Chapter 37
Joseon is a nation that thrives on excitement.
Everyone was afflicted with a sickness that made them unable to sit still whenever an interesting rumor or event broke out.
Especially officials, yangban, market merchants, and Hanseong commoners, who had to stay sensitive to political circumstances and change in order to survive.
So they couldn't help but go wild over Joseon's first jibusangso, the spectacle of "If you won't listen to me, then cut off my neck instead."
"Dolsoe, do you know about that Kim Suchan fellow?"
"Of course. If you don't know about the man who filed a jibusangso and said that if they wouldn't accept his memorial they should cut off his head, what are you, a Japanese bastard instead of a Hanseong native?"
Even when all the citizens of Hanseong who could read Chinese characters even roughly were lumped together, they still didn't reach 5 percent. Of course, compared with other provincial towns, that was still incredibly high, but in any case, there were few learned people.
But separate from intelligence, there wasn't a single person who didn't know what money was.
The reason was very simple. In the days when Taejong Yi Bang-won was king and Sejong had not yet ascended the throne, jeohwa had once been put into effect... and the yangban officials were "outside the scope of regulation," so they weren't harmed.
Because whenever the common people used anything other than jeohwa, the authorities cracked down indiscriminately, every Hanseong resident had suffered in one way or another.
Among the acquaintances and relatives of the people talking here, of course, there were those who had suffered bad experiences while using jeohwa.
So Kim Daebung, who had risked his life to oppose currency, had no choice but to be hailed as Hanseong's hero, a great statesman, and a loyal subject. Since he had been willing to face death and stop it on their behalf, anyone who looked down on him wasn't human.
"I hear Lord Kim Suchan has been released from Jeonokseo (the prison)."
"Is that true?"
"I hear His Majesty the Retired King personally went to Jeonokseo and freed Lord Kim Suchan. And a notice saying they weren't doing that coin business anymore was posted at Gwanghwamun!"
"...... I can believe they aren't doing coins anymore, but how do you know His Majesty the Retired King went to Jeonokseo?"
"My cousin's brother-in-law works as a police officer at Jeonokseo."
"Ah, I see."
At first the man had taken it as nothing much, but before long he let out a cheer at the fact that the damned currency scheme would not go through.
"Long live! Long live! I thought Hanseong was going to be turned upside down because of that shitty currency, but now we don't have to worry about it anymore."
"It's all thanks to Lord Kim Suchan."
"We're saved. Saved."
The two men here remember the days when jeohwa was being used in Hanseong. At first, jeohwa seemed good because it was easier to carry than rice...
But before long you couldn't even use it to pay taxes anymore. So the poor unlucky bastards who thought it was useless and traded using rice or oseungpo were caned and either died or came down with a serious illness.
Once their illness had more or less healed, they and their families were dragged off to the navy or sent into exile.
So everyone got so scared that they stopped trading altogether, and in Hanseong it was common for merchants who'd once lived fairly well, even if not exactly in splendor, to end up flat on their backs.
Of course, with currency now suspended, that was a completely different story.
When everyone all over Hanseong was talking about nothing but this, Kim Mandeok, after hearing the news, put his merchant acumen and insight to use.
"...... You two, what are you talking about so excitedly?"
"Who might you be?"
"I'm Kim Mandeok, a sipjwa merchant who sells dried persimmons, anchovies, and paulownia tableware down on Unjongga."
The highest rank in the market guild is seonsaeng, followed by ojwa and sipjwa. At the sipjwa level, it means you're already quite a big merchant in Hanseong.
And as if to show off his status and wealth, Kim Mandeok was even wearing a silk dopo that would get a lowly merchant in trouble with the law, along with a gat.
The two men who had just been speaking casually suddenly grew respectful.
Joseon is a status-based society, but you can never afford to look down on a wealthy merchant.
"I have a somewhat special connection with Lord Kim Suchan, so I'm rather interested in his story. Please, tell me a little more in detail."
Of the two who had been chatting idly, Dolsoe asked cautiously.
"Sir, who exactly are you to know Lord Kim Suchan so well?"
"Ah, I've been very close to Lord Kim Suchan ever since he was the magistrate of Jinhae County. When he served as Jinhae magistrate, Lord Suchan even came to our house in person."
Kim Mandeok wasn't chatting with these guys just because he had time on his hands. He had approached with a clear purpose.
One of those purposes was to ride the wave of Kim Daebung's soaring reputation in the Joseon court and Hanseong, thereby raising his own value and standing.
