There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 99

I sighed at the dizzying naming.

I wondered if they might end up using a symbol of a sickle and hammer crossing each other, given their doctrines.

I looked at Mun Ga-hak and asked.

“Is your proselytizing going well?”

“To be honest, it’s not easy,” Mun Ga-hak said, scratching his head.

For this kind of religion to spread widely, there needs to be some basis, but their doctrine is relatively normal, so they can’t use tricks or fake miracles that are common in cults.

My achievements as the Crown Prince are great, but how many people would take that at face value and think of me as a divine spirit?

‘That would be even stranger.’

The artisans of the Military Arms Bureau might have faith in me, but ordinary people would just laugh it off.

Still, the fact that it worked in the Military Arms Bureau means it might work elsewhere.

‘Besides the doctrine, how about proselytizing to specific occupational groups?’

Even humble laborers, if they work hard, it’s like they’re cultivating the Way, so they could preach in that direction.

I thought so, but I didn’t bother to say it.

I wanted to hear Mun Ga-hak’s strategy first.

“Do you always come out here to proselytize?”

“No, not always. This is to show the captured Japanese pirates, whom His Highness brought in, being executed to the believers, and…”

Mun Ga-hak said.

“Then?”

“We mainly gather in small groups and preach to laborers and merchants. These days, the butchers seem to be showing interest, so we are spreading the Way to them as well.”

I was subtly impressed.

His proselytizing strategy was the same as what I had thought, and he was even paying attention to the despised butchers.

‘Well, cults probably don’t check what their believers do for a living before proselytizing.’

So, they might be able to proselytize more fairly.

“Butchers, huh.”

I nodded.

I was starting to feel more favorable towards them for including butchers regardless of their status.

‘Except for that name.’

“Good, then I will approve of you, so continue as you have been,” I said to Mun Ga-hak.

“It won’t be easy to build up the religious following, but work hard. Just don’t swindle people. Unless you want to have a meeting with the Uigeumbu [a Joseon Dynasty judicial and police organization].”

“Is that true?”

“Your doctrine is about working hard, so what justification would I have to forbid it?”

When I answered readily, Mun Ga-hak subtly looked at me.

“If His Highness were to help our party, it would be easier to increase our power…”

I looked at Mun Ga-hak, and he flinched.

It seemed like he was asking me to push them using the Crown Prince’s authority.

However, the words that came out of Mun Ga-hak’s mouth were even more unimaginable.

“Many of our believers still doubt His Highness’s power. Could you perhaps perform a miracle?”

“What miracle?”

Am I supposed to make it rain from a clear sky?

It was absurd because he was putting forward an irrelevant person and saying this.

Was he asking me to do something like, ‘If you boil and drink this amulet, you won’t die even if you get shot by a bullet?’

“Don’t talk nonsense,” I glared at Mun Ga-hak, and he quickly lowered his head.

===

“I wasn’t caught, was I?”

After finishing the strange outing, I returned to the palace and asked No-bun.

Then No-bun nodded vigorously.

“Yes. I said I would quietly read a book in my room, so the palace people didn’t bother to check.”

No-bun boasted that he had carried all the meals himself, so there was no need to worry about being caught.

Come to think of it, I could see the royal meal table in the corner of the room, with even the bones sucked clean.

He had a field day while I was out on an outing.

There seemed to be nothing unusual from Yi Seong-gye, who had gone to the Taesang Hall [hall for retired kings or royal elders].

I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hoo.”

That’s a relief.

I wasn’t caught because I went out in my great-aunt’s palanquin.

I should use this often until the curfew is lifted.

Still, I feel better after getting some fresh air.

I was about to wash up and go to bed when I heard a familiar voice from outside.

“Is the Crown Prince there?”

I jumped up at the familiar voice from outside.

Yi Bang-won, having finished his daily duties at the Pyeonjeon Hall [main office where the King and his advisors managed state affairs], had personally come to the East Palace.

“Ah, Father. What brings you here?”

I said in a fluster.

Could I have been caught?

But when I looked at Yi Bang-won’s expression, he didn’t seem to suspect anything.

“Do I need a reason to come see my son?”

“It’s not that, but…”

I feel uneasy because I have something to be guilty about.

Yi Bang-won smiled and said, “I came to see if you were upset because you, who used to be so active, are now forbidden from going outside.”

‘He does know.’

But the words that came out of my mouth were different.

“No, I was wrong. I don’t resent it at all.”

I need to appease him for now.

Yi Bang-won sighed in relief at my answer.

“That’s a relief.”

“…”

Was Yi Bang-won, the prince of the purge, worried about this?

I was speechless for a moment.

“I forbade you from going out not because of other issues, but because I was worried about your safety,” Yi Bang-won said, taking my hand.

“I let you roam freely because I thought your talent was too precious to waste, but what if something had gone wrong?”

“But everything turned out fine…”

“That’s not the point. You need to be more aware of the danger. You’re still a child.”

“…”

I felt like I had been hit on the head.

Yi Bang-won continued, “You are still a child. You have done many things that no adult could do, but you are still a child who needs to be protected.

Holding a musket and fighting the Japanese pirates is not something you should be doing at your age.”

Well, even parents who raise their children to be strong would not be able to tolerate that.

Even though there’s a dark middle-aged man who has served in the military inside, I was still a child, as Yi Bang-won said.

If something had gone wrong, Yi Bang-won and Queen Wongyeong would have lost a child who hadn’t even grown up yet.

People who had already lost three sons.

