There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 224

Choi Man-ri suspected that his cousin had lost his mind after years of studying for the civil service exam.

Of course, wargaming wasn’t entirely useless. Otherwise, Crown Prince Ije wouldn’t have created it.

It was reasonable to say that one could develop military sense and judgment through proper wargaming.

However, it was only natural that Choi Man-ri, who knew nothing of this, was speechless when he saw his cousin comparing himself to the legendary strategist Sun Tzu.

But Jiwon-jong said with a gentle attitude.

“While studying the Imjeonrok [a military strategy game] with my colleagues, I was able to learn all the methods of gathering, dividing, and commanding troops.”

“So you’re saying you’re better than Sun Tzu?”

“That’s right.”

Choi Man-ri swallowed hard.

He had to give up talking about things he couldn’t understand and get to the point.

“I came to discuss your career with you, brother…”

As the chaos ended and the country stabilized, a golden age naturally arrived.

Yields increased, those who had suffered from excessive labor were gradually liberated, and the country’s territory also expanded greatly.

Anyone could go to the market in Hanyang [the capital city of Joseon] and find what they needed, and the price was much lower than before.

The country was outwardly enjoying prosperity.

‘But can we say that everything is going well in the country just because the problem of making a living is solved?’

However, in the eyes of some scholars, the current state of the country seemed like a castle built on sand.

‘You can see that just by looking at the recent Kwondang [right of collective action] incident at Sungkyunkwan [the royal university].’

Kwondang was the inherent right of the Confucian students.

It’s not that I’m defending them because their arguments are right.

However, if the students’ arguments are wrong, a reply should be issued to sternly rebuke them and make them realize their shame and withdraw.

There is no need to grant everything the students demand.

But dismantling the students’ Kwondang through abnormal methods was another story.

‘And the subsequent treason case silenced everyone, so the channels of communication were effectively blocked.’

On the surface, the remonstrance of the Three Offices [Censorate, Office of the Inspector General, and Office of Special Advisors] and the Kwondang of Sungkyunkwan are guaranteed, but in reality, they all seem like deceptions.

If the king openly closed his ears, I would go into office and risk my life to remonstrate, but in a situation where he pretends to open the channels of communication and then suppresses them, I wondered whether I should compromise and eat the country’s salary.

‘Then what’s the point of making a name for myself?’

It’s ridiculous for a student who hasn’t even passed the preliminary examination to think this way, but originally, the more moderately intelligent you are at this age, the more questions and dissatisfaction you have about the country, society, and the education system.

In that respect, he was not much different from his cousin, who boasted of having realized the essence of military strategy, but Choi Man-ri didn’t think so.

Jiwon-jong nodded and said.

“You also have great ambitions, brother.”

“Really?”

Choi Man-ri’s morale soared when he cautiously revealed his intentions to his parents after much deliberation and was told to ‘stop talking nonsense and study’.

But Jiwon-jong’s words meant something different.

“Then there’s no need to focus on studying.”

He slammed a large board in front of his cousin.

“No, you still need to pass the Saengwon exam [lower civil service exam] to be a scholar…”

“Imjeonrok. Won’t you do it?”

Before he could make any excuses, the topic was back on this, and Choi Man-ri threw up his hands.

At other times, he would have made excuses that the work of ominous weapons was not something a Confucian scholar should touch, but with his maternal grandfather being a famous military officer and his cousin being a military officer, how could he say such a thing?

“You said you were skeptical about studying to make a name for yourself anyway. Come here and broaden your horizons. Studying will be better if you clear your head.”

Choi Man-ri reluctantly sat down with a sullen expression at his cousin’s insistence.

But a little later.

“Haha, a great victory!”

“What… what did you say?”

“Damn it, is your brother really a beginner?”

“The tactics of Mancheon Gwahae [deceiving the heavens to cross the sea] and Wiwi Gujo [besiege Wei to rescue Zhao]! Our army’s momentum is truly unstoppable.”

“He’s just using all the words he’s heard.”

A late wind strips the dragon’s ridge [a Korean proverb meaning ‘too late to learn’].

This poor young man, who contributed to King Sejong’s reign as the head of the Jiphyeonjeon [Hall of Worthies], but would later be remembered only as the man who opposed the creation of Hangul [Korean alphabet], was having his life twisted from the very beginning.

===

It was only a matter of time before the court received intelligence that idlers were gathering at someone’s house every day to plot.

When specific circumstances such as ‘We must strike straight and hit Hanyang first’ and ‘There is no chance of winning if we are caught by the Training Command’ were reported, the Hansung Department [police department of the capital] launched a massive crackdown.

“Strike!”

“You traitors!”

As the lamp went out and the crackdown team rushed in, the room became a complete pandemonium.

“Oh, what?”

“I was winning, damn it! A- Ack! Ack!”

Curses and violent reactions erupted, but they soon turned into groans as the beatings continued.

“You heinous villains. What resentment do you have in these prosperous times that you plot such ominous things?”

The officers who initially dragged the idlers in like a string of dried fish interrogated them in that way, but soon the misunderstanding was cleared up.

That’s because these people’s appearances are a mess.

‘They’re typical PC room addicts.’

I think I looked like this when I first encountered StarCraft.

I vividly remember going into a smoky neighborhood PC room all night.

A subtle sense of intimacy arose for them.

However, even after learning the whole story, the opinion that they should be punished continued.

Macheonmok from the Three Armies Command said to me.

“The Imjeonrok is a military secret, and it is a great crime to take it out and make it privately. Didn’t Your Majesty also instruct that it be kept secret?”

I didn’t specifically keep the wargame itself a secret.

And looking at the confiscated contents, it’s quite different from the first version I made, and it seems like they just reconstructed it with experiences they heard here and there.

