Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 997

997. Meanwhile, Elsewhere… (2)

A group of gentlemen, united in their desire to oust the half-Emperor and find a true sovereign, began scouring the Ming Dynasty for a suitable candidate. However, this was no easy task, as there were very few Prince-level or Grand Prince-level contenders.

* * *

The Ming Dynasty’s feudal lords were largely divided into Princes (親王) [Qin Wang, typically the Emperor’s brothers] and Grand Princes (郡王) [Jun Wang, princes of lower rank]. Princes were typically bestowed upon the Emperor’s brothers. However, not all brothers were automatically granted the title of Prince; it required the Emperor’s explicit decision.

Grand Princes, on the other hand, were those who received their titles through enfeoffment, excluding the eldest son among the Prince’s children. Naturally, the number of Princes was limited, as they had to pass through the Emperor’s ‘decision.’ However, this was not the case for Grand Princes. Any legitimate son of a Prince, other than the eldest, could be enfeoffed as a Grand Prince.

After Emperor Yongle’s reign, Princes lost their political and military power. Instead, the Emperor spared no expense to ensure that the Princes lived economically prosperous lives. In this situation, the Princes spent their time ‘making babies’ as a daily routine. And, as a natural consequence, a large number of Grand Princes appeared.

In the history before Xiang’s intervention, this became a significant problem. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the feudal lords and their families numbered over 200,000, becoming a burden that strained Ming’s finances.

* * *

With this background, the Ming gentlemen were optimistic about finding a candidate. However, expectations and reality often clash.

-We can’t find any Princes or Grand Princes!

This situation began with the Jianwen Emperor. No, Zhu Yuanzhang [the Hongwu Emperor], was the root cause. Zhu Yuanzhang, who founded the Ming Dynasty, carried out large-scale purges in his later years. Through these purges, Zhu Yuanzhang, having purged the meritorious subjects, enfeoffed his sons as feudal lords and scattered them throughout the empire. And these feudal lords became a headache for Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen. Although the feudal lords did not have governing power, they had military power.

To strengthen the imperial authority, Zhu Yunwen carried out the purge—unofficially—of the feudal lords. In response, Yan King Zhu Di launched the ‘Jingnan Campaign’ [a civil war to usurp the throne] and became Emperor Yongle, and a second purge of the feudal lords took place. The Princes and Grand Princes who survived this process could open their royal residences, but they could not have any power. Instead, they received support to ensure they had no worries about making a living.

The number of feudal lords who survived the first and second purges increased again under the above policy. However, the civil war, which turned only the central plains into a mess, once again drove the Princes and Grand Princes to the brink of extinction.

Those who called themselves the Jianwen Emperor or his eldest son, Zhu Wengui, used all sorts of methods to raise insufficient military funds. The most effective method among them was to raid the Prince’s and Grand Prince’s residences.

-It is only natural to punish the descendants of the traitor Zhu Di!

Under a very ‘reasonable’ pretext, they raided the Prince’s and Grand Prince’s residences. The next to push the Princes and Grand Princes over the edge was the Jingtai Emperor.

-Not just one or two royal residences have suffered from those traitors, but they are intact? Why? Could it be that they have joined hands with the traitors?

The Princes and Grand Princes who were dragged to the Jingtai Emperor under such suspicion confessed their crimes before long and disappeared into the execution ground. And their property was 그대로 환수되어 [returned as is] to fill the Ming’s empty treasury.

* * *

In this situation, there were almost no Princes and Grand Princes with suitable qualities or exploitable value. Even if they managed to find a Prince or Grand Prince, it was a problem. The Princes and Grand Princes who heard the gentlemen’s proposals were horrified and either expelled or imprisoned them.

“To whom are you making such disloyal proposals! I will pretend I didn’t hear it! Get out of here!”

“Guards! Immediately arrest and imprison these men! And send someone to the authorities to request soldiers! It’s a rebellion!”

The Princes and Grand Princes, who had survived several life-threatening situations, had no intention of accepting their proposals.

“How strong are the current Emperor’s military power and authority, and you’re having such delusions! You are incompetent people who cannot read the times!”

The Princes and Grand Princes took the initiative to report them, and a bloodbath broke out again throughout the Ming Dynasty. For Emperor Chenghua and his pro-imperial forces, who could not erase their anxiety even by dividing the gentlemen and the people, this was the best opportunity.

While interrogating the gentlemen who had been escorted to Beijing, not only those who shared their intentions but also their relatives and acquaintances were all subject to the purge. The great purge that Zhu Yuanzhang started, the so-called ‘extermination of ten clans,’ was 벌이진 [unfolded] again. And the feudal lords had to suffer again.

The feudal lords who imprisoned and reported the gentlemen had no major problems, but the problem was the feudal lords who simply expelled them. The Eastern Depot [secret police] and the Embroidered Uniform Guard [imperial guards] tenaciously clung to them.

“Other feudal lords have imprisoned and even reported these rebels, but you just expelled them? Has Your Highness forgotten that this is a rebellion?”

In the end, these people also disappeared into the execution ground by the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who clung to them so tenaciously, and their families were stripped of all privileges and expelled as commoners. Later, it was called the ‘Half-Emperor Party Incident.’

* * *

Emperor Chenghua and his pro-imperial forces, who had greatly thinned out the local gentlemen and even the feudal lords through the ‘Half-Emperor Party Incident,’ soon moved on to the next step.

“I think the feudal lord system is too dangerous.”

