Chapter 149
I presented the State Council with the measures necessary to develop Haesamwi.
I also submitted to the Ministry of War a plan to secure and maintain supply routes through Haesamwi, Pyeongan Province, and Hamgyeong Province.
Having roughly finished the things that needed to be done immediately, I went to the Ministry of Rites to take care of another matter.
Jo Mal-saeng, who was both Right State Councillor and still serving as acting Minister of War, offered me tea and told me to get some rest now that I had finished my work, but...
‘We succeeded in driving out the Jurchens, so from now on, we have to deal with diplomatic matters.’
That was why I obtained Jo Mal-saeng’s permission and came to the Ministry of Rites.
Heo Jo looked at me and spoke as though he found my presence absurd.
“Kim Hogun, did you finish all your work before coming here?”
“I completed everything Right State Councillor Jo ordered me to do, then obtained his permission before coming.”
“I see. In that case, I suppose I have no reason to lecture you. The fact that Kim Hogun came all the way to the Ministry of Rites must mean you have some important business.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“In the past, even if Kim Hogun had come to me with an urgent matter, I would have scolded you severely for failing to follow the proper procedures... But these days, watching Kim Hogun has caused me to change my thinking quite a bit.”
If Joseon had an anonymous website or online community exclusively for officials, Heo Jo would unquestionably be voted the most old-fashioned boss in Joseon.
Because he meticulously nitpicked every pointless rule and detail of etiquette, officials would subtly avoid Heo Jo whenever he appeared.
Even when Yi Bang-won said he would bestow lavish wedding gifts on Gyeoul, this was the man who had thought, ‘No, absolutely not. I’ll drag in the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of the Censor General and remonstrate that it’s improper.’
This was the very man who had done that.
A person like that was going to change his mind?
It would probably be faster for His Majesty King Sejong to become a vegetarian.
Or for Yi Bang-won to give up hunting.
“In the past, I used to scold young officials severely when they bowed at the wrong angle. These days, I merely advise them how far they should bow according to etiquette. If someone is harshly reprimanded for violating a minor point of etiquette, they may feel that they have been treated unfairly.”
No, even Hwang Hui, who chewed out Kim Jong-seo over every conceivable matter, never criticized the angle at which Kim Jong-seo bowed when greeting people...
You’re still the greatest old fogey of them all, you old man.
If I said that, this man would probably reply as follows.
‘My elder brother is a man who values propriety so highly that when I changed the way he performed ancestral rites by the tiniest bit, he said he would disown me on the spot. Compared to my elder brother, I am an extremely open-minded person.’ That was what he would say.
“I’m ashamed, my lord.”
“So, Kim Hogun, why not come work at the Ministry of Rites from now on?”
If I went to work under you, it was obvious I would suffer like a dog from the very first day.
If you found even one misplaced dot while reviewing an official document, you were the sort of man who would make me rewrite the entire thing from the beginning.
“I’ll think about it, my lord.”
“What a shame. In any case, I should hear why you came to see me today. What is it you want?”
“Would it be possible for you to send me as the chief secretary on this year’s birthday mission?”
“If someone else had said this, I would have suspected that he was blinded by ambition and eager to claim credit. But Kim Hogun has already accomplished enough that it would not be strange for you to become a senior court official this very moment. No, it would be no exaggeration to say that you have accomplished even more than that. You are not asking for the position of chief secretary because you wish to earn more merit. So why do you want it?”
“The Ming court must currently have a very favorable opinion of me. I also maintain an extremely close relationship with the Ming eunuch Wang Zhen.”
Heo Jo, who was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, knew perfectly well that although Wang Zhen was currently nothing more than an unranked eunuch, he was a man of real influence because he was entrusted with educating the eunuchs.
There was no need to bring up that particular point.
“Although the Ming emperor has not said anything yet about Joseon’s major campaign against the Jurchens, is it not true that we honestly cannot know what he is thinking?”
“That is true.”
“Ming calls Joseon the Nation of Propriety and pretends to favor and respect us outwardly, but inwardly, they consider us utterly uncivilized. Therefore, after seeing Joseon subjugate Yi Man-ju this time, they may arbitrarily conclude that Joseon intends to expand its territory and strengthen its power before eventually attacking Ming.”
The relationship between Ming and Joseon that we commonly think of as having reached the level of an alliance only did so after the Jungjong Restoration.
At present, Ming and Joseon merely pretended to be friendly on the surface, while neither trusted the other and each viewed the other as a bastard who might stab them in the back at any moment.
If Joseon invaded and occupied Manchuria, the Jurchens’ territory...
Those Ming bastards would arbitrarily convince themselves that since His Majesty King Sejong had taken Manchuria this time, he would attack their country before long.
What an absurd and utterly ridiculous delusion.
His Majesty King Sejong bore a grudge against Ming in his heart, but he was a man who would do anything to maintain the tributary relationship...
