There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 217

Why is speculation called speculation?

It’s called speculation because it lures those who hope for luck into a bottomless swamp.

In that sense, introducing the Toto system [a sports betting system] was not only a significant source of revenue but also a way to boost interest in Gyeokgu [a traditional Korean ball game similar to polo] all at once.

It was like killing two birds with one stone.

Satisfied with my own idea, I called my maternal relatives.

“It’s been a while… Greetings, Crown Prince.”

Min Mujil said, kneeling down.

His skin was even more tanned than before, showing that he was stuck in the salt fields as I had told him.

‘Being engrossed in business is good for my maternal uncles too.’

That’s why opportunities like this come along.

The Yeoheung Min clan was originally a prestigious family in Joseon [the last dynastic kingdom of Korea], overflowing with money.

Moreover, they are still producing a huge amount of salt from the salt fields I granted them.

Since the introduction of solar salt, the price of salt has become much cheaper than before, but it was being exported to all eight provinces of Joseon, as well as the Jurchen people in the Northern Frontier, Taenyeongwi [military unit], and Bokyeowi [military unit], so they must be making a tremendous amount of money.

‘Then some of it should be returned to society.’

In the form of sports, that is.

“Are you telling us to buy horses?”

“That’s right.”

I looked at Min Mujil and nodded.

“Now is the easiest time to acquire horses, as they are being brought in large numbers from Tamna [Jeju Island]. If the maternal family wants to buy them, I will sell them to you cheaply.”

“Did you call us just for that?”

Min Mujil said with a dubious look.

“Weren’t you the one who prohibited us from entering Hanyang [the capital city of Joseon], Your Highness? We were worried about what was going on, since you called us…”

“That was just my advice, not a legal prohibition. Who would say anything if you sneak in and out when there’s business like this?”

You have to be flexible.

Min Mujil shouted with an aggrieved expression.

“Because Your Highness warned me and my brothers with such a stern face, we left our wives and children and have been living alone in Bupyeong!”

“We’ll be seeing each other frequently anyway. Stop exaggerating.”

Acting like a lonely separated father.

Min Mujil, who had been momentarily bewildered, soon got to the point.

“So, Your Highness, you want us to create a Gyeokgu team?”

“That’s right. Wouldn’t it be quite a spectacle to gather people who are good at Gyeokgu and have them compete?”

Min Mujil’s face was a bit tempted since I said I would give him the horses at a low price first.

I heard that the Min brothers originally liked Gyeokgu.

I think it will work out better than I thought.

However, the Min brothers still had concerns.

“Won’t there be suspicion that we are raising private soldiers?”

“The horses will be managed separately at a ranch near Hanyang, and the training will also take place there, so it doesn’t matter. Besides, a member of the royal family will be backing us, so what’s there to worry about?”

Only then did my uncle’s face light up.

“A member of the royal family? Who are you talking about?”

I nodded solemnly and said.

“The King Father will sponsor us.”

Then my uncle’s expression became subtle.

“The King Father?”

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s not much of a backer…”

I’m glad my great-uncle didn’t hear that.

If he had heard it, he would have been digging in the ground again.

“I’ll vouch for you instead of the King Father. Don’t you trust this nephew?”

I encouraged him, imagining the Gyeokgu team clashing in Gujeong [a traditional Korean sports field], flying the family’s banner.

The Yeoheung Min clan, whose power had been faltering since all four brothers had stepped down from the central government.

Hearing my story that it was a golden opportunity to show off the family’s power, Min Mujil nodded.

I ran around trying to attract sponsors besides my uncles.

“You want us to establish a Gyeokgu team?”

“Is it possible?”

“Of course. I will cooperate as much as possible.”

As soon as I spoke, Shim On bowed deeply and said so.

This guy doesn’t seem very happy, but he’s good at managing his expression.

He owes me from the last incident, so it’s good that he says okay to whatever I say, but I hope there won’t be any backlash.

“Wouldn’t it be a good gift for Grand Prince Chungnyeong if we created a team?”

My brother is a bookworm and has no interest in Gyeokgu.

He must be very scared to bring up my brother in front of me.

Anyway, it’s not bad that he’s bowing down like this.

===

Yeoheung Min clan and Cheongsong Shim clan.

With these two prestigious families drawn in, the atmosphere heated up, and other families began to express their intention to create teams.

That’s how scary the competitive spirit is.

They were mainly prestigious families called the Samhan Gapjok [influential families], but there were also unexpected participants.

“Hansang [a group of merchants] and Songsang [a group of merchants] have also expressed their intention to participate.”

“Songsang?”

Lee Bang-won frowned at the words.

It would be great for the King Father if the number of teams increased, but even if the world has changed, it was not easy for merchants to stand shoulder to shoulder with prestigious families.

Baek Dal-won contributed to the founding of the country, and Hansang is being backed by me, so I am the de facto owner, so it might pass, but Songsang would not be easy.

I made excuses for Songsang instead.

“It hasn’t been long since Gaeseong [a city in North Korea] lost its capital status to Hanyang. All the existing prestigious families have moved to Hanyang, so it’s fair to say that Songsang represents Gaeseong.”

Like that, shouldn’t there be at least one team based in Gaeseong, the secondary capital?

From an entertainment perspective, the derby match between Hanyang and Gaeseong would be worth watching.

‘Above all, there is Gujeong in Gaeseong, so it’s good to go on away games.’

Gaeseong was the capital of the Goryeo Dynasty [a Korean kingdom], so there was a Gujeong that had been used since that era.

“Hmm… then…”

Lee Bang-won nodded.

He must be thinking that it’s good to create as many teams as possible, whether it’s Songsang or whatever, since it’s not his money that’s going out.

‘If there is so much interest, shouldn’t we do horse racing at this opportunity?’

