He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 123

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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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Breaking the Cartel (8)

After finishing their meeting with Kim Dae-bung, the wealthy merchants immediately rushed to the Uigeumbu to confess their crimes.

They were driven by fear that if they delayed even slightly, they would be charged with insolence and their heads would roll immediately.

Their realization and repentance of their sins was not because someone (Kim Dae-bung) ordered them to do so, but rather due to the cry of conscience that every human being possesses.

It wasn’t because they feared Kim Dae-bung would take up his axe and submit a petition if they didn’t confess now.

The next day, the ministers gathered in Pyeonjeon Hall and King Sejong began discussing how to deal with them, treating it as such.

“There is a saying that in life, good things only come occasionally, but bad things rush in all at once like a flood… How can such a terrible incident occur again so soon after the great fire in Hanyang?”

King Sejong’s heart burned with anguish.

Since his ascension to the throne, Joseon had continued to develop at a speed that no one could have dared to imagine.

The Royal Court’s budget had increased several-fold in just a few years, and the petitions that used to pour in from across the nation like annual events during the early years of his reign, begging for relief grain as people were starving to death, no longer came.

And if workshops were built throughout Joseon as Kim Dae-bung had mentioned recently, and various newly developed farming tools were mass-produced and distributed at low prices?

The amount of rice that could be harvested each year would increase further, making the Royal Court’s budget even more abundant and the people’s lives even more prosperous.

Then commerce would also flourish even more, creating a virtuous cycle that would make Joseon even wealthier.

Living with expectations of only such good things, he was properly shocked to learn of the ‘evil nature of merchants’ this time… His vision went dark and a throbbing headache came over him.

“The wealthy merchants of Hanyang Market scraped together all their wealth to buy up all the newly developed land near ferry crossings including Yongsan and Gwangjin, trying to make Joseon’s commerce entirely their own. Isn’t this the kind of atrocity that only Goryeo’s powerful aristocratic families would have committed?”

“I too cannot suppress my devastated feelings.”

“Yes. Indeed, only the Chief State Councilor truly understands my heart.”

The other ministers also chimed in agreement with Hwang Hee’s words.

“I only thought of the good aspects of commercial development reducing those who go hungry, but failed to consider its side effects. Please forgive this subject’s foolishness.”

“Thinking that we nearly followed in the footsteps of Former Goryeo, I am truly devastated as if my heart is burning.”

At this moment, Hwang Hee used a minister’s ultimate technique with 90% pretense and 10% sincerity.

That was to request resignation from Sajik Shrine.

“Your Majesty, I, Chief State Councilor Hwang Hee, humbly report.”

“Speak.”

Hwang Hee bowed so deeply that his head nearly touched the floor, then took a deep breath.

Then he spoke with a pleading tone, filled with apologetic emotions.

“As Chief State Councilor, I bear the heavy responsibility of overseeing all policies of the Royal Court and predicting and preparing for how Joseon will change accordingly. Despite this, I failed to notice in advance that those so-called wealthy merchants of Hanyang were plotting such vicious schemes. My sin is truly great. Furthermore, I failed to even notice that Kim Jang-seok, a rice shop owner in Hanyang, had deliberately hoarded all rice coming through Incheon to raise rice prices. When I think of my incompetence, I am truly filled with despair.”

“How can all of that be the Chief Minister’s fault? This is also my mistake.”

“No, Your Majesty. There are military laws that decree beheading soldiers who fail in their watch duty from the watchtower, showing how important vigilance against danger is… My sin is truly great for failing to properly fulfill this duty.”

By 21st-century standards, Hwang Hee received so many bribes that he could be described as someone who would even sell out his country.

Hwang Hee’s granary received ‘holiday gifts’ worth ten thousand seom of white rice annually, and the income from other favors was several times that amount, making it truly an enormous scale.

Kim Dae-bung estimated Hwang Hee’s perceived income value at a minimum of hundreds of billions to a maximum of about one trillion.

However, while Hwang Hee loved bribes, he was a minister who loved his country even more and genuinely felt responsible for this incident.

“Please dismiss an incompetent minister like myself, and promote more capable people like State Council Secretary Kim Dae-bung to strengthen the Royal Ancestral Shrine and State.”

Hwang Hee had long ago accumulated wealth beyond what he needed to live comfortably for life, enough to feed even his great-great-grandchildren.

Moreover, having risen to Chief State Councilor in government office, there was nowhere higher to go.

Therefore, even if he were to resign, he wouldn’t have much regret, but…

“The Chief State Councilor need not feel guilty, but if you truly believe you have committed a sin, then continue to assist this inadequate king from beside me.”

“Your grace is boundless.”

“Chief State Councilor Hwang Hee shall devote himself to Joseon and achieve merit until the day he dies.”

In Joseon, “devote yourself until death” was a kind of formulaic expression.

