As Prophet - Chapter 133



Only Krnovel

Episode 133. Ascend to the throne

When the commander of the royal guard came out and told Dalcheon about his intention to cooperate, Dalcheon immediately urged him to hand over command of the royal guard.

“Cooperation! Good. I thought it through well. Now, please hand over the command to Mr. Yoo Seok-do here.”

“Command?”

“Then how can I trust someone like you?”

“That can’t be.”

“You said you would do as Your Majesty wishes, but it seems that wasn’t the case.”

Dalcheon shouted toward the inside of the room.

“You said you would do as Your Majesty wishes, but it seems that is not the case! I will have to pretend that the matter of the Royal Guard never happened!”

Dalcheon pulled out his sword halfway.

“Ha, ha, I will do it. I will hand over command.”

“Do it immediately.”

When Dalcheon sent Yuseokdo along, Jo Dong-gil called together the leaders of the royal army, including the envoy and the chief of staff.

“There has been a rebellion in the country, and by His Majesty’s order, the command of the Imperial Guards has been transferred to this person. This is Yu Seok-do, who previously served as the Commander of the Royal Guards.”

Yoo Seok-do cut him off.

“There are a few familiar faces. I plan to place the Grand Prince on the throne and make His Majesty the King. The Il-dae-gye bastards have infiltrated the court so much that it is difficult to distinguish between black and white officials. What I am worried about now and the reason I am unifying the command is because the Il-dae-gye bastards are about to attack. I plan to take over the command from Jo Dong-gil and protect the country.”

Although I explained the whole story in a logical manner, the leaders did not move. They just looked at Jo Dong-gil, who was standing shabbily next to them. If the command could be transferred like this, who wouldn’t rebel?

Just when I was about to give up, thinking that it seemed like it wouldn’t work out, a young man stepped forward.

“I remember. I remember Yoo Seok-do, who was my commander.”

“What should I do? But I don’t remember.”

“I was young back then.”

“You were a newbie?”

“At that time, when Queen Hee-bin was passing away, you blocked the knife that was flying at me.”

“Was that so? I thought everyone was dead back then.”

“Thanks to you, I survived.”

“I see. It’s sad. The people who did that are sitting over there, monopolizing state affairs.”

“I will follow orders. I will not follow those watermelons who are neither here nor there.”

“Oh, thank you. What’s your name?”

“This is Choi Jin-cheol from the villa.”

“Come and lead your army.”

“Loyalty!”

The traces of memory last longer than you think. How can you forget the life-saving incident in the midst of a melee? Choi Jin-cheol was the first. Some who remembered him said they would follow orders and led the army. Almost half of them.

Yoo Seok-do, who was looking at those who were glaring at him with suppressed expressions, pointed at Jo Dong-gil with the tip of his chin.

“It looks like these guys aren’t going to work.”

“I can’t help it if you don’t follow my orders.”

Jo Dong-gil was secretly delighted. Asking for command? If he was going to just say he was going to give him command, he wasn’t a royal guard.

Yoo Seok-do made a pitiful expression.

“Gather those who will not join to one side. Regardless of rank.”

Cho Dong-gil protested.

“Are you planning to kill them all again?”

“How could that be?”

The royal guard surrounding the pagoda was divided into two. Yu Seok-do confiscated their weapons and paraphernalia and dismissed all of them.

“Get out of the palace immediately and never think of setting foot in it again. You will be dismissed and lose your job.”

Is it any good that they didn’t kill them? There were some who refused to put down their weapons, but most of them put down their weapons and turned around after being threatened with force and numbers. They were disarmed.

Yoo Seok-do explained the situation to the remaining men and told them to focus on defending the outskirts, especially on obtaining information.

“Loyalty! About half, about 500, remained and 500 were sent home.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Are there 700 troops in this palace now?”

“It’s worth a try.”

While Dalcheon was talking with Yoo Seok-do, Lee Gi-moon came closer.

“I don’t know how they’ll come out.”

“Make a plan for the palace defenses. The center is the Grand Army.”

“What should I do?”

It seems that he was anxious because the initiative for defense was passed to Yoo Seok-do after coming this far with difficulty.

“Fortunately, catastrophe has been averted. Prepare for the ascension of the Grand Prince. I do not know what to do.”

“… … .”

“The form of transfer is best.”

“You’re saying that you’re handing it over to me?”

“Have the imperial edict of abdication issued and hand over the royal seal. I will ascend to the throne today.”

“Oh my! You’re doing something like that to me, who has only ever held a knife in my entire life… … .”

Ignoring Lee Gi-moon’s complaints, I brought the map of the palace and drew up a defense plan. It was something Dal-cheon could do. I will do what I can.

Lee Ki-moon complained several times. He tried to refuse the role by saying things like, “I can’t do it. It’s difficult. I don’t know what will happen.” But Dal-cheon remained steadfast.

Lee Gi-moon had no choice but to go into the side hall and ask to speak privately with the king.

* * *

“Your Majesty!”

Dalcheon called the great army, who was mad with revenge.

“Go ahead.”

The general turned his body, and red blood was splattered all over his white clothes. It was said that my shell defined me. It was a scary face that looked like it would crush anyone who got in its way.

“There is now a more important task left than dealing with them.”

“Go ahead.”

“You must ascend to the throne and repel the attacks of the entire world.”

The general hesitated at the word “bowie.” He had never wished for that. He just hoped to live.

“Bowie! Did you think that was what the main force wanted to do?”

“I don’t know, but this is my current role. The Crown Prince is dead, and Your Majesty will abdicate.”

The bloodshot eyes of the Grand Prince finally found their true colors. It was as if time had flowed backwards. It was like the way he looked before he entered the palace, when he was in the academy.

“That’s what I have to do now.”

