There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 249

< Seeds of Tears, Flowers of Laughter >

After that, Yi Seong-gye began to fall ill more and more frequently.

It wasn’t unusual for Yi Seong-gye, given his age, but the royal family was deeply worried because he had never been sick this often.

Whenever his grandfather was lucid, he would beg to go outside.

“Do I have to end my days cooped up in this stuffy palace? The sky is my roof and the earth my blanket. What would I regret, even if I died in a field?”

“You should be enjoying your long life… Please take back those words.”

“Okay, okay. What can I say to you? Bring the Crown Prince.”

Even though the court officials tried to dissuade him for the sake of his health, he was incredibly stubborn. It was only when I intervened that Yi Seong-gye finally calmed down.

It was fortunate that I had invented the hyuche chair [a portable chair or palanquin] during my visit to Ming China.

At least within the palace grounds, Yi Seong-gye could go anywhere just by sitting in it.

“Isn’t Changdeokgung Palace beautiful, even if you don’t go outside the walls? Why don’t you take a look around?”

“Are you bragging about building it? I’m tired of seeing it every day.”

“Then shall we go back?”

Yi Seong-gye answered with a sulky expression.

“I’m tired of it, but I want to keep it in my eyes, since there aren’t many days left for me to see it.”

He’s such a stubborn old man.

Yi Seong-gye smacked his lips and said,

“I want to see Hanyang Fortress [the main fortress surrounding Seoul, then known as Hanyang].”

“I built that too, you know?”

“I made Hanyang the capital, so you and I built it together. So, is it too much to ask?”

“Going out will be difficult.”

There are many people watching with bated breath, worried that the Grand Royal King’s health will worsen.

No matter how much of a king I am, I couldn’t possibly take Yi Seong-gye out in this condition.

In the first place, I was one of the people who was worried.

“But there is a way to look at the capital from here.”

“Huh?”

Injeongjeon Hall of Changdeokgung Palace is a two-story building.

In a corner of the second floor, there is a watchtower called Sipjagak, so there is no better place to get a panoramic view.

The high walls of Changdeokgung Palace were also beyond the field of vision, so it was easy to observe even from inside the palace.

Yi Seong-gye, who was carried to the second floor by No-bun, complained.

“I came all the way up here, but how can I see properly when the palace and the common people are so far away?”

When Yi Seong-gye complained, I handed him something.

“What is this?”

“You said you wanted to see the capital, right?”

The thing I handed over was a telescope.

As mentioned before, among the Ortok merchants [Mongol-era merchant groups] I brought, there is a glass technician.

A lens is ultimately a piece of ground glass, so if you know the principle, it is easy to make a telescope.

Although there had to be some trial and error.

The other eye of Yi Seong-gye, who put the telescope to his eye, widened.

“I can see it! I can see it!”

Yi Seong-gye shouted excitedly.

“I can see the mole on the face of the passing eunuch! How can such a thing exist!”

It was only an 8-9x magnification, which was at best an early telescope, but it seemed like that was a new world for Yi Seong-gye.

I smiled and looked through my own telescope.

Yi Seong-gye said regretfully.

“If I had this when I was young, I would have been happy to use it in war.”

“How about now?”

Yi Seong-gye was silent for a while as he looked at Hanyang, which had grown and changed significantly since the time he moved the capital.

The expressions on people’s faces were smiling or frowning, and most were expressionless, but none of them showed signs of poverty or hardship.

There seemed to be a commotion in the crowded market, and people, horses, carts, and bicycles were constantly moving busily on the streets.

Yi Seong-gye smiled faintly.

“I think it would be better to sit in the palace and use it to observe the lives of the people.”

That’s spying.

I turned around to scold him, but Yi Seong-gye dropped his head with the telescope in his hand.

===

When Yi Seong-gye regained consciousness, all of our royal family members had gathered.

Father, mother, the Sangwang [King Emeritus] couple, siblings, and me and Zhu Suohua.

