Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: King Sejong the Great's Trap (2)
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King Sejong was climbing Bukaksan Mountain with King Taejong today as well.
At first, when they began hiking, he would be gasping for breath like someone on the verge of collapse after just one gak—fifteen minutes—into the climb.
But after steadily hiking for several months, his stamina had gradually improved, and now he had the endurance to hold conversations while ascending.
"Father."
"Yes, my son. The summit is just a little further. Hang in there a bit longer."
"In the past, just reaching the top would leave me breathless and utterly exhausted, but now it's not that taxing even after getting there."
"Truly impressive. Isn't this all thanks to Kim Dae-bung, who risked his life to advise me to take care of your health?"
Even in the 21st century, a president's health is a top-secret matter.
It's treated as classified information on par with military installations or diplomatic documents that must be kept under strict secrecy for national security reasons.
Thus, not only chronic conditions but even a passing cold is guarded meticulously to prevent leaks.
The only exception is when the president is on the brink of death, at which point it becomes unavoidable to inform the public.
The same held true in Joseon: the king's illness would only be revealed to his subjects when succession preparations became urgently necessary.
Therefore, for someone who wasn't even a royal physician to express concern for King Sejong's health could be seen as seditious...
Kim Dae-bung had truly staked his neck on sincere counsel for the king's sake.
From King Taejong's perspective, Kim Dae-bung was a benefactor who had saved his son Sejong at the cost of his own life.
"The royal physician told me yesterday that your body previously showed clear signs of consumption, but now, with the fat melted away and your muscles and bones firmed up, the affliction has completely vanished from your system. Isn't this all because you've diligently built your strength through these hikes?"
For a fleeting moment, the thought crossed Sejong's mind: 'Now that my health has improved, how about reducing the frequency of these hikes going forward?'
The words nearly rose to his throat, but he couldn't bring himself to say them to his father, who was beaming with such pure joy.
This wasn't out of fear that suggesting it might lead to logical rebuttal, charges of insolence, and additional exercises beyond hiking—no, absolutely not.
It was simply filial restraint, born of a son's inability to forbid what made his father happy.
"Father, in the report from the Chief State Councillor today, I learned that Kim Dae-bung is contemplating resignation."
"Kim Dae-bung is considering stepping down? He must be planning to move against some corrupt official haunted by royal ghosts or to scrap a misguided policy himself."
Kim Dae-bung was a subject who took more pleasure in devoting himself to the Ancestral Temple and State Altar than anyone else.
Otherwise, how could he have opposed the long-cherished dream of circulating bronze coinage—a project King Taejong, iron mace in hand, had staked the altars on—and submitted a petition risking his life in the process?
Thus, anyone who hadn't heard Jo Mal-saeng's explanation could only think that way.
Even Sejong, had he not seen Prime Minister Hwang Hui's line reading, 'Kim Dae-bung is scheming to resign like Zhang Liang,' would have assumed it was to push some other agenda.
"They say Kim Dae-bung intends to vanish like Zhang Liang, who served one Han Emperor and then departed once his duties were fulfilled."
King Taejong's expression hardened instantly.
Kim Dae-bung was, of course, a subject who—alongside Hwang Hui, Maeng Sa-seong, Jo Mal-saeng, and others—had to devote himself to Joseon until death.
The idea of such a man leaving like Zhang Liang hit him like a mallet to the head in the dead of night.
"Looking at everything Kim Dae-bung has done so far, it's clear he thinks of nothing but upholding the Ancestral Temple and State Altar and easing the people's burdens day and night. There's no way someone like him would dream of resigning and retiring to the countryside."
"Could it be because the merits he's established are simply too great?"
King Taejong had no choice but to nod at that.
Kim Dae-bung's achievements weren't on the level of overturning a nation's foundation.
To reach that, he'd need to be on par with Yi Seong-gye—now rated by modern historians as a 'peerless general' surpassing even Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
Yi Seong-gye had toppled Goryeo, yes, but he had also saved it from ruin multiple times as a national hero.
But that didn't mean his merits could never threaten the realm. If he had served a ruler like the light-speed Daoist King Seonjo or the thief Zhu Yuanzhang...
He'd be someone who could face a purge at any moment without it seeming amiss.
Thus, King Taejong and Sejong's thoughts inevitably flowed this way:
'His achievements are so vast that he's stepping back out of 'just in case' fears.'
