Ou Soku stood on the tallest tower of Beizhou Castle in his armor. Flags and banners fluttered in the wind above his head. He wasn’t afraid, not even of facing an army of a hundred thousand men. Fear would do him no good, and he discarded it as useless.
A man rushed toward the castle from the nearest enemy camp, shot an arrow at the outer wall and ran off. There was a message attached to the arrow. Ou Soku received the message from a soldier and read it silently.
The message listed Ou Soku’s ten worst sins.
1. Instigated a bloody military revolt.
2. Killed the governor of Beizhou without a trial or the righteousness of law.
3. Occupied Beizhou Castle as a military conqueror.
4. Used sorcerers to murder imperial soldiers.
5. Declared himself king against the people’s will.
6. Appointed corrupt people to official positions without due consideration.
7. Invaded Hebei Province, which had been at peace.
8. Used men as slaves for building projects.
9. Raped civilian women.
10. Rebelled against imperial authority, harmed the Chinese people and brought evil into the city of Beizhou.
Many of these things he was guilty of, but there were some—like enslaving people and raping women—where he was wholly innocent. Perhaps not wholly, since he hadn’t prevented Sei Koko’s sorcerers from committing such foul acts.
Ou Soku understood that he was going to be used as a scapegoat. Bungen Haku, one of his personal heroes, was coming to kill him, and he couldn’t even argue that he didn’t deserve it. Tears welled up in his eyes.
“I hate the word ‘fate.’ Why did things have to turn out this way? Isn’t there any other option?”
Bungen Haku was a good man, not a corrupt representative of the imperial government. By all rights, they should be on the same side. If they were enemies, what did that mean? Could justice and order be restored to such a corrupt and terrible world?
No. Sei Koko and her sorcerers would fight to the last man, and it was likely that they would win. Ko Eiji would be killed—or changed.
Everything Ou Soku had hoped to achieve was now passing beyond him. His goals were impossible. There was no future worth living in available to him.
***
The next morning as the sun was beginning to rise, Ou Soku was awakened by the guards on duty. He’d slept in the storehouse of the tower and was sore all over.
“An enemy commander is approaching.”
Ou Soku got up and looked off the top of the tower at the rider that was nearing the fortress wall. The rider was an older man in fine armor. He had an escort of four additional warriors. They weren’t trying to hide; they were riding straight for the main gate.
As the rider and his escort approached, Ou Soku’s chest felt tight with anticipation. The soldiers on the walls made no move to attack, seeming impressed by the rider’s dignity and majesty—and brazenness. Not many men would be brave enough to ride more or less alone right into an enemy’s fortress.
The old warrior stopped his horse at the edge of the moat, looked out over the fortress walls, and shouted loudly, “Open up! I am Bungen Haku, commander of His Imperial Majesty’s armies.” Though he was old, his voice was clear and strong. “I have come here to speak with the mastermind of the rebellion, Ou Soku, in good faith. Send out your king,” he said. His gaze drifted up to the walls. He spotted Ou Soku, checked his horse and rode closer to the tower where Ou Soku stood.
Ou Soku was surprised to be recognized, but he took a few steps forward so that Bungen Haku could see him more easily.
“The Imperial Army has surrounded Beizhou,” Bungen Haku said. “It numbers a hundred thousand strong. I ask for no more pointless resistance and unnecessary bloodshed. The monk Tanshi has petitioned Emperor Renzong on Ou Soku’s behalf, and the emperor has acted in response. The emperor understands that this rebellion is a reaction against the government’s corruption and greed. His Imperial Majesty has expressed deep remorse for allowing such outrage and has spoken out, saying that he will make amends in the approaching new year. I too have repented for not speaking sooner about the crimes I have witnessed.
