There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 143

The Training Command, led by Prince Sunnyeong, Yi Ji, decisively defeated Shoni’s army.

Most of the enemy were captured or killed, and the survivors hurriedly turned their ships back towards Tsushima Island.

“You’re saying hundreds were captured?”

“Because they fought with their backs to the sea, it was a desperate situation, and many died without being able to escape. Moreover, the Japanese invaders didn’t seem to know about cavalry, so they collapsed as soon as we charged.”

Yi Bang-won, upon receiving the Training Command’s report, was impressed.

“Having tasted such a bitter defeat this time, it will be difficult for the enemy to invade again.”

“Indeed. However, Shoni also learned about our matchlocks, so we cannot but be concerned.”

It was their underestimation of our army that allowed us to defeat them so easily.

They wouldn’t be careless twice, so we had to eliminate Shoni to prevent him from invading Joseon again.

‘So, this is what you called me here to discuss?’

Having been confined to the East Palace, I, who had rarely been summoned, looked at Yi Bang-won with eager eyes.

Yi Bang-won questioned Pyeong Do-jeon, who had come to Hanyang.

“So, you alone were able to escape?”

Pyeong Do-jeon prostrated himself, flustered.

He stammered an explanation.

“It is not that only I escaped. I rescued a child named Jong Roe-gang (宗頼綱, So Yori-tsuna), and took refuge on a Jurchen ship. He is a descendant of the former lord, Jong Roe-mu (宗頼茂, So Yorishige).”

“Hoo.”

Pyeong Do-jeon was indeed a shrewd man.

He assessed the situation and not only fled to the Jurchens but also brought with him a descendant of So Yorishige, from whom So Sadashige had usurped the lord’s position.

Yi Bang-won and I exchanged glances.

It was clear that we, father and son, were thinking the same thing.

The lord, So Sadashige, was executed by the subjugation force for rebelling against Shoni, and his family also fell.

The descendant of the former lord could certainly serve as a justification [for intervention].

“Now, all that the people of Tsushima Island can believe in is only the suzerain state [Joseon]. Please bestow your grace and restore the land of Tsushima Island.”

Pyeong Do-jeon openly bowed his head and pleaded.

“Hmm.”

However, Yi Bang-won did not give an immediate answer and hesitated.

I tilted my head.

‘With this much, the justification is clear, so why the hesitation?’

Shoni’s army had also invaded the southern coast, so there shouldn’t be any internal opposition.

Moreover, we had secured the bloodline of the former lord who had been usurped.

However, Yi Bang-won didn’t voice these thoughts.

Instead, he said this.

“Although we defeated the Japanese invaders this time, it is not easy to occupy Tsushima Island in reverse. It would require at least tens of thousands of soldiers, but what loyalty do we have with Tsushima Island to warrant such an effort?”

Then, Pyeong Do-jeon bowed his head and said.

“If the clans of Tsushima Island cooperate with Shoni and resist with one mind, then tens of thousands of soldiers would be needed. But to us, Shoni is also just a foreign enemy.

Now, the only enemy is Shoni’s army, which was utterly defeated and fled. If the suzerain state establishes the rightful heir of the lord and enters Tsushima Island, then it can surely be easily conquered.

Also, the Jong clan, which is in danger of destruction due to Shoni’s invasion, will also cooperate from within, so it is a fight worth trying.”

However, Yi Bang-won had no answer.

Pyeong Do-jeon, flustered, hesitated for a moment and then said.

“And when the new lord is established, he will always be grateful for Joseon’s grace, so wouldn’t that naturally be a good thing for Joseon as well?”

“Let’s have you step back for now.”

Yi Bang-won still did not give a definite answer and waved his hand.

The court officials each added a word to this.

“The lord of Tsushima Island arbitrarily usurped the position from his clan, and eventually suffered disaster by receiving a foreign invasion, so it can be said that justice has been served.”

“It is a fitting end for a traitor.”

‘Are they in any position to say that?’

I tilted my head.

Yi Bang-won looked at the court officials and said.

“Let’s discuss the aftermath of the Japanese invasion first. I heard that we seized many prisoners and armor this time.”

“That is correct, Your Majesty! Also, our people have suffered no damage, and the fish farms are safe.”

“That is truly fortunate.”

“In particular, the people of Geoje-hyeon risked their lives to protect the fish farms, so Prince Sunnyeong had a hard time appeasing them.”

“What do you mean by that?”

When Yi Bang-won asked, Ha Ryun replied.

“Prince Sunnyeong told the people to evacuate Geoje Island and flee, but the people said that they would rather die than leave the business entrusted to them by the Crown Prince, wouldn’t they?”

When Ha Ryun said that, Yi Bang-won nodded.

“Hoo, the Crown Prince has gained a great deal of popularity!”

Yi Bang-won said that, seemingly in a good mood.

“Providing the people with a means of livelihood and making them feel grateful is the way a true king governs the people.”

I, too, was surprised to hear those words.

‘Actually, I just gave them a way to make a living, but…’

However, this was closer to making a large-scale investment with the intention of telling them to focus on pearl and seaweed farming without being distracted by making a living.

But that my decision became a reason for those people to risk their lives.

“Father!”

I stepped forward to Yi Bang-won.

“The spirit of the people of Geoje-hyeon is not something that can be easily found. They deserve to be rewarded handsomely.”

“That is a matter of course.”

Yi Bang-won nodded at my words.

“And,”

I said, looking at the court officials.

“They fought bravely even when thousands of Japanese soldiers rushed in to protect their livelihoods.

It is not that our people do not know how to fight. It is only because they lacked the strength to fight.”

I said, looking at them.

“The court officials may have come up with the plan to evacuate the island (空島) [empty island policy, abandoning the island] out of concern, but this is absolutely opposed.

