There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 299

With the death of Ahachu, the Jianzhou Guard Commander, his son Shiyanou inherited the position.

In the annals of the Jianzhou Guard, Shiyanou was largely overshadowed by his father and son, his presence barely registering and, frankly, in a rather pathetic manner.

“I… my sister is the Emperor’s concubine! You dare lay a hand on the imperial family!” Shiyanou, held firmly with his arms pinned, screamed at the top of his lungs from his prostrate position.

The Jurchens, hearing his desperate cry, nodded hastily. Until now, the fact that his sister was a concubine of the Yongle Emperor had granted him considerable authority among the Jurchens.

However, Munteumu merely sneered, looking down at Shiyanou with disdain. “This crazy fool… doesn’t he realize how the tides have turned?”

“What? What are you saying…?”

“What power does your sister have now? The Yongle Emperor is dead, and she’ll soon be buried alive with him [a common practice in some cultures to accompany the deceased ruler in the afterlife]. Go to the underworld and help them reunite!”

The color drained from Shiyanou’s face. The Yongle Emperor was indeed dead.

His sons and brothers-in-law were locked in a fierce battle for control of the empire, and Shiyanou was still clinging to outdated influence.

Without hesitation, Munteumu drew his Japanese sword. Shiyanou, in a panic, shouted, “W-wait a minute!”

“Will you follow our lord’s orders, or will you side with the rebels and die here?”

He didn’t even know which ‘rebels’ Munteumu was referring to, but Shiyanou nodded frantically. “I’ll cooperate! I’ll cooperate! Please, put the sword away!”

Munteumu scoffed at Shiyanou’s plea and shoved him aside. A young man standing nearby helped the disoriented Shiyanou regain his footing.

“Incorporate all the Jianzhou Guard warriors into our army. Divide them among the units,” Munteumu ordered, acting as if he were addressing his own tribal members.

Dozens of Joseon military officers and Jurchen warriors acknowledged his command.

“Manjoo, I don’t understand what’s happening,” Shiyanou lamented to his son, who was supporting him.

Suddenly, the Joseon army had appeared and launched an attack, demanding to know which side they were on and threatening to brand them as rebels if they didn’t hand over their troops.

To arbitrarily attack and seize command of them, who were nominally vassals of the Ming Dynasty…

Normally, the Liaodong Commander would have raised a significant protest, and the imperial court would have launched a severe inquiry. But the situation was so chaotic that Shiyanou could no longer be certain of anything.

The son, who had been silently considering the situation, spoke. “I think we should join the army, Father. If things go badly, we should at least be in a position to protect our warriors.”

The Joseon army’s primary target wasn’t the Jianzhou Guard itself.

They were there to subdue the Jianzhou Guard and bolster their forces in preparation for the impending conflict.

Wouldn’t it be a waste to have the warriors they had trained used as cannon fodder for someone else’s ambitions?

Lee Manjoo made his decision.

===

Munteumu approached Choi Yun-deok, the Bukgye Byeongmasa [Military Commissioner of the Northern Border], and bowed respectfully. “The Jianzhou Guard has expressed its willingness to support the righteous cause, sir.”

Perhaps it was out of concern that the Jurchens in the Gwanseo region would exploit the emperor’s death to cause unrest, or perhaps they simply lacked the bandwidth to properly inform them.

The Jurchen tribes under the Liaodong Commander, including the Jianzhou Guard, were completely unaware of the Yongle Emperor’s death.

The Bukgye army was advancing westward under Lee Jae’s orders, subduing any Jurchen tribes who hadn’t grasped the gravity of the situation.

Well, even if they had known, the outcome likely wouldn’t have been different.

Who would dare openly defy the 10,000-strong army that had marched out of Bukgye?

Their only options were to flee or quietly surrender their troops.

As a result, the Bukgye army grew larger with each step of its advance.

“Now that even the Jianzhou Guard has submitted, there’s nothing left to stand in our way! Let’s march on Liaodong! His Highness is waiting!”

