Chapter 1589: Labor at the Port

"My lord speaks reasonably, but one must still be cautious in all matters." Liu Jing agreed with his view.

"Right, I have an idea." Zhou Pu seemed to have suddenly thought of something.

"My lord, please speak?"

"Aren't we trying to find a way to send that envoy from the Japanese court to the mainland? Let's do it this way: Lord Liu, in the next few days, prepare a ship under the pretext of sending messages back home, and then you dispatch someone to return to our country. This man can also be placed on that ship. You bear such a weighty mission; the shogunate will certainly inspect strictly, but they will instead grant a courteous send-off..." Zhou Pu suddenly laughed at this point. "That Elder Councilor would never imagine that a Japanese envoy could set out even earlier than he does..."

"My lord... this plan is brilliant!" Liu Jing thought for a moment and immediately agreed with him. "This lot loves underhanded tricks; we'll give them a taste of their own medicine—sneaking across under cover of darkness!"

Then the two of them burst into laughter together.

After several days of bumpy travel, the Crown Prince and his retinue arrived at Busan.

His prior actions in Hanseong had long since spread throughout the whole of Goryeo, shaking the court and the common people alike. However, because Yi Hon lacked popular support, the Goryeo gentry and people did not entirely oppose his actions; they merely felt that the Central Dynasty's conduct was overly overbearing.

After being installed as the heir by the Crown Prince, Yi Hon continued to serve as the head of the state, but due to his advanced age and physical disability, he no longer held real power and merely lived in seclusion within Gyeongbokgung Palace. Government affairs were temporarily handled by the State Council, led by Kim Shin-guk. In addition, matters concerning the royal clan and general ceremonial affairs were temporarily overseen by the heir's biological father, Prince Gyeongpyeong, Yi Reuk.

As soon as Kim Shin-guk grasped great power, he directly issued an appointment, making Yi Ga, who had previously served as the special envoy stationed in the Great Han, the Governor of Gyeongsang Province. He also directly issued an official directive demanding that the local officials of Gyeongsang Province must henceforth fully cooperate with Yi Ga's orders, and that any negligence would be severely punished. At the same time, he ordered these local officials to prepare supplies in advance, especially grain and horse fodder.

The official directive, phrased with extreme severity, quickly instilled widespread fear among the local officials. They were already deeply haunted by the swift and decisive actions of the Central Dynasty's Crown Prince, and now, with their futures and lives at stake, they dared not slack off. Although they did not know the exact purpose of stockpiling supplies, they could only obey orders and began intensifying their preparations.

However, Goryeo was a weak state with an impoverished populace. Even with diligent efforts, they could not gather much in the way of supplies, much less provide the ordnance and ammunition needed by a large army. The Great Han side had long anticipated this and thus did not hold much hope, merely wishing to obtain some grain and fodder.

At this time, Busan, through years of management by the Goryeo court and the commercial prosperity brought by the joint efforts of merchants from several nations, had already become a sizable city and an important trade transit port between China and Japan. Precisely because it possessed relatively well-developed port facilities and was the closest point to Japan, it had been designated by Zhao Song in his strategy as the optimal staging point for troops and the launching point for the attack.

Upon arriving in Busan, the Crown Prince's party immediately received the highest-standard reception from the local officials. The highest-ranking civil official in Busan was the Protectorate Prefect of Dongnae, while the military had two top commanders: one was the Left Gyeongsang Myriad-Household Commander, responsible for commanding the land garrison, and the other was the Left Gyeongsang Naval Commander. These three men came together outside the city to welcome the party. Because they had been notified in advance, they did not organize a large-scale welcoming ceremony. However, they were already deeply fearful of the Central Dynasty, and now, when facing the Crown Prince, they were even more reverent and respectful, almost to the point of being utterly subservient.

The Crown Prince merely exchanged a few pleasantries with them, hardly uttering any polite formalities. He directly demanded that they hand over local administrative authority and command of the land and naval forces, and further required them to strictly restrain their subordinates, forbidding any spying on or spreading of any information concerning the Great Han's presence in Busan. They, of course, agreed to everything. The Crown Prince then dismissed them, and under the guidance of a designated attendant, the party proceeded toward the lodgings arranged for them outside the city.

