declined to surrender his credentials except at the chief seat of government, and to the king or ruler in person.  It seems that even the Japanese now began to see that the “honest broker,” Corea, was playing false to both sides; at all events, they said that “Corea had reported the imminence of a Chinese attack, whereas Kublai’s language seemed to deprecate war.”  Officials from head-quarters explained that “from ancient times till now, no foreign envoy has ever gone east of the Dazai Fu.”  The reply to this was:  “If I cannot see your ruler, you had better take him my head; but you shall not have my documents.”  The Japanese pleaded that it was too far to the ruler’s capital, but that in the mean time they would send officers back with him to China.  He was thereupon sent back to await events at Tsushima, and, having remained there a year, he arrived back in Peking in the summer of 1273.  In escorting him to Tsushima, the Japanese had sent with him a number of secondary officials to have an audience of Kublai; it appears that the Japanese had been alarmed at the establishment of a Mongol garrison at Kin Chow (I suppose the one near Port Arthur, then within Corean dominions); and the Tartar envoy, during his stay in Tsushima, now sent on these Japanese “envoys” (or spies) in advance, advising Kublai at the same time to humor Japanese susceptibilities by removing the Kin Chow garrison.  The cabinet council suggested to Kublai that it would be a good thing to explain to the Japanese envoys that the occupation of Kin Chow was “only temporary,” and would be removed so soon as the operations now in process against Quelpaert were at an end.  It is related that the “Japanese interpreters”—­which probably means Chinese accompanying the Japanese—­explained to Kublai that it was quite unnecessary to go round via Corea, and that with a good wind it was possible to reach Japan in a very short time.  Kublai said, “Then I must think it over afresh.”  Late in the year 1273 the same Tartar envoy was once more sent to Japan, but it is not stated by what route or where he first landed; this time he really reached the Dazai Fu, or capital of Chikuzen.  In the same year, and possibly in connection with the above mission, a Chinese general, Lu T’ung, with a force of forty thousand men in nine hundred boats, defeated one hundred thousand Japanese—­it is not stated where.  I am inclined to think, from the consonance of the word Liu and the nine hundred boats, that this must be the affair mentioned lower down.  The Manchu Tartar envoy seems to have been a very sensible sort of man, for not only did he bring back with him full details of the names and titles of the Mikado and his ministers, descriptions of the cities and districts, particulars of national customs, local products, etc., but also strongly dissuaded Kublai from engaging in a useless war with Japan; and he also gave some excellent advice to the celebrated Mongol general Bayen, who was just then preparing