Chapter 9

Chapter 007: The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (3)

After Taejo founded Joseon, Taejong ascended to the throne through a bitter family conflict known as the Princes' Revolt.

Even a man as formidable as Yi Seong-gye, the undefeated general of the late Goryeo and early Joseon, could not escape the passage of time, and the glory of a thousand years was not recorded in the annals.

As he gazed at the royal annals, Yi Seong-gye involuntarily recalled the historian who had tried to record every single action of the king, and he shuddered.

"Are the historians creatures with several heads? To record every single action of the supreme ruler in such detail."

Yi Seong-gye, who had just turned 23, was a man with a robust metabolism from birth.

His descendants' claims of Taejo's bloodline were not unfounded, as he was also a large and robust man with a naturally strong physique.

Even if he succeeded in founding a new country in his later years, adapting to the stifling life in the palace would not have been easy for such a man.

Yi Seong-gye realized that it was his immense ambition that kept him in that position, and he began to read the annals that Kim Seung-ho was showing him.

"Sejo?"

As Yi Seong-gye started reading the first part of the Sejo Annals, he thought about who Nonsan-gun was.

"Nonsan-gun abdicated the throne?"

Yi Seong-gye's eyes were particularly drawn to the phrase that Nonsan-gun had abdicated the throne, and he began to read the annals carefully.

However, Yi Seong-gye could not figure out who Sejo was from the annals.

The fifth son of Lady Han, who was not an ordinary person and had passed the Goryeo civil service examination, was a son with exceptional academic talent in a family of warriors, and Yi Seong-gye himself had taken him to the capital and cherished him greatly.

At this point, Yi Bang-won did not yet exist in the world.

"Whose bloodline is this child?"

Since he had not yet formed a relationship with Queen Kang, Yi Bang-ban and Yi Bang-seok had not yet been born.

Because Kim Seung-ho skipped the Taejong Annals and showed him the Sejo Annals directly, Yi Seong-gye thought to himself,

'How did this descendant Sejo inherit the throne from Nonsan-gun?'

For some reason, it did not feel good at all. Yi Seong-gye pondered whether he should continue reading, but considering that it was a record of the future and a story of his ambition being realized, he decided it would be better to read it.

Finally, when he read the record that Nonsan-gun committed suicide at the age of 16 in exile, his face hardened.

'It was not suicide but murder. This Sejo must have ascended to the throne through a coup!'

Whether by chance or necessity, whether fortunate or unfortunate, Yi Seong-gye, who skipped the Taejong Annals and started with the Sejo Annals, could not help but be convinced that Sejo, also known as Prince Suyang, had usurped the throne and eliminated Nonsan-gun to remove any potential threats.

And...

After that, the rampant distribution of titles to meritorious subjects, the rampant abuse of power by these subjects, and the various problems caused by the primogeniture system established by Taejong became entrenched during Sejo's reign.

"Such... What a despicable scoundrel. To label a legitimate successor as a traitor and take his place? And to create all sorts of sources of corruption!"

Of course, Sejo also had his own achievements. However, it was a clear fact that he completely undermined the social progress that his father Sejong and his brother, Crown Prince Munjong, who had governed the country in place of Sejong for a long time, had achieved.

"I should have this scoundrel's name erased from the family register."

The Sejo Annals, being part of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, were recorded in great detail.

As Yi Seong-gye read the records, he faced the problems that his descendants would have to endure, and he had to accept the murderous and insane aura that permeated the records.

"Ah..."

It felt as if the intoxication from the liquor he was drinking suddenly rose, and Yi Seong-gye felt a wave of nausea.

More accurately, it was an extreme expression of his intense disgust for Sejo, but it was clear that Joseon gradually declined after Sejo's appearance.

As Yi Seong-gye trembled with anger over his descendant Sejo, Kim Seung-ho said firmly,

"Next. Seonjo."

The Seonjo Annals were even more astonishing.

Despite a long period of peace... the king himself was extremely petty.

"How can a king be jealous of his own son!"

At first, it seemed like a decent start. He seemed to have some ability.

However, as Yi Seong-gye examined Seonjo's reign, he understood why those who knew Joseon history in the Republic of Korea always listed Seonjo as one of the three incompetent kings.

"Jealous of his son, neglecting capable generals, and favoring mediocre ones? Is this what a king should do!"

Due to the neglect by his father, the war hero Gwanghae-gun also began to go mad after ascending to the throne, and after the Injo Restoration, which brought Injo to the throne, the country's situation became even worse.

The humiliation of the Samjeondo Treaty was a complete miscalculation, signifying that Joseon had completely submitted to the Jurchen emperor, whom they had long ignored.

"Such... How can this be my descendant..."

To make matters worse, while Sejo had led a coup to ascend to the throne, Injo, who was placed on the throne by his ministers, seemed to have poisoned Crown Prince Sohyeon, who was almost the last hope of Joseon, to secure his position.

"Such... Such a scoundrel... cannot be my descendant..."

***

Perhaps due to the shock of reading the biographies of his shocking descendants, Yi Seong-gye mumbled something, but his voice was too hoarse to understand.

"The laptop's battery is almost dead."

It was impossible to show all the annals with only about 20% battery left.

We could use the laptop again after the sun rose and it could be recharged, but...

"At least, I should show him the last of the three incompetent kings of Joseon."

