There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 403

“How does it feel to have captured me as a prisoner?”

Emperor Xuande was the first to speak.

His words directly shattered Prince Yeong’s excuse that he came not to surrender but to manage the situation.

However, Emperor Xuande had no reason to humor him.

“How does Your Majesty feel about reliving the Humiliation of Jingkang [a historical event where two Song emperors were captured by the Jin dynasty]?”

Emperor Xuande glared at me at my question, but what could he do about it?

“Isn’t everything one’s own fault?”

It might be recorded in textbooks as a prime example of stirring up trouble.

“So, what will you do? Strip me of my royal robe and make me bow? Dethrone me and humiliate me with a title like the Duke of Hunduk [a derogatory title]?”

“There’s no reason why I couldn’t.”

“Do you think I would endure such humiliation?”

He failed to escape to Wuchang, but he might succeed in escaping to the afterlife.

Perhaps so.

Emperor Xuande, prepared for death, had nothing he couldn’t say.

“Let those gathered here also hear. Are those who claim to be descended from Emperor Taejo [the founder of the Joseon dynasty] not ashamed to flatter the rebels to save their lives? All under heaven revered the dignity of the imperial family, but there was no reward!”

The imperial relatives subtly avoided Emperor Xuande’s gaze.

However, not everyone felt ashamed by Emperor Xuande’s attack.

Someone stood up resolutely and shouted.

“Isn’t today’s situation the result of the Emperor arbitrarily wielding state affairs and damaging the friendship between the two countries and our families? How dare you resent us for not daring to die with you?”

He was Prince Yeongan, Ju Maenghyeong, a son of Prince Cho, Ju Jeong, the sixth son of Ju Yuanzhang [the Hongwu Emperor, founder of the Ming dynasty].

So, in terms of kinship, he was Emperor Xuande’s uncle.

Of course, even if his lineage was higher, Ju Maenghyeong was merely a prince of a collateral line, and Emperor Xuande was the emperor, so he wouldn’t normally even be able to make eye contact with him.

However, Ju Maenghyeong’s threatening demeanor was extremely fierce.

No matter how high the authority of the eldest grandson is in a family, if he gambles away all the family land, he can’t say anything even if he’s grabbed by the collar.

As Ju Maenghyeong started, other members of the royal family also became enraged and threw in a word each.

“How many times have members of the royal family shed blood since the founding of the nation!”

“Why do we have to be repeatedly dragged into the wars that the Emperor starts?”

Emperor Xuande said coldly.

“If my grandfather hadn’t started the Jeongnan [a civil war], all of you would have been finished by Jianwen’s hand, yet you only have your mouths alive!”

“What did you say?”

Emperor Yongle had four sons in all.

Emperor Hongxi, Prince Han, Prince Jo, and one son who died young.

Prince Han and Prince Jo rebelled and died, and their families were all wiped out, so the lineage from Emperor Yongle was only Emperor Hongxi’s descendants, including Emperor Xuande.

In Emperor Xuande’s eyes, the relatives who had been demoted and imprisoned and barely survived the Jeongnan were only committing acts of ingratitude.

However, the relatives were not willing to easily admit that fact.

Who was it that gathered all the relatives in Nanjing and watched them strictly?

Like students reporting Eom Seok-dae [a strict teacher] in front of the teacher, they vehemently criticized the emperor.

Am I the teacher then?

The most powerful person in this place is me, so that must be it.

I raised my hand to calm the relatives who were swarming and denouncing the emperor like a swarm of bees.

“Stop.”

At my words, the princes, who had been arguing even in front of the emperor, shut their mouths.

“What should be done with the Emperor’s disposition?”

“…….”

The voices of those who had been chattering noisily suddenly subsided.

The Emperor and Nanjing were all in my hands.

Even if I ordered the guards standing behind me to throw Emperor Xuande into prison and declared that the Emperor had been deposed, no one would object.

Of course, they would have expected me to decide that way, but when I passed the ball to them, the relatives were also taken aback.

