Episode 411: Lord of War. Hua rchant (2)
Before issuing the imperial command, Emperor Seondeok moved quickly.
“Send an envoy to Joseon imdiately! right now!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
What Emperor Seondeok wanted from Joseon was the original version of the nationally recognized bill of exchange, similar to the one used by the Joseon Dynasty.
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…
The Joseon governnt, concerned that tax evasion or other problems might arise in this area, issued bills of exchange at its own expense.
It was an attempt to prevent tax evasion as much as possible by forcing the use of bills with serial numbers for transactions, just like currency.
And behind all these policies, there was a scent. It was based on the knowledge I learned in the 21st century and the experience I gained during my short career as a civil servant.
Of course, in the process of planning this policy, the township was not optimistic about the results.
“There is a saying that ten police officers cannot stop one thief. “The history of tax evasion is as old as the history of mankind… But we must do everything we can and plug as many loopholes as possible.”
What erged from that process was the investnt capital market.
“Pull out and eat as much as you can!”
* * *
As soon as the original plate made in response to Emperor Seondeok’s request arrived, Emperor Seondeok ordered it to be printed.
As soon as a certain amount of supplies had accumulated according to Emperor Seonde’s order, Emperor Seonde imdiately issued an imperial order to the entire Ming Empire.
-From now on, the upper part of the title prohibits the use of dictionaries, including vouchers. All rchants must use governnt-issued vouchers provided by the governnt. This is the royal order, and anyone who breaks it will be considered to be insulting and will be severely punished.
When the imperial na was promulgated, the superiors of the royal na visited the governnt office and received vouchers.
Officials in charge of distribution ticulously recorded which rchants received how much vouchers, and these records were imdiately delivered to the register in Beijing.
* * *
Of course, in this process, there were those who knowingly or unknowingly resisted. The surrounding rchants and rchants who discovered these people were startled and ran away.
“Have you already forgotten that bloody wind that blew last ti?”
“No matter how good the wealth is…” Just
as the rchants and rchants feared, the rchants and rchants who pretended not to know Emperor Seondeok’s orders and the rchants once again flocked to the rchants and reduced them to ruins.
In this process, there were unfortunate victims, many of whom were destroyed due to the false accusations of surrounding rchants and rchants.
It was not only rchants and rchants who suffered damage. They hired warriors to protect goods and rchants from bandits and raiders while transporting large quantities of goods. And these warriors recklessly engaged in combat during the suppression of the Geumgun army.
“Such outrageous things! “Follow until the end and keep safe!”
Following the orders of Emperor Seondeok, who was enraged upon receiving the report, Geumgun persistently pursued and eliminated the warriors.
In this process, the martial society called Seqing River Lake or Wulin suffered a huge blow and beca the beginning of its downfall.
This was because no matter how excellent a warrior he was in martial arts, he was powerless in front of Geumgun’s fire spear.
* * *
In this way, Emperor Seondeok concentrated as much power as possible in himself.
The existing bureaucratic organization, the Cabinet of Ministers, the eunuchs, and the Jingui Committee were all in a situation where they were absolutely obedient to Emperor Seondeok.
The power base of Emperor Seondeok was the musketeers called the Geumuiwi within the Jinuiwi, the so-called Musketeers, and the artilleryn, the Fire and Fire Guards.
* * *
A new type of Hwachang (火槍) was created based on the copper gun imported from Joseon, and Emperor Seondeok organized a unit within the Geumuiwi to operate this new type of Hwachang.
In the process of organizing the units of the Geumwiwi, so improvents were made to the Donggun. Several craftsn had finally created the aiming device.
Even though it was an aiming device, it was a very primitive thod of attaching small protrusions to the front and back of the barrel and aligning the protrusions in a straight line, but it showed a much more advanced accuracy rate than the Hwachang imported from Joseon and the Hwachang used before.
After seeing the actual demonstration, Emperor Seondeok ordered mass production.
Emperor Seondeok’s primary goal was to first compose the main force of the Jin army with musketry and artillery, and ultimately to compose the main force of the 500,000 army with musketry and artillery.
But this was almost impossible.
There were many reasons why it could be declared impossible, but the first thing that could be ntioned was that the basic quality of the soldiers was very poor.
‘Good iron does not make nails, and good talent does not make soldiers.’
The perception of soldiers was so bad that there was a proverb like this. Therefore, most of those entering the military, especially regular soldiers, were illiterate.
Second, gunpowder weapons such as fireworks and artillery were budget-consuming monsters.
In particular, gunpowder costs a lot to produce, but is also difficult to maintain, and once used, that’s it. And the problem was that in order to train properly, you had to consu a significant amount of it consistently.
* * *
Although there were many problems, Emperor Seondeok could not give up the formation of riflen and artilleryn. In a battle against the Jurchen tribe that took place shortly after ascending to the throne, Emperor Seondeok personally led his soldiers into battle and won. And it was because he could not forget the usefulness of the gunpowder weapons he experienced at this ti.
Therefore, Emperor Seondeok began to organize troops at the Geumuiwiwi, which was composed of selected talented people.
First, they selected 12,000 soldiers and began training 10,000 riflen and 2,000 artilleryn.
