He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 44

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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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Chief State Councilor Slayer (3)

Moving isn’t something you can just decide to do and immediately pack up and go – it’s not that simple.

Even in a world with Ladder Trucks and 5-ton Trucks, moving usually takes a full day.

Needless to say, moving such a long distance in this Joseon where there are no trucks or Ladder Trucks is another matter entirely.

Moreover, Joseon is, to put it nicely, a country of etiquette and propriety, or to put it harshly, a country full of stuffy formalities and ceremonies.

So there’s a mountain of things that must be done first before leaving.

“The Three Chief Ministers excluding Ryu Jeong-hyeon, the ministers of the Six Ministries, and even the Hall of Worthies Vice-Chancellor – why are there so many people I have to visit? And when I do visit them, they all consistently fuss and worry, telling me not to submit my resignation letter and to remain in the Royal Court…”

Especially Hwang Hee – when I visited his house, he made a huge fuss telling me to come to work immediately.

I can still hear his words ringing in my ears.

‘You proposed pushing forward the Bangwon Method, a great reform that will be Joseon’s thousand-year plan, and now you’re pulling out? Don’t you feel sorry for wasting all that effort? Come back to the Ministry of Taxation voluntarily right now. Then Retired King and His Majesty, who value your abilities, will promote you and entrust you with even more important duties. Don’t go. Without you, all the Ministry of Taxation officials will die – don’t go!’

I entered government service because I wanted to gain a position where I wouldn’t be looked down upon even if I just stayed holed up in my hometown reading books, not because I wanted to become a lifelong Chief State Councilor who couldn’t get permission to retire from King Sejong even after reaching retirement age.

So I didn’t give in to Hwang Hee’s earnest persuasion.

If I just prepare for moving, fire off a petition to impeach Ryu Jeong-hyeon, and return to my hometown, it’ll be the start of happiness and end of misfortune – why would I be crazy enough to go back into the Ministry of Taxation and volunteer to be a workhorse?

“Dolsoe.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“How are the moving preparations going?”

“The luggage is almost packed. I’m planning to carry the furniture with an A-frame carrier and load things like books on a Mule’s back.”

“Good. And since we can take a Ferry to Yanggu, let’s first go to Noryangjin and take the Ferry.”

What we commonly think of when we think of Joseon is that there were many mountains so carts couldn’t roll, and goods could only be transported by water (ships), making inland transportation difficult.

But actually, if you think about it, that’s not entirely true. Walking on mountain paths where carts can’t travel and somehow taking boats where rivers reach – that’s Joseon’s tradition.

“When I return to Yanggu, I’ll arrange things so you can have your wedding ceremony right away.”

“Oh my, that’s not necessary.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you like Agricultural Officer Kim’s daughter Hee-sun? I’ll speak well of you to Agricultural Officer Kim, so prepare your heart firmly.”

“Thank you, my lord. And right now, Elder Man-deok is waiting outside.”

“You should have said that first. Quickly bring him to the Sarangbang.”

I immediately put on my Dopo properly and received Kim Man-deok in the Sarangbang.

“Don’t let anyone in until I call for them.”

“Yes, my lord.”

In fact, unless King Sejong sends State Tribunal officials to our house to forcibly arrest me, no one would be able to enter our house without my permission.

“Seeing the packed moving boxes at your residence, it really hits me that you’re truly moving away, my lord.”

“… I’ve done what I could, so now I must return to my hometown. I’m sorry to you for taking your daughter with me.”

“Gyeoul-i says she likes you, my lord, so how could I as a father stop her? However, if I may ask one thing, I hope you will treat that child preciously.”

“Of course. If Gyeoul-i even becomes pregnant, I’ll cook miyeok-guk for her myself.”

We often think that in Confucian society, men cooking was considered absolutely forbidden, and that’s why they say peppers fall off when men enter the kitchen…

But that’s just empty formality created by nouveau riche who bought yangban status with money after the late Joseon period, after the era of aristocratic politics. In reality, cooking as a hobby was perfectly acceptable.

During King Seonjo’s era, Noh Su-sin personally cooking for his mother became a touching story that remains to this day, and Yeonam Park Ji-won even made gochujang himself and sent it to his son-in-law.

Of course, this still falls under quite unusual hobbies.

“By the way, did you look into the Chief Minister’s usury business?”

“Yes, when I investigated, it was truly… surprising that no major incidents have occurred so far.”

Ryu Jeong-hyeon, this man’s specialty is clinging to power.

When King Sejong implemented currency, he personally stepped forward to target only powerless common people, allowing him to follow the ‘royal command’ without losing the support of the scholar-officials.

Thanks to this, he wasn’t considered a bad person among the yangban, so he could cover up being impeached for usury.

