Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 16
[Episode 16: Germination…carcinogenesis? (9) ]
Episode 16 Germination… Carcinogenesis? (9)
‘The king swung the cane at the crown prince. ‘ ‘The ministers were reviled by the king.’ Rumors of this great incident began to spread throughout the capital.
Worried about losing face, ministers ordered people to keep quiet, but unless it was a state secret, it was only a matter of time before those who liked to talk spoke out.
As a result, the rumor spread at the speed of light. As a result, less than five days later, there was not a single person living within Hanyang who was unaware of the incident in question. And among those who heard the rumor, most of the people, excluding the conservative noblemen, expressed support and said that what Hyang said was correct.
“cancer! There is nothing wrong with what Crown Prince Mama said! “Every time that goddamn messenger from the famous kingdom comes, the sound of music never stops!”
“It’s cancer!”
“Jumo! Here, bring me a bucket of makgeolli! “On days like today, I need to drink some!”
While many people in the city showed support for Hyang, there were people who unexpectedly saw blood. These people were boys around the same age as Hyang.
From the grandsons and great-grandchildren of noblemen including ministers above to the sons of farmers below. Boys of similar age to Hyang had to suffer similar criticism.
“The crown prince is already brilliant in his studies to the point of arguing with his ministers, so what are you doing? Now you can finally get rid of the 1,000-character sentence! “Is there any shame in this family?”
“I’m sorry! Small Son, try harder….”
“Shut up! Dad! “Bring the whip with you!”
“The crown prince, those famous ministers are making joints, but you, a brat, are sitting in the neighborhood breaking the jar of crock pot at someone else’s house! OK! Let’s take a portrait today! owner! “Bring me a thick whip!”
While the sons and grandsons were cursed and beaten with canes by their grandfathers and fathers, the attention of the women who occupied the living room of the nobility, starting with Lady Jeonggyeong, turned elsewhere.
“I wonder how the Queen Mother disciplined the Crown Prince.”
“We are curious too.”
“I would like to ask, but because of the past treason, I don’t have any of Jungjeon’s relatives…”
The women who were looking for a connection to Jungjeon were connected to King Sejong’s concubine, Yeongbin Kang.
“As far as I know, the crown prince has learned his studies on his own.”
“Is that so…”
Youngbin Kang continued after seeing the wives looking very disappointed.
“The crown prince is not only excellent at studying mathematics, but he is also excellent at teaching.”
“yes?”
“The way the Crown Prince taught his younger siblings was truly amazing.”
* * *
Hyang, who had been pondering what to do with his younger siblings, especially Suyang, finally came to a conclusion.
“There is no justification for purging them before they are punished, and they will be punished to death! No, I’ll roll you to death and then roll you one more time!”
After reaching a conclusion, Hyang immediately put it into action.
“If you want to act properly, you have to make someone who has learned properly!”
And after confirming the reality, Hyang placed her hand on her forehead.
“You haven’t even figured out a thousand characters yet… What should I do with these…”
Queen Soheon, who heard the rumor that Hyang was saddened by her younger siblings’ academic achievements, called Hyang.
“It is because the crown prince is so outstanding, it does not mean that his younger siblings are inferior.”
“Emama’s younger siblings are all blood recipients of Abamama. It is a fact that no one can deny that Abamama is a gift from heaven and earth, but showing herself like that is an unfilial act that tarnishes Abamama’s reputation. Su Zhai is unbearable!”
‘Even if I try to play around with these dirty guys, I’ll only get upset!’
With a firm decision, Hyang devised a way to help his younger siblings study.
“First of all, we have to make sure to remove at least a thousand characters…”
Hyang, who was worried about the education problem of his two younger brothers, who would later become Suyang and Anpyeong, soon came up with a solution.
The solution for the scent was word cards.
The Hyang ordered the Dohwawon (圖畫院) to create word cards. Paper was attached to the front and back of a thick wooden board, and on one side was a four-character phrase of the thousand-character sentence, and on the other side, a picture representing the sentence was drawn.
