There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 399

400. The End of the War (1)

After the battle in Beijing, there were no more significant battles.

This was because Jang Bo’s main forces had already been annihilated, and Mongol troops were pouring in through Juyong Pass.

Local officials probably didn’t want the Mongol army storming into their towns by antagonizing us.

As a result, as soon as we crossed the Yellow River, local officials, eager to show their allegiance, rushed to hand over their seals of office.

“They seem to have realized that the momentum is definitely with Your Majesty.”

The situation was different from when Prince Jo had aggressively marched towards Nanjing.

Back then, to quickly end the civil war before the suppression forces gathered, we recklessly advanced, ignoring the trends in each region.

It was a correct decision since, once the Crown Prince was overthrown, the local officials who were just biding their time would have flocked to him, but in the end, it failed, and we retreated smoothly without securing even a tiny piece of land.

However, now, local officials who believed that I would at least secure North China were surrendering one after another.

‘A Northern and Southern Dynasties era [a period of division in Chinese history].’

The territory I currently occupy is larger than any territory anyone in Korean history has ever held.

Even if it’s just occupied territory, not governed.

However, I drew my sword with the intention of seeing this through to the end, and I have no intention of leaving it as an ambiguous conclusion like a Northern and Southern Dynasties era.

“There’s no turning back now.”

Not just for Emperor Seon Deok, but for me as well.

“Is there a way to attack Nanjing?”

No matter how quickly we advance, we can’t cross the Yangtze River faster than the defense forces gathering there.

It seems we can’t expect anything from our Mongol allies this time either.

These guys are hopeless in the water, even if they’re good on land.

More useless than I thought.

“Summon our navy. We must burn all of the enemy’s river navy to ashes.”

Now is the time for our navy to step up.

Even if we can’t recklessly cross the river just by burning the navy, it would still be meaningful in terms of peeling off one layer of defense.

However, I soon had to change my mind after hearing the good news from the Joseon navy.

“Jeonghwa invaded Joseon…?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

‘Those bastards.’

I clenched my fist. The pencil in my hand snapped with a crack.

Wiping the graphite smeared on my palm, I gritted my teeth.

How dare those treacherous bastards raid our base?

Fortunately, they all became ghosts in the water, and Dan seems to have taken care of the remnants.

‘So, the enemy navy is all gone?’

The Ming navy is no longer a variable.

Then, it’s a change of plans.

‘There’s no need to only entrust them with attacking the Yangtze River.’

“Summon all of our navy!”

It’s time to end the war.

* * *

Songjiang Prefecture (松江府).

In modern times, this Songjiang is a district belonging to Shanghai, but currently, Shanghai County is just a small village belonging to Songjiang Prefecture.

Therefore, the Joseon navy’s destination was not Shanghai County, but Huating County (華亭県) next to it.

The Joseon army’s navy was flooding into this place.

“The enemy is attacking!”

The To-wae army (土倭軍) [local troops formed to defend against Japanese pirates] was a military force created to defend the coast against Japanese pirates.

Some of them were drafted for the Joseon expedition and followed Joo Young, but naturally, they are now ghosts in the West Sea or all captured as prisoners.

However, since not all of the To-wae army went on the expedition, a considerable number remained in China.

The problem is that, under Joseon’s instructions, the Japanese pirates mainly targeted Fujian, Guangdong, or even Shandong, far away from here.

The army must be where the enemy invades. This is even more true considering the original nature of the To-wae army.

Moreover, the To-wae army was filling the void left by the navy, so they were virtually scattered throughout the entire Ming Dynasty’s east coast.

The Ming court had gathered troops here as well, but most of them were newly conscripted, just filling the numbers.

They couldn’t properly resist the Joseon army, which was bombarding them from the coast.

“The enemy’s ships are coming out!”

“How can they face our army with those little boats! Sink them all!”

Some battleships came forward to resist, but they were merely shattered and sunk by the Cheonghaejin Fleet’s attack.

With the resistance from both the sea and land eliminated, troops poured out from the Joseon navy, which had reached the port.

“The enemy is running away as soon as they see our soldiers!”

The soldiers in Jiangnan [region south of the Yangtze River] probably judged that everything was lost as soon as they saw the Joseon army.

“There’s no time to dawdle! Advance to Suzhou immediately!”

A little further from Songjiang is Suzhou, a large city of the Ming Dynasty.

The Joseon army was divided into two groups.

One group captured Songjiang and headed to Suzhou by land, while the other group dragged their ships back into the Yangtze River.

The further inland they advanced, the weaker the Ming army’s resistance became.

“W-What? Joseon soldiers!”

“Could it be that the Joseon army has crossed the river?”

The chaos was immense as the Joseon army’s lightning strike hit before the news of Songjiang’s fall could be delivered.

The appearance of the Joseon army in this rear area meant the collapse of the Yangtze River defense line.

Because the court had thoroughly concealed the Jeonghwa Fleet’s defeat, they couldn’t imagine that the Joseon army had crossed the sea and landed.

In their minds, the collapsing Ming Dynasty’s camps along the Yangtze River vividly appeared.

If the Joseon army had already broken through other camps and crossed the river, there was no point in resisting here.

Not all of the Ming army’s officers and soldiers were unwilling to fight to the end, but they couldn’t go against the tide.

If defeat had already been decided due to someone else’s mistake, why should they bother sacrificing their lives?

