Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 284
Episode 284: Hanseong’s ordinary daily life. (2)
‘Why is Your Majesty here?’
Maeng Sa-seong was lying on the floor, sweating coldly and muttering to himself. Although he drank less than the other ministers, Maeng Sa-seong also drank a considerable amount.
But the drunkenness soon disappeared.
“Come here. Good. It was already appropriate to eat alone. “Come and have another drink.”
“yes. Yes….”
Maeng Sa-seong approached with kneeling steps and politely accepted the glass offered by King Sejong. Maeng Sa-seong’s hand holding the drink was trembling slightly.
Seeing Maeng Sa-seong like that, King Sejong smiled slightly and continued.
“It was truly reassuring to hear the ministers enjoying the main role without any formality.”
“Foot! Cough! Hiccup!”
Maeng Sa-seong, who spat out the alcohol he had been drinking at King Sejong’s words, suddenly fell to the floor and bowed his head.
“Please forgive me for my indecent behavior!”
“What a disgraceful act… I was relieved to hear the ministers enjoying the main role without any worries.”
“I am devastated!”
“By the way… is the work that hard?”
“Oh no! “There are those who have come forward to fight on horseback for your Majesty and this Joseon!”
Although Maeng Sa-seong answered with a raised voice, he was lamenting his situation inside.
‘Why why? Why only me? why? why! Should I be here! why! why!’
Seeing this, Sejong continued to smile and continue speaking.
“As expected, Captain Maeng. If Captain Hwang were here, he would have complained right away.”
“Is that really true?”
Although he answered like that, Maeng Sa-seong was secretly agreeing with King Sejong’s words.
‘Of course, Admiral Hwang is the kind of person who would do that. cancer.’
Hwang Hee, who was punished with ‘lifelong service’ due to various scandals, boasted of an even harsher attitude after receiving the punishment. When Maeng Sa-seong was worried about Hwang Hee sometimes pointing out problems to King Sejong, Hwang Hee gave a simple answer.
“The body has already been thrown away, so why worry about it later?”
“Great!”
* * *
Sejong continued to offer drinks to Maeng Sa-seong, who was shaking.
“Today, the end of government affairs under the king’s watch is over quickly, so I have some free time, so I went on a stealth trip to see how the people live for a while. But I came because I heard that the ministers were gathering and drinking. Thanks to you, I was able to hear various thoughts.”
“Please save my life!”
“Why would I kill the captain? “It’s something I have to reflect on.”
“Oh no! “It is the sin of small gods.”
“It’s not a sin. Now that I know the difficulties my captains have faced, I will try to think of an answer.”
“I am devastated.”
“Then let’s have another drink.”
“Yes yes. majesty.”
* * *
Only after a few more rounds of drinking had passed was Maeng Sa-seong able to leave the place.
“Hmm, it’s already late at night, so let’s see tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Highness. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Be careful going in.”
King Sejong, who saw Maeng Sa-seong’s back after politely bowing and heading out, made a small snort and stroked his beard.
“Hmm….”
* * *
King Taejong’s evaluation of Maeng Sa-seong consisted of only two words.
-Yeosu (如水 is like water.)
“Maeng Sa-seong is like water. Just as water does not choose a bowl, it also does not choose a place. And like water that is always level, it is always fair. “Being like water is Maeng Sa-seong’s greatest advantage and disadvantage.”
After Taejong passed away and Sejong took full control of the government, he learned what Taejong’s ‘greatest strengths and weaknesses’ meant.
Compared to Crown Prince Hyang, the talents recommended by King Taejong, such as Hwang Hee and Maeng Sa-seong, all had shortcomings, but they were not enough to go unnoticed.
Therefore, King Sejong put Maeng Sa-seong in the middle, and Maeng Sa-seong did his part well.
In particular, after becoming a member of the Left Council, he was living up to his name by coordinating disputes between various ministries and handling matters fairly.
However, King Sejong clearly saw the shortcomings of Maeng Sa-seong.
