As Prophet - Chapter 79



Only Krnovel

Episode 79. The King’s Procession

Dalcheon went to see the prince and told him what Baek Ui-hyeong had experienced in the side room. While he was telling the long story, the prince sat quietly and listened, only sighing.

“What do you think?”

“Well, it’s as expected. They are such people. Since you said you wanted to meet in person… … I guess that’s how it’ll be. As for me, it’s not the King that I’m afraid of, but the governor that’s more afraid.”

“What can I do? It’s a shame that they really have something else to fear.”

“I guess I should go see someone I know who went north. Isn’t this the time to be here like this?”

“Yes.”

“The peace has been too long.”

“It was a good thing.”

“There was the Japanese invasion and the Manchu invasion… … No one sees it properly, and even less is there anyone capable of dealing with it. I wonder if this country can continue to function properly.”

“There are people.”

“Don’t discriminate, educate them. That’s the way for the country.”

“Thank you for thinking so.”

“If you ever meet His Majesty, be careful what you say.”

Dalcheon smiled faintly.

“If you get a chance, tell him to be careful with me. I really need to be careful.”

“Hey, this guy.”

I felt it once again, but the power of the earth was useless in front of the king. I had come to admit it without realizing it while we were together, but I truly prayed that there would be no conflict with the court in Hanyang. I couldn’t guess where this young man would go. I had to somehow break the arrogant imagination that called them “them” and treated them as a bunch of lacking people, but there was no way. I couldn’t shake off the uneasy imagination that they might not have come to learn about the world, but to make the world fit them.

* * *

The King’s intention to meet him was pushed forward in his own way by the Do Seung-ji. He called Baek Sa-ban to the palace and requested a meeting. Baek Sa-ban, who already knew the situation, read the Do Seung-ji’s pressure. He asked absentmindedly, like an official who was busy with other matters and had no thoughts.

“What if I refuse?”

Do Seung-ji’s eyebrows twitched.

“You dare disobey my orders?”

“I am a free people. If I don’t like it, I don’t like it. Actually, I have a hard time with it. The young guy doesn’t listen. If I don’t like it, I really don’t do anything.”

Baek Sa-ban pretended to be a child who did not listen to his parents. What can you do when a child does that? It would be right to blame the parents, but Baek Sa-ban is not a parent.

“Ugh… …. Do you think I’ll refuse?”

“I refuse most worldly affairs. More than that, I have a lot of students these days, and I am completely absorbed in teaching them. I don’t even bother to come to Hanyang. I politely and politely refuse, but they rarely come.”

“So you’re telling me to go?”

“It is said that a thirsty person will dig a well.”

“I’m not thirsty.”

“It’s just a metaphor.”

“I too am just a metaphor.”

Baek Sa-ban scratched the back of his head with the end of the paper he was working on.

“Oh, really. What should I do? If I tell them… … Ugh, only the person who said it will feel embarrassed.”

“So you’re saying he won’t come even if I call him?”

“Yes. When he gets lost in one place, he forgets his surroundings. It’s common for him to forget his erosion. It was when he was in Gyeongsan. He didn’t show up for several days. I checked to see if he was eating or sleeping, and he was repairing a bow that had been damaged in a remote mine for a long time. He was grumbling as he added wood cut from a piece of glue to the bow, and he learned how to repair bows while doing so. He inspected and repaired over a hundred of them.”

It is inconsiderate to continue talking about someone else’s experience when it does not touch your feelings. Do Seung-ji had no choice but to make another suggestion.

“I want you to come to the school building with me tomorrow.”

“What’s the date? I already wrote what I wanted to write this month.”

“I will speak to the Lord Commander. I will send you a letter of appointment, and you will go to work.”

“Oh, I don’t know if that’s okay.”

“See you here tomorrow after the funeral.”

Do Seung-ji took a step back without listening to Baek Sa-ban’s answer.

“Uh huh.”