King Sejong overlooked his usury because it didn’t violate ‘national law,’ and by early Joseon standards, he was an economic expert on the level of Keynes.

But his current position is very different from the original history.

During my tenure as Jinhae County Magistrate, I proved that rather than blindly cutting costs, collecting slightly more taxes and using the budget efficiently brings greater benefit to the people.

Furthermore, that man even challenged the Bangwon Method, which Lee Bang-won stamped with his own name, so his position must be quite shaken.

The reason he’s still surviving now is because he’s the ‘Chief State Councilor’ so it’s awkward to remove him carelessly, and also because he didn’t challenge royal authority.

But if I just add one more finger here…? Even a Chief State Councilor can be killed.

Others might think I can kill the Chief State Councilor because I’m a powerful minister in the Royal Court… but the reality is different. This is him dying because he did things worthy of death.

“I heard that not only did he charge monthly and compound interest, but he also appointed those who collected usury well as station masters.”

“Station master, you say. Station master indeed.”

There’s one thing we commonly misunderstand. We think that to attain office in Joseon, one must only take the civil service examinations.

Strictly speaking, in the Early Joseon Period, there were various methods besides the civil service examinations to attain office.

There was something called samangeowan, where for certain positions, if one completed the required number of working days, they could become formal officials with ranks just like those who passed the examinations.

This applied to noksa (senior Local Clerks), Clerical Staff, gyeongajeon (Local Clerks of central government offices), gapsa, and yeokseung. Among these, yeokseung was considered somewhat less important as it involved supervising post stations far from the central government.

To put it bluntly, if a high-ranking official like the Chief State Councilor set his mind to it, he could parachute people into positions.

“A high-ranking official placing his acquaintance as yeokseung isn’t necessarily a major flaw in itself. However, appointing someone who worked hard at collecting usury as yeokseung and giving him a chance to obtain office – does this even make sense?”

“Of course not.”

What merit is there in collecting usury that would justify giving office for doing it well?

If we’re going to give office that way, then we should gather violent criminals from across the nation who are skilled with swords, give them gapsa positions, and when their terms end, appoint them as military officers to develop the Four Counties and Six Garrisons. Really, there should be limits to such crazy talk.

“Moreover, the Chief State Councilor has tremendous wealth and warehouses throughout the nation, lending money at interest in various counties across the Eight Provinces of Joseon. And those appointed as yeokseung use the Chief Minister’s slaves to collect principal and interest on loans, and those who cannot repay are beaten until they submit to jamae (voluntarily becoming slaves).”

Is this really true? The Seodal incident was simply a cover-up, but for the Chief State Councilor to do such things to the Common People.

“This isn’t just some absurd rumor, is it?”

“That’s why they use servants instead of yeokri (Local Clerks) and yeokjol (soldiers), isn’t it? How else could they accumulate nearly 70,000 seom of rice in Hanyang alone without doing such things?”

This is absolutely outrageous. Does this even make sense?

Come to think of it, it doesn’t seem entirely impossible.

During the Joseon Dynasty, when rebellions occurred, it was slaves who served as private soldiers.

When Prince Suyang staged the Gyeyu Coup, Im Eo-ul-eun, the bastard who first cracked Kim Jong-seo’s earthenware pot, became a second-rank merit subject.

“Those appointed as yeokseung who do such work well are sometimes promoted to become military officers on the frontier.”

“It is common for yeokseung to be appointed as military officers when they complete their service period. But appointing someone as a military officer for being good at collecting usury… depending on how you look at it, couldn’t this be seen as operating private soldiers? But how did such stories not reach the Royal Court?”

Kim Man-deok chuckled at my words.

“Collecting usury is legal, and since he’s the Chief Minister who receives the king’s favor, no one dared to step forward to impeach him.”

“But now that favor is gradually disappearing…”

Impeachment is now possible. To put it bluntly, the Daedong Law – no, the Bangwon Method – will start running immediately once Lee Bang-won gets it going.

However, if that bastard Ryu Jeong-hyeon remains as Chief State Councilor, he’ll continue to obstruct it with absurd reasons…

For the sake of Joseon, I must kill that bastard before I go.

Yes, I’ll think of it as doing one last good deed before retirement.

“… Also gather some stories about the common people who suffered from usury.”

Lee Bang-won and King Sejong’s love for the people is genuine.

So if I add stories of the people’s suffering to the facts I’ve investigated so far, it’ll work 100%.

Since I’m resigning from the Royal Court and retiring to the countryside anyway, I might as well add ‘Chief State Councilor Slayer’ as my final achievement.

Besides, it wouldn’t make sense for someone who sliced up the Chief State Councilor to return to office, so it would make my retirement to the countryside even more secure. What a wonderful thing.

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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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