Chapter 200
Chapter 200
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: Deceive the Ming Dynasty (2)
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As the saying goes, "Strike while the iron is hot."
Something urgent had come up that needed handling right away, so I headed straight to the Ministry of Rites to meet Minister of Rites Heo Jo.
"My apologies for showing up unannounced, Excellency."
Heo Jo was the kind of man who got a thorn in his tongue if you so much as bent a rule or procedure.
I'd braced myself for a scolding since I'd skipped the proper channels and just barged in, but unexpectedly, Heo Jo didn't chew me out. He welcomed me with open arms.
"I'd heard about Zheng He's expeditionary fleet and was just agonizing over whether to go find Junior Secretary Kim myself. For you to come to me first—well, that's a relief on my end."
I was thrilled not to hear the lecture I'd expected, but it felt oddly off that not a peep came out of that stickler's mouth about principles and protocols.
Oh well, good is good.
No problems arose just because this old fogey wasn't griping at me.
"Thank you, Excellency."
"So, what do you make of the situation?"
"Whether the Ming Dynasty subjugates the wokou on Iki Island—or whatever they call it—that's nothing for Joseon to worry about."
Iki was our biggest buyer of steel, routing through Tsushima.
They raided the Ming coast for silk, porcelain, and rice, sold it all to buy steel, then forged that steel into weapons to raid the Ming coast even more fiercely.
'The more those Iki bastards rampage, the better it is for Joseon.'
Unlike other goods, though, demand for steel far outstripped supply—everyone and their mother wanted it.
Finding new buyers wasn't hard.
That's why high-value industries using cutting-edge tech matter.
If it were ordinary goods, losing a major customer would make replacement buyers tough to find...
But steel? Only Joseon could produce it in bulk. Step up saying you had some to sell, and it'd fly off the shelves anywhere.
"Sure, the Iki wokou are our top steel customers, but if they can't buy, we just sell to other daimyo in Wa. No sweat. And interrogating them won't leak that we're trading with wokou—obviously."
"Then we just let the Ming wipe out the Iki wokou this time."
"But Tsushima's different. We have to protect the Lord of Tsushima and its people as if they were Joseon subjects. You know why without me spelling it out."
Tsushima's folk knew we supplied them steel, and their lord had long been our slave, willing to play dead on command.
If that reached Ming ears, Zheng He's massive fleet wouldn't sail past India to Mecca—it'd gear up for war with Joseon.
Zheng He's fleet was huge and mighty, but...
Alone, supply limits would keep them from razing Joseon like the wokou in the Imjin War.
But pair that fleet with Ming's mainland might, mobilizing a million troops at once?
Joseon would take a hit making the Imjin look like a joke.
'Kids slaughtered en masse.'
"Right. We must shield the Lord of Tsushima and his people. But there's a snag."
Heo Jo paused mid-sentence with a sigh.
"Joseon can't step in and fight Ming for them, so we evacuate them somewhere Zheng He won't look. How do we convince them to flee, and where do we house them even temporarily?"
"Convincing them won't be hard."
Tsushima was barren rock—farming impossible.
So its lords had always hung on trade with Joseon.
Flip that: skipping farm season for evacuation? No big loss. If they were game, they could bolt without much burden.
"Just tell them Zheng He's colossal fleet—dwarfing His Majesty's Tsushima expedition—is coming. The lord will hightail it."
King Sejong's Year 1 Tsushima campaign hadn't racked up huge kills.
But he'd unleashed such overwhelming forces that resistance seemed futile, turning the island to ash.
Morale crushed, the lord surrendered.
Begging for life before a mere 10,000 Joseon troops? Barely a decade ago.
Now imagine news of a Ming force dwarfing that.
They'd flee for their lives, every second counting.
"Joseon didn't stupidly evict all coastal folk like the Ming fear wokou, but didn't we relocate everyone from tiny islands inland?"
"True. When Retired Emperor Taejong reigned, he moved all Ulleungdo folk to the mainland."
Taejong had cleared Ulleungdo soon after ascending, making it a legal non-entity—uninhabited now.
"What if we shelter the Lord of Tsushima and his people on Ulleungdo temporarily? Station Joseon troops to keep them in line. Have them reclaim fields like oxen in exchange for food during protection—that'll make Ulleungdo livable."
"Ha, clever. If they fall to the Haixiyang expedition—that's what Ming calls Zheng He's force—it'd spell disaster for Joseon. Lately, thanks to you, Junior Secretary Kim, the lord's meek as a lamb... We shield border barbarians like the Noho, so same here. Plus, reclaiming Ulleungdo expands Joseon territory."
If Tsushima stabbed us in the back, the reason was simple.
We used them without true care.
Sure, Tsushima scum were the faithless sort among Wa folk—treat 'em nice, and they'd still screw you.
'No point blindly coddling them.'
And when Ulleungdo emptied as a no-man's-land, they'd even schemed to manage it under Taejong Yi Bang-won.
The policy made sense, but honestly, we should've manned it harshly, pioneering like the Four Garrisons and Six Forts.
"And one more thing. Haven't the wokou raids on Ming coasts tapered off lately?"
"What grim talk is this?"
"Grim? Ming treats Joseon worse than barbarians, so as a loyal subject, I'm just plotting payback."
'If they act crazy, give it right back.'
Timeless wisdom.
Joseon was puppeteering Tsushima wokou to devastate Ming coasts, blocking their sea trade...
Shame we couldn't gloat, "We orchestrated it all."
Can't reveal, but we're hitting 'em hard where it hurts—that's what counts, right?
"Ahem, but isn't warfare inherently ruthless? Sun Tzu said it's deception. And who knows when Ming might turn hostile."
A wicked grin crept over Heo Jo's face.
Like that island nation behind most world history's foul deeds.
"They call themselves civilized, scorning Joseon as savage barbarians—pathetic. They mock Yuan as uncouth yet ape burying concubines with emperors, straight out of Yuan playbook. Talk about barbaric. Preaching civilization while ignoring Confucius's loathing for human sacrifice."
Confucius despised human sacrifice and retainer burial most.
Hated it so much he cursed the clay figurine inventor: "May your line end forever."
"I'm glad we're on the same page, Excellency. Here's the plan: Ming conquers Iki, empties it. We hand that vacant Iki to the Lord of Tsushima."
"Joseon has no need for that speck, but the lord will drool over even a palm-sized plot. No harm."
"Please petition His Majesty with this. I'll go sweet-talk the lord."
I wouldn't toss aside personal gain for Joseon's glory alone.
But pass up screwing Ming while advancing Joseon's interests? No way.