Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: Deceive the Ming Dynasty (6)
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The Ming Dynasty's treasure ships, known as baochuan, boasted a hull length of 63 meters, a beam of 14 meters, and a displacement of 1,300 tons.
Even the European ships of the line from the 17th to 19th centuries—renowned for pushing the limits of wooden warships—were roughly this size.
The Ming Dynasty's technological prowess in constructing such colossal vessels in the early 15th century, a full two centuries ahead of Europe, was more than enough to let them boast of being the world's greatest.
No, it wasn't mere boasting—objectively speaking, the Ming Dynasty was indeed the 15th century's strongest power and most advanced nation.
The problem was that these fools, drunk on their status as the world's supreme power, had halted their own progress entirely.
'For now, at least, the Ming Dynasty is the world's strongest.'
"Kim Assistant Instructor."
As I wandered around inspecting the treasure ship, someone suddenly called out to me.
It was the eunuch admiral Zheng He, supreme commander of the grand voyages known as Zheng He's expeditions.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"What do you think of our Ming treasure ship?"
"It's enormous and magnificent. It's like a fortress floating and sailing across the water."
Zheng He's treasure ship was a massive vessel that could go toe-to-toe with a ship of the line.
Of course, compared to those that came later, it had its share of flaws...
But in terms of size, firepower from its mounted cannons, and the number of crew aboard, it was unmatched.
Judged by 15th-century standards, the treasure ship was a fully capable floating fortress at sea.
In fact, it would take dozens of panokseon warships to even challenge one of these.
Zheng He chuckled heartily at my words.
"Ah, and in practice, this ship is no different from a fortress. When I subdued those Zhenchong pirate scum, I took on thirty warships under their command with just this single treasure ship—and won. And as you'd expect, the treasure ship sustained no major damage."
"No navy in the world could defeat a ship this massive in battle."
Admiral Yi Sun-sin had fought a grueling battle at Myeongnyang, one ship against 133, over a prolonged engagement.
That feat was possible because the narrow strait of Uldolmok prevented too many enemy ships from crowding in at once against the admiral guarding that tight waterway...
And because the panokseon were far larger than the sekibune that formed the backbone of the Japanese fleet.
So, exaggerating just a bit, one could say that the Japanese navy attacking panokseon was akin to infantry assaulting a fortress.
However, while the panokseon were much larger than Japanese warships, they were still considerably smaller than the treasure ships Zheng He commanded...
'No wonder even dozens of ships under Zhenchong couldn't stand up to it.'
"No navy in this world could defeat our grand fleet in naval combat. That's why the Tsushima pirates or the Iki pirates are no match for our Western Ocean Expedition Fleet."
"When I visited the palace, I heard that Your Excellency nearly annihilated the Majapahit Kingdom—a nation that dared defy the Great Ming."
"The Great Ming is a vast empire that embraces all under heaven, so we sent envoys to those barbarians to establish diplomatic ties and civilize them. But those wretches insolently slaughtered our entire envoy delegation. We had no choice but to respond in kind."
In truth, the Majapahit Kingdom had no intention of killing the Ming envoys.
Even though the Ming had imposed a total maritime ban, sealing off sea routes—just as drug smuggling evades 21st-century police nets even today—Ming merchants occasionally engaged in smuggling trade...
And kingdoms like Vietnam and Ayutthaya, in their dealings with Majapahit, had endlessly extolled the Ming's mighty national power.
So Majapahit knew full well how strong the Ming was.
But with a civil war raging internally, brainless pirates went ahead and massacred the Ming envoys anyway.
The result? The Ming envoy fleet tore Majapahit apart.
"Pirates deserve to die."
He called them "pirates" as the ones to kill, but I could read the hidden intent in his words.
It was a warning: Joseon would face the sword if it defied the Ming.
What a ridiculous notion.
If Joseon clashed head-on with the Ming right now... victory would be impossible, of course.
But weren't you Ming lot barely able to claim a proper win against puny Vietnam?
