There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 326

327.

Logically, a small country like Ryukyu wouldn’t be so delusional as to think of itself as a tributary state to the Son of Heaven [the Emperor of China, a symbolic gesture of submission and alliance].

‘But On Sado is just the kind of guy who would do that.’

He seems to have gained some experience playing the role of a king, but it would be a disaster if he got caught up in some weird fantasy.

Especially now, when such fantasies are likely to explode.

That’s because he finally annexed Buksan, the last of the three mountains to resist On Sado.

Hojok [local powerful clans] within Buksan, dissatisfied with King Han An-ji, brought On Sado in.

“The Ryukyu king’s authority only extends to his capital. To actually govern the Hojok, he has to appease and coax them, so they must have thought the other side was better.”

To the Hojok, the powerless On Sado must have seemed easier to deal with than their own king, who was sitting right in front of them.

Of course, even though On Sado lacks a strong foundation, he’s not a complete pushover.

He borrowed power from us, but he also had a personal guard that he obtained under the pretext of dispatching troops.

On Sado, having barely scraped together a personal guard, attacked Buksan and destroyed its capital, Nakijin.

After a year-long battle, On Sado finally brought Buksan to its knees and was celebrating his achievement of unifying the north.

Simply in terms of land area, the country had doubled in size.

‘Well, that’s good.’

In addition to the historic sugar plantations, we can plant coffee seeds that the trade ships went to get.

The Ryukyu royal family leases a significant portion of the land acquired from the occupation of Buksan to us.

A portion of the money earned from sugar and other cash crops produced on that land goes to the Ryukyu royal family as a usage fee, and the Ryukyu royal family uses that money to build a fleet.

The Hojok provide people in exchange for economic benefits, the Ryukyu king owns the fleet, and Joseon operates the completed fleet on their behalf.

Even though the fleet they built is essentially subordinate to Joseon, it’s not a bad deal for Ryukyu.

The Hojok are happy to make money, and the Ryukyu king is happy to bring the Hojok’s forces under his control.

Moreover, Ryukyu, which is often taken advantage of, can lean on Joseon’s back to exert influence and run trade.

‘This is a win-win situation.’

As long as Ryukyu doesn’t suddenly get carried away and start poking around without consulting us.

Within their own territory, they can build a Hwangu altar [an altar for ancestral rites] or give posthumous titles to their ancestors, but if such a bizarre situation occurs, I can’t help Ryukyu.

“You guys didn’t put any strange ideas in their heads, did you?”

I asked, looking at the shareholders of Cheonghaejin, who can now be called Ryukyu experts.

Although they are major shareholders who don’t interfere in management, they are the ones who initially joined forces to push forward the Cheonghaejin sugar business.

I heard that there are even some who are trying to marry off their daughters to Ryukyu officials or Hojok.

Since she’s a daughter of a concubine from a collateral line of the royal family, it’s not a marriage that I need to pay much attention to.

‘There might be someone who’s trying to take advantage of their influence to push Ryukyu to gain more benefits elsewhere.’

At my suspicion, they bowed their heads in a row and passionately explained.

“Your Majesty, diplomacy is a major affair between countries, so how could we privately push the Ryukyu king!”

“Please, have mercy!”

Seeing them rolling around and begging for mercy in fear of being caught doing something wrong, I waved my hand.

Okay, I understand.

I have to keep them on their toes like this once in a while.

“I understand, so please continue to act in a way that doesn’t cause any strange misunderstandings between us and Ryukyu.”

“Yes, of course!”

There was a reason why I had taken precautions with the shareholders in advance.

It was because a Ryukyu envoy had arrived.

===

Myeong [Ming Dynasty China], Joseon, and Japan are the three major powers close to Ryukyu.

These three countries are the same in that they have the power to crush Ryukyu if they so choose.

The Shogun in Kyoto probably doesn’t care whether Ryukyu unifies on its own or not, so it’s natural that he doesn’t send an envoy, but Joseon and Myeong do.

Myeong is Ryukyu’s suzerain state, and Joseon is the one who installed On Sado.

I was pleased that On Sado sent an envoy to us before Myeong.

‘He keeps talking about the country of his parents, so he still knows what’s what.’

It’s a relief that he still knows who the sponsor is.

The envoy spoke as if he had honey on his tongue.

“We were able to defeat Buksan and achieve great things thanks to Your Majesty and the Joseon army.

His Majesty has ordered us to offer the sacred sword that the Buksan king possessed, so please accept it.”

The Ryukyu envoy offered a precious sword, but I immediately frowned.

‘We helped him take Namsan, Jungsan, and now Buksan, and he’s not planning to settle things with just a sword, is he?’

It’s natural for the envoy to bring gifts since he can’t come empty-handed, but it’s unsettling that he’s talking about the national treasure of the Buksan royal family.

However, the envoy insisted that it was a token of gratitude for the support they had received.

‘If he says so much…’

My unique weapon is a rifle that has saved my life many times – currently modified to use thunder powder [an early form of gunpowder] – but it wouldn’t be bad to receive it.

“It’s called Chiyogane Maru. Although it’s from the enemy, it’s a rare sacred object, so we offer it to His Majesty, the King of Joseon.”

The envoy carefully held it out, and No-bi scurried over and brought it to me.

Since it was an exchange of gifts between countries, no one dared to say anything about bringing a weapon of ill omen into the main hall.