“Yes, sir!” Choi Yun-deok shouted, mounting his horse.

The Bukgye army, having exploited the division between the Crown Prince and Prince Zhao to subdue even the Jurchen tribes under the Liaodong Commander’s jurisdiction, pressed on with haste.

===

The Yeonseongwan Fortress eventually crumbled under the Joseon army’s relentless firepower.

“It held out longer than I anticipated.”

As the fortress walls collapsed under the constant barrage, Yeonseongwan’s defenses were severely compromised.

The morale of the Liaodong soldiers stationed inside plummeted.

The fact that it hadn’t fallen on the first day was largely due to the leadership of Yoo Kang, the Liaodong Commander.

Even as his soldiers were demoralized, they followed Yoo Kang’s orders to repair the walls and reorganize their defenses.

But the situation continued to deteriorate.

The Joseon army, determined to seize Liaodong as quickly as possible, attacked without regard for their own lives, making the defense increasingly difficult.

Above all, the internal morale within Yeonseongwan made a prolonged defense impossible.

“Can we even win?”

“The Commander said that if we hold out a little longer, reinforcements will arrive.”

“Whose reinforcements? The Crown Prince’s? Prince Zhao’s?”

If Joseon and Ming were confronting each other as nations, the Liaodong army would have fought to the death.

But wasn’t the ‘Crown Prince faction’ Joseon army pushing into Liaodong to strike at the ‘Prince Zhao faction’?

For Liaodong, which hadn’t yet committed to a side, there was no real reason to resist.

‘Aren’t we just going to be branded as rebels if we keep this up?’

In the eyes of the Yeonseongwan soldiers, Yoo Kang was already suspected of being a Prince Zhao loyalist.

No, Yoo Kang *was* definitely a Prince Zhao loyalist!

Why else would he be trying to stop the Joseon army?

Precarious defenses and collapsing morale.

It didn’t take long for the generals to reach a consensus.

===

“This is the head of Yoo Kang, the Liaodong Commander, Your Highness.”

“His command wasn’t bad, but he was ultimately betrayed by his own men.”

Of course, it would have only bought more time, and the outcome wouldn’t have been significantly different.

But that time was invaluable, so Yoo Kang’s head was more than welcome.

‘It’s a pity, but even if the fortress had been captured and he had been taken by my hand, I would have had no choice but to execute him.’

A mindset focused on diligently guarding against foreign enemies, regardless of who won or lost the civil war.

It was the kind of thinking common among border guards who were simply trying to survive the chaos.

However, as long as I was connected to the Ming imperial family, I was also a player in the game of thrones.

Seizing the throne was impossible, but wielding influence as an adult was justification enough.

Yoo Kang, who acted according to the simple principle of ‘defending against foreign invaders during a civil war,’ ultimately failed to overcome the complexities of the situation.

“Your Highness, Liaoyang has surrendered!”

As soon as Yeonseongwan Fortress fell, the Liaodong Commander in Liaoyang opened the gates and surrendered, or rather, declared his allegiance to the righteous cause of Gumingdao.

“This official had already resolved to strike against Prince Zhao, but I struggled to control my soldiers, and I dared not prevent them from opposing the Geunhwang army [army supporting the emperor]. This is entirely my fault, please forgive me!”

The Liaodong Commander threw open the gates of Liaoyang Fortress and prostrated himself, trembling.

I looked at him with satisfaction.

‘Flexible thinking, and he doesn’t blame others.’

He passed the test.

This one could be spared.

“I understand that Liaodong’s resistance to our army was due to Commander Yoo Kang, who was swayed by Prince Zhao, and that you are not at fault. I would appreciate your full cooperation while our Geunhwang army is stationed in Liaodong.”

“Of course!”

In name, it was cooperation, but I effectively seized all of the Liaodong Commander’s power and took control of Liaodong’s administration and military affairs without resistance.

“It’s fortunate that we took Liaodong without destruction. We can now utilize Liaodong’s soldiers and resources without reservation,” Do Ga reported after taking over the Liaodong Commander’s government office.

