The Khanate of Kyushu

[Superdude]

Ok, im going to start a timeline. The POD is that the Mongols keep their beachhead on the first invasion attempt (and also manage to somehow avoid the typhoon), and from there conquer all of Nippon.

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October 13th, 1284

Hojo Tokimune, commander of the remaining Japanese armies, had a career of near, but not quite, victories. He had nearly run the Hordes into the sea at the Battle of Bun'ei, had nearly killed thee Horde commander on the Kanto plain, had nearly driven back the hordes before the gates of Edo. But he had failed. His ancestors must surely look upon him with shame. He looked to his commanders. All of them had the same, resigned look of sadness upon their faces. Tokimune cleared his throat.

"Brothers, the defense of our Homeland has failed. The Emperor is dead, boiled alive by the vile Hordes. Most of Nippon has been overrun. Our armies have been overwhelmed. Our families are slain We have failed in the defense.
Yet, we still have our honor. We still have warriors to command. And no samurai can ever surrender. For that matter, it would be impossible. The Hordes will kill us all if we surrender. Yet, we are still samurai. And for that, we must fight till the bittle and bloody end, until our arms are broken and we we must commit seppuku with our feet.
Even as the Great Khan musters his armies, we still have one time for one last meal. Tomorrow, we die. Fellow warriors, I have but one question to ask you. How will you and your men plan to face tomorrow's auspicious event?"

"KATSU!!!

With the coming of dawn the next day, scouts reported the host of the Hordes. Tokimune was ready.

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I'll add more history to this later. The Battle of the Sendai Plains is up next.

 

[Superdude]

Ok, next part:

The Battle of Sendai began at dawn, October 14th, 1284. Hojo Tokimune, the commander of the last remaining Japanese army, prepared his forces for what would be, he suspected, their last stand.
His forces were arranged around two hilltops, Edo and Kyoto. Edo Hill contained a mass of peasant levies(about 1000), and an elite force of 50 samurai, to lead the commoners. On the hilltop, there were nearly 100 bowmen.
Kyoto Hill held 100 samurai warriors, and 1300 levies. The center was held by the remaining Samurai, roughly 250 in total, along with 800 levies, and 400 cavalry awaited in the rear.

The attacking force, led by a council of Mongol and Chinese officers, held nearly 20,000 men. Most were peasant levies, but several units were highly skilled infantry(from Korea), and there was s sizeable number of Mongolian cavalry.



The opening move was by the Mongols. They sent a probing force of Korean infantry onto Kyoto hill, which was repulsed with contemptuous ease. This was followed by a general assault on Kyoto, which was beaten off after the Mongol commander of the attack was slain by an arrow. By Midday, Kyoto Hill had taken almost all of the assault, and many of its men were replaced by men from the center and Edo Hill. However, the Japanese made no attacks of their own. The Horde taking this as a sign of weakness, sent its Mongol cavalry arm, nearly 1500 strong right into the center, hoping to draw out the Japanese into a decisive confrontation

Many of the horsemen were caught in a crossfire between the two hills, and as they struck the Samurai in th center, they were in for a bloody surprise. The Samurai, outfitted in their heavy armor and huge naginata, and supported by their levies, managed to kill off many hundreds of Mongol horsemen, before the Samurai's own began a charge which broke the Mongols.

With the defeat of the Mongol cavalry, the Samurai in the center linked with Edo and Kyoto hills, and smashed into the Horde center, even as the Japanese cavalry left the field and attacked the enemy camp. The Korean and Chinese forces, already shaken by the ferocious defense on Kyoto Hill, were almost broken by the bloodied Mongol Cavalry. With this all out attack, the Koreans and Chinese shattered. The invading force collapsed as over half its army fled the field or chnaged sides. The Mongols, with their army falling apart, fled as well.

With that victory, the hopes of an independent Nippon stayed alive.

