Chapter 654

Episode 654: The Woodpecker’s Strange Neighbor (3)

Through the experience he had accumulated through running the government, King Sejong steadily took control of the indigenous tribes of Shinji.

Against the background of bribes disguised as gifts, subtle appeasement using push and pull, and Shinji’s strongest military force, King Sejong began to place the surrounding tribes under his feet one by one.

However, King Sejong was never optimistic about the situation.

“They are the ones who have been roaring for at least hundreds of years, if not thousands of years. It’s not easy to put together. Because it is natural that the ears of the next door neighbor’s field look more fruitful than the ears of my own field. If it is not sutured properly, it will fester and burst. “We need competition.”

It was clear that if there were suitable means of competition, they could be used to divert dissatisfaction.

Therefore, King Sejong began to consider what the appropriate means of competition would be.

“Wrestling is okay, but wrestling alone is not enough. We need something that allows us to unite more and create opportunities to meet alone with the chiefs. “What would be better?”

The first thing that came to mind when King Sejong was struggling was a stone tablet.

“All you need are common rocks and a suitable club and shield, so it’s okay...” * *

*

For the Joseon people, Seokjeon was a time-honored game. On holidays or the first day of the year, men from nearby villages gathered and held a memorial service. Or, when a dispute arose at the village level, a stone battle was held as a means of resolving it.

However, since it was a stone battle where if you made a mistake, you could get injured or die, it was common for the battle to overheat in an instant and fights broke out.

Therefore, when the stone war began, it was customary for influential people from the villages where the stone war was held or local officials who governed them to act as referees and coordinate the proceedings. Despite this, scuffles often broke out, and even the influential people who served as referees fought each other by the collar.

Although it was such a rough match, the king, royal family members, and influential people enjoyed watching the stone battle.

For example, when King Sejong did not like the stone shrine, his superior King Taejong said this and forced him to see the stone shrine.

“It’s also a great training tool.”

In the end, it was the 9th year of King Sejong. King Sejong created systematic rules for seokjeon.

And later, as the military progressed, Seokjeon became a means of training reserve forces. However, in order to avoid those participating in the stone battle from getting injured more than necessary, they were instructed to wear old armor that had been left behind by longsword soldiers.

Afterwards, as a comprehensive entertainment center was created, a professional dialysis team was created. The stoning team, a type of professional athlete, traveled all over the country and engaged in stoning battles at entertainment venues.

This was the birth of the ‘League’.

And the plate armor from the long sword corps, which was gradually decreasing in size, was used as protective gear for professional stone throwers.

And when the government learned that the people’s sense of belonging was strengthened through these regular matches of the stone troupe, they began to make good use of it.

* * *

I thought it was okay, but Sejong immediately shook his head.

“no. It’s barely been stitched up now. If you do it wrong, it will turn into a truly murderous battle. This is something that has already happened in Joseon. “It was Seokjeon that people fought with each other to the death even though it had been a thousand years since they first became citizens of one country.”

King Sejong, who had given up on seokjeon, began to think of other means.

“Baduk? no. It’s a good tool against leaders such as chiefs, but not good against warriors. We need something to drain the warriors’ vitality. Hmm...”

Sejong, who was pondering so much, thought of something else.

“What about Gyeokgu?”

But soon Sejong shook his head.

“No, no. “The time it takes to train magic is also a problem, and if you make a mistake when you are not yet acclimatized properly, you can make troublesome enemies.”

Sejong, who felt a headache in a situation where if there was one good thing, there were two or three bad things, put his hand on his forehead.

“It’s a pain in the ass.”

“Shall I call you?”

King Sejong shook his head in response to a question from the merchant ship next to him.

“No. I stayed in my room all the time and it was stuffy. “Let’s go out for a moment and get some fresh air.”

“Shall I tell you to prepare your horses?”

“No, we’re going to separate rooms.”

