There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 312

“I will speak to His Majesty the Emperor.”

Jeonghwa, who had been contemplating, finally spoke.

Though the Ming Dynasty is currently struggling, its sheer size gives it overwhelming power, incomparable to Joseon.

‘But if the sea route is closed like this, no one will try to resume business again.’

They might even forget that they once sent fleets to remote lands to receive tribute.

However, if Joseon could take charge of the sea route in the meantime…

‘In the meantime, Joseon has actively cooperated in spreading the Emperor’s majesty throughout the world.’

They may have had their own motives, but they were helpful in maintaining Ming’s prestige.

“However.”

As Jeonghwa added a condition, Wangho swallowed hard.

“There may be those who worry that if the King of Joseon collects tribute independently on behalf of the Emperor, his power will become too strong.”

The fact that Joseon is the only one who can receive the tribute isn’t very important in itself.

Wangho, generally aware of how things worked as a Ming Dynasty eunuch, nodded.

“Joseon does not intend to manage this alone.”

“Then?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we proceeded with other vassal states?”

“Other vassal states?”

“The Great Ming has taken all barbarians under its wing, but their status isn’t all the same.

Among them, Joseon, Annam [present-day Vietnam], and Ryukyu [present-day Okinawa] have served China since ancient times, so these countries are suitable for teaching others not yet familiar with the tribute system.”

‘That’s not bad either.’

Jeonghwa licked his lips.

‘If I do well, I might be able to keep Joseon in check through them.’

“If other vassal states also step forward, the officials of our court will be able to dispel their doubts.”

Thus, Jeonghwa readily replied, without realizing that this was also Joseon’s aim.

===

Joseon, Annam, and Ryukyu are traditionally considered vassal states.

Among them, Annam was conquered by Emperor Yeongnak, and the Jin Dynasty is being restored as the Ming army withdraws, so the country is still in disarray.

Therefore, the only target for this proposal was Ryukyu.

“Your Majesty, Minister Yu Jeong-hyeon from Joseon has arrived.”

Minister of Personnel Maae, in charge of the reception, brought the Joseon envoy to the royal court.

Thanks to reorganizing the government system in the Joseon style, the Ryukyu court was gradually taking shape.

Although external posts such as observers and magistrates had to be distributed evenly among the local clans, he was able to exert his royal authority at least in the central government.

“Welcome! Thank you for your hard work in this distant land!”

Onsado stretched out his arms as he saw Yu Jeong-hyeon.

The Ryukyu army, dispatched with great effort, returned without even fighting once.

Just when he was wondering whether to disperse the troops and return them to the local magistrates, he received the message of Northern Unification from the Joseon envoy who came to Shuri Castle [capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom].

To destroy Buksan was the will of the Great Ming Emperor, so how could he ignore it!

‘A perfect opportunity.’

Onsado worked hard to argue and barely managed to keep the troops.

“It is truly regrettable that our soldiers could not help the Crown Prince. How did it end so quickly?”

Yu Jeong-hyeon had barely returned home when he was sent back to Ryukyu, looking grim, but he had to finish his job.

He slowly opened his mouth and replied.

“When King Jo led an army of 500,000 southward, the Crown Prince raised 600,000 troops to confront him.”

“O-oh, 500,000?”

Onsado’s eyes widened.

“Furthermore, His Majesty the King of Joseon also crossed the Great Wall with an army of 100,000, and in the battle with King Jo, they trampled and killed tens of thousands of enemies. Once the enemy’s ranks collapsed, it was a matter of course.”

Onsado was thrilled by the unbelievable numbers.

Joseon, which had mobilized thousands of troops even to this distant Ryukyu, was known to be a great power, but he never knew they could raise as many as 100,000.

Onsado, who had never left Hanyang [capital of Joseon] even when he lived in Joseon, was terrified.

Moreover, the Ming army, when combined with both armies, exceeded one million.

‘Suddenly, don’t we look too shabby?’

Onsado, who had been fiercely fighting over whether to send back 400 troops until just now, briefly lost his sense of reality.

