There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 357

358. Side Story – Idan’s Adventure

Crown Prince Idan, age 13.

He was currently facing a troublesome crisis.

It wasn’t because he suddenly had to pack his bags and head north on his father’s orders.

After all, his life as the Crown Prince had always been about being confined to the stuffy East Palace and studying.

He was tired of sneaking over walls or crawling through holes. Even when he managed to slip out, he couldn’t go far.

So, the fact that he could now leave the capital ‘legally’ made his heart flutter.

‘It wouldn’t be bad to go outside Hanyang [the capital city of Joseon] for once.’

He had been to the capital so often, both officially and unofficially, that he knew it like the back of his hand.

He had never been to the north, but it would surely be a fresher sight than here.

‘The problem is the comic books in my bookshelf.’

He was uneasy about his younger sisters barging in and messing things up while he was gone, but he could always order No-bo to move them all to the storage. That was an easy fix.

A bigger problem was his father’s order to take a married woman with him.

‘Why do I have to go with a woman I don’t even know…’

The intention was to announce the selection of the new Crown Princess while touring the country, and to get to know her while traveling to and from the north. But Idan couldn’t help but grumble.

It would be more fun to take his cousins, but he had to leave with a woman he only met for the first time at the wedding, which was a real ordeal.

‘But I can’t just not talk during the trip.’

“Hey.”

Having stepped away from his parents, Idan spoke to the Crown Princess.

However, the Crown Princess tilted her head and said.

“…Are you speaking to me, Your Highness?”

“Yes.”

Idan instinctively wanted to retort, ‘Who else would I be talking to?’ but stopped himself when he realized that the person in front of him was his wife, not a court lady.

“To suddenly speak so informally… I am sorry, Your Highness.”

‘Why is she using honorifics?’

Idan was the one who was more taken aback.

He had grown up in a family where his parents spoke informally to each other in comfortable settings.

One was a modern person, and the other was a tomboyish orphan.

And it was possible because of the special situation when the two first met: the Crown Prince of Joseon and the Princess of Great Ming were of equal status. But the children had no way of knowing that.

Idan had grown up thinking that was a natural relationship, so he was even more surprised that a couple would use honorifics even when they were alone.

Idan, who was briefly flustered, waved his hand and said.

“Forget it. It’s embarrassing. There’s no one here, so you can drop the formalities.”

“How dare I…”

It seemed more difficult to force her to speak informally.

It was because she had been taught the duties of a wife since she was young, but Idan took it a little differently.

“Really? Never mind then.”

Idan shrugged.

‘I guess she’s shy.’

He tried to make her feel comfortable by suggesting she drop the formalities, but when she reacted like this, Idan completely lost interest.

Idan’s interest soon turned to the new journey.

* * *

It was a tour that started by his father’s order, but Idan loved the north.

Especially in terms of his temperament.

Unlike Hanyang, where he was constantly nagged that it was dangerous to move his body even a little, or that it was not the behavior of a gentleman – although he, like his father, didn’t pay much attention – here, it was a great source of pride.

“One shot, one kill! Your Highness, you truly have the spirit of King Taejo! [the founder of the Joseon Dynasty]”

“As the son of His Majesty, you are just like him. His Majesty was also famous for his martial prowess in the north!”

As a sign of responding to the overwhelming welcome from the people who poured out as soon as he entered the Northeast, he showed off a small skill, and praises poured in from all directions.

‘Why are they making such a fuss over nothing?’

Idan tilted his head.

If you hone your skills, anyone can hit a branch hanging 100 paces away.

Rather, shouldn’t he be more unskilled because he has to practice in between studying, avoiding his mother’s eyes, and his practice time is insufficient?

‘I guess they’re praising me because I’m the Crown Prince.’

Idan inwardly admired his own wisdom.

The higher the position, the more one must be wary of flattery.

Idan was about to lightly rebuke them, but the following words caught his interest.

“With your skills, you could win at the Nadam [a traditional festival in Mongolia featuring wrestling, horse racing, and archery].”

“Nadam? Can I participate too?”

“Why not? His Majesty also participated in the Nadam and defeated the prince of the Tartars [a historical term for various Central Asian peoples].”

‘Why am I hearing this for the first time?’

A question arose in Idan’s mind.

There were many other aspects of his father that Idan did not know.

Stories that had already become legends, such as catching a tiger with a single sword during a hunt with Yi Seong-gye [King Taejo’s given name].

Idan’s interest piqued at those words.

He remembered his parents’ earnest request not to cause trouble, but he heard that his father had also attended the Nadam and wrestled in the past, so this would not fall into the category of ‘trouble’.

Above all, the people around him were asking him to attend the Nadam as the Crown Prince and grace the occasion.

His father sent him to soothe the hearts of the people in the north, so he could not refuse this earnest request.

In fact, the requests from influential figures were only to grace the occasion, but Idan took it differently.

This was a sign to prove himself at the Nadam.

* * *

The scale of the Nadam was growing every year.

As Joseon’s influence grew, the Nadam held in Guju Fortress had long become the most important event in the grasslands.

Nadam was also held in other places, but it was only a festival within the tribe, and it could never match the status of the Joseon Nadam.

For this reason, a huge number of people flock here every year during the Nadam season.

They couldn’t come empty-handed after traveling a long distance, so the goods they brought to trade were also enormous.