‘But it’s better to handle these kinds of issues neatly.’

Isn’t it better to say, “As a result of discussing with the family elders, we will remove the incompetent eldest grandson from the family register,” than to suddenly barge in with gangsters, drag out the eldest grandson, and declare that you’re swallowing this house from now on?

As silence lingered with no one coming forward, I opened my mouth.

“The Emperor is… misguided, and the crisis of the Jongmyo [royal ancestral shrine] has reached this point. Therefore, I propose to the various princes that we depose the Emperor. Does anyone object?”

I said, looking around.

There was no way anyone would object.

Even Prince Yeong, who had been talking about guaranteeing Emperor Xuande’s safety, did not object.

At that moment, Emperor Xuande’s fate was sealed.

As the relatives, who had been watching the situation, hesitantly expressed their agreement, Emperor Xuande shouted with a heart spitting blood.

“You, traitors!”

Emperor Xuande gnashed his teeth, but all he could do was resent.

While Emperor Xuande was being dragged away, Prince Yeong, who had been watching with his arms crossed, casually threw in a word.

“The Queen Dowager’s decree will be needed.”

He was referring to Queen Dowager Jang, the legal wife of Emperor Hongxi and the mother of Emperor Xuande.

“Are you saying that the resolution of the princes gathered here is not sufficient?”

“If the King has occupied Nanjing and taken the Emperor as a prisoner, then it doesn’t matter how you dispose of him. But isn’t the King gathering the princes to overcome the crisis of the Great Ming?”

If going through these formalities was my intention, then he was saying to do it more thoroughly.

“The Queen Dowager will consider the Emperor and his sons as good as dead if the Emperor is deposed. She is a strong-willed person, so she will not easily issue a decree.”

Prince Yeong continued to offer advice that wasn’t advice.

“She will not readily agree unless it is a content that deposes the Emperor and allows his sons to inherit the throne.”

Crown Prince Zhu Qizhen and his half-brother Zhu Qiyu were not even ten years old yet.

Besides, to depose Emperor Xuande and enthrone his son, there was no reason for me to do such a stupid thing.

“There are many ways.”

The world has already changed, and there is only so much the Queen Dowager can do even if she resists.

There is also a way to press her hand and force her to write the decree.

But that’s too cheap.

“Bring Hwang Eom.”

When I was advancing to Gangnam, I had sent a message to Joseon to bring Hwang Eom.

At that time, I had seized the momentum, so it was to grasp the secret affairs of the Ming Dynasty, but I didn’t know it would be used like this.

* * *

Queen Dowager Jang, the mother of Emperor Xuande, was among the procession fleeing with Emperor Xuande.

Naturally, she also became a prisoner when the Emperor was captured by Prince Yeong.

After entering Nanjing, she was temporarily enshrined back in the Queen Dowager’s Palace, but that was it.

She had no freedom to step out of the palace where she stayed, so in reality, it was nothing more than a splendid prison.

Nevertheless, Queen Dowager Jang was refusing to write the deposition decree.

“As a woman, I have no intention of interfering in state affairs.”

I could have rebuked her more directly not to make nonsense, but I couldn’t act recklessly considering the aftermath.

Hwang Eom said with a sly smile.

“With the Emperor confined due to his misguided state, all the officials are only looking to the Queen Dowager. How can the Queen Dowager abandon the wishes of all under heaven?”

Even the Queen Dowager, who had maintained her composure in the face of constant demands, could not help but say a word here.

“How dare you, as a subject, confine the Emperor and talk about his misguided state!”

However, Hwang Eom did not back down and retorted.

“Consider it fortunate that the King of Joseon is treating you like this!”

“What, what did you say?”

“If His Majesty the King of Joseon so desires, there is no need to receive any decree!”

Did the Jin or Yuan dynasties depose Emperor Huizong, Emperor Qinzong, or Emperor Gongzong while receiving the Queen Dowager’s decree?

