Chapter 39
Chief State Councilor Ryu Jeong-hyeon was deeply displeased with what was happening in the court right now.
"How do you view the Bangwon Law, Your Excellency the Left State Councilor?"
The Left State Councilor, Yi Won, had once served as Chief State Councilor as well, and his views on finance were fairly similar to Ryu Jeong-hyeon's.
So Ryu Jeong-hyeon had asked, thinking that among the Three Chief State Councilors, Yi Won would at least side with him.
Even if Yi Bang-won tried to push the Bangwon Law through, if two of the three chief ministers opposed it, they might not be able to stop its implementation entirely... but they could at least delay it.
According to the information he had heard through his court physician, Yi Bang-won's health had noticeably worsened lately... if he could just hold on for a few more years like this, the Bangwon Law would likely fizzle out.
'Bangwon Law won't do.'
It was obvious even to Ryu Jeong-hyeon that if currency were introduced, Joseon's economy would completely collapse.
That was why, just as recorded in the Veritable Records of King Sejong, he had deliberately imposed absurdly strict standards on the 'currency introduction.'
Of course, the targets of those harsh standards were the lowly leatherworker rabble and powerless commoner rabble whom Ryu Jeong-hyeon could kill off without causing any trouble.
He deliberately dragged a policy that was certain to fail—and was the worst possible policy even for yangban who had turned all their wealth into rice—through the mud with needless severity. He was certain that if it looked like only the commoners were dying because of currency, the virtuous Sejong would definitely stop it.
In today's Joseon, Kim Dae-bung's remonstrance memorial had made Sejong's currency introduction itself collapse entirely, so from Ryu Jeong-hyeon's point of view, being able to trade using the value of rice meant his wealth was preserved, but...
Even so, he had a deeply personal, extremely selfish reason to oppose the Bangwon Law.
"The Bangwon Law itself seems like a very good system, doesn't it? Naju is famous for its pears, but in reality, fewer than one pun (1%) of the population actually run orchards. Most commoners farm rice, after all. Then most of the people have to go out of their way to buy pears they don't even produce themselves for the tribute goods... and that trouble and inconvenience are simply too great."
"That is true. That's why, last year, we allowed the temples to buy the tribute goods on the people's behalf, didn't we?"
"That did reduce the burden on the people. Before, they had to pay two seom of rice per household to buy the tribute goods, but now it's been reduced to around one seom. But the Bangwon Law leaves no room for cunning merchants or temples to get in the middle... apparently, collecting just 18 doe of white rice per gyeol of land would be enough."
The amount they were calling enough included the tribute local magistrates would offer as 'gifts' to central officials, relatives, and acquaintances, along with the costs needed to run the local government office, and so on.
Ryu Jeong-hyeon sighed inwardly.
That Yi Jeong fellow wasn't exactly a model of incorruptibility either; back when Yi Bang-won was king, he had even used his power to force a merchant's daughter into becoming his concubine. Ryu Jeong-hyeon couldn't understand why he was putting on such a spotless act in front of him now.
'Even without saying it outright, he would have understood exactly what I meant.'
If the tribute system were changed to the Daedong Law, the burden on the people would decrease, and barring a bad harvest, the commoners would no longer go hungry.
The commoners also knew that borrowing at usurious rates was just cutting off their own flesh, so unless their wife and children were on the verge of starving to death right then, they didn't borrow at usury.
If they borrowed at usury, the only possible end was squandering all their wealth and having the entire family reduced to slaves.
"I think the idea of reducing the people's burden is a good one. But if you're going to receive all tribute in white rice, how are you supposed to transport all of it? Wouldn't lowering taxes and practicing frugality—cutting expenses—be the only good solution?"
"I agree with that opinion, but His Majesty the Retired King has set his mind on it. How could we possibly stop him?"
Ryu Jeong-hyeon stood up from his seat.
Then he used the privilege reserved for the one man in Joseon below the king and above all others.
He simply set his own quitting time and left work whenever he pleased.
Normally, that should have been impossible, but Ryu Jeong-hyeon filed sick leave on the pretext that he was ill, approved it himself, and then left the office.
Once he got home, he immediately began looking for loopholes in the Bangwon Law.
All so he could delay the law's implementation somehow.
**
What caught my eye when I arrived at the Ministry of Taxation was the sight of officials looking haggard and worn out from being buried in work.