“A sacred object. Does it have any strange stories attached to it?”

The envoy nodded at my question.

“Yes, this sword has a divine power to protect its owner.”

“Then why couldn’t King Han An-ji of Buksan protect his life?”

It could be read as a sarcastic remark, but the envoy, thinking it was a mockery of Buksan, said calmly.

“That’s not the sword’s fault. When the fate of the country was at stake, the King of Buksan tried to commit suicide with it, but it was impossible because of its divine power, so he jumped into the river and took his own life.”

“······.”

Geez.

I don’t know if that’s true or if the envoy is cleverly glossing over it, but it’s a strange story.

A sword for preventing suicide.

With this kind of story attached to the sword, my expression also became subtle.

I picked up the sword and swung it around. It was indeed a national treasure of a country, with a lively aura.

‘It’s a good sword, but will I ever use it?’

I’m already keeping Yi Seong-gye’s sword locked up in the treasury.

I ordered the received sword to be stored in the treasury, where cultural assets were gradually increasing.

I further instructed No-bi to be careful.

“Never! Don’t show it to the Crown Prince!”

Dan is full of energy and curiosity, so he might be curious and touch the sword from Ryukyu.

He’s not studying anyway, and he’s busy fighting.

===

As you know, the blood flowing in our family’s veins is very hot.

From Yi Seong-gye to Yi Bang-won and Yi Bang-gan, who was exiled, weren’t they the type of people who would draw their swords at the slightest provocation?

So, if you don’t have the right mind and control it properly, you’re just going to become a gangster.

‘And there’s nothing more terrible than a king wielding a sword himself!’

For this reason, I had no intention of letting Dan exercise at all.

I wouldn’t mind a healthy exercise to maintain his health.

“Didn’t Your Majesty personally teach martial arts to King Taejo?”

“That was just martial arts learned for self-defense. I have never used it for any purpose other than to protect myself.”

“······.”

I needed it because I had to travel around a lot, but Dan doesn’t need to learn martial arts for self-defense.

Why would he when he has tiger-like bodyguards that his father has provided?

“You didn’t even want to take him with you because you found it annoying…”

“Did I?”

“You did.”

“I must have had a good reason then.”

No-bi looked at me with a dumbfounded expression at my words.

This guy is getting bolder and bolder in front of me since he became a Sangseon [a high-ranking eunuch]?

“I even made equipment for the Geumgun [royal guards] to exercise hard. The Geumgun, who have trained their minds and bodies, will protect the Crown Prince with their lives, so what more can I, as a father, give him?”

The Geumgun who protect the royal family are originally burly and boast muscles that seem to deflect swords.

So, even though I only made barbells and dumbbells and spread some simple exercise methods, the Geumgun who have grown their muscles excessively are already appearing everywhere.

I even felt like the palace was getting smaller. It’s just a feeling, though.

‘I don’t think there are any people who can match them anywhere in the world.’

Of course, those bulky guys are more of a hindrance when going out in disguise.

I should leave them behind next time.

“If the Crown Prince disobeys my orders and gets hurt while exercising on his own, I will hold the Sangseon responsible!”

I firmly told No-bi.

If I don’t say this much, I might see some Xiang Yu-like guy [a famous Chinese general known for his strength] popping out of our family.

No-bi seems strict with Dan, but he gives in when he throws a tantrum.

‘Actually, that’s the same for all of our family members.’

Not to mention Yi Bang-won and Queen Wongyeong, even the Retired King and his wife look at the Crown Prince with affection.

‘Was I also loved by my grandfather like that?’

As someone who only remembers being grabbed by the collar by Yi Seong-gye for making jokes, I felt a subtle jealousy.

Damn old man.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I called Yi Jing-ok and ordered him.

“Are the Geumgun recording their daily exercise logs as ordered?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They are recording their exercise volume and changes in detail.”

“If it’s effective, I plan to distribute it to the Training Command in the future. Make sure to record not only exercise but also diet.”

I only dabbled in a few machines in my past life, so I’m not a health expert, so I have no choice but to rely on the data provided by the Geumgun.

It would be better to watch their progress and create a routine or diet.

‘It’s a relief that there are many protein sources.’

Thanks to the country’s steady animal breeding program, the number of various livestock has increased significantly.

In particular, the demand for chicken, which has greatly increased due to the hit of Chogye [a type of chicken dish], has led to a significant increase in the number of chickens raised, and every household is busy raising them.

It’s rewarding to have worked hard to obtain Southeast Asian breeds.

It’s not as good as modern breeds, but it doesn’t require a lot of feed, so people can easily raise them and get as many eggs or meat as they want.

In my opinion, it’s a nutritionally desirable situation.

I wish our kids wouldn’t get into sword fights and raise animals peacefully…

“Wait.”

If they want to raise them, they can.

The palace is large, and I don’t know about large animals like horses or cows, but small animals like dogs, rabbits, and chickens can be raised in the pens.

‘Wouldn’t it be helpful for emotional development?’

The biggest problem with raising pets is cleaning up after them, but there’s no need to do that for the royal family’s sake.

‘The kids will probably like it, right?’

I’ve never seen kids who don’t like animals.

My old boss also took a puppy home from work, and the kids were so happy.

Should I, as a father, stand tall in front of my children for the first time in a while?

End

ⓒ Pitkong