There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 120

< Nanjing >

Deep within the Nanjing Imperial Palace.

“This is Eunuch Hwang Eom, requesting an audience. I have come to report to His Majesty on the progress of my visit to Joseon.”

Hwang Eom prostrated himself as soon as he crossed the threshold, crawling forward to speak.

The emperor, who ruled the world’s largest empire, was on a different level from ordinary people.

Moreover, before Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor, who would usher in the Ming Dynasty’s greatest golden age, one could not dare to raise one’s head carelessly. This giant, who shared the era with the lame Timur [also known as Tamerlane, a Turco-Mongol conqueror] in the west, the iron-fisted ruler who had turned his nephew into smoked duck in the imperial palace, was silently looking ahead.

From all officials and generals to the eunuchs and palace maids within the palace, there was no one who did not fear him.

Fear creates a kind of respect.

The officials and people of Ming respected the emperor and firmly believed that the strategy to rule this vast Ming Dynasty was being fiercely formulated in his mind.

Hwang Eom was no different at this moment.

“…Therefore, accepting the Joseon Crown Prince’s request, I clearly defined the national border and suggested that matters between the two countries be resolved based on this in the future.”

Hwang Eom reported in detail on his mission to Joseon as an envoy, but the Yongle Emperor was deep in thought and did not answer.

Could there be something objectionable in what he had reported?

Hwang Eom was extremely nervous because when the Yongle Emperor acted like this, it rarely led to anything good.

It was absurd for a mere eunuch to demand an answer from the emperor, so Hwang Eom quietly lowered his head.

“…”

It was a perfect silence where not even a whisper could be heard, but Hwang Eom felt as if he could hear the sound of people gossiping around him.

The imperial palace was the place where rumors spread faster than anywhere else in the Ming Dynasty.

If a rumor spread that someone, whether a concubine or an eunuch, had lost favor, the power structure within the palace itself would be turned upside down.

Therefore, by simply maintaining silence, the Yongle Emperor was displaying the most powerful imperial authority.

Hwang Eom, flustered by the Yongle Emperor’s silence, quickly racked his brains.

The political sense he had honed over decades of living in the imperial palace sent him a warning.

‘Could it be that he doesn’t like the fact that I arbitrarily created the border demarcation?’

However, he thought that this condition was good enough to be accepted.

Defining the border was something that had to be done eventually, and the demand from Joseon to recognize the area south of Gongheomjin was only a request, and since negotiations had not even begun, it was not his problem.

However, the heavy silence of the emperor filled him with unbearable anxiety.

‘Is this the end?’

Sweat began to bead on Hwang Eom’s forehead.

However, he could not back down like this.

His lord hated those who rebelled against him the most, but he hated the incompetent even more.

Therefore, Hwang Eom had no choice but to begin a desperate self-defense.

“Your Majesty, I believe that Joseon is a ‘Sunyi’ (順夷, obedient barbarian) and also the foremost tributary state to the Great Ming. Therefore, wouldn’t Emperor Gao (高皇帝, Zhu Yuanzhang) have thought of Joseon in a special way?”

Zhu Yuanzhang not only did not regard Joseon as special but constantly harassed them with petty issues, but before his death, he left a will that Joseon should never be attacked.

Even so, it could not have been the emperor’s shy confession, but Hwang Eom said it anyway.

Hwang Eom continued to speak without pause.

“Since Your Majesty has already issued a decree allowing them to govern the Jurchens in the 10 districts including Samsan below Gongheomjin, I thought that the national border had already been established.

In my foolish opinion, I thought it was a good way to secure the loyalty of the barbarians with something that had already been decided, but if Your Majesty has a different intention…”

Hwang Eom’s lips trembled.

He could not bring himself to continue speaking.

What he said was true.

The civil officials and eunuchs of the court thought that it would not matter if they gave up that useless borderland, let alone the area around Liaoyang and Shenyang.

However, the current emperor was the Yongle Emperor, who was sincere about foreign expeditions.

