There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 157

“What did your great-uncle and father say?”

Lee Seong-gye’s voice, as he asked me this, lacked strength.

I nodded and said.

“They are asking about your grandfather’s intentions. Whether you will go in person or just send someone…….”

“With three monarchs, even offering condolences is not easy.”

No matter how close the siblings were, it is not easy for a monarch to personally offer condolences.

Moreover, in this situation with a Retired King, a Former King, and the current King, coordinating the schedule was also a problem.

Therefore, it was right that both Former King Lee Bang-gwa and King Lee Bang-won were only looking at Lee Seong-gye.

Lee Seong-gye stared at me and said.

“I don’t even know how many times this is that I’m sending off a child before myself.”

My grandfather’s tone was even, but deep sorrow was buried within it.

His fourth son, Lee Bang-yeon, died first during the Wihwado Retreat [a military campaign]. His eldest son, Grand Prince Jinan, Lee Bang-woo, also retired to the countryside and died spending his days drinking. Grand Prince Muan, Lee Bang-beon, and Deposed Crown Prince Lee Bang-seok died at their father’s hands.

He had reached a point where he had more sons who had passed away than sons who remained.

“Are you planning to go in person?”

“I must. He is, after all, Lee Seong-gye’s son, so I must see him off on his final journey.”

I nodded.

Grand Prince Igan had generously cooperated with me in many ways.

Of course, it was because of the promise that I, who would inherit the next throne, would take care of my cousin Lee Seok-geun, but it was still a fact that I had received help.

“Take heart.”

I gripped Lee Seong-gye’s hand tightly and said.

Lee Seong-gye, who had been steadily regaining his energy and flying around, was, at this moment, closer to the haggard old man I had first met.

“Let’s go. Shall we?”

===

With three kings and even the Crown Prince in attendance, Lee Seok-geun, the chief mourner, quickly rushed out with reddened eyes, wailing.

Grand Prince Igan’s residence was already crowded with relatives who had come to offer condolences for Lee Bang-ui.

‘They all look like me.’

Seeing similar-looking faces filling the large house made me feel a bit dizzy.

‘Still, I look the best.’

Those in the older generation seemed to have inherited the blood of warriors, looking quite stern, while those in our generation had generally gentle impressions, perhaps inheriting the traits of their maternal sides.

And among them, my siblings and I were the best.

‘Of course, I’m the most handsome among my brothers.’

“Brother!”

As soon as Lee Bang-won stepped into Grand Prince Igan’s residence, he bowed his head and expressed his sorrow to the fullest.

“To depart so suddenly, there is no way to express my grief, brother!”

Lee Bang-ui had consistently supported his father, so there must have been gratitude for that, but it wasn’t just for that reason that he was putting on this performance.

Seeing the King personally come to mourn his father’s death, Lee Seok-geun sniffled.

Then he stepped forward and said.

“My father was concerned about the future of the country until his last breath.

He left a will that our relatives should unite and assist His Majesty the King well.”

“Did my brother say that? Even in his dying moments, he only thought of the country!”

At Lee Bang-won’s words, the faces of the relatives, who had been wearing somber expressions, became subtle.

They remembered the incident where the meritorious retainers’ lands were reclaimed due to Grand Prince Igan Lee Bang-ui’s memorial, and the power of the relatives represented by Grand Prince Uian Lee Hwa was suppressed.

However, in the face of the great event of Lee Bang-ui’s death, there was nothing they could do.

“Even though he acts like that, he must be genuinely grieving for his brother’s death. He cherishes his family very much. That’s what’s scary about him.”

“The sincerity is there, but the purpose is separate?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Bang-won’s grief over Lee Bang-ui’s death is genuine, and it is also genuine that he is pressuring the relatives by saying, ‘Look, isn’t Grand Prince Igan a truly exemplary relative?’

He is probably planning to gradually deprive the relatives of their privileges through this.

