Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 208

208. Homecoming (1)

July, Gyeongseul Year (1430).

A large fleet entered Jemulpo [modern-day Incheon, South Korea].

It consisted of two super-large Dhow ships [a type of sailing vessel with one or more masts] and three regular large Dhow ships.

The foreign ships, escorted by Joseon [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897] navy Panokseon warships [a type of Korean warship], carefully docked at Jemulpo.

As gangways were placed on the docked ships, people began to disembark, with Joseon citizens at the forefront.

These were the people who had departed for Aden [a port city in Yemen] in Musin Year (1428) and were now returning.

* * *

As before, the fleet approaching Joseon encountered Joseon Panokseon warships midway.

“It seems the patrol range has increased since we left?”

“That is correct.”

To the question of Oh Ha-seok, the Jongsagwan (attendant officer), who saw the Panokseon approaching from afar, Seon Dong-jin, the Chogwan (squad leader) standing next to him, nodded in response.

Seeing the Panokseon turning its bow to maintain the effective range of its cannons and simultaneously project maximum firepower, Oh Ha-seok ordered Seon Dong-jin.

“They are on high alert; tell the captain to absolutely avoid any rash actions.”

“Yes.”

“And if possible, raise the white flag.”

“Understood!”

Thus, the fleet, encountering the Panokseon, headed towards Jeolla Navy Headquarters [one of the regional commands of the Joseon navy].

As before, Ulsan sent a fast horse to Hanyang [the capital of Joseon, modern-day Seoul] immediately. A few days later, a fast horse returned from Hanyang, carrying orders to send them to Jemulpo as expected.

That was how Mansur’s fleet came up to Jemulpo. Escorted by the Joseon navy, the fleet sailed north through the Yellow Sea and arrived safely at Jemulpo.

* * *

Soldiers who had been waiting in advance were guarding the pier where the fleet was docking.

A government official, seeing Oh Ha-seok and his party disembarking, with Oh Ha-seok at the lead, approached them first.

“I am Byeon Gang-seok, a Jwarang (6th rank official) from the Ministry of Taxation. Welcome back safely.”

“I am Navy Jongsagwan Oh Ha-seok. Pleased to meet you.”

“But the number of people…”

Byeon Gang-seok carefully opened his mouth, subtly checking the number of people in the group. Oh Ha-seok replied in a somber voice.

“We lost five. Two encountered pirates on the way, and three succumbed to endemic diseases.”

“Ah…. May their souls rest in peace.”

“Thank you on behalf of the bereaved families.”

After a brief conversation, the officials from the Ministry of Taxation, including Byeon Gang-seok, quickly got down to business.

They checked the number of crew members on the fleet, urged them not to leave the Muslim residence without permission, and recorded the types and quantities of the goods they had brought to create an inventory.

“The processing speed has become faster?”

Byeon Gang-seok gave a wry smile in response to Oh Ha-seok’s question.

“You know how the court is, don’t you? If you don’t want to be scolded instead of eating, you have to be diligent.”

“Ah…. That’s right.”

Oh Ha-seok nodded and muttered to himself.

“I have returned after all.”

* * *

The Joseon people led by Oh Ha-seok headed straight for Hanyang.

Passing through Gwanghwamun Gate [the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace] and entering Geunjeongjeon Hall [the throne hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace], Oh Ha-seok and his party bowed respectfully towards King Sejong sitting above the hall.

“Seven people, including Jongsagwan Oh Ha-seok, report that they have returned after completing their mission!”

Sejong responded to Oh Ha-seok’s report.

“It was a truly distant and arduous journey, but I am grateful to see you return like this. You have worked hard.”

“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless.”

“Yes…. I heard that five were lost. Are the others all safe?”

“By the grace of heaven, the others are all safe.”

“That is fortunate. Royal Secretary, listen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Sejong issued an order to the Royal Secretary.

“In accordance with the newly established regulations, send the Seungjeongwon’s secretary [Royal Secretariat] to the families of the deceased to inform them of their deaths and offer condolences in my name. And support the bereaved families according to the established laws.”