Sejong, who saw the stone ball flying far away with a light hitting sound, shouted without realizing it.

“It’s a cool flight!”

However, King Sejong had a small appetite at the sight of the Naegwan running after the stone sphere disappearing in the distance.

“Tsk! You’re giving me trouble. But I feel refreshed inside.”

King Sejong, who saw the eunuch suffering so much, immediately closed the room and returned to the room.

“Still, I was feeling refreshed inside, but why should I just go pick it up?”

Sang-seon immediately bowed his head as King Sejong muttered to himself.

“How can you move the body over such a small thing? “Such things can be done by small believers.”

“But isn’t hard work hard work?”

“If you think of moving as exercise, it will work. “Don’t you think that if you move your body in moderation, you won’t get sick?”

‘Then you say I’m sick and sick?’

Sejong’s mind suddenly brightened as he held back the words that were about to come out.

‘wait! Is it possible to have a separate room with just two people? And if you put the ball in a waa (窩兒), you move on to the next waa? So what if you do it in a wide field instead of in a narrow place? Isn’t what remains of this new land a plain? What if you set a long distance between where you hit the ball and the waa, and also keep the waa and the waa far apart?’

After thinking that far, Sejong hit his knee with a bright face.

“I found the answer!”

That is how Shingeokbang was born. King Sejong invited the chiefs to the 10-ri (approximately 4 km) one-way, 20-ri round-trip Gyeokbang field, introduced the Shingyeokbang and enjoyed the Gyeokbang together.

Soon, Shingyeokbang became wildly popular among chiefs and elder warriors. These were chiefs and senior warriors who were physically too weak to fight alongside young warriors. However, Shingeokbang was the best place to enjoy while maintaining a reasonable amount of stamina. Also, the fact that such a small number of people could enjoy the game alone gave them another sense of superiority.

As the cult spread among the chiefs and senior warriors, King Sejong began to use it politically.

Chiefs of influential tribes were invited and two or three of them had a private meeting and had secret conversations.

And this ‘Gyeokbangjang meeting’ became an important factor in accelerating Shinji’s incorporation into Joseon.

If the culture and economic power of Joseon, symbolized by the monopoly, influenced ordinary natives to Joseon, the ‘Gyeokbangjang Meeting’ politically influenced them to Joseon.

* * *

When the natives of Shinji were rapidly becoming Joseon, there were some natives who were ahead of others.

This was the case with ‘Crouching Bear’, the woodpecker’s husband.

He was the husband of a woodpecker named ‘Crouching Bear’ because he was large from birth.

Crouching Bear, who was expected to become a famous warrior thanks to his large size and strength, became a disappointment as he got older.

He had good size, strength and intelligence, but his fighting skills were not that good. The fact that his fighting skills were inferior to that of other warriors was a major disqualification.

No, to be precise, he had similar fighting skills to other warriors, but it was inferior to his size and strength.

Although he had the advantage of being intelligent and having excellent situational analysis and judgment, this was easily ignored.

The Crouching Bear, which had become a partner with the woodpecker, carefully observed the Koreans who suddenly became its neighbors. And as time passed, Crouching Bear volunteered to study Hunminjeongeum and learn Korean.

Crouching Bear, who became accustomed to the Korean language, quickly learned basic academics, including industry and academia.

And this appearance of a crouching bear caught the eyes of Koreans.

“Is that friend worth using?”

“Didn’t you say that Your Majesty would be coming soon? “When that time comes, you’ll definitely need friends like that.”

And with the arrival of King Sejong and the development of Shinji getting into full swing, Crouching Bear was officially managed.

Although he was still the lowest level official, Crouching Bear had laid the foundation for moving up if he worked hard.

In this way, the Crouching Bear and the Woodpecker came to live and make their home in the area where Koreans lived.

And the Crouching Bear’s position in the tribe was instantly reversed.

He had changed from an ‘insignificant warrior’ to an ‘important ally’.