Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 668

668. Stories from Other Countries (3)

Emperor Gyeongtae, having received the plan devised by the Chief State Councilor and his ministers, immediately nodded in agreement.

“A truly brilliant idea! Public order has been unstable since the returnees from Liaodong [a region in northeastern China]. This is an excellent solution!”

Highly satisfied, Emperor Gyeongtae stamped the documents with the royal seal and commanded,

“Put it into action immediately!”

“We obey Your Majesty’s command!”

* * *

The Ministry of War and the military immediately began their work upon receiving Emperor Gyeongtae’s approval.

-Volunteer for the unit to suppress the rebels in Gangnam!

-Soldiers belonging to the suppression unit will be paid sufficient wages.

-Soldiers participating in the suppression will be granted ownerless farmland in Gangnam after the suppression.

-Those who achieve military merits will receive even more land.

-This is a promise made personally by the Emperor.

For those returning from Liaodong, the Emperor’s decree announced by the Ministry of War was a lifeline that would save them from their desperate situation.

“This is great! We were worried about our livelihood! We’re saved!”

“Farmland in Gangnam is the best of the best! We must risk our lives to get that land!”

Men of all ages from returning families, having found hope, volunteered for the military.

The same was true for retired soldiers who were packing their bags to return home.

They had received considerable wages while restoring the canals and various transportation networks destroyed in the previous war. However, many of them faced bleak prospects upon returning to their hometowns.

These men also volunteered for the suppression force.

Thanks to this, the Ming court was able to secure the forces needed to carry out the suppression without withdrawing troops from the north.

“Including the Imperial Guards stationed in Nanjing and other cities, we can sufficiently suppress the rebels!”

Emperor Gyeongtae expressed his satisfaction at the report from the Minister of War.

“Excellent! The Ministry of War must turn them into elite soldiers as quickly as possible!”

“We obey Your Majesty’s command!”

In the process of turning the returnees into soldiers under Emperor Gyeongtae’s orders, the Ming officers identified one characteristic.

“These guys… are fiercely savage.”

“I agree. It seems like it’s because they lived in such harsh conditions.”

As the officers said, those who returned from Liaodong were rough in nature. Even the Jurchens of Jeongju, who were considered to have become much milder while living settled lives, as well as the Han Chinese who lived alongside them, were savage in nature. It was not easy to train the returnees, who would immediately rush to fight to the death over the slightest disagreement.

Soon, rumors began to circulate among the officers who were struggling to manage these rough individuals.

“If the Jurchens of Jeongju, who are said to have become much milder in character, are this savage, then how much more savage are the Jurchens who still live nomadic lives? And what about the Joseon bastards who make even those Jurchens tuck their tails in?”

The officers, whose thoughts had gone that far, sought out their colleagues who had faced the Joseon army in the previous war and asked them.

“How savage are the Joseon soldiers? They are the kind of guys who, if they lose a battle, grind their teeth in frustration and charge back in, and if they win, they become even more terrifying as they celebrate their victory.”

The officers who had asked the questions began to develop a growing fear of the Joseon army as they listened to the veterans shaking their heads.

This was a harvest that even Hyang had not anticipated.

* * *

Around the same time that Emperor Gyeongtae in Beijing was preparing to quell the chaos in Gangnam, the situation in Japan was also not good.

The Ouchi shogunate, having acquired a large amount of funds and artisans during the previous war, was working to strengthen its central authority. And this was something that the existing vested interests found difficult to accept.

In the end, they once again drew their swords.

And at the center of this uprising were the court nobles (公家) [Kuge; aristocratic families who historically held significant influence in the Japanese Imperial Court].

* * *

Through the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunate periods, a kind of division of labor had been established between the shogunate and the court nobles.

The shogunate held control over the eastern region, including Kyoto, as well as military and police powers, while the court nobles were in charge of general administrative affairs of the court and the governance of the western region.

However, the problem was that the Ouchi family, which had newly established the shogunate, had its roots in the southwest of Japan.

In short, there was an overlap between the Ouchi’s sphere of influence and the court nobles’ sphere of influence.

In addition, it was also problematic that Ouchi had not established itself in Kyoto but had instead brought the Emperor to Yamaguchi.

They had seized the symbolic presence of the Emperor without leaving their own sphere of influence.

The Ouchi, having taken both political symbolism and military power, became unstoppable.

“We must abandon the old ways! Only then can we survive in this turbulent era!”

Mochiyo, emphasizing the crisis, requested the Emperor to grant him another official title in addition to the traditional title of Seii Taishogun (征夷大将軍) [Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians] that the shogun of the shogunate received.

The title he requested was “Kanpaku (関白) [Imperial Regent].”

The Kanpaku was the highest-ranking official among the Japanese court ministers.

Whether it was symbolic or not, all Japanese policies nominally required the Emperor’s approval. However, this approval could not be given solely at the Emperor’s discretion and ultimately required consultation between the Kanpaku and the Emperor.

And the position of Kanpaku could only be held by members of the five noble families known as the “Gosekke (五摂家) [Five Regent Houses].”

The Ouchi were demanding that position of Kanpaku.

* * *

The Gosekke, upon hearing Mochiyo’s request, naturally had no choice but to resist.

However, since the Ouchi held practical military power, they offered a compromise.

“Choose one family from the Gosekke and become an adopted son. Then we will acknowledge you.”

When the envoy of the Gosekke handed over the compromise, Mochiyo drew his sword on the spot and beheaded the envoy.

“Have you ever seen such insolence! What do they think our family is to be making such nonsense? Those who don’t even have a proper family tree are acting as if they are giving alms to a beggar!”

