There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 407

408. Emperor Ije (3)

“Are you telling me to take charge of the Nanjing court?”

I nodded at Do’s question and said,

“The Cabinet, to be exact.”

After Hu Weiyong, the first prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, was implicated in a rebellion and executed, Ming abolished the prime minister system. Instead, they established the Cabinet, which was essentially the emperor’s secretariat, to provide advice.

The scholars had low ranks and were numerous, so there was no concern that they would seize power and manipulate state affairs, which perfectly suited my father-in-law, Zhu Yuanzhang.

This Cabinet began to participate in routine affairs on a regular basis during the Yongle Emperor’s reign, discussing royal decrees and reviewing memorials [formal written requests or reports] to the emperor to determine their validity. By the time of the Hongxi and Xuande Emperors, it had reached the point where the Six Ministries [the main administrative departments of the government] had to consult with the Cabinet first and wait for a response before handling matters.

The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet even rose in rank by concurrently holding positions such as Sabo [likely a typo and should be Censor, an official who monitored the conduct of other officials] or Minister.

However, it wasn’t as if the Cabinet had completely neutralized the Six Ministries. Although the Cabinet had the power to deliberate, it was separate from the Six Ministries, which were the executive bodies.

…or so I was told.

It was worth saving Hwang Eom. Even though he’s lost his influence, he’s still a eunuch and knows a lot about Ming politics.

“I plan to create the position of Senior Grand Secretary in the Cabinet and put you in that position.”

Because ceremonial matters like bestowing posthumous titles or enfeoffing [granting land or titles] members of the royal family have been postponed (because they’re annoying), Do’s official title is still ‘Prince Chungnyeong, Duke of Jinguk.’

Of course, even though his title hasn’t changed, he’s still my brother, so he’s treated like a Prince.

The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet have to take measures to indirectly raise their rank by concurrently holding positions such as Minister, but my brother doesn’t even need to do that.

“The Cabinet directs the Six Ministries, and the Six Ministries execute the administration. Originally, the ministers of the Cabinet should discuss state affairs face-to-face (面議) [mianyi – in person], but I have to return to Hanyang, so that won’t be possible. Report important matters with memorials, and let the ministers divide and take charge of the remaining state affairs.”

My measures don’t deviate significantly from the memorial system established by the Xuande Emperor.

However, since the physical distance is far, it will be inevitable to govern according to the Cabinet’s memorials.

That’s why I’m temporarily placing Do as the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

It would be nice if we could send telegrams back and forth to communicate, but it will take a long time to connect the telegraph from Hanyang to Nanjing.

The command of the Joseon army and the (former) Ming army will have to be managed separately, but even with just this, the authority Do holds is almost equivalent to that of a regent (監國, gamguk) [one who rules in place of the monarch].

“Won’t there be a lot of opposition from the court?”

Do asked, rolling his eyes.

“If they’re going to suspect that a member of the royal family is out in the provinces, who else can I use?”

In Joseon, there would be a lot of talk if I gave this much authority to a member of the royal family, but it’s different here in the Nanjing court.

If Joseon wants to establish its dominance over the Central Plains, it must firmly grasp Nanjing, and the only people I can trust to do that are those who share my blood.

That a parachute [outsider] from the outside could seize Nanjing and start a rebellion? Especially when the army will follow me?

It’s more likely that the Xuande Emperor, who is about to submerge, will evolve into an Atlantean and lead a rebellion with aquatic creatures.

So, from my perspective, he’s the best choice to entrust with governing until the occupied territory is stabilized.

His abilities are a bonus.

I’d have to bring in even a scarecrow if it were my brother, but I’m not going to use a historically proven wise ruler?

“I’m not sure if I can govern this vast Central Plains, even if I’m your brother……”

“You can do it!”

Have confidence. I know your capabilities as a ruler!

“Still, I think there will be some grumbling here and there……”

“If anyone dares to slander you, I will not hesitate to cut them down and show the loyalty between ruler and subject, and the bond between brothers!”