Onsado clicked his tongue.

Even if they merged Buksan, they couldn’t even compare to those giant countries.

Fortunately, Ming and Joseon are not very interested in swallowing Ryukyu’s national identity, but what about nearby Japan?

Even a single domain could mobilize more troops than Ryukyu at present.

‘Joseon is protecting us for now, but…’

“I am ashamed of myself for arguing fiercely over a mere few hundred soldiers.”

“If we are talking about numbers, Your Majesty is right.”

Yu Jeong-hyeon said.

“At most, a few hundred soldiers. Even if we gather all the troops in Ryukyu, it would only be a few thousand.

If Ryukyu were to lead its army to fight on land, it would be swept away by a large army in an instant.”

‘Is this guy making fun of me?’

Onsado felt uncomfortable when Yu Jeong-hyeon bluntly stated the facts.

However, Yu Jeong-hyeon’s intention was different.

“But it is different in naval warfare, Your Majesty. If we strike and absorb Buksan, we can easily command 3,000 to 4,000 troops from the entire country.”

Most of them would be soldiers from the local clans, but Yu Jeong-hyeon did not bother to mention that.

“No matter how powerful the countries are, the number of sailors who can directly steer ships and navigate the sea is not large.

With thousands of troops, we can fill at least a hundred ships, so even if Ryukyu is a small country, who can despise Ryukyu if it has a hundred ships on the front line?”

“Hmm.”

Since the land forces are small anyway, let’s focus all our efforts on raising the navy.

It seemed like an extreme argument, but the Joseon army was protecting the capital anyway.

‘Then isn’t it better to just raise the navy?’

Yu Jeong-hyeon drove a wedge here.

“Since the Great Ming Emperor is not interested in going to sea, our King has sent an envoy to request that Joseon collect tribute from the barbarians in the four seas on his behalf.”

Onsado’s eyes widened.

To collect tribute on behalf of Ming.

No matter how much Joseon is related to Ming and is the number one vassal state, it is an unimaginable thing.

“Ryukyu is also a country that knows etiquette and is a vassal state of the Great Ming, so if Your Majesty makes a decision, we will try to do that work together, and for that, we must raise the navy, right?”

“To include us in such a big task…”

Onsado was moved.

If they were to collect tribute on behalf of the Great Ming Emperor, it would be natural for Joseon to monopolize it.

But to give a small country like Ryukyu a chance to make its name known in the world.

“His Majesty the King of Joseon truly thinks of me as his own son!”

Cheonghaejin generously included the Ryukyu royal family when distributing the profits from the sugar plantation.

Since the Ryukyu royal family had virtually no direct control over the territory except for Shuri Castle, which was handed over by the Joseon army, they were entirely dependent on this for their finances.

Since there was no land to govern, there was no need to spend money, so Onsado, who had been saving it all, decided to invest it in building ships and raising the navy without hesitation.

“The ships will be built by the Ryukyu court, but if the local magistrates gather people and send them, we will calculate the profits and distribute them.

If they think about the profits of exchanging goods from all over the world, they will have no choice but to participate.”

Joseon has been actively involved in maritime trade since the beginning of the Age of Exploration and has been enjoying the benefits.

Therefore, it was obvious that even the local clans who refused to listen to the court would not be able to help but cooperate once they became greedy.

Onsado also nodded at Yu Jeong-hyeon’s words.

“My eyes have finally opened brightly!”

If they gather troops in that way, wouldn’t they become an army that moves under the King’s orders, even though their origins are from the local clans’ territories?

Onsado had no reason to disagree.

===

“I hope those Ryukyu guys move according to my will, right?”

To be honest, Onsado, whom I saw last time, seemed a bit clueless.

Still, he has ministers assisting him, and he himself has gained some political experience, so he will understand what I mean.

‘We must fill the void left by Jeonghwa’s fleet as much as possible.’

Cheonghaejin also has considerable military power, but it cannot produce more ships than necessary right now.