“Ou Soku, you are a patriot and value justice, yet you have acted selfishly for your own ends. How shameful. The treacherous minister Xia Song and his allies have been stripped of their posts and demoted to commoners. Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Bao Zheng, and myself have been restored to our previous posts. This is cause for celebration. Ou Soku, you have achieved your goal. I commend your courage and am touched by your ambition. However, you sided with bandits and sorcerers who abused the people you sought to save. If you repent of your crimes and surrender, I will report this to the Imperial Court and ask for leniency in your sentence. Consider your options, Ou Soku.”
Bungen Haku bowed his head, then turned his horse and swiftly departed.
The soldiers on the walls were silent.
Ou Soku wept as he watched Bungen Haku return to his army. Bungen Haku didn’t hate him. He didn’t want to kill him. Even Tanshi, whom he’d betrayed, had such compassion that he’d interceded with the emperor to try to save his life. He couldn’t help himself: he cried and couldn’t stop.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “Thank you.”
He’d never been convinced that Tanshi was dead. He was relieved beyond words to learn that he was alive and safe. He’d evaded Sei Koko’s Way of the Dragon Slayer technique! His strength was even greater than the crafty old sorceress’.
I betrayed him. He should hate me. And yet…
Ou Soku was humbled by Tanshi’s mercy.
Do I have the tolerance and courage to forgive even those I hate? I wish for those things. I want to be more like Tanshi and Bungen Haku.
Suddenly, the image of his mother—whom he’d abandoned—came to mind.
She must be suffering, my poor mother. I’m sorry. She had sacrificed all she owned for the sake of his happiness, and how had he repaid her? With scorn and shunning. He was ashamed. His mother was a good woman who would give anything for her child’s sake. She was the exact opposite of Sei Koko, who’d killed her own daughter to achieve her ends.
Ou Soku forgave his mother. There was nothing to forgive, really; he should never have been angry with her in the first place. If he survived this revolt, he would return to her and beg her forgiveness.
Tears in his eyes, Ou Soku saw a better future for himself.
***
The city streets of Beizhou were less busy recently than usual. Most people stayed inside when they could, trying to avoid the chaos of the war.
Go Saburō prowled the nearly empty streets, looking for women. People in Beizhou knew him by reputation, so most women knew to avoid him. When he’d first arrived in the city, the people had greeted him and the sorcerers as liberators, but all that had changed since the sorcerers had started killing people indiscriminately and committing crimes. Public sentiment had completely turned against the sorcerers. Most people wanted the Imperial Army to invade the city and execute all the sorcerers.
Go Saburō stopped dead on the street and caught his breath.
In the alley opposite him stood a young Buddhist nun wearing a simple blue hood. Her eyes were clear and lovely, her skin perfect and unblemished. She was a flawless beauty, perhaps sixteen or seventeen years old.
Go Saburō leered. He’d never seen this woman before. Where had she been hiding? He took a step closer to her and observed her reaction.
“Nun, I have a favor to ask of you,” Go Saburō said.
The nun smiled without a trace of guile. “What may I do for you, sir?”
Her voice was bewitching. Go Saburō was completely captivated.
“Well, uh, a Buddhist just died. An old woman suddenly fell ill and went to the Buddha. I am not a monk and don’t know what to do.”
“You shouldn’t have run away,” the nun scolded lightly. “You should offer a prayer and then bury the poor woman.”
“You serve the Buddha, right?” Go Saburō asked. “Can you show me what I should do?”
“Of course,” the nun said primly. “Lead the way.”
Go Saburō took the nun to a storehouse. The workers had fled long ago and the place was empty. Go Saburō had been there several times.
“Which room is the deceased woman in?” the nun asked.
Go Saburō bared his teeth and chuckled. “The woman might be you, if you resist. You are a Buddhist. Let me worship you until I am content.” He pushed her down to the floor.
The nun screamed.
“Now, now,” Go Saburō said. “I told you not to resist!” He put his hand under the nun’s clothes.
“Stop it! No!”
Then Go Saburō felt something… very confusing.
The nun’s visage melted away, revealing a young man who stood up and jumped back, far away from Go Saburō.
