Chapter 612

Episode 612: Gaecheon – Enthronement, and Seonwon (5)

Many things happened, but the long-awaited day of the declaration of the empire and King Sejong’s enthronement as emperor finally arrived.

A large Hwangudan altar was built at Jongmyo Shrine, located east of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

However, the Hwangudan established by Joseon was very different from that of the Ming Dynasty. It was engraved with the deities of Hwanin and Hwanung Dangun, the deities of five stars and 28 beasts, and the deities of Pungbaek Usa and Unsa.

* * *

Joseon’s best master was brought in to establish Hwangudan.

“I will give it my all and do my best!”

Dopyeonsu Park Ki-ju truly dedicated himself to building a building that will remain in history and that his name will be remembered as the master who created the building. The government also supplied all the materials and personnel that the governor wanted.

With the mobilization of numerous carpenters, masons, and laborers, Hwangudan was able to be completed in just one month.

It was a record-breaking task to complete the large stylobate, the altar on top of the stylobate, the golden roof covering the altar, Hwanggungwoo (皇穹宇), an annex building of Hwangudan, and finally, the stone gate leading into Hwangudan and Hwanggungwoo, all in just one month. .

And this entire process was recorded in writing without exception. The dimensions of the buildings, the method of combining the structures, the shapes, dimensions, and materials of the parts required for them, as well as the construction techniques were carefully recorded, and even the list of those who participated in the construction was recorded in detail.

And these records were copied in large quantities and stored in archives and historical archives across the country.

All of this happened under the direction of Hyang.

‘In the future, there will definitely be people who will find fault with the origins. Only by leaving proper documentary records can we turn their mouths into pieces!’

According to that decision, all records related to the construction of Hwangudan were copied in large quantities and preserved in various places.

* * *

The combination of the Neo-Confucian scholars’ habit of being addicted to documenting everything and the incense that remembers the nonsense of 21st century China and Japan made Joseon a ‘land of records.’

If the records center located in Hanseong had the characteristic of a ‘database’ with a search function, the records throughout Joseon were literally a backup storage device.

As the construction progressed and the river area expanded to Shinji, the number of accidents in Joseon increased from 5 to 7. A location was opened on Daeseoldo Island, and a location for installing a sago in Shinji was decided and construction was underway.

And as the Liaodong region became part of Joseon, one more place was scheduled to be added.

This wasn’t just for safety reasons.

‘The place where the accident occurred is Joseon’s land. No, it was the basis for the claim that there was an accident because it was Joseon’s territory.

* * *

In Sago, not only the annals were kept. Like Hwangudan’s records, records of all events conducted by the Joseon Dynasty were kept. Copies of all historical books that could be obtained in Joseon at the time were stored there.

Funny enough, this was Hwang Hee’s suggestion before Hyang spoke.

Copying and storing even the private librarians was something that even incense could not have thought of. The reason why I had to end it with just thinking about it was not only because of economic issues, but also because of political issues.

One was because Goryeo was involved, and the other was because there was a problem with the nobles.

In the former case, if done incorrectly, there was a risk that the founding of Joseon could be downgraded to a usurpation of royal authority, and in the latter case, trouble with the Ming Dynasty over Liaodong could arise.

Fortunately, the latter case could be resolved with a victory over the Ming, but the former case was still an awkward situation.

That’s why Hyang was in a situation where all he could think about was Hwang Hee.

When the revision of the first law was completed and mass printing began, Hwang Hee made a proposal to King Sejong.

“If we look at the beginning of the First Act, Article 1, Paragraph 3, to be precise, Your Majesty used the remaining librarians as the basis for it.”

“exactly.”

“The problem is that many of these librarians, unlike the scriptures, place a low value on them. In other words, if you let your guard down even a little, you could be in trouble. If that happens, even if future generations try to look again at the basis of this first law, they will not be able to achieve that goal, so measures are needed. So, I think it would be right for these librarians to print several copies and store them in archives and archives.”

“Hmm...”

Hearing Hwang Hee’s words, King Sejong glanced at the scent. He is where he is now because Hyang has done a lot of work on his behalf. Therefore, King Sejong handed over the decision-making power to Hyang.

After receiving the silent command, Hyang asked Hwang Hee.

“How will you solve the problem of omen?”

To Hyang’s question, Hwang Hee answered in a voice that it was no big deal.

“What is the problem? “If King Jeon had followed the right path, how would our Joseon have come about?”

Hyang nodded at Hwang Hee’s words, but could not make a decision right away. Hwang Hee added a word to that sight.

“From ancient times, in order to drive out evil, one has to make a loud noise. And a total of 21 shots are fired, with 21 meaning three and seven. Since ancient times, 3 has been the auspicious number where yin and yang first came together, and 7 is a sacred number that represents the Big Dipper. “The two are combined to get 21.”

“Ah...”

While Henrik was nodding his head while listening to the interpreter’s explanation, Giovanni whispered to him.

“Did you see it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Those cannons. “The method is to load from the breech.”

“huh? “Did you?”

At Giovanni’s words, Henri fixed his gaze on the salutes being fired. Just then, Henrik nodded as he saw the second launch finished and the third launch being prepared.

“Right.”

“What do you think? “What if those cannons are weapons that are not just for ceremonial purposes, but are also used in actual combat?”

Henrik thought for a moment about Giovanni’s question, then slowly shook his head.

“Well... I don’t think such a small gun would be of much use in a siege.”

“Aren’t battles limited to sieges? “In particular, most of the battles in the war we are fighting now are fought in open spaces, aren’t they?”

“Hmm...”

Henry tilted his head at Giovanni’s point, but Mehmet II’s eyes lit up.

* * *

Meanwhile, the ritual continued and was already approaching its end.

“With this, we declare that Joseon has become the Korean Federal Empire!”

Following Sejong’s shout, Choi Yun-deok, who was waiting below, shouted loudly.

“Raise the yellow flag!”

At Choi Yun-deok’s order, soldiers began hoisting the imperial flag on flagpoles installed outside Hwangudan and the main gate of Jongmyo Shrine.

The Hwangtaegeukgi, with the Samtaegeukgi and Bagua on a yellow background, slowly rose upward. The Hwangtaegeukgi began to flutter vigorously in the wind that just happened to blow, and the people who saw this began to shout at the top of their voices.

“hurray!”

“hurray!”

* * *

After completing the Cheonje ceremony, King Sejong and his party boarded the fishing boat and returned to Gyeongbokgung Palace.

“hurray!”

“hurray!”

“May you live long!”

Amid shouts of national independence and well-wishers from all directions, King Sejong’s party, officials, and envoys passed through Gwanghwamun and headed to Geunjeongjeon.

The coronation ceremony had begun.

The enthronement ceremony of King Sejong and Hyang followed, with the royal court’s Manjo White House officials seated in the front yard of Geunjeongjeon.

This meant that Sejong was not crowned as emperor, but was crowned by circumstances.

In other words, Hyang was officially crowned as emperor.

“I wanted to hold a separate auspicious day for the ceremony, but the current situation in the country is busy. “I hope you don’t feel bad about it.”

“no.”

Sejong, who saw Hyang’s expression with a slight smile in response, continued speaking with a stern expression.

“Wan’s wedding will be soon, right?”

“yes.”

“Don’t even think about handing it over to Wan. There is still time left as promised. Until then, just keep quiet and work.”

“yes....”