Emperor's Armed Forces in the Warring States

Chapter 26 - Japan Intervenes in the Egyptian War of Independence

This will be the beginning of Chapter 26.

- Yamaga

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26-1

Well, once again, time seemed to be a bit out of sync.

In mid-May of 1568, Japan received the first report, and in early June, Commander Takeyoshi Murakami returned to Japan with the warship Ishizuchi. This led the Japanese government to seriously consider intervening in the Egyptian War of Independence.

Now, as for who was most motivated to take charge of this matter...

"I myself will go to the Ottoman Empire and handle this issue," said Chief Minister Sakihisa Konoe upon hearing the news of the Egyptian War of Independence.

However, there were some delicate aspects to this situation.

At that time, Japan was governed by the Grand Council of State as the administrative and judicial structure of the country after the arrival of the Imperial forces. The Chief Minister served as the chief executive and judiciary officer directly below the Emperor, and the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Interior were considered important ministries, while others were treated as somewhat less significant. Therefore, the Chief Minister was typically a first-ranked official, and the heads of the Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Interior Ministries were second-ranked officials, while the vice ministers of these ministries were third-ranked officials.

At that time, the Foreign Minister was Haruyoshi Nijō. So, logically, handling the Egyptian War of Independence should have been his responsibility, and one could argue that it was even Haruyoshi's duty to go to the Ottoman Empire. However, this did not sit well with Sakihisa Konoe.

The initial diplomatic negotiations with the Ottoman Empire that led to the alliance with Japan had been achieved about 16 years earlier by Iwakuro Mission, and Sakihisa's maternal uncle, Harumichi Koga, had served as the deputy envoy at that time. So, from time to time, Sakihisa had heard stories about that period from Harumichi. Now, he thought it was his turn to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire.

Furthermore, there was another reason. Haruyoshi Nijō was from a noble family, and he was older than Sakihisa, so it was widely believed that Haruyoshi should naturally hold the position of Chief Minister. However, due to Sakihisa's intensive efforts, he had not been able to become Chief Minister, and Haruyoshi was serving as Foreign Minister instead. Sakihisa was concerned that if Haruyoshi successfully handled the diplomatic negotiations with the Ottoman Empire, there might be voices from the public suggesting that Haruyoshi should be the Chief Minister instead, which Haruyoshi Nijō himself was also secretly plotting due to his dissatisfaction with this matter.

Given these circumstances, Sakihisa Konoe decided to show that he was worthy of becoming Chief Minister by going to the Ottoman Empire and managing the negotiations himself. However, an unexpected obstacle arose.

"What? There are no suitable interpreters with the appropriate rank in Arabic or Turkish?"

Sakihisa was perplexed. He thought that if he, as a member of a noble family and a Chief Minister, was going to the Ottoman Empire, he should bring an interpreter with a decent rank.

However, at that time in 1568, there were few individuals who could interpret Arabic or Turkish, and the position of interpreter itself was not highly esteemed. Consequently, most Arabic and Turkish interpreters were of low rank.

On the other hand, if Sakihisa tried to appoint an interpreter from the Foreign Ministry with a rank higher than the Junior Fifth Rank Lower Grade (Ju Go-I no Ge), which would be appropriate for someone accompanying him, Foreign Minister Haruyoshi Nijō, who was already resistant, would likely ignore his wishes and hastily promote one of his own subordinates to the position of interpreter.