< Chapter 15: Sprouting... Carcinogenesis? (8) >
Chapter 15: Sprouting... Carcinogenesis? (8)
Sejong, who was walking toward the Eastern Palace as if nearly running, saw the inner officials hurriedly coming out of the Eastern Palace and gestured to them.
"You officials there, come here!"
"We greet His Majesty the King!"
Sejong stopped the officials from bowing with a wave of his hand and immediately asked his question.
"Never mind the formalities. Where are you going?"
"I am on my way to the Ministry of Taxation."
"I am on my way to the Royal Secretariat."
"Why the Ministry of Taxation and the Royal Secretariat?"
"We were ordered to bring records of all the wealth and goods given whenever Chinese envoys came, starting from the reign of Great King Taejo, without omitting any..."
Before the inner officials could finish answering, Sejong's shout burst forth.
"This fellow, really! Just because I've been lenient all this time!"
Sejong, fully enraged, began running toward the Eastern Palace, his dragon robe fluttering.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
As Sejong started running, the inner officials and guards following him also began running in tow.
After Sejong and those following him disappeared with the wind, those remaining in that place were the inner officials who had come outside under Hyang's command.
"What should we do now?"
"What do you mean what should we do? We just need to carry out the orders we received, don't we?"
"That's true, but..."
The inner official ordered to go to the Ministry of Taxation looked at the Eastern Palace with a face full of worry.
"If things go wrong, there will be a bloodbath..."
* * *
Just as Queen Soheon's party and the ministers arrived at the Eastern Palace, Sejong's shouting and Hyang's rebuttal were already bursting from the Crown Prince's quarters.
"You insolent fellow! Crown Prince! What kind of reckless behavior is this!"
"It is not reckless behavior! I was merely preparing what I ought to do as Crown Prince!"
"You insolent whelp! Do you speak and act knowing your own age!"
"What does age matter in doing what is right! Saying one cannot act because one is young is nothing but a mere excuse!"
"Are the ministers not there!"
"Since the ministers have no intention of moving, should I not move even if I am the one!"
"You insolent fellow! Until the end! Inner official, go out and bring the switch and the smoothing stone!"
When Sejong shouted to bring the switch and smoothing stone, Queen Soheon, who had been stamping her feet anxiously outside, cried out as if screaming.
"Your Majesty!"
"The Queen must not enter! What are you inner officials doing! Quickly bring the switch and smoothing stone!"
"Yes, yes..."
At Sejong's shouting, the door to the Crown Prince's quarters in the Eastern Palace opened, and Sangseon and the inner officials who had been attending Sejong came outside.
Seeing Sangseon's pale face, Queen Soheon quickly stepped up the stone stairs and entered Hyang's room.
"Your Majesty!"
"Queen, go outside! Inner officials, escort the Queen outside!"
"Your Majesty!"
"What are you inner officials doing!"
After a commotion, Queen Soheon was dragged outside by the inner officials. Queen Soheon, who flopped down in front of the Eastern Palace, screamed as if she would vomit blood.
"Your Majesty! He is the Crown Prince! Please, I beg you to show mercy!"
"Sangseon, what are you doing! Bring in the switch and smoothing stone!"
At Sejong's shout, Sangseon and the inner officials entered with the switch and smoothing stone.
"Crown Prince, do you still think your current reckless behavior is right?"
"If His Majesty the King, my father, is the father of the people of this Joseon, then I become the eldest brother of the people of this Joseon! When brothers wail every time Ming envoys pass back and forth, how can I as the eldest brother sit idly by! Has Your Majesty not also seen the documents regarding the harms of the envoys! Every time envoys come and go, the wealth of local landlords in the towns along the way is stripped away! Then what will those landlords do? In the end, only the powerless people at the very bottom suffer several times over!"
"That is something for the ministers to resolve!"
"Those ministers are ones who still haven't found a solution even though dozens of years have passed since the founding of Joseon! Those ministers are ones who only know how to enjoy benefits! Generally, if they are scholar-officials, if they are Joseon's scholar-officials! If they are ones who learn, practice, and speak the way of the sages! It is not right for them to simply stand by and watch like that!"
