Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 412

412. Lord of War. Hua Merchants (3)

Emperor Xuanzong glared at the Minister of Revenue who had submitted the memorial.

However, the Minister of Revenue also had something to say.

“Your Majesty! The Central Plains are vast, and the people are numerous! Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, our empire has grown stronger day by day, relying on Your Majesty’s wisdom!”

The Minister of Revenue, who began with praise for Emperor Xuanzong, soon got to the point.

“However, this has also created many inconveniences. And the biggest of these inconveniences is currency. Throughout the empire, more and more currency is needed, but the issuing bureau in Beijing is the only one issuing currency, so it cannot keep up with the demand! Therefore, many places still trade in silver and gold. And this leads to tax evasion! Therefore, an additional issuing bureau should be established in Nanjing to respond more quickly!”

Most of the officials, including the new Chief Cabinet Secretary, nodded at the Minister of Revenue’s statement.

However, Emperor Xuanzong did not budge from his refusal.

“Using goods because there is no currency? Then why have you been using promissory notes? And why did I issue imperial-approved promissory notes? Wasn’t it to replace that? To blame everything on the amount and speed of currency issuance without thinking about that is a sign of your incompetence! If you had a sincere intention to act, you would have worked harder to enlighten the people and made more efforts to prevent tax evasion! But you don’t even think about or do such things, and you want to set up another issuing bureau? Do you really put any thought into your actions at all!”

At Emperor Xuanzong’s rebuke, the Minister of Revenue bowed his head and replied.

“Our loyalty is like a diamond! We simply want to increase efficiency to improve the empire’s finances…”

“It’s not about increasing efficiency, but about increasing opportunities to embezzle! And isn’t your honest desire not to increase the empire’s finances, but to increase your own!”

“Your Majesty! That is a completely unfair accusation! My loyalty is…”

Emperor Xuanzong interrupted the Minister of Revenue again.

“We’ll see about that loyalty when we investigate! Guards! Drag this man out and imprison him immediately!”

At Emperor Xuanzong’s command, soldiers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard [a secret police force] who had been waiting outside entered and seized the Minister of Revenue.

“Your Majesty! I am innocent!”

The Minister of Revenue cried out his innocence as he was dragged out, but Emperor Xuanzong added an order.

“Investigate all ten generations of the Minister of Revenue’s family, and if even one instance of corruption is found, imprison them all!”

“Understood!”

* * *

Thus, during Emperor Xuanzong’s reign, those involved in the politics of the Ming Dynasty—not only formal officials but also eunuchs and the Embroidered Uniform Guard—had to act as cautiously as if they were walking on thin ice.

Emperor Xuanzong cleverly used the friction existing between the core power organizations of the bureaucracy, the eunuch organization, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to keep each other in check. And he induced a competition of loyalty by bestowing ample rewards on those who were loyal to him. Informing and loyalty—this was how Emperor Xuanzong maintained his power. And what made this possible was the enormous profits coming from the joint venture merchant groups.

He was a figure of terror to the core power figures and the wealthy, but to the common people, Emperor Xuanzong was a sage ruler of the age.

He audited the officials in charge of tax affairs, purged the corrupt, and reduced unfair taxes, and mobilized the Embroidered Uniform Guard to respond quickly whenever there was a disaster.

Thanks to this, later historians called Emperor Xuanzong’s era the most unprecedented era of peace in Chinese history and named it ‘The Reign of Xuanzong’.

* * *

The politics of Emperor Xuanzong and the associated situation of the Ming Dynasty were immediately reported through the merchants of Shandong and the Jurchen tribes of the Liaoxi region.

The Jurchen tribes of the Liaoxi region were interesting entities.

Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom], which had entered the empty space created by wiping out the Manchu and Muntamu tribes, quietly extended its hand to the Jurchen tribes of the Liaoxi region across the Liao River.

It was not an official contact, but a contact using merchants from the Jurchen tribes who had surrendered, and it was used to create an information line that could cross-verify information obtained from Shandong.

And this part was also Hyang’s work. Hyang, who knew the importance of information well through his experience in the 21st century, insisted on creating such multiple information acquisition lines. And King Sejong, who immediately understood its importance, directed his officials to build the information line.

* * *

Interestingly, Joseon had been well aware of the importance of such information lines since the early days of its founding. In particular, quickly and accurately obtaining information about the Jurchen tribes, who were directly adjacent across the Tumen and Yalu Rivers, was related to the survival of the nation.

Thanks to this, the amount of information related to the Jurchen tribes was considerable. And this was used to build the information line.

And this created a similar situation with Waeguk (Japan).

Joseon, plagued by Japanese pirates, maintained friendly relations by showering the lords of Waeguk with gifts to minimize damage. By the time of King Taejong, a considerable number of Waeguk territories had established such relations.

Of course, this was done secretly because Ming strictly forbade communication with Waeguk.

However, the results of this policy were quite disappointing. Just as the results of the policy that had been promoted in that way were slowly appearing, Ouchi Yoshihiro, the lord of the Ouchi clan, a powerful figure in Kyushu, and So Kitashige, the lord of Tsushima Island, died. With the deaths of the rulers of the most important regions, the looting of Joseon by Japanese pirates increased, and relations between Joseon and Waeguk deteriorated. (Note 1)

Because of this track record, Sejong accepted Hyang’s proposal, and the information line was quickly created.

And later historians screamed again.

“Again, the Crown Prince!”

* * *

Sejong, who received the information that had come in through cross-verification in this way, sighed deeply.

“Hoo~. Our Joseon must wish that the current emperor lives a long life. Do you know why?”

