Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Beans Planted Where Beans Grow (2)

Joseon before the Imjin War and Joseon after completely changed.

Joseon before and after the Byeongja Barbarian Invasion also became a different country.

So, Joseon before this <​kind British Hanyang visit event> and Joseon after also had no choice but to change.

Everyone knew the fact that the country’s appearance was wrong even if solidly wrong.

But because the powerful’s edge was too sharp no one dared to say the country was wrong.

Even Joseon’s most highly reputed great Confucian scholars like Hwaseo Lee Hangro, Nosa Gi Jeongjin gave up official life early instead of saying right words so who would dare open the mouth.

At that moment the sudden British invasion was like a typhoon among natural disasters.

Like the sea full of green algae latte flipping heaven and earth with one typhoon and new water flowing in, the foreign force’s military power thoroughly exposed where and how Joseon was wrong and perfectly destroyed the Andong Kim clan that was the core of that deep-rooted evil.

What ‘wisely’ resolved the British invasion was not the powerful who monopolized power but Heungseon-gun Lee Ha-eung the royal relative scrap no one paid attention to.

The young king who had no particular debt to the powerful recovered his own power that had been usurped.

Now the time to cut out the boils has come.

No matter how much blood and pus flow, they had no thought of stopping the surgery at all.

Joseon had to be reborn.

Even if dying on the operating table.

***

Speaking of the patient called Joseon it is a terminal state of multiple organ failure with cancer cells full in the whole body.

“Speaking of the Military State Affairs Correction Office it is a government office to reform all injustice and corruption, absurdity and evil customs that were rampant in this country.”

“Uh? That doesn’t seem much different from the Border Defense Council?”

“The Border Defense Council is the organ of traitors like the old Jungbang or Dobang, and the Military State Affairs Correction Office is the organ of loyal subjects upholding the sage’s bright wisdom. How not knowing this principle while having learned the Way?”

Ah, I see.

The Border Defense Council was a bad organ and the Correction Office was a good organ! Knowledge increased.

Anyway now the era of the Andong Kim clan ended and Heonjong obtained the power to do anything in his hands.

But surprisingly.

There were more people than thought who did not agree to this.

“But the worms colluding with Kim Jwageun did not stay quietly. If in the same party with the traitor of course traitor?”

“Is Minister Haok a traitor?”

Didn’t we just process as ‘died for the country’?

“Well if saying traitor there the Andong Kim clan guys all have to have three clans exterminated so let it go, but can’t hide the fact that that guy personally was a vicious guy.”

“Well, I see. Don’t know Joseon’s politics well.”

“Right. That was the problem. Like you don’t know Joseon well...”

Among Joseon people there were many who don’t know Britain.

Too many even if many.

In short except the British army’s invasion route, that is the road from Ganghwa Island to Hanyang the rest of the local side was all in the state of “what is happening now?”.

Originally if ignorant one becomes brave.

‘Your Majesty!! How did you bow your head to barbarians!!’

‘Your Maaajesty!! How abandoning the etiquette of serving the great because Westerners threaten with guns and swords!!’

‘Abandoning loyal martyrs like Minister Haok, this is a thousand times ten thousand times unjust thing!!’

In politics this kind of thing belongs to a kind of entertainment, WWE.

Various scholar families raise petitions and turn on the opening entrance theme song <​Tongchok Medley> and apply techniques to the king the king goes kuaaaak and yields what can be yielded and appropriately secures what he wants to push through.

But these guys misunderstood.

Heonjong had no interest in the ring at all.

Heonjong was not a wrestler and the script did not exist either.

The person called Lee Hwan became the king of Joseon at an age before even entering elementary school, and spent decades of time suffering from the oppression of that powerful and powerful ministers for life.

The small fry who ran out trying to apply submission to the king who opened eyes to killing intent and hatred, only then realized that the place they appeared was not a wrestling stage but a terrible snuff film when Heonjong far from receiving the technique pulled out a sharp sword not even a steel chair or sledgehammer from under the ring.