There was no way Lee Bang-won would not assign me any role while preparing for this event.

Lee Bang-won, who had been wailing, looked around and asked.

“Are all of our family members gathered?”

“Everyone is here except for Lee Bang-gan’s family, who are exiled in Hwanghae Province.”

I replied quickly.

“Yes……. Grand Prince Hoean is a criminal, so he cannot come.”

“Father.”

I continued.

“Although Lee Bang-gan and his son Lee Maeng-jong are criminals, they are still blood relatives of the royal family. Since there was also Grand Prince Igan’s will, I request that you temporarily lift their exile to allow them to offer condolences to Grand Prince Igan.”

“……!”

Everyone was surprised when I said that.

“Crown Prince, isn’t Grand Prince Hoean a criminal who dared to raise an army and disrupt the dynasty!”

Lee Bang-won said with a feigned angry expression, and their agitation did not stop.

Doesn’t it look like the King and the Crown Prince are arguing at first glance?

But of course, this conversation was agreed upon in advance.

– Although the atmosphere of mourning Grand Prince Igan has spread, they must be feeling the pressure. You have to step up.

However, because of the nature of the matter, even I couldn’t help but be suspicious for a moment.

‘Is this a trap?’

To temporarily release Lee Bang-gan, who had crossed swords with Lee Bang-won, to offer condolences.

If I didn’t have faith in Lee Bang-won, I would have thought so, but Lee Bang-won would never abandon his eldest son first.

That’s why I watched Lee Bang-won’s expression and stepped forward without hesitation.

“However, it is true that Grand Prince Hoean is also a blood relative of this family. Isn’t that what the will left by our deceased great-uncle means?”

Instead of explaining in detail with words, showing it visually maximizes the impact.

I had a servant bring a bundle of wood.

“The fate of our Jeonju Lee clan is like these branches.”

As I grabbed one branch, all the relatives’ eyes turned to me.

I easily snapped the branch.

“With just one branch, even these small hands can easily break it. But if you ask to break ten branches stacked together…….”

I grabbed the bundle of wood and applied force, but of course, the bundle of wood did not break easily.

“Look. One branch can be broken, but a bundle cannot. There is a principle that you live if you unite and die if you scatter.”

‘This is also a famous story from Aesop’s Fables.’

In one episode of Aesop’s Fables, a farmer told his sons, who argued every day, to break a bundle of wood.

The sons easily broke one branch, but could not break ten branches.

It was a story that taught the lesson of unity and cooperation.

‘It’s also necessary to make a gesture that our family should unite at this time.’

Especially for this family that has committed bloody deeds, it was a necessary event to prevent the situation from getting worse.

Lee Bang-won looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.

“Seeing your analogy, I am deeply moved. Quickly send word to Grand Prince Hoean to come to the capital to offer condolences to Grand Prince Igan.

Aren’t we a family?”

The relatives’ eyes widened at Lee Bang-won’s words.

They whispered about this.

“To even allow the criminal Lee Bang-gan to come to the capital, His Majesty is truly generous.”

“It seems he will get concessions from the relatives, but he won’t abandon them altogether.”

‘It’s Father’s intention.’

As I was nodding proudly, I heard a breaking sound from behind.

– Snap!

Turning around at the strange sound, I saw a bundle of branches broken in Lee Seong-gye’s hand.

“It breaks?”

“…….”

“I,,, broke it too,,,”

Lee Bang-gwa, who was next to him, also quickly snapped a bundle of wood and proudly handed it to me.

I stared wide-eyed at the shattered pieces of wood.

‘No, why does this work?’

“If the wood doesn’t break, think carefully about whether you lack strength.”

“……I see.”

As expected of a martial artist.

===

Due to the death of Grand Prince Igan, state affairs were temporarily halted, but that didn’t exactly mean that the work of ordinary officials was also suspended.

It wasn’t the death of a king or queen, but the death of a mere grand prince.