"Kim Dae-bung's merits are indeed immense, but I'm not like that thief. I know his true heart—how could I discard him like a worn shoe?"
Zhu Yuanzhang had purged a whopping 10,000, including meritorious retainers and their nine clans.
But King Taejong had executed only those who deserved death, regardless of family ties.
The Min clan men had grown arrogant as in-laws.
Min Mu-gu had said, 'Shouldn't all the sons except the crown prince be killed?' And Sejong's father-in-law Sim On, the moment Sejong's crown princely status was confirmed, had started handpicking who could meet him—acts of brazen presumption.
They had openly schemed for regency, so he killed them to strengthen royal authority and stabilize the state.
"Still, his concerns aren't entirely baseless, so we must soothe him well and dispel his anxieties. If a king fails to ease the worries of a subject vowing to shatter his bones and labor like a horse or dog for the Ancestral Temple and State Altar, how shameful would that be?"
Ministers like Hwang Hui or Jo Mal-saeng spilled corruption and flaws the moment you shook them down.
So you could send secret missives or quietly direct the Office of Inspectors to impeach their misdeeds, then step in as king to shield them—problem solved.
By personally halting the impeachment process, you bestowed a favor that kept them serving till death, while instilling certainty that staying in office was their safety net.
But Kim Dae-bung had no such flaws.
Unlike Jo Mal-saeng or Hwang Hui, whose every probe unearthed filth, the more you stripped him bare, the more integrity emerged.
King Taejong sighed inwardly.
'If only he had a few weaknesses.'
Yet in the history without Kim Dae-bung—where all ministers were driven to overwork like grad students, and Sejong himself logged 120-hour weeks—a brilliant alternative dawned in King Taejong's mind.
If there were no weaknesses, the king could simply gift him some.
"Father, I've heard Kim Dae-bung cherishes his concubine dearly. How precious must she be for him to open an official path to advancement for her merchant father?"
The process of elevating Kim Man-deok to yangban status for Kim Dae-bung was entirely legal.
Just as slaves like Jang Yeong-sil and Park Ja-cheong had risen to high office for their talents, it was natural for a merchant to enter officialdom when needed.
Failing to do so would have been the oddity.
Thus, it wasn't grounds to thwart resignation, but Sejong developed this into the following scheme.
"Moreover, Kim Dae-bung is already past twenty-two and yet hasn't properly held a wedding, leaving him without a principal wife. Rumor has it that's because his concubine hasn't borne a son, and taking a principal wife would discomfort her position."
"They must love each other more deeply than Mother and I."
King Taejong was quite the womanizer, and Queen Won-gyeong's strong jealousy led to frequent quarrels.
Yet whenever he faced peril, she always stepped forward ahead of all others, throwing herself to protect him—she loved him that much.
This was why he later reflected on owing much to the Min clan in his youth.
"From what I've heard, Kim Dae-bung took her as a concubine because her father wasn't yangban, but circumstances have changed. Her father, Kim Man-deok, has long been yangban, and Kim Dae-bung still has no principal wife..."
A smile crept across King Taejong's lips.
By rites or status order, Kim Dae-bung couldn't elevate his own beloved concubine to principal wife himself.
Nor could he easily petition the king for it.
But if the king, knowing their love, used royal prerogative to raise Kim Gyeol to principal wife...?
Kim Dae-bung would receive an irresistible grace, becoming reason enough—like Hwang Hui or Jo Mal-saeng—to serve the altars lifelong.
It resolved the lovers' status gap, while chaining a slave-like minister to Joseon's eternal progress...
Wouldn't this be good for Joseon, Taejong, and Sejong alike?
"Father, what if we raise Kim Dae-bung's concubine to principal wife?"
A smile formed on King Taejong's lips.
He had always wanted to repay the man who restored his son's health, enriched the nation's coffers, and vastly improved the people's lives.
But wealth held no appeal for him, nor did he crave promotion—frustrating the search for a fitting reward.
Sejong's proposal finally solved that impasse, filling him with delight.
"With a son as wise as you, this father has truly nothing to worry about."
To King Taejong, this son who had resolved such a major concern himself was exceedingly admirable.
Now, he just needed to ensure the boy's body was better managed henceforth.
"And now that you've built a solid foundation of stamina, starting tomorrow, let's train not just hiking but also horsemanship and archery. We can alternate. This isn't so I can take you hunting—it's for your health."
"Really?"
Instead of answering, King Taejong quickened his pace up the mountain.