He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 125

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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 (10)

Hwang Hee holds not only the position of Chief State Councilor but also serves as Governor of Hanseong, the mayor of Hanyang, Joseon’s capital.

So while Hanyang’s development continues, he naturally has the duty to go on inspections, frequently checking and pointing out areas for improvement.

“Scribe Kim, it’s good to be young like you. Your knees won’t hurt even when walking around on two legs.”

If Hwang Hee were walking alongside me right now, I would have agreed with his words.

It’s natural for elderly people to have back pain and aching knees with every step they take.

But right now, Hwang Hee is using the privileges of a high-ranking official.

So he’s riding in a Palanquin, specifically a Choheon which is said to have the best ride quality.

While I’m traveling on horseback.

“Still, riding a horse is much more comfortable.”

“Ah, I see. Then hurry up and become a high-ranking official. Once you reach that position, you can ride in a Palanquin and no one will say anything about it.”

Hwang Hee, with a bit of exaggeration, recommends that I become a high-ranking official about once every three days.

Like someone with blue tattoos all over their body saying “You should become a high-ranking official!”

I have no intention of rising quickly.

Kim Jong-seo, who passed the civil service exam 20 years before me, is still only 5th rank, yet here I am already at 4th rank despite being the top scorer.

This is absolutely insane.

But if I get promoted to 3rd rank high official? That would completely mess up the seniority system.

“Wouldn’t Inspector Kim also feel uncomfortable inside about someone as young as me being 4th rank?”

“While Jeoljae (Kim Jong-seo) is certainly a talented individual, he can’t compare to you, Scribe Kim. Though he’s quite jealous and stubborn, he wouldn’t dare say anything about your promotion.”

True, after I became their superior, neither Kim Jong-seo nor Hwangbo In made any complaints to me.

I just personally dealt with one Clerical Staff member who brought up Myeonsillye when I entered the State Council.

Originally, Myeonsillye is a common practice in Yangban Society where even Local Clerks and Slaves can join in humiliating a Yangban, and the Yangban shouldn’t show displeasure.

“I’ve been too busy with work, so this is my first time visiting the newly developing Yongsan… I’m really curious about how it has changed.”

“According to the Official Report, it has changed so dramatically that none of its previous appearance remains.”

To put it in Korean terms, it’s like when a ‘new city development’ is confirmed in a place that only had highway toll gates, rest stops, and inns, and apartments, shopping centers, and department stores start being built…

I heard that Yongsan’s Ferry Crossings were expanded to create a Harbor, and countless taverns, shops, and workshops were built, completely transforming it into a different place.

“Hasn’t Scribe Kim been there yet?”

“He leaves work on time to go see his wife…”

“Good grief, that’s also a disease, a disease. The very disease for which there’s no medicine.”

While chatting with Hwang Hee about this and that, we arrived at Yongsan before we knew it.

Previously, it was just a small ferry crossing where only a few boats would pass by, but now all traces of those days had completely disappeared.

At the site that used to be Ferry Crossings, dozens of Han ships (small boats for operating on the Han River) were moored, and I could see over a hundred boats passing through the river by rough estimate.

Various fruits, Handicrafts, Luxury Goods, meat, Dried Seafood and such were being unloaded in droves, and it was bustling with all sorts of people.

It’s a sight that makes one’s heart swell with grandeur just by looking at it.

Hwang Hee, who was watching this, muttered in a surprised voice.

“They say people gather where money is to be made, but who would have thought that Yongsan, which was utterly quiet, would change this much.”

“In the future, it will be bustling with even more people, Chief Minister.”

“Looking at this scene makes me think again how truly detestable those merchant bastards are. If they had controlled all this logistics, Joseon really would have fallen into their hands and then some.”

“But since that didn’t happen, isn’t that enough?”

Hwang Hee smiled wryly upon hearing my words.

“That’s true. We caught wind of their evil schemes in advance and made them donate their wealth. Not only did we prevent Yongsan from falling into their hands, but we were also able to feed the soldiers suffering in the Northern Region well with the donated money. In a way, it worked out well.”

While we were having our conversation, the Noryangjin harbor master hurriedly approached us.

Since the Chief State Councilor, who ranks higher than a 4-star general, had come, what could a mere 9th-grade harbor master do?

Since it’s a place where people frequently come and go, even if he couldn’t do things like mixing toothpaste, he had to press sharp creases into the Cheollik (Military Uniform) he was wearing and make his soldiers wash their clothes to shine as brightly as possible.

“I am Kim Hang-gu, harbor master of Yongsan-jin. It is truly an honor for the Chief Minister to come here.”

