He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 50

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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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Secret Royal Inspector Kim Dae-bung (1)

 

King Sejong wants to see me at this late hour of the night.

 

Is this a green light? No. Green light my ass, this is a very bad sign.

 

Strictly speaking, for people who want to get ahead, this would be an auspicious sign that a golden rope for promotion is about to drop… but for me, it’s a very bad omen that a work bomb is about to fall.

 

“I did decide to work again for the country and for the people… but I never thought I wanted to take on a work bomb.”

 

I just want to clock in on time, clock out on time, occasionally use the excuse of tending to my grandparents’ graves to take 5-7 days of annual leave and go on outings with Gyeoul.

 

I absolutely don’t want to be tormented like Hwang Hee, Maeng Sa-seong, or Jang Yeong-sil, constantly saying ‘Aaaah, please let me resign.’

 

Why does King Sejong try to torment his subjects like that?

 

Ah, thinking about this reminds me that King Sejong likes paperwork and document work but hates exercise and doesn’t do it at all.

 

“He’s still young now so he can endure it…”

 

When he gets a bit older, all kinds of adult diseases will overwhelm King Sejong.

 

Before that happens, I need to find a way to force King Sejong to exercise.

 

Regardless of his dedication to the country and the people, he should stay healthy until he passes away.

 

Since exercising at set times every day would be good for his health, it would be great if he exercised according to regular quitting time.

 

Then the possibility of all officials including myself leaving work on time would increase.

 

While walking and having random thoughts to suppress my anxiety, before I knew it, a court eunuch had brought me to Gangnyeongjeon Hall where King Sejong was waiting.

 

“Kim Soo-chan, my lord, two Your Majesties are waiting for you.”

 

“Did you just say two?”

 

“Yes, two Your Majesties.”

 

Lee Bang-won and King Sejong were waiting for me together, what on earth are they trying to make me do? If I had known this would happen, I should have taken a Cheongshim Pills before coming.

 

Suppressing my nervousness and entering inside, King Sejong and Lee Bang-won welcomed me very warmly.

 

Facing their profound smiles…

 

My spine grew cold and my knees began to tremble slightly.

 

Just how many work bombs are they planning to throw at me to be smiling like that? I can’t imagine.

 

Lee Bang-won looked at me and grinned. It’s a smile that naturally gives me goosebumps.

 

“Kim Soo-chan.”

 

“Yes, Retired King.”

 

“Do you know why I accepted Kim Soo-chan’s resignation memorial and allowed you to return to your hometown?”

 

“I don’t really know.”

 

“I allowed it because seeing Kim Soo-chan reminds me of my younger days.”

 

Just hearing it gives me a headache.

 

For King Taejong Lee Bang-won to say ‘Seeing this guy reminds me of my childhood’ in front of King Sejong.

 

What an ominous statement this is.

 

It’s so ominous it reminds me of a certain king who stacked boxes of freshwater crabs and dried persimmons and conducted quantum mechanics experiments on his own children.

 

Of course, Lee Bang-won’s words are only ominous from my perspective of being cut down, but if others heard it, they would be moved to tears.

 

Looking at King Sejong listening to the story from behind, the angle is perfect.

 

King Sejong is smiling so brightly that his mouth reaches his ears, just like when I look at Gyeoul-i.

 

“I passed the civil service examination at an age one year younger than when you passed, ranking 7th in the military section. Just as Chief State Councilor Ryu Jeong-hyeon tormented you, I too was greatly tormented by the powerful noble families of former Goryeo when I was in office. So you don’t feel like a stranger to me.”

 

Looking at Lee Bang-won’s facial expression, his words seem to be sincere.

 

I’m still thinking of staying in office for just a while longer, then finding the right moment to resign and enjoy retirement life…

 

Somehow, looking at that smile, I get the feeling that I too will end up like ‘Hwang Hee’ and ‘Jang Yeong-sil’.

 

I haven’t even committed any crimes, so what justification could there possibly be for grinding me down until death?

 

“I too, while serving in government positions in former Goryeo, sometimes shed tears in secret when the Myeonsillye of the powerful noble families was harsh, and it was not easy to endure when my superiors looked down on me for being the son of a military family who passed the examination at a young age.”

 

At this point, I’m getting slightly, no, quite a lot scared. What on earth are they planning to make me do that requires laying such groundwork?

 

Ah, was that what I wrote at the end of the petition I submitted?

 

About how wicked officials would deceive with weights and measures to embezzle taxes, abuse hidden land not recorded in tax registers to avoid taxes, and fake the sinking of Jounson ships, among other problems.

 

To catch such people back then… uh oh, what system did I say should be implemented by King Sejong? I know it, but I don’t want to recall it.

 

Whether my head was filled with anxious premonitions or not, Lee Bang-won’s words continued.

 

“I thought many times about quitting my government position and returning to my hometown in the Dongbuk Region (Hamgyeong Province), but I was able to endure to the end by thinking of King Taejo, who was happier than anyone when he heard the news of my passing the examination.”

 

According to records, King Taejo Lee Seong-gye was happier than anyone when he heard the news of Lee Bang-won’s examination success.

 

He was so delighted that he had someone read the contents written on the examination certificate several times, and even bowed toward the direction where the Goryeo palace was located.

