Chapter 202
The eunuchs who came to Joseon all had one thing in common.
I do not know what they were like in Ming, but every one of them became an unbearable nuisance the moment they arrived in Joseon.
The damage these men caused was so severe that the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty described it by saying that not a single speck of dust remained in any town through which a Chinese envoy passed.
But... Zheng He was different.
Perhaps it was because, although he could no longer function as a man, he was still a great man who had served not only as a eunuch but also as a general.
He did not commit a single outrage.
“I could not understand why the Yongle Emperor had entrusted the Western Ocean expedition, one of the names for Zheng He’s grand expeditions, to a mere eunuch and given him full authority. But after seeing his conduct and character during this visit to Joseon, I understand it now. What do you think, Kim Eung-gyo?”
“I agree with what you said, Minister of Rites.”
“I expected him to demand all kinds of riches like the other eunuchs, so I spent a fortune gathering tribute. But all of it has turned out to be pointless.”
Naturally, the highest-ranking eunuch was the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Yet just as the atmosphere within Joseon’s court changed dramatically depending on who occupied the half-honorary post of Chief State Councillor...
Zheng He had accomplished enough to be made a meritorious subject, so he held a position that even the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial would not dare touch.
That must be why he was in charge of the plan to move Ming’s capital, and why he had once again been entrusted with overall command of a grand expedition leading tens of thousands of troops.
“Lord Zheng himself seems to have no intention of accepting bribes, but the others who came with him are different. If we do not place bribes in their hands... they will fabricate all kinds of rumors about Joseon and report them to the Ming court.”
Even in the 1980s and 1990s, teachers treated students who gave no under-the-table money differently from those who gave plenty.
A child who gave a great deal of under-the-table money would have his school record written favorably without even needing to ask, and when he did something wrong, the teacher would often let it slide with a few warm words instead of punishing him.
But students who gave nothing would be made to stand in punishment and have their palms struck for even the smallest mistake, while their teachers did not hesitate to subject them to humiliating criticism.
All the more so if they were the Ming bastards who had summoned Joseon’s Crown Prince to Ming, subjected him to every kind of shame and humiliation, and even humiliated him by removing his hat and stroking his head...
If Joseon did not give them bribes, they would find all kinds of faults and try to torment us.
“There is nothing to be gained from making enemies of them.”
“So it would be best to pass them over secretly where Lord Zheng cannot see.”
While Heo Jo and I were discussing how to butter up the Ming delegation, a eunuch suddenly appeared in the Hall of Worthies.
For a moment, I was so dumbfounded that I glared at the military officer on duty there.
But when I saw the clothes worn by the eunuch who had barged into the Hall of Worthies, I understood why he had been allowed inside.
The eunuch who had barged into the Hall of Worthies was wearing Ming eunuch robes, not Joseon ones.
‘He must have come to deliver a message secretly sent from Ming.’
“Is Lord Kim Jukheon here?”
“I am.”
“Ah, you were here.”
The Ming eunuch approached me and offered an extremely respectful bow.
It was honestly a little startling to see such polite behavior from a eunuch notorious for being stiff-necked and rude.
When these men became taigam and came to Joseon, they were the sort who threatened us to make their fathers and brothers, who still lived in Joseon, into high ministers...
‘It was a good thing I won over Wang Zhen.’
“Lord Guolang, the emperor’s tutor, has sent Lord Jukheon a letter.”
“I will read it.”
“We would appreciate receiving a reply before we return home. That way, we can deliver the letter written by Lord Jukheon to Lord Guolang.”
Unless that eunuch’s head was completely empty, he would not openly deliver a letter containing matters that would be dangerous if discovered by either Joseon or Ming.
So there should be no problem with me reading it here.
Heo Jo had happened to go out to attend to official business, so there was no one whose permission I needed to seek.
“Let us see.”
[I have not forgotten for even a moment the favor Lord Jukheon showed me by recognizing me when I was merely a lowly eunuch and telling me that I would become a great man. Therefore, as a Ming eunuch and imperial tutor, I am always seeking ways to benefit both Ming and Joseon.]
The last time we took Munjong to Ming, Wang Zhen stepped forward and told us how Joseon should conduct itself, allowing us to weather a major crisis.
If he had not done so, Munjong would have suffered humiliation several times worse than what he actually endured, and resolving the diplomatic crisis would have been far more difficult.
Even now, when he was merely an imperial tutor—or, strictly speaking, just a nanny—he was already such a great help to Joseon...
