There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 398

399. God knows… (2)

The surroundings were as silent as a graveyard.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

The utterly terrified men didn’t even dare to breathe in my presence.

‘Ah, now that I think about it, things were a bit chaotic outside.’

The corpses littering the outside of Beijing… did our troops clean them all up?

Corpses lying around haphazardly are bad for aesthetics and hygiene.

So, I told them to pile up the corpses with the intention of cremating them all at once.

I guess they might have seen them on their way here.

‘I made them see something they shouldn’t have.’

Even those who are accustomed to death wouldn’t feel good after seeing something like that.

‘I should have had them cleaned up and put somewhere out of sight.’

Anyway, the Ming Dynasty is over now.

The Ming’s main force has been annihilated.

‘If they mobilize the production power of Jiangnan [the region south of the Yangtze River, known for its wealth and resources], they might be able to raise hundreds of thousands more men.’

“Does the Ming even have the capacity to mobilize more?”

They might be able to fill the ranks somehow.

But they will never be able to match our skill level.

The Northern Army that I wiped out was the army that the Prince of Zhao had initially decimated, and the Ming had barely rebuilt.

They were gradually whittled down, and now they’ve all become wandering spirits here, which means that even if they hurriedly scrape together numbers now, they will only be a second-rate army.

Even if the Xuande Emperor, or my father-in-law, the Hongwu Emperor, or the Yongle Emperor, who was a true military genius, came back to life, this would be a difficult fight.

More than anything, isn’t this the time when the groundwork we’ve been diligently laying should start to pay off?

Isn’t it about time for them to start taking the bait?

I turned my head and looked at Esen.

“Come to think of it, you came in person.”

I said, looking at Esen.

Shouldn’t the Oirat [a major group of Western Mongols] be busy hammering away at the western Great Wall right now?

I don’t know why Esen is here, in this place where he should be fighting alongside his father.

“My allies asked for help in attacking Juyong Pass, so I came to contribute even my meager troops.”

Since Zhuqi couldn’t get past Juyong Pass, it seems the opposition faction brought in Esen to reinforce their forces and set him up as Zhuqi’s rival.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

But now, those petty power struggles are over.

Now that I’ve seized all the command, no one can say anything anymore.

‘It’s baffling how these guys, who once dominated the world, became punching bags for the Ming army.’

So, the rise and fall of things is truly unpredictable.

Zhuqi seemed relieved that I was taking complete control.

Instead of raising any objections, his gaze was fixed on something completely unexpected.

“Your Majesty, I’ve heard that this poison mist played a significant role in both the battle of Liaoxi and the battle of Beijing.”

“And?”

“Now, the north of the Central Plains is in the hands of the Hoi-maeng [a tribal alliance]. However, the Han people [the dominant ethnic group in China] of this land are proud and of a different race, so they will never be easy to govern.”

“So, you’re saying we should use the poison mist?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ve heard that once the poison mist is used, it can send hundreds or thousands of people to the afterlife.

If we trap the Han people in the city and release it a few times, wouldn’t we be able to wipe out all traces of the Han people in Hebei?”

‘That crazy bastard.’

I was appalled by his suggestion to set up gas chambers in the Central Plains.

The gas is easy to make, but its power isn’t that strong.

As we saw when Zhang Bao’s main force resisted to the very end even as their flesh melted away.

Of course, if we trap the people in a closed space and release the gas, as Zhuqi said, they would all die without being able to resist.

‘But I don’t want to do that.’

Killing Jews… what was it called, hikikomori [likely a mistranslation; should be holocaust]? I’ve seen a lot of those movies.

Are we going to open gas chambers in the Central Plains like the Nazis in those movies? Are you crazy?

Are you suddenly reminded of our ancestors’ saying to kill anyone taller than a cartwheel?

No matter what, I can’t let a dystopian world unfold like in my dream.

I coldly opened my mouth.

“You and I are also of different races. If we use the poison mist just because they are not of the same race, then Ta寧衛 [a military garrison] will not be able to avoid such measures either.”

Zhuqi flinched at my words.

And for practical reasons, this was not what I wanted.

‘It’s the same reason why this guy is encouraging me to do such a thing.’

For Ta寧衛, which has virtually no governing capacity over the Central Plains, it would be better to just wipe out all the people and turn it into grassland.

But what I want is not to turn the Central Plains into an empty land without people.

I need to extract as much as I lost in the war, but what will be left if I run gas chambers in this land?

Do you think I’m going through all this trouble to create a safari park where you guys can play with the horses?

“Beijing is already in my hands. Moreover, the people here have been ruled by the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties and are incredibly obedient. How can you make such rash assumptions?”

Beijing had been under the rule of non-Han dynasties for 400 to 500 years through the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties.

Sixty years have passed since the Ming Dynasty recovered it, but compared to that, the Han people’s rule is only a brief moment.

And after sixty years, Joseon has entered Beijing again.

They will probably think that the fate of the Ming Dynasty has also come to an end.

Just as the fate of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties that ruled this city came to an end.

Wouldn’t they believe that it is the Mandate of Heaven?

* * *

“Our ships that returned to Hangzhou report that Zheng He was greatly defeated. Only a few ships were able to return, and the fate of the remaining ones is unknown.”

“The King of Joseon has occupied Beijing! Juyong Pass has surrendered, and the Tartars are flocking under the banner of Joseon!”

“The Waja army has defeated the Guanxi garrison posts and crossed Jiayu Pass! We may even have to abandon Shaanxi….”

A heavy sigh escaped from above the heads of the kneeling officials.

