Chapter 82
Sejong, who wanted to work Kim Daebung to death, gathered the ministers and convened a court audience.
The ministers had merely heard that an audience was being held; they did not know what it was about, so everyone was intensely curious about the reason.
While everyone was wondering about it, Chief State Councillor Hwang Hui spoke up.
"Minister of War, do you know why His Majesty suddenly summoned us ministers to an audience?"
"I attended without knowing the reason, but do you know, Chief State Councillor?"
"I don't know the exact reason either. But I suspect that, since the Japanese bastards currently undergoing reeducation at Gyeonggi Naval Command are nearly finished, His Majesty has called this sudden audience to spread their navigational methods throughout the navy and teach it how to sail the open sea."
"The navigational skills of the Japanese pirates from Tsushima were truly remarkable. They knew the sea routes extremely well, so they did not fear venturing into the open sea at all."
Not long ago, the Gyeonggi Naval Commander had taken some of the former Japanese pirates on a voyage from Incheon to Chungcheong Province to determine the extent of their navigational skills.
Once aboard, they guided the ship not along the coast but into fairly distant waters and made the voyage smooth. Thanks to them, the Joseon navy learned in concrete terms just how inefficient its coastal sailing methods had been.
"Though they are Japanese pirates, their skills are too valuable to waste by killing them. Rather than grant them official posts, why not arrange marriages for them so they can start families and live as Joseon people?"
"If our sailors become accustomed to sailing the open sea, one of the Ministry of War's major worries will disappear."
The Ministry of Works was responsible for road development, various construction projects, and technical posts, while the Ministry of Revenue was responsible for collecting and managing taxes.
However, in this era, transporting grain by sea was strictly a military affair...
From Minister of War Jo Mal-saeng's perspective, if spreading ocean-going navigation reduced the number of grain ships that sank, it would be an enormous cause for celebration for the Ministry of War.
While the ministers waited for Sejong and speculated endlessly over what matter had prompted the audience, the doors to the king's audience chamber opened.
"His Majesty is entering!"
At Sejong's appearance, the hall, which had been buzzing with noise, fell silent all at once.
"I have summoned you here today to discuss effective ways of instructing the people of Joseon so that they will wash themselves frequently."
Sejong did not mention why people needed to wash.
He believed that none of the ministers in court could be unaware that the soldiers of the Ten Units had been protected from epidemics and various illnesses by washing their bodies frequently and maintaining good hygiene.
As he had guessed, none of the ministers present was unaware of why the people needed to be urged to wash themselves.
Anyone that stupid could never have risen to the rank of chief minister, unless they had used the 'General Won Gyun Hypnosis.'
"Minister of War, what do you think would be the best course of action?"
"I think the most effective method would be to give baksu and mudang small amounts of rice and cotton cloth and have them urge the people to wash themselves frequently."
Sejong furrowed his brow.
If he had suggested using Buddhist monks, who were associated with the supernatural and bizarre, this much resistance would not have arisen.
When Queen Wongyeong fell ill and stood at death's door, Yi Bang-won decided there was no other choice and had the abbot of Hoeamsa conduct Buddhist rites.
By coincidence, the prayers happened to prove effective, and Yi Bang-won made a fairly large donation to Hoeamsa.
But shamans demanded large sums of money from poor people to stage boisterous gut rituals, and unlike Buddhist sutras, their teachings had no scholarly basis that could benefit people after they read them...
That was because Sejong regarded them as nothing more than people who deluded the people and extorted money from them.
"Why did you think of mobilizing such lowly people as baksu and mudang?"
"Because foolish commoners find life so difficult that they have no choice but to rely on such superstitions. Therefore, unless baksu and mudang commit some truly grave evil, the commoners will generally try to protect them. If the court merely suppresses superstitious practices such as those of baksu and mudang under these circumstances, they will gradually hide in darker places and become even more corrupt."
Nothing in Jo Mal-saeng's words went against reason.
As he had said, if they were merely suppressed on the grounds that they were superstitious, they would hide in places beyond the court's sight and become even more corrupt.
The same would be true of Buddhism.
Sejong did not relish what he was hearing, but he agreed with its intent.
"Therefore, rather than suppressing them unconditionally, it would be best to regulate them while strictly guarding against their misleading and deceiving the people into evil ways. Moreover, since the common people rely heavily on superstition, if we preach that they must wash their bodies clean to drive away evil spirits and pray for blessings, they will follow it more readily than any other method."
"Just as monks speak of such supernatural notions as the six realms of reincarnation while urging people to accumulate good deeds and avoid evil ones. You are suggesting that we urge people who believe in superstition to wash their bodies."
"As a Confucian scholar who upholds Confucian learning, I am honestly reluctant to invoke superstition. However, since this is for the sake of the people, please consider it similar to magistrates holding rainmaking rites during droughts and grant your permission."