The ministers standing in front of the courtyard of the Eastern Palace, listening to the father and son's debate, bowed their heads with faces red with shame or looked up at the sky and sighed.
"Well, well..."
"So you insist to the end that you are right!"
"I believe I have done nothing wrong!"
"This fellow, until the end! Bare your calves!"
At Sejong's shout, Queen Soheon outside turned pale.
"Your Majesty! The Crown Prince is only nine years old!"
"The younger they are, the more strictly they must be disciplined! Bare your calves and get on the smoothing stone!"
After a moment, Hyang's voice rang out.
"Inner official Jo! Why is an inner official going up! I caused this matter, and I will take responsibility! Move aside!"
"Your Highness!"
"I said move!"
"Your Highness..."
At the inner official's tearful voice, Queen Soheon called out to Hyang while shedding tears.
"Crown Prince! Hyang!"
After a moment,
*Smack!*
"Your first crime is being arrogant based on your meager knowledge!"
*Smack!*
"Your second crime is looking down on the ministers when you're just a young fellow!"
*Smack!*
"Your third crime is insisting only on your own words!"
*Smack!*
"Your fourth crime is making light of your father's command!"
Each time a charge was announced, the switch was swung once, and each time that sharp sound rang out, the bodies of the ministers standing in the Eastern Palace courtyard flinched.
Only after striking nearly twenty times did Sejong's switching stop.
"Reflect thoroughly on today's events, and reflect again so that such reckless behavior does not happen again."
"I will obey His Majesty's command."
After hearing Hyang's answer, spoken as if through gritted teeth, Sejong exited the room.
Sejong, who came out to the Eastern Palace courtyard, looked back at Sangseon.
"Call the royal physician to examine the Crown Prince."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
At Sangseon's signal, one inner official behind him ran quickly toward the Royal Medical Office.
"Hoo~."
Sejong, who let out a long sigh, glared at the ministers standing before his eyes.
Seeing Sejong's angry expression, the ministers, starting with the Three Chief State Councillors, all knelt on the ground at once.
"Please kill us!"
"Please kill us!"
At the ministers' cries, Sejong gave a short reply.
"By this evening, decide on one person from among the Three Chief State Councillors as Chief Envoy, and two from among the Six Ministers as Deputy Envoys, and report. By evening. If you fail to keep this, I will judge all the ministers, led by the Three Chief State Councillors, for the crime of treason."
"We will obey the command!"
Leaving behind the ministers' answers, Sejong approached Queen Soheon. Sejong lifted Queen Soheon, who had been sitting on the ground covered in tears, and spoke calmly.
"Please look after the Crown Prince."
Having finished speaking, Sejong walked toward his thatched hut with an exhausted face.
Queen Soheon, who bowed to Sejong while covered in tears, glared at the ministers with a face full of anger.
"I will not forget today's events and your faces until the day I die!"
"Please kill us!"
"Shut up!"
Queen Soheon, who substituted her answer with the words "shut up," quickly entered Hyang's room.
"Hyang! What are the inner officials doing! Quickly call the royal physician! Quickly!"
* * *
While the royal physician ran to examine the wounds, Queen Soheon examined Hyang's wounds with tears streaming down her face. Of course, periodically delivering smashes to Hyang's back was a bonus.
"Just who did you take after to be so stubborn!"
"Why don't you listen!"
"Mother, it hurts!"
"I'm hitting you to make it hurt!"
It took five days for Hyang's wounds to fully heal. During that time, Hyang spent his time alone, stopping discussions with his guests.
"Ow! Ugh~~~."
Hyang, who was sitting alone in a chair translating European books, frowned at the pain rising from his legs.
This was because the calf he had been shaking unconsciously collided with the chair leg, causing pain to rise. Hyang, who looked down at his hurting leg, burst into a chuckle.
"These legs and back of mine suffer in both my past life and present life."
Even in his past life, his calves and back never recovered thanks to his extraordinary hobbies.
* * *
Thanks to the massive accident Hyang caused, the court was in a situation of walking on thin ice. The historian recorded the situation at that time as follows.
Sejong 4th Year (1422), July 2nd.
