There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 15

< The Hero Doesn't Study (3) >

“Hap!”

I swung properly!

I inwardly cheered at the somewhat decent sword form.

“Your arm is too low.”

However, Yi Seong-gye still pointed out my mistake with a critical eye.

He used his pointer to raise my arm about half an inch.

“What’s with you obsessing over this little bit?”

“You rascal, that half an inch could determine your life or death when withdrawing your sword.”

“Aigoo.”

Yi Seong-gye was truly a strict instructor, just as he said he would be.

I don’t think it was this bad even when I was in the military.

As I slumped to the ground, feeling like I had returned to being a recruit, I saw a figure stomping towards me from afar.

“This rascal!”

…It was my father, Yi Bang-won. [Yi Bang-won is the father of the protagonist.]

He scolded me as soon as he saw me.

“You rascal, what are you doing here instead of studying? Do you know how shocked I was when I heard from the scholars of the Sigangwon [Office of Crown Prince Lectures]?”

“My subjects belittle my achievements as mere child’s play and don’t acknowledge them, so what’s the point of me studying?”

‘Dad, they ignored me first!’ It’s a strategy.

How would he feel if he heard that his son had created something worthy of praise from all the people, but it was dismissed as a game?

As expected of a son-fool, Yi Bang-won’s expression visibly soured.

“They dared to say such a thing?”

“Yes. They haven’t even mastered all of Zhu Xi’s [Neo-Confucian philosopher] complete works, yet they lectured me that creating devices is not a scholar’s pursuit.”

I puffed out my chest and said.

The sight of my teachers, dumbfounded by the massive fact-bombing, is still vivid in my mind.

Yi Bang-won closed his eyes for a moment as if trying to cool his boiling anger, then opened them and said.

“…I will severely rebuke them, so open your books again. What you should be holding is not this sword, but a book. You cannot abandon your studies.”

“This is also studying.”

Yi Seong-gye said, oblivious to the mood, and Yi Bang-won glared at him.

“Father, please step back.”

“Why should I?”

“This is a matter between father and son.”

“Aren’t you and I also father and son? Is there a law that says I can’t say anything?”

“Yes, there is.”

“What? Aigoo! Now that he’s the king, he’s telling me to stay cooped up in the back!”

Yi Seong-gye grabbed the back of his neck and shouted.

Yi Bang-won would be in trouble if such words came out with the eunuchs and palace people beside him, and the historians standing over there.

“Ah, Father. Why are you doing this?”

“Aigoo, I should just die now that I’m old. What am I living for? Sob, Bang-beon, Bang-seok!” [Yi Seong-gye is lamenting the loss of his sons.]

Yi Bang-won hurriedly grabbed Yi Seong-gye’s arm as he pretended to wipe away tears with his sleeve.

“I consider teaching my grandson as the joy of my later years, but how can a son treat it as a trivial pursuit? Aigoo!”

“Ah, I understand, so please go to the Taesang Hall [Hall for retired kings] quickly. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Yi Bang-won hurriedly pushed Yi Seong-gye’s back, then gestured for me to come in as well.

‘Amazing.’

To play with Yi Bang-won like that.

As expected, an old man’s weapon is tears.

Let’s remember it well to use later.

When the three of us sat in the Taesang Hall, a tense atmosphere filled the air.

“So, have you given up on studying altogether?”

“I think that if I have finished the Elementary Learning [Confucian textbook] and skimmed through the Four Books [Confucian classics], I have done all the studying a man needs to do.”

“Studying is not just about reading books, but about internalizing the meaning of the wise men contained within. How can you say you have finished studying after reading it once?”

Yi Bang-won gently persuaded me.

He seemed to think that I was just being petulant and doing it out of spite, but I had no intention of doing so at all.

Yi Bang-won repeatedly tried to persuade me.

“You may think that the scriptures are useless, but you must learn them to know loyalty and filial piety and to understand human morality.”

“Hmph, some people even passed the civil service examination but didn’t know the morals of loyalty and filial piety.”

Yi Seong-gye snorted, and Yi Bang-won flinched.

“Wh, who are you talking about?”

“Who else would I be talking about? I’m talking about the guy who struck his father with a sword and killed the king.”

“…That’s all in the past.”

“It’s not in the past for me.”

Yi Seong-gye turned his head away and said.

Hmm, Yi Seong-gye also struck Choi Young [Goryeo general], who was like a father to him, and King Woo [Goryeo king], whom he served, with a sword and seized the throne.

‘This family is full of double standards.’

But thanks to Yi Seong-gye’s timely intervention, Yi Bang-won was speechless.

I didn’t miss the opportunity and said confidently.

“The qualities of a sage are both made and innate, and I am already not inferior to the ancient sages. What need does Buddha have for Buddhist scriptures?”

“……”

Yi Seong-gye and Yi Bang-won were at a loss for words.

“Yes, you are great.”

“…You do have the virtue of a sage.”

Yi Seong-gye and Yi Bang-won said in turn.

“Hoo… I was going to have you study properly because you have excellent qualities. Why is heaven giving me such a punishment?”

“I will continue to look at the practical summary version, so don’t worry.”

I should say that much, right?

Then Yi Bang-won stared straight at me.

===

Yi Bang-won remembered the words that the literary officials who attended Sigang had said to him.

– The Crown Prince has deep thoughts and considerations.

Confucianism is a means of governing.

The goal of the Seong리학 [Neo-Confucianism] scholars is to educate the king and make him a virtuous monarch, but that is wrong.

Having strong knowledge that the vassals cannot refute and suppressing them.

