The Effects of Trade
This year, the Shimazu clan waged war to unify the Kyushu region.
They defeated the Ryūzōji clan, one of the three major powers in Kyushu, and became the dominant force in the region.
At the time, the Ryūzōji clan’s army numbered 20,000, and, with support troops, it totaled 60,000.
The Shimazu clan’s ability to overcome this with just 8,000 soldiers was enough to provoke the Ōtomo clan, a traditional powerhouse in Kyushu.
Although the Ryūzōji clan was not destroyed in the battle, many of their generals, including the Four Heavenly Kings who represented the clan, were killed, making it difficult for them to be considered one of the three major powers in Kyushu anymore.
However, the Shimazu clan also had a mountain to climb.
That mountain was none other than the Ōtomo clan, a traditional powerhouse in Kyushu.
Having already fought a war with the Ryūzōji clan, the Shimazu clan lacked the strength to raise an army again.
“Yoshihiro.”
“Yes, hyung!”
“What is the quality of the grain secured through this trade?”
“It was indeed worthy of Joseon’s rice. There were hardly any husks, and the grains were fully ripe, making it a top-grade product.”
“Five hundred seok in total. The quantity is quite disappointing.”
“Still, it’s military provisions obtained easily with sulfur ore. They also mentioned that they could trade a similar amount of grain next month.”
“…Next month as well? It seems their situation isn’t too bad.”
Yoshihiro knew that the Joseon people were always short on food because they ate at least a bowl of rice per meal.
It was hard to understand why a Joseon noble would sell grain to buy sulfur, but that was how it was.
“If we can trade with them all year round, wouldn’t that yield over 10,000 seok?”
“That’s correct.”
This was a very important issue for the Shimazu clan.
The amount of grain produced annually in the Shimazu clan’s territory was about 300,000 seok.
If they had an extra 10,000 seok a year, they could settle matters with the Ōtomo clan a bit sooner.
“When they come next time, see if they need saltpeter.”
“Saltpeter, you say?”
“Yes, if they’re picking up sulfur, it’s likely for gunpowder, and the main ingredient of gunpowder is saltpeter, isn’t it?”
The Shimazu clan had the advantage of being able to obtain saltpeter from ships coming from the West, allowing them to operate firearms more freely.
“Or trading the gunpowder we use wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”
“Is that why you gave that kid an arquebus as a gift?”
“Yes, to fire an arquebus, they’ll need gunpowder, and since we have many artisans who make gunpowder, we can get more grain from them.”
“Indeed, hyung.”
“Also, if we can obtain Joseon goods from them, we’ll have more items to trade with Western merchants. It’s killing two birds with one stone, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“If they come looking for us again, we must treat them with utmost hospitality. I’ve heard that Joseon nobles value their dignity greatly, so we must not provoke them.”
“Yes, I’ll instruct the subordinates accordingly.”
“Good. If the trade proceeds as planned, when can we strike the Ōtomo clan?”
“No matter how well we prepare, it will be difficult this year. The soldiers are still very fatigued from the battle with the Ryūzōji clan. And it will take time to absorb the Ryūzōji clan’s territory.”
“Hmm, that’s not good. As you know, Hishiba is almost dominating Honshu. We don’t know when his clutches will reach Kyushu. Just in case, use a separate detachment to find weaknesses in the Ōtomo clan.”
“Yes, hyung.”
With the Thunder God dead, the only one in the Ōtomo clan who can stop us is that Thunder God’s disciple, that brat. But a mere disciple of the Thunder God is no match for my brother.
The movement of the Shimazu clan began to accelerate due to the trading company from Joseon.
The Results of the First Trade
After I completed my first trade, I was summoned to my father’s office.
He glared at me with an expression as cold as frost, something I hadn’t seen in a long time.
It reminded me of the look he had given me the day after I asked Grandpa to build the Fair Wind.
Hmm, had I really messed up this time?
“So, all you brought back was sulfur ore?”
“Yes.”
Of course, the daimyo of the Shimazu clan, in a drunken good mood, had gifted me an arquebus.
But I wasn’t so tactless as to boast about that here.
“…Did you remember how many seok of baekgeup powder and grain you took with you?”
“We had 150 seok of rice that needed to be discarded, 500 seok of last year’s harvest, and with the baekgeup powder, it totaled about 1,000 seok.”
“So, you do remember. One thousand seok! A whole thousand! That amount of grain could saved the entire region from starvation even in a famine.”
“That’s right. Just enough to aid the nearby villages.”
“Just? Haha! Fine. Explain to me how the sulfur ore on that ship was worth a thousand seok of food.”
“Recently, Ulsan has had two consecutive years of good harvests. And the price of grain is steadily dropping.”
The only reason grain prices had stabilized was because we had released a lot of fabric, not because the value of grain had been maintained.
In Ulsan, not only grain but also supplementary food sources like fish had been developed.
As evidence, the grain that was once scarce had now turned into old rice that needed to be disposed of.
“If we don’t consume last year’s grain this year, it will become old rice again. And as old rice accumulates, it will eventually have to be discarded. I distributed the 150 seok of old rice we took to Tsushima’s lord. And we will sell all the old rice to them.”
From what I understood, the Hajik clan had over a thousand seok of old rice.
“What on earth is there to buy in Tsushima?”
I didn’t know for sure, but the Lord of Tsushima would likely cling to the rope we had thrown him, unaware that it was a rotten one.
On the way back, I stopped by Tsushima, and the lord was busy cultivating slash-and-burn fields.
Slash-and-burn agriculture involved burning land to use the ash as fertilizer, increasing soil fertility and securing fields for crops.
However, cotton was a crop that required a relatively high level of soil fertility.
