Stirring Up Trouble in Ming (3)

The road to Ming was truly grueling.

If we had gone by ship, it would have taken only three or four days, but because of Ming's diplomatic policy, we had to make the journey on foot.

The trip took forever, and the roads we passed through were unbelievably rough, so it was really hard.

Still, holding on with sheer grit and the thought that this, too, would pass, our delegation was finally able to arrive at the Forbidden City in Beijing.

I wanted nothing more than to collapse onto a bed and rest, but there was still a very important task we had to take care of first.

“I, your servant, Maeng Sa-seong, Minister of Personnel of Joseon, have come by order of King Yi Do of Joseon as both a congratulatory envoy and a condolence envoy, to mourn the passing of the late emperor and to celebrate the accession of the new emperor.”

Even in Joseon, in most cases, a minister wouldn't know much about the king's condition.

So there was no way a foreign country like Ming would tip off Joseon with something like, 'Our emperor is going to die soon.'

They feared Joseon might use that to pull some scheme on Ming.

Thus, it was impossible for Joseon to predict when the emperor would die...