Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Empty Fort Strategy (5)
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A newly dispatched memorial from Joseon was delivered to Grand Commandant Zhu under Emperor Xuande.
"The memorial newly submitted by King Do (Sejong) of Joseon is truly to my liking."
Every single item written within it pleased him from beginning to end.
"What does the Minister of War think?"
"In my view as well, it is a memorial that is truly most agreeable. Though our Ming did not directly rebuke them, nor blame the Crown Prince... Joseon has discerned on its own what our Ming desires, from first to last, and voluntarily bowed its head."
"I never imagined the King of Joseon would offer tribute silver of his own accord."
The Ming court was roughly aware of Joseon's circumstances.
That Joseon had recently built something called a "blast furnace," greatly increasing its iron production compared to before... and that when subjugating the Jurchens, it had mobilized an enormous force...
They were naturally aware of the fact that they had even newly produced and used small firearms suitable for individual use.
Knowing full well that Joseon truly produced no silver, yet as soon as the Ming showed signs of displeasure toward Joseon, they came bowing their heads, volunteering to pay tribute in silver...?
"If they harbored even a speck of dust's worth of intent to oppose us, they could never act this way."
Because in this era, with trade not yet active, Joseon would have had to harshly exploit its people every which way just to obtain silver...
The fact that they were wagging their tails, offering tribute unprompted despite the Ming not demanding it, showed just how greatly Joseon feared them.
"To offer three hundred taels of silver in tribute each year... Isn't Joseon a land where no silver is produced at all? I can clearly see the hardships they'll endure to procure it."
In the past, Joseon—exaggerating just a bit—couldn't obtain silver even if it brought hundreds or thousands of seom of rice.
That was why Sejong had truly racked his brains over tribute demands for silver and gold.
Emperor Xuande recalled that era of Joseon with pleasure, but that was merely an old tale.
After Kim Dae-bung opened trade with Tsushima—no, with the Wa—gold and silver had become relatively abundant in Joseon.
Thus, unlike before, pledging three hundred taels of silver in tribute wouldn't snap their backs.
"Three hundred taels of silver is impressive enough, but what pleases me most is that Joseon has declared it will directly declare war on the Northern Yuan."
"We cannot fully trust Joseon, but having declared they will fight the same enemies as our Ming... Joseon dare not betray Ming."
"Yes, indeed."
"With Joseon bowing its head this far... it seems time to offer the carrot."
In Emperor Xuande's mind, Joseon was this:
A vassal state that the overwhelmingly mighty Great Ming could crush at any moment if it so willed.
A clever nation that knew this better than anyone and thus came bowing its head on its own.
So when he merely brandished the whip this time, they trembled in fear and begged to offer silver tribute unbidden, just like the barbarians who bowed their heads and fell silent the moment Ming moved its armies.
"We must prepare the hama feast grandly to welcome the envoys."
Emperor Xuande believed everything had been neatly resolved.
Thus, he could not know.
That Kim Dae-bung was grinding his teeth toward Ming.
***
General Yi Sun-sin once said he had never heard even once of the Wa keeping faith.
But isn't that story more fitting for Ming than the Wa?
Joseon had always shown the utmost sincerity since its founding, yet they treat us worse than monkeys in a zoo.
As proof, our Joseon Sacred Festival Envoy delegation had our insides utterly scorched, and only now could we finally catch our breath...
Yet the Ming Emperor and his ministers laughed heartily over there, reveling in joy. If those bastards were truly human, could they act this way?
They are truly remarkable trash.
As I ground my teeth inwardly, Choi Yun-deok spoke to me.
"Thanks to Senior Secretary Seo building deep friendship with Ming's State Councillor, we avoided any major blunders. You've earned great merit."
"This is not merit solely mine. It was possible only because His Highness the Crown Prince, the Vice Minister, and all joined forces."
King Munjong, a mere child of thirteen, shouldered the heavy role of Crown Prince and silently endured all manner of humiliations and pressures.
