Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 411

411. Lord of War. Huashang (2)

Before issuing the imperial decree, Emperor Xuanzong acted with haste.

“Send an envoy to Joseon immediately! Immediately!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Emperor Xuanzong’s objective in Joseon was to acquire the original printing plate for the nationally certified bill of exchange, the same one used by Joseon’s merchants.

* * *

Merchants primarily used currency and goods for transactions. However, regardless of the amount of currency and goods they possessed, they predominantly used bills of exchange for large transactions due to the risks associated with storage and transportation, as well as other logistical issues.

Concerned about tax evasion and related problems, the Joseon court directly issued the bill of exchange paper from the government.

They attempted to minimize tax evasion by mandating the use of bill of exchange paper with serial numbers, similar to currency, for all transactions.

Behind these policies was Hyang. His actions were based on knowledge acquired in the 21st century and experience gained during his brief tenure as a public official.

Of course, Hyang wasn’t optimistic about the outcome when planning this policy.

“There’s a saying that ten constables can’t stop one thief. The history of tax evasion is as old as human history… But, I have to do everything I can and block as many loopholes as possible.”

What emerged from that process was the investment capital market.

“Extract as much as possible from what can be extracted!”

* * *

Upon receiving the original plate created in response to Emperor Xuanzong’s request, he immediately ordered its printing.

Once a sufficient quantity was printed according to Emperor Xuanzong’s instructions, he promptly issued an imperial decree throughout the Ming Empire.

-From this day forward, Ming merchants are forbidden from using private bills, including promissory notes. All merchants must obtain and use bills issued by the state from government offices. This is an imperial decree, and anyone who violates it will be considered to be insulting the emperor and will be severely punished.

As soon as the imperial decree was announced, Ming merchants flocked to government offices to receive their bill of exchange books.

The officials responsible for distribution meticulously recorded which merchant received how many bill of exchange books, and these records were immediately sent to the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing.

* * *

Inevitably, some individuals resisted, either knowingly or unknowingly. The surrounding merchants and merchant groups, upon discovering these dissenters, quickly distanced themselves.

“Have they already forgotten the bloodbath from last time?”

“No matter how valuable wealth is…”

As the merchants and merchant groups feared, the Ming imperial guards once again descended upon the merchants and merchant groups who disregarded Emperor Xuanzong’s orders, leaving them in ruins.

In this process, unfortunate victims emerged, with a considerable number of merchant groups and merchants destroyed due to false accusations from rival merchants and merchant groups.

The damage wasn’t limited to merchant groups and merchants. They had hired martial artists to protect goods and merchants from bandits or pirates while transporting large quantities of goods. These martial artists recklessly engaged in combat during the imperial guards’ suppression.

“Such insolence! Chase them to the end and uproot them!”

Following Emperor Xuanzong’s furious orders upon receiving the report, the imperial guards relentlessly pursued and eliminated the martial artists.

In this process, the martial arts society, commonly referred to as Jianghu [literally “rivers and lakes,” referring to the wandering martial arts community] or Wulin [martial forest], suffered a tremendous blow, marking the beginning of its decline.

No matter how skilled a martial artist was, they were helpless against the firearms of the imperial guards.

* * *

In this way, Emperor Xuanzong concentrated the maximum amount of power in his own hands.

The existing bureaucratic organization, the Grand Secretariat, the eunuchs, and the Jinyiwei [the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a special imperial military unit] were all watching Emperor Xuanzong’s every move and were absolutely obedient.

Emperor Xuanzong’s power base consisted of the spearmen, known as the Rifle Squad, and the artillerymen, known as the Cannon Guard, within the Jinyiwei.

* * *

Based on the Dongchong [a type of firearm] imported from Joseon, a new type of firearm was created, and Emperor Xuanzong formed a unit within the Jinyiwei to operate this new firearm.

During the formation of the unit in the Jinyiwei, some improvements were made to the Dongchong. Ming artisans finally created and attached a sighting device.

Even though the sighting device was a very primitive method of attaching small protrusions to the front and back of the barrel and aligning them in a straight line, it demonstrated more advanced accuracy than the firearms imported from Joseon and the firearms used before.

Emperor Xuanzong, after witnessing the demonstration, ordered mass production.

Emperor Xuanzong’s primary goal was to initially make the main force of the Jinyiwei consist of spearmen and artillerymen, and ultimately make the main force of the 500,000-strong army consist of spearmen and artillerymen.

However, this was almost impossible.

There were several reasons why it could be considered impossible, but the first was the poor quality of the soldiers.

‘Good iron is not used to make nails, and good talent is not made into soldiers.’ [An idiom meaning that talented people are wasted on menial tasks.]

The perception of soldiers was so negative that most of those who entered the military, especially as ordinary soldiers, were illiterate.

Secondly, firearms and artillery, like all gunpowder weapons, were expensive to maintain.

In particular, gunpowder was expensive to produce, difficult to maintain, and consumed upon use. A considerable amount had to be steadily consumed to train them properly.

* * *

Despite these problems, Emperor Xuanzong couldn’t abandon the idea of organizing the spearmen and artillerymen. Not long after ascending the throne, Emperor Xuanzong had personally led the soldiers and won a battle against the Jurchens. He couldn’t forget the effectiveness of the gunpowder weapons he had experienced at that time.

Therefore, Emperor Xuanzong began forming units within the Jinyiwei, where the most carefully selected talents gathered.

Initially, 12,000 soldiers were selected to train 10,000 spearmen and 2,000 artillerymen.

