Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 668
Episode 668: Stories from other countries (3)
Emperor Gyeongtae, who accepted the plan made by the cabinet secretary and ministers, immediately nodded.
“What a brilliant idea! “The security was already unstable due to those returning from Liaohe, so this is a very good plan!”
Emperor Gyeongtae was very satisfied and stamped the seal on the document and gave orders.
“Get started right away!”
“I obey the Emperor’s command!”
* * *
After receiving permission from Emperor Gyeongtae, the military and military departments began work immediately.
-Support for the unit that subdues gangsters in Gangnam!
-Pay adequate wages to soldiers in the punitive force.
-Jangjuns who participated in the subjugation can receive unclaimed farmland from Gangnam after the subjugation.
-Those who establish military positions can acquire more land.
-This is what the emperor himself promised.
For those who returned from Liaohe, the emperor’s edict issued by the Military Ministry was a lifeline that saved them from the danger of death.
“Great! Even so, it was a big problem to take such measures! “I lived!”
“Gangnam’s farmland is the fertile soil of all fertile soil! “You can get that land, but you have to risk your life!”
Men from returning families who found hope, regardless of age or age, volunteered for the military.
This was the same for retired soldiers who were packing their bags to return home.
He was paid handsomely for restoring canals and other transportation networks destroyed in the previous war. However, there were many who found it difficult to survive when they returned to their hometown.
These people also volunteered for the punitive force.
Thanks to this, the Ming government was able to secure a force capable of carrying out a subjugation without withdrawing troops from the north.
“If we include the Jin soldiers stationed in Nanjing and other cities, we will be able to fully subdue the traitors!”
Emperor Gyeongtae expressed satisfaction with the report from the Ministry of Health.
“Great! “Make them regular soldiers as quickly as possible!”
“I follow your orders!”
In the process of turning the returnees into soldiers under the orders of Emperor Gyeongtae, the executives of the Ming army noticed one characteristic.
“These guys… they’re so vicious.”
“I agree. “I guess it’s because I live in a rough place.”
As the executives said, those who returned from Liaodong had a rough temperament.
Not only the Jeongju Yeojin people, who were evaluated as having become much more mellow while living a settled life, but also the Koreans who lived alongside them were fierce in temperament. It was not easy to handle the returnees, who would immediately threaten to kill you or kill me at the slightest mistake.
Rumors soon began to circulate among the executives who had a hard time managing such rough people.
“If the settled Jurchen people, who are evaluated as having a very dead personality, are that fierce, then how much more fierce are the Jurchen people who still lead a nomadic lifestyle? And what about the Joseon bastards who make even the Jurchen people curl their tails?”
The executives whose thoughts reached that point sought out colleagues who had dealt with the Joseon army in the last war and asked about them.
“How fierce is the Joseon army? “The Joseon bastards are those who, when they lose a battle, gnash their teeth in anger and attack, and when they win, they attack even more fiercely, thinking they are happy to win.”
Fear of the Joseon military began to gradually settle among the executives who questioned the words of the participants, who responded by shaking their heads.
This was a harvest that even the scent had not imagined.
* * *
At the same time that Emperor Gyeongtae of Beijing was preparing to calm the chaos in Gangnam, the situation in the Japanese country was also not good.
The Ouchi shogunate, which had acquired a large amount of funds and artisans during the previous war, was making efforts to strengthen centralization. And this was difficult for the existing vested interests to accept.
Eventually, they drew their swords once again.
And at the center of this massive army were the public families.
* * *
Throughout the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunate periods, a kind of division of labor was taking place between the shogunate and the feudal lords.
Centering on Kyoto, the shogunate had control and military police authority over the eastern region, and the public families were in charge of the government’s general administrative affairs and governance of the western region.
However, the problem was that the Ouchi family, which founded the new shogunate, had its roots in the southwestern part of the Japanese country.
Simply put, there was an overlap between the Gong family’s control area and Ouchi’s control area.
Another problem was that Ouchi did not establish himself in Kyoto, but rather brought the emperor to Yamaguchi.
While not escaping from his sphere of influence, he even took control of the symbolic figure of the emperor.
Ouchi, who took on both political symbolism and military skills, became unstoppable.
“We must abandon the old ways! Only then can we survive these turbulent times!”
Mochiyo, emphasizing the crisis, requested the emperor to give him another official position in addition to the traditional position given to the shogunate, General Jegi.
The official position he requested was ‘gwanbaek (関白)’.
Gwanbaek was in fact the highest-ranking position among the ministers of the Japanese government.
Regardless of whether it was symbolic or not, on the surface all Japanese policies had to be approved by the emperor. However, this approval could not be made solely by the emperor, and ultimately had to be negotiated between the officials and the emperor.
And this official position could only be held by people from five noble families called the ‘Five Houses’.
Ouchi had requested such a position as a government official.
* * *
The Oseop family naturally had no choice but to protest when they heard of Mochiyo’s request.
However, since it was Ouchi who controlled the actual force, they proposed a mediation plan.
“Choose one of the five families and adopt one. Then I will admit it.”