No matter how Ming tried to toy with him, it never worked, so Emperor Xuande must have been quite flustered.
Had the Crown Prince cried or lost his temper, they would have used it as pretext to demand hugely disadvantageous treaties from Joseon... but all those schemes fell through.
Choi Yun-deok, too, hadn't reaped visible fruits but controlled the delegation masterfully.
In a situation where one minor slip could lead to massive losses, raising no issues allowed us to reach the hama feast unscathed.
Had any problem arisen midway, we might have ended up kowtowing in atonement before the Taihe Hall alongside Munjong.
"And it's not over yet."
The formal schedule as envoys was only now beginning.
Not long after, Emperor Xuande spoke to the Crown Prince, who was specially honored to sit beside him.
"Yi Ga, who visited Joseon as envoy, said Joseon's rivers and mountains are splendid, producing many fine talents. He said it thus produces many tall, handsome men as well... When I heard it then, I thought it mere flattery, but seeing Joseon's Crown Prince up close like this, I find that tale was true indeed."
The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty rarely record who was handsome or beautiful.
Conversely, if such descriptors as "handsome man" or "beauty" are attached to someone, it means they were so without a single person among a hundred able to dispute it.
Ming envoys praised Munjong's looks, and Crown Princess consorts obsessed over him fiercely...
Thus, we know Munjong was an extraordinarily handsome man by this era's Joseon standards.
And Joseon's standards of beauty held in China as well.
"Seeing you face-to-face like this, Joseon's Crown Prince seems like my own grandson."
Has this madman suffered a stroke, bringing acute dementia?
What grandfather snarls and heaps abuse and threats right in the face of someone who came like his own grandson?
And now suddenly offering sweet words, do they think all our pent-up resentment will vanish in an instant?
Do they take us for goldfish, forgetting grudges so easily?
We merely endure patiently because your national power surpasses ours.
Munjong surely thought similarly to me, yet his face bore the bright, innocent smile befitting a thirteen-year-old child.
For a child, he seemed far better at social graces than most adult men—nay, than most adults.
"I am deeply grateful, Your Majesty."
"Come closer."
At Emperor Xuande's beckoning, Munjong drew nearer to his side.
Then Emperor Xuande removed the Crown Prince's hat and stroked his hair this way and that.
This alone made my blood boil in reverse...
What infuriated me more was that the deranged Ming Emperor's face looked just like a kindly, affectionate grandfather beholding his beloved grandson.
"The Sage said the relation between sovereign and subject is like that between father and son. Thus the words 'military-family unity,' to regard the sovereign as teacher and father. Does Joseon's Crown Prince know this?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Thus, the Great Ming Code has tae and jang. A local magistrate beating tae and jang is like parents disciplining children; I deem that system truly proper."
Sages don't obey from mere beatings.
Lock them in prison and make them suffer for long years, engraving the lesson that committing crime makes death preferable—only then do the reformable ones change.
"Joseon's Crown Prince is truly clever."
"I am deeply grateful, Your Majesty."
"I shall specially bestow danggwa sweets; eat them with relish. Moreover, gifts shall be bestowed upon the Joseon Sacred Festival officials according to their ranks and positions."
"Your benevolence is overwhelming."
Benevolence overwhelming my ass—how good do you think our mood is with you treating Munjong like that?
"Today, eat, drink, and enjoy to your hearts' content."
By the Emperor's command, we forced ourselves through the hama feast like swallowing mustard with tears.
Thus, we drank but felt no drunkenness, ate but tasted nothing.
Our guts churned every which way; we nearly died.
After several days like that, we finally completed the schedule and set off for home.
On the road back, I vowed.
"You see Joseon as mere candy, but taste a proper thrashing from someone even worse than that candy."
Handling barbarians isn't your exclusive skill.
Joseon, if it tries, can do it plenty well enough.