Chapter 20
Naturally, the county yangban also heard that Kim Daebung would soon be transferred.
When they heard that another magistrate was being transferred, they could accept it easily, thinking, ‘Ah, so it’s time for him to go!’
If he had been a somewhat corrupt bastard, they would have clicked their tongues and said, ‘I wished he’d get lost faster, and now he’s only leaving this late.’ And if he’d been a capable magistrate, they would have regretted that he couldn’t stay a little longer...
Kim Daebung, though, was far too capable.
A crazy magistrate who satisfied the yangban, the clerks, the merchants, and even the commoners.
With the sense of crisis that a magistrate like this would never come again, Kim Namjo, the county's foremost scholar, gathered the people of the county at his house.
It was normally unthinkable to include commoners when discussing county affairs, but he had called them because he especially needed their support right now.
"Ahem, ahem... putting that aside, I gathered you here today because something very regrettable has happened to our county."
One of the commoners objected to that.
"Come on, what on earth do you mean? Thanks to the magistrate, even poor widows have found a way to earn a living and keep their children from starving, and I'm glad because I can feed my own kids three meals a day. Our county is full of good things, so what bad thing could there possibly be?"
Kim Namjo himself agreed with that. Ever since the new magistrate arrived, the county had changed.
The commoners' faces were full of vitality, and unless a famine came, even the poor would no longer go hungry.
Thanks to the newly built weir, the water needed for farming was supplied properly, so this year brought a bumper harvest. As a result, even his own granary was filled with rice. Only good things kept happening.
'It would be wonderful if life could go on like this.'
"The magistrate will be promoted."
To be promoted meant to move on to a better post. It was certainly something to celebrate, something to be happy about, but...
Neither the county commoners nor the clerks and yangban could rejoice at that good news.
Among the more sentimental commoners, some even burst into loud sobs.
"...... Thanks to the magistrate, we've been able to live like human beings, and every day has been happy. How can you be leaving this soon?"
"Oh dear, Magistrate. It's only been a year and a half since our magistrate came to this county."
"Even if not for life, shouldn't he stay for at least ten years?"
Kim Namjo himself also wanted the magistrate to stay in the county for a long time. Better yet, if, during that time, he were to 'by chance' meet Namjo's daughter, get swept up in springtime desire and youthful ardor, do something reckless, and end up marrying her...?
What an honor that would be for the family.
Even if that failed, it was a proven fact that if the magistrate stayed in this county even one day longer, he could get even richer. The richer he got, the more he gave away, so the family name rose and the county people respected him more.
To get richer the more he gave—what kind of absurd, supernatural sort of luck was this?
He had no intention of letting this slip away, not even a little.
"If His Majesty has made up his mind, there's nothing to be done. But it's not as if there's no way at all."
Everyone gathered here pricked up their ears.
"Is there really a way?"
"According to Joseon law, a local magistrate's term is five years. But our magistrate has only been in this county for a year and a half. In other words, if the scholars of our county join forces and submit a petition, and it is accepted, our magistrate can stay in Jinhae County for another three and a half years."
Everyone was delighted to hear that. If the magistrate could stay for about ten years, that would be even better, of course, but three and a half more years was far better than leaving right away.
Magistrate Kim Daebung had developed the county this much in just a year and a half. If he stayed another three and a half years, how much more would change?
"But what can bumpkins like us even do?"
Kim Namjo grinned and unfurled a sheet of blank paper.
Written there in a neat list were the names of the county yangban and clerks, including his own.
"I'll call each of your names one by one. Then I'll write them on this paper. After that, you'll press your ink-stained palms beneath them."
"What meaning does that have?"
"We'll submit a petition to His Majesty saying that not only yangban like me, but also the clerks and even commoners like you, all want our magistrate to stay in this county for a long time. Then wouldn't His Majesty, who loves his people, look carefully at our petition? That would raise the odds that the magistrate can stay here longer."
Everyone was convinced by that. Neither the commoners nor the yangban here had ever met the king.
But the king had not only sent a fine magistrate like Kim Daebung, he had also cut off the head of a bastard who crossed the line, like Jeong Hakso, without hesitation.
Would someone who loved the people that much ignore their voices?