The musketeers and artilleryn trained by consuming large amounts of wealth brought in through the joint venture grew into the elite of the elite.
Emperor Seondeok, who was satisfied with the soldiers who boasted powerful military power at a glance, gave the nas of Musketeers to the riflen and Hwapowi to the artilleryn.
Emperor Seondeok, who achieved the first goal, set the next goal.
Emperor Seondeok’s second goal was to increase the size of this musketeer and artillery committee by five tis.
50,000 musketeers and 10,000 artilleryn.
This was the second stepping stone to reach the final goal that Emperor Seondeok dread of.
* * *
The musketeers’ corps and artillery committee, which were raised as elites, were affiliated with the Geumui Committee. Although they were the Jinuiwi, the last bastion to protect themselves and the imperial family, Emperor Xuande had no intention of displaying them as re decorations in the Forbidden City.
Emperor Seondeok, who organized the interior of the empire centering on the trained musketeers of the Jingui Committee and the Fire Committee, turned his attention to the outside.
This was the city that Emperor Seondeok’s gaze was directed to.
After the Emperor Yongle allowed tribute trade, marshals were held regularly in the north, and trade with the Mongolian tribes in the north took place.
The Mongol tribes sold horses and fur, and the Ming sold silk, clothing, and food.
The drinking party, which was held regularly but not permanently, was growing in size as ti went by. In addition, nearby Uyghur rchants began to appear there.
“I see money!”
When reports surfaced that rchants who slled money were engaging in smuggling, Emperor Seondeok issued an imperial order without delay.
First, an area on the border between Ming and Oirat where drinking water was plentiful and easily supplied was selected to build an earthen fort of an appropriate size.
Afterwards, they prepared lodging facilities and a horse yard around the fortress and then inford the tribal chiefs and rchants of Oirat.
“A permanent market has been established in the current location. Those with permits can trade in the market at any ti!”
However, there were prerequisites: the Oirat side had to write a docunt showing loyalty to the Ming emperor, and Ming and Uyghur rchants had to purchase a trading license.
In addition to a permit, rchants who wanted to trade in the market had to pay an entrance fee of 10 nyang of silver each ti they entered the market. By paying this entrance fee, rchants could stay in the market for five days. Afterwards, rchants who wanted to extend their stay had to pay an additional 10 nyang of silver every five days. That too was paid in advance.
However, the Oirat tribe was exempt from this condition.
“This is my kindness to you. “Never cause trouble.”
Each ti you entered the market, you had to pay 10 nyang of silver in banknotes, but the rchants accepted this. This was because the profits that could be gained from trade in this market were worth the expenses.
In particular, the benefits included safety concerns. The fortress built near the market was stationed with 3,000 musketeers, 500 artillery guards, and 1,000 cavalry.
No matter how violent the warriors of the Oirat tribe were, they could never act rashly in front of them.
In fact, small tribes belonging to the Oirat tribe tried to attack the market several tis, but each ti they suffered huge losses and had to retreat.
And the tribe that retreated after receiving such damage was eaten by other tribes, like the Jurchen tribe that attacked Joseon and was destroyed.
Masibo (horse city hall) created in this way was unexpectedly useful militarily.
The market built near Masibo was overflowing with wealth, so not only the Oirat but also other Mongolian tribes focused their attention on it.
Thanks to this, military pressure on the border area bordering Mongolia was significantly reduced.
Another advantage was that the skills and combat power of the musketeers and fire siege soldiers continued to strengthen as they experienced actual combat at Masibo.
The soldiers were replaced by one-third every six months, and the soldiers who were constantly rotated honed their skills through combat.
Next, based on the profits coming through Masi, there was room to gradually expand the size of the Musketeers and Artillery Committee.
Lastly, military commanders who valued traditional cold weapons beca clearly aware of the usefulness of gunpowder weapons.
* * *
It would have been great if it had ended that way, but things in the world were not that easy.
Attempts to expand musketeers and artilleryn throughout the Ming army were still sluggish.
The reason, as ntioned before, was the quality of the soldiers.
Every ti they received a report like this, Ming generals and military officers felt sad and lost their appetite.
“It is said that the Japanese beco as ferocious as wild beasts when they pick up a sword and beco warriors for a hundred n….” “
For those who carry swords and set up, artillery is the best, but the soldiers are all ignorant….” “Co to
think of it, Joseon Dynasty. Have you heard the news? They say they teach basic tactics and military techniques to even the most junior soldiers.”
“The Koreans are so smart…”
In the end, the generals of the Ming Dynasty chose the most certain and worst thod to train their soldiers.
Their choice was violence.
Those who showed even the slightest sign of immaturity during the training process were subject to harsh beatings.
On the other hand, if a person knew letters and showed even the slightest bit of excellence, he or she was imdiately promoted to a low-level executive position.
And these low-level executives were entrusted with the managent of gunpowder weapons and gunpowder. Those who suddenly beca executives were not all that good. He was secretly ostracized among the soldiers below him and was constantly asked for bribes by his superiors.
On the outside, a large army ard with gunpowder weapons was being built, just like in Joseon, but inside, a bad sll was slowly beginning to erge.
* * *
And in this situation, an appeal ca to Emperor Seondeok.
“Let’s build a currency-issuing country in Nanjing? “Are you sane?”
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