Joseon?! Seriously?
What? Joseon?!
"Hm? What was that?"
"They've founded a nation, Your Holiness."
I must have misheard. Sure, I'd helped them establish one — for quite a long while, actually.
"No, not that. The name of the country."
"They've named it Joseon."
Ah. Well, there it goes. They even took Hongik Ingan straight from me, snatched up land, and now there's no Ungnyeo in sight — it's Gojoseon all over again.
"Heh heh..."
"Hm? What's the matter? Do you dislike it? Shall I order them to change it?"
Why does this kid go so far over everything? What kind of neighbor demands another country change its name just because she doesn't like it?
Hmm... I'll just have to treat them well.
"The guilt is on me. Go easy on Joseon."
"Pardon? What happened? I have records that you caused great calamities to Hana-ra and the Shang, but when did you visit Joseon?"
Wait, do you people keep some hereditary history book or something? Do you know how long ago that was?
Once the internet comes along, am I really going to have to move to some deserted island just to live in peace?
"Haneul-nim?"
"Oh! Er, yes. Right."
"Did you visit Joseon too?"
"No... there's something else about that place. Just treat them well. Once their country stabilizes, tell them to take ships down south and sort out those *jjokbals*."
How should I put it? I guess you'd say I stole a country? But how would I even explain that?
"Pardon? What's a jjokbal, and what does 'sort out' mean?"
Ah. My vocabulary is simply too far ahead of its time.
"Never mind. Just tell them to drive the people out of there and take the southern islands. The farming will be good there."
Kyushu should be good for farming, right? It's in the south, so it won't be too cold either.
"Oh~ it must be fine land indeed. I'll make note of it."
In this era, fertile farmland is the greatest asset. Ah! Come to think of it, that's true in modern times too.
"Wait, why?"
"They simply came. Shall I turn them away? They've already arrived, and it would feel wrong to just send them back..."
Why on earth? Really? They came all this way to bow their heads to another country? I never even summoned them!
"Fine. Let's meet them, then."
My head was starting to ache. Ah — an envoy had come from Joseon. And not just any envoy: the king himself had made the journey in person.
Given the sudden visit — and the fact that we had no formal ceremonies or protocols of any kind — we ended up receiving him in the conference room.
"Hey. Nice to meet you."
"The honor is entirely mine."
Hm? Did I speak too casually?
"I'm older than I look. Feel free to speak comfortably."
"Yes. I'm aware."
Fortunately, that seemed to be fine. So this was the king, was it? Seemed like a decent sort.
But how was his Korean this good? The King of Joseon, who looked to be in his forties, was small but built stocky and solid all over.
Do they eat a lot of potatoes over there too? He's a bit like our folks in the early days.
"Your Korean's really good. Did you study it separately?"
"Pardon? We've been using it since ancient times. Do you perhaps dislike that?"
Hm? Since ancient times? Didn't Gojoseon have its own script as well?
"Oh, no. Neighbors being able to understand each other is a good thing. Keep using it."
"Thank you. Truly gracious of you."
Wait. Hold on. Are you one of our faithful?
"State affairs must keep you busy, yet you came all this way. You've worked hard."
"Hardly worth calling hardship. The roads are well paved all the way to Pyeonghwa. It was a comfortable journey."
"Good to hear."
So why did he come, though? Should I just ask?
"I see curiosity written on your face, Your Holiness."
"Huh? Is it that obvious?"
I'd told them time and again we'd never attack them. Was he scared and came to pay tribute preemptively or something?
"We are a small nation."
"No, you could become a perfectly great nation yourselves."
The temperaments of the people over there are no joke, after all. Turning a resource-poor stretch of land into one of the world's leading developed nations? That takes something.
"Daehan is a great nation. If war ever came, we would lose to Pyeonghwa's ordinary citizens alone — the very people I saw on my way here."
"No! Don't you dare worry about that! I have zero interest in your land."
"Ahaha. I know."
Huh? Is this guy... teasing me? If he weren't a king, I'd want to sock him one.
"We shall be Daehan's shield. Starting with that island nation you mentioned."
Huh? What's this about? I just said eat well and live well!
"No — war kills a lot of people. Just eat well and live well."
"Understood. For now, we shall build our strength. We learned from Daehan that a nation becomes strong only when it has many people."
Yep. That is an eternal, unchanging truth.
"Right. As long as food allows, that's the most important thing."
"We intend to model ourselves on Daehan in many ways — would that be acceptable?"
"Yeah. Go ahead."
I probably can't share the critical technologies, but I'll help when times get hard.
"Then may we build a road that runs from Pyeonghwa to your country? I hope we may come and go often."
Huh? Isn't he trusting me a little too much?
"May I really?"
"I pray that neither my generation nor my descendants' will ever have to fight Daehan."
Yeah. Same here. That's one promise that absolutely has to hold.
As long as this crazy tree stands, this country won't fall to any storm. This place is a monster. Please, nobody touch it...
"If you ever need help, ask without hesitation. I'll help you."
"Shall we be as brothers, then? We share the same tongue and script, and we'll follow your culture."
Hmm. Brothers isn't quite the word.
"Let's call it a blood oath. Friends bound by blood. Your joy shall be our joy, and your sorrow, our sorrow."
"..."
Hey? What's wrong with you, why are you crying? Those look like tears of being moved? Did I say something wrong?
"A blood oath. Strangers, yet bound into family by blood itself. I see."
Tears streaming, voice thick with emotion... Aigoo, this man is a lost cause.
"That's right. As long as I'm here, Daehan will never change."
"Neither shall Joseon."
Hmm. Who knows about the later generations, but if they do change, you're doomed? Although... I'm not sure Joseon even makes it to the modern era?
They won't go off the rails, ally with China, and turn on us, right? Even turning on Japan seems like a bad idea.