Naturally, the more cotton that was cultivated, the faster the primeval forests of Tsushima would become desolate.
“I gave cotton seeds to the Lord of Tsushima. And I promised to give him cotton next year.”
“…Really? Are you trading surplus grain for cotton? Not bad.”
It wasn’t just not bad.
At that rate, it was almost like the business acumen of Kim Seondal!
“Also, I know a place that will buy at a high price the sulfur we obtained.”
“Where? Surely, you’re not thinking of trading with Ming?”
Come on, there was a sucker—no, a bastard—who would pay more than the Ming, so why bother trading with them, who were busy with the emperor’s strike right then?
I didn’t know for sure, but the Ming must have been in chaos at that time.
Historically, the Ming Dynasty was the country where the emperor’s power was the strongest.
An emperor going on strike in such a country?
Impressive, Wanli Emperor!
Why didn’t you just strike for life?
“Of course not. I’ve already made a promise to the court. I’ll go up and offer the sulfur.”
“I can’t understand what you’re thinking with this dull mind of mine. But it seems you have a plan, so I’ll trust you.”
Phew.
Finally, my father’s anger had subsided.
In truth, the amount of money that needed to be invested would only increase, and I was worried that the money I’d saved so far might not be enough.
Still, there was no need to worry about money.
After all, that was the investment period.
Once the investment period was over, that business would become a goose that laid golden eggs.
Taehun and the Children
It took about fifteen days to make a round trip from Ulsan to Satsuma, located at the southern tip of Kyushu.
During that time, I had no choice but to be away from home.
Naturally, there was one friend who was unhappy with that situation.
That was my little sister, Soyul, who could charm anyone with her radiant presence, would have been as precious as a jewel you’d dare not harm.
Yet now, Soyul was glaring at me with eyes like daggers.
“Oppa! You’re leaving again? You said you wouldn’t! You promised me.”
“Uh, Young Master. The young lady was very sad, saying you had disappeared.”
“…No, I wasn’t!”
Haa, when did she become such a tsundere?
But she was cute, so I had to let it slide.
I knelt down to meet Soyul’s eyes.
“Soyul, oppa is going to be busy for a while. I might be busy for a long time.”
It sounded like an adult’s excuse, but if I didn’t act, the end would eventually come.
Because I knew that in the future, the Imjin War, a Ragnarok, would inevitably occur.
Perhaps the greatest weapon protagonists in novels had was this certainty about the future.
“…”
Soyul looked like she was about to cry at any moment.
Still, I had a duty to tell Soyul the truth.
“I’ll be away from home more and more. As time goes on, I’ll be gone for longer and more often.”
Tears eventually rolled down from Soyul’s clear eyes.
The regret of breaking my promise was accompanied by a screeching noise in my ears.
Squeeeeeeeeeak!
It was like a whip urging me not to hesitate.
Yes, I knew.
If I faltered here, nothing would come of it.
Even if I stood still, the wheels of history woud still turn.
To avoid being crushed by those wheels, I had to struggle, somehow.
I hugged Soyul.
“Soyul, you’re now Sangil’s unnie. Please take good care of Sangil.”
“…”
Sangil, who was still practically a newborn, was growing up healthy and strong.
“Kang Cheol, please take good care of Soyul and Sangil.”
Since Soyul was too choked up to respond, Kang Cheol answered in her stead.
“Don’t worry, Young Master.”
Ah, come to think of it, there was something I needed to confirm with Kang Cheol.
“Oh, by the way, is the family taking good care of the children?”
“The master personally distributes grains and a piece of cloth to the families who lost their parents that day.”
Although a mere sack of rice and a piece of cloth wouldn’t heal their wounds, our family led the effort to aid those affected that day.
Most of those who lost their lives were our household’s servants, and the rest were brave people who stepped up to protect their families.
I wasn’t helping them out of some naïve sense of justice.
Even if I hadn’t intervened, my family would have helped those affected.
This was the implicit duty that noble families in the Joseon era were expected to uphold.
Even in the late Joseon period, respected noble families adhered to these unspoken promises.
Of course, some failed to keep such promises due to moral decay.
“Yes, fortunately, we are fulfilling our responsibilities. Ah! What about Gaettong—no, Taehoon?”
“That kid seems to have matured early. He’s stopped being the neighborhood boss and is now learning farming under Uncle Samsik. According to Uncle Samsik, he might surpass him soon.”
As expected, that kid was destined for greatness no matter what he did.
After Uncle Chunsam passed away, I gave Gaettong the name Taehun.
I named him Taehun because I felt a lot when I saw him.[1]
One day, while I was busy with the joint funeral, he suddenly appeared before me.
He asked for help, saying he was too young to support his widowed mother on his own.
His unexpected action piqued my interest.
So, I asked him what he could offer me if I helped him.
He answered calmly.
I still vividly remembered his response.
“My father has passed away, but I have my father-in-law. He is the best farmer in Ulsan, so I will learn farming from him and repay the debt.”
Amusingly, this kid, much younger than me, had likely experienced more profound sorrow than I had.
Yet not only did he overcome it, but he also took action.
In fact, seeing him was part of the reason why I decided to engage in smuggling.
The child, who was like a great teacher who gave me a profound realization, was now paving his own path.
I would also carve out my own path.
“Kang Cheol, after I return from Hanyang, let’s go to Japan together next time.”
“Me? Are you talking about me?”
“Yes, the future head of our household should see a variety of things, don’t you think?”
“I will follow you.”
“In the meantime, please take good care of my siblings.”
Now, it was time to head to Hanyang, where the great demon king resided.
[1] 太訓 (Taehoon) can be interpreted as “Great Guidance” or “Supreme Teaching”.
