As Prophet - Chapter 37



Only Krnovel

Episode 37. I am a student

Baek Yi-jeong smiled bashfully at Baek Ui-hyung’s honest answer. Her white teeth were clearly visible.

“Do you know what the average age of those who pass the military service examination is?”

“About thirty, I guess.”

“Yes, it’s not too late. I’ll tell your father, so prepare yourself this time. You’re not working as a spleen here, so don’t do anything else. You can’t help with the Ministry of War, right? It’ll take a lot of time.”

Baek Ui-hyeong smiled brightly. Since Baekga’s family had a civil servant, there was an expectation that it would be good to have a military officer as well.

“Hahaha! I’m going to finish all the studies that I had to give up because of my sister’s nagging.”

It was a kind of dream. I came down to help Baek Sa-ban, but I couldn’t study properly while doing secret work. I wasted years.

“How great would it be if both the literary and martial arts came out of the Baek family?”

“It’s a show. I can’t see the words anymore. I get sleepy just from reading a book.”

“You need an environment to study. I’ll give you a separate room in a small but quiet place, so you can study.”

“Heh heh.”

“There are no problems at all with swords, spears, bows, knights, and lances, right?”

“Of course. You can close your eyes and get through it right now.”

“Ahahaha, Mu-gyeong is the problem.”

“I hated books since I was little. The white stuff is paper and the black stuff is letters, and that just didn’t work out for me.”

“When you were working as a secretary, you were able to read and write easily.”

“Um… … When it comes to official documents or communications, there are certain characters and sentences that are used. You only need to memorize a few.”

“Still, you did a good job. The strokes were powerful and nice.”

“Why is my sister like this today?”

“I was very careful because I was afraid that if I told you at another time, you would think I was going off topic.”

“Was it? It’s okay.”

“When I came out on a horse, my mind felt free and I felt like I could say anything and be heard.”

“Ahahaha, you punk! But that doesn’t mean I can ever bring Dalcheon to you.”

“That’s not why, sir.”

“That’s fine. I saw the two of you talking from afar a few times, and it bothered me a little.”

“That’s not what I meant. I was asking for your father’s well-being.”

“That’s right. You’re so strong. But he’s a mountain man. Don’t let your mind wander, absolutely. To him, time on this earth is just a kind of play.”

“Yes, sir.”

After crossing the bridge, we continued on at a rapid pace without any obstacles. After passing through several bends on the rough mountain road that ran along the blue river, the flow of the mountains and fields became strong and then gentle.

“There isn’t much time left.”

“Yes. It’s my hometown that I miss.”

“I like it here.”

“Me too.”

Their love for the land of Yangju was the same.

“There were times when I was really jealous that he didn’t go to Hanyang.”

“Why do you like it here?”

“Yes. Aren’t there mountains, rivers, and fields?”

“Why did you go into the mountains, sir? No, you studied in the mountains, so why don’t you have a sense of being a mountain person?”

“Well, that’s… … I didn’t intend to live in the mountains. It was my family’s will. They thought that if I studied at the mountain man’s study center, I would become a great warrior. They sent me there with the hope that I would become a warrior, or more precisely, a military officer. There was a slight difference between them and the kids who would spend their whole lives studying there. Their goal was to become a great general, while my goal was to improve my martial arts skills.”

“ah.”

“… … .”

“Now I really just need to study hard and pass the civil service exam.”

“It’s not that easy. Aren’t most people who use swords stupid? I’m no different.”

“Oh, what are you talking about? Oh! Then what about Prince Dalcheon?”

“That kid is a complete outsider. He was good at everything he did. He was well-versed in all the classics of the East and the West, past and present. Not only the martial arts, but also the Four Books and Three Classics, and the Hundred Schools of Thought. I saw him reading the Spring and Autumn Annals a while ago.”

“Didn’t we study together?”

“No. That child was studying somewhere else, but when his teacher retired, he came to our mountain. So our periods in the mountain did not overlap. We did not spend time together.”

“I see. I see.”

The two men chattered hurriedly, slowing down their pace. Baek Ui-hyeong guessed that Dal-cheon had already noticed the two men. In order to live together in a society where people live, they would pretend not to notice, but they would have already noticed. It was a mountain incident, but he was a human who noticed something coming from dozens of miles away.

As I entered the house, the man at the gate ran out and grabbed the reins for me.

“welcome.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, nothing happened.”

“What about farming?”

“The light is just beginning to shine in the sky.”

“Hmm, what about Dalcheon?”

“He goes to the mountain in the morning to study.”

“Ahem. Is it still there?”

“I have no way of knowing since I have never been there, but isn’t it the same place?”

“Nothing else?”

“The Grand Princess comes by sometimes. I think she meets me outside too.”

“Ahem, already.”

When the two entered, all the slaves came out to greet them. Baek Ui-hyeong first checked the yard where the seedlings were sprouting. Green sprouts were about two finger joints high in the seedlings stacked up. He checked the season and estimated the time to plant the rice seedlings. Since it was a cold place, he had to do it quickly if he could.

Next, he opened the granary. He checked if the ledger matched the books and checked the storage conditions. He said that carrying and transporting rice to be eaten in Hanyang was also work. It took half a day to load it on a cart and go forward, and since the alley was narrow and the cart could not enter, several people came out and carried it on their backs, complaining that it was hard.

I checked the list of tenant farmers who gave me the land and the area of ​​their location. I didn’t check it exactly because I was told it was no different from last year. I went around the land directly managed by Baekgajang and came down to Dalcheon.

“Executioner, are you here?”

“Oh, are you coming to study?”

“Yes. I came down a little early.”

