Chapter 211
After Kim Dae-beom returned to Joseon, Ashikaga Yoshinori summoned every daimyo in Kyoto.
Thus gathered in one place, they now stared at one another in considerable bewilderment.
Until then, the Muromachi bakufu had barred anyone from attending its councils except the shogun, the kanrei, and the great daimyo families known as the Shitō and Shishiki.
Yet today, he had summoned every last lowly shugo (men who, by Joseon standards, owned a single district).
Nothing like this had ever happened before.
Amid the disorderly atmosphere, the shogun made a declaration in a loud voice.
“The realm remains in utter chaos. As shogun, I am so ashamed that I have failed to quell the realm’s chaos until now that I cannot even raise my eyes to Heaven.”
The daimyo all flinched at the shogun’s grave declaration.
Since it was customary to begin with light greetings and add a few words of good wishes, they had expected the same this time.
Yet he had suddenly declared in a loud voice that he was the greatest traitor beneath Heaven, leaving the daimyo with no choice but to be shocked.
The minor shugo who were seeing the shogun for the first time even thought this:
‘There was a rumor that the shogun was a madman. It seems he really is completely insane.’
“His Majesty the Emperor once issued a decree to this man, who was then no more than a monk, saying: ‘The realm is in utter disorder. I hope that you, who have taken up the office of sei’i taishōgun, will subjugate the barbarians, bring peace to the realm, and calm the world’s storms. Yet, to my immense shame, I have still failed to quell the disorder of this world... Am I not a traitor who has failed to properly carry out His Majesty’s command, and the greatest sinner beneath Heaven?’”
Heike, Kamakura, Muromachi, and Edo.
These four different warrior powers had one thing in common.
They had struggled desperately to seize the realm from one another and ultimately unified it, but...
not one among them had ever usurped the emperor’s throne.
The reason was that the emperor’s existence was a tool that granted every shogun absolute legitimacy.
By merely pretending to serve the emperor, they could crank out justifications as easily as pulling canned drinks from a vending machine. But if they ignored the emperor and acted on their own, they would never know when their subordinates might commit treason against them...
Thus, everyone had no choice but to respect the emperor.
That was why Shogun Yoshinori, too, had invoked the emperor’s name to justify attacking the Shoni.
“It is true that my sins are so grave they could cover the Four Seas (the realm), but the opportunity to atone has not yet vanished. I wish to raise a great army and subjugate the traitor Shoni Mitsusada, who is disturbing the peace and order of the realm. This alone will ease His Majesty’s worries and allow me to demonstrate my loyalty; it will also mean following the will of Heaven. What do you think?”
After the shogun had gone this far, could anyone here possibly oppose him?
Anyone who would have done so would not have come to this gathering in the first place, nor would they have entered Kyoto.
Kyoto was the place where the shogun personally resided and ruled.
Thus, it was a place where his influence was absolute...
If they so much as resisted the shogun or displeased him in Kyoto, they had to be prepared to lose their heads at any time.
Naturally, every daimyo expressed support for the shogun’s proposal.
At this, Hosokawa Mochiyuki, first among the kanrei, made a declaration on everyone’s behalf.
“All the gods and Buddhas under Heaven, together with Hachiman Great Bodhisattva, wish to capture Shoni Mitsusada and tear him limb from limb, thereby restoring order to this troubled realm.”
“Good! Then it is settled! As commander-in-chief of all the samurai, I shall obey His Majesty the Emperor’s command, kill Shoni Mitsusada, and subjugate every traitor who follows him.”
In actual history, only Ōuchi Mochiyo and the Shibukawa clan mobilized troops to attack the Shoni clan, and the war ended in a great victory for the Shoni.
Not only was Ōuchi Mochiyo killed by Shoni Mitsusada, but the Ōuchi clan also lost a considerable amount of territory.
However, because of Kim Dae-beom’s intervention, the course of Japanese history would now change.
“Despite Japan and Ming having concluded a peace treaty, Shoni Mitsusada has shamelessly sent Wokou in secret to plunder Ming from behind the scenes. Because of this, His Majesty the Emperor of Ming even ordered Joseon to send a delegation to rebuke me. Wiping away this disgrace and shame has therefore become a task I must accomplish.”
Ashikaga Yoshinori wanted to keep relations with Ming as favorable as possible.
If Ming recognized his position, tally trade would become possible, and the fact that Ming acknowledged him would allow him to solidify his authority within Japan even further.