 

[Iñaki]

Interesting, you makes a plaussible succesful mongol invasion of Japan timeline (Kublai Kahn is a lot of happy)

Also this last victory of the japanese against mongols makes clear the motive of the title of the timeline (Khanate of Kyushu), I suppose that at the end the only japanese territory that remain mongol could be Kyushu.

Interesting please continue.

 

[Superdude]

Well, not really. I still want an independent Japan, but it is weak and humbled.

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After the battle of Sendai, Tokimune, suffering from a stomach wound, died 5 days after the battle. By then, however Edo was retaken by the revolting populace.

Kublai Khan, in Japan to review the conquest, heard of Edo's recpature by December. He ordered the surviving commanders executed for their incompetence. In Early January, he sent his emissaries to seek peace with these Nipponese. At first, the Kamakura clan considered sending them back. but a quick review of the strategic situation showed otherwise.

Already, a force of an estimated 100,000 was being assembled in Kyushu for the destruction of the rest of Japan. There were only 25,000 men in the Japanese armies, counting peasant levies and defected Chinese and Koreans.

The peace that was put into effect was thus:

The people of Nippon were to recognize Kublai as the Great Ruler of Asia

The People of Nippon are to have an Emperor and live independently in the lands North of Edo.

The Yuan dynasty is to rule Nippon south of Edo.

Nippon is to pay tribute to the Great Khan.



The specifics weren't laid out quite yet, but this is the gist of it.


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[WhatIsAUserName]

The Mongols have already conquered China, Russia, a swath of the Middle East, and all of Central Asia. They could easily pour more troops into conquering Japan, considering it is just one nation. One battle lost has never decided the fate of a war.

 

[NapoleonXIV]

This is very good. Is there any more? If they've been unified for centuries What will Japan be like when the Westerners come? In OTL they were still the most powerful nation in East Asia after China, and this was just after the near hundred year civil war of the Warring States period.

 

[Superdude]

Ha, I forgot all about this. I'll probably come up with more, and I'll make a map of Japan at some point.

To What: Yes, but Khublai has concerns right now, such as the fact that his Chinese and Korean subjects turned at a moments notice against the Mongols.

Also, he has other objectives besides a mountainous backwater island nation with fanatical defense. Like Southeast Asia. Plus, without his navy destroyed by storms and sabotage, his fleets are currently exploring and pillaging the East Indies.


Edit: I'd also appreciate comments so I can figure out how best to do the next installments

 

[Hermanubis]

Japan and East Asia are pretty underrepresented in AH, I feel. please continue

 

[Friendly Otter]

Hmm, difficult. Let's remember how the samurai and court nobility thought of Japan, which wasn't called Japan but the Holy Islands. The Holy Islands was the home of the gods. The emperor was the direct descendant of Izanagi, the sun god, who was born on Kyushu.

The land belongs to Izanami (the moon goddess) and Izanagi, and must not be divided. There is no question about that. And yet, there is a precedent in OTL: Commander Matthew Perry with his four warships demanded that Japan open itself to trade, when the Japanese had imprisoned some shipwrecked American seamen. The British would then establish a small trading colony in Japan. The Japanese leadership came to realize that they must adapt to the outside world; the samurai were abolished, foreign war tactics were embraced, warships were built, schools adopted the French school system straight off and have kept it to this day. (There are Japanese who go to France to study how their schools are organized, as the French system is the Japanese system.) Even foreign clothes were adopted. And yet, Japan remained Japanese; all the adaptations were for the benefit of the Empire.

It is a fascinating story.

So, let's say something similar happens here. The Kamakura Klan realize they can't throw out the Mongols right away, and they know they must adapt. They accept the peace terms, provided the Khan recognizes the Emperor's right as ruler. They will also negotiate about the land, hoping to push the border down south a bit.

They realize they must have a fleet to protect themselves, and will search for any foreign improvements they can find. That means Japanese merchantmen will travel to China along with Japanese shipbuilders, who will buy information from Chinese shipbuilders; or possibly, the Japanese will bring back some Chinese shipbuilders with them.

