Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 375

375. A Brief Interlude (1)

Late in the evening of the day Choi Man-ri was appointed as the head of the Jeong-eum Office [Office of Correct Sounds, responsible for the creation and dissemination of the Korean alphabet, Hangul].

Sejong and Hyang were enjoying a private drinking session at a gisaeng house [a traditional Korean house of courtesans] in Da-dong.

“It’s truly surprising to have a drink with Father outside the palace or the hunting grounds,” Hyang remarked.

Sejong chuckled at Hyang’s words and replied, “It’s not good to eat in the palace every time, and hunting is too much of a bother.”

Hyang’s face changed slightly at Sejong’s words.

‘Ugh! This guy, really!’ he thought.

Sejong, either knowing or ignoring Hyang’s feelings, immediately followed up with, “If you’re going to complain about being ‘unable to get up’ [a euphemism for being overworked], I’ll make you the regent right away. This father is still doing everything he needs to do, so don’t worry.”

“…Yes.”

Sejong, having silenced Hyang, ordered the gisaengs, “The glasses are empty. Fill them up.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Once the glasses were filled, Sejong raised his glass and instructed Hyang, “Come, let’s raise a glass.”

“Yes, Father.”

After a few rounds, Hyang asked Sejong, “But what brings you to have a drink with me today?”

“Didn’t we catch a big fish today?”

At Sejong’s words, which were half joke and half serious, Hyang asked with a slightly surprised look, “Was that what you were aiming for?”

“A bigger catch than expected.”

“How did you foresee it?”

“What is the most lacking thing in the court right now?”

At Sejong’s question, Hyang immediately answered, “People.”

Sejong nodded at Hyang’s answer.

“That’s right. We’re short on people. Aren’t the officials in the court these days used to working overtime and pulling all-nighters? I expected them to scatter bait here and there to survive.”

Hyang nodded without realizing it at Sejong’s explanation.

“Ah… So, that’s why you didn’t issue a ban on copying books?”

“Because those who would do it would do it even if I told them not to. And, like that kid Han Myeong-hoe from before, wouldn’t they get to know useful people through various academic or regional ties? I thought it was a good opportunity to catch the ones I missed in my net, and I succeeded. I caught a bigger fish than expected.”

Hyang muttered without realizing it at Sejong’s words, “Are you the Fishing King of Joseon?”

“Oh, that’s a good nickname. Hahaha!”

Sejong, who was laughing heartily at Hyang’s words, continued to speak with a beaming smile. “Thanks to catching such a big fish, I think I’ll be able to see those stubborn guys again soon.”

Hyang, trying to recall, asked Sejong, “Are you talking about the dismissed scholars of the Hall of Worthies [a royal research institute], the stubborn ones?”

“That’s right. They’re stubborn, but they’re valuable talents to just let them sit idle, aren’t they? We should use them.”

After thinking for a moment at Sejong’s words, Hyang asked with a worried expression, “Will they come back? No, is it even possible, given the royal decree you issued before? If we’re not careful, there will be impudent people who will call it a flaw of Your Majesty.”

Sejong lightly emptied his glass at Hyang’s words and replied, “That’s why I asked the Prime Minister earlier, wasn’t it? Since the Prime Minister answered that way, he will step up and stop any nonsense if it comes out.”

Hyang nodded at Sejong’s words, but he wasn’t completely relieved.

In the end, Hyang continued his questioning. “But will those stubborn guys come back? Weren’t they the ones who already submitted their resignations before being dismissed?”

Sejong’s smile deepened at Hyang’s point.

“I’m thinking of giving Choi Man-ri temporary personnel and appointment rights [the authority to hire and assign officials]. However, I will add the prerequisite that for officials already working in the court, he must obtain permission from the head of the relevant department. What will happen then?”

Hyang immediately answered at Sejong’s question. “It will be impossible to secure those already working as officials. The ministers will never let them go. In the end, you’ll have no choice but to exercise your appointment rights… In the end, to properly run the Jeong-eum Office, you’ll have to bring back those who were dismissed. But will Chief Choi Man-ri be able to easily bring those stubborn guys back?”

Sejong emptied his glass and replied to Hyang’s question. “One of the things that Confucian scholars must uphold is loyalty. Since they have built loyalty in the Hall of Worthies, they will have no choice but to come.”

“Ah….”

At Sejong’s words, a variation of a scene from a movie flashed through Hyang’s mind.

‘We’re all scholars of the Hall of Worthies, aren’t we! Huh!’

“Thanks to that, we’ll be able to make Choi Man-ri thoroughly exploit those stubborn guys under his responsibility. This is all thanks to you.”

