Chapter 183
In Joseon, it was extraordinarily rare for an official to hold an explanatory meeting for the people about a new policy.
Officials in this era also occupied an extremely high social position.
That was because the offices they held had been bestowed by the king after they passed the civil service examination, not obtained through the support of the people.
Although it was not strictly forbidden for a yangban to explain the content and necessity of a policy to ordinary people of lower status, it was certainly so unfamiliar and awkward that one could not help wondering whether it was really necessary.
Jinhae County Magistrate Park Sang-gi honestly found it absurd that Kim Daebung had ordered him to explain the newly instituted law to the people, but...
'Since Lord Eung-gyo ordered it, I have to do it somehow.'
If another fourth-rank official had ordered him to do this, he would probably have protested that it was unprecedented and therefore impossible for him to carry out as well.
But the other party was Kim Daebung, the very man who had submitted a direct memorial to Yi Bang-won—a man who freely dealt with even those whom Confucian ethics said should never be purged, all for the sake of strengthening royal authority.
To protest against something Kim Daebung ordered him to do?
He felt that it was something he could not even contemplate without being prepared to stake both his head and his family on it.
"Since I have to do it anyway, I should do my best and make sure it goes well... Otherwise, who knows what Lord Eung-gyo might do if the result fails to satisfy him."
If Kim Daebung had heard Park Sang-gi say this to himself, he would have responded like this.
'I am not such a frightening man. I do not harshly punish or berate my subordinates merely because they fail to do their work well. I simply offer plenty of advice so that they will not fail when they do it again.'
That was what he would say, but...
Even if Kim Daebung did not punish or berate people, the Kim Daebung Park Sang-gi saw was someone who seemed capable of applying pressure even greater than that.
"As you have probably already heard, the court intends to implement the myeon-ri system and the Oga-jaktong system from now on, adapting the Qin dynasty's fifteen-household system to Joseon's circumstances. Therefore, I hope that all of you gathered here will first understand the necessity of this system and how it will be implemented, so that you may properly guide the people going forward."
Joseon currently had a law prohibiting commoners from bringing accusations against officials, and it was a country where the people had to obey orders issued by the court no matter what.
Thus, the people gathered here to serve as the myeonjang of the myeon, the ijang of each village, the tongjang representing twenty-five households, and the banjang representing five households could not even think of openly opposing the magistrate's words.
If they opposed him, they would at the very least be beaten with clubs until they were half dead, and at worst be dragged to the State Tribunal, tortured, convicted of treason, and executed.
"However, His Majesty said that this system will be unfamiliar to you, so if anything raises questions or is difficult to understand, it would be best to ask me directly and receive an answer. Therefore, please ask whatever you are curious about without hesitation."
"Confucian scholar—no, Myeonjang Kim Namjo has a question for you, Magistrate."
"Speak without hesitation."
"When His Majesty created this myeon-ri system and Oga-jaktong system, you said he referred to the Qin dynasty's fifteen-household system. But as far as I know, Shang Yang's fifteen-household system was extremely harsh on the people. The harshest part was collective punishment, so I would like to know what policy has been established regarding that."
This was not one of the questions and answers Kim Daebung had anticipated, but it had also been the first question Park Sang-gi himself had asked when Kim Daebung explained the system to him, so he was able to answer it easily.
Magistrate Park Sang-gi was also a civil official who had passed the civil service examination, and he already knew the basic outline and general structure of Shang Yang's fifteen-household system.
"His Majesty has abolished everything related to collective punishment. He said that a person should be punished only for the crimes he himself committed, so how could he be made to suffer punishment for someone else's crime?"
"Thank you for answering so kindly, Magistrate. Then I have another question. What will we, the myeonjang, ijang, tongjang, and banjang, be expected to do from now on?"
"I have already explained this to Myeonjang Kim, but since many of those gathered here today have not heard it, I shall explain it again. You will be responsible for taking the lead in improving the customs of the people in your respective myeon, ri, tong, and ban. When the county office orders corvée labor or military service, or imposes taxes, you must investigate each household's property and the number of people living in it according to our instructions. And when it comes to mobilizing labor for farming, you must bring the people to an agreement among themselves."
"I understand. Collective punishment was what worried me most, so if there is no system of collective punishment, I think everything else will be fine."
When Kim Namjo said this, the atmosphere became considerably more relaxed.
Then one of the men gathered there—or, more precisely, Jang Dol-i, who had been chosen by chance and had ended up serving as a banjang—asked the magistrate a question.
"I understand roughly that His Majesty is implementing this system for our sake, but why exactly are you defining areas called myeon, ri, tong, and ban and investigating the number of people living in each one?"
Although the magistrate had said they could ask questions freely, the atmosphere of the gathering instantly turned cold because an ordinary commoner had dared to question him.
But Park Sang-gi remembered Kim Daebung's advice.
'It is the duty of a magistrate responsible for governing the people to make even the most ignorant commoners understand the nation's policies.'
