Chapter 102
Wherever there is light, shadows are bound to form.
It is an undeniable fact that Joseon greatly prospered under the economic and tax order led by Kim Daebung, but not everyone was happy to enjoy that prosperity.
Merchants unable to keep up with the changing times began dropping out of the competition in droves, while some yangban even started gnashing their teeth at the court, asking why they should have to pay taxes that poor commoners had once been responsible for.
Besides those mentioned above, there were others who hated the current prosperity more than anyone.
“Dolsoe, can the world really be like this? No, what the hell did we do so wrong for the world to treat us like this?”
Dolsoe replied.
“Have people like us, hwacheok (baekjeong), ever been treated like human beings for even a day or two?”
“In the old days, even yangmin gentlemen lived hard unless they were rich, so I could put up with it and live that way too. But these days, those yangmin gentlemen are all living so well. Seeing that makes me so bitter and twists my guts that I can't stand it. No, did we do something wrong to become hwacheok? We were born that way—does that alone mean we have to live in poverty and be despised as well? Why is the world so harsh only on us?”
King Sejong spared no effort to embrace the baekjeong as commoners of Joseon.
He not only gave the baekjeong wasteland they could clear free of charge, but also provided them with food to live on while they worked the land and had the commoners of each county teach them how to farm.
Kim Daebung assessed this policy as follows.
He said it was like the government, trying to turn baekjeong into proper people, giving each of them an apartment that could be used immediately with only a little remodeling.
If they followed the policy and lived through three generations without incident, the record identifying them as baekjeong would be deleted, and the government even arranged marriages for them.
In addition, those skilled in martial arts were hired for positions such as Gyeomsabok and Gabsa.
Since the government provided such generous support, most decent baekjeong somehow assimilated into Joseon society and lived as ordinary commoners, but quite a few refused to become commoners with the help of Joseon's support.
“Were we demanding something absurd? Butchering cows and horses and selling the meat is our livelihood. Yet when Goryeo fell and Joseon was established, they suddenly started making a huge fuss, forbidding us to butcher cows or horses.”
“It is absurd, indeed.”
“Back when we sold beef and pork, we were despised, but at least we could afford three meals of rice a day. These days, they say butchering horses is forbidden because it depletes military supplies, and butchering cows is forbidden because it removes livestock needed for farming. If they forbid us from doing everything this way, how are we supposed to scrape together a living? The government says we can quit being baekjeong and farm instead, but don't pine-tree caterpillars have to eat pine needles? Wouldn't they die if you made them eat broad leaves? How does it make sense to tell us to quit our work and just farm?”
Although the government offered them land that was technically wasteland but could still be cultivated, those who went down to the provinces ended up facing all kinds of discrimination.
People who had worked in the butchery trade, an occupation despised as the work of hwacheok, were suddenly given land free of charge—land that even ordinary commoners did not possess—
and were instructed to live alongside the farmers and teach them how to farm.
From the farmers' perspective, it was only natural to think, ‘What is so lovable about those hwacheok bastards that the government gives them land for free and even expects us to teach them how to farm while treating them like honored guests?’
So the farmers pointed fingers at the baekjeong and discriminated against them.
The baekjeong who assimilated into the commoner class were those who somehow endured this contempt and discrimination, succeeded in clearing the wasteland, and came to own land of their own.
“Damn it, life is so hard for us. Why has everyone else started living so well? The more I think about it, the more furious I get. I can't stand it.”
There are many rotten-to-the-core pieces of trash in this world who can put up with starving themselves, but cannot bear to see someone else prosper.
Baekjeong Dolsoe was one of those people.
Although the court prohibited the baekjeong from slaughtering cows and horses, it also forbade them from hunting wherever they pleased and causing disturbances.
While most of Joseon's people did not own land and had to survive as tenant farmers, the government went so far as to give these men fields for free to help them start a new life—
a truly special benefit, which any normal person would accept with gratitude and repay by working hard.
However, Baekjeong Dolsoe did nothing but complain that he could no longer do the work of old and drown his sorrows in drink, so he could never be called a normal human being.
“Hey, let's pull a job. Let's rob someone.”
“You mean rob a rich household? Rich households have slaves and high walls, so it won't be easy.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Robbing a daegam's residence or some rich household would be dangerous.”
With his rotten disposition, Dolsoe, who had spent some time as a thug on Hanyang's streets, came up with a brilliant idea.
“Robbing a rich household is dangerous. So let's hit Namchon, where moderately well-off people live. Leave out the neighborhood where the interpreters live, too.”
“As expected, big brother, you really are good at using your wits.”
“Another thing we have to watch out for is this: if we sneak in at night, get caught carrying off precious ornaments or rice, people start screaming and come running with clubs, and then all hell breaks loose, right?”
Dolsoe's subordinate, who had been listening intently, tilted his head.
