Episode 513: Far and near. (6)
Ju Ji-jin’s opposition to Emperor Seondeok’s decision was natural.
“your majesty! How can you make such a terrible decision! “This is an unfair decision!”
Ju Ji-jin, who was in Nanjing, immediately rushed to Beijing and claimed injustice against Emperor Xuande.
Despite Joo Ki-jin’s harsh protests, Emperor Seondeok calmly explained the reason.
“The level of misconduct he committed is too severe. He organized a private organization among the eunuchs and accepted bribes.”
“Isn’t bribery a common thing?”
“What good is the law if it is considered common?”
“He was Soja’s teacher!”
“He was not a teacher but a screen covering your eyes.”
“This is Sojai, who has lived with him longer than anyone else! “He will never be like that!”
In response to Joo Gi-jin’s protest, Emperor Seondeok pointed to the scrolls piled up on one side of the desk.
“Read it.”
“yes?”
“I told you to read it!”
At Emperor Seondeok’s command, Joo Ji-jin walked to the stacked scroll and unfolded it.
As he read the scroll, Joo Ji-jin’s face became increasingly pale. In the scroll he opened, all the corruptions Wang Jin had committed were written in detail.
Joo Ji-jin hurriedly opened another scroll. However, the contents written on the scrolls were largely the same.
Joo Joo-jin, who eventually opened up to five scrolls and checked their contents, scattered the piled up scrolls and shouted.
“All of this is evil! “A plot is coming!”
Joo Ji-jin desperately insisted on conspiracy. This wasn’t just about sparing visits. This was a political burden for Joo Jin-jin himself.
The rumor that his father Emperor Seondeok did not like him was a rumor that was almost believed to be true. If Emperor Seondeok had his way, he could have used this as an excuse to push himself out of the crown.
Because of this background, Joo Ji-jin desperately insisted on conspiracy.
However, Emperor Seondeok scoffed at Joo Gi-jin’s claims.
“joy! Conspiracy? Scheme? “Do you not know who I am and what was done to those who did such a thing?”
* * *
There were many who saw the great purges that occurred periodically throughout the reign of Emperor Seongdeok as an opportunity.
“Now is your chance!”
Those who saw it as a good opportunity to deal with their political opponents ended up falsely accusing them. However, their false accusations were immediately discovered because they could not avoid the cross-examination of Emperor Seondeok. And 10 tribes of those who made false accusations were exterminated.
These purges later had both positive and negative consequences.
The positive part was that the soundness of Ming officials was maintained for a fairly long period of time, and the negative part was that it wiped out more than 60% of the intellectual and commercial classes of the Ming Dynasty, completely entrenching the privileged class.
* * *
Ju Ji-jin had no choice but to keep his mouth shut in response to Emperor Seondeok’s question.
‘If we insist further here, it will become dangerous!’
In the end, Ju Ji-jin had nothing to do but appeal to Emperor Seon-deok for Wang Jin’s leniency.
“His sins are great, but he has been faithful to the younger one. I hope that your Majesty will treat you kindly.”
“Let me consider it.”
And the result of that leniency was that only Wang Jin and those who formed a party with him were beheaded.
* * *
Emperor Seondeok, who executed Wang Jin and his group, muttered as he checked the situation.
“It’s going to be a problem... Gijin is going to be a problem.”
The person who thought that Emperor Seondeok was the problem was Prince Joo Gi-jin.
“Continuing to trust someone once can be an advantage, but for someone called the emperor, it can be a disadvantage. And the person so trusted was a eunuch... The Sipsangshi (十常侍) could be repeated again. “And his temperament is not only bold, but violent.”
Emperor Seondeok shook his head, remembering the scene where Joo Jin-jin turned over the scrolls even though he was watching.
When Grand Prince Pyeongwon apologized, Grand Prince Gwangpyeong accepted his words with a slight smile.
“And no matter how you look at it, the problem is a problem of dream interpretation.”