Was it because of His Majesty King Sejong's ingenious work-assignment method, which made Joseon's officials work like graduate students?
The officials looked tired and worn out, but they still seemed able to keep working, so they were gritting their teeth and pushing through.
"...Looks like clocking out on time is out of the question again today."
"Still, if we keep this up for three more days, we'll get our holiday."
"In three days, we can sleep to our heart's content. We just need time to write our resignation memorials..."
"Still, isn't that better than the magistrate of Jinhae? That fellow is apparently cleaning up after Kim Su-chan's mess and working nonstop for seven sijin (14 hours) a day. They say he can't even rest on holidays. Thanks to that, he has no time to manage his own property, and he can't go drinking with courtesans like the other magistrates either, so he's been lamenting that this is what hell in the human world must be like."
The distance between those officials and me was only about 15 meters. In other words, since a new person had come to the Ministry of Taxation, they should have noticed me and reacted somehow.
Just how buried in work do you have to be for your mind to be so worn down that you don't react at all?
Hwang Hui, who had brought me here, laughed like a madman.
"Heh, the Bangwon Law..."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"It truly is a great law. A law that can reduce the people's burden and enrich Joseon's finances. But realistically, it does have quite a few problems, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does. But how can any law be eternal and unchanging? How could it possibly be perfect? When the Jo-yong-jo system was created in the Tang dynasty, the people all treated it lightly and rejoiced, but now it has become a wicked law that gnaws at the people of Joseon... In the end, a law is like clothing; when it wears out, you take it off and go to the trouble of replacing it with something better than before, don't you think?"
"...... You seem to have a rough idea of the problems."
"Yes. I know them well."
I was the one who drafted the Bangwon Law. In other words, I also know very well which parts of this law are problematic.
And I already have every way to solve or improve those problems mapped out in my head.
Adapting the system to fit early Joseon's circumstances wouldn't be easy, though...
If I endure a little hardship, I can give hope to countless commoners, and King Sejong's Joseon will develop even further.
There would be a tremendous amount of work to do, but I'd stop there and submit my resignation memorial.
As far as I know, King Sejong did not order 'lifelong service' unless someone had committed a serious crime, like Hwang Hui or Jo Mal-saeng.
I hadn't committed any crime, so Yi Bang-won and King Sejong might be disappointed, but they'd have no choice but to allow my resignation.
Well, as a precaution, I could simply step down under the pretext of marriage, one of life's great affairs. And if I just didn't say I was returning to office for good, that would be enough.
"This humble official believes that the Bangwon Law is precisely the law that can rescue the poor commoners still living in pit houses and give them new hope."
"You harbor a great ambition in your heart, like a great roc. Well, with such lofty ambitions, I suppose it's only natural that you could offer frank remonstrance without fear even in front of the Retired King's iron mace."
As one historian once said,
Even in King Taejong's day, most commoners were said to have lived in pit houses. But from King Sejong's era onward, as the people's circumstances improved, they were able to live in thatched houses.
Pit houses and thatched houses are both shabby homes in the end, but think of it as moving from a 5-pyeong rooftop room with no electricity to a detached house of around 20 pyeong.
So I remember hearing that Sejong's reign was regarded as the period when Joseon developed fastest and most steadily, and as an ideal age everyone looked up to.
Given that, it's probably why people still long for him and respect him even now, more than 500 years after King Sejong's death.
Whether it was some prank by God or just a coincidence, I now had the power and knowledge needed to grant a better future to the countless people living in King Sejong's era.
After graduating from the history department, I remember once deciding that I'd become a fine politician like Joseon's great statesmen, taking the administrative civil service exam, passing it, and then being crushed by reality's bitter taste.
"Kim Su-chan, what on earth are you thinking about?"
Ah, I must have been spacing out.
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency. I was thinking about a problem that just came to mind... and as I was thinking about the solution, I was trying to figure out how to organize it all..."
Hwang Hui stared at me as if I were a madman.
No, I had just been thinking of things that could simply be called problems.
At that moment, the man who was Joseon's greatest usurer and its Chief State Councilor appeared at the Ministry of Taxation.
"The purpose of the Bangwon Law is good... but there are these problems. Have the Ministry of Taxation review them as well."
With a wicked smile, Ryu Jeong-hyeon extended a document to me in a leisurely gesture.