He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 17

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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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Merit Stele (1)

The moment I saw Kim Gyeoul, my breath instantly stopped.

I, Kim Dae-bung, having lived as a nobleman of Joseon for a full 18 years, no 19 years, had made it as natural as breathing to not show emotional turmoil on my face.

Yet when a beautiful maiden appeared before my eyes, I showed a reaction unbecoming of a scholar.

To think I would display such disgraceful behavior, standing there dumbfounded without any response when another’s precious daughter was greeting me.

Only after standing there dumbfounded for quite a long time did I finally collect myself and ask.

“…Man-deok, is this maiden your daughter?”

Kim Man-deok smiled and said.

“She is the daughter I cherish most.”

“I see.”

I have one shameful secret. It’s that I have almost no experience conversing with women my age, whether in Korea or Joseon.

The longest record I have of talking with a woman my age is at most 10 minutes. And that was only to teach a female junior part-timer how to use the convenience store POS machine.

Therefore, having no immunity to women my age, my judgment instantly froze when seeing such a beauty.

Even now I’m barely holding on with my 19 years of scholarly cultivation, but if I relax even slightly, I feel like I’d become a strange fellow with a bright red face and limbs moving independently.

Kim Man-deok, as if he knew exactly what was in my heart, chuckled and said to his daughter.

“The Magistrate is a person of high virtue who values even a mere merchant like this father if one has a heart loyal to the country. Moreover, he cherishes the common people like his own children and is so upright and honest that he won’t even accept gifts.”

“I’ve heard the same from those around me.”

“Not only did he open a market to help the poor common people, but he also provided us merchants with a place to conduct honest business, making him a special benefactor to this father. So you should pour a cup of alcohol for the Magistrate, who is your father’s benefactor.”

Following her father’s command, Kim Gyeoul offered me a cup of alcohol.

Eyes black and deep like a starless night sky, abundant and lustrous black hair neatly combed back, and behind that hair, a glimpse of a dazzlingly white nape.

Most of all, breasts that seemed to be at least F, no, G-cup. For me, who had no connection with women in both my past and present life, it was an overwhelmingly magnificent sight.

After finishing pouring the alcohol, she looked at me and gave a dazzling smile.

“Meeting the Magistrate directly, who is widely known to be benevolent and virtuous, I think the rumors were indeed not wrong.”

“I am not such a virtuous person.”

Kim Gyeoul tilted her head at my words.

Such words would only suit King Sejong, who loves all kinds of meat including pork, beef, and chicken. I’m just a materialist who wants to finish my job as county magistrate properly and retire appropriately.

“Though the poor common people of our county no longer go hungry, how could that be enough? Among the people living in our prefecture, there are still many who live in dugout huts. This too is an urgent problem that must be solved. Moreover, even if we can’t feed them rice meals every day until they’re full, we should at least be able to feed them barley rice until they’re satisfied… I’ve only managed to give them about one spoonful of rice in their mouths so far.”

If Joseon’s scholars heard my story, they would probably react like this:

‘Why are that fellow’s goals so high?’

That’s right. I unconsciously tend to view the world based on 21st century modern common sense, not Joseon’s common sense.

But just because reality is like that doesn’t mean I can give up too.

Just by extending my hand, hundreds and thousands of county people immediately find hope and rejoice. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but work hard.

“Do you think so, Magistrate?”

“I simply did my best in what I could do. How can doing my best in my work be called high virtue, and how can it be called benevolent?”

Kim Gyeoul smiled at me, then bowed and withdrew from her seat.

Kim Man-deok observed my expression and bowed his head.

“If my daughter has shown any disrespect to the Magistrate, please forgive her.”

“She spoke to praise me, so how could I think badly of it? And I am pleased. That the work I do is seen as good and valuable not only by the county’s poor common people, but also by you. Isn’t this proof that I’m on the right path?”

There’s a saying to live according to your own values without worrying about others’ opinions. I agree with that saying 100 times over.

So I didn’t do things like other magistrates who handle lawsuits carelessly, take bribes in exchange for favoring nobles, and handle work sloppily while claiming that heroes loving beauty and enjoying pleasures is natural as they lay hands on gisaeng.

If someone were full of ambition for advancement, working hard like me would be natural, but since I have no such intention, it is indeed strange.

