The presence of the Empire, Sejong, and Hyang didn’t surface openly in the process of Ouchi seizing control of Japan.

However, Florence’s young ‘unificationists’ could detect the presence of the Empire, Sejong, and Hyang in the records they discovered.

“If you look at each piece separately, you’d never find it.”

“But when you examine everything woven together, it changes. Without the intervention of the ‘Land of Flowers’ and its monarchs, this could never have succeeded.”

The unificationists’ first reaction upon discovering traces of the Empire, Sejong, and Hyang in Ouchi’s rise was despair.

“So unification is impossible without strong backing?”

“Is it impossible with just our Florence alone?”

Though discouraged, the unificationists rallied their spirits and examined Japan’s unification process again.

In that process, what caught their eyes again was the slogan shouted by Ouchi Morimi of the Ouchi clan, who had started everything.

“Escape Japan, Enter Joseon?”

“‘Abandon all of Japan’s old customs and grow strong by learning Joseon’s good ways’…”

After mulling over this central ideology of Japan’s leadership since Morimi’s proclamation, the unificationists changed their thinking.

“We need to reexamine Japan’s unification process…”

Here, a divergence occurred between Florence’s unificationists and those from other city-states.

During this period, those calling for ‘Italian unification’ weren’t only in Florence.

They were radical unificationists whom historians would later name the ‘Youth School (Scuola Giovani).’

***

As Eastern nations including the Empire, Ming, and Japan—symbolized by the ‘Land of Flowers’—actively engaged in trade, Europe also received much stimulation.

This was equally true for Italy, which was fragmented into many city-states at the time.

Young intellectuals living in powerful city-states like Genoa, Venice, and Florence, stimulated by Eastern culture and systems, began dreaming of ‘revolution.’

The first to publicly cry out for ‘revolution’ and ‘unification’ were Venice’s young intellectuals.

During this period, Venice was walking the downward path of decline.

Venice’s famous glass industry was gradually losing ground to the Empire and other nations, and they had lost Eastern Mediterranean hegemony to the Ottomans.

But the most fatal blow was, once again, Suez.

As spices and Eastern goods entered in large quantities through Suez and spread throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region by the Ottomans, Venice collapsed.

Facing their homeland’s deteriorating situation day by day, Venice’s young intellectuals moved desperately to find a way out.

The path they desperately found was ‘Italian unification.’

“A unified nation, unified systems—this is the path of salvation that will lead all Italians to happiness!”

The ‘Italian unification’ proclaimed by Venice’s young intellectuals spread among intellectuals of other major city-states over time.

Or rather, it surfaced and became mainstream thought.

***

Even when Cosimo decided on Florentine scholars’ study abroad in the Empire, talk of ‘unification’ was circulating among university professors.

However, like Cosimo who heard these discussions at the time, most politicians who held vested interests showed negative reactions.

This was partly to protect their vested interests, but also because, as Cosimo had pointed out, there were powerful obstacles preventing unification.

“How do you make ordinary people who know only their birthplace as everything aware that they’re ‘Italian’?”

“Who will be made monarch?”

In a situation where everything outside the ruling city that governed their birthplace was considered an enemy, did a monarch exist who could convince all of them?

Whenever the word ‘unification’ came up among university scholars, the city’s ruling class asked such questions, and each time the scholars had to shut their mouths.

And the same questions were posed to young intellectuals.

To find answers, the young intellectuals turned their eyes to the East and learned about Japan’s case.

“Japan is the answer!”

***

Pre-unification Japan was divided into domains large and small. Though there were government and monarch symbolized by the shogunate and emperor, the real rulers of various parts of Japan were the daimyo.

Italy was the same.

No, it was worse than Japan. Italy had no monarch.

There was the Pope, but the Pope was merely the Pope.

Those who ruled Italy were powerful city-states like Florence, Genoa, and Venice. The rest were subordinate cities and towns under their control.

Thanks to these similarities, young intellectuals persistently delved into Japan’s unification process, and there they discovered traces of the Empire, Sejong, and Hyang.

And discovering those traces, they became discouraged.

“So backing was necessary after all?”

Here the divergence between Florence and other city-states’ ‘Youth School’ emerged.

The Youth Schools of other cities focused on the existence of ‘backing.’

“Even with a great power’s assistance, we must succeed in unification and revive Italy!”

“There will be interference at first! But compared to the ‘great cause’ of ‘unification,’ it’s trivial!”

“If Italy’s own strength becomes powerful, we can escape interference! Unification comes first!”

Crying “Unification first, independence later,” they sought out monarchs of great powers who would become their sponsors.