* * *
One year after Grand Prince Gwangpyeong was born, an ambassador whom Queen Soheon treated highly visited Junggungjeon.
The ambassador, who had been examining the prince’s face and palm, taking his pulse, listening to his orders, and solving his role, let out a long sigh and opened his mouth.
“Huh~. This is truly an amazing story. It’s truly amazing that something like this can happen. “Namu Amitabha Buddha.”
Queen Soheon asked cautiously as she watched the ambassador softly chanting his prayers.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I didn’t mean to speak carelessly...”
“No matter what you hear, I won’t hold you accountable, so just tell me what you saw.”
The ambassador spoke cautiously to Queen Soheon’s pledge.
“It’s really difficult to tell you, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s difficult for me to make it past 20 thanks to Mr. Agi’s advice. However, when I look at him and look at him and the Prime Minister, they seem to have overcome that critical juncture, and it seems as if the bright line has been reconnected. It can be said to be a truly strange thing.”
“That means!”
Queen Soheon was amazed at the ambassador’s words.
“Is it true that this child’s name has been restored?”
“That’s right. “Namu Amitabha Buddha.”
“Thank you. “Thank you very much.”
“Can the things done by Hinayana exist in nothingness? However, if there is yin, there is yang, and it is said to be hosadama. “You have escaped a short life, but your body will suffer for the rest of your life.”
“Are you tired?”
“It’s a tough job.”
“Huh. Still, wouldn’t it be better than a short life?”
It was Queen Soheon who had a firm determination to something.
And Prince Pyeongwon was born. Just like during the time of Prince Gwangpyeong, the ambassador who came to visit Prince Pyeongwon said fortune telling and sighed for a long time.
“Huh~. How can this be... Tree Amitabha Buddha....”
“Why are you doing this?”
“The same thing happened to you, Agi. Amitabha Buddha... How could something like this happen....”
The ambassador gave the same explanation again as during the time of Prince Gwangpyeong.
After leaving the palace, the ambassador looked back at the palace several times and muttered.
“What kind of story is this, that this story is repeated so many times... Amitabha Buddha...”
And before that year was over, the great master passed away. Before his death, the ambassador left this message to his disciples:
“You are guilty of carelessly spilling heaven’s energy, so you should not use your mouth carelessly.”
* * *
Was it a series of coincidences? Or was the ambassador’s magical power just extraordinary?
Compared to the history before Hyang intervened, the fate of Princess Jeongso and Prince Gwangpyeong and Prince Pyeongwon had completely changed.
Princess Jeongso died in February of the 6th year of King Sejong’s reign, Grand Prince Gwangpyeong died in December of the 26th year of King Sejong’s reign, and Grand Prince Pyeongwon died in January of the 27th year of King Sejong’s reign.
The cause of death for all three was smallpox.
And the deaths of the three inflicted a huge psychological blow on their parents, King Sejong and Queen Soheon. In particular, the deaths of Prince Gwangpyeong and Prince Pyeongwon within a month of each other inflicted a fatal psychological blow on Queen Soheon, and it was even said that this was one of the reasons why Queen Soheon died earlier than King Sejong, who was suffering from illness.
However, the fate of the three took a major turn when Hyang intervened.
The three were able to avoid premature death as a way to prevent smallpox was discovered through cowpox vaccination, which was recorded as the ‘Crown Self-Mutilation Incident’.
‘Life expectancy has increased, but your body will suffer for the rest of your life.’
Queen Soheon, who kept these words in mind, did not forget to appoint someone skilled in property management whenever Princess Jeongso and Grand Prince Gwangpyeong and Grand Prince Pyeongwon moved to a separate residence.
“The only time the royal body suffers is when there is no wealth! “We must prevent suffering due to lack of wealth!”
However, Queen Soheon’s prediction was greatly wrong.
Princess Jeongso volunteered to become a member of the National Assembly, and the two great princes worked hard in the court half willingly and half unwillingly.