As the amount of trade continues to increase, they are constantly building ships, but they cannot just bulk up indefinitely.

‘So we have to bring in other countries.’

The first target is Ryukyu, which is rich like us.

Even if Ryukyu is a small country, if it starts building ships with all its might, it will be of great significance as an auxiliary force.

‘No matter how much we push them, there is a difference in size, so there is no need to worry about being backstabbed.’

Our army is currently stationed in the capital, and even the sugar plantation that supports Ryukyu’s finances is in our hands.

Therefore, the Ryukyu fleet cannot escape our influence.

‘When I say it like this, we sound like villains.’

In fact, it is not a bad proposal for Ryukyu either.

We will actively support Ryukyu in creating its own fleet.

Originally, it was a country with a maritime tradition ahead of us, so it wouldn’t take long to create a decent fleet.

Joseon’s merchant ships will quickly stabilize.

“Come to think of it, Hansang is also launching ships to the open sea, isn’t he?”

“Both Hansang and Songsang are still only traveling around Annam. They are far behind Cheonghaejin.”

Baek Dalwon, whose wrinkles had deepened, put down his teacup and said.

“Perhaps it is because it is palace tea, but it tastes really good.”

“Isn’t the owner of Hansang someone who can obtain the highest quality tea from Gangnam [region in China] as much as he wants?”

“The place is important, isn’t it?”

Baek Dalwon said, looking around the main hall.

I agree with that.

There was a time when he was a merchant and could not even be brought into the Crown Prince’s palace.

“So much has changed.”

“It will change even more.”

I said emphatically.

“In the future, this country will gather and use the talents of merchants and artisans alike. We cannot be held back by useless formalities.”

At my words, Baek Dalwon pondered for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Since Your Majesty says so, may I add a word with my short-sighted opinion?”

“Speak.”

Baek Dalwon nodded and opened his mouth.

“The situation in Annam is unusual.”

“I heard that Ming is withdrawing its government offices and troops.”

Emperor Honghui seemed to have taken my advice to heart.

The Jin clan, who had been usurped and driven out, was being restored, and the Ming Dynasty was withdrawing.

I heard that they are in the process of forming a court, and I was busy trying to get a piece of the action.

“We plan to bring those who trade with us into the new king’s court.”

A new independent state is being established in Vietnam, so we should get a piece of the action.

“Your Majesty, the Jin Dynasty will not last long.”

“Huh?”

Baek Dalwon said, fixing his gaze below.

“A man named Yeori, who calls himself the King of Binh Dinh, is greatly expanding his power. The Ming army led by Maqi and others has already been defeated by him.”

“Cheonghaejin didn’t say anything about that?”

We would not directly dispatch diplomats to Vietnam.

We make judgments based on information that comes indirectly through Ming and, most importantly, through our ships that call at Annam’s ports.

Naturally, the most sources that come to the court are brought by Cheonghaejin, a public corporation.

‘Are these bastards really…’

Should I visit Cheonghaejin and turn it upside down?

What were you doing while a new face was emerging in Annam?

Baek Dalwon, reading my expression, spoke as if to defend them.

“They say that he has been driven out by the Ming army and retreated to Yeongsan, so it is natural that the people of Cheonghaejin are not paying attention. However, once the Ming army withdraws…”

“There will be nothing to hinder him.”

“Yes. Yeori will eventually overthrow Annam.”

If he started from nothing and repeatedly defeated the Ming army, he is no ordinary person.

Now that the Ming army is withdrawing, it will be a perfect opportunity for him.

Emperor Honghui has already lost interest in Annam.

Even if Yeori overthrows the puppet dynasty and kills the king, he will not send troops to subdue him.

Even if Yeori achieves his goal, there will be no benefit in maintaining a state of tension with Ming.

‘Wouldn’t he compromise appropriately, recognize the usurpation of the Annam throne, and end it?’

If that is the conclusion, there is no reason not to build a friendship with him from now on.

“We should contact him.”

End

ⓒ Pitkong