Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 720

720. Abdication (2)

Sejong smiled gently at Hyang’s surprised expression.

“What’s so surprising? Even though I’m on the throne, I’m still a father. I know my children’s characters. No, especially because I am a king, I have to know them even better.”

“Ah….”

Hyang nodded at Sejong’s answer.

A prince was a contradictory being.

For the stable continuation of the country, it was good to have many princes. Only then, even if the first in line prince died in an unexpected accident, could the succession continue stably.

On the other hand, having many princes meant having many competitors, and there was a high possibility of fratricidal strife over the throne.

Therefore, Hyang was also very careful in managing his children, including the Wan-duseul brothers.

‘Still, I can breathe a sigh of relief because the ultra-law has completely nailed down the succession structure….’

After muttering to himself for a moment, Hyang asked Sejong.

“What did you think of Jin-pyeong, Father?”

“He is like a wild boar.”

“Yes?”

“A wild boar is only good at charging straight ahead. No, once it starts charging, it doesn’t look to the left or right. Isn’t Jin-pyeong’s nature exactly like that? Think of the railroad.”

Hyang smiled bitterly at Sejong’s words and nodded.

“That’s true.”

‘When the rebels stormed the palace, the first thing he said was whether the railroad was safe….’

Sejong, who moistened his throat with black bean tea, continued.

“With Jin-pyeong’s personality, he’s the type of guy who would start a rebellion for the railroad he has dedicated his life to. Knowing this, didn’t the Emperor keep Jin-pyeong out and make him stick to the railroad?”

“That’s right.”

Sejong said to Hyang with a serious face at Hyang’s affirmation.

“The Emperor must never lose his health. Only then can the Crown Prince, who has received the abdication, safely solidify his imperial power.”

“Yes?”

Sejong explained in more detail to Hyang, who was puzzled.

“Even a wild boar that doesn’t care about anything once it charges will stop charging in front of a tiger. The Emperor is the tiger to Jin-pyeong right now. You should never be relieved that Jin-pyeong was taken to Shinji.”

Hyang immediately bowed his head and answered at Sejong’s words.

“I will engrave it in my heart.”

‘It reminds me of Samcheopo teacher after a long time.’

-Don’t you know that even the great Prince Suyang was busy rubbing his palms in front of Munjong? Suyang, who was busy showing off his martial arts by wearing clothes with sleeves cut off to his shoulders outside, repeatedly said ‘Brother is the best!’ in front of Munjong! If Munjong hadn’t died so quickly, Suyang would have ended up as just one of the ordinary Grand Princes!

It was Hyang who once again reminded himself of the danger of Jin-pyeong.

* * *

Hyang, who had somewhat organized the talents to go to Shinji from Joseon with Hyang, asked Sejong.

“It is a pity that Jang Yeong-sil died.”

“I agree.”

Sejong also answered with a similar expression to Hyang’s words full of regret.

Jang Yeong-sil was like ‘MacGyver’s Swiss Army Knife’ to Hyang and Sejong, especially Hyang. Even if he made and handed over a rough conceptual diagram, a proper blueprint and model were created before he knew it.

Most of Hyang’s many inventions, which are already considered legends in the world, were made public through Jang Yeong-sil’s hands.

“He has deteriorated rapidly since he came to this place last time.”

“It’s mostly my fault.”

Sejong shook his head at Hyang’s self-reproach.

“That’s not it. Although he himself did not know his exact birth time. He only knew that he was about seventy years old. And in his youth, he suffered as a government slave, and as he got older, he continued to work in places full of poisonous fire and iron energy… He himself said that it was time to go.”

“Did you see his last moments in person?”

Sejong nodded at Hyang’s question.

“Even though his origin was a problem, he was more loyal than anyone else, so who would go if I didn’t? In particular, he was the one who had no children or servants other than the students he taught….”

Jang Yeong-sil’s existence was truly mysterious in the history before and after Hyang’s intervention.

There were no records left of when he was born and when he died, and there was no information about his family.

“Still, it’s a great pity. I wonder if anyone with that much skill will ever come out in the future….”

Sejong smiled slightly at Hyang’s words and took over.

“If you go to Shinji, you will be able to see Jang Yeong-sil’s last work.”

“Yes? Please tell me more about what you mean.”

“There is something that will be Jang Yeong-sil’s last and the Emperor’s beginning. Of course, the budget problem will be a bit of a headache.”

Sejong only smiled and said incomprehensible things to Hyang.

* * *

May of the 11th year of the Imperial Era (1459).

The abdication took place just before the Dano Festival [a traditional Korean festival celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month].

In the courtyard in front of Geunjeongjeon [the main hall in Gyeongbokgung Palace], with all the civil and military officials gathered, Hyang handed over the throne to Wan.

After the abdication, the courtyard in front of Geunjeongjeon was transformed into a banquet hall.

It was a banquet attended by the imperial family and officials.

In the center of the banquet hall, the gisaengs [female entertainers, similar to geishas], who were considered the best in the entire Empire, were showing off their singing and dancing skills.

Among the gisaengs, who were the most popular in the comprehensive entertainment venues that had become common in Liaodong, Anpyeong, who had been nicknamed ‘Entertainment Craftsman’ at some point, was carefully selected again.

While the attendees were enjoying the singing and dancing of the gisaengs, who could confidently say that they were among the top few in the Empire, a different atmosphere was being created at the head table.