Those who were kneeling were well aware of the concern contained within, so no one mentioned the dignity of the emperor.

“We cannot hand over the entire Shaanxi. The army should retreat and defend at least Xi’an.”

If Xi’an falls, Guanzhong [a historical region in China, centered on Xi’an] will be lost.

Even if we put aside the Joseon army that is rushing in with unstoppable force, we must protect the west.

“Is it certain that Zheng He is dead?”

“We do not know, Your Majesty.”

Zheng He is Zheng He, but the annihilation of his fleet was too painful.

“We can no longer attempt to attack Joseon by crossing the sea. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It was a much bigger issue to simply dismiss it like that, but we couldn’t break the emperor’s will any further in this situation where misfortunes were piling up.

“But the navy in the Yangtze River and other areas still remains.”

“Will it be enough to prevent the enemy from crossing the river?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Even though the ships were all burned and disappeared, it was limited to the large treasure ships that could cross the ocean.

If we gather the warships that escaped even in the midst of the destruction and the navy in the Yangtze River and Huai River, we can at least block the river.

The reason why the Southern Dynasties in history were able to preserve their state even in the face of a powerful northern enemy was thanks to this natural terrain.

Of course, there was no one in this court who had the idea of cutting off half of the country and being satisfied with becoming the Southern Dynasty.

On paper, the Ming Dynasty can still mobilize 500,000 to 600,000 troops. At least, that number cannot be ignored.

Even if they are farmers who have never properly held a spear.

The enemy watching from across the wide river will not be helplessly overwhelmed.

First, we will build a defensive line, blunt the enemy’s advance, and then wait for the deeply entrenched enemy to tire before launching an offensive.

“The enemy will not be able to station troops and confront us for a long time.”

“Above all, if we cut off the Grand Canal, it will be difficult for Joseon to maintain a large army.”

The reason why the population of North China can be maintained even though it is more than its land can support is largely due to the lifeline from Jiangnan that runs along the Grand Canal.

Naturally, if the Grand Canal is blocked, North China will inevitably fail to maintain its size and will die.

Grain prices will skyrocket in the rear, and riots will break out.

Joseon will not be able to prevent or handle that chaos.

No, even if their barbaric allied states called Hoi-maeng, would they quietly follow Joseon’s orders in such a situation?

Joseon will soon have to withdraw its troops, and that is when the Great Ming will advance north.

‘The hardship of the people will have to exceed the limit….’

All sorts of hellish scenes will unfold until the Grand Canal is restored or the population of North China is sufficiently reduced, but it is unavoidable in order to preserve the state.

We cannot hand over food to the enemy as it is.

Even if Joseon retreats, Ming will have a headache to shoulder the ruined North China, but it is important to win first.

‘If we win, we win.’

Then we can somehow fix the aftermath.

The sacrifices that come with it were unfortunate, but unavoidable.

* * *

There was one good thing about the pouring bad news.

Because the Jinyiwei [the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a secret police] and Dongchang [the Eastern Depot, another secret police agency] devoted all their capabilities to collecting war intelligence, the eyes of surveillance towards the imperial family became less than before.

They secretly gathered at the residence of the Prince of Ning.

The imperial family, who were initially reluctant to go on the Joseon expedition, could not hide their anxiety at this point.

Contrary to the expectation that the front line would be maintained to some extent, the Great Wall collapsed helplessly with holes everywhere.

The barbaric hooves will soon pound North China.

It is truly a recurrence of the old Northern and Southern Dynasties.

No, if the war situation goes to the worst, the country may be 넘어갈 수도 있고 [taken over].

However, Prince of Ning, Zhu Quan, was calm.

“Do you think that Great Ming is at war with Joseon now?”

“Isn’t that so?”

“No. Our brother-in-law is at war with our nephew.”

So, isn’t this a family fight within the Ming imperial family?

There have already been cases of the Jingnan Rebellion and the Rebellion of Prince of Zhao, Zhu Gaosui.

In both cases, the emperor may have changed, but the country was maintained, and their titles were not taken away.

The eyes of the imperial family sparkled at Zhu Quan’s words.

“The war with Joseon is not with the country, but with the emperor…?”

Then, isn’t it possible to end it by just replacing the emperor?

“Has the Prince of Ning received confirmation from someone among them that they will support him?”

“Not really. Even if I heard such words, they would be empty promises when the time comes.”

Zhu Quan, who had already been backstabbed, knew very well how futile a promise given to someone without power was.

But the eyes of the imperial family changed.

If there is no nominee, doesn’t that mean that they can also be the target?

They recalled the gifts that Zhu Suohua had sent.

In their eyes, it looked like a kind of investiture certificate.

The promise of a sister or aunt who would support them.

Prince of Ning, Zhu Quan, also placed the porcelain he received as a gift on the 문갑(文匣) [mungap, a small cabinet], but he did not deliberately show it off.

There is no need to give too much meaning to it until the work is done.

Zhu Quan looked around and said.

“Perhaps the King of Joseon may try to change the national surname.”

“That can’t be!”

The imperial family jumped up.

“This country must be ruled by the Zhu family!”

“Even if the King of Joseon is a hero, who would stand by and watch the usurpation? Is there anyone here who would agree to the King of Joseon’s ascension?”

“If the King of Joseon brings his troops here,”

The Prince of Ning said with a sneer.

“Would our approval be necessary?”

“Then?”

“This is when we must unite.”

So that the Zhu family’s state does not pass to another surname.

Only heaven knows to whom the Mandate of Heaven will return.