The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 154



< Funeral (1) >

“Just go ahead and do it.”

I urged Lee Hang-gu who had been standing silently for a while to leave this place quickly.

This port seemed about to ask me some more questions but then shook its head in resignation and disappeared from my sight.

“Come in.”

My entourage was listening to our conversation in the next room.

They hurried into the office at my command.

“Did you hear that crap he was talking about?”

“yes.”

“majesty.”

“I heard it all without missing a single thing.”

Woo Hyun-sik and Choi Hyun-woo who were together during their European tour.

Lee Beom-jin who was an ambassador to Russia and his son Lee Wi-jong.

This time An Jung-geun and Kim Chang-su were summoned to St. Petersburg.

Everyone looked at the place where Yihanggu was sitting with a similarly unpleasant expression.

“majesty.”

“Tell me.”

Kim Chang-soo who had shown the most stern attitude toward traitors among those gathered here looked at me with fierce eyes and grumbled.

“It’s not too late. Please allow the removal of this port.”

This port is the son of Lee Wan-yong.

Although he was the second son his older brother who was the eldest passed away four years ago.

That’s why this port was currently Lee Wan-yong’s only living child.

Kim Chang-su argued that assassinating him now would send a loud alarm to traitors in Joseon including Yi Wan-yong.

“Your Majesty. This is Russia. And it is the capital where the Tsar resides.”

“This port has stopped here on diplomatic business. What would happen if we assassinate him? It could cause great trouble for Your Majesty.”

Lee Wi-jong and Lee Beom-jin quickly refuted Kim Chang-soo’s claims.

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Kim Chang-soo looked at them with a frustrated expression.

“This is a golden opportunity to remove this port. Opportunities like this do not come easily. We cannot simply send the author back to the Korean Empire.”

“It’s a shame but it has to be that way. I think it was fate that helped the author.”

“That’s right. It’s better to wait until later Agent Kim.”

I didn’t take any side with Katabuta.

Just be quiet.

I observed how my people debated and analyzed their tendencies.

‘Kim Chang-soo has a slightly radical side.’

These days he is called ‘Kim Gu’ by others.

This is because he took the Patriotic Corps agent number ‘Gu (九)’ as his new name instead of his real name.

Since he was so sincere about eliminating traitors I could understand to some extent why he made such claims.

‘The story is getting long.’

It should end but it doesn’t.

Kim Chang-su no Kim Gu kept complaining that Lee Hang-gu had to be killed.

Lee Wi-jong and Lee Beom-jin continued to reject Kim Chang-soo’s opinion saying no.

Since it wasn’t their area of ​​expertise Woo Hyun-sik and Choi Hyun-woo just remained silent and watched me.

‘Is it time for me to step forward?’

I cleared my throat once to clear my voice.

“hmm.”

“….”

“….”

One cough clears up the messy atmosphere.

I looked straight at Kim Gu among the many people and explained to him in a gentle tone.

“As I said earlier I intend to give this port a chance. But I will definitely get rid of Lee Wan-yong.”

“majesty.”

“I know very well how angry you are. I have also seen how much that bastard Lee Hang-gu has sucked the blood of the Joseon people.”

“….”

“But if he converts he will be the person who will help us more than anyone else. There are not many people who can get the most secret information from the Japanese right under their noses. Isn’t that right?”

In Japan too.

In Korea too.

We are building a network of Ikmunsa and patriotic groups.

We have been working hard to recruit talented people but we have not been able to recruit such high-level information sources.

“I make you a promise. I will thoroughly judge the merits and demerits of this port and judge him later. Furthermore if he rejects my offer or betrays himself in the middle… I will leave the finishing touches to you.”

“You clearly promised.”

“okay.”

Kim Gu seemed satisfied with my promise and his previously stiff expression slightly relaxed.

After checking Kim Gu’s expression I leaned back against the back of the chair.

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Because we’ve been talking for a long time I’m a little tired.

“majesty.”

An Jung-geun who had been listening quietly from the side came forward to me.

“As a field agent I would like to suggest something to Your Majesty.”

“Tell me.”

“Unlike my father Lee Wan-yong Lee Hang-gu is a timid person.”

An Jung-geun’s opinion was correct.

Throughout the conversation Lee Hang-gu looked quite nervous.