After His Majesty strictly admonished the Crown Prince, he ordered the Three Chief State Councillors and ministers to immediately select the Chief Envoy and Deputy Envoys for the Winter Solstice Mission. Following His Majesty's command setting the deadline until evening, the Three Chief State Councillors and ministers were confined in a hall within Gyeongbokgung Palace, and the Royal Guards guarded that hall. His Majesty, who ordered the Royal Guards to monitor the hall, commanded the Chief of the State Tribunal to prepare for interrogation. This was in case the ministers failed to produce an answer by evening.
The historian says:
The Crown Prince's actions were extreme, but his words were not wrong. However, that extremism deviated from the Right Way, so His Majesty's strict admonishment was also a natural matter.
That the ministers value serving the great is also not wrong. But it is also a fact that the degree of serving the great has crossed the line.
However, driving the ministers into a corner at once and mobilizing the Royal Guards to pressure them is unjust. This deviates from rule by virtue and the kingly way, and is a path entering into the way of expediency and the way of hegemony, so His Majesty must strictly refrain from this.
* * *
Perhaps the show of force was effective, the selection of the envoy mission was completed before evening that day.
"The Chief State Councillor will serve as Chief Envoy, and the Minister of Taxation and Minister of Works as Deputy Envoys... I approve the selection."
"We are overwhelmed by your grace."
"We are overwhelmed by your grace."
When Sejong made his decision, the ministers all prostrated themselves and answered. With the selection of the envoy mission complete, Sejong issued his next command.
"The Ministry of Taxation and the Royal Secretariat are to prepare and bring the documents the Crown Prince had ordered!"
At Sejong's command, officials belonging to the Royal Secretariat and Ministry of Taxation had to organize all documents related to the harms of Ming envoys who had visited Joseon since the founding of Joseon.
Through that organization process, as everything was quantified, the officials preparing the documents had to sigh.
"This is too much even if they did it!"
"This much..."
The young officials organizing the documents beat their chestsures, unable to contain their boiling anger.
Sejong, who saw the report submitted by the Ministry of Taxation and the Royal Secretariat, let out a long sigh.
"Hoo~. The Crown Prince didn't say anything wrong."
According to the report, since the founding of Joseon, as kings changed and time passed, the amount of tribute the Ming envoys demanded and took was gradually increasing. The speed of that increase was rising rapidly in proportion to the number of times envoys came.
The years when the most tribute was taken were the first year he ascended the throne and the following year.
To persuade Ming envoys who doubted the legitimacy of having the Crown Prince who received the royal mandate expelled and the third son raised as king, and to persuade envoys who doubted whether the conquest of Tsushima Island was certain, the Joseon court had to use enormous wealth as bribes.
"The small amount taken equals two months of the court's annual budget, the large amount equals six months... If we include the wealth plundered from the towns they passed through on their way, it's at least four months to as much as a year's budget..."
True to Joseon's bureaucrats and scholars known as 'recording enthusiasts,' the local magistrates of the towns the envoys passed through recorded without omission even the wealth of local powerholders that the envoys plundered and sent reports, and thanks to this, Sejong was able to know the exact amounts of wealth the envoys had plundered.
"You ministers should also confirm this."
At Sejong's command, the Three Chief State Councillors and Six Ministers took turns reading the reports.
"Hmm..."
"Well..."
The Chief Councillors and ministers who read the reports groaned. This was because they confirmed the seriousness by seeing in exact numbers what they had only heard in words.
"Did you compensate the local powerholders who had their wealth taken by the envoys?"
"..."
"...Since it was for the sake of the country..."
"So you didn't compensate? Then the local powerholders naturally must have done extortion. Several times what was taken, at that. Haah~."
Sejong, who sighed, glared at the ministers.
"Did you not think of what even the young Crown Prince thought of?"
"We are overwhelmed with shame."
At Sejong's rebuke, the ministers bowed their heads deeply. The words 'That's true for you as well' rose to the tip of their throats, but what subjects had to do was merely bow their heads and say 'We are overwhelmed with shame!'
"Those going as envoys must clearly resolve this problem!"
"We will obey the command!"
< Chapter 15: Sprouting... Carcinogenesis? (8) > End
ⓒ Gukbbong