Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1088

1088. Constantly Making Trouble… (3)

Hyeon explained in more detail to Woo, who was expressing his doubts.

“The Crown Prince is legally required to manage the research institute and Area 51 to learn practical skills, and ultimately, to gain experience in all aspects of state affairs by acting as regent.”

“However, it’s also true that newly crowned emperors often display excessive ambition and try to create unnecessary work. History, both East and West, proves this.”

“To prevent mishaps caused by this, the Prime Minister, ministers, and vice-ministers scrutinize the Emperor’s proposed policies even more thoroughly.”

“The most affected area is the budget. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the department in charge, takes the lead by cutting its own budget first, and then implements extreme measures to reduce the budgets of all departments.”

“This situation continues for three years.”

“That’s why I’m trying to finalize the budget before the abdication. Once a budget is set, it’s not easy to change.”

“Ah…….”

Woo nodded at Hyeon’s explanation. Meanwhile, Hyang and Wan, who were listening from behind, looked disbelieving.

“Huh? Situ [a high-ranking official], did you experience such a thing?”

“No? Did the Supreme Emperor experience it?”

“Me? Do you think anyone would have dared?”

Hyang and Wan, sharing this conversation, simultaneously expressed their doubts.

“Why didn’t the Emperor ever mention this?”

“That’s true, but it’s even stranger that those talkative guys didn’t say anything about it.”

Unable to understand, Hyang and Wan approached Hyeon.

“I’ll ask the Emperor. Even if Situ went to Shinji [possibly a remote location or assignment], so he couldn’t have known, I haven’t heard of such a thing.”

Hyeon replied briefly to Hyang’s question.

“I stopped it.”

“Why? How could vassals do something so arrogant as to oppress their lord?”

“Have you forgotten the ‘Imprisonment of Gang Sang-in’?”

“Hmm…….”

When Hyeon mentioned the ‘Imprisonment of Gang Sang-in,’ Hyang and Wan stopped talking and nodded. When Taejong abdicated the throne to Sejong, he didn’t relinquish military power. At the time, Gang Sang-in made critical remarks about this in private, but the problem was that his confidant was related to Sejong’s wife’s family.

Taejong, wary of the growing power of Sim On, Sejong’s father-in-law, used this as an excuse to accuse Gang Sang-in, Park Seup, Sim Jeung, and Sim On of treason and rebellion, and purged them.

“It was certain that the Supreme Emperor would worry about me and intervene or pass on the message. Criticism of the work would inevitably circulate, and an incident similar to the ‘Imprisonment of Gang Sang-in’ would have occurred.”

“But wouldn’t it have been possible to secure imperial authority that way?”

Hyeon frowned at Wan’s question and responded.

“As Situ said, it’s easy to secure imperial authority if you do that. However, if that happens, we’d have to maintain an iron-fisted rule. This does more harm than good. Think about what will happen after Woo takes the throne. The ‘Ryu Jeong-hyeon Faction’s Abuse of Power Incident’ will happen again.”

“Hmm……”

Hyang and Wan nodded again at Hyeon’s words.

* * *

The people who waged a political struggle with Sejong over the ‘expansion of smallpox vaccination’ and were purged after losing were the veteran meritorious subjects, including Ryu Jeong-hyeon. In a way, Ryu Jeong-hyeon and those who shared his views were the first to be affected by the changes Hyang’s intervention had created. They were old and distinguished subjects who dominated an era in the history before Hyang’s intervention.

However, the problem was that Sejong, influenced by Hyang’s intervention, was trying to implement reforms more actively. They found it difficult to accept the unconventional value of ‘practicality-oriented’ becoming mainstream at this crucial moment when their lifelong wish, a ‘society based on Confucian values’ and a ‘nation of royal politics,’ was just beginning to materialize.

In addition, Taejong’s reign of terror had just ended with his death. They, who dreamed of ‘shared rule between the monarch and his subjects’ and ‘weak monarch and strong subjects,’ couldn’t accept Sejong’s actions. As a result of the ensuing political struggle, Gyu Jeong-hyeon and his faction had to bear the stigma and disgrace of ‘deceiving the monarch’ and ‘purge[being removed from power].’

* * *

Hyeon continued to speak.

“I didn’t think it was good for the Empire for things like the ‘Purge of the Ryu Jeong-hyeon Faction’ to happen again. In particular, I thought it was a great loss to lose those who had accumulated decades of experience working in the court.”

“But it’s not a trivial matter for a vassal to try to suppress his lord.”

Hyeon smiled and replied to Hyang’s words.

“At best, it’s all about the budget and policy review. Since I was already familiar with it as the Crown Prince, I felt comfortable thinking of it as a warm-up for about three years. And…….”

Hyeon continued, his gentle smile replaced with a bitter sneer.

“After the warm-up is over, won’t all the prime ministers, ministers, and vice-ministers be replaced in a few years? No matter how long they’ve accumulated experience, they tend to be clumsy when they first become prime ministers, ministers, and vice-ministers. Once they become prime ministers… Hehehe…….”

Watching Hyeon’s meaningful smile and slurred words, Hyang and Wan also smiled similarly.

“Hehehe…….”

“Hehehe……. That’s right. Of course, that’s right…….”

Woo sweated slightly as he watched the three men. And the historians and scribes who were recording this from behind were sweating profusely.

* * *

The introduction event for the new type of engine ended like that. After the event, Hyang and Wan chatted about this and that.

“By the way, Situ, you look very tired?”

“I’m already seventy years old. Isn’t it natural that everything is difficult as you get older?”

