There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 238

Crown Prince Lee Je, freed from the thinking rice chest.

Finally.

Finally!

I closed my eyes, spread my arms, and basked in the sunlight.

“The Crown Prince personally moved the smallpox pustules and overcame the smallpox, emulating the actions of a sage. Deliver royal decrees to each region, informing the magistrates of this event and erecting monuments to commemorate it.”

After some time, once he deemed I had sufficiently reflected, Lee Bang-won began using my variolation [inoculation against smallpox] as propaganda for his regime.

It’s almost impressive how long he held onto such a politically valuable asset.

In any case, with such decrees issued, could even my father continue to confine me in the rice chest?

All the officials agreed.

Seeing the Crown Prince as a ‘rice-chest-man’ at every assembly must have been uncomfortable for the old men.

A long time of humiliation and oppression… It was quite tiresome.

Now it’s time to return to Lee Je, the ‘second-in-command’ of Joseon.

However, I couldn’t reveal my true intentions as soon as I was released.

I decided to show Lee Bang-won only an attitude of deep remorse.

“Did you reflect much during your confinement?”

He made me do all my work even while I was locked in the rice chest, and now he calls it confinement.

“I have deeply repented during that time, Father.”

“If you know, that’s enough.”

“Actually, variolation isn’t as dangerous as I thought, and the probability of dying is almost zero, but…”

When Lee Bang-won glared at me, I hurriedly changed my words.

“But I should make sure this doesn’t happen again, haha. Don’t worry.”

Lee Bang-won sighed deeply and waved his hand.

Finally, the cursed rice chest was carried away by the eunuchs, leaving my sight.

Huh? But why is that going into the storage?

“You’re not throwing away the rice chest?”

The rice chest also serves the role of storing rice, surprisingly.

So, even if he wasn’t throwing it away, I thought he would move it to the royal kitchen.

Then Lee Bang-won said in a chilling tone.

“There might be another use for it, mightn’t there? It’s being kept for that time.”

“……”

Cold sweat ran down my back at Lee Bang-won’s answer.

“If you do it again next time… you know?”

I hurriedly nodded my head.

Thus, the thinking rice chest was stashed away in a corner of the East Palace.

I hope there’s no need to bring it out again.

===

The officials who saw me attending the court properly for the first time in a while breathed a sigh of relief.

The agenda to be discussed this time was, of course, Singapore, which my maternal uncle had purchased.

I swallowed hard and listened to the opinions of the officials first.

“The King of the Jowa Kingdom accepted the envoy’s request and bestowed the island, which is a grateful matter. However, I hear that it is surrounded by Manralga to the north and Jowa to the south, and the surrounding area is infested with pirate ships. Is it a land that can be easily defended?”

“It is laborious to defend, but the only thing to be gained is a few poor villages. Is there any reason to establish a base there?”

First, there were passive concerns.

The justification put forward by Min Mu-gu, ‘to obtain rubber,’ did not resonate with them.

Of course.

That’s what I’m looking for.

The officials probably don’t even know what use rubber is.

Strangely, Min Mu-gu didn’t add any hype even when submitting the report.

‘It’s as if he submitted the report looking only at me.’

If my uncle anticipated this reaction in the court and still acted for me, that’s a bit touching.

“Min Mu-gu’s decision is not appropriate!”

“That’s right! Order the troops to withdraw quickly and return to the capital of the Jowa Kingdom!”

After that, there was a fierce backlash.

In particular, our Cheonghaejin [a powerful maritime trade organization] shareholders seemed ready to roll up their sleeves and denounce him.

It seems that Min Mu-gu’s purchase of the island in his capacity as the Cheonghaejin Majapahit branch manager is seen as a major blunder.

However, I can’t let public opinion solidify like this.

“Your Majesty, it is difficult to know the pros and cons by discussing it from ten thousand miles away. A general who goes to the battlefield may not even listen to the king’s orders, so we must respect the decision of Envoy Min.”

What Min Mu-gu expected was for me to block the opposing opinions like this.

