There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 266

Everyone was taken aback by Grand Prince Chungnyeong’s declaration of intent.

It was only natural.

Who was Yi Do?

The King’s favored brother and a Grand Prince of this nation.

Moreover, he was well-versed in academics and had amassed a vast fortune through the development of gunpowder and flying instruments.

And wasn’t his wife from the prestigious Cheongsong Sim clan?

‘If he adds the reputation of passing the civil service examination to this…’

Of course, now that Yi Do had declared his intention to take the exam, there was no way he would fail.

With his qualifications, he was guaranteed to pass unless he submitted a blank paper.

Besides, wasn’t he the intelligent Grand Prince Chungnyeong?

People’s eyes wavered.

“S, suddenly the civil service examination?”

Hwang Hui asked with a look that seemed to say, ‘Who on earth put this idea into his head?’

“My father-in-law was the first to suggest it, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now.

Ahem, now that my son is born, I feel I should help with state affairs as a father and show a great image.”

Yi Do scratched his cheek as he spoke.

He had realized it while developing gunpowder.

‘Being away from officialdom doesn’t change the fact that I’m being exploited by my brother.’

At first, he was developing gunpowder at a leisurely pace, but before he knew it, he was caught up in his brother’s pace, working through assigned tasks and synthesizing flying instruments all night long.

It was truly amazing that he hadn’t noticed anything strange during all that time.

‘Wouldn’t it be easier to get into a managerial position quickly?’

Among the royal relatives, those playing the role of pro-royalist ministers, like Grand Prince Wansan Yi Cheon-u or Grand Prince Sunnyeong Yi Ji, would soon retire, and it didn’t seem like his brother would particularly take care of their sons.

Therefore, the scope of his actions would only widen as time passed.

“But it is not common for a royal relative to take the civil service examination. Has His Majesty permitted it?”

“Of course, I told my brother, no, His Majesty the King, first.”

“A, and?”

“He readily permitted it.”

“……!”

It was not yet an era when the participation of royal relatives in officialdom and the civil service examination was explicitly prohibited by law.

However, it was clear that a Grand Prince taking the exam and the King allowing it were unprecedented, so the surprise of everyone gathered here was bound to be even greater.

‘Why did it have to be Grand Prince Chungnyeong…’

No matter how well someone else did, they could not be compared in terms of age or experience.

So, rather than being a competitor of the same generation, they were merely juniors of the next generation.

But Grand Prince Chungnyeong was different.

It didn’t matter if others started their official life a few years earlier.

Even a racing dog that was said to be fast was just a dog to a wild cheetah.

He was a different breed altogether, capable of overtaking others with a superior difference even if he started a few seconds later.

‘Grand Prince Chungnyeong, who had been watching aloofly…’

Was now starting.

The Crown Prince’s cheetah, Grand Prince Chungnyeong.

The other racing dogs instinctively began to feel nervous.

Yi Do, the person who had thrown the bomb, was smiling nonchalantly, seemingly unaware of such fierce undercurrents.

===

“Your Majesty.”

Yi Bang-won opened his mouth solemnly.

“Yes, Father.”

“Employing royal relatives in official positions should be done with caution.”

Now that I had become King from being the Crown Prince, Yi Bang-won was also using honorifics to show respect to the current King.

“But if used well, they can become trusted subjects who firmly support the royal family.”

This was where my thoughts and Yi Bang-won’s diverged sharply.

‘Why should I give away useful talents? Especially to my brother?’

Of course, it wasn’t incomprehensible.

Yi Bang-won himself was someone who had not been satisfied with the position of a royal relative and had risen to the throne by distinguishing himself.

And among Yi Bang-won’s support base that made it possible, the past cartel to which he belonged played an important role.

“Even if royal relatives are to be used, it would be better to bestow official positions through special favors.

If their positions come from relying on the civil service examination system rather than the King’s favor, there is a great risk of them getting out of control.”

