Chapter 69
Exactly what kind of man Kim Daebung was wasn't exactly a secret in Joseon.
Anyone in Joseon has at least heard the story of Kim Daebung, who once told mace-wielding Yi Bang-won to smash his head in rather than go through with currency reform.
And his other exploits are so famous there is neither a way nor a reason to hide them.
So, under the Tsushima lord's orders, figuring out what kind of man Kim Daebung was wasn't all that difficult.
"My lord, I've gathered some rough information on Kim Daebung."
"Good work, Yanagawa. So what exactly does that Kim Daebung bastard, who is more vicious than an evil spirit or rakshasa, do in Joseon?"
Lord Sō Sadamori of Tsushima was very curious, both officially and personally, about what kind of man Kim Daebung was.
He wanted to know what sort of bastard could toy with the Tsushima lord's throat like that and extort a full thousand nyang of silver in bribes.
Yanagawa swallowed hard once and answered.
"They say he's like Joseon's Zhuge Liang."
"Zhuge Liang? A man who secretly asks to meet me and then threatens to demand a thousand nyang of silver is Zhuge Liang? That man is a greedy, insane corrupt official."
"I understand your anger a hundred, a thousand times over, my lord. But I investigated everyone in this embassy—not only the envoy-in-chief, but also the interpreters, the physicians, and even the sailors at the oars. Yet every single one of them said something similar."
To avoid being rebuked by the Tsushima lord, Yanagawa used every method he could think of to investigate him.
He treated the envoy-in-chief to all kinds of delicacies, and to pry information out of him, even gave him a box of precious black pepper.
For the interpreters, he secretly sent in geisha to entertain them, and even handed over items highly prized in Joseon as bribes.
He was lavish even with the lowly sailors, serving rice, liquor, and grilled fish without stint, and on top of that slipping them bribes to pry information out of them.
The Tsushima lord, knowing that as one of Tsushima's senior retainers he wouldn't have done a sloppy job, let out a deep sigh and said,
"Very well, then. Let's hear it."
"Please don't be shocked when you hear this, my lord."
"No matter what you say, I won't be shocked."
"They say Kim Daebung increased Joseon's tax revenue by nearly two to three times in just one year."
Hearing that, the Tsushima lord sprang to his feet and shouted while pointing at Yanagawa.
"What the hell did you spend all that money on? Think about it—does that even make sense? A young official in Joseon, barely a junior fifth-rank civil servant, raising the entire country's tax revenue several times over in just one year? You might as well say Empress Jingū rose from the dead and conquered Gyeongsang and Jeolla!"
The Tsushima lord, and the daimyo of Wa in general, were masters at squeezing taxes dry.
In the Edo period, when exploiting commoners reached its peak, even this saying appeared.
'The people must not be killed, but neither should they be allowed to live comfortably.'
So the shoguns and daimyo of the Edo period collected just enough tax to keep the people from dying.
It was so brutal that among the farmers, who made up the bulk of the Edo period's population, there was even a practice called mabiki, in which parents killed their own children to reduce the burden of feeding them.
Even the Tsushima lord, who is obsessed with taxes to that extent, would have to rack his brains over and over just to raise taxes by a single percent—so does it make any sense that a green young Joseon official raised taxes several times over in just one year?
"I couldn't believe it either, but not only the envoy-in-chief who came over from Joseon, even the interpreters all said the same thing."
"They did?"
"If they were in cahoots and lying, there should have been obvious holes in what they said. But there wasn't a single inconsistency."
A chill ran through the Tsushima lord from head to toe.
Because he was once again realizing just how terrifying the bastard who had blackmailed him really was.
If a man could succeed in doubling or tripling Joseon's taxes in a single year, wouldn't he quickly find a way to reduce Tsushima to ruins with just a few words?
"That isn't all. Even though Joseon's taxes increased that much, the people are said to be delighted, shouting 'Long live the King.'"
"......"
The Tsushima lord was so dumbfounded he nearly lost his wits while still sitting there.
Does it even make sense for the people to be happy after taxes are doubled?
When he heard of a situation he simply couldn't understand, fear took hold of him.
"There are all sorts of other stories too. He supposedly opposed the king's policies and said that if they wouldn't listen to his opinion, they should chop off his head with an axe... and he allegedly submitted a memorial saying he didn't like Joseon's Prime Minister and got him branded a traitor... the more I dug, the more I wondered whether he was even human like me."
When people hear "samurai," they picture a cool warrior ready to commit seppuku for his lord at any time.
