Chapter 181
A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step, and they say that well begun is half done.
By the same logic, to make a large-scale project carried out across the country a success, it is essential to achieve a small success at the starting point.
Only then can you persuade others to lend their support to the larger project on the strength of that achievement.
"Ram, is Myeong-hoe feeling any better now?"
"That fellow Myeong-hoe has been sleeping soundly in the cabin for a while now."
"It's better than suffering severe seasickness, so it is probably for the best."
Even after he woke up, he would not necessarily be free from seasickness.
But at least he would not suffer from seasickness while sleeping, so if he was going to be sick, sleeping was the better option.
"Wasn't that fellow the one who had been looking forward most to coming to Jinhae this time? But he started feeling sick as soon as the ship departed... He must have felt terribly aggrieved."
"As soon as we arrive in Jinhae, he'll forget all about getting seasick and start scampering around, so don't worry too much, Master."
"That's true. The night before leaving Hanyang, he said he was so excited that he didn't sleep a wink."
According to the records, Han Myeong-hoe and Gwon Ram wandered around various parts of the country after reaching adulthood at the age of twenty.
Some people say they left Hanyang because they were dissatisfied with the world and wanted to enjoy the freedom of breathing the air outside...
But after hearing that Han Myeong-hoe had even lost sleep the night before because he was excited about going to Jinhae, I found myself thinking that perhaps the two of them had simply wandered around because they loved traveling.
They must have wandered from place to place, sightseeing at scenic locations and railing against the world.
"But you're going to Jinhae County on official business, Master. Why did you insist on bringing us along?"
"Why? Do you dislike it?"
"It's not that I dislike it, but I was worried that we might get in your way while you attend to official business, Master."
Perhaps because both Gwon Ram and Han Myeong-hoe had grown up in difficult circumstances, they were unnecessarily mature for boys their age.
Whenever I saw them like that, I felt sorry for them.
But growing up early was not necessarily a bad thing.
If they were immature at their age and went around causing trouble, that would be a truly troublesome matter.
"The official business I have to handle this time is not particularly difficult. I will introduce a new law for administering the people, identify this region's specialties, and investigate what goods are lacking here. That is all."
"My learning is shallow and I know little, but from what I have heard, it does not sound like an easy task at all..."
"I have already laid out the draft and implementation plan for the new law in writing, so there should be no problem. As for finding out what the local specialties are and what goods are lacking, all I have to do is ask the magistrate of Jinhae County and the people, so that should not be difficult either."
The only things that would be somewhat difficult about the law I was trying to introduce were devising its framework and persuading the people of its necessity...
Once I got over those two hills, everything else would proceed smoothly.
No, in truth, it would not matter much even if things did not proceed smoothly.
That was because I would not be conducting the preliminary investigation into the information needed to publish the Jinhae County geographical gazetteer. That would be the task of the current magistrate of Jinhae County and his clerks.
"And although I told you several times before we left, I did not bring Myeong-hoe and you merely to let you look around and play in other districts."
Han Myeong-hoe aside, Ram must have suffered deep inner wounds from being abused by his father.
Being abused was, of course, not Ram's fault.
However, from educational and psychological perspectives, they say that people who have suffered abuse can be damaged in personality and are more likely to become the same kind of person themselves.
They say that to prevent this, a person who has been abused must strive to live as a person several times more virtuous than ordinary people.
For that reason, I brought Ram to Jinhae County to give him the motivation to live a good life.
I thought that seeing how sincerely the people here respected me might make him strive even harder to become like me.
"I brought you here so that you could see and feel firsthand how the people live. In addition, after you pass the civil service examination and enter government service, you must see what impact the work you will do as officials has on the people, and properly observe how an official should govern them."
"I will bear that in mind, Master."
"Good."
I patted Gwon Ram on the shoulder as he gave his spirited, admirable answer.
"And isn't it boring for a person to live so stiffly, studying all the time? Once we finish our work, let's go fishing together."
"Is it permissible for a scholar-official to go fishing?"
In Joseon, fishing was regarded as something fishermen did to make a living, and people did not look favorably on scholar-officials who went fishing.
