Innovation and Revolution (15)
Daema Island had been a useless rock. Twice the size of Ganghwa Island and as long as Jeju, it was a volcanic island like Ulleungdo, yet this one had risen from the seabed instead. It was little more than bare rock, good for nothing. No resources worth mentioning, and the soil was thin and rocky, so no one could farm there either. Yet more than twenty thousand people had called it home, perhaps even thirty thousand by now.
Sa-sung, a Gwangga military policeman who had been sent here, held up his funnel and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Listen up! Throw every sword and weapon over there! If anyone’s caught searching, he gets tossed straight into the tiger cage. No tricks, you hear?
Yes, Your Majesty,
The captives, men who looked straight out of Japanese demons, surrendered their weapons without a word and stacked them neatly on one side. No one had forced them. If hiding and surviving had been possible, they would have done exactly that here too. But it hadn’t been. The wild, savage things brought from Joseon were so terrifying that mere thought of them made the men fall to their knees in instant surrender.
Yi Yeon had no time to waste. This method was crude, yet it worked too well. Every night, deep in the darkness, came the low rumble of chains. No one could ignore that sound. Thanks to it, the hideouts scattered across the island had emptied out, and the men were being transformed into useful workers. Each day they received one egg, and every ten days a whole chicken. Some of them had even begun calling themselves “Daema-gu” thieves who had raided the country.
A vast supply of grain was pouring into Daema Island from Joseon. The governor swallowed hard, licked his lips, and beamed with joy, convinced his choice had been perfectly right. Just as the Japanese had done during the Imjin War, Yi Yeon planned to use Daema as a supply base while they crushed the Japanese. They possessed overwhelming firepower with the Hwaryeokgun, yet that alone could never occupy and govern a country twice the size of the Korean peninsula. A pretext was needed.
While saying these words, he declared aloud: “Our Joseon will avenge the original sins of the Great Ouchi clan, our descendants.”
Mori Motonari, a side branch of the Mori clan and the man who had swallowed the Ouchi bloodline to raise the Moris, received a Joseon envoy at his side.
“…Then hand it over. We shall preserve your rank.”
“What?!”
Kim Seong-il’s words sent Mori Motonari flying to his feet in fury. He snatched a sword and roared, “Give up the Iwami silver mines? Are you even serious?!”
Kim Seong-il only smiled. “Of course we can hand it over now. Later we may demand it back, and it may even be too late.”
“How dare you!”
“Do you refuse?”
“Of course not, I mean, absolutely impossible!”
“Very well. Then we are done.”
“Wait! Where do you think you’re going?!”
“Then swear your loyalty to Joseon, acknowledging that the Ouchi are our rear guard.”
“What the—?!”
Even in the face of the governor’s protest, Kim Seong-il rose without a care. He was happy to leave. This was the true taste of a great power. After all, the Mori clan had to be crushed, or they would have to be completely subjugated. Ouchi was only a pretext. Still, he granted one chance: the Iwami silver mines and local management.
The governor kept causing trouble. “One arrow snaps easily, but three won’t,” he said. So Yi Yeon had ordered arrows stacked high, then detonated them with a stick bomb. It was meant as both warning and aid. Yet the Iwami mines still refused to yield.
“There’s no other choice. We’ll just blow it all away.”
After careful thought, Kim Seong-il addressed the uneasy governor. “After we conquer Iki Island next month, we’ll begin by clearing the Mori clan first. Prepare yourselves, Governor.”
“Yes, yes, Envoy-nim.”
The governor bowed low, but his eyes were full of worry. “Is something the matter?”
“Your Majesty, the Daema natives aren’t suitable for the front lines. Please leave them behind.”
“That won’t do. You yourself said they are ragtag. If left behind they might cause trouble. And we didn’t put them in front; we placed them on the flanks. Still, you must witness the battle, see how strong our Hwaryeokgun truly is, and spread the word.”
“Yes, yes, Envoy-nim.”
As Kim Seong-il boarded the ship leaving Daema with the governor, he let out a long sigh. “Even with this one ship we could wipe out the Mori stronghold without a trace…” But the king had forbidden it. Japan was different; cutting off the head made the body follow naturally.
Yi Yeon returned to Gyeongbokgung after a long absence and stretched his limbs wide. “Ah… it feels good.” Changdeokgung was far more beautiful, yet cramped. It lacked the open feel of Gyeongbokgung. He had been waiting for the construction to finish, but it was already complete—something he had expected to take years, yet here it was in less than a year, without a single trace of what had been changed.
