There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 446

447. Side Story – The World After (2)

“The Ottomans have maintained their loyalty since the reign of the late Emperor. Considering the friendship from his era, they are requesting us to dispatch troops. What are your thoughts on this?”

Joan of Arc’s official position was as the Empress’s companion and the Crown Prince’s tutor.

However, unofficially, she was a channel through which Yi Dan sought military advice, so it was not unusual for him to seek her opinion on this matter.

As a country girl from France, Joan of Arc couldn’t be said to be an expert on the conflict between the Mamluks and the Ottomans. However, she possessed the insight of a military expert and knowledge gleaned from her readings in Rome.

“What are Your Majesty’s thoughts?”

“I am well aware that lending troops based solely on reputation is futile. That is why I accepted your previous advice and ceased the subjugation of Annam [present-day Vietnam].

However, their argument that the blockage of the canal would greatly harm Joseon’s [historical Korean kingdom] national interests in the future is not without merit.”

If the Ottomans were to completely drive out the Mamluks and seize power, the situation might change.

They would not want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, which is the Suez Canal.

And they would not be able to treat Joseon, which maintains most of their trade ships, with utter disdain.

However, if they continue to cause chaos as they are now, the situation is different.

The turmoil must be quelled quickly to prevent the disruption of logistics.

“If that is the case, I believe it would not be a bad idea to send troops and display our might.”

“That is also my opinion.”

Joan of Arc said.

“Didn’t you previously oppose the conquest of Annam because of the distance and our troops’ unfamiliarity with the climate?”

“It is common sense that it becomes more difficult to fight as troops go further into distant lands. However, as Your Majesty said, we are not sending a large army but only a single unit to assist the Mamluks, so it will not be a great burden. Many countries that depend on trade through Suez, not just Joseon, will provide assistance, making it even less of a burden.

Also, even if we defeat Annam, we would have to station troops there and suffer endless battles. However, this battle is only to help our allies and strike at the Ottomans, so we can withdraw as soon as the objective is achieved. There is no reason to hesitate.”

“You mean we leave the cleanup entirely to the Ottomans and demand benefits accordingly.”

The main force would be the Mamluks’ large army, and Joseon would only be lending a hand.

Considering the firepower of the Joseon army, that alone would be a great help, but at least we would not fall into the quagmire of endless war.

Yi Dan, already equipped with the concept of an exit strategy, clapped his hands and said.

“Indeed, that is what I think as well. But if I am to raise an army, I must appoint a commander…”

The high reputation of Joseon in Europe and the Middle East was largely due to various precious goods, but also because Joseon was a powerful nation in the East.

To maintain Europe’s fantasy about Joseon’s military power, we still had to showcase brilliant achievements.

To make a big impression with a small force, we would need to use a good, renowned general.

However, the famous generals who had led the previous war and subdued the Ming Dynasty, led by his father, had already passed away, were bedridden in their old age, or had become senior officials too important to send on such expeditions.

So Yi Dan suggested.

“How about you take on the role?”

* * *

The reason why the Joseon army and envoys headed to the Red Sea was for that reason.

Initially, there were loud voices opposing entrusting even a small army to a foreigner, a Buddhist monk from another country, and a woman at that, Joan of Arc.

Her being a renowned and brave general was a fact well known to Yi Dan’s close aides, but getting other officials to accept that was another matter.

No one would oppose using her as a guest general, but even if Joan of Arc took on the actual command, there had to be someone above her, even in name, to supervise.

“Me? Are you talking about me?”

Grand Scholar Yi Man-ju asked, his eyes wide open.

“Weren’t you originally a military officer? You fought bravely and achieved merit during the reign of my late father, so you are suitable to be appointed as Supreme Commander.”

‘No, when was that…’

Yi Man-ju also recalled those distant memories, but now they were all in the past.

Currently, he was the leader of the Sarim faction [a political faction in Joseon] and the chairman of Sungkyunkwan [Joseon’s highest educational institution], a graduate of Yaeun Academy.

He was one of the academic lineages of Jeong Mong-ju [a famous Confucian scholar], having been personally taught by no less than State Preceptor Jeong Jong-seong.

He had initially started studying to memorize a few phrases, but Jeong Jong-seong’s influence did not stop there.

Tempted by the idea that if he studied a little more, he could master this and that and act like an intellectual.

Before he knew it, he had achieved the remarkable feat of being the first Joseon person to master the Zhu Zi Quan Shu [Complete Works of Zhu Xi, a foundational text of Neo-Confucianism].

In Joseon, the status of Zhu Xi and his works had somewhat weakened, and some luck had also contributed to his achievement, but an achievement was an achievement.

The fact that he, despite being of Jurchen descent, had risen to the position of Grand Scholar was undoubtedly due to that experience.

In any case, for Yi Man-ju, who had been steadily following the path of a civil official after the war, this was truly a bolt from the blue.

“I was planning to petition His Majesty to entrust me with compiling a new national history soon…”

The task he had been most interested in recently was revising the Dongguk Saryak [a Korean history book] or compiling a new history book.

There was a precedent of incorporating the history of Balhae [an ancient Korean kingdom] into ‘Joseon history’ while revising the Dongguk Saryak under his strong advocacy when Yi Je was the King of Joseon.

‘Then why shouldn’t the Jin Dynasty also become Joseon history?’

