Chapter 41
Ryu Jeong-hyeon ground his teeth as he left the Ministry of Taxation.
The reason was simple enough. A mere official of the Sixth Senior Rank had dared to answer him back, point by point.
Just being talked back to was enough to make his stomach turn, as if the top of his skull were about to fly off.
What infuriated him even more was that he had been out-argued by that young upstart Kim Daebung and couldn't say a word in return.
"What an insolent bastard."
When he had submitted the Jibu memorial to block the currency reform, he had even felt a little grateful to the fellow.
If currency was put into practice, it would deal quite a blow to him, who had made his fortune in rice.
Using rice to buy silk, livestock, land, and even slaves—that was how money bred money and wealth snowballed.
If transactions using rice were banned by state law, he could no longer increase his wealth with rice, and rice would become nothing but a nuisance, piled up in storage to rot.
Strictly speaking, the officials enforcing the law were blind to the dealings of the yangban... so even if the trade were strictly banned by law, they could just do business on the black market, and it wouldn't really become a dead loss.
But whereas one seom of rice used to buy one bolt of silk, once black-market trading began you'd have to pay one seom and three mal of rice to get it. That's a 30 percent markup.
For Ryu Jeong-hyeon, whose life's joy was growing his fortune, that was unbearably cruel. So he'd felt grateful that the fellow had risked his life to stop it.
If the fellow were someone like Jeong Chang-son, a man of upright principles, he would even think about promoting him very highly.
"We need more young men like Jeong Bujeongja, young but with the right principles, to be appointed to office."
He let out a deep sigh and waited for one man.
"To think I have to join hands with scum like this... the world really is cruel. Even after I got rid of that rotten former Goryeo court, there are still so many traitors in the court..."
While he was grumbling to himself inwardly, the man Ryu Jeong-hyeon had been anxiously waiting for finally appeared.
"I did not think Your Excellency the Chief State Councillor would be looking for this humble one."
"Nor did I expect to meet Cheonggang (Kim Jeom's courtesy name, an author invention) and discuss national affairs with him."
"Haha, when you really think about it, aren't the two of us the same kind of crow? So why are you pretending to be a white heron, Your Excellency?"
"Unlike you, I never did anything as disgraceful as embezzling stolen goods. Jangri (loans with interest rates above 50 percent) and gapri (100 percent interest) are clearly permitted by state law."
Kim Jeom was a history-book-grade scumbag, once charged with taking massive bribes while serving as governor of Pyeongan Province.
Normally, sending someone who had served as Minister of Taxation to Pyeongan Province was both a demotion and a tacit allowance to skim off about N trillion won for retirement money...
That bastard Kim Jeom had taken so much that even in Joseon, where bribery was practically the norm, it caused shock, fear, and confusion. No wonder people had even petitioned for his execution despite his wife being related by blood to a concubine of the Ming Yongle Emperor.
That was why Ryu Jeong-hyeon hated Kim Jeom. If you could openly and honestly make money by loan-sharking within the bounds of the law like he did, money would keep duplicating endlessly—and so would slaves.
Why were Joseon's officials so greedy that they had gone and embezzled that much?
'I should live with complete honesty and purity, like me. You filthy bastard!'
"So what business did Your Excellency the Chief State Councillor have in summoning this humble one?"
"Not even a greeting?"
"Since when were we close enough for that?"
The one who had very aggressively moved to impeach Kim Jeom for taking bribes while serving as governor of Pyeongan Province was Ryu Jeong-hyeon. So there was no way the two could get along.
"That's true enough. Fine, I'll get straight to the point. Work with me."
"What kind of work?"
"That bastard Kim Daebung is trying to implement the Bangwon Law and ruin Joseon's economic order."
"Kim Daebung, huh. You mean that mad-dog bastard who stirred up public sentiment by coming out with that so-called Jibu memorial. I've heard he's a traitor posing as a loyal subject—a piece of trash on par with Zhao Gao."
When Kim Daebung was magistrate of Jinhae, he had done his utmost not to take bribes and had always worked to remain honest and incorruptible.
So by any objective standard, he was the very picture of a loyal retainer... but that objective fact did not matter to them.
This was a textbook case of Confucius's saying: since a person cannot be loved by everyone, be loved by the good and hated by the wicked.
The wicked men, naturally, were Kim Jeom and Ryu Jeong-hyeon.
"What will become of Joseon if that fellow enacts the Bangwon Law?"
Kim Jeom let out a snort.
"There is no one here besides you and me, Your Excellency. I'm saying you can speak frankly and lay everything bare. Don't beat around the bush."
"...... It means the people will no longer need to take out usurious loans. Then I, for one, will no longer be able to grow my wealth the way I have until now. Cheonggang, you're in the same boat, aren't you?"
