There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 173

“I shall abdicate.”

Yi Bang-won uttered only those words, but the repercussions were enormous.

Close aides, including Ha Ryun, rushed out in astonishment, and even relatives like his father-in-law, Min Je of Yeoheung, Grand Prince Yi Hwa of Uian, and other members of the royal family emerged to express their opposition.

“Your Majesty is still in his prime, and the Crown Prince is young. Why are you discussing abdication?”

“We cannot fathom the reason!”

Such reactions were inevitable given the suddenness of the King’s whim.

After all, from a common-sense perspective, there was no reason for a healthy king to step down.

However, Yi Bang-won did not relent.

“I am not yet old, and the Crown Prince may be young. However, the Crown Prince is intelligent and has already attended several royal court meetings, overseeing state affairs without a single flaw. That is why I have made up my mind.”

Was the Crown Prince’s recent frequent appearances a setup for today?

“There are already two former kings, the Grand Royal Father and the Royal Father. If Your Majesty abdicates, what will the people say?”

If the abdication were to happen, wouldn’t it be an absurd situation with three former kings?

Yi Bang-won replied calmly.

“As you say, there are already two former kings. What difference does it make if there are two or three?”

“…”

In fact, that was also true.

Looking back, this was all because of Yi Bang-won, the former king manufacturer, but there was no one who dared to shout at him, ‘This is all your fault!’

“My decision is made. Bring the royal seal!”

Yi Bang-won shouted.

===

“Your Majesty! Please withdraw your command!”

“Please withdraw your command!”

The officials wailed one after another, but Yi Bang-won inside Heejungdang remained silent.

“What on earth is all this nonsense?”

I asked, bewildered.

“His Majesty ordered a eunuch to deliver the royal seal to the Crown Prince’s palace, but General Jo Young-moo desperately blocked it.”

“Ha.”

“After that, we gathered and requested that he withdraw the abdication, but His Majesty remains unmoved. It seems Your Highness has no choice but to persuade His Majesty directly.”

Hwang Hee said with a stern face.

As this had happened without any prior notice, I was very embarrassed, but the officials here must have felt the same.

Unable to ignore their gazes, I entered Heejungdang.

“Have you come to ask me to withdraw my intention to abdicate?”

Yi Bang-won asked, and I nodded.

“Yes. Because… you have no intention of abdicating, do you?”

I asked.

Yi Bang-won, who loved power as much as his own child, was talking about abdication.

No matter how I looked at it, this was a show.

“That’s right.”

Yi Bang-won readily admitted.

“This is just an act to discipline them.”

“Discipline?”

“To be precise, it’s not you but the officials who need disciplining.”

As my presence grew, more and more people tried to get on my good side.

Of course, I had no intention of backing anyone except the working-level staff I worked with.

‘But why are you using your son to discipline them!’

You might as well carry out another purge.

Well, the subtle shift in the balance of power caused by me, the Crown Prince, being assertive, couldn’t be solved by beheading one or two people.

‘But I’ve come too far to quietly confine myself to the East Palace [residence of the Crown Prince] like ordinary Crown Princes.’

So Yi Bang-won brought the abdication issue to the surface and created a situation where all the officials desperately opposed it, thereby changing the atmosphere itself.

“You’re saying that my abdication declaration is all for you.”

Yi Bang-won said confidently.

‘This is also gaslighting.’

I clicked my tongue and said.

“Yes, I understand for now. Now that I know Your Majesty’s intentions, please withdraw your command.”

It was a story to end it now because the show was enough.

“Why end it when this is such a good opportunity?”

However, Yi Bang-won shook his head.

“I declared abdication yesterday. How can I reverse it so soon? Then they will criticize me behind my back for putting on a show. If I’m going to do it, I have to do it properly to be comfortable later.”

Before I could answer, Yi Bang-won suddenly raised his voice and shouted.

“Ahem! Are you truly unwilling to receive the great treasure! If you’re going to say such things, get out of here! What are the eunuchs doing!”

The eunuchs came and pretended to drag me out, so I had no choice but to be kicked out of Heejungdang.

