There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 406

The Emperor Yi Je (2)

King Lê Lợi of Annam [the historical name for Vietnam].

Having repelled the Ming army and eliminated the puppet Trần dynasty king he had installed, he was now the de facto ruler of Vietnam.

Lê Lợi was crowned King of Annam after the war with Ming, but naturally, his feelings towards Ming were not favorable.

In these circumstances, Ming’s conflict with Joseon was a welcome development.

Already styling himself as the Emperor of Đại Việt [the Great Viet, another name for Vietnam], taking advantage of the chaotic state of the world, he was tempted to probe even Guangdong [a province in southern China, bordering Vietnam].

If Joseon could hold onto a corner of the world, wouldn’t he be able to advance into Guangdong and recover all the old territories of Yue [an ancient kingdom in southern China, encompassing Guangdong]?

Lê Lợi’s plan was no less ambitious than that of King U of Goryeo and Choe Yeong, who had sought to conquer Liaodong [a region in northeastern China] in conjunction with the Northern Yuan.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the current Joseon had far more resources than the Northern Yuan, which was on the verge of collapse while being beaten by Ming.

So much so that Lê Lợi had barely begun to raise his ambitious northern expeditionary force before Joseon had already entered Nanjing.

Lê Lợi and his ministers, who were imagining the skirmishes they would have with the Guangdong defense forces, were stunned by the words of the envoy from Nanjing.

“…Finally, divine authority has been rightly established. I have not forgotten the efforts of the King of Joseon in helping Annam’s independence in the past.”

Lê Lợi barely regained his composure and offered such words of praise.

The support Joseon had given to Vietnam was merely ‘trade’ conducted discreetly with influential figures, but it was better than nothing.

It could be said that they were in a more friendly relationship than with the Ming Dynasty, with whom they had once fought a war.

However, Lê Lợi could not help but sigh behind his smiling face.

‘The chaos in the Central Plains ended too quickly!’

It was obvious, but Lê Lợi alone could not face the entire Ming Dynasty.

His plan to recover his ancient territory was contingent on Joseon confronting Ming in the east.

If the chaos in Ming had continued, he might have been able to advance into Guangdong, but the matter was already settled, and the King of Joseon had seized power.

Even if a new emperor had been installed, it was clear that the King of Joseon would soon take that position. If Annam troops were to set foot in his territory of Guangdong at that time, he would inevitably have to wage another war risking the fate of his nation.

Lê Lợi absolutely refused such a future.

“But I heard a strange story on my way here. Is it true that Annam is gathering troops for an expedition?”

Lê Lợi waved his hands frantically, denying it.

“How could that be! With the foolish ruler throwing the world into chaos, how could his subordinates uphold the proper mandate? We have only gathered troops in case reckless individuals take advantage of the chaos in the center to invade our country.”

With that one statement, Lê Lợi scrapped the carefully laid-out expedition plan.

He decided to give the envoy what he wanted before the envoy’s suspicions continued.

“When His Majesty the King of Joseon inherits the mandate of heaven, we must send an envoy to congratulate him. Please do not worry, envoy.”

It was not just Annam. Even those who felt guilty, like Lê Lợi, had to honor the birth of the new emperor, as did all the countries within the tributary system [a system of trade and diplomacy with China].

During Joo Mun-gyu’s reign, the name of Yi Je, the King of Joseon who would become the new emperor, spread throughout the world.

* * *

From the end of the war, Zhenjiang [a city near Nanjing], which could be called the outer port of Nanjing, was always crowded with people.

This was largely due to the normal recovery of logistics after the end of the war, but the ships and people coming from outside the Central Plains were also considerable.

Most of them were Joseon trading ships, but just as many were envoys who had come to pay tribute from all directions.

They would not have flocked here to see the Emperor of Ming, who had received a death sentence.

They realized that the enthronement and founding of a new emperor and a new dynasty were imminent, and they were sent from various places to celebrate this.

When performing the abdication ceremony, not only the royal princes and dukes and civil and military officials, but also the chieftains and envoys of the Siyi (四夷) [a historical term for non-Chinese peoples] had to gather to complete the formalities.

From the north, from the south, from the east, and from the west, envoys were constantly gathering towards Nanjing.

The individuals themselves were not merely a group of ordinary subjects.

King Onsad of Ryukyu [an island kingdom, now part of Japan], who was in charge of the Southern Barbarians among the Siyi Ranger, even brought his crown prince with him to pay tribute in person.

His excuse was that he wanted to return the Ryukyu royal seal he had received from Emperor Yongle [a Ming dynasty emperor] to Yi Je and receive a new national seal directly.

The Black Khan Adai of the Northern Barbarians and Toqon, the Prince of Shun Ning in charge of the Western Rong [another historical term for non-Chinese peoples], were also the same.

The most unexpected person among them was Ōuchi, who had inherited the Dongyi Blue position from Joseon.

The head of the family, Ōuchi Morimi, came to pay tribute in person to celebrate the abdication.

He was merely a lord of Japan, so his status was not particularly high compared to the Mongol Khans or the Ming princes, but the situation in Japan was very urgent.

His base was also far away across the sea in Yamaguchi [a region in Japan], so he could not be compared to Adai and Toqon, who were directly involved in the war.

It was no secret that Ōuchi had been closely associated with Joseon, but the fact that he had come to pay tribute in person while Japan was engulfed in war must have been for his own reasons.

Lê Lợi, the King of Annam, also sent his son Lê Nguyên Long, who was not even ten years old, to celebrate the abdication, and even if they were not royalty, countless countries that had established diplomatic relations with Joseon and Ming sent envoys to witness the birth of the new emperor.

The ranks and faces of the gathered kings, dukes, high-ranking officials, and envoys from all over the world were different, but they had one thing in common.

