There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 424

425. The World Now (5)

The two men casually set aside the topics of evangelism and transitioned to a more congenial discussion about Joseon’s artifacts—primarily gunpowder and weapons.

The specific details of how many people to send were not within the representatives’ purview.

Such matters were the responsibility of the staff under them.

The bishops of the Vatican, under Cardinal Vitelleschi’s direction, immediately began selecting priests.

Joseon requested individuals with a basic understanding of Western learning, but the Vatican naturally prioritized its own interests over Joseon’s specific requests.

While appearing to accommodate these requests, the Vatican selected those who were either devout enough to evangelize in a foreign land or, conversely, those they considered problematic.

Including a nun whom Vitelleschi subtly deemed a nuisance was easily managed.

* * *

In 1431, as Joseon was embroiled in a bloody battle with Ming China,

a fierce struggle was also unfolding on the other side of the world.

This was the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, a rivalry that would persist for centuries.

Although there were periods of truce, the war had dragged on for a century, and even the king was weary of it.

Charles VII of the Valois dynasty, having gained the upper hand, was eager to focus on peace negotiations, but Joan of Arc, who led the French army, disagreed.

She insisted that they press on until England surrendered.

Charles VII had ascended to the throne with Joan of Arc’s help, but by this point, she had become an inconvenient obstacle.

As Joan of Arc gradually became a liability, she independently set out to relieve Compiègne, defying the king’s passive military stance, only to be captured by Burgundian forces.

This occurred in May of 1430.

In reality, Charles VII felt as though a troublesome tooth had been extracted, and he immediately initiated damage control.

In the original timeline, Charles VII would have remained steadfastly unresponsive, ignoring the fervent pleas for rescue from the French people, the rescue attempts, and even Count Ligny’s offer to release her for a ransom.

However, as fate would have it, the tides of history, already beginning to shift, did not leave France untouched.

“Antoing… has fallen?”

France is, without a doubt, the eldest daughter of Catholicism.

They had previously demonstrated filial piety that would have impressed Yi Bang-won [King Taejong of Joseon, known for his ruthlessness] by imprisoning the Pope in Avignon.

About four hundred years later, Napoleon imprisoned the Pope once more, making them twice as filial.

In any case, this ardent daughter currently had two fathers: Pope Eugene VIII in Rome and Antipope Felix V.

However, Felix V, even as an antipope, had never been widely recognized, and he was now further besieged by the wealthy Vatican and Venice, which were thriving in Rome.

Naturally, the eldest daughter’s allegiance was clearly leaning toward one father.

Felix V was furious at France’s stance.

However, the true identity of this Antipope Felix V was Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy.

Although he had passed the duchy on to his son, his power base was originally the Duchy of Savoy.

In fact, Savoy was the only place that largely recognized him as Pope.

Feeling his very survival threatened, Savoy abandoned its previous cautious stance and decided to seriously switch sides.

England and Burgundy were desperate to bring Savoy into their alliance.

Even in the original timeline, Savoy supported Duke Louis of Orange, who sought to conquer Dauphiné in southeastern France to expand his power, and Burgundy.

However, the intervention of the Antipope, whose position had weakened, went beyond mere support.

Felix V, hoping to ride the coattails of England and Burgundy, went all-in for survival.

June 1430.

The battle of Antoing, fought over the control of Dauphiné, quickly turned in favor of the Burgundy-Savoy alliance.

“What is happening…? We had already won the battle! What grudge does Savoy hold against us to do this!”

As Charles VII was about to dedicate himself to peace negotiations, the sudden opening of the southern front made him feel like King Seonjo [King of Joseon during the Japanese invasions] upon hearing that the Japanese army had invaded again.

And his subsequent decision was similar to Seonjo’s.

Just as there was no one to salvage the Battle of Chilcheonryang [a devastating naval defeat for Joseon] besides Yi Sun-sin [a renowned Joseon admiral], there was no one to salvage this situation besides Joan of Arc.

With tears in his eyes, Charles VII borrowed money from Venice and succeeded in regaining custody of Joan of Arc.

And Joan of Arc, as Yi Sun-sin had done, proved once again that she lived up to her name.

The victorious Allied forces were pushed back, becoming the sacrifice for Joan of Arc’s return, but the front lines of the Hundred Years’ War remained deadlocked.

As the constantly shifting front lines solidified and only tedious peace negotiations were exchanged, the differences in opinion between Charles VII and Joan of Arc resurfaced.

Charles VII subtly signaled Joan of Arc to retire, but she, already a national hero, had no intention of understanding them.

If she would not retire on her own, she would have to be forced to do so.

Joan of Arc was dispatched to Rome to convey Charles VII’s intention to completely abandon Felix V and support the Roman Pope.

She naively headed to Rome, also intending to make a pilgrimage, and never set foot on French soil again.

* * *

The Vatican, which had experienced great “filial piety” in Avignon just half a century ago, found it difficult to reject Charles VII’s pressure.

Moreover, not only France but also England was eager to burn the national icon Joan of Arc at the stake.

Burning filial piety and burning hatred.

The Vatican’s decision not to return Joan of Arc was partly due to succumbing to the pressure from both countries, but it was also a protective measure for her.

However, from Vitelleschi’s perspective, who was in charge of her protection, it was truly a living hell.

He wanted to lock this country girl in a monastery and forget about her, but as long as the war between France and England continued, her presence would undoubtedly continue to be a focal point.

However, if he were to send her back to be purged by France or burned at the stake by England, what would the world think of the Vatican?