"Yes, that's true. I have quite a few complaints about Kim Daebung's policy myself. If that fellow enacts the Bangwon Law, the gifts local magistrates and yangban send to honor this humble one will probably decrease a great deal."
"You really are greedy."
"Thank you for the compliment. Losing my post thanks to Your Excellency taught me that, in the end, money is king."
Kim Jeom loved money more than anyone. Because he loved money, he had collected bribes so excessively while serving as governor of Pyeongan Province that people cursed him out in every possible way.
"If you promise to help me, I'll submit a memorial saying that I absolutely need you in order to carry out the Bangwon Law. Then you can be reinstated as Minister of Taxation."
"That's generous of you."
"If you can just hold on as Minister of Taxation until His Majesty the Retired King passes away, then we win. And after that we can harass Kim Daebung for all sorts of reasons, making sure there's no fault to find. After all, that fellow is crazy desperate to become a prime minister, so he'll endure just about anything."
In truth, Kim Daebung intended to make a good Bangwon Law proposal, submit his resignation memorial, and then go back to his hometown.
Because he didn't want to get caught by Sejong and be put through the Hwang Hui, Maeng Sa-seong, and Jang Yeong-sil treatment.
However, they, using extremely ordinary common sense, concluded that Kim Daebung was the sort of man crazy enough to want the Hwang Hui treatment.
"How should I help?"
"Gather information from the Hanyang market merchants within our sphere of influence, and prod the idle yangban who spend all day holed up in Hanyang, doing nothing but guarding their sarangbangs, to submit memorials day and night."
"I take it there's something to pick at?"
"I hear that bastard Kim Daebung is close with Kim Mandeok, who heads the Sijeon Sipjwa. So when the Bangwon Law is enacted, we'll impeach him on the 'reasonable grounds' that he'll collude with Kim Mandeok to handle Jinhae's tribute and pocket huge profits."
"The men filing the memorials might die."
"So choose only men you can afford to throw away."
Kim Jeom and Ryu Jeong-hyeon were both human trash. So whether the fools submitting memorials on their behalf lived or died was none of their concern.
What mattered was the glory of their own family line, and more importantly, making money. That was all that mattered.
"We have to stop the Bangwon Law. By any means necessary."
And a few days later, memorials impeaching Kim Daebung for submitting the Jibu memorial began to appear all over Hanyang.
The contents were very simple.
'Kim Daebung is on very intimate terms with Kim Mandeok, the head of the Sijeon Sipjwa, and is also closely connected to Kim Mandeok's daughter. So if the Bangwon Law is enacted, he intends to collude with Kim Mandeok and handle Jinhae's tribute in order to reap huge profits!'
**
Joseon is a nation of impeachment.
If some bastard does something wrong, the Saheonbu impeaches him.
If I put it that way, you might ask why one office does the impeaching when it ought to be the Three Offices...
The Three Offices merely perform the function of the press in a rough sense; they're not institutions that, like the media of a modern state, impeach crooked politicians (officials) and report the news.
So the fact that so many memorials are being submitted means that even the Saheonbu is impeaching me.
"Hey there, Kim Suchan."
"Yes, Minister of Taxation, Your Excellency."
Hwang Hui even came over to where I was, patted my shoulder, and comforted me.
Was this really the same man who, until just one gak (15 minutes) ago, had been working overtime and grinding himself down, cursing a Sixth-Rank Ministry of Taxation junior secretary for being slow and telling him to be at least a quarter as good as Kim Daebung?
"When you live a bureaucrat's life, getting impeached is a common enough thing, so don't take it too hard. Just think of how great His Majesty the King and His Majesty the Retired King's favor toward you is. You won't be dismissed over something as trivial as this. Just the other day, even Hojo Gyeongsiseo's Kim Bongsa..."
When we talk about the Ministry of Taxation, people usually think only of the main office... but that division is actually wrong.
Just as the Ministry of Economy and Finance has various agencies under it, including Statistics Korea, the Ministry of Taxation also has an enormous number of subordinate offices. That's why the number of officials working there is surprisingly large.
"So don't worry about it. Now then, today I'll specially let you off early..."
...... I don't know exactly who led this impeachment. But there is one thing that is certain.
The Bangwon Law will definitely be implemented, and I've almost finished everything I set out to do.
The day I leave in search of freedom is not far off.
"Since I came to be impeached because of my own lack of virtue, how could I possibly remain in office after committing such disloyal acts?"
Hwang Hui looked as though the world had ended.
"I am deeply sorry that I cannot repay Your Majesty's grace, but I can no longer commit disloyalty to Your Majesty. Once I have laid the groundwork for the Bangwon Law, I will duly submit a resignation memorial."
