Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 416

Episode 416: Lord of War. Flower Merchant (7)

A similar story was also appearing in Geunjeongjeon.

“I heard that the purge carried out by the emperor was truly enormous.”

“That’s right.”

“According to rumors and information received so far, four provincial commanders and all ten of their clans were purged, and three clans of all those involved in this corruption were killed.”

In response to the ministers’ reports, King Sejong asked about the number of victims.

“Then how long have you died?”

Lee Maeng-gyun carefully answered King Sejong’s question.

“At least 200,000….”

“200,000! Are you sure?”

“I heard it only through rumors, so there may be some exaggeration, but my analysis is that it’s pretty close.”

“200,000… I’m worried. If the national defense and state affairs of the Ming Dynasty are shaken, our Joseon will not be able to avoid the negative effects…”

Many ministers nodded with the same expression on King Sejong’s concern.

* * *

In any case, the Ming Dynasty was the largest military power in Northeast Asia. With the advent of Emperor Seondeok, diplomacy was centered on trade rather than military projection, and the colors faded a bit, but if the people made up their minds and attacked, the countries involved were in despair.

Of course, people like Bukwon and Yeojin harassed the Ming. However, the Jurchen people in the Liaoxi region had already been subordinated to the Ming, and Northern Yuan was gradually becoming economically dependent on the Ming through the superiors created by Emperor Xiande.

However, if a large number of military commanders disappeared, the situation was likely to change again, and King Sejong and the ministers were worried about this.

* * *

“Surprisingly, the possibility of a military shake-up may not be that high. majesty.”

Meanwhile, Jo Mal-saeng expressed an unexpected opinion.

“Why?”

Jo Mal-saeng gave a simple answer to King Sejong’s question.

“This is because the Gold Council is alive and well. majesty.”

King Sejong nodded at Jo Mal-saeng’s answer.

“ah! I forgot about them. “They are alive and well.”

Following Jo Mal-saeng and Sejong’s words, Hwang Hee also joined the conversation with a look of lost expression.

“That’s a good thing. “It makes sense that the Gold Council is alive and well.”

As Jo Mal-saeng and King Sejong Hwang-hee nodded with mutually familiar expressions, Lee Maeng-gyun intervened.

“Captain Cho. Could you please explain in a bit more detail? “I am unfamiliar with military affairs.”

Jo Mal-saeng explained Lee Maeng-gyun’s words in more detail.

-If you look at the current Emperor of Ming’s use of soldiers, the Jinui Committee, especially the Musketeers and Hwapo Committee, are the main forces.

-The duties of the troops stationed in the region are as follows. The first thing is to take charge of attacks by foreign enemies, and the next thing is to take charge of auxiliary power and supply of the main force.

-Fortresses have already been built at major military bases. Even the least experienced commander will be able to properly carry out a defensive battle by relying on the castle.

“…Of course, sometimes there are incompetent people who cannot even do this properly.”

Lee Maeng-gyun, who was nodding at Jo Mal-saeng’s explanation, raised a counterargument.

“But now that the vacancies created by the Great Purge have been hastily filled, isn’t there a proper verification? “If people like Bukwon take aim at this and engage in subversive actions, won’t the problem get bigger?”

“I’ll say it again, as long as the Geumui Committee holds out, it will be difficult to do anything major. And…”

Jo Mal-saeng took a moment to catch his breath and continued.

“If there is a leader in Northern Yuan with his head, he will not touch the Ming for at least 10 years.”

“why?”

Kim Jeom, who was listening to Lee Maeng-gyun’s question, intervened.

“As Captain Cho said, most of those filling the vacant positions have limited experience. In addition, as Captain Lee said, the verification was not done properly. So, wouldn’t it be the biggest act of betrayal to give them a chance to gain experience and test their abilities by touching them for no reason?”

“Ah…”

Lee Maeng-gyun, who was nodding his head in response to Kim Jeom, muttered with a face full of regret.

“I think the problem is that there is no such leader in Bukwon right now. Although there is Oirat….”

Everyone present nodded at Lee Maeng-gyun’s words.

After being driven back to the north by the Ming Dynasty, Khan no longer had the power of his ancestors. And although the Oirat was gradually encroaching on that power vacuum, complete control was still a long way off. Therefore, there was a high possibility that many of the tribes in Northern Yuan were unable to see far ahead and only worked for small immediate profits.

The story that continued like this was eventually organized by King Sejong.

“We must use what happened in this Ming as a lesson to learn from and be on our guard. This is because the Ming Kingdom has a lot of people and can immediately fill even large holes, but we cannot. “It’s enough to do that once.”

The ministers responded to King Sejong’s words by bowing their heads in unison.

“I will engrave it in my heart and carry it out!”

Sweat was already streaming down the foreheads of the ministers who answered in unison.

The ‘such thing’ that King Sejong spoke of meant the Giyu Rebellion.

At that time, the number of people who participated in the rebellion and died on the battlefield or later died at the execution ground easily exceeded 10,000.

If you count those who opposed the rebellion and died as government slaves because they were young or women, the number increased even more.

Otherwise, it was not an exaggeration to call the Giyu Rebellion a ‘disaster that wiped out the noble family of the Samnam region’.

And the aftermath was anything but light. King Sejong’s power was absolutely strengthened, but there was a shortage of talent to supply the growing bureaucracy. Although the doors were opened to women as well as to those from the northwest and western regions who had previously been restricted from entering the government, the manpower shortage was not easily resolved.

Every time these problems came up, the people in charge sighed and grumbled.

