There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 128

During this period, the envoy route from Joseon to Nanjing involved both land and sea routes.

To be precise, Joseon requested the use of land routes, but the Ming Dynasty insisted on sea routes.

Emperor Hongwu had even once prohibited entry into the capital through the Liaodong region.

However, when the Yongle Emperor came to power, he allowed passage through the Eight Garrisons of Liaodong and also permitted a route through Beijing to welcome my entry into the court.

“How could we recklessly expose the Crown Prince, a person of such high regard, to the dangers of the sea? Please proceed by land.”

That was roughly the justification. I secretly desired the envoy route via the sea, but everyone else favored the land route.

They felt more secure with their feet on solid ground, or so they said.

Especially Kwon Geun, who was accompanying me, was adamant.

‘Why did this old man come along?’

He’s the old man who yielded to me after numerous clashes and a complete defeat in a poetry battle.

His frequent involvement in diplomacy with the Ming Dynasty was taken into consideration, and he was included in this envoy.

Perhaps it was a placement by Yi Bang-won, who was worried about his sons.

“Traveling by sea is no way for a human to travel. It’s truly fortunate we’re going by land.”

Kwon Geun said that he had gone to Nanjing by sea via Dengzhou during the reign of King Gongmin [King Chang], and he spoke as if he had suffered greatly.

‘What did he go through?’

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

Two months until we arrive in Nanjing.

Since we had nothing to do while traveling, we diligently learned Chinese from the interpreters.

‘I learned a bit while meeting Chinese people in Africa.’

I thought, folding my arms with a proud look.

There was no place in Africa without Chinese people, but especially in the country I was in, quite a few Chinese people lived.

We were in the same situation of being in a foreign land, so we sometimes met and talked.

There was a time difference of hundreds of years from the Chinese I learned then, but it was still helpful.

‘Since I have some basics, I’ll quickly learn the official language (官話) [Mandarin] of this era.’

“Amazing!”

Indeed, the interpreter exclaimed, touching his forehead.

“Hehe, it’s nothing much.”

“How is it that Grand Prince Chungnyeong is so knowledgeable about phonology?”

The interpreters flocked to my younger brother, making a fuss.

The guy with outstanding linguistic talent received all the attention from the interpreters.

On the other hand, they looked rather unenthusiastic after seeing my Chinese skills.

“Well… the Crown Prince is also, well, decent.”

‘I’m learning incredibly fast for my level!’

I was learning much faster than others with the help of the Chinese I had acquired in the modern era, but since the comparison was my younger brother, all the interpreters’ praise and admiration were focused on Do.

“Ugh….”

I gritted my teeth.

‘He’s just more flexible because his brain hasn’t hardened yet.’

I tried hard to console myself.

This is why people send their children to English kindergartens from a young age.

===

“This is Beiping, no, Beijing.”

Kwon Geun explained, looking at the walls of Beijing.

Emperor Yongle had already expressed his intention to move the capital by changing the name of Beiping to Beijing in 1403.

The status of Beijing, which had once been stagnant due to the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, was partially restored, but the atmosphere was still gloomy.

We entered Beijing.

“Amazing.”

Do said.

Rows of shops lined the streets, and people hurried back and forth.

‘Still, Hanyang is cleaner.’

Beijing may be larger in scale, but Hanyang, which I had reorganized, looked better.

Still, Beijing was a large enough city to be worth seeing.

‘Liaoyang was nothing to see.’

Perhaps it was because it was located in Liaodong, a border region of the Ming Dynasty.

It was quite bustling, but it was small and felt like a border city.

The Jinzhou Fortress I saw on the way was better.

Jinzhou was adjacent to Mongolia and had a lot of trade with them.

‘That’s why I told them to procure some Mongolian sheep.’

Mongolian sheep were hardy and good for wool and meat, so they were worth importing.

I ordered some, planning to take a few back to Joseon on the way back.

“It seems to have grown even bigger than when I came last time. There seems to be a lot of construction going on here and there.”

“The Emperor intends to move the capital, doesn’t he? He’s decorating his front yard nicely.”

Kwon Geun, who had already passed through Beijing on a Ming Dynasty envoy, kindly explained.

Grand Prince Chungnyeong and I began to look around here with Kwon Geun’s guidance.

“That’s the famous Prince Yan’s residence. It’s the palace where Prince Yan stayed when he was a prince.”

I nodded at Kwon Geun’s explanation.

“Why doesn’t the atmosphere seem so bright?”

I asked, tilting my head, and Kwon Geun replied.

“Recently, the Emperor has moved a large number of wealthy people from Nanjing to Beijing, and resentment is high because the cost of construction is being covered by confiscating their property.”

“Huh.”

I clicked my tongue.

It would be frustrating to be dragged to this distant Beijing, abandoning their base, and even more frustrating to have to pay for construction costs.

The citizens of Beijing would naturally welcome the return of the capital.

“That’s why moving the capital should not be done carelessly…”

Kwon Geun also murmured, agreeing with my words.

‘Does this old man still have feelings left?’

I looked at Kwon Geun, tilting my head.

Compared to the relocation of the capital to Beijing, the relocation of the capital to Hanyang is much better.

Gaeseong and Hanyang are not far apart, and we didn’t exactly build palaces by taking money from the rich.

‘This is the quality of a ruler who loves his people.’

Rather, they should be grateful that the difficult construction was completed properly thanks to me.

“What is that over there?”

“It is a temple where people who believe in the Lord of Heaven (天主) [Catholicism] gather.”

“The Lord of Heaven?”

I stopped abruptly at the familiar word.

Wasn’t I also a Catholic when I was in the modern era?

‘About 1/3 of the time.’

