Normally, the brother-in-law's status and position are quite high. However, there are some special cases, such as when the brother-in-law's status is too high, which naturally makes him stand out.
Zhu Yunying was like that. Despite saying it was a family banquet and appearing rather mild-mannered, no one dared to truly relax in his presence. Xu Huizu was an exception, and even Xu Qin, who understood things and principles, was not.
As for Lady Li, the wife of the Duke of Zhongshan, who held a very prominent position outside the palace, she was extremely cautious inside the palace.
Little Zhu was very relaxed and said proudly, "Uncle is the best to us. He knows we are children, so he brought us a little bow."
Xu Huizu was sweating profusely and anxious. He knew the Crown Prince was favored, but who would have thought that His Highness would actually have someone bring him a bow and arrows? This was still in the Chunhe Palace; this was him brandishing weapons in front of the Emperor.
However, seeing the emperor's indifferent expression, Xu Huizu quickly explained, "Your Highness, the Goryeo people are skilled archers, and their bows are slightly shorter than those made in China. In Goryeo, the bows favored by warriors are made of birch bark. Although they are slightly shorter than those made in China, they are very effective at shooting arrows."
This surprised Joo Yun-young slightly, as he knew that South Korea in later generations was indeed very strong in archery. Putting aside sportsmanship and such, it was a fact that most archery champions came from Goryeo.
It's surprising that Goryeo was also skilled in archery in ancient times.
At first glance, the bow and arrows that Xu Huizu gave to Little Zhu were indeed shorter than those of the Ming army. But unexpectedly, they turned out to be standard weapons of the Goryeo army.
Xu Huizu continued to explain, “On the battlefields of Goryeo, there are generally three types of bows: horn bows, bamboo bows, and wooden bows. The bow I presented is also a horn bow. Skilled archers in Goryeo can shoot 240 paces. The making of a horn bow is very complicated, requiring materials such as ox horn, ox sinew, fish glue, bamboo, oak, and mulberry wood. The bow shaft is made of bamboo, the back is covered with ox sinew, the bow tip is made of oak, the bow guard is made of mulberry wood, and finally it is wrapped with birch bark. Then, fish glue is used to join all the materials together.”
Xu Huizu continued, "I also captured a skilled bow maker and found that the Goryeo people are quite adept at using sinew and glue. Glue is needed to bond the sinew to the bow shaft, which is called 'sin bonding'. The cow back sinew, torn into fine strands, must be processed just right. There cannot be any broken sinew strands mixed in, nor can there be the slightest deviation."
Little Zhu fiddled with the bow in his hand and asked, "Is there any special story behind our bow?"
Xu Huizu immediately smiled and said, "Your Highness, this is Yi Seong-gye's bow. Yi Seong-gye was the eldest son of Yi Zichun, the commander of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty's Wodong Thousand-Household Office and Darughachi. He also once recovered the Shuangcheng General Administration Office. He was known for his archery skills in Goryeo."
This has historical reasons. The Korean people were originally a hunter-gatherer society, and archery and hunting were commonplace. Furthermore, the Goryeo region is mountainous, so even after adopting agriculture, Koreans retained the custom of archery. Even militarily, the terrain and bows and arrows made defending cities much easier.
Little Zhu was happy, but after trying to draw the bow, he said, "Although I'm strong, I still can't draw this bow. Let's leave it with Dad, but we'll use it often."
Zhu Yunying said irritably, "Take it to the Qianqing Palace. We don't have the time to keep these bows and arrows safe for you every day."
Looking at Xu Huizu, Zhu Yunying said, "Since the Goryeo bow has its merits, were any prisoners captured and sent back this time?"
Xu Huizu hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, I have already ordered that skilled bow makers be sent to the Ministry of Works or the Academy."
Zhu Yunying was very satisfied with Xu Huizu's answer. The Ministry of Works already had a part of the task of handling military equipment, and the Ministry of Works Academy was always busy training craftsmen and improving their skills, which was also very important.
Despite Goryeo being the smallest country, it had its own strengths and merits.
Zhu Yunying never believed that everything from the Ming Dynasty was the best, and he was fine with acknowledging the merits of others. Goryeo's bows were indeed excellent, and naturally, the Ming Dynasty should learn from them.
Xu Huizu then said, “Your Majesty, based on my observations in Goryeo, although Goryeo may not have large horses, it is a land known for its horse breeding.”
Zhu Yunying nodded and said, "I remember that in the twentieth year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty exchanged horses for Goryeo horses in five batches."
This is something that happened in history. At that time, the Ming Dynasty exchanged satin, cotton cloth, and silk for horses from Goryeo. Emperor Shengzong of Tang and other officials carefully inspected and selected the horses, classifying them into three grades and assigning prices accordingly. They purchased nearly ten thousand horses, so it's fair to say that Goryeo was a horse-producing region.
Horses are not only produced in the Hexi Corridor; places like Goryeo (Korea) are also horse-producing areas.
In an era dominated by cold weapons, horses were naturally strategic resources. A strong cavalry force could also represent the military strength of a dynasty. Especially since the Ming Dynasty was bound to wage war against the Oirat Mongols, a lack of cavalry was even more essential.
Therefore, even though the cost of raising horses in a place like Goryeo (Korea) would be slightly higher than that in the Hexi Corridor or the Mongolian Plateau, they should still raise horses because the Ming Dynasty needed more warhorses.
Helping to establish vassal states always comes with some kind of expectation; it's not about helping princes establish vassal states without any bottom line.
Xu Huizu continued, "The Duke of Ying had previously gathered over ten thousand horses obtained from this battle, waiting for Liaodong to take them over."
Zhu Yunying also smiled. This war seemed to be a loss for him. However, it wasn't entirely without gains; there were still some benefits.
Besides tens of thousands of warhorses, there were also Korean ginseng and other such items. Of course, the most important thing was that it connected with Tsushima Island and the Iwami silver mine, which would give the Ming Dynasty more control over those areas.
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