We can’t just show the guests Gyeokgu every day.

We need to enjoy various sports together to increase the number of betting customers, or rather, to increase the national interest in sports.

The King Father, who is only obsessed with Gyeokgu, will not like it, but if horse racing is established, it may make more money.

The King Father waved his hand as if to do as he pleased.

“Then, are there any other places…?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t there be?”

I even brought in Cheonghaejin [a naval base].

It’s not strange for a public corporation to have a sports team, and Cheonghaejin is making money by virtually swimming on land, so running a Gyeokgu team is a piece of cake.

“Your Highness, is it okay not to put a limit on the amount of gambling?”

“If there is no limit, there will be problems with people losing all their wealth because they are too engrossed in Gyeokgu.”

Ah, betting limit system.

This was also in modern times, so should we introduce it?

However, Lee Cheon-woo rolled up his sleeves and opposed it at the words of the managers in charge of this.

“What limit!”

Then, Lee Ji-soong, the Prince of Suncheon, who was also a member of the royal family, stepped forward.

“The back alleys of the capital are now filled with Ssangnyuk [a board game] and Golpae [a card game] boards, and if they are going to ruin their lives with this, they will ruin their lives in those places too!

Your Highness, wouldn’t it be better for the development to have them donate their wealth to this Gyeokgu board!”

“Is that so?”

Well, even if we put a limit now, it won’t prevent over-immersion, but rather take away the position of private gambling.

Should we end it with guiding them to restrain themselves?

But the fact that these people are suggesting such unique opinions…

Lee Cheon-woo, who was watching me, said.

“Your Highness, can we lend you a hand again this time?”

These people.

They tasted the money from Cheonghaejin’s rice delivery, and now they are trying to get involved in the tickets issued by the Gyeokgu Association.

“Since our money will also go into the team that Cheonghaejin is creating, shouldn’t we share the ticket revenue?”

“Well, we will support each team with a portion of the ticket sales.”

It is a kind of sports promotion support fund.

Most of the people in charge of operations are from the Gapjok of Samhan, so it would be more than enough to operate even without that.

‘They are prestigious families with overflowing money, and they are just looking for an opportunity to show off their power to the outside world.’

Don’t waste your attention on unnecessary things and invest in sports.

I was implicitly sending such a signal.

Then, there were inquiries about whether the royal family had any plans to directly operate a team, but I flatly refused.

It seems that there will be a tendency to be intimidated if the royal family’s team is the opponent.

My thought was that it was enough for the royal family to only oversee the association itself.

‘And there are more than enough teams to support, including Hansang and Cheonghaejin.’

Well, I think I’ve gathered all the people who can participate in the game.

Now, we need to hold a Gyeokgu competition.

===

Gyeokgu is a game that offers spectacular sights.

Due to various circumstances, the number of people who know how to play Gyeokgu was gradually decreasing, but there was no one among the people who hated Gyeokgu itself.

When this Gyeokgu was combined with gambling elements, it attracted much more attention than other gambling games such as Ssangnyuk or Golpae.

“Is this the Gyeokgu promotion voting ticket?”

It looks like it’s for gambling, but it has a grand name like a Gyeokgu sponsorship certificate.

However, the name shook the hearts of many gamblers.

“That’s right. If we lose, we can tell our wives that we saw a good game.”

He was a gambler who didn’t think about winning and only thought about making excuses, saying, ‘But we had a beautiful Gyeokgu.’

“This time, Yeoheung Min’s and Cheongsong Shim’s are playing against each other, right?”

“Who do you think will win?”

“Well, it hasn’t been a few months since they matched up, so the side that recruited the best horse riders will win, right?”

“This person is saying something obvious.”

As soon as the words were spoken, players with the Min family’s flag poured in in a row.

The flag embroidered with the character Min (閔) fluttered, and on the opposite side, players with the flag of Cheongsong Shim clan entered Gujeong.

With the King Father in attendance, the people who gathered like clouds to watch the first game cheered.

It was a large-scale Gyeokgu match that was held for the first time in a long time, so the attention of all Hanyang was focused here.

“Hmph.”

However, Shim On, the owner of the team, was not comfortable.

The Cheongsong Shim clan has been a prestigious military family since his father, Shim Deok-bu, was a highly respected soldier at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, and still has a great influence on the military.

However, Shim On himself was a typical civil official and had no interest in Gyeokgu.

Even if the Crown Prince sold them cheaply, it would cost a lot of money to buy horses, and they would have to pay for the maintenance even though they kept the horses they bought at the ranch, not their own house.

‘What is this?’

He didn’t want to go against the Crown Prince’s wishes, so he quickly said he understood, but he wasn’t happy.

‘What’s so fun about this?’

Shim On thought as he looked down at Gujeong.

It was certainly a spectacle to see the dust rising and fighting over one ball.

However, as a scholar, he should stay away from these trivial things…

“Waaaaaa!”

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden burst of cheers.

“Shim’s Gate, score!”

The King Father shouted excitedly with a megaphone.

His Gyeokgu team finally broke through the solid defense and scored the first point.

The ball hit by the Gyeokgu stick drew a long parabola and fell neatly into the goal.

People admired the sight and chanted the name of the team.

“Waaaaa! Shim’s Gate! Shim’s Gate!”

“…”

Seeing the people shouting enthusiastically and chanting his family name, something stirred in Shim On’s heart.

As they clashed again over the ball, something began to boil in Shim On as well.

“He hit it!”

At the end of the clash, Shim On clenched his fist as the ball flew in a parabola again.

His fist was already wet with sweat.

“Shim’s Gate, re-score!”

“That’s right!”

At that moment, he sincerely thought that it was worth spending money, without even realizing it.

End

ⓒ Pitkong