There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 131

I wasn’t the only one I brought in; Hwang Eom was with me as well.

“I am overwhelmed that you would grace Hoidongguan [a guesthouse or official residence] with your presence, Your Highness,” a Ming Dynasty minister said.

“Hahaha, how could I refuse the Crown Prince’s request? Shall we critique a poem by Li Bai [a famous Chinese poet]?”

I waved my hand dismissively at the minister, who was speaking insincerely.

“Literary criticism is fine, but how about trying a game I invented today?”

“This is the famous Mahjong, isn’t it?”

The Ming Dynasty dignitaries, who had been invited under the guise of ‘exchanges with envoys,’ gradually began to fall for Mahjong.

At first, they were just people who accepted my invitation and sat at the table, but soon they were frequenting Hoidongguan.

The same was true even after Mahjong had spread far and wide.

“Would dignitaries want to join the back alley gambling dens? Hoidongguan is a good place to save face and make excuses to those around them.”

I heard that North Korea set up a casino in its consulate.

Due to the nature of diplomatic missions, the local law enforcement’s reach is limited, and it’s easy to make excuses for visits for exchange purposes, so Hoidongguan was soon crowded with guests.

“Ron! Ron! Ron!” [A Mahjong term for winning]

The tiles clacked amidst the boisterous atmosphere.

Since gambling cannot exist without money, people were fiddling with the Mahjong tiles with bloodshot eyes.

Someone admired the scene.

“It seems business is doing well?”

“Oh, no, not business. It’s just entertainment to treat the high-ranking officials,” I said, greeting Jeonghwa.

Jeonghwa looked around Hoidongguan.

There were many tables where only Ming Dynasty officials were sitting and arranging tiles, with no Joseon officials.

‘This is all a setup for them to socialize among themselves.’

I’m collecting usage fees appropriately, but it’s hardly what you’d call a business.

“How about it, Eunuch Jeong? Would you like to play?”

“I won’t refuse.”

With that, Jeonghwa also sat down at the table.

While the game was in full swing, Jeonghwa suddenly opened his mouth.

“The Emperor will be calling for you soon.”

“The Emperor?”

It seemed that was the reason Jeonghwa had come to Hoidongguan.

“What for?”

He hadn’t even looked at me until now, and suddenly he’s summoning me to the Imperial Palace.

What’s the hidden agenda?

Then Jeonghwa shook his head and replied.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

No, if Jeonghwa, who is delivering the order, doesn’t know, then who does?

When I asked, Jeonghwa sighed and replied.

“It can’t be helped. It’s not easy for us to guess the Emperor’s true intentions either.”

Like most people who seize the throne, the Yongle Emperor seems to be a dark and scheming man.

Even his close aides say this much.

‘Could it be because I met Grand Prince Han and Grand Prince Jo?’

Even if I am a prince of Joseon, it seemed that Yongle would mercilessly punish me if he judged that I had interfered in the succession issue.

I thought I had made excuses and stepped back in time, but Yongle’s perspective might be different.

‘If I get caught by a crazy person, I’m really screwed.’

When I enter the palace, will royal guards suddenly jump out from the left and right and arrest me?

I cautiously asked Jeonghwa.

“How do you deal with it, Eunuch Jeong?”

“Deal with what?”

“There is only one seat [the throne], but three people are watching. We don’t know where the owner’s mind is.”

Jeonghwa smiled bitterly when he heard my words.

He understood what I was talking about.

“Others may not, but Grand Prince Han is worth coveting.”

In a normal family, even if the older brother is incompetent, primogeniture is entrenched, so they cannot openly revolt.

However, Jeonghwa immediately denied that premise.

“Why is that?”

“Because the Emperor has already said something.”

Revealing the power struggles of the imperial family was potentially problematic, but Jeonghwa added that this was such a famous story that there was nothing to hide.

“You know that Grand Prince Han participated directly in the Rebellion of Jingnan [a civil war in the early Ming Dynasty], right?”

“Yes.”

“At that time, the Emperor said this to Grand Prince Han.”

Jeonghwa raised his voice and said.

“Work hard! The Crown Prince is often ill (勉之, 世子多疾)! …”

Wow.

The Yongle Emperor is no ordinary man.

To stimulate his son’s ambition and drive him to the battlefield.

Since he is such a dark-hearted person, he might see my involvement with Grand Prince Han and Grand Prince Jo in a bad light.

‘How on earth do eunuchs deal with such a psycho?’