Maeng Sa-seong’s biggest weakness was his indecisiveness. His personality of being easy-going and not being picky about people was what created his indecisiveness.
Just as Maeng Sa-seong did not often say unpleasant things to others, he did not like hearing unpleasant things from others. Therefore, if a dispute arose, it was to be resolved as fairly and reasonably as possible. That way, there won’t be any backstory.
In addition, he always paid attention to coordination because he did not want things to go wrong due to conflict among the officials responsible for government affairs.
As a result, there were few cases where people took the initiative to express their opinions. If necessary, Hwang Hee would openly point out problems to King Sejong, but Maeng Sa-seong was the type of person to come up with a solution once a problem was discovered.
When a war of words broke out at the drinking party earlier, Maeng Sa-seong diligently went back and forth between the ministers to calm the heated atmosphere.
* * *
“Even if he is not prime minister, he is the best person for the position of deputy prime minister. By the way…. Ministers say they are having a hard time working overtime. How should we solve this? Wouldn’t the best thing be to increase the concentration of work and get as much done as possible in the shortest possible time?”
Sejong was thinking about a solution to the ‘harsh work environment’. However, if the ministers or officials heard, most of them had ways to beg for their lives. The reason for this was the backstory about King Sejong that occurred earlier at the ministers’ drinking party.
Although Sejong himself did not know it, he was a person with a strong personality.
* * *
“Your Majesty, shall we bring the relays back in?”
King Sejong, who returned to reality in response to Naegeumwijang’s question, corrected his posture and answered.
“Let me in.”
“yes. majesty.”
After a while, the three relay runners re-entered the room. After coming to his senses, Sejong continued his conversation with the relay runners.
“Last time, I ordered the craftsmen to watch their surroundings carefully. So, what changes?”
“I don’t have any yet.”
“is it? Thank goodness. “So, are there any inconveniences in proceeding with the work?”
The faces of the relay runners brightened and responded immediately to Sejong’s question.
“There are not enough people. Please allow us to increase the number of members.”
“Please increase the number of people?”
At the request of the relay runners, King Sejong stroked his beard and organized his thoughts.
‘Now that I think about it, the Geom Realm suffered great losses in the process of suppressing the Beomgol rebellion in Giyu-nyeon, right? But now they are listening to me, but in essence they are Parakhos… If they do something wrong, the security of Hanseong could become a problem.’
In the end, King Sejong asked the relay members openly.
“It is not that I distrust you, but I am worried about the security of Hanseong, and I cannot help but worry that your existence may be revealed by those who are not serious.”
“We will risk our lives to maintain that part.”
“is it? But that’s it. As far as I know, it was the year of Giyu when you lost a great person. But there has been no request to increase the number of people so far, so why are they asking for it now?”
Sejong’s point was reasonable. In response to King Sejong’s question, the Bukchon Geomgye relay leader explained the reason.
“We lost many people due to the events of Giyu-nyeon, but the work within the four gates was possible with only those who remained. However, in order to properly carry out the task this time, someone must go to Jemulpo. But we don’t have enough people to do that.”
“Right.”
Sejong nodded at Gyeju’s answer. As a trading post was established in Shandong and maritime trade routes were established, Jemulpo was crowded with merchants from the Ming Dynasty. Not only were there merchants, but there were also a number of Chinese warriors who came to guard them. The moment I set foot in Jemulpo, my weapons were confiscated, but I couldn’t trust them.
Sejong, who was nodding his head at Gyeju’s words, suddenly had another thought flash in his mind.
‘Isn’t it not just Jemulpo that is worried about Ganja from outside Gaman? Waegwan in Dongrae is far away, and Gaeseong is still a bit uneasy. Then…’
Sejong, who was about to open his mouth, suddenly stopped.
‘But if they expand their power, will they be properly controlled?’
King Sejong, who had been weighing various cases, came to a conclusion.
“good night. I will allow it. “But I will add an order to that.”
