Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 579

Episode 579: Broken Dreams (2)

Long before Ju Ji-jin began his work in Liaodong, Joseon established and discarded various strategies in anticipation of an armed conflict with the Ming.

In the process, the operation to destroy the Gyeonghang Grand Canal attracted everyone’s attention.

“Considering the circumstances, if you cut off just that canal in your name, the vein in your name will be cut off.”

“That’s right. “Nowadays, if you look at the Ming Dynasty building a railroad, the railroad is not a state, but the canal is the state, and the railroad is the servant.”

“Let’s take a closer look.”

Joseon’s Chief of Staff conducted further investigation into the Grand Canal.

After various investigations, the conclusion was clear.

-If an armed conflict breaks out with the Ming, cutting off the Grand Canal is essential!

Based on this conclusion, we began looking for the best place to carry out a sabotage operation.

And the place that emerged as the best candidate was Jinan.

When Jinam was selected as a candidate site, it was before King Sejong left for Sinji. After hearing the Chief of Staff’s plan, King Sejong first confirmed the reason.

“Why Jinan?”

In response to King Sejong’s question, the Chief of Staff explained as follows:

-Jinan is the optimal point to cut the Grand Canal and inflict damage on the Ming. The north is closer to Beijing, and the lower part is closer to Nanjing.

-Beijing and Nanjing are the administrative centers of the north and south of the Ming Dynasty. This means that rapid restoration is possible by mobilizing manpower on a large scale.

-Jinan is a place where the waterway from the Yellow River to the canal connects. Although it is located relatively inland, it can be easily reached by traveling up the Yellow River.

-If an armed conflict breaks out with the Ming, most of the land forces should be deployed to Liaodong. This means that there are not enough troops to deploy in the inland invasion. Therefore, Jinan, where the existing naval forces can be utilized to the fullest, is the optimal location.

“Like the generals said, it’s good because it’s just in the middle…”

The staff at the Chief of Staff became very nervous as they saw King Sejong slurring his words while looking at the map.

‘Did we miss something?’

‘I think I did it right….’

‘Every time His Majesty the Prime Minister does something like that, I feel like I age 10 years!’

When the generals at the Chief of Staff were tense, King Sejong asked again.

“Is that the only reason you chose Jinan?”

“yes?”

“Did you really choose Jinan for that reason alone?”

The staff members of the Chief of Staff Headquarters, unable to find an answer to King Sejong’s question, looked in despair.

Hyang joined the conversation as he saw the staff’s confusion.

‘In a way, this is a cliche! Still, I can’t help it!’

“Abama, are you thinking of ‘a change of passion’?”

In response to Hyang’s question, Sejong nodded silently. After hearing the silent answer, Hyang immediately continued asking questions.

“Isn’t that part closer to political strategy than military strategy? And wouldn’t the probability of it happening be too low?”

“If a person becomes paralyzed, wouldn’t he come out? “Whether it is real or someone who is pretending to be a fake.”

“Of course it’s possible, but is it possible? “Are there any followers?”

Sejong responded to Hyang’s comment with an expression that said it was no big deal.

“Why should we worry about their success or failure? “What if we just make people unable to move properly?”

“Ah…”

Hyang, who had been nodding at Sejong’s words, continued with a face full of regret.

“Now that I think about it, it’s really unfortunate. If you just break the middle part properly, it will be broken properly, but you can’t go out in the open…”

“That part will also require a lot of thought.”

“I’ll think about it.”

While King Sejong and Hyang were talking like that, the staff members who had suddenly been reduced to folding screens grumbled inwardly.

‘also! It’s started again! ‘A Zen question only for the rich!’

‘Ah! He said he felt ashamed just looking at it, and now I know why!’

‘What kind of temple is this? Why is it a Zen question all of a sudden?’

In the end, King Sejong rejected the operation submitted by the Chiefs of Staff.

“It’s a very good plan, but it still feels a bit lacking. “Please do some more work.”

“I follow your orders.”

To King Sejong’s order, the staff at the Chief of Staff responded in unison by bowing their heads.

Meanwhile, the officer who was recording all of this added:

-… So when the chief judge said it was insufficient and rejected it, all the staff members resigned and retreated.

The officer says:

I will not comment on the Chief of Staff’s plan because it concerns military strategy.

However, it is truly painful to hear and write down the conversation between Sang and Dong-gung.

An old sage said, “Pay attention not to the mark, but to the character within,” and this is certainly true.

But sometimes you need a ticket to know what Lee means, right?

This is by no means a complaint that I am not able to understand the conversation between my wife and my wife.

* * *

The officers and the staff, who were in similar positions, soon put their heads together.

“What on earth is lacking?”

“Well, let’s come… what the hell…”

The staff, who were unable to come to a satisfactory conclusion even after putting their heads together, soon found an alternative.

“Let’s go see the crown prince!”

In the end, Hyang gave a special lecture to his staff.

“Is there anything that comes to mind when you think of ‘The Change of Passion’?”

“Didn’t the Yongle Emperor come to the throne by overthrowing Jian Wen?”

“you’re right.”

“What does this have to do with Jinan?”

“Where was the place you defended to the end against the Jeongnan army, whose momentum was rising after winning consecutive victories against Li Gyeong-ryung?”

“Jinan… Ah!”

The staff members who were answering unconsciously all looked like they had taken a hit.

Hyang smiled at that and continued speaking.

