Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Use of the Useless (2)
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People have differing views on the matter, but in Joseon, a scholar's poverty was generally not something to be ashamed of.
Put up a sign saying you're enjoying pure breezes and bright moons while practicing contentment in poverty, and it even sounds plausible. There are endless examples.
At first glance, it seemed easier than the demon-filled grind of court life.
But becoming one with nature doesn't suddenly grant you the ability to photosynthesize.
Ahn Jeong-bok came from a poor family to begin with, and his father Ahn Geuk had no interest in household affairs. So from a young age, Ahn Jeong-bok had to burn charcoal alongside the slaves.
And it was the same now.
"Cough, cough. Hack!"
Ahn Jeong-bok was pulling charcoal from the kiln beside the thatched hut when he inhaled some charcoal dust and coughed violently.
His respiratory system, worn out over years of overwork and poor nutrition, let out a sound closer to rigor mortis than a lively warning.
Kwon Cheol-sin, his disciple who had been carrying firewood in from beyond the private gate, dropped the load like it was trash and came running.
"Teacher, let me do it. Please go inside."
"Ahem, cough! You're the one bringing in the wood—do you think I, not some old man, can just sit in the room putting on airs? Crude as it looks, I'm better at burning charcoal."
The boy Kwon Cheol-sin looked at Ahn Jeong-bok with pity.
As the teacher said, he was barely past forty, but he looked like a real old man.
Just then, a large crow atop the persimmon tree in the yard let out a raucous caw, making the atmosphere hilariously perfect.
When Kwon Cheol-sin tried to chase it away with a stone, calling it bad luck, Ahn Jeong-bok calmly stopped him.
"Don't do that. Crows just fly seeking food and a place to perch. What omen or mystery could they hold to sway your fortune?"
But the next moment, Ahn Jeong-bok had cause to reconsider that rational view.
Suddenly, several magpies swooped in and viciously attacked the crow, driving it off.
One-on-one, the bigger crow would win, but it couldn't beat numbers. The crow flailed about and flew away.
It's a scene you can still occasionally witness in rural areas today.
But Kwon Cheol-sin interpreted it as a good omen.
"Looks like a guest is coming today to sweep away our stuffiness, Teacher."
"Heh heh. For a scholar, a friend to share simple greens and lofty aspirations is the welcome guest. I understand your worry about our livelihood, but if any of my friends could help, they would have by now. Don't talk nonsense."
At that moment, the presence of several people was felt approaching.
To cut to the chase, the teacher Ahn Jeong-bok was wrong, and the disciple Kwon Cheol-sin was right.
That person was indeed the 'guest to sweep away the stuffiness,' as Kwon Cheol-sin had said.
And contrary to Ahn Jeong-bok's words, he was a guest far removed from bland vegetables or refined tastes.
Having sent Se-hwa, artisan Hong Eok, and the rest of the group ahead to Cheonan, I veered slightly off the route toward Gyeong-an.
When I spotted Ahn Jeong-bok's house from afar, I frowned.
A crow was circling the place, of all things.
I didn't know how superstitious Ahn Jeong-bok was, but I couldn't ignore the risk of that damn crow tarnishing my image.
So I rummaged through the luggage, offered a couple of apricots to some magpies, and requested a good-omen concert.
But finding magpies honest enough to do business instead of just snacking and flying off took three failures. No wonder these bastards overrun the 21st century.
Even with the crow swapped for magpies, Ahn Jeong-bok didn't exactly greet me with open arms.
Well, I'm Noron, and he's Namin—it's a warm welcome just not chasing me off.
For some ice-breaking, I threw fellow Namin Chae Je-gong under the bus.
"My close friend Chae Baek-gyu—that is, Chae Je-gong—has long praised your profound scholarship. Lacking as I am, I've come with the customary tuition fee to humbly seek your instruction."
The rice and meat I'd laid out before Ahn Jeong-bok weren't a small amount—not just for eating, but as assets.
Add the bolts of cotton cloth the servants were carrying, and I could buy this little thatched hut outright.
Ahn Jeong-bok didn't grab my hand right away, but his attitude grew cautious.
"For a promising young talent from the Andong Kim clan, who placed first in the literary exams, to seek instruction from a lowly scholar like me—what is this?"
I didn't miss the opening.
"Your name is known nationwide for mastery not just of Neo-Confucianism, but astronomy, geography, calendars, and even painting—how can you be so modest? What I seek is simple: I've obtained a rare foreign book and wish for you to examine it."
With that, I pulled out a few sheets of paper.
Elements—or more precisely, a partial copy of the early sections.
Fortunately, I'd brought a sample or two when departing, thinking of selling them to some Silhak scholars among Hong Daeyong's friends in Cheonan. Otherwise, Jangbok Express would have had to mobilize again.
And Ahn Jeong-bok recognized it immediately.
"Th-this... Where did you get this book?"
He examined the pages with his fingertips and nose as much as his eyes, then let out a long sigh after a while.
"This is a Western book, seen by few, so it's no surprise you don't know. But if we had the later sections, it would be far easier to comprehend..."
