He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 25

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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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Jiphyeonjeon GPT (4)

Confucianism is not a discipline created for politics.

People say that Confucianism despises commerce, legitimizes an order where age alone determines superiority, and only emphasizes unconditional filial piety. But Christianity isn’t much different in that regard.

So what’s the problem? These damn fools demonize ‘legitimate luxury’ and are idiots who revere collecting fewer taxes and the Zhou Dynasty (a Bronze Age civilization).

The person currently overseeing ‘fiscal policy’ in Joseon is Chief State Councilor Ryu Jeong-hyeon… and that bastard thinks exactly like that.

An idiot who believes that collecting fewer taxes and recklessly cutting government spending will make the people prosper. This bastard went through the Ministry of Taxation, became Chief State Councilor, and is now called a wise minister who managed finances well – that’s exactly the problem.

As for me, I’m prepared to submit a resignation petition and retire to the countryside anytime to make ‘principled statements’… so I’m thinking of overhauling Joseon’s fiscal policy.

‘I’ll just fix what’s wrong and then retire to the countryside.’

“Currently, Joseon has about 570 civil officials including local magistrates, while the number of counties and prefectures in Joseon reaches 364. So according to your argument, Kim Soo-chan, we’d need to increase the number of civil officials by at least 60%. The Royal Court is poor. How could we possibly afford the salaries of so many officials?”

Right now, thanks to Lee Bang-won’s fiscal expansion policies, Joseon’s financial state is maintaining a surplus. In other words, throughout early, middle, and late Joseon periods, the current central finances are the most solid.

I don’t want to believe this either, but this happened all because of Joseon’s characteristic idiotic thinking that ‘collecting fewer taxes is unconditionally good.’

This is why by King Injo’s time, they created the Permanent Tax Law, claiming to help the people while actually helping yangban who paid virtually no taxes except ‘land tax.’ They collected only the minimum land tax regardless of whether it was a bad year or good year.

A country where the actual tax collection from the wealthy is less than 2% would surely run smoothly.

“The sages said that collecting fewer taxes is the way to serve the people. Following those words, collecting as few taxes as possible from the people and having the king and officials refrain from luxury would be the path to a golden age.”

It’s actually common for countries to fall due to the luxury indulged by the ruling class. So I somewhat agree with the idea that luxury should be avoided.

But Joseon is a country that called even the king drinking milk a luxury and abolished or reduced the system of raising ‘dairy cows.’ Foolish behavior.

If they had spared no investment in dairy farming to raise dairy cows more efficiently, it would have become a country where even common people occasionally drank milk.

By blindly reducing taxes like this, they pay officials very little salary and give clerks no salary at all, so they all supplement their dignity maintenance and living expenses through ‘bribes’ and ‘holiday gifts.’

I too have received gifts worth thousands of seom when converted to rice, which can’t be precisely converted to Korean money but would be hundreds of millions of won, or perhaps over a billion.

Rather than this, wouldn’t corruption-related tax losses disappear entirely if we set the annual salary for a single 9th-rank official at 100 million won, and ministers at around 10 billion won?

“I naturally agree with the sages’ words. It’s true that the king and yangban officials refraining from luxury is the path to serve the people. However, isn’t Joseon’s national policy ‘sharing joy with the people’ – creating a country where both people and king are happy?”

“So we should collect fewer taxes…”

Even up until I took the civil service examination before King Sejong, I would have had nothing to say if someone argued like this. Even if you make a hundred correct points, without results to prove them, it becomes mere armchair theory.

However, I now have the evidence to support my argument – actual results.

“When I served as County Magistrate of Jinhae, the taxes I collected from all four classes of people (including nobles) were 40% more than what the previous magistrate collected before taking office.”

Hwang Hee was left speechless upon hearing my words. He was painfully enduring the moment when his preconceived notions came crashing down. Seeing him like that, I thought it served him right.

If he had been someone like the principled Minister Heo Jo, who was clean as a whistle no matter how much you scrutinized him, I might have felt a bit sorry. However, Hwang Hee was a nobleman who also committed his fair share of corruption.

For such a person to talk about reducing taxes to save the common people – what hypocrisy this was.