Would the Yongle Emperor, who intended to move the capital to Beijing, really allow such a request from Joseon?

Hwang Eom glanced up at the face of the emperor, whom he respected and feared.

This was clearly disrespectful, but every eunuch in the Ming Dynasty had the skill of subtly observing the expressions of their superiors without being caught.

The Yongle Emperor’s face, as he saw it, was clearly…

“…Needed.”

“Yes?”

Hwang Eom asked back without realizing it.

“Tonic is needed!”

“…?”

Hwang Eom stared at his face, forgetting that he was committing disrespect, and then quickly lowered his head, realizing his actions.

Fortunately, the Yongle Emperor did not seem to notice Hwang Eom’s movements.

The emperor’s face was hard to gauge.

It was neither anger nor determination, but just a deathly pallor.

‘Besides, a tonic.’

It was a completely absurd sound to Hwang Eom, who had been diligently explaining the negotiation process with Joseon until now.

Soon, Hwang Eom’s thoughts turned to something.

‘Could it be?’

The Yongle Emperor was lost in his own thoughts and had not been listening to his words at all.

“Can’t you hear me? I need a tonic!”

At the Yongle Emperor’s continued words, Hwang Eom quickly lowered his head.

“I, I am afraid to ask, but why are you looking for a tonic…?”

“Reprimand!”

The scepter (笏) [a ceremonial tablet held by officials] that the Yongle Emperor threw struck Hwang Eom’s back.

“Ugh!”

Hwang Eom screamed in pain as it ran up his spine.

“Reprimand, reprimand! What did you hear my words as that you ask back!”

The Yongle Emperor shouted repeatedly.

It was a rather absurd sight, as he was tormenting Hwang Eom without even listening to Hwang Eom’s sincere report.

‘Damn it…’

However, Hwang Eom had no choice but to swallow his tears.

As the eunuch was assisting the emperor from close proximity, he could enjoy absolute power by receiving his favor, but basically, his status was excluded from the official system of the court.

In a word, it was like the position of the emperor’s slave.

That is why there was no big deal even if the Wanli Emperor of later generations killed eunuchs and palace maids.

Moreover, the Yongle Emperor was not exactly a good boss, even as a euphemism.

Hwang Eom had risen to the position of Grand Eunuch, but nothing had changed, so he was properly feeling the sorrow of such an eunuch.

It was fortunate that the Yongle Emperor brought up the reason why he was looking for a tonic even while he was angry.

“Are you making fun of me for being weak now!”

The Yongle Emperor was not yet fifty years old, but he was old enough to be a husband who bowed his head.

‘Didn’t Your Majesty bring it up first?’

Hwang Eom felt like he was going crazy at his lord’s eccentric attitude.

‘No matter how important Yang energy is, how can you not listen to a word when I am reporting on such an important matter?’

As position makes a person, if one is supported as a supreme being, the words of subordinates may not reach well above the clouds.

What about the most important issue for men?

The Yongle Emperor shouted at Hwang Eom.

“Hwang Eom!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What happened to what I clearly ordered before going to Joseon?”

The Yongle Emperor shouted like that.

“If you are talking about what you ordered, are you talking about appeasing the Jurchens? Or the Joseon Crown Prince’s entry to the court…?”

“Not that!”

The Yongle Emperor said irritably.

Hwang Eom took out his extraordinary memory as an eunuch.

Instead of wasting his concentration downwards, the eunuch’s brainpower greatly developed.

As an aside, this was the reason why there were many eunuchs in history who boasted extraordinary brains.

‘I heard that they are applying a mysterious powder called Baekjabun in the harem these days, but didn’t the Joseon Crown Prince say that he can’t make anything good for men?’

Recalling the conversation from a few months ago, Hwang Eom realized it.

When he presented the Joseon Chong [a type of cannon], that is, the Seungja Chongtong [Victory-Bringing Cannon], he remembered the Yongle Emperor saying this in passing.

Of course, he thought it was a joke and laughed it off, but to bring this up now.

