Chapter 1173 - The Envoys

The matter was urgent—it was already July. Once summer arrived, typhoons around the Japanese archipelago intensified, and long-distance sea voyages were generally suspended.

Sō Yoshinari dispatched a small envoy mission—secretly, of course. The shogunate cast a wary eye on all manner of Southern Barbarians. If word spread that the domain had privately contacted these mysterious newcomers, there would be no end of trouble.

A Japanese sailing vessel tacked slowly toward Jeju Island. Though called a Japanese ship, it was actually a Chinese-built Guangdong vessel. Japan's shipbuilding industry was quite underdeveloped at the time; merchants undertaking long voyages generally purchased their ships from China or Southeast Asia.

Because they bought vessels abroad, ship sizes tended to remain modest. This particular craft had a cargo capacity of merely 70 tons and a full displacement just exceeding 100 tons—a very small vessel, equivalent only to the Senate Navy's Grade-3 auxiliary craft, the smallest auxiliary classification.

Tsushima's sailors were thoroughly familiar with the waters surrounding Jeju Island. After the failed Korean invasion, when Sō Yoshitoshi withdrew from Busan, he had taken a detour via Jeju Island to evade the Korean Navy's pursuit on his voyage home.

The ship was intercepted by patrol boats more than ten nautical miles from Jeju Island. At the Colonization and Trade Ministry's request, the Second Fleet had established a blockade line in the Tsushima Strait, strictly prohibiting all vessel traffic between Korea and Japan.

The envoys from the Lord of Tsushima were Nagafune Genshichirō, a retainer of Sō Yoshinari, and Takeya Sōshō, a Nagasaki merchant. The Nagafune family had originally served the Ukita clan. After Ukita Hideie's defeat at Sekigahara and subsequent exile, his retainers became ronin and scattered to the winds. The young Genshichirō possessed no particular skills; after drifting aimlessly, he eventually found a place under the Lord of Tsushima and had been employed as expendable diplomatic fodder ever since. Fortunately, Japan was now at peace, and diplomatic struggles between daimyō involved only matters of interest—there was no risk of losing one's life as an envoy. It was merely tiresome legwork. For this low-ranking samurai with a stipend of only fifty koku, it was already a respectable assignment—at least he didn't have to pay for his own meals while on official duty.

Takeya was a distant relative and commercial agent of the Sō clan—merchants of this era often doubled as diplomats. Takeya Sōshō had dealt extensively with Chinese merchants in Nagasaki and spoke passable Chinese. According to the returned merchants, this group calling themselves "Australians" spoke Chinese—albeit with a peculiar accent. He had also absorbed many secondhand accounts about the Australians. As an informal "Australia expert," he had been invited to assist.

This mission also suited Takeya's personal interests. Regardless of other considerations, Australian goods had become quite popular in Nagasaki. Currently, only small quantities reached Japan—mainly luxury items commanding very high prices—and they were almost entirely controlled by Chinese merchants.

With limited supply and overwhelming demand, there was naturally no room for Takeya to break into the business. He was only a mid-level merchant in Nagasaki without significant standing in the city's commercial circles. Lacking connections in the shogunate, he couldn't obtain a vermillion seal certificate to trade in Guangzhou. Fortunately, he still possessed a ship and often utilized his Sō clan connections to privately run goods to Korea. Fortune favors the bold—he had volunteered for this mission, contributing his ship and personally organizing tribute gifts at his own expense to undertake the Jeju peace mission. The primary envoy, of course, remained Nagafune Genshichirō.

Upon learning that the visitors sought to meet with the "Australians" on Jeju Island, the patrol boat dispatched armed personnel to board the small sailing vessel and assume control of key positions. The envoys' ship was then escorted by the patrol boat toward Chocheon Harbor.

When Takeya had been summoned before Sō Yoshinari, he had delivered a vivid account of all the Australian exploits he had heard about: crushing the Ming army at Qiongzhou, iron ships bombarding the White Goose Pool, descriptions of various "Australian goods," plus the embellished complaints from returned merchants about how the "four-pointed star flag ships" that had hijacked them were impossibly fast, bristling with guns and cannons—though in reality these were merely auxiliary craft and patrol boats. All of this had left an impression in the Tsushima domain that the Australians were no less formidable than the Southern Barbarians.

These near-mythical accounts naturally spawned many skeptics who dismissed them as wild exaggeration. But as the envoys' ship approached Chocheon Harbor, the row of H800s anchored in the port—light black hulls rocking gently in the waves—made a powerful impression on the mission.

Chinese merchant ships traveling to Japan included some large vessels with cargo capacities exceeding 500 tons and full displacements approaching 1,000 tons. Yet compared to the H800 with its 1,400-ton full displacement, towering masts, and elegant lines, they still appeared modest. The H800s were comparable to the great Portuguese or Dutch Southern Barbarian ships.

Takeya had been a merchant in Nagasaki for years—one of the most worldly men in Japan, having observed every variety of Chinese oceangoing vessel and Southern Barbarian ship.

In terms of raw tonnage and size, the H800 wasn't necessarily larger than other ships. But an entire row of such vessels anchored together created a visual impact far exceeding one or two isolated large ships. Ships arriving at Nagasaki harbor—whether Chinese merchant vessels or Southern Barbarian ships—typically came only one or two at a time.

Surrounding these large ships, many smaller vessels also rode at anchor. Even these were considerably larger than the envoys' own craft—larger, indeed, than most ships they had ever encountered.

