There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 168

< Prince of the Sea (3) >

People bustled about in Byeokrando [a major port during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties].

Several large ships were always docked at the estuary where the Yeseong River met the sea, and people were diligently carrying the tribute grains unloaded there to warehouses.

At first glance, it seemed like arduous and difficult work, but the people’s faces were not so grim.

“They say the tribute grains piled up here will be loaded again and taken to Hanyang [old name for Seoul, the capital of Joseon]?”

“That job won’t be easy either.”

It would have been convenient to go directly to Hanyang, but the waterway to Hanyang was so treacherous that such a large ship could not navigate it directly.

So, whether they transported it by land or by water, they had to go through Byeokrando, and in the process, quite a few ‘crumbs’ were bound to fall – meaning, opportunities for profit arose.

GaeSeong [a city near Byeokrando] was also famous for its entertainment, so it was good for the sailors who came and went to enjoy themselves in the city. Even if that wasn’t the case, even if they just came out to the docks and helped out during the off-season when there was no farming, they could take home a sack of rice.

So, the subtle resentment towards Joseon for establishing its capital in Hanyang had disappeared, and the people’s hearts were much more generous.

However, the revitalization of Byeokrando was not all good news.

A noisy commotion arose, and the laborers who were unloading cargo turned their heads to see that some fellows who looked different from Joseon people were fighting each other.

“Those barbarians are fighting again!”

A quarrel had broken out because they had bumped shoulders while passing by.

But people were not afraid to see this.

Rather, most people abandoned their work and flocked to watch, thinking it was a good spectacle.

“Where are these Japs [derogatory term for Japanese people] causing trouble?”

“Didn’t you, the Doi [derogatory term for Jurchen people] bastards, do something wrong first! Instead of apologizing…”

“Doi, you Japs are island barbarians (島夷)!”

Fearsome-looking Japanese and Jurchen people clashed.

The Waegu [another term for Japanese pirates] were short, but they grabbed their long sword hilts, half their size, and shouted, and the Jurchens also rattled their big swords and threatened them.

Since they were such fierce people, fights at the docks were commonplace.

But no one dared to swing a sword recklessly.

“I heard you Japs eat raw fish?”

“I heard you Jurchen bastards are crazy about meat, raw meat at that!”

“It’s better than those who don’t even know how to eat meat!”

The laborers who were watching the childish argument frowned and exchanged words.

“······.”

“Why aren’t they fighting?”

“What’s the point of keeping the swords?”

“Hey, that’s no fun.”

“Are you even men if you’re like that!”

The onlookers who had gathered to watch the fight threw in a word, but the Jurchens and Japanese just sweated profusely and did not answer.

“Ah, I see.”

Then someone clapped their hands and said.

“Didn’t His Royal Highness the Crown Prince say that anyone who fights on the docks or on the ship will be punished, regardless of their status?”

“So, are they acting like that because they’re afraid of punishment?”

What kind of punishment do they receive that makes those fierce guys fight only with words like girls?

The laborer tilted his head in curiosity.

===

Cheonghaejin [a public enterprise].

In reality, this public enterprise that operates the Byeokrando port was thriving thanks to the transport business, which was like swimming with one’s feet on the ground [meaning it was a guaranteed success].

The same was true of employee management.

“It seems like the fighting has subsided a bit lately,” Yi Seong-gye said.

Sailors were originally rough, but Byeokrando, where real pirates were gathered, saw blood almost every day.

“Since we declared that we would punish one as a warning to a hundred, they will take care of themselves if they don’t want to be punished.”

“Punishment? Did you find fault with them and throw them all into the gulag?”

“That’s what we always do, what’s so new about it?”

And it would be our loss to put valuable sailing manpower in the gulag.

“We just changed their meals a little.”

I said, handing Yi Seong-gye a square object.

“What is this? It looks like jeonbyeong [Korean pancake].”

“It’s a food I made. Try it.”

“Oh, a food you made.”

Yi Seong-gye swallowed his saliva as he picked it up.

The food I had made so far had always pleased his mouth, so Yi Seong-gye’s face was full of anticipation.

Yi Seong-gye opened his mouth wide and bit into it.

– Crunch!

“Agh!”

A harsh scratching sound rang out and Yi Seong-gye screamed.

“Hey, you crazy bastard! Are you giving this to your grandfather to eat!”

“It is food.”

I said confidently.

Then Yi Seong-gye grabbed his chin and asked.

“This rock is food?”

“A rock?”

I’m old enough to chew on rocks, but would I call a real rock food?

“It’s called geonppang [hardtack or ship biscuit].”

What I made was geonppang, or more precisely, ship biscuits.

This was invented based on reports from Nam Jae and Yu Jeong-hyeon.

“One of the biggest problems with sailing for a long time is food. The Boseondan [treasure ships] sent out by the great powers were large enough to carry fields, but the water rotted quickly and the food ran out often, so we need emergency food in case we can’t find land.”

‘In that case, geonppang, which is easy to store and has a large load capacity, is perfect.’

Wheat is not well cultivated in Joseon, and rice is too precious to eat as it is, so it was mainly made from barley.

It is extremely dehydrated to preserve it for a long time, so it is as hard as a rock, but it is definitely food.

‘If you think about it that way, the sailors need to get used to geonppang in advance…’

So, I handed out geonppang and ordered them to consume as much as they were allotted, but of course, there was no one who would eat it because they liked it.

There were others who paid attention to this.

It was the monks.

‘I brought them here because I thought they were deeply devoted to Buddhism, so if they listened to the monks, they would be controlled.’

“It is made purely of grains without using meat or fish, so it is no different from byeokgokdan [a type of ascetic diet] used for asceticism.