When the messenger of the Oseop family handed over the arbitration plan, Mochiyo drew his sword on the spot and cut off the messenger’s head.
“Have you seen these outrageous things? What do you think of our family that makes you say such nonsense? “Those who don’t even have a proper genealogy act like they are begging for beggars!”
Mochiyo couldn’t hold back his anger. Since ancient times, the Ouchi family has claimed that they are descendants of Prince Imseong of Baekje. In addition, the pride of the Ouchi family soared to the sky as Joseon created and presented a proper genealogy.
However, upon hearing the suggestion to abandon such a historic family castle, Mochiyo cut off the lion’s head.
Mochiyo, who was full of energy, shouted to his retainers.
“There are still traitors who are destroying the country! Failure to break away from old ways is truly treason! Prepare to deploy! “It’s a purge!”
“hot!”
* * *
Mochiyo came forward, calling for a purge, but the public families did not back down.
No, I couldn’t back down.
“If this goes on, not only all the government offices but also all the territories in Yamato will become Ouchi’s!”
There was reason for their concerns.
Since the Ouchi family began sending students to Joseon, its scale has grown.
The number of international students starting from 2 to 30 has now increased to nearly a hundred.
And those who returned after learning and practicing in Joseon were responsible for the administration of the Ouchi shogunate.
As they put to good use what they had learned and mastered, the Ouchi shogunate possessed powerful administrative capabilities, unlike previous shogunates such as Kamakura and Muromachi.
And after Joseon defeated the Ming Dynasty and was reborn as an empire, Confucian scholars raised their voices.
“Abandoned Bunchi County (廃藩置県)!”
“Obviously Yamato is one country, but what nonsense is this for all the clans to call themselves Kuni!”
“The same goes for rowing! Until now, it has rotted away due to the monopoly of the public houses! We also need to implement the civil service examination and hire talented people to renew it!”
“We must also create educational institutions such as social democratic schools to develop our people into talented people!”
Those who learned directly about Joseon’s centralized political system and had practical experience called for reform in the Japanese Empire.
And at some point, those who sympathized with them began to appear among the people.
As the situation changed, public families also faced a threat to their survival.
Finally, 2 years in the imperial calendar.
As the purge became almost a fait accompli, members of the official family in Yamaguchi began to leave Yamaguchi one by one.
Those who escaped Yamaguchi moved carefully to avoid Ouchi’s surveillance and moved toward their territory as quickly as possible.
However, even though they moved in secret, their movements were all caught up in Ouchi’s surveillance network.
“So everyone returned to their territory?”
“hot!”
Mochiyo laughed bitterly after receiving the report.
“They’re moving without even knowing it’s a trap. That’s why they can’t do it. Prepare for war immediately! “Let’s check again the condition of the new rifles and freight cars brought in from the empire!”
“hot!”
The retainers who received the order hurriedly went out, and Mochiyo looked at Norihiro, who remained behind.
“Read. “What do you think?”
Norihiro knelt down and answered Mochiyo’s question.
“I was waiting for the matriarch’s decision! Once the purge of the communist family is over, Japan will be reborn as a truly one country!”
Norihiro’s voice was full of passionate desire.
While traveling between the empire and Japan and participating in the war against the Ming, Norihiro was both impressed and envious of the empire’s development.
This admiration and envy soon turned into thirst and impatience.
“The world is changing rapidly, but we, Japan, are just wasting our time in the well!”
“How long are we going to just play lord!”
Norihiro, who could not bear his anger at the old-fashioned appearance of Japan, where only the head was changed but the body remained the same, was very happy about the Gong family’s rebellion.
And this was the same for Mochiyo.
“Bring paper, pencil, and ink!”
“hot!”
Mochiyo, holding a brush in her hand, vigorously stroked the brush on a blank sheet of paper. There were only two words written on paper in one stroke. -It
was a declaration that would later be called Hotoku Yushin (宝徳維新), based on the era name of the Yushin
(維新) .
Meanwhile, the nobles of the Gong family who returned to their territory gathered troops and revolted.
In revolt, these nobles declared:
“Now the shogunate is using force to persecute the people and destroying the traditions handed down from the past! How outrageous this is! “Put down the shogunate and revive the beautiful tradition!”
And the soldiers of those who rose up raised high a flagpole with the following words written on it.
– Hoecheon Restoration (回天復古)
– Pieces of Heaven (討幕守天)
* * *
The news of the clash between the shogunate and the feudal lords in the Japanese Empire immediately reached Seoul.
After confirming this information, Hyang smiled bitterly and muttered to himself.
“Anyway, this damn word ‘Yushin’ has something to do with Japan… Wait! “Of all the military operations carried out in Japan, there were very few that had good results, even those that entered the sky.”
Those personal feelings aside, after receiving the information, Hyang discussed the future with the ministers.
“What do you think about the renewed civil war in Japan?”
Hwang Hee answered Hyang’s question right away.
“It has been said since ancient times that the most interesting things to see are fireworks and fighting. For the time being, wait and see appears to be the top priority. Of course, we have to be prepared in case a spark hits us.”
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 just look around for now.”