He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Grassroots Market Economy (3)

After a week of preparation, today a market finally opened in Jinhae County.

According to original history, it would take about 50 years from now for markets where common people exchange goods with each other to emerge, breaking through persecution from the Joseon Government (government office).

But thanks to mobilizing all the power of the magistrate, I was able to create a proper regional market a full 50 years ahead of schedule.

This alone makes my chest swell with pride and puts strength in my shoulders… but it’s still too early to let my guard down.

Since it’s the first day the market opened, all sorts of incidents and accidents are bound to happen.

“Magistrate, people are gathering like clouds outside the marketplace right now.”

“This Magistrate saw it on the way here too. I received a report that there are 40 merchants who opened shops and over 500 people who set up market stalls. Seeing it in person, it’s truly enormous.”

Just looking at the number of people gathered to do business, it’s enough to surpass famous markets like Gyeongdong Market or Hwagae Market.

If you add the number of people coming to buy goods, easily over several thousand people will gather.

Even if the county held a feast and distributed food, this many people wouldn’t gather.

Clerk Kim made a worried expression after hearing my words.

“Once rumors spread that people are flocking to Jinhae Market, even more crowds will gather in the future. I’m very worried, Magistrate.”

“Where many people gather, unsavory groups are bound to appear as well. We must pay special attention.”

Looking at documents related to markets in the Joseon period, there are many petitions warning that if you allow people to do business in markets, bands of thieves will emerge.

There were actually cases where real bandits disguised themselves and sold goods among those doing business at markets.

However, among bandits, only a very small number would be able to do business in a place where the government office was watching with wide-open eyes.

In fact, the really scary ones are the troublemakers of the Joseon period.

Troublemakers who come to restaurants that don’t sell alcohol and make a fuss demanding alcohol, guys who whine for credit because they used to be successful back in the day – all sorts of crazy people will be overflowing.

Pickpockets, assault, robbery, guys who get drunk and harass women, and so on…

“For the time being, except for those handling lawsuits at the government office, everyone must be mobilized to monitor the market.”

“Yes, Magistrate.”

In Joseon, it’s illegal for a magistrate to arbitrarily open a marketplace.

However, Joseon is a country where ‘the crime of being presumptuous’ plays a bigger role in punishment than principles.

In other words, even if I break the law a little, as long as it helps the people’s lives… King Sejong and Lee Bang-won will let it slide.

Those two are harsh on their subjects, but they truly cherished the Common People to an obsessive degree. They might even actively order me to establish markets.

But what if I open markets and crimes run rampant everywhere?

Not only would I have broken the law, but this Magistrate would also be guilty of the insolent crime of encouraging lowly commerce.

They could easily exile me to Samsu Gapsan and let me rot there for 5 years.

“… Strike the gong.”

Before long, the sound of the gong rang out.

At the same time, loud voices erupted from all around, loud enough to be heard even inside the office I’m temporarily using.

“Wood! Firewood! Straw shoes! All at cheap prices!”

“Twenty herring for four hop of rice! Four hop of rice! Barley or beans work too, cotton cloth is fine as well!”

“Buy dried persimmons, dried persimmons! Delicious dried persimmons, one doe for two and a half doe of rice! Two and a half doe!”

It’s so noisy and bustling that you can’t tell if this is a market or a battlefield.

It’s the first day, so that might be part of it, but everyone’s voices are full of energy.

If it weren’t for the fact that today is the first day the market opens and I need to manage order, I’d want to go outside and look around myself.

“The Common People seem to absolutely love the market that the Magistrate created. However, with so many people gathering like this, maintaining order will be very difficult.”

“Since your work has increased, This Magistrate will make sure to take care of you appropriately.”

If I had my way, I’d want to completely cut off corruption.

I’d like to fire everyone who takes bribes and throw them all in prison…

But realistically, that’s impossible.

Just like how it’s impossible to discipline smokers at companies and workplaces for stealing an hour of work time each day to smoke cigarettes.

So I have to compromise within realistic limits.

Make the Common People’s lives better than before, and even if I can’t completely eliminate corruption, I can reduce it.

“As Ibang knows, 10% of the payment for all goods sold in the market is collected as tax.”

“That’s what I understand, Magistrate.”

“I’ll distribute 10% of the money collected as taxes, that is, 1 pun of the revenue, to you clerks, soldiers, and servants. You deserve that much compensation for your efforts.”

It’s difficult to predict how much will be sold at Jinhae Market right now. However, there’s one thing I can tell just from the sounds coming from outside.

Business is going to be incredibly good. Therefore, 1% of that would definitely not be a small amount of money.