There was only one way to solve this problem.

‘Send her to a place from which she can never return.’

Even the justification was sound.

“Joseon is a great nation in the East, but the word of the Lord has not yet reached there. We are looking for someone to preach the gospel there, and if you, Sister, were to go, it would be a great help.”

Joan of Arc, veiled, listened to the words in silence.

The priest suddenly felt uneasy looking at her.

He had heard that she had once caused a commotion demanding to be sent back to her homeland but had suddenly become quiet, so he came hoping there was room for persuasion, but why was she saying nothing?

As she remained silent until the end of the story, the priest fidgeted, and then Joan opened her mouth.

“I knew from the beginning that I would be taken prisoner.”

“Yes?”

“At the walls of Meleun, I heard the voices of Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret. They said that I would be captured by the enemy before John’s Day, but the Lord would help me, so I should not be afraid and accept it.”

This meant that she had foreseen being taken prisoner by Burgundy.

“And that was true. I was able to be released without any injuries.”

Joan continued.

“Also, since I was destined to be a prisoner, I prayed that I would not suffer for long and would die immediately.

But they told me that I had to accept everything.”

“……”

The priest closed his mouth, unable to affirm or deny Joan’s claim that she had heard the words of the saints.

However, Joan of Arc continued without paying attention.

“They didn’t tell me when that would be… but I think it’s now.”

A strong force dwelled in Joan’s eyes.

“It seems the Lord is about to give me another mission.”

* * *

Joseon does not accept all the personnel that the Vatican provides without vetting them.

In all likelihood, those taken to Joseon would be subjected to intense translation and instruction, leaving them no chance to plot disloyalty and forcing them to reveal everything they knew, but at the very least, they had to ascertain their basic personal information.

Moreover, if the target was a random Buddhist nun—as the Joseon people perceived her—this was even more crucial.

“Not a Buddhist nun? And young too! We asked for learned monks, but they included a woman to do chores?”

Bulmokhani [a term for a female servant in a Buddhist temple] is a servant who does odd jobs in a temple.

As Min-chu frowned and asked, Seong-seung replied.

“I said so too, but this person is very skilled in military strategy despite being a woman. I don’t think she is someone to be taken lightly.”

Seong-seung, claiming to be a fellow military officer, rattled off Joan’s background, but Min-chu coldly dismissed it.

“A woman like Dang Sae-a!”

Dang Sae-a was also a member of a cult and a heroine who led a peasant revolt against the Ming Dynasty.

The talk of a holy maiden did not seem much different from the nonsense of the White Lotus sect, which worshiped Dang Sae-a as the Buddha Mother.

‘Is it really okay to take such a person?’

Surely the noblemen of the home country would not welcome such a woman.

There was a risk of being impeached for being deceived by heresy and bringing in a strange woman.

Even now, Lee-je [likely a reference to King Sejong] was showing signs of gradually giving strength to the Censors [officials who monitored the government], whom he had silenced because he was tired of their nagging.

For those who wanted to make achievements, he, a relative of the king and not a major force in the court, would be a good target.

As he was the king’s cousin, he would not physically lose his head, but he did not want to lose it politically either.

He had come out with the position of envoy, and he did not want to be caught up in gossip.

‘But His Highness the Crown Prince may think differently.’

Everyone knew that Crown Prince Lee Dan had inherited the martial spirit that ran strongly in the imperial family.

Wasn’t he the one who had personally led the troops in the last war and even taken Ju-yeong’s head?

‘Hmm.’

Min-chu stroked his chin.

The Crown Prince currently has no significant relatives on his mother’s side.

The Crown Prince’s maternal family is, without a doubt, the old Ming Dynasty imperial family.

However, all of its direct descendants had been slaughtered or demoted, and even the collateral lines, which had preserved considerable power, had their bases in Nanjing.

The Jeong family, the Crown Prince’s in-laws, had not yet produced a grandson from the Crown Princess, and their power was not comparable to that of the Yeoheung Min clan.

So, if the Crown Prince’s favor continued, the Yeoheung Min clan was likely to continue to wield power.

What if he, his fifth cousin, brought this woman who had made a name for herself in her own way?

Of course, it was not the idea of offering a Buddhist nun as a concubine to the Crown Prince.

Min-chu was not that crazy.

Rather, it was closer to the concept of bringing a person who the Crown Prince would find interesting as a gift.

After much deliberation, Min-chu concluded, ‘Let’s just take her.’

Wasn’t it up to the king to distinguish the good from the bad?

“This woman’s name is Jang Dal-gu (張㺚寇), you said?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

In the court, a massive Hangul-only notation movement was underway even in the administrative sphere, but habits are not easily changed.

The same was true of transliteration.

‘Writing it like this, it really sounds like a barbarian name.’

However, the Joseon people in this place did not find this transliteration strange because it was much more familiar than her name written in the national script, Hangul.

“I know a little about these people’s customs, and the surname goes after the name. So it’s not Jang, but Dal-gu. I’m sure of it. It must be because she is a descendant of the Western Barbarians (西㺚) that she uses such a surname.”

Joan of Arc had suddenly become a descendant of the Oirat, but from the perspective of the Joseon people, who considered everything beyond the Suez to be Western Barbarians, it was none of their business.

Were not the names of the lowly always Eon-nyeon or Dog-poop [common, demeaning names]?

Even in noble families, childhood names were given lowly.

How much more so if the surname of a Western Barbarian girl was a barbarian bandit (㺚寇)?

Min-chu firmly believed so.