“Whoa~. If you wanted to take it easy, you could have taken it easy. But His Majesty the Lord is not the kind of person to do that, is he?”

As the working-level officials said, Sejong opened the door but did not lower the threshold. Because of this, many people still had to suffer the pain of being eliminated, and government agencies across the country, including Hanseong, could not escape the overtime hell. Except for one soldier on the front line.

The only places where ‘everything from people to dry goods were filled with essence’ were the units that roamed the border areas and the sea.

* * *

Contrary to the expectations of the people of Joseon, including King Sejong, this great purge was a major loss to the Ming Dynasty.

Blood was shed from all directions, not only from the military but also from administrative officials and eunuch organizations. Anyone involved in even the slightest bit of corruption was executed.

In particular, the Forbidden City in Beijing had Emperor Xuan De personally attend the interrogation and conduct the investigation.

“Who else but Jim can properly inspect the eunuchs, the Geumui Committee cabinet, and the government?”

In this way, Emperor Xuande thoroughly searched the interior of the Forbidden City and found corruption.

Because Emperor Xuan De led the way, tens of hundreds of heads were cut off and hung on poles every day in Beijing.

As a result of such a large-scale purge, an administrative vacuum was created throughout the empire, and the largest civil service examination in history was held to fill it. However, what was different from the Joseon Dynasty was that instead of expanding the literary world, the threshold was greatly lowered.

Through that past, tens of thousands of talented people were once again introduced into the Ming administrative organization.

“It will take a while for them to pay for their food…”

Those who survived the purge lamented their dark future, but there was nothing they could do.

However, the biggest victim was Emperor Seondeok, who carried out the incident.

Although the hole was filled, the significant decrease in the number of experienced people who could control the work presented Emperor Seondeok with murderous overwork.

Emperor Seondeok, who had to directly handle most of the matters that came up from all regions of the huge empire, soon had to share power.

But before handing out power, Emperor Seondeok had to take precautions.

* * *

The first place to deal with was the eunuch organization.

First, the Naeseo Party was strengthened. The initial size of 300 people was increased to 1,000, and those produced from this were to become the core of the eunuch organization.

The problem was not simply increasing the size. Children between the ages of 8 and 10 were admitted to the party, and for the first three years they were made to instill in their minds only absolute loyalty to the emperor.

The reason this was possible was because those in charge of education were eunuchs who had survived the purge and had absolute loyalty to the emperor.

In addition, following the alumni, a seochang was created and they were responsible for inspecting each other and also inspecting the officials.

The task of inspection was not given only to alumni and students. The provincial government inspection agency, a traditional inspection body, has also been strengthened in size and capacity. In addition, an inspection organization called Chalwi (察衛) was created within the Geumwiwi.

As a result, these four organizations monitored each other and inspected all administrative organizations of the Ming Dynasty. And the person holding the leash of this ferocious hunting dog was Emperor Seondeok.

As long as Emperor Seonde held the leash and food, these four inspection organizations would show absolute loyalty to Emperor Seonde and barge their teeth at others.

* * *

Only then did Emperor Seondeok, with hunting dogs in his hands, share power.

No, it was not a division of power, but a division of work.

In the meantime, he largely handed over most of the authority to approve various tasks that came to him to the cabinet.

Of course, it was confirmed that he would handle all matters related to the budget, including taxes, diplomacy, and national defense.

And the work handed over to the cabinet was not just about receiving reports.

The ministers of the cabinet, including the Assistant Cabinet Secretary, and the officials of the 6th Department could only make approval through meetings held in the presence of Emperor Seondeok.

Power was shared, but everything was not handed over until the end.

* * *

It was the military, as acknowledged by many, that suffered the most from these purges and the subsequent processing.

Emperor Xuande, who gathered those entering the empty space into the Forbidden City, declared firmly:

“What I want from you is simple! Loyalty and integrity to Jim! That’s it! As for the military aspect, I will never go for conquest first, so you should focus only on defense! Don’t covet a useless major! “The best defense will be the greatest merit!”

The newly appointed officers shouted loudly at Emperor Seondeok’s firm command.

“I follow the Emperor’s command! “Long live, long live, long live!”

Although he declared the importance of defense and emphasized loyalty and integrity, Emperor Seondeok did not properly trust the military.

Emperor Seondeok, who still could not erase his distrust of the military, created a new position to keep them in check.

It was a position called ‘Gamchunggwan (監忠官)’.

They moved with the commanders of each unit and monitored their every move.

Their mission was as follows:

-Is the commander’s loyalty consistent?

-Do you do your best in commanding your troops?

-Do you always check the supply to ensure that there are no difficulties in operating the unit and maintaining the morale of the soldiers?

-Aren’t they trying to engage in useless battles by needlessly coveting military achievements?

-On the other hand, wouldn’t fighting be avoided at all costs, causing damage to the empire’s territory and people?

Gamchunggwan examined these items and reported them to the superiors, and the personnel evaluations of commanders were decided based on their reports.

Separately from this, the military was largely divided into two organizations.

One was the general Ming Dynasty army symbolized by the 5th military governor, and the other was the Geumuiwi.

Although the Jingui Committee started out as a guard force to defend the Forbidden City, Emperor Seondeok gave them offensive duties, starting with the active protection of the Shangguan built in the border area with Northern Yuan.

And in the aftermath of the purge, the core of the military was moved from the 5th District Provincial Government to the Geumwiwi Committee.

In other words, the right to speak politically was transferred from the 5th District Provincial Government to the Geumui Committee.