Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 434

434. The Night of Betrayal – The Beginning of Chaos (2)

“Lord!”

“Stay back!”

Despite his subordinate’s urgent cry, Norizane did his best to remain calm.

“Lord! There’s no time to lose!”

“Damn it! Shut up and stay still!”

Norizane silenced his insistent subordinate and paced around the room, trying to figure out a way out.

While Norizane was contemplating, his other subordinates, having heard the news, rushed to his room.

“Lord!”

“Lord!”

“Be quiet!”

At Norizane’s shout, the bewildered subordinates shut their mouths and looked at him.

Norizane, who had been deep in thought with his mouth firmly shut, finally made a decision, turned his head, and began issuing orders to his subordinates.

“You, immediately take your men and monitor Kamakuradono’s [Lord of Kamakura, referring to Ashikaga Mochiuji] residence! Report to me immediately if there’s anything unusual!”

“Yes, sir!”

“You and you, prepare to move out immediately with your men!”

“Yes, sir!”

“You, secure the castle gates with your men! We must secure an escape route!”

“Yes, sir!”

Having issued those orders, Norizane commanded the remaining subordinates.

“Bring the armor!”

“Yes, sir!”

After issuing the orders swiftly, Norizane sat at his desk, dipped a brush in ink, and filled the paper with writing in one stroke. He put it in an envelope, sealed it well, and handed it to another subordinate.

“You, ride to Kyoto immediately. You must deliver this letter to the Shogun no matter what!”

“Yes, sir!”

The samurai, with the letter in his arms, hurried out and mounted a horse.

Soon after, Norizane began to put on his armor with the help of his subordinates who brought it.

Interestingly, the armor Norizane was wearing was a quilted armor made in Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom].

* * *

In the past, during the battle between the Ouchi-Shibukawa alliance and Shoni, Ouchi Morimi was hit by several arrows, but he was not even scratched thanks to the excellent protection of the quilted armor he was wearing.

‘Joseon’s armor is comfortable to move in while blocking arrows!’

As this rumor spread widely, it became fashionable among lords with some wealth to acquire Joseon’s quilted armor.

There was one characteristic of this trend. When acquiring Joseon’s quilted armor, the helmet was excluded. The reason was the decoration attached to the forehead of the helmet. The decoration attached to the forehead of the helmet was the symbol of the family or oneself.

Of course, there were quite a few lords who pursued more practicality and completed even the helmet with Joseon’s products.

At this time, it was not that there was no quilted armor in Waeguk [ancient name for Japan]. During the Mongol and Goryeo [ancient Korean dynasty] allied forces’ invasion in the past, they were able to obtain a considerable number of quilted armors as spoils of war, and there were quilted armors made based on these.

However, with Waeguk’s backward refining technology, they could not properly make the iron pieces inside the armor.

Therefore, as trade with Joseon became active, they were able to import and wear even a small amount of Joseon’s quilted armor.

* * *

Norizane, who had finished putting on his armor, mounted the waiting horse.

Norizane, on horseback, looked around once and raised his hand.

“Let’s go!”

As Norizane’s command was given, the gate of the residence opened wide. Soon after, the cavalry escorting Norizane burst out of the gate.

Following them, the samurai who had been monitoring Mochiuji’s camp and the samurai who had been guarding the gate of the residence mounted their horses and joined the rear.

* * *

“Lord! Uesugi has moved! He has left the castle!”

“Hmm?”

Ashikaga Mochiuji, upon receiving the report from his subordinate, burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! Heaven is helping this Ashikaga Mochiuji!”

Mochiuji, who laughed heartily, soon began to write a letter.

“Deliver this to the Shogun in Kyoto immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

“And immediately prepare to raise an army and inform the other territories! We will subjugate Uesugi!”

“Yes, sir!”

Mochiuji, who issued the orders coolly, muttered while looking at the topographical map made on a large table.

“The first step to becoming the master of the world has finally been taken!”

* * *

Kyoto, Ashikaga Yoshinori’s residence.

“Lord! Urgent news!”

“Urgent news?”

As Yoshinori, who had been admiring the garden, sat down, a vassal presented a letter to Yoshinori and explained.

“It’s urgent news from Uesugi.”

“Uesugi?”

Yoshinori, who expressed a slight doubt, soon began to read the contents of the letter.

“Mochiuji is raising an army?”

“Lord! Urgent news!”

“Again, what urgent news is it?”

“It’s urgent news from Kamakuradono!”

“Give it to me!”

“Yes, sir!”

Yoshinori, who snatched the letter and received it, checked the contents.

“Uesugi is plotting disloyal acts?”

Yoshinori, who was looking down at the two conflicting letters, ordered his vassals.

“Imprison the messengers sent by Uesugi and Mochiuji first!”

“Yes, sir!”

“And summon all the vassals!”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

Yoshinori, who summoned the vassals, explained the situation.

“What do you think?”

To Yoshinori’s question, Hosokawa Mochiyuki, the most influential among the vassals, answered.

“Their relationship has not been good since the Eikyo Rebellion. Could it be because of that?”

“That’s highly possible.”

Yoshinori nodded at Hosokawa’s answer.

* * *

In Eikyo 8 (1436, Sejong 18), a territorial dispute occurred in Shinano. Mochiuji, who was asked for help, tried to dispatch troops, but it was canceled because Norizane opposed it.

Norizane’s reason for opposing was that Shinano was outside the jurisdiction of Mochiuji.

In the end, the Ogasawara won the dispute at the time.

The problem was that Mochiuji continued to try to force the dispatch of troops to this area even after that, and Norizane stopped it, which made their relationship worse.

