Chapter 26
In Joseon government offices, quitting time was determined by the 'leaving work' time of the highest-ranking person in that office.
In Hojo, when the Minister of Taxation left; in the Ministry of Rites, when the Minister of Rites left; in the Ministry of War, when the Minister of War left—everyone else would leave all at once.
It was common sense to arrive earlier than the 'minister,' too.
At last, the bells and drums announcing yusi (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) rang out in Hojo.
For the officials, hearing yusi announced was basically the same as a signal that they could go home...
From the Deputy Minister of Taxation at the top to Hojo's state-owned slaves at the bottom, everyone watched Hojo Minister of Taxation Hwang Hui in unison.
If he stayed and worked overtime, every Hojo official would have to work overtime too; if Hwang Hui left, everyone else would follow and enjoy a 'life with evenings.'
Hwang Hui, who had everyone's attention, stood up and said,
“What are you all doing? Thanks to Kim Su-chan (Kim Daebung), we've even got the guidelines for the most urgent issue. So why on earth should we keep working overtime? Everyone except the overnight duty staff, leave.”
At his words, broad smiles spread across the officials' faces. They'd been working themselves to the bone ever since reporting for duty, with no break except for the lunch their household slaves brought from home.
The chance to leave without overtime was a precious, joyous blessing, like a welcome rain after a drought.
Everyone quietly thanked Kim Daebung in their hearts. Of course, within minutes they'd remember that he was the reason for their overtime and curse him inwardly, but still.
“We'll take our leave, sir.”
“Get some rest, and come in on time tomorrow. I'll be reporting for duty when myeosi is almost over, so keep that in mind.”
Joseon officials' arrival times varied by period, but they usually came in during myeosi (5 a.m. to 7 a.m.). If work was urgent, they arrived as soon as myeosi began; if not, they came near the end of myeosi.
So what Hwang Hui had just said was a declaration that there would be no overtime tomorrow either... and the officials silently cheered.
“Yes, sir.”
“Now that you're leaving on time, don't overindulge at the pleasure house.”
After saying that, Hwang Hui immediately headed home.
When on-time quitting was such a rare luxury, why bother picking fights with officials?
He ought to be going home to rest in comfort.
Just as Hwang Hui was getting into his palanquin to leave, he happened to spot Heo Jo, the Minister of Rites.
“Isn't that the Minister of Rites, Lord Heo?”
At that, Heo Jo answered warmly.
“Are you leaving right on time today too, Minister of Taxation?”
“Thanks to Kim Su-chan, we've figured out how to spread markets to every county in the country. Hojo won't need to work overtime for a while now.”
“Ho ho, I'd also been at a loss lately, unable to figure out why the successful civil service candidates only came from Hanyang. But when I asked him, he gave me a perfectly clear answer right away. That's why I can leave on time, too.”
“So that was it. Then what answer did you hear, Minister of Rites?”
A smile spread across Heo Jo's face.
He remembered the joy of finding the answer thanks to Kim Daebung, that all-purpose problem solver who solved problems in an instant and was like Zhuge Liang reincarnated in the modern era.
“In Joseon right now, special examinations other than the regular triennial state examination aren't announced nationwide. So the people who can sit for them are limited to those living in Hanyang, or to people connected to officials.”
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”
“So from now on, even if there's a state celebration or we urgently need to increase the number of officials, we'll post notices in the counties and prefectures across the country and give three months' notice, more or less. Then scholars in the provinces will come take the special exams too, and it won't just be Hanyang scholars passing the civil service exams, will it?”
“As expected of Kim Su-chan. That way, no scholar will miss the civil service exam just because they don't know when it's being held. As for me...”
Hwang Hui told Heo Jo about the question he'd asked Kim Daebung and the answer he'd received. Heo Jo nodded all the while in agreement.
“...Kim Su-chan is literally a talent like the great bird Peng. To think he'd propose increasing the number of ranked officials by 364 at once. He has unbelievable boldness.”
“And he says that collecting more taxes benefits the people... honestly, he does seem like a madman.”
“A madman, huh? I overheard a bunch of junior officials in the Ministry of Rites—those below the junior sixth rank—bad-mouthing Kim Su-chan. They said he was like a disaster, because he keeps making them work like crazy.”
“Ho ho, well, there is that side to him.”
“They're not wrong, but is it really acceptable for those junior officials to gossip about senior officials behind their backs? So I took some time to give them a brief lesson in propriety.”
At that, Hwang Hui just laughed. If you think about Kim Daebung's actions, it's hard not to bad-mouth him a little, and yet he gave them a 'brief lesson'—meaning at least two hours of nagging—for it...
This incident must have spread through all of the Ministry of Rites, so those guys probably got chewed out all day long.
Hwang Hui sympathized with them. The punishment seemed far too harsh for the offense.
“Take it easy.”
“I've mellowed a lot myself. It was only one shi-jin—two hours—of nagging. That's me being very restrained.”
