There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 137

A sedan chair stopped at Huidong Hall. These days, high-ranking officials were constantly visiting Huidong Hall for mahjong, so it wasn’t unusual, but the identity of this guest was a bit different.

From inside the sedan, Zhou Suhua peeked her head out.

Her neatly braided hair fluttered in the wind.

“How did you get here?”

It wouldn’t have been easy to sneak out of the Imperial Palace.

I was surprised and about to ask, but I saw the sedan and realized what had happened.

“I borrowed a sedan from the Crown Prince’s eunuch.”

In the Ming Dynasty, the power of eunuchs was very high. Even the ministers of the Six Ministries [the six main government departments] couldn’t treat high-ranking officials like Huang Yan or Zheng He carelessly.

To be working in the Crown Prince’s palace and commuting in a sedan, that eunuch must be quite high-ranking. This princess simply took his sedan and came here.

‘Using power like that…’

I could see how high this princess’s status was.

Having used power only for righteous causes my entire life, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

“So, what’s the matter? Enough to steal a sedan to come.”

“I didn’t steal it! My nephew lent it to me.”

Hoh, the Crown Prince had a hand in it.

‘Why on earth?’

As I was wondering, the princess said in a rather small voice.

“I don’t think I said a proper goodbye.”

I didn’t know she was such a polite child.

My brother might not admit it, but she seems to have been raised well.

“I received many gifts, but I didn’t give anything in return.”

Then, the princess held out an object to me.

“What’s this?”

Taking it, it was a small hand mirror, small enough to fit in one hand.

‘A meager gift, considering.’

Of course, it’s not that mirrors are cheap.

I didn’t know, but glass mirrors haven’t been invented yet.

So, what the princess handed me was a mirror made by grinding silver.

Still, it looks a bit old, not something you’d give as a gift.

“This is… my mom’s keepsake?”

“…Is that so?”

Looking at it again, it seems to have an antique charm.

“But why are you giving this to me?”

I tilted my head, wondering if there was a custom in China of giving keepsakes to friends, but that couldn’t be.

No matter how ignorant I am of history and culture, this isn’t it.

“I look like my mom, so she told me to look in the mirror if I miss her.”

The princess said.

If it’s such a precious item, shouldn’t she be keeping it safe?

“So, this is as precious as my life.”

“You’re giving me something so precious?”

“Of course, you have to return it.”

The princess answered immediately.

“Here.”

I placed the hand mirror back on her hand.

If she wants it back, I should return it.

“Not now!”

Then, she got angry like fire.

“Then when?”

“Just keep it.”

She said, looking down at her feet.

“So, don’t lose it, don’t forget it…”

“You want me to keep it?”

“Yes.”

“Can you come back to get it?”

Is this the best method this girl can come up with?

What if I’m a bad person who steals keepsakes?

‘Oho~ What luck! I should just melt it down and sell it as a silver hairpin!’

But I wasn’t that unscrupulous.

‘Of course.’

Looking at her teary face, I wanted to answer that way, but I hesitated for a moment.

‘Can I come back?’

Nanjing is ten thousand miles away from Joseon.

And the position I hold as this Crown Prince makes it difficult to leave the country.

Considering that, I’ve been wandering around quite a bit.

Is it right to make her wait without a promise?

“Hwangmae, you must go now.”

While I was hesitating, the eunuch next to her urged.

He seemed very anxious, afraid of being seen by others.

It’s only natural since she forced her way out.

“Then goodbye, barbarian prince.”

She suddenly appeared like when she first met me, and then disappeared fleetingly.

Like a bubble.

===

“To call us barbarians again! How can you do this, Brother?”

“……”

Chungnyeong, who had been watching this scene from the side, was jumping up and down.

He seemed quite upset.

‘Be quiet, you.’

I suppressed the urge to smack my brother’s head.

To have to worry about the butterfly effect that would occur if Sejong the Great’s brain cells were destroyed.

How can anyone live if they’re not a great man?

“……”

I was quietly looking down at the mirror in my hand when Kwon Geun rushed over and said.

“Your Highness, Eunuch Zheng He has arrived.”

I quickly stuffed the mirror into my pocket and greeted him.

“I heard you were very busy, but I am grateful that you came to see me off. The treasure ship fleet will be departing soon, right?”

“That is correct. Soon, we will be taking all the Joseon people here with us.”

Zheng He nodded and replied.

“But Your Highness has brought quite a variety of people with you.”

“A variety of people?”

I reacted, feeling subtly guilty.

Then, Zheng He smiled nonchalantly and replied.

“The Joseon people are learning a great deal here. From the Joseon shipwrights to the sailors. Are you planning to launch your own treasure ships in Joseon?”

Did he know?

I was sweating profusely.

“Haha, it’s alright. Whatever Your Highness’s plans may be, I have no intention of interfering.”

Zheng He said, waving his hand.

“How can that be?”

I asked, looking at Zheng He.

“Thanks to Your Highness’s help, I have gained great trust from the Emperor. If I were to find fault with Joseon’s actions now, what would I become?”

“That’s true.”

Zheng He boasted that it was his achievement, so if I were to make an issue of this, the responsibility would naturally fall on him.

Competitors within the Ming Dynasty, like Huang Yan, wouldn’t let it go, either.

There’s no way he’d do such a foolish thing.

Zheng He continued.

“Furthermore, Joseon is a nation of propriety. Whether Joseon launches its own treasure ships to spread virtue, or our Ming Dynasty does, shouldn’t it be the same?”

Is it because the purpose of the treasure ship fleet is not trade, but an expedition to ‘civilize the barbarians’?

