I Became the Crown Prince of a Ruined Country

59 – Outside the world

The Yellow River, a huge waterway that runs through the central plains.

The Yellow River, a little east of Handan, the capital of the Zhao Dynasty, flows northeast and reaches the Bohai Sea. Following the direction of the rough waves, there was a procession advancing to the northeast.

I joined the crowd and took a seat. It wasn’t an escort, it was just an ordinary ascension. Several corps, including my corps, which I founded while staying in Handan, were moving together to promote safety.

After passing through Handan, passing through Ten People and passing through Peigu, the procession continued heading eastward. It was to cross the Yellow River.

Because I was riding an ox cart with good value for money instead of a carriage, several people were sitting huddled around me, and suddenly a horse flew at me.

“Come to think of it, did Seongdong (成童) say that his family lives there?”

“Yes, it’s quite an old story.”

“hahahaha, it’s only like Jihak now, but how long has it been?”

“I think it’s been about three years.”

“Hey man, 3 years is the same as yesterday!”

Just looking at the title Seongdong, which means a 15-year-old boy, I must still look like a child in their eyes. When I said it was an old story as if I had become an adult, it seemed funny to them.

While I was laughing and chatting with them, I suddenly heard a shout from the front of the procession.

“It must have arrived.”

“It’s the first time we’ve seen Seongdong. Come on, come closer and take a look.”

Those who are traveling uphill with me urged me on, like seniors who want to show their juniors something new.

As I moved closer to the front, the man driving the trolley stuck out his finger and pointed in one direction.

“That’s yellow.”

At the place the finger was pointing at, a huge river flowed leisurely.

It arrived in front of the Yellow River, the lifeline of the continent.

§

Why am I traveling up here without a decent escort, carrying a hook on my way up?

In order to know the twists and turns, it is necessary to talk about the past.

After Jeong chose the path to Qin, I spent a long time in agony.

Jung will become King Jin. Jung himself said so, and I also watched Jung’s talent right next to him and considered him worthy of ascending the throne when he said that only cause was supported.

And Jeong was given that cause. The status of being the eldest daughter of Yeongjacho, who became the crown prince, was the strongest legitimacy in this world where women also have the right to succeed.

Of course, compared to the era when Confucianism was firmly rooted and the principle of succession to the rightful born was firmly established, the legitimacy was relatively weak, but that was enough for Jeong.

In reality, Jung rose to the crown princess position.

Yeongja Cho is the crown prince, so how did she rise to the crown princess position? It may sound absurd, but it is because An Guk-gun, who ascended the throne after the death of King Jin Soyang, died three days after he officially ascended the throne through a coronation ceremony after his funeral.

Angukgun died three days after ascending the throne, and received the posthumous title of Hyomun (孝文) and became King Hyomun.

As Yeongjacho became king, there was a conflict between the two factions over Yeongjeong and Yeongseong-gyo over who was fit to be the successor. As a result, Jeong won and took the crown princess position, but looking at the back side, the Yeobulwi forces who took Yeongjacho out of the Zhao Dynasty were victorious over the aristocrats, the vested interests of the Qin Dynasty.

All of this was accomplished in one year. The process of Jeong going to Qin, King Hyomun’s death, Yeongjacho becoming king, and Jeong’s ascension to the royal throne passed in an instant, like roasting and eating beans in a flash of lightning.

By the time I left Jo Nara, Jung had already become the Crown Princess.

What would I have thought while looking at it in the neighboring country, Jo Nara?

From the moment I foresaw that the girl I had reaped would eventually destroy the nations and unify the world, I had been thinking about what to do.

Can we stop it only through war? Is it the only responsibility left to me to lead the combined army of the nations against the conquest war of the Qin Dynasty that Jeong will cause?

Without that, is there really no other way?

Unable to find a clear answer, Hankyung, unable to watch me wandering around, gave me advice.

‘If you don’t want to worry about it forever, go to Jihakgung instead. If it is a place where all the scholars of the world gather to seek the wise reason of the world, it may not give you the answer you want, but at least it will give you a clue.’

