Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 365
Episode 365: What increases when divided, work and swearing (7)
Heo Jo, seeing Lee Maeng-gyun’s reaction, intervened.
“It can’t be helped, right? Write your own letters? In other words, it means independence of mind. In other words, wouldn’t it be like loosening the shackles of the mind? When you do that, you will be able to look at your relationships with others more calmly.”
Following Heo Jo’s words, Maeng Sa-seong spoke.
“If you look at it so calmly, you can turn the relationship around at any time. So…”
Maeng Sa-seong paused for a moment and looked at Jo Mal-saeng.
“Daegam Danggeum (Right now), what is the military power of our Joseon Dynasty?”
“Military power… won’t the answer vary depending on what you are aiming for?”
In response to Jo Mal-saeng’s rebuttal, Maeng Sa-seong gathered his thoughts for a moment and spoke.
“If you march towards Beijing, if you block the influx from Beijing.”
At Meng Sa-seong’s words, the faces of the ministers around him became serious. Meng Sa-seong was now asking whether it was possible to attack the Ming Dynasty, the upper country.
The ministers swallowed dry saliva and waited for Jo Mal-saeng’s answer.
After gathering his thoughts for a moment, Malsaeng Jo gave an answer.
“In both cases, the one who starts the offensive first is guaranteed to lose.”
“why?”
“There are many reasons, but the most important reason is supply.”
When Jo Mal-saeng mentioned supply, the ministers nodded slightly. Looking at the ministers, Jo Mal-saeng added a little more.
“The problem is that whether we go to Beijing or they come to Joseon, we have to go through Liaodong. The supply line will naturally be long, and the best tactic is to cut off that supply line. There are no people in Korea or in other famous countries who do not know this. Of course, the troops will be dispersed and the number of forces participating in the attack will be further reduced.”
“What if we requisition it locally?”
Jo Mal-saeng shook his head at Meng Sa-seong’s point.
“As soon as there is a move to requisition local forces, we will immediately use the clearing strategy.”
Kim Jeom intervened in Jo Mal-saeng’s answer.
“What if we only take food and use gunpowder from the Ming army?”
“The gunpowder used by the Ming army not only has low medicinal power, but also severely corrodes rifles and artillery. Of course, the gunpowder used by our Joseon army also corrodes guns and artillery, but that of the Ming army is even more severe.”
“How did you know?”
“If you give me money, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty will take care of it for me. Thanks to this, we were able to conduct sufficient experiments at Area 51.”
Jo Mal-saeng, who had been kindly explaining the ministers’ questions, suddenly asked back with a fierce look on his face.
“By the way… why did we end up in this direction while talking about the Hunminjeongeum issue? And why are you acting like people who are impatient because they can’t fight the Ming Dynasty?”
In response to Jo Mal-saeng’s question, Lee Jik explained the reason.
“It’s for the reason that Captain Heo mentioned earlier. Even if it is true, if even letters become independent, it is certain that the relationship with the Ming will be different from before.”
Jo Mal-saeng sighed at Lee Jik’s words.
“Whoa~. Let’s talk about it then. In any case, we are continuing to expand our military power and we are still maintaining a friendly relationship with Myeong-gwa. “The young people of the Army Corps are already giving us a headache because they are so restless, so there is no need for the captains to fan the flames, right?”
“huh? “Are the young military officers doing something?”
The faces of the ministers became serious at Jo Mal-saeng’s words. I was worried that there might be people dreaming of a military regime in Goryeo.
In response to the ministers’ questions, Jo Mal-saeng sighed again and continued speaking.
“Whoa~. Seonghwa said, “Let’s remove Suja from the military forces.” The naval forces are just naval forces, so why is it called the naval forces? “If that is the case, there is an uproar that it would be appropriate for the Navy to change its name to the Liberation Army.”
“Well… Tsk!”
The ministers all clicked their tongues at Jo Mal-saeng’s words. The absence of a number of soldiers from the Land Forces meant that Joseon’s strategy could change from a focus on defense to a focus on offense.
If that happens, a lot of very troublesome things could happen.
In the end, I had no choice but to ask Malsaeng Jo to change jobs.
“Tell the young people to respect themselves.”
“I’m already doing it. So, don’t say strange things to me, captains.”
“I understand.”
* * *
After organizing the situation, Lee Jik looked back at the ministers.
“I got sidetracked for a moment, but let’s come to a conclusion first. “They said they would make a decision based on the report that Grand Prince Jinpyeong will submit, but wouldn’t it be better to reach a conclusion by accepting the use of Hunminjeongeum?”
The ministers all nodded in response to Lee Jik’s question.
“Your Majesty the Lord strongly wants it and it seems useful, so wouldn’t it be a good idea to accept it?”
The ministers nodded to Kim Jeom’s evaluation. Meanwhile, Lee Maeng-gyun muttered without realizing it.
“If Captain Ryu Jeong-hyeon and others had been there like before, there would have been an uproar…”
“Shh! “Why are you talking about that nobleman again?”
In response to Maeng Sa-seong’s reprimand, Lee Maeng-gyun kept his mouth shut with an expression of regret.
Heo Jo, who was looking at this, stroked his beard and muttered.
“Now that you think about it, does it seem a little strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“When those stubborn people from Jiphyeonjeon submitted their resignation. “Don’t you get the feeling that His Majesty the Prime Minister handled the matter with excessive anger than was necessary?”
“huh? Come to think of it…”
Heo Jo’s point made all the ministers have the same question.
* * *
It must be said now, but King Sejong’s response to the mass resignation of Jiphyeonjeon scholars was quite drastic.
