Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1113

1113. The Growing Embers (1)

While the Imperial Ministry of National Defense was busy chasing its ‘Dream of the Artillery Department,’ the clocks of other nations were also ticking. The first change was the Crown Prince ascending the throne after Emperor Seonghwa.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live! Ten thousand years!”

On the day the Crown Prince ascended the throne following Seonghwa, the officials of the Ming dynasty gathered in the Imperial Palace of Nanjing and shouted hurrahs until their throats were raw. However, many officials were muttering something else in their hearts.

‘Is this also following the Empire’s lead!’

The previous emperor, Seonghwa, was still in good health. It was completely different from the previous emperors or monarchs of past dynasties who lost their energy after their 50s and caused succession problems. With Seonghwa in good health, the imperial physicians of Ming, starting with the imperial physicians of the Empire, sought the reason.

Because the most important task of the physicians, regardless of nationality, was to make the monarch healthy and long-lived. Whether the physicians did so or not, the officials thought of this as ‘Imperial style’ because the still-healthy Seonghwa abdicated the throne to the Crown Prince, just like the Empire did. And in reality, the Crown Prince of Ming had accumulated similar practical experience to the Crown Prince of the Empire. In particular, successfully completing the recent ‘Persian Joint Venture’ was the decisive reason for the abdication.

“He’s doing practical work properly, but politics is the problem. In that case….”

The Crown Prince’s practical skills were already on track, but Seonghwa decided to abdicate to solve the lack of political experience. There were always those who would try to hold the newly crowned emperor in their hands and control the state affairs.

However, if Seonghwa was supporting him from behind, there would be no fools trying to do such foolish things. And when the time came for Seonghwa to step down completely, the new emperor would also be at his peak.

* * *

With the new emperor—Hongzhi—sitting on the throne, several changes occurred. The Secretary Office, Seonghwa’s close guard, was replaced. The officials of Ming gave a cynical evaluation of the replacement of the Secretary Office, Seonghwa’s close guard.

“The trap is that it has changed, but nothing has changed.”

The new members of the Secretary Office were those who had grown up with Hongzhi since childhood. To be more precise, they were the children of the Imperials who came to Ming with Seonghwa. Therefore, the replacement of the Secretary Office resulted in ‘changed, but nothing changed.’ Another change was the generational change of the Eastern Depot [a Ming dynasty secret police agency].

Wang Chong, who had returned from the Empire with Seonghwa, retired due to old age, and at the same time, the eunuch Wang Chong had marked as his successor took over the Eastern Depot. This eunuch was also one of those who had attended to the Crown Prince and his companions since they were young. Those who had prepared step by step over a long period of time surrounded the new emperor.

“It’s highly likely to be a bad move, but it’s better than having mediocre guys come in and make a mess.”

It was the result of an agreement between Seonghwa, his close associates, and Wang Chong.

* * *

As Hongzhi ascended the throne, the military gradually increased in size. This was thanks to the Ming’s economy returning to track, which created financial leeway.

“It may arouse suspicion in Seoul [the capital of the Empire],”

The Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet warned against Hongzhi’s decision. After being devastated in two major wars, Ming became afraid of the Empire. Of course, they outwardly claimed a certain victory, but everyone from the emperor to the people knew.

‘It’s not a certain victory, but a certain defeat.’

Therefore, even the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, who usually referred to the Empire as ‘Joseon,’ warned.

“But isn’t it an unavoidable situation? There are more than a few who have received ranks but have no positions, so they are sitting in a corner room of the Ministry of War, aren’t there?”

“That’s true, but I’m worried that Seoul will be suspicious.”

“Your expression looks more like anger than worry?”

At Hongzhi’s remark, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet flinched and lowered his head.

‘Oh, such a mistake!’

In reality, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet was worried about the Empire’s suspicion, but on the other hand, he was also harboring anger towards the Empire.

‘In the days of Yongle [a Ming dynasty emperor], the Empire, no, Joseon, was watching our every move and being careful, but now we are in that state! How will future generations evaluate this humiliation!’

The Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet was furious, considering the current situation a disgrace, but he couldn’t even dream of biding his time or enduring hardship. This was because of the memory of Beijing being ransacked right in front of their noses in the past two wars. Not to mention, the country was split in half, and the Jiangnan area was devastated.

“Now is the time to survive by moving together with the Empire, not by confronting them. Don’t forget this.”

“I will keep that in mind. So, it would be better to consider raising the Imperial Guards a little more.”

At the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet’s words, Hongzhi shook his head.

“No, the growth of the military is necessary for the reason I just mentioned. The Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet already knows about the situation in Persia, doesn’t he?”

“Ah….”

At Hongzhi’s remark, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet recalled.

‘Certainly, Persia has become unstable.’

* * *

Ismail’s ‘Great Iran,’ which solidified Persia’s dominance through the purge of the Qizilbash [a Shia militant group], gradually increased in size. The Eastern Three Kingdoms contributed the most to this.

