There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 81

“After visiting the Northeast, I realized that the foundation of the country needs to be established comprehensively.”

I emphasized the underdeveloped situation in the Northeast.

Even in modern times, I was used to traveling around underdeveloped areas, so I wasn’t too shocked, but that doesn’t mean I can just stand by and do nothing.

“Come to think of it, you’ve only stayed in Hanyang [present-day Seoul] and Gaeseong [a city in North Korea near the DMZ],” Lee Bang-won said.

The two cities were at least full of noble families and relatively well-off people.

I’ve also been to Geumju and Bupyeong, but they’re in Gyeonggi Province anyway.

Lee Bang-won seemed to think I was shocked because I had gone down to a distant province for the first time.

‘Hanyang and Gaeseong aren’t much compared to modern times.’

I didn’t bother to bring that up.

I just said this.

“The Northeast is where our royal family originated, yet it is very underdeveloped.”

“That’s right. It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped.”

“It’s not something that can’t be helped. I have improved their lives, albeit in a small way.”

I said, looking at Lee Bang-won.

The tools I made will help them, even if only a little.

The same was true for the development of the Dancheon silver mine, the opening of markets, and the launch of maritime trade.

“The people of the Northeast are quick and easy to connect with the Jurchens [a Tungistic people who lived in Northeast Asia]. We can’t afford to miss out, even for the future of Joseon [the Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897].”

Thanks to Lee Seong-gye [founder and first king of the Joseon dynasty], I was able to seize the connection with the Northeast.

I was going to take this opportunity to strengthen it much more.

Lee Bang-won closed his eyes.

“Standing before you, I feel my inadequacy so keenly.”

I smiled and comforted him.

“Am I not your son? As your child, I am simply embracing what you had to miss due to various circumstances.”

“You only say what I want to hear. You clever fellow.”

‘Cough.’

Lee Bang-won hugged me again and rubbed his beard on my cheek.

‘Ugh, this beard.’

Lee Bang-won was a capable monarch.

Under his reign, Joseon quickly stabilized, and it flourished during the reign of King Sejong, who succeeded him.

However, if I embrace those whom Lee Bang-won failed to embrace, wouldn’t there be a way to develop further?

Just like how I cared about the Northeast.

“That’s right. The king must care not only for the capital but for all of Joseon. No matter how developed Hanyang or Gaeseong may be, if the lives of the provinces cannot improve, it is no different from a dead country.”

Lee Bang-won said.

“Since his son is taking the lead, how can the father just stand by?”

Lee Bang-won said.

“I will implement the land survey. I have already ordered the investigation of land ownership and fertility in the Eastern and Western Border Defense Commands. It’s terribly slow, though.”

In Joseon, an agricultural nation, investigating households and land was an important national project.

However, the administrative manpower was limited, so progress was slow, and in the meantime, there were often discrepancies between reality and the survey results.

“Thanks to you, the administrative capabilities of the officials have improved, but there are still not enough people.”

“Is that so?”

I scratched my head.

Besides, most of the officials who were out in the provinces, excluding the central government, had never received any information processing training.

I hesitated whether to give Lee Bang-won advice, but I made up my mind.

‘Now that I’ve decided to take a new path, I shouldn’t hesitate.’

“How about mobilizing the temples?”

Lee Bang-won frowned, but I didn’t care.

‘Monks are easy to handle, after all.’

They were mobilized to bake roof tiles, make paper, and now they were brought into the printing press business.

I continued.

“Although Buddhist monks have been neglected since the founding of the country, they still have an influence on the people.”

It is a loss to let the literate class, who are more closely connected to the people than anyone else, idle under the pretext of suppressing Buddhism.

“Besides, we’re not giving them great authority. We just need to order the temples in each district to help identify households.”

Is it too much to ask them to be low-level census takers?

I had heard that in the past, churches in the West were in charge of practical administration.

Because the church oversaw birth and death registrations, they were able to properly identify the population without much effort.

