The day after the enthronement ceremony, a considerable number of citizens lingered in front of the government store.

While pretending to be casual passersby, their eyes remained fixed on the store’s entrance—more precisely, on the bulletin board beside it.

“It’s open!”

As the store’s entrance opened, all those loitering around snapped their attention to the door.

When the official who opened the door simply went inside, the people milling about couldn’t hide their disappointment.

“Dammit! Another bust!”

“And here I was hoping!”

“Tch! Wasted my breakfast for nothing!”

Those who had been lingering around the store entrance hoping for a potential sale walked away, glancing back several times as they departed.

The errand boy who came out with a broom to sweep the entrance clicked his tongue at their behavior.

“Tsk tsk tsk… foolish humans, have they forgotten this is a government office? With policies already set in stone, what kind of lucky break are they expecting?”

***

Among the various issues that arose during the consecutive ceremonies—from the imperial proclamation and emperor’s enthronement to the crown prince’s wedding—the government store’s discount events had the greatest impact on people’s daily lives.

When the government store held sales, nearby shops would follow suit with their own discounts.

This was because citizens who came with well-filled purses for the government store’s sales would spend considerable amounts at these shops as well.

The combination of comfortable spending power and the lure of discounts resulted in significant sales figures.

Consequently, the court officials, Sejong, and Hyang had to carefully consider the frequency and duration of this year’s sales events.

While most citizens would prefer frequent and lengthy discount periods, this could potentially disrupt proper market function. There was a high risk of shops closing down due to people only waiting for sales to make purchases.

After much deliberation, the court finally announced:

-Given the many celebrations this year, holding discount events for each occasion is deemed inappropriate.

Furthermore, as sales events have been occurring regularly for various reasons each year, it has been decided to establish them as regular events.

Therefore, the five days before Chuseok will be designated as the annual discount period.

Additionally, when major national celebrations occur, three to five days will be added to this period.

According to this decision, this year’s discount event will run for fifteen days before Chuseok.

There will be no additional discount events before or after this period.

After reading the notice, most citizens were puzzled by one particular point.

“But why Chuseok?”

However, merchants nodded in approval and admiration.

“As expected of the court, truly filled with great merchants!”

“They say even beggars don’t go hungry during Chuseok! Since it’s when money flows most freely, sales are guaranteed!”

Thus was born the ‘Government Store Mega Sale,’ an event that would come to boast both history and tradition.

Among foreigners, it would become known as the ‘Five Days of Madness.’

***

Two days after the enthronement ceremony, many citizens gathered along the Han River banks.

They came to watch the joint training exercise conducted by the Land Defense Forces—now simply called the Army.

While such training had been held several times before, this particular event drew an exceptionally large crowd.

Word had spread that people could witness, unobstructed, the army that had achieved a great victory in the recent battle against Ming.

Behind the sacred ropes and wooden barriers set up to prevent unauthorized entry, guards maintained vigilant watch with stern expressions. Beyond these barriers, citizens occupied the slopes, securing viewing spots.

Vendors weaved through the crowd, raising their voices to sell various snacks.

“Making a year’s worth of business in just these few days!”

“If only every day could be like this!”

Excited by their snacks selling like hot cakes, the vendors called out with even more enthusiasm.

“Get your rice cakes here!”

“Taffy! Taffy for sale!”

***

Meanwhile, in the temporary viewing stands erected inside the barriers, foreign envoys who had come for the enthronement ceremony and court officials took their seats.

Among those seated was Henry’s group.

“Holding military exercises in front of foreign envoys—does this mean they’re that confident?” Mehmet II observed.

Henry immediately responded, “Wouldn’t it be so?”

“Given the location of Joseon—no, the Great Han Empire—they probably think it doesn’t matter if they show their strength. Besides, didn’t Joseon defeat Ming? They likely want to demonstrate their power to people like us. Or perhaps they’re offering a choice.”

“A choice?”

“An implicit suggestion that if one were to advance eastward, Ming might be a better option than Joseon?”

Mehmet II nodded at Giovanni’s words following Henry’s.

If he were in a position to consider targeting Joseon, their location would indeed be troublesome.

A naval approach seemed unfeasible after seeing Joseon’s warships during their journey.

A land-based invasion would require pushing through multiple countries starting with the Bengal Sultanate, not to mention mountain ranges and deserts.

If eastward expansion was absolutely necessary, targeting Ming as Giovanni suggested would be far more advantageous.

Ming was known even in the Ottoman Empire for its vast territory and population.

Military strength might be an issue, but if they had lost to the much smaller Joseon, it couldn’t be too problematic.

Lost in these thoughts, Mehmet II found himself smirking involuntarily.

But there are mountains of problems to solve before that… starting with the succession issue.

The succession competition had reignited due to his father Murad II’s return to the throne.

Even after winning that succession battle and seizing power, problems would abound. Beyond the ongoing conflict with the Mamluks, there was also the matter of Byzantium, currently under temporary truce.