Besides, Kim Daebung would hear all about what happened here, and if Park Sang-gi were to use his authority to silence a commoner's question...
Park Sang-gi did not even want to imagine what might happen.
His head would probably not be cut off, nor would he receive formal disciplinary action, but...
Kim Daebung would judge him to be an official who clung to authority and simply ignored the questions of ordinary people, and it was obvious that such a reputation would spread throughout the entire court.
If that happened, his remaining career as an official would be completely over.
Therefore, to avoid suffering such a misfortune, he recalled what Kim Daebung had taught him and gave Jang Dol-i a kindly smile.
It was the sort of smile that brought to mind a benevolent father.
"It is for the sake of providing relief and ensuring that no one suffers an injustice when corvée labor and taxes are imposed on you."
"Providing relief, corvée labor, and taxes?"
"Although I am the magistrate responsible for governing this district, His Majesty naturally stands above me. Therefore, I must report to His Majesty from time to time how many people in our district have received relief. But if someone whose status as a resident of this district I cannot even ascertain receives relief, would I not lose the grounds for my report to His Majesty?"
"That is true. If the little boy from my neighbor's house came to our home after playing outside and asked for food because he was hungry, I could gladly give him a ball of rice... But if a child I did not know at all came and asked for food because he was hungry, I would probably refuse him."
Kim Daebung had emphasized to Magistrate Park Sang-gi again and again that it was important to think at the people's level.
Therefore, he tried his best to understand the people's perspective and speak in a way suited to it.
"When you cook rice in a large cauldron, you first count how many members of your household there are, then determine the amount of rice accordingly, do you not? I must do the same by investigating how many people in our district need relief and distributing relief grain only to them. But if people who are not even registered in the household register appear and take the relief grain, will any remain to help the needy people of this district?"
"There will not be any left."
"You all pay your taxes and perform your corvée labor, but if those unregistered fellows do neither military service nor pay taxes, what could be more unjust than that?"
"We have to pay all our taxes and perform all our corvée labor as the state commands. But there must never be leech-like fellows who do none of the work they are supposed to do while taking only the benefits."
Park Sang-gi answered as sincerely as possible whenever questions arose, regardless of whether they came from yangban or commoners.
As a result, all the yangban and commoners gathered there today were satisfied.
"I think the myeon-ri system and Oga-jaktong system are much better laws than I expected."
"And did you not hear that His Majesty said he would select those among the myeonjang and ijang who performed their duties well and specially bestow sang-gye, an honorary official rank, upon them?"
Sang-gye did not provide any particularly special benefit to the person who received it.
It merely made one an honorary official, allowing one to wear clothing appropriate to the corresponding rank.
If one received sang-gye equivalent to the rank of a dangsanggwan, one could even travel in the kind of palanquin that only dangsanggwan were permitted to ride.
However, Joseon's yangban literati were people who could throw away even their lives for the sake of honor...
There were countless people who would willingly work, even spending their own wealth, if they were given honor without authority or money.
"His Majesty also ordered us to investigate things such as this district's specialties and mines. Myeonjangs and ijangs, join forces and investigate those things as well."
"Yes, Magistrate."
The yangban, including Kim Namjo, who had been entrusted with carrying out a royal command, saw their eyes light up.
"Furthermore, this system was personally proposed to His Majesty by Lord Eung-gyo, Kim Daebung, and Lord Eung-gyo is currently staying at the Jinhae County Office. He has come to inspect whether this myeon-ri system is being properly implemented."
The fact that Kim Daebung was staying at the Jinhae County Office meant that whoever distinguished himself here might perhaps...
'Be recommended and enter government service like Kim Mandeok.'
"Magistrate, we will carry out the task you have entrusted to us perfectly and relieve His Majesty's worries."
At the same time, the yangban gathered there were swept along by the sentiments of the commoners who had gathered that day and had to prepare a banquet welcoming Kim Daebung.
No, although they had indeed been pushed into it, they too participated with genuine pleasure.
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Kim Daebung had gathered the merchants and was seriously persuading them about the matter of taxes.
**
"By His Majesty's grace, a market has been established in Jinhae County, and markets are gradually appearing throughout all eight provinces, allowing many goods to circulate freely. You must all have become much wealthier than before. Or is that not so?"
The merchants all nodded in agreement at my words.
In truth, the atmosphere was such that they had no choice but to answer yes, even if that was not the case for them personally...
'I hear everyone's finances have really improved, at least judging by what my brother-in-law tells me.'
"Then merchants like yourselves should also pay taxes for the sake of the state, just like the people do."
"That is true, but if you raise taxes that much all at once, that would be somewhat..."
For reference, the people paid about 16% in taxes every year.
Merchants, on the other hand, often did not properly pay even 10%—indeed, in practice, many did not even pay the standard tax rate of 5%.
So I would have to normalize the tax burden, even if that meant applying a little pressure...
At that moment, my brother-in-law, who was also present, solved my concern in one stroke.
"We should gladly pay taxes for the sake of the state."