[Kill all the party of the traitor Kim Jwageun.]

[Those who added military funds to the traitor and bought official posts. Magistrates who committed exploitation in their posts. Those who slander Britain that helped execute the traitor and revere the Qing lord. Those who challenge the king’s authority. Those who privately divide factions and monopolize power. Those who multiplied property taking advantage of the disturbance. And all others who violated the strict national law strictly punish.]

Lee Hwan obtained persistence that does not miss even one gap through decades of patience and a strong jaw that absolutely does not let go once biting.

The opportunity to slaughter all the guys who have not even properly grasped the situation is only now.

“Your Majesty! This is not the way of a monarch! How trying to slaughter all of them?!”

“Your relative Kim Jwageun insulted the ancestral temples and altars and finally reached trying to change the royal surname to Kim. Is that not so?”

“······.”

The survivor of the Andong Kim clan Kim Heunggeun tried to block the blood great purge, but became a mute who ate honey at that intuitive response of ‘want to die together too?’.

“The scholars of this country for hundreds of years boasted that they would make all the people gentlemen according to the Way. But what is the result? Isn’t the result of you reciting Confucius said Mencius said a country where vicious thieves like Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo swarm?”

“Your Majesty!”

“At last the turbulent era has arrived, and the fact that the sound of scholar-officials reciting classics was nothing more than empty echoes no different from the sound of monks serving Buddha was thoroughly exposed. I will walk the path of hegemony not a sage king! If not wanting to follow me draw the sword like Kim Jwageun!”

Sounds that would not be strange even if a coup occurs.

If knowing where the ruling justification and legitimacy of the Joseon king originates Lee Hwan’s words were no different from a political own goal with not much gain and only big loss.

Nevertheless he did it.

Because if not doing even like this the pent-up anger full in the chest seemed like it would strangle and kill him.

The pro-royal forces following Heonjong also never lost in foul language.

“Even if Confucius comes back alive if harming the people will not forgive.”

“If a scholar-official who learned the Way cannot even utter the sound of revering the Jurchens. Didn’t study wrong?”

“The people are in misery how long will hold only the phrases of dead scholars?”

“Why don’t the ones called scholars go out to official posts and try to correct the world? Isn’t it shameful chattering about contentment in poverty or whatever after fleeing because afraid of the powerful? Is Kim Jwageun scary and the sage not scary!”

The one newly appointed as Chief State Councillor was Bak Gyusu of the Bannam Bak clan.

Originally speaking of Chief State Councillor real power is thin, but Heonjong entrusted Bak Gyusu with the Chief State Councillor position together with the head of the Military State Affairs Correction Office the director position.

Their foul language parade was closer to calculated provocation rather than thoughtlessly done things.

‘Told to make a country of beasts.’

Lee Hwan was placed in a completely different position from previous Joseon kings.

If looking for the king in the most similar situation to him, rather the kings with the chung character in late Goryeo might be more similar.

And the country’s appearance was also truly similar to that time.

The words of the Joseon king saying he will follow hegemony was foul language of a similar level to the South Korean president saying we will follow Juche ideology.

Already during going through factional purges and impartiality and powerful politics the capability of Joseon scholar-officials, especially the power of local scholar families practically withered.

And now that the heads of the hardened great clans all burst in the name of the Union Jack, there is no domestic force anywhere that can block whatever the king does foul language or whatever!

The first mission of the Military State Affairs Correction Office.

Great purge.

Like love hanging on jujube trees the heads of traitors hung in clusters in front of Hanyang.

***

The unprecedented situation in Joseon dynasty history where Heonjong who changed job to shouting barbarian goes hoa shouting and slices scholar-officials flocking from all sides like mobs.

There were also scholar-officials flocking saying they will desperately defend the young king, and these of course wanted the corpses of the guys who monopolized power and the profiteers attached there.

But the country does not run with only blood and death.