“I obey your command.”

The Royal Secretary bowed and replied to Sejong’s order. Oh Ha-seok, hearing Sejong’s order, expressed his great gratitude and bowed.

“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless. Long live! Long live! Ten thousand years!”

* * *

As an aside, Hyang’s influence was strongly felt in the procedures and support measures for soldiers and officials who died in battle or other official duties.

The ‘Merit Reward Act’ was the first law to be revised when Gyeongjang [a period of political reform] began. And as Gyeongjang progressed and Sejong’s royal authority strengthened, it became one of the laws that were further strengthened.

“It has been said since ancient times that there is righteousness between ruler and subject. Are subjects only those who wear official robes and work in the main hall? They died and were injured while working for the country, so it is only right that the country upholds that righteousness!”

Sejong’s will was so strong that the ministers had to follow it.

“His Majesty’s will is so strong…”

“Is it just His Majesty? Can’t you see the Crown Prince behind him?”

They remembered Hyang, who had strongly advocated for measures regarding veterans’ affairs since he began to express his political views.

However, Hyang went one step further.

“If the king does not value the people, will the people value me? The people are Your Majesty’s children. Therefore, I believe we must treat them with due respect.”

“That’s right. Tell me what you want to do.”

Hyang spoke about what he had been thinking. Sejong listened to Hyang’s story for a long time and nodded.

“You are right.”

After that, it was legislated that those with the rank of at least Pajong or Jangnyeong (Senior 4th rank) or higher would visit and inform the families of those who died while serving in the military away from their hometowns, or who died from accidents or overwork while performing official duties, and offer condolences. If the deceased had children who were too young to conduct the funeral, or only elderly parents, the official who offered condolences was also designated by law to remain and conduct the funeral.

This was applied equally to the naturalized Jurchens [a Tungistic people who lived in Northeast Asia] and Japanese. As a result, the Jurchens and Japanese fought even more fiercely than the Joseon soldiers.

And such struggles of the Jurchens and Japanese caused a chain reaction, further igniting the fighting spirit of the Joseon soldiers.

* * *

Oh Ha-seok and his party, having completed their report to Sejong in Geunjeongjeon Hall, were granted three days of vacation.

Returning to the Military Affairs Department and the Interpretation Office to announce their return and the three-day vacation, the colleagues in the Military Affairs Department and the Interpretation Office all replied in the same way.

“Rest for three days! Rest unconditionally! Don’t even dream of going to a gibang [traditional Korean house of entertainment], just lie down and rest! Whether you get bedsores or not, just lie down, rest, and sleep!”

“Huh? Still, it’s been two years since we returned, so how about some drinks…”

“Shut up and rest!”

Oh Ha-seok and his party, tilting their heads at their colleagues’ words, were able to understand the reason three days later.

* * *

Three days later, as soon as they came to work, the royal physicians from the Royal Clinic were the first to find them.

“Let’s go to the Royal Clinic for a moment!”

“Yes? Yes?”

“It’s a royal order.”

Oh Ha-seok and his party, dragged to the Royal Clinic, were thoroughly examined from head to toe.

They checked their complexion, whether their eyes were jaundiced, and even investigated whether they had gained or lost weight.

The royal physicians, having finished their examination by looking at the white coating on their tongues and taking their pulses, soon delved into the most important issue.

“I heard that there were people who died from endemic diseases?”

“That’s right.”

“May their souls rest in peace.”

“Thank you.”

“What symptoms did the endemic diseases show? What is the treatment?”

“Well… that is…”

Thus, Oh Ha-seok and his party were thoroughly interrogated at the Royal Clinic from the moment they arrived at work until they left.

* * *

Their work did not end there.

The interpreters belonging to the Interpretation Office had to write lengthy reports on the Arabic and indigenous languages they had learned in the Aden region.

The reports did not end there. Following that, they wrote detailed reports on the geographical environment, customs, and the tendencies of the residents of the Aden region.

