WI: Admiral Yi Sun-sin took Konishi Yukinaga's information

[GameBawesome]

Konishi Yukinaga was a Japanese Daimyo in the 16th Century for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and was a major part of the Imjin War, or the Japanese Invasions of Korea. He was known for two things in particular; 1. He was a Christian Daimyo, and 2. He rivalry with another one of Hideyoshi's generals, Kato Kiyomasa. The two men despised each other, as they shared Higo Province, Konishi was a Christian while Kato was a devout Nichiren Buddhist who persecuted Christians in his territory, came into conflict during the Invasion of Korea about strategy, and general personality differences.

Why am I mentioning all this?

Well, during one particular incident during the second phase of the Korean Invasion, Konishi Yukinaga secretly sent information to the Joseon Court, about where exactly Kato Kiyomasa was landing, so he can get rid of him. This would lead to the Joseon Court to order the famed Admiral Yi Sun-sin to attack, but Admiral Yi Sun-sin thought this was a trap and refused. This would lead to the Joseon government to imprison Admiral Yi Sun-sin and torture and then demoted. This would lead to the Japanese sending another message, and the Koreans sending their fleet under Won Gyun to attack... only to fall right into a trap at the Battle of Chilcheollyang, which would destroy nearly the entire fleet. (Though the Koreans would reinstate Admiral Yi Sun-sin and lead a legendary victory at the Battle of Myeongnyang).

With that context out of the way, what if Admiral Yi Sun-sin followed the Joseon Court's orders given to them by Konishi Yukinaga and attacked Kato Kiyomasa landing position.

Now, it is debatable to whether this information from Konishi Yukinaga was genuine or was a secret coordinated trap from the Japanese to destroy Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Konishi Yukinaga genuinely did hate Kato Kiyomasa's guts and would've benefited from his death back in Japan, but Admiral Yi Sun-sin was the greatest threat to the Japanese at sea and I can't blame him for being cautionous. So, this will have to be split into multiple PODs:

1. The information given by Konishi Yukinaga was genuine and Admiral Yi Sun-sin's attack kills Kato Kiyomasa
2. The information given by Konishi Yukinaga was a trap, and Kato Kiyomasa was prepared for their attack.

Choosing either POD, how would this effect the course of the war, and even future events back in Japan?

 

[Ogrelord420]

The first one seems to have just led to the result of our timeline, that being the Japanese lose the Imjin War.

Number 2 is interesting, since it would have led to Yi Sun-sin potentially dying. That might have been able to allow the Japanese to gain control of the sea and thus supply their forces in Korea more easily.

 

[WhatSantayanaSaid]

The first one seems to have just led to the result of our timeline, that being the Japanese lose the Imjin War.

Number 2 is interesting, since it would have led to Yi Sun-sin potentially dying. That might have been able to allow the Japanese to gain control of the sea and thus supply their forces in Korea more easily.

The first one also has ripple effects on Sekigahara, with OTL's Kato Kiyomasa later joining the Tokugawa side as a result of his bad blood with Ishida Mitsunari and Konishi Yukinaga.

The second is less significant, I think, since the whole Admiral Yi imprisonment saga and the Battle of Chilcheollyang where Won Gyun died along with most of the Joseon fleet were in the second phase of the Imjin War, after the Ming had fully gotten involved. The Japanese success in the first phase of the war was largely due to how unprepared the Koreans and Chinese were. During the second phase of the war, the Japanese couldn't get past 1/4 of the peninsula. And that's with Admiral Yi with only 13 ships. Even if Yi dies in combat with Kato Kiyomasa, one can imagine he wouldn't lose the entire fleet and that he'd deliver a bloody nose to the Japanese even in defeat, delaying the initial Japanese deployment and giving more time for the Joseon and Ming troops to get ready. The war also wasn't going to survive Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who died within a year of the second phase of the war starting and whose death guaranteed a succession crisis due to a lack of adult Toyotomi men able to support the child Toyotomi Hideyori in the face of the ever ambitious Tokugawa Ieyasu. Unless the Japanese manage to win within a year despite not having the element of surprise and the Ming having troops in Korea, I don't see how the final outcome really changes, minus the duration of the war itself.