Hyang, who was present at Sejong’s question, nodded.

“Because all power is concentrated in the emperor, and all policies start and end with one person.”

“You saw it right.”

Sejong, looking at Hyang with an admirable face, looked at the officials.

“As the Crown Prince said, all the events of the Shang Dynasty are carried out by one emperor. This is a big problem.”

The officials all nodded at Sejong’s words. If Emperor Xuanzong were to die tomorrow and the emperor who succeeded him was incompetent, it was something they didn’t even want to think about.

“How old is the current Crown Prince?”

Lee Maeng-gyun, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had been recalling his memory for a while at Sejong’s question, immediately answered.

“He was born in the year of Byeongo (丙午) [one of the sixty-year cycle years], so he is 5 years old this year.”

“Too young….”

Sejong, who was licking his lips, gave orders to the officials.

“Contact Shandong and tell them not to miss even a rumor about the emperor’s health problems.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After the meeting, the officials gathered in the conference room of the Prime Minister’s residence.

“To think that we are now in a situation where we have to worry about the emperor’s health….”

At Kim Jeom’s complaint, Hwang Hee took the words.

“Isn’t it because the emperor is the only one among the powerful figures of the Ming Dynasty who would be beneficial to our Joseon? Why is there such a lack of talent in a country with so much land and so many people….”

“I agree.”

While the officials were nodding at Hwang Hee’s words, Jo Gye-saeng opened his mouth.

“Isn’t it the same for our Joseon? Doesn’t our Lord also control everything?”

“Isn’t there already a grown-up Crown Prince?”

At those words, Jo Gye-saeng had a slightly embarrassed expression and muttered.

“I know that the Crown Prince is excellent, but being good at making strange devices and being good at politics are different things, aren’t they? Of course, there are quite a few excellent policies that he has proposed so far, but most of them are related to economics….”

At Jo Gye-saeng’s words, all the officials in the room silently looked at him.

When the other colleagues were only looking at him silently, Jo Gye-saeng immediately asked.

“Why are you doing that?”

Hwang Hee stepped forward and answered Jo Gye-saeng’s question.

“There is one thing that happened when you were still in the countryside. Go to the Archives and look for the records of the policy presentation that took place immediately after the Crown Prince was appointed.”

“Huh?”

And the next day, Jo Gye-saeng visited the Archives and read all the related records. After reading all those records, Jo Gye-saeng muttered with a pale face.

“This crazy….”

* * *

After that, time flowed like water. Fortunately, Joseon, which had not experienced any wars or disturbances, was progressing smoothly.

As time passed, it became the 17th year of Sejong (1435, Eulmyo year) [another year in the sixty-year cycle].

As the weather warmed up, Sejong and his officials visited District 51 as people’s movements became more active.

The reason why Sejong and his officials visited District 51 was because a new Iron Horse had been completed.

Beeeep! Choo-choo!

With a loud whistle, a large Iron Horse came out of the production workshop along the test track.

“Oh!”

The officials exclaimed as they saw the newly revealed Iron Horse. Sejong’s eyes shone as he looked at the newly revealed locomotive.

“It’s really big!”

“The researchers and artisans did their best.”

At Hyang’s answer, Sejong looked at the researchers and artisans standing behind him with a pleased face and praised them.

“You have worked hard! Because of you, the future of this Joseon is bright!”

“We are overwhelmed with gratitude! Your Majesty, long live! Long live! Long live!”

The researchers and artisans responded to Sejong’s praise with three cheers of long live.

A memorial service was held under Sejong’s supervision. After the memorial service, Sejong asked Hyang about this and that.

“The size is considerable, but how fast can it go?”

“On average, it can travel 150 li (about 60 km or 37 miles) in half an hour (about 1 hour).”

“Huh? How much did the Hanseong Iron Horse run?”

“It is 90 li (about 36 km or 22 miles) in half an hour. But that is the maximum speed, and the explanation I gave you now is the average speed. If you run at the maximum speed, you can run 250 li (about 100 km or 62 miles) in half an hour.”

“But why is it running so slowly?”

“If you run at the maximum speed, the lifespan will be shortened. In order to have a longer lifespan at a faster speed, continuous research is needed. And even the current average speed is similar to the speed at which a horse runs at full power.”

“I see. Then, compared to the Hanseong Iron Horse, how many more people and cargo can it carry?”

“It’s an average of 4 times. Of course, it is possible to load up to 6 times as much as possible. However, there are many mountains to cross on the way the railroad goes, and there are many people who are not familiar with the Iron Horse, so we deliberately slowed down the speed and reduced the amount of transportation.”

“I see.”

At Hyang’s explanation, Sejong forcibly hid his disappointment and looked at the Iron Horse.

There was something that caught Sejong’s eye while he was looking at the Iron Horse, and it was an object that looked like a wedge attached to the front of the locomotive.

“What is that?”

“First of all, I named it a pilot, and it is in charge of pushing away wild animals or obstacles on the railroad.”

“Indeed….”

Sejong, who immediately understood the purpose of Hyang’s explanation, nodded and turned to look at Hyang.

“Crown Prince, about the tractor for transporting troops that I mentioned before….”

“We are currently researching whether it can be attached and used, and how helpful it is.”

At Hyang’s answer, Sejong finally nodded with a satisfied face.

“Indeed, it is the Crown Prince….”

And the officials who were following them and listening to the story all muttered inwardly.

‘Indeed, blood is thicker than water….’

* * *

Note 1) Military Strategy in the Joseon Dynasty. Tsushima Island Conquest. Military History Compilation Research Institute, Ministry of National Defense.