Chapter :-68 A Few Years Later

"That Hideyoshi is such a fool…! He should have known that attacking Korea with leaving our back vulnerable to the Chinese sluts…! Not only had he failed in fully infiltrating Korea but also in defending the riverside."

"Well…. give him time to adapt, unlike you he belonged to a pleasant family, so he wasn't trained or groomed like you were. Not to mention, you have an affinity towards war-stuff."

"I don't understand why you didn't take over the government? These fools are just incompetent…!"

"Master has other plans for these 'fools'…."

"Henrik-sama sure is hard to understand, just what does he aspects of achieving by handing the future of the country to such people."

"Well, we don't question master….we follow."

"Sigh….you truly are too devoted towards Henrik-sama….."

"….."

It has been a few years since Sasaki and Sarutobi helped Tachibana in driving out the enemies from their land. During this time, Hideyoshi has successfully gained the support of the majority and had succeeded Nobunaga as her successor.

In 1583, Hideyoshi began construction on Osaka Castle, a symbol of his power and intent to rule all of Japan. Like Nobunaga, he refused the title of Shogun. Some courtiers doubted a farmer's son could legally claim that title.

Hideyoshi circumvented the potentially embarrassing debate by taking the title of kampaku, or "regent," instead. Hideyoshi then ordered the dilapidated Imperial Palace restored, and offered gifts of money to the cash-strapped imperial family.

Hideyoshi also decided to gift the southern island of Kyushu under the Mikaelson clan's authority.

This island was home to the primary trading ports through which goods from China, Korea, Portugal, and other nations made their way into Japan. Many of the daimyos of Kyushu had converted to Christianity under the influence of Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries.

Some had been converted by force, and Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines were destroyed.

In November 1586, Henrik sent a massive invasion force to Kyushu, totalling some 250,000 troops. Several local daimyos rallied to his side as well, so it did not take long for the massive army to crush all resistance.

He confiscated all of the lands and then returned smaller portions to his defeated foes and rewarded his allies with the much larger territory. He also ordered the expulsion of all Christian missionaries on Kyushu.

Meanwhile, the final reunification campaign took place in 1590. Hideyoshi sent another large army, probably more than 200,000 men, to conquer the mighty Hojo clan, which ruled the area around Edo (now Tokyo).

Ieyasu and Oda Nobukatsu led the army, joined by a naval force to bottle up the Hojo resistance from the sea. The defiant daimyo Hojo Ujimasa withdrew to Odawara Castle and settled in to wait out Hideyoshi.

After six months, Hideyoshi sent in Ujimasa's brother to ask for the Hojo daimyo's surrender. He refused, and Hideyoshi launched a three-day, all-out attack on the castle. Ujimasa finally sent his son to surrender the castle. Hideyoshi ordered Ujimasa to commit seppuku. He confiscated the domains and sent Ujimasa's son and brother into exile.

The great Hojo clan was obliterated.

In 1588, Hideyoshi forbade all Japanese citizens besides samurai from owning weapons.

This "Sword Hunt" angered farmers and warrior-monks, who traditionally had kept weapons and participated in wars and rebellions. Hideyoshi wanted to clarify the boundaries between the various social classes in Japan and to prevent uprisings by the monks and peasants.

Three years later, Hideyoshi issued another order forbidding anyone from hiring ronin, the wandering samurai with no masters. Towns also were barred from allowing farmers to become traders or craftsmen. The Japanese social order was to be set in stone. If you were born a farmer, you died a farmer.

If you were a samurai born into the service of a particular daimyo, there you stayed. Hideyoshi himself rose from the peasant class to become kampaku. Nonetheless, this hypocritical order helped to usher in a centuries-long era of peace and stability.

To keep the daimyo in check, Hideyoshi ordered them to send their wives and children to the capital city as hostages. The daimyo themselves would spend alternating years in their fiefs and the capital.

This system, called sankin kotai or "alternate attendance," was codified in 1635 and continued until 1862.

Finally, Hideyoshi also ordered a nationwide population census and a survey of all the lands. It measured not only the exact sizes of the different domains but also the relative fertility and expected crop yield. All of this information was key for setting taxation rates.

Overall, he limited individuals and non-clan associates from gaining too much power much to the anger of the people.