After settling in slightly, the Crown Prince summoned his principal subordinates.

"Our arrival in Busan this time is to make pre-battle preparations," he said, getting straight to the point as soon as everyone had gathered. "Everyone, myself included, must diligently perform their duties; absolutely no negligence is permitted. The tasks to be done are countless and complex; I ask you all to first take your respective plans of action."

The civil and military officials all stood in respectful silence, bowing their heads to indicate they were awaiting orders.

"First and foremost, we must find a place for the assembling soldiers to live and train," the Crown Prince continued. "I have already spoken with Yi Ga, instructing him to designate a large area outside the city to serve as a barracks for our troops. At the same time, the Goryeo navy will also assist our soldiers in their training."

He then looked toward the Deputy Envoy stationed in Goryeo, Zhang Daoyan. "Deputy Envoy Zhang, you will be responsible for coordination with Yi Ga and other Goryeo officials. Furthermore, all matters great and small, such as the daily food supply for the soldiers, the maintenance of the camp area, and epidemic prevention, will also be your responsibility. Absolutely no problems may arise."

"I understand. I will manage the camp area well and ensure the soldiers have no worries about their livelihood." Zhang Daoyan hastily bowed to accept the order. "However... time is pressing now, and I fear it will be difficult to gather enough barracks in such a rush..."

"Requisition civilian dwellings first. Let the Liaodong Army, which arrived first, move into them. Then, press urgently for the construction of barracks; the troops assembling later from other regions can move into those barracks. Make this point clear to Yi Ga and the others as well: require that when they designate the camp area, it be as far from Busan Port as possible, and ideally include some villages. Also, have them dispatch manpower to urgently fell timber and deliver the construction materials so we can start building barracks early." The Crown Prince made his decision immediately. After a moment, he added another point. "Right, when relocating these Goryeo commoners, give them some compensation. Our Great Han army must not plunder by force. Besides, if they become displaced and full of grievances, or if they stir up unrest, that would also be highly detrimental to our grand strategy."

"What the Crown Prince says is absolutely correct." Zhang Daoyan immediately agreed with his opinion, then added his own. "However... if we are to provide compensation, it would be best to give it directly to the individuals, lest the Goryeo local authorities embezzle it. Moreover, to cover this portion of expenditure, I suggest we simply requisition the local authorities' official treasury first and use the money from the official treasury to pay them as compensation. In doing so, we can prevent the commoners from becoming displaced and also allow our army to reduce some of its own expenses."

"That is very reasonable; Deputy Envoy Zhang's idea is excellent." The Crown Prince readily approved his suggestion. "We shall proceed according to Deputy Envoy Zhang's idea. This matter is also entrusted to you, Deputy Envoy."

"I thank Your Highness the Crown Prince! I will certainly handle this matter diligently and will never disappoint Your Highness!" Zhang Daoyan concealed the delight in his heart very well, merely thanking the Crown Prince profusely.

"How are the navy's preparations?" Next, the Crown Prince looked toward a naval officer beside him, Gao Ze, who had arrived in Busan earlier and was specifically responsible for the transportation and storage of supplies in Goryeo.

"Reporting to Your Highness, although things were extremely complicated at the start, through the efforts of all colleagues, high and low, the transportation of supplies has now been put on a regular footing. We are using merchant ships for transport; on the surface, absolutely no one can detect any clues." As he spoke, Gao Ze stepped forward and handed a thick ledger he was holding to the Crown Prince. "Your Highness, this is the registry of our warehouses. Every time supplies arrive in Busan, we inventory them and record them in the ledger, which also contains a tally of the total supplies. We then store these supplies in their respective warehouses."

"Very good." The Crown Prince took the ledger and flipped through it roughly. He found it filled with dense rows of numbers, and it had been appropriately filed by date and type of supply; it was clearly done with great care. "You have worked hard. Please continue your efforts from now on. Is there anything you need my help with?"

As the Crown Prince, he was responsible for strategic coordination and overall arrangements. For matters that were too trivial and fragmented, there would naturally be many people to assist him; he did not need to attend to every single thing personally. Doing so would not demonstrate his diligence, but only show a failure to grasp the larger picture.