“You’re only seventy, what kind of fuss is that……”

Wan closed his mouth and looked at Hyang, noticing Hyang’s rebuke.

‘Can’t the Supreme Emperor think that you are extraordinary, or are you not thinking about it?’

“Huh? What do you want to say?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, Hyeon’s judgment was exquisite.”

“Judgment? Ah, are you talking about the Myeonshinrye [face-saving ritual] story?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s true, but it seems like the vassals are trying to raise their spirits again these days. This is a problem. It’s a beautiful thing for the monarch and his subjects to gather their will and manage state affairs, but we must avoid confusing the fundamental with the incidental, right?”

“That’s right. Such a thing didn’t happen in our time……”

Wan, pausing and pondering the reason, seemed to understand when he looked at Hyang sitting in front of him.

“I think I know what the reason is.”

“Huh? What is the reason?”

“It’s because of the Founding Emperor and the Supreme Emperor.”

“Huh?’

Wan shared his thoughts.

“Those who were in charge of the court during the reign of the Founding Emperor (hereinafter Sejong) and the Supreme Emperor are those who witnessed the purge of the Ryu Jeong-hyeon faction firsthand.”

“They are people who will never dream of strengthening the absolute authority of the monarch. No, they can’t.”

“The Founding Emperor was a wise and saintly ruler to the people, but he was a harsh exploiter of his subjects.”

“Hwang Hee and Maeng Sa-seong are prime examples, aren’t they?”

“Tsk.”

“And the Supreme Emperor went one step further.”

“If the Founding Emperor laid the foundation for the Empire, the Supreme Emperor created the framework. Countless officials were filtered out in the process of refining this framework.”

“If the Founding Emperor and the Supreme Emperor were mediocre or lacked ability, the vassals could have found an exit. But that wasn’t the case, so the vassals had no chance.”

“So much so that there was a saying among the officials at the time: ‘If you’re not smart, your hands and feet suffer, but if you’re too smart, your hands and feet suffer like a dog.'”

“I don’t know if it’s a compliment or an insult…….”

Hyang, receiving the words with a difficult expression, questioned Wan.

“But Situ, why are you excluding yourself? Situ, you have never been subjected to that nasty behavior, have you?”

“I benefited from the shadow of the two and the war.”

“I know what the shadow means, but why the war?”

At Hyang’s question, Wan continued to explain.

“He himself has experienced both wars.”

“The Liaodong War, which paved the way for Joseon to become an empire, was only a spectacle when he was young, but in the Yellow Sea, he assisted the Supreme Emperor and worked in the field.”

“The experience and momentum gained from war are different from those in peacetime.”

“From the vassals’ point of view, the vassals during the reign of the Founding Emperor and the Supreme Emperor are those who saw everything from the Imprisonment of Gang Sang-in to the Giyu Rebellion firsthand.”

“Those who will take over the next generation, for example, people like Han Myeong-hoe, haven’t seen it up close, but they’ve seen it from afar. And they are the ones who have tasted all kinds of bitter and spicy flavors under the Supreme Emperor.”

“They will never even dream of strengthening the authority of the monarch.”

“However, those who will assist Hyeon’s era, Woo, and the emperors after Woo are those who have heard of such incidents by rumor or have no experience at all.”

“Those who haven’t experienced the Founding Emperor and the Supreme Emperor will surely seek to ‘weaken the monarch and strengthen the subjects’ under the pretext of preventing the ‘Emperor’s dictatorship.'”

“I think it’s a reasonable thought.”

Hyang, agreeing with Wan’s opinion, shared his thoughts.

“It’s true that if the Emperor’s arbitrariness becomes frequent, it’s easy to descend into dictatorship. And it’s also true that if dictatorship continues, it’s easy to become a tyrant. Therefore, a republic is ideal. However, if you look at the history of the East and West, it’s common for the people to become impoverished when the monarch is weak and the subjects are strong. Saying that tyrants are a problem and that weak monarchs and strong subjects are also a problem is another way of saying that it’s not good for power to be concentrated on one side. So, I created the Review Board and the Adjudication Board, and made the Three Offices independent as the Board of Audit. But the most ultimate solution is to divide the power into three. This was the conclusion reached by the Founding Emperor and I.”

“Are you talking about the words you told me before?”

“And it’s also included in the super law [constitution].”

Hyang, interrupting, glanced at the historians and scribes diligently typing on the typewriter and raised his voice subtly.

“Hmm… This part is a story that those who will ascend to the throne all know… Isn’t the really important part separate? There are impudent guys who dare to tame the Emperor?”

When Hyang raised his voice, Wan, noticing, also raised his voice and responded.

“That’s what I’m saying! And that’s not all! These days, it seems like the officials in Seoul have become very comfortable!”

“Come to think of it, these days, according to rumors I hear when I go out to the market incognito, there are people who are doing Myeonshinrye again, which was so strictly prohibited.”

“Is that so? Uh-huh~. I don’t think we can just sit still! I think we should do an inspection for the first time in a long time! It’s an abuse of power to argue about state affairs, but isn’t inspection something that Situ can do?”

“That’s right! It’s better to have two hands than one, so I’ll join you too!”

“Wouldn’t it be even better if the Supreme Emperor added to it!”

The faces of the historians and scribes recording Hyang and Wan’s conversation turned white.

‘Big trouble! A huge trouble has happened!’

‘Inspection! Inspection! And the Supreme Emperor and Situ are directly involved in the inspection!’

‘What kind of crazy bastard did Myeonshinrye! If you’re going to die, die alone, why are you dragging innocent people in!’

The historians and scribes were screaming all sorts of things internally.