There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 153

“Absolutely not, Your Highness!”

“Please withdraw your command!”

The Sungkyunkwan students laid out a mat and shouted.

“How can you say that we should teach those people at Sungkyunkwan?”

“We can’t accept it, even if we die!”

They were vehemently opposed to the idea of bringing the Jurchens and Japanese they had brought and having them taught at Sungkyunkwan.

“Why are you doing this?”

‘Surely it doesn’t mean they just don’t like the idea of barbarians studying with them, does it?’

I didn’t realize Joseon was such a closed-minded society.

I wish they would show a more global-citizen-like attitude.

If it’s for such a racist reason, I won’t stand for it.

“Of course, we can’t let them in!”

“Sungkyunkwan is a place where those who have passed the preliminary civil service exam can enter! How can children who haven’t even finished the Elementary Learning Textbook study at Sungkyunkwan?”

“······Ah.”

So, the reason they’re foaming at the mouth and jumping around isn’t because they’re barbarians, but simply because they don’t meet the admission requirements.

‘I didn’t know because I didn’t go to Sungkyunkwan.’

Even though princes go through the formality of entering Sungkyunkwan when they reach a certain age, it’s only in name, and they learn through private tutoring.

Moreover, princes don’t even have admission screenings.

However, I can’t acknowledge the kids I brought as privileged class equivalent to princes.

“Then should I send them to a private school instead of Sungkyunkwan?”

Currently, there are secondary education institutions in Hanyang called Sabu Hakdang [Four Schools], which children over the age of ten can attend.

However, this was met with opposition from parents.

“No matter what, how can you send kids who haven’t even finished the Thousand Character Classic [a foundational text for literacy] to any private school?”

“Please reconsider, Your Majesty!”

The parents, who were suddenly faced with the crisis of their school district being ruined by underqualified international students, started submitting petitions.

Parents are always sensitive to the learning atmosphere, so it’s not that I don’t understand, but······.

Then what are we supposed to do?

Do I have to build my own school?

===

Actually, I had such a plan.

A plan to build a school on my land in Yeouido.

However, the problem was that Yeouido is a river island, making it difficult to get in and out, and some parts of it are flooded during the rainy season.

Although they say that small boats are one thing, there’s almost no chance of a large boat capsizing with a skilled boatman, Koreans still avoid riding boats.

So, most of the buildings built in Yeouido were being used for learning by eccentrics.

What are they doing here?

– Modernization of the Fatherland

– Diligence, Self-Reliance, Cooperation

Amidst the flags lined up from the Yeouido pier fluttering in the wind, the eccentrics were diligently applying cement to the well walls.

“Let’s hurry!”

“This is a well that all of us will use! We have to apply it carefully so that the soil doesn’t wash away!”

Yeouido was currently serving as a kind of Saemaul Undong (New Village Movement) [a modernization project in South Korea] testbed.

Communal laundry areas, wells, and other communal living facilities were being installed in various places, and village improvement projects were being carried out in every village.

The people carrying this out were, of course, the eccentrics.

They were starting the test in advance in preparation for the day when they would inherit their local official positions and return to their hometowns.

They were also learning how to form and manage cooperative organizations such as labor organizations and irrigation organizations, as well as how to manufacture various new materials and advanced farming methods.

On one side, they were dividing up experimental farmlands and cultivating them, and on the other side, they were busy building weirs.

The know-how they learn here will probably be very useful when they return to their hometowns.

This was no exception for the children I brought.

‘There will be some who will learn in Joseon and take the civil service exam, but most of them will return to their lands and inherit their fathers’ territories.’

In particular, it was important to increase their capabilities, as the central administration’s administrative power did not reach every detail in the north or Tsushima Island.

Population is national power.

If these guys learn properly and increase their output and population, Joseon’s national power will also increase.

‘Considering these points, it might be better not to send them to general private schools.’

In that sense, Yeouido was a great place to study while working.

During the day, they learn practical studies to develop their territories, and at night, they study.

How great is that?

Of course, since they are children, it’s not like they’re being put into heavy labor like the eccentrics are doing now, but rather they’re mainly doing experiential learning.

“But even if we build a school here, will there be a teacher who will come here?”

Lee Seong-gye, who had come with me, stroked his beard and asked.

“That’s true.”

That was the problem.

There were quite a few guys who wanted to pass the time in Joseon and then return, but there were also guys who wanted to prepare for the civil service exam and succeed in Joseon.

Pyeong Mang-go, the son of Pyeong Do-jeon, was also such a case.

‘That kid looked a bit like a playboy.’

I should be careful.

“It’s a relief that there are many who want to take the military service exam. For military service preparation, we can just select military officers from the Training Command and have them teach them.”

Lee Seong-gye said.

Even in the military service exam, they look at their knowledge of the classics, but they mainly focus on military strategy and martial arts.

If they bring military officers who have passed the military service exam, they will be able to cover it somehow.

“In particular, the Jurchens are good at handling horses, and the Japanese are good at swords. With just a little teaching, there will be no need to worry about martial arts.”

“The problem is the guys who are preparing for the civil service exam.”

“Who in this Joseon land would try to teach barbarians?”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

I had a headache.

Even though the level of scholars had become relatively low due to the chaos at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty.

Since the scholars had become such precious beings, there was no need for them to come to Yeouido to teach barbarian children.

“Usually, scholars aim to enter government service.”

Lee Seong-gye said.

“Even if that’s not the case, nobles who want to teach their own children well will try to invite them with money.”

As long as success in life was the dream of all scholars, no one would come to do such a thing that would not bring them money or honor.

Unless they were scholars who could barely read.

‘This is ambiguous.’

