Chapter 23: Crumbling Defenses
"The Navy Departs Shanghai." Painted by an anonymous artist in the 17th century. Long believed to depict one of the famous Fei Expeditions later in the 15th century, most modern critics now think it was intended to commemorate the invasion of Korea, based on the smaller size of the ships. But at least half a dozen other naval launches have been put forward as potential subjects of the painting, and opinion remains divided on what event this painting actually celebrates.
By the 1430s, Northern China and Mongolia have earned a reputation for lawlessness. Although the kingdom of Qin seeks to be a force for stability in the region, they find it increasingly difficult to keep the various Khalka tribes subjugated. The independent Mongols, still clinging to the old “Yuan” name, also have a hard time maintaining order in their lands, especially with the Kazakh Khanate pushing into their territory. Xia is in no better a position, struggling against Kashmir to the west and bound to the Korean Empire by alliance.
In the middle of all this, the northern Yue holdings suffer from constant border raids, the people living in fear of attacks by Mongols of all stripes. The situation comes to a head in July of 1436, when Yue declares war on the independent Mongols and calls Song into the conflict. Zhao Wongwai, at first, thinks a war with the Yuan “Dynasty” rather quaint. He honors the call but does nothing to aid in the conflict, instead preparing his fleet for the eventual invasion of Korea.
Wan'er sits, brush in-hand, at her writing desk in the royal bedchambers. Hard at work all morning. Cold November air leaks through gaps in the poorly-constructed building's windowframes.
Wan'er still isn't sold on the coming war. She doesn't much see the point. The people of Korea had been unwilling vassals of the Yuan Dynasty, and they'd likely fight tooth and nail to hold onto their independence and keep their throne out of foreign hands. The peninsula's resources are valuable... but does Song really need them? And, as their explosive growth across Manchuria has shown, the Korean armies are strong and well-trained. The war could certainly be won, in time--but at what cost?
But Wongwai's enthusiasm has only been growing for the past several months. Despite whatever arguments she makes against the invasion, he continues to insist it “must” be done. So, much like the massive migration to Shanghai, Wan'er has given up on trying to change her husband's mind. She now spends her time trying to help prepare for the attack. If she can't stop it from happening, she may as well try to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible.
Wongwai yawns and stretches, just managing to rouse himself from sleep. “Good morning.”
Wan'er doesn't look up from her papers or stop writing. “Afternoon.”
“Oh,” he says, scratching the back of his head. He sits up in bed, tossing aside the sheets and reaching for his robes. “Darling, what are you doing?”
“Working. One of us has to, at least.”
“Oh. So, uh...”
“How are things going?” Wan'er puts down her brush. She rubs the bridge of her nose. The secretaries spends hours drafting these briefings, and he doesn't even bother to read them... “Our spies in the Korean capital are doing well. The kingdom's troops are still up north in Manchuria. Pirate activity on Tsushima seems to b--”
“Tsu-what?”
“Tsushima. The island.”
“Oh.”
“Pirate activity seems to be increasing. If the wokou make a move on the Koreans, that would be the best time for us to go in as well. And I've dispatched the Frontier Defense Force to Shanxi in order t--”
“What?” He asks the question with a slight growl. “I never ordered any involvement in Yue's fight with Yuan, why the hell would y--”
“I have not,” Wan'er says, without missing a beat, “involved us in that. The Yuan situation is a plausible excuse to set our troops up on the border with Xia. Should Xia come to Korea's aid, our men will be ready to push west in the hopes of quickly removing them from the war.”
Wongwai is silent for a few moments. “Oh.” He starts to put his robe on, pauses, then tosses it to the floor. “Say, darling, how about--”
“Sorry, honey.” She picks up the brush again. “I'm busy.”
“It can wait, it can wait. Come on... darling...”
“The Prime Minister needed these orders drawn up weeks ago.” Finishing a sheet, Wan'er stamps the page with her husband's seal. “I still have I don't know how many left to write. There's a lot of work we have to get done if you expect our kingdom to come out of a foreign war intact, and...”
Wan'er turns around to make sure Wongwai is listening to her. He lies sprawled out on their bed, fast asleep.
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The waiting finally comes to an end in February of 1437. An army of Japanese pirates land on the shores of Korea and, thanks to the spies who had infiltrated the Korean administration, Song knows of the attack within days. Wongwai receives the news with glee and wastes no time ordering that war be declared. Two armies prepare for an amphibious invasion of Korea while a third marches into Xia. With the Yuan pretense now unnecessary, a white peace is offered to and accepted by the Mongols.