But the samurai of this era are the kind who, if their lord really looks like he's about to fall, are busy running away rather than dying.
Seppuku and all that are just 'cool anecdotes'; there isn't a single man who would risk death just to offer honest advice.
In Wa, Kim Daebung is the kind of retainer you'd never see or hear of in your whole life.
Not only is he truly gifted, but he is also someone who would brave death for Joseon.
If he's on our side, he'd be more reassuring than anyone; if he became our enemy, he'd be like an evil demon and a rakshasa.
"Did you learn anything else?"
"Everyone said Kim Daebung was an incorruptible, upright official who wouldn't take even a single coin in bribes."
"And yet this so-called incorruptible man took a full thousand nyang of silver from me..."
The Tsushima lord ground his teeth.
But that was all he did; he couldn't bring himself to think of opposing Kim Daebung.
Because this thought kept circling in his head.
'His Majesty has the power to turn the most insignificant man in Tsushima into the lord of Tsushima overnight.'
"According to strategy, if you have an enemy you can't defeat beyond a thousand li, you should sue for peace. Joseon is no longer the easy opponent it used to be... I suppose I should bow my head."
After saying that, the Tsushima lord looked at Yanagawa in front of him.
Though he was the highest-ranking retainer in his own domain, even that man could no longer be trusted blindly.
If that wicked, petty King of Joseon handed trade rights with Joseon over to him, the Tsushima samurai would wipe out the Sō clan, himself included, and raise Yanagawa to the lord's seat.
For their own profit.
"Then we should bow to Joseon before any other daimyo does."
If you're going to be hit, it's better to take it sooner, and if you're going to bow your head, it's better to do it faster and more diligently than anyone else.
That way, a little more of the crumbs will fall our way.
"From now on, Joseon will revolve around that bastard Kim Daebung. So use whatever means you can to find a way to get close to him."
"Yes, my lord."
**
The Tsushima lord Sō Sadamori is acting strangely.
I can't help thinking this man must have taken a whole bowlful of the wrong medicine or something.
"I hear, Vice Envoy, that you placed first in Joseon's civil service exam."
"Yes, that's correct."
"Joseon's scholars study from childhood, staying close to the teachings of the sages. Among them, the especially outstanding ones pass the civil service exam and become officials, don't they? So you, who took first place, must naturally be good at writing too."
"I'm not particularly good at writing."
This is no empty humility.
I'm not bad, but I absolutely can't say my calligraphy is outstanding.
"Could you write just one character for me, at least?"
"Yes, certainly."
The Tsushima lord was someone who outranked me on paper and, at the same time, played a crucial role in diplomacy with Wa.
So unless it was absolutely necessary, it was best not to provoke him.
I wrote the phrase '君君臣臣父父子子' in Chinese characters.
I meant it as a wish that he'd know his place and keep his head bowed to Joseon.
The Tsushima lord took it, grinned, and started bragging in front of his subordinates.
"I may not be especially learned, but I know at least this much: a person's handwriting reveals his character. These eight characters contain the Vice Envoy's loyalty to his king, sincerity, and concern for the people... it's a treasure that couldn't be bought even with gold and silver."
What the hell? Why is that bastard suddenly going overboard? Is he sick or something?
"Since I've received something this precious, I naturally must give a return gift."
The Tsushima lord even handed over five bolts of heukdan, one of Northeast Asia's finest silks.
Since this was handed over in front of everyone as the price for the Tsushima lord taking my writing, it was basically a legal bribe.
"Four years ago, in my foolishness, I wrote in a letter to the king that if Joseon bestowed even more favor upon us, our Tsushima would come under Joseon's banner... But now we too want to learn Joseon's lofty scholarship and culture, cast off barbarism, and live like civilized men. I know it's a presumptuous request, but I would like you, Vice Envoy, to ask His Majesty of Joseon to send us a teacher who can instruct me and the samurai of Tsushima."
What the Tsushima lord just said wasn't simply that he wanted to study.
At the same time he was openly flattering me, he was declaring that they would even pretend to die if Joseon told them to.
If King Sejong hears this news, he'll be grinning from ear to ear.
He'll boast that Joseon has civilized the Japanese bastards.
"I'll do my best to request it."
There's no need to send some especially good teacher to the Japanese bastard, so I should send Jeong Chang-son over here instead—the sort of man who seems thoroughly soaked in Sarim old-fogeyism.
Then Confucian old-fogey thinking will spread widely among the Japanese bastards and slow their development.