As Prophet - Chapter 80
Only Krnovel
Episode 80. The King and the Prince
When the rear guards who had jumped up first shouted that there was nothing wrong, one of the commanders went up first to check again, then stood in the direction of where they were slowly coming up and waited as if to greet them.
* Naejang, Gyeomsa Bokjang: The commander of the Gyeomsa Bok, one of the elite bodyguards. It was a military officer position of the 2nd rank, and had a staff of three.
The king, who was going up to the main shrine, scanned the group of students. On one side, there were adults who were doing knights, and those swinging swords in the training hall were children. In the lecture hall below, there was another group of people studying martial arts like a school. Baek I-jeong kindly explained it to me without me having to ask.
“There, the children study Joseon law. They learn precise formulas and the basics of Donggong (動功). Among them, those who are good at it focus on breathing, which is the so-called internal energy study.
Behind them, you can see knights training. The target is not visible here. Even good archers cannot hit the target when riding a horse. That is why they focus on training.
“At the bottom, they are reading the Wujing. The adults only read the Wujing, and the children study the ‘Cheonjamun’, ‘Dongmongseonseup’, and ‘Sohak’ as they would in a seodang.”
When I explained that they were divided into three groups, Do Seung-ji smiled brightly and was pleased. It was something I had to do, but it would be nice if someone else did it well. If it was the king’s procession, Do Seung-ji should have checked in advance, but he didn’t have time for that.
“What are those kids crawling on the floor on all fours doing?”
“The children are still too young to pull the bow string well. We bought and made small bows for children, but there are still children who can’t pull the bow. So we build strength first. We build upper body strength to pull the bow. Oh, it’s called hobo (虎步), and it also has the effect of dilating the pupils. It’s not a punishment.”
“Oh, hobo.”
The king, who was walking up to the main shrine, stopped walking. Baek Yi-jeong clasped her hands together. For a moment, she forgot that the grand prince was there. What could he be doing now?
He was swinging a spear at a place where a wooden doll was set up. No, to be exact, it was Cheongryonggeuk. Dalcheon recommended Cheongryonggeuk after seeing him swing a spear with a spearhead attached to the end. It is a spear with an additional crescent-shaped blade at the bottom of the spear. It is not a spear that can only be stabbed, but can be lowered and pulled. It can also be hung in front of a sword to break it, and it can also faithfully learn the original function of the spear.
The king looked down at the swordsman who was diligently repeating the movements that had been modified to fit the Blue Dragon Theater. Baek I-jeong called out to one of the children.
“Hey, kid!”
“Yes, sis!”
This guy has been calling me older sister since some time ago.
“Hey, tell Mr. Hoon to come over. He’s so busy that he doesn’t even notice that a guest has arrived.”
“Yes, sis.”
As the boy ran to the side of the training ground, the general raised his spear and struck it vertically. The solid wooden doll split in two from the top to the bottom.
“Hey, I broke it again. I guess I’ll have to make it again.”
Do Seung-ji heard him muttering without realizing it, snickered, and looked at the king. What could he be thinking? What would the king think of when he sees his son engrossed in martial arts, not even knowing that his father has arrived?
“Your Majesty, your martial arts skills are amazing.”
“… … .”
As the king looked on without answering, the boy approached the grand prince and called his attention.
“Sister is calling. A guest has arrived.”
The great general looked back. His eyes met the king’s. It was a short time, but those years were longer than eternity. He became a son and distanced himself in the name of power. He appointed another as his successor and allowed him to attack. He was a son who would be okay even if he died. It was an extremely short time, but it was not enough to project everything.
The great general retrieved the Blue Dragon and knelt down on the spot, bowing his head. It doesn’t matter whether you see it or not. The utmost courtesy is the way to the Tao, as the governor said. It must be telling those who only use force to behave politely, but I want to believe it now. I hoped that the highest power on earth would be satisfied with the courtesy I showed.
The great general, who had gathered up his skills and raised his body, put down the Blue Dragon Sword and ran towards the king.
“Loyalty! A disloyal man greets you.”
“Were you here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The moment his identity was revealed, Baek Yi-jeong was shocked, and the little boy who had been following him for no reason knelt on the ground. When he saw the way the great general did, he bowed down in the same way, and the people watching laughed silently. A little boy who did the same.
“Were you studying?”
“yes.”
“Something happened.”
“It feels a little more comfortable.”
“I became uncomfortable.”
“I’m sorry.”
The Grand Prince could not add the words, ‘I should have died instead.’
The king had not yet said the word “peaceful.” The prince was speaking with his head down. Perhaps power is satisfied only when it is shown that way.
The king, who was looking down indifferently at his kneeling son, saw the gesture of the minister and said, “He is a commoner.”
“Follow me.”
“thank you.”
The king entered the main hall, and the great army followed, followed by the Do Seung-ji and Baek Sa-ban. The royal guards in Gyeomsa-bok surrounded the main hall.
“I lost a lot by kicking that guy out.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You did that?”
“No. I live here in hiding, shivering. What can I do?”
“It sounds like you said you would do it if you had the ability. Am I hearing it wrong?”
The general banged his head on the floor. Tears fell. I was risking my life to survive, and he was scolding me for that. And his father was the one doing it.
“I wanted to live. I wanted to kill if I had the ability.”
“What! Are you talking about the left arm?”
“Not once or twice. I have been threatened with death several times. I have run away, fled, hid, and now I have come to this remote place where there are no people and am hiding.”