"Worry not. I have the complete original, plus a bundle of similar Western books. Come to Gangnam Daeseong, and you'll see them all."
Or in other words, no show, no sequel. That's how DLC sales work.
But Ahn Jeong-bok didn't fall for the money and books outright.
He hesitated, then hardened his expression and asked,
"Why are you doing this?"
"Pardon?"
"A promising Noron like you gains nothing from associating with me. Even court officials think the same. And Gangnam Daeseong is full of noble heirs—they'd never accept instruction from me."
This old man's got it all wrong.
You're not the teacher. You're the student.
Can you write better answers than Go Bong-hwan?
I kindly explained.
My proposal boiled down simply: ditch the failing academy, retake the exams, and this time aim for real success.
But Ahn Jeong-bok nearly had a fit refusing.
"I have no desire for this corrupt world or its chaotic offices."
If I had to say, aren't you the corrupt and filthy Namin—the Taknam faction? Chae Je-gong's Qingnam, of course. Though that's Qingnam propaganda—he'd get mad if I said it.
"Even if I advance, I'd be crushed by the times, shuffling between junior secretary and aide, dining with clerks and learning their smooth clerk-script—that's humiliation too much for a scholar aspiring to statecraft."
What the hell are you basing that on?
You only got those lowly posts because you failed the higher exams, not because you're Namin. You appointment-by-recommendation hack.
They won't reject you outright for being Taknam?
No, quite the opposite. Someone like Ahn Jeong-bok would have passed for tangpyeong optics alone, as long as the scores looked decent.
I sighed inwardly.
At this rate, my plan to draw in Namin to form a Noron second string—or precisely, Kim Unhaeng faction second string—won't work.
To become Chief State Councillor someday, I need a political faction with me at its head, in some form.
Even if I build the Kim Unhaeng faction as a new force, without standout advantages, it'll struggle to take center stage in Noron infighting.
Current Noron is like Japan's LDP. The winner of faction fights gets the premiership, just like LDP.
So what unique edge should the Kim Unhaeng faction have within Noron?
Connections to other factions.
Ahn Jeong-bok passing the exams thanks to Gangnam Daeseong won't make him my Noron ally. I wasn't naive enough to expect that.
Ahn Jeong-bok and Chae Je-gong are better as Namin.
No matter how precarious for Namin, Noron can't entirely sideline them.
Yeongjo administered AED-like shocks whenever Namin were on the brink.
Zapping them with electric shocks to jolt them back, that is.
Whether revived or postmortem spasms, it tensed Noron and gave Namin hope each time.
Like Yeongjo suddenly spotlighting Yu Hyong-won's Treatise on Rejecting Grievances, which he could call his teacher in the future.
Or Jeongjo promoting Silhak scholars like Jeong Yak-yong and even illegitimate sons if needed.
All in that context.
Silhak scholars and second sons must have felt light at the tunnel's end.
But sorry to say, you got played by those two kings with 'Silhak.'
As far as I know, Namin and Silhak had little macro policy influence. They were just tools for scolding Noron.
The kings 'used' Silhak to 'bolster' royal authority.
But regardless, Namin survive until the Heungseon Daewongun era.
In that scenario, the value of the Kim Unhaeng faction as informal Namin channel skyrockets within Noron. They'd have to go through me for soft negotiations.
Thus, I need a discreet project sponsoring Namin court entry.
First up: Ahn Jeong-bok and his disciples.
But this old man won't cooperate.
No choice.
I didn't want to go this far, but time for harsh medicine.
I suddenly bellowed at the scholar twice my age.
"Humiliation? You're fretting over tomorrow's rice, yet too foolish to know what's truly shameful—that ignorance is the real humiliation!"
The disciple (around Park Ji-won's age) who'd been eyeing the rice piles outside startled.
I pressed the momentum.
"Can you not grasp why I, who didn't seek this book, have it—while you, who did, does not?!"
"What?"
"It's not about counting coins or rice height. How shameful for one claiming to pacify the realm to fail at catching a chicken, or to manage the world yet not his own home!"
"This punk..."
"Snot and bean sprouts are easy to endure. But who respects easy? You mentioned Dang Yeo earlier? Baek-gyu—Chae Je-gong, a decade your junior—is upholding Namin alone, fighting in court for juniors' paths and seniors' honor."
This was partly sincere.
Chae Je-gong fights out in the world himself.
More important than petty ancestral estate grabs. Methods differ, but I respect the effort.
If he weren't valuable, I'd have crushed him in Hamgyong no matter what.
"But you? Mingling with Noron for office is shameful, but grubby charcoal work isn't? Scared to empower the faction for your statecraft dreams, yet easy to curse ministers from this unseen rural hut!"
"You thug, insulting a frugal scholar's contentment..."
"Ha! Think four words 'contentment in poverty' fix everything? Enough! Since I brought foreign books, hear a distant land's golden saying!"
I shot to my feet. My robe flared dramatically, overwhelming Ahn Jeong-bok.
Gazing down sternly, I declared,
"No peace or joy in the place you flee to!"
Not a lie.
Spatially near, temporally distant foreign wisdom.
