It Became a Symbol of the Bronze Age - Chapter 303



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Episode 303. Back to Asadal (2)

A while ago, Dalby made me a promise.

Even if it’s for my sake, let’s make it so that there are no lies between us.

So, as soon as Dalby arrived, he started telling me about various things related to me… and one of them really caught my attention.

“So, when I was gone… the people who came down from Haedongseong came to see my ‘Songdeokbi’? So, the Songdeokbi with my face carved into it?”

“That’s right. I put ink on paper and took a rubbing of the stele.”

“…perhaps.”

I asked.

“…With that, you said you were going to mint currency?”

“…that’s right.”

Dalbi nodded.

“They say they will put Hanho’s face on a gold coin and your face on a silver coin.”

So, that means that the Asadal No. 1 currency that will be issued soon… will have Hanho and my face on it.

Dalbi asked.

“…Are you offended? Should I have done something to oppose it?”

“No, not really.”

I shook my head. I meant what I said.

“It was a bit strange since it was built by Lady Song Deok-bi herself… Well, this was decided by Barang.”

“…Really? I thought you hated this kind of thing?”

“These days, I don’t really hate it.”

I mean it.

Even when Geoguru flattered me and named the acacia tree ‘Yellow Garap’ a while ago… I wasn’t particularly embarrassed.

Why is that?

Do you pride yourself on having done something like that? Do you want to leave your name in history even now?

anyway.

It’s true that I feel good, and I’m slowly getting used to this change in me.

And at this point, I felt it was dangerous.

“There’s not much left to do now. Just take over Habai Island (Taiwan) and move down there.”

Thanks to the Ryukyu people, I obtained information about the Philippines and Maluku.

Actually, the information itself was already in my head, so if you think about it, it’s like I even had a ‘way to explain it’ in my hands.

“The large island (Philippines) located just below Heukgaek Island is said to have a lot of jade, and is used for jade trade. We decided to call it Jade Island. The island below it (Maluku) produces cloves, so we decided to call it Spice Island.”

“…Why that story?”

“Those two are my last task.”

I spoke honestly to Dalby.

“And then, when this is over, I’m going to retire altogether.”

“Retirement?”

“I think it’s about time.”

In my mind, countless monarchs pass by.

He was a loser when he was young, but as he grew older, he became greedy and tried to implement the vassal system, which was the inherent right of the Zhou emperor.

Like Duke Hwan of Jehwan, who was imprisoned in his room and died after being friendly with traitors who only spoke good words and expelling those who spoke the truth.

King Gwanghaegun was a very intelligent man when he was young and had many expectations placed on him, but as he got older, he became suspicious and ended up being recorded as the worst tyrant.

Even the Qianlong Emperor, who led the Qing Dynasty to its peak, but ultimately provided the impetus for its decline in his later years.

… When I was learning history, I felt that they were a bit strange. Why did these people who were so brilliant when they were young… become different people and ruin their reign in the later years?

But, at this point… I think I understand how you feel.

“The people of Asadal now praise me for whatever I do.”

“That makes sense.”

“Maybe so. But… at some point, this started to feel so familiar to me.”

I’ve become so used to compliments.

“And, after hearing only compliments, at some point I started not hearing criticism. Even though I know in my head that something is right, there are many times when I frown without realizing it.”

I’m starting to get annoyed by the bitter words.

“Besides, at some point, I even started to think that it had to be me. I felt like I was the only one who was good, and everyone else seemed like they were all losers.”

I feel like I’m living a life of luxury.

“…That’s why, this seems dangerous. If this continues…I don’t know what I’ll do.”

I feel like I know why so many brilliant monarchs throughout history, like the Qianlong Emperor or Duke Huan of Qi, fell into ruin in their later years.

Because I feel it myself.

As I was feeling a strange sense of unease, Dalbi said.

“…Anyway, you should go to the common people. Another star of Asadal has fallen.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Can I not go?”

“I’m not busy. I’ll go by myself.”

I packed up my various belongings and headed towards the common people.

***

“This hero was once the enemy of Asadal… but after changing his mind, he became the hero of Asadal and made Asadal a country that would shine brightly forever.

“O gods of Asadal, sitting on each branch of the Shindan tree, please give me one branch of the Shindan tree.”

As the priest speaks, those who have been inspecting behind come carrying something. As they pass by, a cool chill tickles my skin.

Ice that doesn’t suit summer.

“…Where did you get that?”

“This is what you find in deep caves.”

Those who said so poured ice over a man’s body.

“It’s such a hot day, so you should have some cool ice.”

This is one of the funeral customs of the Bumjok. When someone dies in the summer, they bury the body with ice in the hope that the road will be cool.

Originally, a seonjang was also included here, but since there was no seonjang in Asadal at the present time, that part was replaced with a horse that men usually rode.

“That’s an old saying.”

“…I wish the deceased could have been with him on the branches of the Shindansu tree. That guy also stopped eating and drinking when his master died.”