"I grant my permission. Moreover, every army camp and naval camp shall likewise make its soldiers wash their bodies, while the magistrates of every district shall step forward and sternly urge the people to keep themselves clean. For the next two years, whether they ensure that the people wash properly and reduce the number of deaths from epidemics and other illnesses will be reflected in their performance evaluations."
Except for special cases like Kim Daebung, every official was obsessed with promotion.
That was why a unit would be turned completely upside down whenever its division commander paid a visit to the battalion.
They had to curry favor with the division commander if they wanted to be promoted to battalion commander.
Thus, from the moment Sejong began including 'making the people wash properly' in personnel evaluations, the magistrates of every district would hound the people relentlessly until they actually washed themselves properly.
"Minister of Personnel."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Junior Secretary of the Ministry of War Kim Daebung's achievements are truly enormous. Have you still not reached an agreement on what reward to give him? Why have you not reported it yet?"
"I am sorry, Your Majesty. However, Kim Daebung has increased gunpowder production several times over and saved the soldiers from epidemics by making the Ten Units wash and maintain their cleanliness. His achievements are so great that the Ministry of Personnel, and indeed the State Council as well, can only rack their brains over what the proper reward would be."
Sejong sighed.
"It is only natural for someone who has rendered such great service as Kim Daebung to receive a reward, so how can we allow the matter to drag on like this? Therefore, I shall personally decide what reward to bestow upon him."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Kim Daebung has rendered enormous service to Joseon's development, beginning with the Bang-won Law. Thanks to him, taxes are now three and a half times what they were before, and the poor no longer have to go hungry, so they are singing songs of contentment. In addition, he has greatly increased the gunpowder production needed to punish the wicked Japanese pirates and Jurchens, and he has even devised a way to save the people of Joseon from epidemics."
Hwang Hui and the other subjects felt their heads begin to spin as they listened to Sejong.
Could the achievements of a mere junior official really be that great?
"The Office of Remonstrance and the Censorate still say that his promotion has been too rapid, but I do not agree. Compared to his achievements, even this is an excessively slow promotion. Therefore, I wish to promote Kim Daebung to the junior fourth rank this time and bestow many precious things upon him to commend his service... What do you ministers think?"
It was difficult to refute him when one considered the matter logically.
Thus, Hwang Hui, Jo Mal-saeng, and Maeng Sa-seong nodded to one another in agreement with their eyes, as if saying, 'That sounds about right for Kim Daebung, does it not?' and signaled their agreement, but...
"Your servant, Minister of Rites Heo Jo, has something to say. No one can deny that Kim Daebung's achievements are truly great. However, he himself is reluctant to accept such a steep promotion because he wishes to uphold the court's laws and order. Would promoting him in this manner not disregard Kim Daebung's own wishes? Please consider this carefully for the sake of the court's laws and order, Your Majesty."
"Are you saying that I am mistaken, Minister of Rites?"
"Kim Daebung is only twenty-three years old. He will serve the royal ancestral shrine and state for at least thirty more years, so why are you in such a hurry?"
After hearing Heo Jo's opposition, Sejong smirked inwardly.
This was merely bait—a dummy proposal.
He had proposed promoting Kim Daebung to the junior fourth rank—a promotion Kim Daebung did not want—because he was certain Heo Jo would oppose it.
And, just as expected, it had played out exactly as planned...
That made it much easier to bring out the next proposal he had prepared.
"That is a fair point. Then what do you think of this? Kim Daebung has no principal wife, and the father of his concubine, Kim Gye-wol, has long been a yangban since being granted an official post. Therefore, I intend to specially elevate Kim Daebung's concubine, Kim Gye-wol, to the position of principal wife, and to honor his service, I wish to have the royal household bestow a few wedding gifts upon them. Ministers are to take note of this and make the necessary preparations."
The sudden promotion of Kim Daebung to the junior fourth rank posed a problem of order in the court.
Moreover, there was an unassailable justification for opposing it, since Kim Daebung himself did not want the promotion, so they could object decisively...
But Kim Daebung had no principal wife, only a concubine, and since that concubine's father had become a yangban, there were no particular grounds for opposing her elevation to principal wife.
In other words, unless one was a stickler for ritual propriety like Song Si-yeol, it would be difficult to oppose it.
However, the matter of the royal household giving wedding gifts was unquestionably a violation of established precedent.
The old stickler Heo Jo, who was fussy about principle, was just about to open his mouth and object when—
"I shall dismiss the court. Ministers, take note of this and make the necessary preparations. This is also a special order from His Majesty the Retired King, who, upon seeing the tender bond between Kim Daebung and Kim Gye-wol, was reminded of the days of their youth. Take note of that as well."
This news reached Kim Daebung very quickly.