It was merely decorative language, like politicians saying they are “friends of the common people” or “politicians who best understand the poor.”

Therefore, Hwang Hee didn’t think much of those words, but…

Hwang Hee didn’t know.

He didn’t know that King Sejong would continue to reject his resignation letters with all sorts of reasons.

However, his instincts, honed from surviving a long career in government service, sent Hwang Hee a warning.

‘You’re Chief State Councilor for life.’

Recognizing his instinct’s warning, Hwang Hee trembled for a moment.

King Sejong looked at Hwang Hee with a profound gaze and smiled.

“They’re asking for the Market Guild system to be dismantled. What are your thoughts, Minister of Finance?”

“The Market Guild system is already outdated for our current era. It should naturally be abolished.”

“Why do you think so?”

“When King Taejo bound the Market Guild merchants together for management, it was because Hanyang had no proper markets at that time. So in exchange for giving them the right to do business in Hanyang, he made them pay taxes in the form of goods needed by the state. Therefore, even if their internal structure became somewhat corrupt, they couldn’t cause great harm to the nation. But now the situation is completely different.”

King Sejong frowned.

This time they had merely raised Hanyang’s rice prices several times over to reap enormous profits, but if those bastards grew larger and expanded their influence later…

They would manipulate rice prices not only in Hanyang but nationwide according to their whims.

This meant they would control Joseon’s lifeline.

“Separate from encouraging them to trade freely, we must create a new subordinate office under the Ministry of Taxation to monitor those engaged in commerce. We should discipline and prohibit actions harmful to the nation, while encouraging and spreading actions beneficial to the nation.”

“… The Market Administration Office’s workload will increase greatly.”

“Since we must manage every county nationwide, our current staff is naturally insufficient. We should create an entirely new subordinate office and recruit new officials to handle the management.”

“Have the Ministry of Taxation draft a proposal for this, and let the State Council deliberate on it.”

Minister of Finance Min Gye-saeng thought to himself.

He would literally just draft a rough outline and then dump it all on Kim Dae-bung.

After all, having lived his entire life as a civil official, he was completely ignorant about commerce, so wouldn’t it be a hundred times better for the nation and people to entrust it to someone knowledgeable?

This was absolutely not revenge for how Kim Dae-bung had increased their workload so insanely that Ministry of Taxation officials regularly went without lunch after working until late morning.

It was all for the nation and the people.

“Your subject, Minister of Justice Seo Seon, reports. According to what I heard while interrogating Master Kim Jang-seok of the rice shop, when Kim Do-ryeon filed his lawsuit regarding slave matters, there were plenty who received bribes. I thought it could be ignored since it came from a traitor’s words, but Kim Do-ryeon gained over a thousand slaves from that lawsuit… He must have certainly offered bribes in many places to win.”

Jo Mal-saeng’s pupils began shaking wildly as he listened to Seo Seon’s words.

The number of slaves he had received from Kim Do-ryeon alone reached thirty-six.

Converted to white rice, that was roughly 720 seom. Though it was just a portion of the bribe income that came to him as Right State Councilor…

The problem was that if it came to light that he had received bribes worth 720 seom of white rice to favor Kim Do-ryeon in the ‘slave trial’ when he was Minister of Justice, he never knew when an iron mace might strike his head.

Originally, under Joseon criminal law, Kim Do-ryeon’s lawsuit was bound to end in Kim Do-ryeon’s victory.

So he had merely received a service fee since Kim Do-ryeon was going to win anyway, but…

‘If this gets discovered, I’m dead.’

“Please command that this case be reinvestigated.”

“Do so. And I will render judgment.”

At King Sejong’s declaration, all the ministers of the Royal Court quietly waited for his judgment.

“Rice Shop owner Kim Jang-seok attempted to manipulate the rice prices in Hanyang to gain enormous profits. This is no different from gambling with the lives of Hanyang Citizens, and can be considered a crime tantamount to treason. Therefore, Kim Jang-seok himself shall be sentenced to death by dismemberment. Also, his wives and children shall all be made into public slaves, and all his property shall be confiscated.”

There was no one to take Kim Jang-seok’s side.

No, even if Ryu Jeong-hyeon, who was possessed by Goryeo’s ghost, had been alive, he would have been furious saying that bastard must be killed.

Playing around with rice was something absolutely not permitted in Confucianism.

“The Sijeon Merchants also disrupted Hanyang’s order through all kinds of collusion, but they repented their sins and surrendered themselves, and even offered to give up half their property. I shall specially forgive them. And the Sijeon Guild shall be disbanded as of today.”

“Your grace is boundless.”

Thus the Sijeon Guild that had controlled Hanyang’s commerce was instantly disbanded.

And when Kim Dae-bung heard the news that the court session had ended, he immediately went to find Jo Mal-saeng and said.

“Right Minister, I know everything.”

Jo Mal-saeng’s pupils began to shake wildly once again.

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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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