“You didn’t like hunting, drinking, and having fun?”
“I thought that if I pretended to be crazy, the death threats would go down. Maybe if I got drunk and got wild, they’d think I wasn’t worth killing.”
“Yeah, was it like that?”
“Your Majesty does not know. I have no desire for the throne, and I am not capable of it. Your Highness the Crown Prince is firmly protecting the throne of the nation. I truly hope that this incompetent bum will be forgotten by the world.”
The king’s gaze narrowed. It was a conversation between a father and a son. No one could interfere.
“Why are you here? Aren’t you trying to do something based on the power of the Guan Zhu?”
“I tried to protect this small life by hiding behind the power of the Guanju. I thought that the assassins would not come here, and I expected that the Guanju would spare my life if I was in danger.”
Baek Sa-ban turned his head away, unable to bear to look. Who in the world would know that the son of the king would be in such a situation? Is power that scary?
The king’s gaze seemed to be fixed on the back of the prostrate general.
“Raise your head. Now.”
“thank you.”
Had he passed the gate? At least he had confirmed that there was no fear of his power being usurped. The general straightened his body while kneeling. He bowed once to show his respect.
“Yeah, did you learn a lot?”
The words have loosened up a bit.
“I am working hard.”
“You want to protect your body with that?”
“I am so grateful.”
“Aren’t you going home?”
“Yes. There is a dormitory, so I have been staying here for quite some time.”
“Oh my, why don’t you go to Hanyang?”
“I think that not having anything is helpful to the country.”
He answers questions without hesitation, but his words are concise. He expresses the pain of the victim concisely, but the king does not like that either.
The conversation between parents and children, which had been going on quickly, was almost over. The king did not like it, but he fully understood the position of the grand prince. He did not like it either way, so what could he do? He knew that this guy was better than the crown prince. However, he had no intention of breaking the principle of primogeniture. As he said, it might be more grateful if he disappeared.
“Okay, if you study hard and become a master… … will you be able to use that power to strike down your enemies?”
“He is an official of this country. Even if you hate him, he is your comrade in state affairs. How could a king who cares about the country do such a thing? It would be better for a young and pitiful man to leave. I will go to the deep mountains where there are no people, or to the cold lands of the far north.”
“You speak well.”
“I hate him so much that I want to kill him, but I don’t want to hate anyone. It’s not the fault of the minor, but the very existence of the minor is wrong. Even if I were less competent than the Crown Prince, this wouldn’t have happened. It’s said that when the great is useless, the masses go together.”
* 『Zhuangzi』 Xiaoyouyou: Huizi said to Zhuangzi. In our house there is a very large tree, which people call a leather tree. Its thick trunk is full of warts, so it cannot be used to draw a line, and its small branches are twisted, so it cannot be cut. It stands by the roadside, but carpenters do not pay attention to it. Your words now are big but useless [大而無用], so everyone will turn away from them [衆所同去也].
“What is this, Daeimuyong?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I wish to leave this world and go far away soon. Please allow me to do so.”
The king’s expression became lonely. The common people were friendly with each other in the name of family, but the family of those who held indivisible power was not family.
“Whew. Let me think about it a little more.”
“I don’t like the small things that remain as alternatives.”
The king’s eyebrows went up at the word alternative.
“There is no need for an alternative. I am only concerned about the passing of my royal relative. Even if your brother becomes king, you must firmly establish yourself as an adult in the royal family.”
The Grand Prince smiled sadly.
“I will die before then.”
“Nonsense! The Left Minister has been exiled. What more is there to worry about?”
“Why do you think it’s only the left side?”
“What? There’s more?”
“I live in danger of my life. I can’t even eat properly. I’m afraid there might be poison in it… … .”
“You’re worrying too much. That won’t happen again.”
Only then did the king look back at the minister.
“I must give poison to the left-handed man.”
“Your Majesty, the backlash will not be small.”
“I want to feed those who oppose to pigs. They tried to kill the king, and you want me to just sit there and get beaten to death?”
“Your Majesty, the excessive actions of the Left Minister are clearly a capital crime, but those thugs are partners in state affairs, as the Grand Prince said. They did not instigate the assassination.”
“I just stood by and watched as the Left Minister pushed for assassination. Isn’t it a crime to pretend not to know?”
“There is no one who will not be caught.”
“We need to set an example. Even the royal family finds it ridiculous when those who should be role models do the same.”
“Your Majesty, I will tell you separately.”
“Think deeply.”
“I am so grateful.”
The king changed the subject.
“Where did the crown prince go?”
“I didn’t see you coming and going because you were studying.”
Then the prince looked outside and saw Baek I-jeong standing at the end of the outer porch.
“He said he was going to look around for a bit and then left.”
“Phew.”
The general shook his head and went out. He then went to an unseen place next to the main temple and gave orders to his escort.
“Put a flag on the pole.”
“Loyalty.”
Baek Yi-jeong ran over and asked.
“Then will you come?”
“I will come running out of curiosity.”
“Oh my god!”
The Grand Prince understood the young side of Guan Zhu all too well. Each characteristic of a human being does not develop and advance in the same way. It is common for middle-aged people to retain hobbies, habits, and specific behavior patterns from their childhood. It was only natural that Dalcheon’s martial arts skills had improved so rapidly. Furthermore, he had lived only in the mountains and had little social experience. As expected, Dalcheon came down not long after he raised the flag.
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