Black Corporation: Joseon

“I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter brought by the envoy from the Ōuchi clan.”

At King Sejong’s words, the ministers recollected the contents of the copy they had read.

After organizing their thoughts based on what they recalled, the ministers soon began to express their opinions.

“They wish to gather talented individuals from their territory to learn the way of the sages. How could this not be admirable? It seems appropriate that we should support this.”

“Indeed. I believe we should accept the Ōuchi clan’s request and provide them with teachers. If we teach them the virtue and etiquette of our Joseon, educating these Japanese, it would be killing two birds with one stone as we could also protect our own safety.”

What the Ōuchi envoy had requested was for Joseon to send teachers to educate the talented individuals they had selected from their territory.

-We have currently selected 50 individuals in the first round. We plan to select a similar number of talented individuals every year in the future.

-Therefore, we request that Joseon provide teachers to educate these individuals. Joseon has been renowned for its literature and etiquette since ancient times, and we wish to learn these.

The contents of the handwritten letter from Ōuchi Morimi brought by the envoy were roughly as above.

“I have heard your opinions well. However, the Ministry of Education, which would have the most to say about this matter, has not yet spoken. What is the opinion of the Minister of Education?”

At King Sejong’s question, Jo Gye-saeng, the Minister of Education, bowed his head.

“I, Minister of Education Jo Gye-saeng, answer Your Majesty’s inquiry. It is truly a good thing that the Ōuchi clan has recognized their shortcomings and asked our Joseon for teachings. However, from this letter alone, we cannot know to what extent Ōuchi desires. If we proceed with assumptions without properly understanding what the other party wants, it would be worse than not doing anything at all.”

“Your words are correct.”

King Sejong nodded at Jo Gye-saeng’s answer. Seeing that the King’s reaction was not unfavorable, Jo Gye-saeng continued a bit further.

“There is also a problem with dispatching teachers to the Ōuchi clan’s territory. We cannot know the level of the 50 talented individuals they have selected. We cannot determine whether their level is that of the former Sungkyunkwan students or that of the current students attending middle schools. To be more precise, we currently lack the teaching talent to dispatch teachers above the middle school level.”

King Sejong’s expression darkened at Jo Gye-saeng’s statement.

“Is ‘lack of talent’ hindering us again?”

“We are deeply sorry. It is due to our incompetence…”

At King Sejong’s complaint, Lee Jik bowed his head as a representative.

“It is not a matter of blaming you.”

King Sejong briefly responded to the ministers’ words and summarized the situation.

This was because if they were to assign blame for the current lack of talent in Joseon, it would result in placing responsibility on the previous kings – especially Taejong.

Upon hearing the words ‘lack of talent’, Heo Jo posed a question to Jo Gye-saeng.

“With so many nobles throughout Joseon, how can there be a lack of talent?”

In response to Heo Jo’s criticism, Jo Gye-saeng sharply retorted.

“Doesn’t the Minister of General Affairs himself go around every day saying ‘lack of talent’?”

“…”

Heo Jo’s mouth shut tightly at Jo Gye-saeng’s rebuke.

Kim Jeom, who had been listening to Heo Jo and Jo Gye-saeng’s conversation from the side, presented his dissenting opinion.

“How about selecting suitable individuals from among those working in the mines who committed crimes in the past year of Gyu?”

As soon as Kim Jeom finished speaking, shouts erupted from all directions.

“Speak sense!”

“Minister! Have you lost your mind?”

“You’re about to cause a great mishap!”

After the commotion died down, King Sejong asked Kim Jeom.

“Why does the Minister of Finance suggest selecting from among the criminals? The minister must be well aware that they are criminals. I would like to hear your explanation.”

King Sejong’s stern voice revealed that he was quite angry at the moment.

Swallowing hard, Kim Jeom carefully explained his reasoning.

“Among those who committed heinous acts in the past year of Gyu, those who deserved death have already been executed. Most of those working in the mines now are being punished by association. Therefore, I thought that if we select suitable individuals from among them and send them to Japan, we could save face with Ōuchi and at the same time widely proclaim Your Majesty’s benevolence.”