“Dig the earth, weave rebar, lay concrete, cover with soil—that’s all there is to it.” The water source had been untouched; a cool stream flowed down from the mountain into the Hall of Light and Reflection. Only the sewers had been dug deeper so future generations would never clog them. As a result, underground canals wider than a four-man walkway now encircled the palace and carried waste far beyond the Six Ministries. Yi Yeon washed briefly in the palace restroom, then headed to the Hall of Worthy Conduct for the important council meeting.
“Your Majesty, this cannot be allowed. Not only Daema, but the entire Japanese country. It is impossible.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Our nation’s strength…”
“How do you see it?”
“Growing every day, yet compared to Japan…”
“Still lacking?”
“Ah, no, that is not what I meant…”
“Then what?”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty.”
The multi-barreled cannons and new cannons were indeed enormous. But swallowing a country with different language and culture was no simple task. “If it had been easy, the war would have ended long ago.” Small things could spark war, but mostly it built from accumulated resentment. Making war was hard; ending it was harder. One mistake could destroy the nation. That was why nations avoided it. Even after victory, cultural and linguistic differences would breed endless problems in occupation.
Yet the king had launched this personal war without hesitation. “Once more: this is not a war between Joseon and Japan. What is it, then?”
“This war is my personal war to avenge the Ouchi clan, who were once Joseon’s subjects. My will.”
“Your Majesty, can we truly believe that?”
“Believe what you wish. My will is clear. While we are at it, we must finish off every Japanese invader who has tormented us. Only when all the people stand as one.”
“Your Majesty, you said this is a personal war.”
“Precisely. I did. But the rewards are too immense to deny the people. Are we not together?”
“What is this…”
“A piece of cake, a cup of wine. Or are we not?”
“No, Your Majesty. Your humble servant’s thinking was too short.”
Now the ministers welcomed the war. At first they had been shocked, but the more they considered, the more they saw gold pouring in. “Is it true that annual tax revenue will exceed ten million sacks after we conquer and subjugate Japan?”
“It is. Statistically correct, yet whether it will actually come to pass is uncertain.”
“Why?”
“Japan’s population is said to be 1.5 times ours, so taxes should rise 1.5 times. But taxes come mostly from commerce, do they not?”
“Ah, yes. That is why Your Majesty ordered the selection and education of those who will enter Japan.”
“If force was prepared before, now we must prepare food and culture. No matter what happens, pay them their due. If not, give them something to eat. Never make them work for free.”
Yi Yeon intended to develop an effective way to pacify the world while crushing Japan. First, feeding the people was essential. Since that alone would make everyone follow, he would base pay strictly on performance. Even if Japanese ate less than Koreans, they would be fed generously enough to perform their tasks. That was how the men were employed at the Daema Canal site and in building ports and fortresses on Iki Island. Their reactions were far too good. “Just being able to eat enough makes us happy,” they said. Joseon had known hunger too; they understood. Yet the Japanese went far beyond. They worked hard to learn the Korean language. They had not lost a war, but having followed the governor who now served Joseon, they called themselves Koreans. That was why everyone called Japan a land of opportunity. Whether they managed, worked for merchants, or simply went on faith, once they reached Joseon they could survive just by speaking the language. Now they all longed to go to Japan. Even as a commoner in Joseon, they could live like aristocrats there. No war had truly begun, yet the seed was planted. Daema had surrendered of its own accord, Iki Island had been taken after its terrified flight. With the rumor that tigers had been left loose there like Daema, not even beggars remained.
No battle worth the name had occurred, not even a single skirmish. Yet the atmosphere felt almost like victory. The ministers brought up issues one after another, as if competing with each other. “How should we govern and rule the Japanese after we conquer them? Speak freely if you have an opinion.”
“I think we should develop agriculture rather than industry, since earthquakes are frequent there.”
“I believe we must build elementary and advanced schools there too, to raise people who know propriety.”
“Your Majesty, first the language…”
Yi Yeon nodded while watching the ministers debate. Nothing useful had come from their conversation, yet their will was unmistakable. In a world with nothing, the determination to change it shone through. “That is enough.” There was still much to do, but waiting required will. And that will was already working naturally. Japan was a huge feast, yet changing everything at once was difficult. When the time came, it had to be changed. So shocking deeds had been unleashed first, and now they were proceeding with the changes. They would gather all the issues, solve them, then pick the useful ones and debate again. One of those issues was simple: “The Japanese king must be killed.” “Must he really? Why not spare him?” “The heavens cannot have two suns.”
Now crushing Japan had become a national project of Joseon. The Ming had given permission, the Ouchi revenge was a perfect pretext, and governors eager to curry favor were already coming one by one. Yi Yeon ordered Crown Prince Hong Seom to Iki Island to test them. Whether they were sincere or not.