As Prophet - Chapter 64



Only Krnovel

Episode 64. Grand Prince Lee Young’s Circumstances

“Why are you obsessed with the past?”

When the exam was just a few days away, the prince asked.

“Ahem, well… … if everyone who studies at our school passes, of course it’s a very important event for them, but if everyone passes, the school’s reputation will go up considerably. Then more people will come, and we’ll be able to teach more people.”

The plan wasn’t detailed yet, so the answers were rambling.

“So you’re trying to accept more students?”

“Yes. If the commanders of the Joseon army are skilled in strategy and tactics, Joseon will be able to prevent any unexpected events.”

A thick vein appeared on the general’s forehead.

“So you’re trying to train commanders?”

“Yes. If the Grand Prince and the Grand Prince are trained, they will never lose a war, or even an individual battle.”

“why?”

“I saw the difficulties of the Joseon army during the Japanese invasion. It was so devastated that it could not maintain military administration. The salaries of government officials were paid with the military supplies. This should be used to maintain the army. Of course, the reason there is no money to pay salaries of government officials is because the tax rate is low. I truly respect the founders of this country who wanted the people to be happy by lowering the tax rate. However, should not the love for the people that they thought of be destroyed in vain by an external invasion?”

The prince was deeply moved by the words of the young Dalcheon. He opened his mouth wide in admiration, believing that even if the number of soldiers was small, if military officers were trained, the power of the Joseon army would not be diminished.

“There was such a deep meaning to it! Then, when the training center manager came and asked for it, why didn’t you go and train him?”

“I thought I would become a dog of power. How do you think the powerful will use their increased power? They will use it for their own power. If you train them as the training center asks, their swords will be turned inward, not outward.”

What’s the difference? The general pointed to the four people playing kebab.

“Is it different to teach like that?”

“During the time I teach you, I plan to make you a warrior who fights only for your country, not with someone else’s sword.”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds. In real life.”

“Then I will teach you to resign.”

“Is that okay?”

The prince asked loudly, but Dalcheon just smiled brightly.

“There is a way to get an oath… … . There is also a way to control them so that they cannot do such things. Above all, if they become a local governor or a military commander, they will be able to display their capabilities.”

I was not convinced by Dalcheon’s stubborn distinction, but I could see that he was drawing a bigger picture.

The great general took Dalcheon and moved to a place where there were no people. In the distance, the water of the Han River flowed blue. Where the water curved, white foam rose, and where the waves calmed, they flowed large, wide, and deep.

“Do you know why I am here?”

“Well… … I understand that you want to improve your martial arts skills to make yourself a higher person. That other self I always talk about.”

Is he innocent or stupid…? … The Grand Prince sighed. You can’t tell this person the secret truth of the world. No, you shouldn’t. It would be better for this person to live with such innocence and brighten the world. However, since he is the head of the government, he thought he had to tell them.

“Um… … I am the king’s second son.”

“Yes.”

“If you don’t become king, you die.”

“No way.”

“There were several assassination attempts on my life since I was young, and I barely survived.”

“What, you’re saying it was a rival to the throne?”

Even the most agonizing difficulties are transformed into simple facts when they come out of his mouth. This is because they are not difficulties to him. The prince confessed with difficulty.

“Probably so.”

“Ahem. That’s right, I’m learning so I don’t die.”

“Rather than that, if I stay here, they won’t be able to move around freely. The reason I come to Geumwon so often is to hide and avoid their gaze.”

“Hey, no way. If you come to Geumwon, wouldn’t it be easier to take care of it in a place where there are no people?”

“That’s right. So I set traps all over the gold mine. I asked Mukhyeong to protect me.”

“Oh my.”

“Even now, if you go to Geumwon, there will be a clumsy assassin lying dead in a trap.”

“I don’t understand. There is already a crown prince, and there is even a ceremony to look at the civil service examination because the crown princess gave birth to a prince.”

“Yes. I was raised as a rival and was threatened with assassination. Mukhyeong saved my life many times. Now, Geumwon has become a place unknown to them, and it has become my hiding place. I deliberately do stupid things with my hair out of joints, pretend to be drunk, and try to appear as a weakling to ease their tension.”

“Hey, you did something like that because you liked it, and now you’re explaining it like that?”

This person is so pure that a sincere confession is of no use.

“Anyway, that’s true. Even though His Majesty Abama is still strong, I must remain in my position as a being who can neither live nor die until the Crown Prince ascends to the throne.”

“Why do brothers act like that?”

“My mother is different.”

“Oh, I see! So that’s why you’re doing it again.”

“And most of all, since I came here, I’ve been out of their sight.”

Dalcheon smiled brightly.

“I once scolded a few guys because they seemed to be hanging around.”

“It’s them.”

Dalcheon pointed to the warriors from the training center not far away.

“They are not, are they?”

“I don’t know. I have to live with that doubt.”

It means that you can’t trust anyone.

“Oh my god! How did you manage to sleep with your legs stretched out like that?”

“That’s why I can’t sleep well. I make a thick pile of blankets like a person sleeps, and hide in the hole next to me. I put a thick curtain around me and squat down behind it, or I sleep on the high beams of the main hall.”

“Oh my, what if I fall?”

“That’s strange. Whenever I fall, I always dream that I’m falling. It’s strange. My body reacts at that moment. That’s why my legs don’t break.”