Mochiyo could not contain his anger. The Ouchi family had long claimed to be descendants of Prince Imseong of Baekje [an ancient Korean kingdom]. Moreover, with a proper family tree even created and presented by Joseon, the Ouchi family’s pride had soared to the sky.

So, when he heard the proposal to abandon the lineage of such a historically significant family, Mochiyo immediately beheaded the envoy.

Furious, Mochiyo shouted to his vassals,

“There are still treacherous subjects who are eating away at the country! Not breaking away from the old ways is treason! Prepare for war! It’s a purge!”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

Mochiyo insisted on a purge, but the court nobles did not back down either.

No, they couldn’t back down.

“If this continues, all the official positions in the court, as well as all the territories in Yamato [an ancient province of Japan, roughly corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture], will belong to the Ouchi!”

Their concerns were justified.

Since the Ouchi family sent students to Joseon, the scale had grown larger and larger.

The number of students, which started at 20 or 30, had now increased to almost a hundred.

And these people, who had learned and gained practical experience in Joseon, were responsible for the administration of the Ouchi shogunate.

As they unreservedly demonstrated what they had learned and acquired, the Ouchi shogunate possessed formidable administrative capabilities, unlike the previous shogunates such as Kamakura or Muromachi.

And, with Joseon defeating Ming and being reborn as an empire, the pro-Joseon faction raised their voices.

“Abolish feudal domains and establish prefectures (廃藩置県) [Haihan Chiken; a major policy objective of the Meiji Restoration].”

“Clearly, Yamato is one country, yet all the domains call themselves Kuni (國) [ancient term for province or country]. What nonsense is this!”

“The court is the same! It has rotted while being monopolized by the court nobles! We must also implement the civil service examination of the past to recruit talent and reform ourselves!”

“We too must create educational institutions like the Saminhakdang (사민학당) [Joseon-era schools open to all classes] to cultivate the people into talented individuals!”

Those who had directly learned about Joseon’s centralized political system and experienced practical work called for the reform of Japan.

And, at some point, people who sympathized with them began to emerge among the commoners.

As the situation changed in this way, the court nobles also faced a threat to their survival.

In the end, in the second year of the Imperial Era.

As the purge became almost a foregone conclusion, members of the court nobles in Yamaguchi began to leave Yamaguchi one by one.

Avoiding Ouchi’s surveillance, they carefully moved out of Yamaguchi and headed to their territories as quickly as possible.

However, despite moving in secret, their movements were all caught in Ouchi’s surveillance network.

“So, everyone has returned to their territories?”

“Yes, sir!”

Mochiyo smiled wryly upon receiving the report.

“To move without knowing it’s a trap, that’s why those guys are useless. Immediately prepare for war! Recheck the condition of the new-style rifles and Eul-sik Hwachas (을식 화차) [rocket arrow launchers] brought in from the Empire!”

“Yes, sir!”

The vassals who received the order busily went outside, and Mochiyo looked at Norihiro, who remained in his seat.

“Kadok (家督) [heir]. What do you think?”

Norihiro prostrated himself and replied to Mochiyo’s question.

“I have been waiting for the Lord’s decision! Once the purge of the court nobles is over, our Japan will be reborn as a truly unified country!”

Norihiro’s voice was filled with fervent desire.

While traveling back and forth between the Empire and Japan and participating in the war against Ming, Norihiro could not hide his admiration and envy for the Empire’s development.

These admiration and envy soon turned into thirst and impatience.

“The world is changing rapidly, but our Japan is only wasting time in a well!”

“How long will we continue to play the role of feudal lords!”

Norihiro, unable to bear the sight of Japan, which remained the same old way with only the head changed, was overjoyed by the rebellion of the court nobles.

And this was the same for Mochiyo.

“Bring paper and ink!”

“Yes, sir!”

Mochiyo, holding a brush in his hand, vigorously moved the brush on the blank paper. The words he wrote on the paper in one stroke were only two characters.

-維新 (Yushin/Renovation) [a term meaning “restoration” or “renewal” in Japanese]

It was a declaration that would later be called the Hotoku Renovation (宝徳維新), named after the era at this time.

Meanwhile, the court nobles who had returned to their territories gathered troops and revolted.

While revolting, these nobles declared as follows:

“The current shogunate is oppressing the people by mobilizing military force and destroying the traditions passed down from the past! How outrageous! We will overthrow the shogunate and revive the beautiful traditions!”

And the soldiers of these insurgents held up flags with the following phrases written on them.

-回天復古 (Revere the Emperor, Restore the Old Order) [a slogan advocating for a return to traditional values and imperial authority]

-討幕守天 (Overthrow the Shogunate, Protect the Emperor) [a battle cry calling for the end of the shogunate and the safeguarding of the Emperor’s position]

* * *

The news that the shogunate and the court nobles were fighting in Japan was immediately transmitted to Seoul.

Hyang, who confirmed this information, chuckled to himself and muttered.

“Whatever the case, what kind of relationship does this word Yushin have with Japan… Wait! Among the military operations carried out in Japan, there were hardly any with good results when the character for heaven (天) was included, right?”

Regardless of such personal feelings, Hyang, who had obtained the information, discussed future actions with his ministers.

“What do you think about the civil war that has broken out again in Japan?”

Hwang Hee immediately answered Hyang’s question.

“It has been said since ancient times that the most interesting sights are watching fires and watching fights. It seems that observation should be the top priority for the time being. Of course, we must also prepare for the possibility of being hit by stray sparks.”

All the other ministers nodded at Hwang Hee’s words.

“I think the Prime Minister’s words are reasonable.”

Hyang nodded at the ministers’ words.

“Then let’s watch for the time being.”