Ismail, who secured funds through trade with the Eastern Three Kingdoms, stabilized the country and gradually strengthened its military power. This growth of Iran caused tension in the Ottoman Empire. This was unavoidable.

-Muslims and Christians can get along well. However, the conflict between Shia Islam and Sunni Islam will only end when one of them dies.

This was a reality that not only the Ottoman Empire and Iran but also all the surrounding countries recognized. And both countries were actually preparing for war step by step. First, Selim I of the Ottoman Empire was fostering a new army with the full support of France.

And he was using this newly trained army to gradually pressure the two surviving competitors. Ahmad and Korkud requested support from England and Habsburg, who had supported them, but it was not effective.

Contrary to initial expectations, their value had fallen a lot, and the sea route was also blocked a lot. However, the biggest reason was that the road to Persia was blocked with the birth of Iran. While Selim I of the Ottoman Empire was diligently preparing for war, Ismail was also preparing hard. Ismail, who had secured a proper army with the support of the Eastern Three Kingdoms, began to conquer the Uzbeks of the East by mobilizing it.

The Uzbeks were as bad with Iran as the Ottomans were. If the Uzbeks intervened when a war broke out with the Ottoman Empire, it could be very fatal for Iran. Therefore, they attacked the Uzbeks to eliminate this danger in advance and to build up the battle experience of the Iranian army.

The Eastern Three Kingdoms also joined this Uzbek conquest. The Empire was in charge of establishing and coordinating the operation plan and supplying supplies, while Ming and Japan played a role in filling the gaps in the Iranian army. And the country most enthusiastic about the conquest besides Iran was Ming.

This was because the goal was to build a new Silk Road.

* * *

“If Iran becomes unstable, our plan will be difficult. So, we have no choice but to grow the military. The Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet is worried about Seoul, but Seoul will not have to worry about the newly created unit.”

“Perhaps… will you create an army with poor combat power?”

“Then it would be better not to create it.”

“If so….”

At Hongzhi’s words, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet turned his head furiously.

-The Empire is not worried even though a unit with proper combat power has been newly established?

-There are only a few answers to make that possible. Either go under the Imperial Army altogether, or be far away from the Empire.

“Will you dispatch troops to Persia?”

“Persia is not a good place to openly increase troops. I will send them to Xinjiang [a region in Northwest China].”

The Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, who had been calculating for a while at Hongzhi’s words, immediately bowed his head and opposed.

“It is not easy to send soldiers west of Yumen Pass [a strategic pass in Gansu, China]. This is because our soldiers are not familiar with the harsh environment west of Yumen Pass. It would be better to send them to Iran and advance east with the help of Iran. It will be easier to find a guide in Iran.”

“Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. I have never said that I would conquer, have I?”

At Hongzhi’s cold words, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet raised his head and looked at Hongzhi. Hongzhi was glaring at the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet with an angry expression.

“The west of Yumen Pass is a harsh place, as the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet said. Even well-prepared merchants become uninvited guests if they move carelessly. Are you saying that we should move while waging war in such a place? Does the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet think I’m a fool?”

At Hongzhi’s words, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet immediately prostrated himself on the floor and raised his voice.

“How could I have such disloyal thoughts? If I did, I would spit blood and die on the spot!”

“So you mean you don’t have such thoughts because you’re alive? Hah!”

Hongzhi smiled and continued.

“Does the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet not know how Seoul moves, or does he ignore it? What do we need now? Land or road?”

At Hongzhi’s question, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet immediately answered.

“It’s the road.”

“Preparing an army requires a lot of time and money. The army I’m talking about is not for occupying other people’s land, but for protecting the roads that are necessary for each other. Keep this in mind!”

“I will engrave it in my bones!”

Hongzhi’s face was extremely cold as he looked at the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, who was answering loudly.

“You should. I will never forgive anyone who makes Seoul ignore this country that I rule.”

“I will definitely keep that in mind!”

“Not only the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet but also anyone who receives a salary under me must keep this in mind. I will definitely hold those who neglect this accountable!”

At Hongzhi’s threat, all the officials in the hall prostrated themselves and answered in unison.

“We will engrave it in our bones!”

* * *

According to Hongzhi’s decision, the Ming army gradually increased in size. First, the size of the Ming army began to increase little by little.

The newly formed unit was immediately deployed near Yumen Pass and began to adapt to the environment. At the same time, envoys in charge of negotiations headed west beyond Yumen Pass. The Ming navy also gradually increased in size. However, it was a little different from the army.

They mass-produced warships equipped with steam engines powered by oil on medium-sized ironclad ships and mercilessly decommissioned old warships. At the same time, they began to mass-produce large transport ships.

The purpose of these movements was clearly visible.

-To supply Persia independently.

-To avoid the Empire’s suspicion by building large warships.