He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 68

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Japanese Pirates Can Be Useful Too (6)

 

In fact, Joseon knows nothing about Tsushima Island.

 

That’s why Shin Jang, who holds the position of Third Rank Ministry of Justice Counselor, mistakes the Lord of Tsushima for someone with real power in Japan just because he offers 50 nyang of silver.

 

It’s like in Joseon—even if I’m a penniless man without a single piece of land, once I pass the civil service exam and rise to the position of minister… even local magnates who own ten thousand or hundred thousand seok worth of land become my inferiors.

 

Seeing that the Lord of Tsushima has enormous wealth and handles all diplomacy with Joseon, they mistake him for quite a powerful figure within the Bakufu.

 

At best, that bastard is nothing more than a retainer of a Daimyo under the Shogun.

 

“… What do you mean by that? Our Tsushima has never deceived Joseon.”

 

“Then you wouldn’t mind if I sent a personal letter to the Shogun of the Bakufu, asking who the Tsushima-no-kami (Governor of Tsushima) is—or rather, who the Tsushima Shugo and Shugo-dai are? If the Lord of Tsushima is truly a high retainer under the Shogun, you should at least hold the official position called Tsushima-no-kami.”

 

With the establishment of the Samurai government, the position of Tsushima-no-kami, Japan’s governorship, lost almost all its meaning.

 

In the past, the Tsushima-no-kami did serve as the governor of Tsushima, but…

 

With the advent of the Minamoto Bakufu and Muromachi Bakufu, the governorship came to be regarded as nothing more than a decoration.

 

It’s just a way for the Bakufu to show they respect me, nothing more.

 

However, if you become a true high retainer of the Shogun family, they give you the governorship of the territory you actually control.

 

For example, if there’s a county called Izumi in the territory I control, they give me the position of ‘Izumi-no-kami.’

 

For prestigious families of lower rank but still able to exercise governing authority, they give positions like ‘Izumi Shugo’ or ‘Izumi Shugo-dai (Deputy).’

 

Not knowing the Japanese official system doesn’t really hinder daily life, but from a diplomatic standpoint, this is quite important.

 

It’s a tool used to assess the opponent’s actual status.

 

“Shall I make an inquiry to the Bakufu?”

 

Cold sweat streamed down the Lord of Tsushima’s face.

 

For a moment, he seemed to be contemplating whether or not he should cut me down and kill me…

 

How dare a nobody like you kill me? Not a chance.

 

I might humor your pretense and treat you as higher than a Joseon court official, but in reality you’re nothing more than the leader of the Tsushima Wokou Faction—what means do you have to kill me?

 

“Ah, you’d better not even think about killing me.”

 

“… Even though I may not be a Joseon official, one mere junior official is…”

 

“I may not look like much, but I’m someone who has submitted a petition to brand a sitting Chief State Councilor as a traitor and exterminate his three generations of family. If I die here, that’s the end of it for me, but if that happens, a bloody storm will sweep across Tsushima Island.”

 

When I mention a bloody storm, the Lord of Tsushima seems to recall memories of the Tsushima subjugation.

 

When Joseon gets swept up in wars like the Japanese invasions, all the farmland becomes devastated and the population decreases, dealing a major blow to national power…

 

But Tsushima Island has such barren land that farming is impossible, and since their main industry is piracy, whether people die or not doesn’t cause much damage.

 

And that bastard Lord of Tsushima can just take his subordinate Samurai and their families and flee to Kyushu.

 

Therefore, the Lord of Tsushima probably isn’t very afraid of war.

 

“Ah, but Joseon won’t use methods like war anymore. They can just replace the Lord of Tsushima and be done with it.”

 

The Lord of Tsushima looked at me and shouted angrily.

 

“You bastard, have you truly lost your mind! Listening to all this nonsense, how utterly ridiculous! Though our Tsushima Samurai may be lacking in scholarship compared to Joseon Scholars, we are descendants of brave Samurai who fought to the very end against the Great Yuan.”

 

Ah, I almost burst out laughing.

 

The regent at that time was certainly a man called Hojo Tokimune, and Japan certainly succeeded in defending their country from the Mongol invasion.

 

That fact should be highly evaluated, but in truth, the reason Japan was able to defend their country wasn’t because they were exceptional or fought well.

 

It was possible because the typhoon they call ‘kamikaze’ completely sank all the Mongol ships anchored near Hakata, cutting off their ‘supply lines’ and route of retreat.

 

There was nothing else to it.

 

And I heard the way these bastards fought back then was quite amusing.

 

The Mongols were conducting physical warfare, shooting arrows and even using primitive Gunpowder weapons.

 

But the Japanese bastards had to do Nanori to advance in rank, so before fighting, major and lieutenant colonel level Samurai would do these ‘self-introductions’ and I heard truckloads of them died getting hit by arrows.

 

‘I am the 8th generation descendant of Tanaka Hanataro, who possessed unparalleled martial prowess under Lord Minamoto no Yoshiie… the 7th generation descendant of Tanaka Shichisaburo, the Samurai who conquered the Nagato region…’

 

I heard they really died pathetic deaths in great numbers while spouting such nonsense and getting hit by arrows.

 

Amazingly, this is a true story.

 

It was so absurd that I almost burst out laughing, but I held it in well.

