As Prophet - Chapter 171



Only Noblemtl

Episode 171. True Man’s Advice

When the experienced trainer Dojeong suggested avoiding the extreme difficulties, the king asked again.

“Then what do you think about Cheondo?”

“It is my personal opinion. There must be a reason why the King said that. It is true that we are not in the mainstream of running the state, but we must do our best to obtain information and make decisions. We must call them separately to confirm the reason and make a decision. If it is to protect the ancestral shrine and the country, it is an issue that must be decided urgently.
“We have already confirmed the inaction of the Il-dae-gye horde. If they and the Northern Army join forces to attack, it will not be the same as yesterday’s battle. They rushed in based on their individual strength, and since they did not have enough defensive equipment, they were able to attack with archery. If the Jurchen and Il-dae-gye allies are formed, it is hard to estimate how long our army will be able to hold out.”

“Ask again and then tell me.”

“That’s right.”

“Many of my senior officials think their military power is overestimated. What do you think?”

“Joseon must be very sensitive to the situation in Liaodong and the grasslands. We must not forget the cases of the Ming Dynasty conquering the grasslands through several expeditions. Their history is that they were trampled by countries that arose from the grasslands. The Han people established only the Han, Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, and the other countries were all countries of foreign ethnicities. For a long time, the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties occupied the country. It could happen again.
Frankly, we have tried to ignore the situation on the plains. We can no longer do that. Isolating the country and blocking foreign exchanges is not the answer. We suppressed the Japanese invasion and prohibited their entry. I do not think that was the solution. We must know how they are changing.”

The king respected the suggestion of Dojeong Lee Gi-moon, a balanced training center.

“We need to recover from the war and prepare for the enemy who has not yet arrived. The Ministry of Rites should prepare to dispatch an envoy immediately. We need to form a delegation and be able to leave tomorrow, or even today. It will be important to draft diplomatic documents.
Each department should focus on recovering from the war, but should actively respond to military needs. The Ministry of War should prepare to mobilize all the people. Prepare weapons and equipment, and arrange for the local soldiers to go up to the capital. Let’s end this with the commander.”

The king’s words. The audience shouted loudly, ‘Your grace is truly infinite!’ and waited for the king to leave before leaving the room.

* * *

Dalcheon, who had been brought before the king, looked around at the military officer sitting on his left and the civil official sitting on his right and bowed deeply.

“Your Majesty, I have responded to your call.”

“Welcome. Thank you for your hard work yesterday.”

“That’s a given.”

“You should be getting some rest, but you called me again.”

“Please give your order.”

Since there was no proper seat, he knelt down next to the officer who was recording the final report. The king frowned at his intentional position to show that he was nothing.

“Why are you standing there? Come this close.”

“I sat at the end because it seemed like a place where a person who is neither a civil nor a military official should be.”

“Separate the seats?”

“Governing the country is a serious matter. No one should interfere and meddle.”

“You recommended the heavenly way. You discussed it with the senior ministers.”

The Eastern Seungji briefly reported what had happened in the Sangcham position. Dalcheon bowed deeply.

“If my opinion is not suitable, then just don’t adopt it.”

“And what if the country falls apart?”

“That is also your Highness’s choice. Just as the process of living a human life involves countless choices, I think the political process is similar.”

“Why don’t you put your mind to it and make your point?”

“I have already given you enough explanation. Forcing someone to do something they don’t want to do is the hardest thing, so how much harder will it be for the person listening if you keep talking?”

“I want to check again.”

“I am stuck in Hanyang, so I don’t have much information. Don’t judge that there is not enough information, and don’t suffer from it. You should make a judgment based on the information you have now. What will you do if their advance party appears at Gupabal in two days or three days?”

“Is it Gupabal?”

“I don’t know yet. I gave you an example.”

“Is that all there is left?”

“If they are coming down, then yes.”

“Would a diplomatic solution be difficult?”

“I have already made up my mind and come down. Diplomacy should have been done before then due to time constraints. Of course, it should be done now, but I think I have missed the timing. I think it would be better to dismiss the Minister of Rites.”

Dalcheon’s words were blunt. Personnel is a sensitive issue, so anyone would hesitate to express their opinion, but he spoke straight away.

“The Minister of Rites… … .”

“We made no diplomatic efforts at all. We left it to the border guards, saying it was border work. When a battle breaks out, it’s the guards’ job to fight, but to comfort and support them so that they don’t become enemies of our country is because they have abandoned their duty. They are doing well at the border, and we don’t want to get caught up in it, so we pretended not to know or hear. We don’t know who they are, but we need to dismiss those who have abandoned their duty and set the standard straight. Right now, the officials are just watching. Show them that they will be dismissed if they do that.”

“We can’t get through the current difficulties with greetings.”

“It is depriving other loyalists of the opportunity to work hard.”

One of the people sitting in a row across from him bows his head, trembling. Dalcheon guessed that he was the Minister of Rites.

“Isn’t that the solution to the current situation?”

“It’s the minimum measure to get things done.”

“Oh, I really want that.”

He has absolutely no experience in state affairs. Is there anything easier to say than to cut someone because he did something wrong?

“Then let me ask you. Who would you recommend to be the Minister of Rites?”

