Chapter 129
A world in which everyone lives with a duty to learn.
The idea that, to create such an ideal nation, we must find a way for even the youngest commoner to learn with ease.
It was a concept that no one in Joseon had ever dared to imagine.
Yet Joseon is a land where Neo-Confucianism lives and breathes and people seek to follow the principles of Confucius and Mencius, so this was an ideal that absolutely had to be realized.
“A nation where all the people of Joseon learn and understand the principles set out in the Elementary Learning, where everyone knows proper conduct and the rites one must possess as a human being. A nation where anyone can taste the joy of learning.”
Kim Daebung's words perfectly captured the ideal world he had only vaguely imagined.
That was why he wanted to send a eunuch to Kim Daebung's house immediately, order him to return to the palace at once, seat him before him, and demand that he lay out everything he was thinking.
And yet, after tossing out only these clues, he had actually dared to run away (go home from work).
It was like a beauty capable of toppling a kingdom loosening her jeogori, with only her pure-white sobok (which served as underwear in Joseon) left to remove before he could see her naked body, without a single thread covering it...
It was exactly like a band of Japanese pirates suddenly appearing, shouting, ‘Hello, we’re Japanese pirates!’ and turning the whole situation upside down.
Since Kim Daebung had committed such an utterly disloyal act, Sejong would have to work him like Jiang Taigong and make him atone for his crime.
They say Jiang Taigong lived for 160 years, so Sejong could simply think of working him for exactly that long.
“A nation where the four classes become gentlemen through learning. What truly beautiful words.”
Sejong, intoxicated by the enlightenment Kim Daebung had given him, began writing down the insight he had gained without even noticing that Yi Bang-won had arrived.
He felt he had to record everything before he forgot even a little of the insight and inspiration he had gained.
Yi Bang-won watched Sejong and smiled with satisfaction.
When he had arrived, the eunuch had announced him loudly several times, and he had even come over and sat within arm's reach, yet his son still had not noticed him.
Judging by how frighteningly absorbed he was, Sejong must have gained an enormous insight through this gyeongyeon.
Yi Bang-won had never read martial-arts novels, so he did not know the concept of falling into qi deviation if one was disturbed at the wrong moment during meditation...
But from experience, he did know that when studying in the past, if someone interrupted just as he was about to break through a point where he had been stuck, all his effort would come to nothing.
“I will remain here as quietly as possible until Do has finished organizing his thoughts, so you do the same.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Sejong maintained his concentration for more than two hours.
When Sejong was concentrating, it would be only a slight exaggeration to say that he would not notice even if someone drew a sword before him and held it to his neck.
Having finally organized both the enlightenment he had gained and the goals he would pursue from now on, Sejong at last set down his brush.
Then he caught his breath and said,
“This should do.”
As Sejong let out a sigh of relief, Yi Bang-won suddenly appeared before his eyes.
It was his father, gazing at him with an extremely pleased smile.
“F-Father? When did you get here?!”
“I have been here for an hour.”
“Oh, I had no idea. I am truly sorry.”
“There is no need to apologize. As a father, I am truly pleased to see you working so hard to make what you learned in the gyeongyeon your own.”
To Yi Bang-won, Sejong was already a king in his perfect, fully realized form.
Even if he took the unfair civil service examination of the former Goryeo dynasty, his scholarly achievements were so outstanding that he would have no choice but to place first.
Moreover, even his physical fitness and martial-arts skills were now exceptional.
He even understood commerce very deeply, despite how difficult it was for Yi Bang-won himself to understand.
He also seemed to be better than Yi Bang-won at handling soldiers now.
Thus, Yi Bang-won acknowledged, ‘You are better than I am now,’ and almost completely withdrew from every affair of state.
He had not withdrawn entirely only because his son was human too and could make mistakes, and Yi Bang-won wanted to help when that happened.
“I have heard words that made my heart race. As a king and as a Confucian scholar, I have found a goal I want to achieve badly enough to risk my life for it—no, to lay down my life for it.”
“What is it?”
“I want to create a nation where all the people learn the principles of Confucius and Mencius, conduct themselves properly, and know the joy of learning.”
Yi Bang-won burst into hearty laughter when he heard that.
Hearing his son say that he had a goal he wanted to achieve even at the cost of his life had angered him somewhat at first, but once he heard what that goal was, he immediately understood.
In Joseon today, only the wealthy study, and only the wealthy pass the civil service examination and enter government service.
“In the former Goryeo, no one could pass the civil service examination unless they belonged to the hereditary aristocracy. In Joseon today, not only yangban but even commoners sometimes pass the civil service examination, so matters have certainly improved. But if you look closely, those commoners are only people known as wealthy in their villages. We must conclude that no truly poor person ever passes the civil service examination.”
