Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 569

Episode 569: Go to war! Charging Return Ship (1)

After giving the order, Emperor Seondeok returned to his bed and smiled in conversion.

“The crown prince of Joseon had too much faith in his own excellence. “No, not just the crown prince, but his father as well.”

It was true that Joseon had grown significantly over the past few years. It was also true that as the country became richer, its military power also grew significantly.

And it was also true that the Crown Prince was involved in all of this. Thanks to this, the people of Joseon, regardless of age and gender, showed strong loyalty to the king and crown prince.

But that was relative wealth.

In all aspects, including population, economic size, territory, and military size, Joseon was only about 1/3 of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, it was an enormous capacity compared to the population of Joseon, which had just surpassed 11 million, but it was only a relative enormity.

Therefore, Emperor Seondeok laughed at King Sejong and his wife, saying that he and Hyang had overconfident themselves and committed foolish acts.

“ha ha ha! Cough! Cough!”

Emperor Seondeok, who was unable to overcome his joy and burst into laughter, continued to cough violently. Emperor Seondeok muttered as he looked at the blood coming out of the towel he had hastily covered his mouth with.

“I’m glad I was able to sort out the Joseon issue before I die. It will be a good gift for Gi-ok….”

* * *

In order to follow the orders of Emperor Seondeok, under the guidance of the Minister of the Cabinet, the left and right leaders of the Cabinet, the Shangseo of each department, the Geumwiwi, and the heads of the alumni gathered together and held a meeting.

The mood of those gathered at the meeting was very optimistic.

– Judging from the crushing defeat of the Liaodong Army, the military power of the Joseon army is considerable, but that may be the limit of Joseon.

This was their common thought.

“How many troops can be mobilized right now?”

The Minister of Military Affairs came forward and answered the Cabinet Secretary’s question.

“There are 500,000 soldiers who can move right now.”

“Isn’t it a bit small?”

“It will take at least three months to gather and move the soldiers stationed in the southern and coastal areas.”

“It’s still a bit small…”

“If we take out the soldiers stationed in the north to defend Oirat, it is possible to increase the number of troops to some extent.”

“Oiratra…”

In response to the sick inspector’s reply, the assistant cabinet secretary muttered while stroking his beard.

The Cabinet Secretary, who was stroking his beard and contemplating, asked the Surgeon General again.

“The Oirats in the north are like wildcats, so we can’t just take out troops… I feel like 500,000 is a little short, so let’s conscript men from nearby areas. About 300,000? “How do you feel?”

The Left Governor responded to the Assistant Cabinet Secretary’s words.

“I think it’s okay. “With that number, we could use up all the gunpowder the Koreans have.”

* * *

The Ming people were as familiar with gunpowder weapons as Joseon Dynasty. Therefore, they were deeply interested in Joseon’s gunpowder reserves and tried to obtain information.

After such efforts, they were able to obtain information that Joseon was importing a huge amount of saltpeter from Cheonchukguk – the Bengal Sultanate to be exact.

As soon as I received the information, Myung, who was very nervous, immediately took action.

The first thing they thought of was to pressure Cheonchukguk to prevent it from selling saltpeter to Joseon.

But this was impossible. The Kingdom of Heaven was located outside the Ming sphere of influence and its national power was also strong. It was certain that there would be a lot of fishermen’s land between the Ming and Joseon Dynasty.

Therefore, what Ming did was to greatly reduce the supply of sulfur to Joseon.

At the same time, he inquired about how much sulfur Joseon was importing from Japan and secretly put pressure on the Muromachi shogunate.

-It is okay to sell as much as you have sold so far, but do not sell more. Instead, we will provide more support.

The Muromachi shogunate accepted Ming’s proposal, and Ouchi, who overthrew the Muromachi shogunate, had no choice but to accept Ming’s proposal. This was because Ouchi had not yet properly established a power base.

Of course, during this process, Ouchi quickly sent an emissary to Joseon.

After hearing Myeong’s proposal through an emissary, Hyang immediately responded.

-Accept my suggestion.

After responding, Hyang looked back at the ministers and smiled.

“If this happens, Ming will be relieved. Very deeply.”

At Hyang’s words, the ministers all nodded with similar smiles.

Recording the scene, the officer added:

-What kind of smile is that of Mr. Yeomhwa?

And Myeong was caught in Hyang’s trick.

As descendants of the Song Dynasty, who created the world’s first gunpowder, the Ming Dynasty knew well about black gunpowder. Therefore, it was possible to estimate the maximum amount of gunpowder that could be made from the amount of sulfur used in the Ming and Japanese countries.

“If the quantity is this much…”

Emperor Seondeok and his ministers looked relieved after seeing the estimate. The amount of saltpeter imported by Joseon was still increasing, if not significantly, but it was useless without sulfur.

“The increasing volume now is probably for storage. But without sulfur, even that is useless.”

* * *

Because of this situation, the Left Governor agreed to the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary’s proposal.

“According to the information we have obtained, almost all of the Joseon army is armed with gunpowder weapons. Well, considering the Joseon Dynasty’s small army and the power of gunpowder weapons, it’s only natural.”

No sooner had the Left Dog finished speaking than the Right Dog continued speaking.

“Aren’t the Koreans the ones who jump up from their sleep when you say artillery?”

Everyone in the conference room nodded at Udodog’s words. The left governor accepted the words of the right governor and continued.