 

“The Tsushima Samurai would not hesitate to die for me.”

 

“Are you telling me to believe those words right now?”

 

We know through various media that samurai are beings who would risk their lives fighting for their lord at any time…

 

Such samurai became commonplace during the Edo period, or more precisely, from the mid-Edo Shogunate period onward after Confucianism became widely spread in Japan.

 

Before that, even samurai commonly betrayed their lords when situations went awry, and it was frequent for them to change lords to receive better treatment.

 

“Joseon has absolutely no concern over who becomes the Lord of Tsushima. Ah, saying it this way might be difficult for the Lord of Tsushima to understand.”

 

No matter how excellent our boss is as a person, and how precious someone we’ve served for nearly decades.

 

From the moment they can’t pay my salary, that person becomes just a benefactor from the past, and if wage delays exceed two months, they become a bad boss.

 

The human world is this cruel.

 

“In fact, if His Majesty sets his mind to it, he could elevate the most lowly person on Tsushima Island and make him the Lord of Tsushima.”

 

“Do you think that’s possible? The samurai of Tsushima Island would never accept it!”

 

“They would all serve him with sincere loyalty. Because while that lowly fellow holds the position of Lord of Tsushima, free trade with Joseon would be permitted.”

 

Just as no matter how good a boss was in the past, they become a wicked boss from the moment they can’t pay wages.

 

Conversely, even if a boss’s personality is rotten to the core, if they deposit 5 or 6 million into my account monthly, they’re an angel boss.

 

Thanks to them, I can take vacation days for overseas trips, treat my parents to delicious food, brag to friends, and live without being humiliated in front of my lover…

 

What if the samurai of Tsushima Island could double or triple their actual income in exchange for serving a lowly person as Lord of Tsushima?

 

Even if he was a lowly person, they’d have to serve him respectfully as Lord of Tsushima.

 

“Lord of Tsushima, Joseon no longer intends to coax and cajole Tsushima Island into persuasion. We’ve realized there’s no need for that.”

 

Until now, diplomacy with Tsushima Island proceeded in a form where Joseon and Tsushima Island filled each other’s deficiencies.

 

Therefore, Joseon has maintained relations by coaxing and cajoling them.

 

However, from now on, it will be completely different.

 

The Lord of Tsushima must unconditionally pledge loyalty to Joseon to protect his own life and power.

 

If not, King Sejong will transfer the right to trade with Joseon to someone else.

 

“So from now on, you must follow the order led by Joseon. If not, Joseon will have no choice but to change the Lord of Tsushima.”

 

The Lord of Tsushima’s hands trembled violently. Cold sweat poured down his face like rain.

 

“…I shall do so.”

 

“Excellent.”

 

How wonderful it is when conversations flow this smoothly.

 

However, these Japanese are cunning beyond measure, so to drive the point home, I need to clearly show him just how powerful a nation Joseon is. But how should I do it?

 

After thinking for a moment, I came up with an excellent idea.

 

“Ah, and since I’ve given you valuable information, you should naturally show your gratitude, shouldn’t you?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Even though I came as a Deputy Envoy, I’m just a mere 5th rank junior official.

 

The experience of such a person openly threatening to kill him if he doesn’t hand over a bribe, and him being unable to even resist.

 

This should be enough for him to realize Joseon’s greatness.

 

“Give me 600 Nyang of Silver.”

 

“… That seems like a bit too much…”

 

“Do you think Joseon doesn’t know that Tsushima produces a lot of silver?”

 

According to Japanese history, one of Japan’s first silver mines was the ‘Tsushima Silver Mine’.

 

So these bastards have quite a lot of silver.

 

“I’m offended. You’ll need to give me 1,000 Nyang of Silver.”

 

“…”

 

Our Lord of Tsushima either has anger management issues or lacks reason – he’s completely failing to read the situation.

 

The person who should be saying he’ll hand it over immediately isn’t saying anything at all.

 

“From your lordship’s perspective, this must be like a bolt from the blue, but if you knew how much I’ve done for you, you wouldn’t be acting this way. His Majesty was frantically insisting that the Lord of Tsushima should be replaced immediately, and I barely managed to dissuade him. Honestly, if I hadn’t stepped in to stop it, your lordship would have found it difficult to maintain your current position.”

 

The Lord of Tsushima’s body trembled violently. Then he clenched his teeth tightly and nodded his head.

 

“I’ll give you the 1,000 Nyang of Silver the day after tomorrow.”

 

“Thank you. I’ll go to sleep now. And there’s no need to send a Geisha to my room. I don’t need any other woman besides my Concubine back in Hanyang.”

 

With those words, I withdrew.

 

If that bastard gives me 1,000 nyang of silver, I’m planning to secretly report it to King Sejong and offer it up.

 

Even if I kept it for myself, running some heavy money laundering would solve any problems, but if I offer the 1,000 nyang of silver to the Joseon Court, it could reduce the burden on countless common people.

 

After Kim Dae-bung left, the Lord of Tsushima threw a tantrum by wildly hurling objects around the room before shouting angrily.

 

“Go find out from those bastards who came from Joseon exactly what kind of person this Kim Dae-bung character is! Find out whether he’s some scoundrel who learned nothing but trashy behavior and is running wild, or what the hell he is!!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————