Why they went around indulging in such delusions was beyond me.
Then again, their ancestor was that thief Zhu Yuanzhang, who distrusted the founding meritorious subjects under his command and killed more than ten thousand people, including those subjects and their families.
Their paranoia really was a hereditary family disease passed down from their ancestors.
And Joseon was now in a position where we had to bow our heads so we would not become targets of that damned paranoia.
“I will go as the chief secretary and ask Wang Zhen what Joseon should do. He will tell us in greater detail what Joseon ought to do than Yun Taigam (Yun Bong) would.”
Yun Bong was the head of the Ming Directorate of Ceremonies, but he was unquestionably Joseon-born and an unusual man who looked after his parents and family whenever he came to Joseon.
This man had stubbornly pressured King Taejong Yi Bang-won and His Majesty King Sejong to grant his family official posts and land, and had even demanded that the status of his hometown county be raised, ultimately succeeding in both matters.
In return, he had resolved quite a number of diplomatic problems between Ming and Joseon.
But he had only made a few concessions for the sake of his family living in Joseon.
My relationship with Wang Zhen, however, was far more special than that.
“The person who first reached out and acknowledged him, after a lifetime of sorrow at never being recognized and his castrating himself to become a eunuch in search of someone else’s recognition, was me, my lord.”
“Do you think that because Kim Hogun acknowledged him, Wang Zhen will provide proper information about the emperor out of consideration for that favor?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“I understand. I will submit the matter directly to His Majesty.”
“Thank you.”
By the time the birthday mission was dispatched, he would very likely have become a gukrang (the Crown Prince’s tutor).
At that level, frankly speaking, he would lack only an official rank among eunuchs, while wielding more influence than the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonies.
If I conveyed Joseon’s true intentions to Wang Zhen in such a position, the story would naturally be delivered directly to the emperor.
And this time, too, I intended to prepare the finest bribe possible, one that would leave him no choice but to take Joseon’s side.
“Is there anything else you would like to ask of me?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“Then you may leave. The birthday mission will probably be dispatched around November this year, and it should arrive in Beijing around February of next year.”
With those words, Heo Jo ordered me to leave.
As soon as I left the Ministry of Rites, I went straight to the Ministry of Works.
Taking part in the envoy mission was one thing, but there was a full seven-month gap in between, and I could not spend all that time idling around.
The sole flaw in this expedition was that we lacked enough iron to equip the soldiers with proper armor...
I had to increase iron production and solve this problem as well.
**
When I arrived at the Ministry of Works, I went straight to Minister of Works Yi Cheon.
“Minister Yi, how have you been?”
“What brings Kim Hogun here, when you should be busy working at the Ministry of War?”
“I came because I need the Ministry of Works’ assistance in carrying out the Ministry of War’s duties.”
“You need the Ministry of Works’ assistance? Very well, what would you like us to help with?”
Yi Cheon had once been somewhat cool toward me, but after learning how much military drill had contributed to the campaign against Yi Man-ju, his attitude toward me had become extremely favorable.
That was why he immediately offered to help even though I had suddenly appeared and asked him for assistance.
As expected, one really had to live a good life.
It was also important to maintain harmonious social relationships.
If my relationship with Yi Cheon had been hostile, would he have responded kindly when I came to ask him for help like this?
“The Santeoksa (the office overseeing the mining of minerals such as iron and copper, affairs concerning mountains and forests, and some transportation, including ferry crossings) has taken on everything from ironworks to logging and forest management... To be frank, isn’t this far too much of a burden for the Ministry of Works?”
The direct offices attached to the main Ministry of Works were the Yeongjosa, which mainly handled construction; the Gongyasa, which manufactured various goods; and the Santeoksa.
The Ministry of Works could somehow manage the Gongyasa and Yeongjosa...
But transportation-related duties had already multiplied several times over because I had introduced double-track railways and stimulated commerce.
And if I added mining-related duties involving iron and other minerals on top of that...
It was obvious that the Ministry of Works would suffer complete paralysis under its explosively expanding workload.
“I would like you to divide the Santeoksa into several subordinate offices. You should send us more officials as well. I hear the other Six Ministries barely work overtime, but our Ministry of Works has to work late every fourth day without fail. Each time, His Majesty sends us food from the royal table, saying that the Ministry of Works seems to be doing its work carelessly and should work harder... You have no idea how much of a burden that is.”
“I believe I know exactly what you mean. So please help me out while you have the chance.”
Yi Cheon blinked as he listened to me.
“If you help me just a little, I will do my part to divide the Santeoksa into several subordinate offices and increase the number of officials at the Ministry of Works.”
Yi Cheon, that man, was about to escape from work hell.
In exchange, I intended to borrow Jeong Bun, who was obsessed with civil engineering, and the human tool Jang Yeong-sil.
Yi Cheon was certain to agree.
After all, he would not be the one getting ground down.