Black Corporation: Joseon

“My lord!”

“Wait a moment!”

Despite the urgent cry of his subordinate, Norisane tried his best to maintain composure.

“My lord! Time is of the essence!”

“Argh! Shut up and stay still!”

Silencing the pressing subordinate, Norisane paced back and forth in the room, thinking of a way out.

While Norisane was pondering, other subordinates who had heard the news rushed to Norisane’s room.

“My lord!”

“My lord!”

At Norisane’s shout, the confused subordinates closed their mouths and looked at him.

Norisane, who had been thinking with his lips tightly sealed, finally seemed to have made up his mind as he turned his head and began issuing orders to his subordinates.

“You, lead your men out immediately and monitor the Kamakura-dono’s mansion! Report to me immediately if there’s anything unusual!”

“Ha!”

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

“Ha!”

“You secure the castle gates with your men! We need to secure an escape route!”

“Ha!”

After issuing these orders, Norisane commanded the remaining subordinates.

“Bring my armor!”

“Ha!”

Having issued orders in rapid succession, Norisane sat at his desk and dipped his brush in ink. He filled the paper with writing in one swift stroke, put it in an envelope, sealed it well, and handed it to another subordinate.

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

“Ha!”

The samurai who put the letter in his breast quickly went outside and mounted a horse.

Soon after, Norisane began to don his armor with the help of subordinates who had brought it.

Interestingly, the armor Norisane was putting on was a riveted armor made in Joseon.

***

In a previous battle where the Ouchi-Shibukawa alliance clashed with the Shoni, Ouchi Morimi had been hit by several arrows but hadn’t suffered even a scratch due to the excellent protection of the riveted armor he was wearing.

‘Joseon’s armor blocks arrows while still allowing easy movement!’

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

There was one characteristic to this trend. When acquiring Joseon’s riveted armor, the helmet was excluded. This was because of the decoration attached to the forehead part of the helmet. The decoration attached to the helmet’s forehead was a symbol of the family or the individual.

Of course, there were not a few daimyo who, considering practicality even more, fully equipped themselves with Joseon products including the helmet.

Japan did have riveted armor at this time. When the Mongol and Goryeo allied forces invaded in the past, they had been able to obtain a considerable number of riveted armors as spoils of war, and there were riveted armors made in imitation of these.

However, due to Japan’s inferior smelting technology, they couldn’t properly make the iron plates to be attached inside the armor.

Therefore, as trade with Joseon became active, they began to import and wear small quantities of Joseon’s riveted armor.

***

Norisane, having fully donned his armor, mounted the waiting horse.

Mounted on the horse, Norisane looked around once and raised his hand.

“Let’s go!”

As Norisane’s order fell, the mansion’s gates opened wide. Soon after, a cavalry unit escorting Norisane burst out through the gates.

Following them, the samurai who had been monitoring Mochiuji’s camp and those who had been guarding the mansion’s gates mounted horses and joined the rear.

***

“My lord! Uesugi has moved! He’s left the castle!”

“Huh?”

Receiving the report from his subordinate, Ashikaga Mochiuji soon burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Heaven is helping this Ashikaga Mochiuji!”

After laughing heartily, Mochiuji soon began writing a letter.

“Deliver this to the Shogun in Kyoto immediately!”

“Ha!”

“And prepare for the uprising immediately, and inform the other domains! We’re going to subjugate Uesugi!”

“Ha!”

Mochiuji, who had issued orders smoothly, muttered while looking at the topographical map laid out on a large table.

“The first step towards becoming the master of the realm has finally been taken!”

***

Kyoto, Ashikaga Yoshinori’s mansion.

“My lord! Urgent news!”

“Urgent news?”

As Yoshinori, who had been appreciating the garden, took his seat, a retainer presented a letter to Yoshinori and explained.

“It’s urgent news sent from Uesugi.”

“From Uesugi?”

Yoshinori, who had lightly expressed doubt, soon began reading the contents of the letter.

“Mochiuji has raised an army?”

“My lord! Urgent news!”

“What urgent news again?”

“It’s urgent news sent from Kamakura-dono!”

“Give it to me!”

“Ha!”

Yoshinori, who had snatched the letter, checked its contents.

“Uesugi is planning to commit an act of disloyalty?”

Yoshinori, who had been looking down at the two contradictory letters, ordered his retainers.

“First, imprison the messengers sent by Uesugi and Mochiuji!”

“Ha!”

“And summon all the retainers!”

“Ha!”

***

Having summoned his retainers, Yoshinori explained the situation.

“What do you think?”

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

“Since the Eikyo Rebellion, their relationship hasn’t been good. Wouldn’t it be because of that?”

“That’s highly likely.”

Yoshinori nodded at Hosokawa’s answer.

***

In the 8th year of Eikyo (1436, the 18th year of King Sejong’s reign), a domain dispute occurred in Shinano. Mochiuji, who had been asked for help, tried to dispatch troops, but it was thwarted by Norisane’s opposition.

Norisane’s reason for opposition was that Shinano was outside Mochiuji’s jurisdiction.

In the end, the Ogasawara clan won that conflict.

The problem was that even after that, Mochiuji kept trying to forcibly dispatch troops to this region, and Norisane kept blocking it, causing their relationship to deteriorate.

***

“The question is why Kamakura-dono insisted on dispatching troops.”