I grabbed his hand and said.

I can tell by looking into his eyes. He’s wavering right now.

Half of him is a workaholic who wants to unleash his potential at this opportunity, and the other half is fear that he doesn’t know when the mountain of work will end.

“It seems like I’m only receiving the most difficult tasks……”

“Don’t exaggerate. It’s not that bad.”

I only cut out the Xuande Emperor. The Ming Dynasty’s system is still largely maintained.

You can see that for sure just by looking at how the Nanjing court is still functioning.

What Do has to do is take over the bureaucracy that the Ming Dynasty left behind and modify it to be compatible with Joseon, and also transplant Joseon’s ‘advanced system.’

I can’t just stay here and hold onto it when I don’t know when I’ll be able to finish this work in Nanjing and return.

“So, please do me a favor.”

Let your brother go home.

Before that, let’s hear what our friend Yongeon, who came urgently, has to say.

* * *

This is my first time meeting Ouchi Morimi.

Until now, Ouchi Mitsuyo, his nephew, has been in charge of Joseon’s diplomacy.

He even resides in Buyeo and serves as the chairman of Japan Town, so it was convenient for us to contact him.

However, if he came all the way here to attend my inauguration ceremony, he must be quite desperate.

Ouchi Morimi was kneeling politely in front of me, maintaining a poker face, but I could see through him to some extent.

“Kien has finally overthrown the Kamakura branch.”

While I was busy fighting with the Ming Dynasty, the civil war in Japan seems to have come to an end.

What’s surprising is that Ouchi didn’t intervene.

Considering their goals, I thought they would have intervened at a good time, whether the shogunate or the Kamakura branch was at a disadvantage, and drawn their swords.

“Kien bribed the Uesugi family, a key retainer of the Kamakura branch. I thought we were evenly matched, but their betrayal ended the battle in an instant.”

Ouchi Morimi didn’t bother to hide that fact.

“Kien is running wild. After the Kamakura branch was defeated, he even assassinated Kashikomaru-sama, the rightful shogun.

The shogun that Kien puts forward probably won’t live long either. If that happens, he will naturally return to secular life and take the position of shogun.”

The sons of the former shogun, Ashikaga Yoshikazu, met mysterious deaths.

Well, the culprit is obvious, but there’s no one who would openly rebel against Kien, who has suppressed even the rebellion.

“I intend to raise an army to question the shogun’s death.”

“Hmm……”

I trailed off after hearing Ouchi Morimi’s words.

The reason I told Ouchi to stop and hand over the vanguard of the rebellion to the Kamakura branch was because of Joseon’s circumstances.

If Ouchi, the supplier of key resources such as sulfur, copper, and silver, was subjugated by the shogunate while Joseon was focused on the war with Ming, it would be truly fatal.

But now that all the urgent fires have been put out, the story is a bit different.

‘Did he come to Nanjing to get permission to raise an army?’

That can’t be.

Ouchi calls himself a foreign vassal of the borderlands, but he’s not a real Joseon official.

There’s no way he would have flown all the way to Nanjing in this situation just to get permission for their own fight, and even if that were the case, he could have conveyed the story through Ouchi Mitsuyo.

So, they want our support…….

“Can’t Ouchi overcome them with their own strength right now?”

Through the Seongchung project that has been going on for decades, Ouchi’s firepower has become quite strong.

Moreover, they have stabilized their rear by pacifying Kyushu.

“Kien’s capabilities are beyond expectations. He will try to win over my old enemies by borrowing the names of the shogun and the Tenno [the Emperor of Japan].”

The gap between the central government and the rebels is significant.

That’s why the Kamakura branch also claimed manipulation of the Yujo [likely a typo and should be Yujo, meaning justification] and requested cooperation from all over the country, but they couldn’t win against the shogunate, which held the justification for a long-term war.