I don’t particularly intend to spread the authority of Yongle or Confucianism.

Anyway, it’s a relief that Zheng He won’t step in and kick away our ladder.

“I am grateful for the kindness of Grand Eunuch. I ask that you take good care of our people.”

I said that.

If the officials, technicians, and sailors who participated in the treasure ship fleet were to return home, it would be a great benefit to Joseon.

Zheng He nodded.

“Haha, don’t worry. Also, it seems that His Majesty the Emperor is pleased with Your Highness, so I will pay much attention as well.”

“Is that so?”

The person who likes me is giving me such a hard time with the Annam conquest and the national marriage, two choices?

“It may not seem like it, but His Majesty has great goodwill towards Joseon.”

“Hahaha……”

Considering that Yongle is such an eccentric person, it may be true that he has goodwill towards Joseon.

It’s probably goodwill shown because ‘my lackey’ is obedient.

“Then, with the support of such imperial favor, may I ask for a favor?”

“A favor?”

“If it is something that you cannot handle, please at least convey it to His Majesty.”

“I will listen first.”

Zheng He nodded and said.

“May I take some people with me?”

Zheng He’s eyes widened.

“People? Who are you talking about?”

At Zheng He’s question, the image of a girl with braided hair flashed before my eyes, but I shook my head.

Countries in this era thoroughly manage their own citizens.

It is strictly forbidden to take away their own people arbitrarily.

But the people I was asking for were somewhat ambiguous to be considered Ming Dynasty citizens.

I sighed softly and said.

“On the way here, it seems that there are quite a few Turks who have not adapted to the Ming Dynasty.”

===

– The Turks were already a headache.

Zheng He commented that way.

He explained that they live in their own communities, and it is difficult to assimilate them because their religion and culture are different.

Moreover, since they were the ones who enjoyed vested interests in the former Yuan Dynasty, they also had a strong nostalgia for the Yuan Dynasty.

“I will seek permission to take them, provided they wish to go.”

They are just Ortogh [merchant guilds] merchants who have long lost their connections while going through turbulent times.

Most of their wealth has been scattered, so he seems to have judged that it would be better to send away those who have lost their attachment to Ming to the point where they want to leave.

It goes without saying, but the number of Ortogh merchants who wanted to leave Ming was quite large.

When we went up to Beijing via the canal as we had come, the Ortogh merchants who had been gathered in advance were lined up.

They were mostly people like this.

“We are the Imad and Rashid brothers, artisans who craft gold, silver, and jewels. We made a lot of money.”

Looking at the Turkic elders bowing before me, I asked.

“With your skills, I would think you would have lived quite well even after the Yuan Dynasty fell. Why do you want to follow me?”

“Until recently, we were still able to make a living, but during the Jingnan Rebellion [a civil war from 1399 to 1402], the Jingnan army took our money to use as military funds, and after that, they kept harassing us to pay for the construction costs of the Beijing relocation, so we couldn’t do business at all.”

The Ming Dynasty is not a country that particularly guarantees private property, and it is a country that moves the wealthy from Nanjing to Beijing and exploits their wealth, so there is no way these Ortogh merchants would be properly protected.

The same was true for other technicians.

“We have used up our capital, but our pride does not allow us to work under the Han Chinese whom we used to look down on, and the way they look at us, seeing us Turks as usurers, is not pleasant, so we have no choice but to go to Joseon.”

There were also glass craftsmen or papermakers who wanted to move to Joseon for these reasons.

Well, now that I see it, I know why the Han Chinese dislike the Ortogh merchants.

“If Your Highness provides us with capital, we will work our whole lives to repay you.”

Even if these people followed, the Ming Dynasty court would not particularly stop them.

However, the type of people I had subtly hoped for were not seen.

“Are there any cannon technicians?”

“Some of our friends are serving in the Ming Dynasty army, but they said they would not follow.”

No matter how much the Ming Dynasty bothers them, they wouldn’t give up those people.

I looked around at them and said.

“The Joseon people have no grudges against you, and they will not requisition your property in the name of relocation. If you are loyal to the King and abide by the laws of Joseon, you will be treated the same as our people.”

How well they can adapt in Joseon now depends on those people.

“Now, let’s depart for Joseon!”

Although the number of people to participate in the treasure ship fleet was left in Nanjing, the number of the procession did not decrease much due to the joining of the Ortogh merchants.

I left the Ming Dynasty like that.

Leaving many things behind.

===

“Quack, quack, quack!”

“Flap, flap!”

People complained about the cries of the enormous beasts that had joined the procession in the middle of the journey, but there was nothing they could do.

We couldn’t leave behind the animals we had managed to get from the Ming Dynasty.

The pigs loaded from Dengzhou joined in the middle of the canal, and then the Mongolian sheep joined from Jinzhou.

The number alone reached hundreds, so providing hay was a task in itself.

If it weren’t for the enormous gifts that Yongle gave in return for the tribute, this mission would have been a complete deficit.

Fortunately, there were no major accidents until we passed through Beijing, Liaoyang, and Dongpalchan.

Now, if we just go down to the Yalu River, we will be in Joseon territory.

“Your Highness!”

“What’s wrong?”

I looked up from the Song Dynasty book I had obtained in Beijing, the Yongcheon County Gazetteer (龍泉縣志) [a local history book], but I soon realized the reason without hearing the answer.

Dust was rising greatly in the distance.

It was a clear sign that there was a large group ahead.

“Huh?”

I narrowed my eyes.

At first, I thought it was people from Joseon coming to greet us, but when I thought about it, this is Ming Dynasty territory, right?

There was no way my father would have decided to conquer Liaodong while I was away.

Then who are those guys?