There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 440

441. The Empire Will Prosper (3)

The years flew by like arrows.

Old ministers like Hwang Hui, Maeng Sa-seong, and Heo Jo had long departed, seemingly afraid I might seek them out. Their successors were also preparing to step down.

I had a conversation with Do, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.

“His Majesty has publicly announced the ‘Seven Up, Eight Down’ principle. During cabinet reshuffles, anyone sixty-seven or younger stays, but those sixty-eight or older are expected to retire gracefully,” Do said.

He continued, “He said that if someone continues to handle state affairs when their mind has dulled with age, it harms both the country and the individual.”

‘Well… I doubt many people live that long anyway, but there’s already a precedent,’ I thought.

Without rules like this, the court would become a senior citizens’ center.

‘The court needs a generational shift, and the Emperor would probably feel uncomfortable with the late Emperor’s close aides remaining.’

The ministers were overwhelmingly in favor.

They’d rather the Emperor set such a rule than see their seniors clinging to their positions until they died.

Considering the lifespan of Joseon people, sixty-seven is a very generous standard.

However, I wondered if this applied not only to the ministers but also to Dan himself.

“Is His Majesty also planning to retire when he reaches that age?”

“He has secured an heir, after all. Wouldn’t he think of raising him well and passing on the burden during his lifetime, like his brother?”

If this happens, a living abdication might become a tradition.

That is, if Dan succeeds in abdicating before he dies.

“You seem quite free, considering how busy you are with research?”

To my playful complaint that I was working myself to death while he was idle, I waved my hand and said, “I gave up the throne because I didn’t want to work. Why would I pour over research until I get nosebleeds? It’s obvious I won’t see the results before I die, so I’ll take it slow.”

Whether it’s computers or chemical fertilizers, it’s a long-term project.

I started it, but I don’t expect to see remarkable results while I’m alive.

My job is to accelerate the progress as much as possible.

Plus, the importance of research conducted by the retired Emperor is a bonus.

Now that I’ve touched it, no one will dare to suggest abandoning it.

No, even if a future Emperor tries to drop it, many will want to continue it.

Isn’t this a project that ‘I’ guaranteed success for, no less?

After seeing the excellent example of Biak, there’s no way the private sector won’t jump in.

Not to mention the industrial complexes formed by artisans.

Even apart from such practical technology development, groups of scholars are starting to take an interest in ‘science’.

The origin of these *otaku* [enthusiast or hobbyist] groups ‘who have no interest in officialdom and are devoted to hobbies’ is the old Shin Byung-ga.

Their names still remain like legends among the idle.

‘But those guys didn’t do such productive research, did they?’

I clicked my tongue and thought.

Well, scientific experiments aren’t exactly productive in this era either.

“So, unlike me, did the busy Prime Minister come here to talk about such trivial matters?”

“I’m not that busy either. It’s much more manageable than in Nanjing. In Nanjing, I had to oversee everything from start to finish.”

There’s a subtle barb in his words.

Overseeing is just a word; it was nothing less than building from scratch to extend Joseon’s governance, so he must have suffered quite a bit.

I cleared my throat and said.

“Thanks to that, the Central Plains are completely in Joseon’s hands. Your contribution was great.”

“It seems like the gentry govern about half of it… but I suppose so.”

What Do is referring to are the *Hyanghoe* (local councils) that have begun to emerge in the Central Plains.

East of the Grand Canal.

The coastal areas, which have close ties with Joseon, have administrative power spread evenly, no different from Zhili, but the situation is different in the west.

The *Hyangyak* (local agreements) formed by the gentry were effectively in charge of governing the countryside.

“Didn’t it operate similarly even during the Ming Dynasty?”

All Do and I did was officially recognize these *Hyanghoe* and grant them some autonomy.

With that alone, the gentry were grateful for the Emperor’s virtue.

‘It’s the gentry’s long-held dream to serve in the central government, but not all of them necessarily do.’

In a den of tigers, a fox is king.

The country had granted them the right to swagger in their own neighborhood, so they had no reason not to cooperate with Joseon.

“There’s no need to send magistrates to every corner of the vast Central Plains to interfere.”

Arbitrary governance of the countryside has its pros and cons, but if proper balance and cooperation are achieved, it’s convenient for Joseon to acknowledge that level of autonomy.

The gentry lead public opinion in the countryside.

It was clear that this influence was why the Han Chinese willingly accepted me, a Joseon person, as their Emperor.

“Just as Emperor Gaozu of Han abolished the strict laws of the Qin Dynasty and proclaimed the Three Laws, Your Majesty has ceased the rule of Legalism and is practicing governance by inaction, so wouldn’t they praise you as a truly wise and virtuous ruler?”

Legalistic rule is like a nose ring if you don’t like it, an earring if you do.

It feels like it’s just used to attack someone if they don’t like something, calling it Legalistic behavior, but fortunately, that kind of unfair attack seems to have missed me.

‘It was right to talk about virtuous rule and hand out some goodies.’

Rather, one of the major projects that I started and Dan finished was the compilation of the Six Codes (*yukbeop*) for the rule of law.

The Basic Law, which can be said to be the standard and principle of law at the top, and laws such as the Civil Code, Commercial Code, and Criminal Code were compiled below it, and domestic laws were enacted.

Until now, law in Joseon was merely a reference book, but now it’s different.