There were many times when I made scared expressions along the way.

Something that Lee Wan-yong would never do.

If it were him he would have definitely continued the conversation with me without being surprised at all.

“It might be a good idea to warn the port once in a while as it might not fully understand your Majesty’s intentions.”

“warning?”

ah!

That’s a good idea.

Before I spoke with Lee Hang-gu I had a conversation with Kim Gu and Ahn Jung-geun.

Didn’t they report to me back then the assassination methods they had devised?

“Didn’t you say earlier that you planned to remove the main element from the closed Siberian train?”

“Oh yes.”

“That’s right.”

I smiled brightly and made a suggestion to Kim Gu and Ahn Jung-geun.

“It’s time to do some mock training. We have a suitable target. It might be a good idea to give it a try.”

The act of scaring is much easier than the act of assassinating a person.

All you have to do is spill a few pieces of paper and later tell them that it might be poisoned.

Then the other person usually gets nervous even about things that didn’t happen.

“majesty.”

Lee Wi-jong showed a slightly negative view on Lee Beom-jin and I’s proposal.

“If you do that it will be harder to assassinate him in the future. Once you’ve been attacked you’ll be more cautious.”

I agree.

Isn’t there anyone here with experience?

I shrugged at this.

“Just like me?”

“….”

“….”

At this everyone gathered here became silent.

Because my assault incident was a taboo topic among them.

“What do you think? If we scare this port into doing what we want wouldn’t it be beneficial? Furthermore we should experience this kind of situation at least once.”

How should you act when attacking an enemy who is on high alert?

It might be a good idea to research it.

Take this as a lesson.

I can also prepare for any attacks or assassinations that may come my way again.

“How long are we going to keep targeting easy targets? Or is that right?”

* * *

Rattle rattle-

Rattle rattle-

The port is returning to the Korean Empire on the Trans-Siberian Railway which rocks back and forth.

It had already been a week since he had boarded the train so he sat reading a book with a slightly tired expression.

“Ssar (teacher).”

“Come in.”

One of the flight attendants put down a menu he was holding.

“It’s lunch time. Please choose one dish you would like to eat.”

“Give me this.”

Without even saying anything the Russian crew member just walks out.

The interpreter who was in charge of the Russian translation looked puzzled by this.

“Hey you rotten little bastard. You’re as cold as ice and unfriendly.”

If she had been a Korean flight attendant I would have called her over and yelled at her until she was on the verge of tears.

Lee Hang-gu folded his arms and furrowed his brow.

“I don’t like it. Anything.”

They say that when you go abroad you get to see things you normally wouldn’t see and that’s a huge boost to your knowledge.

This port has not been providing the experience it should have but rather has been providing more complaints.

“Ha… That bastard from Uiwang left the good times behind. I don’t know why he crawled all the way to St. Petersburg in the middle of winter.”

Lee Hang-gu sighed deeply and lamented.

It’s not really an empty promise.

Because if it wasn’t a snowy winter but spring or fall the trip wouldn’t have been so arduous.

“Nari. How was your meeting with His Majesty the King?”

The interpreter looked at Lee Hang-gu with a slightly curious expression.

He looked at the interpreter with one eyebrow raised.

“Why are you curious?”

“yes.”

Lee Hang-gu recalled the rumors floating around Joseon and spoke about Ui-wang.

“Rumor has it that King Ui has sharp eyes that can see through everything in the world.”

“Yes. It is said that he made a lot of money by predicting great earthquakes and the Great Depression with those eyes.”

Lee Hang-gu smirked and raised one corner of his mouth.

“That’s all a lie.”

“yes?”

“He didn’t have tiger eyes he had fish eyes. He was really nothing special. He looked like an ordinary member of our royal family.”

“Then why is such a rumor going around?”

“Rumors tend to be exaggerated. Furthermore the wealthy King of Uiwang could have manipulated public opinion.”

The port shook its head and uttered the following words.

“That guy from Uiwang just got lucky recently and made a lot of money. That’s all.”

This port continued to lie to the interpreter.

In fact Lee Hang-gu almost peed his pants as soon as he saw Lee Kang.

A huge huge lump.

And that unique relaxed yet cold expression.

Because I was overwhelmed by the low voice that overwhelmed the other person.

‘He was no ordinary guy.’