“Furthermore, this is a matter of using Cheonghaejin’s funds, so it is not appropriate for the court to discuss it.”

“We…”

“I know. So, let’s discuss it separately later.”

When I subtly crushed the shareholders’ opposition, their expressions soured.

Gentlemen, let’s look at the long term.

Even I know the value of Singapore.

Isn’t it a crucial point that functions as a hub for entrepôt trade [re-export trade]?

It’s almost strange that it was neglected in this era, overshadowed by Malacca.

‘The key is whether we can protect the sea routes.’

In terms of security, neighboring countries are not a problem.

‘Because we have Brother Ming [referring to the Ming Dynasty].’

Because the conquest addict Yongle Emperor frequently sent out Zheng He’s fleet to receive tribute, the Ming Dynasty firmly held the hegemony in this region.

According to Min Mu-gu’s report, Malacca, which was pushed back after being beaten by Majapahit, was revived thanks to the Ming Dynasty, so it goes without saying.

‘And what is the Ming Dynasty?’

They’re our friendly hyungs [older brothers or respected figures].

So…

‘Yo! Let’s fight! Come outside!’

‘Yo, you know Ming Dynasty hyung? I’m Ming Dynasty hyung’s direct younger brother.’

‘Oh, you’re Ming Dynasty hyung’s younger brother? Dismiss! Have a drink.’

There’s a high probability that this will happen.

Yes, the Ming Dynasty has to earn the tribute they receive.

I don’t know what will happen to Zheng He’s expeditions when Yongle Emperor dies, so I have to prepare measures by then.

The real problem is the pirates who constantly raid merchant ships.

The pirates of this era are no joke.

If word gets out that there’s something to eat on a small island like Singapore, they can literally swarm in and occupy the whole place.

But I’m not too worried about that either.

“The envoy has occupied the island and executed the pirates, obtaining 300 heads, so there seems to be no need to worry about defending it.”

The Tsushima Wokou [Japanese pirates] who entered Cheonghaejin with recommendation letters from their local lords, and the remnants of the Shoni clan who worked in the Gulag, are literally global pirate list members.

How dare those who used to show off their strength in the backwoods challenge the real pirates?

The officials also exclaimed in admiration.

“The Wokou are indeed formidable.”

“Isn’t this a true strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians?”

“It would be great if we could capture some more from somewhere.”

Don’t worry.

Once Ouchi finishes the war moderately, he’s going to sell us the Shoni clan prisoners.

===

There were still doubts about the benefits of occupying Singapore, but once the concerns about defense were dispelled, the prevailing opinion was that ‘it would be better to keep it since we’ve already occupied it.’

Good, good.

“However, the name Singajin that Envoy Min suggested is too…”

Even though the original name is Singapore, so he named it that way, it seems to lack roots when transliterated into Chinese characters.

I immediately set about creating a new name.

“Singapore is said to originally mean the city of lions, and it is also mentioned in the ‘Island Gazetteer’ under the name Danmaxi (Temasek).”

The easiest name for Joseon people to call is Danmaxi, but why should we put a place name from a Chinese book on the land where we planted our flag?

Come to think of it, the ‘Singa’ in Singapore is said to have come from the word ‘simha’ (lion).

“How about naming it Simhaseong (甚夏城) [Severe Summer City]?”

It must be hot in the south, right?

So, the name ‘Severe Summer City’ was appropriate.

“……”

I had exerted my utmost naming sense, but the others wore rotten expressions.

“The name Singajin would be better.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Then you guys come up with one.

===

“Sugar! Let’s grow sugar too!”

Do grabbed my sleeve and started begging when he heard that we had land in the south—or rather, a company territory.

Why does this guy, who’s getting older and married, become so weak in front of food?

Stop it. We’re busy growing rubber in Singapore.

Growing rubber is the top priority… but sugar probably looks much more precious to the people of this era, damn it.

But there’s no other way to ride the electric tech tree [advance technologically].

