Hyang’s orders were immediately delivered to the Imperial Navy headquarters stationed in the New Frontier.
Admiral Shin Inson, the commander, read Hyang’s orders aloud and then handed them to the ship captains.
“Memorize these thoroughly and act according to the orders.”
“Are there no copies?”
When one of the captains asked, Admiral Shin replied briefly.
“These are confidential orders from His Imperial Majesty. There are no copies.”
At Admiral Shin’s words, the captains took turns carefully reading the orders.
After Hyang’s orders had circulated and returned to him, Admiral Shin asked again.
“Any questions?”
In response to the admiral’s question, one captain stood up.
“I’ve spent the last five years in the Eastern Sea. What I’ve learned for certain is that the Eastern Sea, especially in winter, is as rough as the Northern Inner Sea—now the Bering Strait. And not just in winter. Even in summer, if you’re careless for just a moment, life-threatening situations frequently occur. To cross such seas requires not only thorough preparation but also experienced crew members. Is this really possible?”
***
As the New Frontier was discovered and geographical information symbolized by maps accumulated, imperial names were established instead of the names Hyang knew.
First, the West Sea was renamed the Western Inner Sea, and the East Sea was renamed the Inner Sea.
The only sea that wasn’t renamed was the South Sea, but its scope changed. The South Sea now extended to the vast sea connecting to the Southwestern Islands. Of course, due to Ryukyu in the middle, it gained the nickname “Bottle Sea” using the character for gourd (瓢). And the strait between Tsushima Island and Japan was named the Great Korean Strait, derived from “Great Federal Empire of Korea.”
The ocean called the Pacific in the history before Hyang’s intervention was named the Middle Sea.
Of course, opinions were raised to add the character for “great” (大) due to its enormous size, but these were immediately rejected.
This was because of Ming, which called itself the “Middle Kingdom”.
“Who knows what nonsense they might spout in the future.”
For this reason, it became the Middle Sea without “great,” but soon after, the name changed again.
“If that’s the reason, then the character for ‘middle’ (中) is also problematic! Let’s use the character for ‘between’ (間) instead! After all, it’s the sea between the homeland and the New Frontier!”
In the end, after heated debates, the Pacific Ocean was named the Great Between Sea (大間海).
Finally, the Atlantic Ocean became the Eastern Sea. This was because it was the sea to the east of the Empire.
With all naming complete, Hyang examined the map with a complex expression.
“The vast Pacific and Atlantic Oceans have simply become the Empire’s seas.”
***
The fellow captains nodded at the question.
The Northern Inner Sea, the most dangerous route from the homeland to the New Frontier, was infamous for its treacherous winter waters. Everything on the ship, and even the sea itself, froze over.
Moreover, the waves became violent, so captains who frequently traversed the Northern Inner Sea route were given higher credit for their experience than captains who gained experience in other seas.
Even such captains became extremely tense in the Northeastern Sea during winter.
Looking at the captains, Admiral Shin immediately responded.
“Of course, the chances of success from the beginning are almost nonexistent. But if 10 ships set out and just one succeeds and returns, from that point on, the impossible becomes possible. As the experienced crew members from that one ship spread to other ships, one will become two, and before long, dozens, even hundreds of ships will cross that Outer Eastern Sea. Wasn’t that how we did it too?”
At Admiral Shin’s words, the captains fell silent. Looking at them, Admiral Shin continued.
“It would be best if we could block European advancement until we’re perfectly prepared, but that’s probably impossible. However, we must do our best to buy time. From now on, treat any ships approaching from the east as Japanese pirates or pirates in general.”
As Joseon transformed into an Empire, Japanese pirates and other pirates had largely disappeared. However, they hadn’t gone extinct, due to the circumstances of countries along the route to Suez.
Due to internal instability, armed conflicts between tribes, and economic hardships, pirates continuously emerged and became targets for subjugation.
As a result, imperial ships traveling the Suez route would first open their gunports whenever an unidentified vessel appeared, and it became routine for unidentified vessels to raise white flags immediately.
‘Respond as you would to Japanese pirates and other pirates.’
To Admiral Shin’s order, another captain posed a question.
“What if they recognize us as imperial ships and raise white flags?”
“First capture them, and if they resist, sink them.”
The meeting ended with that question, and the captains left the conference room.
After the transmission of “Order No. 65” targeting European ships coming from the east, only Admiral Shin and his subordinate admirals remained in the empty conference room.
The admirals who had come to the New Frontier with Admiral Shin had been busy.
They either boarded ships to observe coastlines or rode horses along shorelines to find military strongholds.
When they found areas suitable for securing beachheads, they meticulously recorded these points on maps and analyzed their military value with Admiral Shin.
After such analysis, defensive facilities and naval ports were constructed at places with the highest military value, and fleets were stationed there.
The admirals appointed as supreme commanders of these naval ports and defensive facilities operated ships under their command to explore the surroundings.
