It Became a Symbol of the Bronze Age - Chapter 314



Only Noblemtl
Read Novel Noblemtl

Episode 314. The Wedding

Even though the wedding ceremony was held in Seorabeolbu, quite a few people from all walks of life came. Many of them came from Haedongseong.

It can’t be helped.

It was the wedding of the son of the next presidential candidate, Guan Yi, and my daughter, the former president.

“Dalbi, do you have enough silver coins prepared?”

“Of course.”

Dalbi prepared very thoroughly for this day. She searched all over the country to recruit professional musicians, and she also prepared the best food. So, what does the best mean by Asadal standards?

“Is this the honey fruit of Seorabeolbu?”

“What kind of alcohol is this?”

“It’s called Gvino. It’s a liquor made from chacha.”

“Oh, you mean the red berries I saw on my way here?”

“Ah! What a wonderful smell! It’s a sexually transmitted disease!”

“What do you mean, Saint’s disease? This is Asadal chicken-fried!”

“Oh my god, you’re crazy, you’re crazy!”

It means that it has everything from Asadal fried chicken, to danghulu (spicy rice cake soup), and even geuvino (wine).

“Thank you, sir.”

A woman greeted me from the side. She was Guan Yi’s wife, and originally from a tribe that had quite a bit of influence in Buruna. And of course.

“Congratulations, sir.”

“You should receive the congratulations. With this, your position as president is confirmed.”

Guan Yi also came with him.

“Hehehe, I guess I didn’t bring enough….”

Guan Yi said this while looking at the wedding hall. Hehe, why would someone with no money (less than me) do something like that?

“When getting married in Asadal, all the groom’s family brings is pork and three glasses of alcohol.”

In modern times, it is considered polite to bring a lot of gifts when getting married in Jungwon, but this is not the case in Asadal. In Goguryeo, the husband’s family brought nothing but pork and three cups of alcohol.

So, they had a fairly advanced idea that marriage was not an act of ‘handing over a daughter’ but ‘something that two people fell in love with.’

That is why, if you bring too many gifts, the bride’s family will get upset. Are you trying to buy my daughter now? It’s the same thing.

‘In reality… the custom of free love was strong, and Goguryeo was also a country with strong women’s rights.’

Look at the tale of . The princess said she didn’t want to get married, so she left home and found a husband herself.

Besides, honestly, whatever Guan-O brings in won’t be appealing to me.

Who am I?

Husband of the richest man in Asadal.

“I’m grateful that you came all the way from Haedongseong, so what else could I bring?”

As Dalbi spoke with a smile, Guan Yi also bowed his head.

“Thank you. Please take good care of my son.”

“Don’t worry.”

And of course, it was decided that Gwan-nuri would be my son-in-law. I will probably change it to Seongdo Pungbaek-nuri soon.

“…President Barang, you couldn’t come because you were busy with state affairs. In fact, I couldn’t come either, but it was my son’s wedding.”

While we were chatting like that,

Phew-!

A trumpet sound was heard.

In the 21st century, this would be like saying, ‘The ceremony will begin soon, so please take your seats.’

“The meal will begin soon. Hey, the priests are coming.”

From a distance, I could see priests dressed neatly in white walking toward me. They were from Shinshi.

***

In medieval Europe, when a couple got married, they usually made a vow before God.

In the case of an ordinary serf couple, the blessing would be given by a local pastor, and in the case of an urban couple, it would be given by a high-ranking pastor in the castle… During royal weddings, it was common for cardinals or the Pope to come out and give blessings.

And it was similar in Asadal, in the case of Songha and Nuri’s wedding, the priests who guarded the shrine of Shinshi personally brought the old man down.

He showed his generous blessings to the couple who were having a wonderful wedding. After the wedding ceremony(?) was over.

“Father! Please say something!”

“Pungbaek! Pungbaek!”

“Please give me that legendary congratulatory speech!”

People looked at me and said,

The legendary wedding ceremony…? What is that?

While he was panicking, Eulji whispered.

“That… You know the congratulatory speech you gave me at my wedding?”

“Oh, that?”

I remember giving an Indian toast that started with the words, “Now the two of you will not get rained on.”