Guju Fortress took the opportunity to collect transaction taxes in kind in proportion to the amount of goods, but people still kept coming.

“It is rapidly becoming the largest city in Manchuria, and there are many voices saying that the existing name of Guju does not have enough dignity.

Many people here want to revert to the name Sanggyeong (上京) that was used during the Balhae period [an ancient Korean kingdom], but that is not an easy task.”

To attach the name Gyeong (京), Guju’s status must be raised to at least the level of a secondary capital (陪都), so the court cannot make a decision right away.

However, Guju was prospering to the point where such voices were being raised, and this was largely due to the Nadam.

However, unlike the Nadam boom that poured in every year, the results themselves were not very good.

As Joseon people were specialized in ranged attacks, they were doing quite well in archery competitions with the nomads, but they were no match in other fields.

At least Joseon was able to save face because it used the entire country as a talent pool, unlike its competitors, who selected and dispatched representatives from tribal units.

Everyone thought it would be the same this time, but that expectation was shattered.

“Did the Crown Prince take the gold medal again?”

“Archery, horse riding, wrestling… a complete victory.”

This was an unexpected result for Idan as well.

‘Didn’t any skilled guys attend this year?’

What was with this Nadam lacking in energy when he came all the way here?

Idan had to listen to a lot of clichéd flattery, such as it was his first time seeing such an overwhelming competition, and that he really couldn’t take his eyes off it.

“It’s too much, even if he’s skilled. Is he going to take it all by himself?”

“Even though we don’t accept separate applications, how can he suddenly pop up and do this?”

Such complaints were occasionally heard, but when Idan ordered that all the prizes given to the winner be distributed to the participants without regret, the complaints disappeared.

“Your Highness is truly a hero!”

In any case, the number of people who could receive gold, silver, and bronze medals was limited.

The participants, who had to return home with the significance of participation, thanked the Crown Prince for the free alcohol and wealth.

Watching the scene, some people were secretly sweating.

“The Joseon royal family originally has its roots in a noble family of the Great Yuan [a Mongol-led dynasty that ruled China], so the kings are all like tiger-like warriors, and it’s really true.”

“There are many who have witnessed and been fascinated by the Crown Prince’s martial prowess today. We must not confront him rashly.”

“His courage is great, but his generosity is also amazing. Even though he is a prince, he doesn’t show any interest in all that wealth and just gives it away.”

In fact, Idan found it annoying to take the acquired goods home, so he gave them all away, but the man did not know that.

He was being treated as a prince as the son of Sunning King Toghon [a descendant of Genghis Khan], but if he was asked if he could cleanly give up that much wealth, he wouldn’t.

‘I would have thought about it at least a little.’

It could be used as military funds right away.

He had never realized the wealth of the Joseon royal family, so he couldn’t help but admire the Crown Prince’s actions.

“The Joseon Crown Prince has shown great courage and popularity, so it is foolish to make him an enemy. I’m glad I attended this Nadam.”

The Oirat [a major group of Western Mongols] did not directly border Joseon.

However, there would come a time when they would clash when they unified Mongolia someday.

‘So now is the chance.’

Even the hostile tribes cannot draw their swords in Guju, where the Nadam is held.

Normally, they had to be satisfied with indirectly contacting each other through trade routes, but now it was different.

‘Doesn’t Juchi of Taening Guard brag that he met the current Joseon king at the Nadam and made friends?’

I heard that the relationship soured after he lost.

Whether it was true or not, it was worth a try.

Esen, son of Sunning King Toghon.

This man, who would later inherit the title of Taishi [a high-ranking official title] from him and be called Esen Taishi, clenched his fist.

* * *

“Last night, a strange old man appeared in my dream and said, ‘Your father kept his promise to me, so I helped you, but take care of your body.’ What kind of dream is this?”

“Isn’t it because you moved too violently in the equestrian skills yesterday?

Even I was worried that you might fall off your horse, but it seems that you were also uneasy. You’re even having such dreams.”

“It’s okay because I got the gold medal thanks to it. Well, it must be a silly dream.”

Idan said nonchalantly.

Idan, who had been running wild, was quite satisfied and prepared to return home.

However, as he was about to return, those who attended the Nadam gathered in the Crown Prince’s procession and cried out.

“Your Highness, please accept us!”

“If Your Highness takes us in, we will serve as even the lowest soldiers!”

“Oh, no! Are these guys trying to sneak into Hanyang without passing the civil service examination?”

The royal guards were furious and pushed them away, but Idan calmly stopped them.

“That’s enough. Aren’t they all here boasting their outstanding talents in their respective tribes?”

It was customary to give official positions to those who achieved good results in each event.

At Idan’s words to follow him first, the people cheered.

However, soon an familiar face caught his eye.

“Oh, aren’t you the prince from the Waja tribe? Are you also going to Joseon with me?”

He remembered him because he had achieved quite good results in the Nadam, though not as good as himself.

Esen nodded.

“I have no intention of serving Your Highness, but I want to ask you a favor, so I will accompany you. Would that be okay?”

Idan paused for a moment to calculate.

‘If the prince of the Waja tribe comes to Joseon with me, wouldn’t that be a royal visit?’

It seemed like a pretty good look.

“I will allow it. A gentleman does not rashly reject guests from other countries.”

Thus, a group of shaggy barbarians began to march south towards Hanyang all at once.