“If you say add…”
The relay runners swallowed dry saliva and looked at Sejong. This was because there were almost no easy orders given by King Sejong.
“As we increase the number of people and expand our influence, we will first move to Jemulpo and Dongrae and Gaeseong to expand our surveillance network. Ultimately, it is the entire Joseon Dynasty.”
“Jemulpo, Dongrae, Gaeseong….”
The relay runners pondered over the areas that King Sejong prioritized and nodded slightly.
Jemulpo and Dongrae were places full of merchants and Japanese merchants. Therefore, it was impossible for there to be no ganja. Lastly, Kaesong was the royal capital of Goryeo. It has almost disappeared now, but in the early days of Joseon’s founding, it was a place filled with ‘anti-Joseon’ energy.
‘It’s not easy, but if we do well, we can dominate Joseon’s night!’
After finishing the calculations, the relay runners immediately bowed their heads.
“I follow your orders!”
“And one more thing.”
‘one more.’ At King Sejong’s words, the sword racers came to their senses. Sejong continued speaking while looking at the faces of the relay runners.
“You are a secret organization that takes orders from me. But if you look at the current situation, it is a disaster. To organize properly.”
At Sejong’s command, the relay racers looked at each other. As the atmosphere suddenly became more violent, Naegeumwijang, who was sitting next to King Sejong, secretly raised his hand to the hilt of his sword.
“why? “Is it difficult?”
The relay runners answered Sejong’s question by looking at each other’s faces.
“No.”
However, the atmosphere between the relays continued to be tense, and Sejong, who was watching, asked a question.
“Now that I think about it, how are the sword world relays decided?”
“Nominations are made before the previous relay leader retires, but ultimately, the relay race is decided through a duel between the nominee and the challenger.”
“So, the strongest one becomes the relay?”
“That’s right.”
“Then, if we are integrated into one organization according to the orders I gave you, will the three of you duel for the position of leader?”
“Maybe that will happen.”
“It’s not a life-or-death struggle, right? If a life-and-death struggle has to occur, the losses will be great…”
“Yes, life-and-death struggles rarely occur. “It would be a loss to lose someone capable of becoming a challenger.”
“is it? Hmm….”
Sejong, who was looking at the relay runners wary of each other, opened his mouth again.
“Do you mind if I nominate a candidate?”
“If your Majesty nominates me, I will follow.”
“No, you have to follow the rules. That way there won’t be any confusion. “I plan to nominate someone suitable to compete with you.”
“What if you say it’s appropriate?”
As Unjongga relay leader carefully asked, King Sejong turned his head and looked at Naegeumwijang.
“Disguise my money. “You are the candidate.”
“I follow your orders.”
As soon as Naegeumwijang’s answer came out, the relay runners shouted at the same time.
“You fucking idiot!”
“huh?”
After hearing the curse words from the relay runners, Commander Naegeum’s face became grim, and the relay runners immediately bowed their heads.
“The lowly things have spoken false words! Please forgive me!”
“Please forgive me!”
“Pretend you didn’t hear it.”
“I am devastated!”
Although they responded that they were grateful, the relay runners were yelling inside.
‘Isn’t this too much!’
Naegeumwijang, who sat next to King Sejong, had a nickname that even Joseon’s Samcheok children knew.
Naegeumwijang’s nickname was ‘Joseon’s Best Sword’.
In the end, the multi-dong relay waved the white flag to Sejong.
“I hereby accept Captain Naegeumwi as the leader.”
Sejong shook his head at the words of the multi-dong relay.
“No, rules are rules! Shouldn’t we follow customs?”
“If Naegeumwi becomes the leader, no one will oppose it.”
He even participated in the Bukchon relay, but this time, Naegeumwiwi received word.
“Isn’t that something you don’t know? It’s best to make a clear decision. And now I’m not the same again, so who knows?”
“No way….”
The relay members cried out inwardly as they struggled against Naegeumwijang’s harsh words.
‘It’s nothing like it used to be!’