Vignette 1.2 - Black and Grey
Kujou Sara watched as the tide receded, like bark peeling off a tree.
Under the pristine waves was revealed the Nazuchi Beach, the long stretch of sandy tidal flats and vibrant coral reefs revealed to the sky. There was an old saying in Narushima; the people were carved by the land, the land was carved by war, and war was carved by the gods. Nazuchi was proof of this age-old adage, for it did not exist two millennia ago.
When the Watatsumii invaded the Shogunate in the Omikami-Narukami War, they conquered all of Yashiori Island and installed a viceroy to rule it. He was known as Akuou, the Touzannou, the King of the Eastern Mountain. He built a fortress deep in the mountain, Jindai Castle, and ruled from it with an iron fist, brutally subjugating the local populace and forcing them to convert their religious beliefs.
The vanguard of the Shogunate expedition sent to retake the island was led by the Raiden Shogun's most loyal vassal, the daitengu Sasayuri of Yougou Mountain. Ninety-nine times the Great Tengu would assault the fortress of Jindai, and ninety-nine times Akuou beat them back. And on the hundredth assault, when the walls of Jindai were on the verge of collapse, Sasayuri personally led the charge to bring down the final blow.
He would've, if the Omikami had not wrought a mighty storm over the entire island, impeding the assault. The Battle Beneath the Storm would see the Akuou and Sasayuri clash blades for the first and last time. The morningtide would see the Great Tengu's red mask shattered against the stone, his mighty form cut down by the King of the Eastern Mountain.
It was said that the Raiden Shogun was so enraged by the Omikami's impudence and dishonour that she had decided he was not worthy to meet on the field of battle. She had sent her own champion to fight his, so why had the Omikami called down that storm to aid Akuou? Before Akuou and the treacherous Omikami could even celebrate their victory, a violet flash of light had cleaved through the sea, sky, and earth.
In a single strike, the Narukami brought down her own divine judgement. Both Akuou and the Omikami were slain, Yashiori Island hewn in two, and the Eastern Mountain destroyed by the rage of a god. In the ages since, rain and wind swept what remained of the Eastern Mountain into the ocean, filling the sea and creating the Nazuchi Beach.
Kujou Sara watched her brother's First Division march against the receding tide, wanting to steal an entire night before the Watatsumii notice. They would have to get as far out as possible and raise an entire camp before the tides sweep back in, lest they be washed out to sea. The risk would be impossibly high for them, but so would it be for the rebels as well. No doubt the Sangonomiya knew that if the superior Shogunate Army made landfall on Yashiori, and chance of their rebellion succeeding would disintegrate into ashes.
"When will we march, o'Sara?" Shirakawa of Shakkei Mountain asked.
"In the next tidal cycle," she answered.
"With all our technology, it would be most efficient if we spearhead the campaign," Ayanokouji Shizuko scowled, "But no, all the high and mighty nobles in the First Division want to take the glory."
"Kujou Masanori is the daishou of this campaign, Lady Ayanokouji," Sir Takasaka warned, "It would not do to doubt his decisions."
"What are you?" Hiiragi Hiyori grumbled, "Ashigaru? We are officers of the Shogunate Army. If we do not doubt our leader's decisions, who will?"
"Indeed," Kujou Sara agreed, "The nobles have been overstepping their bounds. They think that just because the Raiden Shogun has not punished them, she does not mind their actions. Fools."
"General Masanori is no fool, my lady," Takasaki Izumi said, "He knows the rebels are expecting them. He certainly has a plan."
"My brother is no fool," she narrowed her eyes, "But he is surrounded by them. The Kamisato vassals are that foppish dandy Ayato's bootlickers, acting only in his interest. The Hakushin and Mikoshi only seek to regain their lost glory. The Hiiragi are plagued with too much internal strife to be effective. The Konda and their vassals have no will to fight. I do not envy my brother's position."
"That is precisely why our plan is not to break through their land defences," Sara carried on, "But to pin them down."
There was a round of understanding among her knot of officers, but Ayanokouji Shizuko still voiced her displeasure.
"But we do have the capabilities to break through," she complained, "We have anticipated this exact scenario a year ago, and broke our backs creating a doctrine to adapt to it. The Second Division is physical proof of that. If they would only let us go first!"