If they spoke up, His Majesty would surely look into the matter.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and line up to give your names."
At Kim Namjo's words, all the commoners who had come here lined up in a row and came forward one by one.
"My name is Kim Gapdol."
"Good, Kim Gapdol... I've written it down, so press your palm right here underneath."
"Yes, sir."
"All right, next!"
After collecting the names and palm prints of the hundred commoners gathered here, Kim Namjo said,
"The other villages are probably doing the same. But wouldn't there be some fool who doesn't take part here?"
"Yes, sir."
"If they want our magistrate to stay a long time, urge them to come right now and press their palms. Make sure all the adult men participate!"
If Kim Namjo were forcing this, it could be considered treason and cost him his head.
Because it would amount to stirring up public opinion to protest the court's order. But if all the commoners wanted it, and that public sentiment were gathered and delivered to the king...?
Then it would become a beautiful example of a good yangban gathering the people's will and conveying it to the king. Naturally, this was the latter.
"Yes, sir!"
The commoners, answering in loud voices, quickly rushed out to find those who still didn't know the news.
They thought they had to tell the adult men around them who hadn't yet pressed their palm prints, so they could help with the petition asking the magistrate to stay longer.
Three days later, the 'Petition to Extend Magistrate Kim Daebung's Term,' bearing 1,578 names from across the county, was complete.
The petition was sent up to Sejong before a new magistrate was appointed.
**
Sejong Ido was reading the first petition in Joseon history signed jointly by yangban and commoners.
[Kim Namjo, this humble scholar of Jinhae, bows in deep reverence and submits this petition. (Omitted) The newly arrived magistrate of Jinhae has also provided wandering commoners with a way to make a living. As a result, they have enough food and clothing, and have come to realize the duties a person should keep. Moreover, they have taken root in Jinhae County and become Your Majesty's people.]
It was the highest praise a yangban could give a magistrate.
To provide commoners with a way to make a living and help them realize the duties of a human being.
It meant he had personally accomplished what every scholar must do, what every scholar must achieve. It was praise greater than in a game where five rotten teammates team up without you, hurl insults at the other side's parents, and let fly with every curse they know.
Sejong knew there were exactly two reasons a county yangban would praise a magistrate like this.
Almost always, the first was when the yangban and the magistrate were in cahoots, sucking the commoners dry to the very bone while handling it so well it never reached the king's ears.
The other was when the man appointed as magistrate was so competent that the yangban begged, please, don't take that person away. Cases like that were extremely rare, and if Sejong Ido encountered such a man, he immediately branded him as a candidate for Chief State Councillor (no retirement).
Because he was the kind of person to treasure and keep watching over for a very long time.
Kim Daebung was, of course, an excellent talent who fell into the latter category.
[Your Majesty's concern for the people is conveyed through the Jinhae County magistrate, and our county's commoners feel Your Majesty's grace as warmly as the morning sunlight. However, hearing that Your Majesty will suddenly replace the magistrate has left all the people of the county deeply bewildered.]
Sejong read this far and then looked at the thick stack of papers piled beside the petition.
That stack of papers held the signatures written by the yangban, clerks, merchants, and commoners of Jinhae County.
There was no sign at all that they had been coerced or stirred up, so he couldn't help wondering just how good his governance must have been to make them act like that.
[Please, for the sake of the people of Jinhae County, allow the magistrate to complete the full term permitted by the laws of the state.]
Sejong read the petition to the end and chuckled.
"There are plenty in this world who brag only with words, but few who actually keep to what they say. I've found such a talent!"
However, Sejong had no intention of accepting the petition sent up from Jinhae County.
Their words were perfectly reasonable, but he could not keep Kim Daebung—who, true to the name Daebung, ought to soar high and benefit Joseon—confined too long to the narrow confines of Jinhae County.
His talent ought to be used for all of Joseon.
To repay the sincerity of the people, Sejong personally picked up a brush and sent down his reply.
And then, as time passed, a new Jinhae magistrate was to replace Kim Daebung. No, as Jinhae grew, the county's rank rose...
so instead of a sixth-rank magistrate, a fifth-rank magistrate was sent to take Kim Daebung's place.