Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 100
Episode 100 Hwang Hee, in crisis! (1)
As they headed toward Hanseong, the tension among the Jurchen tribe leaders gradually increased.
The reason they were nervous was because of the Joseon cavalry accompanying them, saying they were guarding them.
“Are they the green-armored ghosts I’ve only heard about?”
The tribal leaders muttered softly as they looked at the green armored cavalry moving to their left and right.
The Joseon cavalry they had been accustomed to seeing until recently had not even been properly unified in uniform.
Although the number of armored men was gradually increasing, overall, all kinds of armor were gathered together, so the Joseon cavalry was misunderstood as Jurchen tribe without military uniforms.
However, not long ago, units were unified with new green armor, and now most of the Joseon troops in the border area have been unified with green armor.
The initial reaction of the Jurchen tribes in the Duman River region who saw the Joseon army’s armor being unified as one was lukewarm.
“The armor has changed? “Did the king make some money this time?”
“It looks okay. Should I brush it off later?”
The reaction of the Yain Yeojin, who had been reacting lukewarm or as tasty prey, changed 180 degrees when they heard rumors of a bloody wind that had swept through the Geonju region.
“Green armor?”
“Yes, that’s what the assholes in Geonju call it.”
“Isn’t that something the idiots in Geonju exaggerated?”
The tribal leaders of the Yain Jurchen who first heard the rumor dismissed it as an exaggeration.
* * *
In order to take control of Jurchen, the Ming and Joseon made similar moves.
It was a method of diligently accommodating one side and mobilizing force to stamp out any resistance on the other side.
However, what they put even more effort into was dividing the Jurchen tribe so that they could not unite.
As a result, the Jurchen people snarled at each other, belittling the Jurchen people living in other regions.
‘Geonju’s assholes’ ‘Wild beggars.’ ‘ ‘Mongrels of the sea.’ The Jurchen people were in a desperate situation because they could not eat each other.
* * *
“No matter how strong Joseon was… the idiots in Geonju are stupid.”
When they first heard the rumor about the green armor, the reactions of the Yain Jurchen tribe leaders were very similar.
However, as more detailed information came in from Jianju, the faces of the Yain Jurchen tribe chiefs became more serious.
“12 Boogons wiped out? And that too with over 200 Boogons?”
“Only 500?”
The total strength of the Joseon army deployed in the operation to conquer Jianju Jurchen was approximately 3,000.
At that time, the Joseon army divided them into 6 groups consisting of 400 cavalry and 100 artillery and wiped out 12 Boogons.
It was at this point that the tribal leaders of the Yain Jurchen became nervous.
If the size of the Booyeon was over 200, it was a size that could not be easily dealt with by the traditional Joseon cavalry of 500. The 200th Boogon could have mobilized 600 to 700 cavalry in a real crisis.
Given the capabilities of the Jurchen cavalry, the 500, or even 400, cavalry of the Joseon Dynasty had no choice but to retreat after suffering serious damage, with the loss of at least half of them. People are almost completely annihilated.
However, if the rumors I have just heard are true, the opposite situation has happened.
“Don’t just bring rumors, bring real information!”
“Yes Han (汗)!”
“And tell the kids who are out hunting not to touch the Koreans and Korean soldiers in the border area for the time being!”
“Yes Han!”
With the information they gained through their time and effort, the tribal leaders of the Yain Jurchen realized that a real crisis had come.
“Twelve tribes have been destroyed, but there are almost no survivors? “There was almost no damage to the Joseon army?”
“You gained the power of a fire dragon? “What kind of bullshit is this?”
The tribal leaders of the Yain Jurchen focused on the word ‘fire dragon’.
“The Joseon army used artillery in large quantities? So it’s a fire dragon? Stupid Geonju idiots! “You live right next to hundreds of idiots and couldn’t even see the artillery?”
The tribal leaders of the Yain Jurchen, who had ridiculed the Jianzhou Jurchen after knowing that the ‘Hwaryong’ was a fire gun, soon learned the truth.
The Joseon army began deploying and using artillery in larger quantities than the Ming army.