In addition to the thousand-character word cards, Hyang taught Suyang and Anpyeong using ‘carrots’ – mainly snacks – and ‘competition’ – a competition between Suyang and Anpyeong. As a result of the training that was carried out while also using an appropriate whip, Suyang and Anpyeong were able to completely learn the thousand-character script in 40 days.
Hyang’s education did not end with the Thousand Character Gate. The content of the scriptures was explained in the form of a story using pictures depicting the content of the scriptures, focusing on self-discipline and peace of mind in learning.
“It seems like my younger siblings are catching up well, so I think it would be a good idea to educate them this way for the time being.”
“I’m just impressed by Crown Prince Mama’s disciplinary methods!”
The prince’s masters, who had a hard time educating the two princes – especially Suyang, who had spent a long time in Saga – bowed their heads in great admiration for the crown prince’s methods.
“So how long can we keep doing it this way?”
“We need to refine our attitude toward the Four Books and Three Classics, so wouldn’t that be enough before then?”
“I will.”
Meanwhile, King Sejong, who received the report that Hyang had created an original method and greatly helped his younger siblings with their mathematics, was happy and slapped his knees.
“It is indeed Cesaro! Indeed, he is the eldest son!”
* * *
The women who heard about Hyang’s discipline method and its results through Youngbin Kang became excited and started shaking their buttocks.
“How can we get the teaching aids that the crown prince made?”
“It is said that the crown prince told me to keep it carefully so that he could use it to teach his younger siblings.”
“Ah….”
“How can we not save it?”
“Well…”
When Youngbin Kang made a perplexed expression, the hot wives started harassing their husbands.
“Great! “Be sure to tell the Crown Prince!”
“Huh~. I have dignity….”
“Captain! Is the governor’s reputation more important than your grandson’s education? “He is the grandson of the family!”
“Ugh… Still…”
“Captain!”
In the end, large and small officials who could not bear the hardships of their wives sought incense.
“What’s going on?”
“That’s actually…”
After hearing the inside story from the officials, Hyang smiled bitterly.
‘What kind of person am I!’
In any case, the decision was made based on the complaints of the ministers.
“Teaching aids for thousand-character sentences can be sold. Those higher-ups need someone to teach them in their own way, but such people are rare. So I only use up to 1,000 characters. “Is that okay?”
The ministers who thought about Hyang’s words for a moment nodded. This was because their grandchildren were now at the age where they would learn the thousand characters.
“I’m just grateful, even if it’s just the thousand-character sentence.”
“Okay. “The price is a hundred pounds.”
“Baekmi Seok Island!”
When the ministers were shocked at the price exceeding their expectations, Hyang explained the reason.
“One of the three islands is the cost to be paid to the Dohwawon. It is the cost of materials to make teaching aids and the cost to pay to the painters at the painting studio who will draw the pictures. The other island will go into the country’s treasury. “The last island is for my own use.”
“What does it mean for the crown prince to use it separately?”
“Books cost a bit more.”
Baekmi Seok Island was not a small amount of money. However, women who were passionate about their children’s education gave a sum of white rice without hesitation.
As a result, the painters at Dohwawon cheered as they received an unexpected bonus, and Hyang also smiled happily as he saw the bags of rice piling up in a corner of the East Palace.
“Now I can practice my virtue with peace of mind.”
* * *
Time passed and King Taejong’s funeral period was almost coming to an end while the flat wind wave caused by the incense made the government noisy.
September 6th. He went to Heonreung and held a funeral.
September 18th. King Sejong and the ministers gathered at Gwanghyojeon (廣孝殿) and held a Jolgok ancestral rite (祭祀).
And for the first time since King Taejong’s death, meat was served to King Sejong.
After the Jolgok ancestral rite, King Sejong and the local ministers all wore white official uniforms, black official caps, and black belts.
September 20th. An owl hooted and performed a ritual to ward off evil.
September 21st. King Sejong and the minister finally returned to Pyeonjeon and began taking care of government affairs.
* * *
After returning to Pyeonjeon and resuming political affairs in earnest, the government began to return to its original state.
