Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 438
Episode 438: The night of betrayal – The beginning of chaos. (6)
“Mlacah?”
King Sejong asked as if to confirm the Chief of Staff’s opinion. The Chief of Staff answered King Sejong’s question with a firm voice.
“That’s right.”
“Hmm…”
At the Chief of Staff’s firm reply, King Sejong was lost in thought without saying a word.
When Sejong closed his mouth, Hwang Hee opened his mouth instead.
“Isn’t it too far away?”
“That too has been reduced to a minimum now.”
Lee Maeng-gyun was taken aback by the Chief of Staff’s remarks.
“The Kingdom of Malacca is quite a strong kingdom. And it has also been a loyal tributary country since its founding. Are you going to build a naval camp where the royal capital of such a kingdom is? Do you think that would make sense?”
“But it’s the best place.”
“No matter how optimal the location is, it is not a place where a military camp can be set up! Is this a place where you don’t even think about diplomatic issues? okay! Compared to Korea, Melaka is a small country, so let’s move on! Then what will Mingguo do?”
Under pressure from Lee Maeng-gyun, the Chief of Staff remained silent. Sejong, who was watching the Chief of Staff trying to think of an appropriate rebuttal, opened his mouth.
“It is clear that Melaka has a good location, but setting up a military camp there seems like a bad idea. If absolutely necessary, have the military search for other enemy territory. And then keep this in mind. ‘The first thing to think about is not increasing the number of foreign enemies.’. Do you understand?”
“I will keep this in mind.”
After responding to King Sejong’s words, the Chief of Staff quietly stepped back.
Hyang, who was sitting under the party house watching the work unfold, looked at the Chief of Staff with eyes full of doubt.
‘If you look at the military’s movements so far, it has never fallen into military adventurism. But why?’
Hyang couldn’t understand the army’s movements right now.
Whenever the newly acquired islands in the northeast and the indigenous people living in the area north of Dongbing Port caused problems, or the Jurchen tribes in the Liaodong region who had not yet been conquered caused problems, it was the military that advocated the most moderate method.
‘No matter how far away the country is from the Ming, it is a country that faithfully pays tribute to the Ming and is touched by the shadow of the Ming. No, it is a place that has become the center of Asian trade, which has grown rapidly over the past few years, so you probably know that this is not a country that the Ming will just pass over, right?’
No matter how much I thought about it, the Chief of Staff’s remarks were incomprehensible, and my eyes were following the Chief of Staff until the end.
And Hyang could spot the Chief of Staff and Jo Mal-Saeng slightly nodding to each other.
‘Can you really comfort me?’
At that moment, Hyang could tell the military’s intentions.
‘Was it Plan A disguised as Plan B? If you just ask for it, all the ministers will be against it? ‘Did you try to comfort him?’
At that moment, Hyang turned his head and looked at Sejong. When Hyang saw Sejong sitting with a strange expression, she realized that Sejong also noticed it. And when I turned my head, Hwang Hee and Kim Jeom were also making similar expressions.
In the end, Hyang prayed in her heart for condolences.
‘Removing the bottom has to be done depending on the time and place. After all, they are doing it in a place full of outsiders…’
“The Minister of National Defense and the Chief of Staff must report properly.”
The Minister of National Defense and the Chief of Staff were momentarily shocked by King Sejong’s words, but quickly remained indifferent.
“yes?”
Sejong’s voice turned sharp at Jo Mal-saeng’s answer.
“What do the police officers think of me and the ministers gathered here? In particular, does the Minister of National Defense want to go to the Archives again? “If I go to the records office this time, I’ll have to die before I come out, right?”
‘Got caught!’
As soon as they realized they had been caught by King Sejong, Jo Mal-saeng and the Chief of Staff immediately fell to the floor.
“Please save me!”
“I tried a trick that didn’t work!”
“If the officers honestly tell me where they want to go, I’ll think about it.”
Jo Mal-saeng and the Chief of Staff responded simultaneously to King Sejong’s words.