 

“It was with the hope that you would do the same that I allowed you to return home temporarily. And just as I expected, even after returning home, didn’t you submit a petition foreseeing the obstacles that would hinder the implementation of the Bangwon Method out of your desire to serve the people?”

 

“I merely do my insufficient best to serve the Royal Ancestral Shrine and State and to uphold Your Majesty’s great intentions.”

 

King Sejong and Lee Bang-won laughed heartily. Their laughing faces looked strangely identical to professors who drive science and engineering doctoral students into 14 hours of research and study per day.

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

“Yes, His Majesty.”

 

“Let us gradually get to the main point.”

 

When King Sejong gestured, a court eunuch carrying a Royal Decree, measuring standards (Joseon standard measuring instruments), a horse token, and other items approached me.

 

As soon as I saw that, I almost screamed.

 

Given the current atmosphere, even if I committed the crime of disrespect by screaming, Lee Bang-won and King Sejong would probably coolly forgive me…

 

‘Oh my, you committed a crime of disrespect, so normally we could kill you without complaint. But we are magnanimous.’

 

‘If you’ve committed a crime, just work harder like Hwang Hee and that’s that~!’

 

They would undoubtedly say this while working me to death like squeezing a dry rag.

 

Having such thoughts while looking at that terrible ‘secret royal inspector full set’ helped me hold back from screaming.

 

King Sejong began to set the mood.

 

“I am young in years and lacking in ability, so I am insufficient in examining whether the Bangwon Method truly benefits the people equally.”

 

In historical dramas, kings are always busy referring to themselves as ‘I’ (the humble form).

 

However, in actual Joseon records, there are only two cases when a king refers to himself as ‘I’ (humble form).

 

When extremely angry and saying ‘Oh, since I lack virtue, I should just die,’ and when an extremely big problem arises and they need to show obvious signs of reflection.

 

The current situation is closer to the former.

 

This means that there are plenty of bad deeds by bad people that would make King Sejong want to say such words.

 

“Therefore, Kim Dae-bung, you must patrol the 11 counties of Gyeonggi Province in my stead and widely observe whether any wicked magistrates are exploiting the people.”

 

“I shall obey Your Majesty’s command.”

 

I have exactly one complaint about Lee Bang-won and King Sejong.

 

They work their subjects too hard. That’s it.

 

Other than that, I have no particular complaints. To add a bit of exaggeration, what those two want to accomplish is also what I would risk my life to achieve.

 

Especially the Bangwon Method is something I’ve thought for quite some time that I must accomplish even at the cost of my life.

 

“You must also examine whether the newly made farming tools are being properly produced and well used by farmers, and observe whether there are any schemes by wicked nobles and local clerks in measuring land with the Land Survey Method.”

 

The greatness of the Land Survey Method needs no explanation. In 1804, when the Land Survey Method was used as a trial to measure land in just 3 counties in parts of Hwanghae Province…

 

The area of tax-exempt land, palace estates, and government fields reportedly increased by at least twice compared to before the survey.

 

Of course, land didn’t just suddenly appear out of nowhere.

 

It means this is an excellent method that can measure that accurately.

 

The Court Eunuch handed me the Royal Edict, Horse Token, Standard Measuring Rod, and other items.

 

“Go outside Dongdaemun Gate and open the Royal Edict.”

 

Since he already spoiled all the contents, I think I know what’s written in the Royal Edict without even reading it.

 

Well then, whether I like it or not, I have no choice, so I guess I’ll have to go play the role of a secret royal inspector from now on?

 

I should start by finding someone who can help me.

 

**

 

Some broadcasts wrongly portrayed secret royal inspectors as some kind of extreme job or a profession where you risk your life.

 

I saw them depict the survival rate of secret royal inspectors as less than 30%, which is complete nonsense.

 

In the entire Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, there are records of secret royal inspectors being dispatched a total of 613 times, and among these, there were only 3 cases where an inspector actually died.

 

Rather, if Magistrates didn’t know a secret royal inspector was coming, that was one thing, but if they found out, they would use ‘every possible method’ to escort the secret royal inspector safely to their county.

 

Because if an inspector died, it could be considered rebellion in the worst case.

 

If that happened, the Magistrate’s three generations would be exterminated, the Clerks would be beheaded, and the nobles of that county would never be able to take the civil service examinations for life.

 

Ah, though they did use methods like destroying evidence and slightly switching records to eliminate any records of corruption or problematic records beforehand.

 

“So I don’t need to worry about being assassinated on the way.”

 

The problem is that I need to protect myself from bandits who have no interest in who I am but still try to kill me, and giant cats (tigers) that are Joseon’s mascots, and so on…

 

Plus, securing personnel to help identify numerous signs of corruption and gather evidence.

 

When departing, I can fill the numbers for those who’ll do odd jobs by going to a post station and showing the Horse Token, but finding someone to review and inspect administrative documents is a very urgent matter.

 

In times like this, there’s really only one option.

 

Since this is the Joseon era where blood is thicker than water and family relationships serve as proof that you can trust them in most situations, let me go find Kim Man-deok, who is like my father-in-law.

 

He’ll definitely introduce me to good people. If I succeed greatly, that gentleman will also succeed greatly.

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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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