“That is correct, Your Majesty. Therefore, I would like to reform the system.”

Emperor Chenghua and his pro-imperial forces reformed the feudal lord system into a peerage system, referring to the imperial system.

“That title of ‘King (王)’ itself is the root of the problem. It is best to remove it!”

Under this pretext, the pro-imperial forces strongly advocated for the reform to the peerage system. The vested interests could not strongly oppose these movements of the pro-imperial forces. The reason why the gentlemen approached the feudal lords in this ‘Half-Emperor Party’ incident was also because of the meaning contained in the character ‘King (王).’ [Wang, implying imperial lineage]

-A person who inherited the blood of the Emperor.

Because of this, there were not one or two people who lived unfortunate lives as the subject of treason or as victims. Also, it was a headache for the Emperor. Monitoring the feudal lords scattered throughout the Ming Dynasty was also a considerable burden, because it was not just a matter of attaching one or two supervisors, but of attaching supervisors in duplicate or triplicate to monitor those supervisors to prevent them from neglecting their duties or defecting.

In the end, the vested interests had no choice but to agree to the reform. In this way, as the feudal lord system was reformed into a peerage system, the words ‘Prince’ and ‘Grand Prince’ disappeared into history.

* * *

The peerage system introduced by Emperor Chenghua and his pro-imperial forces was more severe than the imperial peerage system.

-The newly introduced peerage shall be a five-rank system, with each rank limited to the current generation.

-The eldest son of the title holder receives a title one rank lower, and other legitimate children receive a title two ranks lower.

-In the case of illegitimate children, they receive a title three ranks lower.

-The descendants of the lowest title, Baron, become commoners (庶人).

-In the case of those who become commoners, they receive support from the country until they reach adulthood. However, when they become adults, they are made independent with a small amount of subsidy.

“It’s too harsh!”

The vested interests protested that it was too harsh, but the pro-imperial forces immediately retorted.

“How long should the country support them?”

“Think about the budget surplus that will be gained by implementing this system!”

“Still, a little…”

When the pro-imperial forces brought up ‘fiscal soundness’ as a justification, the opposition from the vested interests weakened. However, Emperor Chenghua, who thought that the claims of the vested interests were also valid, added a clause.

-Those who have made great contributions to the country will be promoted.

And, he added one more big carrot here.

-Even if they are commoners, those who have made great contributions to the country will be 봉작 [bestowed titles] considering their contributions. And provide the benefits corresponding to the title. In other words, while the clauses that have come out so far are related to the imperial family, this was a carrot thrown to everyone who was not a member of the imperial family.

Considering the benefits that those with titles would receive, the number of those who would risk their lives to be loyal to the imperial family would increase beyond counting. To the ‘imperial family’ that Emperor Chenghua and Emperor Chenghua’s descendants would continue.

* * *

After a whirlwind of blood swept through, the inside of Ming shrank a lot. However, as time passed and various carrots were 뿌려지면서 [being dangled], Ming society began to move actively again. In particular, the local community, which had a large hole due to the ‘Half-Emperor Party Incident,’ was even more dynamic.

Many people challenged the civil service examination or entered the military to take the place of the ‘local influential figures’ that had become vacant. Those who did not do so became merchants or artisans and worked towards a better future.

Since Ming already had a huge market with domestic demand alone, it began to accelerate as soon as it settled back on track. And the Empire was looking at this with a subtle expression.

“It’s good that the border is not noisy, but I don’t know if they will do something stupid again if they grow their strength like that.”

“Fortunately, the current Ming monarch likes the Empire too much, so I’m relieved…”

“I hope the Forbidden City doesn’t ignore the words circulating in the Ming market.”

After suffering enormous damage in two major wars, this rumor spread among the people of Ming.

‘When the Emperor goes crazy, the soldiers go east.’

* * *

While Ming in the west of the Empire was having a turbulent time and growing again, Japan in the south of the Empire was also having a not insignificant time. The Ouchi family, who overthrew the Muromachi Shogunate and became the ‘Tenkabin’ [those who rule the realm] who 차지한 [occupied] ‘천하’ [the realm], received ‘abdication’ from the Emperor and became the ‘Japanese Royal Family.’

However, the situation after that was not very smooth. This was because those who dreamed of ‘reviving the old system’ continued to attempt rebellions. First, those who shouted ‘revival of the shogunate’ stirred, and then those who claimed ‘restoration of the Emperor’ rose up. However, these reactionary restoration attempts ended in failure. This was because the Ouchi’s military power already overwhelmed them.

“Do you know what the saying ‘If you win, you are the government army, if you lose, you are a rebel’ means?”

“I know, but why are you saying that?”

“Those guys are already rebels.”

The Japanese people, who already knew that they could not compete in military power, supported the Ouchi regime from beginning to end. Even Kyoto, famous for its 반골 [rebellious spirit], did not support the rebels. Of course, the people of Kyoto maintained their pride by treating the Ouchi government forces coldly. Although it ended in victory, the Ouchi’s pockets also became 홀쭉해졌다 [thinner]. And the Ouchi regime had to stay up all night to fill this weakened 호주머니 [pocket].

“Chikusho! [Damn it!] To be forced to work overtime in Yamaguchi again after being forced to do it in Seoul! This is a nightmare! I need to wake up from this dream!”

“At least I received 어식 [royal rations] in Seoul…”

“Don’t even mention the ‘eo’ in 어식 [royal rations]!”