Proclaiming hegemony alone is insufficient.

A new state affairs agenda had to be presented for the country to still run.

Heonjong crazy for the blood of the Jeonju Lee clan on a moonlit night that agenda was also extraordinary.

“Our Joseon after Ming perished uniquely inherited civilization and rites and music in the eastern land and called this Little China, but the Jurchens who occupied the Central Plains envied and were jealous of our civilization and always had to lie low waiting for the time.

The moon also wanes when full. Rebellions and uprisings swarm everywhere in Qing and the corruption and greed of officials are terrible enough to be widely known to the whole world, how can our Haedong stay still?”

Only started the luck but everyone understood perfectly.

Proclaiming emperor and establishing era name!

And northern expedition!

Heonjong who awakened as hegemon king but has not completely let go of the mental string yet decided to ride an extremely Eastern standard tech tree.

Precisely outer king inner emperor.

“Your Majesty made a heroic decision and promised to establish diplomatic relations with Britain and soon must establish diplomatic relations with countries like France, America too, to become equal relations with those countries it is difficult with positions like state councillor minister. Must reform the official system.”

“The Chief State Councillor’s words are right. Then referencing the old system changing the six ministries to six departments will do?”

“I Minister of Rites Lee Ha-eung report. Western countries including Britain long ago said it is difficult to govern the country with six departments and made more departments and are governing the people in detail.”

“Then referencing the official systems of various countries thoroughly conceive a new official system.”

Not Chief State Councillor but Prime Minister.

Not Ministry of Rites but Foreign Ministry.

Not Minister of Rites but Foreign Minister.

Anyway since semi-forcibly full bought British coin diplomatic relations with Qing are confirmed to the abyss.

There was not even a moment of hesitation in their no-back move.

Next of course war preparation.

The five military camps the core of the traditional Joseon army were all disbanded. If only disbanded fortunate these got caught in the false charge of ‘deserters desertion crime, if not deserted participation in treason’.

Even Heonjong who quenched thirst with the blood of beheaded scholar-officials did not mercilessly trample even these soldiers.

“Attribute all independent financial resources of each military camp to the Ministry of Taxation, no the Ministry of Finance. Order all soldiers of the military camps to be dismissed and become stipend soldiers.”

“Since the sage’s mercy is like heaven how would they defy?”

“Also establish a new-style army to replace the five military camps. Today the British army is said to be the sharpest and most elite throughout the world, if newly nurturing an elite army of one against a hundred receiving their advice can shatter any enemy like splitting bamboo.”

Only the army.

An army that can even win against Qing!

Seeing Qing that is getting beaten by Western armies so much and now even getting beaten by rebels called Taiping Heavenly Kingdom or whatever, Joseon’s upper and lower all became severe gambling addicts of <​pierce Qing with one bamboo spear and succeed northern expedition>...

***

Where did my Joseon go.

Where did my small and cute Joseon go.

This emotion now... had reddened eyes seeing boy girl heads of household who lost parents and fell into the swamp of poverty but still living vigorously, the feeling of seeing that kid grown into an excellent gangster a few years later.

- You made it like this.

No way. I only preached free trade and propriety.

This is not the British Empire but Prussia! A dark evolution version I never even set!

“So what shall I do?”

“Present some current affairs policies a bit. Things among Western civilization or systems that would be helpful to this country if introduced.”

“I don’t know Joseon well but...”

“Isn’t that a thing we review again.”

The carriage (British-made) that was advancing for a long time stopped.

“His Majesty bestowed this mansion on you.”

“The grace... is boundless...”

A familiar house.

Because it’s Kim Jwageun’s house.

No. It seems like a ghost will come out really.

- What?

Not you.

Anyway.

Nurturing Joseon trying to evolve into Prussia into an excellent British Empire seemed to become my first task.

And if such a thing there are many.

The time to show my skill has come...!

© 명원 #1jwz2

Author's note

I hope all readers have a happy Chuseok!