There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 37

< Heyday of the Underperformers (2) >

Excluding a few who weren’t officially recognized as King Jeongjong’s sons, those still in infancy, or those actively serving in their duties, the number was somewhat reduced but still close to ten.

‘What should I do?’

With this many people, it’s going to be tough to manage them all myself.

I decided to send some to Bupyeong to begin the facility construction, and I planned to gather the consulting clients in front of the Crown Prince’s residence.

However…

“No-boon.”

“Yes, yes, Your Highness.”

“Did you not convey my orders properly?”

I clearly told you to line them up in front of me, but the current scene was quite different from what I had imagined.

The younger ones were playing around, digging in the dirt nearby, and the older ones were standing haphazardly, chatting amongst themselves.

Seeing this, I immediately understood.

‘They’re all hopeless cases.’

I swallowed hard.

Even though they were born into the royal family and likely hadn’t faced much criticism, this was a bit much.

Most of all, the fact that they seemed to have no ill intent shocked me.

‘If they’re doing this on purpose, I can deal with it, but this is just… hopeless.’

Until I met my cousins, I hadn’t fully grasped how to handle them.

I initially thought I should try to reason with them as much as possible, given their status as royalty, but that thought vanished after witnessing this.

‘Maybe it’s only natural.’

Yi Bang-won [King Taejong] succeeded Jeongjong to the throne.

So, if there had been a legitimate heir with ambition, they would have been subject to purges. The same would have been true even if there was a talented son among the concubines’ children.

But the fact that the people gathered here were still alive and well meant…

‘Even my father must have judged that these people are utterly useless.’

Should I call it fortunate or unfortunate?

“Haa.”

A sigh escaped me.

But I couldn’t back out now.

Then someone raised their hand.

“Your Highness!”

Was that Yi Gun-saeng (李羣生, later Sunpyeong-gun), the second son of Jeongjong?

I frowned and asked.

“What is it?”

“Why did you call us here today?”

“…I sent someone to explain everything.”

“I forgot.”

Yi Gun-saeng said confidently, and the faces of the cousins next to him turned red instead.

Well, at least they’re ashamed, which is a relief.

“The reason I’ve gathered my cousins here today is to teach you the know-how of salt pan creation and management, and to help you become proper salt pan managers.”

For reference, ‘know-how’ is a word I made up. (In this context, it means practical knowledge and problem-solving skills.)

“Now, first of all…”

“I met Myeongwol from the gibang [traditional Korean house of entertainment] the other day, and her face was already full of wrinkles. It seems like her days as a retired courtesan are numbered.”

“Really? I heard she suffered a lot because she met the wrong gigolo. I shouldn’t look for her anymore…”

While the Crown Prince was explaining in a loud voice, the people gathered were just chatting among themselves.

‘These bastards!’

A vein popped out on my forehead.

Do I have to teach them basic etiquette before teaching them about competence?

“No-boon.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

No-boon presented something wrapped in a box.

I put it to my mouth and took a deep breath.

“Atten-tion!”

My voice echoed far louder than before.

A bell-shaped body made of copper with a handle.

That’s right.

The thing I took out was a megaphone.

It wasn’t a modern, electric megaphone, but it amplified my voice enough to shock my cousins.

“Eek!”

The guys who were talking nonsense all covered their ears and looked at me.

The highlight was Yi Gun-saeng, who had asked me the purpose of the gathering earlier.

“Thunder!”

Yi Gun-saeng grabbed his head and trembled on the floor.

‘He’s overreacting a bit.’

I clicked my tongue and said.

“It’s not a bolt from the blue, I just amplified my voice through this device. Someone help that man up.”

At my command, the cousins awkwardly grabbed Yi Gun-saeng’s arm and pulled him up.

But he still looked dazed.

Anyway, I’ve finally gotten their attention.

Time for a barrage of famous quotes.

“In the past, Sun Tzu gathered palace women and conducted military training. When the palace women didn’t listen to the first military order, he said it was the general’s responsibility, explained it again, and beat the drum.

But when the palace women still didn’t listen the second time, he beheaded the concubine who was acting as the leader to establish military discipline. Although this is not a military camp, I hope my cousins will remember this story deeply.”

I’m glad I didn’t forget the story I heard when my teachers held me back to study.

This episode was still interesting.

I believed they would have come to their senses after this much intimidation, and I looked down at my cousins.

“?”

“??”

“Sigh, never mind.”

===

“Now, let’s go to Bupyeong.”

I’ve already sent people to proceed with the facility construction, so now I just need to go and learn the operating know-how.

‘Surely they won’t fail to understand that.’

I don’t care about anything else, but I have to eat 30% of the salt [get 30% of the profits], so I can’t tolerate any disruption to salt production.

I felt like I couldn’t handle it alone, so the officials of the Hanyang Construction Bureau, namely Hwang Hee and the staff of the training institute, were mobilized.

I vaguely heard that mobilizing officials for personal business was something King Chung Hye did, but who cares?

If salt pours out near Hanyang, that’s in the national interest.

‘Are you watching, King Chung Hye?’

Continuing dreams…

After coming down from Gaeseong for a few days, I saw the open sea.

I also saw the Geojunggi [a type of crane] and Nokro [workers] diligently building embankments, and workers laying pieces of earthenware on the ground.

“This is Bupyeong, Your Highness.”

My maternal uncle, Min Mu-gu, said.

He had doubted my words, but he seemed quite excited to see the large-scale construction in progress.

