Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 784
Chapter 784: Inner sorrow (2)
Two days later, Wan called Masahiro.
“From now on, my country and the empire will refer to the country of Japan as Japan, not the country of Japan. This is not only in official state letters, but also in official documents used within the empire, and in conversations and remarks in various places where people gather, the country will be referred to as the country of Japan instead of the country of Japan. “We will legislate and guide its use.”
Masahiro, moved by Wan’s notification, bowed down on the floor of the main hall and raised his voice.
“Hwang Eun is devastated! You have granted our country’s secret wish. How can I forget this grace? May you live long, long, long! May you live long!”
After getting what he wanted, Masahiro repeatedly bowed down and withdrew from Daejeon. Wan, who was watching that scene, suddenly looked back at Hwang Bo-in to see if he felt something.
“Isn’t it fun to be the Prime Minister?”
“Huh? I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“It’s the same for the Japanese and Europeans. Can’t we now communicate without an interpreter?”
Hwang Bo-in bowed his head and said at Wan’s point.
“Oh, that’s right!”
* * *
As the empire established itself as the most powerful country in Northeast Asia, the imperial language became the international language not only in Northeast Asia but throughout Asia.
Those who wanted to study or do business in the empire were proficient in using not only the imperial language but also Jeongeum. No, at least conversation in the imperial language was possible.
These weren’t the only ones. Tribes or weak nations that had their own language but no written language used Jeongeum as their written language.
This was the result of the government’s strategy from the beginning of the Jeongeum promulgation.
“In the 21st century, there are many Southeast Asian countries that have modified the alphabet and used it as their own characters. Jeongeum will take that place! And this will be recorded. Then there will be no people spouting nonsense later!”
The scent’s aim worked well. Due to the strong national power of the empire and the convenience of Jeongeum, Jeongeum became established as a common script among many countries in Southeast Asia.
A similar situation was happening in Europe. Merchants who wanted to trade with the empire worked hard to learn the imperial language and Jeongsin.
It wasn’t just merchants.
Scholars also learned the imperial language and Jeongeum. It was to read academic books published by the empire. This was the result of a combination of the fact that the empire’s level of basic science was higher than that of Europe and the intellectual vanity of its scholars.
“You read a Latin translation without knowing the imperial language and pronunciation? Ha! And you’re still a professor?”
Reading and understanding the original imperial language became a way to secretly boast about one’s depth of knowledge.
Thanks to this, it became fashionable for upper-class people in Europe to have a library full of original books in the imperial language or to carry around one or two original books in the imperial language.
The place where this imperial language craze was strongest was Japan, not Japan.
The first country to send international students was Japan, and the country where those international students early established themselves as the core of power.
The Confucian faction that held the core of power deliberately spoke in the imperial language to ridicule the domestic faction.
Thanks to this, the imperial language was spoken more than Japanese at the Ouchi shogunate’s castle located in Yamaguchi.
Hyang, who was the emperor at the time, laughed and muttered to himself after hearing the report.
‘Even in the 21st century, those who say they are popular have used English to places where it should not be used. After all, people’s lives are all the same.’
The only place that escaped this craze for imperial language and Jeongeum was the Ming Dynasty.
Because of their pride in being ‘China’ and ‘Zhonghwa’, they resolutely rejected the imperial language and Jeongyin.
The strong nationalism of the Ming authorities and intellectuals became a headache for the newly crowned emperor Zhou Jianxin.
* * *
Wan had made his decision, and within a few days, new rooms were being added to government offices across the empire.
As always, someone with a good voice came forward to read the room and people listened.
“….Therefore, it is prohibited to say ‘Japanese, Japanese’ in all official documents, including state records, and in places where people gather. This is for the sake of good neighborliness between our empire and Japan, so the people of the empire should also follow suit. I hope.”
The people who heard the contents of the room gathered in groups of twos and threes and talked.
“Then, from now on, should we not use the words ‘Waenara’ or ‘Waenom’ but instead say ‘Japanese country’ or ‘Japanese guy’?”
“He must be Japanese.”
“Tsk, I have to say ‘Waenom’ to get it to stick in my mouth. Tsk tsk tsk.”
In any case, because it was a solemn imperial command, the people came to use the word ‘Japan’ rather than the word ‘Why’.
Of course, even during that time, there were some rebellious non-mainstream people.
“No matter how hard I try, it won’t stick in my mouth. It doesn’t feel good!”
“Words taste best when they stick to your mouth!”
Eventually, they created a new word, and over time, it spread among many people.
The new word that spread like that was ‘Jjokbari’.
It was a nickname given to Japanese socks or shoes because they looked like pig’s feet when worn.
* * *
After achieving success in the empire, Masahiro headed straight to the Ming.
After hearing Masahiro’s request, Zhou Gyeonshen immediately moved the Jamryunkai. After hearing about the empire’s decision through members of the Jamyūkai who secretly visited Masahiro, Zhou Jianxin immediately gathered the ministers.
“It would be a good idea to listen to their request since they have already written about the country of Japan and the king of Japan in the national records. Instead, how about asking for the return of the craftsmen who were taken to the Japanese government and the reopening of the Shangjang Palace?”
Due to the aftermath of the last war, exchanges between Ming and Japanese had almost stopped.
-Those who harmed the Ming Dynasty were traitors and criminals even in our Japan. Our shogunate caught them and punished them, and those caught in the Ming announced that they could be punished according to Ming national law. So, please open the door again.