Sharing black bean tea and refreshments prepared by administrative soldiers, Admiral Shin conversed with the admirals.
“His Imperial Majesty particularly advised caution when exploring the southern regions.”
“Advised?”
“Yes, advised.”
At Admiral Shin’s response, the admirals’ expressions became peculiar.
***
Among the Empire’s soldiers and officials, a strange rumor had long been circulating.
“Never ignore the Emperor’s advice!”
“This concerns me slightly. I advise caution.”
When Hyang said such things about a certain matter, problems would arise in eight or nine cases out of ten before long.
As this pattern repeated, an unwritten rule emerged among imperial officials and soldiers.
- Hyang’s advice = Be on high alert, check thoroughly, and prepare for the worst-case scenario.
- Hyang’s order = You didn’t forget my advice, did you? Move immediately!
Because of these incidents, soldiers and officials would say things like:
“Could he be receiving divine revelations?”
When Hyang heard such rumors through various channels, he would smile bitterly.
“I’m the only one who knows that ‘this will happen.’ How could I explain it? I might as well just give advice…”
***
Among those pondering “Hyang’s advice,” the admirals responsible for the southern coast nodded.
“Indeed, the increasingly dense jungle as we go south is somewhat concerning.”
“Yes, it’s not a good place.”
“I agree. Thinking about exploring the islands near Luzon or around Temasek, it’s definitely not a good place.”
The admirals had experienced tropical jungles since the Empire was still Joseon.
To secure the safety of the route to Suez, they needed ports of call where they could rest or seek shelter.
The Suez route wasn’t everything. They needed to contact tribes near Luzon and Temasek and gather geographical information to obtain things that were essential to Joseon but not available there.
What they learned through this process was “the terror of the jungle.”
Though it was a place dense with trees in all directions, the jungle was far from safe.
It was a place teeming with all kinds of poisonous insects, venomous creatures, and predators.
However, the most critical issue was water.
Though one might think it easy to find water with trees flourishing all around, it was difficult to find proper water sources without the help of natives who lived there.
That wasn’t all. In the dense jungle, it was easy to lose one’s way even with a compass. If one lost their way without securing water, they would immediately face a life-threatening crisis.
Nature wasn’t the only enemy. The natives who survived in such harsh environments were by no means friendly.
“Everyone not of their tribe is an enemy.”
With most natives having this mindset, peaceful approaches were challenging.
This was why the admirals’ faces grew serious as they recalled their experiences in light of Hyang’s advice.
***
The admirals responsible for the southern region spread newly updated geographical information and topographical maps before them and discussed with Admiral Shin.
“So far, we’ve advanced to this unnamed peninsula here.”
The location the reporting admiral pointed to was the Florida peninsula.
Admiral Shin’s eyes sparkled at the admiral’s report.
“So it was a peninsula?”
“Yes. We thought it was just a protruding coastline, but it turned out to be a peninsula. And islands extend to the southeast.”
At the admiral’s explanation, Admiral Shin and the other admirals involuntarily sighed.
“It’s too vast.”
“It would be appropriate to call it a New Continent rather than the New Frontier.”
As explorations continued, Admiral Shin and the admirals’ expressions grew distant at the increasingly vast size of the New Frontier.
‘Can our Empire properly digest this land?’
‘If we force it, might we burst and die?’
Deep in their hearts, anxiety began to creep up for Admiral Shin and the admirals.
They were soldiers, but they weren’t ignorant of economics.
Fighting with the Ministry of Finance over budget issues every year and having felt the importance of money more keenly than anyone while securing war funds during the war with Ming.
- Developing an enormously vast territory that far exceeds expectations requires equally enormous budget.
- The approach of the Venerable Emperor, the Imperial Regent, and the current Emperor in developing the New Frontier is to actively encourage both immigration from the homeland and the submission of natives.
- However, looking at the current situation of the New Frontier’s natives, their numbers are too few and they’re spread too widely. This makes costs higher than expected and efficiency lower.
Having thought this far, the admirals all reached a similar conclusion.
‘Is slavery really the best answer?’
Slaves weren’t unfamiliar to the admirals.
Through the reforms initiated by Sejong, almost no slaves existed in the Empire except for government slaves. However, when the admirals were young, private slaves were common in noble houses.
Additionally, countries along the trade route to Suez and European countries beyond Suez were still overflowing with slaves.
Analyzing the situation, Admiral Shin muttered inwardly.
‘Steam engines and other devices are very useful, but considering cost and efficiency, slaves might be more profitable. However…’
Admiral Shin stopped his thoughts there.
‘If I advocate for slavery here, my head will be cut off. It would be going against the policy that has continued since the Venerable Emperor’s time.’
As Admiral Shin noted, introducing slavery would be reversing the slave reduction policy that had continued since Sejong’s era.
This would undermine the authority of past emperors, and Sejong himself would never allow it.
No matter what justification might be given.