Instead of rationally persuading him, I suggested another method.

“Simhado is far away. It’s better to import sugar from Jiangnan as we do now.”

Although the capital relocation is underway, the capital of the Ming Dynasty is still Nanjing.

Therefore, I hadn’t paid much attention because we could supply enough for the palace through tribute trade.

“But aren’t they going to relocate the capital soon?”

If that happens, the justification for our envoys to go to Nanjing will be diluted.

It’s a shame for me too if sugar disappears from the royal kitchen forever.

‘We can’t make it in Joseon even if we want to.’

Among the books imported from China, there were also sugar manufacturing methods.

But the problem is the climate.

The probability of sugar growing on the Korean Peninsula is higher than a rose blooming in the thinking rice chest.

But if we grow sugar in Singapore, it’s narrow and far away.

Then shall we try to open another route?

I thought deeply.

===

What has been changing most dramatically in Joseon since the Age of Exploration is the food culture.

Gae-seong was originally the capital of Goryeo, so money and people gathered, and it flourished, and even after the relocation of the capital, Gae-seong was the center of entertainment.

Now, ships frequently bring rare foreign goods from Byeokrando, where ships come and go, so the food culture couldn’t help but flourish.

For this reason, foods using pepper can be commonly found in Gae-seong.

“This is also the result of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince spreading it.”

The unfamiliar and delicious foods such as twisted breadsticks created by the Crown Prince aroused the ‘East Palace spirit’ in the cooks of Gae-seong.

Looking at the meaning, it is the spirit of making or using anything that is new.

“Putting dried cheese in rice soup, is the owner out of his mind?”

“This dried cheese pork rice soup is a secret dish that I made with sweat for twenty-one days! It was unreasonable for bumpkins who don’t even know the taste to argue! Go away! Come back next time after you’ve become familiar with the taste of dried cheese!”

……For this reason, strange attempts are sometimes made.

“Damn it, giving something like that to people to eat.”

The man who was kicked out of the Gae-seong restaurant spat.

It was a food that even Gae-seong couldn’t understand.

“Even though it looks like that, the Jurchens like dried cheese and often look for it. It’s better not to slander it in front of the Jurchens even if you meet them later.”

“……I’ll keep that in mind.”

Jurchens, Japanese, and Joseon people from all over the country flock to Gae-seong, so it was not strange to have such a restaurant.

“But who knew Gae-seong would flourish like this.”

“It’s not just Gae-seong.”

Gae-seong is only acting as the gateway to Joseon, so it looks particularly prominent.

It was Joseon as a whole that was enjoying prosperity.

“Joseon was originally a great country with high learning, but I didn’t think its culture itself was special or advanced. But now…”

The man wearing a military hat trailed off.

Even during the time of the Grand Emperor, when they first came to Joseon, it was a country that would not have imagined floating ships on the outside.

So, the fact that a country that could only exchange national letters and make contact when they entered the country had changed like this was surprising.

Even though they learned Joseon shipbuilding and navigation from the Ming Dynasty, the fact that Joseon was so actively engaged in diplomacy was surprising.

“It’s good for us. Ten years ago, I don’t think we could have gotten even a fishing boat at best. But here in Gae-seong, it seems like we can get anything. Big ships, people, too.”

“Yes, that’s right…”

The man wearing a military hat nodded.

At this rate, it seemed like he could fulfill his long-cherished wish.

Even the ferocious Jurchens and Japanese, who are said to be the most ferocious in the world, can be hired for hundreds of people if you have money.

Most people can’t even dream of it because they don’t have money, but fortunately, he had the foundation that this country gave him when he first settled in Joseon.

The man was determined to fulfill his ambition even if it meant ruining it all.

‘If it were before, I would have only hoped to grow old comfortably without any hope of returning to my hometown, but now the world has changed.’

The man clenched the seal of Namsanwang (南山王) [King of Namsan] that he had inherited from his father and repeated.

“Let’s go back, to our hometown.”

End

ⓒ Pitkong