That wasn’t all. To properly engage in trade with or expand into the East, the Timurid, Qara Qoyunlu, and Aq Qoyunlu dynasties would need to be dealt with.

Simply securing the Suez region would be a losing proposition. We need to take control of the entire surrounding area to gain advantage over those infidels.

At this thought, Mehmet II glanced at Henry and Giovanni seated beside him and muttered internally.

Well, these infidels are probably thinking the same things.

His guess was almost exactly right.

If we can eliminate the Mamluks, the eastern sea routes will fall into Portuguese hands. Then we should target Ming. It should be easier than Joseon.

We need to establish a firm foothold in the East. However, Joseon has already secured most of the military strategic points or established diplomatic relations with them. That leaves only Ming.

Having witnessed Joseon’s military might on their journey, all three men began to consider Ming as their prey instead of Joseon.

The primary reason they viewed Ming as prey was its defeat at the hands of the much smaller Joseon.

***

“His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Emeritus arrive!”

At the announcement of Sejong and Hyang’s arrival, the envoys and officials in the viewing stands rose as one to pay their respects.

After Sejong and Hyang returned light acknowledgments and took their seats, the training exercise began shortly after.

***

After observing the training that lasted nearly half a day, Henry’s group returned to their quarters with ashen faces.

Henry barely made it to his chair on trembling legs before letting out a long sigh.

“Whew~”

“Haah~”

Giovanni and Mehmet II were in similar states.

After downing several cups of water from the table, Henry’s complexion finally began to return to normal.

Having emptied another cup of water, Henry shook his head repeatedly.

“This is… unexpected. Should we rethink everything from the beginning?”

“We probably should.”

“I agree. Rather than Ming being weaker than expected, it would be more accurate to say Joseon is stronger than we could have imagined.”

Nodding at Henry’s words, Giovanni added, “Flying thunder crash bombs, scatter shot cannons, fire carts…. Whew~ So many weapons capable of mass destruction….”

Following Giovanni’s words, Mehmet II continued, “That’s not all—rifles with superior range and rapid-fire capability… With just ten thousand soldiers armed with such rifles, one could erase the Mamluks within a year.”

Henry and Giovanni nodded vigorously at Mehmet II’s words.

The training demonstration by the Great Han Empire’s army had delivered both shock and terror to Henry’s group and all the attending envoys.

***

Until they witnessed the artillery demonstration aimed at the Han River, the envoys’ expressions remained calm.

Though the range exceeded that of the cannons they knew, the power of the shells—which didn’t contain gunpowder—didn’t seem particularly superior to their own artillery.

However, from the next demonstration onward, all the envoys’ faces began to turn pale.

“Now we will demonstrate a defensive scenario against advancing enemies. Please direct your attention to the right.”

The envoys’ heads turned in unison as the interpreters spoke.

The area that had been hidden behind curtains until moments ago was now being unveiled as soldiers removed the screens.

Behind them stood at least a thousand scarecrows and hundreds of wooden horses.

“Hoh~”

While Henry’s group only let out light exclamations, the envoys from countries with Ming connections—including Japan and Ryukyu—wore grave expressions.

The armor worn by the scarecrows and the barding on the wooden horses were all identical to those used by Ming forces.

Moreover, the military equipment used by Ming forces was far superior in quality to what their own countries’ soldiers used.

Joseon’s message was simple:

Ming, far stronger than you, lost to us. Don’t get cocky.

It could be just for show.

Quite a few envoys thought the scarecrows and wooden horses might be mere bluster. However, the following firepower demonstration shattered such thoughts.

It began with the flying thunder crash bombs.

Perpeng!

With a heavy explosion, the flying thunder crash bombs cut through the sky and fell behind the gathered scarecrows before detonating.

Kwang!

The explosion sent nearby scarecrows and wooden horses flying into the air before they crashed back to earth.

Following the flying thunder crash bomb barrage, fire carts swept through the middle of the scarecrow formation, while scatter shot cannons obliterated the front ranks.

“Waaah!”

Finally, the infantry waiting behind charged forward with battle cries, established defensive lines, and began firing.

This was the decisive element. The infantry took positions much further back than the envoys had expected, and most were quickly reloading while sitting or lying prone.

***

After spending a sleepless night from shock and terror, the three men headed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as soon as dawn broke.

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

“My!”

Arriving at the ministry’s entrance, all three wore expressions of dismay.

Envoys from every nation had gathered at the entrance.

Surveying the assembled delegates, Henry smiled slightly and turned to Giovanni and Mehmet II.

“It would have been strange if they hadn’t come.”

Meanwhile, upon receiving reports of the long line of envoys at the office entrance, Heo Hu smiled faintly and ordered his subordinate.

“Go to the Ministry of Finance and tell them this: ‘The guests have arrived.'”

“Yes, sir!”

After dismissing his subordinate, Heo Hu took a sip of black tea and muttered, “Such matters should be left to the experts.”