There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 338

339. Subversion

The mass games showcased before the envoys concluded successfully, a testament to the relentless efforts of the Jeonakseo [Royal Music Institute].

Originally, the Jeonakseo was in charge of royal music.

They typically practiced a wide variety of music, and Yi Bang-gwa, the former king, had entrusted them with the mass games’ music during the New Year celebrations. But this time, not only the King but also envoys from various countries were in attendance.

Not even a single mistake could be tolerated.

Bak Yeon, the Cheomjeong [Director] of the Jeonakseo, was determined to showcase his genius to the fullest in this crucial opportunity.

As his determination soared, the faces of the musicians mobilized for the intense practice turned ashen.

“Sir, was this performance satisfactory?”

“What do you think?”

“……Isn’t it, sir?”

“You bunch of dung! The harmony was off three times! At this rate, the sound will only become a jumbled mess instead of a rich tapestry!”

As Bak Yeon foamed at the mouth and shouted, the musicians’ expressions twisted.

‘That damned Cheomjeong.’

‘I should have known from the start when he brought up harmonies that no one has ever heard of.’

Bak Yeon hadn’t always been this hysterical.

Having achieved the prestigious Jangwon [highest score on the civil service exam], he was relegated to the Jeonakseo after incurring the King’s displeasure. No demotion could have felt more devastating.

The current King’s reign was an era where talented individuals emerged like never before.

Once someone was pushed out of the competition for success, others quickly filled the vacant spot, making recovery incredibly difficult.

Moreover, if the assigned position was a sinecure like the Jeonakseo, achieving noticeable results was virtually impossible.

Having been banished to a department where it was difficult to even get another chance, it was natural for Bak Yeon to be deeply disheartened.

Until then, Bak Yeon was merely dispirited and had greatly reduced his interactions, but he hadn’t actively tormented his subordinates like this.

However, Bak Yeon possessed remarkable musical talent.

According to historical accounts, he was said to have learned the flute simply by listening to the sound of a neighbor’s playing while studying at the Hyanggyo [local Confucian school]. He was a person who could be reborn as an excellent musician with just a small spark.

‘I want to recapture that feeling I first experienced on the day of the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet!’

That day, the birthday songs composed by the King contained ideas that he couldn’t have even imagined.

Now, it was merely a copy of future music, but Bak Yeon had managed to glean some forms accumulated over the ages from it.

Not just a simple ensemble, but a rich tone created by different sounds harmonizing together.

Extracting and reassembling elements that didn’t exist in the existing musical scales from the King’s music and sublimating them into his own music was no easy feat.

At first, only crude and turbid sounds were produced.

Even if he thought he had discovered a promising sound, it would be ruined if the musicians made a mistake during the ensemble.

But in the end, he succeeded.

“The envoys’ reactions are overwhelmingly positive!”

“Not to mention the proud people of Ming, there are many among our people who consider only Tang music [music from the Tang Dynasty] as the best. But now, such opinions will be silenced!”

The grand mass games held during the New Year were enough to give people goosebumps.

However, that was also due to the power of the music that heightened the atmosphere and directed the movements of the mass games.

Some conservatives rejected it outright, calling it complicated music, but the more discerning people praised it greatly.

The musicians under him were exaggerating to ease the mind of the goblin maestro Bak Yeon, but their self-congratulation wasn’t entirely groundless.

However, Bak Yeon calmly shook his head and said.

“What does it matter what others think?”

‘Isn’t it obviously important?’

The Jeonakseo musicians, who played for the King, clicked their tongues, thinking that Chief Bak was trying to find fault again.

‘It’s still not enough.’

It wasn’t that Bak Yeon was dissatisfied with the performance during the mass games.

Rather, he had felt like he had performed perfectly immediately after the performance.

Was this how a craftsman felt after completing a perfect work after breaking hundreds of jars?

However, after the afterglow of the endless pleasure subsided a few days later, Bak Yeon felt emptiness.

Endless questions tormented his mind.

Bak Yeon, who was listening to the test performance of the newly arrived Pyeongyeong [a type of Korean percussion instrument] with his eyes closed, muttered.

‘Was that day’s performance really the best?’

Did he perform to the best of his ability?

‘Is that the limit of this thing called music?’

At that moment, the sound of the Pyeongyeong wavered.

“No!”

Bak Yeon, who opened his eyes wide, grabbed a hammer and smashed the Pyeongyeong.

“This crazy!”

At the same time, Jang Yeong-sil was shocked.

“What the hell is this crazy man doing!”

He had made a new Pyeongyeong because the Jeonakseo needed one, and he suddenly smashed it.

Even though Bak Yeon was seventeen or eighteen years older, it wouldn’t be strange if swear words came out right away.

Regardless, Bak Yeon looked down at the broken Pyeongyeong and shouted.

“Music is not like that!”

There must be something more!

It wouldn’t be possible to fully revive it with existing instruments alone.

The heart of the genius musician Bak Yeon throbbed with such a premonition.

However, in the eyes of Jang Yeong-sil, whose precious order was broken, it just looked like the actions of a madman.

‘I want to zap him with the thunderbolt machine.’

Jang Yeong-sil muttered inwardly.

There had never been a time when he wanted to use his inventions for personal gain as much as now.

* * *

Large-scale generators were still under development, but simple static electricity generators had already been made.

It was called the Thunder Law Device. It was quite useful for education.

Do only said things like, ‘Do you use it to educate criminals?’ but let’s not misunderstand because it’s a ‘real’ educational tool used to understand the principles of electricity.

So, no matter how much Jang Yeong-sil asked, he couldn’t use it to punish Bak Yeon.

“Geniuses are eccentric by nature.”

I had no choice but to accept it.