“What?! You’re a man!” Go Saburō said.
“That’s why I told you to stop, you pervert!” Ri Shun snapped.
“Where is the nun? Where did you take her?!”
Go Saburō tried to use magic, but Ri Shun was faster.
Before Go Saburō could say another word, blood gushed from his throat. Ri Shun had shot him clean through with a fayalite projectile. Ri Shun’s father, Ri Chū, had been a master of the same weapon.
“You lied about a woman being dead,” Ri Shun said. “I’ll say a prayer over you anyway: Namu Amida Butsu.” He bowed his head. “Not that I expect the Buddha to have mercy on you, you monster. I hope the demon women rip you to shreds in the afterlife.” He felt the storehouse, changing a curse to the rhythm of a folk song.
Ri Shun’s infiltration of Beizhou Castle had not been easy. The castle’s defenses were nearly impenetrable. But Ri Shun was patient, and his transformation ability was nearly perfect. If he was spotted as a man, he could change into a woman and walk right past any pursuer—or vice versa. He’d mastered many other Daoist techniques thanks to Tanshi’s mentorship as well. He could handle himself.
Though he hadn’t known it when leaving Yunmeng Mountain, Ri Shun was a match for any of Sei Koko’s sorcerers.
***
After returning from the fortress tower with two guards, Ou Soku went to Beizhou Castle to see Sei Koko. Sei Koko agreed to meet with him. Ko Eiji was present in the meeting hall, as were Jin Sen and Chō Ki.
“Is something wrong, King of Eastern Hebei?” Sei Koko asked Ou Soku.
“That depends,” Ou Soku said. “The news isn’t all good, that’s for sure. The Imperial Army has us surrounded. They have a hundred thousand cavalry or more. Bungen Haku leads them. Fighting him would only lead to unnecessary death and suffering.”
“Are you scared to fight?” Sei Koko asked. “So what if the Imperial Army is large? Not a single imperial soldier shall set foot inside this castle.”
“There’s no reason to fight any longer,” Ou Soku said. “Emperor Renzong has ousted Xia Song and other corrupt officials from the Imperial Court. Wise, good men have been reinstated in their places. We’ve won.”
“We have not,” Sei Koko said. Her voice was cold. “Be silent.”
“What?”
Sei Koko’s eyes flashed blue.
Ou Soku fell to the floor, convulsing violently.
“The success or failure of the imperial government is of no concern to us,” Sei Koko said. “What we want is to conquer the world. It must be ours. That is the will of Wu Zetian.”
Ou Soku stopped convulsing and sat up. He glared at Sei Koko. “That will is nothing but an evil delusion. If the world is on the right path, there is no longer any reason to conquer and reshape it. If your plan is to wrench the world off the righteous path it is currently on, people will stop you.”
“I have all I need from you,” Sei Koko said. “Your role in these events is now over.” She smiled. “Do not believe imperial lies. You planned and executed a revolt against the government. They will not permit you to live.”
“I’m prepared for that. I’ve achieved my goal. I have no regrets.”
“You fool. If the ringleader surrenders, the rest of us will have no reason to keep the revolt going.”
Ou Soku’s face became tense. “We once made a pact as leaders. If you betray me, you’ll lose the support of Beizhou’s army.”
Sei Koko’s high-pitched laughter echoed eerily in the confined space of the meeting hall.
Two guards stood on either side of Ou Soku, hands on the hilts of their swords, guarding him.
Jin Sen and Chō Ki had vicious smiles on their faces.
Jin Sen threw two shuriken in succession, piercing the chests of the two guards.
Ou Soku cried out in shock. By the time he had the presence of mind to draw his weapon, one of Jin Sen’s shadow blades was pointed at his throat.
Sei Koko laughed again. “I will take over the rest of Hebei Province.”
“You’re a sorceress,” Ou Soku said. “You’ll never convince people to follow you.”