It's retirement time, retirement time!
Once I retire, I'll go back to my hometown, marry a young lady from a local yangban family as my wife, and take Kim Gyeoul in as a concubine. It would be like holding flowers in both hands.
This was Joseon-style paradise.
I should tell my parents not to worry about the family background and to pick a daughter from a yangban household with outstanding beauty.
I've already won top honors in the civil service exam and even filed a Jibu memorial to boost the family's reputation, so they should grant me this much.
Hwang Hui apparently hadn't expected me to say I was resigning at all, because he was utterly shocked.
“Kim Suchan, Kim Suchan!! Where are you going! You can't leave! What crime have you committed that you'd submit a resignation memorial and retire to the countryside! Absolutely not!! You're a talent who stands as a pillar of the Ministry of Taxation!”
Yeah, I'll go back to my hometown and live happily. That's why I governed Jinhae County so benevolently in the first place.
If you're that upset, you should've lived properly too.
And after I had laid out the framework for the Bangwon Law, I promptly submitted my resignation memorial.
I'm free now.
**
Normally, a senior official's resignation memorial was customarily approved by the king stamping it with the royal seal without even reading it.
Therefore Kim Daebung thought that as long as he submitted his resignation memorial, of course he'd be allowed to resign.
But there was one problem.
It was that Yi Bang-won liked Kim Daebung far too much.
“...... Doya.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Kim Daebung is a man without selfish desires or any greed for power, pure and incorruptible. In time, he'll become a pillar of the realm.”
Yi Bang-won felt good just thinking about Kim Daebung. Even if Jeong Dojeon and Jeong Mong-ju came back to life, it felt like they still couldn't compare to Kim Daebung.
And with Kim Daebung giving his all in loyalty to the Joseon he had created, what a beautiful thing that was.
“Why do you think Kim Daebung submitted his resignation memorial?”
“Is it not to place all the credit for the Bangwon Law on you alone, Father?”
If Kim Daebung heard that, he would have answered, 'That's a misunderstanding. I just like my hometown and want to retire there.'
However, Yi Bang-won and Sejong, who had already come to think of Kim Daebung as 'the most loyal of loyal subjects' because of the Jibu memorial, could not fathom his true feelings.
“But when memorials impeaching him came in, he probably thought it would be bad for the Bangwon Law, so he submitted his resignation memorial.”
“I think the same as you. However, this time I intend to grant his memorial.”
Sejong tilted his head. Then he wondered if they really were going to let Kim Daebung go.
“Kim Daebung devoted himself solely to state affairs without a shred of selfish desire, only to be impeached by traitors like the ghosts of Goryeo. He must be deeply hurt. So we should at least allow him to rest in his hometown for a while.”
Sejong pricked up his ears. There was great significance hidden in the word 'while'.
“And if we let his family see how much you and I cherish him, and restore his standing before them, the pain in his heart will finally be washed away.”
Yi Bang-won had begun his official career by passing the civil service exam in Goryeo and serving as a civil official.
Because Yi Seong-gye was a military officer, he had also gone through brutal initiation rites, and those who looked down on the newly rising Yi Seong-gye had used every method they could to torment him.
Just thinking about that time made Yi Bang-won shudder.
“My own life as an official was also truly arduous, but when I first passed the civil examination in the former Goryeo dynasty, His Majesty Taejo was truly delighted. Thanks to that, I was able to endure all the harsh initiation rites and whatnot.”
Yi Seong-gye hated Yi Bang-won until the day he died, but Yi Bang-won respected and loved Yi Seong-gye as his father.
Though in the process he killed several of his own brothers, and even Jeong Mong-ju and Jeong Dojeon, completely ruining their relationship.
“Kim Daebung is a man too, after all, and when his heart hurts, he'll want comfort from his family. So if we write royal edicts to his mother and father praising them for raising a son into a pillar of the nation, and tell them that Joseon absolutely needs him and they should soothe his heart... then wouldn't Kim Daebung be able to rise again?”
The comfort to his heart was one thing, but in fact there was another aim here.
“When the king restores the parents' dignity, and the parents encourage their child to go forward in office... what official would dare think of resigning?”
Joseon is a nation of filial piety.
Even a father who commits a crime may have his son take the beating in his place as something encouraged in the name of 'filial piety.'
In such a nation of filial devotion, to turn down the earnest advice of one's father and mother?
That could not happen.
A smile appeared on Sejong's face as well.
Meanwhile, Ryu Jeong-hyeon felt a chill run down his spine when he heard that Kim Daebung had submitted his resignation and gone back to his hometown.
"......Am I run-down or something? Why is it so cold?"