There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 386

387. Heading to the Front Lines (2)

‘No, it’s a joyous occasion. It is a joyous occasion, but…’

Never before in our direct lineage, where offspring are so precious, has such a monumental event occurred.

But what kind of grand event is this, really?

‘Why did that rascal Dan have to cause trouble!’

Considering the timing, it might have been before, but still, shouldn’t he have refrained while his grandfather was ill?

‘Or perhaps? Maybe the old man will be pleased?’

Perhaps Yi Bang-won [posthumously, referring to the late King Taejo] took the opportunity of his passing to shower his descendants with blessings.

Anyway, the thought of seeing his child and grandchild simultaneously leaves me with a strange feeling.

Although it’s not entirely uncommon in this era…

I cautiously observed Ju So-hwa’s reaction.

‘If she were to visit her family home in this situation, wouldn’t she face a severe reprimand?’

How could I, in making critical decisions for the nation, be swayed by the concerns of a woman?

But with a child on the way, I can’t help but feel conflicted.

Is it right for me to leave these precious children and grandchildren to go to the battlefield?

Am I blinded by war, about to commit an irreversible act?

“Father, Father.”

Just then, Dan, who was slowly regaining his senses, tugged at my sleeve and whispered.

“In the past, Yuan Shao [a warlord during the late Han Dynasty in China] delayed his campaign due to his child’s illness, missed the opportune moment, and lost the trust of his subjects. This is something we must be wary of.”

Isn’t that from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

He must have recently acquired and read the manga version of the Three Kingdoms drawn by Ahn Gyeon [a famous Joseon dynasty painter].

“With your younger sibling and children about to be born, do you still want to go to the battlefield?”

“That’s precisely why it’s even better. There’s no fear of the family line being cut off, is there?”

“What if only daughters are born one after another?”

“No. It will definitely be a boy.”

Dan confidently declared in a loud voice.

Well, it would be strange if all those numbers turned out to be daughters.

But isn’t he being a bit too nonchalant?

‘Would it be better for me to go, leaving the Crown Prince behind? Or should I stay and send Dan instead?’

No.

If I send him alone, who knows what kind of trouble he’ll cause.

Damn it, it’s all Dan’s fault.

Constantly harping on about avenging the late King’s grievances, ‘Yi Bang-won’s revenge’ has become the main theme of the war.

This is the era of manly men, the late Goryeo [Korean kingdom from 918 to 1392] and early Joseon [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897] period.

Even if one is the King and Crown Prince, it would be strange if they didn’t step forward to avenge their parents’ grievances, creating an atmosphere where it’s seen as unusual if they don’t.

Indeed, in a Confucian society, there is no value higher than filial piety.

‘At this point, there should be voices trying to dissuade me.’

However, the media play has already progressed to an irreversible level.

Well, we could backtrack, but that would be too lame.

Just then, Ju So-hwa looked at me and said.

“The Crown Prince is right. You are embarking on this campaign for the greater good, so how can you be swayed by personal feelings?”

“Uh…”

Hearing her say that makes me feel a twinge of conscience.

‘To so boldly declare that destroying her family home is for the greater good.’

Well, there’s no one there she can truly call family anymore.

She must think that there’s nothing more foolish than hindering me on the eve of a decisive battle.

I embraced Ju So-hwa and thought.

‘Oh well, whatever.’

As long as the enlightened ruler doesn’t cross the line with prohibition, Liaodong [a major peninsula in Northeast Asia] is safe.

This isn’t the age of bombers, and unless I’m on the battlefield, there’s virtually no chance of dying from bad luck.

“Do you really want me to go?”

I whispered into Ju So-hwa’s ear.

Even if she doesn’t want me to go, how could she openly say it?

Especially since she’s from the Ming Dynasty [ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644] imperial family, she might worry about the rumors if she opposes it, making her unable to stop me.

As expected, Ju So-hwa’s eyes changed, and she whispered.

“If both of you don’t return safe and sound, know that I’ll die.”

Seriously, she’s not even in good health, saying such things.

Even if she were, she shouldn’t say that.

For some reason, the children are looking at us with strange eyes.

“Ahem!”

I can’t ruin my dignity in front of my children.

I quickly released Ju So-hwa from my embrace.