The temples may not be able to replace local administration like Western churches, but they can be used as a supplementary means.

Lee Bang-won, with his pragmatic tendencies, seemed quite interested in my argument.

“Whether they are Confucian scholars or Buddhist monks, as long as they lead the people to the right path, is that wrong?”

“Hmm.”

Lee Bang-won had been listening to the persuasion that monks could help with the land survey and household registration for a long time.

“It’s difficult to decide on this matter here. I’ll think about it.”

Even Lee Bang-won couldn’t move rashly on this issue.

‘Should I start a Buddhist purification movement to calm public opinion?’

I brought up another topic.

“And about the maritime trade.”

“Are you saying you’re going to use the Jurchens? We might be able to go out to the distant sea, but aren’t those guys too ferocious and dangerous?”

Lee Bang-won asked.

“That’s the important thing. If things go well, Joseon will be able to hold a knife.”

I said with a smile.

“No, weren’t you just saying that it’s important to spread the right way?”

Lee Bang-won asked, dumbfounded.

“That’s for internally, and externally, we need friends to do the dirty work.”

What I had in mind was privateer pirates.

If we use the Jurchens, Joseon can deny it as much as they want.

‘If they turn their swords this way, it’s easy to suppress them without mercy.’

They have sailing experience, are tough, and are easy to cut off if necessary.

Why wouldn’t I use them?

‘We’re suffering from Japanese pirates [Wokou].’

When I brought up that story, Lee Bang-won sighed.

“Japanese pirates are a problem anyway.”

Like a hellgate opened in Goryeo [predecessor Korean dynasty, 918-1392] a generation ago, Japan was also divided into the Northern and Southern Courts and fought a fierce civil war for a while.

That was why Japanese pirates became so rampant at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty.

Now that it has been patched up, Japan is also cracking down internally and has decreased a lot, but Japanese pirates are still rampant.

Last year, Gyeongsang Province was looted, and this year, Jeolla Province was looted.

“Even though we sent troops to Tsushima Island [an island in Japan, located between the Korean Peninsula and Kyushu] twice during the reign of King Chang of Goryeo and the Grand King, it hasn’t decreased.”

“So, let’s rob the Tsushima Island guys in reverse.”

Even if we use both appeasement and hard-line tactics, Japanese pirates don’t stop.

So, Taejong [third king of Joseon] also conquered Tsushima Island after stepping down as King.

‘It doesn’t seem to have been very effective, though.’

“We must either occupy the land so that they can never make a move, or give them back what we have suffered.”

“But Tsushima Island is a land that only brings losses even if we get it.”

Lee Bang-won said that.

Occupying Tsushima Island to prevent Japanese pirates would not be of great benefit.

Moreover, if the Japanese shogunate also annexes Tsushima Island, they will definitely not stand still.

Lee Bang-won thought that there was no need to occupy that small island, even if it meant enduring diplomatic friction.

“Unless we can find an advantage that we can gain by governing Tsushima Island and a way to diplomatically resolve this, it will be difficult.”

It wasn’t a fight that ended by just raising troops and occupying here and there like in a game.

‘Hmm?’

I tilted my head.

I was only thinking about stabbing Tsushima Island using Jurchen pirates, but I wasn’t thinking about occupying it.

However, looking at the problems that Lee Bang-won pointed out, I felt like something was coming to mind.

‘Hmm.’

Should I keep it in mind for now?

===

“Your Highness!”

The officials of the Hanyang Construction Bureau welcomed me.

Why do they all look so fresh?

Did they eat well and sleep well while I was away?

But those people were only the Hwang Maeng-heo trio.

The officials under them looked even more emaciated.

“Damn it, without Your Highness, the three of them are acting like nagging mothers…”

“It’s not like they’re paying back as much as they’ve been given, damn it.”

I hear strange noises.

Heo Jo said with a confident expression.

“After overseeing the work on behalf of Your Highness, I have realized something. As expected, things only work properly when you push your subordinates.”

