Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 974: A tree with many branches….. (3)

“Haa~. I’m disturbed.”

Crown Prince Wu, who was processing the documents, sighed with a distraught expression.

“Why are you looking so distraught? The sergeant is right around the corner.”

“Ah! Are you here?”

Wu, who had hurriedly stood up and bowed in response to a remark uttered by Duke Anpyeong, who was passing by, responded with a still distraught expression.

“That slope makes people feel uneasy.”

“Hahaha! It’s natural to feel distraught when marriage is right in front of you. But isn’t it all natural?”

“But starting with the installation of the crown prince, it’s not something I wanted to accomplish…”

Anpyeong felt a little sad as he watched Wu slurring his words.

‘He didn’t become the crown prince because he wanted to…’ *

* *

The uproar that occurred when Wu became the crown prince was already widely rumored throughout Seoul. There were two main reactions from Seoul residents who heard the rumor.

“If you had asked me to be the crown prince, I would have said ‘Thank you!’ and accepted it with a flattering response. But you turned it down? You were so generous!”

“Even the lowest-ranking officials at Gyeongbokgung Palace and the royal court go around crying every day, saying, ‘I’m going to die or I’m going to live.’ How much hardship would it be for the crown prince or the emperor? Even if it were me, I’d run away.”

“But you’re the crown prince, right? That means you’re the next emperor, right? You can have all the power and wealth of this empire, right? Why do you turn it down? Is it just power and wealth? You can have all the beauties you want and enjoy the rich world, right? ”

“There is an Board of Audit and Inspection? And what kind of pot holder is the first law?”

“…….”

“Why is there a saying, ‘taking care of maturity’ in the first place? Even if you get a beautiful woman, do you have time to play with her?”

“But he’s the emperor.”

“What do you do if you’re the emperor? It’s all layered.”

“ah!”

* * *

Knowing the circumstances, Anpyeong looked at Wu with sad eyes. No, not just Anpyeong, but all the musicians and officials around him looked at Wu with similar expressions.

“How many things in the world can be done the way you want? You have to give in to what you have to give in moderation.”

“Whoa~.”

Wu sighed unconsciously at Anpyeong’s words and confessed his feelings.

“It’s not that I don’t know that either. But in the process of selecting a crown princess, there is a process of looking at archery, but why is there no process of looking at music or singing and dancing? I dreamed of a scene where the queens danced to my song and shared affection, but the music and dance were not there. “Why isn’t there a course to watch the dances and dances?”

“……..”

“……..”

At Wu’s words, Anpyeong and everyone around him fell silent.

‘Please return my compassion!’

However, soon after, Anpyeong and the people around him looked at Wu with sad eyes again.

‘Well, it’s famous that you become powerful as soon as you enter the internal list…’

* * *

Among the rumors and stories related to the imperial family during this period, there were a few things that all the people of the empire nodded their heads to. One of them was a story related to the women of the imperial family.

-There are five total armies in the empire. Army, Navy, Internal Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Foreign Affairs.

The empress, her concubines, and the inns that served them were collectively called the Naemyeongbu, and the organization where the royal relatives and the wives and wives of high-ranking officials gathered was the Oemyeongbu. The internal register mentioned by the people was not the traditional internal register, but only referred to the empress, the crown princess, and the crown prince.

However, the reason why the Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs departments were treated as military was because if you became a member of the Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs departments, you were unconditionally trained in the art of guns. And that’s not at the level of a hobby, but at the level of an elite soldier. The origin of this tradition was the ‘Beomgwol Incident’ that occurred in the year of Gyeyu.

At that time, when the private soldiers led by Grand Prince Yangnyeong and Seo Seon crossed the wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace, not only Empress Soheon, but also the Crown Princess and her subordinates participated in the battle to stop them. From then on, an implicit rule and tradition arose that all the emperor’s women should know how to properly use a gun.

-No matter what, it is the emperor’s women who stand by the emperor’s side until the end. We are the emperor’s final sword and shield!

This was the reason why the women of Naemyeongbu learned gunsmithing skills properly. Since the internal list was like this, it was natural that the external list also joined the wave. And archery was added to the process of selecting the crown princess and benefactor.

-Guns are something that the people of Yeoyeom are not allowed to have, so let’s just look at archery.

-The crown princess and the queen, as well as the women whose names are listed in the foreign register, must learn the art of guns under the supervision of the empress.

In this way, the rumor was born that the internal and external registers were also military. And then another scandalous rumor began to circulate.

-The reason the emperor does not take women other than the empress and the empress is for survival. Later, when Hyang heard this cheeky rumor, he laughed and shook his head.

“It’s so hard to find time to brush, but the three of us are too much. Don’t you know the saying, ‘If your husband is into fishing, you don’t have to worry about cheating?’”

* * *

‘That doesn’t mean you can’t understand…’

“Hmm…”

Anpyeong, who had been pondering for a moment over Woo’s complaints, made a suggestion.

“Then wouldn’t it be okay to add singing and dancing to the selection process?”

“Is that possible?”

After hearing Anping’s proposal, not only Wu but also those around him looked at Anping with similar expressions.

“What else is impossible?”

“But the world’s evaluation of song and dance…”

The imperial people’s social evaluation of song and dance and arts has been quite harsh since ancient times. Things got better when a high-ranking person named Anpyeong came out publicly and a comprehensive entertainment center was created, but there was still a long way to go. That’s why Wu was worried.

“The Board of Audit and Inspection will not sit still if we put the singing and dancing in the selection process. It does not suit the royal family’s tradition.”

“joy!”

