He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 100

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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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Transportation Reform (7)

First-rate merchants lead trends, while second-rate merchants quickly follow behind them.

Third-rate merchants end up embracing the burden that second-rate ones dump on them after taking key money and leaving, then fall into ruin.

And now, second-rate merchants are lining up to visit Jeonhamsa.

“Oh, Inspector My Lord! Please sell us a Chinese Treasure Ship. If we just had one Chinese Treasure Ship, it feels like this harsh fate could completely turn around. Couldn’t you make it work somehow?”

“Kim Sipjwa, don’t you know that even cold water has its hierarchy? I, as Ojwa, should buy first, and then you can buy after!”

“Ojwa sir, while there is indeed hierarchy among merchants… this has nothing to do with rank, doesn’t it?”

When I appeared, I was immediately faced with countless suckers, no wait, esteemed customers.

This is something else – we just built ships at the shipyard, yet money is practically duplicating itself.

Just looking at this scene makes me so pleased that a smile naturally forms on my lips.

“I can’t even estimate how much money we can make from these guys.”

As I was keeping a slight distance and observing these clumsy second-rate merchants reeking of lewd scents, no, money scents, I heard Jang Yeong-sil greeting me from behind.

“Inspector My Lord, how are you?”

“Oh, yes. Did you rest well yesterday too, Jang Byeoljwa?”

“Yes, even amid the busy schedule, I was able to rest well thanks to My Lord guaranteeing regular departure times.”

“Regular departure times aren’t something I guarantee. That’s all His Majesty’s grace. He ordered regular departures unless the nation faces disaster, and if this isn’t followed, he severely reprimands the ministers.”

According to rumors, there’s an absurd reason why King Sejong can’t stand seeing officials work overtime.

When departure time comes each day, he gets caught by the hunting demon king Retired King who appears with hearty laughter, and has to do unwanted exercises like Mountain Climbing, archery, and Horsemanship…

But his subjects remain in the offices doing things he likes such as overtime work and reading, so he couldn’t just watch that with open eyes, and banned overtime work using filial piety as the reason.

So the subjects were allowed to have lives with evenings…

While the motive is funny, anyway both King Sejong became healthier and the subjects escaped from overwork Hell, so good things are good things.

However, for King Sejong’s honor, I plan not to tell this rumor to Jang Yeong-sil.

“Also, thanks to My Lord, our household finances that were poor have greatly improved. Unlike other officials, I had no one giving me Gifts, so I barely lived on just my Salary. Thanks to My Lord giving us some of the White Rice that came into Jeonhamsa, yesterday I was able to feed my wife and children chicken to their heart’s content for the first time in ages.”

“Didn’t I tell you to feed them Beef?”

“Since I don’t know how long my Jeonhamsa assignment will last, money should be saved when it can be saved so I can buy even a little land, and only then will circumstances improve a bit more, won’t they?”

“Right now, Jang Byeoljwa and Judge Jeong (Jeong Bun) are the core of this great undertaking to build double-track ships, but I overlooked that I should be taking better care of them. Next month I’ll provide about 100 seom of white rice for you to use as you see fit, and make sure to feed them beef at least once.”

In 21st century Korea, doing something like this would get you arrested immediately for embezzlement.

However, in Joseon Period government offices, ‘every man for himself’ is the principle.

Military camps corresponding to the army, naval bases corresponding to the navy, and of course all places except central government offices basically procure their own funding through their own methods.

Because of this, at Jeonhamsa too, aside from money given by the central government, if we earn money through other legitimate methods, no one complains if I freely use part of it.

So I use half the income from selling double-track ships for bonuses and various budget expenses, and send the rest to the Ministry of Taxation.

I personally made a fortune selling double-track ships, so I’m not taking anything extra for myself.

My father-in-law invested 15,000 seom worth of white rice to sell double-track ships and trade, earning income worth 40,000 seom.

I also invested my entire fortune and earned income worth 10,000 seom of white rice.

Even with all this, if I take more, the Office of Inspector General and Office of Censors won’t just sit still.

Minister Heo Jo would appear with fire in his eyes and tirelessly submit petitions saying Kim Dae-bung has gone too far, until he manages to send me into exile.

Then King Sejong would tearfully exile me somewhere in Gyeonggi Province, then grant special royal grace to pardon me after just one month, call me back, and whisper in my ear.

‘You are now Hwang Hee. Act like Hwang Hee.’

“If you don’t buy beef next month to eat with your family, I’ll personally come to your house carrying loads of beef. If you don’t want to eat beef grilled by your superior personally, you must buy and eat it yourself.”

“I will keep that in mind, My Lord.”

“Jang Byeoljwa, go attend to your work quickly. And when you see Judge Jeong, tell him that even if he wants to expand the shipyard, he should hold back for now.”

Jeong Bun, who has a particular obsession with civil engineering, often clamors that we need to expand the Jeonhamsa shipyard.

‘My Lord, since there’s tremendous demand for double-track ships in the country right now, we should take this opportunity to build facilities that can construct 60 ships at once!’

‘Inspector My Lord, with the technical skills we’ve accumulated, I’ll make it very cleanly for you to see!’

But if we try to expand further here, the Minister of Public Works will call me in to personally give me a thrashing.

Jang Yeong-sil left me and went toward where the craftsmen were.

Then I too should do my job as the person in charge of Jeonhamsa. Namely, the work of handing over ships.

“Bring those merchants one by one. Bring them in order of importance.”