“Would that have been possible with just one person, Cheolhyeon? “Isn’t this possible because all the people of Jinan were of one mind?”

The staff members who were nodding their heads at Hyang’s words soon continued speaking with bright faces.

“Now I understand what Your Majesty the Lord said! When Luoyang was overrun, the bodies of Jian Wen and the Crown Prince were not found! “If there is chaos in the Ming, there will be people who will come forward with their names, whether real or fake!”

“If you look at the history of Jungwon, this is not the first time something like this has happened! “It is entirely possible!”

“Among the people of Jinan, there are probably still many who hold a grudge! If you take advantage of this part, it is completely possible!”

The staff, who understood King Sejong’s intentions, immediately began to modify the strategy.

Through this revision, the staff were able to understand what the scent was disappointing about and King Sejong’s response to it.

“If the area between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, right here where Jinan is located, was shaken properly, the Ming would simply collapse.”

“yes? “Because Chinese people are used to being divided into four groups rather than living together as one.”

“Shall we bring in more troops?”

“It’s impossible… we don’t have enough transportation. Supply will also be a problem.”

“That’s true, but there’s also the risk of them uniting in hostility toward us.”

In the end, the newly revised operation received approval from King Sejong. However, the part where the scent expressed disappointment continued to remain unfinished.

And this part was resolved after Hyang used Han Myeong-hoe to attract the Japanese government.

* * *

Upon hearing the news that the combined forces of the Joseon army and Ouchi had arrived nearby, the soldiers and residents of Jinan Province closed the castle gates and began preparing for battle.

“Tell me to come somewhere! “What kind of people are we!”

“This is Jinan, a place that not even the Zhengnan army could penetrate!”

While the citizens of Jinan were preparing for battle, the combined forces of the Joseon army and Ouchi arrived.

* * *

The Joe Oh joint forces that arrived in front of Jinan Province continued to behave unexpectedly.

Jinan City was not touched.

The only military action against Jinan was to build a position to defend against attacks from the Ming army stationed in Jinan.

Everything the Joseon army did after that was related to the destruction of the canal.

“blasting! blasting! blasting!”

bang! Quack!

As the engineers in charge of the explosion continued to shout, facilities related to the canal were blown away one by one.

The waterway that supplied water to the canal from the Yellow River and Jesu was cut off, and the water leaking from the waterway spread into the nearby fields.

Subsequently, the locks installed in the middle of the canal burst. As the locks were damaged, the function of maintaining the water level in the canal was lost.

Lastly, all the water turbines that supplied water from the Jesu River and the Yellow River to the canals were destroyed.

As all the canal facilities around Jinan were blown away, the canal starting from Deokju in the north to Beijing began to come to a halt.

* * *

After completing all the sabotage, the combined forces of Joseon and Ouchi turned their boats around and went down the Yellow River again.

The residents of Jinan Province, who were nervous about when the enormous firepower would be directed at them as they watched the daily sabotage operations of the Joseon army, heaved a sigh of relief.

“Whoa! “You really went, right?”

“You’re really gone!”

“I’m glad, I’m glad!”

The residents of Jinan Province, who were happy that the Joseon army returned without doing anything other than destroying the canal, offered all kinds of tributes to the temples and canals located within the city.

The residents of Jinan Province, who were happy to have escaped the crisis so safely, soon began to become curious.

“Why did you just leave?”

“Our castle is not that poor?”

Strange rumors soon began to circulate among the residents of Jinam, who were curious as to why the Joseon army quietly retreated.

-They say a ancestral rite was held before the Joseon army returned!

-But they said that the sacrifice was for Geonmunmun!

-They say the reason Joseon didn’t touch Jinan was because we resisted the Jeongnan army!

-They say that the reason they are in a relationship is because of the loyalty they showed to Munjeong!

Rumors related to the Jianmun issue soon began to spread in and around Jinan Province.

And among the residents of Jinan Province who heard the rumor, all those in their 50s or older looked into the distance and muttered.

“It was like that back then…”

“It was so intense…”

* * *

“This was a big problem!”

Upon receiving the report that a rumor was circulating among the people, the Anchal Temple of Jinan Province turned pale and tired.

The current emperor, Emperor Xuande, was the grandson of Emperor Yongle. In such a situation, it was a treason to spread rumors talking about ‘geonmunjeok’.

“If I do something wrong, my head will fly off!”

The frightened Anchalsa of Jinan Province issued an urgent order.

“Anyone who spreads false statements should be arrested and imprisoned immediately!”

Anchalsa issued an arrest order to stop the rumor, and at the same time urgently wrote a report and sent it to Beijing.

However, this general did not reach Beijing.

This was because the canal was blocked and the Japanese who had landed on the Shandong Peninsula were causing trouble between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.

* * *

Meanwhile, news of the Japanese’s landing reached Beijing.

“Cool look! Cool look!”

After receiving the report, Emperor Seondeok was boiling with blood and coughed up blood.

“your majesty! your majesty!”

“It’s okay! “Don’t make a fuss!”

Emperor Seondeok calmed down the commotion of those gathered in the main hall and confirmed the situation.

“So, how many Japanese pirates have invaded Shandong now?”

“At least 100,000 people will come.”

“Ieast! Cough! Cough!”

Surprised by the number 100,000, Emperor Seondeok once again coughed up blood and finally lost consciousness.

“your majesty! “Call the doctor!”