Hwang Hui and Kim Jong-seo, who were unable to hide their confusion due to the sudden influx of information exceeding their acceptable level, regained their composure and returned to their usual expressions after a brief moment.
“The world seems to be truly vast.”
In response to Hwang Hui’s words, King Sejong replied with a slight smile.
“I felt the same. Continue the explanation.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At King Sejong’s command, the military officer briefly responded and pointed to a large island with the pointer.
“This island was discovered by the Challenger Ship No. 3. According to the measurements by Ship No. 3, its overall size is estimated to be similar to the combined area of the Three Southern Provinces (Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang).”
“Oh!”
At the military officer’s explanation, Hwang Hui let out an exclamation, and greed began to swirl in his eyes.
‘If it’s an island of that size…’If a vast land existed as terra nullius (no man’s land), it was only proper to make it Joseon’s territory.
For a monarch and ministers responsible for running the country, expanding the territory and ensuring the people’s well-being were the foremost tasks.
With his eyes filled with greed, Hwang Hui’s mind began to spin rapidly.
‘The population issue… The deployment of troops… The expansion of the navy… The finances…’
While calculating various problems and examining the map, Hwang Hui noticed another island drawn south of the island in question and asked a question.
“Is the island to the south Japan?”
“Yes. It is Japan’s main island.”
At the military officer’s concise answer, Hwang Hui’s face turned serious.
‘If the distance is that close, Japan would also be aware of its existence. Then, would Japan also…?’
Hwang Hui asked with a serious expression.
“Are the Japanese aware of the existence of that island?”
“Yes. Since Japan’s main island is located directly to the south, we inquired with the Japanese merchants at the Japanese trading post and found out that they are aware of its existence.”
“Then, is that island Japanese territory?”
“No. The Japanese consider it a foreign land.”
At the military officer’s answer, Hwang Hui immediately remonstrated to King Sejong.
“Your Majesty! Above all else, we must annex that island into Joseon’s territory!”
In response to Hwang Hui’s words, King Sejong nodded and replied.
“The cabinet and I have reached the same conclusion in the state council meeting. However, if we proceed without proper preparations, it may result in significant losses, so we plan to have a preparation period.”
“How long of a preparation period do you have in mind, Your Majesty?”
In response to Hwang Hui’s question, Lee Jik answered on behalf of King Sejong.
“For now, we expect it to be three years.”
At Lee Jik’s words, Hwang Hui strongly objected.
“Three years is far too long! We must complete the basic preparations within a year and put them into action!”
As Hwang Hui insisted on one year, Maeng Sa-seong stepped forward to oppose.
“It’s too rushed! This is a matter of conquering a massive island the size of the combined Three Southern Provinces! If we hastily proceed without proper preparations, we will suffer great losses!”
However, Hwang Hui did not back down from his stance.
“One year is sufficient! Look here! How long does it take to travel between that island and Joseon?”
“Based on the Challenger-class warships, if they receive favorable winds and sail without rest day and night, they can reach the southern protrusion of the island within five days from Wonsan.”
“Five days! Is that certain?”
“It is the result of trials.”
At the military officer’s answer, Hwang Hui was delighted.
Seeing Hwang Hui’s reaction, Hyang muttered inwardly.
‘They were lucky.’
***
The maximum speed the Challenger could reach, with favorable winds, was 10 knots per hour (approximately 18 km/h). Applying this to Joseon’s unit system, it meant it could cover about 90 li (36 km) in one shichen (approx. 2 hours).
However, this speed was only possible when all heavy items, such as food, cannons, gunpowder, and ammunition, were unloaded.
‘According to the test report, the distance from the southern protrusion of Hokkaido to Wonsan is about 2,800 li (approximately 1,120 km), right? If we calculate it simply arithmetically, it would take a little over a day and a half to arrive, but this is the Joseon era. It’s an era without automatic navigation functions or GPS. The idea of sailing straight through the night is just a dream… Above all, if we load the ship to the brim, it won’t reach top speed even if we die trying. That’s why it takes five days… Excluding everything else, the ship is too slow!’