I might end up being called a fool for his wife later.

“Take good care of your mother. You must pay special attention since your younger sibling is in her womb.”

I said, looking at my daughters.

The Crown Princess is here, but she’s also not in good health, so she might feel burdened taking care of her mother-in-law.

* * *

Amidst the fluttering funeral flags, the Training Command stood in solemn silence.

Under the direction of Park Yeon, who had returned from Ming, a somber musical piece played, but in contrast, an unquenchable fire of anger burned within the Joseon soldiers.

As expected, the war, taking advantage of the late King’s mourning period, inflicted an unbearable sense of humiliation on Joseon’s Confucian boys.

As I watched the parade, Dan emerged, holding the reins of Ttaeng-gu.

– Neigh!

“When the Bureau of Horses tried to select a horse, he tried to come out scraping the bottom. It seems this fellow is also clamoring to go to war.”

“Ttaeng-gu?”

I took this guy with me during the subjugation of Jo Wang, but that was already over 10 years ago.

Since then, I’ve only ridden him for short outings or as a personal vehicle, never riding Ttaeng-gu on a long journey.

‘It’s quite a distance, will he be alright?’

A horse’s lifespan is about 25 to 35 years, and considering his mother lived even longer, he still has plenty of life left, but he’s already past his prime.

“The common people revere Ttaeng-gu quite a bit, so wouldn’t it be helpful to ride him to gain victory, Father?”

Ttaeng-gu snorted fiercely, as if agreeing.

Since he’s saying that much, there’s no need to refuse.

‘In the end, I’m taking this guy with me too.’

As a horse of the Senior Grade 2 [a high-ranking official horse], it’ll look pretty cool if I ride him.

To ride this body, one must be at least a Senior Grade 2!

“Ttaeng-gu is family, so of course you should take him.”

At my younger brother Grand Prince Seongnyeong’s words, I sighed deeply and replied.

“I didn’t really want to bring any family members.”

That’s what I thought at first, but somehow I ended up bringing my son, brother, nephews, and even a pet(?).

It feels like my whole family is going all out to avenge Yi Bang-won.

Actually, there’s nothing to avenge!

Yi Bang-won died of old age!

That’s how we framed it, making it easier for these guys to join.

“Father said that he absolutely couldn’t let go of his eldest son, so I came in his stead.”

I felt a bit strange at Jinpyeong-gun Yi Yu’s words.

‘Hmm.’

If this guy dies in battle, his younger brother will see me as an enemy, right?

I’ll stick him and Dan in Shenyang [capital city of the Liaoning province in China] and make them administrative soldiers.

The State Councilors will handle the rear support.

There’s a telegraph line laid out in the middle, so I can directly handle most state affairs, but it’s much easier for the State Councilors to handle routine tasks on their own.

So, it’s been decided that both I and the Crown Prince will be going to war…

‘There’s a time limit.’

I have to end the war before the children are born.

I steeled my resolve.

* * *

“Our forces have suffered a great defeat at Zhaoyang!”

“The retreating Jurchen forces ambushed our troops! Yeongyang-hu Jinmu has been killed, and only two or three out of ten have survived.”

“Rumors are spreading that the barbarians are flocking to Jinzhou to aid the alliance.”

Zhang Fu momentarily almost slammed his hand on the table, but he restrained himself with desperate patience.

It wasn’t particularly because Zhang Fu was of a generous nature and didn’t want to lash out at his innocent subordinates.

The reason Zhang Fu suppressed his anger was because he was in the presence of someone he couldn’t dare to act rashly in front of.

The Xuande Emperor [fifth emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435], who received the report, wasn’t as flushed and heated as Zhang Fu.

‘If only my late father had drawn a line back then, saying that not an inch of territory could be conceded.’

For a moment, only such resentment arose.

‘No, if that had happened, the Joseon army and the Uriyangkhai [a Mongolic group] in Beijing would have tried to overthrow the dynasty.’

My late father made a wise decision.

At the time, he couldn’t afford to cede territory while suppressing the rebels.

But if that’s the case, shouldn’t I have continued my late father’s policies for a while longer?

‘Was I too hasty?’