However, Lee Bang-won did not immediately return to state affairs even after the three-day mourning period for Grand Prince Igan ended.

He said with a rather gaunt face.

“I am unable to attend to state affairs due to the grief of losing my brother. You go to the throne room and take charge of state affairs in my place.”

“Yes?”

At the sudden bombshell, I widened my eyes.

Then, I raised my voice from my core and shouted.

“Your~ Majesty! Please withdraw your command!”

‘Is he trying to test me now?’

Then Lee Bang-won waved his hand as if he was annoyed and said.

“I’ve already finished all the difficult tasks anyway. I’ll just lie down for three days, so discuss who to entrust with the Wang clan’s ancestral rites.”

“Ah, if it’s something like that.”

I was so surprised.

I almost had to let my hair down, kneel in front of the throne room, and beg him to withdraw his command.

‘Father is also human.’

I thought as I looked at Lee Bang-won’s face.

Feeling somewhat sorry, I nodded.

===

In the original history that Yi Je did not change, the oppression of the Wang clan continued until the mid-reign of Taejong.

But here, the restoration of the Wang clan was achieved quite quickly.

“It is said that Wang Mi, the son of Wang Hyu (王休), a descendant of King Hyeonjong of Goryeo, is alive.”

Compared to Wang Woo, who had been in charge of the Goryeo ancestral rites, being the younger brother of King Gongyang, the bloodline was quite distant, but all the influential Wang clans of Goryeo had already died or been purged in the political turmoil of the late Goryeo and early Joseon periods, so it couldn’t be helped.

The person found in this way was Wang Mi, who was soon the father of Wang Sun-rye, who served as the first Deputy Director of Sunguijeon in the original history.

“We will build Sunguijeon [shrine for Goryeo royalty] to enshrine the ancestral rites of the Goryeo royal family, and appoint Wang Mi as its Deputy Director.”

Soon, Yi Je’s command, who took charge of state affairs in place of Lee Bang-won, was issued, and Sunguijeon, which should have been established during the reign of Munjong, was established decades earlier.

With this, the oppression of the Wang clan, which had been steadily continuing since Taejo, was virtually ended.

But this was not the end.

“Our Dongbang [ancient Korean territory] had twelve Hans and nine Hans before the founding fathers of the Three Kingdoms, and the founding fathers of the Three Kingdoms combined them, which is no small feat. Shouldn’t we create ancestral shrines for them and have their descendants perform ancestral rites?”

As Sunguijeon was built, opinions naturally began to emerge to build ancestral shrines for other dynasties as well.

“Gojoseon, Goguryeo, Gija, Silla, Baekje, Geumgwan Gaya, and Goryeo are the lineages of the country, so build these eight shrines and perform ancestral rites.”

‘Isn’t that seven?’

Yi Je tilted his head, but it was explained that Silla performed ancestral rites separately for the three surnames of Park, Seok, and Kim, and Gojoseon and Goguryeo were regarded as the same lineage, so there were eight shrines in total.

Originally, eight shrines were built throughout the country in this way, but there were some differences here.

“Iryeon [Buddhist monk] left the reign title of Balhae, and Lee Seung-hyu regarded Balhae as a descendant of Goguryeo, and we have already encompassed its territory. Balhae was a sacred country of Haedong [region east of China], so shouldn’t we also perform ancestral rites for Balhae?”

Joseon had already encompassed the land south of Gongheomjin, and its administrative center was also Sanggyeong Yongcheonbu, the capital of Balhae, which is now Guju.

In the process of absorbing Dongmanju [eastern Manchuria] and absorbing the Jurchen people living there as citizens, a kind of political propaganda was also necessary.

‘We have to use everything we can use.’

Yi Je thought so while rubbing his hands.

However, the reactions of the officials were somehow subtle.

After observing the situation for a while, they all stepped forward in unison.

“Your Highness, your subjects have different thoughts.”

“Please reconsider!”

End

ⓒ Pitkong