Kujou Sara
Kujou Sara was not in a particularly good mood.
Under her command, the Shogunate Army had clashed with Watatsumi Island's rebels several times at Tatarasuna, but they had gained virtually no advantage.
Logically speaking, a small place like Watatsumi Island should not have had the ability to resist the Shogunate's great army. Unfortunately, under the intense pressure of the Vision Hunt Decree, many Vision bearers had thrown themselves into the rebels' embrace.
Meanwhile, the implementation of the Sakoku Decree had already caused enormous damage within the Shogunate's territory. Food supplies in the markets were beginning to grow scarce, yet the Kanjou Commission was obsessed with squeezing out money and refused to support the Tenryou Commission's military campaign.
No, perhaps it was not that they were unwilling. Rather, they wanted to use this opportunity to tie down the Tenryou Commission's forces and occupy most of its attention, allowing them to wildly expand their authority during the chaos caused by the Sakoku Decree.
Inazuma's government was primarily composed of the Tri-Commission.
The Tenryou Commission was the Kujou Clan's established sphere of influence. Its core responsibilities included the military, public security, law enforcement, and the implementation of government decrees. It commanded all of the Shogunate's conventional forces as well as the town patrol officers, including the yoriki and doshin, and was responsible for defending cities, maintaining public order, and apprehending criminals.
It was also the primary organization responsible for enforcing the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree, confiscating Visions, controlling illegal border crossings, and overseeing the Kujou Encampment and the security of Inazuma City. It even had a fire brigade under its command.
It could be said that the Tenryou Commission monopolized nearly all of Inazuma's instruments of violence.
The Kanjou Commission was headed by the Hiiragi Clan. Its core responsibilities included finances, taxation, customs, foreign trade, and the management of Ritou. It controlled nationwide taxation and the national treasury's revenue and expenditure, coordinating the Shogunate's finances as a whole.
It was also the only organization responsible for foreign commerce. During the Sakoku Decree, it exercised complete control over Ritou, reviewing the entry and exit permits of every foreign merchant, setting commodity prices, levying customs duties, and adjudicating disputes involving foreigners.
It could be said that all of Inazuma's financial authority was concentrated in its hands.
Finally, there was the declining Yashiro Commission, controlled by the Kamisato Clan. Its core responsibilities included rituals, shrines, celebrations, civilian affairs, and intelligence. It managed shrine ceremonies, festivals, and traditional celebrations throughout Inazuma while coordinating with the Grand Narukami Shrine.
It was the government organization closest to the common people, handling civilian disputes and matters related to their livelihoods. It served as a bridge of communication between the public and the Shogunate.
It also possessed its own covert intelligence organization, the Shuumatsuban, which was responsible for secretly investigating information from all sides.
Following a period of turmoil more than a century ago, the Kamisato Clan and the Yashiro Commission began to decline, while the Tenryou Commission and Kanjou Commission gradually seized control of the Dominion's various powers.
Now, because of the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree, Inazuma was descending further into chaos. The Dominion's economic structure had long since adapted to a system of trade with all of Teyvat. How could issuing a single command to sever every connection with the outside world possibly not cause turmoil?
Had Inazuma's government been sufficiently competent, the chaos might at least have been somewhat reduced. But the current Inazuma government...
What a joke. Watatsumi Island was far from the only place suffering from food shortages. Every island in Inazuma was facing the same problem.
One could tell merely by looking at a map. Of Inazuma's six major islands, there was no need to mention Watatsumi Island. It was already teetering on the brink of starvation and relied entirely on foreign trade to survive.
Seirai Island was a wasteland with pitifully few residents, so no one could expect it to produce much of anything.
Tsurumi Island had nothing left but ghosts...
Yashiori Island was a battlefield. With war raging across it, its residents had been displaced from their homes.
Kannazuka had the ticking time bomb known as the Mikage Furnace, and it was also close to the battlefield. It was hardly a good place either.
After counting them all, only the main island, Narukami Island, could still be considered stable enough to produce anything.
Yet that production could not support all of Inazuma's people. Before the Sakoku Decree, merchant ships from Liyue, Mondstadt, Fontaine, and Snezhnaya had docked year-round beside the International Trade Association on Ritou.
Inazuma exported its specialties, including the finely crafted swords of the Raiden Gokaden, lacquerware, fireworks, Sango Pearls, Crystal Marrow, ores from Seirai Island, sake, and textiles.
In return, it imported Liyue porcelain and silk, Fontaine optical instruments and Kamera equipment, Snezhnayan metallurgical furnaces, Mondstadt wine and grain, as well as foreign spices and medicinal ingredients.
Now, the vast majority of that trade had been cut off. Inazuma could live without luxuries like porcelain, silk, and spices, but without food, people would truly starve to death!
All one could say was that the Electro Archon truly had no idea how to govern a Dominion... How could such a major decision be implemented all at once? Shouldn't it have been divided into several stages and gradually adjusted over the course of many years?
