Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 717

717. The Second Battle of the Yellow Sea (15)

“You’ve worked hard…”

At the Kyungtae Emperor’s somber voice, the Minister of Rites and the negotiation team knelt on the floor and wept in unison.

“흑흑! Your Majesty! Please kill us!”

“Please punish us for our incompetence!”

As the negotiation team wept, all the civil and military officials and eunuchs in the Daejeon Hall, starting with the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet, knelt and wept together.

“Please kill us!”

“흑흑! Please punish us!”

As the sound of the subjects’ weeping filled the Daejeon Hall, the Kyungtae Emperor raised his hand.

“Stop. This is more my fault. Therefore, I will not hold you accountable. Discuss future measures.”

“Your Imperial Majesty’s grace is boundless.”

The officials, deeply bowing and expressing gratitude for the Kyungtae Emperor’s mercy, scrambled to their feet and adjusted their attire.

“As I said before, the problem is the future measures. The issue of reparations to be paid to Joseon, relief for those who lost their fortunes to the Joseon army, and the reconstruction of the navy, which has once again become a mess, are just a few of the things that need to be dealt with. First of all, the most important thing to consider is the issue of reparations, because all problems start there.”

At the Kyungtae Emperor’s point, all the officials nodded.

“How much wealth is currently in the national treasury?”

At the Kyungtae Emperor’s question, the Minister of Finance stepped forward to answer.

“After hearing the news from Nantong, I immediately examined it, and there are about 15 million *nyang* [a unit of currency] of gold.”

“15 million *nyang* of gold… How much is that in silver?”

“105 million *nyang* of silver.”

“Hoo~. I heard that even in times of famine during the late Emperor’s reign, there were at least 30 million *nyang* of gold in the national treasury. How can I face the late Emperor in death…”

At the Kyungtae Emperor’s lament, the officials once again knelt in unison.

“Our incompetence…”

“Stop.”

Before the officials could finish their words, the Kyungtae Emperor raised his hand and cut them off.

“As I said before, now is the time to talk about measures before blaming anyone. You should come up with measures rather than words of apology.”

At those words, the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet stepped forward first.

“Joseon has demanded war reparations equivalent to 70 million *nyang* of gold in silver or resources designated by Joseon. Considering Joseon’s gold-silver exchange rate, this is 700 million *nyang* of silver. If we pay this in installments over 10 years, we will have to give Joseon 70 million *nyang* of silver every year. If this amount of silver flows out, not only the court but also the lives of the people will be shaken. Therefore, I think it is best to replace it with resources rather than silver.”

“Resources… What resources do you think Joseon wants?”

“Rice, sulfur, copper, iron ore, and saltpeter.”

“I see…”

As the Kyungtae Emperor nodded, the Minister of Finance next to him took over the conversation.

“Fortunately, we know the market price of those resources in Joseon through our merchants. Therefore, we can prevent Joseon from trying to play tricks.”

“You mean to give the minimum amount of silver in cash and replace it with minerals?”

“That’s right.”

After pondering for a moment at the Minister of Finance’s answer, the Kyungtae Emperor soon made a decision.

“The Chief Secretary of the Cabinet, work with the other officials to replace it with resources rather than silver.”

“I will obey your command.”

Having decided on a solution to the reparations issue, the Kyungtae Emperor moved on to the next issue.

“Next is to restore the villages and towns that have been devastated by this war and to comfort the people. This part also requires a lot of financial expenditure. Should we raise taxes?”

As the Kyungtae Emperor mentioned ‘raising taxes,’ the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet immediately stepped forward.

“Raising taxes is not an option! If we raise taxes in the current situation, the people’s hearts will turn away.”

“That’s right.”

“You’re right!”

As many officials expressed their opposition, the Kyungtae Emperor continued his questioning.

“But isn’t the current financial situation a problem?”

At the Kyungtae Emperor’s point, the Daejeon Hall became quiet in an instant. The Kyungtae Emperor sighed softly as he looked at the expressions of the officials who had closed their mouths.

“Hoo~. Judging from your expressions, it seems like it’s a difficult answer to say carelessly. Speak. I will not blame you.”

Even though the Kyungtae Emperor spoke, no one was willing to open their mouths easily. In the end, the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet stepped forward.

“It is possible if we reduce the budget for national defense.”

“The national defense budget?”

“Not to reduce all national defense budgets, but to preserve the budget for defending the north and reduce the budget for rebuilding the navy. For the time being, we will only operate the remaining navy and battleships, and only rebuild Nantong, which is excluded from the agreement. Then, although it is not enough, we can secure considerable financial resources, and if we save in other areas, we can cover the costs without raising taxes.”

“If we do that, how will we defend the sea? Should we reinstate the maritime ban (*海禁令* [Haijin, or sea ban]) that the late Emperor abolished?”

“….”

At the Kyungtae Emperor’s question, the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet was silent for a moment, then closed his eyes tightly and answered.

“We entrust it to Joseon.”

“To Joseon?”

“In any case, Joseon has seized control of the sea, not only in the Yellow Sea but also in the South Sea. Therefore, let them maintain the security of the sea routes.”

At the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet’s words, the Left Commander stepped forward.

“Are you trying to humiliate our army? To ask Joseon to protect the sea that we must protect!”

“We have already been humiliated by this defeat. What’s so important about being humiliated one more time? And if we use this well, we can gain many advantages against Joseon!”

The Kyungtae Emperor suddenly showed interest in the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet’s words, ‘many advantages.’

“Many advantages… Chief Secretary, tell me in detail.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Chief Secretary of the Cabinet spoke of the advantages he had thought of.