As soon as Kim Jeom finished speaking, Maeng Sa-seong opened his mouth.

“According to the Great Ming Code, even those punished by association would not have escaped death. However, our Joseon law states that even those punished by association should be spared execution depending on the extent of their blood relations. That is why they were made into slaves and forced to labor. This alone is enough to demonstrate Your Majesty’s benevolence. Any further leniency could harm Your Majesty’s authority.”

The ministers nodded at Maeng Sa-seong’s words.

Following Maeng Sa-seong, Lee Maeng-gyun spoke up.

“Although the Ōuchi clan claims to be friendly with our Joseon, they are still of the same ilk as those Japanese. They are the kind who would immediately turn their swords on our Joseon if they sense even a slight disadvantage. Moreover, those who committed crimes in the year of Gyu are traitors to Your Majesty. Even if they were not the main instigators, they agreed with those intentions. If such disloyal individuals were to teach the Japanese, would the Japanese who learn from them show goodwill towards our Joseon? Absolutely not.”

As Lee Maeng-gyun finished speaking, Jo Gye-saeng, the head of the relevant department, took over.

“The Foreign Minister’s words are correct. The current shortage of teaching talent is not a matter of knowledge, but a matter of character. No matter how excellent one’s learning and skills may be, if their character does not match, they must never become teachers.”

In the end, the proposal suggested by Kim Jeom was heading towards being deemed ‘absolutely impossible’.

“Your humble son has something he wishes to ask Father.”

“Oh! Yes! Ask away!”

As Hyang, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, opened his mouth, King Sejong brightened up, while the ministers grumbled inwardly.

‘I wondered why he was so quiet!’

‘What kind of talk is he going to use to turn things upside down this time!’

***

Hyang observed the situation from a third-party perspective before presenting his opinion, and each time, King Sejong and the ministers were able to find what they had been missing in the matter at hand.

Up to this point, it was a very grateful thing, and King Sejong took pride in his son’s intelligence. However, it was something that caused stress to the ministers, knowingly or unknowingly.

‘To think we couldn’t find such issues! Are we lacking in ability as ministers who assist the king?’

It was because of such rumors that would emerge, knowingly or unknowingly.

***

Having received permission from King Sejong, Hyang immediately posed his question.

“It is a good thing that the Japanese of the Ōuchi clan are asking us for teachings. How could learning the way of the sages and understanding principles be a bad thing? However, what I am curious about is why they are asking our Joseon for teachings.”

“Are you saying you don’t understand why they are asking our Joseon for teachings?”

At King Sejong’s point, Hyang nodded and continued.

“Yes. I’ve heard that in Japan, besides the Japanese king who rules the shogunate, there is also an entity called the Emperor, and there are also civil officials called kuge who work under the Emperor. Why doesn’t the Ōuchi clan ask them for help?”

“Hmm… You have a point.”

King Sejong nodded, stroking his beard at Hyang’s observation.

Hyang continued to speak.

“It has been hundreds of years since Buddha’s teachings entered that Japan, and although it’s not Neo-Confucianism, it has also been hundreds of years since the words of the sages entered. Even if those Japanese are uncivilized people who only rely on swords, there should be no small number of people who know the principles of the sages, so it doesn’t make sense for them to ask our Joseon for teachings.”

“That’s true.”

King Sejong kept nodding at Hyang’s points.

***

“What do you think, ministers?”

‘As expected…’

‘Here it comes!’

The ministers, having received the issue thrown by Hyang and tossed by King Sejong, grumbled inwardly. However, since there was nothing wrong with Hyang’s points, the ministers racked their brains hard.

While piecing together various scenarios based on the information they had acquired about Japan, Lee Maeng-gyun was the first to speak.