Perhaps the remaining royal family members have all been notified and are entering the palace.

Yi Seong-gye, who blinked and looked around, said in surprise.

“What’s such a big deal that an old man fell down and you all flocked here?”

“Abama [father, in a respectful tone]…”

Yi Bang-won called him with a sad look.

Since the two had cleared up the last remaining grudges a while ago, no emotion other than sadness could be felt in his tone.

“It’s the end now.”

Yi Seong-gye said as if he had a hunch.

“Abama, don’t say that…”

“You’re going to tell me not to say that, right? I can’t say anything because of this. My sons, grandsons, and court officials all say that! It’s going to be stuck in my ears! Stop saying that now!”

Yi Seong-gye jumped up and down, not like a person who was about to die.

“Has the historian entered the court?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I have something important to say from now on, so write it down.”

Is this the Grand Royal King’s will?

Everyone pricked up their ears and became nervous.

What on earth will come out?

Yi Seong-gye broke the heavy air and opened his mouth.

“It was not the silver mirror that saved the Crown Prince, but the thunderbolt wood.”

“Pardon?”

Kim was completely deflated.

The face of the historian sitting next to him had also been strangely distorted for a long time.

However, Yi Seong-gye said angrily.

“You must write it down clearly in the history so that future generations can find the correct record, right? Although the truth is being suppressed now, there will come a day when everyone will recognize the merits of this Grand Royal King.”

“Ah, yes.”

I answered briefly to Yi Seong-gye, who was speaking with enthusiasm.

The tension is completely relieved.

The other family members shook their heads as if they felt the same way.

Yi Seong-gye stuck out his tongue at Zhu Suohua.

“Now that this will be recorded in the Veritable Records [official historical records], I have won.”

Zhu Suohua, whose eyes were moist, burst into laughter at the sight.

“That’s better. You’ll get ugly if you cry.”

Yi Seong-gye, who dissed Zhu Suohua in that way, slowly began to leave his real will.

“I was always afraid that my name would be left as a traitor. But since excellent descendants have come to lead the country, why would I have any regrets? There is nothing to worry about.”

Yi Seong-gye said.

“The Jurchens [a Tungistic people who were the ancestors of the Manchus] have been a concern of the country since ancient times. I temporarily placed some of them under my control, but what they followed was not Joseon, but the person named me. But that shouldn’t happen in the future.”

The words continued.

“I have passed on the Jurchens to the Crown Prince, so it will be fine while the Crown Prince is alive. In the meantime, make the Jurchens a member of this country. The Jurchens may seem like barbarians to us, but they are a race with their own pride. If we don’t open our hearts, they won’t open their hearts to Joseon either.”

However, Yi Seong-gye ended the story by saying that caution should not be neglected.

“Bang-gwa, Bang-won.”

“Yes, Father…”

“Yes, Abama.”

“I have many children left, including young princesses. Please take good care of these children.”

“Heuheuk, Father!”

My uncle and father burst into tears.

“And to the remaining descendants. You must all do your best in filial piety and friendship. We have been separated for too, too long.”

Yi Seong-gye said with strength.

“Finally, Je.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Yi Seong-gye grabbed my hand, which had crawled on its knees.

Why is the old man so strong even when he’s lying in bed?

If he didn’t use this strength, he would have lived a few more days?

Yi Seong-gye stared straight into my eyes as I was having such useless thoughts.

“You are the successor of this Yi Seong-gye.”

“…”

Not Yi Dan, the King of Joseon.

The successor of Yi Seong-gye, a human being who was born in this land, cried, laughed, breathed, and lived in this land.

“You will be able to fulfill my long-cherished wish someday. The world of Hae-dong [literally “East of the Sea,” referring to Korea], the dream that the people of this land had.”

“Grandfather.”

Yi Seong-gye did not explicitly say it because of the historian or Zhu Suohua sitting next to him, but I think I knew what he meant.

That which can only be obtained by taking advantage of the chaos of the Ming Dynasty that will come someday.

