Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 331

331. Those Who Wait, Those Who Move (8)

Year 14 of Sejong (1432, Year of the Rat).

Ouchi Morimi, who had gone to Kyoto, returned to his hometown in Suo Province.

“Welcome back, Lord!”

The vassals lined up from the entrance of the castle and shouted their greetings in unison. Morimi responded with a slight nod.

“Hmm… You’ve all worked hard. Let’s go inside.”

With Ouchi on horseback leading the way, the vassals who had returned from Kyoto and those who had been guarding the territory entered Suo Castle.

Thud!

Once everyone was inside, the gates of Suo Castle closed firmly with a dull thud.

* * *

After a quick wash and change of clothes, Morimi sat at the head of the main hall, and the meeting began immediately.

The first to speak was Mochiyo, Ouchi’s nephew.

“You don’t look well. Shouldn’t you rest?”

At Mochiyo’s words, Morimi shook his head with a serious expression.

“If this were a time of peace, I would rest, but unfortunately, the timing is not good.”

At Morimi’s words, the faces of the vassals who remained in the territory, including Mochiyo, also turned serious.

“We’ve heard rumors from messengers and merchants that the atmosphere in Kyoto is tense, but is it that serious?”

“It’s very serious. The term ‘reign of terror’ is not an exaggeration. Haa…”

Ouchi sighed deeply.

Since the current Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori took power, the atmosphere in Kyoto had become icy.

Whether they were members of a distinguished court noble family serving the Emperor or beggars living day to day on the streets, everyone in Kyoto was wary of Ashikaga Yoshinori.

If anyone caught the Shogun’s eye, they were frequently subjected to terrible punishments or lost their lives.

For a simple example, there was the ‘Chicken Expulsion Incident’ that occurred just before Ouchi returned.

A cockfight was held at the residence of Ichijo Kaneyoshi, and many people gathered to watch. The problem was that their procession was blocked by these people. Enraged, Yoshinori banned cockfights and drove all the chickens out of Kyoto. (Note 1)

In addition, there were many gardeners and cooks who were punished for reasons such as ‘breaking a plum branch presented as a gift’ or ‘the food doesn’t taste good.’ (Note 1)

If only lower-ranking people were punished like this, they would have just laughed it off as ‘petty,’ but as I said before, among those punished by Yoshinori were also high-ranking nobles and samurai.

“…So, I had no choice but to escape Kyoto under the pretext of ‘illness.’ Our Ouchi family has been seen as a thorn in the side since the time of the previous Shogun, and the current Shogun is even more of a madman. I should consider it fortunate that I escaped. Haa…”

Morimi sighed in relief.

* * *

After confirming Yoshinori’s violent and sadistic nature, Morimi gradually increased his escort.

However, it wasn’t long before Yoshinori warned Morimi.

“Why is the head of the Ouchi family increasing his forces?”

“…The night air in Kyoto has been ominous lately.”

“Isn’t the head of the family’s forces making it even more ominous? Could it be that you distrust me, who is responsible for the safety of Kyoto?”

At Yoshinori’s pointed question, Morimi replied with a look of disbelief.

“How could that be possible!”

“Is that so? Then don’t increase your escort any further. It’s frightening.”

“Yes…”

After finishing his conversation with Yoshinori, Morimi gathered the vassals who had come to Kyoto with him.

“I think we should return. Come up with a suitable excuse. If we reduce our escort here, we’ll be targeted immediately. No, we’ll be targeted even if we don’t reduce it.”

Morimi sensed that this was a critical situation.

The troops that Morimi had stationed in Kyoto were of considerable size. With the current scale of deployment, Yoshinori would have to endure significant losses if he attacked.

However, it was a double-edged sword. It was a way to prevent Yoshinori from easily using force, but conversely, it could also allow Yoshinori to justify using force.

It would create the justification: ‘To station such a large number of troops! It is clear that he harbors treacherous intentions!’

However, if he listened to Yoshinori’s demands and reduced his forces, he would be as good as dead at any moment. Yoshinori, who had seized his lifeline in that way, would surely pressure Morimi and extort various things, starting with economic gains.

If Morimi couldn’t endure this and raised an army, it would be the perfect justification for Yoshinori to wipe out the Ouchi family and take everything away.

Therefore, Morimi had to feign illness.

“Illness? What kind of illness?”

“Suddenly, my pulse becomes unstable, and I become short of breath. These symptoms have appeared since the last conflict with Shoni, but they have become more severe recently.”

Seeing Morimi’s pale face as he answered, Yoshinori replied with a helpless expression.

“That’s unfortunate. I will grant your request. Return to your hometown to recuperate.”

“I am grateful.”

Then, Morimi had to ride in a palanquin [a covered litter carried on poles] until he arrived in Naniwa (present-day Osaka) and boarded a ship.

* * *

After briefly explaining the process of escaping Kyoto, Morimi continued to speak to his vassals.

“It was the help of the Kami-sama (God/Gods). Offerings should be made to the shrine.”

“Yes, sir!”

“And, how is the raising of troops going?”

“Yes. We are steadily increasing them.”

“What about the financial situation?”

“Thanks to the steady flow of silver from the silver mine, there are no particular problems.”

Morimi nodded at Mochiyo’s answer.

“We are benefiting from Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom]. Come to think of it… How is the search for artisans from Ming [ancient Chinese dynasty] going? I received an urgent report that there was good news?”

At Morimi’s question, the vassal in charge of the matter replied with a proud face.

