“You’ve worked hard…”
At Emperor Jingtai’s somber voice, the Minister of Rites and the negotiation team collectively knelt on the floor, wailing.
“Huk-huk! Your Majesty! Please execute us!”
“Please punish our incompetence!”
As the negotiation team broke into collective wailing, beginning with the Cabinet Deputy, all civil and military officials and eunuchs in the Great Hall knelt down and wept.
“Please execute us!”
“Huk-huk! Please punish us!”
As the ministers’ wails filled the Great Hall, Emperor Jingtai raised his hand.
“Enough. This is more Our fault. Therefore, We will not assign blame. You all should discuss future countermeasures.”
“Your Imperial grace is boundless.”
The ministers, expressing gratitude for Emperor Jingtai’s mercy with deep bows, hurriedly rose from their places and adjusted their official attire.
“To reiterate, the issue is our future countermeasures. The reparations we must pay to Joseon, relief for those who lost their property to the Joseon military, rebuilding the navy that has once again been left in shambles—there are countless matters that need to be addressed. First and foremost, we must consider the issue of reparations. This is where all our problems begin.”
All ministers nodded at Emperor Jingtai’s observation.
“How much wealth remains in the national treasury now?”
To the Emperor’s question, the Minister of Revenue stepped forward to answer.
“After immediately checking when we first heard the news from Nantong, there are approximately 15 million taels of gold in resources.”
“15 million taels of gold… How much is that when converted to silver?”
“105 million taels of silver, Your Majesty.”
“Huuu~. I heard that during the late Emperor’s reign, even in years of poor harvest, the treasury held at least 30 million taels of gold. How will I face him in death…”
At Emperor Jingtai’s lamentation, the ministers once again collectively knelt.
“Our incompetence…”
“Enough.”
Before the ministers could finish, Emperor Jingtai raised his hand to interrupt them.
“Again, this is a situation where we need to discuss countermeasures before assigning blame. You should offer solutions rather than apologies.”
At these words, the Cabinet Deputy was the first to step forward.
“Joseon has demanded war reparations equivalent to 70 million taels of gold, to be paid in silver or resources designated by Joseon. According to Joseon’s gold-silver exchange rate, this amounts to 700 million taels of silver. If we divide this payment over ten years, we must give Joseon 70 million taels of silver annually. If this much silver leaves our country, it will destabilize not only the court but also the livelihood of our people. Therefore, I believe it is best to substitute resources for silver.”
“Resources… What resources do you think Joseon wants?”
“Rice, sulfur, copper, iron ore, and saltpeter, Your Majesty.”
“I see…”
As Emperor Jingtai nodded, the Minister of Revenue standing beside him continued.
“Fortunately, through our merchants, we know the market prices of these resources in Joseon. Therefore, we can counter if Joseon tries to employ underhanded tactics.”
“So you suggest minimizing silver payments and substituting minerals?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After brief contemplation, Emperor Jingtai soon made his decision.
“The Cabinet Deputy shall work with other ministers to ensure payments are made in resources rather than silver.”
“I receive your command.”
Having determined a solution for the reparations issue, Emperor Jingtai moved on to the next matter.
“Next is rebuilding the villages and cities devastated by this war, and comforting the people. This too requires significant financial expenditure. Must we raise taxes?”
As Emperor Jingtai mentioned ‘raising taxes,’ the Cabinet Deputy immediately stepped forward.
“Tax increases must not happen! If tax increases follow in the current situation, the people’s hearts will turn against us.”
“That is correct.”
“Absolutely!”
As many ministers expressed their opposition, Emperor Jingtai continued his questioning.
“But isn’t our financial situation the problem?”
At the Emperor’s pointed remark, the Great Hall instantly fell silent. Seeing the ministers’ expressions as they closed their mouths, Emperor Jingtai let out a small sigh.
“Huuu~. Judging by your expressions, it seems the answer is difficult to voice carelessly. Speak. I will not punish you.”
Despite the Emperor’s assurance, no one was quick to speak. Finally, the Cabinet Deputy stepped forward.
“It is possible if we reduce the budget allocated to national defense.”
“The defense budget?”
“Not all defense spending, but while preserving the budget for protecting the northern frontier, we could reduce the budget for rebuilding the navy. For the time being, we would operate only the remaining naval forces and ships, and rebuild only Nantong Harbor, which is excluded from the agreement. This would secure considerable resources, though not sufficient, and if we economize in other areas, we could cover costs without raising taxes.”
“If so, how will we defend our maritime borders? Should we reinstate the maritime prohibition edict that the late Emperor abolished?”
“…”
At the Emperor’s question, the Cabinet Deputy was momentarily silent before closing his eyes tightly and answering.
“We entrust it to Joseon.”
“To Joseon?”
“In any case, Joseon has already seized control of the Yellow Sea and even the South Sea. Therefore, let them maintain security on the sea routes.”
At the Cabinet Deputy’s words, the Left Commander-in-Chief stepped forward.
“Do you intend to humiliate our military? Asking Joseon to protect the seas we should be defending!”
“We’ve already been humiliated by this defeat. What difference does one more humiliation make? And if we use this well, we can gain various advantages against Joseon!”
At the Cabinet Deputy’s mention of ‘various advantages,’ Emperor Jingtai suddenly showed interest.
“Various advantages… Deputy, explain in detail.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Cabinet Deputy explained the advantages he had in mind.
-By showing weakness to Joseon, we can make them complacent. Of course, they won’t be complacent from the beginning, but after about 20 years, they will certainly lower their guard.