Anpyeong, who snorted at Wu’s point, responded with an expression that said it was no big deal.

“Chetong? Do you know, Prince Hwang? That in the past, when Emperor Won was organizing Aak and Hyangak with Park Yeon, Emperor Won created Jeongganbo.”

“yes?”

Anpyeong, who mentioned King Sejong’s anecdote, snorted again.

“Hmph! Even Emperor Wen did not take melody lightly, so what a freezing cold! If you argue about it, it will be an insult to the state of affairs! Who was the first to create quick melody!”

“ah!”

Wu’s face brightened at Anpyeong’s words. This was because it had the most reliable shield. Looking at Wu’s brightened face, Anpyeong told him the best and worst way.

“If you keep trying to make it a problem, say you won’t become the crown prince!”

“aha!”

And Wu immediately went into action.

* * *

“Ha~. This bastard…”

Hyun, who saw Woo’s complaint, held his forehead, thought about it, and looked for incense again. Hyang, who received Woo’s appeal, responded right away.

“Isn’t it okay to accept it?”

“But…”

“The fact that she has already become a candidate for crown princess doesn’t mean there are no problems with her family or behavior? They are not only reviewing officials, but they even went to the Secretariat Committee and skipped it once.”

“I guess so.”

“In that case, I think it is okay to add the conditions the crown prince wants. Since we have granted the desires of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, shouldn’t we also grant the crown prince’s desires? The person we will live with is not us, but the crown prince.”

Hyun, who thought about Hyang’s words for a moment, answered with a bright face.

“I will.”

After the string was turned, Hyang looked out the window and clicked his tongue.

“Tsk! It’s been a while, Anpyeong. I guess I have to deal with this guy. I can’t give a child constructive advice, but can you tell me how to make him cry?”

As the scent filled his tongue, Anpyeong suddenly shivered from the chills that came over him.

“I suddenly got a chill… Look, I have to leave the office early today.”

When Anpyeong hurriedly retreated from the hospital due to a sudden chill, all kinds of tonics and rare foods were poured into Anpyeong’s house.

“Duke, you must live a long life!”

Artists who were greatly indebted to Anpyeong gathered together in groups of three and five to obtain medicine and delicacies and brought them back.

“Thank you, Maui. I guess I didn’t live in vain.”

“Duke, don’t say things like that, you must live a long life!”

“Isn’t this enough to live like this?”

“Oh my gosh, Duke!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t die until I die.”

Some artists who were worried about Anpyeong’s health poured purified water and prayed for Anpyeong’s health.

* * *

Perhaps due to the butterfly effect caused by the scent, all of the scent brothers were living long lives. It wasn’t just longevity. Everyone was making a name for themselves in various fields. Jinpyeong, famous for its railroads and iron horses, and Anpyeong, famous for its entertainment, were not the only two cities. Princess Jeongso was renowned for her medical skills, and Princess Jeonggui was renowned for her research in industry and academia.

In addition, Hyang’s half-brothers were making a name for themselves in the fields of military affairs, commerce, industry, and art. What is interesting is that not only Hyang, but also Jinpyeong and Anpyeong played a role in the background of their becoming famous. When they took on practical tasks using their aptitude, what they most lacked was human resources and budget. To solve this problem, Jinpyeong and Anpyeong actively attracted their sisters and half-brothers.

At the time, Hyang said it was a recruitment of talent that was evaluated as a ‘royal multi-level’ approach. In any case, Joseon was quickly transformed into an empire thanks to the active movement of royal personnel. Of course, this would not have been possible without King Sejong’s active support.

Thanks to the active support of King Sejong, who completely seized power, Hyang and his brothers turned Joseon around.

Later historians evaluated this period as follows.

-It was possible because it was a time of chaos in the early Joseon Dynasty, when nothing was yet standardized or fixed.

-The empire was able to grow like that because it had branches called imperial brothers on the strong root of Emperor Yuan and the strong trunk of the first emperor.

* * *

Although a time worthy of the term “peaceful era” continued, incidents and accidents continued to occur. Not long after Crown Prince Wu’s selection of crown princess, a huge scandal broke out.

In the history before Count Jinpyeong-hyang intervened, a sex scandal involving Yeonsangun broke out in the history before Yung-hyang, the son of King Seongjong, intervened. Jung, who received the title of baron after his coming-of-age ceremony, was famous for his deep knowledge of melody. However, even before he became an adult, under the pretext of discussing music, he frequently visited gisaeng houses and played with them, causing constant scandal.

However, despite this scandal, there were many sympathetic views on Jung. This was because her father, Count Jinpyeong, was famous for having an uneven marital life, to the point where he was called the ‘Divorce Count.’ But this scandal had a very different outcome.

Not only was he caught engaging in adultery, but he also committed adultery with several men and women, engaged in sodomy, and even smoked cherry blossoms, which were prohibited by law. Naturally, the Board of Audit and Inspection rose up, and appeals from local nobles who heard the rumor poured in like a flood once again.

“What should I do? After all, it would be reasonable to follow the law, right?”

Hyang frowned and nodded at Hyun’s question.

“Isn’t that the law? Of course it is right to follow the law.”

In the end, he was sentenced to heavy punishment through the Yungun Trial and was forced to work in a mine. And it was deleted from the imperial family tree. As an aside, the Duke of Jinpyeong, who could not bear the embarrassment and shame upon hearing this news, called Count Jinpyeong and beat him until he cried out. However, because of Duke Jinpyeong, who could not hold back his anger, the tigers living in the great forests of the northeastern region – Siberia – had to suffer.