Past folk wouldn't know, but some German-American said space-time is one.
Of course, Ahn Jeong-bok couldn't laugh.
He just stared back with trembling eyes.
Whatever Kim Unhaeng thought, Ahn Jeong-bok was a scholar of high achievement in Silhak and Neo-Confucianism alike.
Comparing scholarly depth to Kim Unhaeng was laughable.
Ahn Jeong-bok would later be summoned by Yeongjo to interpret Zhu Xi. Not purely political—Yeongjo wouldn't have made him tutor to the great-grandson otherwise.
Normally, Kim Unhaeng's ploy wouldn't work.
But now, Ahn Jeong-bok had quit office for his dying father, worn body and soul by poverty.
Worse, the painful jab that a so-called Silhak scholar lacked practicality hit fatally.
Ahn Jeong-bok wasn't some ascetic scorning wealth.
Oddly, in old age he'd serve as Myeongcheon county magistrate, saying, 'Clerks are sly, but daily meat beats bachelor days.'
So his seclusion held self-deception.
Kim Unhaeng struck there.
Plus apologizing for rudeness while offering lavish gifts—it worked. Ahn Jeong-bok resolved to join Gangnam Daeseong.
Having whipped Ahn Jeong-bok hard, Kim Unhaeng offered the carrot.
"Better to bring your aged father-in-law to Gangnam Daeseong too."
"I'll never forget this gracious scrutiny."
Then Kim Unhaeng mobilized men to demolish the charcoal shed and house.
To the shocked Ahn Jeong-bok and Kwon Cheol-sin, he said with no compromise,
"This is the resolve of breaking cauldrons and sinking boats, the backwater array. No more doubts."
Of course, destroying his economic base and home to bind him. Like forcing Chai Seong from hometown or branding him criminal—fundamentally same.
Thus, following future Noron Northerners Hong Daeyong and Park Ji-won, Namin Silhak master Ahn Jeong-bok and disciples joined Kim Unhaeng's cross-faction group.
And by the time Kim Unhaeng went to Boryeong for new real estate scouting, the intriguing rumor crossed the Han and scaled Hanyang's walls.
King Yi Geum, unlike original history, maintained unusual calm now.
Normally, palace and royal house would drown in grief and sobs.
The royal great-grandson dies this summer, Yeongjo 28th year—right now.
But the current great-grandson thrives healthy. Plus, Crown Princess is pregnant with the second.
Yi Geum's eyelids twitched faintly.
He spat into the spittoon beside him.
'If the second's a son too, royal succession worries end.'
Even if Crown Prince 'mishaps' midway, no issue. Legitimate and spare heirs secured.
Crown Prince evoked a young retainer via association.
Kim Unhaeng seemed to ace the secret inspector test perfectly.
Rat extermination, early tribute graft busts—mere trivia.
Yi Geum hadn't rated Kim Unhaeng's peak high.
He expected smears on Chae Je-gong, self-aggrandizing—and slick execution earns tool status for royal politics.
But Hamgyong aftermath and Gangnam Daeseong reports via crab-sauce minions showed Kim Unhaeng likely allied with Chae Je-gong.
Even Yi Geum hadn't foreseen that.
Veteran Noron powers same.
They see Namin as pesky scraps, not assets in uselessness.
But Kim Unhaeng did.
One grasping tangpyeong's true intent.
The talent Yi Geum seeks for future ministers.
Time for promised rewards. Not yet notified, but Yi Geum finished new posts for Kim Unhaeng and Chae Je-gong.
One nagging doubt: Kim Unhaeng seems Crown Prince's retainer.
Yi Geum hasn't decided Crown Prince's future yet.
He just dislikes him.
So if Kim Unhaeng truly wants to be his close aide, detach from Crown Prince first. Voluntarily.
'For now, just hedging bets on the prince—once he sees Crown Prince's vileness, he'll distance himself.'
Exposing 'Crown Prince's vileness' is easy.
It's Yi Geum's hobby too.
Yi Geum resolved to corner the Crown Prince once more.
Author's Note
1. Magpies are so aggressive, smart, and group-oriented that crows usually get beaten and chased off when they meet.
2. Kwon Cheol-sin was a real disciple of Ahn Jeong-bok, playing a big role in spreading Catholicism among Namin scholars later. Ahn Jeong-bok disliked it, sending letters to chide Kwon and others repeatedly, to no avail. Unsure if he was under Ahn at this exact time.
3. Ahn Jeong-bok entered office via recommendation and was actually serving as Jungneung overseer this summer (Yeongjo 28). Next year, he did censor work (some via recommendation) before resigning for father's death. In-story, severe father led to early resignation, skipping censor and retiring a year early—details later.
4. Treatise on Rejecting Grievances cited as model governance guide from Sukjong era. Before, only fringe Silhak like Yang Deuk-jung; ~20 years later, Yeongjo orders official compilation/distribution, spotlighting Namin heirs like Yi Ik, Ahn Jeong-bok via special appointment.
5. Here, 'paradise' means Royal Music Office, not biblical—hence Kim Unhaeng's parody tweaks slightly.