This massive concentration of vessels wasn't assembled to display military might. Rather, it represented the Second Fleet and transport flotilla gathering at Jeju to await the final departure before summer. With the arrival of the warm season and typhoon conditions, maritime shipping would pause. According to Naval Command orders, all steam warships would return to Lingao for maintenance, H800s would return to Hong Kong for servicing, and other sailing ships would undergo maintenance and repairs at Jeju, Kaohsiung, or Hong Kong as appropriate.

The Navy's large-scale "summer break" wasn't solely about avoiding typhoons—it was equally about resting the crews.

After more than half a year of intensive shipping and escort duties, both the Navy's vessels and personnel showed signs of fatigue. Steam-powered ships, whose performance was already unstable, had suffered multiple accidents and urgently required factory maintenance. Personnel fatigue had likewise reached critical levels—due to a shortage of reserve crews, sailors were all pulling excessive hours.

The envoy mission on deck fell silent. A force of "pirates" or "Southern Barbarians" of such magnitude was clearly not to be trifled with—the sheer audacity of directly seizing Jeju Island exceeded anything ordinary Southern Barbarian merchants or pirates could contemplate.

Ping Qiusheng was unaware that among the envoys traveled a secondhand "Australia expert." But regardless of their identities, the first day or two would naturally be spent cooling their heels. He arranged for them to lodge at the Chocheon Harbor guesthouse. Their rooms were stocked with the usual Australian propaganda materials: half consisted of works by Leibtrani and his students—buildings and scenery of Lingao, the imposing Fubo Army, ships rendered in Nogami Hayao's nautical style, epic battle scenes—mostly PS-edited versions of Warhammer 40K images from a certain Elder's private collection. There were also artifacts from the old timeline... In short, the strategy was to stun them first, then negotiate.

On the third morning, Ping Qiusheng received the Tsushima envoys at the Chocheon Harbor trading post.

"I am Nagafune Genshichirō-hyōe, envoy of Tsushima Province. By order of my lord, I command you..."

Ping Qiusheng's expression remained impassive as his mind raced through the material on the Tsushima Sō clan he had reviewed the previous night...

Tsushima Province wasn't particularly large, but its retainer band was substantial. After their former masters, the Shōni clan, declined, their retainers had fled en masse to Tsushima. When Konishi Yukinaga—father-in-law of the previous clan head—lost his head after Sekigahara, another wave of masterless retainers arrived. Then came the scattered drifters who washed up on their own... like the Nagafune Genshichirō family.

With so many retainers, too many mouths fed from the treasury—though that wasn't the principal problem. Because they hailed from diverse backgrounds, and competition exceeded available resources, multiple factions inevitably coalesced, each vying for influence.

Since Sō Yoshinari was dissatisfied with the power wielded by senior councilors like Yanagawa and Susa, he had intentionally promoted outsider retainers without deep local roots. Thus Genshichirō had secured a stipend of fifty koku per year and residence in the nagaya row houses of the castle town. He still had to perform service, and life was bitter—hardly better than a common foot soldier. By shogunate law, samurai couldn't take side employment, and he had no land, so his wife supplemented their income by caring for merchant families' children. For this mission as primary envoy, his entire outfit had been borrowed from his lord.

Yet the Nagafune family had served high personages in the past, so their bearing remained unwaveringly haughty. Genshichirō's two elder brothers had both died dramatically cutting their bellies during negotiations. He too had become a retainer by proving willing to risk his life and bluff boldly.

"What is your offense!" Ping Qiusheng listened to his long-winded speech, then let his expression harden. Inwardly he thought: Your uncle! I can out-bluster you any day.

"I am the Market Shipping Commissioner of Jeju, under the Maritime Control Commissioner of the Taifusi. I am dispatched by the Superior Nation. Your lord is merely a Fourth Rank Lower Grade Chamberlain, yet he dares send men here to be insolent! Is your lord ordering you to start a war? Then I shall command the Navy to immediately impound your vessels. Tomorrow the fleet will bombard the Waegwan! Flatten Tsushima! Blockade Nagasaki!"

"Please, Your Excellencies, calm yourselves and hear this humble one out." Takeya Sōshō nearly leapt from his seat in alarm. If those "Australian black ships" truly sailed to Nagasaki, Edo would erupt in uproar, and everyone involved would consider themselves fortunate if they merely had to commit seppuku.

"We have not come to demand accountability," Takeya said carefully. "Our domain's trade with Korea has a long history and has never given offense to Australia. We do not understand why you occupy Jeju Island and intercept our ships..."

"This Jeju Island is rightfully territory of our Great Song. When the false Yuan fell to the false Ming, it was stolen by the Goryeo barbarians. Today our Australian Song has recovered its former territory. Have you anything to say!?"

"Ancient matters are not Japan's affair. The rights and wrongs of history are not for us to judge. It is only that these ships belong to our domain..."

"Your Tsushima Province is both a vassal of the Eastern Sea and a vassal of Goryeo. Our Empire currently has no intention of conquering Japan. Does your lord wish to be a Goryeo man or a Japanese? Make your choice!"

"Tsushima is a Japanese domain. Our external attachment to Korea is merely expedience. My lord has no desire for war with your forces. Moreover, since Lord Ieyasu's time, all the Shoguns have made peace under heaven their mission, restraining the daimyō from provoking foreign troubles." Takeya understood their opponent was powerful; bluster would be meaningless. Only by demonstrating their complete "love of peace" could negotiations proceed.

(End of Chapter)