“It is already well known that the Ōuchi clan and the Japanese king are in a relationship of mutual checks and balances. Especially considering that they are keeping the silver mine developed in collaboration with our Joseon a secret, it seems that the Ōuchi clan also has ambitions. The Japanese kuge are based in Kyoto and are on good terms with the Japanese king. Therefore, it appears they are worried that if they invite them as teachers, secrets might leak to the Japanese king.”

“The Foreign Minister’s words have merit.”

“Then what does the Foreign Minister think about us sending teachers?”

At King Sejong’s question, Lee Maeng-gyun closed his mouth and pondered deeply. After considering various scenarios, Lee Maeng-gyun finally spoke.

“I think it is not good for our Joseon to send teachers.”

“Why?”

“First, since our Joseon is in diplomatic relations with the Japanese shogunate, there is still deep mutual distrust. If we send teachers in this situation and it becomes known, the Japanese king might think we are instigating the Ōuchi clan.

Second, if the Ōuchi clan starts something, the dispatched teachers could become hostages. With the silver mine, we have Joseon soldiers present and a naval port nearby, so we could attempt a forceful escape, but the teachers cannot do that. If we’re not careful, they might use the teachers as hostages and demand our participation in war.”

King Sejong nodded at Lee Maeng-gyun’s words.

“That’s right. It might seem like just a few hostages, but it would create issues of justification and problems with the people’s trust…”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

Lee Maeng-gyun and the ministers all nodded. If teachers were taken hostage by Ōuchi, it would be a headache deciding whether to rescue them or not. If they helped Ōuchi under the pretext of rescuing these hostages, they would be criticized for interfering in another country’s internal affairs using a few hostages as an excuse, exaggerating a small matter.

Conversely, if they attacked Ōuchi in alliance with the shogunate for this reason, there would be no small number of people accusing them of betraying trust.

Lastly, if they disregarded the lives of the hostages, King Sejong would be criticized as a ‘tyrant who regards the lives of his people as trivial’.

“Then do you think it is right not to accept the Ōuchi clan’s request?”

To King Sejong’s question, Lee Maeng-gyun stepped forward again.

“Not necessarily, Your Majesty. Since these are individuals carefully selected by the Ōuchi clan, they will likely hold important positions in the Ōuchi clan’s affairs in the future. If we can make such individuals admire our Joseon, it could be an extremely good thing for our Joseon. Considering the position the Ōuchi clan holds.”

At Lee Maeng-gyun’s words, King Sejong and the ministers recalled the geopolitical position of Ōuchi.

The territories that Ōuchi had seized through the battle in Kyushu last year were, whether by coincidence or necessity, regions facing Joseon. Therefore, the more firmly Ōuchi’s control was established, the safer Joseon’s coasts would become.

***

After hearing Lee Maeng-gyun’s explanation, King Sejong summarized the situation.

“Summarizing your opinions, it is as follows:

One. It is beneficial for our Joseon to teach the talented individuals of the Ōuchi clan.

Two. However, sending our teachers to the Ōuchi clan’s territory is dangerous.

Is this correct?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Then there is only one answer. Tell the Ōuchi clan to send their talented individuals to Joseon.”

At King Sejong’s decision, the ministers immediately bowed their heads.

“Your Majesty’s words are truly wise.”

“It is the best solution given the current situation.”

“It is a truly wise decision.”

King Sejong smiled bashfully at the shower of praise from the ministers.

“You’re gilding my face, ministers.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty!”

In reality, the ministers had already been thinking along similar lines. However, they had not voiced these thoughts because the subjects in question were Japanese.

They hadn’t proposed bringing in the Japanese, who were symbols of ferocity as much as the Jurchen tribes to the north, because if the Japanese who entered caused trouble, they couldn’t escape the issue of responsibility.

There had already been more than a few instances of similar problems causing headaches in the Japanese trading posts, so the ministers had been keeping their mouths shut as much as possible.

However, since it was King Sejong who brought it up, even if something happened, they could avoid the primary blame.

Watching this scene from the side, Hyang inwardly muttered.

‘The evasive actions of government officials are the same now as in the 21st century…’

***

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