episode_0166

What is this situation now?

I looked at their faces again. To be honest, I had some doubts about whether this was reality now. Future prime ministers, generals, blacksmiths, merchants, spear instructors, diplomats, etc. Does it make sense that all the leading figures who will lead the next generation of the empire are gathered in the unit I will train?

“Jaesanghae, why did you apply to the Geumui Commission?”

First, I focused my attention on Jaesanghae. All of the members of this unit could be said to be great men, but if we had to pick the biggest figure among them, it would be Prime Minister Lee Sang-hae, who ranks above the Prime Minister.

And he was also the most heterogeneous person.

Just look at it and you can see it. The position of prime minister itself can be said to be the pinnacle of civil service, but the future prime minister applied for the Geumui Commission exam.

“I applied to the Geumui Commission because I felt the treatment I was receiving was unreasonable.”

“I don’t understand what it means.”

Jaesanghae’s answer was absurd.

“My Aksanjae family is a famous family that has always produced writers. As a result, even though my martial arts skills reached the top level, everyone treated me like a student. Of course, he also possessed the knowledge to be called a scholar.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I want my abilities to be evaluated reasonably. The public office is rotten! Customs, connections, seniority! Other factors take precedence over human ability, so it is better to commit yourself to a military that values skills and achievements rather than endure such treatment.”

hmm.

Yes, I understand what you want to say. It’s such a terrible way of thinking that I shouldn’t even ask. Is this guy really going to become Prime Minister? If I hadn’t heard the family name, I would have thought it might be someone with the same name.

After hearing the mind-boggling answers, I lost all energy to question others.

“Yes. Okay. It was nice to meet you guys.”

“Chung!”

After accepting Jo Ga-ju’s salute, I immediately went to see Song Chang-sik. Song Chang-sik glanced at me and then turned his attention to the documents he was processing.

“What business do you have for me?”

“Indeed, this is the unit I am in charge of. Are they really unworthy of the golden throne?”

Song Chang-sik stopped his brush and looked at me. Song Chang-sik, who had been exploring me for a while, opened his mouth in a strange tone.

“They are the ones with clear disqualifications who cannot become members of the Geumwiwi. Of course, the screening test for the National Medical Commission must be very fair. They will naturally be eliminated from the first screening test, unit selection.”

“I would like to ask just in case. What you just said means that you will naturally intervene and eliminate them? Or are you saying that there is no need to intervene since we have already been eliminated?”

Song Chang-sik laughed as if it was absurd.

“Hehehe. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Who would know how dangerous it is to interfere in an exam in the first place.”

That was correct. The test itself must be conducted transparently and fairly. At best, it is absurd to manipulate the entire test to get rid of some people.

It can be said that the belly button is bigger than the stomach.

“…I feel a bit anxious after seeing the trainees’ faces. There were people with guns blazing in their eyes, but I thought they might have passed without a second thought.”

The answer I expected from Song Chang-sik came back, and I felt like sighing.

“I…I didn’t want to say this to you…but it’s because people have such small courage.”

Song Chang-sik called to me with a hand gesture and lowered his voice.

“For instructors, it is an important factor for their trainees to pass. An instructor’s leadership is also evaluated depending on the type of trainees he produces. Basically, the contents of alumni’s screening tests are secret, but those who have been instructors for many years are bound to figure out things like the trends in the exams.”

“The first test will be a team competition for each unit, and your unit will be one person short of the other units. Not only the average competency of the unit members, but also the number of personnel in the unit is inferior to that of other units, and even you, the instructor, are beginners… Even if you and your unit unite and master the procedures, it is doubtful whether you will be able to pass the exam. .”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“That’s right. Do you feel a little safer now?”

Peace of mind is a mess.

Number of people? Average ability? Are you kidding me? The Avengers also have an ultra-luxurious staff that will give them a round-trip slap.

Look at Jo Jia-ju.

Yesterday, other than Jo Ga-ju, no one saluted me, and I just watched blankly. But when I went there today, everyone stood up and saluted me.

It was clear evidence that Jo Ga-ju had instilled discipline in them.

It wasn’t like someone designated him as the leader. How much authority does a self-appointed temporary captain have?

Nevertheless, Jo Ga-ju achieved results in just one day.

The current situation in my unit is that it is overflowing with such talented people. My unit will be eliminated due to the quality of training or lack of personnel at most? It was just an overly optimistic prediction.

What on earth happened at the Geumuiui during this period so that the unit I was supposed to train became the next generation Imperial Dream Team?

I felt like I wanted to argue with Song Chang-sik right now, but actually, even if I did, I had nothing to say.

Are you saying that in front of the Admiral of the Jinui Commission, they are the same people who will lead the future empire, and if they order something like the Jinui Commission, the country will be ruined? Otherwise, we couldn’t ask them to intentionally fail the exam since they were future greats who couldn’t be stopped by things like organizing a training unit that we took now.

