He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 132

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Gwon Ram and Han Myeong-hoe (3)

Gwon Ram listened to my words and questioned me back.

“What do you mean by sending him to Goryeo’s side?”

“Just like Former Goryeo, I mean to remove him from this world.”

“My Lord, are you asking me, your child, if I want to harm my parent? As long as one is born human, a child must fulfill their filial duty to their parents. How can you speak such blasphemous words? Even if parents are utterly evil, I believe one must still fulfill their duty as a child.”

Though Gwon Ram says such things, it seems his heart is full of desire to get rid of his father.

If he didn’t have such feelings, when an adult like me said such words, the typical reaction would be to get angry and defend his father, saying “Father is a good person, why would you say that?”…

But this fellow didn’t say a single word about his father being precious to him, and only recited the duties written in Confucian scriptures like reading from a textbook.

This is proof that he’s extremely interested in my proposal.

“You don’t need to hide it from me. Because I also don’t want to leave your father alone. He is my enemy.”

“Why exactly are you doing all this for me, My Lord?”

I closed the door and took off my upper garment.

Rather than explaining with words why I was doing this, I thought it would be faster to persuade him by telling episodes I had experienced as a person.

Gwon Ram’s mouth fell open in shock at my sudden action.

“Why are there so many scars on your body, My Lord?!”

“When there was a great fire in Hanyang last time, I rushed in with hammers in both hands to put out the fire. No one ordered me to do it, and I had no obligation to step forward like that. In the process, I got some burns on my body.”

Even thinking about it now, what I did was honestly reckless behavior.

Does it make sense for a civil official in Official Robes to be running around at the frontlines of Fire Suppression to save the Common People?

Still, by throwing this one body of mine, I was able to protect countless lives and property.

“Can you guess why I did that?”

Gwon Ram tilted his head.

“It was because of my earnest desire to save even one more person in danger, just like you. Aren’t you suffering greatly because of your father right now? After seeing that with my own eyes, I want to extend my hand to you out of pity. At the same time, I also want to punish the evil person who tramples on the weak.”

“… Is there really no other reason besides that?”

Actually, there is another important reason.

The fact that you are Gwon Ram, Prince Suyang’s strategist.

A talent too precious to be left under King Sejo, who is consumed by inferiority complex.

I will civilize you and make you dedicate yourself to the development of Joseon.

Just like your friend Han Myeong-hoe.

“It is said that a king must be kingly, and a subject must be subject-like. And a subject should be like a mother, caring for and cherishing all the Common People. I wish to help you in order to practice this principle I have learned since childhood.”

In fact, neither my parents in Joseon nor my parents in Korea taught me to sacrifice for others like this.

When I was about to lose my family helplessly, there was the Civil Servant Uncle who treated my affairs as his own.

I want to become like him, and I’m dedicating myself like this because I want to repay the debt I owe to him.

Gwon Ram hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“I hate my Father. He’s infatuated with a concubine who was a gisaeng, ignoring my mother and even beating her. So I wailed and begged him to please not do that. No matter how much I begged and pleaded, Father wouldn’t listen. Instead, he even kicked me, saying how dare I interfere with what Father does.”

“Your heart must have felt like it was tearing apart.”

“Yesterday too, Mother was beaten badly by Father. But perhaps that wasn’t enough to satisfy his anger, because when Father tried to beat us too yesterday, Mother screamed for us to quickly get out of the Room. So my sister and I fled outside the House. Even though they say it’s human duty for children to respect their parents, how can I respect such a father? I’m not Emperor Shun, so I cannot do such a thing.”

That bastard Shun isn’t human.

He’s a character from Confucian folklore whose very existence is questionable, a symbol of peaceful prosperity, and they say that even when his father tried to kill him several times, he just laughed it off and simply avoided it.

They say he did it to prevent his father from committing sins, but is that even human?

“Mencius also said that a cruel tyrant is not a king. My Father violates human duty and abuses his wife and children like this, so why should I respect and honor that person? My true desire is to get rid of him like Former Goryeo.”

“I shall fulfill your wish.”

“Really?”

While getting rid of that bastard Kwon Je, I should also create laws related to child abuse.

In Joseon, when parents kill their children, they tend to let it slide as long as there’s no intent, but does that even make sense?

Even from a Confucian perspective, that’s nonsensical behavior.

And besides using violence, crazy bastards addicted to gambling sometimes sell their young daughters as gisaeng or Slaves to gamble and play games.

