The Plan to Conquer Yanbian and Hunchun (13)

After reading Kim Daebung's memorial, Sejong came to a profound realization.

It was the realization that the ominous words Kim Daebung often blurted out—'I will resign when I turn sixty'—were, in fact, a blatant lie.

"Yes, no one else but Kim Daebung would ever entertain such a horrifying thought as resigning at sixty. As king, I failed to properly understand Kim Daebung's circumstances and foolishly misunderstood him all this time."

After entering government service, Kim Daebung was immediately appointed magistrate of Jinhae, and ever since then, he had continued to accomplish things worthy of leaving a major mark in Joseon's history.

During his time as Jinhae Magistrate, he somehow managed to increase Jinhae's tax revenue to two and a half times its former level while improving the people's quality of life even further.

When the Grand King Yi Bang-won and he decided to implement currency, he submitted a protest memorial and set an example as a loyal subject, then devised the Bang-won Act and brought about revolutionary development in Joseon.

Everything else he did was so bizarrely brilliant that it might as well have been an inexplicable marvel...

In the end, had he not even created the kind of nation Confucius had so long wished for—a nation where all the people could receive an education?

From any reasonable perspective, it had been a mistake to take literally the declaration of a subject so loyal to the king and country that he would resign at the mere age of sixty.

Sejong regretted the misjudgment he had made all this time...