This was what the Jurchens were arguing even more strongly.

Still, incorporating the Jin Dynasty, which had a much stronger barbarian flavor than Balhae, into Korean history was bound to cause some opposition.

If he, as the Grand Scholar, who was at the forefront of lobbying for the revision of national history on behalf of Jurchen officials, were to leave, wouldn’t it cause a significant setback to the new national history compilation movement?

“I am well aware of your intentions. The Jin History, compiled during the Yuan Dynasty, has been left untouched, but after hearing from people like you about the meaning behind King Taejong’s creation of the Dongguk Saryak despite the existence of the Samguk Sagi [another Korean history book] and its similarities, I cannot help but agree.

I will have someone else lead that effort, so you can go with peace of mind.”

However, Yi Man-ju’s face still did not brighten.

It was only natural. Who would want to go to the battlefield after being a high-ranking official in Hanseong [old name for Seoul]?

Yi Dan consoled him, saying.

“There is no need to worry too much. Jang Dal-gu will practically command the troops.”

Joan of Arc had also not been active in the field for a long time, but she was not far behind in updating her military knowledge.

More than 90% of it was thanks to Yi Dan, who had used her as a military strategy pocket.

“I have some acquaintance with him…”

“Then that’s good. Make sure to lead well and return safely.”

Yi Man-ju cursed his own mouth.

There were quite a few who lamented the blurring of the clear distinction between orthodox learning and heterodoxy, and among them, there were even those who reevaluated Jeong Do-jeon [a Joseon dynasty politician] and Bulssi Japbyeon [Jeong Do-jeon’s criticism of Buddhism], but Yi Man-ju was not particularly close to such groups, perhaps because of his background.

Gil Jae, who founded Yaeun Academy, accepted and taught people regardless of their noble or common status, and there were many students from other ethnic groups.

Yi Man-ju was one of them, and because he had accepted such a soft academic stance, he often discussed academics not only with Joan of Arc but also with various priests dispatched from the Vatican and renowned monks like Shinmi.

Yi Man-ju, who had been unintentionally dispatched to a foreign country, could not simply frown and vent his anger on random acquaintances throughout the expedition.

Yi Man-ju stroked his chin and said.

“How does it feel to return to your homeland after renouncing the world?”

“Homeland… my real homeland is much further away, so it doesn’t feel very real.”

“But compared to Joseon, it’s close enough. Well, Joseon is such a distant land, so you were able to escape the chaos.”

“Is that so?”

“From what you said, your country’s king did not value loyal subjects but rather shunned them. Considering the principle that Shin-saeng was persecuted and could not avoid death because he was inside, and that Chung-er survived because he went outside, your situation cannot be said to be entirely unfortunate.”

Yi Man-ju continued.

“But that king is already dead, and his son has succeeded him. If you seize this opportunity to achieve merit and return in triumph, wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

Joan of Arc nodded.

Although she had wandered outside for many years, she had never forgotten her homeland.

For the first few years, she was confined to a monastery, thinking only of ways to return to France.

Then, relying on her religious faith, she barely accepted her situation and decided to change her purpose in life to spreading the gospel in Joseon.

To some extent, it was successful. She baptized the Crown Prince—although the royal family did not seem very interested in religion—and she was able to proselytize to some women from noble families based on the rumor that she could help them have sons.

She thought that she had fulfilled her mission in the world by planting the seeds of faith to this extent, but when she heard those words, she couldn’t help but feel her heart pounding.

“The enemy’s ruler is wise, and their army is strong. I don’t think it’s a disadvantage, but I’m worried that it won’t be easy to seize this opportunity to cut off the source of trouble and achieve merit.”

“I heard that there is a state that has lasted for two thousand years in that land, but instead of valuing and preserving it, they cut off the righteousness of the seasons and destroyed the country, so it can be said that they have lost their way. But will their glory last long just because they have gained momentum once?”

Yi Man-ju spoke in a solemn voice, befitting a scholar.

The rebuttal that there is no country that fights a war while being so considerate did not come back.

Nor did the rebuttal that the ‘royal ancestral shrines’ that Yi Man-ju was thinking of, where sword fights and usurpations frequently occurred, were not very compatible with that system.

In any case, Joan of Arc also did not like the enemy in front of her very much.

For the sake of Joseon, for the sake of her faith, and for the sake of her future, she had to defeat the Ottomans.

In any case, wasn’t the reason why various European countries were rising up like wildfire for similar reasons?

As the military conflict between the Ottomans and the Mamluks continued, or rather, as the Ottomans’ disruption accelerated, the prices of goods passing through Suez skyrocketed like chicken soup in a valley [became very expensive].

Venice diligently gathered troops and supplies to protect Suez.

The Vatican, which depended on the financial income of Roman brothels, was also the same. They were about to launch the final crusade at any cost.

At this point, even European countries that had only cared about their own affairs when they destroyed Byzantium suddenly became angry at the Ottomans’ outrage that threatened the Christian world.

It was anger that was about ten years late, but it was better than not being angry at all.

“Glory to the Lord once again!”

“DEUS VULT! [God wills it!]”

The dying zeal of the Crusades surged again in an instant.

The Ottomans’ plan to have a sparring match with the Mamluks resulted in attracting enemies from both the East and the West.