Chapter 91
Oda Nobunaga, who had lost consciousness after cracking his head on a rock, woke up the next day.
But his wounds had become infected with bacteria. Pus formed, and he writhed in agony, waiting only for death.
If the injuries had been on his limbs, they could have been amputated. But because they were on his head, there was no way.
Then a Joseon soldier brought a clear liquid and sprayed it on him.
White foam bubbled up from the wound, stinging sharply.
And the pus-filled injury miraculously cleared.
After that, when he swallowed the small pill the Joseon soldier gave him, the pain began to subside.
It was truly astonishing.
The medical technology of Joseon.
Moreover, for an enemy commander like himself to be spared—it was hard to believe.
They had never even interacted before.
He looked up at the King of Joseon.
The man looked like a dragon in human form.
It wasn’t just because he wore robes embroidered with dragons.
The King of Joseon was much taller than he was—and he himself was quite large.
Though his face still held a youthful appearance, an inexplicable sense of overwhelming pressure radiated from him.
Because of that, Nobunaga found it difficult to speak carelessly.
Yet he didn’t want to show deference either.
“So that’s how it is.”
“What were you planning to do after becoming shogun?”
“What do you mean, what?”
He had simply wanted to unify the realm and rule it. He had never thought about anything else.
But the King of Joseon let out a small, incredulous laugh.
“It seems you never once considered the lives of the common people. Like a starving beast, you only thought about filling your own belly.”
“What did you say?”
“Isn’t that true? If you become shogun, you become what your people call the ruler of the realm. And if you are the ruler of the realm, shouldn’t you look after everyone under heaven?”
“Th-that’s…”
Oda Nobunaga faltered, unable to continue.
He sensed that something in the King’s words was fundamentally wrong.
All this time, far from caring for the people, whenever he conquered a castle that had opposed him, he had slaughtered everyone inside—men, women, young and old—without exception.
He had believed that was what it took to become the ruler of the realm.
But now those memories came flooding back, and shame washed over him.
He realized such acts were nothing more than the behavior of pathetic men who could not control their own tempers.
He had gone around proudly reciting the verse, “If you do not cry, I will kill you, little cuckoo.” But the King was right—it was no different from the roar of a beast.
Perhaps it was because he had nearly died and come back to life.
Or maybe because he had lost everything and become a ruined man.
When his thoughts reached that point, he burst into loud, maniacal laughter.
“Hahaha!”
He had lived his entire life with the single goal of becoming the ruler of the realm, only to have that very goal completely negated by a single sentence from the King of Joseon.
He had tried to become the ruler of the realm without even understanding what it meant.
He had committed acts no different from those of a demon without hesitation and had even taken pride in them.
If there were a mouse hole nearby, he would have crawled into it and hidden.
With a hollow expression, he raised his head once more to look at the King of Joseon.
This man was different from the Emperor he had once mocked.
He understood what a true ruler of the realm was.
He had spared an enemy commander.
He had even promised to grant land to soldiers who were little more than disposable tools.
That, it seemed, was what a true ruler and king looked like.
“I was nothing but a frog in a well! I thought all kings were worthless…”
“You wretch!”
Jeong Yeo-lip stepped forward angrily, but Yi Yeon raised a hand to stop him.
It wasn’t mockery. The words were a form of high praise.
There was also the matter of showing proper courtesy to an enemy commander.
If word spread that he had been treated poorly, no future enemies would choose to surrender.
Yi Yeon turned his gaze to examine the others, then fixed his eyes on Oda Nobunaga once more.
‘Should I spare him? Or kill him?’
His original plan had been to execute them all.
These men were steeped to the bone in conspiracy, betrayal, and insubordination. There seemed no reason to keep them alive.
But after hearing just a few words from Oda Nobunaga, his thoughts had begun to change.
“Hmm…”
It was a difficult decision.
Whether to make use of them or kill them all as originally planned.
From the intelligence reports, it appeared they had devised quite meticulous schemes before entering this war.
Though small in stature—and even including a woman among them—they were all known for their exceptional bravery.
Perhaps using them would be more beneficial than killing them.
After all, the conquest of the archipelago was only the beginning; it was far from over.
Yet he also believed that rotten links in the chain must be severed.
‘Otherwise, true innovation and revolution may never be achieved.’
But these men were not the rotten links.
‘These fellows aren’t traitors, are they?’
If they had been traitors, killing them would be the correct choice.
It would set a dangerous precedent that such behavior was acceptable.