As Hyang was calculating inwardly, he unconsciously let out a small sigh.
“Phew…”
“Crown Prince, why the sudden sigh?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t seem like nothing. Be honest.”
At King Sejong’s words, Hyang answered with a helpless expression.
“The ship is a bit slow.”
At Hyang’s answer, King Sejong and the ministers all showed exasperated expressions.
***
The Challenger-class warship used in the trial was not only the largest but also one of the fastest warships in the Joseon navy.
Of course, there was the Haeung-class warship, which was even faster and elicited reactions of “they’re crazy” even within the Joseon navy, but the Haeung-class had too little cargo capacity.
Therefore, King Sejong and the ministers looked at Hyang with exasperated expressions. The ministers, in particular, looked at Hyang as if they were seeing a monster.
‘He says that’s slow?’
‘I heard he’s researching a new type of warship, but what kind of monster is he thinking of creating?’
‘What about the budget? The budget!’
***
Regardless of King Sejong and the ministers’ reactions, Hwang Hui delightedly remonstrated to King Sejong.
“Your Majesty! It’s only five days! Then even a year is too long! We should make the maximum possible preparations within six months and start the conquest. If there are any shortcomings, we can immediately supplement or revise them as needed! Five days is worth attempting!”
At Hwang Hui’s words, King Sejong showed a troubled expression.
“But wouldn’t that be close to gambling?”
In response to King Sejong’s question, Hwang Hui answered in a strong voice.
“No, Your Majesty! What kind of people are the Japanese? The information that we have been inquiring about the northern island will have reached the Japanese king (shogun) as well. Look at the location of that island! It is much closer to Japan than to Joseon! If I were the Japanese king, I would not just sit back and watch Joseon take an island situated right in front of me! It’s not just a matter of territorial expansion but also related to national defense!”
“If he were the type to have such thoughts, wouldn’t he have left it alone until now?”
At Lee Jik’s point, Hwang Hui pointed out one fact.
“Until now, Joseon had no interest in that island, right? But now, Joseon has started to show interest. Would the Japanese king just let it slide?”
“There is a point to that.”
At Hwang Hui’s point, King Sejong nodded his head. As King Sejong agreed with Hwang Hui’s words, the scales began to tip in Hwang Hui’s favor.
“Are there only three Challenger-class warships currently?”
“One more has been built since then. Starting next month, all five ships from Challenger No. 1 to No. 5 can be deployed for operations.”
“If you add one to three, isn’t it four?”
At Hwang Hui’s point, Jo Mal-saeng stepped forward and answered.
“The navy dislikes the number four.”
“Huh? Ah…”
Hwang Hui, who was expressing confusion at Jo Mal-saeng’s words, immediately nodded his head.
It was well-known that the pronunciation of the number four (sa) and the word for death (sa) was the same, so it was avoided even among the common people.
Moreover, it was a well-known fact that the degree of avoidance was severe among the sailors and navy who had to risk their lives in the unknown realm of the sea.
“Minister of Mil- no, Minister of National Defense, how much can be transported if all the Challenger-class warships are mobilized?”
In response to Hwang Hui’s question, Jo Mal-saeng answered.
“We can barely transport enough to establish a beachhead.”
At Jo Mal-saeng’s answer, Hwang Hui bowed his head to King Sejong.
“Your Majesty! If the Japanese king has learned of Joseon’s movements, he will certainly take action! We must preemptively claim this island before that happens!”
“Hmm…”
At Hwang Hui’s words, King Sejong stroked his beard, deep in thought.
As King Sejong became lost in thought, the ministers other than Hwang Hui began to eagerly calculate on their abacuses inwardly.
‘We may need to completely revise the plan.’
‘The problem is that Minister Hwang’s words are reasonable… We’ll suffer from overtime work again.’
‘Should we completely revise the budget execution plan…?’