I simply moved according to the values I wanted to uphold. While taking pride in doing well as a magistrate. But how wonderful that others acknowledge this too.

“Since the night is late, let’s end our chat here.”

“Yes, Magistrate.”

“The scholars of our county voluntarily collected money to build a reservoir for water management, and decided to irrigate the fields.”

“Is that really true?”

“When I earnestly persuaded the county’s scholars, they voluntarily said they would spare no expense for the county’s common people.”

Of course, during that persuasion process, I mixed in some threats about sending the tax records they had manipulated directly to Lee Bang-won…

Still, I didn’t directly say ‘If I send up the account books, you’ll all die.’ The village scholars just thought on their own that they would face ‘Jeong Hak-so.’

So this becomes sincere persuasion rather than blackmail. If someone else protests ‘This is blackmail!’… then I’ll have no choice but to use the power of a Magistrate (who gave up promotion).

“We will build weirs at Dongcheon and Seosacheon among other places. For the common people participating in the labor, we’ll substitute their wages by reducing their grain loans according to how much they work. If we use the budget stored in the county warehouse for this, taxes would be quickly depleted, but the county’s nobles have agreed to cover all of that. Furthermore, the nobles will also provide meals for those participating in the labor.”

I think this is a tremendously beautiful thing. Instead of cutting open the bellies of those who evade taxes through both legal and illegal means just because they’re the privileged class…

How wonderful is it that the government office recovers the money they were about to evade in taxes and uses it for public works?

The nobles might feel bad at first about having their money extracted, but once water supply becomes smooth and agricultural production increases, they’ll give a thumbs up.

“Since they’re showing such generosity, shouldn’t the common people also express proper gratitude for what they’ve received? For example, by erecting something like a Merit Stele.”

A Merit Stele is basically writing down the achievements of regulars, lurkers, and users and posting it as an announcement.

There, you frequently update the announcement rankings so people can see them a week later, two weeks later, even a month later.

Of course, even users and lurkers active in galleries don’t read all announcements, and among the common people, most wouldn’t be able to read a Merit Stele written in Chinese characters… but still, how great would it be to have my achievements posted in the announcements.

Especially scholars who live and die for honor couldn’t stand it even more.

“Are you telling me to directly move the common people to erect a Merit Stele?”

“It’s not impossible, is it? The common people seem to be suffering too much from grain loans, so the nobles are stepping forward to reduce their burden… If they know this and still have no gratitude, would that be human?”

Rich people often make donations to reduce taxes. They donate to Children’s Welfare Foundation, donate to Disabled Welfare Centers, and donate to Welfare Facilities for the Elderly.

The reason they donate is more to reduce taxes rather than to care for the weak.

If you donate 1 million won, your taxes decrease by 1.1 million or 1.2 million won – you’d be stupid not to do it.

That donated 1 million won becomes a meal for the poor and heating costs to spend a cold winter warmly. Whether their intention was good or evil, their money was used to save someone.

Even if the donor’s intention was like that, it’s natural for the recipient to be grateful.

Because if they hadn’t received it, they might have really died.

“Not knowing how to be grateful for what you’ve received is not the way of humans.”

“That’s right. And to give them motivation to continue doing ‘good deeds’ in the future, it would be good for the common people to show their gratitude toward the nobles.”

The way to receive many donations is to express gratitude well. If I’m a rich person who donated to an orphanage, and the orphanage remembers the rich person’s birthday and has the children write thank-you letters by hand and sends them…

Since I’m donating for tax deductions anyway, I’d want to donate to that orphanage rather than somewhere else. No, I’d want to donate even without tax deductions.

Humans are beings with the instinct to want to open their wallets the more gratitude they receive.

“Should I spread this story throughout the entire county?”

“Please do so. And trusting in your sincerity, I’ll ask one more favor of you.”

“Please tell me anything.”

“Help the merchants of Jinhae County properly report their assets as you have done.”

“What do you mean by help?”

“Tell them that if they omit any assets, I will personally come to find them.”

I cannot tolerate these so-called wealthy people engaging in illegal tax evasion.

And… since Kim Man-deok is cooperating with me to this extent, I should give him appropriate compensation in return.

“I’ll be going now.”

With Kim Man-deok seeing me off, I left his house.

After the Magistrate had left, Kim Man-deok began pondering how best to spread the rumors.

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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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