If they’re on the verge of starving to death and have no choice, I can understand that even if I make a million concessions.

But I cannot forgive bastards who sell their children to gamble.

“However, killing him seems impossible.”

If Kwon Je, that bastard who committed child abuse, caused his child’s death, then I would have justification to raise hell saying that son of a bitch must be killed.

However, since no one has been sacrificed by him yet, execution would be difficult.

And is killing necessarily the appropriate punishment for that human trash?

“Instead, it’s possible to give him pain so severe he’d rather die, for a very long time.”

“… How do you mean?”

“I will impeach him and send him into exile. Normally, someone like your father would live in a good house even in exile, taking concubines and servants locally to live comfortably. However, if I impeach him very severely and expose all his misconduct, such things will not be tolerated.”

Originally, exile is an extremely harsh punishment.

Just receiving an exile sentence and going into exile costs enormous amounts of money.

And when you arrive at the exile location, you must live under the roof of the exile master’s house…

The exile master, being forced to take on the obligation of feeding and housing a prisoner, gives all kinds of reproach while ignoring and working them to near death.

Living this life indefinitely until the king grants release is what exile is.

“Your father may love his concubine who was a gisaeng, but he won’t be able to take that woman with him. And in the countryside far from Hanyang, he’ll have to do hard labor he’s never done before while living in a shabby shed. Even working himself to death daily, all he’ll get is rice made from millet and millet. How painful would it be for someone who lived comfortably his whole life to fall to the bottom of hell?”

Among human rights activists, there are surprisingly many who support the death penalty.

It’s easy to mistake that people advocating for the death penalty are thinking of ‘victims’ rights,’ but what those gentlemen are defending is the human rights of death row inmates.

They say that sentencing those who committed crimes deserving death to life imprisonment, making them live only in prison for 10, 20, 30 years, is extremely painful for them.

So they cry out that the death penalty system needs to be revived.

I don’t like protecting the human rights of criminal bastards who deserve to die, but I think the statement that ‘life imprisonment’ can be more painful than death is worth considering.

A bloody smile appeared on Gwon Ram’s face.

“Yes, it does seem like it would be truly painful.”

“Living like that is painful enough, but with people around constantly pointing fingers, how shameful would such a life be?”

The village people would be absolutely disgusted and not treat him like a human, knowing that trash who gets drunk and beats his wife and children, only busy fooling around with his concubine, has come into exile.

Frankly speaking, even if poor, to be treated like a human in exile, it should be something clean like ‘purge for political reasons’ like Jeong Yak-yong, but someone exiled for doing such trashy things is really seen as human garbage.

“… Rather than killing him to send him to Former Goryeo’s side, I think this would be more painful – what do you think?”

There are quite a few cases of suicide due to problems like bullying, gaslighting, and harassment at schools, the military, workplaces, and such.

The reason is that being ostracized from one’s group feels more painful than dying.

A vicious bastard like Kwon Je deserves to live in such agony.

“Do you want me to do that for you?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“Good. Then from now on, I’ll tell you the price you must pay. Nothing in this world is free, after all.”

At my words, Gwon Ram gulped nervously.

“From now on, you will learn scholarship under me. And bring your friend Han Myeong-hoe as well. That’s the price you must pay.”

“What?!”

“Your father has abandoned the proper conduct one should have as a human being, so you too must not have learned what is right and wrong. So I will teach you directly.”

“That’s really all it takes?”

“Both you and that Han Myeong-hoe fellow who’s close to you are rumored to become great figures in the future. I was curious whether the rumors were true, but meeting you like this and seeing you directly, I think you have the makings to rise to the position of prime minister.”

Gwon Ram actually does serve as Left State Councilor.

So even without my help, he would succeed in life.

“My Lord.”

“Call me Master.”

“Master…”

“Yes. From now on, I will teach you the proper way to live as a human being and scholarship.”

Though I say this, another Scholar will be assigned to teach those boys how to read and write.

I’m a person busy with government affairs, so I can’t teach the Four Books and Three Classics from beginning to end.

Instead, I plan to fill their heads with various good teachings.

Things like economics.

“For the time being, think of this place as your home and rest comfortably. I’ll soon rescue your mother from that bastard Kwon Je’s hands, so from now on, you should live seeing only good things and thinking only good thoughts. That’s a child’s privilege and rightful due.”

And not long after, a petition was submitted through the Royal Secretariat.

That bastard Kwon Je had taken the bait and petitioned the king for divorce.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————