Chapter 91

While the Tsuda army was subduing Ezo and Karafuto, the Oda family's Kyushu invasion force was advancing smoothly. After the Oda army landed in Moji, Otomo Sorin surrendered, giving up Bungo Province, while Ryuzoji Takanobu and his son Masakuni were killed in battle. The head steward of the Ryuzoji family, Nabeshima Naomasa, was favored by Nobunaga and was granted Hizen Province.

Matsura Takanobu, who quickly surrendered to Nobunaga by offering tribute, was also granted his domain in Hizen.

However, the good fortune of the Kyushu daimyo ended there, as many kokujin, including the Akizuki family, were destroyed by the Oda army.

The Kyushu suppression force, divided into two groups, invaded Higo and Hyuga, destroying the Itō and Sagara clans, who were allied with the Shimazu family, and dealt a heavy blow to the Shimazu army that resisted them. The Shimazu side fought fiercely to prevent the invasion of Satsuma, their main territory, but the Oda army suffered many casualties, and the Shimazu army suffered even more.

In the end, the Shimazu family was driven out of Higo and Hyuga, could not prevent the invasion of Satsuma, and was forced to surrender on the condition of being granted only Satsuma Province. This was due to Nobunaga's intention not to allow further casualties.

Shimazu Yoshihisa, the head of the Shimazu family, retired and passed the leadership to his younger brother Yoshihiro.

The punishment for Kyushu was announced by Nobunaga, and as rumored, Takigawa Kazumasu was granted Chikuzen and Chikugo and appointed as the governor of Kyushu. Buzen Province was given to Nobunaga's fourth son, Oichi-no-maru Nobushige, Higo to Sassa Narimasa, Hyuga to Akechi Hidemitsu, who was Nobunaga's son-in-law, and Satsuma became a direct territory of the Oda family.

Akechi Hidemitsu was the third son of Hoshina Masahide, a senior retainer of the Rokkaku family, who had resisted Nobunaga by fortifying himself in Hino Castle. However, upon learning of the execution of his lord, the Rokkaku father and son, and the order from Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who had issued the command, Hoshina Masahide surrendered and opened the castle.

At that time, because Hidemitsu was the third son, he was sent as a hostage to Nobunaga, but due to his talent, he became Nobunaga's son-in-law and the heir of the Hoshina family.

Like Maeda Toshiie, he was made the heir because he was favored by Nobunaga. This caused dissatisfaction among his elder brothers, Terunobu and Masahiro, and his younger brother, Shigenaga, who was confident in his own martial prowess, was burning with a competitive spirit against Hidemitsu. Only his younger brother, Sadahide, was loyal to Hidemitsu, and while Hidemitsu was using his talent to cover up the situation, the Hoshina family was secretly in turmoil.

There was also the option of having him serve another family, but the most likely candidate, the Tsuda family, had a feud with the Hoshina family. The Tsuda family had killed Hoshina Masahide's brother-in-law, Kobe Tomomori, and failed to prevent the suicide of Tomomori's wife, who was Masahide's sister, during the process of subduing Ise.

"I have no grudge against the Tsuda family, and I have no intention of seeking revenge. However, I refuse to have my children serve the Tsuda family."

Given this statement from Masahide, who was usually known for his integrity, Nobunaga could not say anything. Therefore, Nobunaga tried to increase the territory of the Hoshina family by granting them a province to suppress the dissatisfaction of the brothers. There was another purpose, but that was a story for later.

"It's over. I have finally unified the country."

After completing the punishment for Kyushu, Nobunaga was lost in thought. It had been twenty-three years since the decisive battle at Okehazama, and he had finally unified Japan and taken control of the country.

"Now, with the stabilization of the Oda regime, we can finally expand overseas."

Nobunaga was actively gathering information about foreign countries from merchants and others. He wanted to unite Japan and then expand overseas. To achieve this dream, he would have to send troops again.

Nobunaga's resolve was firm, and it seemed that peace would not come to the country for a while.

In the twelfth year of Tensho, the country was provisionally unified under Nobunaga. There was the issue of how to establish a political system, but Nobunaga quickly assumed various court positions, eventually becoming the Chancellor of the Realm, and his heir, Nobutada, was appointed as the Seii Taishogun.

The Oda family claimed to be descendants of the Taira clan, so they could not become Seii Taishogun. However, this problem was solved when Nobutada adopted Ashikaga Yoshiaki, whose usefulness had diminished after the unification of the country.

Yoshiaki continued to send letters calling for Nobunaga's assassination and the restoration of the Ashikaga shogunate, but he was eventually abandoned by his retainers, including Hosokawa Fujitaka, and resigned himself to becoming a monk and living in a temple. He was given a stipend by Nobunaga and did not lack for food, but it was a lonely end.

The Oda shogunate was based in Ishiyama, with Nobutada in Ishiyama and Nobunaga, who had received a court position, in Kyoto, where he rebuilt the Ukyo-dono mansion, which had been used by Yoshiaki, as Nijo Castle and conducted government affairs there.

Although Nobunaga had passed the leadership of the Oda family to Nobutada, he did not relinquish actual power, and a form of dual government was established. Nobunaga also granted court positions to his retainers, and Hikaru was given the position of Lieutenant General of the Left and Governor of the Oshu region.

At first, Hikaru did not understand the significance of these positions, but the authority of the court was formidable. The former kokujin who had resisted the Tsuda family's rule now flocked to serve the Tsuda family.

In Kyushu, there were violent uprisings by the kokujin, but Nobunaga ruthlessly suppressed them. At the same time, he worked on the reconstruction of war-torn lands, the development of new lands, and the implementation of coinage to stabilize and develop the economy, and strengthened the governance system.

