Chapter 135

Chapter 135: Iwami.

Meanwhile, Japan’s political situation was also completely different from the original history due to the influence of the Wakan Tanka Empire.

‘I need money to bring in the empire’s firearms and goods.’

Hojo Ujitsuna had been worrying over and over again after sending his eldest son Ujiyasu to the Wakan Tanka Empire.

He was able to secure some firearms thanks to the treaty with the Swift Rope, but it was not enough to gain a decisive advantage over the hyena-like daimyos around him.

In the end, he needed more wealth to overcome this, but the problem was that there was no place in his domain where he could get that much wealth.

‘Is the only answer intermediary trade?’

But the situation smiled at Hojo Ujitsuna.

He accepted the fleet of the Wakan Tanka Empire faster than any other place around him, and thanks to that, he made a great profit from the intermediary trade that followed.

Of course, a considerable part of the profits he earned went to the Swift Rope, but even after excluding that, Hojo Ujitsuna had a lot of wealth left in his hands.

He used this profit to continue buying empire-made goods and firearms.

“These firearms will dominate the battlefield in the future. So we have to master how to use them quickly.”

Hojo Ujitsuna always emphasized this and made his army into elite soldiers.

As time passed, when he had enough firearms and his army’s formation was somewhat completed, he revealed his true colors.

He began to conquer the domains around him one by one.

The daimyos around him formed an alliance to resist, but Hojo Ujitsuna’s momentum was tremendous.

Especially, the cannon showed absolute power in siege warfare.

Boom! Boom!

“Argh!”

“R-run away!”

The walls were easily breached by the cannon, unlike anything before.

That was not all.

In melee combat, the power of guns was clearly revealed.

“Fire!”

Bang! Bang bang bang bang!

“Next row forward!”

“Fire!”

Bang bang bang! Bang bang!

“…This is ridiculous.”

The commander realized.

This was not a war, but a one-sided massacre.

His vision turned white by the terrifying guns that made loud noises, and every time smoke came out, his soldiers fell down with bullets in them.

They had never experienced such weapons and tactics before.

If they had charged as they were, they might have had a different result, but

“P-please spare me…”

“Mother… Sob!”

“This is hell!”

The unfamiliarity turned into fear and spread throughout the battlefield in an instant, and their morale fell below the ground.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

In the end, in the first large-scale melee battle, the allied forces suffered a terrible defeat and lost many territories in an instant.

The momentum was like a wildfire.

“Now is the opportunity.”

Hojo Ujitsuna thought that he had to secure as much territory as possible while the enemies were not aware of it.

He judged that he should not give time to the enemies and let them catch their breath.

His thoughts paid off.

When a long battle was over,

He captured many castles and expanded his territory enormously compared to before.

Thanks to that, he drove many daimyos around him into ruin and established himself as the undisputed ruler of this region.

And around this time, Hojo Ujitsuna returned from the empire.

“Father!”

“Did you have a good trip?”

The two embraced each other after a long time.

“I heard the news on my way here. You are truly amazing, father.”

“Haha. It was just luck. The guns and cannons that we brought from the empire were really incredible. You should have seen that sight.”

Hojo Ujitsuna smiled brightly as he recalled the war situation.

He felt like he would never forget that exhilarating charge until he died.

Then, the topic changed.

“So, how was the Wakan Tanka Empire?”

“…It was much more impressive than what I heard from the sailors.”

“What was so impressive about it?”

Hojo Ujitsuna told his father in detail about the reality of the empire that he experienced.

The countless large cities that flourished on a vast territory that could not even be compared to Japan’s mainland.

The enormous number of scholars, craftsmen, and their huge academic achievements.

And finally, the existence of Kim Kiwoo.

“Hmm…”

After his son’s vivid description ended, Hojo Ujitsuna swallowed his saliva.

“Father. This victory is surely a great glory for our clan, but we cannot waste time like this. We must end this chaos as soon as possible and carry out reforms like the empire.”

“Do you have any good ideas?”

“I have thought of something, sir. Will you listen to me?”

“Let me hear it.”

With his father’s permission, Hojo Ujitsuna slowly explained his intention.

“Hoo…”

Hojo Ujitsuna nodded his head and lit up his eyes in between.

And when all the explanations were over.

“Good. That seems to be the best way for now. You take charge of this matter and proceed with it.”