"The old guard simply does not trust our new technology," Sara sighed, "However, as Sir Takasaka said, General Masanori is no fool. He knows this, that is why he did not protest when the nobles demanded they take the vanguard."
A seabreeze rustled through their clothes, the hardy trees that grow is this terrain swaying rigidly. Kujou Sara waited, and then an officer inhaled in understanding.
"General Kujou," Hiiragi Hiyori breathed, his eyes light with excitement, "You can't mean-!"
"I did not mean anything."
She shut him down before he could follow through, but the Shogunate Army selects its officers through a meritocracy - they were all smart enough to understand her implication. They were led to the front to die. With the old guard receiving the glorious and honourable death they wanted, the Shogunate Army will have free reign over the rest of the war. And their families back in Kyo could not say a thing about it.
"You seem to have adapted remarkably well to mortal politics, o'Sara," Lord Shirakawa said amusedly.
"I serve the Shogunate first and foremost, as it were," she replied, "And Narushima second."
One was a mortal construct, and the other, divine. In a perfect world, both would be one in the same. But the world hasn't been perfect since the Cataclysm.
"We will pin the rebels on this misbegotten strip of earth," Kujou Sara commanded, "And the First Armada will ferry the Third Division across Nazuchi Bay south of here. They will land in the Sangonomiya rear and complete the envelopment."
"It is a risky manoeuvre," Hiiragi commented, "I hate to admit - I suppose we all do - but the rebel navy outmatches us by far. If they strike the Third Division, there will be no saving them."
"We have taken precautions in advance," she replied, "The Second Armada has been rebuilt and stationed on the northside of Tatarasuna. We have outfitted them to look like the First Armada, and made a show of loading troops onboard the ships in order to mislead the Sangonomiya. By all accords, they should believe the encirclement will come from the north."
"Then where is the First Armada?"
"I can't say I know."
Of course she did. But the matter was of the highest secrecy and nobody except the highest echelons of order were permitted to know that information.
A silence pervaded them once more. The battle lines have been drawn in the sand, the orders sent and received. War was nine parts out of ten made of planning, and the last piece bloodshed. For the longest time, their efforts have been put to logistics, doctrines, and maps. Now, it was finally time for battle.
"General Kujou…" Sir Takasaka said hesitantly, "Are we truly turning our backs on the old ways so easily?"
Kujou Sara stared to the sky, where the free birds flew overhead. To their rear, the flutter-sound banners of the Second Division. Behind that, the capital, Kyo.
"I am a tengu," she said at last, "Descendant of the old youkai. This war we find ourselves fighting will usher Narushima, no, all of Teyvat into a new age. The world is becoming smaller, no matter how we try to distance ourselves from the rest of it. It is changing, and changing yet."
"Even the way of the warrior itself is changing," she carried on, "Black powder counts for more than valour. Arquebus balls do not care for rank or status. Honour means less and less by the day. Soon, generals will be artisans and engineers rather than soldiers, and war will be a thing of figures and arithmetic rather than clever tactics."
"So yes. I turn my back on the old, because if we do not then we shall be swallowed by our own ignorance," Kujou Sara proclaimed, "This is why for all of Sangonomiya Kokomi's brilliance, she will not win this war. She may outfox and deceive us a thousand times, and we will pound her armies to dust under the weight of artillery anyway."
Clack. The stone was placed on the board.
Her opponent, Yuuna Fusahira, furrowed his brows, resting his chin on his hand as he swallowed himself in thought. Silence commanded the pavilion, the only sound being the sizzling of burning sea-coal in large braziers, ribbons of smoke snaking through the space. A dozen pairs of eyes laid on the board game, transfixed by meaningless stones that held all the meaning in the world.
Lord Yuuna fondled a white stone - representing the Watatsumi Army - and hesitantly placed it down. Sangonomiya Kokomi smiled, all teeth, and picked a black stone from her own bowl - representing the Shogunate Army - and placed it adjacent to Lord Yuuna's earlier action. A rivulet of sweat ran down the lord's temple as he slicked back his hair in stress.
He placed down another piece.
Kokomi did so as well. Lord Yuuna winced.