"Hmm. Shall we at least have a meal? You're the first foreign guest we've had, so I have no idea how any of this is supposed to be done."
"No fuss required — wouldn't something simple like this be better?"
"You think so?"
Hmm, fair point? We've already covered all the necessary business, so whether we eat a meal or just a snack hardly matters.
"Still, next time I'll put out tea and snacks before we talk. This feels a bit sparse. Haha."
"Yes, that much would be welcome. Haha."
Well then — we didn't absorb them into our country, but we're blood allies with Joseon now? That's not bad at all. We won't be sharing a border with Japan, after all.
Yeah, actually, the layout is just perfect. Joseon takes everything up through Kyushu and holds the east, while we pound the Chinese in the west.
Hmm... and then what? How on earth is the Great War supposed to play out like this?
"Oh! So this is what they call sugar?"
Hmm. It's gone past brown sugar into straight-up dirt-brown sugar, but sure, you can call it sugar.
"Yes, it's sweet? Put it in food and it tastes great."
Sweet-and-savory is the eternal truth. If only the soybean paste and chili paste would hurry up and get invented. Chili-paste bulgogi! Soy-sauce bulgogi! My mouth is already watering. Urk.
"Could we grow it in Joseon as well?"
"Unfortunately, this doesn't grow in cold climates. I told you to annex an island as big as Joseon down south, didn't I? It should grow on its southern side."
Kyushu is pretty far south, so it should work? I told them to try growing it on the southern side there just in case. If it doesn't pan out, we'll just sell it to them cheap.
"So it's the World Tree that lets it grow here, then?"
He catches on fast, doesn't he? It's not exactly classified, but it's easy to miss if you're not paying attention.
"Yeah, you knew about that too?"
"We follow the Haneul Faith as well."
Ah. They were our people all along. That earns a bit more trust. This friend is reliable, isn't he?
"Ah~ send some people to the Temple later. They do regular training and such, apparently."
Doctrines? Something like that seems to exist. They'll teach it well enough. I'd love to set up a temple there and hand out saplings of the World Tree too, but I've decided to hold off on that, so I'll restrain myself.
"Also, we made a river the border between us, remember? Try farming near it — the World Tree's power might just reach there."
"Are we permitted to make use of it?"
"Of course you are! You're not strangers anymore, are you?"
Are we strangers to you or something?
I don't know how far it reaches, but make good use of it. Being able to farm year-round is a massive advantage. Things grow fast there, too.
"Hmm. Sorghum would grow on that land too, but better to grow food instead."
The moment you start planting specialty crops for the nobility, that's when you know your nation is doomed. You'll bring about your own ruin. I sincerely hope it never comes to that...
"Then potatoes it shall be!"
Huh? Yeah, fair enough — potatoes are better if you can manage them. The terrifying crop that rewrites a people's very genetics!
"Oh? What is this? This roasted bird has a fragrant, fiery kick to it!"
"Ah, that would be pepper."
Heh heh. Behold, a country bumpkin. Apparently he's never seen pepper before.
"We have plenty, so take it straight back with you and send people over from time to time — I'll give you loads of it as gifts."
"But we have nothing to offer in return..."
Huh? This isn't barter trade or tribute diplomacy, old man.
"This is what a blood oath is. Besides, I'd like to see you prosper."
That's right — family can just give things to each other!
"Then I truly must work with all my might."
"Yeah. Live well. That's all it takes."
Hm? Have I become something like the Wanli Emperor here? At least I'm not going on strike from my duties, though.
And it's not like feeding Joseon will put any visible strain on our household. It should be fine.
I'm telling you, I have a plan for all this?
Hold on... wait. Hey, now I can just pop over to Joseon whenever I want, can't I? The language works fine over there! And nobody would recognize me!
A new playground has appeared. As long as I don't cause any trouble. Though I do vaguely recall causing trouble every time I went out to play somewhere new. But that was all because nobody could understand me!
After I gave him the grand tour of this and that, the King of Joseon headed home, thrilled with his sightseeing.
There wouldn't be many occasions for a king to travel in person again, so I showed him plenty while I could.
"Are you not giving away too much?"
"I carry a burden on my heart that you know nothing of."
Sigh... I had my suspicions, but I really did erase Gojoseon. The sin is far too great.
"What on earth could it be? Toward a country you've never even visited?"
He sees right through me... I'm sorry. I can't tell you. It's classified divine information.
"Just let Joseon be, all right?"
"Heh heh..."
"..."
"Understood. You must have your reasons."
I don't, you fool. This is just me being me.
"How's Gunpo doing? Are the migrants settling in well?"
"Yes, it seems quite livable. The World Tree's influence extends quite far there. Everyone is busy with the harvest."
When I flew up into the sky and looked down, I noticed the tree's growth changed noticeably along a certain line, so I roughly drew a circle around it — and Gunpo fell inside it.
"Tell them to govern themselves there. Let's not trouble ourselves with it."
That's where all the foreigners will gather, after all. No need to go looking at ugly sights we don't have to see.
"How's the construction coming along?"
"The farming is going so well that they're trying to skip their work duties. That's the problem."
"Then enforce it specially strictly over there. Those are people you're allowed to treat differently."
The Shang lot should be grateful we took them in at all. Yet they won't listen?
"Understood. I'll need to send a few people over."
"Just send some from nearby Bonghwa. Those kids must be bored out of their minds. It's not a full frontier like Bongpyeong, after all."
"Yes, that sounds best."
Bonghwa had settled into the mountains, meant to be a military city once the Shang fools detoured around it — only to turn overnight into a farming town instead.
The kids there must be bored out of their skulls? They're not going to revert to old habits, are they? There are plenty of descendants of slave traders living around there. Maybe something's hardwired into their genes?