‘Your Majesty is a person with a subtle sense of emotion, so if he knows that I just passed it over like this, surely!’

Hwang Eom’s face turned blue.

“I spoke to Joseon, but the Crown Prince is young and said he doesn’t know much about that field. Please kill me!”

Hwang Eom quickly prostrated himself and said.

He had to get through this crisis now, whether it was a lie or not.

Then, the Yongle Emperor looked at him again and shouted.

“Reprimand!”

Hwang Eom reflexively flinched.

The Yongle Emperor, who was staring down at the sight, waved his hand with a look of disinterest.

“You only came back with useless things. Then get out.”

Hwang Eom hurriedly turned around.

At that time, the Yongle Emperor asked him indifferently behind his back.

It was to the extent that anyone who heard it would hear it as a passing remark.

“Ah, how was the Joseon Crown Prince? I remember his father was quite a hero.”

“He, he seemed bright, but compared to Your Majesty, he is just a firefly in front of a full moon.”

How dare he praise anyone in front of the emperor?

Hwang Eom just answered that.

“Is that so?”

The Yongle Emperor tilted his head.

– Boom!

At that moment, Hwang Eom prostrated himself again at the explosion that echoed from afar.

It must have been the Joseon Chong that was being tested in a corner of the imperial palace.

The Yongle Emperor showed great interest in this and was working hard to mass-produce it. They were also gathering as much quantity as possible from Joseon.

It was because of the Mongolian expedition that would take place soon.

As Lee Jae predicted, he was not simply gathering Seungja Chongtong to harass Joseon.

“I expected quite a bit because they made the Joseon Chong, but are you saying that he is not someone I need to pay attention to?”

“That, that is.”

Hwang Eom did not know what to say and could not answer.

The Yongle Emperor stared down at him and said.

“What are you doing not stepping back.”

Hwang Eom was about to leave after hurriedly bowing.

The Yongle Emperor added one more word to the back of his head.

“Um, take care of the border demarcation issue on your own.”

How exactly should he take care of it when he says to take care of it well?

More than that, was he listening to all of his words?

Hwang Eom’s spine was filled with goosebumps.

He was truly an emperor who could not be careless even for an inch.

‘I have to get a tonic too, right?’

All the elixirs of the world are in the great Ming Dynasty, but it is strange why he is looking for something from Joseon.

A subject has to do what he is told.

===

I rubbed my ears.

It seems like the guys from Hanseongbu [the capital’s administrative division] are talking behind my back.

To talk behind my back after I left my seat for a while.

I am not in Hanseongbu or Donggung [the Crown Prince’s residence] now, but in Jeonuigam [the royal medical office].

The smell of herbal medicine pricked my nose, making my head dizzy.

“It’s not easy to brew this medicine directly.”

The reason why I am doing this is because of my granduncle.

It was not because of Yi Bang-gwa [King Jeongjong of Joseon].

‘That man is so healthy that I wish he would catch a cold.’

It was someone else, Grand Prince Igan, Yi Bang-ui.

My third granduncle.

His condition is getting worse day by day, so I had no choice but to step in.

‘I don’t think he will get better by feeding him this.’

It is to show the minimum sincerity.

As the Crown Prince, I was naturally receiving the attention of the Jeonuigam officials as I was touching the medicine pot myself.

Even though I don’t know what it is, I am considered to have deep knowledge of medicine due to the implementation of the Heimlich maneuver.

I think I have damaged my image quite a bit while holding hands with Pyongwonhae for the dissection.

“Your Highness, if there is anything like this, please order us to do it.”

Was it Yoo Hyo-tong? An official from Jeonuigam under Pyongwonhae came and said.

However, I shook my head.

“It’s not something you can do.”

At least in Joseon in this era, it is the first method I am trying.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You will know if you wait and see.”

I said with a grin.

If it succeeds, a huge profit is guaranteed, but security must be maintained until then.

“Just know that it is a tonic that boosts vitality.”

At my words, the Jeonuigam officials only tilted their heads.

< Nanjing > End

ⓒ Pitkong