“However, I didn’t use the collected taxes for luxury or personal enrichment, but spent them on building reservoirs and developing commerce, which benefited all the people. My thinking is no different now than it was then. To benefit the people, taxes must be collected appropriately and spent appropriately.”

“…I understand what you’re saying. So what is the plan you have in mind?”

“Officials dedicated solely to managing markets should be stationed in every county nationwide. They must supervise market order and thoroughly inspect whether merchants are engaging in fraudulent activities or concealing taxes they should pay. Without this, expanding markets will only result in raising bands of thieves in every county of Joseon.”

“I never expected someone who advocates for promoting commerce to say such things.”

“I myself nearly got swindled when I came to Hanyang recently to find a house.”

I didn’t get overcharged because Kim Man-deok was with me. Without him, I would have been thoroughly swindled.

That crazy real estate dealer tried to overcharge even me, a government official – what wouldn’t he do to powerless common people? After all, in late Joseon, these people would grow the Geomgye to such an extent that Joseon would have to deal with them as severely as treason.

Therefore, they must be thoroughly monitored, inspected, and managed. Otherwise, they might undergo dark evolution and become like the merchants of Hyeomseong Kingdom.

The actions of the British Empire should only be done to the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese. They must not be allowed to do them to Koreans.

“Initially, hiring many officials will pose a major problem in providing their salaries. However, even a small county like Jinhae could collect 1,000 seom of white rice from market taxes alone. Can you imagine how much could be collected in large counties like Pyongyang and Gaeseong?”

Hwang Hee gulped. He seemed quite pleased with my idea of hiring many officials to collect substantial market taxes and make big money.

That gentleman is the type who could never become an incorruptible official even if he died and came back to life… He’s probably already calculating how much he could profit from this.

Well, regardless, if markets are established nationwide, Joseon’s commerce and economy will develop greatly in the future. Perhaps even without my intervention, they might create an Age of Exploration to search for black pepper or whatever else.

“Tribute goods collected as tribute tax can also be gathered in much larger quantities if the government purchases them directly from markets, or if the government negotiates with market merchants to buy them. By eliminating opportunities for corrupt elements like Buddhist temples to interfere, we can collect more without burdening the people.”

“Indeed, indeed.”

“Markets not only allow us to collect more taxes, but also help the people’s livelihood. In bad years, they can survive by exchanging what little abundance they have with each other. In normal times, they become prosperous by exchanging their modest surpluses.”

If markets become active nationwide, local specialties from each county will spread around, making the economic scale even larger.

In Joseon, they tried to suppress such economic development, thinking it was undesirable…

But this benefits the people – why suppress it? It should definitely be encouraged.

“That’s admirable. However, the Chief Minister will greatly dislike such facts.”

“Loyalty to the country begins with putting public service before private matters (prioritizing national affairs over one’s personal concerns). Though my abilities are utterly lacking, being selected for a position beyond my station is already something my family can be proud of for generations… If I were to cling to my personal safety and advancement, offering only flattery instead of honest counsel, how shameful would that be?”

Let’s say the Chief State Councilor impeaches me with the resolve to die.

Then I won’t miss that opportunity – I’ll seize it, write my resignation letter, and go down to my hometown. Once I’m back home, I can meet a lovely woman, get married, have children, live happily together, and occasionally submit petitions.

Since I’ve already informed King Taejong Lee Bang-won and King Sejong about the importance of commerce… Joseon will continue to develop even without my intervention.

“King Taejong, I understand once again why the Current King likes you so much.”

After saying this, Hwang Hee gathered up his notes from our conversation and prepared to leave.

“If the Chief Minister impeaches you, I will certainly help you.”

After those words, Hwang Hee left.

No, you don’t need to help me that much. Anyway, just because I submit this level of honest counsel doesn’t mean I’ll lose my head or be exiled, so I just need to say I’m resigning because I was ‘impeached’ – there’s no problem at all.

Just then, I could hear the clerks outside Jiphyeonjeon trying to stop the ministers.

“Minister of Rites, the Minister of Finance is still inside.”

“Didn’t the Assistant Minister of War arrive later than the Minister of Rites?”

Hearing those voices, I realized something.

My situation really isn’t any different from being Jiphyeonjeon’s GPT.

“… Is this really right?”

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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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