The same was true for the river navy in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Having already discovered smoke rising from across the river, they lost their will to fight when they saw the Joseon fleet entering the Yangtze River.

The Joseon army’s crossing of the river became a reality at this moment.

“Our navy has arrived!”

“Where have you been, drinking seawater, and now you’ve come!”

“If you hadn’t come, we would have had to swim across, you bastards!”

On the other hand, the Joseon soldiers cheered as they saw their allied fleet coming to pick them up.

“We’ll advance straight to Nanjing!”

In fact, the victory or defeat of the war was as good as decided at the moment of successfully crossing the Yangtze River, but whether the emperor would acknowledge it was another matter.

Even if the emperor fled along the Yangtze River and hid somewhere in the corner of Sichuan, the war would inevitably drag on indefinitely.

However, if they could capture Nanjing and seize the emperor, this war would end there.

Even the lowest-ranking soldiers knew this fact clearly.

That’s why no one hesitated.

As soon as the warhorses touched the sandbar of the Yangtze River, they stepped forward, followed by the soldiers.

The Joseon army’s rapid advance began.

* * *

“The Joseon army is coming!”

“The barbaric barbarians have already broken through the Yangtze River! They say that they commit murder and rape, and not a single blade of grass remains where the barbarians have passed!”

The report of the Joseon army first appearing in Songjiang was delivered to Nanjing faster than anywhere else.

“What’s going on? Has the Joseon army really crossed the river?”

“I-It can’t be already!”

Even if they knew the accurate fact that the Joseon army had launched a large-scale coastal landing, the things to do wouldn’t have changed much.

As the saying goes, ‘A long deliberation leads to a bad move.’ In a situation where urgency is paramount, diligently searching for uncertain information will inevitably lead to missing the opportunity.

A wise monarch always requires quick decisions.

Only then can they achieve the promised victory.

Emperor Seon Deok also decided to flee without delay.

However, he couldn’t shake off the sorrow rising up his neck.

“Does this mean I have to abandon the capital and run away?”

It might be a better situation compared to Uncle Oh, Emperor Jianwen, who had nowhere to run.

To appease him, the officials mobilized stories of kings who overcame national crises by fleeing, but someone cut off their words and hurriedly urged the emperor.

“Your Majesty, the ravages of war have struck, so there is no time to waste. Please get on the royal carriage!”

“Who are you…?”

“I am Woo Gyeom, the Left Vice Censor, Your Majesty!”

In a situation where the enemy was approaching Nanjing, the first person to evacuate was the emperor.

And his immediate family, concubines, officials in charge of practical affairs, and scholars of the cabinet.

If they all evacuate, there is no time to waste even for a moment.

The court’s evacuation procession leaving Nanjing’s gates formed a long line.

No matter how noble their lineage, such as princes or grand princes, it does not precede their usefulness.

Naturally, they were pushed back in the evacuation priority. To be more precise, they were virtually abandoned.

The attitude was close to saying that if they wanted to live, they would follow on their own.

Or they could remain in Nanjing, show ‘royal loyalty,’ and have their names recorded in history.

It was better that way.

If the court had tried to take them all on the evacuation route, they would have had no choice but to cut them down to escape.

‘There’s no need to be dragged down by a sinking ship.’

This sentiment was shared by most of the royal family.

Left alone in Nanjing, they heard the news that the Joseon army was coming from Ningbo and said in a fluster.

“Wait, but do we need to evacuate?”

For them, who had already decided to collude with the Joseon army, there was no reason to follow the emperor at all.

However, Prince Yeong’s thoughts were different.

He also had no intention of acting with the emperor, but he had no intention of just waiting until the Joseon army arrived.

“Do as you please.”

Prince Yeong said coldly.

Staying in Nanjing is not safe either.

This is clearly the capital of the Great Ming.

Even if the emperor flees, he will not completely abandon Nanjing’s governance and defense.

A governor will be left in Nanjing to defend the capital, but can he really act freely inside the besieged Nanjing Fortress?

There is nothing to do but watch until the Joseon army comes and breaks down the fortress gates.

If you want to seize the opportunity to act freely, now is the only time.

If it is now, when it is chaotic because of the evacuation, no one will care even if he leaves Nanjing and heads elsewhere.

He had already decided on his destination.

‘I should go to my fiefdom.’

His fiefdom, Nanchang (南昌).

It was not his intention to receive that place as a fiefdom in the first place.

After the Jingnan Rebellion [a civil war in the early Ming Dynasty] ended with Emperor Yongle’s victory, he naturally could not stay in his fiefdom in Inner Mongolia.

Because his brother, Emperor Yongle, would never allow it.

So, he rather prostrated himself and asked to be enfeoffed in Hangzhou, but his brother did not allow it.

He asked to be sent to Wuchang again, but that was not allowed either.

The last fiefdom he received was Nanchang.

Although it is not as good as Hangzhou or Wuchang, Nanchang is also a fairly prosperous town as the center of Jiangxi (江西) [a province in China].

He had not been able to take care of it for the past few years because he had been summoned to Nanjing, but if he returned, he would be able to seize the fiefdom and achieve great things.

In fact, a hundred years later, his descendant, Prince Yeong Joo Sin-ho, would launch a rebellion based on this Nanchang.

Above all, the emperor’s destination seemed to be not far from there.

‘I can’t face the Joseon army now.’

But the fleeing emperor is a different story.

Joo Gwon had already made up his mind.