“Moreover, I hear that several rebellious men claim that, because I was once the abbot of the Tendai sect, I lack the power to lead your samurai. Therefore, during this campaign, I shall personally step forward and subjugate Shoni Mitsusada, proving that everything these rebellious men say is nothing more than nonsense.”
Yoshinori was a man strongly obsessed with power.
For him, the fact that he had lived as a ‘monk’ until becoming shogun was a tremendous source of inferiority.
Thus, he wanted to bury the past that held him back by achieving success in this personal campaign.
“I, Ashikaga Yoshinori, became shogun after receiving the will of the gods at Iwashimizu Hachimangu. This time as well, I have risen in person to subjugate the traitor Shoni Mitsusada in accordance with the will of Heaven, so the gods will surely protect us. Keep that firmly in mind and prepare to mobilize a great army.”
“How many troops do you intend to mobilize when you say a great army?”
Yoshinori wanted to inform Ming of his campaign against the Wokou by submitting a state memorial, thereby proving that he was a man who wished to remain on close terms with Ming.
So he made his declaration in a loud, emphatic voice.
“I shall mobilize thirty thousand troops. Make your preparations accordingly.”
When Japan launched the Imjin War, it dispatched a total of 200,000 troops; adding all the forces it maintained throughout the various regions of Wa, the total came to 500,000...
Compared to that number, this might seem rather small...
At this time, Japan required military service only of those equivalent to lower-ranking samurai or above.
In other words, ordering thirty thousand troops was, with only slight exaggeration, tantamount to ordering every daimyo here to mobilize everyone except the minimum forces needed for defense.
Before long, a state letter from Japan arrived for Xuande, the Ming emperor.
**
To Xuande, Wa was merely an island country scarcely worth his attention.
To put it only slightly exaggeratedly, it was such a backwater that even if all of Japan proper were handed over to Ming for free, he would not particularly want it.
But those rotten Wokou kept appearing on the Ming coast and pestering Ming, buzzing around without end even when chased away, like flies...
“The King of Japan is behaving rather commendably.”
In Xuande’s hand was a memorial submitted by Ashikaga Yoshinori, who had been invested as King of Japan.
The memorial contained the following:
We in Japan will submit unconditionally to Ming’s order, and to demonstrate our resolve, we intend to uproot the Shoni clan, which has acted as the leader of the Wokou, from this world.
I shall personally lead a great army on campaign this time.
Therefore, in consideration of our impoverished circumstances, I ask that you open tally trade more frequently than once every ten years.
"The previous King of Japan merely said he understood when ordered to subjugate the Wokou, yet never once sent troops to punish them. Do you remember, Minister of War?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Whenever that happened, I was once again reminded of the Japanese bastards’ lack of trustworthiness and could only shake my head."
"Yet the current King of Japan moved on his own after Joseon warned him through envoys on our behalf. For a barbarian, he is rather loyal, is he not?"
At this, the Minister of War shook his head and replied.
"It is true that the King of Japan’s actions are rather loyal, but this is not because Joseon sent envoys on behalf of Great Ming to civilize them. Would it not be because they directly saw and heard that the Western Oceans expedition led by the eunuch Zheng He had subjugated Tsushima, Iki, and Hirado?"
"So they have become wary that, if they send Wokou again, Ming might burn all of Wa. Hmm, now that I think it over, I believe the Minister of War is right. They are not the sort to understand when spoken to, after all. It seems I have given Wa too much credit."
"Even so, if we feed them properly, they will no longer send Wokou to trouble Ming. It might be wise to change tally trade to once every five years, as they desire."
The suggestion that it would be better to throw Wa a little more bait more often sounded quite reasonable even to Xuande.
If they said they would not rebel as long as they were fed regularly, what difficulty could it pose for Ming to toss them a little more bait?
"And we ought to reward Joseon as well."
Xuande pondered briefly over what he should give Joseon as a reward.
Then he wore a very sinister smile.
"I shall issue the King of Joseon an imperial edict urging him, as the Eastern Land of Courtesy, to continue skillfully instructing Wa and the other barbarians, and at the same time grant him the imperial tally and battle axe."
Naturally, Sejong had the authority to command whatever troops were necessary to defend Joseon.
Even so, the fact that the Ming emperor was going out of his way to bestow the battle axe meant: ‘If anyone gets uppity from now on, punish them yourselves.’
Of course, Joseon would have to bear all the costs of the campaign, while also obtaining permission from the Ming emperor, so in practical terms it meant nothing at all...
Still, it was a fine reward for making a show of generosity.