A country where even the ideas that govern this country are subordinated to the point where even the king of Sadae [tributary relationship] has no choice but to follow the absolute value even after the actual Sang-guk [suzerain state] has perished.

A country with our own world equal to the Middle Kingdom [China].

A dream that people of the past, such as Gongminwang, Choi Young, and Yi Seong-gye, wanted but ultimately failed.

“We have lost it and lived for too long.”

“What if… that opportunity doesn’t come?”

“Then there’s nothing we can do. Wouldn’t it be enough just to dream?”

Yi Seong-gye said with a bitter smile.

Could it be that even he is not sure in the face of death?

I wanted to reassure Yi Seong-gye even with a lie.

That your words are right, that I will fulfill your long-cherished wish.

But it felt like I would be caught soon if I told such a lie.

I thought as I tried to swallow my words until the end.

‘No, that’s not it.’

I know.

The Ming Dynasty will collapse someday.

Even though Yi Seong-gye dies, I die, and it will happen 200 years later, I clearly know that Ming can’t be invincible anyway.

If I can’t do it, my descendants will, and I will make sure they can.

“It will definitely be achieved.”

I said, holding his hand tightly.

Yi Seong-gye’s face brightened as if he felt the conviction filled with my words.

“Thank you.”

Yi Seong-gye closed his eyes as if he was sleepy.

“When will I be able to run through the Hamheung field again.”

Yi Seong-gye sighed deeply.

“Buddhism has three lives. Past life, this life, and next life.

I’ve already lived one life, so I don’t know if there will be another life…”

Yi Seong-gye said, looking at me with warm eyes.

“If I am born again, I want to be born as your grandson.”

I couldn’t speak for a moment at the unexpected words, and finally asked.

“Why?”

Then Yi Seong-gye spoke with a playful face.

“You have to suffer once too!”

I wiped away my tears.

And I countered with a smile.

“It won’t be easy.”

Because I will become a man who is pleasant, kind, and does not lose to anyone, not even his family.

That’s how I’m going to live.

Until Yi Seong-gye is born again in this land, whenever that may be.

Yi Seong-gye forced a smile.

“How can this guy not lose a word until the end…”

Yi Seong-gye’s voice gradually faded away.

The hand I was holding slowly loosened, and I grabbed it even tighter, but there was nothing I could do about the chilling warmth.

“Abama, Abama!”

The royal family members, who finally learned of the passing, wailed, but Yi Seong-gye did not answer.

Yi Bang-won and Yi Bang-gwa fell on the corpse, and the other family members shed tears in a hurry.

Soon, the sound of Sangwi-bok [a ritual calling the soul back to the body] echoed from above the palace, and the crying spread to the entire palace, and then to the entire capital.

It was exactly 20 years after the founding of Joseon.

===

The Grand Royal King passed away in Byeoljeon Hall. The Grand Royal King always loved the Crown Prince and shared his meals with him in his later years. After calling all the royal family members, he had a final conversation with the Crown Prince.

According to the Sang-eon [official announcement] of the Ministry of Rites, music inside and outside the capital was stopped, slaughter and marriage were prohibited, major and minor rites and morning markets were stopped, and ministers were sent to inform the Jongmyo Shrine [royal ancestral shrine].

A tomb for the Grand Royal King was prepared in Yangju, and the King carried the coffin and went out. When he arrived at the burial site, the Crown Prince beat his chest and wailed, and soon fainted.

Afterwards, the King called his vassals to discuss the temple name.

With a three-foot sword, he made the country comfortable (三尺劍頭安社稷), and with a whip, he pacified the world (一條鞭末定乾坤).

His achievements were no different from spreading light to thousands of generations (光啓于禩).

The temple name was raised to Taejo (太祖), and the posthumous title was raised to Jiin Gyeun Seongmun Shinmu Daewang (至仁啓運聖文神武大王).

< Seeds of Tears, Flowers of Laughter > End