* * *
In a situation where the military power of the Joseon Dynasty was becoming seriously stronger, the Yain Jurchen tribal leaders had no choice but to increase the intensity of tension.
In such a situation, King Sejong sent an ‘invitation’.
In the end, the tribal leaders of the Yain Jurchen had to head to Gapsan accompanied by only a small number of escorts, as stated in the invitation.
* * *
As they headed toward Hanseong, the tribal leaders of the Yain Jurchen complained.
“Is this… is it guarding us or escorting prisoners…”
The target of their complaints was the Joseon Army cavalry that surrounded them on all sides, claiming to be ‘escort’.
The Joseon Army cavalry, all armed with green armor, gave an enormous sense of intimidation just by their sense of unity.
The Joseon army’s new armor, which they first saw upon arriving at Gapsan, looked very sturdy even to the tribal leaders. In addition, unlike existing head armor or other armor, it protected the entire body and seemed comfortable for movement.
“How can you make armor like that?”
“Armor is a problem, but the fact that such armor was made and distributed in large quantities is even more frightening. “It seems that this king of Joseon is not an ordinary person.”
The tribal leaders of the Yain Jurchen who sat together in the temporarily designated lodgings exchanged opinions with serious faces.
Among the tribal leaders, the older ones had a more serious look on their faces.
“I haven’t seen the King of Joseon yet, so I can’t judge, but the real big problem is that the Joseon army’s spirit has become more ferocious.”
“That’s right. “Until then, you were an unpleasant person to meet, but now, I feel like I don’t want to meet you as an enemy.”
The Joseon soldiers I met on my way to Gapsan had a different attitude than before.
Until then, only the cavalry had felt uncomfortable, but now even the soldiers guarding the camp and fort were showing their ferocity.
No, it’s not just that the momentum is fierce, it’s ‘let’s stick together!’ He was even showing his fighting spirit.
“I haven’t felt this way since my eldest son passed away… wow~.”
The tribal leaders sighed as they felt again the powerful presence of Lee Seong-gye, which they had forgotten until now.
It was as they moved to Hanseong that the tribal leaders felt even more burdened.
The Joseon Army cavalry in charge of ‘escort’ always maintained a gap of at least 10 yards (approximately 30 meters) from the procession of the tribal leaders. It was a distance that could be reached in an instant if one made up one’s mind to turn the horse and charge, but it was a distance that an experienced cavalryman could sufficiently prepare for a response.
And when a wide plain appeared, other cavalrymen appeared and set up another layer of defense.
When the road became narrow as it crossed a valley or hill, the Joseon army cavalry moved to the front and back of the procession.
The tribal leaders walking along the path sighed as they looked at the green armor seen sparsely among the forest.
“Whoa~. “I’m telling you to go to Hanseong without thinking about anything.”
“Anyway, I’m jealous of the Nagutai tribe leader. “I was lucky.”
The tribal leaders who only sighed sent envious glances at the tribal leader who looked relaxed on one side.
Where the Nagutai tribe was located, there were large huts (wagons used to transport criminals).
The ships were filled with disorganized men and women, dressed in a mixture of Joseon and barbarian clothing.
The men and women who filled the ship were fire carriers and fire carriers who were being pursued by the Joseon army.
* * *
While promoting the Gyeongjang, King Sejong issued an order regarding the Hwacheok group to local leaders across the country, and the leaders attached a room with the order written on the wall of Dongheon (東軒).
-All Hwacheok in the eight provinces of Joseon must appear in person at the government office by the end of the year and fill out a family register. Those who have completed the family register will be given the means to survive after completing their education, so they will become proud citizens of Joseon.
However, those who have not appeared even after the end of the year will be regarded as internal enemies and will be severely punished.
Those who saw the room containing King Sejong’s epitaph reported the news to their friends.
After hearing the news, the hwachuk had to make a decision.
A considerable number of Hwacheok came down from the mountain with their families and voluntarily reported their family registration. They then moved to Neobul Island, received training in herding, and began preparations to be deployed to ranches being prepared across the country.