“We were able to find two people through a merchant from Ming!”

“Are they capable of proper smelting?”

“Yes, they are!”

“It must have cost quite a bit?”

The vassal immediately answered Morimi’s question.

“We have agreed with the merchant to have exclusive trading rights with Ming. First, we have agreed to import steel produced in Ming.”

“Well done!”

Morimi’s face brightened at the vassal’s answer.

Wako’s waedo (swords) are luxury items that are bought for a large sum even in China, but mass production is difficult. War is not fought with waedo alone, so purchasing high-quality steel in large quantities was essential. Therefore, importing steel in large quantities from Ming was welcome news.

Of course, there were some regrets.

“It’s a bit disappointing that it’s not made in Joseon.”

Morimi nodded at Mochiyo’s words and added.

“That’s true. But even Ming-made is a great help to us, so we can’t complain.”

* * *

In the process of jointly developing the silver mine, the quality of Joseon-made steel products amazed the Wae people [Japanese people].

The quality of the steel used to make tools such as pickaxes, shovels, axes, and saws was superior to the quality of the waedo they bought for a large sum.

Therefore, Morimi immediately sent an envoy to Joseon to convey his desire to purchase a large quantity of iron materials.

However, the answer from Joseon was a refusal.

“Joseon is also short of iron materials right now. Trade is difficult.”

Morimi was dumbfounded by Joseon’s answer.

“Huh! They’re short of iron? But they make pickaxes and shovels out of steel?”

* * *

Putting aside his disappointment with Joseon-made products, Morimi checked information about the surrounding territories.

“What’s the situation around us these days? Especially the situation of those Shoni bastards who fled to Tsushima?”

“They seem to be constantly aiming for a comeback, but it doesn’t seem easy. After all, the environment of Tsushima is not good.”

Morimi scoffed at the vassal’s answer.

“Hmph! Stupid bastards! To think they fled to a tiger’s den!”

The survivors of the Shoni family, who were defeated in the Chikuzen battle, had to flee to Tsushima. Their plan was to stay in Tsushima, build up their strength again, and make a comeback.

However, upon arriving in Tsushima, they had to face a large wall called the Joseon army. With the establishment of a Joseon naval base in Tsushima, they were no longer able to engage in piracy.

Therefore, they had to invest the wealth they had brought with them in commerce.

“At this rate…”

Unlike piracy, which could earn a lot of money if done properly, they could not see significant profits in commerce, which was already saturated.

* * *

“What about Shoni and the other territories?”

“We are continuing to expand our forces to protect merchants.”

Morimi tilted his head and asked back.

“Continuing?”

“Yes.”

“Those guys shouldn’t have enough money?”

“Even now, the farmers’ dissatisfaction is growing.”

Only then did Morimi nod with an understanding look on his face at the vassal’s answer.

“That’s more like it.”

Seeing Morimi’s reaction, the vassal carefully took out a letter from his chest and handed it to Morimi.

“What is it?”

“It’s a letter sent by the village chiefs of other territories around our territory. It’s a request to protect them as they try to declare independence. They also wrote that if we apply the same tax rate as our territory, they would like to come under your Lordship’s wing.”

“Could it be?”

Morimi received the letter with a look of disbelief.

Morimi sighed as he unfolded the letter and checked its contents.

“Haa… This could happen sooner than I thought…”

* * *

Now, in the Muromachi shogunate era [Japanese feudal regime], after the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and the period of the Northern and Southern Courts, the economy of Waekuk was growing faster and faster.

With the Ming-Waekuk trade, port cities that monopolized trade with Ming began to develop. In addition, with the opening of Joseon trading posts in Nagato and Naniwa, commerce began to grow nationwide.

What further accelerated the above situation was the shogunate. The Muromachi shogunate did not rely solely on the output from land like the Kamakura shogunate, but rather based its finances on the profits earned through trade. According to this policy, the shogunate advanced into Ming and Joseon, as well as Ryukyu and Southeast Asia, to conduct trade.

Agriculture was also the same. Although later than Joseon, Waekuk also gradually began to spread ox-plowing, and the number of farms cultivating cotton began to increase.

Based on this growing economic power, the ruling classes, symbolized by the Shugo [military governors] and Daimyo [feudal lords], began to expand their military power.

In order to purchase these military expansions and luxury goods coming in from Joseon, the ruling classes had no choice but to squeeze the farmers and merchants.

The farmers and merchants began to resist this. Traditionally, taxes were determined through consultation between the village chiefs and officials of each village. However, the Daimyo and Shugo had destroyed this tradition, and the farmers and merchants had no choice but to resist. (Note 2)

* * *

“Will you accept them?”

After contemplating for a long time at the vassal’s question, Morimi came to a conclusion.

“No, I will not accept them. If we accept them now, we will only give them justification. Tell them that now is not the time.”

At Morimi’s words, the vassal immediately bowed his head.

“Yes, sir!”

Morimi looked back at his vassals.

“Now is the time to wait and build up our internal strength. As long as that madman in Kyoto is doing crazy things like that, something will happen soon. So, we wait until then.”

“Yes, sir!”

After giving orders to his vassals, Morimi crossed his arms and muttered.

“I never thought that imitating Joseon would be so helpful.”

Morimi had applied Joseon’s tax policy to his territory.

It was a very challenging policy, but it had brought even greater results than expected.

* * *

Note 1) https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/아시카가_요시노리

Note 2) https://빅데이터협회.com/2349