“Why is that? Is it not because the threshold for learning is too high for the poor?”
“The threshold for learning is too high?”
Yi Bang-won could not understand what he meant.
That was because, to him, learning had always been inherently difficult, and he thought that was only natural.
It was like how people who lived in a world without washing machines found hand-washing clothes difficult but could not consider it inconvenient, or how people who lived in a world without indoor bathrooms simply accepted outdoor toilets as a matter of course.
“They say that those who use Sanskrit can write down all their words using a mere combination of 43 letters. The Japanese also use a script called hiragana, which has only 50 characters. But to write in Chinese, one must know at least tens of thousands of characters, and even Idu, which is somewhat easier, has thousands of characters... Is that truly easy?”
“Indeed. It must be difficult.”
“I envy those who use Sanskrit and the Japanese in this respect. With writing that easy to use, how much easier must it be for them to access learning?”
In truth, Sanskrit's grammar is bizarre enough to drive one mad, and its writing system is a complete mess.
Japan does use hiragana, but only for extremely limited purposes.
"Therefore, I will create characters as easy to understand as those used in Japanese and Sanskrit. I mean characters that can be written exactly as they sound."
"Are you saying you will become Cangjie?"
"For Joseon, I intend to become just that. Even a mere subject like Kim Daebung has offered loyal remonstrance without sparing his life for Joseon, and countless other loyal subjects are devoting themselves to Joseon as well... How could I, its king, hesitate before a mere obstacle like this?"
"You are right. Creating a new script will certainly be difficult and arduous. But I believe that you are fully capable of doing it."
For the time being, Sejong wanted to concentrate on creating a script.
Creating a new script would make learning easier and allow the people to understand the principles, thereby making Joseon stronger.
"From now on, I will devote the time left after completing my myriad duties to creating a script."
"That is truly admirable. Then from tomorrow, let us increase your exercise by about half. A person must sleep three and a half shijin (7 hours) a day to maintain a clear mind, so after leaving the palace, you can spend about an hour each day creating the script and exercise during the remaining time."
Sejong's pupils shook violently.
What on earth was this ominous thing he was hearing?
What did creating a new script have to do with exercise...?
"While studying for the civil service examination, I learned that even people with brilliant minds have difficulty passing if they are physically frail. That is because studying well requires physical stamina above all else, and their weak bodies made it difficult for them to concentrate."
This was exactly what 21st-century civil service-exam and professional-exam passers always said in unison.
One must be healthy enough to have the stamina to concentrate on studying before one can pass either a civil service examination or a professional qualification exam.
"Creating a new script will be several times more difficult than passing the civil service examination. So you will need even more stamina, will you not?"
"......"
“Instead, I will not take you hunting. At my age, taking you hunting every fifteen days had been my only pleasure, but now that you have set your heart on such a great undertaking, I cannot have you waste your time for the sake of my amusement, can I? Of course, while I am away, the Chief Eunuch and the Commander of the Inner Guard will watch to see whether you exercise.”
Yi Bang-won decided not to take Sejong hunting.
Instead, he decided to use the ultimate move available only to grandfathers: taking his grandchildren out to play.
How delicious would it be to take his grandchildren along, roast the game he had caught with his bow over a fire himself, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper before eating it?
It would restore his grandfatherly dignity and bring him closer to his grandchildren, so nothing could be better.
He had a perfectly sound justification, too.
He could simply say it was to let his grandchildren run around outside, cultivate their broad-minded spirit, and maintain their health.
"A healthy body is essential for achieving greatness in scholarship as well. It is said that Confucius himself was large in build and stronger than a strongman. Is that not the greatest proof that one's body must hold up before one can study? Very well, sleep comfortably tonight. From tomorrow onward, you will have to exercise even harder."
Yi Bang-won said this, then laughed heartily and went outside.
It was his father's victory.
**
"Did you send word home that I would be late leaving work?"
"I heard from a palace servant that you had suddenly been called to attend the gyeongyeon, so I ran straight to your residence and told Madam."
"Good."
If her husband suddenly came home late for no reason, Gyeoul would be worried.
So I had to let her know in advance.
But I had been dragged to the gyeongyeon so suddenly that I had not even thought of that. Fortunately, the fellow had remembered to tell her.
"I should hurry home and get some rest. And when is your child's wedding? On that day, I will take special leave and attend the wedding..."
As I was speaking, I saw a young master and a young lady from a yangban household hurriedly flee outside.
Inside the house, a drunken man was shouting at the top of his lungs.
That is definitely the residence of Gwon Je, the magistrate of Jincheon County, and if that young master who came out of there is... Gwon Ram?