BCJ Chapter 517

Himeji Castle, about 100 ri west of Hyogo Port.

This castle housed the main camp of Ouchi’s forces, who had risen against the Shogunate.

The history of Himeji Castle was truly tumultuous.

Built by Akamatsu Sadanori during the Northern and Southern Courts period, it was initially a small castle.

However, when Akamatsu Mitsusuke assassinated Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, the resulting conflict transferred the castle’s ownership to the Yamana clan.

And now, the Yamana clan who had been defending the castle had abandoned it and fled to the Shogunate’s camp, allowing Ouchi to occupy it.

***

“Now, let’s assess the situation.”

“Sir!”

At Mochiyo’s command, the retainers seated before him began reporting one by one.

-Current forces allied with Ouchi number about 30,000. The Shogunate side has 32,000.

-However, forces likely to be committed to the decisive battle are about 18,000 for Ouchi, 20,000 for the Shogunate.

-This disparity is due to issues with allied lords. Most territories can’t deploy troops because neighboring domains are either Shogunate-aligned or neutral.

-Though slightly outnumbered, our Ouchi troops’ morale and loyalty are overwhelmingly superior.

“That’s good news. Good news, but…”

Receiving the report, Mochiyo questioned his retainers.

“High morale and loyalty are certainly good news. But what makes their morale and loyalty so high? Shouldn’t we absolutely know the reason?”

After briefly gauging each other’s reactions, the retainers began answering one by one.

“It’s because of Joseon goods.”

“Joseon physicians and medicines have helped too.”

Hearing his retainers’ answers, Mochiyo stroked his beard.

“So it’s Joseon after all?”

***

Ouchi’s current situation was simple:

-While Ouchi’s samurai and soldiers did the fighting, everything else came from Joseon.

Ouchi’s soldiers were armed with Joseon weapons, filled their bellies with Joseon rations, and treated their wounds with Joseon physicians and medicines.

The same was true for the samurai. They saved their stipends from Lord Mochiyo to purchase Japanese swords specially ordered from Joseon blacksmiths, and those with more means bought Joseon-made studded armor.

Superior quality steel had already become commonplace in Joseon. It became common for Japanese swords made by nameless smiths in small Joseon forges to cleave famous swords made by renowned Japanese masters in two.

The same applied to studded armor. Because the previous lord Morimi had survived thanks to studded armor, starting with Mochiyo, they sought to acquire it whenever possible.

Ouchi’s samurai preferred studded armor not just for its superior protection.

Though declining, many rural lords and samurai still wore O-yoroi armor. However, O-yoroi had mobility issues. It didn’t fit close to the body, leaving considerable space – designed to prevent arrows that penetrated the armor from reaching the body. The Do-maru that succeeded it as mainstream had similar issues.

But studded armor, while providing superior protection to Japanese armors, fit close to the body for easier movement. Additionally, being made in separate upper and lower pieces rather than one piece distributed the weight, preventing quick fatigue.

These advantages drove Ouchi’s samurai to seek Joseon-made Japanese swords and studded armor. Seeing this, allied lords and their samurai joined the trend.

Thanks to this trend in Japan, Joseon craftsmen gained unexpected profits.

***

Just as lords and samurai were addicted to Joseon products, common soldiers were becoming addicted to Joseon as well.

The soldiers’ addiction to Joseon stemmed from more primitive survival needs.

As Ouchi’s envoy who met Hyang had said, Joseon’s battle rations were in a completely different class from the kanpan the Japanese soldiers had eaten until then.

“Better than the rice we eat at home!”

Soldiers who ate Joseon-made rations unanimously exclaimed.

Next, Japanese soldiers became addicted to medical care.

***

Joseon’s dispatch of physicians to Japanese trading posts had purposes beyond converting wounded patients into Joseon citizens.

The second purpose was to increase physicians’ expertise.

The additional physicians dispatched to trading posts were military doctors who had completed military medical training.

Military doctors primarily dealt with external injuries. After completing military medical school, they were distributed to garrisons throughout Joseon for medical duties. However, as the north grew quiet, opportunities for military doctors to gain experience began decreasing.

While there were many trauma patients in civilian society outside military camps, their injuries differed from battle wounds in severity and other aspects.

For these reasons, the war in Japan presented a good opportunity.

Initially, physicians were only stationed at trading posts. However, before long, Joseon military doctors began appearing in large numbers in the Ouchi camp.

Hyang sent these military doctors in large numbers because both Ouchi and the Shogunate had armed themselves with mass quantities of firearms and cannons.

“The use of gunpowder weapons will become commonplace. Then it’s essential to gain experience treating such injuries early and pass on and develop that knowledge!”

It was the perfect opportunity to gain experience dealing with gunshot wounds and other injuries from gunpowder weapons.

