There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 142

“Lord Soi’s forces have captured Tsushima Island and beheaded its governor, according to Great Captain Pyeong Do-jeon’s report!”

This news was delivered by a dispatch rider who arrived in Hanyang from Dongnae.

Pyeong Do-jeon, a key figure in Tsushima who had been won over by Joseon and served as a bridge, urgently reported this.

“The governor of Tsushima is dead?”

It hadn’t been long since we heard about the invasion by Lord Shoni, and now they were crushed so easily?

Yi Seong-gye, who happened to be visiting the Crown Prince, clicked his tongue.

“That’s why I told you, you shouldn’t take other people’s land so carelessly.”

It felt odd to hear those words from a grandfather who had stolen someone else’s country, but he was right nonetheless.

“The governor of Tsushima originally seized power through usurpation and greatly lost the people’s favor by forcibly taking away the territories of his subordinates.

Even when attacked, the local clans did not come to his aid, so his downfall was inevitable.”

So Sadashige, the governor of Tsushima, only led his direct forces and holed up in the castle, but the tide had already turned, and he was soon captured by Lord Shoni’s forces.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue.

‘Faster than I thought.’

If the governor of Tsushima had been beheaded, the intermediate base for the Jurchen raiders nearby would not be safe either.

Especially since they would be anchored there to raid Kyushu, they might have been attacked by Lord Shoni.

“What happened to the Jurchens?”

Yi Seong-gye asked.

“Fortunately, they escaped from Tsushima in time and anchored at Geoje Island. Pyeong Do-jeon also joined them and fled.”

It was fortunate that there were no casualties, but was this going to be okay?

“Hmm, not good.”

Yi Seong-gye seemed to sense something as well.

From the Jurchens’ perspective, Joseon was the closest refuge, but this risked inviting pursuit from the Shoni army.

“It seems the enemy will chase the Jurchens and invade Geoje!”

Yi Seong-gye said with an excited look.

“Yes?”

I couldn’t understand Yi Seong-gye’s reaction.

How could he be so calm when the enemy was invading?

‘His way of thinking is different from ordinary people.’

Only a born general like Yi Seong-gye could be like that; a kind person like me couldn’t help but worry.

“The enemy troops number nearly 2,000. Can the Training Command [a military unit] withstand them? If the Training Command is defeated, the people of Geoje will suffer greatly.”

I asked worriedly, and Yi Seong-gye said with a confident expression.

“Don’t worry. The Training Command is a force I personally trained. Do you think they would fall to mere pirates?”

‘He’s so confident that I’m even more anxious.’

I scratched my head and thought.

===

The person leading the Training Command, which had moved south to defend the southern coast, was Yi Ji, the Sunnyeong Prince, a member of the royal family.

He was said to be a skilled general with extensive experience fighting pirates during the previous dynasty, and he was sent out on the strong recommendation of the Grand King.

It was his cousin’s consideration to secure his influence.

‘It was unexpected that His Majesty accepted it so readily…’

Sending troops to him, who was clearly a member of the Grand King’s faction.

To put it nicely, it was a sign of great confidence; to put it badly, it was a judgment that even if he was given troops, he could do nothing as long as the Grand King was in his grasp.

Besides repelling the invaders, he had no intention of doing anything else.

While staying in Dongnae, he received news that the Jurchens had arrived and immediately had them cross over to this side.

“How did the island fall so quickly?”

He asked Pyeong Do-jeon, who had followed the Jurchens, and he replied.

“The governor only trusted in the chaos of the mainland, betrayed his lord above, and lost the support of his people below, so it was inevitable.”

Pyeong Do-jeon clicked his tongue as if he knew this would happen.

“Who is this child?”

Yi Ji asked, looking at the young child Pyeong Do-jeon was holding tightly.

He wondered if it was Pyeong Do-jeon’s son or grandson, but Pyeong Do-jeon shook his head.

“Now is the time for battle, so this child is not important. The Jurchens have seen them flee here, so they will surely raise their spirits and pursue them.

Please defeat the invaders greatly and show the majesty of the Celestial Empire [a respectful term for China]. The fate of Tsushima rests solely in the hands of the Celestial Empire.”

Yi Ji nodded.

The fate of Tsushima was of no concern to him, but he couldn’t just let the invaders come.

“The enemy will surely come to Geoje Island in pursuit of the Jurchens. First, we must move the people of this land inland.”

The Sunnyeong Prince issued an order for the residents of Geoje to evacuate safely inland.

“From now on, this place will be a battlefield! You must flee inland!”

However, the people remained unmoved.

“Can you not hear the military order? The order is to leave the island!”

When the Sunnyeong Prince found it strange that the gathered people still did not obey, one of the men rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.

“We are grateful for the general’s concern, but we cannot abandon this place.”

“What is the matter? I know you cherish your homes and land, but this is a military order!”

“We are ignorant and do not know military orders well. But this place is our home, provided by His Highness the Crown Prince.”

At the mention of the Crown Prince, Yi Ji flinched.

‘The Crown Prince?’

The people were not simply using the Crown Prince’s name as a shield.

“Here in Geoje, there are many facilities that His Highness personally came down to create.

The people of Geoje have been working in pearl and seaweed farming under His Highness’s orders, receiving wages that have allowed us to enjoy ample food and clothing.”

“Now that time has passed and we are finally seeing results, how can we face His Highness if this place is devastated by the invaders?

Also, if the farms are destroyed, won’t we all have to return to poverty?”

“That’s right! Moreover, we have fought alongside His Highness against the invaders and won a great victory! So why should we evacuate the island?”

Fighting alongside Crown Prince Yi Je against the invaders remained a great source of pride for the people of Geoje.