The Kamakura will study Mongolian bows and their retreat-and-ambush tactics, so as not to be fooled by it ever again. How do you best counter these Mongolian archers? Perhaps by imitating their style. Or, the Holy Islands will simply increase its army, in secret. Train the peasants better.

Meanwhile, they might send spies into the Kyushu Khanate, to look at the fortifications, and to train the people in the villages to fight, one day, for their liberation. Weapons will be smuggled in. Secret societies will form, much like the karate societies in the Okinawa islands.

Every now and then a Mongol official is assassinated in the night, or a Mongol soldier, out drinking one night, disappears without a trace.

Eventually the Mongol Empire starts falling apart; it splits into several parts, and there is less focus than ever on the Holy Islands. The Kamakura see their chance when their agents tell them Kyushu has sent troops to help put down rebellions in western China. The secret Kamakura fleet is sent down south to the Shimonoseki Strait, with orders to cut off the Kyushu Khanate from the mainland. The Samurai and their conscripted, effectively trained footsoldiers, pour down south; meanwhile, the secret societies in the south ambush Mongol soldiers and set fire to Kyushu.

The fleet engages Mongol and Chinese war ships; the battle leads to heavy losses on both sides, but the Japanese manage to keep the Mongols from sending a warning back to Korea.

The Emperor of the Holy Islands, descendant of the Sun, orders all his subjects to rise against the invaders. So says a decree circulated by the secret society called the sonno-joi. (In OTL, the name of a secret society of samurai who fought the British and other foreigners) The Kamakura manage to take Kyushu, and eventually break the Khanate.

They wait, but no new fleet arrive from China. It seems the offensive called the Kami Kaze, the Wrath of the Gods, has succeeded. The gods willed it so.

Eventually the sonno-joi, who demand that all power be returned to the emperor and not to a shogun, proves to be a tough nut to crack. Once the Mongols are gone they continue to fight Kamakura samurai, with some support from the peasants. Despite repeated attempts from the shogunate it will take nearly a hundred years to crush their rebellious nature. The sonno-joi has then morphed into a criminal society that controls prostitution, smuggling, protection rackets, and other forms of crime. (Much like the Hung Mun, later Triads, in China.)

Japan has emerged as a strong naval power and will later occupy not only Korea but some land in northern China and Siberia as well. When the Europeans arrive they will find the Japanese much more open to the idea of trade; Japan modernizes early in the 19th century and becomes a considerable colonizing Power, always with the focus on keeping its fleets strong and supported by well-protected island bases.

The Russians won't even try to take them on in 1905, and there is therefore no backlash in Russia for the Bolsheviks to exploit. The Bolsheviks grow much slower, and as Lenin had feared, the opportunity for coup and civil war passes them by; the Russian plans for serious land reforms come before they can make a grab for power. (The Russians were indeed planning such reforms, and Lenin would later say that if the Bolsheviks had waited another decade, they may have lost their chance for agitation outside the cities as the peasants would already have land.)

The Japanese clash with British and American interests at several occasions. Eventually they also clash with Russian troops in Siberia. They make many enemies, but will also make a good ally for any European Power that comes up with a good offer.

Japanese Alaska, anyone?


The obvious drawback is that Japanese anime movies become much too self-congratulatory for foreigners to stomach. And Sailor Moon as a militant war goddess marching into South America, well, let's say there will never be a need to dub the show to English.

 

[Flocculencio]

Japan and East Asia are pretty underrepresented in AH, I feel. please continue

Excuse me while I give a hollow laugh

 

[Max Sinister]

@Friendly Otter: "The land belongs to Izanami (the moon goddess) and Izanagi, and must not be divided. There is no question about that." Japan was still divided several times, and the emperor had no real power.
@Flocc: True, but it's mostly WW2 Japan in AH.