Song troops quickly take up positions to cut the peninsula in half, denying the Koreans access to the rich southern provinces. Wongwai knows he is no military man and opts to stay in Shanghai. But supply ships bring constant news to the Song capital, and the king cannot help but resist the urge to begin calling the shots. He orders the White Lotus Army to launch an assault on the Korean capital. The attack proves disastrous: over two-thirds of the Army's infantry perish.
By June, Korea moves some of their forces down from the Jurchen border to fight off the wokou pirates. The White Lotus, weakened as they may be, follow them into the area. They lie in wait to ambush the Koreans after the battle.
Although Song manages to best the Koreans in Gangwon, they end up losing more men in the process, including almost every spearman in the unit. Around the same time, residents of the former capital of Hangzhou rise up in revolt. With the entire Song Army on foreign soil, no one is there to stop them from ransacking the city. Wongwai doesn't care. “If they want to betray the kingdom during wartime,” he tells his ministers, “
let them kill themselves.” But Wan'er writes to her father in Guangzhou for help. The Yue king reluctantly agrees to send his own soldiers to handle the rebels.
The Koreans move south to resupply and prepare for another attack on Gangwon. After losing so many men, the Song armies must spread themselves even thinner to hold onto their positions. Song troops in Xia fare better, and it seems they may be able to force the kingdom out of the war in good time. The Korean army makes its move in November. The Song forces in Gangwon manage to fight them off but, again, take more casualties than their enemies.
Rather than continue standing their ground and being bled dry, the Song men chase after the Koreans. As luck would have it, they manage to win a decisive victory in Gyeongsang thanks only to the fact that they caught the Koreans on the retreat. In the same month, the kingdom of Xia finally capitulates, freeing up the troops Song had committed there.
A second Korean army marches south on the Song positions, but it will be months until the men from Xia can be moved to the peninsula. Another pirate force has landed in northern Korea, but it remains to be seen who they will target. And despite nearly a year of sieging the Korean forts, they still hold strong as ever. While Wongwai considers the war to be turning in Song's favor, others are not so sure.
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“The fighting in Xia is over,” Wan'er says to her husband. She find it harder to get any real work done. Most of her time is spent briefing Wongwai, relaying orders for Wongwai, trying to change his mind on those orders... it's getting to be quite tiring. For both of them, in fact. But while the constant running around has made Wan'er weary, every perceived failure Wongwai learns of makes him more angry, more insistent on doing things
his way.
“We need to get those men to Korea,” Wongwai says. “No leave, no rest. They march straight to Shanghai and get on the barges not a minute later.”
“No, we should just move the navy to Shangdong and pick them up there.”
Wongwai's eyes narrow. “'No?' Is that the way to talk t--”
“It's a shorter route,” she says, sighing. “We should be able to get the army over by April of next year, but move them down to Shanghai and it wouldn't be until at least July.”
“Apologize.”
“What?”
Glaring at her now, Wongwai says, “Apologize. I don't like your tone, and I won't have you interrupting me.”
“What the hell does it matter? I'm doing my best to keep things under control, and we don't exactly have a lot of time. We sent thirty thousand men to Korea a year ago. Now half of them are dead, we don't control
any territory, and if we don't reinforce them by--”
“Apologize.”
Wan'er sighs, louder this time. “Fine. I'm sorry. Honestly, though, I don't understand why you insist on--”
“Because I'm the king! I'm the king of the most powerful kingdom in the world, and the... the
idiots I have for generals can't even conquer some worthless, backwater garbage heap of a--”
Wan'er puts a hand on her husband's arm. “Honey,” she says, feeling bad he's gotten himself so worked up, “please, relax. We've stressed about this enough for one night. Come on, we shou--”
“Don't!” He tears his arm away. “Don't you 'honey' me! I'm sick of all of you! Trying to get on my good side when you can't eve--”
“Please, just stop th--”
“Shut up!” Wongwai points a finger in Wan'er's face. “Shut. Up. Stop trying to placate me. Stop trying to... to cover up for your
failures with kindness.”
Wan'er's sympathy turns to outrage. “My
what?”
“You heard me. And don't talk back. You're my wife, and it's about damn time you acted like it. You do what I say.” Wongwai opens the door, then turns and stares her dead in the eyes. “Get back to work.”