King Sejong and his ministers were busy working to normalize state affairs, which had become somewhat lax during King Taejong’s funeral, such as making and distributing precise scales and reinforcing the system for those entering and leaving the palace gate.
Sejong and his ministers were not the only ones busy. King Sejong, as he promised, had Hyang participate in the contest. King Sejong’s contest was not simply a lecture on Confucian scriptures.
Starting with mentioning a part of the Confucian scriptures,
“The Book of Sigil…”, King Sejong and the ministers engaged in a fierce debate.
The debate became more intense because the topic was not simply the difference in perspectives on interpreting the scriptures, but how to apply Confucian ideology to actual policies.
“majesty! The duty of a sage is like the rule of gold and silver, so it is something that must be kept in mind and observed!”
The subjects’ arguments generally maintained the same tone as above. The words written in the scriptures were the teachings left behind by Confucius, and the king should do his best to follow those teachings.
“The duty of the state is to educate the people! “In educating the people, righteousness comes first!”
While the ministers who were deeply immersed in Neo-Confucianism argued for ‘deokbonjaemal (德本財末) and the economy of the middle (重義輕利)’, King Sejong, Hyang, and the utilitarian ministers argued against it and argued against it.
“If you look at the section on Daewoomo (大禹謨) in the Seogyeong, it is said that the nobles took ‘governing the world and the people’ as the ideal of virtue.”
“Confucius spoke of the wealth of the people before education, and Mencius said that providing a healthy livelihood for the people is the foundation for realizing the royal road!”
The two-headed chariot that refuted the dogmatic Neo-Confucian views of the ministers was King Sejong and the crown prince. After a proper war of words broke out in the contest, the old officials had to retreat with sweaty and exhausted faces.
“I thought you, Crown Prince, were only good at trivia…”
“You still thought that way after what happened last time?”
“This is the first time in my life that I am afraid of a competition.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to ask them to reduce the number of contests?”
During the reign of King Taejo and King Taejong, the subjects who had caught the king running away from the contest and insisted that the contest be held were now considering reducing the contest.
Unlike his subjects who felt like they were dying, the smile did not leave King Sejong’s face. After ascending to the rank of Bowi (寶位), King Sejong had to constantly suffer from pressure from his subjects.
‘It’s hard for one hand to beat two hands.’ As the saying goes, dealing with many ministers at the same time was a task that was too much for even King Sejong, who was known for his great knowledge.
Although he led government affairs sometimes through consultation and sometimes through appropriate decisions, it was difficult to overcome the volume offensive of the ministers.
“If only there were more ministers who agreed with me…”
After finishing a difficult argument with ministers, King Sejong always repeated the above complaint. People like Hwang Hui and Maeng Sa-seong were still in official positions, and there were too few reform-minded subjects.
In this situation, it was a blessing from heaven that Crown Prince Hyang showed outstanding ability.
Even though he was only 9 years old, far from the age of 15, his academic achievements were comparable to his own, and his sharpness in essay writing was even sharper than his own.
Once he opened his mouth, not only his father, King Taejong, but also the ministers he had worked so hard for turned into a fuss.
Was it because the scent reduced the mental burden? Sejong also regained his physical vitality. At some point, many of the boils that had been bothering him disappeared, and things like headaches and stiff shoulders also disappeared.
“I think it’s true that children are treasures.”
“Ho ho ho! “If others hear the Lord Sang’s words now, they will say he is outrageous.”
“Listen!”
Thanks to the incense, King Sejong became ecstatic every time he met Queen Soheon.
However, even for Sejong, there was just one moment when the scent became a burden.
It was meal time.
“Abama! “Don’t just eat meat!”
“You bastard! “You don’t even touch a dog when you’re eating!”
“Dogs are bitten, so don’t touch them! “A harmonious diet is the beginning of protecting Abamama’s health!”
In order to protect King Sejong’s health, Hyang nagged him every meal time, and the officer followed him around every time and recorded the incident.
[Episode 16 Germination…Carcinogenesis?(9)] End
ⓒ Gukbbong
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