The officials flocked to me like a school of carp seeing food and asked.

“What did he say?”

“…His Majesty was angry and did not listen to my request to withdraw his command. It seems I, as the Crown Prince, will have to plead for forgiveness outside.”

I said, cursing inwardly.

It was late August in the lunar calendar.

In other words, it was early autumn in the solar calendar.

So I was able to avoid the tragedy of suffering in the scorching sun during the sweltering summer, but that didn’t make kneeling in supplication any easier.

‘This is embarrassing in its own way.’

As I sat blankly on the mat in front of Heejungdang, everyone’s eyes were fixed on me.

“Oh my, this is crazy! How can they make a child kneel like this?”

Queen Wongyeong, who had rushed over like the wind upon hearing the news that I had begun kneeling in supplication, shouted.

Fortunately, the people around were only palace people who had eyes but could not see and ears but could not hear.

My younger siblings, who had followed their mother, grabbed her sleeves and looked at me with pitiful expressions.

“Heeing, Brother.”

“Shall we go to Father and ask him to forgive you?”

Hyoryeong asked, sobbing as he looked at me.

Queen Wongyeong nodded and said.

“Yes, that would be good. Let’s all go to your father and ask him to withdraw his command.”

“I appreciate the thought, but don’t bother.”

Since Yi Bang-won had set a deadline, he would never listen before then.

Queen Wongyeong continued to fume, but I quietly closed my eyes and calmed my mind.

But that was only for a moment. When I opened my eyes to the feeling of being watched, Do was staring intently at my face.

“…”

“What are you looking at?”

“I’m glad I’m not the Crown Prince.”

Chungnyeong said, licking his ice cream.

“Where did you get that?”

“I ordered it from the royal kitchen.”

“Give me a bite.”

“Ah! It’s already time for reading! See you later, Brother!”

Do hurriedly turned around and ran away.

‘I taught him how to make that iron plate ice cream.’

You ungrateful fellow.

After my mother and siblings left, the Grand Royal Father and the Royal Father also came to watch.

“This is another bizarre sight.”

I replied to Yi Seong-gye, who was grinning.

“Don’t just watch, try to stop him. Even if Mother doesn’t listen, he’ll at least pretend to listen to you two.”

“Why should I stop him? I have a better idea.”

I didn’t have much expectation even with Yi Seong-gye’s bold words.

Yi Seong-gye rattled off a plan that no one had asked for.

“Bang-won told you to take the royal seal anyway, right? Then shouldn’t I take it and hand it over to you?”

“…That’s treason.”

I shuddered at the word treason, but Yi Seong-gye, a true traitor who had deposed three kings and killed them all, was nonchalant.

“No, why shouldn’t you receive what he said he would give you?”

“Because receiving the abdication is disloyal and unfilial.”

“That guy has done worse unfilial things. What an audacity.”

I shook my head.

If my father was at the level of King Yeongjo, I might take such a gamble, but he wasn’t, so there was no need.

‘And how am I supposed to handle the mess with three former kings?’

Are you telling me to ascend the throne as king from today?

Even if it were actually possible, I would absolutely refuse.

“Tsk, no fun.”

Yi Seong-gye clicked his tongue.

“Then take this opportunity to kneel down and meditate. You need some mental training.”

You’re really not helpful.

Meanwhile, Yi Bang-gwa muttered gloomily as he looked at me squatting.

“Bang-won didn’t do this to me when I abdicated…”

That’s because you were just a figurehead, Great Uncle.

No one would have doubted the sincerity of that declaration.

===

As night fell, the eunuch Noh Hee-bong came out of Heejungdang and handed me a chopi [Sichuan pepper] coat.

“This is His Majesty’s order to wrap yourself in this. Don’t say that His Majesty gave it to you…”

‘It’s like giving me a disease and then giving me medicine.’

That’s what I thought inwardly.

It would be known to the world that ‘a eunuch, unable to bear the Crown Prince’s extreme filial piety, brought it to him.’