Calling in merchants and making contracts to sell ships at prices slightly higher than market value – that’s my job as the head of the Warship Construction Office.

It might seem like too trivial a task for someone of the 4th rank to handle…

But there’s a reason why I’m doing this myself.

“I am Kim Jeonsang, serving as steward for the Chief Minister’s household.”

“I see, what brings you here?”

“I’ve come to see if I could reserve about 5 ships. I’ll pay generously, so I hope you could provide them as quickly as possible.”

“The fastest I can deliver is one ship in a month. To deliver all 5 ships, you’d have to wait at least 2 months even at the earliest. Since this is rush delivery, normally it would cost 3,500 seom of white rice, but given the relationship between the Chief Minister and myself, how could I charge full price? I’ll specially provide them for 2,800 seom.”

High-ranking officials like the Three State Councilors – the Chief State Councilor, Left State Councilor, and Right State Councilor – as well as the Six Ministry Ministers including Jo Mal-saeng, and even some members of the royal family come to buy ships.

They don’t buy ships to operate them directly and make huge profits.

They want to sell them at a markup to Sijeon Merchants who have deep connections with them.

That’s why I told him the original price was 3,500 seom, but I’d provide them for 2,800 seom.

Meaning it’s fine to pocket about 700 seom of white rice.

“Thank you, Inspector. I’ll bring the payment to the Warship Construction Office the day after tomorrow.”

Hwang Hee’s steward handed me a small silk pouch filled with silver and withdrew.

As expected of someone at the level of Chief State Councilor, he easily hands over silver as a bribe – silver that’s barely traded even through smuggling.

‘So this is what it takes to become a lifelong slave.’

I must not accept bribes like Hwang Hee does.

As the top official of the Warship Bureau, I dealt with a very diverse range of people requesting ships.

People sent by high-ranking officials, employees sent by merchants, and so on…

Dealing with them, I made enormous profits.

I distributed all that money appropriately according to the ranks of those working at the Warship Construction Office, using my authority.

**

The development of commerce immediately leads to excessive workload for the Ministry of Taxation.

Therefore, an enormous amount of work poured down like a waterfall upon Minister of Finance Jo Gye-saeng.

However, instead of irritation and anger, a smile was forming on his face.

“This is driving me crazy, absolutely crazy. Work is pouring in like mad, yet I can’t help but smile.”

Unlike Jo Mal-saeng, Jo Gye-saeng is an upright and incorruptible minister who has never been involved in bribery scandals throughout his official career.

Being upright and incorruptible in Joseon means that even in situations where ‘it would be fine to take advantage,’ one only took what was appropriate for the national interest…

To exercise such self-restraint, one must have patriotism for the country.

Only when patriotism is stronger than greed can one remain a virtuous minister.

If patriotism and greed are at similar levels, one is likely to end up like Jo Mal-saeng or Hwang Hee.

Jo Gye-saeng, whose love for the country is greater than his desire to pursue personal gain, finds that even though the workload is piling up insanely due to overlapping ‘good things for the nation,’ making it difficult…

‘All of this is good work.’

“The Uiju Magistrate reported that rice prices have dropped by 30% compared to last year. Most counties in Pyeongan Province and Hamgyeong Province have reported that they don’t need the Relief Grain the Royal Court sends this year. Thanks to this, the grain the Ministry of Taxation had gathered to send as Relief Grain has lost its purpose.”

The Ministry of Taxation had planned to send nearly 30,000 to 40,000 seom of grain as Relief Grain to Pyeongan Province and Hamgyeong Province this year as well.

Those regions were always in a state of chronic food shortage, so the Royal Court had to budget and provide constant support.

However, this year is an exception.

Therefore, the Ministry of Taxation now has a surplus of 30,000 to 40,000 seom of White Rice.

“And according to the Official Reports sent by officials overseeing markets, as commerce becomes active in all counties nationwide, the taxes collected from Merchants will increase fourfold…”

Joseon’s main taxes are naturally land taxes from land and things like Bangwon Rice collected through the Bangwon Method.

However, the taxes collected from Merchants were also no small amount.

Roughly speaking, by collecting just about 10% of the money they earned, they could collect nearly 30,000 to 40,000 seom annually.

Four times that amount would be at least 120,000 to 160,000 seom.

“Kim Dae-bung, that fellow has done it.”

And this is just the beginning.

“I should install more shipyards with structures similar to the Warship Construction Office at the left and right Naval Commands of Jeolla.”

The shipyard construction would naturally be handled by Jeong Bun, the civil engineering specialist and 5th-rank magistrate of the Warship Construction Office.

“The Ministry of Taxation I knew always only thought about how to fill the lacking budget and how to reduce expenditures… but now even that has become a thing of the past.”

He chuckled and carefully wrote down in the official report roughly which direction things should be handled.

Then he took the work he hadn’t finished yet and went directly to find Kim Man-deok.

This was because he handled commercial-related work best in the Ministry of Taxation.

8th-rank Kim Man-deok, unlike Kim Dae-bung, stiffened his entire body at the Minister of Finance’s visit.

Jo Gye-saeng looked at him with a pleased smile.

“Kim Bongsa, please don’t leave the Ministry of Taxation like your son-in-law did. Let’s continue working together at the Ministry of Taxation from now on. If you just follow me well, you’ll soon be able to become a deputy director.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

Jo Gye-saeng smiled broadly as he handed over a pile of work to Kim Man-deok.

“Since I favor you so much, I’ve brought very important work. Make sure to finish it all within today’s working hours.”

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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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