“Yes, you seem to be doing your job quite well… Let me hear about the current situation at Yongsan-jin.”

“Yes, sir.”

A harbor master of Yongsan-jin would be someone from a military background who could write, or a Local Clerks who somehow managed to pull strings successfully to achieve ‘promotion to officialdom’ and became 9th-grade, thus squeezing into the bottom ranks of the nobility.

If he could catch the Chief State Councilor’s eye here, he could get promoted and aim higher like our Father-in-law, so he must have prepared quite desperately.

“Currently, at Yongsan-jin, 400 to 600 Korean ships dock daily to unload cargo. The goods being unloaded are mainly silk, fruits, rice, handicrafts, dried seafood, and fresh fish. After finishing unloading, these ships load cotton cloth, various farming tools, machinery (tools), luxury goods, and other items produced in or brought to Hanyang, then transport them nationwide.”

“A single Korean ship can usually carry 50 to 100 seom of white rice, so at minimum, goods weighing about 20,000 seom of white rice are traded daily. Ha, this was completely unimaginable just a year ago.”

“Noryangjin and other harbors are probably seeing similar numbers of Korean ships coming and going.”

Hwang Hee looked at me and said.

“If we hadn’t developed Hanyang on a larger scale as you suggested, expanding the areas where people can live, pit houses would have sprouted up all over Hanyang, creating major problems.”

Pit houses are, to put it in terms we can easily understand, like shantytowns.

And the vagrants living in such places are naturally in poor circumstances, so like the butchers, they’re easily tempted by crime.

To prevent such situations as much as possible, we need to build plenty of houses in Hanyang where people can live and let them rent, even if it’s monthly rent.

“Well, we’ve seen enough here… Kim Jin-seung.”

“Yes, Chief Minister.”

“How are the workshops? I heard from Scribe Kim here that workshops are the most important…”

As soon as Hwang Hee finished speaking, Kim Jin-seung led us to a nearby workshop.

It was a workshop where farming tool production was in full swing.

Inside, dozens of craftsmen were working according to a thoroughly systematized division of labor.

What they were making were things like plows, hoes, and sickles…

Even just looking at the sickle-making process, the division of labor was very thorough.

There was someone who hammered out the iron part that could be called the core of the sickle, someone who sharpened the blade on the iron part, someone who attached it to the handle, and so on.

“As far as I know, this workshop can make up to 100 sickles per day.”

If it were a mechanized factory, they could make 5,000 per day, but by Joseon standards, making 100 per day is really producing a lot.

Since all processes are done manually, even a single-person blacksmith shop sometimes struggles to make 2 sickles per day.

“This workshop alone can make 100 sickles per day?”

“Yes, that’s correct, Chief Minister.”

“If they were to make weapons like curved swords… making 20 per day wouldn’t be difficult either.”

For reference, Gungi-si hasn’t yet introduced the division of labor system, so even mobilizing all the Gungi-si craftsmen, 20 per day is the limit.

But this small workshop could make 20?

This means that the Military Equipment Office could produce 200 or 300 sickles per day if they had sufficient steel.

Hwang Hee continued to marvel as he looked around various parts of the workshop.

How impressed must he have been for the Chief State Councilor, as lofty as the heavens, to personally pat the craftsmen’s shoulders and praise them as he went around?

If he hadn’t been in an excited state, he would never have acted like that.

“Very admirable! Some people say craftsmen are lowly, but I’m someone who believes Joseon runs because of people like you. Please continue working hard as you do now.”

After giving such praise, Hwang Hee looked at Kim Jin-seung and said:

“Kim Jin-seung really does his work well. Nearly 50 workshops must have been built in Yongsan-jin already, and he has memorized how many sickles each workshop can produce per day. And the official reports submitted from Yongsan-jin so far have been excellent too.”

“I am grateful, Chief Minister.”

“I’ll bring you good news in seven days.”

Right now, Joseon is in a state of serious shortage of ‘administrators’.

Especially administrators with excellent practical abilities.

So that fellow will be dragged off to the Ministry of Taxation or Ministry of Public Works before long.

In the old Joseon, they would have protested, saying isn’t this overstepping authority to send someone like Jin-seung directly to the Six Ministries…

But now, since such administrators are like welcome rain during a drought, everyone will welcome it.

“Now, Scribe Kim… let’s look around just a little more and then head back.”

“Yes, Chief Minister.”

That day, I thoroughly toured the situation at Yongsan-jin with Hwang Hee and then returned.

And I wrote a guideline manual telling other counties to do the same.

Originally, for things like this, Hwang Hee would create the big framework and I would fill in the details, but Hwang Hee dumped even the big framework on me.

Being a low-ranking official is pitiful.

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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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