Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 259

259. The Tree Wishes to Stand Still… (2)

While Joseon was preoccupied with various affairs, a storm cloud was gathering north of Baekdu Mountain, poised to unleash a tempest.

“Beile, we have captured the traitors.”

“Is that so?”

Upon hearing his subordinate’s report, Mentemu rose from his seat and went outside.

In the expansive courtyard before Mentemu’s wooden residence, four bloodied men knelt, bound by ropes. Mentemu’s personal guards surrounded them, radiating a fierce, murderous aura.

Mentemu, seated on a chair brought by a subordinate, addressed the captives.

“Why did you betray your brothers?”

The man on the far right responded loudly to Mentemu’s question.

“We did not betray!”

“Did not betray?”

“That’s right! We were only trying to go to Joseon because life here was too hard! Isn’t leaving our home a custom when life becomes difficult?”

“That is true. But betraying and killing your brothers is unacceptable.”

The man raised his voice again at Mentemu’s words.

“He betrayed us! As we were about to leave, he tried to take the furs we had gathered at a low price! When we protested, he drew his sword first! We only resisted to survive!”

Mentemu shook his head at the man’s outburst.

“Those who died at your hands were the Han [referring to the leader] who guided you and his brothers who possessed the Ming imperial edicts. A Han deceiving his tribesmen? Who would believe that?”

The man spat on the ground at Mentemu’s words.

“Tuh! Then kill us! Why waste time on something you don’t believe? A Han doesn’t deceive his tribesmen? Hah! Look at yourself, Beile! You dragged brothers who were living well to Kaiyuan and sold them as arrow fodder in the battles between the Ming and the Mongols! You dare say that!”

“Kill them!”

As soon as the man finished speaking, Mentemu, enraged, ordered his subordinates.

Immediately following Mentemu’s command, the subordinates beheaded the men without hesitation.

“Throw the corpses in the fields to feed the beasts.”

“Yes.”

At Mentemu’s command, the subordinates tied the legs of the dead men with ropes and attached the ropes to the saddles. Holding the severed heads in one hand, the subordinates mounted their horses and headed for the fields.

* * *

Returning to his house, Mentemu sat in his chair and let out a long sigh.

“Hoo…”

Gazing into the distance with a face full of regret, Mentemu appeared several years older.

“Was it a mistake…?”

The cry of the man who had just died, ‘Sold his own people as arrow fodder!’ kept echoing in Mentemu’s mind.

And he knew very well that this was a common saying among the tribesmen these days.

Mentemu grabbed his head with both hands and muttered.

“There was no other way at the time…”

* * *

Mentemu’s first encounter with Yi Seong-gye occurred when he had just begun to lead his tribe. Mentemu, a young tribal leader, employed cunning schemes to lure his tribe’s enemies into traps and eliminate them, gaining notoriety by releasing the survivors for ransom. As the tribe expanded, Mentemu, having settled in Hoeryeong, met ‘The Tiger of Liaodong,’ Yi Seong-gye, and became his subordinate.

After Joseon was founded and Yi Seong-gye faded into history, the Yongle Emperor of Ming reached out to him.

However, Mentemu refused Yongle’s offer.

“I will live as a Joseon person.”

Despite his refusal, Yongle’s pressure intensified. And Taejong of Gyeongseong was Taejong, not Yi Seong-gye.

Ultimately, Mentemu had no choice but to accept Yongle’s support.

Subsequently, Joseon’s revenge war against Mentemu, who was discovered to have allied with Ming, ensued, with the conflict eventually mediated by Ming.

However, knowing that Joseon could strike again at any moment, Mentemu was compelled to leave Hoeryeong and move westward.

Mentemu, settling in Kaiyuan where Eoheochul was located, managed to expand his tribe with Ming’s backing.

“If I develop the tribe like this and return to Almokha, Joseon won’t be able to act recklessly.”

However, Ming betrayed Mentemu’s expectations.

-女眞一万 則 天下不堪當

(If 10,000 Jurchens gather, the world cannot withstand them.)

This was a common saying in Ming.

Ming, mindful of what had befallen the Song Dynasty at the hands of the Jurchen state of Jin founded by Aguda, sought to prevent the Jurchen forces from becoming too powerful.

With this objective, when Mentemu’s Odoli tribe grew in strength, Ming conscripted Odoli tribe warriors for conflicts with the Mongols or assigned them the role of primary defense against the southward-advancing Mongols.

Furthermore, they exploited the vulnerabilities of the Jurchens, who lived in harsh conditions.

The Jurchens relied on trade with Ming merchants for essential supplies. Jurchen merchants seeking to trade with Ming merchants required an imperial edict, a permit issued by the Ming emperor.

Through this edict, Ming maintained control over the Jurchens. Any slight displeasure could result in the revocation or denial of the edict. (Note 1)

In the end, Mentemu had no choice but to return to Almokha.

“Is it fortunate that I returned with 1,000 warriors, unlike when I left with only 500 warriors?”

Consoling himself in this manner, Mentemu returned to Almokha and promptly dispatched a messenger to Joseon to declare his submission.

“I will live as a loyal subject of Joseon. If necessary, you may take my son as a hostage.”

However, Sejong refused.