The spearmen and artillerymen, trained by consuming a large amount of wealth generated through joint ventures, grew into the elite of the elite.

Satisfied with the soldiers’ formidable appearance, Emperor Xuanzong named the spearmen the Rifle Squad and the artillerymen the Cannon Guard.

Having achieved the first goal, Emperor Xuanzong set the next.

Emperor Xuanzong’s second goal was to increase the size of the Rifle Squad and Cannon Guard by five times.

50,000 spearmen and 10,000 artillerymen.

This was the second stepping stone to the final goal that Emperor Xuanzong envisioned.

* * *

The Rifle Squad and Cannon Guard, raised as elites, belonged to the Jinyiwei. Although they were part of the Jinyiwei, the last bastion protecting himself and the imperial family, Emperor Xuanzong had no intention of simply displaying them as ornaments in the Forbidden City.

After stabilizing the interior of the empire with the Rifle Squad and Cannon Guard of the Jinyiwei, Emperor Xuanzong turned his attention outward.

Emperor Xuanzong’s gaze turned to the horse market.

After Emperor Yongle allowed tributary trade, horse markets were held regularly in the north, facilitating trade with the Mongolian tribes.

The Mongolian tribes sold horses and furs, while the Ming sold silk, clothing, and food.

The horse market, held regularly but not permanently, gradually grew in size over time. Merchants from nearby Uyghur [a Turkic ethnic group] also began to appear.

“I can smell money!”

When reports surfaced that Ming merchants were engaging in smuggling after sensing profit, Emperor Xuanzong immediately issued an imperial decree.

First, a suitable-sized earthen fortress was built in an area with abundant drinking water and easy supply in the border area between Ming and Oirat [a major group of Western Mongols].

Afterward, accommodation facilities and horse ranches were prepared around the earthen fortress, and the tribal chiefs of Oirat and the merchants of Ming were informed.

“We have established a permanent market in the location we have designated. Those with permits can trade in the market at any time!”

However, there was a prerequisite: the Oirat side had to submit a document pledging allegiance to the Ming emperor, and the merchants of Ming and Uyghur had to purchase a trading permit.

In addition, merchants who wanted to trade in the market had to pay an entrance fee of 10 silver taels [a unit of currency] each time they entered the market, in addition to the permit. By paying this entrance fee, merchants could stay in the market for five days. Afterward, merchants who wanted to extend their stay had to pay an additional 10 silver taels every five days, in advance.

However, the Oirat tribe was exempt from this condition.

“This is the favor that I am showing you. Never cause any trouble.”

Although they had to pay 10 silver taels in paper money each time they entered the market, the merchants accepted it. The profits obtainable from trade in this market were well worth the expense.

In particular, the benefits included safety. In the fortress built near the market, 3,000 spearmen, 500 artillerymen, and 1,000 cavalrymen were stationed.

No matter how violent the warriors of the Oirat tribe were, they could never act rashly in front of them.

In fact, small tribes belonging to the Oirat tribe tried to attack the market several times, but each time they suffered enormous damage and had to retreat.

And the tribes that suffered damage and retreated were consumed by other tribes, just like the Jurchens who had attacked Joseon and were defeated.

The Masi Fort, created in this way, was unexpectedly useful militarily.

The market created near Masi Fort was a place overflowing with wealth, so the Oirat, as well as other Mongolian tribes, focused their attention on this place.

Thanks to this, the military pressure on the border area bordering Mongolia was significantly reduced.

Another advantage was that the skill and combat power of the Rifle Squad and Cannon Guard soldiers continued to be strengthened as they experienced actual combat in this Masi Fort.

Every six months, 1/3 of the soldiers were replaced, and the soldiers who were constantly rotated in this way honed their skills through combat.

Next, based on the profits coming in through the Masi, they had the leeway to gradually expand the size of the Rifle Squad and Cannon Guard.

Finally, the military commanders who valued traditional cold weapons were able to clearly recognize the usefulness of gunpowder weapons.

* * *

It would have been really nice if it had ended like that, but things in the world are not that easy.

The attempt to expand the spearmen and artillerymen to the entire Ming army was still sluggish.

The reason was, as mentioned before, the problem of the soldiers’ qualities.

Whenever they received such reports, the Ming generals and military officers clicked their tongues and felt sorry.

“They say that the Japanese become fierce like beasts when they hold a sword, and become warriors worth a hundred men…”

“Artillery is best left to those who wield swords, but all the soldiers are illiterate…”

“Speaking of which, have you heard the news from Joseon? They say that they teach even the lowest-ranking soldiers basic tactics and military strategy.”

“The Joseon people are so smart…”

In the end, the Ming generals chose the most certain but worst method to train the soldiers.

What they chose was violence.

Those who showed even a little bit of incompetence in the training process were subjected to harsh beatings.

On the other hand, those who knew how to read and write and showed even a little bit of excellence were immediately promoted to lower-level officers.

And these lower-level officers were put in charge of managing gunpowder weapons and gunpowder. Those who suddenly became officers were not entirely happy either. Below, they were subtly ostracized among the soldiers, and above, they were constantly asked for bribes from their superiors.

On the surface, a large-scale army armed with gunpowder weapons was being created, just like in Joseon, but inside, a stench was slowly beginning to rise.

* * *

And in this situation, a memorial was submitted to Emperor Xuanzong.

“Build a currency issuing bureau in Nanjing too? Are you out of your mind?”