It was spring now, but the sea off Incheon was still chilly.

But Yi Gun-saeng didn’t seem to care and ran towards the sea like a child.

“The sea!”

“Hey, hey! No-boon, catch him!”

I shouted urgently, and No-boon hurriedly ran and grabbed Yi Gun-saeng.

Of course, Yi Gun-saeng wasn’t the only one acting out.

“I’m hungry.”

“It’s been a long time since I ate breakfast, when will we get lunch?”

“I’m tired from coming all the way here, shouldn’t we be given quarters to rest in now?”

No, what did you even do to be tired?

I was dumbfounded and asked.

“Do you even intend to manage the salt pans?”

“If we stick to the salt pans, wouldn’t it be a hindrance because we’re conscious of the royal family? We can just leave it to the people below and play. That’s the mark of a leader.”

“…”

I was speechless at the carefree words.

“So, have you succeeded with the salt pans you’ve been holding until now?”

“That’s because the guys below are incompetent…”

The cousins began to make excuses.

Most of them were saying things like they got caught cheating on the amount of salt, or they kicked out the workers because they complained that there was not enough firewood to put in the salt kiln.

“So, there’s no way a decent person would stay.”

Legally, the crime of deceiving the royal family is unspeakable, but the late Goryeo and early Joseon eras were full of macho men who didn’t value their lives.

There were plenty of people who wouldn’t even flinch at such threats.

Even Song-sang [Prime Minister] Oh Jong-soo was like that.

“The reason you’ve only seen failures is because of that complacency!”

Even if it’s just a restaurant, things won’t work out if there’s no owner present, and you’re just playing around?

I don’t know if they have people who can properly manage things for them like other members of the royal family, but these people didn’t seem to be like that.

The cousins hung their heads at my words.

“Even if you hire people to do the work, you need to know how the salt pans work to distinguish the good from the bad, right?

The reason I called you here was for this reason.”

They beat up and kicked out the officials who requested additional investment and filled the place with people who only spoke sweet words, so there’s no way things would work out properly.

‘I have to change this mindset from the ground up.’

Those without a sense of ownership cannot succeed.

That’s true even in modern times, but nothing is really different now.

There are endless ways to cheat.

‘Should I just plant people and manage everything myself?’

But the promise with my grand uncle was to help my cousins make a living.

It’s not just about making the salt pans successful, it’s also about rehabilitating these people.

I would have refused in advance if I had known it was this bad.

‘He said I could use any means.’

The plan to simply have them tour the salt pans and receive management training was neatly put in the trash.

I shouted through the megaphone.

“The body is short-lived, but the mindset is eternal!”

“…?”

“This Crown Prince can be a bodhisattva or a devil!”

I shouted at my cousins, who were looking at me with puzzled expressions.

“If you listen to me, I will be a bodhisattva, and if you keep slacking off, I will be a devil. Do you understand?”

There was no answer, so I gestured to the soldiers.

Then the soldiers who came as escorts surrounded the cousins as if half-encircling them.

The cousins were staring at me blankly, but they seemed to intuitively feel the soldiers’ intimidation.

The air turned cold.

“I’ll ask again. Do you understand?”

“Yes~.”

Only a tiny, ant-like voice came out, but I wasn’t going to be satisfied with that.

“Your voice is too small! Do you understand?”

“Yes─!!”

Only then did I lower the megaphone with a satisfied expression.

“From now on, take off your robes and change into work clothes. Do it!”

The members of the royal family hesitated, but when I urged them again, they hurriedly began to throw off their robes.

“Areas 1 and 2 have already been completed. In the meantime, you have been wearing good clothes, living in good houses, and eating a lot of expensive salt.

I want to give you a good opportunity to learn the principles of sun-dried salt and realize the hard work of the workers by experiencing the salt pans here yourselves.

Do you all agree?”

“Yes─!”

I smiled as I watched the members of the royal family shouting without knowing what they were saying.

===

In the salt pans completed over the winter, the members of the royal family had a salt pan experience that was not in their destiny.

“Oh, I’m going to die. Oh, I’m going to die!”

The cousins shouted while patting their backs, but when I glared at them, they immediately returned to work.

I divided the cousins into two teams and promised to give 200 points to the team that finished the work first.

– There will be a gift when you collect a thousand points!

Unlike the social director of a school trip, there was something really prepared.

“No, what is all this…”

Heo Jo, who arrived in Bupyeong late, was speechless.

Was he at a loss for words as he looked at the sight of the precious members of the royal family taking off their coats and pushing seawater?

‘There was a good reason for it all.’

But to those who don’t know the circumstances, what a bizarre scene this is.

“Ah, this is just a temporary experience. It’s not because I like to oppress my cousins…”

“Amazing.”

Heo Jo said with his jaw dropped.

“Even the most supreme king plows the fields at the beginning of the year to feel the hard work of the farmers. But this is just a formality, but you are cultivating salt pans with the members of the royal family, which is truly a wonderful thing!”

Well, it’s a compliment based on principles and rules, as befits the meticulous Heo Jo.

I don’t intend to cultivate the salt pans myself?

Then Heo Jo grabbed my hand.

“Since Your Highness has personally stepped forward with the members of the royal family, how can I, as a national official, be left out? I would like to participate with Your Highness.”

“No, wait a minute. I don’t necessarily…”

“Now, let’s go!”

Oh, damn it.

< Heyday of the Underperformers (2) > End