I looked at the horse. It was not Asadal’s horse, but a much more majestic horse.

This is a Caucasian fine horse, the so-called ‘Han-Hyeol-Ma’, obtained from the northern people. As the original horse, the horses of this region were much larger and more stately than the Gwa-Ha-Ma.

As the men approached with swords, the old horse closed its eyes as if it knew its fate. Swish! The huge sword was pointed at the horse. Not at its neck, but at its tail.

“…This is the will of the old man. He said that when he died, he should not be buried with his horse. He was a great man, and he deserved a better master.”

The horse was a smart guy, and he might have understood what I was saying. He cried sadly in front of his master’s grave.

“…Who decided to take it?”

“I decided to hand it over to Elder Hanjin. He also said that he would take over the school run by Elder Hanho, following in the footsteps of Elder Jungsu.”

Hanjin… In that case, I will run this Asadal Military Academy well in place of Jungsoo and continue to nurture excellent talents.

“…Actually, originally, Geonmu was supposed to take charge. However, Geonmu had a lot of work to do and was still young, so Hanho decided to leave it to Hanjin.”

“…Well done.”

As I say this, I look at the body.

Next to Jung-soo stands Han-ho with a sad expression.

“…Jungsu, are you going?”

Hanho said so. His expression was serious.

It was worth it. Once upon a time, they were incompatible enemies as the Pan and the Celestials… but a strange time made them into best friends.

“I have decided to give you one thing. I hope you appreciate it.”

What did Hanho give up to Jungsoo?

“Bow to the God of War, Zhongshu!”

The title is ‘God of War’.

Hanho thought that this saying was more suitable for Jungsoo. He was the first-class contributor to the success of the ‘hammer and anvil tactic’, which became a model for Asadal cavalry infantry tactics.

After the spectacle was over.

I asked Hanho.

“…What title do you want, hyung?”

“Asadal’s first president, the god of archery, well… I guess I’ll get a lot from him, right? I can give up the god of war to that one-eyed guy. Damn, every time that guy slyly raised his one eye, I’d flinch and feel like my lifespan was shortened… Now I won’t have to see that anymore. I feel so relieved.”

Although he said that, Hanho’s expression was filled with sadness. He was his rival who competed with him and his best friend. The person who possessed both of those conflicting values ​​was ‘Jungsoo’.

“But that’s fortunate. The So clan is strong. Even the next vice-minister is said to be the son of the second son.”

“Yes.”

“Besides, my son-in-law is also strong. If you look at Uluman, isn’t he extending his influence to the archipelago?”

“Hmm… that’s right.”

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should say, ‘Uluga built a harem there’, but I didn’t want to ruin the mood.

If I say something like that, the water might burst out and kick the ice, and wouldn’t everyone here feel very, very awkward?

‘Besides, there will be no problems with the succession plan.’

In any case, the children of the Moon Goddess Tribe are not the ‘official’ descendants of Ulu.

They are merely descendants of God.

The people of the Moon Tribe won’t make a scene with this, saying, “It’s your child! It’s your child!” since Ulu already has a child in Asadal.

… So, let’s just stop talking.

like that.

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The funeral was held until sunset.

As the sun set, the corpse entered the magnificent tomb along with numerous burial objects.

“…There was something that Jungsoo wanted to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Thank you.”

“…What is it?”

“That’s all I said.”

… thank you.

What were you thankful for?

The answer to that question is unlikely to be heard for some time.

***

That evening.

I had a long-awaited reunion with Hanho. We had a new Asadal drink with us.

“Is this the honey made from ‘sugarcane’?”

“That’s right, bro. It’s called molasses.”

“…You didn’t put peppermint in it?”

“You can tell just by smelling it, right?”

“Well, I’m not old enough to know whether it’s rice cake or rice cake soup.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s a popular saying these days. There’s also a saying that goes, “It’s like putting mint in honey tea.”

“It means it’s finished perfectly. Like adding a finishing touch to a painting or adding a flower to a brocade.”

“…What does that mean?”

Oh, right.

The icing on the cake is a saying from Wang Anshi, and the point of a dragon is a saying from the Song Dynasty.

We often forget that most idioms no longer exist in this day and age.

In the first place, not even the Four Books and Five Classics were published in this era. I guess there were only three, the Great Learning, the Book of Songs, and the Book of Changes.

“…Anyway, dropping mint in honey tea means ruining the work that was already done.”

“…Why does that happen?”

“Okay. What’s the point of saying that?”

Hanho chuckled.

And, I drank sugar tea. In the 21st century, sugared water is not considered ‘tea’ but ‘sugar water’… but sugar was quite expensive in those days, so this was also considered a luxury drink.

Well, once we fully develop Ryukyu and go down to Taiwan, that kind of thing will stop happening.

“Anyway, it’s pretty hot. It tastes good.”

“Not only that, it could save people’s lives.”

“Save people’s lives?”

“Yes. The disease that takes the most lives from people in this era is diarrhea.”

