Chapter 637

Episode 637 Wild Wild North (3)

That night, Hyang sat alone in the bed, putting his hand on his forehead and thinking over and over again.

“No matter how much I think about it, I feel anxious... Ah! “That damned bastard!”

In another sense, it was a scent that caused headaches due to Jinpyeong, who had become a nuisance.

Considering Jinpyeong’s excessive passion for railroads, I couldn’t just ignore it.

“This time, he is asking me to form a private army so that the construction of the railroad should not be delayed...”

Infrastructure projects such as railroads were items that consumed a lot of the budget as they were important. If Jinpyeong went into overdrive, it was certain that they would push the railroad as the top priority without even thinking about the balance of the budget, and if there was further overrun here, it was clear that the ‘Gyeyu Railroad Trouble’ would not be a dream, but a reality.

“But that doesn’t mean I have to say, ‘Purge you!’ “I can’t do it... It’s a matter of justification.”

If Jinpyeong were to be purged carelessly, it would be viewed as a power struggle similar to the ‘Prince’s Rebellion’ that took place twice.

-The emperor killed his strongest rival, his second brother, in order to safely transfer power to the crown prince!

What was even worse was that these purges could become a kind of tradition that was not a tradition. If the person on the throne were to blow off the heads of all his brothers, the imperial family itself would become smaller and smaller. Additionally, the emperor who ascended the throne would wield even stronger dictatorial power. If such a history of dictatorship continued, it was certain that it would lose the elasticity to respond flexibly to external stimuli and would eventually be eliminated.

“The people will continue to want to share more and more power, but if that happens, in the end there will be only a scaffold left.”

Although there was a question of justification, there was another reason why Hyang hesitated to purge.

“A sense of identity as a nerd is also a problem....”

‘A widower knows the circumstances of a widow.’ As the saying goes, Jinpyeong was not so disliked as Hyang, who had caused all kinds of big and small accidents as a fanatic even after his reincarnation as well as in the 21st century.

“Is this a conflict between reason and emotion?...”

Hyang, who muttered and suffocated, came to a conclusion.

“Reason, emotion, everything is shit. If Jinpyeong is left like this, the outcome will be a catastrophe. Even if I don’t step forward, my ministers will step up.”

Even if he just made a fuss in front of the incense stick today, he would be flooded with complaints.

Since Jinpyeong had no greed for power and was only crazy about the railroad, there was a high possibility that the ministers would laugh off today’s incident. However, we could not ignore the possibility that we would become increasingly alarmed if similar incidents became more frequent.

-He can do that even in front of the emperor, but if he does something wrong, he might try to manipulate state affairs just because of a railroad!

If this idea gained sympathy among central officials, they could later put pressure on Hyang.

No matter how powerful the county was, it was impossible to predict the outcome if all officials worked together.

“The bottom line is we have to put up a control panel. Who would be suitable?”

Hyang thought about each candidate one by one.

“Excluding the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers of the left and right. I’m too old. Hwang Bo-in... Excluding Kim Jong-seo because there is no one who is as well versed in the judicial system as he is... Addiction to the city is a problem, but it’s fortunate that he doesn’t get into trouble with Jinpyeong due to his personality. Hmm... Lee Sa-cheol... is so flirtatious. “If you do it wrong, you will end up being grabbed by the collar.”

Hyang, who had been thinking that far, sighed.

“The biggest problem is that everyone is too old! Considering the achievements and power reputation that has been accumulated so far, it is enough to control Jinpyeong, but the age difference and generation gap can actually cause problems. If we look at Jinpyeong now, he is a terrible hybrid that combines the well-known personality with the single-minded temperament of a geek. If you do it wrong, it will make things worse. In that case, they are of similar age...”

After thinking that far, Hyang sighed again.

“There are only four decent guys.”

To put it properly, the four people were optimal as they were used as scolds, lubricants, and brakes while being torn back and forth between Hyang and Jinpyeong.

Hyang, whose thoughts continued to that point, soon picked one person.

“There is only Seongsammun Gate.”

Looking at it objectively, Han Myeong-hoe was the right person for this job. He had quick insight and quick thinking, and was able to prevent problems before they occurred. However, Hyang, who knew about the relationship between Jinpyeong and Han Myeong-hoe and Kwon Ram, was the first to exclude them. And among those who remained, Hawiji had no choice but to be excluded because he was extremely stubborn.

Although it was an unavoidable choice, Seong Sam-Moon was not a bad card.

