Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 15

Jjangra

Hellobam

15. Sprouting… Cancer?

Almost running, Sejong headed towards the East Palace and saw the court eunuchs hurrying out. He gestured for them to come closer.

“You court eunuchs, come here!”

“Your Majesty!”

Sejong waved off their bows, impatient. “Enough with the formalities. Where are you going?”

“I am on my way to the Ministry of Finance.”

“I am going to the Royal Secretariat.”

“Why the Ministry of Finance and the Royal Secretariat?”

“To retrieve the detailed list of treasures given to Chinese envoys since the reign of Taejo the Great, without omission…”

Before the court eunuch could finish, Sejong roared.

“That rascal! I’ve been too lenient!”

Furious, Sejong ran towards the East Palace, his royal robe billowing behind him.

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty!”

As Sejong ran, the court eunuchs and guards following him also began to run.

Sejong and his followers disappeared like the wind, leaving behind the court eunuchs who had been ordered by Yi Hyang to come outside.

“What should we do now?”

“What do you mean? We just do as we are told, right?”

“I suppose so…”

The court eunuch ordered to go to the Ministry of Finance looked at the East Palace with a worried expression.

“If things go wrong, there will be a bloodbath…”

* * *

When the Queen and her entourage arrived at the East Palace, Sejong’s scolding and Yi Hyang’s defense were already echoing from the Crown Prince’s chambers.

“You rascal! Crown Prince! What is this reckless behavior!”

“It is not reckless behavior! I am merely preparing to do what is right as the Crown Prince!”

“You scoundrel! Do you even know your age before you speak!”

“What does age matter in doing what is right! To say one cannot act because one is young is merely an excuse!”

“There are ministers for that!”

“Since the ministers do not seem inclined to act, shouldn’t I at least make a move!”

“You rascal! Enough! Court eunuch, bring a switch [a thin, flexible rod used for corporal punishment] and an ironing stone [a flat stone used as a makeshift surface for punishment]!”

As Sejong shouted for a switch and an ironing stone, Queen Soheon, who had been pacing anxiously outside, cried out.

“Your Majesty!”

“Queen, do not enter! Court eunuchs, escort the Queen out! Bring the switch and ironing stone at once!”

“Yes, Your Majesty…”

At Sejong’s command, the doors to Yi Hyang’s room in the East Palace opened, and the head eunuch and court eunuchs attending Sejong came out.

Seeing the head eunuch’s pale face, Queen Soheon quickly stepped onto the porch and entered Yi Hyang’s room.

“Your Majesty!”

“Queen, leave! Court eunuchs, escort the Queen out!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Court eunuchs, what are you doing!”

After a commotion, Queen Soheon was dragged out by the court eunuchs. She collapsed in front of the East Palace, crying out as if spitting blood.

“Your Majesty! He is the Crown Prince! Please, have mercy!”

“Head eunuch, what are you doing! Bring the switch and ironing stone!”

At Sejong’s shout, the head eunuch and court eunuchs brought in the switch and ironing stone.

“Crown Prince, do you still believe your reckless actions are right?”

“If you, my father, the King of Joseon, are the father of the people of Joseon, then I am the eldest brother of these people! When my brothers weep every time an envoy from Ming [the ruling dynasty of China at the time] comes and goes, how can I, as their eldest brother, stand idly by! Have you not seen the documents about the harm caused by the envoys! Every time an envoy passes, the wealth of the landowners in the towns along the way is plundered! What do you think those landowners will do? In the end, only the powerless commoners at the bottom suffer several times over!”

“That is for the ministers to resolve!”

“Those ministers are the ones who have failed to find a solution even after decades since the founding of Joseon! Those ministers only know how to enjoy themselves! If they are truly members of the Sadaebu [scholar-officials], if they have learned, practiced, and spoken the ways of the sages, then they should not stand by and watch!”

The ministers standing in the courtyard of the East Palace, listening to the argument between father and son, lowered their heads in shame or sighed while looking at the sky.

