Chapter 472

Episode 472: Liaodong (8)

Emperor Xiande, who had sent Crown Prince Ju Ji-jin back to Nanjing, looked at the map with a tired face and muttered.

“North Korea is a problem, but the biggest problem is Joseon. “It’s gotten too big.”

When Hyang, the Crown Prince of Joseon, first came to visit and discuss the matter of joint venture, the position of Joseon to the Ming was in a state where it was appropriate to say that Joseon’s position was inaccessible and inviolable.

I can’t guarantee that there will never be anything that goes against the Ming, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a country that should be treated as an enemy.

Rather, the Japanese nation was the subject of even more problems due to Japanese pirates and pirates harassing the Ming coastal area.

Rather, it was always beneficial to appease Joseon by pretending to listen to its problems.

In such a situation, the joint venture that the fragrance was built was beneficial to the Ming imperial family, which was struggling with financial problems. Therefore, Emperor Seondeok readily accepted Hyang’s proposal and at the same time allowed the restoration of Hwaryeong and the northern region, which was the origin of the Jonggye Byeonmu and royal family and was deeply influenced by Yi Seong-gye, which Joseon had continuously requested to be resolved.

“Since the kings of Joseon are descended from Lee Seong-gye, they will make every effort to restore the area. So, by allowing this, it creates a burden. And while the area is being restored, Joseon will also give up its interest in Liaodong. In the meantime, we will firmly make Liaodong a title.”

Under this calculation, Emperor Seondeok listened to Joseon’s request. And Emperor Seondeok’s calculations worked out well at first.

However, the first variable was that Joseon’s national power began to grow stronger faster than expected.

The second variable was Lee Man-ju and Muntemu. Between the pressures of both the Ming and Joseon Dynasty, Lee Man-ju and Muntemu fought against Joseon. The tribe became extinct, leaving behind only a very small number of survivors. And the area where the Muntumu tribe lived was taken over by Joseon.

As the situation changed, Emperor Seondeok slowly began to take interest in Joseon. Among the policies implemented by Joseon, those that were considered useful – most notably paper money – were also introduced into the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, in the midst of all this, the Hapja sangang continued to bring a lot of profits to Emperor Seondeok, so Emperor Seondeok did not even think about fatu.

However, after hearing rumors of a proper iron horse and seeing the actual prototype, Emperor Seondeok became wary of Joseon.

“Joseon ships are often seen in Yunnan, Seomla Relics, and Manlalga (滿剌加 Melaka)?”

Emperor Seondeok, who confirmed the existence of Joseon in an internal affairs report targeting Ming Dynasty merchants, secretly organized the situation on his own.

“I understand why the saying ‘eye-catching opponent’ came about.”

Emperor Seondeok came to a conclusion while re-reading the documents he had personally organized.

“If things continue like this, conflict between Ming and Joseon is inevitable, whether they want it or not. Then, the place that will be the battlefield is...”

Seondeokje walked in front of the map of the world hanging on one side of his office and pointed his finger at a place on the map.

“The place that will become the battlefield is right here in Liaodong. “It’s the same for us, but Joseon wouldn’t want their territory to be devastated by war.”

Emperor Seondeok even predicted where the war would take place and prepared the following.

“For both us and Joseon, due to supply issues, we must reach a conclusion in just one major battle. In order to win that battle....”

Emperor Seondeok meticulously analyzed it based on the knowledge and information he had.

-Unlike Jurchen or Northern Yuan, Joseon and Ming had infantry as the center of their power.

-In order to properly operate a large infantry unit, proper supply must follow.

-The problem is that Joseon already controls the sea between Ming and Joseon. The Ming navy also developed new battle lines and artillery, but was being pushed back by the Joseon Dynasty. Therefore, it is impossible to seize control of the sea.

-In order to win in this situation, you must move a large number of troops and supplies as much as possible in the minimum amount of time.

-The only thing that can make this possible is a railroad.

“Among the three sections, the railway must be laid at least to the area between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Only then can we gather overwhelming troops and supplies. The troops and materials thus collected were gathered in Beijing through the Grand Canal and then moved at once through the railway from Beijing to Liaodong.”

Emperor Seondeok muttered as he raised his finger to draw an imaginary line on the map and sighed.

“The problem is that the railroad hasn’t even been properly laid yet. I guess I’ll have to hurry the officials. From now on, it’s a race against time. This Joseon’s clever father and son will know this well. As has been the case up until now, the rich man will lie flat on his face until proper preparations are made. It will be too late to move when they show their teeth. Move in advance... Cough! Cough!”