With all ministers agreeing to Hyang’s proposal, military doctors were dispatched in large numbers. Not only were many dispatched, but regular rotations allowed more doctors to gain experience, and their treatment tools gradually improved.

Another side effect was a massive increase in Ouchi soldiers’ loyalty.

“Even our lord cares about lowly ones like us!”

Soldiers with increased loyalty to Mochiyo desperately returned even in retreat.

Soldiers who would have previously deserted to become enemy troops or bandits now did their utmost to return.

***

“So following Joseon’s example is indeed the best course…”

Muttering quietly, Mochiyo turned to his retainers.

“Thanks to the previous lord’s excellent judgment, our situation must be considered optimal. Where do you expect our next clash with the Shogunate?”

“Likely near Ikuta Shrine around the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

“Ikuta Shrine?”

“Yes, sir!”

At the retainer’s answer, Mochiyo searched his memories and burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! What place was that! Where a new era began! Truly an auspicious location!”

***

The Ikuta Shrine the retainer mentioned was where the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, which definitively decided the direction of the historic Genpei War, took place.

The Genpei War was fought between the Heishi (Taira), who controlled the imperial court in the late Heian period, and the provincial Genji (Minamoto) for control of Japan. The Genji gained decisive advantage through victory at Ichi-no-Tani, capturing the Heishi stronghold.

This Genpei War victory led the Genji to establish the Kamakura Shogunate.

This was why Mochiyo rejoiced greatly at hearing “Ichi-no-Tani.” He took it as a sign that his Ouchi would overthrow the Kyoto Shogunate and usher in a new era, just as the provincial Genji had defeated the central Heishi.

***

Suppressing his laughter and composing his voice, Mochiyo commanded his retainers.

“Send messengers to allied lords and fence-sitting lords with this message: ‘Do not miss this chance to discuss the realm with me.'”

“Sir!”

“Don’t forget to tell them they must join by the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

“Sir!”

“Good. Good…”

Repeatedly saying “good,” Mochiyo looked around at his retainers. Seeing their faces full of confidence, regardless of civil or military faction, Mochiyo declared in a loud voice:

“Excellent! We’ll ride this momentum to eliminate the Shogunate’s evil officials! We’ll drive them out, become masters of the realm, and usher in a new era!”

“WOOO!”

The retainers responded to Mochiyo’s declaration with cheers.

***

Mochiyo and his retainers’ confidence soon spread to their samurai and soldiers.

As the rainy season and summer heat that had exhausted people disappeared, the weather was growing cooler.

Additionally, with harvest time allowing them to fill their bellies properly every day, the soldiers’ morale kept rising.

Neigh! Rumble!

Marching vigorously toward the decisive battlefield, the soldiers turned their heads at the sound of horses and rumbling.

From the direction of the sound came horses pulling carts loaded with launcher-mounted fire tubes and boxes of shells.

Seeing the launchers, the soldiers raised their clenched fists to the sky and shouted.

“The cannons!”

“The cannons!”

“WOOO!”

For the soldiers, the launchers and their thunder-crash bombs had already become objects of faith.

They occasionally lost smaller battles without launchers. But they had always achieved victory in battles where launchers and thunder-crash bombs were deployed.

Watching the launcher convoy overtaking their column, the soldiers unanimously shouted:

“Another victory this time!”

“Victory!”

***

Meanwhile, the lords who received Mochiyo’s message through Ouchi’s envoys wore serious expressions as they discussed with their retainers.

“Should we heed Ouchi’s words?”

“Isn’t that what the situation demands?”

“But our homes could get robbed. And Ouchi might lose too.”

The lords’ concerns were uniform:

-What if their homes get robbed, or if Ouchi loses?

The retainers also looked troubled at the lords’ concerns. However, regardless of domain, retainers aligned with Ouchi reached similar conclusions.

“While home robbery is certainly concerning, Ouchi’s defeat seems unlikely.”

“Why?”

“Joseon stands behind Ouchi.”

“Ming stands behind the Shogunate.”

“Ming is hard to move, but Joseon can move quickly.”

“Indeed. Ming struggles to move due to the Emperor’s health issues, but Joseon’s Crown Prince already controls everything. From what we’ve heard of Joseon’s Crown Prince, he definitely won’t just watch.”

“All of Joseon needn’t move. Just mobilizing their navy in the South Sea and Tsushima would end things.”

After continued deliberation at their retainers’ words, the lords firmed their resolve.

“If Joseon moves, the outcome is decided. Prepare for deployment!”

“Sir!”

Joseon, Joseon Navy

These two entities alone convinced the lords to commit to deployment.

And after ten days, both armies had established camps on the plains around Ikuta Shrine.

Two days remained until the Mid-Autumn Festival.