"Reporting to Your Highness, on the whole, everything has been fairly smooth. However... there are some matters that are rather vexing." Gao Ze looked at the Crown Prince cautiously. "Busan is a commercial port; normally, there are many merchant ships from various countries coming and going. They occupy berths, affecting our transport efficiency. Moreover, in front of them, it is difficult for us to transport troops and supplies openly and on a large scale... I hope that the comings and goings of merchant ships can be reduced recently."

"That should naturally be done." The Crown Prince nodded slightly. "The Great Han has already reduced the number of seagoing ships traveling to Busan recently. I will issue an order that from these next few days onward, not a single Great Han merchant ship is to come. As for merchant ships from other countries... we will use the pretext that the harbor needs renovation and not let them enter. The navy can also expel those merchant ships in the open sea."

"Then what about the Japanese ships? It wouldn't be good to alert the enemy prematurely." Zhang Daoyan asked.

This was indeed a major difficulty. As the commercial port closest to Japan, Busan was the most convenient place to assemble troops. However, being a commercial port was both an advantage and a disadvantage. The characteristic of a commercial port was its high traffic volume; when large numbers of troops and supplies were being assembled, it was fundamentally impossible to maintain secrecy. Busan originally had trading houses belonging to Japanese merchants, and some Japanese merchants resided here. Because of the shogunate's decree that "Japanese nationals residing overseas for more than five years are forbidden from returning home," they frequently had people returning to Japan. Even if they did not discover the Great Han's decision to prepare an attack on Japan, merely reporting these signs of troop and supply assembly to the shogunate would alert them.

This problem stumped the Crown Prince for a moment.

"Why not simply burn down their trading houses first? Say it was a fire, and then we station men outside to guard the place and capture any Japanese who try to flee." At this moment, an official suddenly suggested, "There aren't many of these Japanese. As long as we capture them all, there will be no one left to send word back."

"Wouldn't that create too much of a stir?" Zhang Daoyan hesitated. "What if the Japanese ask questions?"

"We can't worry about that much now. Let's proceed with this first." The Crown Prince made his decision, then looked back at Gao Ze. "Is there anything else you need?"

"There is one more thing, Your Highness. I am responsible for the management and storage of supplies, so the warehouses also fall under my jurisdiction. Other problems are manageable, but this one is the most vexing. Busan Port previously lacked sufficient warehouses for use... As Your Highness knows, warehouses are the most critical assets in the rear of a large army; not the slightest negligence is permissible. Especially since our army uses a large quantity of firearms, ordnance and gunpowder must be managed using specialized warehouses; absolutely no carelessness can be tolerated. The existing warehouse facilities in Busan are truly insufficient to meet our army's needs, so we wish to construct additional warehouses... But now, there is a shortage of manpower everywhere, making it difficult to achieve this goal. Thus, we have been constantly troubled by this matter recently."

"Since it is urgent, do not delay. The construction of warehouses can be given top priority and carried out in parallel with the construction of barracks." The Crown Prince immediately made a decision. "As for the problem of insufficient manpower... I will personally inquire with the local officials. Have them halt all other ongoing projects and conscript Goryeo civilian laborers to assist in our work. Hmm..."

After pondering for a moment, he thought of another idea. "Since building barracks will require relocating a large number of local villagers, and will presumably affect the livelihoods of fishermen, why don't we further hire the able-bodied among them as laborers to construct various facilities for us? This way, we can speed up the construction progress of our various facilities and also give them some means of support. Moreover, I will ensure the local authorities must cooperate with us by conscripting able-bodied men from other areas. In this way, the labor force should be sufficient. If I personally apply pressure, they should be able to produce the men."

"Your Highness is wise!" Gao Ze was overjoyed and hastily expressed his thanks to the Crown Prince.

"Right, the expenses for hiring Goryeo laborers, as well as the costs for building warehouses and barracks, must all be recorded in ledgers, and detailed accounts compiled and then forwarded to me. I will have dedicated personnel audit them." The Crown Prince added another point. "When we settle reparations with Japan after the war, such expenditures will also be charged to the Japanese."