Of course, that was not what concerned Kujou Sara. Her concern was the war against Watatsumi Island's rebels.
She genuinely could not understand how Sangonomiya Kokomi, a mere shrine maiden, could possess such extraordinary military talent... She soothed the people within Watatsumi Island while contacting those dissatisfied with the Shogunate, yet still found time to lead her army and firmly contain the Shogunate Army on Yashiori Island.
With abilities like that, why was she wasting her time as a shrine maiden?!
At that moment, Sara stood with several dozen personal guards atop the highest point on Yashiori Island, gazing down at Orobashi Remains far below.
Beyond it lay Musoujin Gorge and the rebels' main stronghold, Fort Fujitou.
She had come to conduct forward reconnaissance, and she was confident that even if she were discovered, Watatsumi Island would never be able to stop her from leaving.
As Kujou Sara planned the next stage of the war, her brows suddenly furrowed. Out of the corner of her eye, she had noticed someone standing not far to her right, similarly gazing into the distance at Orobashi's remains.
Yashiori Island was currently a battlefield, and this was the highest point on the entire island... Moreover, judging from that person's attire, she did not appear to be an ordinary villager.
Sara signaled to either side, then slowly approached with her personal guards.
"I am Kujou Sara, general of the Tenryou Commission." She lightly rested a hand against her bow. "Unidentified individual ahead, state your name!"
Although those were the words that left her mouth, for some inexplicable reason, the sight of that figure's back stirred an indescribable feeling within her... Unease? Apprehension? Or a sense of familiarity that even she herself did not dare confirm?
Kujou Sara did not know. All she could do was remain vigilant as she stared at the woman's back.
"Kujou Sara?" Hearing the voice behind her, Xia Yu was somewhat surprised. She had long since noticed the people approaching from behind, but she had been too lazy to look and see who they were.
She had not expected it to be Sara.
Xia Yu slowly turned around, revealing her face.
"This..." At that instant, Kujou Sara stopped breathing. "M-My... My Lady?!"
"This subordinate deserves death for failing to recognize Her Excellency the Shogu—no!"
The moment she saw that face, Kujou Sara instinctively thought of Her Excellency the Shogun. Terror filled her heart, and she immediately began to kneel and salute while repenting for her disrespect.
However, halfway down, she suddenly realized that the person before her could not possibly be the Shogun!
No matter how similar they looked, Her Excellency the Shogun did not have horns growing from her head!!!
Sara managed to force herself to stop at the brink, but the personal guards beside her were nowhere near as familiar with the Shogun. They had already dropped to their knees.
"Who exactly are you?!" Kujou Sara felt as though her entire mind had fallen into disarray. "Why are you impersonating the Shogun?!"
Hearing this, the kneeling guards exchanged confused glances. Huh? Wasn't this the Shogun?
But she looked so much like her...
Nevertheless, they still trusted their general's judgment. They rose in unison and placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, waiting only for Sara's command before charging forward!
"You really are an interesting person." Xia Yu could not help laughing. "First, you arbitrarily mistook me for someone else, and then you arbitrarily accused me of impersonating her... I haven't even said a word yet."
"...My apologies." Kujou Sara squeezed the two words from between her lips. "However, forgive my offense. Your face truly is... identical to that of the deity we serve."
"Kokomi already told me about that." Xia Yu nodded. "I also learned your name from her."
"Kokomi? Sangonomiya Kokomi?" Kujou Sara instantly drew her bow and nocked an arrow. "You're from Watatsumi Island!"
"Calm down." Xia Yu glanced at her.
In an instant, thunder exploded across the sky. Blinding bolts of lightning wove themselves into an immense net that descended from above. At that moment, the phrase 'heaven's might was as oppressive as a prison' ceased to be mere exaggeration.
"This..." Kujou Sara's entire body stiffened at the sight. Such overwhelming power, commanding thunder and lightning... Could she truly not be Her Excellency the Shogun?
The personal guards beside her obediently lowered their swords and prepared to kneel again.
Yet as an extreme devotee of Her Excellency the Shogun, even after exchanging only a few sentences with the woman before her, Sara could be certain that this was absolutely not the Shogun.
Her Excellency the Shogun was majestic, sacred, and inviolable. She would never speak with someone in such an easygoing manner.
"Kujou Sara, you're a very interesting person." Xia Yu turned to look at the devastated landscape of Yashiori Island before them.
"Look around. Look at what Inazuma has become. War rages everywhere, and the people have been driven from their homes. Is this the Inazuma you dreamed of?"
"So you are one of the rebels." Kujou Sara gritted her teeth. "Have you come to persuade me to surrender? Don't bother speaking. My answer is never."
"I will never bow to you traitors of Watatsumi Island!"
Given the strength of the woman before her, even with the speed of a tengu, Sara would never be able to escape.
Xia Yu turned back to her. "So you despise those who rebel?"
