Progress and Expansion (1)
Next day.
Yi Yeon introduced his eldest brother Hawonggun to the daimyos who had become governors and military commanders.
“From now on, Hawonggun here will take my place and live at Donggyeong Palace. Treat me as you would him. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Furthermore, I will leave Neo-Confucian scholar Yi Hwang and his disciples here. Whenever you wish, come and request teachings and study under them.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And all religions and those connected to them will henceforth be forever barred from participating in politics. If anyone attempts to arm themselves or build up forces, they will be regarded as rebellious elements that confuse the people and will be burned immediately.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Yi Yeon had a reason for saying all this.
Because the greatest headache in unifying Dongjoseon had been the religious forces.
When the Sengoku period began, the religious powers that rushed to clean up the chaos instead stirred up even more chaos.
They armed their monks and joined the battle for supremacy,
stirred up Ittoji (the commoner uprising) to drive out lords,
marched bandits who had shaved their heads,
and committed countless atrocities in the territories they seized.
Those religious powers resisted to the very end.
Despite the promise that they would divide all farmland among the farmers as they had said when stirring up Ittoji,
they insisted they could not return the territories.
Yi Yeon had agonized over it and sent Hyujong to persuade them.
Because interfering with the religious forces too deeply could spark a major disaster.
But they would not even listen to Hyujong.
Instead, they drove him out, saying they could not understand what he was saying.
Then they claimed eternal tax exemption and demanded protection for the territories and interests they held.
Only then would they submit.
So Yi Yeon had them publicize the matter and swept them all away.
Because they were not worth dealing with.
He had also ordered the removal of all those who supported them.
Because they were the same.
Revenge will come someday.
Heaven’s punishment will fall.
Countless curses and vitriol had been hurled at him, but he had ignored them all.
They were nothing but devils or goblins.
Yet the moment they vanished, signs began to appear of another force rising.
Reports reached him that those who called the Joseon king a real dragon descending from heaven were building shrines and amassing power in many places.
So he had spoken with that in mind.
Recognizing his knowledge, Chin Shinja asked in confirmation.
“Your Majesty, will you also worship me as a god?”
“Of course. I am simply a man, neither a god nor a prophet. But to turn me into a god and take advantage of me is an outrageous scheme. Therefore, anyone who dares to make such claims henceforth will be captured and burned. If they are truly sent by a real god or prophet, they will survive. Understood?”
“Yes! Your Majesty! I will do so!”
“I will do so, Your Majesty!”
With that, the last council meeting at the Peaceful Hall of Donggyeong Palace ended, and he set out toward Joseon.
At that moment, Portuguese missionary Luis Frois requested an audience.
Yi Yeon was in a hurry to return to Joseon, so as he mounted his horse and rode toward Donggyeong Port he asked,
“What is it?”
“I would also like to follow Your Majesty to Joseon.”
“I already told you no.”
“Your Majesty! I am only here for the sake of missionary work. I have no other intentions. Please take me with you.”
Yi Yeon looked at Luis with meaningful eyes.
He knew that Luis had other intentions,
and yet he kept refusing.
So he asked directly.
“Only missionary work? Not espionage?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. My only purpose is the practice of spiritual exercises and the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“Hmph!”
Yi Yeon let out a fart that made Luis panic, and the missionary hurriedly offered excuses.
“Of course, I also intend to introduce Western goods from Joseon and receive Joseon goods in return so that we may exchange them. But that is a secondary matter.”
“Stop with the nonsense. I already know what Francisco Xavier—one of the founders of your Society of Jesus—did in this land.”
Even after saying so much, Luis refused to change his mind.
“Your Majesty, I am different. My sole purpose is the propagation of the Gospel.”
“Propagating weapons like arquebuses and encouraging the slave trade? Is that the Gospel?”
“No, Your Majesty. That is not it. I only wish to widely spread the words of Jesus Christ.”
“The words of Jesus Christ?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You are not using that as a pretext for espionage?”
“Absolutely not.”
“You may say that, but I know your Society’s purpose is espionage, so drop it.”
“Yes?”
Luis was startled.
The Joseon king seemed to know everything.
Born in Lisbon, Portugal, he had joined the Society of Jesus at sixteen, studied in India, and come here.
Because of his talent in languages and writing, he had been tasked with investigating and understanding this place.
But suddenly the Joseon army had invaded, occupied the land, and integrated it.
They had not been able to respond in time.
It had only been a month since he could finally meet the Joseon king.
Yet now the king was leaving.
Luis had thought it was good timing.
It was an opportunity to spread the Gospel in Joseon and send the situation there back to the Society of Jesus.
But the Joseon king had refused the request so firmly.
As if he already knew something.
“Let me ask you one thing.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Where do you think the funds for your Jesuit missionaries come from?”
“The donations sent by the members, of course.”
“Donations from members? Not money given by merchants or powerful figures in exchange for information?”
“I am not aware of that.”
“Hmph! You’re lying again. Your Jesus would never ask for such a thing.”
At those words, Luis flared up.
“Your Majesty! Do not insult Jesus Christ!”
“What insult?”
“Your Majesty….”
