Black Corporation: Joseon

When the envoy returned from Joseon with documents listing Hyang’s conditions, Mochiyo summoned his key retainers, including his heir Norihiro.

“This is the demand letter from Joseon’s Crown Prince.”

Mochiyo handed the letter to Norihiro, and the retainers passed it around to read.

After the last retainer finished reading and returned the problematic letter, Mochiyo looked at his retainers and spoke.

“What do you think?”

Norihiro, who would inherit the family headship, was the first to respond to Mochiyo’s question.

“Tsushima was already expected.”

The retainers nodded at Norihiro’s words.

***

Before sending the envoy, Ouchi had also tried to predict how Joseon would respond.

During these strategy meetings, the Confucian faction who had returned from Joseon stood out.

“Working with Joseon officials, we felt that Joseon deeply distrusts Tsushima.”

“Indeed. Given the chance, Joseon will certainly make a move on Tsushima.”

‘Joseon will demand Tsushima.’

Concluding that the Confucian faction’s assessment was correct, Norihiro and the elder retainers reported their conclusion to Mochiyo.

“Joseon will demand Tsushima.”

“Tsushima? Is it alright to give it up?”

To Mochiyo’s question, the most senior retainer answered.

“Cleanly handing it over would give us both legitimacy and practical benefits.”

The elder explained the advantages of surrendering Tsushima to Joseon:

• -Looking at Tsushima’s location, it’s right in front of Dongnae. Therefore, Joseon will constantly monitor Tsushima.
• -Though Joseon troops are already stationed there, Joseon will certainly seek complete control.
• -Thus, preemptively surrendering Tsushima would reduce military burden while continuously securing diplomatic advantages.
• -Most importantly, there are the Shoni clan remnants lurking in Tsushima. Surrendering Tsushima to Joseon would allow us to execute a two-birds-one-stone strategy to deal with them simultaneously.

“I like that last part best.”

Moved by the possibility of dealing with the family’s archenemy, the Shoni clan, Mochiyo made his decision.

“Good! If Joseon demands Tsushima, we’ll pretend to negotiate while handing it over!”

***

While they had anticipated the Tsushima demand, they hadn’t predicted the other conditions, which was why Mochiyo had summoned his retainers.

Norihiro continued speaking.

“The second demand also makes sense when you think about it. It’s natural for Joseon to demand safety for their ships passing through on trade routes to India and points west.”

An elder retainer raised an objection to Norihiro’s words.

“While that makes sense for Joseon, we’re the ones who must accept it. If problems arise after we provide written guarantees, Joseon will hold us responsible.”

Norihiro immediately answered the elder’s point.

“Wouldn’t it be good if Joseon holds us responsible? Who’s currently troubling the Ryukyu Kingdom?”

“Shimazu… Ah!”

The elder retainer answering Norihiro’s question finally exclaimed in understanding.

Seeing this reaction, Norihiro explained the reasoning to Mochiyo.

“Joseon demanding written guarantees from us essentially means they’ve almost acknowledged us as rulers of the realm. That’s the first benefit. Second, if Shimazu touches Ryukyu, we can use this guarantee as justification to subjugate them. Even now, the Shimazu monkeys lead those who defy our clan’s will in Kyushu.”

“Shimazu… Not bad.”

While Mochiyo was nodding, Norihiro continued.

“Moreover, guaranteeing Ryukyu’s safety gives us an opportunity to advance there ourselves. Not just docking ships in Ryukyu, but gaining opportunities to trade with distant countries ourselves.”

Nodding at Norihiro’s words, Mochiyo looked around at his other retainers.

“I understand well how these benefit us too. What about the remaining two?”

To Mochiyo’s question, an elder retainer stepped forward to answer.

“Joseon increasing garrison troops at mines and trade offices has legitimate justification, so we needn’t oppose it. Rather, if Joseon troops handle mine defense, we’ll have more flexibility in deploying our forces. The same goes for trade offices. If bakufu dogs touch the trade offices, it gives Joseon perfect excuse to send troops. Similarly, treating wounded soldiers at trade offices also benefits us.”

“Hmm…”

“Most importantly, accepting these conditions lets us obtain thunderbolt bombs. With thunderbolt bombs, it’s crystal clear they’ll greatly help achieve our great enterprise.”

Young retainers, including Norihiro, all nodded at the elder retainer’s response.

After hearing his retainers’ responses, Mochiyo contemplated briefly before speaking.

“Though it seems good, it’s difficult to decide immediately. I’ll consider it further.”

The retainers all bowed at Mochiyo’s decision.

“Sir!”

***

After settling the situation by taking time to deliberate, Mochiyo moved on.

“By the way, how goes the war?”

“Smoothly. More daimyo are joining us, and we continue achieving victory after victory.”

At the retainer’s answer, Mochiyo didn’t forget to give instructions.

“Prepare meetings with newly joined daimyo. We must establish dominance early.”

“Sir!”

“And be especially vigilant as these newcomers might stab us in the back.”

“Sir!”

“And the main forces of the bakufu’s three regent houses haven’t shown their faces yet. Remember, when they appear will be the time for decisive battle.”

