Chapter 122

Chapter 122: Joseon.

‘Phew… This is really exhausting.’

Lee Yeok, who would later be called King Jungjong, felt a deep fatigue.

He became the king through a rebellion against Yeonsangun’s excessive tyranny.

But he never had any intention of becoming the king of Joseon in the first place.

He was just enthroned by the success of his ministers, such as Sung Hee-an, Park Won-jong, and Yu Soon-jung, who led the coup.

Moreover, he felt a great displeasure at the fact that the rebels chose the king at their own discretion.

However, at that time, the power of the meritorious officials was very strong, so he could not express any dissatisfaction.

Therefore, Lee Yeok had been making numerous efforts to strengthen his royal authority and implement royal governance.

He supported Jo Gwang-jo’s Sarim faction to weaken the Hungu faction.

But Jo Gwang-jo had a different goal from Lee Yeok, as he was interested in Neo-Confucian politics, and his reform policies were too radical for Lee Yeok’s liking.

So Lee Yeok staged a coup with his personal guards and caused the Gyeongui Incident, which eliminated Jo Gwang-jo.

The problem was what happened after that.

As the radical Sarim faction fell, the meritorious officials’ power showed signs of revival.

There was no other force to check them.

So from then on, he gradually appointed his relatives to office, but they formed their own faction and the political situation was a mess of chaos.

‘I can’t see any solution.’

Joseon was a country of scholars.

That’s why he tried hard to strengthen his royal authority, but it never came true.

He was starting to doubt if it was really possible to enhance his royal authority.

On top of that, every time he forgot about them, the Japanese pirates appeared and plundered, and the Jurchens in the north raided frequently.

This made Lee Yeok’s worries even deeper.

***

And then another incident happened.

The Japanese pirates attacked and plundered Joseon again.

“Take everything you can!”

“Hehe. This is very juicy.”

The Japanese pirates ransacked the coast of Joseon without mercy.

And when they got enough loot, they started to head back to their base.

But there was something they didn’t expect…

“Who are they?”

“Hmm. They seem to be the Japanese pirates I told you about before.”

“Huh… So those are the thieves? They look like they’ve done a lot of robbery.”

There were so many plundered goods that their ships were very slow.

And the speed of the Imperial ships was incomparable to that of the Japanese pirates.

“What do you want to do?”

“What do you mean what do I want to do? How can we just sit still when there are thieves passing by in front of our noses? And if we catch them, it will surely help our relationship with Joseon. So try to capture them as much as possible without using cannons.”

“Yes!”

As Swift Rope’s order fell, five ships quickly cut through the sea and approached the Japanese pirates.

“We’ll help you too.”

“Haha. Just watch.”

Hozo Ujitsuna also tried to join the fight with the Japanese pirates, but Swift Rope refused with a smile.

He didn’t think he would lose to such Japanese pirates at all.

And this soon became evident.

“They seem to have given up on running away.”

“How can they escape from us with such slow ships?”

On top of that, their ships were even slower because of the looted goods.

So the Japanese pirates soon gave up on fleeing and rushed towards the Imperial fleet at once.

When they got close enough,

“Fire!”

Bang!

As soon as the signal was given, the unfamiliar sound of gunfire from the East began to echo.

Tatatatatang!

The empire’s new guns, which had undergone many advancements, boasted excellent accuracy and penetration, turning the approaching barbarians into honeycombs.

Kwang!

Thanks to the occasional cannon fire, the barbarians were unable to form a proper camp.

As a result, the barbarians’ ships scattered and fled in all directions, and the empire’s vanguard chased and captured most of them.

‘My goodness… I heard it from my father, but I didn’t expect it to be this much. It’s like they’re easily subduing children.’

Hozo Ujitsuna, who had been quietly watching the battle, felt a strong thrill at the sight of the empire’s vanguard’s shocking power, which he had only heard of.

Whether he felt that way or not, the empire’s vanguard continued to move towards their destination, dragging the captured ships along.

“Huh!”

“Wha-what is that?”

When five strange ships suddenly appeared in Joseon, along with the barbarians’ ships and looted goods, the coastal residents naturally panicked.

This was soon reported to the authorities.

The Swift Rope gave them a stern warning as he watched the commotion.

“We are not here to fight. So don’t start any trouble.”

“Don’t worry. We will keep that in mind.”

Following his instructions, the empire’s fleet waited quietly at a considerable distance from the land.

To show that they had no intention of fighting, they planted white flags prominently.

The waiting time was quite long.

The authorities took a lot of preparations to deal with any possible situation before they attempted to contact the empire’s vanguard.

Soon, three ships cautiously approached the empire’s vanguard.

***

No matter how chaotic the political situation was, it was a very big deal for Joseon that unfamiliar ships appeared near Hanyang.

The reaction was divided into two groups.

“How dare they come this far without permission? We must never forgive them. Show them the dignity of Daehan right away.”

