Ming East India Company

With the end of the Ryukyu Navy's attack on the Japanese forces stationed in Korea under Commander Shirano, the six-year-long Bunroku-Keicho War came to a close.

Of the hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops stationed in Korea, only half eventually managed to return to Japan.

The daimyo of Kyushu and western Shikoku suffered even greater losses.

In particular, the Shimazu clan, the largest local power on Shikoku Island, had an army of over 15,000 men that went to conquer Korea, but in the end, Shimazu Yoshihiro only brought back 5,000 men.

……

In the autumn of the fifth year of Keicho, the lights of Sawayama Castle burned all night long. The evening breeze carried the coolness of Kansai and swept past the wind chimes on the eaves of the castle, but it could not dispel the tense and solemn atmosphere that permeated the city.

Ishida Mitsunari sat upright in the seat of the academy, his plain clothes hanging straight down, his brows furrowed with an unyielding melancholy.

His desk was covered with military intelligence reports from all over the country, the ink still wet, each word a scheme concerning the fate of the world.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's relentless pressure and the growing disloyalty of Toyotomi's former subordinates caused him great anxiety.

The once-powerful Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after spending half his life unifying Japan and launching a triumphant invasion of Korea only to suffer a crushing defeat, ultimately succumbed to the ravages of time and illness, leaving behind a seemingly stable but actually riddled-with-holes Japan and his six-year-old son, Toyotomi Hideyori.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi's ruthless suppression of rivals and the establishment of the Toyotomi regime were more like a castle in the air built on power and checks and balances.

When Hideyoshi was alive, he used his unparalleled prestige and political acumen to firmly grasp the power of all sides. But as soon as he died, the shackles that bound the world together shattered instantly.

The core of the Toyotomi regime had long been split into two irreconcilable factions. The civil administration faction, led by Ishida Mitsunari, was entrenched in Osaka Castle, closely surrounding the young lord Hideyori and his mother, Yodo-dono. These bureaucrats, deeply involved in domestic affairs, were proficient in taxation, law, and castle governance, forming the foundation of the Toyotomi regime. However, they had always despised the crudeness of military men, and in Hideyoshi's later years, relying on the monarch's trust, they held administrative power and repeatedly suppressed military generals with distinguished military achievements.

On the other hand, the military faction, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Kato Kiyomasa, and Fukushima Masanori, were all veteran generals who had followed Hideyoshi in his campaigns and fought countless battles. They held real military power and fiefdoms and had long been fed up with the interference of civil officials such as Ishida Mitsunari.

Among them, Tokugawa Ieyasu was undoubtedly the largest vortex in the undercurrents. This old fox, who had served under two generations of rulers, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, had endured half his life and had already honed the deepest cunning and the greatest ambition in the chaotic world.

During Hideyoshi's lifetime, he deliberately concealed his talents, humbled himself and submitted to the emperor, and quietly accumulated strength in the Kanto region. He possessed vast territories including Mikawa, Totomi, Suruga, Shinano, and Ueno, and his territories far surpassed those of other daimyo. His retainers were loyal and his military strength was formidable.

After Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu became the head of the Five Elders, nominally assisting the young lord, but in reality, his ambitions had already been exposed. He disregarded Hideyoshi's dying wishes that "daimyo must not privately enter into marriages" and "daimyo must not privately transfer territories to each other," and secretly formed alliances and marriages with daimyo in various regions, gradually eroding the power of the Toyotomi regime, winning over the arbitrary faction dissatisfied with Ishida Mitsunari, and extending his influence to every corner of Japan.

Inside Osaka Castle, the young lord Hideyori is ignorant and naive, while his mother, Yodo-dono, is consumed by grief over the loss of her husband and her lust for power. She has neither the ability to govern the country nor the skill to manage her subordinates, and can only rely on Ishida Mitsunari, yet she is unable to fully control the court.

When Maeda Toshiie was alive, he was able to reconcile the conflict between the civil administration faction and the military administration faction.

However, Maeda Toshiie passed away last year, and now in Japan, no one can rival Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Ishida Mitsunari himself was just a minor daimyo with less than 20 koku of land. Compared to Tokugawa Ieyasu, a "giant" with 250 million koku of land, it was like throwing an egg against a rock.

Ishida Mitsunari was racking his brains for a way out of the impasse, needing to find enough political allies.

"My lord, the envoy from the Ryukyu Kingdom has arrived," a guard announced.

A hint of resentment appeared on Ishida Mitsunari's face; he clearly harbored deep disgust for Ryukyu.

As a staunch supporter of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's policy of invading Korea, Ishida Mitsunari deeply regretted that the Korean campaign was not a complete success.

He was particularly furious with the Ryukyuans who had been causing trouble for the Japanese army throughout the process.

However, he also understood that now was not the time to act impulsively. As an important business partner and political ally of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Ryukyuans were a key force that Ishida Mitsunari needed to win over at this stage.

"Let them in!" Ishida Mitsunari said helplessly.

As the servant announced the arrival, an envoy dressed in traditional Ryukyu attire bowed and entered slowly, carrying a lacquered box containing the official letter. Upon reaching the hall, Ishida Mitsunari was surprised to find that the visitor was actually a woman.

Seeing the surprised look in Ishida Mitsunari's eyes, Bai Ling remained completely calm:

"What's wrong, Lord Junior Assistant? It seems you can't stand women serving as envoys!"

Ishida Mitsunari calmed himself down and said:

"What brings you to this audience, Your Excellency?"

"I have come here today with a generous gift to present to you, sir."

Ishida Mitsunari remained silent, silently analyzing every word the other man uttered, searching for potential traps and opportunities:

"What kind of generous gift could warrant such a visit from your esteemed envoy? If it concerns delivering credentials or matters of trade, please proceed to Osaka yourself; Lord Tokugawa is there..."

"Lord Junior Assistant, stop pretending to be so righteous. Everyone in the world knows that ever since you were assassinated and ousted from Osaka last year, you and Tokugawa Ieyasu have been like oil and water. Why bother with this pretense?"

Ishida Mitsunari paused for a moment, then stopped trying to hide it:

"If that's the case, then what brings you here, Your Excellency? Everyone knows you're from Ryukyu and a staunch ally of the Tokugawa clan. Did you come here to cause trouble?"

There was a hint of helplessness and bitterness in Ishida Mitsunari's words.

"No, no, our Ryukyu national policy has always been to help the weak and bully the strong, uniting with the weak daimyo on the islands of Japan to fight against the powerful daimyo on the islands of Japan."

Previously, when Lord Taiko was powerful, we had to unite with Lord Tokugawa. Now that Lord Tokugawa wants to unify the country, we naturally need to unite with Lord Shōyū to restrain him.

Ishida Mitsunari began to meet Bai Ling's gaze:

"So, how do you want to help me?"

Bai Ling asked with a smile:

"If I'm not mistaken, then Lord Souku must be worried about how to win over enough allies! Lord Tokugawa has a strong army, while Lord Souku has only ten thousand soldiers. If he can't win over enough daimyo, he has no chance of defeating Tokugawa at all."

Ishida Mitsunari remained silent, only nodding quietly.

Bai Ling took out a contract from the box behind her:

"This piece of paper can bring a million soldiers to the Junior Assistant Minister..."