“Oh, is that so?”

I was delighted.

“I am very pleased that you have realized my heart. I want to receive a report on the progress, so please go and bring the data quickly.”

There were voices of criticism from all over the place at Heo Jo’s tactless words.

Hwang Hee and Maeng Sa-seong glared at him.

“Ha, but I said the right thing.”

“That’s right. So, get hit.”

I think I hear the sound of hitting somewhere.

There were other achievements while I was away.

“You finally completed the press?”

“Yes.”

Choi Hae-san, who was in charge of development, looked dazed, but the disciples of Muhak [a Korean Buddhist monk and advisor to Taejo of Joseon] had a look of emotion on their faces.

I told them the structure of the press itself, but it took a considerable amount of time to implement it.

“The monks also worked hard.”

I said that.

“What do you mean? It’s all to spread the name of Buddha.”

The Buddhist monks looked at me and said that.

“It’s what the Dharma-protecting monarch has ordered, so we must do it with a happy heart.”

“Hahaha, the Dharma-protecting monarch.”

I just laughed like that.

I remembered the time when the officials of the Office of the Inspector General pushed that sound and made a fuss.

Those friends are still trapped in the gulag, doing ‘Saga Dokseo’ [forced reading of history books as punishment].

“There are rumors that Your Highness is the reincarnation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva [a bodhisattva who vowed to take responsibility for the instruction of all beings in the six worlds between the death of Gautama Buddha and the coming of Maitreya].”

“Cough!”

No-boon, who was standing behind, burst into laughter.

There were such rumors.

Even Lee Cheon said that there were strange stories circulating in the Military Arms Bureau these days.

‘A public figure named Mun Ga-hak is spreading rumors that His Highness the Crown Prince is the reincarnation of Chiwoo [a legendary figure regarded as the god of war], and he gathers people every ten days to pray.’

‘Isn’t that a bit dangerous?’

‘He calls himself a Taoist, but he can’t even see the astronomy and his attitude is poor, so he was kicked out of the Bureau of Astronomy. He’ll run out of money soon.’

The people below said that, so it’s okay.

I glanced at No-boon.

No-boon had also put him in the Military Arms Bureau and made him work.

“Have you ever been there?”

“The blacksmiths I used to work with kept urging me, so I went once.”

“Don’t you believe in that kind of thing?”

Then No-boon laughed and answered.

“The people there worship the benevolent blacksmiths’ god. I’ve been watching His Highness the Crown Prince from the side, so how can I believe such absurd words?”

I tilted my head at No-boon’s words.

‘That’s right, but why is it so annoying?’

===

Hwang Hee, Maeng Sa-seong, and Heo Jo, as the heads of the Hanyang Construction Bureau, reported to me.

“Hanyang construction is now entering the first stage of completion.”

Hanyang has been under construction since the time of Taejo [first king of Joseon] to make it the capital.

With the addition of the tools I made, the construction period was shortened beyond comparison.

The reconstruction of some sections of the castle has been completed, and the construction of the housing complex has also been completed.

“When Changdeokgung Palace [one of the Five Grand Palaces in Seoul] is completed soon, the court and the royal family will move to Hanyang early next year.”

Lee Bang-won hated Gyeongbokgung Palace [the largest of the Five Grand Palaces in Seoul] because of the memory of fighting with his brothers – although he was the one who took out the sword – so he was waiting for the construction of Changdeokgung Palace to be completed.

Hwang Hee, Maeng Sa-seong, and Heo Jo looked relieved.

It was because they had suffered a lot in the past year.

But this was only because they focused on equipping the capital with the appearance of the capital.

There was still a lot left to make Hanyang look the way I wanted it to.

“When we move the capital to Hanyang soon, we will establish a new plan.”

I said that.

“What is it?”

“Yeouido [a large island on the Han River in Seoul] development.”

The land I ate.

Shouldn’t we focus on developing this place?