-If we entrust defense to Joseon, they must expend their military resources. This minimizes the benefit they gain from the wealth they’ve taken from us.
After hearing the Cabinet Deputy’s explanation, Emperor Jingtai stroked his chin and murmured.
“Is this ‘hiding our light and nurturing in the dark’ (韜光養晦)?”
At the Emperor’s question, the Cabinet Deputy immediately bowed his head.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Just as Liu Bei endured by lowering himself while being Cao Cao’s guest, we must now thoroughly endure by lowering ourselves. By waiting and building our strength this way, the opportunity for revenge will come again!”
“Hmm…”
After stroking his beard and contemplating the Cabinet Deputy’s words, Emperor Jingtai soon firmed his resolve.
“Let’s do as the Deputy suggests. We’ve already been humiliated, so what difference does one more shame make? Instead, let us take this incident as a lesson and prepare more thoroughly. The same applies to the military.”
At the Emperor’s decision, both the Left and Right Commanders-in-Chief clasped their hands and responded.
“We receive Your Imperial command.”
At that moment, the Minister of War stepped forward and made a request to Emperor Jingtai.
“Your Majesty. Though I am presumptuous to suggest this, please permit us to separate several large warships from the navy’s allocation and equip them with steam engines.”
“Steam engines on large warships? Explain your reasoning.”
“Yes. In the future, equipping warships with steam engines will become inevitable. If so, we will need many soldiers and officers who are familiar with handling steam engines. This cannot be accomplished in a day or two, so we need vessels for consistent training. Additionally, by constantly working with steam engines, we can develop increasingly superior engines, and thus potentially surpass Joseon.”
“Permission granted!”
Almost before the Minister of War finished speaking, Emperor Jingtai immediately granted approval.
***
The post-war recovery measures, which Emperor Jingtai and his ministers had developed over several days of deliberation, were immediately implemented.
The first to feel relieved by the Ming court’s recovery policies were the Ming citizens.
“Huuu~. I was worried there might be tax increases…”
“Indeed.”
Knowing the historical pattern where tax increases typically followed conflicts, the people sighed with relief at the news that there would be no tax increases.
“Don’t you think the current Emperor is a sage ruler?”
“Seeing how he resolved the last war and civil unrest, he certainly is.”
“Except for attacking Joseon…”
“Shh!”
Somehow, a pointed proverb had begun circulating among the Ming people:
-When an emperor goes mad, he crosses the Yellow Sea.
This proverb emerged in reference to the painful defeats suffered after provoking the Empire twice.
Meanwhile, among the literate who lived as nomads, discussions on the same topic had become commonplace.
“If they had opted for tax increases, civil unrest would have erupted.”
“I agree. Especially if they raised taxes after losing to Joseon twice, the people would have risen up immediately.”
“I wonder why people who can understand this much would think of attacking Joseon… Revenge is good, but knowing your enemy and yourself comes first…”
***
Meanwhile, the Empire wasn’t entirely jubilant either.
“It’s good that we’ve secured substantial reparations, but I’m concerned about price inflation…”
Officials from the Ministry of Finance and General Administration were racking their brains over how to manage the silver and resources coming in as reparations.
No matter how much they used, funding and resources were always insufficient. If used wisely, they could fill the Empire’s deficiencies, but even a small mistake could lead to soaring prices and an even worse situation.
While the officials from the General Administration and Finance Ministry were pondering this, Hyang was conversing with Wan.
“Ming truly lives up to its name.”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
Wan nodded at Hyang’s words.
700 million taels of silver was an enormous sum.
With this amount, they could develop new territories without worry for at least 20 years.
Therefore, Hyang and the ministers thought it would be too burdensome even for Ming.
They had planned to add several conditions—such as “recognizing the Empire as the superior state”—as if doing Ming a favor if they begged.
But Ming accepted the terms. Of course, they had proposed substituting land, but they hadn’t even suggested negotiating the amount itself.
‘As far as I know, even the reparations Japan received after the Sino-Japanese War were less than this…’
In the history before Hyang’s intervention, Japan had received the Liaodong Peninsula and Taiwan, along with 200 million taels of silver in reparations after winning the Sino-Japanese War. This was equivalent to four years of the Japanese government’s budget.
However, there was something Hyang had slightly forgotten: Qing’s annual budget at that time was 100 million taels of silver. And that was Qing, an agricultural nation that hadn’t properly modernized.
But as history changed with Hyang’s intervention, Ming had developed dramatically not only in agriculture but also in commerce and industry, and its economic scale had grown significantly.
“In any case, finances were always lacking, so these reparations are like rain during a drought.”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
“However, we must not waste them carelessly. They will still be grinding their teeth, waiting for an opportunity for revenge.”
“I will keep that in mind. However, additional construction of the Assault Turtle Ships seems unavoidable.”
“That part can’t be helped.”
The first decision made as the reparations came in was the additional construction of Assault Turtle Ships.
-Just as Ming created the Twin-Headed Flame Dragon, other countries will try to build ironclad vessels. Especially Japan.
-In this situation, having only two Assault Turtle Ships is problematic.
Everyone from Hyang to the ministers agreed with the navy’s argument, and the construction of four additional ships was decided.
With the increased fleet of six Assault Turtle Ships, three were assigned to the Inner Sea Fleet and three to the South Sea Fleet.
With three ships deployed, the navy was able to realize their long-dreamed “three-unit system” for Assault Turtle Ships—one on mission, one in training, and one under maintenance.