Many people were busy working for the historic event of Joseon’s transformation into the Great Han Federal Empire.

The Royal Wardrobe Office[1], which was responsible for the clothing worn by the king and royal family members, was among them.

“Everything must be made anew!”

At the Royal Wardrobe Director’s order, all the craftsmen cried out.

“Argh!”

The craftsmen had good reason to cry out.

First, they had to make new ceremonial robes and crown for Sejong to wear at the Opening of Heaven ceremony and enthronement.

Until now, as a tributary state to Ming, they had to follow protocol and use a crown with nine pendants and twelve jade beads – nine tassels strung with twelve beads in red, blue, and white. But becoming emperor required making a new crown with twelve pendants and twelve jade beads.

The same was true for the ceremonial robes.

Until now, they had used nine-symbol robes which excluded three symbols – sun, moon, and stars – from the twelve symbols. But now they needed to make robes incorporating all twelve symbols.

“According to protocol, the Crown Prince wears nine-symbol robes, so couldn’t we reuse those?”

When suggestions to reduce work by reusing came up, they were immediately rejected.

“No! The current robes were bestowed by Ming! This is the glorious moment when our Joseon breaks free from Ming’s vassalage and declares empire – how can we wear robes given by Ming! And what about when the abdication follows shortly after the enthronement ceremony?”

“…”

“Shut up and make new ones!”

“Yes.”

The problem was that it wasn’t just ceremonial robes that needed to be remade for such reasons.

Not only the formal dress of the Queen and Crown Princess, but even their daily clothing had to be made anew.

This was also because they were “gifts bestowed by Ming.”

Additionally, all the formal attire worn by court officials had to be changed because the patterns and decorations followed tributary state regulations.

As a result, not only the Royal Wardrobe Office tailors but all skilled tailors from Hanseong and the surrounding Giho region had to be mobilized.

Receiving the report, Hyang clicked his tongue with a face full of regret.

“If I had my way, I’d completely change all the designs…”

After all, things like ceremonial robes and crowns were all influenced by China. Items like the official robes and daily court dress were combinations of northern nomadic clothing and Chinese attire. Of course, there had been many modifications since their introduction in the ancient Three Kingdoms period, and they could be considered common East Asian attire worn by Japanese court officials and Dai Viet officials as well.

But what he disliked, he disliked.

“I really want to change everything completely like we did with military uniforms… tch!”

Though Hyang couldn’t hide his regret, there was nothing he could do.

Unfortunately, Hyang had no talent for clothing design.

The military uniforms had been the result of his fan enthusiasm, and the riding pants now commonly worn even by common women had been a lucky accident.

When Queen Soheon asked for something to replace skirts that revealed undergarments while jumping rope, he had immediately thought of and created them.

“They’re good for horseback riding too!”

Hearing Hyang’s explanation at the time, Queen Soheon examined the riding pants and nodded.

“They certainly look better than horse skirts.”

At the time, women wore horse skirts over their regular skirts when riding.

They were mandatory attire for royal and noble women when riding horses, and there were even stories of women being treated as courtesans for mounting horses without wearing them.

However, as Queen Soheon said, they could never be called pretty in terms of appearance. The hanbok worn by women of the royal family, nobility, and wealthy households typically featured the “thin top, thick bottom” style. Pants worn over such voluminous skirts could never look good.

Because of this, Hyang couldn’t hide his regret.

“If I try to make changes now, all I can think of is that damn civil defense uniform…”

Recalling the yellow jumpers that all civil servants had to wear during national emergencies in the 21st century, Hyang shook his head.

“But jumping straight to business suits wouldn’t make sense either…”

While Joseon upper-class men’s attire was gradually changing under the influence of military uniforms, especially trench coats and cavalry boots, it was too much to jump directly to business suits.

“And that’s too Western, raising many issues…”

Finally, Hyang had to wave the white flag.

“For now, let’s just gradually adjust my own clothing style for comfort. Something interesting might emerge from the mix. Though it could be a terrible hybrid… just look at the hats?”

As Hyang said, the tops of Joseon men’s heads were in a Warring States period.

From ancient times, it was considered rude for adult men to expose their heads.

Of course, it didn’t matter much when working or among close friends, but whether noble or commoner, everyone had to wear a hat when attending formal occasions or traveling long distances.

As a result, various types of headwear circulated, from various kerchiefs to grass hats, bamboo hats, and formal hats.

Foreign visitors to Joseon in the history before Hyang’s intervention had described it as “a country of hats,” and this remained true in this period.