Put bluntly, you can ignore Merchant A if he has some clout in Hanseong's market. But no one could ignore a merchant favored by Kim Daebung, the loyal subject who had pulled Joseon's people out of the hell called currency.
For this purpose, Kim Mandeok had gone out of his way to follow Kim Daebung all the way from Jinhae-hyeon. It was time to reap the rewards of what he'd invested, so of course he had to spread the word.
"Is that true?"
"Why would I bother lying to you when I'm the sipjwa merchant in Hanseong's market? And what kind of man do you think Lord Kim Suchan is, that I'd disgrace him with a lie?"
The friend with Dolsoe also needed something to talk about, and Kim Mandeok provided exactly that, so the two sides fit each other perfectly.
"No, did Lord Kim Suchan really serve as the magistrate of Jinhae County?"
Kim Daebung's name is, by now, more famous than ministers like Ryu Jeonghyeon, Hwang Hee, Maeng Sa-seong, and Heo Jo.
Before the jibusangso incident, he had only been somewhat famous in court, and among the people of Hanseong his recognition was so low they barely knew he existed.
That was because his official rank was only Jeong 6th Rank. So the most anyone knew about him was, at best, "He opposed currency." ...
The eyes of the men who had learned this new information sparkled.
"Back when he was the magistrate of Jinhae County, his heart for the people was truly deep. He reduced taxes for poor commoners, took no bribes, and poured every effort into saving those suffering under the hwangok loan-grain system."
"As expected, a sapling shows what kind of tree it'll become from the start. Lord Suchan is truly remarkable."
Merchants in any era know how to add a little seasoning for publicity and sales.
Of course, Kim Mandeok was a master at adding that seasoning; nothing he said was false, but he knew how to make it just a little more sensational.
"And that's not all. His Majesty also held Lord Kim Suchan in high regard and entrusted him with important work in Jiphyeonjeon. From what I've heard, even the ministers of the Six Ministries discuss major matters with Lord Kim Suchan."
"His Majesty wouldn't possibly fail to recognize such an outstanding man."
"In the first place, it was His Majesty who reviewed Lord Kim Suchan's answers in last year's byeolsi exam, selected him as the top scorer, and sent him straight to Jinhae as magistrate."
By using rhetoric that praised both the king and Kim Daebung at once, the image of a great king and a great future minister naturally took root in their heads.
Kim Mandeok smiled faintly as he watched things unfold just as he wanted.
Kim Daebung becoming a minister is already a done deal. No, he'll definitely rise all the way to Yeonguijeong.
But to become Yeonguijeong, it isn't enough just to be capable. One also has to be good at politics and not be someone the people hate too much.
The current Yeonguijeong, Ryu Jeonghyeon, the master of emptying the treasury, sits there because Yi Bang-won specially appointed him to rein in the finances... in an ordinary case, he would never have risen that high.
'He's a man with a terrible reputation even in Hanseong's market.'
So Kim Daebung must not be allowed to become a man with a terrible reputation. And besides, although my own self-interest matters more, wouldn't the country improve if someone like Kim Daebung became Yeonguijeong as soon as possible?
Kim Daebung is the kind of person who finds serving the country the most enjoyable thing in the world, so if he rises quickly with my help, he'll surely be delighted, because he'll have that much more he can do.
And in the process, I'll gain huge benefits too, so later on it won't be a dream for me to become the future chief merchant of the market guild.
Of course, Kim Daebung himself just wants to introduce the Bangwon Law (Daedong Law) and resign quickly... but Kim Mandeok had no way of knowing that.
No, a man who only wants to resign at the proper time couldn't possibly work this hard.
He must want to become Yeonguijeong more than anyone else, but his spirit of putting the public first is so strong that he often refuses to bend his convictions for loyalty to the king and love of country.
"A man who devoted himself utterly to the people in Jinhae County, and here in Hanseong even risked his life to submit a memorial for the people's sake... if such a man rose even higher, wouldn't the affairs of the country improve even more?"
"I suppose so?"
Kim Mandeok brought them a little operating expense—no, a small gift—so they would keep spreading the rumor properly.
"These are dried persimmons made in Jinhae County. They taste excellent."
"My goodness, you didn't have to do that."
"I'll give you about one mal each, so share them around and let the people nearby have a taste too."
Once he even slipped them a little bribe, the rest was smooth sailing.
Before long, word had spread throughout Hanseong that Kim Daebung was an outstanding official.
Kim Daebung himself was left deeply dejected when he heard about it.
"...... No way, this means I can't resign..."