“Are you leaving in two days?”

Hyang nodded lightly at Wan’s question.

“That’s right. I have already sent my luggage, so I will leave in two days.”

“Then it will be difficult to see you often now? I’m sorry.”

Hyang chuckled at Wan’s words and took over.

“It wouldn’t be a good thing for the Emperor to see me often, would it?”

“….”

Wan closed his mouth at Hyang’s words. As Hyang said, among the situations that would require him to move even to Shinji, the only good thing would be the imperial wedding of his eldest son, who had now been appointed as Crown Prince.

If so, most of the rest would be related to the safety of the Empire, and he would not be able to make decisions on his own, and he would need advice from Hyang, who was in charge of the situation.

Hyang, seeing Wan’s expression, added.

“It is not good for the Emperor that I, who will be in Shinji, have to come often. All decisions must be made only by the Emperor. It will only eat away at the imperial power for me or the Emperor Emeritus to intervene.”

Wan bowed his head and answered at Hyang’s advice.

“I will engrave it in my heart.”

Not long after, Wan, who was moderately drunk, asked Hyang a question.

“By the way… Shinji is said to be wide, so there will be many places to test the flying machine and the flying ball, right?”

“There will be many.”

Wan’s eyes sparkled at Hyang’s answer.

“I’m looking forward to 10 years from now!”

Hyang smiled mischievously at Wan’s words and asked back.

“Do you think it will be possible in 10 years?”

“What do you mean?”

Hyang continued to explain, counting his fingers.

“Let’s see… The Crown Prince is 10 years old this year, so it will take 4 years to become an adult, and at least 2 more years to complete the education course, and the time it takes to get married and see the great-grandson… This is something that heaven will decide, so let’s skip it. Anyway, at least 6 years must pass before he takes over the management of the research institute and Area 51, and he must endure there for at least 5 years before going to the regency, right? And the time to see the regency is at least 5 years… Hmm… It takes at least 16 years, right? But if you’re going to set a deadline, wouldn’t it be better to cut it off at 20 years instead of cutting it off in the middle? Then it’s 20 years.”

Wan only blinked at Hyang’s calculation. Of course, he was frantically calculating in his head to refute Hyang’s calculation.

‘Damn it! There’s no loophole! There is no loophole….’

Wan, who was frantically racking his brains to find a loophole, soon smiled with satisfaction.

“I will have to issue a marriage ban throughout the Empire soon.”

“Why the marriage ban?”

“If the Crown Prince gets married quickly and sees the great-grandson, wouldn’t it be easier to make him work from then on?”

“….”

Hyang, who closed his mouth at Wan’s words, grumbled inwardly.

‘Isn’t this going to make early marriage a tradition of the imperial family?’

Interestingly, Hyang’s prediction came true. As time passed and the era of late marriage became the trend, the imperial family promoted marriage as soon as they became adults.

Meanwhile, Sejong, who was sitting next to him and listening to Wan and Hyang’s conversation, burst into laughter.

“Hahaha!”

‘This kid now knows how I feel! The guy who used to slip away like a loach every time is now getting hit like that!’

“Hahaha!”

Sejong couldn’t help but laugh.

* * *

Three months later, Hyang finally arrived in Shinji.

“Even though I took the Gibeom ship, it took four months… I think I need to fix the steam engine.”

Hyang, who got off the ship, loosened his body lightly and grumbled.

It was not a direct flight from Wonsan to Shinji, but a voyage that included visiting the northern islands, including Daeseol Island, meeting residents, and comforting officials. In addition, time was also lost due to bad weather in the middle, which took four months.

However, even considering all of that, four months was too long, and Hyang decided to improve the steam engine as a measure to solve this problem.

Hyang and his party, who had relieved their fatigue after arriving at Chosi, the bridgehead of Shinji, soon began to move east.

Fortunately, the railroad was already laid from Chosi to Mishigamaa (the Indian name for Michigan), the eastern center.

“The Emperor Emeritus put the most emphasis on the construction of the railroad.”

“The railroad is essential to properly digest Shinji.”

Hyang, who nodded at the official’s explanation, looked at Jin-pyeong, who was only looking at the map right next to him.

“What do you think is the best way to do it?”

Jin-pyeong, who was looking at the map, answered immediately at Hyang’s question.

“First of all, I think we need to expand the east-west transverse railroad connecting Shinji and Misagama. Currently, iron horses come and go on a single line. Now, there is only one iron horse coming and going a day, so there is no big problem, but if you think about the future, you should expand it to at least a double line.”

“That would be the natural order. Then what would be the problem?”

Jin-pyeong answered immediately at Hyang’s question.

“It’s a matter of manpower.”

“Is it manpower, not budget?”

“The budget is not a big problem because there is compensation coming in from the Ming, but manpower is the problem. The construction in the North is not over yet, and we need to send more and more manpower to Suez. There is no manpower to spare.”

Hyang looked back at the official who was sitting with him at Jin-pyeong’s point.

“I think it would be okay if these people built this railroad, but are you keeping the manpower tied up well?”

“Yes. Skilled people are kept as maintenance personnel. And if you need additional manpower, we can increase it as soon as possible. The residents of Shinji like to work on the railroad.”

Hyang immediately asked back at the official’s answer.

“Is it a monopoly?”

“It is a monopoly.”