Although they are people who will leave great achievements in history, they are now just young people with a sparkle, so there is no material to persuade them.

“Um…I understand. Well, if I’m anxious, I can just work hard.”

“Hahaha! yes. Please take good care of me, external advisor.”

“Yes. Sorry for causing a commotion.”

If that’s my case, that’s okay. It looks like I have to step in and solve this problem too.

*** ***

“Hmm.”

“Admiral, what did the external advisor say?”

“What do they know to do that…”

“Yes?”

Admiral Song Chang-sik of the Geumuiwi was lost in thought, ignoring the questioning gaze his son gave him. Song Chang-sik, who did not know about the series of events that occurred in the imperial palace, did not know much about the current situation unfolding around Hocheonan.

The only thing that Song Chang-sik clearly knows about this incident is that His Majesty the Emperor personally stepped forward to protect a person who was a ronin.

‘What are you doing, little guy? I understand that you have made a contribution together with Governor Sima Yeom, but…’

Since he was the one the emperor was watching, I naturally thought he was not the culprit, but…

The Geumui Commission exam was one of the few opportunities for local talent to advance to the central government. There were few central government offices where examinations were held as regularly and publicly as the Geumui Commission.

There was a system in place in local areas where people could move up to the central government if they accumulated merit, but this was not realistically possible.

Even though it was a local area, it was clearly the imperial army in that area, and unless someone had a special desire to succeed in the central area, there was little chance of them moving up to the central area based on the local foundation they had worked hard to build.

It could be said that the Geumui Commission was the only way for a young talent who was not yet in his position and lacked connections to occupy a key position in the central government.

‘Basically, even if they fail the Gold Medical Examination, they are talented people selected and sent from the provinces, so they are bound to have talents.’

The first conversation was started by a classmate. As I looked through the information on the applicants for the Gold Medical Committee, I found talented people who were suitable for alumni, and absorbed some of those who were eliminated as alumni.

The classmate who got a taste of the talent raised the question, ‘Even if he was eliminated, he was a talent selected from the local area. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for the Empire to put that talent to good use?’ Yu-kyung and Song Chang-sik agreed with that opinion.

In order to properly handle the opinions raised by classmates, the right answer was to significantly increase the number of exams to openly recruit local talent, but this was not feasible in a situation where the war with powerful figures continued.

So, as a last resort, they began to select and use useful people among the talented people who applied to the Geumui Commission.

As more than ten years passed, I realized that talented people even in local areas were recruited by the central government, even if they were eliminated. That is to say, there was a steady stream of talented people who took a central position in one way or another even if they were rejected by the Geumui Committee, so no matter how silent the Geumui Committee and its alumni were, they had no choice but to notice.

As a result, if local officials thought someone was a talented person, they would write a letter of recommendation for the Geumui Committee and send it to the central government. If you take the gold medal exam and become a gold medalist, it’s a good thing. Even if you don’t make the gold medal, there were many people who would kill a chicken instead of a pheasant, so there was no reason to hesitate.

The number of applicants to the Gold Medical Commission has increased every year, and the average level of applicants has also steadily increased.

Of course, not only good things happened. The disadvantage of recruiting talent at random also arose, so talented people who should have gone into other fields began to apply and pass the exam.

Because exceptional talents tend to achieve some level of success in fields other than their own.

The elimination unit was created to filter out such people. What is the reason why people who excelled in other fields suddenly applied for the Gold Medical Examination? There may be some who made up their minds, but most did not.

Those who really want to become a member of the National Assembly can just wait six months and take the exam again.

‘Usually, it’s common for people to become members of the Gold Council after going through 3 or 4 moves. ‘Failing a grade once is not a big flaw.’

It was a sorry thing for them, but it was also unavoidable for the development of the empire. It was also an evil that would disappear if Yugyeong completely took control of the empire.

No matter how much Sima Gyeong-hwi and Yu-gyeong cared about Ho Cheon-an, it was unlikely that they would have told him about this evil.

So, did Ho Cheon-an find the discomfort in the unit on his own?

Song Chang-sik asked Song An-seong, his son and deputy.

“Adjutant. Did the external advisor stay with the trainees for a long time?”

“No. Yesterday, you left work right away… and considering the time you visited the Admiral today, you probably didn’t have a long conversation with the trainees.”

Nevertheless, he realized that the trainees were talented people.

“That’s what I said…”

Song Chang-sik recalled Ho Cheon-an. Since he didn’t seem to be satisfied with the explanation and back down, he must have come up with his own measures to overcome the current situation.

“Interesting. It will be a lot of fun to watch.”

I guess it will be interesting to watch the selection process of this year’s Gold Council.

Song Chang-sik smiled as he thought so.

*** ***

When Song Chang-sik is smiling and Ho Cheon-an is having a headache.

“Black Cat Sojeo.”

“Yes?”

“I…I think I like Ho Rongin.”

Hyuk Kirin, who was drinking tea at a tea house, confessed his feelings to Black Cat.