Black Corporation: Joseon

Emperor Xuande glared at the Minister of Revenue who had submitted the memorial.

However, the Minister of Revenue had something to say as well.

“Your Majesty! This Central Plains is vast and its people are numerous! Since Your Majesty ascended to the throne, our empire has grown stronger day by day, relying on Your Majesty’s wisdom!”

The Minister of Revenue, who opened with praise for Emperor Xuande, soon got to the main point.

“However, this has also caused many inconveniences. And among those inconveniences, the greatest is currency. More and more currency is needed throughout the empire, but with only the issuing bureau in Beijing producing currency, we are in a situation where we cannot keep up with the demand! Because of this, many places are still trading with silver and gold. And this leads to tax evasion! Therefore, we must establish an additional issuing bureau in Nanjing to respond more quickly!”

Most of the officials, including the newly appointed Grand Secretary, nodded at the Minister of Revenue’s words.

However, Emperor Xuande did not yield his stance of refusal.

“No physical currency, so they use goods? Then why have they been using promissory notes all this time? And why did I issue state-authorized promissory notes? Wasn’t it to replace that part? Without considering that, you’re blaming everything on the amount and speed of currency issuance, which means you are incompetent! If you truly had the intention to act, you would have worked harder to educate the people and made more efforts to prevent tax evasion! But without even thinking or acting on that, you want to set up another issuing bureau? Do you really think at all in your lives!”

To Emperor Xuande’s rebuke, the Minister of Revenue bowed his head and replied.

“Our loyalty is as hard as a diamond! We just wanted to increase efficiency and the empire’s finances…”

“It’s not about increasing efficiency, but about increasing opportunities to embezzle! And it’s not about increasing the empire’s finances, but about increasing your own, isn’t it your honest feeling!”

“Your Majesty! That is utterly absurd! My loyalty is…”

Emperor Xuande interrupted the Minister of Revenue once again.

“We’ll see about that loyalty when we investigate! Guards! Take this man away and imprison him immediately!”

At Emperor Xuande’s order, Imperial Guard soldiers who had been waiting outside came in and seized the Minister of Revenue.

“Your Majesty! This is unjust!”

The Minister of Revenue cried out his innocence as he was dragged away, but Emperor Xuande added to his order.

“Investigate all ten branches of the Minister of Revenue’s family, and if even one irregularity is found, imprison them all!”

“We receive your command!”

***

During this period of Emperor Xuande’s rule, those involved in Ming politics – not just formal officials, but also eunuchs and the Imperial Guard – had to act as cautiously as if walking on thin ice.

Emperor Xuande skillfully exploited the friction that existed between the core power organizations – the bureaucracy, the eunuch organization, and the Imperial Guard – making them keep each other in check. And he induced a competition of loyalty by giving ample rewards to those who were loyal to him. Informing and loyalty, these were the methods Emperor Xuande used to maintain his power. And what made this possible was the enormous profits coming in from the joint-stock merchant groups.

While he was a figure of terror to the core figures of power and the rich, to the common people, Emperor Xuande was a sage ruler of the age.

He purged corrupt officials by inspecting those in charge of tax affairs, reducing unfair taxes, and responded quickly to disasters by mobilizing the Imperial Guard.

Thanks to this, later historians called Emperor Xuande’s era an unprecedented golden age in Chinese history and named it “The Governance of Xuande.”

***

Information about Emperor Xuande’s politics and related situations in Ming came in immediately through the trade office in Shandong and the Jurchen tribes in Liaodong.

Interestingly, the Jurchen tribes in Liaodong were notable entities here.

Joseon, which had entered the empty space created by wiping out the Yiman-ju and Muntumu tribes, quietly reached out to the Jurchen tribes beyond the Liao River in Liaodong.

It wasn’t an official contact, but rather one using merchants of Jurchen origin who had submitted to Joseon, creating an information line that could cross-verify information obtained from Shandong.

This too was Hyang’s work. Knowing the importance of information through his 21st-century experience, Hyang had insisted on creating multiple information acquisition lines. And King Sejong, immediately understanding its importance, had directed his ministers to establish these information lines.

***

Interestingly, Joseon had been well aware of the importance of such information lines since its early days of founding. Especially, quickly and accurately obtaining information about the Jurchen tribes directly across the Tumen and Yalu rivers was a matter related to national survival.

Thanks to this, the amount of information related to the Jurchen tribes was considerable. And this was used to establish the information lines.

And this created a similar situation with Japan.

Joseon, suffering from Japanese pirates, maintained friendly relations with Japanese lords by showering them with gifts to minimize damage. By the time of King Taejong’s reign, a considerable number of Japanese territories had established such relationships.

Of course, as Ming strictly prohibited communication with Japan, this was done secretly.

However, the results of this policy were quite disappointing. Just as the results of this policy were beginning to show, Ouchi Yoshihiro, the ruler of the Ouchi clan who was a powerful figure in Kyushu, and So Sadamori, the lord of Tsushima, both died. With the death of the rulers of the most important regions, Japanese pirate raids on Joseon increased, and relations between Joseon and Japan deteriorated. (Note 1)

Because of this precedent, King Sejong accepted Hyang’s proposal, and the information lines were quickly established.

And once again, later historians cried out in dismay.

“The Crown Prince again!”

***

Having received this cross-verified information, King Sejong let out a long sigh.

“Huu~. For our Joseon, we must pray that the current emperor lives a long life. Do you know why?”

At King Sejong’s question, Hyang, who was present, nodded.

“Because all power is concentrated in the emperor, and all policies begin and end with one person, the emperor.”

“You’ve seen it correctly.”