“Your life is not only yours. Don’t you have a father, a mother, and siblings?”

Unlike when I was in modern times, my life was not only mine.

“…I will keep that in mind.”

I couldn’t argue.

The feeling of excitement from going on an outing earlier instantly subsided.

“But please lift the curfew,” I said seriously.

“I will not recklessly engage in dangerous activities anymore. However, there are many things I still need to do for this country. I can’t do them if I’m stuck in the palace.”

There were many things I wanted to do, even more than Yi Bang-won was worried about me.

“Alright,” my father said.

Yi Bang-won didn’t mean to make me give up on that either.

“But there’s a condition.”

“What is it?”

“Help me with one thing.”

No, I thought it would be a condition like, ‘Don’t go too far.’

What are you saying in this touching atmosphere?

Yi Bang-won’s eyes had already changed from a father’s to a boss’s.

Yi Bang-won held my hand tightly with a worried expression and said, “You know that there have been many ominous rumors lately, right?”

“Yes? Yes…”

Even though it was still spring, stories about people being struck by lightning were already being heard from all over the country.

In Bongju, Pyeongan Province (Hwanghae Province), people and cows were struck by lightning and died, and in Yeon’an-bu, people and cattle were struck by lightning, and in Impi, a woman was struck by lightning, and in Chungju, lightning struck the pillars of the guesthouse.

In this situation, the atmosphere in Gaeseong was also subdued, even if they didn’t say it out loud.

– Lightning is a natural disaster that rebukes the king’s misdeeds.

They couldn’t say this openly, but they couldn’t stop it from spreading secretly.

Because the idea of ​​Heavenly Retribution was being seriously discussed even among the educated.

Of course, it wasn’t public opinion that would shake the country, but Yi Bang-won, who had seized power through a coup, seemed to be concerned about it.

Yi Bang-won said, as if frustrated, “Lightning strikes are a natural phenomenon that existed even in the days of Yao and Shun. But how should I deal with those who foolishly connect this to my rule?”

At Yi Bang-won’s question, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“If they are enlightened, they will know, so wouldn’t it be possible to explain this principle well?”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

I was silent.

As I talked with Yi Seong-gye on today’s outing, it was an era where illogical beliefs were the mainstream rather than logic.

Like religion.

Illogical beliefs can only be broken with other beliefs.

‘That’s it.’

I clapped my knees at the sudden thought.

“Leave it to me. I will come up with a plan to make those rumors disappear.”

===

“You wanted me to perform a miracle, right?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

Mun Ga-hak, who had been summoned before me, said while prostrating himself.

He looked terrified as the soldiers lined up on the left and right looked down at him.

“Then gather people and climb the hill on a day when there is a great storm and dark clouds.”

“Yes?”

Mun Ga-hak blinked and asked.

“What kind of miracle are you trying to perform…”

“Just do as I say,” I said.

I had come up with a way this cult could uniquely help me.

===

It was drizzling.

I ordered the Military Arms Bureau to connect the wire I had made in front of the East Palace.

There was a large jujube tree in front of the East Palace, and I arranged for a steel pillar and wire to be attached to it to allow the current to flow into the ground.

‘This is a lightning rod.’

Fires are very common in the cities of this era.

In Hanyang, they laid tiles and built brick houses to prevent this, but it was still uneasy.

‘The cause of the fire is not only accidental fires or arson.’

There was also fire that literally fell from the sky.

I had thought about setting up a lightning rod to prevent this, but I was going to promote it on a large scale since Yi Bang-won had made a request.

Just as the work was finishing, the weather became even worse.

It looked like lightning would strike at any moment.

I shouted, looking at the people around me.

“When lightning strikes, it will fall towards the East Palace! There will be no damage to the buildings or people, so don’t panic!”

===

There were quite a few records of lightning strikes during the reign of Taejong [Yi Bang-won’s reign name].

This was the case compared to other kings with long or similar reigns.

Crown Prince Lee Je didn’t know, but especially in this year, which was the third year of his reign, reports of humans being struck by lightning were constant.

The whole country was suffering from lightning, and Gaeseong could not be an exception.

As dark clouds gathered from afar, Mun Ga-hak led the believers to the hills of Gaeseong.

“The Crown Prince must have meant a day like today,” Mun Ga-hak said confidently, but the believers could not hide their anxiety.

Even though it was daytime, the surroundings were dark due to the gathering dark clouds.

The believers climbing the hill moved with their bodies shrunk, as they didn’t know when lightning would strike.

“Don’t tremble!”

Mun Ga-hak shouted to control the believers.

But he couldn’t hide his anxiety either.

Those who climbed the hill waited anxiously for ‘something’ that the Crown Prince had said would happen.

At the same time, a flash of light occurred between the clouds, and the noise rushed in belatedly.

“Lightning!”

People screamed and reflexively fell to the ground.

However, the lightning that seemed to be about to strike in front of them was sucked into the palace in an unexpected way.

It was towards the East Palace.

It wasn’t just once.

– Kugugung!

Every time lightning struck, it went into the East Palace of Gaeseong.

From afar, the exact location could not be distinguished, so it looked as if it was being sucked into the East Palace’s building.

“Lightning is entering the palace!”

Even Mun Ga-hak, who had been half-doubtful, was speechless.

“Ah, ah…”

Before he could say anything, someone among the believers stood up and shouted.

“The East Palace, it’s the East Palace!”

“The Crown Prince has summoned the lightning!”

End

ⓒ Pitkong