She had put down her stone in a corner, far away from the battle at hand. It as not supported by another piece, nor did it support either. The action was fundamentally useless, and was a waste of a turn. It was a taunt. It was saying; you are losing so much I can surrender a turn to you and still win.
Lord Yuuna sighed, "I yield. I am no match to your prowess, Your Excellency."
"Do you think the enemy will accept your surrender?" she asked, "I am your enemy. I do not accept your surrender. Do you know why?"
Lord Yuuna looked pained. He glanced around the pavilion, to all the other lords and officers, they all didn't meet his eyes.
"It is because the Shogunate will not accept our surrender," Sangonomiya Kokomi proclaimed, "They will not relent until we are beaten so thoroughly we cannot raise another military force again in a thousand years. We started this war knowing that it will not end until Watatsumi is beneath the waves or before the Shogun's throne. I do not accept your surrender."
Lord Yuuna picked up a stone, biting his cheek.
"However," she continued, "It is clear that Watatsumi's commanding general is no longer in a state to continue this war. Who here believes they have the prowess to replace him?"
She swept her gaze around the pavilion, waiting for anyone to try their hand. No one did.
Kokomi scowled. This was why they were going to lose. The foundation of the Shogunate Army was built upon ideals of meritocracy, not blood. Blood was meaningless, talent was replaceable. By fostering talented officers, they have afforded themselves a legion of skilled replacements should their best generals fall in battle.
They were looking to the future, but Watatsumi was stuck in the past. Blood was thicker than water, blood was holding them down.
"Let me try," a woman stood up, and the knot rippled.
She was a striking figure - hair tied with an intricate gold hairpin over a single hawkish eye, like a ruby melting into gold. Her other eye was covered by an eyepatch, framed by a trinket of woven bones hanging from her hair. Tied beneath her breasts, a single Electro Vision. There was a single man or woman who didn't know this infamous figure.
Captain Beidou, the Star of Death. The woman who slayed the sea titan Haishan without a Vision, she who commanded the largest pirate fleet in the world.
Beidou shooed Lord Yuuna away as if he was some stray dog, before sitting in his place. Kokomi inspected the pirate captain, who held herself with a poise of arrogant self-assurance.
The Divine Priestess was no fool. Watatsumi was not a rich land, and the Sangonomiya Clan could hardly afford to pay the Crux Fleet for their services. And yet, Captain Beidou offered them help anyway.
It could only mean the Republic of Liyue has a vested interest in their war. And Sangonomiya Kokomi knew what they wanted, it was the only business the Republic stuck their nose in after all - and that was business. They wanted the Shogunate to lift the Sakoku Decree and open a new market for the Republic's monopolies.
Sending the Crux Fleet to help Watatsumi was a calculated investment by the Liyue Qixing. And like all investments, the Qixing will cut their losses if the rebellion shows even the slightest signs of losing.
"A game of go, I see," Beidou grinned, "Doesn't Inazuma have its own wargames? Shogi?"
"You know shogi, captain?"
"I have a friend who likes collecting wargames," the pirate captain smiled, "She would challenge anyone who dared, but none could beat her. Except for me. She loved games like xiangqi and chess and shogi so much she created her own version of it."
Beidou placed down a stone, not breaking eye-contact.
"But not go," Kokomi observed, "And I thought go was a common pastime in Liyue."
Kokimi placed down a stone.
"Oh, it very much is," Beidou placed down a stone, ignoring the rapt attention focused onto them, "Alas, my friend does like it very much."
"Your friend is no military woman, I presume," Kokomi returned, picking up a piece and starting a ladder chain on the board, "Or dare it say it, she is a businesswoman."
Beidou glanced at the board, before smirking and playing elsewhere. As expected of an experienced player. Getting trapped in a ladder and attempting to break out was a mistake - one cannot escape a ladder net, not unless you have planned in advance and have arranged your pieces in such a way that it would be broken before it hits the wall. Unfortunately, Lord Yuuna was not a very good player.
"And how do you know that?"
"Because shogi and chess and all the games like it represent an idealist's version of war," Kokomi said, "Two identical armies on an even field. Every piece has a number of points awarded to it, and every piece can only move as it is allowed."
