Black Corporation: Joseon

Having organized his thoughts, Hyang addressed Sejong.

“Father, may this humble one offer a suggestion?”

“Permission granted.”

“As we saw in the Gamoksabo battle, and as military texts state, a commander’s value is immense. If we can eliminate such commanders with a single bullet…”

“Stop there. I understand well what you wish to say.”

Cutting off Hyang’s words, Sejong turned to Jo Mal-saeng.

“Immediately arrange marksmanship competitions for soldiers and officers throughout Joseon. Both army and navy.”

“Both army and navy, you say?”

When Jo Mal-saeng sought confirmation, Sejong rather gave him a puzzled look and asked back.

“That’s true. I will implement the competition in the navy as well.”

However, Sejong still looked dissatisfied.

“If I have made some mistake…”

Seeing Sejong’s expression, Jo Mal-saeng stammered with a pale face, and Sejong clicked his tongue while turning away.

“Tsk! We’ll talk after the commendation ceremony!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Though Jo Mal-saeng hastily bowed his head, internally he was cursing.

Really! Suddenly giving orders and then what am I supposed to do! Being king means everything? Agh! That damned tongue clicking!

Meanwhile, the ministers watching this scene all wore sympathetic expressions while muttering internally.

Really! Does he still not understand His Majesty’s temperament? Even if he didn’t know, he should have waited! If he’d just paused for a moment, His Majesty and the Crown Prince would have explained everything!

That tongue of his! No wonder they say he planted his official hat on his head!

Being so slow-witted is why they call him the human statue of Geunjeong Hall!

Ugh! That tongue clicking! It was fine not hearing it all this time!

As if aware of the ministers’ thoughts, Hyang addressed Sejong.

“Father, if we simply order them to check skill levels without precise standards, evaluation will be difficult.”

“Ah! That’s right! I forgot that part!”

Acknowledging his oversight, Sejong looked at Jo Mal-saeng. His eyes seemed to say:

This is how you make a suggestion. This is how you point things out!

After glaring at Jo Mal-saeng thus, Sejong turned to Hyang. His eyes were full of pride looking at Hyang.

Oh my precious child, well done!

“Then what would you suggest?”

At Sejong’s question, Hyang immediately answered.

“Yes. Like archery competitions, if we set up target boards and compete, it won’t be easy to determine winners.”

Sejong and the ministers all nodded at Hyang’s words.

“That’s true…”

It was well known to neighboring countries that Joseons shot bows like spirits. Even in history before Hyang’s intervention, there were records of archery competitions between Joseon military officers escorting Qing envoys being difficult to decide.

When Sejong and the ministers all agreed, Hyang continued.

“We make targets modeled after the size and shape of grown men. Then we set them at distances of 50 jang (about 150m), 70 jang (about 210m), and 100 jang (about 300m) for competition. Ah! We mark vital points on the targets and award higher scores for hitting them.”

“Not bad.”

Sejong nodded at Hyang’s proposal. Seeing Sejong’s reaction, Hyang continued.

“Based on these competition results, we select those who perform excellently at 70 and 100 jang to form specialized sniper units.”

“Specialized sniper units…”

After making some calculations while listening to Hyang’s words, Sejong turned to Jo Mal-saeng.

“This seems the best approach, what do you think?”

“I believe it most appropriate.”

“Then let’s implement according to the Crown Prince’s proposal.”

“I receive the command!”

Jo Mal-saeng bowed his head at Sejong’s words. Other ministers also bowed their heads while muttering internally.

See! If you just wait a bit, everything works out with answers and all, why get so worked up!

Thus ended the small commotion. Through this ceremony, two people’s lives were transformed – Oh Bang-seop and Man-bok.

Oh Bang-seop was promoted and assigned to the General Staff. Hearing this news, more officers volunteered for frontier duty, and some commanders of frontier forts and garrisons began praying nightly with pure water offerings.

“Please, oh please. Send some Jurchen rabble to my jurisdiction too… Don’t need many, just about 200… Please, oh please…”

The Jurchen, once objects of fear, had fallen to become stepping stones for promotion.

***

If Oh Bang-seop was the officers’ hope, Man-bok was the soldiers’ hope.

“Man-bok, you say? What is your surname?”

“I have none.”

“None?”

“Yes. As a hunter, one of the commoner occupations considered base despite free status, I have no surname.”

“I see…”

It was still an era when many commoners had no surnames.

After contemplating Man-bok’s answer briefly, Sejong spoke.

“Your father put people’s minds at ease by hunting tigers with just a bow, and you too have put people at ease by taking down the Jurchen leader with just a gun. For such a family, I grant you the surname Hong (弘) meaning ‘vast.’ The character Hong resembles drawing a great bow, and because you have brought peace to many, it is most fitting.”

At Sejong’s words, Man-bok prostrated himself and made a deep bow.

“Your grace is boundless! That you would personally grant a surname to a humble hunter’s son – this kindness I shall not forget even as a spirit after death, and my descendants shall repay it for generations!”