Why, most of the musical geniuses depicted in the media have strange quirks.

The envoys who heard the rumors seemed to understand with similar sentiments.

“I heard that he broke the Pyeongyeong on the spot when the sound was off?”

“I heard that Chief Bak doesn’t forgive even the smallest mistakes during practice.”

“Well, that’s how you can perform so wonderfully like last time.”

Even those who had subtly disparaged the music of the barbarians, wondering how wonderful it could be, were surprised by Bak Yeon’s performance, so that level was not a flaw but was considered an anecdote showing Bak Yeon’s genius.

‘Artists also need their own character.’

Even Yang Sa-gi seemed to be subtly coveting Bak Yeon’s talent.

“You have made it known that Joseon has Hyangak [Korean traditional music], so your contribution is outstanding. This matter will be overlooked, but do not do such things in the future.”

“I have achieved nothing. It is only thanks to His Majesty’s virtue that I have achieved this result, so I will regard today’s forgiveness as entirely His Majesty’s grace.”

Bak Yeon said, prostrating himself in a respectful posture.

I don’t know what I did to give me the credit, but it’s essential for subordinates to flatter appropriately.

When I sent him to the Jeonakseo, he was still stiff, but as he worked with music, he seemed to have developed a beautiful heart.

‘With this incident, the status of Joseon’s music will have greatly increased.’

Compared to that, the price of one Pyeongyeong is cheap.

I decided to make a big suggestion to Bak Yeon while I was at it.

“Have you ever thought about going to Ming [China]?”

At my question, Bak Yeon asked back as if it was an unexpected suggestion.

“Are you suggesting that you will send me to Ming as an envoy?”

“No.”

Why would I want to bring back a friend who found his aptitude in arts and sports as a civil official?

Yang Sa-gi was hooked on mass games and needed someone to teach it.

‘Originally, I was planning to select and send some of those who were teaching mass games during the New Year celebrations, but.’

Unexpectedly, Bak Yeon gained fame, and since music plays an important role in mass games, it would be okay to send this person along.

I coaxed Bak Yeon.

“Ming is a great country. Etiquette and music originated in China, and there must be many strange and wonderful instruments, so it will be a great learning opportunity.”

“That’s true, but…”

“If a talented person like you studies the music of various countries and returns, how much more accomplished would you become? I’m saying this because I trust you.”

This is half true.

It’s true that Bak Yeon trained the Jeonakseo musicians well, so I feel bad, but it wouldn’t be bad to experience various music in such a wide country.

Tell the National Academy of Music to rest for a while until then.

‘Above all, there is almost no chance of music leaking secrets.’

Art develops through exchange.

I hope that the Ming emperors will spend the rest of their lives enjoying the art we provide.

Don’t let another guy like Yongle [a powerful and ambitious Ming emperor] emerge.

“I will also send personnel to teach shooting and strategic tactics separately.”

The intelligence network laid out in Ming is almost entirely centered around the Hoidong Hall.

The Hoidong Hall has long been a mahjong parlor for Ming officials.

Our envoys collect intelligence from local informants who are always on duty at the Hoidong Hall whenever they visit Ming, and sometimes they gather information by contacting them directly at the Hoidong Hall, but…

‘It’s not as good as planting people directly in the military.’

The dispatched Joseon military officers were scheduled to mingle with the Ming soldiers under the pretext of education.

If Ming had any sense, they would try to minimize Joseon’s influence as much as possible, but would that be easy?

There are no Ming high-ranking officials who haven’t taken our bribes.

‘But they’re not the kind of guys who will give us their liver and gallbladder at our word.’

What conscienceless guys.

Still, they’ll be worth the money.

They’ll lightly turn a blind eye to our military officers stirring up the Ming army.

‘Thinking about it that way, Yang Sa-gi must be uneasy.’

The threat from the north continues, and a strong army doesn’t just pop out of the sky just because muskets fall from the sky, so he accepted it.

Ming wants to suck out Joseon’s practical know-how at a cheap price, but the reality is the opposite.

We will be able to see exactly how Ming fights, how the Ming army works, where it is strong, and where it is weak.

“I will return from Ming after honing my skills!”

“Perhaps there may be a call from the imperial family. I hope that your skills will improve by leaps and bounds and return.”

“The imperial family…!”

Expectation filled Bak Yeon’s eyes.

Bak Yeon is an artist. It is inevitable that there will be less surveillance on this side, but it is this side that will receive the attention of the high-ranking officials.

Even more so if the emperor falls for mass games.

‘And it won’t be easy not to get drunk on it.’

Emperor Honghui’s character is excellent, but getting high on mass games has nothing to do with that.

I have completed the preparations to insert a straw into the deepest part of Ming.

* * *

“Did Ming order the proper production of muskets?”

Jang Yeong-sil naturally thought that the King would make and offer a product with problems from the design stage.

He was so concerned about the security of the musket, so wasn’t it natural?

Indeed, he was like a person who had burned a defective kiln to King Sejong (whether it was intentional or a mistake) and disappeared from history forever.

However, Choi Hae-san shook his head.

“Wouldn’t that be easily exposed and questioned?”

“That’s true.”

Choi Hae-san nodded at Jang Yeong-sil’s words.

“Anyway, there is a stockpile of muskets, so he told me to divide and send some.”

The Seungja Chongtong [a type of Korean firearm], which he first made under Lee Je’s order, will be discontinued with this tribute.

‘I feel strangely sad.’

However, Choi Hae-san soon recalled the memory of the King scolding him for making this instead of muskets.

‘……When I think about it again, I’m not that sad.’

It’s better to be able to turn the existing line to musket production.

“Anyway, I’m in the process of collecting and modifying the muskets I used to use. I’m short of even one hand.”

“Modification?”