The clans controlled most of the country while the great 4-clans, Minamoto clan, Mikaelson clan, Oda clan and Koga clan solidified the alliance they had formed.

Seeing the actions of Hideyoshi, they decided to establish a proper democratic system in their country under Henrik's suggestions.

Hideyoshi's actions made it clear that a single individual couldn't contribute to the overall development of the country and the parliamentary system was much, he even showed them the functions of [Kyoto] under the 'System' he established.

At first, they were a little apprehensive about this system, but after going through the details of the capital, they felt reassured and asked Henrik to proceed with his plan.

For the first time in their entire life did they experience genuine dread. If their thinking was correct that meant, it was all a part of his plan; he made Oda Nobunaga the ruler, He made Hideyoshi the ruler, he had established the system a long time ago and had even collected every single thing that they could use against his idea.

He had planned from the very beginning of the chaos, all of the happenings within the country seemed a little too professional like the people were changing themselves without them noticing anything. The sheer brilliance displayed by Henrik scared them a lot.

Now that the people were dissatisfied from their ruler, the alliance decided to proceed with the plan which Sakura Koga devised through Minamoto's help.

Sasuke Sarutobi of the Gerard family would poison Hideyoshi so that in a few years his body would slowly break down from inside and he would die, after that the alliance would forcefully unity the country and establish the 'System'.

The four great clans except the Oda-clan didn't participate in the wars throughout this period and had been amassing strength all this time, and it was time to end the Warring States Period for the greater good.

Henrik's plans had been going smoothly all this time, the last struggle was near, and so was the beginning of the new era.

Gracia Gerard had converted into Christianity under the guidance of the Gerard family and had been ordered to travel to Shimabara and guide the church there in their endeavour as a Disciple of Cardinal Henrik.

Sasaki Kojiro had been challenged to a duel by the famous vagabond Miyamoto Musashi on an unnamed island. While the fight in these periods was a daily occurrence, but for the first time in many years, someone had the guts to challenge the [Reaper] himself.

As a prideful warrior and being one of Henrik's most trusted subordinates, this challenge was the same as challenging his Master, the person he swore to serve for the rest of eternity.

This was a direct attack, and he was indeed in the mood of raining death on Miyamoto Musashi, but before he could accept the challenge, Henrik asked him to put forward a few conditions that she would have to abide by if she lost.

After sending the terms to the famous Vagabond, they soon received a reply stating that the other party accepts the conditions.

Henrik soon announced this news to the whole of Japan and sponsored this fight; he invited everyone to come and witness the battle between two great warriors while making the condition public.

This was all a part of Henrik's plan though warriors were extremely strict with their promises and oaths; he decided not to take any chances and made the challenge a public event so that everyone in Japan would know about what was on the stake in this fight.

Sarutobi was sent to keep an eye on Tokugawa Ieyasu and report back any kind of suspicious happening back to the Gerard clan. Oda Nobunaga was sent to deal with the Chinese forces who had invaded Japan with 80,000-Gerard family soldiers and 176-canons. Wearing a mask over her family, she commanded the most fearsome army in all of Japan.

People started calling her [Nubi the Masked Monster] of the Gerard family due to her cruel tactics and ruthless behaviour.

Gerard Tachibana Muneshige was helping to defeat the Korean forces with his army of 200,000-soldiers and a dozen of Gerard family Mage-squad.

Freya was preparing for the ritual required to perform the unsealing ceremony since Henrik was very close to recovering his full magic, the time for the ritual was coming near, and she had to make sure that all the preparations were completed.

Time went by as the fight between Korea, and Japanese forces grew more and more intense.

Throughout the late 1580s and early 1590s, Hideyoshi sent several emissaries to King Seonjo of Korea, demanding safe passage through the country for the Japanese army. Hideyoshi informed the Joseon king that he intended to conquer Ming China and India.

A foolish ambition, to tell the truth, India was home to the oldest culture in the world, the power of Indian Mages reached the level of Gods like Izanami.

Unlike most mythologies that possessed power in the domain of the world, the Trinity (3-Main Indian gods) had powers in the domain of universe, after them, the Greek mythological primordial Gods had some influence in this domain.

In terms of power, no other mythology came close to the Hindu-pantheon. With 330 million gods, they tower over every other pantheon. Lord Shiva holds the highest position in 330 million Hindu gods and is far more powerful than any other god in any pantheon.