“…That’s popular again these days.”

“why?”

“The words themselves are good, and Elder Poongbaek is also popular. People want to hear it directly.”

So… in a word, you want to see my live performance.

“That’s too bad.”

“…yes?”

“I won’t do that.”

Unfortunately, the speech I prepared this time is not like that. I feel a little sorry for Eulji, but it was a replica of the Indian chief’s speech.

At that time, the situation was what it was. There was no time to prepare, and it was right before war broke out.

But this time, it’s my daughter’s wedding.

Since I had some free time.

I wanted to tell the story myself.

“…Song Ha-ya.”

I looked at my daughter. She was wearing purple, the dyed clothes of the Phoenicians.

These are clothes Dalbi prepared, and she may have wanted to make some money by doing PPL, but… more than that, she probably wanted to dress up her daughter in the most precious thing.

“It’s pretty.”

“…Thank you, Father.”

“okay.”

I carefully put out the words I had prepared.

“I come from a very far away place. And I have been here for a very long time. Sometimes I think about why I came here. Why did it happen? Why was it me?”

The expressions of those listening to the story became confused. Perhaps they thought that the ‘far away place’ was Manchuria, and perhaps they thought that the ‘far away time’ was 30 years ago.

And some might wonder why they don’t say the legendary ‘I won’t get rained on’.

Without paying any attention to those gazes.

I continued my story.

“I met a lot of people, and I lost a lot of people. There were a lot of hard times. There were a lot of times when I wished it was all a dream, and there were times when I missed those who passed by so much.

But after I met you.

“I’m grateful that this isn’t all a dream.”

I smiled at Song Ha.

“Congratulations.”

Before I knew it, tears were welling up in my daughter’s eyes.

“Thank you, Dad. I will live well.”

***

If this was a morning drama, it would have ended with Song Ha’s wedding and the ending credits would have said, “Thank you for loving the wild and wild Poongbaek story so far.”

If it was a game fantasy, there would have been legendary lines like, “Brother, why is this kid laughing?” or “Leave him alone. He must be having good dreams.”

That never happened to me.

I sat down with Gwan-o and chatted about various things.

“…If anyone sees it, they’ll think Song-ha is coming to our house.”

Guanwu said that without any sense.

Oh my, the labor pains are breaking.

This is definitely a capital T.

“You, make sure to use a large font. If you don’t have a font of agol in your personality, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“I know my personality pretty well. I’m thinking of using Agol too.”

“You know it, but you have no intention of fixing it?”

“It’s easier to hire a traitor than to change his personality.”

Guan Yu laughed.

“Anyway, I’m glad the wedding went well. I’m not saying that she’s my child, but Nuri is outstanding.”

“I know that too. By the way, it seems like the presidency has been practically confirmed now.”

“Well, that is, unless a natural disaster occurs, right?”

I talked to this guy thinking of him as the ‘next president’.

“What is it like to come to Seorabeolbu?”

“It’s been three years since I left Nuri. In some places it’s a very short moment, in others it’s a very long time, but in Seorabeolbu it was the latter.”

Guan Yu laughed.

“Crops that were invisible are now visible, people that were invisible are now visible… and most of all, ships that were invisible are now visible. Six of them, I think?”

“A swift? Seven feet tall.”

“Whew, there are a lot. When I look at them, they’re all different sizes.”

“I made several because I didn’t know what would be suitable yet.”

Some had an extra sail, some were slightly different sizes, and there was even one with a crow (cobus).

Personally, I was against it, but Adallah, who had tasted crow mulberry during the Je-Yeon War, strongly insisted that this should also be experimented with.

“We will mass-produce the ones that are rated the best. If we have twenty or thirty of these fast ships… the seas around here will literally belong to us.”

“…There will be a lot of work to do when we get back. We should send two or three generals who are skilled in the navy.”

Of course, one or two would be fine, but I, as the vice-minister of the Seorabeolbu, cannot handle all of these giant battleships as I please.

That’s the same as praying, ‘Please revolt now!’

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * Baca Novel Korean * *
* * * Noblemtl dot com * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Perhaps the Asadal council will create a new department to manage the navy here and send troops.