She finished the ladder and encircled all of white's pieces in it, destroying them. The Siege of Tatarasuna. Beidou continued setting up her positions, unfazed by the losses.
"Chess is a predictable game," Kokomi continued, placing down a piece to offer a ko fight, "Pieces can only move a certain way, allowing your opponent to reasonably guess your next actions. There are only so many moves. Each piece has a different number of points, implying they are more important and thus more important to capture."
"And most insultingly, checkmating the king results in the end of a game," she finished.
"It seems very reasonable to me," Beidou accepted her offer for battle and they began skirmishing, "Cut off the head of the snake, and the whole body falls apart. Is that not it?"
"If I die in battle," Kokomi hissed, "And my vassals sue for peace because of it. They do not deserve any victory!"
Silence laid in the wake of her proclamation. The air in the pavilion was thick, all of Watatsumi's best officers sitting in uneasy quiet.
"Go, on the hand, starts with a completely empty board," Kokomi placed down a stone, "It does not represent a battlefield, but a war. Every stone is meaningless on its own, like a soldier, but when employed in clever tactics serving a higher strategy… it all comes together. Your mission in go is not to capture a meaningless king, but to capture as much territory as possible as push your opponent into a corner so small they can no longer afford to battle. This is what it means to wage war."
"And this is what chess and shogi and xiangqi get wrong. By assigning a value to each piece, they encourage players to focus on acquiring points by capturing pieces," Kokomi surrendered the ko fight she started, allowing Beidou to take the upper hand - but not without completely ruining the centerground.
Now, they were trapped in a stalemate. But unlike chess, a stalemate does not end the game. Because with go, the possibilities were as endless as they were unpredictable.
"Casualties are a consequence of properly employed tactics, not the intent," declared Sangonomiya Kokomi, "To merely bludgeon away is to reduce the conduct of war to arithmetic."
Beidou placed down her piece, completing her preparations. It was a theoretical fortress of stones, bound from side to side - sea to sea - and layered thick. Kokomi - representing the Shogunate - could not attack without falling into a trap. This defensive playstyle is meant to force the opponent - her - to attack, and thus lose the advantage. If Kokomi does not take the bait, however, she would be wasting her turns, and allowing Beidou to continue building up.
"Now then," Beidou smiled, "What tactics will you employ here?"
This was exactly what Kokomi had been guiding the game towards - an imaginary recreation of the current war situation. She leaned back, and spoke to the arranged officers in the room.
"As you can see, the good captain here has created an impenetrable defence," Kokomi raised her voice, "My pieces represent our opponent - the Shogunate Army. How will I overcome her defences?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi waited as the men and women there succumbed to deep thought. Even Beidou herself looked amused, tilting her head at the game. There was an obvious answer, of course - you can't. Beidou's defences were too strong, and the only way to overcome them was to play into her hand and try to improvise from there.
But that was not what the Shogunate was thinking.
Suddenly, Captain Beidou's eyes widened, sparkling with understanding. Kokomi gave up on her so-called best generals.
"The answer is simple," she said, picking up a piece, "I do not play into her hand. Instead, I open another front."
Kokomi placed down her stone. It was alone, disconnected from the rest of the game. Unsupporting and unsupported. A useless piece. But in the wider context of the game, this useless piece was to be the start of an effort to capture as much space as possible and even out the playing field. It was a taunt, to bait the opponent to try to disrupt the effort.
This is what the Shogunate was doing, building up a large amount of forces north of Tatarasuna in broad daylight. They were forewarning their intentions - to attack over the Sea of Inazuma and land forces on the northern shore of Yashiori to flank their emplacements there.
Now, what was to be Watatsumi's response?
Beidou placed down her piece. It wasn't building up her defences, nor was it anywhere close to Kokomi's own previously placed stone. It was all the way on the opposite side of the board, starting an attack on her other pieces.
"Then," Beidou drawled, "Watatsumi opens a third front."
Kokomi suddenly stood up, and the entire room rose with her.
"Very good," she said, bowing to the captain, "Captain Beidou, I beseech you to take your Crux Fleet into Nazuchi Bay, and eliminate all Shogunate operations in the area."
Author's Note: Have a merry Christmas, folks. If not, happy holidays nonetheless.