Therefore, no matter how talented a traitor might be, they must be executed without fail.
However, these men had opposed Joseon—they had not committed treason against it.
“Hmm…”
Yi Yeon let out another low hum and fell deep into thought.
To attack the Ming, he needed to increase Joseon’s overall strength. That meant turning the people of Wa into Joseon citizens as well.
That was precisely why he had granted each soldier of the Joseon Eastern Army one hundred baekbaek-ji of land.
But if he killed these men, problems might arise.
Because their language and customs were different.
That was also why he had brought Yi Hwang here.
Although verbal communication was impossible, they could exchange ideas through Chinese characters. He had planned to entrust these men to Yi Hwang and his disciples, the foremost authorities on Neo-Confucianism.
He intended to transform them into loyal subjects who would serve the nation and the king as the people of Joseon did.
But what would happen if he killed them all?
‘It would take a very long time to civilize and assimilate them, if nothing else.’
He had heard that more than half of the enemy soldiers who survived had fled.
Their numbers exceeded 150,000.
That was the real problem.
If he ordered them to be rounded up, it could be finished quickly. But if not, there was no telling how many years it would take.
This land was covered in mountains; there were countless places to hide.
Yet he could not simply demand blind obedience.
If they did not follow him with genuine loyalty, it would only breed greater chaos.
What he had realized throughout his life was this:
There were far more foolish people in the world than one might expect.
Men who would betray you for money were everywhere.
In his previous life, countless people had exploited that very weakness to gain power and wealth.
As a result, while the world had advanced, life had become harsher and more difficult.
He wanted to change that.
Just as Stephen had said—to eliminate every power holder in the world.
But that was no easy task.
If he could live forever, perhaps. But time was limited.
That was why making this decision was so difficult.
After long deliberation, Yi Yeon finally spoke.
“I will give you a chance. Will you volunteer? Will you follow me?”
Oda Nobunaga gave a crooked smile, then bowed his head respectfully.
“Thank you. You are the true ruler of the realm—the king I had always imagined.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wish to follow you, but I have committed far too many sins. Therefore, please allow me to take my own life.”
“Very well.”
If the man refused, Yi Yeon had no desire to persuade him.
If there were no teeth, one could always use gums.
As if they understood this, the others crawled forward on their knees and cried out desperately.
“Your Majesty! Please spare us!”
“We will devote our loyalty to you!”
“From now on, we will follow only Your Majesty forever!”
“Please! Spare us!”
Seeing this, Oda Nobunaga wore a hollow expression.
Then he glared at one man in particular and shouted coldly.
“Hideyoshi! Did you not swear that if I died, you would follow me in death?”
“When did I ever say that?”
“Ha!”
Oda Nobunaga let out a dumbfounded breath, then turned to the King of Joseon.
“Your Majesty! If you allow me to kill that wretch with my own hands, I will follow you.”
Yi Yeon turned to look at the man trembling like an aspen tree.
He looked like a monkey.
‘What is this?’
He hadn’t noticed while the man kept his head down, but now that he saw the face, he thought he recognized him.
‘So that bastard is the bastard.’
There had been no general named Toyotomi on the prisoner list, so he had assumed the instigator of the Imjin War, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was already dead.
But judging by Oda Nobunaga’s behavior, it seemed this was indeed the man.
“Is that the fellow who once carried your shoes against his chest?”
“How did you know?”
“I heard about it. By the way, what is his family name?”
“Hashiba.”
“Hashiba Hideyoshi…”
The surname was different, but it seemed to match.
Even Mori Motonari’s sons all had different surnames, so he had assumed Hideyoshi had simply changed his.
Since he was not well-versed in Japanese history, he had not considered that Hideyoshi would later receive the surname Toyotomi from the Emperor after the archipelago was conquered.
“I grant permission. Kill him as you wish.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Oda Nobunaga bowed to the King of Joseon, then turned to Hashiba Hideyoshi with a smile so cruel it sent chills down the spine.
His expression made it clear he had no intention of sparing a traitor.
In stark contrast, Hideyoshi’s face was twisted in terror as he screamed and begged for his life.
Yi Yeon ordered Oda Nobunaga and Hashiba Hideyoshi to be taken elsewhere, then approached the only female daimyo and general present—Uesugi Kenshin.
Among the daimyo who had joined this war, Takeda Shingen and Hojo Ujiyasu were dead, making her the second-highest-ranking enemy commander.
Yi Yeon asked the woman, who kept her head bowed.
“What will you do?”