“How would I know? Looking at the list of the Great Commandment, many people will have to take off their official uniforms anyway. It is a misjudgment to associate with those who committed such a terrible act as partners in state affairs, and there is a great concern that we will not be able to take appropriate measures when necessary.
The merchants of Chang’an are now packing up their things. It is not only because of yesterday’s incident. When I asked them why, they said that a great war is coming. The rumor has already spread. But they are holding vain hopes that it cannot be true, that the barbarians are weakly armed and can be easily defeated, and are doing nothing about it. Shouldn’t we send someone to their camp immediately?

If you don’t know where it is, you should send someone to the Yeojin settlement. You haven’t done anything so far. Wouldn’t this be helping Yeo-ui?”

At the word Yeo-ui, several people’s faces turned pale. Dal-cheon, who saw their complexions, tried hard to look away. He already knew that many officials had cooperated with them, and he had a list of them, so why was the king hesitating? If he really cared about the people, he shouldn’t do that.

“I called you today to confirm the necessity of the Heavenly Way.”

“Ahem. I have already explained it sufficiently to the ministers. What else do you wish to confirm?”

“Are they really coming?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“How many soldiers do they have?”

“We estimate that there are at least 10,000, but not more than 20,000.”

“Fighting power?”

“It’s too strong. Our military can’t handle it.”

“Aren’t you going to fight while leaning against the wall?”

“It wouldn’t be that hard for them to open the gate. They just built a gate in one part of the wall. There are no ramparts or bastions. There are no moats in front of the gate or walls, and there are no pits or anything like that. We can install spears and antlers, but that alone won’t be enough to stop their advance. Hanyangseong wasn’t built for battle. They can come over from anywhere. Hanyangseong is only effective at stopping the people, but it’s useless in war. The palace is the same. It has low walls and no defensive facilities. They say they’ll fight by relying on the walls, but the walls they rely on are weak.”

The king closed his eyes. What he said should have been at least friendly and cooperative, but he brutally revealed the truth. Time after time repeats, confirming that many things were wrong.

“I think that’s why they built a mountain fortress around Hanyangseong.”

“There are Namhansanseong and Bukhansanseong.”

“Where would you go in that case?”

The king’s gloomy face hardened. He probably didn’t want to go. He would change his mind if danger came, but there was hope that it wouldn’t happen. It hadn’t become a reality yet.

“Who would want to go?”

“It is not too late even now. Move the people, move the food and weapons, Your Majesty.”

Is it something so obvious to him? It doesn’t make sense to us, but he speaks as if there is chaos right now. It’s because there is a big difference in perception. Since the king doesn’t answer, Dalcheon asks.

“Have you by any chance issued an order to call up the local troops?”

“Not yet.”

“Even if you’ve already done it, it’ll be too late. But if you haven’t done it yet, no matter how fast you hurry, it’ll be too late. They’ll arrive in a few days.”

“I would be relieved if you could tell me how you are so sure. The officials still do not believe that the enemy is coming.”

He hides his own distrust by talking about the distrust of his officials.

“I already told you. According to the news from the mountain people, quite a number of them crossed the border to Hoeryong. They were not going to cause trouble, but they were properly dressed in armor and riding horses, so it seemed like they were going to war. They were going somewhere other than the usual transportation routes, and I heard that they were headed to Hanyang.”

“But why didn’t they inform the country?”

“We cannot help but ask them what kind of country Joseon is. Why should we tell them? Why should they help a country of Confucian scholars who discriminate, exclude, and ignore them? It is rather fortunate that they did not join the Northern Army.”

Then, one of the officials stood up and glared at Dalcheon.

“Didn’t they eat the bracken ferns of this land? They say they have nothing to eat, and that the country is in trouble, so they don’t send news.”

“It’s not Baek-i or Suk-jae. And they will remember the friendly attitude of Jeonjo more than Joseon. We held Palgwanhoe and invited them to treat them well. We made sacrifices to heaven and prayed at the Sogyeok-seo and Taeeul-jeon that we set up here and there. But what about now? They look at Taoists as if they were fools or crazy idiots. Who would want to help them? Wouldn’t they tell us to protect our own country?”

“Oh my god, is there another group of traitors like this?”

Dalcheon sat up at the word treason. He smiled at him and asked his name.

“I don’t know who you are, so please tell me who you are.”

“I am Lee Byeong-yong, a senior official of the Ministry of Taxation.”

“Oh! I remember that the goods from the royal treasury were passed on to the rebels through your hands. Is that the action of someone who wants to protect the country?”

The king trembled at the new fact.

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Who is the person who bowed his head at Yeoui’s feet and cried?”

“what.”

“Shall I tell you who the true owner of this land is?”

The king struck the table.

“How did the king know that?”

“While checking the armory, I noticed that there were a lot of swords and such, so I asked the prisoner and he said that they had taken them out from there and distributed them.”

The king’s gaze turned to the chief of the Ministry of Taxation.

“Your Majesty, this is a ridiculous accusation! Absolutely not.”

The king shook his head.

“Call the goldsmith immediately and have him interrogate that bastard!”

Things are going in the wrong direction. Now is not the time… … .