“I want to do something other than ranching.”
Those who wanted to do other work reflected their best intentions and went to work for merchants and craftsmen who were beginning to have a shortage of workers.
And after a certain amount of time, as cattle and pigs were shipped from livestock farms, the ‘slaughter ban’ was completely abolished and ‘chicken farming’ became popular, and people began to make fortunes by entering the slaughter and restaurant industries.
Of course, this is a story from a later date, and the number of hwacheok who voluntarily appeared and reported their family register by the end of the year was not higher than expected.
To be precise, those who reported their family registration were those who lived close to the Joseon people and had almost fully adapted, while most of those who did not were still running around as criminals.
In other words, the Hwacheoks blatantly rejected King Sejong’s orders.
“You can’t believe you’re rejecting Gwain’s commandment! No, not only did you refuse, but you also swung a sword at the people? Mobilize the military and destroy them!”
“I follow your orders!”
As King Sejong’s name fell, a war to clear out Hwacheok took place across the country.
The Hwacheok, who were descendants of the Khitan tribe or other nomads, were a troublesome entity because they were good at riding horses and had strong fighting skills. However, they had to die as Joseon began to wage a determined, organized, and detailed sweep.
It was a clean-up war that later caused historians from the East and the West, who were studying Joseon history, especially the periods of King Sejong and King Munjong, to engage in a heated war of words over whether it was a ‘genocide’ or not.
In the end, the ships that could not withstand the government army’s pursuit had to go north again. As they were avoiding the pursuit of the government forces, their moving direction was northeast.
While they were running away, new people joined their group.
They were fire fighters.
It was the same situation that the pirates were chased by the government forces.
The reason the pirates were chased was because of the Great Hanseong Fire. People who had fun stealing property while taking advantage of the opportunity to catch fire at the Hanseong Fire Company formed a group and continued to attempt arson.
In the end, King Sejong, angered by their criminal actions, issued an order to punish them.
“If you don’t catch him alive, you can kill him on the spot!”
In the end, these pirates also had to flee to the northeast to avoid the government’s persistent pursuit.
And most of the pirates and shippers who escaped like this were captured by Jurchen tribes such as the Nagutai tribe.
The fate of the ships and pirates captured in this way was not very good. The pirates and pirates, who were robbed of everything they had, were beheaded on the spot. Women and children escaped death, but became slaves of the Jurchen tribe or were trafficked to the Ming kingdom.
However, those who were currently captured by the Nagutai tribe were not so lucky.
As soon as they were handed over from Hanseong, the fate that awaited most of them was beheading.
* * *
As they arrived at a place 10 ri away from Hanseong, the Jurchen tribe leaders became even more nervous.
At regular intervals on both sides of the road to Hanseong, soldiers wearing green armor and holding large swords like canes were standing upright, waiting for them.
And behind the soldiers standing like jangseungs, people were crowding out to watch them.
“Huh~. “Did the old man really come back alive?”
The old tribal leaders sighed when they saw the soldiers’ strength.
The power of the soldiers standing next to the road now was as strong as the power of the soldiers when Lee Seong-gye was in his prime.
As the Jurchen tribe leaders entered Honghwamun (弘化門 Dongsomun, now Hyehwamun), the armor worn by soldiers changed from green to dark blue. They were the golden soldiers who protected Hanseong.
However, the Jurchen tribe leaders were greatly surprised in other aspects.
“What road…”
The gray highway leading to the palace was something they had seen for the first time in their lives.
The smooth street, with no stones or dirt visible, seemed to be a symbol of a changed Joseon.
* * *
All tribal leaders who arrived at Gwanghwamun had to dismount from their horses and enter on foot.
On both sides of the road leading to Geunjeongjeon, Naegeumwis wearing black armor were holding large swords. The tribal leaders gave up everything and relaxed.
The tribal leaders who arrived at the front yard of Geunjeongjeon raised their heads and looked at Geunjeongjeon.
There, King Sejong, sitting on the throne, was looking at them.
The tribal leaders who saw King Sejong immediately knelt down.
“See you, His Majesty the Lord!”