The Black Hand Reaching Out to Tsushima
The moment Sō Yoshitōshi saw the grain filling the dock, he felt greed.
Gulp!
I want it. Should I order my men to attack right now? No, these guys are ready to flee at the first sign of trouble. First, I need to find out what his intentions are for bringing such a large amount of food.
“As far as I know, Joseon has banned trade…”
“The country may ban official trade, but how can it stop smuggling?”
That was not a lie.
Although we had received permission to conduct official trade from Seonjo, Joseon hadn’t stopped smuggling either.
That bat bastard probably thought he had found our weakness and was trying to exploit it.
Smuggling, huh. Well, it’s not like there aren’t such customers. But is there really a need for them to come to us?
No matter how cunning that bat bastard was, he would have no choice but to accept our proposal due to practical issues.
Tsushima was an island where 90% of the land consisted of mountains.
Moreover, the ground was so hard that water drained easily, which prevented floods but also made it unsuitable for rice farming.
The only crops worth growing were millet, sorghum, and beans—subsistence crops, not for sale.
As a result, smuggling ships traveling between Joseon and Japan often traded in northern Kyushu rather than docking at Tsushima.
“…Unfortunately, there’s nothing to buy or sell in Tsushima.”
“Well, I think there is something Tsushima can sell to us.”
Tsushima was rich in marine resources, and until the Japanese government messed things up in the 21st century, quite a few fishermen visited Tsushima every year.
But in this era, such travelers didn’t exist.
Everyone was too busy struggling to make a living.
Nevertheless, Tsushima had a decent labor force of 20,000 people.
What we were after was Tsushima’s labor force.
Now, in Ulsan, labor was no longer cheap enough to hire people with just one herring.
When the herrings were first introduced, one fish could feed a family for a week, but now the price of herrings had dropped significantly.
This was entirely due to inflation—or rather, economic growth caused by the creation of The Nobleman.
But Tsushima?
The people here would work like dogs for a handful of rice.
“…What do you want?”
“Tsushima has a warmer climate than Joseon, so wouldn’t it be suitable for cotton cultivation?”
The most needed thing in Joseon was, of course, cotton.
If fishing was the primary industry, then the textile industry, which used cotton, was the secondary industry.
Naturally, the secondary industry was more profitable than the primary one.
However, cultivating cotton in Joseon was not easy.
Cotton grew in warm regions, so it could only be cultivated in Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces.
But Tsushima was much warmer than Gyeongsang, making it a suitable environment for cotton cultivation.
Of course, there were some issues with cultivating cotton.
When plants like cotton grew, the land quickly became barren.
That was why Joseon used precious fertilizers on cotton fields.
But Tsushima’s land becoming barren?
Who cared?
Sure, cotton cultivation depleted soil nutrients and required labor, but that wasn’t my concern.
If left alone, Tsushima would eventually become a supply base for the Japanese during the Imjin War anyway.
The primary goal was to economically subjugate them through trade with Tsushima.
We needed a place to dispose of the surplus grain produced in Ulsan.
We gave Tsushima our old rice, and they provided the labor to produce the cotton we needed.
What a desirable trade!
And that bat bastard in Tsushima had no choice but to do whatever it took to survive.
“If you start cultivating cotton next year, I’ll give you 100 seok of grain.”
“100 seok?!”
Yes, 100 seok—and it was old rice at that.
In modern terms, it was like food past its expiration date that should be thrown away, but for Tsushima, it was different.
Filling their bellies was the priority, and food quality was secondary.
With a population of 20,000, Tsushima needed 20,000 seok of rice annually.
Would 100 seok be enough?
I wonder if I’ll end up channeling Kim Duhan, who hasn’t even been born yet, and shout for 400 seok![1]
“You’re just going to give us 100 seok?”
“Of course, if you harvest cotton, I’ll buy it too. But the price of cotton must be cheaper than in Joseon.”
With roughly one seok of white rice, you could buy enough cotton to make 10 rolls of hemp-cotton fabric.
Tsushima should at least produce enough cotton for 15 rolls, right?
Even so, Sō Yoshitōshi seemed ready to bow down to our proposal.
“Alright! I’ll have my people plant cotton. But you must keep your promise.”
Judging by the way things looked, he planned to convert all of Tsushima into a cotton plantation, which was actually beneficial for us.
We got cotton without investing labor or fertilizer, simply by throwing them our surplus grain.
“What do you think I risked my life to come out to sea for? Just make sure to produce the cotton. Oh, and if anything like last year happens again, there won’t be any cotton or anything else for you.”
At the sincere warning from my youngest uncle, the bat bastard’s expression hardened.
“If there’s any sign of invasion, I’ll let you know immediately.”
“Oh, and I plan to trade the remaining grain in Kyushu. Could you provide someone who can interpret?”
“An interpreter…”
“If you help with this transaction, I’ll give you an additional 50 seok of grain.”
“Shigenobu! Guide these people to Kyushu.”
“Yes, my lord.”
And then Sō Yoshitōshi discreetly gave orders in Japanese.
“Keep a close eye on who these people are.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to observe them closely.”
Oh?
As expected, look at this sly bat bastard.
The Daimyo of Kyushu
Inagawa Shigenobu had been tasked with guiding the nobleman from Joseon to Kyushu under the orders of his lord, Sō Yoshitōshi.
