There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 282

“Bestowal of an honorific title?”

I thought I would return to state affairs after Chuseok [Korean harvest festival, similar to Thanksgiving], but then came this unexpected proposal.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The assembled officials have discussed and wish to bestow an honorific title upon you. Please, grant us your permission.”

An honorific title is a title given to praise the achievements of someone as high-ranking as I am.

The effect? It makes the recipient’s shoulders rise a bit.

It might seem like nothing much, but prestige is more important than you think.

However, I humbly declined.

“I have not accomplished much since ascending the throne. On what grounds would I receive an honorific title?”

In truth, I have accomplished a lot.

Even if we only consider the achievements I accumulated since my days as Crown Prince, I could easily receive the Joseon Dynasty MVP award.

Though it’s only been three… no, four generations.

Despite my gentle refusal, the Chief State Councillors stubbornly persisted.

“The nation is at peace, and we have had a bountiful harvest, allowing us to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival (Chuseok) so abundantly. Moreover, the Queen has given birth to twins, a sign that the heavens are bestowing great blessings upon our royal family. All of this is due to Your Majesty’s virtuous rule. How can we not bestow an honorific title?”

Hmm, mentioning the daughters makes it a bit tempting.

I wondered if people of this era would see twins as an ominous sign, but the officials are even offering separate congratulations.

“In the national language, it is said that the state sends rice to those who give birth to two children at once, fearing the nation’s prosperity might be diminished, and provides wet nurses to those who give birth to three children at once to assist them.”

“In our country, twins have long been considered a good omen, and rice is given to the family. How can we not see this as a sign of good fortune for the royal family?”

In the dramas I watched in modern times, I remember one of the twins being cast out, but it seems there’s no such thing in Joseon [Korean dynasty from 1392 to 1897], the land of morality.

I can put down the club I had preemptively prepared.

‘It almost feels like I’m being congratulated even more because they are daughters.’

If the firstborn and second-born were twins, there might be troublesome debates over who was born first, but fortunately, the eldest is Dan, and the two princesses are daughters.

The elders of the family showed a hint of disappointment amidst their joy, wondering who they would marry off their sons to if everyone only had sons.

The King needs to step in and balance things out.

“So, you wish to bestow an honorific title upon me?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Honorific titles were already bestowed upon the King Emeritus and the Queen Dowager when Your Majesty ascended the throne, so it is only right that Your Majesty and the Queen receive honorific titles in turn!”

It is a gracious gesture to celebrate the birth of my daughters and grant my wife and me impressive titles.

Seeing that this came up right after Chuseok, there must have been behind-the-scenes discussions among the officials beforehand, and they presented me with this proposal now that they have a good reason.

‘But not now.’

I shook my head.

“Who was the instigator of this discussion?”

“Several senior officials have discussed it in depth…”

“I’m asking who brought it up first.”

Then, the eyes of the Chief State Councillors turned to Shim On, the Chief Councillor, in the center.

Shim On exclaimed in embarrassment.

“Your Majesty, I truly believed that an honorific title was necessary to demonstrate Your Majesty’s majesty!”

‘Hmm.’

It seems this gentleman is facing a lot of scrutiny.

As the father-in-law of Grand Prince Chungnyeong, who passed the civil service examination and rose to the position of second-in-command, he is bound to attract suspicion.

It’s good that he’s being proactive, but timing is crucial in these matters.

“Honorific titles should be received by those who have made significant contributions.”

“Therefore, Your Majesty has sufficiently…”

“The achievements I have made during my reign are still insufficient, so it is not appropriate to receive an honorific title now.”

The Chief State Councillors seemed to realize that I was telling them not to step forward now because I was preparing something big.

There’s no need to receive an honorific title ‘now’.

There will be a more opportune time for it.

I placed a piece of paper on the table in front of them.

The gazes of the three Chief State Councillors converged on it.

“Do you know what this is?”

The Chief State Councillors spoke with puzzled expressions.

“We do not know it well.”

