Black Corporation: Joseon

As Hwang Hui suggested, a meeting was held at Seunghwadang regarding the letter sent by the Regent of Portugal.

“Hmm… three thousand guns, if we’re talking about three thousand gunners, what would be the total scale of their military force?”

In response to Hyang’s question, Jo Mal-saeng calculated briefly before answering.

“Based on the information we’ve gathered so far, it would be minimum thirty thousand to maximum sixty thousand men.”

“How does that compare to our Joseon?”

Jo Mal-saeng answered Hyang’s question immediately.

“According to our new military organization, one fully-staffed Sa (사(司), division) contains 1,500 gunners, so their force would be equivalent to two Sa.”

“Hmm…”

As the ministers listened to Jo Mal-saeng’s response, they began their own calculations.

Since the early stages of Reformation Plan, the military had been organized in multiples of five, starting from the smallest unit called O (오(伍), squad) which consisted of five men.

However, due to economic limitations and incomplete household registrations, hardly any units outside the northern regions maintained their full complement of troops.

This issue was finally resolved in the latter stages of reformation.

A fully-staffed Sa numbered about three thousand men, equivalent to the forces stationed at key strategic fortresses and garrisons in the northern regions.

***

“Isn’t thirty to sixty thousand too small for a nation’s military force?”

Heo Hu, who had been calculating while listening to the conversation between Jo Mal-saeng and Hyang, frowned as he posed his question.

The other ministers nodded in agreement with Heo Hu’s observation.

When Joseon was founded, the legally mandated military force was set at three hundred thousand men. They believed this number was necessary to protect Joseon against any external threats.

Jo Mal-saeng immediately responded to Heo Hu’s point.

“From what we’ve observed of their military practices, they don’t directly organize and operate a national army. When war breaks out, they mobilize the private armies of nobles and heavily rely on mercenaries.”

“Then who protects the monarch?”

“The monarch maintains their own separate military force.”

Heo Hu clicked his tongue at Jo Mal-saeng’s response.

“Tch! Is that truly what you’d call a nation?”

Hyang interjected at Heo Hu’s words.

“That aspect stems from our different histories and customs, so we cannot judge which is superior or inferior. Our task now is to study their military methods and find weaknesses to exploit.”

Heo Hu bowed his head at Hyang’s pointed words.

“Please forgive my thoughtless remark.”

“I ask for your discretion.”

After cautioning Heo Hu, Hyang moved on to the next topic.

“Thanks to the incoming funds from Portugal and Oirat, supporting the new territories should be easier next year. The same goes for accumulating emergency reserves.”

“Indeed. It is truly heaven’s blessing. We shall revise the budget accordingly.”

Hyang nodded lightly at the Minister of Finance’s response and added:

“I’ll leave it to you. Ah! Also, please account for the funds needed to support the Japanese from Tsushima, starting with their daimyo, who will pledge allegiance next spring.”

“Yes, I shall keep it foremost in mind.”

The Minister of Finance bowed his head in response to Hyang’s request.

***

The meeting continued for a while longer. Most of the subsequent discussion centered around next year’s budget execution.

The main participants were Hyang, Hwang Hui, Kim Jeom, and the Minister of Finance, while the other ministers were reduced to mere spectators. All they could do was listen to the conversation and try to gauge what the coming year would bring.

After the meeting, the ministers gathered again in the Prime Minister’s conference room as usual.

Jo Mal-saeng was the first to speak once everyone was seated.

“My lord.”

“If this is about the defense budget, it has already been increased substantially.”

At Kim Jeom’s preemptive response that cut off any discussion, Jo Mal-saeng’s lips twitched as he grumbled internally, but he pressed on.

“I must still speak my mind. Don’t you think His Majesty and the Crown Prince are focusing excessively on the new territories? The budget allocated there keeps increasing.”

“Consider the size of the new territories. Even the current budget is insufficient given their scale.”

Though Jo Mal-saeng nodded at Kim Jeom’s response, he continued his counterargument.

“Of course, considering their size, that’s true. But their size is precisely the problem. How can we expect to digest such vast territory, comparable to a continent, in a short time? Yet the budget keeps increasing. This disrupts the balance of budget execution. Even if most of the activities in the new territories are expedient measures employed by His Majesty, this is a serious issue.”

The other ministers all nodded at Jo Mal-saeng’s point.

They too had experienced losing debates with the Ministry of Finance during budget allocation. However, budgets related to the new territories were approved without much opposition. Because of this, complaints were quietly spreading from ministers heading various departments down to lower-ranking officials.

“Even if it’s an endeavor personally directed by His Majesty, isn’t this too much?”

Seeing the other ministers slightly nodding at his words, Jo Mal-saeng continued.

“Looking at the current political situation, we cannot afford to focus solely on the new territories.

First, let’s consider our relationship with the Great Ming. While we maintain tributary relations and they haven’t raised any particular issues, even a child knows our relationship isn’t particularly good. The problem is that this uncomfortable relationship could turn hostile at any moment, potentially escalating into an all-out conflict.