In this situation, with hats modeled after military caps created by Hyang entering the market, along with various decorations sold in marketplaces to match these hats, a Warring States period had emerged.

With D-Day approaching, many places were bustling with activity.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was one such place.

From morning to evening daily, officials of the Foreign Ministry constantly came and went from Minister Heo Hu’s office.

“Which countries have arrived or sent word they’ll send envoys so far?”

At Heo Hu’s question, the person in charge quickly checked the list and answered.

“Envoys from the Daenae and Ryukyu have already arrived, and Dai Viet, Siam, Malacca, and India have responded they will send envoys. Ah! Aden has also said they’ll send a delegation.”

“What about Portugal?”

At Heo Hu’s words, the person in charge answered with a slightly awkward expression.

“Portugal has only replied that they’ll try their best since they’re still at war.”

“Tch!”

Clicking his tongue at the response, Heo Hu frowned and grumbled.

“This is why they shouldn’t wage war… just creating more work.”

The reason for Heo Hu’s complaints was this:

-Trade with the Western Regions must function properly for our Joseon’s governance to remain stable. The Foreign Ministry must do its utmost to understand the war situation in the Western Regions!

Because both Hyang and Sejong had issued the same order, the Foreign Ministry was mobilizing maximum personnel and connections to observe the progress of wars in Africa and Europe.

“How many years has it been now?”

“Three years by the calendar?”

“Is three years not enough?”

“…”

After rebuking his subordinate, Heo Hu looked at the world map on the wall and grumbled.

“What kind of situation is this… a patchwork quilt?”

As Heo Hu assessed, the war situation in Europe and Africa was a patchwork of entangled pieces.

On the surface, six countries were involved in the war:

Portugal, France, Ottoman Empire VS. Spain, Holy Roman Empire, Mamluks

However, looking closer, these six weren’t the only ones involved. First, Italian city-states were supplying funds and mercenaries to either side according to their interests.

The Byzantine Empire, having signed a truce with the Ottomans, was diligently trying to recover its strength, though this wasn’t easy.

The Vatican was in an equally difficult situation.

“To think they’d join hands with infidels for mere worldly gain!”

Though they tried to mediate the war on religious grounds, the parties involved paid no attention.

Beyond economic issues, questions of borders and establishing influence in continental Europe were also at stake.

Additionally, discord continued within Christianity itself, symbolized by the Vatican.

Debates still raged between the Pope and councils, while bloody conflicts persisted between reformers and conservatives, fundamentalists and moderates.

These divided groups courted either the Portuguese or Spanish factions to build their power, as they had the most solid funding thanks to overseas trade revenues and Italian city-state support.

Those who approached either side requested support, promising free access and tax reductions for Portuguese or Spanish merchants in return.

This arrangement suited Portugal and Spain well, so they provided moderate funding, making Europe even more chaotic.

Naturally, those who suffered most in this chaos were the powerless commoners.

The people, harassed by lords and the church, began yearning for the emergence of someone powerful enough to suppress them.

France was the first country to respond to these movements.

The Hundred Years’ War had established a sense of French national identity.

Additionally, Charles VII’s situation was appropriate.

After the 1444 truce, rebuilding the war-torn country was Charles VII’s greatest task.

However, nobles who resented him rebelled. While suppressing this, Charles VII keenly felt the need to suppress noble power.

In this situation, the people’s desire for strong leadership was the perfect weapon for Charles VII.

‘Peace for the people!’ ‘One France! One Monarch!’

With such slogans, Charles VII began pressuring the nobles and church. The nobles, already wary of Charles VII after the recent rebellion, had to surrender more and more.

This heralded the emergence of absolute monarchy much earlier than in the history before Hyang’s intervention.

Thanks to Europe’s utterly chaotic situation, Portugal and the Ottomans mobilized their forces to advance into North Africa.

The Mamluks and Spain likewise mobilized in response.

Geography also played a role. The Ottomans, Portugal, and Spain all faced the problem of maintaining long supply lines.

As a result, the war had continued for nearly three years.

However, the war was slowly showing signs of ending. This also evidenced the battlefield’s transition from cold weapons to gunpowder weapons.

Portuguese infantry, who had directly copied Joseon’s combination of pike and musket troops, began dominating the battlefield.

In the history before Hyang’s intervention, Spain had developed and used the “tercio” formation, but due to Hyang’s intervention, it had emerged first in Joseon and ironically flowed to Portugal.

After hearing the story through Mansur and other channels, Hyang pondered briefly before concluding:

“Whatever!”