I opened the Gojong Annals, thinking I could show up to the Gojong Annals, and Yi Seong-gye, who was mumbling with half his soul gone, started reading silently until the battery ran out.

"Joseon. The last king. Gojong. Emperor Gojong of the Korean Empire."

Looking at Yi Seong-gye, whose face brightened at the mention of "emperor," I smiled bitterly.

"Personally, I think Gojong was the biggest scoundrel..."

Yi Seong-gye started reading the Gojong Annals and continued silently until the laptop's battery was completely drained.

"..."

"You. Taejo. Yi Seong-gye."

Pointing at Yi Seong-gye, who was speechless after reading Gojong's biography, I said again,

"Foundation. Taejo. Yi Seong-gye. You."

The history of Joseon was also the history of the Yi family that ruled the country.

From Yi Seong-gye's reaction, it seemed that the ambition to rule was already present in him from a young age.

"Considering that a peasant's son like Zhu Yuanzhang would soon establish a country in Central China, it's understandable that a man of such ambition would arise."

After all, he was a man who continued the myth of invincibility until he was defeated by Yi Bang-won in the Princes' Revolt.

He must have had confidence and the talent to open a new era.

However, Yi Seong-gye made a significant mistake in choosing his successor, which led to the tragedy of the royal family.

"Joseon should never have adopted Confucianism as its new ruling ideology. While it may have seemed excellent for this era, international relations were ultimately about power. You should have ensured that your descendants preserved the spirit of martial valor that you had in the early Joseon period."

After Yi Seong-gye, the kings of Joseon had to be more skilled in Confucianism than anyone else.

However, one person dealing with many was a difficult task, and the ministers were many while the king was alone.

Of course, there were exceptional geniuses like Sejong, Munjong, and Jeongjo, but compared to the young king, the ministers were numerous and experienced, and it was not difficult for them to suppress the young king's spirit in Joseon.

The bad habit of primogeniture, established during Taejong's reign, remained even after the Yangban class declined due to the Gyeongsin Great Famine... and it was only after the reset caused by the Korean War that the country achieved remarkable development on the ashes.

"Taejo Yi Seong-gye. You should have instilled the spirit of martial valor in your descendants. Your greatest mistake was instilling a small-country mindset in Joseon, which made it believe it could not challenge a great power, and not passing on the spirit of martial valor to your descendants. Or at least, it was passed on until Sejong, but it became the worst by the time of Sejo."

Is it unreasonable for a small country to challenge a great power? That's not something a man with the ambition to found a country and an undefeated general would say.

"With the laptop's battery drained, it's difficult to convey my message properly..."

Perhaps due to the intense shock, Yi Seong-gye, who was trembling all over while staring blankly at the black screen of the laptop, was asked by me in a calm tone,

"Tomorrow. Sun. Laptop recharge."

Was the message properly conveyed?

Despite the fatigue and cold sweat pouring down his body, I looked at Yi Seong-gye, who was in the chaotic late Goryeo period, and asked,

"Sleep. Allow. Disallow."

"Allow."

Looking at Yi Seong-gye and me, the middle-aged woman, who appeared to be Yi Ji-ran, also had a trembling gaze.

***

Kim Seung-ho, the new man, closed the strange object called a notebook and put it in a strangely shaped bag, mumbled something, asked whether to allow sleep, and then lay down in the corner of the room.

"Hey... Brother."

Yi Ji-ran had not known about Yi Seong-gye's ambition until now, but she immediately understood who Taejo was when Kim Seung-ho mentioned him.

Although she could not read the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty with him, she could tell from Yi Seong-gye's reaction that the situation after the founding of Joseon was far from good.

"This is something that hasn't happened yet. And there's no guarantee that this man is really the god who appeared in your dream."

"Ji-ran."

"Yes, Brother."

Although she was older, Yi Ji-ran, who admired Yi Seong-gye's character and martial arts, called herself his younger sister. Yi Seong-gye, who could not control his trembling body, said,

"Pour me a drink."

"Understood."

Yi Seong-gye, who lifted the cup filled with alcohol with his trembling hands, drank it in one gulp.

With a gulp, he finally managed to calm his trembling, and with a strong smell of alcohol, he said to Yi Ji-ran,

"Ji-ran. Chungnyeol-gong... my younger brother."

"Speak."

"I... I wanted to establish a country... Haha. And the records shown by the god indicate that I actually succeeded."

"Congratulations."

"Then, what now?"

"..."

"The descendants... most of them ruined it. I dreamed of peace rather than confronting the Ming, but the history of usurpation and the undermining of legitimacy... is shown to me by the god.

The god did not give me a golden ruler but showed me the tragedy of the family."

The tragedy of the royal family is directly linked to the tragedy of the people.

At least, that was the case in those times.

"Was my ambition wrong?"

"First, since the god can use the object again when the sun rises, why don't you confirm more tomorrow?"

"..."

Yi Ji-ran, who sensed the great shock Yi Seong-gye had received, quietly poured him another drink.

"If the god appeared before you and warned of the royal family's disaster, he must also have a solution."

"Yes... that's right."

Yi Seong-gye, looking at Kim Seung-ho lying in the corner of the room, said in a desolate voice,

"Otherwise, I would never let him live, even if he is a god."

The killing intent was so strong that even Kim Seung-ho, who was lying down, flinched.