When I brought these guys from the north, I thought I could just put them in the remaining spots, but I felt like I had run into an unexpected reef.

Isn’t there a hidden slave······ or scholar who will pop out?

===

Geumo Mountain.

The improved stove made by Yi Je had spread to this mountain range, which was tucked away in a corner of Gyeongsang Province, thanks to its ease of use.

It was like the PT model that saved the forests of modern China.

A young disciple who was diligently tending the firewood in the stove entered the thatched-roof house.

“Is it ready?”

“Yes, I will prepare the evening meal in a little while.”

The disciple, who had been hesitating for a moment, said.

“Master, since Senior Brother installed the stove for us, we use much less firewood. There will be a lot of wood left over from what Father brought us.”

Then the master nodded silently.

“Senior Brother said that Hanyang these days has become a completely different world, and it seems that such things are being created.

I heard that all the products of Joseon are gathering in Hanyang······.”

“Even if Hanyang is prosperous, how can it compare to Gaegyeong, which was the capital of Goryeo for five hundred years? Pursuing splendor is not what a scholar should do.”

“······.”

The disciple, who had heard the master’s light scolding, scratched his head.

He had no words to say, since the master had come down without even wanting the glory of Gaegyeong, but as he was still young, he was still envious of Hanyang.

“Rather, the use of this stove is more precious. It has allowed the poor people to spend the winter warmly.”

“I heard that the person who made this stove is the Crown Prince. ······He is also the one who built Hanyang.”

“These days, that name is shaking all directions.”

The master’s tone was not very pleasant.

Rather than being directed at the Crown Prince, it was his antipathy toward that family that was making him like this.

“Yes, not long ago, he personally defeated the Japanese pirates in the South Sea, didn’t he?”

“It is only natural since he is the grandson of that person······.”

The master remembered Lee Seong-gye, who had been full of ambition.

It was only natural since he was the grandson of that military commander.

No, since it was a dynasty established by swords, how could he not be able to do that?

‘But how can the Tao [the Way] be established like this······.’

Seeing his face darken, the disciple also became gloomy, so the master quickly relaxed his expression.

“Ahem, it is a great thing.”

It would be a problem if he became too strict a master.

Unlike himself, the young disciple intended to enter government service when he came of age, so he would naturally pay attention to outside news.

‘It’s the age when he’s admiring such people.’

He had crossed the north and south, subjugated the Jurchens and Japanese pirates, and even made a stove that had come to this remote village of Seonsan.

Leaving aside the former, if you look at the latter, he may have the qualities to become a wise ruler.

The master asked in an effort to use a soft voice.

“So, what are the Crown Prince’s qualities like?”

“I heard that he is not particularly good at academics.”

“Ahem.”

Not studying hard was a big problem.

His father was the worst traitor in the world, but he was so good at academics that he even passed the civil service exam.

The master clicked his tongue without realizing it.

“However, even if he is not familiar with the classics, doesn’t he certainly bring peace to the country? Recently, there was another strange rumor.”

“You’ve been sitting with me in this mountain range and heard a lot of things.”

“Ehehe······.”

The disciple scratched his head as if he was embarrassed.

“The Crown Prince has a large island near Hanyang, and he is gathering people there and reviving the Well-field system [an ancient Chinese land distribution method] of the Zhou Dynasty.”

“The Well-field system?”

Suddenly, the master’s curiosity arose at those words.

Since Confucius had cited the Zhou Dynasty as an ideal, all Confucian scholars had aimed to return to that era.

The Well-field system was also part of that.

However, since it was impossible in reality, they had simply dismissed it as something that had happened in the peaceful times of the past.

“They say that many people are cooperating to farm on a small island and using the instruments made by the Crown Prince, so they are promoting that they can increase their output with less effort.”

It was interesting news.

He had no intention of entering government service in this bloody Joseon Dynasty, but as a Confucian scholar, he was purely curious about the results of the Crown Prince’s experiment.

‘I thought this country was built with blood, so it wouldn’t last long.’

The master believed it without a shred of doubt, but he was still heartbroken by the hardships that the people would go through in the process.

He had heard that the Crown Prince was a person who walked the path of tyranny, so he had completely erased his hopes, but······.

“Since they say that the Crown Prince’s scholarship is not high, he may have a good minister attached to him.”

That alone would be fortunate.

Duke Huan of Qi also used Guan Zhong well and left his name as a wise ruler.

Although his later years were ugly.

“Master······.”

“Why, do you want to go to Hanyang once?”

When the master asked, the disciple nodded shyly.

Unlike himself, the disciple intended to enter government service when he came of age, and he had not yet been to Hanyang, so he also had a longing for it.

At times like this, the master showed interest, so he secretly revealed the feelings he had been hiding.

“Haha······.”

If it were another disciple, he would not know, but since his best disciple, in whom he had great expectations, said this, the master could not simply refuse with his heart.

“Okay, let’s go once. Let’s see how great a place it is.”

It wouldn’t be bad to go once.

“Really? There are as many talented people in Hanyang as there are stars, so I might be able to get a bright teacher.”

“Hmm, that might be the case.”

The master said that, but he did not have high expectations.

It was a great joy as a master to find and raise talent.

However, even if it was just this disciple, Kim Suk-ja (金叔滋), whom he had now obtained, was he not a genius enough to carry on this Eastern Confucianism?

To surpass him, he would have to be a great man who would leave an unforgettable name in the history of this country.

Even Confucius said that he had never seen a saint until now, and he hoped to see even a gentleman.

Gil Jae, the last of the Three Recluses of Goryeo and the founder of the Sarim faction.

That’s what Ya Eun Gil Jae thought.

End

ⓒ Pitkong