‘The land in the northeast region won’t run away even if we leave it alone for a while, but that island is different…’
The ministers were grumbling inwardly but making their own preparations. They, too, didn’t want to see Japan preemptively claim it.
Meanwhile, Hyang, watching that scene, clicked his tongue seeing the ministers’ expressions change.
‘Anyway, the greed for land is… In any case, they say the more land, the better.’
***
The initial plan that came out after analyzing the information brought by the Challenger-class warships was as follows:
– Construct a port at ‘Landing Point No. 1’.
– Secure a land transportation route from east of the Tumen River to ‘Landing Point No. 1’.
– Use the connected land transportation route to send personnel and materials, build a shipyard at ‘Landing Point No. 1’, and expand the scale of the port.
– Use the newly built Challenger-class ships from the new shipyard to conquer the newly discovered island.
– Once the conquest of the island has progressed to a certain extent, resume the exploration of the northeast region of ‘Landing Point No. 1’ and the northern sea routes.
However, due to Hwang Hui’s proposal, this plan was about to be scrapped.
The problem was that there was hardly anything wrong with Hwang Hui’s point.
Half of the merchants at the Japanese trading post were also tasked with being spies.
On one hand, they traded with Joseon’s merchants, and on the other hand, they constantly monitored Joseon’s internal affairs.
In such a situation, there was no way the Japanese king wouldn’t know. And it was only natural for the Japanese king to react once he became aware of Joseon’s movements.
In the end, the ministers had no choice but to blame themselves.
‘We were too complacent in our thinking!’
***
As the atmosphere changed in this way, Hyang fixed his gaze on Hwang Hui.
‘Judging from what he has done in the northeast region and the current situation, he is a man of great ability, but…’
Hwang Hui was one of those who perfectly fit the description of ‘having great ability but being problematic as a person’.
As Hyang looked at Hwang Hui in that way, he now turned his gaze to Jo Mal-saeng. Looking at Jo Mal-saeng, another person who matched the description of ‘human qualities inversely proportional to ability’, Hyang muttered inwardly.
‘Whether it’s Minister Jo or Minister Hwang, they received the punishment of dying when they retire, so is it a happy ending in a way?’
As those gathered in Geunjeongjeon Palace were lost in various thoughts, King Sejong spoke.
“I will draw a conclusion.”
At King Sejong’s words, Hyang and the ministers focused their attention on him.
Receiving everyone’s attention, King Sejong stated his conclusion.
“The original plan we devised was reasonable, and I also find the opinion of Hwang Hui, the Provincial Governor of Hamgil Province, to be reasonable. However, with Joseon’s current capabilities, it would be difficult to execute both plans simultaneously. So we have to make a choice, and I intend to implement Hwang Hui’s proposal first. Are there any objections?”
After a brief silence, the ministers soon bowed their heads at King Sejong’s question.
“We will follow Your Majesty’s will!”
“Thank you. Then, please revise the plan accordingly and submit it. How much time will you need to make the revisions?”
Lee Jik, who had done some calculations, answered King Sejong’s question.
“We will need about a month.”
“A whole month? That long?”
As King Sejong’s voice hardened, Lee Jik explained the reason.
“We need to re-examine the island’s terrain, recalculate the scale of troops we can deploy, and recalculate the budget. To do all of this properly, we need at least a month.”
After briefly calculating upon hearing Lee Jik’s answer, King Sejong said to him.
“No matter how I think about it, a month seems a bit long. It will be difficult, but I’d like to receive the revised plan within half a month.”
Although it was a suggestion, it was an order. In the end, Lee Jik bowed his head and replied.
“I will follow your command.”
“Let’s take a break after this.”
As the meeting ended, the ministers who left Geunjeongjeon Palace vented their complaints to Lee Jik.
“Did you forget His Majesty’s personality? You should have asked for more time!”
“You should have said two months!”
“Just when I thought we wouldn’t have to work overtime for a while…”