“Silly boy. I don’t need to convince people. They will follow me because I have power. That is the way of the world.”
A shrill laugh echoed through the hall—and it wasn’t Sei Koko’s.
Sei Koko frowned at the interruption. “Who dares enter this chamber?” she asked.
Jin Sen and the others looked around in surprise. Ri Shun—as Jun Reini—peered into the room from the hallway, smiling.
“Ri Shun?” Ou Soku asked.
“Power isn’t your only trick, is it?” Ri Shun asked. “Manipulation works well, too. You set fire to Kō Ko’s shop and got away in some kind of hot air balloon before you were caught. The sorcerers who did it with you were forced to drink poison so they couldn’t talk.”
Sei Koko’s face changed color. “What an audacious lie! Suspicious nun, who are you?”
“A nun of justice, you old hag.” Ri Shun shrugged, shedding his disguise.
Chō Ki spat out a fireball, but Ri Shun leaped over his head and landed on the opposite side of the room. The fireball hit the wall and scattered sparks in all directions.
“Hmm, I can’t lose if I levitate, huh? Stop spitting at me; that’s gross. Denying your crimes won’t work, either. I heard it all from Ryou Hei.”
Ryou Hei had been a favored servant when Sei Koko had lived in her teahouse in Wenshui. He’d helped Sei Koko burn down Ko Kō’s shops and was made to drink poison along with the rest of the co-conspirators. Unlike his compatriots, Ryou Hei had miraculously survived and reported what had happened to him to the authorities. That was how Ri Shun came to know of him.
Sei Koko cried out like a madwoman. “Be silent, you fiend!”
“You’re the fiend. Ou Soku, your mother is under Tanshi’s protection. Don’t worry about her.”
“I commanded you to be silent!” To her sorcerers, she said, “Kill him! Don’t allow him to escape!”
Chō Ki fired a second shot, but Ri Shun dodged it. A moment later, he jumped out a window and was quickly lost to view.
“Ko Eiji, do you believe what that strange person said?”
“I am Ko Biji’s reincarnation and will inherit the will of Empress Wu Zetian.” She lifted her head imperiously. “Of course I’d never believe such a thing.”
Sei Koko smiled and nodded. “Yes. Very good.” She faced her sorcerers. “Just throw Ou Soku in a cell for now, Jin Sen. I’ll kill him in front of Bungen Haku on the day of the Obon Festival.”
Ou Soku gaped. Why would Ko Eiji talk like this? They had never been enemies. Turning on him now was cruel.
Ou Soku stared at Ko Eiji as he was being led away. His eyes were filled with sorrow and contempt.
Ko Eiji’s face was an expressionless mask.
***
Sei Koko had Jin Sen take overall command of Beizhou and tasked him with launching a surprise attack on the Imperial Army. This was to demonstrate the fearsomeness of the sorcerers and the strength of Beizhou’s military might. The Imperial Army was large, but it was split into four smaller forces. If Sei Koko could target the smaller armies and pull back before taking heavy casualties, she should be able to whittle away at the Imperial Army’s superior numbers.
Ordinary soldiers wouldn’t be too useful at this stage, so Sei Koko had her sorcerers come up with ways to intimidate the enemy.
She ordered several weak sorcerers to attack Wang Xin’s camp in the middle of the night. They wore their large bat costumes, including the masks. They didn’t need to hide their identities, but they would be dropping smoke bombs on the enemy. They didn’t want to breathe in the smoke.
The smoke bombs caused great confusion among Wang Xin’s troops, but not for long. After a few minutes, the smoke completed its work, and nearly every soldier in the camp fell unconscious. After that, all the sorcerers had to do was slit sleeping men’s throats. Easy.
It should have been that simple, but Wang Xin’s soldiers managed to warn others before they were incapacitated. Some of the weak sorcerers were also dumb enough to breathe in the smoke and woke up the next morning in a prisoner of war camp.