Why did his father Lee Wan-yong see Lee Kang as a scoundrel?

‘You are the best in Joseon in terms of your ability to read the current situation and judge people’s abilities so why…?’

As planned by Lee Wan-yong Lee Hang-gu also tried to set foot on Lee Kang.

The king conditionally approved this.

However he was a little troubled by the words that his own father could not be saved.

The King’s suggestion to abandon ‘father’ and choose ‘family and himself’.

It was a strange proposal something that seemed contradictory but was also compatible.

“Ssar (teacher). Here is the lunch you ordered.”

Because of the interpreter Lee Hang-gu remembered the memories of that day that he didn’t want to remember.

This port wanted to forget about it.

To do that he had to eat his favorite beef as quickly as possible.

“What is this?”

A Russian flight attendant prepares a meal with a characteristically sheepish expression.

He placed a plate of Western-style steak on the table and also handed over a fork and knife to cut it.

Lee Hang-gu quickly unwrapped the napkins that had been wrapping the cutlery and discovered a scrap of paper inside.

“Isn’t this the Taegeukgi pattern?”

There were also some salt-like crystals on the tips of the fork and knife.

Lee Hang-gu wiped his teeth with a napkin without thinking and then muttered.

“You little brat. How did you know that I’m a diplomat for the Korean Empire…?”

The food was delicious.

This port also liked beef in the first place.

It was also because I was stressed out from talking about Lee Kang with the interpreter and overeating.

dripping-

After a knock on the cabin door the unfriendly Russian flight attendant came in again.

“Ss …

“What’s going on?”

“A man told me to give this note to you teacher.”

The Trans-Siberian train that Lee Hang-gu was currently on was standing at a snow-covered intermediate station.

Is that why?

It was quite quiet inside the train.

『To Lee Hang-gu a traitor and a traitor.』

The back of the letter was full of Korean letters.

This made Lee Hang-gu feel creepy.

“We had three chances to kill you. The first was when you arrived at St. Petersburg Station. You will remember it too. Our hot gazes.”

I remember.

Two Asian men stared at him from the platform.

At that time Lee Hang-gu was worried that his identity had been exposed.

“The second time was when you left Russia. Do you remember the guy you bumped into in the toilet at the train station?”

I also remember this scene.

After I finished peeing I headed to the sink to wash my hands.

As expected.

A large Asian man demonstrated a shoulder-thumping technique to him and looked him over with an unpleasant look.

『The last time was today. We could have poisoned the lunch you were eating. You must have seen the Taegeukgi patterned paper next to the food bowl.』

At the window.

I put that piece of paper up there.

‘What the heck. These guys.’

I suddenly feel sick.

White crystals found in the kitchen utensils.

Could it be poison?

This port suddenly felt like it was turning inside out.

“Even though we had three chances like this we just passed them by. You also know very well who gave you the chance.”

There is no direct mention but I think we know who he is referring to.

Because only one person has ever made such a suggestion.

‘This bastard King of Uiwang!’

According to the letter.

Fortunately there seemed to be no poison in his meal today.

but.

I still felt nauseous.

Because I couldn’t believe these words at face value.

『The time of choice has already begun. It is entirely up to you whether to report the current situation or just quietly let it go.』

The letter ended with ‘I wonder what you will choose. I am looking forward to it.’

‘F*ck. F*ck.’

Doesn’t that mean there might be someone from Uiwang on this train?

‘If you report it…’

We might catch the culprit.

I might not be able to catch it.

Because it has been quite some time since the train stopped at the intermediate station for maintenance.

‘What’s important is what comes next.’

Even when you return to the Korean Empire you will be harassed relentlessly.

No.

Before that there may be trouble in the Maritime Province or Manchuria.

There are many people from Uiwang in the Korean Empire but there are more of them in Manchuria and the Maritime Province.

‘What should I do?’

Unlike Lee Wan-yong Lee Hang-gu is very timid.

Putting myself first.

‘If I was going to kill you I would have killed you in the first three opportunities.’

That’s why rather than tracking down the culprit right away I decided to go home first even though I was terrified.

Because it was more advantageous to his own life.

He stayed locked in the first-class cabin trembling and with a thoughtful face not leaving the room.

I didn’t take a single step until the train arrived in Harbin except to go to the bathroom.

< Funeral (1) > End