Jeok Wigang looked at Chu Sohwan when he said something had happened.
*****
The next day.
News that Jeok Wigang had returned as if nothing had happened reached the Hanlin Academy.
“I thought he would get sick of it and run away.”
“Apparently he solved all the problems there instead.”
“I heard he made the decision on his own and handed over the salt trade rights, didn’t he? The madman. Why did he decide that however he pleased? Are we scarecrows?”
“His Majesty is said to have given him the Imperial Command Tablet. Perhaps he trusted in that and committed such an outrageous act.”
“So he ran wild as if he had become Emperor himself because of the Imperial Command Tablet. The reason the Great Khagan turned his troops back was not because that bastard was so impressive. They must have needed some kind of pretext too, and he gave them that pretext.”
“In the end, we alone suffered losses. We handed over what the enemy wanted, but did we gain anything?”
“We must make this matter public and hold him responsible.”
“That is right! If anything, this is for the best. He must be puffed up with pride, thinking he solved the matter, so we must show him clearly that what he did was wrong.”
As the officials of the Hanlin Academy were talking like this, someone rushed inside in a panic.
“T-Terrible news!”
“What is it now?”
“H-His Majesty says he will appoint Jeok Wigang as a third-rank Compiler-Scholar! An order came down to draft the imperial edict at once!”
“What? He has lost his mind! He has lost his mind!”
“It seems His Majesty has completely fallen for him. I hear he even prepared a lavish feast for that bastard yesterday and waited for him anxiously.”
“Hah! What will become of this country...?”
“Grand Secretary! What do we do?”
“What else would we do? Do you think I would approve such an absurd imperial edict? Write memorials at once and let us go protest to His Majesty!”
“What should the memorials say?”
“They will be resignation memorials! If His Majesty will not accept our will, then we too cannot serve His Majesty!”
“Understood! I will convey the Grand Secretary’s will to every scholar!”
“Do so! And have everyone come out dressed entirely in mourning clothes! We must settle this today!”
“Understood!”
*****
When the outside grew noisy, Zhu Seogi wore the expression of a man seeing what he had known would come.
“Do you not need to go?”
At Zhu Seogi’s question, the Lecturer of the Hanlin Academy shook his head.
“Where would this subject go? I will remain by Your Majesty’s side.”
“I am truly grateful to hear you say that. In your opinion, how will they act?”
“They will likely dress in white, gather before the palace gate, and compose their memorials.”
“Why white?”
“It is what is called a white-clad protest. It is an action meant to show their resolve that, if Your Majesty does not accept their will, they will cast aside their official posts.”
“Hmm. Then you mean that if I do not withdraw my intent, everyone sitting at the palace gate will resign?”
“That is so.”
“What should I do?”
“For now, please first wait and see how they act.”
“Very well.”
*****
Before the palace, beneath the palace gate.
The scholars of the Hanlin Academy, changed into white garments, were lined up on their knees.
Sheets of paper were spread before them, and with solemn expressions, they wrote in a single sweeping hand.
The wind, carrying the smell of paper and the scent of ink, stirred the memorials and the scholars’ clothes.
Once they had gathered the finished memorials, the scholars shouted with resolute expressions.
“Your Majesty!”
The voices of many people became one and shook the palace.
“Raising his office by five ranks is not proper! This is an act that collapses palace etiquette and throws a righteous system into disorder!”
At the scholars’ cries, Zhu Seogi came outside.
When Zhu Seogi appeared, the scholars looked at him with even more resolute expressions and spoke.
“Your Majesty! Mencius said that a king must govern the realm with benevolence and righteousness. Raising one man’s rank this way out of private feeling is an act contrary to benevolence and righteousness!”
“Contrary to benevolence and righteousness? Scholar Jeok saved the country from crisis and brought peace to the northern people who were sunk in grief. I am raising his rank because I value that merit highly, so how is that contrary to benevolence and righteousness?”
“It is said that one must cultivate oneself, order one’s household, govern the state, and bring peace to the realm! No matter how great his merit is, departing from propriety will only bring disorder to the realm. Furthermore! It is said that favored subjects bring ruin to the state! A subject who receives favor is bound to throw the country into disorder, so this is surely something Your Majesty must never do!”
Zhu Seogi had no words for the shouts of the Hanlin Academy scholars.
His learning was shallow, so he could not defeat their tongues.
When the Lecturer of the Hanlin Academy tried to step forward, the Grand Secretary thundered at him.
“You wretch! Before whose august presence do you think you are stepping forward? I thought well of you, yet in the end you too have fallen for the sweetness of power!”
The Lecturer of the Hanlin Academy shut his mouth.
No matter what he said now, it would not reach their ears.
It °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° was then.
“My, my. What a bunch of rogues.”
Jeok Wigang was walking over with one corner of his mouth curled upward.
“What did you say? Rogues? Did you just call us rogues?”
“Then what? You all swarmed here to threaten His Majesty. If that does not make you rogues, what does?”
