Chapter 39
Chapter 39: The Imperial Envoy (1)
There's a saying: "Even the Pyeongan Governor can quit if he doesn't like it."
As you know, it means that even the best position is useless if you don't want it.
Just how good of a position was it that such a saying even came about?
The reason the Pyeongan Governor, who ruled the entire Pyeongan Province, became synonymous with a "good position" was due to its unique geopolitical location.
Pyeongyang, where the Pyeongan Governor's office was located, was the largest city on the route connecting Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and Hanyang, the capital of Joseon.
Thanks to the countless goods that passed through with regular embassies, it was a place richer in resources than any other.
Being economically abundant, the gyobang culture (entertainment culture such as food and dance) naturally developed as well.
So, becoming the Pyeongan Governor, the highest position in Pyeongyang, meant having access to all sorts of entertainment.
But the real reason that position was special was something else.
The Pyeongan Governor was granted the enormous authority to independently use the taxes collected locally, without interference from the court.
The only reason for that incredible privilege was that Pyeongyang was a gateway connecting the Ming Dynasty and Joseon, and thus incurred enormous military and diplomatic costs.
Especially in peacetime, entertaining envoys from the Ming Dynasty was one of the most important tasks of the Pyeongan Governor.
'……So, I need to prepare at least this much to save face.'
Pyeongan Governor Liu Jin stroked his beard, a satisfied smile on his face.
The Buyeokru Pavilion, with its clear view of the scenic Daedong River.
The lavish banquet prepared there was filled with so many delicacies that the table was about to break.
'I summoned the best cooks in Pyeongyang and had them prepare for days……. They won't be able to help but be amazed.'
As befitting the Pyeongan Governor, a position only the most influential officials in the court could be appointed to, Liu Jin had visited the Ming Dynasty as a New Year's envoy just last year.
'The table setting I received back then wasn't better than this, if anything, it was worse.'
The finest dishes, including Pyeongyang's specialties such as cold noodles, eobok jaengban, neobiani, and maekjeok, were lined up in abundance.
Lest he appear too boastful, Pyeongan Governor Liu Jin opened his mouth towards those seated across the banquet table, in as humble a tone as possible.
"I wonder…… if it will suit the palates of the honored guests from the Great Ming. I am embarrassed that I have not prepared much."
As the Pyeongan Governor finished speaking, the interpreter sitting next to him mumbled something and diligently translated.
Soon, the corners of the man sitting across from him turned up crookedly.
A man in his mid-50s with sparse gray hair, but a smooth face without a single beard.
His sharply raised eyes held a nervous pickiness and arrogance.
As he responded in Chinese, the interpreter translated again.
"……He says he understands."
"Understands what?"
"He says he understands that the banquet is meager."
At that moment, Pyeongan Governor Liu Jin's silkworm-like eyebrows twitched.
"Hmph, has that eunuch gone mad……."
"……Shall I convey it that way?"
"Are you crazy? Tell him to accept it with goodwill, even though it is meager."
While the interpreter relayed the message, the eyes of the man facing him and Liu Jin met once again.
Liu Jin created a light eye smile and slightly lowered his head, but inside, an unpleasant feeling was already creeping up.
'As the Emperor of the Great Ming loses his strength, all sorts of strange fellows are putting on airs.'
When he went to Beijing last year, he saw Emperor Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty, who, despite his young age, already had a sickly look on his face.
He had to personally check and approve every single private matter, so-called man-gi-chin-ram, so it was no wonder.
Naturally, the balance of power would shift to the Crown Prince, who would become the next Emperor.
The Crown Prince, a 15-year-old said to be foolish and dissolute.
The man who had raised that Crown Prince since childhood was the man sitting right in front of him.
The Ming Dynasty eunuch, Liu Jin.
They said he was so greedy and cunning that he would be second to none in the entire continent.
'He's clearly trying to extort all sorts of bribes this time, using the imperial decree as an excuse.'
Judging by the fact that he was already trying to engage in a battle of wills, he was definitely a formidable opponent.
But Pyeongan Governor Liu Jin was not one to be easily taken advantage of.
Who was he?
In his youth, he passed the civil service examination with the highest score, and even repelled the Japanese pirates who invaded Jeolla Province and went on to conquer the northern barbarians (Jurchens), achieving great merit.
Wasn't he a man full of pride, the foremost virtuous minister in the country, who had left behind remarkable achievements in both literary and military fields?
You can tell just by looking at his ja (style name), 'Ji-ong' (Wise Old Man).
It wasn't that he hadn't prepared a plan to flatten the nose of that arrogant imperial envoy.
'Now, slowly savor the true taste of this Joseon land.'
As Liu Jin gave a signal to the cook next to him, a huge tang-guk (soup) was brought to the center of the banquet table.
I hope it suits the taste of the angel (Ming Dynasty envoy). It is a Joseon dish called 'Yeonpo-tang'."Yeonpo-tang" (Soft Bubble Soup).
A dish made by lightly grilling the surface of soft tofu, which has not been completely drained of water, on a griddle, skewering it, and boiling it in tang-guk.
The light broth, made with chicken stock and seasoned with white shrimp jeot, was flavored with oysters, ginger, and various precious mushrooms and pepper.
It was a dish of the highest quality, made with the best ingredients and cooking techniques of the time.
"……Emperor Xuanzong enjoyed Joseon tofu so much, I hear."
Liu Jin added with a sly smile.