“Hmm…”

“Are you insisting that you are right until the end!”

“I do not believe I have done anything wrong!”

“You rascal! Until the end! Roll up your sleeves!”

At Sejong’s shout, Queen Soheon outside turned pale.

“Your Majesty! The Crown Prince is only nine years old!”

“The younger they are, the more strictly they must be punished! Roll up your sleeves and get on the ironing stone!”

Soon after, Yi Hyang’s voice rang out.

“Jo Naegwan! Why are you going up there! I will take responsibility for what I have done! Step aside!”

“Your Highness!”

“I said step aside!”

“Your Highness…”

At the sobbing court eunuch’s voice, Queen Soheon cried out, calling for Yi Hyang.

“Crown Prince! Hyang!”

Shortly after,

Smack!

“Your first crime is being arrogant based on your meager knowledge!”

Smack!

“Your second crime is looking down on the ministers at such a young age!”

Smack!

“Your third crime is insisting only on your own words!”

Smack!

“Your fourth crime is making light of your father’s orders!”

Each time a crime was named, the switch was swung once, and each time that sharp sound rang out, the bodies of the ministers standing in the courtyard of the East Palace flinched.

Sejong’s switch stopped only after nearly twenty strikes.

“Thoroughly reflect on today’s events and ensure that such reckless behavior does not happen again.”

“I obey Your Majesty’s command.”

After Yi Hyang’s reply, which sounded as if he was gritting his teeth, Sejong left the room.

Sejong, who came out to the courtyard of the East Palace, turned to the head eunuch.

“Summon the royal physician to examine the Crown Prince.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At the head eunuch’s gesture, one of the court eunuchs behind him quickly ran towards the Royal Clinic.

“Hoo~.”

Sejong, letting out a long sigh, glared at the ministers standing before him.

Seeing Sejong’s angry expression, the ministers, starting with the three chief state councilors, knelt on the ground.

“Please, kill us!”

“Please, kill us!”

To their cries, Sejong replied briefly.

“By this evening, report to me with one of the three chief state councilors appointed as the chief envoy and two of the six ministers appointed as deputy envoys. By this evening. If you fail to do so, all the ministers, starting with the three chief state councilors, will be judged for treason.”

“We obey your command!”

Leaving the ministers’ replies behind, Sejong approached Queen Soheon. He lifted Queen Soheon, who was sitting on the ground covered in tears, and said calmly.

“Please take care of the Crown Prince.”

After finishing his words, Sejong walked towards his hut with a tired face.

Queen Soheon, covered in tears, bowed to Sejong and glared at the ministers with a face full of anger.

“I will never forget today’s events and your faces until the day I die!”

“Please, kill us!”

“Silence!”

Replacing her answer with the word ‘Silence!’, Queen Soheon quickly entered Yi Hyang’s room.

“Hyang! Court eunuch, what are you doing! Summon the royal physician quickly! Quickly!”

* * *

While the royal physician rushed to examine the wounds, Queen Soheon, covered in tears, examined Yi Hyang’s injuries. Of course, she also slapped Yi Hyang’s back from time to time.

“Who did you take after to be so stubborn!”

“Why didn’t you listen!”

“Mother, it hurts!”

“I’m hitting you so it hurts!”

It took five days for Yi Hyang’s wounds to heal completely. During that time, Yi Hyang spent time alone, suspending discussions with guests.

“Ouch! Sss…”

Yi Hyang, sitting alone in a chair and translating European books, frowned at the pain rising from his legs.

The pain came because his calves, which he was unknowingly shaking, collided with the chair leg. Yi Hyang, looking at his aching legs, burst into laughter.

“These legs and back have suffered in both my past and present lives.”

In his past life, his calves and back were never spared thanks to his extraordinary devotion to his hobbies.

* * *

Thanks to the big accident caused by Yi Hyang, the court was in a precarious situation. The historian recorded the situation at the time as follows:

Sejong 4th year (1422), July 2nd.