“It certainly looks like writing, but…”

Since the start of the Age of Exploration and the opening of trade routes, there have been contacts with various countries, so they seemed to think it was a script from one of those countries.

“What country’s script is it?”

“Joseon.”

“…”

The three Chief State Councillors fell silent.

‘It was completed faster than I expected.’

I thought as I looked at the finally completed Hangeul [Korean alphabet].

In the original history, King Sejong would have had no choice but to build up from nothing, step by step, from the principles of imitation, addition, and synthesis.

Even the seemingly insignificant hints I threw out were the result of years, even decades, of contemplation.

By simply copying and pasting that to Grand Prince Chungnyeong, a modern person, we were able to drastically reduce the time and effort required.

“Could it be… that you have created a writing system?”

Shim On’s eyes wavered.

Although it’s a secret project, he must have known that his son-in-law, Grand Prince Chungnyeong, was doing something under the King’s orders, so he was the first to notice.

“My son-in-law created it. I only provided a little help.”

Shim On barely managed to open his mouth.

“Then, was the order to compile the “National Language Dictionary” at the Office of Royal Decrees issued with this script in mind?”

“That is correct. The pronunciation and meaning of the collected words will be written in the new script.”

This project is not simply aimed at the invention of Hangeul alone.

Perhaps commercialization is even more important than invention.

‘I will make it so that people cannot live without Hangeul within a few years.’

The typewriter is also in the final stages of development, and visual telegraphs are being installed in beacon towers across the country.

It’s a device that transmits signals by moving the angle of the wooden signal on the tower, and each movement can be assigned to a letter.

With Chinese characters, an incredibly thick codebook would be needed, but with Hangeul, it won’t matter.

The personnel who have completed the dictionary compilation and grammar establishment at the Office of Royal Decrees will be投入 [invested] to translating the classics, and Hangeul will be used in revised editions of steady sellers such as the Samgang Haengsildo (Illustrations of the Three Bonds) [a Confucian text emphasizing moral behavior].

As projects that were being 추진 [promoted/pushed forward] separately and without any connection suddenly came together, the Chief State Councillors were shocked.

“If we abandon Chinese characters and force people to learn a new script, the harm will be enormous. It’s not a script that can be mastered overnight. How could you do such a thing without consulting with your officials…”

“Ah, do not worry.”

I said confidently.

“Grand Prince Chungnyeong has assured me that the wise can master it in a morning, and even the foolish can master it in ten days.”

The Chief State Councillors’ faces flashed expressions like ‘That’s because it’s Grand Prince Chungnyeong saying that,’ but I didn’t care much.

I have no intention of playing tug-of-war over whether to promulgate Hangeul or not.

If there is anyone who opposes it, I will send Do, the best mouth fighter, to deal with them.

And if there are those who oppose it for the sake of opposing it instead of having a constructive discussion, I will step in and suppress them.

This is what brotherly role-sharing is all about.

“Then, the reason you are not receiving an honorific title now is…?”

Chief State Councillor Yi Jong-mu opened his mouth.

“If I am to receive an honorific title, shouldn’t it be after the new script is promulgated soon? With this level of achievement, I would gladly receive an honorific title.”

Rather than receiving an honorific title because my daughters were born as twins, wouldn’t it be much more significant to receive an honorific title as the King who created a new national script?

“Ah, it’s up to you to bestow it, so you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“…There’s no way we wouldn’t.”

I said so generously, but from these gentlemen’s point of view, they can’t take it back now.

The proclamation of Hangeul is imminent.

===

The assembled three Chief State Councillors were silent.

To be precise, Chief Councillor Shim On and Chief Councillor Yi Jong-mu were.

“When did you start preparing for such a significant matter!”

On the other hand, Chief State Councillor Kim Han-ro lamented as soon as he stepped away from the presence of the King.

The current three Chief State Councillors were clearly appointments made with political considerations in mind.

Shim On as Chief Councillor to favor the royal family’s in-laws and as compensation for the 청송 [Cheongsong] Shim clan being pushed out of the military.