“Hmm…”

After organizing his thoughts for a moment at Mochiyuki’s point, Yoshinori opened his mouth.

“He was targeting me.”

“Pardon?”

“Mochiuji has stubbornly refused to listen to me from before. He probably thought this position should have been his.”

Having reached his own conclusion, Yoshinori soon issued orders.

“Behead Mochiuji’s messenger imprisoned in the dungeon. And bring Uesugi’s messenger. And, Hosokawa.”

“Ha!”

“Enter the Imperial Court and get an imperial edict from the Emperor. The content should be ‘Ashikaga Mochiuji is an enemy of the court’.”

“Ha!”

After issuing orders to Hosokawa, Yoshinori commanded his retainers.

“When Hosokawa brings the imperial edict, inform the daimyo of the Kanto region. Tell them, ‘Ashikaga Mochiuji is an enemy of the court, so dispatch troops to suppress him.'”

“Ha!”

***

Thus, Yoshinori, having branded Ashikaga Mochiuji as a traitor, surrounded Mochiuji using his own troops and those of the Kanto daimyo, including Uesugi.

In the ensuing battle, Mochiuji, who was badly defeated, expressed his intention to relinquish all authority and become a monk.

“Shogun, it would be good to show your mercy.”

Uesugi Norisane, who had played the biggest role in this affair, advised showing mercy, but Yoshinori shook his head.

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Shogun!”

Despite Norisane’s urgent dissuasion, Yoshinori ordered his subordinates.

“Kill all of Mochiuji’s household members.”

“Ha!”

Yoshinori, who had issued the cruel order, turned to Norisane, his retainers, and the daimyo and said.

“Have you heard the saying ‘punish one to warn a hundred’?”

The daimyo bit their lips at Yoshinori’s warning.

***

Meanwhile, Ouchi Morimi, who had received related reports in his domain, gritted his teeth.

“It’s a warning to me. But still, he used a truly clever move. Calling someone ‘an enemy of the court’…”

The moment the Emperor declares someone ‘an enemy of the court’, all justification goes to the Shogun. As long as the justification is in the Shogun’s hands, the daimyo have no choice but to side with the Shogun.

“To realize our family’s dream, we might have to face the entire realm. Prepare everything assuming this.”

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

“Ha!”

“Firearms are important for victory. How is the production of muskets going?”

“As the artisans are becoming accustomed to production, the quantity is gradually increasing.”

“Supervise properly. Muskets are useful weapons, but if mishandled, they can be more dangerous to our own troops.”

“Ha!”

The muskets handed over by Joseon were cast-iron types. As a result, they boasted a considerable defect rate.

“And how is the matter of bringing gunpowder artisans from Ming progressing?”

“Although the Ming court’s surveillance has intensified, we expect good news soon.”

“Do your best. We can’t achieve our great ambition relying only on what we import from Joseon.”

“Ha!”

***

Joseon had handed over muskets – to be precise, matchlock bronze guns – but not the method of gunpowder production. However, having seen the Joseon navy crushing the Wokou and pirates using cannons, Ouchi couldn’t give up on obtaining the gunpowder production method.

“Cannons guarantee victory!”

Impressed by the power of the Joseon navy, Ouchi devoted all efforts from top to bottom to mass-produce gunpowder weapons.

In addition, based on the experience gained in the process of making muskets, Ouchi began experimenting with casting larger cannons.

Of course, due to their poor technological level, what they produced were large-caliber muskets.

***

“And also, subtly spread the news to Joseon.”

“To Joseon? Will Joseon be interested?”

To his retainer’s question, Morimi explained the reason.

“The more the Shogun does things, the more unstable domestic affairs become. When that happens, it’s natural for the number of Wokou to increase. And when the Wokou increase, it becomes a headache for Joseon too. They will naturally be interested.”

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

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

“Ha!”

After issuing these orders and about to end the meeting, Morimi suddenly seemed to remember something and continued.

“Ah! While sending the messenger, also mention the iron horse.”

“The iron horse, you say?”

At the retainer’s question, Morimi nodded.

“Yes. I hear Ming is also making something similar to Joseon’s iron horse. What do you think it means when all those who are ahead are adopting it? It means it’s absolutely necessary to make the country strong and prosperous.”

At Morimi’s words, the retainers inwardly muttered.

‘Compared to Joseon and Ming, Ouchi is…’

Knowing such thoughts of his retainers, Morimi added.

“It might be excessive if we only think about our Ouchi, but it will be absolutely necessary when our Ouchi becomes the master of the realm. Think of it as gaining experience in preparation for that time.”

“Ha!”

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

‘Look at the mindset of our lord! Our Ouchi will surely become the master of the realm!’

***

The 20th year of King Sejong’s reign. (1438, the year of Muo)

A secret messenger sent from Ouchi informed Joseon about the civil war that had broken out in Japan.

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

At Sejong’s question, Hwang Hui stepped forward and answered.

“It’s almost the same as the information that came in from the trading post established in Nanba (難波, Naniwa, the old name for Osaka).”

“So you’re saying the Ouchi clan didn’t report falsely.”

Hwang Hui followed up on Sejong’s opinion.

“There might be exaggeration, but there would be no lies. They know well that it would be to their own detriment if they did.”

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

Joseon was also aware that Ouchi was aiming for the position of master of the bakufu.