“...I won't even say anything. Anyway, Kim Su-chan looks like he's going to get a very stern scolding from the Chief State Councillor, Lord Yu Jeonghyeon, within a few days.”
Chief State Councillor Yu Jeonghyeon, a moneylender at the forefront of Joseon's 'cut taxes no matter what' policy.
A stingy minister whose miserly ways even Hwang Hui, who had amassed vast wealth through schemes that weren't punishable under Joseon's laws, had to admit were impressive.
His beliefs were completely the opposite of the policies Kim Daebung advocated. In other words, Kim Daebung was someone Yu Jeonghyeon couldn't help grinding his teeth over.
It's only because Yu Jeonghyeon has to watch his step around Yi Bang-won and Sejong... otherwise, he'd have hated Kim Daebung from the start. Raise taxes to benefit the people?
From the perspective of a stuffy Confucian old fogey, that's a terribly wrong policy.
“Do you oppose Lord Yu's policies, Minister of Taxation?”
“I used to, but not anymore.”
After hearing Kim Daebung's story, Hwang Hui changed his mind a little.
He came to understand that while collecting too much tax indiscriminately is bad, collecting too little indiscriminately also ends up impoverishing the people.
So he came to believe that collecting taxes properly and using them correctly was what served Joseon.
More than anything else, hadn't Kim Daebung already shown it himself while serving as magistrate of Jinhae?
Even after raising taxes by four-tenths—40 percent—the people voluntarily erected a monument of praise for him, and everyone, including the yangban, even submitted a thousand-name petition.
“I wasn't able to take part in Joseon's founding.”
“Same here.”
“I just went because the country called me and I coveted power, but you're different, aren't you, Minister of Rites? You lent a hand right after Joseon was founded. I, on the other hand, wanted a higher post, so I just waited until they gave me one.”
Hwang Hui was the sort of official whose greed for wealth put him close to a corrupt official. Even after taking office, he always held to his own convictions.
During King Taejo's reign (Yi Seong-gye), he was dismissed from office several times for sticking to those convictions.
“If the Chief State Councillor tries to push Kim Su-chan out, I'll submit a memorial to stop him. Kim Su-chan is truly the talent this country needs. Besides, unlike me, he has no selfish greed. He's simply a loyal subject who thinks only of the royal ancestral shrine and the state, day and night.”
Heo Jo grinned at that.
“I think so too. In that spirit, since we've both left on time, how about a drink?”
“Sounds good. Are you paying, Minister of Rites?”
“I'm poor. Unlike someone else.”
Heo Jo was truly an incorruptible official, so spotless that even if the Three Offices turned their full attention to him, they wouldn't find a speck of dust. So Hwang Hui really had nothing to say.
If he felt wronged, he could just stop accepting the enormous gifts sent in from all over. But Hwang Hui couldn't do that, so he had only one choice.
“...I'll pay.”
**
“I managed to avoid overtime, but damn, do they think I'm some kind of search engine or something?”
It's only my first day back on duty, so why are they dumping so much work on me?
In Hojo, Hwang Hui ran over to ask how to spread markets throughout the country.
In the Ministry of Rites, they wanted me to explain why successful civil service candidates were concentrated only in Hanyang and to come up with countermeasures.
In the Ministry of Public Works, they were pestering me for advice on how to build levees across the country...
I'm not GPT or anything, so what is this supposed to be?
Still, thanks to being worked so hard, I did manage to dodge that damn initiation rite.
To be exact, the Associate Senior Scholar of Jiphyeonjeon had subtly sized me up and told me to prepare for the initiation rite, but Deputy Chief Scholar Jeong In-ji quietly dragged me away, so... it worked.
“I feel like I'm going to die. I really feel like I'm going to die.”
I have a feeling they'll keep throwing questions at me like this from now on, and I don't know if I can handle it.
Forget everything else—right now I just want to wash up and go straight to sleep.
That way, I'll be able to do what I need to do tomorrow.
“You're back, sir.”
“Alright, Dolsoe. Tell them to bring the dinner table.”
“Yes, sir. And ah, Miss Gyeoul is inside.”
“...That damn Kim Mandeok...”
Kim Mandeok had managed to secure a place in the Sijeon, which had become half a gangster organization, by riding on my coattails.
Normally, joining a Sijeon guild would require paying a huge sum, but... apparently, because he was recognized as being closely connected to me, a likely future chief minister, he managed to join for almost free.
After that, Kim Gyeoul often came to our house and helped with the housework.
Honestly, I'm grateful... no, wait—it's incredibly, absurdly fortunate for me that such a beautiful woman shows up often to help me out. Still, I should take Kim Gyeoul's feelings into account.
“Ha, I should talk to Gyeoul. If she's coming here against her will because of her father, I'll smooth things over and tell her she can refuse.”
There are plenty of ways to refuse without hurting Kim Mandeok's feelings.
“If this counts as an event, then is it an event?”
I muttered to myself, then ate the meal that had been set out before calling for Kim Gyeoul.