“By showing a weak side to Joseon, we can make Joseon complacent. Of course, they will not be complacent from the beginning, but at least after about 20 years, they will definitely be complacent.

If we entrust the defense to Joseon, Joseon will have to spend military expenses. This can minimize the benefits to the Empire from the wealth they have taken from us.”

After listening to the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet’s explanation, the Kyungtae Emperor stroked his chin and muttered.

“韜光養晦 (*Dohwangyanghoe* [lit. concealing one’s strengths and biding one’s time])?”

At the Kyungtae Emperor’s question, the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet immediately bowed his head.

“That’s right. Just as Liu Bei endured by lowering himself as a guest of Cao Cao, we must thoroughly lower ourselves and endure now. If we wait and build up our strength, the opportunity for revenge will come again!”

“Hmm…”

The Kyungtae Emperor, stroking his beard and pondering at the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet’s words, soon made up his mind.

“I will do as the Chief Secretary says. We have already been humiliated, so what does it matter if we are embarrassed one more time? Instead, let us take this as a lesson and prepare more thoroughly. This applies to the military as well.”

At the Kyungtae Emperor’s decision, the Left and Right Commanders clasped their fists and answered.

“We obey your command.”

At that time, the Minister of War stepped forward and advised the Kyungtae Emperor.

“Your Majesty. I am afraid to speak, but please allow us to take a few of the large battleships allocated to the navy and install steam engines.”

“Steam engines on large battleships? Tell me the reason.”

“Yes. In the future, it will be natural to install steam engines on battleships. If so, we need many soldiers and officers who are familiar with handling steam engines. This is not something that can be done in a day or two, so we need ships to train steadily. Also, if we handle steam engines steadily like this, we will be able to create more and more excellent steam engines, and then we may be able to overtake Joseon.”

“I grant it!”

As soon as the Minister of War finished speaking, the Kyungtae Emperor immediately granted it.

* * *

The post-war recovery plan established by the Kyungtae Emperor and his officials after spending several days racking their brains was immediately implemented.

The people of Ming were the first to feel relieved to see the recovery policies implemented by the Ming court.

“Hoo~. I was worried that there would be a tax increase…”

“I know, right.”

Knowing the past history that tax increases followed after the end of the war, the people breathed a sigh of relief at the news that there would be no tax increase.

“This Emperor seems to be a wise ruler, doesn’t he?”

“Looking at how he handled the last war and the civil war, he is definitely a wise ruler.”

“Except for attacking Joseon…”

“Shh!”

Before they knew it, a meaningful proverb was circulating among the people of Ming.

“When the Emperor goes crazy, he crosses the Yellow Sea.”

It was a proverb born out of mentioning the painful defeats suffered by touching the Empire twice.

Meanwhile, it was common for intellectuals living as barbarians to talk about the same topic.

“If we had gone with a tax increase, there would have been a civil uprising.”

“I agree. Especially if we lost to Joseon twice and then raised taxes, the people would have risen up immediately.”

“Why did those who can think that far think of attacking Joseon… Revenge is good, but knowing yourself and your enemy comes first…”

* * *

On the other hand, the Joseon Empire was not just excited.

“It’s good to have secured a large amount of reparations, but I’m worried about prices…”

The officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of General Affairs were racking their brains over how to manage the silver and resources coming in as reparations.

Money and resources were always in short supply. If used well, they could fill the Empire’s shortcomings, but if they made even a small mistake, prices could skyrocket and the situation could become even worse.

While the officials of the Ministry of General Affairs and the Ministry of Finance were worrying like that, Hyang was talking to Wan.

“Indeed, Ming is Ming.”

“That’s right.”

Wan nodded at Hyang’s words.

700 million *nyang* of silver was an enormous amount.

This amount of money was enough to develop Shinji for at least 20 years without any worries.

Therefore, Hyang and the officials thought that it would be too much for Ming.

So, they were thinking of adding a few conditions as if they were doing a favor if Ming begged – such as ‘Serving the Empire as a suzerain state.’

However, Ming accepted it. Of course, they made a proposal to replace it with land, but Ming did not even mention adjusting the amount itself.

‘As far as I know, the reparations Japan received during the Sino-Japanese War were less than this…’

In the history before Hyang intervened, Japan, which won the Sino-Japanese War, received the Liaodong Peninsula and Taiwan, as well as 200 million *nyang* of silver in reparations. This was equivalent to the Japanese government’s budget for four years.

However, Hyang had slightly forgotten that Qing’s annual budget at the time was 100 million *nyang* of silver. That was Qing, an agricultural country that had not been properly modernized.

However, as Hyang intervened and history changed, Ming developed dramatically not only in agriculture but also in commerce and industry, and its economic scale grew significantly.

“Anyway, we were always short of finances, but the reparations are like welcome rain during a drought.”

“That’s right.”

“However, we must not waste it carelessly. They are still grinding their teeth and looking for an opportunity to take revenge.”

“I will keep that in mind. But it seems like we have no choice but to build additional Assault Turtle Ships.”

“That part can’t be helped.”

The first thing that was decided as reparations came in was the additional construction of Assault Turtle Ships.

“Just as Ming created the Twin-Headed Flame Dragon, other countries will try to make ironclad ships. Especially Japan.

In this situation, it is a problem that there are only two Assault Turtle Ships.”

From Hyang to the officials, everyone agreed with the navy’s claim, and a total of four additional ships were decided to be built.

With the number of Assault Turtle Ships increased to six, three ships were assigned to the Inner Sea Fleet and three ships to the South Sea Fleet.

With three ships deployed in this way, the navy was able to complete the ‘3-shift system’ of the Assault Turtle Ships, which they had only dreamed of – 1 ship on duty, 1 ship in training, and 1 ship in maintenance.