After the King sternly admonished the Crown Prince, he immediately ordered the three chief state councilors and ministers to select the chief and deputy envoys for the mission to the Ming Dynasty. According to the King’s order, which set the deadline for the evening, the three chief state councilors and ministers were confined to a pavilion in Gyeongbok Palace, and the royal guards guarded the pavilion. The King, having ordered the royal guards to watch the pavilion, ordered the Minister of Justice to prepare for interrogation. This was in preparation for the event that the ministers failed to come up with an answer by the evening.

The historian says:

The Crown Prince’s actions were rash, but there was nothing wrong with what he said. However, the rashness deviated from the proper path, so it is only natural that the King sternly admonished him.

It is also not wrong for the ministers to value serving the great powers. However, it is also true that the degree of serving the great powers has gone too far.

However, it is unfair to drive the ministers into a corner and mobilize the royal guards to oppress them. This deviates from virtuous rule and the way of the king, and it is a path into authoritarianism and hegemony, so the King must be strictly cautious.

* * *

Whether the show of force was effective or not, the selection of the envoy was completed before that evening.

“The Chief State Councilor will be the chief envoy, and the Ministers of Finance and Public Works will be the deputy envoys… I approve the selection.”

“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless.”

“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless.”

As Sejong approved the selection, the ministers prostrated themselves and replied. After the selection of the envoy was completed, Sejong issued the next order.

“The Ministry of Finance and the Royal Secretariat must prepare and bring the documents that the Crown Prince ordered!”

At Sejong’s order, officials from the Royal Secretariat and the Ministry of Finance had to organize all documents related to the harm caused by Ming envoys who had visited Joseon since its founding.

As everything was quantified through the process of organizing, the officials who were writing the documents had to sigh.

“This is too much!”

“So much…”

The young officials who were organizing the documents could not bear the rising anger and beat their chests.

Sejong, looking at the reports from the Ministry of Finance and the Royal Secretariat, let out a long sigh.

“Hoo~. The Crown Prince was not wrong.”

According to the report, since the founding of Joseon, the amount of tribute demanded and taken by Ming envoys had gradually increased as the kings changed and time passed. The rate at which the amount increased was rising sharply in proportion to the number of times the envoys came.

The years in which the most tribute was taken were the first and second years of his reign.

In order to persuade the Ming envoys who suspected the intentions of deposing the Crown Prince who had received the edict and raising the third son to the throne, and to persuade the envoys who doubted whether the conquest of Tsushima Island was certain, the Joseon court had to use a large amount of wealth as bribes.

“The smallest amount received is 2 months of the government’s annual budget, the largest is 6 months… Including the wealth extorted from the towns they passed through on the way, it is at least 4 months and at most 1 year’s budget…”

As befitting the Joseon officials and scholars who were known as ‘record enthusiasts,’ the magistrates of the towns that the envoys passed through reported even the wealth that the envoys had extorted from the local magnates, so Sejong was able to know the exact amount of wealth that the envoys had extorted.

“You should also check it.”

At Sejong’s order, the three chief state councilors and the six ministers took turns reading the reports.

“Hmm…”

“Hoo…”

The chief state councilors and ministers who read the reports groaned. They had confirmed the severity of the situation as they confirmed what they had only heard in words with definite numbers.

“Was compensation given to the local magnates who had their wealth taken by the envoys?”

“…”

“… It is for the sake of the country…”

“So you didn’t compensate them? Then the local magnates must have naturally complained. Several times more than what was taken. Haa~.”

Sejong, letting out a sigh, glared at the ministers.

“Didn’t you even think about what the young Crown Prince thought about?”

“We are deeply sorry.”

At Sejong’s rebuke, the ministers bowed their heads. The words ‘Isn’t that the same for you?’ came up to his throat, but all the officials could do was bow their heads and say, ‘We are deeply sorry!’

“Those who go as envoys must resolve this issue!”

“We obey your command!”

End

ⓒ Gukbbong