* * *

“The problem is why Kamakuradono tried to force the dispatch of troops.”

“Hmm….”

Yoshinori, who organized his thoughts for a moment at Mochiyuki’s point, opened his mouth.

“He was aiming for me.”

“Yes?”

“Mochiuji has never listened to me since a long time ago. He probably thought that this position should have been his.”

Yoshinori, who came to his own conclusion, soon gave an order.

“Behead Mochiuji’s messenger who is locked in the prison. And bring Uesugi’s messenger. And, Hosokawa.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Go to the court and get the Emperor’s decree. The content is ‘Ashikaga Mochiuji is an enemy of the court.’”

“Yes, sir!”

Yoshinori, who gave the order to Hosokawa, ordered his vassals.

“When Hosokawa receives the decree, inform the lords of the Kanto region. Say, ‘Ashikaga Mochiuji is an enemy of the court, so dispatch troops to suppress him.’”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

In that way, Yoshinori, who defined Ashikaga Mochiuji as a traitor, used his own forces and the forces of the Kanto lords, including Uesugi, to surround Mochiuji.

Mochiuji, who was defeated in the ensuing battle, relinquished all authority and expressed his intention to become a monk.

“Shogun, it would be good for you to show the Shogun’s mercy.”

Uesugi Norizane, who played the biggest role in this, advised him to show mercy, but Yoshinori shook his head.

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Shogun!”

Norizane hurriedly dissuaded him, but Yoshinori ordered his subordinates.

“Kill all of Mochiuji’s family.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yoshinori, who gave the cruel order, looked back at Norizane, the vassals, and the lords and said.

“There is a saying, ‘Punish one to warn a hundred,’ right?”

The lords were biting their lips at Yoshinori’s warning.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ouchi Morimi, who received the related report in his territory, gritted his teeth.

“It’s a warning to me. Anyway, he used a very clever trick. ‘Enemy of the court’….”

The moment the Emperor declares ‘Enemy of the court,’ all justification goes to the Shogun. As long as the Shogun has justification in his hands, the lords have no choice but to join the Shogun’s side.

“In order to realize our family’s dream, we may have to face the world. Assume this and make all preparations.”

At Morimi’s order, the vassals prostrated themselves and answered.

“Yes, sir!”

“Cannons are important for victory. How is the production of long guns going?”

“As the craftsmen become accustomed to production, the quantity is gradually increasing.”

“Supervise them properly. Long guns are useful weapons, but if used incorrectly, our allies may be in more danger.”

“Yes, sir!”

The long guns that Joseon handed over were cast. Thanks to this, they boasted a considerable defect rate.

“And, what about the work of getting gunpowder artisans from Ming [ancient China]?”

“The Ming court’s surveillance has become severe, but there will be good news soon.”

“Do your best. We cannot achieve great things by relying only on what we import from Joseon.”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

Joseon handed over long guns—to be exact, matchlock arquebuses—but did not hand over the gunpowder manufacturing method. However, Ouchi, who saw the Joseon navy smashing the Wokou [Japanese pirates] and pirates with cannons, could not give up the gunpowder manufacturing method.

“Cannons guarantee victory!”

Ouchi, impressed by the power of the Joseon navy, devoted all his efforts to the mass production of gunpowder weapons from top to bottom.

In addition, Ouchi began experimenting with casting large-sized gun barrels based on the experience gained in the process of making long guns.

Of course, due to the poor level of technology, what they created was a large-caliber long gun.

* * *

“And, let’s slip the news to Joseon.”

“To Joseon? Will Joseon be interested?”

To the vassal’s question, Morimi explained the reason.

“The more the Shogun does things, the more unstable the internal affairs become. If that happens, it is natural that the Wokou will increase. And, if the Wokou increase, Joseon will also have a headache. Of course, they will be interested.”

“Ah, that’s right! I will prepare a messenger immediately.”

“Since it’s an unofficial envoy, send it using Nagato.”

“Yes, sir!”

Morimi, who was about to finish the meeting after giving the order, suddenly remembered something and continued.

“Ah! When you send the messenger, bring up the subject of the iron horse.”

“The iron horse?”

To the vassal’s question, Morimi nodded.

“Yes. I heard that Ming is also making something similar to Joseon’s iron horse [likely referring to some form of armored vehicle or advanced military technology]. What does it mean that all the leaders are adopting it? It means that it is essential to make the country rich.”

At Morimi’s words, the vassals muttered inwardly.

‘Compared to Joseon and Ming, Ouchi is….’

Knowing the minds of such vassals, Morimi added.

“It’s too much to think only of our Ouchi, but it is absolutely necessary if our Ouchi becomes the master of the world. Let’s think of it as gaining experience in preparation for that time.”

“Yes, sir!”

At Morimi’s explanation, the vassals answered loudly once again.

‘Look at our lord’s consideration! Our Ouchi will surely become the master of the world!’

* * *

Sejong 20 (1438, Muo Year)

A secret envoy sent by Ouchi informed Joseon of the information about the civil war that took place in Waeguk.

“Hmm…. What do you think about the information sent by Ouchi?”

To Sejong’s question, Hwang Hee came forward and answered.

“It is almost the same as the information received from the trading post installed in Nanpa (Naniwa, the old name of Osaka).”

“So, the Daenai clan did not lie.”

Hwang Hee responded to Sejong’s opinion.

“There may be exaggeration, but there would be no lies. They know very well that they will also suffer losses if they do so.”

“That’s right. Because they also have ambitions.”

Joseon also knew that Ouchi was aiming for the position of master of the shogunate.