There must be many attempts to bribe the eunuchs.

“Please teach me your know-how, no, your secret.”

Jeonghwa stroked his beard and said.

“There is a way we use when we want to avoid ‘sanctions’.”

“What is it?”

A secret to avoid the Yongle Emperor’s wrath.

“Praise the Great-Grandson.”

“Yes?”

“He cherishes his grandson very much. No matter how angry he is, he quickly feels better when he sees the Great-Grandson, so it’s a good method to use occasionally.”

Even the psycho Yongle Emperor has a deep love for his grandson.

“If the Emperor seems angry, mention the Great-Grandson… I understand.”

I nodded and expressed my gratitude to Jeonghwa.

===

The Yongle Emperor summoned me the day after Jeonghwa visited Hoidongguan.

At the words that only the princes of Joseon should enter the palace, I quickly ran to the palace with my brother.

‘Why isn’t Kwon Geun being called?’

Something feels uneasy.

The Yongle Emperor was holding the Great-Grandson in his arms.

That was fortunate.

He wouldn’t order the dragging away of the Joseon princes while holding the Great-Grandson whom he cherishes so much.

I was nervously waiting for the Yongle Emperor’s decree.

“Crown Prince!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Yongle Emperor jumped up from the throne and shouted.

“It works well!”

‘Huh?’

I inadvertently looked up at the Yongle Emperor, wondering what he was talking about.

It was a clear breach of etiquette, but the Yongle Emperor didn’t particularly care.

The worry that had been on his face a while ago had completely disappeared.

“Red ginseng, I’m talking about red ginseng!”

“Ah.”

Only then did I realize why the Yongle Emperor had called me.

‘Damn it, I was nervous for nothing.’

All the tension about whether the Yongle Emperor would question my contact with the princes was in vain.

Looking at the Yongle Emperor, who looked like he was about to jump up and down from the throne, I couldn’t help but think so.

That being said…

‘Red ginseng really does have an effect.’

Even in modern times, I’ve heard that it has a significant effect on improving virility when compared to placebos, but I didn’t know it would work on the Yongle Emperor too.

“When I take the red ginseng you offered, the blood flows through my body and my heart warms up!”

Not your heart, but your thing.

The Yongle Emperor’s reaction was embarrassing, but it wasn’t incomprehensible.

“Is the red ginseng you brought all you offered last time?”

I had loaded up plenty to sell not only to the Yongle Emperor but also to others.

I’ve already given out all the samples, though.

“I will inform the Emperor in my country that you were satisfied and send plenty on the next tribute ship.”

It was a reasonable answer in its own way.

However, I clearly saw the Yongle Emperor’s face distorting in real-time.

‘No, what can I do if I don’t have any?’

I bowed my head and said quickly.

“All the red ginseng has been presented, but there are still gifts left to present to the Great-Grandson.”

Then the Yongle Emperor’s crumpled face bloomed.

‘As expected, Jeonghwa’s advice to target the Great-Grandson was right.’

I secretly wiped away the sweat and thought.

“A gift for the Great-Grandson?”

“Yes, it’s something I made for my brothers in Joseon, and I think the Great-Grandson will like it too.”

There was no way the Yongle Emperor would refuse since I was bringing gifts from Joseon even for the Great-Grandson.

“Haha, Cheomgi, look. The Joseon princes have brought you a gift.”

“Huh?”

The Great-Grandson tilted his head.

‘I’m glad I prepared it in a hurry after listening to Jeonghwa’s words.’

I placed the toy I had made the day before in front of the Great-Grandson.

There were three small jade pillars on a wooden board, with several discs stacked on them.

In later generations, it would be called the Tower of Hanoi.

“The layers of stacked discs represent the strict distinction between superiors and inferiors and the laws of the four classes of people, so it is the perfect item for the noble Great-Grandson to play with.”

I compared the layers of different-sized discs in that way.

‘In reality, it’s just something I made to stimulate children’s brains.’

The Yongle Emperor laughed heartily and nodded.

“Good, good. Indeed, emperors need such games!”

He urged the Great-Grandson Ju Cheom-gi to try moving the discs quickly.

Watching the scene, I thought.

‘Will he even remember this later?’

But memories last surprisingly long.

Even if the memories of us disappear, this object that was with him in his childhood will remain.

Then, while reminiscing about the memories, he will naturally have friendly feelings towards Joseon, which presented this.

‘Well, that’s just my wishful thinking.’

“Hahaha.”

The Yongle Emperor stroked his beard.

