Matchlocks and Northern Expedition (6)

The richest merchant in Joseon at present was Kim Mandeok.

Every one of those previously known as the greatest merchant magnates had been caught by Kim Daebung using abnormal methods such as hoarding or monopolization, and had half of their entire fortunes confiscated.

Kim Mandeok, on the other hand, had operated his trading house exceptionally soundly from his days as a merchant in Jinju until after settling in Hanyang. Thanks to his son-in-law, he had also firmly established his influence in the newly developed commercial areas around Hanyang, allowing him to rise above all others as the greatest merchant magnate.

He had also earned enormous profits by using the several dozen cargo ships he owned to transport large quantities of goods such as rice.

On top of that, he enjoyed tremendous popularity among the licensed-market merchants.

"You must have had a hard time coming all the way to my house at this late hour. Is business treating everyone well?"

"Recently, the ships available for commercial use have improved, and markets have sprung up in every county throughout the eight provinces, making business exceptionally good. As a result, I was able to earn more than twice as much as I did last year."

To the merchant magnates, Kim Daebung was a disaster incarnate.

He had pinpointed the evils of monopolization, which no one had ever taken issue with, and when he singled someone out with a curt, 'You—Goryeo,' that fellow's head would come flying off for profiting from rice through the same monopolistic methods everyone else used.

He had declared the practice of colluding to raise prices and reap excessive profits a crime, then stripped away half of their entire fortunes.

And yet, those who followed Kim Daebung's instructions and conducted their businesses honestly could earn even more profit than before...

So they could not simply hate him and keep their distance.

No, they all knew that their lost wealth would never return, so their only hope of survival was to forget about it, stick close behind Kim Daebung, and make sure they did not miss any crumbs that fell from his table.

"If a merchant magnate like you has earned more than twice as much income, then the others must have made quite a haul as well. Am I not right?"

"Yes, my lord."

The merchants gathered there wore broad smiles, not the forced, insincere smiles they had put on for show.

Every one of them had made a great profit thanks to the expansion of markets throughout the country.

"Isn't all this thanks to His Majesty's grace? The ways of the world dictate that when something goes out, something must come back in return. We cannot be the exception. Having received such immense royal favor, should we not repay it just as generously? That is what I mean."

The faces of the licensed-market merchants hardened at the mention of repaying His Majesty's grace.

It was not as though he would order them, as merchants, to join the army and fight with swords, or send them somewhere to serve as clerks...

In the end, it was obvious that he would say the country needed a great deal of money to prepare for war, so they should hand over some of theirs.

They quickly put their heads together and began pretending to be pitiful in order to be fleeced of as little money as possible.

"In my case, I do have some circumstances to consider. It is true that business is doing well, but I have also invested an enormous amount of money..."

"I would gladly donate my wealth for the sake of the country, but the ship that set sail last time ran into a storm..."

"I will contribute as much as I possibly can, but I ask for your understanding if the amount is somewhat meager."

Kim Mandeok chuckled as he watched them.

They were utterly laughable.

If they had said things like this to the Minister of Taxation he served, or to other high-ranking officials, he probably would have thought, 'They must have their reasons,' and tried to reduce the amount he intended to collect.

However, as a merchant who had been seasoned by decades in the trade, Kim Mandeok could tell from their faces, gestures, and mannerisms, as they pretended not to know what to do, that they were acting to perfection.

'They are putting on quite a performance because they don't want to pay taxes.'

"Tell me, are your circumstances really that difficult?"

At Kim Mandeok's words, Kim Ju-il, the head of a trading house that operated a large agricultural-tool workshop in Yongsan, answered cautiously.

"It is not that our circumstances are difficult, but we spent all the money we had on expanding the business, so we do not have much wealth we can hand over immediately."

"Hmm, I see. But I took a close look at your face, and I have to say, I think you are lying to me."

"I swear it is true, my lord..."

"A merchant can lie without changing the color of his face or a single expression. But among ourselves, we know how to read the signs, don't we? You have kept your complexion and expression under control, but your eyes were trembling ever so slightly. I suspect you intend to pay only about half the wealth you can actually afford and leave it at that."

Kim Mandeok hated being forced to summon merchants even on a holiday and badger them into donating money because of his son-in-law.

He had been told that if he achieved results here, he could become a Senior Seventh-Rank official, so strictly speaking, this was not a bad thing for him...

But that was one thing. He was already exhausted from being tormented by overtime, and now, on the precious holiday he had barely managed to secure, he had to do this sort of work as well... His irritation was rising all the way to the top of his head.

'He isn't a son-in-law. He's a demon possessed by the spirit of overwork.'

But the truly frightening thing about Kim Daebung was that the tasks he assigned seemed impossibly difficult and exhausting, yet once you worked yourself to death, they could actually be completed.