“How can we allow the son of someone who received a title from the suzerain state of Ming to reside in Hanseong as a hostage? It is not permitted.”

Despite the refusal, Sejong provided Mentemu with ample food and clothing.

However, Mentemu, receiving all this news through his son, understood Sejong’s intentions.

“Yi Bang-won and his son still want my head!”

Consequently, Mentemu had no choice but to remain quietly in Almokha.

However, as Sejong implemented reforms and strengthened national defense, Mentemu began to feel his survival threatened.

In particular, the news that he had received an edict from Emperor Xuande allowing him to reclaim the birthplace of the Yi Seong-gye family was the worst possible news for Mentemu.

Following that, the Orangkai tribes around Mentemu defected to Joseon, and their territories became Joseon land.

And Mentemu’s relatives, the other Odoli tribes, began to defect to Joseon one by one.

Mentemu’s tribe had become isolated.

* * *

“Hoo… Where did I make a mistake?”

Mentemu, regretting as he pondered the past, soon shook his head vigorously.

“No! I have always chosen the best course of action for the tribe! And it is the same now!”

Mentemu got up from his seat and went outside.

“Chungshan! Chungshan! Where are you!”

At Mentemu’s roar, his son Chungshan ran over and knelt down.

“Did you call, Father!”

“Gather your brothers by evening and summon Pancha!”

“Yes, Father!”

* * *

That evening, Mentemu’s children and Mentemu’s half-brother Pancha gathered at Mentemu’s house.

“The time has come to make a choice for the survival of our tribe.”

At Mentemu’s statement, the faces of his children and Pancha became serious.

After a moment of silence, Pancha, representing those gathered, asked a question.

“When you say choice, do you mean to fight Joseon?”

“We’ll strike a blow and retreat to Jianzhou. Or we can go to Kaiyuan.”

“The fortresses built by the Joseon bastards are impregnable. And even if we combine all our warriors now, we’ll have a little over 700. Of course, if we scrape together everything we can, we can reach 2,500…”

Pancha trailed off. That number of 2,500 included even the young boys who had just become adults. They knew how to handle horses and use bows and swords, but they had no experience in real combat.

Mentemu nodded at Pancha’s point.

“If we scrape them together like that, the losses will be great. But 700 is not enough, so we’ll make it 1,000.”

“It’s still too much.”

“I know that. So, I…”

Mentemu paused for a moment to catch his breath before continuing.

“I will join hands with Imanju.”

“Imanju, you say?”

Pancha received the words with an uncomfortable expression at Mentemu’s words.

“Yes, Imanju.”

“Beile, Imanju is the leader of a large tribe with over 10,000 households. He won’t move easily, and if we’re not careful, we’ll shed blood, and Imanju will reap the benefits.”

“I know. But there’s no choice. We can’t face Joseon with our own forces alone.”

Chungshan, his son, asked a question in response to Mentemu’s answer.

“Then, how about just leaving this place?”

“Whatever the reason, our tribe is a Joseon barbarian (藩胡, *panhu*, a barbarian in charge of defending the border). If we leave this place without a reason, Joseon will chase us down and kill us, saying we betrayed them again.”

“Even though Father has a title from Ming?”

“The justification lies with Joseon.”

“…”

Chungshan had a difficult expression at Mentemu’s words.

“But will Imanju really agree?”

At Pancha’s point, after pondering for a while, Mentemu gave the reason.

“He has no choice but to agree. Ever since those damned Joseon bastards started cultivating ginseng, the number of Ming merchants visiting Liaodong has decreased, and we continue to suffer losses in the trading process. And…”

Mentemu paused to wet his throat and then told the most compelling reason why Imanju had no choice but to join.

“Imanju also knows very well that he’s next after me. And that where he is now is closer to Joseon than Ming.”

At Mentemu’s words, Pancha and Mentemu’s children fell silent.

They also knew very well that their tribe was cornered.

The Orangkai tribes surrounding their tribe had already become loyal hunting dogs of Joseon. And other Odoli tribes, who were of the same bloodline as them, were also crossing over to Joseon.

Even if they were of the same blood, they could not be sure that they would not become Joseon’s spears and swords and slaughter them.

They were also reluctant to link up with Imanju. Mentemu said that such a thing would not happen, but it was almost certain that Imanju would drive them out as arrow fodder.

But there was no choice.

In the end, Pancha opened his mouth as a representative.

“I will prepare the warriors. When will you depart?”

“I will depart tomorrow immediately.”

“Understood.”

“Keep in mind that Joseon must never know until we take action.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

The faces of those leaving Mentemu’s house after the meeting were filled with worry, concern, and dismay.

“Hoo…”

Pancha, looking up at the sky with a long sigh, glared south and muttered.

“Even if you have surrounded the enemy, you must leave at least a minimal escape route, as stated in the military books…”

It was a word filled with resentment towards Sejong, who was forcing them to choose between death by withering (枯死, *gosa*) and death in battle (戰死, *jeonsa*).

* * *

The next morning, as soon as day broke, Mentemu set out for the Pajeo River, where Imanju’s tribe was located, with the warriors in charge of guarding him.

* * *

Note 1) https://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=moonmogabi&logNo=70181087834&proxyReferer=https:%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F