Hyang’s eyes widened at Sejong’s words.

“Excuse me? What did I….”

“Have you forgotten what you said before? What the king of the Western barbarians said to the prince who would inherit the throne. ‘Be the bee that sucks the sweetest honey from all the flowers.’ What a great saying!”

“Ah….”

Nodding his head at Sejong’s words, Hyang muttered inwardly. ‘It’s a great relief that the historian isn’t here. I almost got recorded as some kind of mastermind… Still, this guy is really out of the ordinary… How can he apply things so scarily?’

* * *

As the drinking session continued, the head gisaeng entered.

“What’s the matter?” Sejong asked.

“Some of the gisaengs have a request for His Majesty and the Crown Prince, so I, a humble woman, have come in.”

“A request?”

Sejong had a curious expression at the head gisaeng’s words.

“A request from the gisaengs… Alright, let’s hear what the request is.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As Sejong’s permission was granted, the door of the room adjacent to the room where Sejong and Hyang were seated opened.

As the door opened, the gisaengs who had been waiting bowed deeply to Sejong with nimble movements.

Sejong nodded with a constant smile at the sight.

“Hahaha! Truly nimble movements like swallows. So, what is your request?”

The gisaeng sitting in the front carefully opened her mouth at Sejong’s question. “Please teach us, your humble servants, a new song.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Sejong and Hyang tilted their heads at the unexpected request. After briefly examining the gisaengs, Hyang looked at the gisaeng sitting in the front and exclaimed, “Ah! You’re that girl from back then!”

The gisaeng sitting in the front was the gisaeng who had asked Hyang to teach her ‘The Maiden Voyage’ before.

As Hyang acknowledged her, the gisaeng slightly raised her head and replied with a seductive smile. “Yes. That gisaeng is your humble servant.”

At the sight, Sejong opened his mouth with a slightly disappointed expression. “Oh, it was the Crown Prince, not me. Anyway, a new song… Tell me more about it in detail.”

At Sejong’s command, the gisaeng began to elaborate.

* * *

‘Cliché is cliché,’ Hyang had declared as he taught ‘The Maiden Voyage,’ and it spread throughout the eight provinces of Joseon in an instant. The craze was so intense that the residents of the Nakdong River were rather bewildered.

However, like any popular song, the craze quickly died down. But the fact that the trend had subsided meant that people were tired of ‘The Maiden Voyage,’ not of adult songs themselves.

Therefore, as time passed, songs with different lyrics attached to the melody of ‘The Maiden Voyage’ circulated, but none of them achieved the same hit as ‘The Maiden Voyage.’ It felt like wearing ill-fitting clothes.

In the end, the gisaeng who first learned the song from Hyang earnestly wished to meet Hyang once again.

‘If it doesn’t work out, I’ll have to go to the palace! Sigh! That darn Ming Dynasty envoy never comes when I need him!’

Just as she was waiting for an opportunity, Sejong and Hyang visited the gisaeng house.

* * *

At the gisaeng’s request, Sejong looked at Hyang with expectant eyes. “I want to hear a new song too.”

“Yes….”

Hyang, who answered briefly, racked his brains.

‘What would be good….’

Hyang, who was rummaging through the songs he had memorized while working hard as an entertainer for the elders in Yangsan in the 21st century and the songs he had heard and memorized here and there, soon chose one.

‘Since we started with a river, let’s continue with a river!’

The song Hyang newly selected was ‘Soyang River Maiden.’

“Ahem! Ahem!”

After clearing his throat for a moment, Hyang soon began to sing.

“As the sun sets~”

After the song ended, Hyang asked Sejong for his impressions.

“How was it?”

Sejong nodded at Hyang’s question and replied, “The heartbreaking emotions of a maiden anxiously waiting for her departed lover are well conveyed. It was a good song.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, you must never become like the bad guy in that song. You shouldn’t give your heart easily, and if you do give your heart, you must take responsibility, whether you’re a man or a woman.”

Hyang, who understood the hidden meaning in Sejong’s words, replied with a bitter smile. “Even three are too much for me.”

“Huh? Already? Should I call the royal physician….”

Hyang waved his hand at Sejong’s words. “I’m still in good shape!”

After ending the short farce, Hyang asked the gisaeng, “How is it?”

“Please teach it to me! I will do my best to learn it!”

And so, a new popular song began to spread, starting with Hanseong [old name for Seoul].