To Shigenobu, this merchant group was unlike any other, with peculiarities that were hard to ignore.
Especially that kid is the most unusual.
Typically, when traveling by sea, sailors were chosen for their ability to contribute significantly to the voyage.
Naturally, it was extremely rare for a child, who was not yet physically mature, to be on board.
Of course, given how much the child resembled the Merchant Lord, it seemed he was not there to do menial tasks.
The child had been very diligent, practicing sparring with a monk on the swaying ship every morning.
The sparring was intense, with the child mostly attacking and the monk defending.
Occasionally, the monk’s counterattacks were sharp enough to catch Shigenobu’s attention.
With skills like that, I could believe he’s a samurai serving a daimyo…
After the fierce sparring, the child would immediately take out a notebook from his pocket and jot something down.
Once he regained some strength, he would resume sparring with the monk.
The journey from Tsushima to Kyushu took half a day, and the child and the monk sparred continuously without rest.
Watching them, Shigenobu started to feel exhausted just from observing.
Do those two ever get tired?
Ignoring the two, Shigenobu approached the Merchant Lord.
“Merchant Lord, the Kyushu region is largely contested by three daimyo.”
“Oh, really? It sounds like an interesting place. I’m not yet familiar with the political landscape of Japan, so could you explain it to me?”
“Yes, Kyushu is divided among the Ōtomo in the north, the Ryūzōji in the west, and the Shimazu in the south.”
“We’re heading north, so it must be a territory related to the Ōtomo clan?”
“That’s correct. However, I wouldn’t recommend trading with the Ryūzōji clan.”
“Huh? Why not? Wouldn’t it be easier to trade with the nearest Ōtomo clan?”
“Originally, the Ryūzōji clan in the west was under the influence of the Ōtomo clan. They broke away after the Ōtomo clan lost a war against the Shimazu clan.”
“Hmm.”
“Fortunately, the Ryūzōji clan has been opposing the Shimazu, maintaining a precarious balance. But even the Ryūzōji are now being overrun by the Shimazu. The Ōtomo clan sent retainers to aid the Ryūzōji, but even that ended in a Shimazu victory, leaving the Shimazu clan nearly in control of the Kyushu region.”
“Then it makes sense to trade with the Shimazu.”
“Indeed. There’s a saying in Japan, ‘There is no foolish lord in the Shimazu clan.’ Especially in this generation, the Shimazu clan has produced the remarkable ‘Shimazu Four Brothers.’”[2]
“Hmm, let’s wait and see.”
Shigenobu bowed politely and stepped back, all the while observing what decision the Merchant Lord would make.
The Merchant Lord called those on the deck into the cabin.
Damn, now I can’t listen in on the meeting… But it’s better than getting on their bad side for no reason.
The Answer Was Shimazu Anyway
“It seemed right to exclude the Ryūzōji among the three clans.”
The answer had already been decided.
There was no reason for us to help the Ōtomo clan, which opposed the Shimazu clan.
The sooner the Shimazu clan conquered Kyushu, the more they could hinder Toyotomi Hideyoshi by uniting the forces of Kyushu.
“I think we should definitely trade with the Shimazu.”
“Of course, right?”
“There’s no benefit in antagonizing the future ruler of this region.”
“Exactly, and trading with the power that would dominate the region would yield more scraps for us, right?”
That was right.
My reason for supporting the Shimazu clan was not only to block the monkey general but also because there was much to gain from trading with the Shimazu.
“The Shimazu clan is likely using all their resources to become the rulers of Kyushu. If we offer our help, they won’t refuse. Especially since the resources we demand aren’t crucial to them, which is advantageous for us.”
“Indeed, even if sulfur is a consistently traded item as you said, wouldn’t they need arquebuses? Aren’t they currently at war?”[3]
What we wanted from the Shimazu were sulfur and arquebuses.
Sulfur was for tribute to the court, and the arquebuses were for our use.
Fortunately, the Shimazu clan was famous for their tactics using firearms.
Of course, I had learned this from the game Nobunaga’s Ambition, so the Shimazu clan should have had many arquebusiers.
“So, we must persuade them to sell us arquebuses. That’s why we brought the baekgeup powder, isn’t it?”
I wasn’t sure what kind of hemostatic agents Japan used, but baekgeup powder could stop bleeding from most wounds.
Was it easy to use?
Just sprinkle it, and the blood clotted quickly.
On the battlefield, such an item could be a lifesaver.
“Did you cause all that trouble with that in mind?”
“We needed arquebuses to protect our clan. You saw the power of the arquebus, didn’t you, Uncle?”
“…Indeed, not everyone could draw a strong bow like me.”
Unlike a bow, which relied on human strength, an arquebus used gunpowder to propel its shot.
This meant even a kid like me could launch an attack as powerful as my uncle’s.
“Now I understand why the Chief State Councilor called you a genius. Well done!”
My uncle patted my shoulder as if he were proud, like Grandpa, and I almost teared up.
[1] Kim Duhan, a one-time member of the National Assembly, was a popular mobster, anti-communist, and the subject of numerous films, namely the General’s Son trilogy.
[2] 島津は暗君なし
[3] Arquebuses was a type of long gun popular during this era.
