Black Corporation: Joseon

Having returned to his study in the Eastern Palace, Hyang sat down with paper in front of him and began deep contemplation.

After pondering for a while, Hyang soon scratched his head and muttered.

“No matter how I think about it, the most efficient, stable, and long-lasting system is a federal system…”

Having thought of what he considered the optimal state system, Hyang moved on to the next step.

“First, you need to come up with a good title for things to go smoothly. In other words, the name of the country is important.”

Hyang began to write and erase various country names he thought of on the paper.

“Joseon Federation? Sounds a bit old-fashioned…”

After crossing out the word ‘Joseon Federation’, Hyang wrote ‘Goryeo Federation’ next.

“Is it because of ‘Korea’? It’s the most familiar, but if we write it in Hangul, it’ll cause big problems. Not only is it associated with communism, but using Goryeo, which Joseon overthrew, as the country’s name…”

It hadn’t even been 50 years since Goryeo fell and the country’s name was changed to Joseon. To include Goryeo in the country’s name now? It was obvious what would happen.

After erasing the word ‘Goryeo Federation’, Hyang wrote another name.

“The next thing that comes to mind is the Korean Empire, but… thinking about that disaster makes me a bit uneasy…”

After considering various names like this, Hyang finally decided on the name that seemed best.

“This should be the best.”

‘Great Han Federal Empire’

This was the country name Hyang decided on.

After writing ‘Great Han Federal Empire’ in large letters on the cover of the proposal to be submitted to Sejong, Hyang rolled up his sleeves.

“Well! Now that I’ve written the title… Shall we start?”

***

Meanwhile, in the conference room of the Prime Minister’s residence, Hwang Hui and the ministers were gathered, discussing.

“We can’t give up on the unclaimed land discovered in the east this time, can we?”

“His Majesty will absolutely not give it up.”

The ministers all nodded at the conversation between Kim Jeom and Hwang Hui.

‘Unclaimed land with infinite possibilities’

Although they used Sejong’s excuse, the ministers had no intention of giving it up either.

Of course, the officials in charge of the budget would be in misery.

“If we think about the problem of managing the unclaimed land, it ultimately comes down to the question of abdication or regency.”

When Jo Gye-saeng, who had been listening, brought up the choice between ‘abdication or regency’, the ministers frowned and offered their opinions.

“Wouldn’t regency look better?”

“Regency definitely looks better.”

“Abdication… Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous.”

The ministers who uttered the word ‘abdication’ shuddered all over and hurriedly rinsed their mouths with tea.

For the ministers, the word ‘abdication’ was one that brought back unpleasant memories.

***

When Crown Prince Yangnyeong, who committed the high treason of violating the palace and was ordered to commit suicide, was in the position of Crown Prince, King Taejong expressed his intention to abdicate the throne no less than three times.

Each time, Yangnyeong had to prostrate himself in deep apology, with his hair disheveled and wearing only trousers and a jacket.

Not only did he declare it, but he actually sent the royal seal to the Crown Prince through a court eunuch. Yangnyeong, who received it, immediately returned the royal seal to Taejong, and the ministers had to gather in the palace courtyard and shout “It must not be!” until their throats were hoarse.

The problem was that this abdication commotion caused by Taejong was a political plot.

Through the three abdication commotions, Taejong identified the ministers who had sided with Yangnyeong and found an excuse to purge the Min brothers, Yangnyeong’s maternal relatives.

Thus, Taejong purged the Min family and ministers who opposed him on the charge of ‘attempting to seize power by keeping a young Crown Prince by their side’.

Because of this, ministers shuddered every time they heard the word ‘abdication’.

***

As the ministers predicted future events, they looked at Jo Mal-saeng and asked a question.

“If His Majesty were to move his residence, when do you think it would be?”

Jo Mal-saeng immediately answered the ministers’ question.

“At the shortest, 5 years; at the longest, 10 years.”

“Why such a difference?”

“Even with Challenger-class ships, making one round trip a year is the best we can do. If we mobilize all the Challenger-class ships we can send eastward now, and if those ships arrive without a single loss, smoothly establish a bridgehead, and the pacification of the natives in the unclaimed land goes smoothly, then 5 years. If things get complicated due to various variables, then 10 years.”

“5 to 10 years…”

At Jo Mal-saeng’s explanation, the ministers counted on their fingers.

“This year is the year of Gyeongshin, so…”

This year, the 22nd year of King Sejong’s reign (1440, the year of Gyeongshin), Sejong was turning 43 years old. According to Jo Mal-saeng’s calculation, it would be when Sejong was in his late 40s to early 50s.

“It feels a bit precarious…”

The position of king was one that tended to lead to a short life. Running a country was a task that consumed enormous mental energy. Excessive consumption of mental energy soon led to physical collapse, which led to a short life.

“But thanks to the Crown Prince’s efforts so far, His Majesty’s health is good, so we shouldn’t worry too much, right?”

“And managing the unclaimed land should be easier than running state affairs…”

The ministers were trying their best to think positively.

“Well! Let’s think about that part later!”

Hwang Hui raised his voice to wrap up the situation.

“That part will be decided according to His Majesty’s determination, not ours, so let’s stop thinking about it!”

“Let’s do that.”

“That would be best.”

At Hwang Hui’s words, the ministers put aside thoughts related to abdication.

However, unable to put aside thoughts about the unclaimed land, the ministers continued their conversation.

“By the way, how big do you think it might be?”