She lifted her head. With a pitiful gaze, she spoke.
“O King of Joseon, I, Nagao Kagetora, swear this. If you spare my family, my retainers, and the people of my domain, I will offer you everything I possess and retire to a temple to live out my days.”
Yi Yeon stared at her for a long time.
With her false mustache removed, she looked exactly like the tough auntie who ran the corner convenience store in his previous life.
He wanted to ask her why a woman had hidden her gender to become a daimyo.
But he did not ask.
Everyone had their own complicated stories.
“So be it.”
“Thank you, O King of Joseon.”
She bowed her head respectfully.
Yi Yeon asked the other daimyo and generals for their intentions as well.
Amid the terrible screams of Hideyoshi.
Oda Nobunaga had dragged Hashiba Hideyoshi before the Joseon Eastern Army and was flaying him alive.
“You dared betray me! You were the one who planned this entire war! Yet you claim you had nothing to do with it!” he roared as he peeled away the skin.
Before Yi Yeon could even ask, the daimyo and generals began frantically competing to swear loyalty and pledge to follow him.
The sound of Hideyoshi’s agonized shrieks was so horrifying that they had been overcome with fear.
Yi Yeon ordered them taken away.
He could not accept traitors, no matter what. He commanded that their past actions be thoroughly investigated.
But one man claimed that following the strong was simply the way of the world.
The one who said it was the plump Tokugawa Ieyasu.
“Then are you saying that if someone stronger than me appears, you will follow that person instead?”
At Yi Yeon’s sharp question, Ieyasu’s face turned deathly pale with panic.
He was well known for flattering the powerful, but this was the first time he had received such a direct question.
“N-no, that is not what I meant at all.”
He had thought everything was already over, so just as he had once sworn loyalty to Oda Nobunaga, he had spoken merely to curry favor this time as well.
But the King of Joseon’s eyes seemed to pierce straight through him.
“What is not what you meant?”
“Wh-what I meant was that I will devote my utmost loyalty to Your Majesty.”
“Is that the truth?”
“Would I dare speak falsehood before Your Majesty?”
“Then prove it by committing seppuku according to your customs.”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
Ieyasu’s face turned ashen.
He thought the command was absurd.
It was commonly believed that defeated daimyo and generals committed seppuku out of honor and pride, but the real reason was different.
Only by doing so could they protect their families and clans from destruction and avoid torture.
However, he had heard that Joseon, which had conquered Kyushu, did not engage in such practices.
Although they had confiscated weapons and territories, they had not touched the castles or homes where people lived, nor had they driven anyone out.
Therefore, there was no reason to perform what they called “seppuku.”
Instead, he had hoped to impress the victorious King of Joseon and use the opportunity to enhance the honor of his clan and himself.
Unaware of any of this, Yi Yeon tilted his head in confusion.
‘Why is there not a single one willing to commit suicide?’
Well, there was one.
Oda Nobunaga, who was currently skinning Hideyoshi alive.
Yi Yeon pointed in that direction and said to Ieyasu.
“If you speak of ‘the strong’ one more time, you will end up just like that. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”
Yi Yeon left the trembling Ieyasu bowing and returned to the platform.
Listen! My soldiers!
And those who have entered the embrace of Joseon!
From this moment, we have become one under the name of Joseon!
I shall call this land Dongjoseon!
I will pacify this war-torn region and transform it!
Into a place where one may walk safely at midnight in peace!
Therefore, from now on, all who carry weapons shall be arrested!
Those who resist shall be punished without mercy!
Those who violate the laws of Joseon shall also be brought to justice!
Only then can we create such a world!
Do you understand?
"""Yes, Your Majesty!"""
"""Hai!"""
My people!
Beginning today, we shall hold a festival for three days!
Therefore, forget all that has passed and become one in celebration!
Afterward, let us advance together toward a better world!
When Yi Yeon clenched his fist and raised his hand high, the soldiers shouted as if they had been waiting.
"""Long live! Long live! Ten thousand years!"""
"""Banzai! Banzai! Ten thousand years!"""
Thus, after the rewards, punishments, and festival following the war had concluded.
An unexpected envoy arrived.
“King of Joseon, congratulations on your victory.”
“Thank you. What brings you here?”
“Our shogun, after consulting with the Emperor, has decided to bestow an official rank upon the victorious King of Joseon.”
“What did you say?”
“W-why do you react so?”
Yi Yeon shot to his feet in utter disbelief.
The envoy, startled, took a step backward in fear.
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