That was true.

But there was a reason why I didn’t do that.

“Isn’t Grand Prince Chungnyeong’s talent too precious for that?”

As I said with a smile, Yi Bang-won abandoned his solemn tone and shouted with a frustrated face.

“You rascal, are you saying you’re going to let your brother take the civil service examination because of that?”

“Aren’t you honestly looking forward to it too, Father?”

“……Ahem.”

Yi Bang-won avoided my gaze.

I knew how much Yi Bang-won doted on his sons.

‘Besides, he’s the only brother who can save the royal family’s face.’

The royal family of this nation, Joseon, had to set an example more than any noble family.

Not only in conduct but also in academics.

‘But it’s ruined.’

Perhaps because of their background as a military family, not only my brothers but also my cousins were all wiped out when it came to studying.

Only Do-man was the only person who could prove that our royal family had not ruined the education of princes.

And if it was just Do alone, there was no need to worry.

I showed confidence.

“In the end, the key is military power. Haven’t you reorganized the military, Father?”

If there was anything that could keep Grand Prince Chungnyeong in check, it was the fact that his wife’s family, the Sim clan, was a prestigious military family, but that was a thing of the past.

The cabinet reshuffle that swept through the court could not avoid the military.

The Sim clan, who were still subtly relieved that Yi Bang-won was in charge of military power, were mercilessly pushed out of their positions and had to retreat to high-ranking positions with only titles.

Jo Young-mu, Ma Cheon-mok, and Kang Sang-in, who completely took over the military in their place, were close aides of the retired king without any independent base.

‘Besides, you’ve secretly planted my people in the military.’

Kim Jong-seo, who had been managing Odori in the north, returned overjoyed after hearing the order to be summoned from Hanyang [modern-day Seoul].

‘He was dumbfounded when he heard that it was a military position, not a civil one.’

There was no way we would use ‘a talent recognized by Taejo and sent to the north’ as a civil official.

In addition, Yi Suk-beon, from the Crown Prince faction, moved to the Ministry of War and took charge of military administration.

It was a scene that highlighted Yi Bang-won’s meticulous arrangements.

Considering the intelligence network that I and Wang-ho had laid out, the possibility of preventing unsavory incidents was close to 0%.

So, it’s not difficult to grant a favor to my cute brother.

I said with a triumphant smile.

“Tell him to enjoy himself.”

===

Past examination candidates braved the biting cold wind and entered the examination hall one by one.

The front of the examination hall was crowded from early in the morning, fearing that they might be late and unable to enter.

“Is there this many people even for the second examination, not the first?”

Jeong Bun, who had passed the Gyeongsang-do provincial examination, which was the first civil service examination, and came to the capital to take the second examination, clicked his tongue.

Then Jeong In-ji, who was next to him, said.

“Originally, the number of successful candidates from the government examination, the Hanseong examination [Seoul examination], and the provincial examination exceeds 200. I heard that they are selecting more than that now because there is a great need for manpower, so there will be twice as many people.”

“I wish it were easier to pass as much as that.”

Although they had the same surname, Jeong, the two were not brothers.

In terms of relationship, Jeong Bun was Jeong In-ji’s sister’s husband, that is, a brother-in-law and brother-in-law relationship.

Unlike Jeong Bun, who was very nervous, Jeong In-ji stared sharply at the examination hall.

Jeong Bun also looked around the front of the examination hall and noticed something strange.

“Brother-in-law, what is that?”

Some students who still looked young were setting up a place in one corner of the examination hall entrance, handing out taffy, or cheering with a placard in a boisterous manner.

“Do well on the civil service examination!”

“Pass the second examination! Wishing you the top score!”

As someone who came from Jinju, his hometown, it was a sight he had never seen before.

“Ah, it seems like they are children from Yaeun Academy. They came out and did that when they took the Hanseong examination.”

Certainly, Hanyang [old name for Seoul] was different in some ways.