Well, it was rewarding to have liberated the soldiers and people of Liaodong who had been suffering under the oppression of Prince Zhao’s Commander Yoo Kang.

“Unfortunately, Liaodong was recently under the control of traitors. Although it was due to Yoo Kang’s unilateral actions, you must fight hard against the enemy to prove your loyalty.”

This was what was written in the memorial to be sent to Nanjing in the name of the Liaodong Commander.

– Commander Yoo Kang had his heart set on Prince Zhao and plotted a rebellion, but the King of Joseon suppressed it. The Joseon army will do its best to disrupt Prince Zhao’s rear, and Liaodong will cooperate fully and demonstrate its unwavering loyalty.

The Nanjing court must be in a state of panic due to the princes’ rebellions, so wouldn’t they receive this memorial and be moved to tears by the appearance of true loyalists?

“We have easily occupied Liaodong, but this is not the end. The battles ahead will be far more difficult,” I nodded at Kim Jong-seo’s words.

“Of course.”

Even in the war games that the Samgunbu [Joseon’s military command] had run countless times, occupying Liaodong itself was never the main challenge.

The problem was the justification we had put forward.

The claim of siding with the Crown Prince and suppressing the rebel Prince Zhao had brought Liaodong, which was trying to remain neutral, into our hands, but it also placed constraints on our army’s actions.

“We must fight against Prince Zhao’s army, Your Highness.”

We had executed Yoo Kang, who had sided with Prince Zhao, and regained Liaodong, but if we remained idle until the end of the war, our justification would weaken.

“If Prince Zhao wins anyway, we’re finished.”

I didn’t know how far Prince Zhao had advanced by now.

‘He couldn’t have already taken Nanjing.’

But as long as we had sided with the Crown Prince and participated in the war, if the Crown Prince lost and Prince Zhao ascended to the throne, he would undoubtedly attempt to invade Joseon.

We had achieved our goal of seizing Liaodong, so now we had to eliminate Prince Zhao.

‘It’s the same even if the Crown Prince wins. We need to have solid achievements to secure our gains.’

The Crown Prince wasn’t a tyrant like the Yongle Emperor, but his advisors might object in the name of national interest.

However, the more territory we controlled, the harder it would be for them to demand that we withdraw.

In the long run, we couldn’t keep everything, and there was no need to, but in the end, we had to retain Liaodong.

“The main force will have withdrawn south, but they will have left a considerable number of troops to defend the rear. Beijing, in particular, is a place that Prince Zhao has invested heavily in for a long time, and his loyalists will be defending it. It will not be an easy fight.”

“It would be ideal if Olianghab [Uriyangkhai] occupied Daening and then bypassed us to strike at the Great Wall.”

“Prince Zhao wouldn’t have had time to replace all the gate’s generals and soldiers.

We cannot completely trust him. If Olianghab strikes the Great Wall from the north, he will probably divide the troops in Beijing to deal with him.”

“Then the enemy we will face will also be smaller.”

Joo Chi, who had returned to Taeneungwi, would be leading the army.

I should try to contact him.

“Even if Olianghab doesn’t respond, we cannot delay and miss the opportunity.

We have shortened the supply line by using Liaodong as a base, and we can also promote maritime supply. After resting in Liaodong and reorganizing our forces, we will immediately advance to strike the enemy when the Bukgye forces join us!”

I heard that the construction of defense facilities was in full swing in Yoseo, along with the relocation of the capital to Beijing.

“I don’t know how much has been completed, but like Liaodong, Yoseo is just another gateway to pass through. We can’t drag it out for too long.”

No matter how much we lingered in Yoseo, would Prince Zhao, who was already losing, even care?

“We must reach the enemy’s core.”

“Then, the place that Your Highness has set as the final goal is…”

“Beijing.”

I answered Kim Jong-seo’s question with determination.

“We are going to Beijing.”

—-

Thank you for your support, Bijinbu and MN!

End

ⓒ Pitkong