Emperor Seondeok quickly pulled out a towel from his sleeve, covered his mouth, and coughed harshly. When the coughing that had continued several times subsided, Emperor Seondeok took the towel from his mouth and exhaled a long breath.

“Inhale~. Huh~.”

Emperor Seondeok took a deep breath and looked at the towel in his hand. Emperor Seondeok looked down at the blood-stained towel and smiled bitterly.

“All I have to do is finish my preparations on time? It’s hard. And I’m lonely.”

Emperor Seondeok muttered with a tired face.

The place where Emperor Seonde and the ministers of Ming moved to was the training ground of the Jinui Committee located inside the Forbidden City.

“This is the iron gun that was used by musketeers not long ago, this is the newly improved iron gun, and finally, this is the iron gun whose range and accuracy have been greatly increased.”

“It’s a long road.”

Taeboksyeong immediately nodded at Emperor Seondeok’s brief evaluation.

“That’s right. The length of the improved iron gun is about 4 cheok (about 120 cm), and the last iron gun, named ‘Jangjukchong (杖竹銃)’ in Taebok City, is 4 cheok 3 chi (about 130 cm) long.”

“What is the hit rate?”

“In the case of an improved iron gun, it is as I mentioned earlier, and in the case of a long bamboo gun, you can hit about 7 out of 10 shots within 40 paces (about 72m).”

“It’s long. Will the musketeers be able to handle it well?”

Taebokgyeong immediately answered Emperor Seondeok’s question.

“We will operate a pedestal to support the iron guns together, and we plan to select those with strong bones and excellent marksmanship among the musketeers and organize them separately.”

Emperor Seondeok thought for a moment about Taeboksyeong’s answer and then nodded.

“It’s okay. Let’s proceed as is.”

“I follow your orders.”

“I expect good results in other areas as well.”

“I will do my best!”

* * *

When Emperor Seondeok, satisfied with the new firearm, returned to Muyeongjeon, a waiting eunuch was waiting for Emperor Seondeok holding a tray containing a scroll.

“Something?”

“This is an appeal related to the wedding ceremony.”

“It’s an appeal...”

After picking up the appeal from the tray and examining its contents, Emperor Seondeok put the appeal back down and turned his head.

“Presentation letter.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Tell this to the person who made this appeal: ‘Those who cannot properly learn even the 2,300 characters listed in the People’s Essential Characters (百姓必習文子) are not worth much use.’ I mean. Chinese characters contain the essence of thousands of years of Chinese history. Because it is such an integer, it is difficult to learn, so we decided to set the necessary 2,300 characters and make sure to learn them! But let’s improve the text because it’s difficult? Rather, those who can’t learn are the problem! “Let the Yebusangseo keep this in mind and teach the people!”

“I will keep this in mind!”

After seeing that Joseon was operating a social democratic school, he created Chohakwon (a cornerstone learning center), a basic educational institution to teach the people of Seondeok Island. Then, they mobilized all the members of the Yebu and Gukjagam, selected 2,300 Chinese characters that must be learned, designated them as ‘compulsory characters for the people’, and created teaching materials and distributed them to elementary schools.

However, thanks to the nature of Chinese characters as hieroglyphs, learning the 2,300 characters properly was not an easy task. Simply put, there were countless people who could read but could not write.

Therefore, opinions continued to arise to improve the ‘character’ itself, but Emperor Seondeok stubbornly rejected this.

“Chinese characters are the soul of China!”

* * *

Later, historians, especially Chinese historians, evaluated Emperor Xuande as follows.

‘Emperor of the Ninth Prefecture.’

– Emperor Seondeok can rightfully be called an unprecedented Ming general in Chinese history.

However, it was because of his pride that the oral tradition fell just one short of the ‘sipjeon (十全)’ where everything was perfect.

This was because he continued to suffer losses that could have been avoided due to his pride that he was the emperor and that Ming was the center of the world and the best country in the world.

Representative examples include passing up the opportunity to subdue Joseon by starting with permission from the top of the joint venture, wasting a lot of time by believing in the technological prowess of the Ming Dynasty, and blocking the reform of writing.

If he had handled this part well, he would have become the Emperor of Ten Battles.

This was the evaluation of later historians regarding Emperor Seondeok.