Being worked to the limit—no, beyond the limit—was genuine terror.

When he recalled the days he had been worked to exhaustion under Kim Daebung during the latter's time as a secret inspector, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

And his irritation and fear turned toward the merchants who paid so little tax in the first place, yet still begrudged spending money at a time like this.

"Do you know that yangban landowners pay around 16 percent of the produce from the land they own in taxes? They pay 10 percent in land tax and roughly 6 percent under the Bang-won Law. But what about us merchants? Don't we pay only around 10 percent based on the wealth and income recorded in ledgers that have been falsified just enough to fool people?"

"Yes, that is so..."

"Those ledgers have also been manipulated this way and that, with only about half your wealth recorded and your income cut in half on paper, so in reality, you pay only around 2.5 percent. Well, Joseon's current system does not crack down on all of that, so I have no intention of taking an axe and raising hell over it like my son-in-law would."

The merchants began to tremble at the words 'my son-in-law.'

They had all simultaneously pictured Kim Daebung, dressed in his official robes and dancing around like an executioner with an axe in hand.

Kim Daebung had never actually done anything like that, but that was how he appeared to them.

A lunatic who condemned every tax evader and every bastard who harmed the country to death.

They also still remembered seeing the very axe Kim Daebung sharpened himself every day, along with the words he had spoken.

'I am always ready to submit a Jibu memorial. And if my memorial is rejected and my head is cut off, I keep the blade razor-sharp so I can die comfortably in a single blow.'

"But it does not look very good for you to be so stingy with money even when a grave crisis has struck the country. Well, fine. Let us do this."

Kim Mandeok thought that since his son-in-law had dumped this work on him, he should sell out his son-in-law if necessary and make the task he had been assigned as easy as possible.

And if that did not work, he could always put his son-in-law to direct use.

"If you can say the same thing in front of our son-in-law, then go ahead."

"At present, we do not even know how much we can contribute."

"I understand completely."

Even the head of a trading house did not know the flow of every bit of wealth within his own organization.

They had to discuss with their subordinates how much could be spared and only then take it out.

If they carelessly promised to contribute a certain amount, they might find themselves unable to pay for the goods whose bills were due immediately.

"I will give you one week. One week from now, I will see how much you voluntarily contribute to the nation's finances."

"Yes, my lord..."

"The Ministry of Taxation will review the sincerity of your contributions. You may leave now."

The merchants who heard that fled as quickly as if they had seen a ghost.

All manner of valuable goods had been left behind where they had stood, like spoils of war.

Among them were sugar and fruit, which had become comparatively easy to obtain these days.

"This sugar and fruit should go to our Gyeoul."

**

Sejong was forced to reevaluate the wealth of the merchants.

The reason was that the voluntary donations made by the merchants, including Kim Mandeok—with his conversation and persuasion—had exceeded all imagination.

"The money collected by the Hanyang licensed-market merchants amounts to more than 150,000 seok of white rice... Commerce is truly remarkable."

Looking back, it was absurd that he had ever considered slighting people who handled such enormous sums of money.

Even more surprising was that putting up so much wealth had not dealt them any serious blow.

"No matter how much the Hanyang licensed-market merchants rank above all the merchants of Joseon's eight provinces, for them alone to contribute 150,000 seok of white rice..."

After seeing the merchants contribute so much, yangban officials also came forward and offered their wealth here and there, and more than 400,000 seok of white rice accumulated at court.

Thanks to that, although the war had not even begun, all the naval stations throughout Joseon's eight provinces now had to mobilize and begin transporting rice and all sorts of other supplies to the planned areas of advance.

It was a problem born of abundance.

He was not worried because there was no wealth, but because there was too much rice.

"Kim Daebung's abilities are truly remarkable. He has secured everything needed to feed more than 25,000 troops and purchase weapons and other supplies. And yet, he is infuriating beyond belief."

This man worked so well that he did not show even the slightest weakness.

A truly loyal subject ought to remain in office until the day he died, like Jo Mal-saeng...

Why, then, did he keep saying that he would resign before reaching sixty?

And the fact that in another quarter-hour (fifteen minutes), the time he could spend researching the new script would be over, after which his father would drag him away to practice horseback archery, made him even angrier.

Before long, Yi Bang-won came to see Sejong.

"Do, have you gotten a feel for the new script?"

"I am still at the stage of reading books and devising a method."

"Ha ha, they say that a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step, so take your time. Yes, Confucius also emphasized the Six Arts and recommended archery and horsemanship. Come, let us go exercise our bodies today as well. Is this not all for the sake of the royal ancestral shrine and state, and for you?"

Sejong thought to himself.

Wasn't his father simply delighted to have an excuse to go hunting under the pretext of looking after his health?

However, the filial King Sejong could not bring himself to say that aloud.

Today as well, Yi Bang-won made Sejong a little healthier.