There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 429

430. A Tree with Many Branches (4)

Before the elderly Hwanghee crossed the River Styx [a mythological river separating the world of the living from the underworld], never to return, he barely managed to calm his agitated blood and energy.

“This, this cannot be happening!”

Hwanghee shouted, his eyes bloodshot.

It was hard to believe this was the same old man who always said, ‘Your words are also correct,’ with a chuckle. Now, his eyes were completely red.

Meng Saseong and Heo Jo’s reactions weren’t as intense as Hwanghee’s, but they were similar.

These old ministers, who once shared all the glory with the Emperor and wielded power that could bring down even flying birds, now had only one wish.

To retire before their movements became too difficult, enjoy their grandchildren’s antics, and receive a splendid posthumous title when they entered their coffins.

If they couldn’t retire, they shouldn’t let the Emperor retire alone.

This was by no means a spiteful attitude.

In any case, the throne wasn’t something that could be easily given and taken like an object, so how could they watch the Emperor retire when it wasn’t even time yet?

If they were loyal subjects, they should at least bang their heads on the steps at times like this.

The old ministers clenched their fists, burning with loyalty in their twilight years.

* * *

Now, they were trying to keep the abdication story a secret, but a complete secret was impossible.

The fact that the Emperor’s younger brother, Prince Jin, Yi Do, had returned to Hanseong [present-day Seoul] and was meeting only with the Emperor’s closest confidants was enough for those with keen senses to catch a whiff of something.

Among them, those with ambition soon turned their heads towards the vacant position of Crown Prince.

“The Crown Princess is still young; what if she gives birth to a son?”

“That’s why we need to push for the establishment of an heir quickly. If that happens, what does it matter if a legitimate son is born?”

According to Yi Bangwon’s national policy, which had instilled a hatred of illegitimate sons during the process of ascending to the throne, the rights of succession for legitimate and illegitimate sons in Joseon were in a completely hierarchical relationship.

However, there was a way to overturn this solid order.

An illegitimate son adopted as a legal son had equal rights with a legitimate son.

In most cases of adoption, it was because there were no sons, so even if a biological child was born later, the adopted son would inherit the throne as the eldest son.

That’s how Prince Gwanghae in history was able to ascend to the throne despite countless attempts to use Grand Prince Yeongchang to shake him.

“Even if the Crown Princess gives birth to a legitimate son, it won’t be easy to kick out an already adopted son.”

“But would the Crown Princess accept this in the first place?”

“The Empress has shown a positive reaction. The Crown Prince already cherishes his son, so if the Emperor approves, what does the Crown Princess’s opinion matter?”

What mattered was the opinion of the elders of the royal family.

The only one who said to wait and see was the Emperor, and the others were reacting with ‘Well… it’s not that urgent…’, so there was still no progress.

However, if the Emperor was truly thinking of handing over the throne, it meant he was stepping down from the front lines, so wouldn’t there be a significant change in his heart?

The day when the future power, the Crown Prince, would rise was not far off.

Among those who shared these thoughts, reactions soon began to appear.

* * *

“Invade Annam [historical name for Vietnam]?”

Yi Dan asked with a sullen expression.

“That is correct. His Majesty has long issued a decree rebuking Annam’s presumptuous etiquette, but Annam King Yeo Wonryong is reviving the customs of the Celestial Empire [traditional name for China] and calling himself the Emperor of Da Viet [historical name for Vietnam]. We cannot let this stand.”

Yi Dan crossed his arms and said in a low voice.

“But all the military power is under the control of Father. Even though I am in charge of the regency, it is an area I cannot dare to touch.”

“Therefore, I suggest you petition the Emperor.”

“Hmm…”

The current King of Annam, Yeo Wonryong, had visited Nanjing [historical capital of China] ten years ago as the Crown Prince.

It was to celebrate Yi Je’s enthronement and abdication.

Not long after he returned home, King Yeo of Annam died, and Yeo Chal, a meritorious subject of the founding, seized the reins of power as the regent, taking advantage of Yeo Wonryong’s young age.

Around this time, the Joseon court, having detected Annam’s situation of outwardly being a kingdom but inwardly being an empire, sent an envoy to rebuke them.

Yeo Chal was not foolish, even though he was said to be uneducated and arrogant.

Joseon had not only conquered all of China but its status surpassed even the old Ming Dynasty.

He was nominally a war veteran, but he had no intention of waging war against an opponent he wasn’t sure he could win against, especially after experiencing a second season of resistance against Ming.

For that reason, he quietly bowed his head and agreed to internally demote all positions below the monarch and reorganize the etiquette of a vassal state.

However, the story changed as King Yeo Wonryong came of age.

Yeo Wonryong held Yeo Chal accountable for his crimes, executed him, implicated and removed his followers, and confiscated their family’s property.

The charge itself was that he had disrespected the monarch, which was a capital offense, but the problem was that he based it on the fact that Yeo Chal had dared to yield to foreign pressure and undermine the dignity of the monarch.

As the justification was justification, Yeo Wonryong revived the etiquette of outwardly being a kingdom but inwardly being an empire, and the Joseon court took this sensitively.

“But Father doesn’t seem to want to get involved.”

Yi Je had witnessed how much Hongxi Emperor, who succeeded Yongle Emperor, had struggled to manage the Annam front.

Moreover, he had heard of the notoriety of the Vietnam War in modern times, so he didn’t want to get involved in a war with Vietnam.