If the owner noticed them while they were robbing a house, of course he would start by screaming and then grab even a broom.
Naturally, anyone would struggle desperately to catch the bastards who had come to rob their household.
He couldn't understand why Dolsoe was bringing up something so obvious that it hurt to explain.
“So let's set fire to it.”
“Huh?”
Dolsoe punched each of his followers once on their stupid heads.
“Think it through. If we set fire to a wooden house, it'll burn like mad, right? And once a fire starts, the owners will abandon their valuables and whatnot and run away.”
“Yes, that's right. They'd be completely out of their minds, wouldn't they?”
“We can take advantage of that opening and clean out the houses, making the theft easy. The people who live there will be too busy frantically putting out the fire.”
“Brother Dolsoe, as expected, your mind is truly extraordinary.”
“That's right, you moron. And since we're doing it anyway, let's make it one really big job.”
“Wouldn't it be more profitable to do something like this with only a few people?”
Robbery and other misdeeds become riskier when many people are involved.
The more people you mobilize, the easier it is for them to attract attention.
“You idiot, that's only when you bring along a paltry ten or twenty people. Try mobilizing dozens at once and setting fires in several villages. Do you think the court, Hansungbu, or Chungmuwi could catch us then? They couldn't, even just because they'd be too busy dealing with the chaos.”
“Big brother, I truly admire you. Your mind is incredible.”
“Let's call Mireuk and Jaeguk first. Then we'll call every bastard in Hanyang we can get in touch with and pull off one big job. We'll hit Namchon, where the merchants of the licensed market live, while the others set fire to and rob that neighborhood where the physicians live. The world torments us and makes our lives miserable while letting those bastards eat well and live well. That can't be right. Poor, pitiful bastards like us need to make a living too.”
It was a vicious argument that made fools of people like Sun-deok eomeom of Jinhae County, who, despite her poverty, had never committed a crime and had worked hard all her life.
Yet they thought it perfectly natural for poor people like themselves, who owned nothing, to set fires and steal.
Their logic was that they were poor and needed money, so it was only natural to get their share from the ‘rich people with money’ and the ‘people from Seoul’—what was wrong with that?
**
“My lord, Hanyang is extremely vulnerable to fires.”
The Hansung Magistrate shook his head.
“Do you think I don't know that? That's why I've had wells dug and ordered sand stockpiled. I've also made preparations for mobilization in an emergency.”
“It isn't enough merely to dig wells and stockpile sand. It is even more important to teach citizens how to respond.”
The Hansung Magistrate grew irritated as he listened to me.
“Kim Jegum, you are unbelievably insolent. Just because you have the favor of His Majesty and the Grand King Emeritus, do you think you're some kind of state councilor?”
“I am indeed the head of the Directorate of Warships, but I am telling you about a concern that even the Minister of Public Works is worried about. Hanyang's population has grown rapidly in a short time, and the number of newly built shacks has also risen sharply, making it even more vulnerable to fire.”
“Of course I know that. But how can everything be done all at once? We have to do things one at a time. Right now, even just Jongno's licensed market is enough to leave me completely overwhelmed. There are more than 500 unlicensed markets around the ferry crossings, including those at Noryangjin and Yanghwajin. And that's counting only the shops that are decently set up.”
“If you grant permission, Daegam, I will ask not only the Ministry of Public Works but also the ten military commands, including Chungmuwi, for assistance.”
Joseon is developing at an incredible pace.
In particular, Hanyang, the center of politics and commerce, changes visibly in appearance and population every year.
If, as commerce is revitalized under the influence of the Bang-won Law, I establish a system capable of even factory-based handicraft production...
Hanyang will expand to at least several times its current size.
Even to prepare for that time, we need to establish fire-response guidelines and train people starting now.
Otherwise, a disaster like Japan's Great Fire of Meireki, which killed more than 100,000 people and burned half of Edo, will occur.
“In my view, there's no need to go that far. Instead, I'll order the patrolmen to keep a closer and stricter watch. And I'll order the wells dug and sand stockpiled as quickly as possible. You may leave now.”
I am not the king of Joseon.
Therefore, I cannot make everything proceed as I wish.
For now, this is probably the best course.
“Yes, I understand.”
**
The Hanyang ruffian Dolsoe quietly made his way to Namchon, where the merchants lived in droves.
There, he secretly began scouting the houses worth robbing.
“Which one should we choose?”
While scouting, he easily found a suitable house.
It was the kind of house he wanted, with a tiled roof and apparently no household slaves.
A house like this was perfect for robbing.
“Hey, set fire to the house next door first.”
“Yes, big brother.”
A subordinate who had followed Dolsoe secretly tossed in a burning ember and set it ablaze.
On this day, wicked men who had deliberately set out to cause trouble started fires in multiple places at once throughout Hansungbu.
Kim Daebung's fears had come true exactly.