For such a Ming to subtly reveal intentions of conquering Joseon by force... it was laughable, honestly.
"His Imperial Majesty has declared he will slaughter every last pirate to bring peace to the realm, and Joseon shall follow."
The Ming's national power was at its absolute peak right now.
They'd face national collapse during the Tumu Crisis later, but from the Ming perspective, it was sheer heavenly luck that the "Northern Yuan" lacked the resources for sustained war.
If Esen Taishi had steadily encroached like a drizzle soaking clothes, they would've been finished.
Had that happened, they might have perished by the end of the orthodox dynasty.
If not outright destroyed, the odds were high they'd end up halved like the Southern Song or Southern Ming.
So if these bastards ever declared they'd butcher our Joseon and moved to act on it, we'd have no choice.
Alliance with the Northern Yuan for a last stand, that's what.
"A fine attitude. But when I came to Joseon this time, one thing piqued my curiosity."
"What might that be, sir?"
"On the way leading the expedition to Hanyang, I saw over a hundred treasure ships moored in Incheon alone. I'd heard Joseon had scarcely any large vessels besides warships—so I was truly curious how this came to be. And remarkably, they were all fu-class ships."
If I showed even a hint of fluster here and gave a poor answer to his question...
Once the Tsushima and Iki subjugations ended, I wouldn't return to Joseon—I'd be hauled straight to the emperor.
They'd demand a full explanation from King Sejong regarding this affair.
Using it as an excuse to thoroughly tame Joseon, then force us to smash our own merchant fleet to prove our loyalty.
These scum found pirates hard to eradicate—elusive foes who could strike anytime and vanish.
So they herded coastal Ming commoners inland en masse, letting plenty die without a care.
"After the Yongle Emperor passed away and the Hongxi Emperor ascended, weren't the shipyards across the Ming closed down? You know how that left Ming shipwrights destitute. Well, some of them sought a path to survival by requesting naturalization in Joseon. His Highness highly valued their shipbuilding skills, permitted their naturalization, and allowed them to build ships here."
In a world with intellectual property rights, they could've sued Joseon for infringing Ming IP or lodged protests.
But this era had no patents, no IP rights.
Unless they could produce evidence that we'd poached their shipwrights...
But there was no such evidence, so claiming these desperate folk naturalized voluntarily and shared their shipbuilding expertise left them no room to pry further.
"Moreover, Joseon has no intention whatsoever of violating the Great Ming's maritime ban."
"Is that the truth?"
"Yes. Joseon's many large ships are solely for transporting goods domestically, given our land bordered by sea on three sides. We have no aim to defy the ban and trade with barbarians."
To be more precise: while you're off hitting Tsushima and Iki, Joseon merchants and the court will strictly obey the maritime ban.
We weren't openly flouting your prohibition from the start, so what could you Ming bastards do to us?
"Joseon lacks a grand canal like your Beijing-Hangzhou, making overland transport exceedingly difficult. That's why we need so many large ships."
Hauling goods by land meant crossing countless steep, treacherous passes—not to mention the hordes of massive tigers Koreans jokingly called "internet-famous cats" online. Traveling roads at night was tantamount to protesting, "Kill me quick!"
That's why late Joseon inns often had long-term guests—they gathered in groups large enough to deter tiger attacks.
"Indeed, that makes sense. I see. In fact, seeing that Your Highness sent you—a most favored minister—aboard this treasure ship alone proves Joseon's loyalty beyond doubt."
"Thank you for your trust, milord."
Zheng He smirked at me and spoke.
"Joseon must continue offering loyalty to our Great Ming henceforth. And today, you will witness the fate of those who chose to become barbarians rather than submit."
Shortly after Zheng He's words ended, trumpets blared from his flagship.
"Iki is in sight! Load the cannons and arm the troops!"
"By imperial decree: kill every adult male without mercy! Capture all women and children as slaves!"
And so, on that day, Zheng He's grand fleet turned Iki into an uninhabitable wasteland.
The daimyo, lord of Iki, was captured.
Not long after, Tsushima suffered the same fate.