‘It’s like Imjeonrok 1.16.1 ripped version.’

Even so, it’s well made.

They recreated it to this extent with just a few words?

‘If they had studied with this passion, they would have passed the military examination with honors.’

When I looked at them with ‘What are these guys?’ eyes, a man named Jiwon-jong, who was the ‘leader of the gang,’ said proudly.

“It wasn’t like this at first, but we kept competing and improving it in a more useful direction.”

‘Hmm…’

Should I say they did well?

It was strange to give words of encouragement to public service exam students who only play StarCraft all day long.

“Preparing for the military examination is a priority. Why cause trouble for no reason?”

“The military examination is important, but it is right to go into office only after achieving a school of learning.”

I was speechless at the word ‘school of learning’.

Do they think they’re Yulgok Yi I [a famous Korean Confucian scholar]?

“Is playing Imjeonrok a school of learning?”

“Since ancient times, people like Sun Tzu have been called military strategists, and they were able to compete with the various schools of thought just by discussing military strategy.

We have also newly updated this military strategy in this day and age, so why shouldn’t we call it the New Military Theorists?”

“……”

It sounds good, but isn’t it just saying that being a professional gamer is the way to go, not a soldier?

Of course, even simplified wargames have many elements introduced to increase realism.

There’s also Yi Seong-gye [founder of the Joseon Dynasty], a military expert, and advice from the Three Armies Command was later added.

They also seemed more precise than I thought, perhaps because they had some experience as military examination candidates.

‘Hmm…’

Honestly, it’s a bit much to punish them for playing wargames in their rooms.

They’re all still young, so I can’t let them ruin their lives with this kind of nonsense.

‘Their only crime is breaking their parents’ hearts.’

Filial piety is the greatest crime in the Joseon Dynasty, but they didn’t get caught for hitting their mothers.

Oh, there’s one more.

They illegally made and enjoyed a pirated version of Imjeonrok among themselves.

But there’s no such thing as copyright in this era, so it’s hard to argue about it.

“Your Highness, but we must not simply release these heinous people!”

“They have not committed any particular acts now, but how do we know that they will not learn the Imjeonrok in the future and commit unexpected acts?”

It’s not like Imjeonrok is some kind of demonic book, and their combat power won’t skyrocket just by playing wargames.

If that’s the case, we should collect all the military strategy books circulating in the market.

“Well, let’s leave them alone. Isn’t it admirable that they tried to learn military strategy?”

I waved my hand and said.

When was it?

I once told Yi Bang-won [King Taejong].

I will not let one school of learning stagnate and rot, but will allow scholars to gather and engage in a hundred schools of thought.

The idiots, no, the New Military Theorists… aren’t they the successors of the various schools of thought in their own way?

If you think about it that way, you should leave them alone, as long as virtual war records with the Ming Dynasty haven’t been leaked.

‘I have a feeling they’re all doomed to fail the military examination…’

Well, you never know.

Originally, those who are crazy about games go to college and get jobs.

“Since Your Highness has said so, I will take measures to release them with a warning.”

Hwang Hee, the mayor of Hanseong, said.

“Now, everyone, go home! Your Highness has bestowed grace and specially ordered you to be released, so never forget his great grace until you die!”

The idlers who had been caught blinked their eyes in disbelief and bowed repeatedly.

“……”

The young man, who looked like a frail civil official among the idlers, stared at me with a particularly dumbfounded face.

I waved my hand at him, and the young man quickly bowed his head.

He looks about my age, but he’s in big trouble for following strange hyungs [older brothers/friends] around.

“Thank you, thank you!”

“I will engrave this grace in my bones!”

“Yes, yes, don’t get too caught up in the New Military Theorists or anything, just take it easy.”

Excessive gaming can interfere with your health and daily life.

Play the game happily while following the rules and manners.

===

The news that the idlers who enjoyed Imjeonrok were arrested by the Hansung Department and released spread throughout the capital.

It was a treason case that was more likely to attract public attention than any other incident, and the fact that it was not actually treason but just a happening was enough to become a topic of conversation.

Along with that, the high name of Imjeonrok also spread like wildfire.

“I heard that this is also a game created by His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“It’s called a game, but in reality, it’s a military training tool secretly created by the country to train military officers.”

“That’s right. My great-grandfather’s friend is General Macheonmok, and he says it’s definitely true.”

“Nine idlers were arrested by the Hansung Department for arbitrarily leaking classified documents, but His Highness said that if anyone could beat him at Imjeonrok, he would release them all.”

“So did His Highness lose?”

“No. The Crown Prince fought them one by one and won them all, but in fact, everyone was just one step short of winning in terms of skill.

So His Highness said, ‘It’s a pity to execute them like this,’ and released them all, telling them to train more.”

“Heo. Is that true?”

This anecdote, which seems to come straight out of a collection of tall tales, is of course not true.

However, there are always those who like to add details and spread rumors, whether they are true or not.

The Crown Prince himself was a figure who was easy to attach various anecdotes to, and the idlers who had been publicly humiliated did not offer any proper explanations because they preferred this generous rumor.

As a result.

“I heard that His Highness gave the questions for this year’s civil service examination? Then how do we know that the Crown Prince won’t give the questions for the military examination too?”

“That’s right. Maybe they’ll decide the winners by Imjeonrok matches.”

“The scholars are still grabbing each other by the collar and fighting over the questions from the exhibition two years ago, so we need to be prepared.”

The more years you spend preparing for the exam, the more worried you are about the final result.

The news that the released idlers had gathered together to form a school of military strategy spread, and one by one, people began to cross the threshold of their house.

End

ⓒ Pitkong