And the residents of Chuncheon began to grumble. “Is it the Soyang River this time?”(Note 1)

* * *

Meanwhile, among those present at the public debate between Sejong and Choi Man-ri were also some merchants from Ming [Chinese dynasty that ruled from 1368 to 1644].

Through them, the contents of the Hunminjeongeum [the document describing the new Korean alphabet] and the debate were also conveyed to Beijing.

The Senior Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, upon receiving the report, immediately rushed to the Xuande Emperor [Emperor of Ming from 1425 to 1435] to report and added his opinion. “I believe we should immediately send an envoy to Joseon to question them!”

“Question them about what?”

The Senior Grand Secretary immediately replied to the Xuande Emperor’s question. “Two things. One is the creation of an independent script. The other is about serving the great power.”

“Hmm….”

After pondering for a moment at the Senior Grand Secretary’s words, the Xuande Emperor came to a conclusion. “Impossible.”

“Your Majesty! You must strongly question them! There are unspeakable words circulating in the court and among the people these days. Even to calm this down….”

“Enough.”

The Xuande Emperor, raising his hand to stop the statement, looked at the Senior Grand Secretary and the ministers and opened his mouth. “Unspeakable words… They say that I am not the Emperor of Ming, but the Emperor of Joseon? Who would spread such words? The common people are originally fond of talking, so I can understand that, but who in this court would spread such treasonous words?”

The Xuande Emperor spoke in a leisurely tone, but as soon as those words were finished, the interior of the Wenhua Hall (文華殿, the Emperor’s private hall in the early Ming Empire) froze over.

“Hmm… Who could it be… Senior Grand Secretary, since you said ‘in the court and among the people,’ you must know who spread it in the court. Will you tell me?”

As soon as the Xuande Emperor’s words were finished, the Senior Grand Secretary fell to the floor and shouted. “Your Majesty! It is not I! My loyalty remains unchanged!”

“I am not doubting your loyalty, but I am merely curious as to who spread it.”

“I do not know!”

The Xuande Emperor muttered softly at the Senior Grand Secretary’s cry. “Well, we will find out if we investigate.”

The Xuande Emperor spoke in a calm voice, but the officials and eunuchs turned pale. As the Emperor had spoken, the Eastern Depot [a secret police agency] would investigate the officials, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard [another secret police agency] would investigate the eunuchs. And a bloodbath would ensue.

“I am not unaware of what the Senior Grand Secretary is worried about. Most of those who have their own script are barbarians (夷狄). But can we view Joseon as barbarians? The relationship between Joseon and Ming is one of ‘lips gone, teeth cold’ (脣亡齒寒) [an idiom meaning that the fate of one is closely tied to the fate of the other]. And they are finding fault with the words of the current King of Joseon, ‘Serving the great power is a means of diplomacy,’ but is that not true? And when I send envoys or when envoys come to Joseon, have they ever been rude? Have they ever shown selfishness in performing the rites? Why do you keep trying to worsen the relationship with Joseon? Verily, rites are not to be performed because they are ordered, but because they spring from the heart. But have you forgotten that emphasizing rites only fosters resentment? Is that your loyalty?”

At the Xuande Emperor’s rebuke, everyone, led by the Senior Grand Secretary, prostrated themselves on the floor.

“Your Majesty! Please forgive our shortcomings!”

“Please forgive our narrow views!”

Looking down at such ministers, the Xuande Emperor continued. “My empire is like a Peng (鵬) [a mythical giant bird]. Just as the Peng does not move carelessly, so too must the movements of the empire have weight. But why do you try to make the empire move like a mere sparrow (小雀, a small sparrow)? Do you not know that the more you act like that, the more countries will turn against the empire?”

“We are sorry!”

Listening to the answers of such ministers, the Xuande Emperor came to a conclusion. “I have been condoning the fact that some eunuchs have suddenly disappeared for some time now. But if you act like this, I can no longer condone it. Keep that in mind.”

“We will engrave it in our hearts!”

“Therefore, regarding the events that have occurred in Joseon this time, it is not possible because it could be considered interference in internal affairs. This is a royal decree.”

“We obey the decree!”

* * *

Note 1) It is not clear when the name Soyang River began to be used. However, it was written with the understanding that it has been used since the late Goryeo Dynasty or the early Joseon Dynasty, as Soyanggangchang, a river warehouse (江倉), was established in Soyang River during the reign of Sejo.

Soyanggangchang. Korea Creative Content Agency.

http://www.culturecontent.com/content/contentView.do?search_div=CP_THE&search_div_id=CP_THE010&cp_code=cp0616&index_id=cp06160041&content_id=cp061600410001&search_left_menu=2