"I will leave domestic affairs to Nobutada and focus on Korea first."

Nobunaga finally decided to send troops overseas.

"The commander-in-chief will be Nobukatsu, with a total of 180,000 troops. We will crush Korea and then invade Ming."

Nobunaga had long stated that he would conquer Korea, Ming, and India and give them to his children, and he now ordered the conquest of Korea as a bridgehead. Many generals participated in this campaign.

While there were concerns about sending troops overseas, many were enthusiastic about the prospect of gaining new territories.

"Is the commander-in-chief Nobukatsu? Is that wise?"

In Edo Castle, men who were not participating in the campaign were drinking tea and talking. They were Hikaru, Matsunaga Hisahide, and Uesugi Kenshin.

"It's bitter..."

"That's the good part."

"I prefer tea."

"Suit yourself."

Hisahide was drinking coffee, Kenshin was drinking tea, and Hikaru was brewing and drinking roasted tea. They had different preferences and were both retired, so they only drank what they liked. Hisahide loved both but was drinking coffee today, Kenshin was now a complete tea drinker, and Hikaru was brewing his own tea.

"It's a relief that the commander-in-chief is not Nobuo. Well, he is..."

Nobuo had been struggling with uprisings in Iyo, which he had been given, and had been helped by Oda Nobukatsu to finally subdue them. There were rumors of various mishaps in his governance of Iyo. If he were not Nobunaga's son, he would have been exiled long ago, but Nobunaga, like any parent, loved his children.

Nobuo was becoming known as an incompetent son, to the point where this was the subject of public rumor.

"Even if he is the nominal commander-in-chief, Nobuo would be a problem."

Kenshin did not change his stance of not submitting to the Oda family. He did not even visit Ishiyama and was focused on developing his territory and training his troops.

Whether it was Nobunaga or Nobuo, he always addressed them by their given names. For some reason, he called Hikaru "Tsuda-dono."

"The deputy commanders, Shibata Katsuie and Hashiba Hideyoshi, are the key."

Both were capable and skilled in battle. Their poor relationship was a drawback, but Hisahide did not think they would fight to the point of self-destruction in a foreign land.

"But will it succeed?"

"Who knows? What do you think, Tsuda-dono?"

Asked by Kenshin about the prospects of success, Hisahide, who was unsure, asked Hikaru.

"Why do you ask the youngest of us?"

"Because you're young. We have a lot of battle experience, but none of us have ever been sent overseas."

Kenshin nodded in agreement with Hisahide. No matter how experienced in battle, there were things they did not know.

"Based on the data available..."

Hikaru, who had studied data on Korea, speculated that the climate was cold, the land was barren with few mines, and while they could win the war, governing would be difficult.

"Win the war?"

"Yes."

Hikaru had investigated the internal situation of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea, and believed that defeating the forces they could muster would not be difficult. However, he thought that governing Korea after victory would be challenging.

"The language and culture are different, and they consider the Japanese to be inferior. They would not accept being ruled by inferiors, I think."

"Inferior? This country?"

"Yes."

The successive dynasties of the Korean Peninsula had lived under the rule of the Chinese dynasties, considering themselves superior and the Japanese inferior. Hikaru explained this to the two men.

"The So family, who trade with Korea, are nominally subjects of the Joseon Dynasty. This is because the Ming dynasty implemented a maritime ban and only recognized tribute trade. While it is not completely enforced..."

"So it's all smuggling."

Hisahide, who had been at the center of the Miyoshi regime, was well-versed in the situation in Ming.

"Of course, the Joseon Dynasty also follows Ming's policy. The So family was recognized for trading with Korea because they helped with the suppression of the Wokou, but trade with non-tribute countries is not allowed. The So family, in practice, conducts trade by pretending to pay tribute to the Joseon Dynasty, using the pretext of giving gifts in return for tribute."

To facilitate trade, the So family had to go through this formality, or the Joseon Dynasty would not trade with Japan. As part of the Ming investiture system, they had to follow the maritime ban and conduct trade under the pretext of giving gifts to visiting subjects.

"What a roundabout way of doing things."

"That's the kind of roundabout country we're dealing with."

There was another problem.

"Therefore, it is impossible for Korea to ignore Ming's wishes and surrender. Ming will send reinforcements."

"What a hopeless situation. I'll tell Katsushige to be careful."

"And Kunitō as well."

"There's more."

Even if they won the war, it would be enemy territory, and they would face supply difficulties. Negotiating and purchasing supplies would be difficult due to the language barrier, and Korea did not have enough surplus food. Relying on plundering, as they did in Japan, would lead to famine.

If they forcibly took from the Korean people, the entire population would turn against them. If that happened, the Korean expeditionary force would be doomed to failure.

Hikaru's explanation made Hisahide and Kenshin's faces tense.

"It's a good thing Tsuda-dono is not going."

Instead, the development of Ezo and Karafuto was added, but it might be better than the seemingly fruitless expedition to Korea.

"Ezo and Karafuto are not yet profitable, and even if the Tsuda family achieves more military success, they cannot expand their territory."

Ezo and Karafuto required significant investment and effort to become profitable. Few wanted them because they were further north than the Tohoku region. Of course, the Tsuda family's accounts were double-entry, and they were making a good profit.

Korea, on the other hand, was inhabited. If they won the war, they could make a profit from Korea as a territory. Nobunaga and the participating daimyo believed that the expedition to Korea would be a success and profitable.

"It won't be that easy."

Hikaru's prediction proved correct, and the Oda army faced unexpected difficulties.