“You went all the way to a place called Alexandria?”

“Yes. To sell the goods we brought from Joseon at auction…”

“Write a report and bring it. In particular, don’t leave out how much it was sold for and what the reactions of the Westerners were.”

“Yes….”

“But how should we write Alexandria in Idu [a system of writing Korean using Chinese characters]?”

“Well….”

The superior who gave the instructions and the person in charge who would carry them out could only worry with difficult expressions. In particular, the person in charge of writing the report had a pale face and was sweating profusely.

“Alexandria is not the only place with such a name…. Starting with Aden right away….”

“Damn it.”

The superior unconsciously uttered a curse.

* * *

A similar thing happened in the Military Affairs Department.

“Did you call for me?”

“Yes. I called for you.”

The Military Affairs Department’s Chamjeong (Junior 4th rank), having gathered those who had participated in the voyage, starting with Oh Ha-seok, immediately got to the point.

“You must have kept proper records during the voyage, right?”

“Yes.”

“Write a report. Organize and write down the duration of the voyage, the ports you stopped at, changes in wind direction, and so on.”

“Yes.”

Oh Ha-seok and his party replied with calm expressions.

They had already expected that they would be writing a report on the voyage.

However, as the Chamjeong’s words continued, the faces of the group began to turn yellow.

“What I’ve said so far are the things you need to write down as a basis, and there are things you need to write down as separate reports. First of all, make a detailed report on the defense status of the ports you stopped at along the way. In addition, write a report on the character of the residents living in the ports and their reactions to foreigners. And you met pirates along the way, right? Organize whether the pirates you encountered were Chinese, Japanese, or other guys, and make a report on their armament status, the size of the pirate ships, whether they were equipped with cannons, and how vicious they were.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“And there’s a huge ship among the ones that came this time, right? Make a detailed report on that as well.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“There are many people waiting above, so you’ll have to write it properly.”

Oh Ha-seok and his party swallowed hard at the Chamjeong’s words. Looking at the faces of the group, the Chamjeong added.

“Ah, the deadline is six days.”

“That’s too tight. You should give us at least ten days….”

Oh Han-seok stepped forward to protest, but the Chamjeong shook his head.

“You know that the records of the voyage of the eunuch Zheng He from the Ming Dynasty [Chinese dynasty from 1368 to 1644] came in before, right? You have to write a separate report comparing it with that. But if you guys are slow, the Minister of War will be scolded by His Majesty, and from the Minister of War to your immediate superiors, do you think they will leave you alone?”

“…Still.”

“You rested well for three days, right? Now you have to work. Go write the report quickly.”

With those words, Oh Ha-seok and his party left the Chamjeong’s room and stared blankly at the sky.

Oh Ha-seok looked at the sky and sighed deeply.

“Hoo~. I knew there was a reason why they told us to rest unconditionally.”

* * *

Meanwhile, the officials of the Ministry of Taxation, who were organizing the inventory of goods brought by Mansur, paid attention to one item.

“Did black tea come in?”

“Black tea….”

The Ministry of Taxation official rummaging through the inventory shouted.

“It’s here! It’s in!”

The surrounding officials, who had been suffering from withdrawal symptoms since coffee ran out in the second half of Giyu year, flocked together.

“It’s here? How much is there?”

* * *

Meanwhile, in the residential complex of the Muslims, Mansur called together Hassan and others working in the court separately.

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

“What favor is it?”

“Help me get bigger and more powerful cannons.”

The faces of Hassan and the officials gathered in the room turned pale at Mansur’s words.

“Cannons! Are you out of your mind?”

“I have no choice.”

Mansur continued with a desperate expression.

“To secure the safety of the trade route, and to protect our family in Aden, we need cannons. And also Chongtong (cannons) [a type of Korean cannon].”

“Huh….”

Mansur briefly concluded the current situation.

“Right now, our family is walking on a tightrope across a cliff. To protect our family, Joseon’s cannons are absolutely necessary.”