Genoa’s youth headed to Spain, already on track to become a great power; Venice’s youth sought the Holy Roman Empire; Milan’s youth sought France.

In response to these young people’s actions, their hometowns called them ‘turncoats’ or ‘traitors.’

Meanwhile, the reactions of the kings who received their requests were mostly like this:

“I’ll seriously consider your proposal.”

“Your Majesty’s and the kingdom’s support is absolutely necessary for our homeland and Italy.”

To the earnest requests of young intellectuals from the Youth School, the kings answered with the most serious faces possible.

“I’ll think about it as positively as possible. But it’s not something to decide immediately, so return for now.”

After sending the youth away, the kings immediately snorted and looked around at their nearby ministers.

“Hmph! What should we call them? Stupid fools? Or naive innocents who don’t know the ways of the world?”

“They’re pigs offering their necks to the chef themselves.”

“Correct answer. Italy… Let’s make some plans. We can’t miss such a good opportunity, can we?”

The kings of the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and France began plotting conspiracies with their ministers.

To seize the tempting prey that was Italy.

***

Meanwhile, Florence’s Youth School focused on ‘Escape Japan, Enter Joseon.’

“The most important thing is that they broke old customs with their own strength. No matter how much the monarchs of the ‘Land of Flowers’ supported them with weapons, it would have been impossible without Ouchi’s own capabilities.”

“But even so, without the ‘Land of Flowers” support, it would have been impossible. In my opinion, the greatest support wasn’t visible things like weapons. It was the exchange students.”

“Exchange students?”

“Did you forget? The first place to send exchange students to the Empire was Ouchi.”

“And unlike European exchange students, what Ouchi’s exchange students learned were administrative and political fields. And based on what they learned, they reformed administration and the military.”

Florence’s youth focused intensively on Japan’s administrative and military reforms.

Investigating the administrative reforms symbolized by ‘abolition of domains and establishment of prefectures’ and military reforms symbolized by the ‘Japanese Army,’ Florence’s youth nodded.

“Indeed, to make one Italy, we must return city sovereignty to the state.”

“I agree. Look at France. They’re continuously reducing nobles’ domains. As long as domains are recognized, the state and central government’s control can only be weak.”

“A better example than France is the ‘Land of Flowers.’ The ‘Land of Flowers’ has no such thing as domains. Officials governing regions are always dispatched from the center.”

“I heard there were noble rebellions in the ‘Land of Flowers’ too? If we’re thinking of unification and centralization, we need to purge the nobles.”

“Purge… Then naturally we need powerful force, and we must reform the military system.”

“Military system…”

The conversation that had been flowing smoothly broke off at ‘military reform.’ As could be seen from both Ouchi’s and the Empire’s cases—no, even without those cases—they already knew the answer.

The answer was a standing army. Moreover, not mercenaries but Florence’s army.

This was where Florence’s youth hit a wall.

***

During this period, the protagonists of war were mercenaries.

Of course, when war broke out, nobles summoned their domain’s subjects to participate in war. But the most important military strength was mercenaries. Because mercenaries were most familiar with war and battle.

However, mercenaries were dangerous beings. They might switch sides even during battle at the promise of slightly more money, and if not paid, they might attack their employers.

There were even cases like Francesco Sforza of Milan, where a mercenary captain became a city’s ruler. Of course, he gained legitimacy by marrying Duke Filippo of Milan’s daughter.

Despite these many dangers, many nobles and kings preferred mercenaries.

Operating a standing army required enormous finances.

Clothing, feeding, and training soldiers all cost money. Rather than continuously spending such amounts preparing for wars that might happen anytime, hiring mercenaries when needed was considered wiser thinking in this period.

However, Florence’s youth keenly felt they had to break this common sense.

Because beings who had broken that common sense were right beside them.

They were France’s Charles VII and his successor Louis XI.

“France, the king who is France’s monarch, the army that receives only the king’s orders—that’s the Royal Army.”

“The Royal Army summoned by the king’s edict is the true French army.”

As French people’s perception changed this way, French nobles’ position diminished.

“Certainly only a standing army is the answer…”

“The problem is finances…”

“So it’s the Medici after all?”

“Must we collaborate with the dictator’s family?”

At the time, Florence was under Medici family control, but many families opposed the Medici. To withstand such competition, the Medici family had no choice but to implement dictatorship, and many intellectuals opposed this.

However, Florence’s youth had no choice but to form ties with Lorenzo de’ Medici.

They joined hands with the dictator for the great cause of unification.

Lorenzo de’ Medici, in his twenties full of vitality and ambition, immediately accepted their proposal.

“‘Ruler of Unified Italy’… What a beautiful title is this?”