There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 150

“Oh dear, still so young, so young!”

Iribuka said, clicking his tongue.

He was speaking about Jochi of Taeneungwi.

Then Munteumu, who was next to him, said,

“To be humiliated at someone else’s celebration, how much would his pride be hurt in his young heart? He’s probably trying to subdue the Joseon Crown Prince this time to prove that Taeneungwi’s pride is still alive.”

“Oh dear, if that’s the case, you’ve misjudged. His Highness the Crown Prince is not such an easy opponent.”

Ever since I stabbed Iljeom in the face of the tiger, the Jurchens had respect for the Crown Prince, just like they did for the Grand Royal Father.

Especially pro-Joseon border guards like Iribuka were even more so.

“Then does the Chief of Samsan think His Highness the Crown Prince will win?”

“That’s right.”

Even setting aside Joseon’s national power, those who lived in this harsh place, regardless of whether they were Jurchen or Mongol, had a reverence for individual martial prowess.

Perhaps Jochi was trying to stimulate that in his own way to downplay the fact that Taeneungwi had submitted to Joseon in the first place…

“If His Highness wins, it will rather be an opportunity for his courage to spread even to the far north. No, more than that.”

By defeating Taeneungwi’s champion, he would be proving his qualification to be the host of the Nadam [a traditional Mongolian festival].

The Crown Prince himself, no less.

Iribuka looked at the Crown Prince.

He probably knew what was at stake in this match.

That’s why he was making such a serious expression.

===

‘Is this little punk picking a fight with me?’

I gritted my teeth.

He must think I’m easy prey because I came from a warm southern country.

I can’t refuse this challenge. How many eyes are watching right now?

If this were Joseon proper, the officials would have been shocked, but this is the north.

Rather, it was encouraged for high-ranking people to directly wield swords and walk around.

So, Iseonggye and Ibanggwa are not saying anything.

They are people who know the rules of this place.

Joseon officials glanced back and forth at the Grand Royal Father and the King with nervous expressions, but they couldn’t dare to argue with them.

“I didn’t expect you to accept my challenge.”

‘Look at this guy?’

Looking at Jochi’s confident expression, he seemed to think I was inferior to him.

Just because I’m from Joseon.

But this was a big miscalculation.

‘I’m someone who received hellish training from Iseonggye.’

Do whines every day that it’s hard, but it’s much less than what I went through under Iseonggye.

‘And I also have a secret weapon.’

Bukh (ᠪᠥᠬᠡ) [Mongolian wrestling], one of the Nadam events, was essentially closer to Mongolian traditional wrestling.

After exchanging greetings, we faced each other with tense expressions.

And at some point, Jochi quickly reached out and tried to grab my sleeve.

“Ugh!”

To strike first, the cowardly bastard!

If I had been a little late in dodging, I would have been grabbed by the collar and thrown to the ground.

Jochi took advantage of the momentum and began to attack repeatedly.

If I dodged the left hand, this time it was the right hand.

I grabbed and fended off all the attacks coming in from all directions.

“Eek!”

Jochi’s eyes widened in surprise.

He didn’t expect me to react this quickly. The moment the angry guy rushed in, his central guard opened.

“Heok!”

I quickly kicked his stomach with the tip of my foot.

Since there was no weight behind it, the damage wasn’t as great as I thought, but he had to bend his back 90 degrees to pull his body away.

I didn’t miss the gap and immediately grabbed Jochi’s neck.

“······!”

‘I got him.’

Jochi’s eyes widened.

“Brace yourself.”

Before Jochi could react, I jumped down, putting all my weight on him.

The Stunner.

One of the most popular finishers in WWE [World Wrestling Entertainment], and the technique I was most enthusiastic about in modern times.

“Keoeok!”

The shock was transmitted directly, and Jochi’s eyes rolled back.

“W, Winner! His Highness the Crown Prince!”

Those who were watching the scene around him all stood up and shouted.

“Woah!”

“His Highness the Crown Prince has won!”

They were greatly excited that I had defeated Jochi, who had shown excellent performance in the previous game, with a technique they had never seen before.

“I never taught him that. Where on earth did you learn it?”