 

[Thande]

Excuse me while I give a hollow laugh

Hey, Superdude, why don't you have this Mongol Japan go and conquer the East Indies, while incidentally having a curiously generic united Indian empire sitting in the foreground?

Seriously - nice idea for a timeline. Of course the hard part is getting the invasion to succeed in the first place: I've read that (much as with the Spanish Armada, with which I've always seen a parallel) there were other problems beside the storm that might have scuppered the invasion. In particular the fact that the Mongol fleet consisted of flat-bottomed ships designed mostly to hug the coast, and neither the ships nor those crewing them were suited for crossing the Sea of Japan.

 

[Superdude]

Well, I tried to avoid that by making the pod that the first invasion suceeds, which did actually land ashore, but was held back by a samurai force.

 

[Hermanubis]

Excuse me while I give a hollow laugh

Compared to European and Recent History, at least...
(maybe not so much compared to other places. Sorry )

 

[Friendly Otter]

@Friendly Otter: "The land belongs to Izanami (the moon goddess) and Izanagi, and must not be divided. There is no question about that." Japan was still divided several times, and the emperor had no real power.

I didn't mean not divided by Japanese. I meant divided between the Japanese and foreigners.

 

[Superdude]

Here is a map of whats going on right now (early 1285):

Yellow is the Japanese
Red is the Yuan Dynasty lands

White spots are on the map, but you SHOULD be able to figure out that it means I just didn't color them in

Also, the border around Tokyo bay should be farther south, but thats pretty minor

 

[JP_Morgan]

Nice to see this TL continue. Keep it up! can't say the same for Decades of Light though new installments every month and a half is unacceptable.... I mean at some point Dod will be updates more often but about DoL....

 

[Superdude]

First part of the update - I'll probably add in lots of little pieces as opposed to big updates


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During the 1290s, the Yuan dynasty's power and prestige abroad grew dramatically. Wealth from trade was pouring in from all over Southeast Asia, and wealth from taxes was pouring in from the Chinese people. This was the period of the First Treasure Fleet, which discovered the eastern coast of Africa, and established trade links to the Arabian peninsula.

Though Kublai's health was very poor, he still had the Mongolian desire for conquest. He sent his armies to the south, against the Vietnamese, and his fleets to the South pacific, where the island kingdoms and sulanates were made tributaries of the powerful Chinese empire. Kublai died before all this could be carried out, but his successors were to carry them out with excellent ability.

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The murmurings of unrest in China were silenced when the vast wealth and power of the Yuan was turned inward, for the protecton and happiness of the people. This was Kublai Khan's last decree - That the wealth his empire had gained would help the Chinese people.

This would not have been possible at any other time in Chinese history, but now, with the Yuan dynasty having established a hegemony over east Asia, and with more wealth than ever before flowing into the treasury, such actions could be afforded.

Because of this, the navy was increased even more, to account for the greater trade and the protection of the sealanes. This allowed for ever greater riches, and over the thirty years after Kublai's death in 1294, China's peasants were believed to be the happiest in the world. The nobility became richer as the peasants became more productive, and the bureaucracy grew bigger due to increasing population and taxes.

However, there was one unhappy party. The army was left to dry as the navy's power increased, as such, several old generals, who used to have pride of place, were in essence looked down upon. Soon, their thoughts turned to rebellion........

 

[Smaug]

Japan and East Asia are pretty underrepresented in AH, I feel. please continue

I agree, I like to see fresh topics. In my opinion I could see the Mongols being absorbed by the Japanese, literally, they might hate them, but Japanese peeps would learn from them.

It would be very interesting to see a Japan opened up earlier. Imagine if Japan hadn't been in a world of its own for so long, and had maintained regular contact with the world since, say 1400's?

 

[Max Sinister]

I wonder who'd win the war when the Mongol Empire falls apart: Free Japan, or a state emerging from the occupied parts. In Russia, little Muscovy won against Novgorod at the end...