King Sejong looked at Hyang with a proud face, then turned to his ministers.

“As the Crown Prince said, all affairs of the Great State are being conducted by the emperor alone. This is a big problem.”

At King Sejong’s words, all the ministers nodded. It was unpleasant to even think about what would happen if Emperor Xuande were to die tomorrow and be succeeded by an incompetent emperor.

“How old is the current Empire’s Crown Prince?”

At King Sejong’s question, Lee Maeng-gyun, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had been briefly recollecting, immediately answered.

“He was born in the year of Byeongo, so he is 5 years old this year.”

“Too young…”

King Sejong, clicking his tongue, gave orders to his ministers.

“Contact Shandong and tell them not to miss even a single rumor about the emperor’s health issues.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After the meeting ended, the ministers gathered in the conference room of the Prime Minister’s Office.

“To think we’ve come to a situation where we have to worry even about the emperor’s health…”

To Kim Jeom’s grumbling, Hwang Hui picked up the conversation.

“Isn’t it because the emperor is the only one among the current power holders in Ming who could benefit our Joseon? I wonder why there’s such a lack of talent in a country so vast with so many people…”

“I agree.”

As the ministers nodded to Hwang Hui’s words, Jo Gye-saeng opened his mouth.

“Isn’t it the same for our Joseon? Doesn’t our King control everything as well?”

“Don’t we have a grown Crown Prince?”

At those words, Jo Gye-saeng’s expression became a bit awkward as he muttered.

“I know the Crown Prince is excellent, but isn’t being good at making strange devices different from being good at politics? Of course, among the policies he’s proposed so far, there have been quite a few excellent ones, but most of them are only related to statecraft…”

At Jo Gye-saeng’s words, all the ministers present silently looked at him.

Seeing his colleagues just staring silently, Jo Gye-saeng immediately asked.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

To Jo Gye-saeng’s question, Hwang Hui stepped forward to answer.

“There’s something that happened when you were still in the countryside. Go to the archives and look for the records about the policy presentation right after the Crown Prince’s investiture.”

“Huh?”

The next day, Jo Gye-saeng visited the archives and read all the relevant records. After reading all those records, Jo Gye-saeng muttered with a pale face.

“This crazy…”

****

Time continued to flow like water after that. Fortunately, Joseon, which had not experienced any wars or disturbances, was progressing smoothly.

As time passed, it became the 17th year of King Sejong’s reign (1435, the year of Eulhyo).

As the weather warmed up and people’s movements became more lively, King Sejong and his ministers visited Area 51.

The reason King Sejong and his ministers visited Area 51 was because a new iron horse had been completed.

Whistle! Choo-choo!

With a loud whistle sound, a large iron horse came out of the production plant along the test railway.

“Ooh!”

The ministers let out exclamations as they saw the new iron horse reveal itself. King Sejong’s eyes shone as he looked at the newly revealed locomotive.

“It’s truly big!”

“The researchers and craftsmen did their best.”

At Hyang’s answer, King Sejong looked at the researchers and craftsmen standing behind with a pleased face and praised them.

“You have truly worked hard! The future of this Joseon is bright because of you!”

“Your grace is boundless! Long live the King! Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years! Ten thousand ten thousand years!”

The researchers and craftsmen responded to King Sejong’s praise with a cheer of ten thousand years.

A ceremony was held under King Sejong’s supervision. After the ceremony, King Sejong asked Hyang various questions.

“It’s quite large, but how fast can it go?”

“On average, it can go 150 ri (about 60 km) in half a sigan (about 1 hour).”

“Hm? How fast did you say the Hanseong iron horse could go?”

“90 ri (about 36 km) in half a sigan. However, that’s the maximum speed, and what I just explained is the average speed. If we run at maximum speed, it can go 250 ri (about 100 km) in half a sigan.”

“Then why does it run so slowly?”

“If we run at maximum speed, its lifespan shortens. To have a longer lifespan at a faster speed, we need continuous research. And even the current average speed is similar to a horse running at full speed.”

“I see. Then compared to the Hanseong iron horse, how many more people and cargo can it carry?”

“On average, four times more. Of course, if we load it to the maximum, it can go up to six times more. However, there are many mountains to cross on the railway path, and many people are not used to the iron horse, so we deliberately slowed down the speed and reduced the transport volume.”

“I see.”

At Hyang’s explanation, King Sejong forcibly hid his disappointment and examined the iron horse.

As he was examining the iron horse, something caught King Sejong’s eye – an object similar to a wedge attached to the very front of the locomotive.

“What is that?”

“For now, we’ve named it a ‘baejang-gi‘ (obstacle remover). It’s designed to push away wild animals or obstacles on the railway.”

“I see…”

King Sejong, immediately understanding its purpose from Hyang’s explanation, nodded and then turned to look at Hyang.

“Crown Prince, about the troop transport trailer you mentioned before…”

“We are currently researching whether it can be attached and used, and how helpful it would be.”

At Hyang’s answer, King Sejong finally nodded with a satisfied face.

“As expected of the Crown Prince…”

As King Sejong circled around the iron horse, examining it meticulously, he turned to Hyang.

“By the way, I don’t see Jinpyeong. With Jinpyeong’s personality, he’s not one to miss an occasion like this?”

At King Sejong’s question, Hyang pointed towards the engine room of the iron horse.

“He’s preparing for the test run.”

“As expected of Jinpyeong…”

And the ministers following behind them and listening to the conversation all muttered inwardly.

‘Indeed, blood doesn’t lie, what a father and son duo…’

***

Note 1) Joseon Dynasty Military Strategy. Tsushima Island Conquest Edition. Ministry of National Defense Military History Compilation Research Institute.