“I don’t trust those who have surrendered to me. The heads of the families have already committed seppuku [ritual suicide by samurai] and new people have taken their places, but they will rebel at any opportunity.”

In the current situation, if the shogunate declares Ouchi as an enemy, those who have surrendered will also rebel on a large scale.

Well, Ouchi was outwardly obeying the shogunate while secretly sharpening their swords, so there’s no guarantee that they wouldn’t do the same.

“Kien will eventually turn the blade that cut down the Kamakura branch this way. It’s better to raise an army now that he has assassinated the shogun. The fight is inevitable.”

Since the situation has become like this, he was in a position that he didn’t need to wait any longer.

“Now, all I can trust is the grace of the Emperor.”

Ouchi Morimi seemed to be thinking of ending his grudge against the shogunate in his generation.

Kien wouldn’t be able to stand by and watch Ouchi solidify their dominance in Kyushu forever.

The confrontation between the two is virtually inevitable.

However, Ouchi wouldn’t be able to withstand it if they faced enemies on both sides.

In the worst case, they could consider retreating to Kyushu and receiving help from our navy, but they’re probably thinking that it’s better to receive our help from the ground up than to lose all their bases and run away.

Moreover, Joseon, their backer, has now swallowed even the Central Plains.

I looked down at Ouchi Morimi and said.

“Even so, if we bring in our soldiers, you’ll be completely branded as a traitor.”

They had already mobilized the Jurchens in the battle with the Shoni clan, but officially, Ouchi had nothing to do with it.

Landing in the Shoni clan’s territory and carrying out small-scale looting is a different matter from mobilizing a large number of troops in a battle with the shogunate.

But Ouchi Morimi shook his head and said.

“I’m already branded as a traitor and about to be subjugated for communicating with Joseon without the permission of the central government.”

If they’re destined to become traitors anyway, I guess they’re going to show what a real traitor is.

‘General Wi Yeon, are you watching?’

That’s why you shouldn’t casually talk about someone having the face of a rebel.

The aftermath will be a problem…….

For Ouchi, who has deep-rooted trauma from the Oei Rebellion, the sense of crisis that they must defeat the shogunate right now seems to be taking precedence over what will happen afterwards.

If they raise a rebellion and lose one more time, it’s obvious that they’ll really have to take down the signboard this time.

‘Well, Seok Gyeongdang, who sold the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the Khitans, still acted as emperor until he died.’

In the end, the idea is that if you just seize the momentum, you can subtly gloss over most problems.

Just like Kien is doing now.

“Hmm……”

I stroked my chin.

It’s not just gunpowder or material support, but even dispatching troops to help Ouchi, so there will definitely be some crumbs falling off after the shogunate is overthrown.

The problem is whether we have the capacity to support Ouchi.

Most of our troops are currently stationed in the Central Plains.

However, we can’t permanently station our mobilized troops in the Central Plains, so more than half of them will have to return to the Joseon mainland with me.

Formally, I received the abdication from the Ming Emperor, and throughout the Central Plains, they have conformed to the trend and recognized me as the Emperor.

But taking out more troops from here is still 불안한데 [un-an-han-de – unsettling].

While I was worried about whether there would be more troops to spare to support Ouchi, I soon came up with a brilliant idea.

‘Do we really need to send Joseon troops?’

There are guys who haven’t even paid for their meals and have come down to Jiangnan.

The Mongol army, which couldn’t use its power in the conquest of the Central Plains, might be different if they go to Japan.

Ouchi is also a member of the same Hoimaeng [alliance] as the Mongols, so there’s justification for helping a member state.

‘They didn’t achieve any significant merit, but wouldn’t they give us something?’ I could just dump all the guys who are desperately staying in the Central Plains, thinking that.

‘Ouchi will take care of the supplies.’

For me, I can make a show of helping Ouchi by just pointing a finger from China to Japan without losing anything.

It’s truly killing two birds with one stone.

‘If they accept just one condition, that is.’