‘Is there any reason to go to war now?’

Inwardly, Yi Je thought that as long as they outwardly submitted, there was no need to touch them.

However, the aides who assisted Yi Dan had a different opinion.

To them, Joseon was a powerful nation that even the Ming Dynasty could not treat carelessly since their childhood, and by the time they had grown up, it was a nation that had already overthrown the Ming Dynasty and become an empire.

It was only natural that they would call for the conquest of Annam, which was stuck in a small corner.

Moreover, many of them were a kind of military aristocracy who had entered Yi Dan’s service with dreams of success.

They were eager because they could only advance and take care of the northern people if there was a war.

Annam was an easy opponent compared to Joseon, and the justification was good.

They were also among those who were looking forward to Yi Dan’s reign instead of Yi Je, who was passive in military action.

“Ming also conquered Annam, but soon had to withdraw its troops and officials. There is some truth in your words, but I need to consider it carefully.”

Yi Dan also had a great desire to achieve great things during his regency.

He couldn’t match his father, who had accomplished so many great achievements that it was difficult to list them all, but if he could defeat Annam, which was showing an insolent attitude, he would be qualified as a successor.

Moreover, this was a matter related to the military, in which he had a deep interest.

But for some reason, he felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head, and he felt that he shouldn’t bring this to his father as it was.

So, he headed to the Crown Princess’s palace.

He couldn’t say that his relationship with the Crown Princess had been that good, but recently he had been visiting the Crown Princess’s palace frequently.

“Were you holding a Buddhist service again today?”

“Buddhist service… yes, well, yes.”

The Crown Princess readily agreed, but Joan of Arc, who had her face covered with a veil, nodded awkwardly.

Even if the Crown Prince tried to call Joan of Arc to talk, it was likely to be criticized for sitting face to face with a Western Buddhist nun.

But it was different for the Crown Princess.

Moreover, Buddhist services were related to the production of an heir.

In fact, almost no officials thought it would have any efficacy or effect, but except for Prince Gye, Yi Bo, there was no one who wanted to be targeted by ruining it.

Rather, there was considerable sympathy for the Crown Princess, saying that she was relying on Buddhist services because she had no other choice.

So, Yi Dan was using his wife’s Buddhist service as an excuse to bring an unofficial advisor into the Crown Prince’s palace.

For the record, no one listened to the voice that stubbornly insisted that this was not a Buddhist service but spiritual guidance. In the eyes of Confucian scholars, Buddhism and Catholicism were the same.

“Why do you look so troubled? Is there something on your mind?”

Yi Dan nodded at his wife’s words.

“There is a petition to conquer Annam, and I am thinking about it.”

At his words, the Crown Princess said in surprise.

“Since the Great Dynasty is in charge of all military power, who dares to say such a thing? They are the ones who are trying to divide the friendship between father and son, so the Crown Prince must never listen to such voices.”

It wasn’t wrong, but Yi Dan always felt uncomfortable because he felt like he was being lectured when he was in front of the Crown Princess.

Moreover, weren’t these things that he had already thought about?

Yi Dan became rather sullen and said.

“I am still a son, so how could I touch Father’s heart with such a thing?”

“The Crown Prince is the Emperor’s precious son, so you must be even more careful with your actions.”

“Our family doesn’t act so stiffly with each other.”

This was the pattern of this couple, where the conversation went nowhere and the atmosphere became strange, causing the Crown Prince to leave.

But now the story was slightly different.

Since the Crown Prince had come to seek advice from someone other than his wife anyway, he turned his head and asked.

“What does General Jang think?”

But Joan of Arc said.

“I am an outsider to the royal family, so I do not know how the Joseon Emperor will react. But if we are only discussing whether to start a war, I have no choice but to oppose it.”

“Why?”

“According to the voice of heaven, I have roamed the battlefield to uphold the will of the Lord. But even for me, who received the Lord’s protection, the war did not end easily. Countless lives disappeared in the muddy waters. The cries of young children and the wails of widows still linger in my ears.”

Joan of Arc continued.

“I went to the battlefield with the determination to save France by following God’s revelation, but I was also human, so I inevitably committed sins. It is right to avoid such slaughter if possible.”

“It is a monk-like saying, but some sacrifice is inevitable in the face of a military matter of the country. How do you think as a military officer?”

Yi Dan nodded and asked, and she replied.

“I heard that Annam is a distant foreign country. The Joseon army probably does not know the land, climate, and terrain well.”

“But don’t we have poison fog?”

Yi Dan thought that there was no army in the world that could beat the Joseon army right now.

And that was somewhat true.

“At first, weapons may guarantee victory, but as it did in France, there will be constant resistance in Annam.

There will be nothing to gain at the end of such a war, so wouldn’t His Majesty oppose it for that reason?”

Indeed, even Yi Dan thought that there was not much to gain from conquering a country like Annam.

At best, it would be rice that could be harvested twice a year, but that was already being brought in abundantly from Jiangnan [region in China south of the Yangtze River].

“If you want to restore prestige, wouldn’t there be other ways? I heard that China made similar demands on this country in the past.”

The option presented by Joan of Arc was also quite pleasing to Yi Dan.

As the nagging problem was resolved, Yi Dan’s uncomfortable feelings were also somewhat relieved.

So, even after finishing his business, he did not leave the bedchamber, and for the first time in a long time, the couple went to bed together.

This can also be said to be a blessing unintentionally bestowed by the strangely twisted saint.