‘I wish I could have visited other countries while I was in Europe.’
Like England, France, or Germany.
I’m completely ignorant of those countries’ histories, so I don’t even know what the current situation is.
I wish I could have found out through Yoo Jeong-hyeon on this occasion, but I can’t help it since I don’t know how long their trip will be.
‘Well, now that I’ve opened the way once, I can send envoys again later.’
I thought so.
It wouldn’t be bad to have them tour all over Europe once.
However, it’s not like they only visited European countries; they certainly stopped at many places along the way.
A story that Yoo Jeong-hyeon told while recounting his travels was one I couldn’t just pass over.
“Your Majesty, I discovered Hyeonju (玄酒) while on my mission.”
“Hyeonju… Isn’t that a type of refined rice wine used only in ancient times?”
If he’s talking about the homemade cola I made, he wouldn’t know about it since I made it after Yoo Jeong-hyeon left.
However, Yoo Jeong-hyeon nodded vigorously.
“It was a drink called Qahwa (قهوة) [Arabic for coffee]. The taste is bitter like herbal medicine, but drinking it makes the heart race and fatigue disappear. It was truly an invigorating drink.
The color was black, and it had a deep aroma, so I thought Hyeonju from ancient times might have been something like this.”
“Qahwa?”
That sounds familiar.
I narrowed my eyes at Yoo Jeong-hyeon’s explanation and asked.
“Where did you drink it?”
“At a port called Mocha.”
“Mocha… !”
I don’t know where Mocha is, but I’ve heard the name a lot.
Wasn’t the word ‘Mocha’ emblazoned on the yellow coffee box that was always in the break room when I was in modern times?
‘Coffee, you say.’
They were already drinking coffee in this era?
‘Well, who cares about Europe?’
Discovering coffee is a much greater achievement.
‘I can taste coffee after a long time.’
I tried to calm my trembling voice and asked.
“Did you happen to bring back any seeds?”
If Yoo Jeong-hyeon had the sense to get some seeds, I was ready to grab him and kiss him.
No, I might even make a song about ‘Moon Ik-jeom for cotton seeds, Yoo Jeong-hyeon for Mocha seeds’ and spread it around. [Moon Ik-jeom is a historical figure credited with bringing cotton seeds to Korea.]
“I didn’t think that far. But in my humble opinion, I don’t think it would be impossible to get the seeds.”
“Hmm…”
I was disappointed, but I licked my lips.
‘Well, so what? I can send someone to get them.’
The Jeonghwa Fleet has already opened the way to East Africa, and we’ve sent envoys past the Mamluks to Venice.
I should send a ship there to get coffee.
‘The problem is where to grow it.’
I’ve heard that coffee grows in tropical or subtropical regions, and the higher the altitude, the stronger the aroma of the coffee beans.
From that point of view, the Korean peninsula is not exactly suitable for growing coffee.
‘Should I ask the Ryukyu guys for help?’
It seems like they don’t have enough land just to run the sugar plantations.
===
Ryukyu regards Joseon as its parent country—or rather, King On Sado of Ryukyu does—but they are not officially our subordinates.
Although our troops are permanently stationed in the capital, and the sugar farms of Cheonghaejin are spread everywhere, they are still in the same vassal state belonging to the Ming Dynasty clan.
‘So, I can’t just use them as I please.’
At first, I couldn’t understand why 400 Ryukyu soldiers were dispatched to help the Ming Dynasty’s civil war, where hundreds of thousands of troops clashed.
‘I think I know now.’
On Sado, who had no base or troops of his own, had to find a chance for a turnaround somehow.
‘He probably thought it was a pretty good opportunity.’
Ming is the superpower of this era, and On Sado is the official King of Ryukyu, appointed by Ming.
It’s obvious that he appeased and threatened the local clans to create an army under the pretext of helping the suzerain state [a state that controls another state in international affairs].
‘If they fought in the Ming civil war, they would gain recognition as an army moving under the king’s orders, and they would gain combat experience.’