Even though it looks like this, I also received baptism in the training camp.

“Let’s stop by there.”

I dragged the puzzled Kwon Geun and looked around, but unlike my expectations, the cathedral was completely dilapidated.

The Archdiocese of Dadu, which existed during the Yuan Dynasty, had been abolished decades ago, and only a few believers remained.

‘I thought I could create a link with Europe if I did well.’

I lowered my head in disappointment.

‘Ugh, I must have expected too much.’

I clicked my tongue and muttered.

It had already been nearly 40 years since the Yuan Dynasty collapsed and was driven out to Mongolia.

It was enough time for the network that had been maintained in those days to collapse.

“I don’t know what Your Highness is trying to find, but there’s nothing to see here. Let’s go have lunch.”

“I suppose so.”

I had no choice but to turn around.

There was a fairly large inn nearby, so we went inside.

As we entered, we saw a server who was somehow blankly staring into space.

“Server, bring us some Zhuyeqing wine and a roast duck.”

“Hayir!”

“?”

I was taken aback by the sudden unfamiliar word and asked back, and the server, who looked somehow exotic, quickly changed his expression and replied.

“Ah, I’m sorry. We don’t have roast duck.”

“Huh?”

If Beijing isn’t famous for roast duck, what is it famous for?

“Duck is not a commonly used ingredient in Beiping. You can taste it in Jiangnan. It is especially famous as a royal court dish.”

Kwon Geun explained.

So, it’s still a long way before Peking duck comes out?

I smacked my lips.

I was going to eat that while I was in Beijing.

“Then bring us some dumplings (餃子) [jiaozi].”

When I ordered, the server soon brought out jiaozi with a shimmering color.

“Wow!”

My younger brother exclaimed.

Good-looking dumplings taste good, and when I took a bite, I felt a moist broth filling my mouth.

“How do you like it?”

The exotically 생긴 [looking] server asked, and I nodded enthusiastically.

“The broth flows smoothly from the dumpling filling inside, and the texture is very good.”

“It’s thanks to using good meat.”

“Good meat?”

When I asked, the server explained.

“Pork from Shandong is good. It’s a breed called Qimeng Black Pig from northern Shandong, and it weighs over 50 gwan (approximately 180~190kg) [397-419 lbs]. It grows quickly and is large, and the meat quality is good, so it tastes good. Our inn only uses that pig.”

I was impressed by the man’s explanation.

“Is that so?”

I asked.

‘I should get that breed on the way.’

It was information I didn’t know because it was off the envoy route.

Then, a question suddenly arose, so I asked.

“But what did you say earlier?”

“Ah.”

The server replied, looking embarrassed.

“Hayir, that is, it means ‘no’ in our language.”

“Our language?”

His features were different from those of Chinese people.

At my gaze, the server said.

“I am a descendant of the Ortok merchants.”

===

The Ortok merchants were Turkic merchants who had actively engaged in commerce in collusion with aristocrats during the Yuan Dynasty.

Even Kwon Geun in this place knew about it.

‘But is it okay to sell pork?’

Well, there are plenty of nylon Muslims [nominal Muslims] who eat pork even in modern times, so it doesn’t matter.

“But what business does a descendant of such a merchant have here?”

It was a question of why he was working as a server here.

“What’s the point of being a merchant? It’s an old story that I wasn’t even born in, and when chaos comes, what can merchants do?”

The server explained.

“When the Great Yuan was there, we traded through relay stations and the sea, but most of them died or lost a lot of their fortunes during the war.

In addition, after the Ming Dynasty came to power, a maritime ban was imposed, and the western countries were still in chaos, so it was not a situation to do business anywhere.

My family also lost all of their wealth in my grandfather’s generation, leaving only this inn.”

The server scratched his head and said.

Now that I see it, it seemed to be an inn run by this family.

Kwon Geun subtly told me about the shortcomings that this server did not tell me in Korean.

“It would be fortunate if that were all, but the public sentiment toward these people has not been very good from the beginning. The Turkic merchants used Yuan Dynasty officials as their backers and lent money at high interest rates, so there were many complaints.”

Then, when chaos comes, they may have their money taken away and get beaten up.

In the process, the Ortok merchants and technicians seemed to have collapsed en masse.

“Hmm, is that so…”

Anyway, these humans are penniless now.

I stroked my chin while organizing my thoughts.

“There’s a lot of talk about Beiping being promoted to Gyeongsa [capital], but I don’t know if it’s particularly good for people like us. The country doesn’t protect us and only asks us to pay money if they feel like it…”

It seemed that the Ming Dynasty’s evil hand to cover the cost of construction was reaching out to this side as well.

All the people with money are suffering.

“Do you have any thoughts of going to Joseon?”

I asked, looking at the server.

“Joseon, are you talking about?”

The server widened his eyes and asked back, and I nodded.

“Our Joseon doesn’t discriminate against Turkic people.”

‘Because we haven’t been harmed.’

And they don’t extort money to build Beijing.

Since all the privileges and foundations they enjoyed during the Yuan Dynasty have been shaken off, wouldn’t it be good to move to Joseon?

“Tell your people who you know. If there are any people who want to settle in Joseon, they are welcome. Especially technicians are even more welcome.”

The server in front of me may only have the skill of making dumplings.

I don’t know how many Ortok merchants and technicians are left, or how many people will go to Joseon.

I smiled and turned my head away from the dumbfounded server.

And when I looked down at the plate, it was completely empty.

‘…I only ate one?’

I wondered what was going on and looked around, and my younger brother was chewing with something stuffed in both cheeks, and Kwon Geun was watching the scene with a troubled smile.

‘That glutton.’

I have to do something about it.

End

ⓒ Pitkong