The task of subjugating the barbarians on all sides was unexpectedly sluggish, but even so, I could have taken more time to deal with the outskirts of Joseon first.

‘No. Since I executed the envoy, the war had already begun.’

If I hadn’t made the decision, Joseon would have invaded the Great Wall first.

Leading those barbarians called the ‘alliance’.

But looking at the impregnable Jinzhou Fortress, I couldn’t help but feel a complex mix of emotions.

It was clear that even if we captured it, we would have to shed a tremendous amount of blood.

The Xuande Emperor stroked the gyrfalcon next to him and asked.

“Is there still no sign of rebellion within Jinzhou?”

“I am sorry to say… that is the case, Your Majesty.”

Although they were waging a fierce siege around Jinzhou, Jinzhou’s will to resist had not been broken.

Originally, Liaoxi [a historical region in northeastern China] was territory under Ming’s rule, so perhaps there might have been a stroke of luck, but that prediction was proven wrong.

‘Yang Shiqi was right.’

It was Yang Shiqi who insisted that we shouldn’t expect too much.

He had heard that the officials and people of Liaoxi had already become Joseon’s lackeys, and he was skeptical, but it was true.

Well, how could the common people easily rise up even if they had the will to do so?

Aren’t they called floating duckweeds, being swept this way and that by the great currents?

In the end, if Ming takes Jinzhou and gains momentum, the officials and people of Liaoxi will follow.

“I will look for another breakthrough, Your Majesty.”

The Xuande Emperor asked at Zhang Fu’s words.

“Are you saying that we cannot break through that Jinzhou Fortress?”

He was directly encouraging the soldiers to fight, but even in Zhang Fu’s eyes, the fortress didn’t seem like it would fall easily.

The troops that tried to detour to Zhaoyang had been shattered, so they had to find another way.

“General, wait. There was already a discussion in the imperial court before arriving in Beijing.”

It would have been best if they could break through Jinzhou and enter Liaodong, but if not, they had to at least tie down Joseon’s main forces.

He looked at the Ming army constantly pounding Jinzhou.

Not to mention the founding emperor and his great-grandfather, the Hongwu Emperor [founder and first emperor of the Ming dynasty], his grandfather, the Yongle Emperor [third emperor of the Ming dynasty], also personally led the army to crush the barbarians.

He wanted to be like them too.

That was also one of the reasons why the Xuande Emperor went on a personal expedition with such fanfare.

The more fundamental reason was to capture Joseon’s attention entirely here.

Even now, the imperial flags symbolizing the emperor were fluttering countless times in front of Jinzhou Fortress.

He calmly observed in front of Jinzhou Fortress for the second time.

Although they were repelling Ming’s attacks quite well, the situation in Jinzhou Fortress couldn’t be entirely unscathed.

Tonight, or perhaps tomorrow, a general from Jinzhou, eager for merit, might hastily send troops to intercept the emperor.

If they could elicit even a little carelessness in that way, that would be good.

They could immediately strike Jinzhou and tear Joseon’s mouth apart.

Perhaps even now, there would be chaos inside Jinzhou Fortress after confirming the imperial flags.

“Your Majesty, after gathering the words of the surviving soldiers, Joseon’s cannons are said to be extremely precise.”

Some time after the military council dispersed, Zhang Fu strode up and said.

“The enemy is firing strange shells from places our cannons cannot reach, and they explode instantly, causing the army dispatched to Zhaoyang to collapse all at once.

Nothing is more important than Your Majesty’s safety, so how about moving the camp back a bit?”

“If the enemy’s cannons could reach this place, why haven’t they used them until now?

They should have used them to take out even a small number of our troops, but are they so relaxed in Jinzhou?”

I heard that in the last war, the Joseon army used devices to see a thousand miles away.

The imperial flags were still fluttering as they were, as they couldn’t deceive the enemy with clumsy tricks, but the Ming army’s camp had retreated to a distance that was difficult to attack from the fortress.

However, after hearing Zhang Fu’s words, he felt a strange chill.

At that moment, Zhang Fu shouted frantically and rudely pushed the emperor away.

“Your Majesty, retreat!”

At the same time as the frantic voice was shouted, a shell fired from the Joseon side exploded.

Flames soared in the middle of the camp, and shrapnel scattered.