“Didn’t they say that even after going down 4,000 li along the coastline, it didn’t end? Doesn’t that mean it’s at least bigger than our Joseon territory?”

“I suppose so.”

In the midst of this conversation, Kim Jeom muttered softly.

“If it were at least as big as Ming… It would be even better if there were plenty of things to extract and consume…”

At Kim Jeom’s words, all the ministers nodded without exception.

Later, when Hyang heard Kim Jeom’s words through various channels, he chuckled and muttered.

“Just securing California alone would have the Deputy Prime Minister jumping for joy.”

Gold mines famous for the ‘Gold Rush’ and agricultural areas well-known for ‘Calrose rice’.

A simple calculation showed that properly securing just this California region could solve the problems Joseon was worried about.

However, there was one thing even Hyang didn’t know well. The Native Americans who occupied the southwestern region of the United States, including California, were the Apache tribes, famous for their ferocity.

***

Three days later, Hyang presented his ideas for a new system of state governance in the main hall.

With the attention of Sejong and the ministers focused on him, Hyang stood next to a large chart and bowed to Sejong.

“Begin.”

“Yes, Father.”

Answering Sejong’s command, Hyang cleared his throat for a moment and soon began to speak.

“Three days ago, following the order Father gave me, I pondered. This is because Joseon’s territory is expanding, and we have just recently discovered what is thought to be a continental unclaimed land.”

Starting with an explanation of the current situation, Hyang turned over the cover of the chart.

On the newly revealed paper after turning over the blank cover, six large characters were written.

-Great Han Federal Empire (大韓聯邦帝國)

“This is the new system of state governance and country name I have thought of.”

At Hyang’s words, a slight commotion arose in the main hall.

“Be quiet.”

Quelling the commotion, Sejong confirmed the characters written on the paper and asked Hyang.

“By ‘Great Han’, do you mean it inherits the lineage of the unification of the Three Hans?”

“Yes.”

“The word ‘federal’ is a bit unfamiliar, but if we interpret it, it means countries are tied together, and since you said ’empire’…”

Pausing briefly to organize his thoughts, Sejong asked Hyang again.

“Have you revived the feudal system of the ancient Zhou?”

“It’s similar but very different.”

Hyang continued to explain while turning the pages.

-As Joseon’s territory expands, direct rule is becoming increasingly difficult.

-This leads to great difficulties in governing newly incorporated regions into Joseon’s territory.

-As we become unfamiliar with the circumstances of distant regions, we may enforce policies that don’t fit the conditions of those areas, which will cause dissatisfaction among the people in those regions.

-This will incite rebellion among the people we’ve worked hard to incorporate, and integration will become a distant goal.

-Therefore, we create administrative bodies composed of local residents in distant regions to pursue policies suitable for local conditions.

-The central government allows local autonomy in exchange for securing defense and diplomatic rights.

“This is where the difference from the Zhou feudal system arises. The military power held by the administrative body managing the region is limited to a level that can maintain public order.”

“Hmm…”

At Hyang’s explanation, Sejong nodded, and the ministers also nodded with favorable expressions.

“It seems quite good…”

Hyang’s explanation continued at length after that.

“…That concludes my presentation.”

Having finished his explanation, Hyang looked at Sejong.

“What do you think?”

“It seems quite good, but…”

Trailing off slightly while mulling over the content, Sejong asked Hyang.

“Are you thinking of separating the current Jurchen region or the Daeseoldo and Jongjangdo regions as well?”

“Not the Jurchen and Dongbyeong Harbor regions, but I think it would be good to separate the Daeseoldo and Jongjangdo regions.”

“Is it because the Jurchen region and Dongbyeong Harbor are connected by land, while Daeseoldo and Jongjangdo are separated by sea?”

“That’s correct.”

At Hyang’s answer, Sejong nodded and fell into thought again.

As Sejong stopped questioning, this time Hwang Hui threw a question.

“Considering the size of the land and the productivity of Daeseoldo and Jongjangdo, they’re not a big concern. But the problem is the unclaimed land. Considering its size and the potential we haven’t yet fully confirmed, isn’t it dangerous? If we’re not careful, the positions of the suzerain state and the vassal state could be reversed. Please consider the relationship between Goryeo and Liao, Jin.”

Goryeo and Liao, Jin established diplomatic relations calling each other ‘brother states’. However, before long, the positions of older and younger brother were reversed, and later Goryeo’s position fell to that of a vassal state.

This was exactly what Hwang Hui was pointing out.

The size of the unclaimed land just discovered was large enough to be called a continent. With that size, it was natural that over time, it would surpass Joseon’s national power.

If that happened, there was no guarantee that Goryeo’s tragedy wouldn’t repeat itself with Joseon.

At Hwang Hui’s point, Hyang nodded and answered.

“That part can certainly be a problem. Therefore, the solution I’ve thought of for the unclaimed land is not ‘one land, one country’ but a federal system of ‘one land, many countries’.”

‘United States! Of course, the next part would be Han, not America.’

“One land, many countries?”

When Hwang Hui momentarily showed a lack of understanding, Hyang explained with examples.

“Just as Zhou divided the Central Plains into feudal states, we divide the unclaimed land into several pieces. And Joseon mediates and monitors between those pieces.”

“What if those pieces join forces and rebel?”

To Hwang Hui’s question, Hyang rather asked back.

“Have you ever seen neighboring Jurchen tribes getting along well with each other?”

“Ah!”

At Hyang’s question, Hwang Hui finally understood and let out an exclamation.