But the probability of them melting away in the first battle was higher.
‘What if the King of Zhao had won?’
If the King of Zhao had won, Joseon would have entered a war with Ming, and the Ryukyu clans would have ambushed On Sado in the gap where our troops had withdrawn.
Since his life depended on us anyway, On Sado took a political gamble.
But the war is already over.
I decided to send them back nicely.
Of course, I’m not just sending them back.
‘If they go back like this, only On Sado will be left empty-handed.’
I don’t particularly like him, but he’s our puppet president, so he needs proper care.
“It has been a long time since your king was appointed as the King of Ryukyu, but the Lord of Mount Buk still occupies the area and does not follow the imperial orders. How did this happen?”
I asked the Ryukyu generals in a scolding tone.
On Sado had eaten Mount Jung and Mount Nam for free, but he couldn’t even think of attacking Mount Buk because he lacked his own base. [This is likely a metaphor for On Sado gaining control of these areas.]
The local clans, who are still living well, have no interest in the unification of Ryukyu.
Mount Buk is also large in territory and rugged in terrain, but its population is smaller than Mount Jung and Mount Nam.
Therefore, they are not taking any offensive actions either.
The generals who had come to Joseon to command the local clans’ private soldiers looked at me with bewildered expressions.
“His Majesty made your king the King of Ryukyu because he believed that you fully possessed the Three Mountains.
However, even though there is a Lord of Mount Buk who falsely claims the title of king, you have not subjugated him. Isn’t this deceiving the Emperor?”
It’s a ridiculous accusation.
However, since I, who hold the leash of Ryukyu, was pushing forward with unreasonable demands, the generals had no choice but to be embarrassed.
“N-No, that’s not true. We are postponing the northern expedition because the country is not yet stable, but we will be able to subjugate the Lord of Mount Buk before long.”
“That’s right. Our court is united in wishing for the unification of Ryukyu.”
“Hmm, so everyone thinks so?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Then there’s no need to say more.”
I picked up a brush after a long time and wrote something down in one stroke.
– Northern Unification (北進統一)
‘As expected, I’m a master calligrapher.’
I’m always impressed with my own skills.
“This is the will of the Emperor and me, so deliver it to your king.”
The four characters of Northern Unification.
It’s just a simple brushstroke by a master calligrapher, but the Ryukyu political world won’t be able to accept it as just a phrase.
On Sado will start driving the northern expedition by showing this writing to the local clans.
‘On Sado, you take Mount Buk.’
And give us some land as a bonus.
Okinawa should be good enough to grow coffee, right?
‘If not, I’ll have to find another place.’
===
The Yongle Emperor favored eunuchs.
Since the creation of the eunuch system, they have been subjected to countless slanders and hatred, but the prejudice that eunuchs mislead the monarch and eat away at the country is not necessarily true.
Right now, isn’t Zheng He himself a person who has left his name as a great admiral?
The Hongxi Emperor also favored Zheng He, who had been favored by the late emperor, and made him the head of the eunuchs, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
“Ugh…”
However, Zheng He himself was suffering from a splitting headache.
‘An indefinite suspension of expeditions.’
Hwang Eom, who had been sent back from Joseon, barely survived thanks to his ‘reporting of Joo Go-soo’s rebellion to the King of Joseon,’ but he lost all his power.
Naturally, the position of Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, which he had occupied, had to be filled, so it was natural for Zheng He, who was next in line, to take the position.
However, Zheng He was not an ordinary eunuch but a person who was in charge of one axis of the Yongle Emperor’s foreign affairs.
Naturally, it could only be interpreted as meaning that he should withdraw from maritime expeditions.
‘He means to concentrate entirely on domestic affairs.’
Zheng He keenly grasped the situation.
The Emperor was desperately looking for an escape from the foreign affairs initiated by the late Emperor.
In Annam, preparations are underway to withdraw the Annam Governor and re-establish the Tran Dynasty.