“…If there are no clerks or soldiers who engage in corruption or graft in the operation of the marketplace, I’ll double this. Then I think Ibang alone would receive about 20 seom of rice annually. And if the market grows even larger… even 50 seom wouldn’t be a dream.”

High-ranking clerks like Ibang and the Tax Clerk are wealthy people with annual salaries of 200 seom of rice.

Even for such people, one seom of rice is definitely not a small amount of money. But 50 seom of white rice? That would be an irresistible temptation.

Saliva dripped from Ibang’s mouth.

“Keep a good watch. This Magistrate wants to look after your circumstances well, but if unfortunate incidents occur, there’s nothing I can do.”

“How could there be any question, Magistrate.”

As soon as I finished speaking, people were dragged in one after another to the courtyard of the office I had temporarily set up.

Seeing the men’s faces covered in bruises, they were definitely bastards who got caught doing bad things at the market.

Looking at marketplace-related records in the Seongjong Sillok, there were petitions saying that bandit gangs were overflowing…

Bastards who cause trouble like this are the real bandits, what other bandits are there.

“What is your crime, you bastard?”

The criminal being interrogated by me shook his head, claiming innocence. Then he burst into tears.

“Oh my, Magistrate. Please spare me just this once. I was ignorant and didn’t know that to set up a market stall and do business, I had to register with the Government Office first, so I did business without knowing.”

“Is that really so?”

At my words, the Posol who brought him shook his head.

“So when we told him to stop doing business, he resisted, asking why he needed to register to do business and even pay taxes on top of that. So we dragged him here. How outrageous to refuse to pay taxes.”

He was told to pay taxes but refused? By Joseon period standards, no, even by 21st century Korean standards, this is outrageous behavior.

Moreover, now is the important starting phase of establishing the market’s foundation. To show leniency that goes against principles at this point?

Bastards who look down on the Government Office and try to pull tricks at the marketplace will definitely appear 100%.

So I should execute punishment according to principles, but consider whether to apply additional charges for insolence or not.

“Did you truly not know about this?”

“Yes, Magistrate. I only had thoughts of selling the wood and wild vegetables I gathered from the mountains to put food in the mouths of my rabbit-like children. Please have mercy on me just this once.”

“I understand that you did not intend to insult This Magistrate.”

As soon as he heard the word “insult,” the face of the man who had been dragged in crumpled. People of the Joseon era may not have learned much, but they were very quick to read situations.

Especially if you were a common person, reading the moods of the nobility was beyond level 100—you could say it was level 1,000.

So he must have realized that my use of the word “insult” meant I had no intention of showing leniency.

“Normally, for knowingly breaking the Government Office’s laws and resisting, and for the crime of trying to conduct business without paying market taxes, you should receive 30 strokes of the beating stick. However, since your circumstances are pitiful, This Magistrate will show special mercy and have you beaten only 10 strokes before releasing you. Take him away.”

Though less painful than the beating stick, the birch rod punishment still involved an adult man putting full force into striking the buttocks with a birch rod. About 10 strokes would leave severe bruising.

But what could I do? Even if his circumstances were pitiful, he had resisted after being taught the law, so he had to be beaten.

Next, a man of considerable build was dragged in.

“Magistrate, this bastard took rice cake from a market stall without permission and threatened the woman vendor who scolded him by raising his fist.”

Yes, I knew this type would appear. During today’s market, plenty of these bastards would show up.

Wherever business thrived and many people gathered, there were always troublemakers.

“Are all the crimes you committed true?”

“No, Magistrate… I just picked up one rice cake to taste it since I knew the woman vendor who was doing business. But that woman vendor scolded me too much, so I got angry…”

“If you swing your fist, that woman vendor could die! How is what you’re doing any different from a farter getting angry! Take this bastard away immediately and give him 10 strokes of the beating stick!”

This is why it’s good that the Gyeongguk Daejeon hasn’t been created yet in early Joseon.

It means the Magistrate can immediately order beatings for criminals—or more precisely, those who commit serious crimes.

Like this, I continuously dealt with the shadows that arose from opening the market.

Endlessly punishing people wasn’t easy work, but…

When I saw the Tax Clerk in charge of collecting market taxes running over with a bright face, I felt the accumulated fatigue instantly disappear.

“Magistrate! From the market you opened today, we collected taxes worth a full 150 seom of white rice in just one day!”

150 seom just in taxes. That meant daily sales reached 1,500 seom.

Even considering that today produced high numbers because it was the first day.

From now on, we’ll be able to collect at least thousands of seom of rice in taxes annually just from this alone.

Furthermore, the indirect economic effects will be tremendously significant as well.

“Tell me in more detail about how the market was operated, Tax Clerk.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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