“There comes a place called Tumasek or Temasek!”
“Where is that place? “Bring the map.”
At King Sejong’s order, the officials brought a large world map that had been standing on one side.
Cho Mal-saeng chose a map depicting the topography of Cheonchuk and nearby areas and pointed out a place on the map.
“This is where it comes.”
Hyang looked at the place pointed out by Jo Mal-saeng and nodded slightly.
‘Singapore!’
“Please explain why the county chose that place as a candidate site.”
The Chief of Staff stepped forward and explained King Sejong’s order.
-This area, called Tmasek or Temasek, is located in the middle of the road to Tianchuk and Aden.
-There is a small strait to the north of Temasek. Because it is separated from mainland Melaka by this strait, it has a significant advantage in terms of defense.
– There is a record that Temasek was a fairly famous trading city in the past, but fell into decline as Malacca flourished. In fact, there is a port suitable for setting up a military camp.
“… And as the Minister of Foreign Affairs said, since we are far from the royal capital of Melaka, there are no major difficulties in diplomatic matters.”
Sejong, who nodded to the Chief of Staff’s answer, asked the Chief of Staff.
“It’s a pretty good choice. So wouldn’t it have been right to talk about that place from the beginning? Why did you use a trick?”
In response to King Sejong’s question, the eyes of Jo Mal-saeng and the Chief of Staff turned to Kim Jeom. As the eyes of the two people focused on him, Kim Jeom raised his voice without realizing it.
“What am I doing!”
Despite Kim Jeom’s protest, King Sejong and the local ministers all nodded.
“It was like that.”
Leaving behind Kim Jeom, who could not hide his resentment, King Sejong continued to question Jo Mal-saeng and the Chief of Staff.
“Now that I know where the military wants to first establish a naval camp, I want to know where other places are. “You said five places earlier. Where are they?”
“Yugu, Temasek, Chittagong and finally Aden.”
“I know about Yugu and Temasek, but where is Yeosong?”
In response to King Sejong’s question, the Chief of Staff pointed to a place on the map.
“This is where it comes. The indigenous people who live there call it Luzon.”
King Sejong checked the island pointed out by the Chief of Staff and muttered while looking at the map.
“It’s Yugu Yeosong Temasek…”
King Sejong, who drew an imaginary line connecting the areas mentioned by the Chief of Staff, asked the Chief of Staff and Cho Mal-saeng.
“Is it going outside of Ming’s Dongbeon (an old name for Taiwan)?”
“That’s right. “The area between the Ming mainland and Dongbeon is where pirates are active and where the Ming navy is wary of our movements.”
“It’s okay…”
Sejong nodded and continued asking the question again.
“Is Chittagong because of the saltpeter?”
“That’s right. Without the foundation stone coming from the Sultanate of Bengal, our army is crippled. “No, it is not only a huge blow to the military, but also to food production.”
At the words of the Chief of Staff, King Sejong glanced at Kim Jeom and spoke to the Chief of Staff.
“I can understand up to Chittagong, but Aden is too much. I think we can protect Joseon’s interests if we secure Chittagong, so think accordingly. “Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs actively cooperate with the Ministry of National Defense.”
“I follow your orders!”
“I follow your orders!”
Jo Mal-saeng and Chief of Staff Lee Maeng-gyun both bowed their heads in response to King Sejong’s order.
The situation seemed to have come to an end, but Sejong’s questions continued.
Sejong glanced at Kim Jeom once again and asked Jo Mal-saeng.
“Are we going to deploy challenger-level front lines in each of those military camps? If deployed, how many ships will be deployed?”
Jo Mal-saeng immediately answered King Sejong’s question.
“Challenger level fighters can pose a threat to their opponents given their size and power. Therefore, we plan to deploy marine emergency front lines in the military camp to be established like this. “We are planning to start with six ships and eventually have at least 12 ships.”
“If there are six ships, two are for patrol and two are for maintenance and supply. Are the two ships on standby?”
“That’s right.”
