Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 259
Episode 259 The tree wants to stand still… (2)
While Joseon was busy with various things, dark clouds that would bring a storm were growing north of Baekdu Mountain.
“Bəilə (貝勒 Bəilə). “We have caught the traitors.”
“is it?”
After hearing his subordinate’s report, Muntemu got up from his seat and went outside.
In the large yard in front of the wooden house where Muntermu lived, four men covered in blood were kneeling, tied with ropes, and Muntermu’s personal subordinates were standing around them, spewing out vicious murder.
Muntumu, sitting on a chair brought by his subordinate, opened his mouth to those who had been captured.
“Why did you betray your brothers?”
In response to Muntumu’s question, the person on the far right protested loudly.
“I did not betray you!”
“You didn’t betray?”
“exactly! We only tried to enter Joseon because it was difficult to live here! “It is not our habit to leave when life becomes difficult!”
“That’s right. But it is not okay to betray and kill your brothers.”
Hearing Muntumu’s words, the man raised his voice again.
“He betrayed us! As we were about to leave, they tried to take the furs we had collected for a cheap price! So when we protested, he pulled out his sword first! “We only resisted to survive!”
Muntumu shook his head at the man’s protest.
“The dead to you are Han, who led you, and his brothers who held Ming edicts. Han deceives his tribe members? “Who believes that?”
Hearing Muntumu’s words, the man spat on the ground.
“Tsk! Then kill me! Why are you wasting your time doing something you don’t even believe in? There is no limit to deceiving the tribe members? joy! Look back first! “What are you going to say about taking my brothers who were living well to Gaewon and selling them as arrows in the fight between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols?”
“Kill!”
As soon as the man finished speaking, Muntumu was furious and gave an order to his subordinates.
As soon as Muntumu’s order was given, his men wasted no time in beheading the men.
“Take the corpses out into the field and make them food for animals.”
“yes.”
At Muntumu’s order, his men tied the legs of the dead men with rope and tied the rope to the horse saddle. The men mounted the horses, holding the severed heads in one hand, and headed toward the field.
* * *
Back inside the house, Muntumu sat down in a chair and let out a long sigh.
“Whoa~.”
Muntumu looked several years older as he looked into the distance with a face full of regret.
“It was a mistake…”
The cry of the man who had just died, ‘I sold my own people as arrows!’ was still lingering in Muntumu’s mind.
And he knew very well that this was a saying going around among the tribesmen these days.
Muntumu muttered, holding his head with both hands.
“At that time, there was no choice but to do so…”
* * *
When Munteumu met Lee Seong-gye, he was just about to lead the tribe. Muntumu, who was a young tribal leader, began to make a name for himself by trapping the tribe’s enemies through clever schemes, killing them, and releasing the survivors in exchange for a ransom. As the tribe grew in size, Munteumu, who settled in Hoeryeong, met Lee Seong-gye, the ‘Tiger of Yodong’, and became his subordinate.
After the Joseon Dynasty was founded and Yi Seong-gye disappeared into history, Emperor Yongrak of the Ming Dynasty reached out to him.
However, Muntemu rejected Emperor Yongle’s proposal.
“I will live as a Korean.”
Although the proposal was rejected, Emperor Yongle’s pressure was gradually increasing in intensity. And King Taejong of Gyeongseong was Taejong, not Lee Seong-gye.
In the end, Mentemu had no choice but to hold Emperor Yongle’s hand.
Afterwards, a revenge war ensued between Joseon’s Muntemu, who found out that he had joined hands with the Ming, and the dispute between the two was brought to an end through Ming’s mediation.
However, Muntemu, knowing that Joseon could attack again at any time, had to leave Hoeryeong and head west.
Muntemu, who settled in Gaewon where Eohochul (於虛出) was located, was able to increase the size of the tribe with support from Ming.
“If we grow the tribe like this and return to Almokha (斡木河), Joseon won’t be able to do anything like that.”
However, Myeong betrayed Muntemu’s expectations.
-Women are truly one and a half years old (天下不堪當)
(If 10,000 Jurchen people gather together, the world cannot handle it.)
This was a popular saying in the Ming Dynasty.
Ming, who knew what had happened to the Song Dynasty at the hands of the Jin Dynasty, a Jurchen nation founded by Aguta, prevented the Jurchen people from growing significantly.
For that purpose, as the Odori tribe of Muntumu grew in power, the Ming sent warriors from the Odori tribe into the conflict with the Mongols or gave them the role of the first line of defense to block the Mongols advancing south.
On the other hand, they took advantage of the weaknesses of the Jurchen people living in a harsh environment.
The Jurchen people had to deal with hundreds of merchants to supply their daily necessities. And Jurchen merchants who wanted to do business with Ming merchants had to have an imperial edict, a permit issued by the Ming emperor.
And with this edict, the Ming took control of the Jurchen tribe. If they did not like it at all, they would not withdraw the edict or issue it. (Note 1)
In the end, Muntemu had no choice but to return to Almokha once again.
“Is it fortunate that you came back with 1,000 warriors, unlike when you left with only 500 warriors?”
Muntemu, who returned to Almokha comforting himself, immediately sent an envoy to Joseon to announce his intention to subjugate Joseon.
“I will live as a loyal citizen of Joseon. “You can take my son hostage if you need to.”
