Chapter 60
It took a full six months from the time I was dispatched as a secret royal inspector until I returned to Hanyang.
That was by no means a short time, but considering how much time I had spent in Anseong County, I seemed to have come back fairly quickly.
That was probably possible because I had set a proper example in Anseong County.
"Inspector-nim—no, Suchan-nim—the officials and clerks serving under you must have had an awful time."
"Compared to me, I'm actually pretty easy to work for, aren't I?"
I don't make people work overtime unless it's truly urgent.
And instead of insulting my subordinates or cursing them when they make mistakes, I kindly tell them how I would do it.
When I give orders to subordinates, I try to keep them as concise and clear as possible.
For example, if there is a readability problem with the font in an electronic document, I would tell them to switch it to 10-point Batang.
Thanks to that, our secret royal inspector team hardly ever worked overtime in Anseong County except when we were conducting land surveys and handling land records for the implementation of the Bangjeon Law.
I only required them to focus on the work as much as possible during working hours.
"Lord, you can see through each person's limits so accurately that you make them work right up to those limits, can't you? I was shocked at first too. I mean, the amount of paperwork I used to process over two days, I was able to draft without a single mistake in just one day."
"I simply helped you make the best use of your abilities, Man-deok."
Kim Man-deok let out a sigh as he looked at me. Then he shook his head.
"Lord, you will definitely rise all the way to the position of Chief State Councillor. And you will bring prosperity to Joseon. It was truly an honor for me to be able to support a lord like you from beside you."
"If I go out as a secret royal inspector again next time, would you be willing to come with me again then too?"
At my words, Kim Man-deok's expression suddenly changed.
It seemed he had suffered a great deal while carrying out secret royal inspector duties at my side.
But in Anseong County, I made sure he got enough compensation to make his hardships worthwhile, and I also gave his merchant house six new skilled workers it could exploit on the cheap...
I'm a pretty decent boss, aren't I?
I do make them work a lot, but I also take care of them plenty in return.
"Lord, shouldn't you hurry and go into the palace to report to His Majesty, 'I have completed my duties as a secret royal inspector and returned safely'? Please go on ahead. Then we'll take our leave here."
Kim Man-deok and his party hurried off toward Unjongga.
It would be a lie to say I didn't feel a little deflated at the sight, but after shaking my head once to clear my thoughts, I set off again toward Gwanghwamun, where Sejong the Great was waiting.
It was still before curfew, but since court business had ended for the day, Gwanghwamun was firmly shut.
But when I approached, the gate opened of its own accord.
Looks like I really had been running around quite enthusiastically.
I mean, just look at how everyone, gate guards included, recognized the face of a mere Grade 6 official and opened the gate right away.
"...At this rate, am I going to end up getting worked to death like Hwang Hui?"
For a moment, an ominous thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head.
They say words take root and bad thoughts eventually become reality too.
Just thinking that I might end up getting worked like Hwang Hui is extremely dangerous.
Besides, I haven't committed a single 'crime' by Joseon standards.
Once I reach a suitable age, I can retire and enjoy my later years in peace.
Hwang Hui was worked to death because he had committed too many sins and had too much karmic debt.
"I'm different. Completely different."
I have nothing they can hold over me, so there's no way they'd keep grinding me down until I was 60, 70, 80, or 90.
**
Following a eunuch's guidance, I was summoned to Manchunjeon in Gyeongbokgung Palace.
This time too, I thought Sejong and Yi Bang-won would greet me with bright smiles and ask whether I had done a good job.
But the only person inside was Yi Bang-won.
"Grand King, have you been well these days?"
Yi Bang-won received my greeting and answered with a very satisfied smile.
Just looking at that smile and calm expression, you'd never guess that he was really the Iron Mace King Yi Bang-won.
"Thanks to you, the court's tax revenue, which had always been struggling due to shortages, has increased to nearly twice what it was before. In addition, the poor commoners are said to be singing songs of praise because their lives have improved and they no longer have to worry about starvation. The problems that had tormented and worried me my entire life have been solved like this, so these days my body and mind are truly at ease."
"I am overwhelmed, Grand King."
"When I look at you face to face, I even find myself thinking that this must be the joy and satisfaction Liu Bei of Shu felt when he met Zhuge Liang."
Zhuge Liang is the very symbol of a loyal minister.
After Liu Bei was chosen by him, he ate only the bare minimum because he thought even time spent eating was a waste, and he obsessed over every tiny thing as if he were paranoid.
As a result, he died at Wuzhangyuan after all sorts of ailments brought on by overwork worsened.
So Yi Bang-won's words don't sound like praise to me.
No, they are praise, and he is encouraging me for doing well, too, but...