Up to this point, it’s confirmed.

“…But, I built it with my own money. You wouldn’t take it for free, would you?”

“Of course. I think it will be me who will take it, not President Barack.”

“…So, what are you going to do with the boat? You’re not going to pay me with money, are you?”

“No way.”

Guan Yi said, giggling.

“How far have you thought about it?”

“Building a tower on Heukgak Island?”

“Hahahahahaha, sir. You are joking too much! That place is a small island and far from Asadal, so a single merchant could easily rule over the entire place. If we allow the Dalbi merchant to rule here, wouldn’t it be virtually a fiefdom? This area must be managed by the Asadal merchants unconditionally. In the first place, why would we have sent Jingo?”

Although Guan Yi was a man of strong loyalty throughout history, he was also the type to say out loud that something could not be done.

“Oh, there is one way. It’s not about being at the top, it’s about being in charge.”

“…it’s okay.”

Actually, I didn’t say it because I thought it would work out for me… but it hurts my heart to be proven by the facts.

“Is there anything else?”

“Would you mind putting one on the top of Jang-gi-do (Nagasaki)?”

“Hahaha, you idiot. You’re joking too much! If you keep doing that, I’ll be kicked out as soon as I become president!”

… I guess so.

It is also absolutely right to directly manage the long-term management of the Haedongseong.

Let’s say a force takes over Asadal and Janggi Island across the sea. This is the same as saying, ‘Please raise a rebellion quickly!’

In terms of the Central Plains, it would be the same as planting a feudal lord in Sichuan.

Even in Jungwonsa Temple, which is full of all kinds of eccentricities, there is no one who has committed such an eccentric act.

Xiang Yu said that?

Isn’t he a king Kong of Chu wearing a crown? (This is not my personal opinion. This is the opinion of the people of the Central Plains.)

I took a deep breath.

“So, what are you going to give me?”

“First of all, what I’m thinking about… How about distributing gold and silver coins first?”

“Gold and silver coins?”

“These days, if you pay your taxes with this, you get a 10% discount.”

“Wouldn’t that be worth the price of the boat?”

“Haha, don’t you know? Are you pretending not to know? From what I heard from Shumu, the priority circulation right of currency… isn’t that a small thing?”

Guan-O asked slyly. This guy, it seems he’s heard more from Shumu than I thought.

‘Well, that’s not wrong.’

Due to the nature of the upper class, the assets they have are often things rather than ‘currency’ such as rice or salt. The goods that are piled up in warehouses are all like that.

From that top position, having a large amount of currency available for immediate use at any time means much more than a mere 10% tax cut.

Roughly speaking, it’s similar to how Colombian drug dealers are obsessed with cash.

“Besides, this will also help with the Shinsiki Knights’ business that you are doing. What did they say, that if you deposit money in one place, you can withdraw it in another place? Hehe, who would have thought of such a thing if it weren’t for the Dalbi Sangdan that spread its influence all over the country?”

… Yeah, well.

Paying in cash at once is not a bad thing for me either.

In the first place, looking at the fact that the priests of that distant city brought an old man to Songha’s wedding, it seems that this Shinshi Knights Unit is gaining quite a bit of points from the Shinshi side.

“…Okay, let’s do that.”

“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”

Guan Yi smiled brightly.

“By the way, when do you plan on leaving for Habai Island?”

“We are currently drying noodles made by grinding rice and wheat.”

“…Noodles. I don’t eat them much in the central region, but when I came to Asadal, I couldn’t find anything as good as the dried noodles.”

It’s funny, but the China we know as a staple food of noodles must have been around the Tang Dynasty. During this period, the staple food of the Central Plains was not noodles, but porridge.

“It’s good because it’s easy to eat if you dry it and store it, and you can just boil it in water and eat it.”

“Hoo.”

“In addition to that, we are preparing dry goods and other things. Above all, we are waiting for the wind.”

“The wind… When the north wind blows, it will last about two months, right?”

“That’s about it.”

Guan Yu nodded at those words.

“It’s just right.”

“Yeah, that’s perfect.”