To Man-bok’s tearful cry, Sejong replied with a smile.

“Then it is I and the royal family who should be grateful.”

Thus was born the “Hanseong Hong clan,” said to have continued alongside Korean military history as a traditional military family.

***

Man-bok’s miracle didn’t end there.

“How far can you hit when you really focus?”

“I’ve hit targets up to 250 jang (about 750m).”

At Man-bok’s answer, Sejong and Hyang looked at him with surprised eyes. Hyang especially was shocked.

That’s almost at maximum range!

Of course, the bullets could fly further, but they had only tested to that distance due to lack of space and equipment. Nevertheless, that range was shocking.

At Man-bok’s answer, Hyang muttered unconsciously.

“Your marksmanship is impressive, but your eyesight is even more remarkable.”

“My, how extraordinary. How did you come to hit targets at such distances?”

To Sejong’s question expecting another tale of valor, Man-bok immediately answered.

“The Authority Officer once took us outside the fort for training, saying indoor firing practice had limited utility. That’s when I shot a wolf.”

“I see.”

Sejong nodded at Man-bok’s answer.

Hyang joined the conversation again.

“Father, I have something I’d like to ask Man-bok.”

“Permission granted.”

With Sejong’s permission, Hyang questioned Man-bok.

“Your shooting skills are extraordinary, but I don’t think talent alone could achieve this. Did you learn anything special?”

“When father taught me archery, he taught me breathing methods and several other things.”

“Like what?”

“Reading the wind, proper aiming, killing presence, how to approach tigers without being detected, various things like that.”

Hyang’s eyes sparkled at Man-bok’s answer.

This is totally special forces material!

Having heard Man-bok’s answer, Hyang immediately reported to Sejong.

“What Man-bok learned from his father is truly precious knowledge. Teaching it to those selected through the competition Your Majesty decided on would make them even more capable!”

“I agree. Promote Private Hong Man-bok to Pacification Officer and assign him to personnel selection and training instruction.”

“We receive the command!”

“Truly wise judgment!”

While the ministers were answering in unison, Kim Jeom spoke up.

“No matter how rigorous the training, it’s useless without real combat experience. How about deploying these selected personnel for hunting dangerous beasts?”

“Hmm?”

After pausing briefly at Kim Jeom’s words, Sejong soon nodded.

Joseon still suffered continuous casualties from dangerous beasts like tigers, leopards, and bears. While many cases occurred from people entering the beasts’ territory, it was also common for aging beasts with diminished hunting ability to attack humans.

“That’s good. I’ve felt the Tiger-Hunting Officers alone were insufficient, and this way they can properly master what they’ve learned – truly killing two birds with one stone. Let’s do it.”

“I am deeply grateful for your acceptance.”

When Sejong decided readily, Kim Jeom bowed his head with a delighted expression. Watching this scene from the side, Hyang muttered internally.

As expected of Lord Kim Jeom! Even at this moment thinking of ways to cover expenditures! Truly money-poisoned!

As his notoriety regarding budgets grew, Kim Jeom gained a new nickname – “money-poisoned” – elegantly expressed as “jeon-dok.”

***

Thus Man-bok became the soldiers’ hope. Not only did he receive medals and rewards, but the king personally granted him a surname. That alone would have been enviably amazing, but he was also promoted to officer rank and given the position of instructor.

Eventually, not just officers but even soldiers began making nightly prayers with pure water offerings.

“Please, oh please. Just let me get one proper achievement.”

Thus, with King Sejong’s full decision and support, a specialized sniper unit was born.

The Tiger-Hunting Gunner Unit.

Officially, they were a unit tasked with hunting tigers and dangerous beasts that harmed the people. In reality, they hunted beasts throughout not just the Baekdu Mountain Range but also the plains of Liaodong and the forests north of Dongbyeong Harbor.

Through this process, soldiers specialized in stealth movement, ambush, and sniping were trained.

This was the birth of the unit that would gain notoriety as “the Challengers rule the sea, the Tiger Hunters rule the land” – known as “Tiger Hunters,” “Tigerjäger,” “Tigris venandi.”

***

Meanwhile, Jo Tae-nam’s report made its way through channels to reach Emperor Xuande in Beijing.

“Hmm…”

While Xuande read Jo Tae-nam’s report, the attending ministers swallowed dry saliva.

Of all things, the conclusion…

Of all things…

The reason for the ministers’ tension was that this subjugation’s conclusion was quite unfortunate. The Ming army had been trained as elites during Xuande’s reign. And in this subjugation, they had lived up to that evaluation. However, they had failed to add the final touch when Ayutawa crossed into Joseon and was annihilated.

The emperor had become increasingly frail lately and his temper sharper, so they didn’t know what harsh orders might come down.

In the past they might have altered the report, but under Xuande’s reign such things were unthinkable. One wrong move would certainly result in bloodshed under the crime of “blinding the emperor’s eyes.”

As a result, Xuande’s ministers forwarded field reports to the emperor without even organizing them. Better to take harsh scolding or lose one or two heads than mass execution.