“That’s right. We can’t miss mealtimes. We’re supposed to eat. Hehehe.”

“Have you been looking at the fields?”

“I wanted to look at it before planting!”

“Here, the creators even took care of the direct branch.”

“People like it. Most people do exactly what they’re assigned to do. They help each other.”

Dalcheon followed Baek Ui-hyeong around. When he looked back and smiled, I smiled back.

“Do you like it here?”

“Yes. It’s quiet and peaceful. It’s nice because there’s water and mountains.”

“Which is better, water or mountains? Of the two.”

“It’s nice to have you two together. It’s just like Yodong, isn’t it?”

“Were there any in Yodong too?”

“Ahem. I went there when I was wandering around the mountains and doing some hiking. When I was young.”

“You are still young.”

“Ahahaha! That’s right.”

“Were there any Koreans there?”

“Of course. From Liaodong to Liaoxi, to the forests at the far end.”

“Whew, right. I remember what you said. You said Joseon was shrinking.”

“I do not intend to criticize it outright. It is not even half of the original land, no, not even a quarter of the land. I would like to call it Samhan Joseon. It is not Joseon. If you want to use the name Joseon, you should at least rule over Liaodong and Liaoxi.”

I’ve felt it many times without realizing it.

“You don’t like Joseon?”

“It’s not good. I think the country was ruined by a narrow-minded builder. In the previous dynasty, the king of Goryeo was also the king of Liaoyang. Of course, he bowed down to the Mongols… … . He fought and won against the Khitans. How can our land be limited to the Amnok and Duman rivers?”

“There are diplomatic problems with the Ming Dynasty. They want to leave the area between Liaoyang and Uiju as an uninhabited land. They think that a large uninhabited area will help our military stability.”

“The Jurchen people have come to live there.”

“Is that so? Oh my.”

“They were also our people.”

“No way? I’ve never heard of that before… … . So that’s the case there?”

“It’s a shame. It seems to be moving more and more westward and southward.”

“Your field of vision has broadened as you have traveled far and wide.”

“However, I think of Liaodong, Liaoxi, and the distant steppes as places similar to our land, but it is a pity that Joseon does not seem to be. They only care about who eats more of what is in this small basket, and they do not think about the land they have lost.”

“You are accusing me.”

“It deserves to be condemned.”

When I returned home, the kitchen maid had set the table on the living room floor. As the three of us sat across from each other around the table, it felt like old times.

“Do you intend to stay here?”

“Yes.”

“You meet the Grand Princess often?”

“I think it is a crime that caused controversy in Hanyang.”

“Heh heh.”

“What did the petty prince say? I am sorry and ashamed that you have been put in trouble.”

“The old man didn’t say anything like that. He just asked me to go and check on you, asking if you were a priest.”

“That’s the kind of person he is.”

He is such a neat and tidy person. It is a place where it is difficult to spread the right beliefs, but he will somehow manage. There should be many such people, but most organizations are filled with people who are capable of internal battles.

“Yes, didn’t the Grand Prince ask for help?”

“I said I wouldn’t do that.”

“What did you say to convince me?”

“People like us should not interfere in worldly affairs. Cause and effect are distorted. They are twisted.”

“I see… … . Do you understand what I mean? Do you accept it?”

“If you don’t accept it.”

It would be difficult for the politicians to accept such thoughts. Dalcheon says that our politics and his studies are just different areas, and that they are on different levels, so he does not think that he should bow down to them. They are different, but there is no level. He thinks that they do politics and I study, just like this house sells alcohol and that house sells noodles. He pulls all social strata down to the same level and sees them as the same height.

“If you bend down a little, what will be added?”

“I don’t try to subordinate myself to the values ​​of those who are nothing. We do politics, and I study. What’s wrong with that? It’s just different, not right or wrong. It’s not about hierarchy.”

“It’s something that the higher-ups would dislike. That’s probably why His Highness the Crown Prince found it so unpleasant.”

“You should be a prince. I am a student who studies. So what? Should I bow down and say that the work I have devoted my life to is less valuable than their work for power? No. It is not like that. Each and every one of the precious lives given by heaven is precious. We have our own roles, and what is the hierarchy there? It is just a hierarchy created for the purpose of doing work. The moment you leave that position, you are a small and heroic precious soul. Everyone.”

“Yeah, that’s what it should be.”

“Shall we measure the size and rank them by the maturity of the soul? Then, do you know how far behind we are?”

“Stop it. When I talk to you, my lips and tongue keep getting chewed!”

“Heh heh… … . Going out into the world to learn probably didn’t mean seeing and learning about the differences in social classes. I understood it to mean seeing and learning about the ways in which countless human souls live.”

“Yeah. Ugh.”

As soon as I brought up the topic of politics in Hanyang, I was afraid to resist. It was clear that he didn’t like politics in Hanyang, but it was a pity. With that ability, he could have done bigger things, been respected, and taken on an important role…

“What do you do in the afternoon?”

“For the past few days, I’ve been helping out at a boat building shop in the village down there.”

“Where the ships are built?”

“Yes. I am helping out because they need help making small boats that go up and down the Han River. It seems like it will be hard to find workers now that the busy farming season has started.”

“You work as a carpenter?”

“I’m learning with fun. The wood has a grain, right? You have to look at it and carve it. You have to carve it precisely so that the angle fits perfectly. You have to fit it in and try it out. If you roughly try to do it with force, it will eventually get crooked. They say it breaks easily. I’m learning how to carve the angle precisely and fit it in.”

“Oh my! The world’s greatest hero is a carpenter.”

“I think that is also an extension of studying.”

“this.”