He was envious of the taffy they were handing out to their seniors to stick to them [a play on words, wishing them to ‘stick’ to the exam and pass] and the warm tea to melt their bodies, but the culture itself was a bit shocking.

It seemed that Jeong Bun was not the only one who felt that way.

“Gee, why don’t our academy juniors do this for us……”

“I’ll have to call a meeting when I get back.”

The people entering the examination hall were subtly intimidated by the strong solidarity of Yaeun Academy.

“Judging by the looks of it, Sungkyunkwan [royal university] or the Four Schools will soon set up shop in front of the examination hall. How chaotic.”

“Still, how encouraging would it be if juniors came out and cheered for you on this cold day.”

Jeong Bun nodded and continued.

“Indeed, as Yaeun Teacher taught, the disciples seem to know the principles of loyalty and filial piety deeply.”

To be exact, it was just that the story that modern people, who were reminded of the scenery of the college scholastic ability test day, had been doing without much thought had flowed in there, but Jeong Bun was inwardly impressed.

“Have you heard of Yaeun Academy, brother-in-law?”

“Of course. Because they accept even barbarians and Japanese as disciples, most of them are military service examination passers, but I heard that even civil service examination passers are coming out little by little.”

Jeong In-ji bit his lip subtly as he spoke.

Originally, such people would not be his opponents.

But the reason why Yaeun Academy was famous was because of the specialized classes for the exhibition problem.

“After we pass the second examination, we should take a class called ‘Exhibition Preparation Essay’.”

Yaeun Academy, of course, teaches the classics, but the reason why it gained fame was because of the bizarre discussions that took place there.

Isn’t that why Yaeun Academy graduates receive high evaluations in the exhibition, even though they may not do well in the first and second examinations that focus on the classics?

What Jeong In-ji was concerned about was not only the Yaeun School disciples.

“Aja aja! [fighting!]”

“If it’s your skills, brother, you’re sure to get the top score.”

“It’s a pity you’re not taking the military service examination, but go and defeat the civil service examination guys instead!”

…It wasn’t the hermits or anything like that, who were surrounding and cheering for one scholar there.

A much higher person than that.

Perhaps it was because of the person who could stand in front of all the examinees with just his halo, regardless of his skills.

“I heard that Grand Prince Chungnyeong is also challenging the civil service examination.”

“Gee, is the civil service examination a child’s play?”

Jeong In-ji said fiercely.

The news that Grand Prince Yi Do was challenging the civil service examination had already spread widely.

‘No matter how much I fly and crawl, if the Grand Prince comes out in this exam…’

He was worried that he might be unfairly deprived of the top score.

“But didn’t you pass the first examination with dignity?”

“No matter how big the examiners are, how can they drop a prince? They must have passed the first examination.”

Jeong In-ji burned with fierce competitiveness.

Even though the Grand Prince was a prodigy since he was young, he was also a genius whom the current King, whom he had met when he was young, had acknowledged for his intelligence.

He was confident that he would not lose to anyone in terms of brains.

Jeong Bun shook his head as he looked at the disgruntled Jeong In-ji.

‘Brother-in-law is smart, but sometimes he’s too arrogant. The world is wide.’

As he thought, the world was wide.

There were countless people who could compete with Jeong In-ji.

For example, Kwon Chae, the grandson of Kwon Geun, who will get the top score in the civil service examination this year in the original history, or Hwangbo In and Jo Geuk-gwan, who will also pass the civil service examination this year and start their official life.

Kim Suk-ja, the founder of Sarim, who launched from Yaeun School, and his alumni Bae In-gyeong and Choi Un-ryong, etc.

Choi Man-ri, who took the civil service examination with the hope of Shin Byeong-ga.

And finally.

A rickshaw with plum blossoms engraved on it stopped in front of the examination hall, and Grand Prince Chungnyeong Yi Do got off.

End

ⓒ Pitkong