In fact, it was a rigged game between father and son.

‘It’s warm.’

I put on the fur coat and thought as I warmed myself.

As the hoshi [border markets] in the Northern Frontier became active, fur imports were breaking all-time records.

In fact, the same was true for all trade goods.

So these furs could be obtained for more than half the price compared to before.

‘High-ranking eunuchs like Noh Hee-bong can easily obtain them.’

So no one would feel anything strange.

I looked at Noh Hee-bong and asked.

“It’s cold, so I can light a brazier, right?”

“A, a brazier, you say?”

“Otherwise, what if I catch a cold in this autumn wind?”

Noh Hee-bong was momentarily flustered and ran into Heejungdang. He probably went to hear Yi Bang-won’s answer.

Soon he came out and bowed his head.

“Y-yes… please do so.”

Soon the eunuchs brought a brazier in front of me, and I squatted down and warmed myself by the crackling fire.

Is this what they call fire-gazing?

‘It feels like I’m camping.’

It would be nice to have marshmallows to roast.

But marshmallows are literally a food made by mixing essence extracted from the marshmallow plant with sugar, honey, egg whites, etc.

Even I, who developed chicken and ice cream, couldn’t easily make this.

“Aish, let’s have chicken instead of pheasant. Noh Boon, go to the royal kitchen and bring some chapssaltteok [glutinous rice cakes].”

I skewered the chapssaltteok that Noh Boon brought, grilled them appropriately, and handed one to Noh Boon.

As he grabbed the skewer and bit into it, the chapssaltteok, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, stretched out.

“Where do I sleep at night?”

“I don’t know either, but… shouldn’t you go to the East Palace when you sleep?”

Well, how would you have seen a Crown Prince kneeling in supplication?

This is probably the first abdication show in Joseon.

‘Surely I don’t have to stay up all night here.’

Normal sleep patterns are most important for growing taller.

As I sighed, the door of Heejungdang opened slightly.

Yi Bang-won, who revealed his face through the gap, clenched his fist and shouted.

“Son, hang in there!”

“…”

I scrunched up my face.

‘When is this really going to end?’

It’ll be a few more days, so I hope nothing happens in the meantime.

===

“His Majesty’s will is firm.”

The house of Min Je, the Lord of Yeoheung.

Min Je had been too busy dealing with the abdication bomb to come home often recently, and only the four sons of this family were guarding their father’s empty seat.

“He hasn’t withdrawn his intention to abdicate for three days already, has he?”

Min Mu-hoe’s words made Min Mu-gu nod.

It was certainly not just a passing remark, and to them, this was an unusual level.

“If it were just a day or two, it would be one thing, but with his mind so firm, he might really be determined to abdicate.”

If so, it was not a bad story for these four Min brothers.

‘Isn’t His Majesty actually a king made by our family?’

Without the Queen’s support, without their direct efforts, could Prince Jeongan have become the king of this country, Joseon?

Then they should have received corresponding treatment, but Yi Bang-won did not show such an attitude.

Rather, he was carrying out a ruthless rule, purging meritorious subjects one by one.

So they quietly accepted the Bupyeong salt pan that the Crown Prince had given them and kept their heads down, but they were still thirsty for power.

“His Majesty usually cherishes his children more than any father.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince is intelligent and has achieved great things. His Majesty may want to leave it to the Crown Prince and rest.”

“Still, His Majesty is still young…”

Min Mu-gu crossed his arms and muttered.

No matter how smart his son is, could his brother-in-law be so detached from power?

“Then let’s just test the waters.”

“It would be enough to imply that there are opinions that follow His Majesty’s will, rather than all the officials blindly opposing it, wouldn’t it?”

Min Mu-gu nodded slightly at his brothers’ words.

Surely nothing will happen with just that.

Especially since His Majesty himself mentioned the abdication.

‘Well, if His Majesty really intends to abdicate, there’s no need to throw cold water on it.’

It would take at least a dozen more years for the current Crown Prince to ascend the throne normally, so why bother going the long way around?

End

ⓒ Pitkong