In the north, too, the existing proactive preemptive strike strategy is being withdrawn, and all efforts are being poured into rebuilding the Great Wall defense line.
Likewise, the scale of Zheng He’s expeditions had to be drastically reduced.
Everyone knows the fact, so Zheng He, who was sitting face to face with the other party, did not hide the fact.
“Does that mean that all voyages have been suspended except for some departures?”
“That’s right. I, who used to stir up the sea by receiving imperial orders, am now trapped in the palace and cannot even go out as I please.”
Zheng He said bitterly.
I could point fingers at him for making such a fuss even though he had become the pinnacle of eunuchs who could bring down even birds, but I didn’t bother to do so.
“My situation is that of a eunuch, but I don’t want to see the great work of the Western Ocean vanish in vain.”
“Then what will happen to the tributes collected from the countries of the Southern Barbarians? I heard that the late Emperor regarded spreading the light of the Great Ming to the world as the pride of his life.”
“His Majesty believes that there are more important things to do, so it can’t be helped.”
Zheng He said, drinking the steaming tea.
The Hongxi Emperor was pouring all his efforts into suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion [a religious and political movement that frequently led to uprisings].
The White Lotus Society of Tang Sai’er absorbed the refugees generated in the civil war and grew considerably.
Since its quality cannot be said to be very elite, it has been on a steady decline since it defeated the suppression forces in Yidu once and reached its peak.
However, the collateral damage caused in the process was countless.
‘How much time will have to pass before I can try the expedition again?’
Will it be possible while he is alive?
Or will the current Emperor or the Crown Prince actively push for advancing into the sea?
The Hongxi Emperor and the other ministers who assist him are all familiar with the traditional territory of the Central Plains.
They were all lukewarm about the relocation of the capital to Beijing, the Mongol expeditions, and the Western Ocean.
Everything comes from the beautiful mountains and rivers of the Great Ming, so why bother paying attention to the barbarians outside?
As if reading the situation, the other party opened his mouth.
It was Wang Ho, who had been dispatched by Lee Jae to predict the withdrawal of the Zheng He fleet.
“The other vassal states are not as familiar with the tributary system as Joseon.”
“That’s because the royal influence has not yet spread. That’s why Joseon is treated as a Baekgujiguk (伯舅之國) [a country treated with the respect due to a maternal uncle], isn’t it?”
Zheng He said calmly.
The influence of the Ming Dynasty projected to the South Seas is maintained by continuous voyages.
In other words, it is the same as suppressing it with the overwhelming military power of the Ming fleet.
Even if you let go for only a few years, it will be difficult to regain the lost hegemony.
“You are right. Our Joseon is like the eldest brother of the many vassal states of the Great Ming. If the younger brothers neglect their tribute, can’t we scold them on behalf of their parents?”
Zheng He raised his eyebrows at Wang Ho’s words.
“Is that the will of His Majesty the King of Joseon?”
“Yes. He told me to tell the Grand Eunuch directly.”
“I have now retired to the palace and am in a position to manage eunuchs.”
“Although you have retired from practical affairs, haven’t you been the one who commanded the Western Ocean? Who else would His Majesty call when discussing this matter other than you, sir?”
“I am a eunuch, so my scholarship is not as deep as that of other scholars, but I have never heard of collecting tribute on behalf of others.”
“Originally, there are no landlords who directly collect the land tax. The stewards come forward to take care of the troublesome work, and they only politely inform the landlords.”
“Joseon will act as a steward?”
Zheng He chuckled.
“There are many who try to act like landlords after a few years of stewardship.”
“Where are the landlords who would have their land taken away before their eyes just because the stewards are acting like landlords? You must have collected the land tax well in the meantime, so you can just replace the stewards when the time comes.”
Zheng He narrowed his brows.
You can just replace the stewards, but the relationship between Joseon and Ming is different.
When you tell the steward named Joseon to quit, will they obediently step down?
ⓒ Pitkong