Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Stirring Up Trouble in the Ming Dynasty (9)
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The report from the Joseon envoy delegation dispatched to the Ming Dynasty had arrived at court.
Though it was called a report, it was written in abbreviated form, so the full details would only be known once they received the official travel records penned by the scribe.
However, after confirming all the key points briefly noted in the report, King Sejong was so overjoyed that he could no longer remain seated on his throne and sprang to his feet.
"Is everything written in this report truly factual? It feels like I'm dreaming."
King Sejong knew full well that unless the chief envoy, deputy envoy, scribe, and interpreters were all desperate to die, they wouldn't fabricate the report.
Moreover, reports sent to the king—especially those from an envoy delegation—underwent at least six internal reviews before dispatch...
There wouldn't be the slightest discrepancy in its contents.
Thus, even knowing it was all true, his overwhelming joy led him to say such words.
The prime ministers present in the antechamber all understood this, so none of them ruined the mood with lines like, 'Worry not, Your Highness. It is all true.'
"Joseon has faithfully served our suzerain state, the Ming Dynasty, with utmost sincerity, yet the Emperor has always demanded excessive tribute from us. As a result, our people suffered greatly, scraping together gold, silver, and warhorses from their meager livelihoods."
The Ming Dynasty would take the gold, silver, and warhorses sent from Joseon and return luxury goods and various items valued at three times—or more—their own market price.
However, the market prices in the Ming Dynasty, where gold, silver, and warhorses were produced in abundance, differed from Joseon's by at least three-fold when simply compared.
Therefore, the more tribute Joseon offered, the greater the losses it incurred.
It had been so severe that in the early days of Joseon, mining gold and silver had been strictly prohibited at the national level to avoid offering them as tribute...
"But such hardships belong to the past. Now, we no longer need to offer gold or silver, and three thousand warhorses is something Joseon can certainly manage."
Three thousand warhorses was by no means a small number.
By twenty-first-century standards, warhorses weren't mere 'passenger cars' but could rival tanks in value.
If one were to appraise them, each was worth far more than three hundred million won—like a supercar.
Yet in this era, they were undervalued due to the Ming Dynasty. With Joseon's national power surpassing even Europe's strongest nations, France and England, handling three thousand supercars wasn't overly burdensome.
'Now we can finally expand our cavalry a bit more.'
Prime Minister Hwang Hui astutely shouted "Long live the king!", and the other ministers followed suit in three cheers.
"Long live! Long live! Long live forever!"
Instead of thanking the emperor for reducing the tribute, the Joseon ministers showed their defiance toward the Ming Dynasty by praising their own king.
King Sejong found this immensely pleasing.
He resolved to reward these loyal and commendable retainers with even more of his favorite piles of work and meat in the future.
After all, sharing what you love only makes it better.
"Your Highness, while the reduction in tribute is a great joy for the people, according to the chief envoy's report, Scribe Kim Dae-bung formed a deep friendship with Wang Jin, who is expected to become a major power among the eunuchs. Is this not another triumph for the delegation?"
In Joseon, eunuchs served as the king's secretaries, making them highly important.
But in the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs not only acted as the emperor's secretaries but wielded immense authority, including military oversight and the power to execute officials.
Especially in the critical Office of Diplomatic Correspondence, they decided whether to accept diplomatic documents from Joseon outright and could even append their opinions—which were generally heeded.
"Kim Dae-bung isn't one to bungle affairs clumsily, so Wang Jin must surely be destined for great success as a eunuch, wielding significant influence in the Ming Dynasty. Yet I wonder what led him to that judgment."
"According to Maeng Sa-seong's memorial, Wang Jin boasts the finest literary talent among the eunuchs and serves as an instructor at the Inner Book Hall, where they train eunuchs."
By the sixteenth century's era of the Sarim scholars, merely becoming someone's teacher or disciple conferred great influence in Joseon.
In the early fifteenth century's age of bureaucratic scholars, becoming prime minister or wielding influence solely on the basis of being someone's teacher was impossible.
Regardless, they regarded teachers as equally vital as parents and served them accordingly.
Considering that eunuchs, castrated and unable to form families, treated their eunuch organization as kin and stuck together tightly...
"Wang Jin will surely become the Director of the Office of Diplomatic Correspondence. And once he does, he will repay Joseon—which showed him great favor—by alleviating the various harms we suffer."
"Indeed, Your Highness. Furthermore, Maeng Sa-seong wrote that Scribe Kim Dae-bung exalted Wang Jin much like Han Xin endured the humiliation of crawling between a thug's legs... The emperor, perceptive to the hidden intent, grew to trust Joseon more and thus reduced our tribute."
"Bring me Maeng Sa-seong's memorial."
King Sejong hurriedly read the relevant passage.
The more he read, the more his heart ached.