“Shut your mouth! Was this whole disaster not all because of you? If you have even the slightest conscience, take off those official robes and return to your hometown at once! If you do that, we will withdraw as well.”
“Why should I?”
“What?”
“Why would I throw away such a good position and return to my hometown?”
Jeok Wigang snatched up one of the memorials and began reading it.
“What is this? These aren’t memorials. They’re your own resignations.”
Jeok Wigang looked at Zhu Seogi and said,
“Your Majesty. They are not particularly helpful even when they are here anyway. I think it would be faster simply to cast them out and select new people.”
At Jeok Wigang’s words, the Hanlin Academy scholars flared up.
“Shut your mouth! You spew such outrageous nonsense because you do not know the importance of our Hanlin Academy!”
“Do you think this country would run properly without our Hanlin Academy?”
At the scholars’ shrieking, Jeok Wigang picked at his ear and said,
“It is not running properly even now, whether you are here or not, though? Does that not mean the people here have not been doing their jobs properly? Hm? Is that not dereliction of duty?”
“You wretch! Do you think everything that comes out of your mouth becomes an argument?”
“Seeing you get angry, I must have hit a sore spot. Let’s see... According to the Great Ming Code, dereliction of duty is at least sixty strokes with the paddle and dismissal from office. Aha! Now I see. Before you could be stripped of office, you tried to get ahead of it by resigning first! Really, you people are clever in the petty ways.”
“You wretch!”
Veins bulged on the Grand Secretary’s forehead.
“Goodness. What a voice.”
After digging hard at his ear, he blew the earwax away and said,
“A gentleman must take loyalty and faith as his foundation. That means that when serving the Emperor, he should not serve for private profit, but serve fairly with his whole heart. Distinguishing right and wrong is what you people are supposed to do, so harassing His Majesty like this simply because you are jealous is contrary to loyalty, is it not?”
“Shut your mouth! What our Hanlin Academy must do for His Majesty is offer remonstrance to guide the ruler onto the right path and correct matters that deviate from what is proper! Driving you from this place is exactly what propriety demands!”
“What did I do? I think I am much better than people who only watch the winds to decide which side to attach themselves to. Am I wrong? Say I am wrong.”
They could not bring themselves to say he was wrong, because the Lecturer of the Hanlin Academy was standing right in front of them, and Zhu Seogi knew as well.
“See? You cannot say it. Why? Because His Majesty had no power?”
“W-We... merely wished to set things in a slightly more proper direction. Would the realm not enter an age of peace and prosperity only if this chaos were corrected as soon as possible?”
“No. That is not it. You did it because you would be in trouble if you lined up behind the wrong person. But what can you do? You already lined up behind the wrong one.”
“What?”
“Everyone, come out.”
At Jeok Wigang’s words, the first to reveal himself was Ye Yahyeon.
“Th-That man is? Commander Ye?”
“Why is the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard at His Majesty’s side?”
People were puzzled.
Then another person came out.
“The Minister of War?”
And then the next person appeared.
“The Minister of Revenue?”
The three men prostrated themselves before Zhu Seogi.
“We greet Your Majesty! Long live! Long live! Long live His Majesty!”
“Rise.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
They rose and naturally stood behind Zhu Seogi.
At that sight, the Grand Secretary stammered as he asked,
“H-How are you all at His Majesty’s side?”
Ye Yahyeon spoke.
“What are you talking about? Is it not only natural for subjects to serve His Majesty as a matter of duty? What are you people doing, swarming here like this to torment His Majesty?”
The Minister of War continued.
“Have you not heard what Scholar Jeok did? You people sit in your rooms and read nothing but books, so you probably know nothing of what the battlefield situation was like. It was serious! The Great Khagan was preparing an army of five hundred thousand and was about to attack the border! Scholar Jeok resolved that situation when it was on the verge of explosion. If not for him, the entire country would now be plunged into the chaos of war.”
“F-Five hundred thousand? Th-That is absurd.”
“Are you saying that I, the Minister of War, am telling lies? If you cannot believe it, go to Dark Dragon Fortress yourself. Go there and curse Scholar Jeok the same way. However, if you do, you had best be prepared to be beaten to death by the people there.”
The Minister of Revenue spoke.
“I too thought it was not serious and refused to allocate the budget, but if not for Scholar Jeok’s persuasion, a truly great disaster might have happened. Since he has rendered such great service, it is only natural that he be rewarded for it. If anything, I am dissatisfied. His rank rose only five steps.”
At those words, everyone nodded.
“That is right. At the very least, it should be around second-rank.”
“What do you mean second-rank? Even first-rank would not be too much for such merit. He saved the country from crisis!”
“Indeed!”
Each of them hinted that the rank was too low, gradually raising it all the way to the highest offices, and then they all chimed in as though that were only right.
Zhu Seogi nodded with a pleased expression, quietly signaling his agreement.
The junior first-rank Minister of Revenue and Minister of War, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who held power no less than theirs, and the Emperor who sat in the highest seat.
All of them were defending one man.