In history before Hyang intervened, he was intelligent enough to become a scholar in Jiphyeonjeon and was friendly enough to gather people together to restore King Danjong. However, the flaw was that there was a lack of determination, as if he hesitated and failed due to variables that occurred right before the rebellion.

However, since this part was also improved to some extent by rolling under the incense, Seongsammun was chosen as the incense.

* * *

The next morning, Hyang called Han Myeong-hoe and gave him an order.

“Appoint Seong Sam-moon to ‘Supervision of Northern Railway Development’ and send him to Jinpyeong. “It belongs directly to the Seungjeongwon.”

As soon as Hyang finished speaking, Han Myeong-hoe cautiously opened his mouth.

“Please tell your Majesty well!”

“I just carry out my orders to the best of my ability.”

“But please take care of me!”

After the meeting, Jinpyeong explained the scene.

“Completing the railroad bridge that is currently being built here over the Yalu River is the beginning of the Northern Railway. “Because all the materials come in through that railroad bridge!”

“It’s a really big bridge.”

Jinpyeong nodded at Seong Sam-moon’s words.

“If you remove the bridges that His Majesty built in one move, it won’t be a bridge that will be pushed around no matter where you go.”

Jinpyeong, with an expression full of pride, led Seongsammun and showed them all the different parts of the Yalu River railroad bridge construction site.

Jinpyeong returned to the office after inspecting the construction site and got down to business.

“If you look at the map, you will understand...”

Jinpyeong continued his explanation, pointing to a map depicting the imperial territory of the Liaohe region with a pointer.

“Currently, there is only one railway bridge over the Yalu River, but as the development of the northern region progresses in earnest, there will be one more. And not only in Liaodong Province, but also here on the Lushun Peninsula, and around the bases that will be created in the north and east, railroads will be connected longitudinally and horizontally. If that happens, you will be able to travel from the northern tip of Bukji to Seoul within five days at the latest or three days at the earliest.”

“That’s amazing.”

Jinpyeong nodded loudly at Seong Sam-moon’s words.

“It’s a big undertaking. Additionally, once the railroad network is completed, no one will be able to mess with the empire. “It is my dream to make that day come as soon as possible.”

“All future generations of the empire will praise the duke.”

“That would be great.”

Jinpyeong sighed in response to Seong Sam-moon’s words.

“Whoa! But there is a problem that needs to be solved first. The problem is security in the North. “It’s because it’s a place full of strong guys.”

“I heard the military will be deployed because of that problem.”

“There are many limitations as a military.”

Jinpyeong explained what the problem was.

-Even now, chases between rioters and the imperial army are taking place on a daily basis throughout the Northern Territory. Therefore, the allocation of troops is sluggish.

-More and more construction sites will be created in the future, and security forces must be deployed to all of these sites. Otherwise, expensive materials will be stolen.

-The safety of the survey team is also an issue. In order to lay a railroad, preliminary survey work is essential, and a guard force is essential to protect it.

-Connected to the above situation, more and more troops are needed, which may cause political problems.

Seong Sam-moon, who heard the explanation up to that point, raised an objection.

“Why is there a political problem?”

“It’s a question of command authority. If something happens in the field and the military is urgently needed, it would take too long to proceed separately through the chain of command. Therefore, it is useful to place the command of the soldiers assigned in relation to the railroad under me.”

As soon as Jinpyeong finished speaking, Seong Sam-moon shook his head.

“That will never happen. It’s not that there’s a chance of a problem, it’s that a problem will arise.”

“But I think it’s necessary for a quick response. “You know it’s a procedure, right?”

“That part is something that can be done by giving the unit commander in charge of security the right of self-defense and the right to respond immediately.”

“I agree with that. But what if they attack on a large scale like Lee Man-ju did in the past? Considering the danger of the aftershocks, we need to unite and command several units, but movement is slow in that area.”

“Your Majesty said you are organizing a dedicated unit, so all you have to do is point out this problem and adjust the size and scope of action of the unit.”

From then on, Jinpyeong brought up various issues and insisted that he needed his own troops, but Seong Sam-mun blocked Jinpyeong’s claims by coming up with a solution on the spot.

“Your measures are good, but doing so will slow down construction. “To see quick results, you need not only improvisation but also bold decisions.”

“If you anticipate and plan well in advance, there is no need to improvise or make bold decisions. And while the speed of construction is important, the top priority is to avoid causing concern to His Majesty the Emperor. “Isn’t the duke also a subject of the empire?”

“You’re right. That’s right.”

In the end, Jinpyeong had no choice but to wave the white flag to Seong Sam-mun.