Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 581

Episode 581: Broken Dream (4)

At Ye Bu Sang-seo’s argument, all the ministers fell silent and were lost in thought.

After a long period of silence, the first to speak was the Assistant Cabinet Secretary.

“I think the current situation is forcing me to make choices I don’t want to make.”

The ministers all nodded at the Assistant Cabinet Secretary’s words.

“Then, let’s revise it again based on the proposal from Yebusangseo. How much more can you add besides 800,000?”

In response to the Assistant Cabinet Secretary’s question, the left governor thought for a moment and answered.

“250,000. “We can take out 100,000 cavalry and 150,000 infantry.”

In response to the left governor’s answer, the military inspector asked a question.

“100,000 cavalry? “Isn’t that all the power you had against the Dalits?”

The left governor immediately nodded his head when asked about the illness.

“That’s right. And the 150,000 infantry are the troops protecting the general wall.”

“why!”

In response to the left provincial governor’s calm answer, the military inspector screamed. However, the left governor continued speaking with a calm expression.

“I managed to get 800,000 just in time. But didn’t the sick report say that adding more is unreasonable? “To meet that time, we have no choice but to subtract from troops who have already completed training.”

“Then haven’t you forgotten that there will be a problem with the northern defense?”

The left governor continued his explanation in response to the sick report’s comments.

“If we operate strictly on defense, we can survive.”

The left governor got up from his seat and walked towards the map hanging on one side.

The left governor tapped the eastern section of the Great Wall drawn on the map with his palm.

“According to the information received, Joseon has already entered Liaodong. That means the biggest enemy we have to deal with is time. Therefore, the infantry units deployed to the east of this wall will advance to Liaodong and the units on the west will be gradually moved east to fill the empty hole. Of course, our ability to defend the north will inevitably be weakened, but we must accept this. “Our situation now is…”

The left governor paused for a moment, took a few deep breaths, and came to a conclusion.

“It is difficult to deal with both Dalja and Joseon of the North at the same time. Therefore, all of the northern cavalry with excellent mobility and units located in the far east of Jangseong must be pushed into the war against Joseon. If they are already raised as elites, they will be able to overwhelm Joseon. In the meantime, the North must remain strictly defensive. “That is the reality we face now.”

Hearing the Left Governor’s words, the Assistant Cabinet Secretary looked dejected.

“We boasted about an army of 3 million, but now people are saying we have to defend ourselves because we don’t have enough troops… It’s shocking.”

Hearing the words of the assistant cabinet secretary, Ho Bu-sang-seo nodded and muttered.

“I feel like I’m so angry that I’m so empty. No, I can’t help being angry at myself. “I had forgotten why our ancestors left behind the words ‘remarkable relative.’”

Hobusangseo could not help but feel sad.

* * *

It is said that the country is run by two departments, but it was the job of the home department to check the economic situation of the name for the necessary finances, revenue and expenditure-related work, and accurate tax administration.

Naturally, Hobu’s officials and Hobu’s merchants were not only hearing about the growth of Ming’s economic power, but were also experiencing it with their own bodies. Everyone in Hobu could not hide their pride as they saw the size of the economy and the amount of currency used growing rapidly as the years passed.

“Our name is the center of the world! “All the wealth in the world is flocking to us!”

They had forgotten about Joseon because they were so absorbed in the economy that it was developing beyond the limits they had imagined.

Rather, he thought it was funny that the ‘Sisters of Assets’ movement was taking place in the private sector.

“thing! “If you sell a product in a country the size of your palm, how much will it sell!”

“At most, it’s a country that only makes and sells luxury goods or novel objects like iron horses!”

The current situation has brought a crisis of alarm to the country that was looked upon with such contempt.

* * *

The meeting lasted a long time, but in the end, a plan was decided that centered on the left-wing plan.

“How about mobilizing the soldiers of the Jinui Committee? “Isn’t the elite of the soldiers the Golden Guard?”

The Minister of Yebu suggested mobilizing the Geumui Committee, but the Minister of Military Affairs and the left and right governors all shook their heads.

“The Gold Council is the last bastion! “You must never leave Beijing!”

“That’s right! “Under the current situation, if the north is breached, the Jinuiwi is the only force that will protect Beijing!”

“If the North is breached in the absence of the Jinui Commission, we will just have to sit back and watch the moment of national ruin!”

In the end, the proposal of Yebusangseo ended up being nothing.

* * *

The Cabinet Secretary visited Emperor Seondeok with a document summarizing the plan in hand.

Emperor Seondeok, who was recovering in his bed without even being able to come out to the main hall, opened the plan posted by the assistant cabinet secretary and examined its contents.

Emperor Seondeok looked at the contents several times and let out a long sigh.

“Ha~. In the end, is there no answer other than lower stone (remove the lower stone and replace the upper stone)?”

In response to Emperor Seondeok’s question, the cabinet secretary bowed his head to the floor with all his might.

“I did my best, but I couldn’t think of a better solution! Please rebuke the incompetence of the small gods!”

“Whoa~.”

Emperor Seondeok sighed again at the sight of the assistant cabinet secretary asking for his own guilt, and held out the document again.

“Run it like this. In my current situation, there is no other way than this. “Do your best to get the job done.”

“I will risk my life to make it happen!”

When the approved assistant cabinet secretary withdrew, Emperor Seondeok gave an order to the eunuchs standing around him.

“Wait outside. “I want to be alone for a while.”

The eunuchs left and Emperor Seondeok was left alone in the bed, muttering with a gloomy face.