Jo Mal-saeng immediately answered the question posed by King Sejong based on the operating rules of the Joseon naval force.
“It’s okay. Make a proper plan and move. “I have high expectations.”
Unlike before, Cho Mal-saeng and the Chief of Staff immediately bowed their heads at King Sejong’s decision, which had changed favorably.
“I will do my best!”
* * *
As King Sejong made this decision, the government and military busily moved to establish naval military camps overseas.
However, when the year-end winter solstice was just around the corner, the naval forces exploded a large bomb.
It was such a large-scale incident that not only Jo Mal-saeng, who received the general message from Wonsan, but even Kim Jeom, who heard the story, jumped up from their seats and shouted.
“hey! “You damned whisperers!”
The general message that came from Wonsan was sent by Gangnam-gil, captain of the 3rd Challenger-class ship, Maeng Jin-ho.
* * *
Maeng Jin, who was deployed to explore the East two years ago, prepared thoroughly at the military camp on Jungdong Island (Adak Island in the 21st century), located in the easternmost part of the Joseon Navy, and prepared to set sail for the east.
“According to the last survey, the archipelago continues to the east. My mission is to check how far the islands extend.”
Gangnam-gil lightly nodded to the explanation of Lee I-don Man-ho, who was in charge of the military camp in Jung-dong Island.
“I understand. “Then let’s come back and see you.”
When Gangnam-gil said goodbye, Lee I-don asked with a face full of worry.
“Be careful. Be careful. The sea in the south is fierce, but the sea in the north is even more fierce.”
“ha ha ha! “I will be very careful.”
Gangnam-gil, smiling brightly, boarded Maengjin, and Maengjin set sail for the east.
And even after the promised date passed, Maeng Jin did not return.
Eventually, when winter passed and spring came again and the sea cleared, Yi I-don Man-ho wrote a long account and sent it to Joseon.
After sailing for three months, Jang Gye, sent by Lee I-don, arrived in Hanseong.
Jo Mal-saeng, who received the order, quenched his appetite.
“Tsk! The loss of Challenger-class wires….”
In the meantime, Challenger-class wires were being produced steadily, but they were still treated as precious. However, such a valuable front was lost.
And the naval commanders who heard the story spoke with serious faces.
“Gangnam-gil Man-ho’s personality was a bit aggressive, but his coordination skills were amazing.”
“It was a challenger-level front there.”
“What a fierce sea…”
The Challenger-class battleship was not only a ship with great firepower, but also great survivability.
Even though they encountered an unexpected typhoon while traveling between Suez and Joseon and were devastated, the ships that survived to the end and returned to Aden or Joseon were challenger-class ships.
The challenger-level front line with such tenacious survivability had disappeared.
After receiving the report, King Sejong gave orders to Jo Mal-saeng.
“Please inform the families of Maeng Jin-ho’s crew of the disappearance. It’s a disappearance after all. “Remember that it is not death.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
King Sejong, who gave the order, and Jo Mal-saeng, who received the order, said so, but inside they thought he was dead.
This was the same for the family.
But Maeng Jin-ho, who had disappeared like that, came back.
* * *
“It’s my hometown!”
“I’m back!”
When Wonsan Port came into view, the sailors aboard the Maengjin cried out in excitement at the sight of Wonsan Port.
“What’s coming back?”
“Maeng Jin-ho is back?”
When Maeng Jin-ho’s return became known, not only the naval forces around the dock but even the port commander came running with surprised faces.
There were many wounds here and there, but overall, the pier was lowered from the Maengjin, which was in good condition, and the sailors lined up to get off the ship.
And the bomb exploded as Janggye, written by Gangnam-gil, who got off last, arrived in Hanseong.
To summarize the contents of the chapter, it was as follows.
-After continuing to sail east, the coastline extending to the south was discovered.
-It has moved south along the coastline for more than 4,000 ri, but continues south.
-We landed on the way and searched the surrounding area, but there was no trace of Seoyi.
– Conclusion. It is assumed that a new land that no one knew about was discovered.