“I’m so glad you’re taking care of the Great-Grandson like this.”

“You are too kind.”

When did he glare at me as if he would kill me if I didn’t give him red ginseng? He’s so happy now, he’s such an unpredictable person.

The gift is just a toy, so it’s not particularly important, but he seemed to like that I took such good care of the Great-Grandson.

The Yongle Emperor, in a good mood, looked down at us and asked.

“So, how old is the Crown Prince compared to the Grand Prince?”

“There is a three-year difference.”

“Are you two on good terms?”

Of course.

Unlike the previous generations who fought each other, our brothers were very close.

“Um…”

However, Chungnyeong suddenly trailed off at the Yongle Emperor’s question.

‘Hey, I fried you so many chickens, you can’t do this.’

“Of course, we are on good terms.”

I interrupted Chungnyeong’s words and answered.

“The King of Joseon is enviable. Having such wonderful sons, the foundation of the country must be very strong.”

The next moment, the Yongle Emperor narrowed his eyes and said.

“So, in a family with many wonderful sons like you, who do you think should inherit?”

“It has been the rule since ancient times that the eldest son inherits the ancestral rites, so how could there be anything else?”

Grand Prince Chungnyeong answered according to the law at the Yongle Emperor’s question.

‘Hey, don’t say unnecessary things.’

You’ll get targeted by the other princes for no reason.

In the first place, the guy who became king instead of me in the original history is saying such things.

“Really? What about the Crown Prince?”

My face hardened.

‘This crazy psycho!’

Anyone can see that this is a metaphor for the Ming Dynasty successor.

Why are you asking us this?

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, you don’t know?”

The Yongle Emperor stroked his beard and asked.

“Are you not the Crown Prince as the eldest son? But why do you answer like that?”

“…”

Looking only at the Yongle Emperor’s words, it was correct, but I didn’t want to give the princes an excuse for no reason.

‘What should I do?’

I remembered Jeonghwa’s advice.

‘He likes the Great-Grandson very much, so mention him if there is anything dangerous.’

I looked at the Great-Grandson and said.

“Ah, no?”

The Great-Grandson, who was playing, had just finished building the Tower of Hanoi.

“You’ve already moved all the discs!”

“I moved them faster…”

Be quiet, you.

“Really? Is it that difficult to move that tower?”

The Yongle Emperor suddenly looked over there and asked.

“You can only move one disc at a time, and you have to stack them according to the size of the disc, so mistakes are frequent, and it’s a game that even most adults have difficulty succeeding at once. But the Great-Grandson has already succeeded because he is so bright.”

I quickly praised the Great-Grandson.

“Since the Great-Grandson is so intelligent, I will have to come up with more toys next time, hahaha!”

As I repeatedly praised the Great-Grandson, the corners of the Yongle Emperor’s lips slightly turned up.

‘It’s working?’

I changed the subject in a hurry, but it seemed to work.

As expected, a grandson fool can’t help it.

“The Great-Grandson is intelligent…”

The Yongle Emperor repeated those words.

“That’s right. You have a good sacred grandson (好聖孫) [a virtuous and intelligent grandson].”

“A good sacred grandson, that’s right. The Crown Prince is really good at seeing people!”

The Yongle Emperor laughed heartily.

‘I barely got through it by praising his grandson.’

Phew, I thought I was going to die.

===

The Yongle Emperor often asked his close aides about the succession, but asking the Crown Prince Yi Je about it was more of a whim.

Or perhaps it was a malicious hobby disguised as interrogation.

The Yongle Emperor knew that his sons, Grand Prince Han and Grand Prince Jo, had contacted the Crown Prince of Joseon.

Joseon was always like that.

Even when he was the Prince of Yan, they sent envoys to communicate.

It didn’t matter when he was a prince, but it bothered him.

Even if his sons were the ones who approached first.

‘But…’

The Yongle Emperor remembered meeting his father when he was the Prince of Yan.

He was also a man who could rule a country, though not as good as himself.

Therefore, he did not stop the princes from interacting and just left them alone.

‘How would that son see the character of Grand Prince Han and Grand Prince Jo?’

The Crown Prince Yi Je answered clearly.

After meeting them, he made excuses and cut off contact with Grand Prince Han and Grand Prince Jo.

And then he answered clearly to himself, who was asking about the succession.

“There is a good sacred grandson, is that your answer?”

Really, what a scary guy.

< A Good Sacred Grandson > End

ⓒ Pitkong