That is why the king must study.

‘I don’t know about the Supreme King [Yi Seong-gye] who built the country with a sword, but the third generation who has to defend it must learn.’

Yi Bang-won naturally left out King Yi Bang-gwa [Second king of Joseon].

There are two ways for a king to gain authority.

Either his scholarship is so great that his knowledge reaches the end of the sky, and his vassals bow their heads on their own.

Or he inspires awe with achievements that shake the world.

‘Is the Crown Prince trying to take the latter path?’

He is a prodigy among prodigies, so it is not impossible to become like the former.

‘He suppressed Jo Sa-ui’s rebellion and created the arquebus [early firearm]. If the Geojunggi [lever-based device] and the stove spread widely, they will soon be devices worthy of praise from all the people.’

Yi Bang-won quickly organized his thoughts in his head.

However, when there was still a lingering feeling somewhere, the Crown Prince said.

“Even if we learn, we don’t have to learn only Seong리학, do we?”

“What?”

“Goryeo’s Buddhism was monopolized, and its evils were severe, but is there a law that Seong리학 will not do the same? Stagnant water rots.”

The Crown Prince added shocking words.

“What does that mean?”

“Just as monks monopolized the state affairs in Goryeo, what if they push their etiquette and laws and say, ‘Your Majesty, just follow us’?”

“There is a clear distinction between the king and his vassals, so how could such a thing happen?”

Yi Bang-won frowned as he said that.

Clearly, Jeong Do-jeon [Joseon Dynasty politician], whom he had executed, also said that the prime ministers should rule the country together with the king.

“When a king who inherited the throne as the second son dies, there will be a fight over whether his mother should wear mourning clothes for one year or three years.”

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Yi Je now recalled the Yesong Controversy [political dispute] he learned while listening to the Korean History Proficiency Test lecture.

‘Clearly, it was a fight over whether the king’s etiquette should be the same as that of ordinary Sadaebu [Scholar-officials].’

It was remembered that the problem became serious because the law was that if the eldest son died, he would wear mourning clothes for three years, and if the second son died, he would wear mourning clothes for one year, and this was linked to Hyojong’s legitimacy.

Yi Bang-won, a royalist, of course, twitched his eyebrows at those words.

He was also adopted by King Yi Bang-gwa, but he was originally the fifth son of Yi Seong-gye, so it was natural.

“Of course, the king is different from the Sadaebu, so he should wear mourning clothes for three years.”

“But if we strictly follow Zhu Xi’s etiquette, we should wear mourning clothes for one year. In the distant future, there will be people who make such claims.”

‘What was it, Cheonhadongrye (天下同禮) [The world shares the same rites]?’

Anyway, Yi Bang-won’s face turned red at that logic.

“Although Seong리학 was adopted as the national policy when the country was first opened, I think it is right to create a hundred schools of thought (百家爭鳴) [a period of great cultural and intellectual creativity in China].”

Now, it was just a simple thought that stagnant water rots, so various ideologies should compete, but Yi Bang-won accepted it differently.

“Have the scholars compete with a hundred schools of thought, and pick out what the king wants from them. Is that why you are trying to go a more difficult path?”

“Yes? Yes, that’s right.”

Yi Bang-won tapped his knee.

“Haha… That’s right, that’s right. You are looking ahead even hundreds of years later.”

I thought it was just a tantrum because he didn’t like studying, but my son’s heart was so frightening.

‘I’m glad that child is my son!’

If he wasn’t his son, or even if he wasn’t the eldest son, he would have been wary of him for the sake of succession.

Because Yi Bang-won knew that power could not be divided even among blood relatives.

But the son in front of him was the Crown Prince who would inherit everything from him, so he was rather relieved.

“Okay. I will accept your will.”

“Really?”

It’s cute to ask with wide eyes.

But Yi Bang-won pretended to be strict.

“Since you want to do the real work of governing the country instead of the brushstrokes of rotten scholars, I will let you spread your wings. I mean, I will discuss state affairs with you.”

This was a big decision for Yi Bang-won as well.

I thought I still had to learn and teach more, but now I see that my son is better than me.

‘It would be a great loss for the king to let such a guy play around.’

Yi Bang-won smiled at his son as he thought so.

Crown Prince Yi Je, who saw the sight, was overwhelmed by an unknown sense of anxiety.

===

I won! Study is over!

…That’s what I thought for a moment.

Yi Bang-won’s special review time turned into a time to grind me and listen to the answers.

It was roughly like this.

“You made the Geojunggi to make construction and labor easier, but it still costs a lot of national treasury to build Hanyang [Capital city of Joseon]. How can this be solved?”

“Hmm…”

I crossed my arms and pondered.

‘Damn, how would I know?’

The easiest way is to mine precious metals.

Gold and silver are copied.

“How about developing gold and silver mines? It will be useful when importing materials to build the palace.”

“Mines?”

Disappointment flashed across Yi Bang-won’s face.

“Do you know that Ming [Chinese dynasty] demands gold and silver as tribute?”

“Oh, is that so?”

“The work of mining gold is to be used by the country to serve the great powers. We are already mining mines, but as soon as we mine them, they go into their hands, so how can it accumulate in the national treasury?”

“……”

Anyway, those Chinese bastards love gold so much.

They can’t stand it if it’s precious.

‘Wait a minute.’

I felt like I was catching a clue.

My mouth opened without me realizing it.

“Isn’t it because the great powers covet gold and silver when they give gifts because they are precious things?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…”

Precious things, precious things.

I might have something to sell.

A clue came to mind.