Jiha Hakgung (稷下學宮).

It was a hall of learning, a research institute, a policy advisory group for Qi, and also a kind of educational institution.

The gate to the south of Linchi, the capital of Qi, is called Zimen. Lost.

Jihakgung, as Hankyong said, was a place where anyone with a will to learn envyed and went to learn.

Status, origin, academic background. It didn’t matter in the direct hagung. Anyone could freely preach and pursue their own learning and ideas, and all budgets for operation were supported by Qi.

The concept of admission and graduation was also free. The coming does not block, and the going does not catch. It was the educational policy of the Jikha Hakgung.

There were many scholars from Jikha Hakgung around me. I had the experience of studying at Jikha Hakgung in Hangyeong-do, where I was closest to me, and Chuyeon was one of the senior students at Jiha Hakgung.

Gongsunryong, who was not on good terms with Chuyeon, also studied at Jiha Hakgung, and it is said that he had deep exchanges with scholars named Song Gyeon and Yun Wen from Mohism.

If you go further into the past, Mencius, who is famous even in modern times, is also from Jixia Hakgung, and Xunja, who is known as a group with Mencius, was at the present time the dean of Jiha Hagung, Zhao Zhu (祭酒).

Wouldn’t such renowned and outstanding philosophers offer some solution to my troubles? I seemed to see a dim lighthouse in the open sea.

It felt like a trick of fate that her life as a hostage ended almost at the same time as she made her decision to follow Hankyung’s advice and go to the Imperial Palace.

When I was told to prepare to return to Yan after my life as a hostage was over, I told my father, King Yeong, that I would stop by Jiha Hakgung on the way back.

I wondered if they would listen to me because I had been living as a hostage until now, but surprisingly, this wasn’t easy either.

Qi, where Jixia Hakgung is located, is a potential enemy of enmity with Yan. If I went to such a place and was detained, it would be like losing a hand to be used as a hostage.

So I presented a condition. It was a period of one year that he would not reveal his identity. The king of Yeong granted my request, perhaps feeling a little sorry for starting the war even though he clearly knew that I was a hostage.

A hostage newly sent from the Yan Dynasty arrived, and my family, including Han Kyung, who was my entourage, returned to the Yan Dynasty.

After seeing them off on their way back to Yan, I embarked on a journey to Qi alone.

Hiding your identity wasn’t a big deal. Because I had a secret hill called the top. If you move around with a rough identity as a member of the upper ranks, you can live a much more comfortable life than when you lived without receiving support from the Yan Dynasty.

Basically, the upper ranks that go up tend to have their own escort manpower to some extent. I didn’t have to worry too much about safety.

Although the deadline of one year is a bit tight, I have no intention of becoming a bachelor of the Imperial Palace, so as long as I calculate the distance traveled, there won’t be much of a problem.

And so far, things have worked out just as I planned.

“We have already arranged a number of boats that cross the Yellow River. If we cross here, it’s the plain that borders the states of Zhao and Qi, so you’ll need to relax a bit.”

Plains.

It is a very familiar and nostalgic name.

I grabbed Pyeongwon-gun’s autograph, which I always keep in my arms without letting go of it.

In Pyeongwon, which is also the enclave of Pyeongwon-gun, there were family members who had left my side at the time I reaped my love.

It wasn’t just because this road was the shortest route that I put the plains as a stopover on my journey to Imchi.

I was meant to meet them as well.

And not just them, there were more people to meet in the plains.

‘They said Mosu was in the plains.’

After Pyeongwon-gun’s death, Pyeongwon-gun’s best confidant disappeared, saying that he would pay for Pyeongwon-gun’s funeral on his own.

Although Mosu does not have deep learning like the scholars of the school directly under him, the wisdom and experience he has gained throughout his life are by no means inferior to them.

Perhaps he will teach me a simpler and clearer solution than the bachelors of the direct hagung, who may be buried only in studies and put forward tabletop discussions.

A year was given before returning to Yan.

During this time, I will meet as many people as possible and see the world as much as possible.

Because that’s the best choice I can make as I’m still wandering because I can’t find the way I should go.