Iseonggye also repeatedly praised me.

“I developed it.”

In this era, I am the developer.

Iribuka shouted excitedly.

“It was a really great technique. If you grow up a little more, Your Highness may become the winner of wrestling, Awarga [a wrestling title]!”

It means that you can aim for winning not only in this kind of exhibition match but also in a formal match…

‘Why bother?’

I’d rather just be satisfied with being the host of Nadam.

Originally, power is better.

“Taeneungwi is finished too.”

“From the fact that the descendants of the Otchigin royal family came to the Nadam hosted by Joseon…”

Jochi’s eyes welled up at the whispering around him.

Iseonggye seemed to find this amusing, and he said with a smile.

“Haha, the young master of Taeneungwi was also excellent. Come and receive the silk.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

The people from Taeneungwi were delighted to see the silk that Iseonggye was giving out.

“Heeing.”

Only Jochi had an expression that he couldn’t bear because he was so upset.

‘Tsk tsk.’

It must be miserable that our family, who used to be their lackeys, is now giving out gifts as if doing a favor, and Taeneungwi is gratefully accepting them.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Isn’t that the way things go?

‘You should have done better if you didn’t like it.’

They couldn’t have survived alone when the Yuan Dynasty was collapsing.

In particular, since the Otchigin clan lost to me in wrestling, the generational change in the north was even more clearly revealed.

This was a fact that even the envoys from Bokyeowi acknowledged.

“The era of Taeneungwi has passed. Isn’t it the current state of Taeneungwi that it is being pushed back by Taanwi?”

A man named Anchul (安出) from Bokyeowi said.

Bokyeowi was also of the Otchigin lineage like Taeneungwi, so he had a bitter face, but they had already accepted reality.

“That’s why we came here, Grand Royal Father.”

Ibanggwa, who hated troublesome political talk, went out to play polo with the participants, and instead, Iseonggye pointed to me and said.

“I have now handed over everything I have to hand over and am a powerless old man. If you have anything to ask, ask my grandson here.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince is still young…”

“Even so, he is a guy who is deeply trusted by his father. If this guy sets his mind to it, there is nothing he can’t do in Joseon.”

The people of Bokyeowi looked at me with surprised expressions.

Anchu looked at me and asked.

“Then I will ask the young warrior.”

“Please speak.”

“Our three Weis [Jurchen tribal divisions], Bokyeowi, Taeneungwi, and Taanwi, are Weis established by the Ming Dynasty, and strictly speaking, they are the territory of the Great Ming.”

I could roughly guess what he was trying to say.

Formally, they are subordinate to the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, they are not really under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and they are independently inheriting official positions, so it was meaningless.

In this situation, the reason why they mentioned the Weis of the Ming Dynasty was probably to prevent us from advancing into their territory by using the Jurchens.

I readily guaranteed that point.

“You can rest assured that we will not cross the Songhua River.”

What we were recognized by the Ming Dynasty was 700 li [approximately 277 kilometers] north of the Duman River.

That alone was a huge area of land, and decisively, there was no mention of the east of it, so the rights to Primorsky Krai were also with us for the time being.

‘Right now, I’m too busy worrying about the empty land over there.’

So, aren’t I working hard to come up with ideas for sea cucumbers and northern farming methods?

Bokyeowi looked greatly relieved at my words.

Were these guys that afraid of us?

“Don’t be fooled by such whining.”

Iseonggye whispered in my ear.

“Right now, they are whining, ‘Please don’t come over to our side,’ but when a cold wave hits, they will turn into plunderers and attack without hesitation.”

“Then are they all acting to reassure us?”

“Now is the time to bow down. The issue of Hoshi (互市) [border trade] is also at stake.”

I asked at Iseonggye’s words.

“Then what should I do?”

“Give them some rice cakes appropriately. Instead, we have to project our influence. Like I did to those guys like Munteumu.”

I nodded.

“If you do not invade our Joseon, I will allow Hoshi. I will send merchants from this Guju to trade in the Mudan River area.”

“Is that true?”

Anchu asked with a bright face.