A country must be able to protect even a small island to be a country. How can abandoning an island be the right plan?”

‘Having said this much, there won’t be anyone who pushes for the empty island policy anymore, right?’

Yi Bang-won looked at me and said.

“The Crown Prince is right. From now on, do not discuss evacuating the island in the court!”

Seeing him listen to me so readily, Yi Bang-won’s mood seemed to have improved a lot.

‘Then, will you lift the ban on going out?’

I had faint expectations.

Being trapped in the East Palace was too boring.

“Also, having fought with Shoni once, we have become enemies. Although they have retreated to Tsushima Island for now, we cannot just leave them alone.”

It was clear that war would break out again someday.

We had to either restrain Shoni through the Ouchi clan or advance to Tsushima Island to defeat the remnants of the Shoni expeditionary force that had fled.

And I liked the latter.

“As Pyeong Do-jeon said, the enemies have seized Tsushima Island but have only eliminated the lord, the Jong clan. The local clans of Tsushima Island are a group of fence-sitters, so if we strike now, we can gain the island in one fell swoop.”

All the justification was already in our hands.

If Joseon directly attacked Tsushima Island, the clans would have gathered en masse to defend it, but if we entered Tsushima Island with the young Jong Roe-gang as our puppet, then this would only be a fight between the So clan of Tsushima Island and the Shoni clan of Kyushu.

This time too, the local clans would lie low and follow the trend.

Yi Bang-won seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“That is right. If we send troops to restore the lord’s family’s fiefdom and have a wise and discerning court official act as regent, who would dare to resist?”

In simple terms, it meant putting a child forward as a puppet and using pro-Joseon court officials like Pyeong Do-jeon to take over Tsushima Island.

“Tell Prince Sunnyeong, Yi Ji! Lead the Training Command troops and enter Tsushima Island to sweep away all the pirates! The Southern Navy shall follow Prince Sunnyeong’s orders!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Yi Bang-won turned to me and asked.

“What should we do with the captured Japanese pirates?”

There was no reason to leave them alone and have them consume our rice.

But to kill them all was also something we couldn’t do.

Releasing them was even more out of the question.

The standard answer would be to put them all in labor camps, but my answer, having been to Nanjing, was different.

“How about sending them to the Emperor [of Ming]?”

I asked.

Japanese people were originally known for their swordsmanship.

In particular, the Shoni clan soldiers from the Kyushu mainland were more elite than the Japanese pirates of Tsushima Island, and we had captured nearly a thousand of them in one battle, so we should naturally use them for that purpose.

Keeping them in Joseon would only cause them to form groups and become a source of trouble.

“Our court has been struggling with the dispatch of troops to Annam [present-day Vietnam]. But we cannot send our own troops, so if we offer them to the Emperor, we can satisfy the justification for dispatching troops, and the Emperor will also be happy to gain new forces.”

Yi Bang-won nodded at my words.

The proposal seemed to be quite to his liking.

But the next words that came out were something I couldn’t have predicted.

“It would be perfect as a wedding gift for your marriage.”

Excuse me?

What did you say?

===

Royal Wedding.

A royal wedding, you say.

I was stunned by Yi Bang-won’s words.

‘I thought I would get married someday, but…’

Marriage in this era is basically a political marriage.

Of course, I knew that I, too, was destined to marry someone to continue the lineage.

But I didn’t expect it to come so suddenly.

‘No wonder his attitude was so gentle, was this a setup for that?’

I thought, clutching my throbbing head.

If I have a royal wedding, who will I marry?

Could it be that tomboyish Princess Hwangmae?

‘It’s not that I dislike her, but…’

The thought of being involved with that chaotic Zhu family made my stomach churn.

Stress made me crave something sweet.

‘Ice cream, chocolate, candy…’

The abundant sugars brought about by modern civilization swirled in my head.

The thirst for sweetness that could not be satisfied with honey or grain syrup soared.

To satisfy this desire, I would need that.

‘Sugar.’

But sugar does not come from this country, Joseon.

Long ago, Ryukyu sent sugar as a gift, but unless it came in occasionally like that, it was not easy to obtain.

‘Damn it, I need the Boseondan [a trading fleet] to come back quickly so I can start trading in that direction too.’

But that would take several years.

If I hadn’t hitched a ride on Zheng He’s expedition, there would have been no guarantee.

I sighed deeply.

Since all I could do in the East Palace was play with my younger brothers, I burst open Chungnyeong Daegun’s room.

It was then.

I saw the guy huddled in a corner of the room, turned away, chewing on something.

“What are you eating so much of?”

I asked, tilting my head, seeing him eating alone.

My brother was startled by my voice and turned his head.

“H-hyung!”

I could see something all over his mouth.

It looked like crumbs, or salt, but it was different.

“This is…?”

My eyes widened.

“Sugar…?”

Why is sugar, which is hard to find in Joseon, on this guy’s mouth?

He must not have told me he had it because he was afraid I would ask for some.

“Where did you get this?”

“I got it in Nanjing.”

I asked.

“Nanjing?”

No, you got sugar from Ming China?

Does sugar come from there too?

“They were just selling it in the market in Nanjing? There’s plenty of sugar in Jiangnan.”

I smacked my head at Do’s words.

I guess they can grow sugarcane in Jiangnan because the climate is mild.

“So, how much sugar is left?”

I grabbed his shoulder and asked.

“Oh, not much…”

“Not much, my ass, isn’t everything in this box sugar?”

If you eat sugar like this in secret, you’ll get fat.

“No!”

My brother screamed, but I ignored him coolly.

‘What’s the point of just eating sugar?’

I’ll show you something amazing from now on.

End

ⓒ Pitkong