Next, let’s look at Japan’s situation. Though the Otomo clan has seized power, both they and we know this is just the beginning. The Otomo clan surely understands that to establish stable, long-term rule, they must transition from the martial rule of samurai groups to civil governance. Everything they’ve learned and practiced from our Joseon relates to this. Ah! And they’re still learning.

For such a change, it’s essential to eliminate the military power of the samurai groups represented by those called daimyo.

While it would be fortunate if this could be resolved through internal strife, that would also cause significant damage to themselves. Therefore, the most likely approach is to expend that military power against external enemies.”

“Are you saying… Japan will use military force against our Joseon?”

Hwang Hui, who had been listening, interrupted to question Jo Mal-saeng. He responded immediately.

“While the most likely scenario is that they’ll disguise themselves as wokou pirates to harass Ming’s coastline, I cannot guarantee they won’t turn toward our Joseon. Of course, they’re most likely to target Daeseoldo rather than our mainland territories.”

“Do they think Joseon will simply stand idle?”

In response to Kim Jeom’s point, Heo Hu stepped in to answer.

“They’ll probably say something like: ‘These are spontaneous actions by those dissatisfied with our policies. We know nothing about it. If needed, we’ll participate in suppressing them.’ Wouldn’t that be advantageous for them?”

“Hmm…”

Kim Jeom and Hwang Hui’s expressions turned grave at Jo Mal-saeng and Heo Hu’s responses.

Seeing their serious faces, Jo Mal-saeng continued.

“Given this situation, I speak up because more and more budget is flowing to the new territories. Of course, ‘the more the better,’ but I’m not arguing for unconditional increases. However, I request adjustments to the portion of the military budget that’s being diverted to the new territories. Though the shipyards at Wonsan and Dongbyeong Harbor steadily produce Challenger-class warships and sailing vessels, our fleet size remains virtually unchanged. Why? Because two-thirds of these new ships are deployed on new territory routes with less than half their normal armament. The remainder merely replace ships that have aged out or been lost to natural disasters. In such circumstances, complaints continue even with increased budgets.”

After Jo Mal-saeng finished speaking, the conference room fell silent. The other ministers nodded at his words, applying silent pressure toward Kim Jeom, the Minister of Finance, and Hwang Hui.

Kim Jeom’s reaction was unexpected.

Where he would normally have grabbed Jo Mal-saeng’s collar or shouted with spittle flying, he remained quietly tight-lipped.

“Hah~.”

After heaving a long sigh, Kim Jeom turned to Hwang Hui.

“I suppose it’s time we tell them.”

“That would be appropriate.”

After hearing Hwang Hui’s words, Kim Jeom stood up.

“Please wait a moment.”

“Huh?”

Leaving these puzzling words behind, Kim Jeom left the conference room, returning shortly with several thick books.

After taking his seat, Kim Jeom slowly began speaking.

“Actually, around the start of last year’s second half, the Crown Prince detected signs of instability. And this was done with His Majesty’s written approval while he was in the new territories.”

“Signs of instability? Written approval?”

As increasingly puzzling statements continued, the ministers’ eyes and ears focused entirely on Kim Jeom.

Kim Jeom opened one of the books he had brought and showed them.

“This graph shows the scale of exports to the Western Regions through Alexandria over the past ten years.”

Looking at the bar graph Kim Jeom displayed, Jo Mal-saeng immediately responded.

“It shows steady growth, so what’s the problem?”

“If we connect the highest points of these bars with a line…”

As he explained, Kim Jeom turned to the next page and continued.

“While the scale is increasing, the growth rate is gradually declining. This suggests it may soon stagnate or decrease.”

“Are you saying that’s the sign of instability?”

To Jo Mal-saeng’s question, Kim Jeom nodded.

“That’s right.”

Jo Mal-saeng immediately countered Kim Jeom’s response.

“Even if it stagnates or decreases slightly, isn’t the scale still substantial? This seems like an overreaction.”

To Jo Mal-saeng’s rebuttal, Kim Jeom posed another question.

“Lord Sagok (사곡(社谷), Jo Mal-saeng’s courtesy name), imagine you’re the ruler of some Western nation. You observe that your country’s wealth is being completely drained to another country. Would you simply stand by and watch?”

After thinking briefly, Jo Mal-saeng responded in a gloomy voice.

“I would immediately close the borders.”

Kim Jeom nodded at Jo Mal-saeng’s answer and continued.

“Most of what we sell to the Western Regions are high-priced luxury goods. If Western nations close their borders, do you think our domestic market alone could absorb all those goods?”

“That would be impossible.”

“Then we’d see an explosive increase in people struggling to make a living, and once again, vagrant beggars would cover the mountains and rivers of Joseon.”

Heo Hu interrupted Kim Jeom’s response.

“Would such a situation really arise just from being unable to sell luxury goods? This really seems like an overreaction.”

At Heo Hu’s words, Kim Jeom opened another book.

“This examines our trade with Ming. As you can see, while luxury goods exports continue to increase, mass-produced consumer goods like cotton cloth are actually declining. This means more people are using domestically produced goods for items that need to be sold in large quantities to be profitable.”

At Kim Jeom’s words, Heo Hu unconsciously muttered.

“Self-production and self-consumption?”

The moment Heo Hu spoke, Kim Jeom nodded.

“Exactly that.”