“Your Majesty the King is trying to persuade you.”

“Whew. I can’t convince you. He has a great desire for the throne. He’s someone who will never give it up.”

“It would be better than being dead.”

Sparks flew from the Grand Prince’s eyes. In private, he is his father.

“I cannot tolerate that. In Joseon, where the principles of the universe are sound, such a thing would never happen.”

“I see. Your Majesty doesn’t think of you as a son, but your Majesty thinks of you as a father. He is a filial son. Of course he should be.”

It sounds sarcastic.

“Have you tried it?”

Dalcheon did not answer and pointed inside.

“I will now persuade you and come out. Receive the royal seal and ascend to the throne.”

“What about your father?”

“It is the role of the Grand Prince to bestow the title upon the King.”

“I see, that’s how it was supposed to be?”

Was it because of the joy of becoming king? The prince trembled. He had spent his younger days soaked in blood for the throne. The prince looked up at the sky, thinking of the throne that would come to him. There was no day when the tears, the tears of resentment, would dry up… … .

The great general, who had been looking up at the sky for a long time, straightened his posture, closed his eyes, and then opened them again. There were tears at the corners of his eyes.

“What is the second thing?”

“Their attacks will begin. We suspect that they will involve large-scale military operations, infiltration, and assassinations using tactical means.”

“We must defend!”

“It’s my job to protect Mom.”

“I see.”

“If we want to maintain the old order, we will be attacked before we can ascend the throne. That is why today is the day.”

“Is this a guess or a guess?”

“I don’t tell fortunes. And I’m not a fortune teller.”

“I’m sorry. If you want this to be a fortune, then I understand.”

Although several armies were mixed together, Yu Seok-do quickly organized them. He raided the barracks of the guards and armed the forbidden troops wearing only thin clothes. He provided them with bows and arrows and formed a cavalry and a long spear.

The palace guards are the best elites in Joseon. They must be able to use all 18 weapons. When I lined up in the wide courtyard in front of the palace, there were close to 800 elites, and 200 cavalry. The formation came first, and the weapons came next. When I gave out weapons and started counting, it was almost five o’clock.

“Shouldn’t you eat something?”

Yoo Seok-do, who was standing on a high place and talking to the line in front, turned his eyes around frighteningly. In this critical time, in this most difficult of times, who would talk about food?

Dalcheon grumbled and grabbed his stomach, which had not eaten anything since last night.

“I didn’t even eat breakfast, so should I skip lunch? I want to try palace food too.”

He quickly returned to the appearance of a hungry child. Choi Jin-cheol from the villa appeared.

“There is a mess hall in the barracks. It should be ready already. No one is saying anything because they are watching what happens.”

He was one of the few people who raised their hands in front of the royal court and said they would cooperate fully.

“That’s right. I’m not the only one who’s hungry.”

“Yes. Let’s eat. Since we also have to play defense, we usually divide the food into two or three sets.”

Yoo Seok-do passed the baton to Choi Jin-cheol.

“Okay, let’s eat.”

A group of soldiers ran behind the main camp and moved west. When I looked back at the main camp, I saw that their corpses were headless. They said that they had only cut off their heads and hung them in Gwanghwamun. Just thinking about it made Dalcheon shiver slightly at the thought of such a horrible tragedy.

“In the palace, how do those high ups eat?”

Jincheol Choi answered.

“The court lady of Suragan is coming in. A dozen or so people are offering the food.”

“Your Majesty is the only one like that.”

“Each palace and each court has its own ritual.”

“Ahem. I was going to tell those gentlemen to go eat together.”

“I will convey that message.”

The atmosphere in the palace was still tense. The prince was requesting abdication and listing the reasons, but the king did not seem to readily agree. Dalcheon stopped the party heading to the dining hall for a moment and sneaked into the back of the side hall. The eunuch of the royal palace tried to stop them, but after confirming Dalcheon, he stepped back.

“It’s been a while. I was so busy that I couldn’t say hello earlier.”

“Yes.”

“How have you been?”

“My heart is not in my heart. I don’t know how to view the current situation.”

“I believe that Joseon will be reborn anew by changing people.”

“Is that so?”

“I’ll go in for a moment. Could you please tell me?”

The eunuch of the Great Hall reported, and Dalcheon went inside and bowed to the empty throne. In front of the throne, two people were sitting across from each other at a table, facing each other fiercely. Then, a thoughtless young boy came dangling in and bowed to a distant place, causing the Grand Prince to burst out in laughter. For a moment, the tense atmosphere was completely relieved.

Dalcheon walked over, bowing like a eunuch, and sat between the two of them like a referee.

“What’s wrong?”

The king glared at Dalcheon fiercely. Was this what was going to happen in the end? Not being able to catch Lee Ja is a regret for the rest of my life. If I had caught Lee Ja, things like today would not have happened.

“Well, I didn’t mean to say let’s eat… Well, no, you need to eat. You didn’t eat properly last night either. You must have a lot of work to do. You need to take care of business quickly in order to eat… … Well, that’s not going well. How can I abdicate the throne? If I persuade my son, who has never done this before, if there’s even a slight possibility, he will do so. That’s why. If it doesn’t work out, then just give up.”

“Give up? Are you telling me not to ascend to the throne?”

“No, I’m saying that you should give up on persuading and negotiating. You can just have a new seal made, and if that doesn’t work, you can go to the Ming Dynasty and ask them to make a new one. Your Majesty doesn’t always carry it with you, so if you can’t see it now, he must have had someone from the Royal Secretariat or the Ministry of Eunuchs hide it somewhere. Just cut it down and make a new one.”

“To be recognized as authentic, you need royal seals, and the most important of these is the royal seal.”

“Oh my goodness… … . What about the other seals? I know where the national seals are.”