Luis could not finish.
He himself had been the one to insult Jesus Christ.
Seeing that, Yi Yeon smirked and asked,
“Are you perhaps hoping to become a martyr?”
“Eek?! W-what do you mean?”
Luis was thoroughly flustered.
He understood the question to be asking if he wanted to die.
“You may not know what it’s like in the West where you live, but here in the East, telling lies to the king is the greatest sin. Yet you keep trying to deceive me.”
“No! Your Majesty! I have never intended to deceive you!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Yi Yeon gave Luis a meaningful smile, then stopped his horse and called for Kim Yang-bo.
“Yang-bo, bring it here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Kim Yang-bo rushed over, pulled a letter from his robe, and handed it to Yi Yeon.
Luis closed his eyes at the sight.
It was the letter he had sent to the Jesuit headquarters.
The moment he thought everything was over,
Yi Yeon’s sharp voice pierced his ears like a needle.
“Luis Frois!”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”
“According to this letter, even if you flee the country, there is nothing you can say. I will not forgive the fact that you spied on this place and sent information to your home country, and even more so for deceiving me.”
“M-my lord!”
Luis staggered, slid off his horse, and fell to the ground as if bowing.
Because any excuse would be useless while the letter he had written was in the Joseon king’s hands, he had come to beg for forgiveness.
But even before he could beg,
hope came through that voice.
“However, I will give you a chance.”
“O-Oh…! Thank you, Lord!”
“Hmph!”
Yi Yeon let out a fart as if he had expected it.
In his previous life, whenever he saw a missionary who traveled the world and worked to develop local communities, he had donated a great deal of money.
But every time, the only reply he received was that the Lord had guided them.
So he had not expected anything this time either.
He had no intention of turning Luis into a martyr over something trivial.
Instead, he decided to give the man a task.
To kill the Ming Dynasty.
“You will leave this place immediately and return to your homeland, spreading rumors. If you want to buy cheap Joseon goods like swords and mirrors, you only need to go to the southern tip of the Strait of Malacca.”
“Your Majesty, what does that mean?”
“Our Joseon has decided to build industrial complexes there for Western traders.”
“Really?”
Luis looked stunned.
He had heard what a gongdan was.
When he first arrived here, he had heard that Joseon was the vassal of this place.
That was why he had not needed to come.
But it had all been lies.
Unlike what these people said, Joseon was a country with enormous development.
It was the nation that made swords and mirrors that everyone coveted.
That was why he had wanted to go to Joseon, but he could not.
They had refused to let him board the ship because he carried filthy germs that could spread disease.
And he could not persuade the Portuguese merchants to go either.
Because they had all been frightened by the Joseon army’s sudden conquest of Kyushu.
But now they were offering to build gongdans there for trade.
It was like a dream.
“Very well. So you will spread the word that there is no need to come to Ming or this place in the future.”
“Understood, Your Majesty!”
Luis’s face lit up.
It was enormous news that would allow him to rise to a high position in the Society.
Yet an odd feeling lingered.
As if something was missing.
“Your Majesty, surely you are not saying we missionaries must not come?”
“They may come, but they must undergo quarantine first. Anyone who walks around without a quarantine certificate issued by Joseon may be killed by stones.”
“Eh?”
“You know, don’t you? What those of you did on the American continent.”
“That was not what we did. The wicked Spaniards did that.”
“If the chance had arisen, would you not have done the same? No, you would have without a doubt. Your bodies teem with all kinds of filthy germs.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Did I speak falsely?”
“That is not it, but you are too harsh.”
“Too harsh? It is you who are too much. Not only did you steal gold, but you killed tens of millions.”
“Hah…!”
Luis let out a long sigh.
A month earlier, after much difficulty obtaining permission, he had gone to all lengths to meet the Joseon king.
He had even washed his entire body with soap until it was foamy white, and he had still had to undergo examination of his mouth and excrement.
He had wanted to refuse, but he could not.
He had shown him the microscope, saying the germs living in his body were shown there, and it had been so horrifying.
Anyway, the Joseon king had said those germs had killed all the American natives.
Not because the Spanish soldiers who served and followed the will of heaven were brave and skilled in battle,
but because two hundred years ago the Black Death had also been caused by something similar.
Not a divine punishment, but a human disaster caused by killing cats—called devils—to rid the land of rats that spread filthy germs.
Those who caused the disaster were the clergy who served and followed the words of Jesus Christ, yet instead of reflecting they were still killing innocent people as witches.
They were the real devils and must all be killed and eradicated.
Too extreme a statement, yet he could not refute it because it was true.
Because the very sect that he followed and served had been born from that disaster.
“Anyway, do not speak nonsense. If your uncivilized people learn from Joseon and improve even a little, it will be good for you too.”
“Understood, Your Majesty. I will do so.”
Luis lowered his head until his forehead touched the ground and thanked the Joseon king.
Because he had conveyed huge news, no matter what.
Leaving that man behind, Yi Yeon headed toward Donggyeong Port to return to Joseon.
He had been in a hurry because he wanted to see Lee Jun-gyeong before the latter died.
* * *