It was a well-known anecdote at the time that Emperor Xuanzong, the great-grandfather of the current Emperor, liked Joseon tofu so much that he repeatedly demanded tofu artisans from Joseon, and even gave the tofu artisan a government position.
So, he was subtly reminding them that the level of food here was so high that even the Ming Dynasty Emperor had fallen for Joseon tofu.
'Let's see. Let's see if he can say anything different after eating this…….'
Liu Jin, seized with a strange anticipation, looked at the man sitting in front of him, the Ming Dynasty envoy, Eunuch Liu Jin.
Liu Jin, who had heard the interpreter's words, showed that crooked smile again and slowly reached for the bowl of yeonpo-tang in front of him.
Then, he put a skewer of soft tofu in his mouth and began to chew slowly.
'Hehe, it will be amazing…….'
Liu Jin was inwardly sneering and leisurely watching the scene, but what happened next was astonishing.
"Ptoo-"
The Ming Dynasty envoy, Liu Jin, spat out what he was chewing on the floor.
"!!!"
The Pyeongan Governor, stunned by the absurd sight, froze like ice, and Liu Jin coldly spat out something.
"……He says it's too tough and he can't eat it."
Liu Jin wore an dumbfounded expression at the interpreter's hesitant words.
"S, soft tofu is tough? What kind of nonsense is that……."
Just as he was about to raise his voice in excitement, words flowed out of Liu Jin's mouth again.
"……He says he will now show you a proper tofu dish from the Great Ming."
Soon, a sharp-looking man with a hood next to Liu Jin walked out.
At the same time, before anyone could say anything, he slammed a round Chinese wooden cutting board on the corner of the banquet table.
Then, he placed a block of soft tofu, prepared in advance, on the cutting board.
"W, what on earth are you doing……."
Before Liu Jin could finish speaking, a large rectangular Chinese kitchen knife flew up from the man's waist as if dancing.
The so-called Caidao.
The huge blade was hitting the tofu on the cutting board with unbelievably fast speed, as if it were a machine, densely and precisely.
- Tang tang tang tang tang tang
When the sound, which had been rhythmically echoing like playing an instrument, stopped, he laid the blade down, swept the tofu like a spatula, and threw it into a porcelain bowl.
Soon, finely chopped bamboo shoots, mushrooms, abalone, and other seafood were placed in the same bowl in a similar manner.
When all the godlike chopping was finished, the man wiped the Caidao with a dry cloth without hesitation, twirled it again, and deftly stuck it back into his waist.
At the same time, in a connected motion, he raised a small kettle that was boiling on the brazier and dropped a long stream of water as if pouring tea into the bowl.
- Sizzle
As the ingredients in the porcelain bowl met the broth, they floated up as if dancing.
The man lightly tapped the porcelain bowl a few times as a final touch, covered it with a lid like a gaiwan used for tea, and placed it in front of Liu Jin.
Liu Jin, who had been silently watching the process, said something.
"He tells you to try it."
"What kind of outrageous prank is this? Goodness……."
Liu Jin, who had heard the interpreter's words, frowned as if displeased, but he couldn't openly refuse what the imperial envoy of the Great Ming was offering.
Reluctantly, he opened the lid.
"T, this can't be……."
Liu Jin couldn't help but let out a low sigh.
In the clear broth, thinly sliced tofu strands, as thin as hair, were spread out like chrysanthemums in full bloom.
'T, this soft tofu……. He sliced it into thin strands like silk?'
Liu Jin slowly picked up a spoon with trembling hands and took a spoonful of broth.
And the moment he put the thinly sliced tofu strands in his mouth.
"O, oooooh!"
The texture that melted away as soon as it entered his mouth, like melting snow in spring.
Had his tongue ever touched such a soft substance in his life?
In addition, the delicate flavors of the broth from various ingredients combined to create a delicacy that sent shivers down his spine.
- Clang
Pyeongan Governor Liu Jin was so surprised that he dropped his spoon.
Wensi Tofu (Wensi Tofu).
Although the name was created after the Qing Dynasty, there was no way that the original technology did not exist before that.
The skill of the hooded man standing silently next to Liu Jin was showing it.
The Ming Dynasty envoy Liu Jin coldly spat out to Liu Jin, who was stammering, unable to hide the shock he received from the dish.
"……He says Joseon tofu dishes are terrible."
The interpreter hesitated and continued to translate the envoy's words.
"He says Joseon is a small country, so the ingredients and cooking skills are poor. He says that the Great Ming's return gifts are excessively large for the trivial tributes sent by such a country."
Only then did he seem to understand their hidden intentions.
The so-called 'tribute trade' between the Ming Dynasty and Joseon, which took the form of tribute and return gifts.
They were undoubtedly trying to adjust the ratio of profits generated from it.
Of course, with them in the absolute 'gap' position.
Liu Jin wanted to say something out of resentment, but since he had already shown his embarrassment to the fullest, he couldn't find a justification to open his mouth.
All he could do was stand by and watch as the Ming Dynasty envoys, who were rising from their seats with a sneer, left.
'I, if they go down to Hanyang like this, there's no telling how far they'll go with their unreasonable demands. I must quickly inform the court!As soon as they left, Pyeongyang Governor Liu Jin, with a hardened face, hurriedly began to scribble an urgent official letter with a fine brush.
※Author's Note
The description of yeonpo-tang was based on the records of <Sanrimgyeongje>, <Dasan Simunjip>, and <Dongguksesigi>.
The yeonpo-tang mentioned here is closer to tofu hot pot, and is different from the one that commonly comes to mind with octopus.