Although the cause of the disease may be different, most fatal diseases are accompanied by diarrhea. Even smallpox is like that. If dehydration continues like that, the person will die.

Conversely, if you can prevent dehydration to some extent, your survival rate when you get sick will increase several times. Here, we get a piece of knowledge that may not be much, but can save countless people.

“Add a pinch of salt and six spoons of molasses to boiled water. This is easy for those who have diarrhea to drink. Drink one sip every time you have diarrhea, or two sips if it’s severe.”

It is an oral rehydration method.

According to people who do volunteer work in Africa, just using this oral rehydration method can reduce the mortality rate from diarrhea by more than a third.

Long ago, when Chau was blockading an area where an epidemic was rampant, if only he had this sugarcane, half of his worries would have been alleviated.

“It’s a major method, especially for children. Of course, you can use honey, but honey is expensive, right? However, sugar isn’t that expensive, so it’s a method worth trying.”

“…I am often amazed when I hear of the knowledge of the future.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Gunpowder and pulleys are just strange things. But the ‘single-water method’ you just mentioned is something that can still be done today, right? But none of us knew how to do it.”

“Someone must have known.”

I laughed.

“It’s just been forgotten.”

“Forgotten?”

“There is a disease called scurvy among sailors. It is a disease in which the gums bleed, and sailors are prone to it.”

“…This is the first time I’ve heard of this disease.”

“Actually, you won’t get it if you just eat vegetables or fruits. You can even eat meat dripping with blood. The reason sailors get it so easily is because they don’t have the conditions to eat meat, vegetables, or fruits.”

“…Did you write this down?”

“Of course. I wrote that before sailors set out, they should definitely take dried vegetables with them, and that they should also grow bean sprouts. Anyway… why am I talking about scurvy? This treatment came up about five times.”

“…What are you talking about, how can the cure come out five times?”

“I came out but I forgot.”

“…Are you going to lie and say that I don’t know the future?”

“It’s really salty.”

A 9th century Viking told us, “If your teeth bleed, eat raw fish,” but we forgot.

In the 15th century, Muslims spread the message that ‘if you load vegetables on your ship, you won’t get scurvy’, but we’ve forgotten about it.

In the 16th century, Africans said, “Dried fruit is a must when you go on a ship!” but I forgot.

A doctor said this in the 17th century, but it has been forgotten.

Only after one captain experimented successfully was it decided to supply lime to all ships.

“Knowledge is like this. It evaporates easily.”

“…Hoo.”

“That’s why outstanding people are important. Their words have credibility and basis.”

“Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“I’m telling you to write something. It’s not enough to just leave behind what you’ve learned. You have to put your name in there so that people will remember it.”

“It’s already happening.”

Hanho turned his back for a moment.

I closed my eyes in surprise.

“Ah, what if you suddenly turn your back on me in the sunlight? I was surprised, right?”

“What, you little brat?”

“Why don’t you wear topknots these days?”

“You don’t have a topknot! The middle of your head is completely empty!”

“I see! I still have that much left!”

“It’s noisy, look at this.”

Hanho threw the booklet at me.

A book titled .

“I wrote it. To be exact, with Jung-soo. Jung-soo is such a mean guy… He only closed his eyes after he finished writing this.”

“Hoo….”

I saw the content.

Inside, the details of the wars and manuals the Celestials had waged, as well as the internal details, were written in detail.

In the case of the Gom-Asadal War, the content of why Jungsu chose that strategy and how Hanho responded was written in a question-and-answer format.

The section on the Je-Yeon War was also detailed, and it seemed that Jin Go, a famous general of the Yan Dynasty, also participated in this book to some extent.

And that’s not all.

“…There are also battles that weren’t fought.”

In it, the future battles that I often told Hanho about were also written in detail.

“As you said, isn’t this the only way for future generations to see and learn? Joong-soo said something when he saw this… but he somehow got over it. But when I think about it, it was too easy. I think he probably had some idea about you.”

“…That makes sense.”

I often remember my father subtly asking me questions like, ‘What do you think my future children will be like?’

Every time that happened, I would just say, ‘You should ask the priest about that. Why are you asking me?’ and move on.

Actually… I don’t know. The So clan of the original history was one of the Sachudo clans of Buyeo and was very successful… but I don’t know what will happen in the changed history.

“Looking at this… it’s going to give future historians a headache.”

They probably roam the lands searching for fantasy battles that never actually existed. Honestly, I would do the same.

Looking at the details written in it, you would never imagine that this was a war that never actually took place.

“By the way, you.”

Hanho looked at me.

“Don’t you have something to say?”

“…yes?”

“Aside from this honey water story or the story about the heavy water. I think I want to talk about something else.”

“Are you a ghost?”

“A ghost is a ghost in the middle of nowhere.”

Should I laugh?

Because Hanho was giggling, I just giggled.

“Anyway, well… I guess you can guess. It’s starting to feel like your ears are getting thinner, right?”

“…How did you know?”

“I don’t know why.”

Hanho said.

“I did that too.”

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