Rather than punishing them to torment them, how about feeding them this byeokgokdan and having them meditate to realize their mistakes on their own?”

I think he’s saying this because he hasn’t eaten geonppang, but I readily agreed.

The sailors, who were having trouble dealing with the geonppang given from above, all agreed.

“You came in after fighting outside?”

“Eat this byeokgokdan and repent!”

As a result of feeding the troublemakers geonppang, the accident rate surprisingly decreased significantly.

‘They’re really out of their minds.’

Are they going crazy because they gathered the guys who are going to get on the ship on land?

I felt the need to send them out to the open sea as soon as possible.

The food I made for sailing was not only geonppang.

Beer is surprisingly rich in calories and is less likely to rot like water even during long voyages.

The fizz will be gone, though.

‘I had a hard time making it in Africa too.’

Because the transportation was terrible, I had to rely on local procurement for a large part.

Instead, I was able to use the knowledge I learned there, so it was a blessing in disguise.

Barley is divided into two-row barley and six-row barley depending on the number of rows of grains arranged on the ear.

The barley used as a raw material for beer in modern times was two-row barley.

However, since it was not available in Joseon, it had to be made with six-row barley.

Of course, the taste was very thin compared to the beer I used to drink in modern times…

‘Hmm.’

I poured beer into my mouth and was momentarily lost in thought.

‘But this is something!’

It’s a relief that I can make beer with two rows or six rows.

Finally, I can have chimaek [Korean fried chicken and beer].

“Have a drink, Grandfather.”

However, Yi Seong-gye said with a pout.

“No, what kind of trick are you going to play on me again.”

Did he get upset because he was caught in the geonppang trap earlier?

“Hey, don’t say that. Just take a sip. I ate it too.”

“Why are you giving your grandfather barley wine instead of rice wine…”

“This is more delicious.”

Makgeolli [Korean rice wine] is good, but my preference is closer to beer.

Yi Seong-gye drank the beer with a dissatisfied expression, but soon his eyes widened.

“It’s delicious, right? It goes better with Chogye [a type of Korean chicken dish].”

“…I don’t know yet.”

Yi Seong-gye said that, but he kept sipping the beer.

He must have liked it.

Geonppang and beer.

Another new history was engraved in the food culture of this country.

‘To be more precise, it’s beer, though.’

I wouldn’t eat geonppang even if you gave it to me.

===

In Joseon’s administrative districts, Paldo [Eight Provinces] is the most famous, but even up to this era, the administrative districts that had been passed down since the Goryeo Dynasty, called 5 Do Yang Gye [Five Provinces and Two Military Districts], were maintained.

The 5 Do, which is the general administrative district, and the Bukgye (or Seogye) [Northern Military District (or Western Military District)] and Donggye [Eastern Military District], which are the military administrative districts under the jurisdiction of the Byeongmasa [Military Commissioner], coexisted.

This was changed again when Gongheomjin south was absorbed, and the Seogye south of the Amnok River became Pyeongan-do [Pyeongan Province], and the Donggye south of the Duman River became Hamgyeong-do [Hamgyeong Province].

And the newly incorporated territory north of the Duman River and south of Gongheomjin took the name of the disappeared Bukgye and appointed a Byeongmasa to govern it.

The reason was that the population was small and it was difficult to directly govern the wild people [referring to the Jurchen people].

The Byeongmasa, who held military power, coordinated the interests of each tribe and defended the border.

This was much simpler with the current administrative power of Joseon.

Of course, even if the rank was a little lower, it was as important as, or even more important than, the observers of the Paldo, so Yi Bang-won was deeply troubled in deciding on the Byeongmasa of this Bukgye.

“Our Jongchin [relatives of the royal family] are absolutely not allowed.”

The Jeonju Yi clan Jongchin had ties to Dongbukmyeon and Bukgye, so there was a possibility that they would film Jo Sa-ui Season 2 [referencing a potential rebellion].

This was especially true of the first-generation Jongchin who were born and raised in Dongbukmyeon with Yi Seong-gye.

“So, Grand Prince Uian and Prince Sunnyeong are not allowed either.”

Among the surviving first-generation Jongchin, those two had some military talent.

And they were all old and didn’t want to live in the cold north, so it was naturally rejected.

The alternative presented was Daehogun [a military title] Choi Yun-deok, the eldest son of the famous general Choi Un-hae.

“Will he be well managed?”

For now, it was decided to appoint Choi Yun-deok as the Byeongmasa of Bukgye, but Yi Bang-won had a very uneasy expression.

“Hey, are you worried about a rebellion by someone who is only in his thirties?”

“Well, I’m not worried about a rebellion because he has no ties to the north, but I don’t know if he can properly perform the duties of Byeongmasa because he is still young.”

Wrinkles appeared on Yi Bang-won’s forehead.

In terms of rank, there is not much difference between Daehogun and Byeongmasa, but Choi Yun-deok is still a young military officer in his early 30s.

But I gently comforted Yi Bang-won.

“Hey, didn’t Grandfather become famous as a great general at a young age?”

Unlike Yi Bang-won, I was not worried at all.

‘If you’re talking about 4 Guns and 6 Jins [military fortresses], it’s Choi Yun-deok and Kim Jong-seo.’

It was a name I memorized according to rote learning, so there was no way I could forget it.

He must have had some ability to drive out the Jurchens and expand the territory.

I made a confident statement, but Yi Bang-won’s wrinkles deepened.

“Then isn’t that a bigger problem? If he already has the appearance of a great general at a young age, this father cannot rest assured.”

“······.”

‘What should I do?’