“Then I will go back knowing that it is done that way.”

“Oh, I understand. I will tell the Commander-in-Chief.”

Still, he was a minister. He made it a point to return to the palace. Then he hurriedly reported to the Minister of War and took care of the pending work.

* * *

The message came first to the school office. It was news that Baek Sa-ban was coming with a companion. Dal-cheon tilted his head. There was no reason to tell him first. Baek Sa-ban was always the most welcome person. He had to find a reason in the words, “a companion that had never been seen before.” It meant that he was bringing someone higher than Baek Gong. A person of high rank. Dal-cheon asked the person who brought the news.

“How many people are there, excluding Baek Gong?”

If you see a young man with a ponytail hanging out in front of a government office, he is usually someone who runs errands for money. He sometimes delivers letters and sometimes verbally, and he is more knowledgeable about the government office than you might think. It is because he is quick-witted, but also because his eyes are focused on the government office.

“How many people are there?”

“Well, you work in front of the Ministry of War, right?”

“yes.”

“Were there people there?”

The errand boy looked thoughtful, then shook his head.

“No. I know most of the faces of the Ministry of War, but no.”

“Is it unmanned?”

“A man with a sword? Yes, there is. But he was in plain clothes. Some of them were definitely warriors. There was also a royal guard.”

Dalcheon closed his eyes. Even though he was a high-ranking official, he did not bring along a guard of soldiers and a special inspector.

“If you’re talking about the eunuch, then you mean the special inspector? He doesn’t have that… … .”

“Yes. I’ve been in this business for 10 years. My eyes are right.”

“Do you know all the officials?”

“The high-ranking people almost know everything.”

The job is scary. It’s easy to do things that other people can’t do even if they pay you. Dalcheon gave me a few coins.

“Thank you for your hard work. Be careful on your way back.”

“thank you.”

The king’s party. He came in his fine uniform and brought a few men. Dalcheon looked at the mountain behind him. At times like this, the reason he looked at the mountain was because he wanted to leave at any time. He finally understood what Baek Ui-hyeong meant when he said he would strike at the weak spot as he went. It was about taking advantage of the circumstances of someone close to him. When a high-ranking person orders Baek Sa-ban, he cannot help but follow. There is not much time. The messenger ran, but they came on horseback, so they will arrive soon.

The morning sun was high in the sky. The sounds of studying were loud everywhere. Dalcheon said he would take a quick look around Baek-i-jeong and left the school.

I got off the road and walked, then used my lightness to jump up the mountain from a place where there were no people. I jumped up the steep slope as if I was flying. I jumped high from the edge of the forest, stepped on the top of a tree, and went up. It was a long story, but I quickly reached the top of the mountain behind me.

As I picked a spot with a good view, I could clearly see a herd of horses approaching. The one leading the way was poor Baek Sa-ban, and behind him was a man with his forehead raised high and his gaze down haughtily, strutting about like a prime minister’s dog.

The ones who are talking back are usually dogs. They trust the power of the person behind them. And the unmanned people are surrounding one person, and they are not used to this kind of thing, so they are not able to keep their distance and it looks like they will keep bumping into each other. Some are wearing military uniforms, and some are wearing robes and spears. There were about ten of them, but there were exactly sixteen. Most of them were carrying swords.

‘He is the king.’

Dalcheon let out a deep breath. ‘If you are the king of the author, I am the king of the mountains.’ He had thought of that power as a shabby thing, but when he actually saw it coming, he was nervous. He might get mad if he heard that he was higher than him in terms of humanity.

It was an order that came down through several stages, but the color of it was not so good. There was a stubborn side that only demanded results, and there were also documents that were impatient to double-check because they did not trust the reports from the local area. The writing had a unique flavor. You might think it was a very objective description from a third party, but it also showed humanity.