“The same goes for Taeneungwi. If you get along with us amicably, there is no reason not to open Hoshi. However, let’s discuss the items and quantities separately.”

In this era, Hoshi was close to receiving insignificant items and giving out necessities to appease the barbarians who invaded the border, but I had no intention of doing business at a loss.

That’s that…

I looked at the monks who were in Gujuseong.

They were also following the Jurchens and enjoying the Nadam festival.

Hmm, should I send our monks like I’m controlling the Jurchens?

I wouldn’t be able to exert as much influence as I do on the Jurchens, but I could have them act as spies.

‘I don’t know if they will obediently follow the order to go further north from here.’

As I was watching them, I found a familiar face among them.

‘Huh?’

Isn’t that Bulno?

===

The monks I gathered and sent into the north fairly smoothly seized the administrative power of the Jurchen tribes.

The fact that they could read and write, and the status of being monks whom the Jurchens respected, gave them tremendous authority.

This was not only good for us.

Among the monks, there seemed to be some who were enthusiastic about compiling books by recording the history and legends of the Jurchens, or about transmitting technology and knowledge.

Of course, the condition that ‘if you succeed in enlightening the barbarians, we will send you back to the mainland’ played a part.

However, Bulno was among those who truly had good intentions for the Jurchens.

“Hehe, Your Highness the Crown Prince. It’s been a while.”

When I met him after a long time, he looked at me with an expression as if he had attained enlightenment.

“Uh, uh, something’s different?”

The expression of a petty person full of inferiority and greed from the past had disappeared, and instead, a smile like the Buddha occupied the spot.

“At first, I resented Your Highness the Crown Prince very much. But as I worked diligently here day by day, I realized. The root of the problem lies within me.”

Ho, he realized that.

Did the northern wind give this guy enlightenment too?

After all, labor education is always right.

He said with a detached face.

“When I think about it that way, my heart is at peace. Whether it’s this way or that way, it’s just one lifetime.

How good is it to help sentient beings here, where even my insignificant abilities are desperately needed.”

“Wow, he really looks like a monk?”

“I’m still practicing, haha.”

Bulno said, laughing heartily.

“As I was thinking about what to do for these poor sentient beings, I came to think of farming.”

“Farming?”

I was also interested in northern agriculture, so my ears perked up.

The Jurchens do semi-farming and semi-pastoralism, but the level was low.

To improve their living standards, he was going to get involved in agricultural promotion.

Has the cleverness inherited in our family finally blossomed in Bulno?

Bulno nodded and said.

“Farming is about harvesting rice. But when I came here, I found that the Jurchens don’t grow rice. How unfortunate! So I brought rice seeds from Samnam and decided to try growing them.”

“Huh?”

“Fortunately, the leader of the tribe I’m in understood when I explained the advanced farming methods of Joseon in detail. Our tribe’s harvest this year will be much larger than in previous years, haha!

Isn’t this the true teaching of Mahayana (大乘) [a major branch of Buddhism]?”

As Bulno shouted proudly, I put my hand on my forehead.

I knew this would happen.

“You idiot…”

I barely opened my mouth.

“Rice grows in hot and humid places, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But here it’s cold and dry, and the winter is long, so the river freezes in September. What will happen if you plant rice seeds in such a place?”

“······?”

Growing rice here that doesn’t grow well even in Pyeongan-do or Hamgyeong-do?

Even if I plant southern rice seeds that haven’t been improved, will they even sprout properly? I’m afraid they’re all frozen by now.

I was about to give him some more embarrassment, but I barely suppressed it when I saw Bulno’s face turn blue.

Well, the important thing is that this guy has turned over a new leaf.

Anyone can make such a mistake.

I calmly put my hand on Bulno’s shoulder and said.

“It’s good to try to do something, but you have to understand the natural environment well. It’s a relief that you found out even now. Think of it as a good experience…”

“I, It’s too late.”

However, in Bulno’s eyes, which turned away, there was not self-reproach or resentment, but fear.

“Too late?”

“I persuaded the tribal chief to only grow rice instead of other crops. If this fails, they will all starve to death.”

“······.”

Ah, damn it.

You idiot!

End

ⓒ Pitkong