In Joseon, inner servants were objects of finger-pointing by interpreters, physicians, and even commoners behind their backs.
Eunuchs were no different.
Yet Kim Dae-bung, knowing his actions would invite such scorn in Joseon at any moment, sacrificed his own honor purely for the nation's benefit.
He had requested calligraphy from a mere eunuch without rank, lavished praise upon him, and bowed low with head lowered to signify his own insignificance.
The Ming emperor, witnessing this, must have firmly believed Joseon harbored no will to resist.
"Truly, what a man is Kim Dae-bung. Willing to face death for the Ancestral Temple and State Altar, now he discards even his honor, enduring the people's finger-pointing for Joseon."
In truth, Kim Dae-bung himself didn't value honor as heavily as other Joseonites.
As long as it didn't brand him socially ruined, he wasn't one to fuss over reputation.
Yet in Joseon, where honor outweighed life, Kim Dae-bung's actions in the Ming rang as the epitome of loyal devotion, stirring every heart.
"I shall never forget Kim Dae-bung's loyalty. The historians will record it without omitting a single character, and no one in Joseon may belittle his dedication and sacrifice."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Prepare a grand banquet to honor the envoy delegation's efforts."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Upon returning to Hanyang, I wanted to head straight home.
I missed and longed for Winter, whom I hadn't seen in so long.
However, the delegation's official duties didn't end until after attending the banquet hosted by the king...
So here I was, reluctantly attending the feast.
'Can't I just let Winter see me today and hold the welcome party tomorrow?'
As I sat nursing such thoughts and picking at the palace cuisine, an inner servant suddenly appeared, summoning our delegation.
Following his lead in single file, we stood before King Sejong and performed our bows. I could feel His Majesty's gaze upon me—profound and poignant.
It carried an almost heartrending emotion.
Like Liu Bei's gaze in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, watching Sun Quan helplessly dragged to Cao Cao because his mother was held hostage.
"You must have suffered greatly on the long journey to Peking."
"Your benevolence overwhelms us, Your Highness."
"I have heard that Scribe Kim Dae-bung endured the humiliation of exalting a eunuch for the sake of the Ancestral Temple and State Altar and Joseon. Was it not painful to bow your head to an eunuch without rank?"
Of course it had been humiliating.
Yet I harbored not a shred of regret for my actions.
For they served Joseon and were a masterful stroke to tear the Ming Dynasty asunder.
Kneeling to gain momentum was not humiliation—it was strategy.
"As a minister of Joseon, what difficulty is there in forsaking petty honor and a fine name for the kingdom? Even a commoner doesn't shy from grueling or filthy work for their family."
Humans die, and that's the end.
What use is a lingering name after death?
I wouldn't hear the curses anyway.
Thus, a case from my time as Jinhae County Magistrate suddenly came to mind—one I'd judged personally.
"When I served as Jinhae County Magistrate, there was an incident where a tenant farmer named Kim Mal-soe was beaten by the village's wealthy man."
Mal-soe was covered in bruises from head to toe.
"The trigger was Kim Cheomji, the local assistant magistrate, demanding to raise Mal-soe's rent from the usual fifty percent to sixty percent. Mal-soe pleaded for mercy, saying even fifty percent was back-breaking and sixty would starve his wife and children. But Kim Cheomji bellowed at him to leave, berated him, and beat him."
Power-tripping bastards overrun the world everywhere.
In my view, fifty percent rent was already excessive, let alone jacking it to sixty.
"For this case, I ordered twenty strokes of flogging for Kim Cheomji for arbitrarily beating a commoner and attempting to collect sixty percent rent despite the law mandating half. I also demanded immediate restitution and reduced the rent to the legal thirty percent. After the verdict, I asked Mal-soe why he'd bowed to such unreasonable demands."
"What did he reply?"
"He said that if he upheld his pride and refused to bow, quitting the tenancy, his family would starve immediately. He had no choice but to lower his head. If even a mere commoner does so for family, as one who eats the king's rice, I deemed it unacceptable to cling to pride or fear scorn for Joseon's sake."
King Sejong's eyes reddened.
He beckoned me closer.
He handed me a cup and poured the liquor himself.
In Joseon history, Choi Yun-deok received such an honor for his great victory over the Jurchens at the Pajegang River battle, described with great emphasis—so this was exceedingly exceptional treatment.
"I shall never forget your loyalty. Moreover, I grant you thirty bolts of silk, one saddled horse, and a hundred taels of silver, among other gifts... And specially promote you from Junior Fifth Rank to Junior Fourth Rank Lower Grade."
"Your benevolence overwhelms me, Your Highness."
"Furthermore, I appoint you Special Aide to the Bureau of Ships and Armaments. Use the craftsmen brought from the Ming Dynasty to build ships Joseon needs, for the people's benefit."