“I was expecting an easy win, but I had to wait for the odds to win… Where did it go wrong? “How did I become the king of defeat?”

Emperor Seondeok did not understand the current crisis.

The Ming Dynasty was overwhelmingly superior to the Joseon Dynasty in all aspects, from military power to the economic power to support the war.

Therefore, from the time he first made his plan, Emperor Seondeok did not even consider large-scale conscription of the people.

“Three million soldiers! Due to border security issues, everyone can be mobilized, but at least 1 million and up to 1.5 million can be mobilized without any problem! “That alone is enough to deal with Joseon, which can only mobilize about 300,000 soldiers!”

But things did not go as he wanted.

The invasion of Joseon using the main advance failed, and Joseon advanced into Liaodong. The navy that had been raised with great effort was destroyed in a single naval battle.

Due to the actions of Japanese pirates pushed into Joseon, more than half of the country’s back was cut off, and the government fell into a state of paralysis.

“why? why? From where?”

Seondeokje was distressed because he couldn’t figure out where he started shaking hands.

* * *

Meanwhile, there were people in Hanseong who had similar doubts. The most representative ones were the Wanduseul brothers.

“If you think about it with common sense, a situation like this can’t possibly happen…”

“That’s right, bro. What kind of country is Ming? It is a country that easily overpowers the capabilities of our country, Joseon. “How did Halbamama and father create this situation?”

When they couldn’t come up with a proper answer even after putting their heads together, the three brothers looked for incense.

“…So I came to find your father. Please teach me.”

At Wan’s request as representative, Hyang looked at the brothers with his arms crossed.

“Have you looked at the archives records?”

“I have looked at the records regarding the ‘grand strategy eastward advance.’”

“If so, you would know?”

“Even after reading the records, I still don’t understand the current situation.”

“Which part?”

“This is the part where people break down so easily.”

Hyang immediately responded to Wan’s answer.

“It looks easy because the preparation time and mindset were different.”

“yes?”

Hyang began to give a special lecture to the three brothers. The four people who were present at the right time began to sparkle.

‘What a windfall this is!’

The Hyang in front of him was someone who had been active since the beginning of Gyeongjang along with King Sejong. It was an unprecedented luck to receive a proper explanation from him.

After quenching her throat for a moment, Hyang began to explain.

-From the time it first began its campaign and established the ‘grand strategy of Dongjin’, Joseon was prepared for conflict with the Ming Dynasty.

However, if you look at the before and after of the invasion process carried out by Joo Jin-jin, the time prepared by the Ming Dynasty was not much.

-We were prepared for a conflict from the beginning, so we carried out the basic work step by step to properly carry it out.

Basic work refers to everything related to military reform, reinforcement of communication means, improvement of weapons, creation of reserve forces, training, mobilization and supply.

Because this was prepared step by step from the beginning, not only the officials but also the people became familiar with the situation.

Therefore, even though a large number of troops were quickly conscripted like this time, there was no major confusion.

-In addition, I constantly looked at my situation, looked for weak points, and thought about the best means to exploit them.

After explaining many other things, Hyang stopped talking as follows:

“This result came about because we worked so hard to find the best move.”

As soon as Hyang finished speaking, Wan immediately asked a question.

“What would happen if the Ming and our Joseon clashed head-on without using the same method as this time?”

“Head-on collision? So, are you talking about a situation where an all-out war is waged in a situation where the Ming is properly prepared and we are also properly prepared?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then our Joseon will either have a very difficult victory or it will end in a truce full of wounds. The worst case scenario is defeat. “Because it is the military that overpowers us in all aspects except technology.”

“Then the only way for a small country to win against a large country is through a clever trick?”

Hyang’s expression became fierce at Wan’s question.

“What do you think is the correct attack method called in the Art of War? Hide your weaknesses as much as possible and do your best to attack the enemy’s weaknesses. The true strategy is to win before fighting and to win with minimal damage. “It is only foolish to insist on an all-out war without considering time and talent.”

Wan responded to Hyang’s point by bowing his head.

“You son was foolish.”

“Think twice about everything.”

“I will keep this in mind.”

As soon as Wan finished answering, Du asked Hyang.

“Then, if we use the method used by Joseon, will a small country always be able to defeat a large country?”

“It will vary depending on the case. “If the great power in question acts intoxicated with its own power like the current Ming, it will be useful, but if not, it will be useless.”

‘The best example would be the Qing Dynasty during the imperialist era and the United States that was beaten at Pearl Harbor.’

During the era of imperialism, the Qing, which only believed in its own strength, became delicious prey for European powers. On the other hand, the United States, which suffered a blow at Pearl Harbor, immediately went into an all-out war system and repaid Germany and Japan.

‘Of course, the United States of America was beaten for almost a year, but…’

* * *

While Emperor Xiande was reviewing his mistakes in Beijing, the Ming situation continued to worsen.

The 100,000 Japanese who landed on the Shandong Peninsula were wreaking havoc in the central Ming region.

To prevent this, the provincial commanders of the local castle mobilized troops to block the Japanese, but defeat was more common than victory.

What made the situation especially worse was that there were many Japanese carrying iron guns among the plundering Japanese.

The Japanese, who had become accustomed to iron guns and muskets through the previous civil war, operated their muskets more skillfully than the musketeers of the Ming Dynasty.

* * *

As the central region of Ming was being turned into chaos by the Japanese, the final hour was also coming for Zhu Qin of Liaodong.

The Joseon army commanded by Choi Yun-deok had finally arrived in front of Liaodong Castle.