“No matter how powerful the artillery is, it cannot kill tens of thousands of people with one shot, nor can all the musketeers fire a hundred bullets. Additionally, gunpowder is difficult to make and difficult to store. The amount consumed on the Yalu River will be considerable, and even if we diligently manufacture and supply gunpowder, we will have to deal with the 300,000 troops we have brought forward again. “If we continue to waste our money like that, Joseon will have to deal with us with hostile air power.”

The plan was to spend 300,000 people as cannon fodder and then attack the Joseon army properly.

* * *

However, this was a misjudgment of the name. Joseon had already solved the problem of sulfur shortage.

Joseon actively investigated sulfur mines on the Korean Peninsula. Thanks to this, a significant number of sulfur mines were discovered and mining was being carried out in secret.

There was the best move called Daeseoldo. Daeseoldo Island had sulfur mines with significant reserves. As if that were not enough, Joseon obtained sulfur by purifying the hot spring water of the famous sulfur hot springs on Daeseoldo Island.

* * *

“This is how we can solve problems on land, but what about the sea? “As far as I know, the Joseon navy’s front lines are very strong, right?”

Udodog stepped forward and answered the Cabinet Secretary’s question.

“It was certainly inferior to the Joseon navy until not long ago. However, we also continue to float many battleships on the sea and launch great ships that are more powerful than the Challenger class that Joseon is proud of. What this means is that we have gained the upper hand in firepower warfare, which the Joseon navy boasted about.”

Udodog answered with a face full of pride.

* * *

As challenger-class and sea emergency battle lines appeared in the sea, the Ming navy had no choice but to pay attention to the Joseon navy.

Until then, the front lines held by the Ming navy had not moved beyond traditional sailing ships. All it did was that it was slightly larger than a typical merchant ship and carried armed soldiers. The use of artillery was not assumed at all.

Therefore, not long ago, it was a famous naval force that was pushed back by firepower not only by the Challenger class and Hae-eung class, which were built with the assumption of a full-scale artillery battle, but also by the Panokseon.

However, as the naval competition with Joseon took place, the Ming Dynasty also built large-scale ships intended for artillery warfare and sent them to the sea. Afterwards, the Ming navy began to fight confidently without paying attention to the Joseon army.

* * *

Udodog continued speaking.

“Now that Joseon has openly announced its advance into Liaodong, it will move to take control of the Yellow Sea. In that case, the front lines belonging to the Suyeongs of Joseon’s Hwanghae, Gyeonggi, and Chungcheong and Jeolla’s Left Woo Soo-young will move. According to the information we obtained from our inquiries, the Hwanghae and Gyeonggi Chungcheong ships have 10 to 15 ships each, and the Suyeongs of Jeolla have 20 ships each, plus 5 challenger-class ships each. If so, it would be around 90 ships at best. Then…”

Before U Do-dok could finish his words, the Cabinet Secretary expressed his doubts.

“As far as I know, the most powerful fleet Joseon has is in Gyeongsang-do, right? Why was Gyeongsang-do excluded?”

“Gyeongsang-do will not be able to move because of the Japanese pirates. The Japanese wouldn’t miss this opportunity.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to assume the worst case? “Hasn’t Joseon already made up its mind?”

All other officials nodded as if they agreed with the Assistant Cabinet Secretary’s words.

Udodog responded to the reactions of the Cabinet Secretary and others.

“In that case, the Joseon navy will be drawn toward Shandong.”

“To Shandong?”

“We will attack together using the fortress we built on the Shandong Peninsula.”

Yebusangseo pointed out a problem with Udodog’s idea.

“Shandong is a place that even Joseon knows well. “Don’t they also know that there is a fortress?”

In response to Yebusangseo’s point, Udodog explained the reason.

“They have no choice but to come. Considering Joseon’s capabilities, the best and only tactic they can use is a short-term decisive battle. And the best tactic for this is to reach here in front of the Forbidden City in the shortest possible time. If you come from Liaodong, you will be stranded on the Great Wall of China, so you will have no choice but to send your troops by sea. “To land a large army as quickly as possible, a properly built port is essential, and Shandong is the only place like that.”

“Ah… I see.”

Yebusangseo, who had been nodding at Udodog’s explanation, muttered with a regretful expression.

“If there were still Koreans left in Shandong, it would have been useful, but it is a pity.”

At Ye Bu Sang-seo’s words, Na Su-bo also nodded.

“It was a reckless method, but it was a good method.”

On his way back, Heo Hu, who had upset Emperor Seondeok the previous time, withdrew all of the Joseon officials in Shandong.

During this process, something happened that surprised the Ming Dynasty: As soon as Heo Hu uttered the word ‘Eomyeong’, all the Koreans in his superiors immediately packed their bags without saying a word.

* * *

After listening to U Do-dok’s explanation, the Cabinet Secretary came to a conclusion.

“Hmm… To sum up the situation, the operation has already been established and the problem is time. Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, let’s report it to His Majesty right away and have him issue an edict. “From now on, it’s a real race against time.”

“I will do it.”

After reaching an agreement, Ming’s subjects visited Emperor Seondeok.

And the next day, Emperor Xiande’s edict was promulgated, and large-scale conscription began in the northern Ming region, including Beijing.

When the Ming Dynasty was in full swing, some of the young officials cautiously expressed their doubts.

“Was it really the King of Dong’s arbitrariness that started all of this?”

“If you look at Joseon’s actions so far, everything was carefully considered before making any moves. But did Joseon really underestimate the strength of our name? On the other hand, isn’t it that we have underestimated Joseon?”