However, King Sejong refused this.
“How can you take the son of a person who has been given the title of Shangguoin as a hostage and let him live in Hanseong? “It is not permitted.”
Although he refused, King Sejong provided Muntemu with adequate food and clothing.
However, Muntemu, who heard all this news through his son, was able to understand King Sejong’s intentions.
“Lee Bang-won and his son still want my head!”
In the end, Muntemu had no choice but to remain quiet under Almokha.
However, as King Sejong proceeded with the expansion of the palace and improved the national defense, Muntemu began to feel a threat to its survival.
In particular, the news that he had received an edict from Emperor Seondeok authorizing him to restore the birthplace of the Yi Seong-gye family was the worst news for Muntemu.
After that, the Orangkai (Barbarian) tribes around Muntemu moved over to Joseon, and at the same time, the tribes’ homelands became the land of Joseon.
And the Odori tribe, relatives of Muntemu, began to return to Joseon one by one.
The Muntumu tribe had become isolated.
* * *
“Whew~. “Where did I make a mistake?”
Muntumu, who was reflecting on and regretting what had happened so far, immediately shook his head loudly.
“no! I always choose the best move for my tribe! And it’s still the same now!”
Muntumu got up from his seat and went out.
“Chung Shan (充善)! Chungshan! “Where are you?”
At Muntemu’s shout, his son Chungshan, who was on one side, ran over and knelt down.
“Did you call me, father?”
“Gather your brothers by evening and call Pancha!”
“Yes father!”
* * *
That evening, Muntumu’s children and Muntumu’s half-brother Pancha (younger brother from a different father) gathered at Muntumu’s house.
“The time has come when we must make a choice for the survival of our people.”
The faces of the children and Pancha turned serious at Muntemu’s remarks.
After a moment of silence, Pancha asked a question on behalf of those gathered.
“If it were your choice, would you go to war with Joseon?”
“One punch and he falls into the air. Or you can go to a private practice.”
“The fortresses built by the Koreans are impregnable. The total number of our warriors right now is a little over 700. Of course, if you scrape together what you have, you can reach 2500, but…”
Pancha trailed off. That number, 2,500, included boys who had just become adults. These were children who knew how to handle horses and use bows and swords, but had no experience in combat.
Muntemu nodded at Pancha’s point.
“If you scrape together like that, you will lose a lot. But 700 is not enough, so set it to 1000.”
“But it’s still too much.”
“I know it well. So I…”
Muntumu paused for a moment to catch his breath and continued.
“I will join hands with Lee Man-ju.”
“You mean 20,000 weeks?”
Pancha looked uncomfortable at Muntemu’s words.
“Yes, Man-ju Lee.”
“Man-ju Lee is the leader of a large tribe of over 10,000 households. Not only does he not move easily. “If we make a mistake, we will suffer and Lee Man-ju will take the profits.”
“Know. But I can’t help it. “We cannot deal with Joseon with the forces we have alone.”
In response to Muntemu’s answer, his son Chungshan asked a question.
“Then how about we just leave here?”
“Whatever the reason, our tribe is Joseon’s number (barbarians in charge of border defense). “If we leave here without a reason, Joseon will chase us down and kill us, saying we have betrayed ourselves again.”
“Even though your father is receiving royal duties?”
“The cause lies in Joseon.”
“….”
Chungshan looked embarrassed at Muntemu’s words.
“But will Lee Man-ju really respond?”
After thinking carefully about Pancha’s point, Muntemu answered the reason.
“I have no choice but to respond. Since the damn Joseon bastards started cultivating ginseng, the number of merchants from Ming Dynasty visiting Liaodong has decreased and they continue to incur losses in the transaction process. And…”
After clearing his throat for a moment, Muntumu spoke of the most powerful reason why Manju Lee had no choice but to participate.
“Lee Man-ju knows this well. That after me, it’s you. And that the place where he is now is closer to Joseon than Ming.”
At Muntemu’s words, Pancha and Muntemu’s children fell silent.
They also knew very well that their tribe was now at a dead end.
The Orankai tribes surrounding their tribe had already become faithful hunting dogs of Joseon. And other Odori tribes, of the same bloodline as themselves, were also moving to Joseon.
Even if they were of the same blood, they could not be confident that they would not become Joseon’s swordsmen and slaughter them.
He was also reluctant to associate with Lee Man-ju. Muntumu said that would not happen, but it was almost certain that Lee Man-ju would make them a target for arrows.
But there was no choice.
In the end, Pancha spoke as the representative.
“We will prepare our warriors. When are you leaving?”
“We will leave right away tomorrow.”
“All right.”
“Keep in mind that Joseon must never know until the decision is made.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The faces of those who came out of Muntumu’s house after the meeting were full of worry and confusion.
“Phew~”
Pancha, who was looking up at the sky with a long sigh, muttered while glaring towards the south.
“Even if the enemy is surrounded, it is said in the military records that at least a route of retreat must be opened…” These
words were full of resentment toward King Sejong, who forced him to choose between death from death and death in battle.
* * *
As soon as the sun dawned the next morning, Muntemu and his warriors as guards set off towards the Paje River, where Lee Man-ju’s tribe was located.
* * *
Note 1) https://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=moonmogabi&logNo=70181087834&proxyReferer=https:%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F