As the one who would soon abdicate and the one who would receive the abdication entered to receive the congratulations of the civil and military officials, the master of ceremonies, who had been waiting in advance, chanted at length.

“Bow!”

Judging by their rank and status, they were the kings or crown princes of their countries, or the leading ministers who could be counted among the top five in their countries.

However, at the cry of the master of ceremonies, they knelt down on their left knees without hesitation.

“Four bows!”

The kneeling people bowed their heads, then prostrated themselves on the floor four times.

Only after completing the four bows did they raise their heads at the sound of “Rise,” and straighten their bodies.

The object of their bows was, of course, Yi Je, the King of Joseon, the protagonist of today.

Not only Yi Je but also the hikikomori [a Japanese term for a recluse] Emperor Joo Mun-gyu was present, but no one paid attention to him.

He was not even the culprit who had brought Ming to this state, and he was only temporarily entrusted with the national seal, so it was only natural.

In the eyes of those who had gathered, Joo Mun-gyu was no more than a jade seal storage box.

The emperor’s decree, in which Joo Mun-gyu had not intervened even a single word, was soon promulgated, and the ceremony of the two people on the platform exchanging the national seal was over.

Now, the master of this Great Ming Empire, no, the master of the country with even the name changed, was Yi Je, the King of Joseon.

The decree promulgated in the name of the new emperor was not particularly special in its content.

“The duty of the ruler is to highly regard teaching the people with beautiful customs and good morals, so stop the cruel punishments. Today, I have inherited the great task of the country, so I will make this year the first year of Geonmu (建武) [a new era name], change the calendar, change the clothes, and make the weights and measures the same as Joseon, and implement a general amnesty throughout the world….”

Proclaiming the era name, granting amnesty, and reforming laws and weights and measures were things that those who newly ascended the throne always did.

However, what made those gathered here truly feel that the world had changed was the Joseon language that resounded loudly as they read the decree.

Only the Joseon officials could immediately understand the decree promulgated in Joseon.

Those who were listening to the unfamiliar Joseon language with blank eyes had to wait for the decree translated into various languages used by those who followed Yi Je to be proclaimed.

From Jurchen and Japanese to Mongolian and Chinese.

Now, the national language of this country was Joseon, and the Chinese language they were familiar with had been relegated to one of the languages that made up this vast empire.

Even so, there were not many who felt bitterness about this.

Even though it was lumped together as Chinese, that is, Han Chinese, there were already countless languages within the Ming Dynasty.

And it was not strange for those in power to want to make their language the national language.

The Yuan Dynasty did so, and Emperor Hongwu, who tried to unify the language administratively by creating the Hongwu Correct Pronunciation, was the same.

As a result, Nanjing Mandarin, which was influenced by the Jiangnan dialect, was born, and even after Emperor Yongle moved the capital to Beijing in the original history, Nanjing Mandarin continued to be used because half of the population of Beijing was moved from Jiangnan.

So, those who were listening to the Chinese translation of Yi Je’s decree could not help but be delighted.

The majority of the existing Ming officials were the Jiangnan gentry [landed elite from the Jiangnan region].

At least the language chosen as the language of China was not another northern language, and even the Mandarin established by Emperor Hongwu was not the Wu language, which was almost the mother tongue of most of them.

Having already adapted to the greatly changed world, these Jiangnan officials, who had been more worried than that, were greatly relieved by this alone.

It was a pity that Nanjing had been relegated to a mere secondary capital of Joseon, but the new emperor did not seem to have any intention of mistreating this place.

Even the previous Emperor Yongle had consistently promoted the relocation of the capital to Beijing, so it was not a big loss compared to that.

For the officials whose family foundations and wealth were all in Jiangnan, their loyalty to the new emperor could not help but surge. Moreover, this emperor did not seem to have any intention of forcing them to move to Hanyang, so even more so.

Looking at it with hopeful eyes that they could continue the myth of the invincible Jiangnan real estate, it seemed that they could accept the fact that the national language had become Joseon with an open mind.

However, when the new national script was promulgated, even those who had joined the ranks of cultural relativism could not hide their discomfort.

“Hmm….”

“The script of Joseon?”

At first, they did not think of this as a big deal.

There were many precedents for various ethnic minorities who came to the Central Plains to use their own script.

The Liao Dynasty did so, and the Jin Dynasty did so.

Of course, during the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian script was used as the official script of the court.

However, in the end, all administration would return to Chinese.

Would Han Chinese administrative officials, who did not even use the script because they were uncomfortable with it, receive it and use it?

In the end, the imitation will disappear, and only the true script will remain immortal.

“I heard that the new emperor created the script with his younger brother….”

“Then we should shut our mouths.”

They praised the emperor’s wisdom with their mouths, but after all, it was obvious that it was a script that even Joseon would reluctantly use because the emperor had created it.

So, they had no intention of pointing out that point and offending the emperor.

If they just matched the rhythm for a while, the Nanjing court would soon regain its original appearance, with only the name of the country changed.

That’s what they thought as they received the Hunminjeongeum [the Korean alphabet] distributed by the guards.

It was not just the Jiangnan gentry.

The royal princes and dukes and the local officials from all over the country also received a copy of the Hunminjeongeum.

Anyway, it seemed that they had to pretend to learn the Joseon language and the Joseon script.

* * *

“It’s finally over….”

The long war and succession process had finally come to an end.

‘Can I finally go home?’

I can hardly remember the faces of my wife and children.

It would be great if I could get on a ship to Hanyang [the capital of Joseon] as it is, but if I stay to stabilize the occupied territories again, it seems that my return home will be indefinitely delayed…….

‘No, that can’t happen!’

My children and grandchildren are waiting!

No matter what anyone says, I’m really going home now!

I called my brother.