“Trust me, father. I will not disappoint you.”

***

At this time, the samurai did not have much resentment towards overthrowing their lords, and rather thought it was natural.

Thanks to this, Hojo Ujitsuna was able to quickly subdue all the surrounding areas after defeating them, and he gathered his troops.

He seemed ready to wage war at any moment.

So, many daimyos around him felt a great anxiety.

Time passed like this, but Hojo Ujitsuna only crouched with his troops gathered.

Meanwhile, Hojo Ujitsuna moved quietly.

He boarded a ship and looked at the eastern horizon and thought.

‘There must be a huge development going on over there.’

What impressed Hojo Ujitsuna the most was none other than the empire’s history.

The origin of the empire, the Creek tribe, was just a very backward tribe without even iron tools until a hundred years ago.

But in just a hundred years, they achieved a civilization that they could not even compare with themselves.

He could not imagine what they would look like in another hundred years.

Hojo Ujitsuna wanted to achieve a civilization comparable to the empire in this land.

‘To do that, I need money.’

The economy played the most important role in the development of the Wakan Tanka Empire.

The emperor of the empire knew this well and imported large amounts of gold and silver and minted coins.

By now, the monetary economy had settled very successfully, and through this, the empire created inexhaustible wealth.

But his clan lacked money to carry out reforms.

‘They say they are making a lot of money through intermediary trade…’

But this would not last long.

To prepare for the time when other imperial merchants would start selling their goods in various places, which would lower the competitiveness of the relay trade, he had to find another source of income.

That was why Hojo Ujitsuna was moving himself.

“Here it is…”

Finally, Hojo Ujitsuna arrived at his destination.

And he quietly met with the loser of this region, Ouchi Yoshitaka.

As soon as he met Hojo Ujitsuna, Ouchi Yoshitaka asked him.

“What brings the Hojo clan of Kanto here?”

It was understandable, since the distance between Kanto and the region ruled by the Ouchi clan was very far.

‘He’s sharp.’

Hojo Ujitsuna immediately realized that Ouchi Yoshitaka was very tense.

Well, it was rare to be peaceful in this turbulent era of Daimyos.

“Before that, would you accept my gift?”

“A gift?”

“I have brought some humble things with me.”

“Hmm. I’ll gladly accept it if you give it to me.”

When he agreed, Hojo Ujitsuna nodded his head at his attendant.

And soon after, various products from the Wakantanka Empire, including pottery, came in.

“Hooh. This is…”

“Have you seen them before?”

“Yes. They are exactly the same as the ones that the Hakata merchants brought recently.”

“These are all products that we directly imported from a place called the Wakantanka Empire.”

“The Wakantanka Empire?”

Ouchi Yoshitaka still didn’t know much about the empire.

That was because the current situation around him was very urgent.

Hojo Ujitsuna explained quite in detail about the empire.

“It’s amazing that such a place exists. But why are you telling me this?”

“Have you heard any news about our clan recently?”

“…Sorry, but I haven’t heard anything because I’ve been too busy with my affairs.”

Hojo Ujitsuna nodded his head and took out a map from his bosom.

“You may not know this, but our clan originally ruled this much area. However, recently, we conquered this entire region. In less than a month’s time.”

“Hmm… Is that true?”

“You can ask the Hakata merchants and they will tell you that it’s not a lie.”

Ouchi Yoshitaka looked at Hojo Ujitsuna with a surprised expression.

He had no choice.

The area that Hojo Ujitsuna marked was too large compared to the original area.

“Aren’t you curious how we were able to conquer this whole region in such a short time?”

“Did you have some special secret?”

“We did.”

“What was it?”

At that, Ouchi Yoshitaka’s eyes were filled with deep interest.

Hojo Ujitsuna paused for a moment and then said.

“It was thanks to the firearms that we brought from the Wakantanka Empire.”

“Firearms? You mean the cannons that they use in that continent?”

“You know them. Yes. But their power is very different from what they use in Tang. And there is also something called a gun.”

Then Hojo Ujitsuna explained in detail about the firearms and demonstrated their power with the firearms that he brought from his clan.

“Really amazing.”

After all the demonstrations were over, Ouchi Yoshitaka acknowledged the strength of the firearms sincerely.

Hojo Ujitsuna smiled and said.

“The future battles will be completely different because of the firearms coming from the empire.”

“Hmm.”