“Please be lenient, Your Majesty!”

“But they said they don’t want to fight with us. They just came too fast for us to report, and they have no ulterior motives. If they did, they wouldn’t have brought us the barbarians’ ships and looted goods.”

“How can you scholars abandon your humanity?”

“Hmm! Aren’t you being too harsh?”

“Did I say anything wrong?”

As always, the Confucian faction and the foreign faction bared their teeth at each other.

Lee Yeok was lost in his own thoughts as he watched their tiresome behavior.

‘Wakan Tanka Empire.’

The scale and speed of the empire’s vanguard in the report were truly amazing.

He didn’t know much yet, but he could tell that their ships were better than Joseon’s.

Was that why?

Lee Yeok felt more curiosity than displeasure at their invasion of Joseon’s territory.

So he replied like this.

“Of course, they are guilty of entering Joseon’s waters without permission, but they have done us a great favor by defeating the barbarians themselves and returning the looted goods. So I want to meet their leader and talk to him once.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the court was filled with noise again, but after a few days of discussion, it was agreed that only a few people, including the Swift Rope, would enter Hanyang.

After that, the Swift Rope loaded a lot of goods on a cart and started his journey to Hanyang.

‘…Hmm. Is this really where the great spirits bless?’

But he couldn’t help feeling disappointed as he looked at the scenery that was far inferior to the empire on his way to Hanyang.

And then he began to doubt.

But because there was undeniable evidence called Hangul, he tried his best to shake off his suspicion.

“Hmm. It looked simple at first, but it has its own charm.”

“That’s true. But I prefer the bustling cities of the empire.”

“Ha ha. Me too.”

Although there were no buildings and roads made of cement, concrete, and bricks like in the empire, the old-fashioned wooden houses in the style of Hanok were quite refreshing.

He even wanted to build such buildings in the empire.

And their clothes were neat, though they looked uncomfortable.

Of course, he, who had lived in a hot region for a long time, had no intention of wearing such stuffy clothes.

As he was thinking, he finally entered the palace.

A few days passed,

And he finally met Lee Yeok, the king of Joseon.

“I greet the ruler of this land, this humble man called Swift Rope.”

He bowed to Lee Yeok with a Joseon-style courtesy.

His words were translated into Japanese by the foreign ministry interpreter, and then into Joseon by the Japanese envoy.

“I am Lee Yeok, the king of Joseon. You came from a place called Wakan Tanka Empire, right?”

“Yes.”

“Huh. How dare you claim to be an empire by yourself. It is nothing but a heinous act.”

Many of his ministers agreed with him.

It was taboo to call oneself an empire in East Asia, except for the Great Ming Empire.

But he said confidently.

“Ha ha. If Wakan Tanka is not an empire, then there is no country worthy of being an empire.”

“What do you mean…”

“Beyond the vast sea to the east, there is a huge continent that is not well known to the people here. It is as big as this continent.”

“Nonsense! Where is such a place? It’s impossible.”

“It’s up to you to believe it or not. And Wakan Tanka Empire is the country that unified that continent. Most of the people living on the continent are imperial citizens.”

“…!”

Everyone, from his ministers to even Lee Yeok, looked surprised.

They had no choice.

Even the Ming Empire, which boasted itself as the center of the world, only ruled some parts of this huge continent.

But they unified such a large continent.

It was too absurd a story.

That’s why most of his ministers soon denied it.

But no matter how much they denied it, he didn’t care.

Because his words were true.

“If I have a chance, I will invite the scholars of this land to Wakan Tanka Empire. You will see for yourself when you see it with your own eyes.”

“…Let’s discuss this later.”

Lee Yeok stopped the argument.

“That aside, you said you brought some very precious things. Can I see them?”

“Of course. That’s why I brought them.”

As he agreed, the industrial products from the empire began to come in one by one.

“What are those…”

“Huh!”

“Wow, amazing.”

As more and more industrial products came in, his ministers changed their eyes as if they had never argued before.

They were obviously amazing things.

Soon they were introduced one by one by Jiteun Haneul who came with him.

Among the many industrial products, especially porcelain and cotton fabrics from the empire, and paper attracted the most attention.

Then followed by demonstrations of weapons such as steel swords, guns, and cannons.

After that, no one could disparage the technological level of the empire.

Lee Yeok was also amazed by these amazing devices.

‘How can they make such sophisticated and excellent things?’

He was very surprised by the huge and fast ships of the imperial fleet alone, but these devices were beyond imagination.

Could even this huge Ming Empire do this?

No, he was sure that they could never make these great weapons at least.

Maybe that’s why?

He began to think that maybe his absurd claims were true.

‘Wakan Tanka Empire… I want to know more about this country.’

A country that seemed to fall from the sky.

It was the moment when the existence of the empire was strongly imprinted in Lee Yeok’s mind.