'I'll work you like a STEM PhD student.'
Why does it feel like I'm hearing that in my head?
"Your Majesty the Grand King thinks so highly of this humble servant that I don't know what to do with myself. But one thing is clear: the Bangwon Law has only just taken its first step. There is still a very long way to go."
"A long way to go, you say?"
"Gyeonggi Province is right next to Hanyang, so there was little room for the local yangban or for those who had gone into seclusion in late Goryeo without supporting Joseon to meddle. By contrast, in remote places like the Lower Three Provinces, Pyeongan-do, and Hamgyeong-do, which are far from Hanyang, it is easy for wicked, predatory men to collude with magistrates and clerks and blur the intent of the Bangwon Law."
Even in the 21st century, in remote rural areas, the rules that work as a matter of course in Seoul, the greater capital area, or a metropolitan city often don't apply.
When a young man who knows nothing but is fired up to try his hand at farming settles in the countryside, they'll try to make every excuse to work him like an unpaid slave for the village.
And when a woman in her twenties moves in, it's common for them to pressure her into marriage, saying she'd make a good match for the village's bachelor in his forties.
If she protests that it's sexual harassment, they'll often isolate and ostracize her completely until she can no longer live there.
Much less here in Joseon, where there isn't even internet or TV; what good would complaining do?
"That's true."
It is said that at the end of Goryeo, Yi Seong-gye's family virtually controlled all of Hamgyeong-do.
Among history buffs, there's even a joke that if you ask who the northern grand duke is in a romance fantasy, you can just answer Yi Seong-gye.
Yi Bang-won would have seen Yi Seong-gye in his days as the grand duke of Hamgyeong-do himself, so he would sympathize with what I said even more.
Because even when all of Goryeo was a burning hell, Hamgyeong-do—the land Yi Seong-gye actually ruled—was said to be a place where people could still live... so why was that possible?
It means that because it was far from the capital of Gaegyeong, it also enjoyed a certain degree of political independence.
"If the land in Gyeonggi has increased by about two or two and a half times, then in Gangwon Province the acreage will increase by more than two and a half times. The Lower Three Provinces might even increase nearly fivefold, but that would not be strange at all. So wouldn't the yangban of the Lower Three Provinces, whose tax burden will rise sharply, try to bribe the magistrates?"
"...So you're saying we should send secret royal inspectors to every county in the country, including the Lower Three Provinces?"
"If we don't, they'll do everything they can to hide huge amounts of land so they don't have to pay taxes. And Joseon won't be able to find it."
Even a secret royal inspector can't catch land concealment a hundred percent. But if you use the Bangjeon Law and secret royal inspectors together, you should be able to catch about 95 percent of it.
Even if it's not perfect, it's the best method we can use right now.
"And I'm worried about Jeju Island's tribute obligations."
Yi Bang-won's expression darkened. Honestly, as for Pyeongan-do and Hamgyeong-do, there were ways to force the issue and collect rice, or accept substitutes like hemp cloth.
But Jeju's land is quite unsuitable for farming, and it is a region that produces many ultra-high-value goods like abalone, sea cucumber, shiitake mushrooms, and tangerines... so the Daedong Law was not introduced in Jeju until Joseon itself fell.
"Do you have a plan?"
"Have the court buy every specialty produced in Jeju except the amount that must be taken as tribute, and pay for them in rice."
Jeju's specialties are precious goods that you can't find on the mainland of Joseon. So even if the court bought them all, it wouldn't be a losing proposition.
Someone might ask what happens to the existing merchants who used to buy goods from Jeju... but the merchants who handle Jeju specialties are masters at ripping people off.
Most of them are the sort of scoundrels who would throw a fit and refuse to part with dried abalone unless they got rice, even if it were being sold at a 95 percent discount to peasants already starving because tribute had stripped them bare.
But if the court steps in and buys Jeju's specialties at a fair price, those bastards will lose their footing and be wiped out.
"I once said that if the court runs into a difficult problem, finding Kim Dae-bung usually solves it. And indeed, that was true. You can see the parts that I and the officials missed and even come up with a solution... you really are like the Zhuge Wuhou of Haedong."
Haedong's Zhuge Wuhou... for some reason, that makes me think of the evaluation Sejong the Great once unanimously received from his ministers.
Haedong Yao and Shun, so would that make me Haedong Kongming? I appreciate the praise, but the hidden ulterior motive behind it is obvious.
"Your talents and ability far surpass those of ordinary men, so I think it would be right not to apply ordinary standards even when promoting you. What do you think?"
...... I'm not taking office to rise in the world.
"I am satisfied with serving the ancestral temples and altars of state, and caring for the people."