Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 569

Charge! Assault Turtle Ship (1)

After issuing the order and returning to his private quarters, Emperor Xuande wore a satisfied smile.

“The Crown Prince of Joseon [historical Korean kingdom] overestimated his own brilliance. No, not just the Crown Prince, but his father as well.”

It was true that Joseon had made remarkable progress over the past few years. It was also true that as the nation grew wealthier, its military power had also grown considerably.

And it was also true that the Crown Prince was involved in all of this. Thanks to this, the people of Joseon, regardless of gender or age, showed strong loyalty to the King and the Crown Prince.

However, it was a relative strength.

In terms of population, economic size, territorial area, and military size, Joseon was only about 1/3 of Ming [the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644].

Of course, it was an enormous capacity compared to Joseon’s population, which had just barely exceeded ten million, but it was only relatively enormous.

Therefore, Emperor Xuande laughed at King Sejong and Hyang for being foolish enough to overestimate themselves.

“Hahaha! Cough! Cough!”

Unable to contain his joy, Emperor Xuande burst into laughter, followed by violent coughing. Looking at the blood on the handkerchief he had quickly used to cover his mouth, Emperor Xuande muttered.

“I’m glad I can resolve the Joseon issue before I die. It will be a good gift for Qi Yu….”

* * *

To follow Emperor Xuande’s orders, the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet proceeded with a meeting attended by the Inner Cabinet, the Left and Right Chief Military Commissioners, the Ministers of each department, and the heads of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot [both were Ming Dynasty secret police organizations].

The atmosphere among those gathered at the meeting was very optimistic.

-Judging from the crushing defeat of the Liaodong army, the military power of the Joseon army is considerable, but that will be the limit of Joseon.

This was the common thought they had.

“How many soldiers can we mobilize right now?”

At the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet’s question, the Minister of War stepped forward to answer.

“We can move 500,000 soldiers immediately.”

“Isn’t that a bit small?”

“It would take at least three months to gather and move the soldiers stationed in the southern and coastal areas.”

“Still, it’s a bit small….”

“We can increase the number to some extent if we withdraw the soldiers stationed in the north to defend against the Oirat [a collective name for various Mongolic groups].”

“The Oirat….”

At the Minister of War’s answer, the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet stroked his beard and muttered.

After stroking his beard and pondering, the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet asked the Minister of War again.

“The Oirat in the north are like jackals, so we can’t recklessly withdraw troops… 500,000 feels a bit insufficient, so let’s conscript the young men in the vicinity. About 300,000? What do you think?”

The Left Chief Military Commissioner answered the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet.

“That sounds good. That number should be enough to exhaust all the gunpowder those Joseon bastards have.”

* * *

Ming was as familiar with gunpowder weapons as Joseon. Therefore, they had a deep interest in Joseon’s gunpowder reserves and worked hard to obtain information.

After such efforts, they were able to obtain information that Joseon was importing a large amount of saltpeter from Tianzhu [ancient Chinese name for India] – specifically, the Bengal Sultanate.

As soon as they obtained the information, Ming, who had been very nervous, immediately took action.

The first thing they thought of was to pressure Tianzhu to prevent them from selling saltpeter to Joseon.

However, this was impossible. Tianzhu was located outside Ming’s sphere of influence, and its national power was also strong. In addition, it was certain that they would only reap a lot of benefits between Ming and Joseon.

Therefore, what Ming did was to greatly reduce the supply of sulfur to Joseon.

At the same time, they inquired about the amount of sulfur Joseon was importing from Waeguk (Japan) and subtly put pressure on the Muromachi Shogunate [Japanese feudal regime from 1336 to 1573].

-There is no problem with selling as much as you have sold so far, but do not sell more. Instead, we will provide more support.

The Muromachi Shogunate accepted Ming’s proposal, and Ouchi, who overthrew the Muromachi Shogunate, had no choice but to accept Ming’s proposal. This was because Ouchi had not yet properly established his power base.

Of course, in this process, Ouchi quickly sent a secret envoy to Joseon.

Hyang, who heard Ming’s proposal through the secret envoy, immediately replied.

-Accept Ming’s proposal.

After replying, Hyang turned to his officials and smiled.

“This way, Ming will be relieved. Very relieved.”

At Hyang’s words, the officials all nodded with similar smiles.

Recording the scene, the historian added.

-What kind of Zen smile is that?

And Ming fell for Hyang’s trick.

As descendants of the Song Dynasty [Chinese dynasty from 960 to 1279], who created gunpowder for the first time in the world, Ming knew a lot about black powder. Therefore, it was possible to estimate the maximum amount of gunpowder that could be made with the amount of sulfur coming in from Ming and Waeguk.

“With this amount….”

Emperor Xuande and Ming’s officials who saw the estimate had relieved expressions. The amount of saltpeter Joseon was importing was still considerable, or rather, increasing little by little, but without sulfur, it was useless.

“The increasing amount now must be for storage. But without sulfur, even that is useless.”

* * *

It was because of this situation that the Left Chief Military Commissioner agreed to the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet’s proposal.

“According to the information we have secured, almost all of the Joseon army is armed with gunpowder weapons. Well, considering the small number of Joseon soldiers and the power of gunpowder weapons, it’s only natural.”

No sooner had the Left Chief Military Commissioner finished speaking than the Right Chief Military Commissioner continued.

“Besides, aren’t the Joseon bastards the ones who jump out of bed even in their sleep when it comes to cannons?”

At the Right Chief Military Commissioner’s words, everyone in the conference room nodded. The Left Chief Military Commissioner took the Right Chief Military Commissioner’s words and continued.