Once the Xuande Emperor died young and the Zhengtong Emperor ascended the throne, if Wang Zhen himself gained control of the court... how much help would he be?
My heart raced at the thought alone.
If I spun things properly, he might even become a man who pulled out Ming’s pillars to help Joseon.
[Therefore, I shall now explain why the Western Ocean fleet, another term for Zheng He’s grand expedition, was dispatched. It would be best for everyone if the Joseon court took this into account and cooperated.]
Beneath that was a detailed explanation of why the Western Ocean fleet had been dispatched.
Everything written there was exactly as we had predicted, from beginning to end.
It explained in detail that Ming intended to display its national power to Joseon and annihilate the Japanese pirates in order to minimize the damage caused by the Wokou.
"The content itself is utterly ordinary..."
Since the letter contained nothing but such ordinary content, the eunuch who delivered it must have handed it over to me without a second thought.
But it was strange that Wang Zhen, the most sinister and devious man in Ming, had deliberately sent a letter containing only this much to me, the person he trusted most in Joseon.
He must have trusted me as much as he trusted his own family...
And he was giving me only this much information about the movements of the Western Ocean fleet?
'That makes even less sense.'
"There was a way to properly read a letter like this by holding the writing side near a candle and lightly blackening it so the words appeared, wasn’t there?"
I held the front, which was written in ink, near a candle and blackened it. Just as I expected, new characters appeared on the blank back.
[His Majesty knows very well that Joseon would never betray the Great Ming. Therefore, he wishes Joseon to show its sincerity in this campaign against the Japanese pirates as well. If Your Excellency personally steps forward and sweeps away Tsushima and Iki together with Lord Zheng, His Majesty will trust Joseon’s sincerity far more firmly, and then there will be no further suspicion.]
When I learned of Ming’s sinister and wicked intentions, I felt chills run through my entire body.
Zheng He had promised that he would trouble Joseon as little as possible and that whenever they put in at ports along the way, they would pay more than enough for their supplies.
He had even loudly proclaimed that Joseon’s army absolutely did not need to accompany them...
‘If we had accepted that at face value, Ming would have made an enormous fuss.’
Even though the Emperor had clearly said exactly that, he was annoyed that Joseon had failed to realize his true intentions, so he sent an additional delegation led by obnoxious eunuchs instead of Zheng He, and they began wreaking havoc starting in Pyeongan Province...
Oh, you claim to be a tributary state of Ming and promised to show your loyalty.
How can you not even pretend to mobilize troops while we are suppressing the Japanese pirates?
You are no different from those Japanese bastards in your lack of loyalty.
Still, Ming is an extremely magnanimous nation, so if Joseon properly bows its head on its own, we will forgive you.
This time, we will not tell you to send the Crown Prince, so send someone appropriate.
You know how to fill in the blanks neatly and sensibly on your own, right?
And since this is something you are voluntarily sending out of gratitude for Ming’s boundless imperial grace, we will be extremely stingy with the gifts we bestow.
Got a problem? If you find that insulting, it is proof that you are a barbarian.
[His Majesty saw Your Excellency’s bearing and character in person at the Forbidden City. Therefore, when I told him of Your Excellency’s loyalty to Ming, he praised you highly as a talent who would one day stand beneath only Joseon’s king and above all others. Therefore, rather than sending three or four other Joseon ministers... Your Excellency’s going in person would make a better impression on His Majesty.]
Wang Zhen had not written it explicitly, but ships in this era were a mode of transportation where it would be entirely unsurprising for someone to die at any time, anywhere.
Especially if a Joseon official were to die mysteriously during the grand expedition of Zheng He, Ming’s chief eunuch...
No one would have any grounds to make an issue of it.
Of course, Zheng He would gain not even a speck of dust by killing me, so the probability of me meeting an ‘accidental death’ was close to zero...
‘Still, it is dangerous.’
[Additionally, I am sending several doses of precious medicinal herbs to help nourish Your Excellency’s body. I look forward to seeing you again someday.]
"Oh, fuck."
When the curse escaped my mouth, the scholars of the Hall of Worthies all raised their heads and stared at me with their mouths hanging open.
I was indeed in the wrong for committing the outrage of cursing in the middle of my work at a government office.
But this was a situation in which I could not help but curse.
As I continued pouring out curses by the bowlful in my mind, I immediately began drafting a memorial to Sejong.
‘After reading the secret letter Wang Zhen sent me, it seems I will have to board a treasure ship.’ That was what I wrote.