Dalcheon sighed at the sight of the group’s colors. It was not goodwill. It was anxiety that my status might be lowered due to my impatience to check something, and even arrogant hostility to somehow suppress it. A person may be good, but the group of people gathered together can never be good. This is because they can only act in accordance with the group’s purpose. Individuals are moral, but organizations and societies are never moral. That’s why the hapless ones form groups.

It could be a preconceived notion. I wanted to check the intention first, and if possible, I wanted to avoid it. I came down from the dangerous tree top and moved to a place overlooking the school. I checked with my hand on the ground, and there were no outstanding masters. Among the group escorting the king, those on horseback were called Gyeomsaboks. However, they were not very high-ranking. I thought that the escort of a king of a country was too weak. At the same time, I thought that it was a peaceful country where there was no need to worry about such things, a country where kind and gentle people lived.

* * *

The king’s party entered the school building. Baek Yi-jeong had already noticed when Dal-cheon went out to look around. If he was going to avoid the place, someone annoying would come. As he waited at the door to greet the visitor, he saw his father.

“father!”

Baek I-jeong, wearing a red skirt and yellow top, a maiden’s outfit, stopped as she was about to advance. This was because she was overwhelmed by the dozens of people and horses following her.

As I stepped back, Baek Sa-ban got off his horse. As I walked towards him while holding the reins, Baek I-jeong put both hands together and bowed politely.

“Is father here?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine?”

“Yes. There are a lot of students so it’s a bit hectic.”

“Right. What about the governor?”

“He was out for a moment.”

“None?”

“I went out to look around for a bit.”

“this.”

Baek Yi-jeong read the look of despair on his father’s face. A dozen or so of them were riding their horses without getting off, looking down.

“He’ll be here shortly. Come on in.”

I felt that he was a higher official than my father. I grabbed my father’s reins, stroked the horse, and led him inside. The horse followed obediently, and my father followed. The instructors came down when they saw that there were guests, and guests on horseback. This was because there were no slaves.

I hung the reins on the inside of the entrance.

“What should I do? They are high-ranking officials.”

“He will be here shortly. I will guide you inside.”

“Okay, I will.”

But the three trainees who came to help stopped. I know some of the group.

“uh!”

When Baek I-jeong turns around at the sound, he sees the training center’s instructor greeting a sturdy man on horseback.

“Hello!”

But the one riding the horse shook his head briefly. In this case, it meant that there was someone higher up. I quickly went forward and grabbed the reins of the man who was getting off the horse like a pole.

“Give it here.”

“It is the Do Seung-ji.”

* Do Seung-ji: A third-rank official, also called Doryeong (都令). The head of the Seungjeongwon, equivalent to the current chief of staff to the president. In addition, he concurrently held the duties of Ibang (吏房), which divided the roles of the Ministry of Personnel and served as an advisor to the king, as well as the position of Hongmungwan (홍문관) director and Sangseowon (상서원) director.

“yes?”

* * *

Would it make sense to call it the closest power? The three musketeers of the training center, who were accustomed to the bureaucracy, hurriedly moved to grab the reins of the high-ranking person. Then the king jumped down. Without saying a word, the soldiers in the low uniforms who had gotten down first surrounded the left and right.

Baek Yi-jeong stepped forward and greeted them.

“Welcome. I am Baek I-jeong, who takes care of the household affairs of Yangju Academy. The master has gone out for a moment. Please go inside and stay for a moment. He will be back soon. I will guide you this way.”

Baek I-jeong turned around and guided the way, and Do-sung-ji looked at the king. The king nodded and moved, and the warriors in the military uniforms guarded them, keeping their distance from each other like birds spreading their wings. Baek I-jeong pointed to the main hall’s veranda, and two of them jumped up first to check inside, and two of them returned to the back of the main hall.

While walking up, I thoroughly looked around the front and back of the main building. Baek Sa-ban, who guided me, was not saying a word. Baek I-jeong realized belatedly that this middle-aged man was the king.