Chapter 1
Chapter 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Someone in an online gallery forum said that serving as an official under King Sejong the Great was something you absolutely shouldn't do.
King Sejong the Great, hailed as the greatest monarch in Joseon's 500-year history—serving under him is off-limits? You'd think it was nonsense.
But there's a good reason for it.
King Sejong the Great is wiser than anyone, utterly impartial, loves his people fiercely, and trusts his subordinates completely. He's the perfect king, no doubt.
I wouldn't deny that, not even a speck of dust's worth...
But here's the problem.
He turns any competent guy who catches his eye into a lifelong Chief State Councillor.
It's just like how the most active poster in a gallery suddenly turns into a total bootlicker.
And like Prime Minister Hwang Hui, the more you beg to retire, the later your retirement gets pushed back. Thanks to King Sejong the Great, who works overtime like it's just another meal for the sake of his people, you're squeezed dry until you're on your last breath.
I didn't want to experience that firsthand myself, either.
Serving a magnificent ruler like King Sejong the Great is the greatest honor of a lifetime for any subject, sure. But after decades of being wrung out until your soul's spent...
"Please grant the resignation of your servant, Chief State Councillor Kim Dae-bung!"
It's been a whopping forty years since I started my official career under King Sejong the Great.
In the original history, he reigned for thirty-two years and passed away from complications of obesity and adult-onset diseases... But thanks to my intervention, King Sejong the Great is still hale and hearty to this day.
It's great that King Sejong the Great is healthy and long-lived, but the problem is I've been squeezed just as long.
So now, I'm trying to seize my freedom while I still can.
"Your servant is now old, with no strength left in my back or legs. My body has weakened, and I've lost even my former sharpness of mind. I can no longer bear the weight of serving the Ancestral Temple and State Altar."
This is already the fifteenth time I've requested resignation.
Let me retire like Prime Minister Hwang Hui. I just want to live out my days in peace afterward.
God, Buddha, admin of the Great History Gallery, please...
To his subjects, King Sejong the Great often becomes a ruthless slave driver incarnate. He chuckled heartily and decreed the same this time as well.
"The Chief State Councillor's resignation is denied. My Chief State Councillor is my Zhuge Liang, my Xiao He, and akin to Jiang Ziya himself—how could I possibly let you go?"
...
If I'd known it would come to this, back then with that Great Examination answer sheet... No.
When I went up to the capital for the civil service exam and he appeared before me in disguise, hiding his identity, I shouldn't have landed that sharp retort on King Sejong the Great.
Looking back now, that was basically spotting the admin and coquettishly begging to be drafted...
'What the hell is this, really.'