This was partly for the purpose of settling reparations after the war, and partly to prevent embezzlement by the relevant personnel handling the funds. Although the Great Han's laws were extremely strict, the necessary oversight still had to be in place.

"Yes, Your Highness." Gao Ze accepted the order with awe.

Next, the Crown Prince looked toward Zhao Song.

"Brigade Commander Zhao, you are the chief commander for this campaign. Do you have any requests?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, I have two requests." Zhao Song bowed in salute. "Apart from one regiment which is directly under my command and which I have previously led, the remaining two regiments for this expedition have been transferred from garrisons in other regions, and they are not particularly familiar with one another. Furthermore, this directly subordinate regiment and I have always campaigned in Liaodong, whereas they have been campaigning in the south; there may be differences in combat methods and experience. Therefore, I need some time to train and integrate them. I humbly request that Your Highness designate a remote area outside Busan Port for me and my subordinates to drill the troops. Additionally, in my operational plan, the coordinated maneuver of the navy and army is especially critical, requiring multiple seaborne landings. Thus, I need naval personnel to specifically accompany us in organizing training, striving to ensure the navy and army are well-coordinated before launching the attack."

"Brigade Commander Zhao is indeed an excellent general of our dynasty; training before battle is indeed the most important thing." The Crown Prince nodded. "Good, then continue your efforts, Brigade Commander. You must ensure the officers and soldiers are well-trained before the troops are dispatched, so that the Brigade Commander can command them as if they were his own limbs."

"That is also my aim." Zhao Song continued. "However... Your Highness, the area around Busan is densely populated. If the army is constantly training, maintaining complete secrecy may be difficult..."

"At this stage, do not be overly demanding about secrecy. We are only a hundred li from Kyushu; how could the assembly of a great army leave no trace at all? We could not have relied solely on a surprise attack from the very beginning." The Crown Prince reassured Zhao Song, indicating he need not worry. "Brigade Commander, do not be overly concerned about this matter. Even if some hints are revealed, the Japanese may not necessarily be able to react that quickly."

"I hope everything proceeds as Your Highness envisions." Zhao Song nodded. "By the way, Your Highness, since there are so many engineering tasks to be done now, why not first deploy our combat engineers to assist with the projects? They all have construction experience and are very reliable; they can serve as supervisors for the Goryeo civilian laborers."

"Have all the combat engineers arrived?" the Crown Prince asked.

"I have conducted a count; approximately eight hundred have arrived so far, which is more than enough to accomplish many tasks, Your Highness," Zhao Song promptly replied.

The Crown Prince had originally intended to agree to his suggestion immediately, but as the words reached his lips, he changed his mind. "That's good. Then let's do it this way: since civilian laborers are needed everywhere, we shall simply establish a Labor Bureau, which I will personally oversee. Any party needing to use labor must apply and report to me here. This way, we can achieve unified management and also avoid unnecessary disputes among different parties over the allocation of labor. What do you all think? These combat engineers can also be temporarily incorporated into the Labor Bureau and placed under my command for deployment to various locations. I presume they won't dare disobey my orders?"

Beyond the reasons stated above, the Crown Prince had other motives. He had already perceived that the most critical resource in Busan right now was labor. He wanted to indirectly control the situation in Busan by personally managing the use of labor, while simultaneously accelerating the preparatory work. He had no military experience and could not claim much control over the army; he could only start with the labor force in the rear.

"Your Highness is wise!" Naturally, no one else would refute the Crown Prince's opinion.

"Then does anyone else have other matters to raise?" The Crown Prince swept his gaze around the assembled civil and military officials.

No one spoke further.

"It seems no one has any objections for now? Good... then everyone, get busy. Starting today, finish everything that's been weighing you down." The Crown Prince made a dismissing gesture. "Everyone, I will be permanently stationed here from now on. If any of you encounter difficulties in the matters you're responsible for, feel free to tell me — I'll help you resolve them. Also, I will be making inspection rounds everywhere at any time. If anyone fails to handle their affairs properly, you can wait for your punishment yourselves."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"