Mochiyo, who was the shogun of the shogunate at the time, made the above claim and requested open doors and mutual exchanges several times, but Emperor Gyeongtae resolutely refused each time.
Because of this past, the ministers who heard Joo Gyeon-sim’s words reacted negatively.
“Exchange with the Japanese has been prohibited since the time of the Emperor. To loosen this would be to go against the will of the Emperor….” Zhou Jianxin’s
face became fierce at the negative reactions of the ministers.
“Hey! Whoa~.”
Zhou Jianxin, who was about to raise his voice, took a deep breath to calm himself and continued speaking.
“The craftsmen who were forcibly taken away in the last war want to return, but the roads are blocked and they can’t. Can’t you see their pity? And although exchanges are said to be blocked, isn’t it a secret that even Samcheok-dong knows that smuggling trade is thriving in Gangnam? Rather, “If we officially open the door and strictly crack down on smuggling, wouldn’t it be a good thing that new revenue sources could be obtained and poor artisans could return to their families?”
“But going against the will of the Emperor…”
When the ministers still responded negatively, Zhou Jianxin screamed.
“Is the emperor you serve a savior or a burden? Answer me now!”
At Zhou Gyeonsim’s shout, all the ministers bowed down on the floor.
“Forgive me!”
“Answer me!”
“Forgive me!”
“I told you to answer!”
I had no choice but to raise the white flag due to the pressure of Ju Gyeon Shim.
“Your Majesty.”
“Then this matter will be decided according to my wishes. Those who oppose this should submit their resignation!”
In the end, the ministers had no choice but to follow Zhou Gyeonsim’s will.
* * *
Masahiro, who returned from the Empire and Ming, reported his achievements to Yoshinori.
After receiving the report, Yoshinori praised Masahiro with a bright face.
“Oh! This is a better result than expected! It shows how much effort Gadok has put in! What do you think?”
The retainers and officials present at the same time answered Yoshinori’s question.
“I’m fighting back!”
“Resumption of exchanges with Ming is truly an unexpected achievement! This is entirely to Gadog’s credit!”
As the praise from retainers and officials became more frequent, Yoshinori asked a question with a look of great concern.
“The problem is the demand to send back the hundreds of craftsmen brought in from the last war. What should we do about this?”
Masahiro stepped forward and answered Yoshinori’s question.
“We are requesting the return of the Ming craftsmen. Most of them are old, sick, and dead. Their children were registered as Japanese, not Ming, and we taught and raised them. In other words, they are our Japanese. Therefore, the old craftsmen “I think it would be enough to select and send only those who want to return home.”
Yoshinori welcomed Masahiro’s suggestion by hitting his knee.
“What a brilliant idea! What do you think?”
To Yoshinori’s question, the retainers and officials answered with one voice.
“What a brilliant idea!”
* * *
A few days later, rooms were available in government offices across Japan.
“So, from now on, Joseon, or the Empire, or the Ming will stop calling it Wae and call it Japan?”
“I guess that means so.”
“You did a great job in the shogunate.”
“yes.”
At that time, the Japanese were also well aware that the Ming and Empire called themselves the derogatory title “Japanese” (蔑稱).
Thanks to this, many intellectuals were openly complaining about this.
However, the shogunate solved this problem.
Thanks to this, the Xianwi faction gained energy and the Zonchi faction lost momentum.
“The problem is that in this process, the succession structure of the shogunate will become even stronger.”
“I agree. Do you remember what happened to the Crown Prince at the time when the Empire was Joseon? Didn’t he go to Beijing and succeed in securing the royal throne and solidify the succession structure? The foodie followed suit.”
“It’s a pain in the ass. Things are going to get harder from now on.”
“It’s the same for the noble families, but it’s also a problem for merchants. If exchanges with the Ming resume, merchants will have no choice but to support the shogunate.”
“Chick show!”
In an increasingly difficult situation, the conservatives began to think of more drastic measures.
“With the situation like this, it is difficult to achieve great results through assassination alone, so a bold move is needed.”
“A bold move?”
“It’s war.”
“War?”
Radical elements belonging to the conservative faction began to call for war.
-It’s already been a long time since Yamaguchi’s Ouchi guys took power. Many people already recognize Ouchi as the monarch of this country.
– Among the lords who survived the last civil war, many of them have already died from old age.
-This means that there are not many people left who remember the Emperor and Kuni. As time passes, Japan naturally becomes Ouchi’s.
-Therefore, we must fight against the grain before it is too late.
Prudentialists pointed out problems with the extremists’ claims.
“The number of governors is sufficient to end a battle, but the problem is the war secrets. The shogunate’s dogs are armed with the new imperial guns and cannons, but most of ours are swords and a small number of old guns that were secretly hidden during the last civil war. “It’s all about guns and artillery. This is an unconditional defeat. At the very least, we need to bring in guns and artillery from the Ming Dynasty, but it’s all about money.”
The extremists responded immediately to the criticisms of the prudentists.
“The people of Kyoto have decided to help with all their might.”
“Kyoto is already a ruined city. It’s difficult for them alone.”
The rebuttal of the prudentialists was true.
Kyoto was in a state of complete collapse as the shogunate removed the emperor to Yamaguchi and also moved the economic center to Yamaguchi.