Henrik had no intention of dealing with divine creatures who surpassed common sense.

Henrik didn't provide any support to Hideyoshi in his expedition and only focused on defending the country borders.

The Korean ruler made no reply to these messages.

In February 1592, 140,000 Japanese army troops arrived in an armada of some 2,000 boats and ships. It attacked Busan, in southeastern Korea. In weeks, the Japanese advanced to the capital city of Seoul.

King Seonjo and his court fled north, leaving the capital to be burned and looted. By July, the Japanese held Pyeongyang as well. The battle-hardened samurai troops cut through the Korean defenders like a sword through butter, to China's concern.

The land war went Hideyoshi's way, but Korean naval superiority made life difficult for the Japanese.

The Korean fleet had better weaponry and more experienced sailors. It also had a secret weapon—the iron-clad "turtle ships," which were nearly invulnerable to Japan's underpowered naval cannon. Cut off from their food and ammunition supplies; the Japanese army got bogged down in the mountains of northern Korea.

Korean Admiral Yi Sun-Shin scored a devastating victory over Hideyoshi's navy at the Battle of Hansan-do on August 13, 1592. Hideyoshi ordered his remaining ships to cease engagements with the Korean navy.

In January 1593, the Wanli Emperor of China sent 45,000 troops to reinforce the beleaguered Koreans. Together, the Koreans and Chinese pushed Hideyoshi's army out of Pyeongyang. The Japanese were pinned down, and with their navy unable to deliver supplies, they began to starve.

In mid-May1593, Hideyoshi relented and ordered his troops home to Japan. He did not give up his dream of a mainland empire, however.

In August 1597, Hideyoshi sent a second invasion force against Korea. This time, however, the Koreans and their Chinese allies were better prepared.

They stopped the Japanese army short of Seoul and forced them back toward Busan in a slow, grinding drive. Meanwhile, Admiral Yi set out to crush Japan's rebuilt naval forces once more.

Hideyoshi's grand imperial scheme came to an end on September 18, 1598, when the taiko died. On his deathbed, Hideyoshi repented sending his army into this Korean quagmire.

He said, "Don't let my soldiers become spirits in a foreign land."

Hideyoshi's most significant concern as he lay dying, however, was the fate of his heir.

Hideyori was only five years old and unable to assume his father's powers, so Hideyoshi set up the Council of Five Elders to rule as his regents until he came of age.

This council included Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hideyoshi's one-time rival.

The old taiko extracted vows of loyalty to his little son from several other senior daimyos and sent precious gifts of gold, silk robes, and swords to all the talented political players. He also made personal appeals to the Council members to protect and serve Hideyori faithfully.

The Council of Five Elders kept the taiko's death a secret for several months while they withdrew the Japanese army from Korea. With that piece of business complete, though, the council broke down into two opposing camps.

On one side was Tokugawa Ieyasu. On the other were the remaining four elders. Ieyasu wanted to take power for himself. The others supported little Hideyori.

In 1600, the two forces came to blows in the Battle of Sekigahara. Ieyasu prevailed and declared himself shogun. Hideyori was confined to Osaka Castle. In 1614, the 21-year-old Hideyori began to gather soldiers, preparing to challenge Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Ieyasu launched the Siege of Osaka in November, forcing him to disarm and sign a peace pact. The next spring, Hideyori tried again to gather troops.

The Tokugawa army launched an all-out attack on Osaka Castle, reducing sections to rubble with their cannon and setting the castle on fire.

Hideyori and his mother committed seppuku. His 8-year-old son was captured by the Tokugawa forces and beheaded. That was the end of the Toyotomi clan.

The Tokugawa shoguns would rule Japan until the Meiji Restoration of 1868 or that was what they thought.

The alliance finally made their move.

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(A/N:-Hinduism is the oldest religion, and those who see Fate series or read about mythology know just how broken the Hindu-pantheon is. The Vedas are the oldest faith scriptures while Karna being the greatest hero in the whole world.)

(A/N:-Lord Shiva is a god worshipped by humans, gods and demons alive. Unlike most gods like Zeus, he doesn't control an element; he controls the domain of destruction, the domain of spirits and souls, etc.)