Moreover, the Crown Prince’s aquaculture project was finally improving the livelihoods of this poor fishing village.

‘The people’s hearts are with the Crown Prince!’

The Sunnyeong Prince was inwardly surprised.

Normally, when news of invaders arrived, people would pack their bags and flee before the government even said anything.

The men would also be afraid of being drafted into the defense forces and losing their lives in vain.

But now, they were even willing to fight the invaders head-on.

‘Can people become so brave when they have something to protect?’

Yi Ji thought.

‘It would be even more surprising if they remembered the Goryeo era [previous Korean dynasty].’

Yi Ji, who had followed his cousin since the Goryeo era, clearly remembered the events of that time.

Since the reign of the military dictators, had Goryeo ever cared about foreign invasions?

Choe Yeong and Yi Seong-gye were the ones who defended against the pirates with their respective private armies, which was the situation at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty.

Grand King Yi Seong-gye gained the people’s hearts with the achievements he made in that bleak situation.

The image of the people praising Yi Seong-gye back then overlapped with the people of Geoje now.

The Sunnyeong Prince bit his lip.

‘The Crown Prince…’

Not Yi Bang-seok, to whom he had once pledged his loyalty, but the new Crown Prince.

He couldn’t help but feel drawn to him.

The Sunnyeong Prince straightened his expression and said.

“Your spirit is commendable, but the country has already sent down the Training Command, so your help is not needed. You are all workers of His Highness the Crown Prince, so losing your precious lives would be disloyal.

We will surely protect your home, so don’t worry and evacuate.”

“Thank you, thank you, General!”

Yi Ji nodded.

The empty words he said to appease the people were not entirely false.

The Training Command was an elite force personally trained by his former lord.

The Sunnyeong Prince Yi Ji was a general who had newly received the command of the Training Command, but he had no doubt about its strength.

“Gabyeolcho…”

The mere mention of it made his heart race; he had a feeling that they were comparable to his old comrades.

===

After Lord Shoni invaded Tsushima, it took less than a month to capture the governor’s castle.

This was thanks to the chaotic situation within Tsushima.

The governor, So Sadashige, was an usurper, and there were rebellions such as the one led by So Yoshishige in 1401, as well as the wavering of the local clans.

“He must have only believed that our situation was not good…”

Said Shoni Yorimitsu, a member of the Shoni clan who led this expedition.

Lord Shoni, the overlord of Tsushima, had also lost his head last year, and a young lord had ascended to the throne.

Therefore, he must have believed that they would not have time to turn their eyes outward and acted independently without hesitation, but Lord Shoni sent a large army to strike Tsushima, mocking those expectations.

So Sadashige, who had not prepared, had to offer his head.

Having occupied Tsushima in this way, Shoni Yorimitsu turned his eyes elsewhere.

“The islanders who were invading Kyushu have fled to Joseon?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“So Joseon was behind the islanders after all!”

Shoni Yorimitsu’s anger boiled over.

When you think about it, the Shoni clan was behind the pirates who had been raiding Goryeo-Joseon, but that was their own plunder.

It could never be put on the same level.

He decided to attack Joseon while he was at it and eliminate the root of the problem.

“I will take this opportunity to attack Joseon, uproot the islanders, and replenish our supplies.”

His decision may have been influenced by his intoxication with the easy victory in Tsushima.

However, the pirates of Tsushima, whom he had brought along to guide the attack on Joseon, turned pale and dissuaded him.

“The Joseon army is not the same as it used to be. Their spirit is truly great, so you must not fight them recklessly.”

Then, with an annoyed face, Shoni Yorimitsu shouted.

“My grandfather and father have been raiding that land for generations. How much could Joseon’s situation have changed in the meantime?”

It was their right to plunder as pirates, but the Jurchens’ plunder was an evil that had to be eradicated.

However, the remnants of Soda Saemontaro still tried to stop him.

“The Joseon army controls thunder and lightning! When they wielded their iron clubs, people fell, spewing blood, without even having a chance to react.

Our lord was defeated in that way, so please reconsider.”

Shoni Yorimitsu frowned at these strange words and waved his hand.

How could a person control thunder? There was no such thing.

There was no need to listen to the nonsense of the remnants of the pirates, whose leadership had been wiped out.

“Are you trying to shake our army by spreading false rumors? Be quiet!”

Despite the dissuasion of Soda’s remnants, Shoni Yorimitsu steered his ships towards Geoje.

It was a force that combined Shoni’s expeditionary force with the troops gathered from Tsushima.

However, when they landed on Geoje Island with their pirate swords, what awaited them was literally not the Joseon army of the past.

– Tatatang!

“Th-Thunder! It’s the thunder that the Joseon army uses!”

“What is this!”

“Run, if you want to live!”

The troops, who seemed ready to rush into the enemy lines and break their ranks, collapsed at the sound of thunder echoing all around.

The Training Command easily pushed back the Shoni army, who had not learned from Soda’s remnants.

“Don’t be afraid! This is gunpowder that the Joseon army uses!”

Shoni Yorimitsu shouted, but the situation did not improve at all.

“I knew it! We’ll only die like dogs if we stay here!”

“The Joseon prince has returned! The Joseon prince is shooting lightning!”

As soon as they heard something explode, the pirates were pierced by bullets and met their end, and before they could even say anything, Soda’s remnants deserted the ranks and fled.

The Soda remnants, who had been put forward as cannon fodder, turned around and ran as soon as they heard this, and it was their own ranks that collapsed.

“What is this…”

As Shoni Yorimitsu stared blankly, a group of people charged in with shouts.

“These guys are wearing a lot of good armor!”

“Kill them all and take it!”

The Jurchens rushed in.

They skillfully switched from infantry to cavalry and wreaked havoc on the invaders, making strange noises.

End