"As for Korea Kingdom... Sukeichiro, Korea has no fierce Samurai, nor any tough Ashigaru! They have so many wealthy towns and villages, yet not enough troops to guard them. A village of thousands often has only dozens of Peasant Soldiers, and everywhere there are willing Korean guides... Those Korean nobles are more cautious of their common folks than they are of us!"
"Ah? How can it be! Such a wealthy Korea Kingdom, yet there are no strong Samurai to guard it?!... Gold Shipwright, is that so?..."
Upon hearing Murakami Kitamichi’s question, Shipwright Kim Sun-su pondered silently for a mont, without speaking, he just nodded slightly.
In the late 15th century, Li’s Chaoxian had a population of approximately 8 million, yet only about a hundred thousand troops, most being low-cost Military Households, with a soldier-to-population ratio of over 1:50. In comparison, Wa Country’s stone height was about 13 million. Based on the Wa Country’s standard of 1.4 stones per person, it’s estimated to have around 9 million people, similar in size to Li’s Chaoxian. By the typical Daimyo’s military service calculation of 250 soldiers per Ten Thousand Stones, Wa Country had at least 300,000 troops, with a soldier-to-population ratio of nearly 1:30!
This aggressive soldier-civilian ratio in Wa Country is almost akin to the warring factions in Central Arica for a thousand years! But Wa Country lacks the high yields of corn, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and cassava, nor does it have complete irrigation facilities; the agricultural output per acre is actually much lower than that of the xica Alliance.
In Wa Country, even the lifestyle of the Daimyo is very impoverished, being one of the most destitute among East Asian countries, even worse than the nomadic chieftains of the Mongol tribes...
"Maitreya Buddha bear witness! Lord Watanabe, does Korea also have non-people hinin? Do they slaughter livestock? Divine Buddha! Are there so many hinin around?"
"Yes. Korean hinin are not only butchers, but more so slaves working in the fields! Honestly speaking, their numbers might even exceed that of commoners!"
Upon hearing Watanabe Masumi’s speculation, Shipwright Kim Sun-su hunched his shoulders, his head instinctively lowered further. He sighed and softly sang, in the rural dialect of Gyeongsang Province.
"Turtle, Turtle, show your head! The Heavenly King has co to reign. You, dig the earth, pile the earth high and sing. Dance to welco the great king! The great king arrives, the Han River reveals a golden box, the golden box opens six eggs, the six eggs turn into children, children transform into the great king! The great king leaps into the sky, connects with the great sun, reigning forever!"
"Under the great sun king, a thousand celestial stars are born, they are a thousand heavenly lords! The lords line up on both sides, born and descend from the sky, die and ascend to the sky, the green sky stars form the Two Classes! The celestial stars remain immortal, and the human Two Classes endure forever!"
"The great sun king opens his golden mouth, a thousand stars light the earth, filth and vile insects hide in feces! The vile insects turn into non-people: wizards, butchers, prostitutes producing courtesans, concubines producing children, male temple party dancers, wandering singers, goldsmith craftsn, descendants of criminals, evil Buddhists... A generation of vile insects, never replaced through the ages!"
"Hiss! Gold Shipwright, what are you muttering about! Could it be so Korean witchcraft?"
"... Lord Watanabe, this is a folk song... it tells of the great sun king, the Two Classes lords, and the non-people lowly folks..."
Shipwright Kim Sun-su rubbed his face, replaced it with a respectful smile, and explained in a low voice.
"In the generations-old mythological stories, the great king is the dragon egg in the Han River golden box that transford into the great sun. The Two Classes are the celestial stars, coming from the sky, returning to the sky... As for the lowest lowly folks, they are the vile insects in feces, born as still lowly folks, never able to rise..."
"The origins of the lowly folks include wizards, butchers, prostitutes, children of courtesans, children of concubines, temple party artists who dance, wandering artists who sing, goldsmith sculptors, and all descendants of criminals, as well as Buddhists deed evil by the governnt..."
"And once a generation becos lowly folks, their descendants, generation after generation, will always be lowly folks!"
"Ah! Maitreya Buddha! Even wizards, artists, craftsn, and Buddhists are lowly folks?"
"What! Once a slave, forever a slave? This is too frightening!"
Upon hearing the Gold Shipwright’s explanation, the Wa Country Samurai around the bonfire looked at each other, a bit incredulous. Wa Country, of course, has lowly folks, mainly those engaged in butchery, tanning, selling leather, cleaning, performing, and selling bamboo straw items. But in the frequently warring, martial family dominated, and low productivity Wa Country, the proportion of lowly folks is quite low, incomparable to Korea.
For Korea’s thousand Two Classes aristocrats, they can minimize the army, reduce the military benefits. Because it doesn’t matter if the army can’t fight, the powerful Great Ming Sect Master ensures external security! They can also establish an actual slave system, enslaving lowly folks that nearly make up half of the population. Because if uprisings occur dostically, it doesn’t matter, they can call in Great Ming soldiers to quell the rebelling lowly folks!
In other words, the rule of Korea’s Two Classes does not rely on the governed commoners, the commoners and lowly folks, but only on the suzerain state, the Ming Dynasty, allowing them to be as reactionary as possible! This major power reliance on the suzerain state has persisted through generations to the 21st century...
Japan’s Two Classes freely expanded lowly registers, completely solidifying class circulation, enduring through Ming and Qing without changing in the slightest. In 1908, during the first census of the Korea Empire, the number of four-class people was less than 6 million. However, the number of non-people slaves and hidden households reached an astounding 13 million, comprising nearly 70% of the population!
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