***

Two months later.

Ten Phoenician merchant ships.

Three ‘sailboats’.

A total of about 1,000 sailors departed from Seorabeolbu.

“Pierce through!”

“Break through the black swan!”

“Strike until your arms cramp up!”

Just like last time, we crossed the Kuroshio Current.

Here Margo said something.

“Let’s lower the sails and go.”

“Shall we lower the sails?”

“Yes. Shouldn’t we see if this nimble ship can pass through the current without wind?”

That’s right. The Nalssundori was a warship built to control the seas of Ryukyu and Taiwan.

A Phoenician merchant ship, you know, can move according to the wind. But a fast ship can’t do that. What good would a warship be if it could only head to Ryukyu and Taiwan at some point?

“A Phoenician merchant ship has only twelve oarsmen and relies heavily on sails, so it would be difficult to overcome the current without wind, but a swift ship with fifty oarsmen could do it.”

“All right. Fold the sails!”

Maybe the oarsmen were glaring at me as if they wanted to kill me, but they were below deck and I couldn’t see them anyway.

Chorrrrrr!

And soon, the sails were folded.

I took a deep breath. If I couldn’t cut through the Kuroshio Current without a sail… the stern was a failure.

And the result?

“Hey, that boat!”

“What is that?”

“It’s the crow! Why is it lagging behind?”

The Swift Ship was equipped with several items for experiments, one of which was the Crow’s Man, a fixed-mast bridge.

This guy was not in his right mind and kept tottering around, probably because he had a heavy object tied to him.

“Okay, okay!”

I managed to get through it somehow.

The three fast-moving ships proved that they could navigate the Kuroshio Current using only human power, without wind power.

This meant that the ship could soon serve as a battleship for control of the seas over Ryukyu and Taiwan, which was something to be very happy about.

“…Don’t put that on next time.”

“…Should I just take it off now?”

“It’s already been glued on, so I can’t take it off. I have to go back to Seorabeolbu and take it off.”

As I looked at that crow’s crow, I felt a vague emotion rather than joy.

I called someone right away.

“Ugh….”

Adallah was the one who most strongly advocated for the crow to be attached to the swift ship. He was the one who saw with his own eyes the crow destroying the Yan ships during the Je-Yeon War.

“No, clearly the crow is a good thing….”

“My stomach hurts so bad….”

I took a deep breath and whispered softly.

The reason I whispered is… I didn’t want to be singled out by Captain Adallah in front of my subordinates.

“…I told you. Crows aren’t something to be used in the open sea….”

What I realized after coming here is that not all historical facts are correct. So this time, I listened to Adalah, who is a maritime expert.

But this time, it seems that history was right. As Roman historians have said countless times, the crow was a flying creature unsuited to ocean travel.

“…Shall I hit your head?”

“No, don’t hit me. What good is it if you hit your head in front of your subordinates? And… if someone asks if you hung a crow… just say that I hung one.”

“Then, Mr. Vice President…?”

“I don’t know much about the ocean, so I can be stubborn. If I say I don’t know, it’ll be the end of it anyway.”

There’s a huge difference in storytelling between something I told you not to do and then making a mess of it, and something I thought was good and then turned out to be bad.

“…I’m sorry, Your Excellency. But if I do that, Your Excellency will lose face….”

“You can’t lose face just because you made one mistake. A rich man doesn’t go broke just because he lost one piece of gold.”

I’d like to tap dance on that guy’s calf, but… there’s no reason to lose face with the captain on board.

The number one cause of death on board a ship is shipwreck, but the number two cause is definitely mutiny, right?

The reason I don’t want to die is because of that.

“…Vice President.”

Adalah’s eyes turned red when she heard those words.

“…thank you.”

Suddenly, the saying ‘A highly calculated attitude is not much different from moral excellence’ comes to mind.

It was exactly like that right now.

“I have decided.”

“what?”

“If I die, I will ask my wife to bury me in front of the grave of Deputy Minister Poongbaek. I will serve him even after I die.”

No, that’s a bit burdensome.

I’m not some Toegye Yi Hwang.

Read Novel Noblemtl
Read Novel Noblemtl