“Sir!”

***

As the meeting was ending, Norihiro presented a thick scroll.

“What’s this?”

“I’ve organized policies that would be good to implement after my lord ascends to ruler of the realm.”

“Isn’t that getting ahead of ourselves?”

“It might seem so, but I thought we must prepare early for our clan to rule the realm long-term.”

“Is that so? Very well.”

Receiving the scroll, Mochiyo untied its string and began reading.

“Hmm…”

Reading while nodding, Mochiyo looked up at Norihiro.

“Moving the capital?”

“Yes. Kyoto is too far from our clan’s base, and those already established there have deep, strong roots. Consider this: even the most deeply rooted tree’s farthest branches die first in drought. Therefore, rather than staying in Kyoto, we should bring the Emperor to our side.”

At Norihiro’s words, Mochiyo looked at the elders. Receiving his silent question, they began speaking one by one.

“Everything is already in Kyoto—moving seems unnecessary.”

“Indeed. Consider Kyoto’s significance.”

“We might recreate the split between Northern and Southern Courts if we’re not careful.”

While most elders opposed it, a minority supported it.

“It seems like a good idea. Kyoto’s symbolism burdens us.”

“Militarily speaking too, Kyoto could bring more harm than good. The capital relocation issue is worth considering.”

As the elders were giving their opinions, Norihiro spoke again.

“When my lord becomes ruler, the Emperor is more important than Kyoto. We must firmly control the Emperor somewhere within my lord’s reach, not in Kyoto, to prevent others from dreaming foolish dreams. Throughout history, those who seized power always did this. Looking back, though he failed, why did Dong Zhuo burn Luoyang and move to Chang’an? Why did Emperor Yongle of Ming move to Beijing? Why did Joseon’s King Taejo Yi Seong-gye move to Hanseong? Through moving the capital, we must make even the lowest commoners clearly know who rules this realm.”

Despite Norihiro’s passionate argument, Mochiyo didn’t speak easily.

After a long silence, Mochiyo finally made his decision.

“Moving the capital has its pros and cons. Therefore, I’ll contemplate this slowly over time.”

***

That night, Mochiyo sought the opinion of the retired Morimi.

“Hmm…”

After considering Joseon’s conditions for a while, Morimi spoke.

“You should accept Joseon’s terms, Family Head.”

“I thought so too. I just needed time to show we weren’t making the decision too lightly.”

“Well done. Then, you must have other issues to discuss?”

“Yes.”

Mochiyo told Morimi about the ‘capital relocation.’ Morimi’s expression hardened considerably upon hearing Mochiyo’s words.

“Moving the capital… Indeed, it’s concerning.”

For the elder generation like Morimi, Kyoto was a symbol equal to the Emperor.

Kyoto was built modeling Tang Dynasty’s Chang’an. The significance was such that when a clan head who had pacified the archipelago entered to pay respects to the Emperor, it was called ‘entering the capital.’

Given this background, deciding to move the capital could become a self-defeating move. This was why not just Mochiyo but even Morimi couldn’t decide easily.

“Staying in Kyoto would certainly make things complicated.”

“True. But since hasty words could derail everything, better to implement after completing our great enterprise.”

The two had implicitly decided on moving the capital.

Having passed this hurdle, they moved to the next agenda.

“We seem to need a generational change.”

“I’ve heard something about it. The old ones came complaining to me. Good grief… It’s still far from completing our great enterprise…”

Mochiyo’s expression turned fierce at Morimi’s words.

***

After rising up under the banner of ‘Overthrow the Bakufu,’ as everything progressed smoothly, internal factions began emerging.

They split into the Military Faction emphasizing martial power and the Civil Administration Faction dreaming of a Joseon-style bureaucratic system.

Most elder retainers belonged to the Military Faction, while young forces who had studied in Joseon and those centered around Norihiro formed the Civil Administration Faction.

“Power decides everything!”

“Deciding everything by force is the lowest strategy! Why did Xiang Yu lose to Liu Bang? When our lord becomes ruler, we must change the entire system!”

“Look at Song! Didn’t they fall because of civil administration?”

“But stubbornly sticking to military rule will lead to a short reign!”

The two factions were engaged in fierce debates over Ouchi’s course after seizing power.

Currently, the factions were evenly matched. Though the Military Faction had legitimacy during wartime, the Civil Administration Faction was steadily gaining strength through the heir Norihiro’s participation.

“Hmm…”

Having heard the situation, Morimi looked at Mochiyo.

“You’ll need to clean house after succeeding in our great enterprise. Don’t forget these words.”

“What words?”

“Disposing of allies after use. The young ones are right. The clan’s army must be the lord’s army—armies provided by retainers are likely to become daggers. Don’t forget that the bite of a long-raised dog hurts deepest.”

Mochiyo bowed deeply at Morimi’s words implying the removal of elder retainers with military power.

“I’ll engrave it in my bones and heart.”

***

While political conspiracies were sprouting in Japan, in Joseon, Hyang was getting fleeced by Sejong.