“Ahahaha! No way. Do you really dream of falling when you fall?”

“Yes.”

Dalcheon, who had tasted his food, had a pitiful expression on his face. But it was someone else’s life. I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t live in his stead. If I had known it would be like this when he asked me to be his bodyguard, I might have suggested a different method. But I couldn’t waste my life being someone else’s bodyguard.

“Well, that’s what I mean… … According to Mukhyeong, the Lord can sense a fairly wide area. He said he can sense and see not as much as Geumwon, but as much as hundreds of Bangwon or more. And he said it was safe to be inside that area… … That’s why I looked for him.”

So I didn’t say that I entered the academy. At least I thought I was safe while I was there. Poor thing, poor thing.

Dalcheon, standing next to me, sighed as he looked at the distant water. He remembered the saying that the strongest of human desires was the desire for power. He said that the desire for power was stronger than appetite, sexual desire, greed for money, and greed for promotion. He didn’t know because he hadn’t reached that age. Above all, he already knew that all of those desires were meaningless and unnecessary, so he didn’t even think about it.

“Let’s think about it slowly. I don’t have the ability to judge who should be king. I don’t intend to fight for it. To be honest, I think that people of similar rank will come up and run things in a similar manner and then leave. You may call me rude and disrespectful, but I don’t want to be mixed up with that group.

I don’t wish for you to be normal, I just wish for you not to do stupid things. A saint doesn’t even dream. I’ve seen people who are at the top of power become fools. They do stupid things in front of things they can’t handle. It’s not a joke.”

“How sharp.”

“I just hope that politics doesn’t take over the people’s livelihood. They are people who don’t care about anything, but I hope they just play around with their power struggles. I hope they don’t touch the country, the people, or the military. Why don’t you understand that doing nothing is the way to make the people comfortable?”

“Phew.”

The general who confessed his true feelings was overcome by even greater agony.

The role of the Hanyang court in the evaluation of the government seemed hopeless and hopeless. I also couldn’t escape being included in the words ‘those guys’. I nodded my head at that meaning. In words, I wanted to survive, but in the end, it was just that group.

“I thought I might as well go to the mountains.”

Dalcheon laughed bashfully.

“Please do so.”

“How can that be? At this age.”

“What can I do?”

The words left a strange aftertaste. It didn’t sound like permission to do so, but rather, ‘That’s the only answer.’ Conditions are what make our lives so difficult. No, I think the reason why things don’t work out is because of conditions.

“Study hard! Work hard, and think about the next thing later. Be faithful to today at this time.”

“When life is in immediate danger… … .”

“That won’t happen. As long as I’m here.”

It sounded to the prince that Dalcheon would protect him. It sounded to him that he would be safe for a certain amount of time during the day.

“I think I’ll stay at the main temple… … .”

That is the hope. If you stay in the school without resigning, the safe time will be that much longer. But Dalcheon answers right away.

“Share a room with the kid.”

“Ugh.”

It was agreed, but the prince flinched at the word brat. That guy has a knack for harassing people. First of all, he never stays still. His body is second, but his mouth is constantly moving. Even if you pretend not to hear a few words, you have to think about it several times while half an hour passes. He was a typical mischievous kid who took control of our mental world and wouldn’t let go. Should I say that he’s a kid who sucks people’s souls out?

“But the kid… … .”

“Still, there is no one like him.”

“Whew, I see.”

It was ridiculous to think of living in a palace-like house, but it was ridiculous to share a room with a reckless brat. But where would that be if it were possible to live there?

Another hurdle to overcome. As I learned about the conditions of those who had been admitted, the tangled threads began to unravel, one by one.

* * *

It was a threat of assassination. What the Grand Prince wanted to avoid was. He asked me to be his sword, so I stayed away from him for fear that he would ask me to assassinate someone. But that was because he wanted to live. At least there was no sense of crime.

Dalcheon called Mukhyeong and asked about the situation. He said that the main reason he kept coming to Geumwon was to avoid being talked about by people, but safety was also a big reason. He said that he went back and forth between his house in Hanyang, the gisaeng house, and Geumwon to avoid people’s attention and escape the threat of assassins.

“We need to come up with some kind of permanent solution. How can we live like that?”

“Seeking the Lord was one of those measures.”

“Is the fight for the throne that fierce? I really don’t understand. Even if the ships are different, it’s still the same between brothers.”

“People recognize that Grand Prince Mama is more capable. That’s why she deliberately appears drunk and wanders around the entertainment industry. In fact, Grand Prince Mama doesn’t like alcohol very much. She intends to show people her ruined appearance.”

“It seems like the intention is to make the other person less nervous.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand, but Your Highness, what is so uneasy?”

“There has been a comparison since childhood. There is also a great aspect of His Majesty provoking and exploiting the competitive spirit. He is more intelligent, stronger, and more humane.”

Dalcheon chuckled. It seemed to him that such things were part of the game played by those in power.

“Are you saying that good people should have power?”

“No. It’s obvious that you’re nervous. Except when I go to the palace, I spend most of my time in the palace. It’s like I’m locked up.”

Dalcheon couldn’t understand. He thought that it would be okay to meet and talk things over, that he was not your competitor, that he had no intention of being one, and that he just wanted to live a long and thin life while preserving his life.

“Whew, I don’t understand.”