All judgments and punishments must be based on laws and precedents, not the arbitrary judgment of the ruler.

…At least in principle.

But once it was compiled, other countries began to adopt the Six Codes, just as old Joseon used the Great Ming Code.

The ‘standard’ of law in these countries would inevitably become that of Joseon.

If this is encouraging, it is indeed encouraging.

“Recently, there has been much talk about this issue. Master Ya-eun’s theory seems to be solidifying as the orthodox view among the *Sarim* [faction of Confucian scholars].”

Gil Jae himself could be considered an outsider among the scholars, but his disciples were a little different.

They worked as officials here and there, and before they knew it, they had established themselves as senior figures in the court, and now it was time for the disciples of their disciples to enter officialdom.

They had become a force that could never be called a minority.

“There are suggestions to introduce *Hyanghoe* to Zhili, and to implement the *Hyeollyang-gwa* [civil service examination] to create a body that advises the King with people recommended by the *Hyanghoe*…”

The *Hyanghoe* is like a local council in which the *Sarim* participate, and to select people recommended by the *Hyanghoe* through the *Hyeollyang-gwa*… is that like electing councilors through an indirect election?

“But the really dangerous words are circulating below the surface. They believe that the monarch receiving the Mandate of Heaven is the same as making a pact with the people, so His Majesty must also rule according to the established pact.”

In the East, law is traditionally synonymous with punishment (刑).

The monarch is a being who uses the law to govern the country, not a being who is bound by the law himself.

“What did the Emperor say?”

“He seems to be naturally displeased. But… isn’t the person currently running Ya-eun Academy the Father-in-law of the Nation?”

“If a purge breaks out, even the Crown Prince’s maternal relatives will be swept away.”

It’s fortunate that it stopped there.

I’ve been emphasizing family love so much while teaching the kids, it would be a real shame if they made a fuss about grinding their in-laws to dust.

I heard that Gyeong had wiped out all her younger brothers-in-law in Ryukyu, but let’s consider that an exception since it was self-defense.

…It was self-defense, right?

‘Although grinding in-laws is a family tradition.’

It would be burdensome for Dan to ruin his relationship with his daughter-in-law, which he had barely restored.

Above all, if he were to step forward and eliminate those involved with the Crown Prince’s maternal relatives, it could be seen as sending a strange signal regarding the succession.

He had managed to clean things up by sending the illegitimate children out.

Even if he wanted to immediately smash the heads of the rebellious elements, shouting, ‘This impious fellow!’, he had no choice but to postpone it for various reasons.

Perhaps Jeong Jong-seong taking over Ya-eun Academy after Gil Jae was in preparation for this situation.

‘It feels like Yeouido has accidentally become a zone of academic freedom.’

It really happened by chance.

The island in the middle of the Han River, close to the capital but isolated.

It’s quite exquisite that Gil Jae settled on Yeouido, where I planted my flag, and that the person who succeeded him was Jeong Jong-seong, the Father-in-law of the Nation.

Of course, even so, there’s no answer if the Imperial family really draws their swords.

‘They’re leaving it alone because they don’t think they have to go that far.’

Putting my hand on my chest, the demands spreading among the *Sarim* are not very welcome.

Since I worked so hard to build this country, my honest feeling is that it would be nice if my descendants could live as emperors for generations to come.

However, Yang Sa-gi’s words suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘Someday, Joseon’s Mandate will also come to an end. Someday, without fail.’

‘Tch.’

Yang Sa-gi’s thoughts were wrong.

The prediction that Joseon’s Mandate would also decline after a short reign of two hundred years was only limited to the world he had seen.

The rise and fall of national power depends on the absolute capabilities of the monarch.

‘Was this throne originally mine?’

That’s not true.

If we follow the original history, the throne would have gone to Do, who is in front of me.

That doesn’t mean he would have been a terrible ruler who would ruin the country.

If anything, quite the opposite.

‘Well, if I think about it that way, there’s nothing to regret.’

I have no intention of telling Dan what to do.

But I have no intention of forcibly stopping the flow of history either.

Even if the balance of power shifts elsewhere someday, if they have a conscience, they will continue to let my descendants be emperors.

Seeing my serious face, Do made a sullen expression.

“Actually, I didn’t come to see you to talk about such heavy things.”

“Ah.”

I was so busy talking about the state of affairs and the future that I was leaving out the main point.

“Recently, the King of Nangnang, who has newly acquired a country, sent an envoy to pay tribute, and he said that he should also pay his respects to the Retired Emperor, so I came to inform you.”

‘That was really nothing.’

Did you come all the way here just to talk about that?

I guess he came to see my face as well.

‘The envoys strangely seem to seek me out more than Dan, who is the Emperor.’

It’s understandable for the envoys sent by my grandson, but even when envoys come from far away in Europe or the Middle East, they always insist on paying a courtesy call to me.

I guess it’s because I’m so popular.

‘There was even a guy who said some nonsense about how his energy surges just by looking at my face.’

I’m not some Corn Flakes.

“Can’t we just consider it a greeting?”

“He brought especially precious treasures to give to you, so please meet him.”

“Precious treasures, my foot….”

I didn’t expect much.

I’m not very impressed with gold and silver treasures, and the things that people in this era rave about as amazing are often nothing special to my eyes.

Still, I can’t not meet him since my grandson sent him.

“Tell him to come to the Blue House soon.”