"Of course."
"But if they didn't take up arms, what else could they do?" Xia Yu asked. "Did the people of Watatsumi Island deserve to die in a famine?"
"Kujou Sara, do you know how much the Shogunate charged Watatsumi Island for every sack of grain before they rebelled? Do you know that after the Sakoku Decree, Watatsumi Island's key industries suffered a devastating blow, leaving it with almost no source of income?"
"They couldn't afford the Shogunate's exorbitantly priced grain, nor could they conduct overseas trade to earn the money they needed to survive. Wasn't the Shogunate simply forcing Watatsumi Island to die?"
"You were already trying to take their lives, yet now you blame them for resisting?"
"..." Kujou Sara could only remain silent.
"Lost for words?" Xia Yu smiled.
Kujou Sara's response sounded terribly weak. "The Shogunate... The Shogunate will make arrangements..."
"The Shogunate's arrangement is to let them die." Xia Yu's smile disappeared as she spoke expressionlessly. "Kujou Sara, have you ever studied how to govern a Dominion?"
"I have not," Kujou Sara replied, shaking her head. "Each of the Tri-Commission performs its own duties. The Tenryou Commission is responsible only for military affairs."
"Then do you know what a sudden Sakoku Decree would do to Inazuma?" Xia Yu continued.
"Oh, no, you don't. Then allow me to tell you."
"After centuries of trade with other nations, the Inazuma of today is no longer the small, sparsely populated Dominion it once was. But Inazuma's land is limited, and that limited land is destined to be incapable of supporting so many people."
"After losing the food trade with the outside world, the first problem the Tri-Commission had to confront was how to feed every person in Inazuma."
"But Inazuma's land was destined to be incapable of supporting so many people. You just said that the Shogunate would make arrangements. Indeed, I have seen their arrangements."
"If they couldn't feed so many people, wouldn't their task be accomplished as long as the population decreased?"
Xia Yu gave a cold laugh. "And so, the suppression of Watatsumi Island began. After all, its people have always been considered outsiders in Inazuma, haven't they? People like them make the most suitable targets for the blade."
"The Sakoku Decree severed Watatsumi Island's opportunity to seek a path to survival beyond Inazuma. The Shogunate then took advantage of the situation to raise grain prices, allowing them to earn an enormous profit while also forcing Watatsumi Island into rebellion."
"Once Watatsumi Island rebelled, troops naturally had to be dispatched to suppress it. War means death. By the time the rebellion is crushed, Watatsumi Island's people will be dead, and Yashiori Island, as the battlefield, will have been reduced to ruins. Of course, that also includes all of you in the Shogunate Army."
"Once you have killed all of them and exhausted what remains of the Shogunate's population, won't Inazuma's land finally be able to support the survivors?"
The personal guards standing nearby nearly lost their grip on their swords.
Had these words come from an ordinary person, they would have hesitated, but they would not have shown it. After all, everyone had their own position, and theirs was to stand with the Shogunate.
Yet these words came from someone whose appearance was identical to that of the Electro Archon... That made them terrifying.
"Furthermore, I suspect that the lofty Electro Archon you speak of probably still doesn't know what is happening on Yashiori Island." Xia Yu smiled faintly. "After all, if she knew, she would certainly descend with the might of thunder, slay the enemy leader, and suppress Watatsumi Island herself."
"But what would happen afterward? She wouldn't slaughter every last one of these people, just as she didn't several centuries ago."
"Wouldn't all of the Shogunate's plans fall apart? How could they allow that? The Electro Archon could simply brush off her sleeves and leave after suppressing the rebellion, but wouldn't the task of feeding all of Inazuma then fall upon their shoulders?"
"If they couldn't reduce the population through war, then the only way to feed Inazuma's people would be to fully develop Seirai Island and Tsurumi Island. But with a deity above them who constantly speaks of Eternity and wants everything to remain unchanged, how could they dare to drastically alter Inazuma's current structure?"
"Kujou Sara, did you know any of this?"
Kujou Sara's grip on her bow turned slightly white, and her entire body grew unbearably tense.
She had noticed some of it, more or less... She had simply never considered it so deeply.
"The Electro Archon truly is a cruel deity," Xia Yu sighed. "For the sake of her own selfish desires, she allowed her Dominion to be engulfed in war and its people to suffer."
"Slandering Her Excellency the Shogun is punishable by death," Kujou Sara replied instinctively.
"Is it truly slander?" Xia Yu countered. "If it is, then why can't you answer a single one of my questions?"
"Admit it, Kujou Sara. You actually understand everything. You simply refuse to face it."
"Why has the weak Watatsumi Island managed to remain locked in a stalemate with the Shogunate Army for so long? Because you haven't shed enough blood yet. Otherwise, would it truly be difficult for the Shogunate to send its entire army forward and crush them with overwhelming force?"
"After all, you possess the strength of all Inazuma, don't you?"
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