They had only received their ‘surrender’.

The fact that they are even giving the weak treatment of the Son of Heaven is only because they want you to cooperate with the King of Joseon’s will.

If you do not cooperate willingly, you can turn the Nanjing Palace into a sea of blood.

The Queen Dowager was speechless with anger at Hwang Eom’s threat.

After staring at Hwang Eom for a long time, she opened her mouth.

“Can you guarantee the lives of the Emperor and the children?”

If she refused, the King of Joseon would try to force her son to abdicate, and he would surely refuse.

Then, all that would be left is death.

The Queen Dowager did not know what kind of ending those who did not willingly vacate the throne had met.

So, she had no choice but to depose her son first with her own hands.

The Queen Dowager barely understood this far. All that remained was to get confirmation.

“That depends on how the Queen Dowager decides.”

“It’s an important issue, so I can’t do as you wish if you don’t answer.”

In the original history, Queen Dowager Jang first sent off her son, Emperor Xuande, and sponsored the reign of her grandson, Emperor Zhengtong.

In the process, she showed resolute determination and was highly praised, but in the current situation, she was only a powerless woman worried about the safety of her son and grandson.

“If everything goes well, I plan to bring you to Joseon to spend the rest of your life.”

“Joseon?”

The Queen Dowager’s eyes fluttered.

To the Queen Dowager, who had only lived in the palace, Joseon was nothing more than a distant foreign land.

“This is also for the Emperor. If he remains in the Central Plains, unscrupulous people will constantly plot conspiracies, won’t they?”

Hwang Eom added a word to help the Queen Dowager’s decision.

“Princess Bokyeong, who was a member of our palace, is also living well in Joseon after marrying there. Considering the affection of the previous generation, wouldn’t she be able to protect you?”

When he mentioned Ju So-hwa, the Queen Dowager’s eyes widened.

She was a princess whom her mother-in-law had raised like her own daughter.

Perhaps if she remembers the affection at that time, she will lend her strength to save the Emperor’s life even after he is dragged to Joseon.

“…….”

The Queen Dowager pondered, then picked up a brush with trembling hands.

And she asked Hwang Eom.

“Who should inherit the next throne?”

It was as if Emperor Xuande’s direct line had already been excluded from the throne.

However, even excluding those who died young, such as Ju Cham-eun and Prince Deung, Ju Cham-gae, Emperor Xuande still had seven younger brothers.

Two of them were also born to Queen Dowager Jang.

If you add the sons and grandsons of Emperor Hongwu, the candidates number in the hundreds, so perhaps the candidate that Joseon wants is among them.

But Hwang Eom shook his head and said.

“Write anyone.”

“Anyone.”

The Queen Dowager couldn’t help but feel absurd, but Hwang Eom said nonchalantly.

“Since the land of the Great Ming will soon be handed over to His Majesty the King of Joseon, what does it matter if someone briefly passes through that position?”

The Queen Dowager could not help but feel miserable at the declaration that she would openly be made to warm the throne.

I would rather she had presented me with a candidate and I could have accepted it without thinking about it.

The Queen Dowager is also a parent.

No matter how briefly the throne is passed, once you ascend to that position, you will have to be checked until you die.

I didn’t want to put my sons in such a position.

The same goes for other concubines. Still, as the sons of her husband, Emperor Hongxi, they are people she has raised with affection.

‘Rather Prince Yeong……?’

The resentment of attacking the royal carriage had not yet disappeared, but he was a man with considerable ability and ambition, so he might actively try to fight with the King of Joseon to preserve the Ming Dynasty.

‘But in that vortex, I might accidentally…….’

If Emperor Xuande and his grandsons are hurt, wouldn’t it all be for nothing?

Besides, this is too obvious a trick to sow discord.

If the King of Joseon is trying to test her true intentions by passing on the decision to her to decide who will take over the throne, wouldn’t it be like walking into a dead end?

The Queen Dowager pondered for a moment, then slowly moved the brush.