A few other weak sorcerers attacked Cao Wei’s camp to the left of the main army simultaneously with the smoke bomb attack. They manufactured thick fog to hide their activities and drove many hungry wild dogs and cats into the area around the fortified encampment. They urged the wild dogs to chase the cats. The fog curtain would alter what they looked like. Cao Wei’s soldiers would see wolves, tigers, and leopards tearing each other to pieces inside the fog and flee in terror. The sorcerers would then come out of the fog and cut down the fleeing soldiers.
This plan was a spectacular failure. The wild dogs paid no attention to the cats and instead bit the nearest weak sorcerer to them. It was the weak sorcerers who fled, and they were instantly slashed to death by imperial soldiers.
However, not everything was a failure. Some sorcerers could use multi-body techniques and illusions. Some of Cao Wei’s soldiers saw flames and an approaching storm that wasn’t real. The overall plan to sow confusion and fear in Cao Wei’s camp was at least partially successful.
***
Cao Wei made a visit to Bungen Haku. He said, “The enemy’s strategy is clearly to disrupt our positions and discourage us from fighting. We cannot just keep waiting here. We must take proactive action against them. I believe it is time for us to attack.”
“Should we use a trench filler? We can use a dam to block the water coming into the moat, then fill the moat and beat down the walls.”
“I think that’s a given,” Cao Wei said. “But we need a plan for when the moat is filled in. The walls have been built up. We need to create a breach in a specific area, I think. Targeting the entire wall would not be wise.”
Aligned on strategy, Cao Wei and Bungen Haku gathered up some soldiers and had them collect earth and stones to put inside the army’s trench fillers. That done, the generals decided where they wanted to fill in the moat and breach the fortress wall. The filled-in square of the moat was then tamped down for the convenience of war chariots and horses.
Sei Koko’s scouts were not surprised to find one or two sections of the moat filled in and saw no cause for alarm. Even if the enemy filled in the entire moat, the fortress walls were impregnable.
The Imperial Army attacked in earnest, setting tall ladders against the wall and sending trench filler after trench filler toward the moat to give their side an increased foothold. Soldiers followed behind the trench fillers, shielding themselves. As the soldiers began to climb the ladders, the enemy army dropped large boards pierced with sharp nails on their heads, seeking to dislodge them.
One soldier was stabbed a dozen times by the sharp nails and fell, screaming. His ladder tipped over since he didn’t let it go. The board that made him fall was hauled up by a rope and deployed again elsewhere along the wall.
In another place, fire rained down on soldiers climbing the ladders. A bag soaked in oil was set on fire and attached to an iron bar that could be manipulated using an attached iron plate. Several soldiers fell off their ladders, burned to death or burning.
There was only one gate in the fortress wall. Some soldiers carried a battering ram with nails embedded in one end to help cut through the thick wood of the gate, but it was clear after a few attempts that the gate was too strong. The soldiers needed a heavier ram and more people to haul it if they were going to break through.
The soldiers holding the battering ram were exposed to archers atop the fortress walls. Many of them fell dead to enemy arrows before they retreated.
As the battle progressed, the fortress used its large and unwieldy cannons to spook the enemy forces. The cannon models were old, inefficient and couldn’t be aimed well, but they did the trick and forced the remaining imperial soldiers into retreat. The Imperial Army’s initial assault was a crushing failure. Beizhou Castle was too well-defended.
The Imperial Army prepared for a long siege.
Translator's Note
1 明鎬 Ming Hao (989-August 9, 1048 CE) served as a pacifying envoy to Hebei Province and suppressed the rebellion of Wang Ze (Ou Soku) in Beizhou.
王信 Wang Xin (988-1048 CE) was a general of the Northern Song Dynasty. Much like Cao Wei, he had an illustrious military career that spanned several decades. He was one of the generals who suppressed the revolt in Beizhou and won accolades and a court position for his contributions. He died not long after the revolt in office (seemingly of natural causes).↩
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