They say that when a yangban who enjoyed fishing died, the first thing people did was burn the fishing equipment he had used.
Whatever it may be, doing anything to excess is not good.
But experiencing a variety of activities in itself is a very good thing.
"The reason many scholars condemn fishing is that, once they get a taste for it, some give up studying and spend all their time fishing as they roam the mountains and streams. But does that mean a person has to live by studying alone?"
Parents who were excellent students do not unconditionally forbid their children from playing games at home, nor do they force them to study every moment they are awake.
That is because even if they force them to do so, all their children will do is open a book and sit in front of a desk while their minds wander elsewhere, making their studying extremely inefficient.
That is why people must develop the ability and habit of playing when it is time to play and focusing solely on their studies when it is time to study.
Ram's eyes lit up when he heard what I said.
Not long afterward, the captain sent a signal to the sailors.
"Prepare to go ashore!"
Before long, the ship arrived at the pier.
As soon as we disembarked, I took Gwon Ram and Han Myeong-hoe to the Jinhae County Office.
**
There is a saying among office workers.
Before they retire, they are department heads and deputy department heads, but after they retire, they are just ordinary middle-aged men from the neighborhood.
Well, I had not retired, and compared to my days as magistrate of Jinhae County, my official rank had risen a full ten grades...
I had risen even further in the world than before, but I was no longer in charge of Jinhae County, so I thought everyone might find me intimidating or awkward to deal with...
The first person I met after entering the county office was the chief clerk. The moment he saw me, he greeted me warmly with a bright smile spread across his face.
"Good heavens, my lord. It is truly an honor to have you return to Jinhae County. Seeing you come straight to the county office, I presume you have come on official business, but... not a single one of us clerks—indeed, not a single person living in Jinhae County—has forgotten your kindness for even one day. There is not a single person in Jinhae County who would not welcome you."
"Please, don't make such a fuss. You're making me uncomfortable."
"If you could spare a little time after finishing your official business, I will send word to the yangban gentlemen in the district and have them prepare a small banquet."
"There is no need to go that far."
The chief clerk shook his head.
"Thanks to you, not only the people of Jinhae but our own households have prospered as well. Though I have not mastered the principles of the Four Books and Three Classics, I know at least the principle that a person must not forget kindness received and should repay it whenever the opportunity arises."
"Then make it a simple affair. Do not prepare a lavish feast that breaks the table legs."
"Yes, my lord."
Usually, when ordinary yangban said, 'Prepare a modest meal,' those working in the county office, including the clerks, understood it this way.
'I'm only pretending to be frugal; I don't actually want plain food, so hurry and bring out a twelve-dish spread with fine liquor.'
Once a meal was served following that tacit agreement, they would accept it and say, 'I told you plainly enough to keep it modest, yet you serve such an extravagant spread. Honestly...'
Then, while pretending to have no choice, they would eagerly accept it and eat. That was the etiquette of Joseon.
However, when I had been the magistrate of this county, I had genuinely told them to prepare modest meals, and had actually eaten simple fare.
The chief clerk would remember that, so he would not make the meal unnecessarily extravagant.
"Yes, my lord."
The chief clerk hurriedly gathered his papers and headed toward the office where the clerks worked.
At that moment, I was looking for a government slave who could escort us to the waiting room where guests stayed in the main hall.
Then I saw a neatly dressed yangban in his thirties enter from the inner part of the county office.
He saw me and asked, unable to conceal his astonishment.
"Why has Lord Kim, the magistrate, come all the way to this shabby Jinhae County?"
"The Hall of Worthies must compile a new geographical gazetteer, and I have come because I wish to first test the necessary work here in Jinhae County. Since I am here anyway, I also intend to introduce the fifteen-household system to strengthen local control somewhat and test a method of collecting taxes from merchants."
Having unexpectedly encountered me standing in the main hall and heard about the new system and the compilation of the geographical gazetteer for the first time in his life, the magistrate's face turned pale.
"What?"
"This is essential work for Joseon, so do not feel pressured. Just cooperate with us properly."