Kim Han-ro was appointed as Chief State Councillor as King Emeritus’s classmate, and Yi Jong-mu was appointed as Chief State Councillor as a senior figure in the military, as the King felt that there should be at least one representative of the military.

As a result, there were rumors that the ministers, including Hwang Hee, were the real power in the current King’s reign, but they were still Chief State Councillors in name.

How could they not have been consulted when this massive project was being undertaken?

Kim Han-ro was filled with dissatisfaction about that.

“Even the ministers didn’t know. Hwang Hee would have subtly informed us.”

In the end, only the King was looking at the whole picture.

Perhaps only his younger brother, Grand Prince Chungnyeong, as well.

“Now that things have progressed to this point, we can’t turn back.”

Shim On felt uneasy, but now it was a situation where things would go terribly wrong if they were overturned.

Grand Prince Yi Do is taking the lead and 추진 [promoting/pushing forward] a large project. As his father-in-law, he needs to step up and provide bulletproof protection.

‘Could this be why His Majesty appointed me as Chief State Councillor?’

Shim On’s head throbbed.

He didn’t understand why the new script was needed, but whether he liked it or not, he had unknowingly boarded this project.

He must use all of his influence as Chief State Councillor and the 삼한갑족 [Samhangapjok – one of the most prestigious clans] 청송 [Cheongsong] Shim clan to make it a success.

Kim Han-ro, who was also forced to bestow an honorific title on the King ‘to commemorate the achievement of creating a new script,’ was also unable to recover from the shock.

“What will happen if the Great Nation scolds us for imitating the actions of barbarians! Surely, there will be censure from the Great Nation, censure…”

Kim Han-ro’s voice gradually faded as he spoke.

“Do you really think so?”

In fact, who in this country has closer ties to the Ming Dynasty than the King?

He is the brother-in-law of the Ming Emperor, no less.

“Well, the Ming Dynasty may not say anything, but what will the 사대부 [ Sadaebu – scholar-officials] think of us?”

Kim Han-ro said glumly.

Frankly, what does it matter to him whether a new script is created or not?

But not everyone thinks that way.

He could already hear the scholars chanting, ‘The King is abandoning civilization and trying to become like barbarians, and instead of stopping him, you are flattering him by bestowing an honorific title!’

Perhaps this will be a disgrace that will last for eternity.

‘Should we stop it now?’

Unlike Shim On, Kim Han-ro, who had no particular relationship with Grand Prince Chungnyeong, was desperate to cut ties immediately.

“What do you think, Chief State Councillor? Shouldn’t we risk our positions and strongly advise against it?”

“If he has already made a decision, we have no choice but to follow it.”

This was hopeless.

This simple military man has no complaints about the King, who favors the military officials to the extent of appointing him as Chief State Councillor.

Shim On can’t pull out even if he doesn’t want to, and Yi Jong-mu has no intention of pulling out, so in the end, Kim Han-ro was the only one left among the Chief State Councillors.

‘Are there any subordinates who will follow me?’

Rebellion?

Who in this court can do it?

It goes without saying that the Crown Prince faction will not, and others will try to slip away from the criticism of the 사론 [public opinion] like loaches behind the Chief State Councillors.

Except for a handful of hot-blooded newcomers, no one will dare to challenge the King’s authority.

Of course, Kim Han-ro, who is the Chief State Councillor in name, had no intention of sharing his fate with such people.

‘I should pray that the King Emeritus will stop him.’

Kim Han-ro clenched his fist.

Anyone else would have their head cut off for sowing discord between father and son, but he was fine.

He was a past classmate of Yi Bang-won, a member of the cartel.

With even Ha Ryun retiring, what was the reason for the King Emeritus to put him in the position of Chief State Councillor?

Wasn’t it to entrust him with the important task of Chief State Councillor so that he could report to the King Emeritus if the King did something reckless like this?

Kim Han-ro headed to Suganggung, unaware of what might happen.

End

ⓒ Pitkong