A normal King Sejong, who cared about talented people, would have tried to persuade them more, or first asked them to resign and then called them back soon after. However, after approving all of their appeals, King Sejong forbade not only their grandchildren, but also their great-grandchildren, from filing appeals and even appearing for office.
In addition, he held Choi Man-ri, the great Jehak of Jiphyeonjeon, who was a Cheongbaekri and recognized for his outstanding talent, responsible and dismissed him from his position.
* * *
“At the time, I only thought that those stubborn people had provoked His Majesty the Lord’s wrath, but now that I think about it, I think that was excessive.”
Hearing Lee Jik’s words, Maeng Sa-seong looked back at Heo Jo.
“What do you think, Captain?”
“You could say I went too far, but I think His Majesty the Prime Minister may have cleaned it up in advance just in case.”
“huh? “Aye~.”
“Hey, isn’t that a bit too much?”
Everyone waved their hands in denial at Heo Jo’s words, but everyone was thinking the same thing in their heads.
‘It is possible with the chief minister and the crown prince!’
‘With those two, it’s possible!’
That’s what I was thinking in my head. But the ministers did not say anything out loud. No, I couldn’t do it.
It was because the moment he spoke of that story, he seemed unable to regard King Sejong and Hyang as people like himself.
* * *
While the ministers were whispering in Uijeongbu, King Sejong, who had moved away from the officials and governors, was talking with Hyang in Gangnyeongjeon.
“I think pushing away those stubborn people from Jiphyeonjeon will be of great help.”
When Sejong said that, he asked with an expression as if the scent was real.
“Was it a coincidence?”
“It’s a coincidence. Coincidence….”
Sejong, who had been emphasizing coincidence, screamed.
“Ceja! “What do you think of this father?”
“You planned in advance to make this happen smoothly…”
“Get out, you bastard!”
* * *
Three days later, the report written by Jinpyeong was posted. Sejong and the ministers read the report and then exchanged opinions, with Jinpyeong standing to one side with a very nervous look on his face.
“What do you think of the report written in Hunminjeongeum?”
Lee Jik stepped forward and answered Sejong’s question.
“It takes time because I am not yet familiar with how to read, but I think it is useful because I can immediately understand the meaning after reading it.”
“Then do you agree with the idea of promulgating this and allowing all the people to use it?”
“I will follow your will.”
Sejong’s voice became stiff at Lee Jik’s answer.
“I’m asking whether you agree, not follow.”
In response to Sejong’s question, Lee Jik eventually waved the white flag.
“I agree.”
As Lee Jik waved the white flag, King Sejong turned to the other ministers.
“What do you think? “Do you agree?”
The ministers had no choice but to give the same answer to King Sejong’s question.
“I agree.”
In any case, when the ministers agreed, King Sejong talked about his future plans.
“It takes time to educate teachers at social schools and middle schools, and to compose and create educational books for use in the schools. Therefore, I hope to officially promulgate it to educational institutions and inform the public starting from the semester starting next year. “What do you think?”
“It seems appropriate.”
“Okay. However, let’s check and repair any problems by using the coordination, research center, and Jiphyeonjeon starting next month.”
The faces of the ministers turned white at King Sejong’s words.
“But there’s a lot going on right now.”
“So you didn’t adjust it last time? “Now that I have some free time, it won’t be that difficult.”
The ministers responded to King Sejong’s words with tears in their eyes.
“I follow your orders.”
The officer who recorded all of this added:
– When the Prime Minister asked the question, all the ministers, both large and small, agreed.
The officer says:
The intention with which the Lord created the letters is truly beautiful, but the execution of it is not beautiful because he uses authority.
The meaning is beautiful, but if the actions are often not beautiful, it can lead to tyranny.
Since he ordered me to learn the newly created alphabet, I think it would be wrong to go home for the time being.
Management life is very difficult.
* * *
Although the rough schedule was set, King Sejong could not give up his greed.
“What should we do to quickly establish Hunminjeongeum among the people?”
“Well… First of all, how about having all official documents use Hunminjeongeum?”
“Wouldn’t it be slow to just rely on official documents?”
“….”
At King Sejong’s point, the ministers kept quiet and thought of another method.
At that sight, Hyang stepped forward.
“How about using the abamama rumor (a short story circulating in the private sector)?”
Sejong looked a little troubled by Hyang’s suggestion.
“Many of the sarcastic comments are frivolous and promiscuous in content. Isn’t there a problem?”
“The sentences are said to be frivolous, but they are easy to read, making it easy for the people to learn Hunminjeongeum. And if the content is promiscuous, wouldn’t it be okay to write a disparaging comment with correct content? Simply put, it is to edify the people by using the form of a sermon.”
“Hmm…”
Sejong, who was thinking while stroking his beard at Hyang’s suggestion, looked at Jo Gye-saeng.
“What do the Minister of Education think?”
Jo Gye-saeng, who thought for a moment about King Sejong’s question, gave the most standard answer.
“It might be right to think about it a little more, but if you think about it briefly, I don’t think it’s a bad idea. “The length of the sermons is short, so it is not burdensome for the people to read them. Although many of them are promiscuous, there are also some that serve as lessons, so it would be good to take good examples, compile them into books, and distribute them.”
“It seems okay. “Please think more carefully and submit a report.”
“I follow your orders.”
Jo Gye-saeng, who had unexpectedly taken on an additional task, answered in a voice full of moisture.
After that, King Sejong shared his opinions on various issues and informed the ministers.
“For the time being, there will be no one around and you will experience a situation where there is a lot of work but little results because you have to learn and use new characters. However, we should not be negligent just because we have reached such a plateau, but should use this as an opportunity to closely examine the shortcomings and problematic areas and fix them.”
The ministers responded to King Sejong’s request by bowing their heads in unison.
“I will keep this in mind!”