“No matter how good the power of the cannons is, they can’t kill tens of thousands with one shot, and not all musketeers can hit the target every time. In addition, gunpowder is difficult to make and difficult to store. The amount consumed at the Yalu River [river on the border between North Korea and China] must have been considerable, and even if they diligently manufacture and supply gunpowder, we still have to face the 300,000 we put forward. If they continue to consume like that, Joseon will have to face us empty-handed.”

The plan was to use the 300,000 conscripts as bullet shields and then properly strike the Joseon army.

* * *

However, this was Ming’s misjudgment. Joseon had already solved the sulfur shortage problem.

Joseon actively investigated sulfur mines within the Korean Peninsula. Thanks to this, they discovered a considerable number of sulfur mines and were secretly mining them.

In addition, there was the best move of Daeseol Island. Daeseol Island had sulfur mines with considerable reserves. Not only that, Joseon obtained sulfur by refining the hot spring water of Daeseol Island’s famous sulfur hot springs.

* * *

“The problem on land can be solved like this, so what should we do about the sea? As far as I know, the Joseon navy has very powerful battleships?”

At the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet’s question, the Right Chief Military Commissioner stepped forward to answer.

“Certainly, until recently, we were inferior to the Joseon navy. However, we have also continued to launch many battleships into the sea, and we are launching even more powerful large ships than the Joseon’s proud Challenger-class ships. That means we have gained an advantage in the firepower battle that the Joseon navy was proud of.”

The Right Chief Military Commissioner answered with a face full of pride.

* * *

As Challenger-class and Haeung-class battleships appeared in the sea, Ming’s navy had no choice but to be conscious of the Joseon navy.

Until then, the battleships possessed by Ming’s navy had not deviated from traditional sailing ships. All they did was have a slightly larger size than ordinary merchant ships and carry armed soldiers. They never even considered using cannons.

Therefore, the Ming navy until recently was inferior in firepower not only to the Challenger-class and Haeung-class, which were made with full-scale shelling in mind, but also to the Panokseon [Korean warship].

However, as the naval arms race with Joseon began, Ming also built large-scale battleships with shelling in mind and sent them out to sea. Since then, Ming’s navy has been able to confidently engage in a war of nerves without being conscious of the Joseon army.

* * *

The Right Chief Military Commissioner continued to speak.

“Since Joseon openly stated its intention to advance into Liaodong, it will move to seize control of the Yellow Sea. If so, perhaps the battleships belonging to the Yellow Sea, Gyeonggi, and Chungcheong Naval Bases, and the Jeolla Left and Right Naval Bases of Joseon will move. According to the information we have gathered, the Yellow Sea, Gyeonggi, and Chungcheong each have only 10 to 15 Haeung-class ships, and the Jeolla Naval Bases each have 20 plus 5 Challenger-class battleships. Then it will be around 90 ships at best. Then….”

Before the Right Chief Military Commissioner could finish speaking, the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet expressed doubt.

“As far as I know, the most powerful fleet Joseon has is in Gyeongsang Province? Why did you exclude Gyeongsang Province?”

“Gyeongsang Province will not be able to move because of the Wokou pirates [Japanese pirates]. The Japanese would not miss this opportunity.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to assume the worst-case scenario? Joseon is already firmly determined, isn’t it?”

At the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet’s words, all the other officials nodded as if they agreed.

At the reaction of the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet and the others, the Right Chief Military Commissioner replied.

“In that case, we will lure the Joseon navy to Shandong [a coastal province in China].”

“To Shandong?”

“We will use the fortresses built on the Shandong Peninsula to launch a joint attack.”

The Minister of Rites pointed out a problem with the Right Chief Military Commissioner’s idea.

“Shandong is a place that Joseon knows well. Wouldn’t they also know that there are fortresses there?”

At the Minister of Rites’s point, the Right Chief Military Commissioner explained the reason.

“They have no choice but to come. Considering Joseon’s capabilities, the best and only tactic they can take is a do-or-die short-term battle. And the best tactic for this is to reach the front of the Forbidden City [Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty] here in the shortest possible time. If they come from Liaodong, they will be tied up in the Great Wall, so in the end, they have no choice but to send troops by sea. To land a large army as quickly as possible, a properly built port is essential, and Shandong is the only such place.”

“Ah… I see.”

The Minister of Rites, who was nodding at the Right Chief Military Commissioner’s explanation, muttered with a regretful expression.

“It would have been useful if the Joseon people were still left in Shandong, but it’s a pity.”

The Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet also nodded at the Minister of Rites’s words.

“It was a ruthless method, but it was a good method.”

Hu Xu, who had upset Emperor Xuande last time, withdrew all the people from the Joseon trading post in Shandong on his way back.

In this process, something happened that surprised the Ming people: as soon as Hu Xu uttered the words ‘imperial order,’ all the Joseon people in the trading post immediately packed their bags without saying a word.

* * *

The Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet, who had listened to the Right Chief Military Commissioner’s explanation, came to a conclusion.

“Hmm… To summarize the situation, the operation has already been established, and the problem is time. Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then let’s immediately inform His Majesty and issue an imperial edict. From now on, it’s a real race against time.”

“Let’s do that.”

Ming’s officials, who had reached an agreement, sought out Emperor Xuande.

And the next day, Emperor Xuande’s imperial edict was promulgated, and large-scale conscription began in the northern regions of Ming, including Beijing.

As Ming was also starting to move in earnest like this, some of the young officials cautiously expressed their doubts.

“Was the beginning of all this really Dongwang’s rash decision?”

“Looking at Joseon’s actions so far, they have carefully considered everything and moved. But did Joseon really underestimate the power of our Ming? Or did we underestimate Joseon?”