He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 53

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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 (4)

 

There was once a truth revered like a god in the distribution industry.

 

That minimizing the number of middlemen and transporters would lower product prices.

 

When this saying was created, it wasn’t wrong.

 

Napa cabbage that cost less than 100 won to produce would become 200 won after going through one middleman, 280 won after a wholesale merchant, 380 won after the auction house, and 500 won at a vegetable retail store…

 

But if the cabbage farmers sold directly to vegetable stores or large marts, they could sell for around 300 won.

 

Even now, people believe this fact, so when you go to a port city to eat sashimi, the freshness is certainly excellent, but the price is often more expensive than eating it in Seoul…

 

However, that’s a story from 21st century modern society, and in Joseon, this saying still holds as truth.

 

Because the more middlemen there are, the more people there are to skim profits.

 

“Hah, my mother loves pears, so I wanted to buy good pears for her… but I won’t be able to bring her the delicious pears that His Majesty eats.”

 

In Joseon, failing to properly show filial piety is considered a ‘mortal sin.’ This applies regardless of whether you’re nobility, middle class, commoner, or lowborn.

 

Even when a poor person is caught stealing one or two pears, if they say it was for their sick mother or father, kindhearted people will often just give them the fruit – that’s how much they empathize with and obsess over ‘filial piety.’

 

So when I said I wanted to buy specialty products for filial piety, an atmosphere of shared understanding formed among everyone.

 

As I pretended to be dejected, a man who had been quietly drinking makgeolli beside me spoke up.

 

“My Lord, the pears presented to His Majesty aren’t necessarily incredibly good ones.”

 

“What do you mean by that? If they’re presented to His Majesty, shouldn’t they naturally be the very best?”

 

The man drinking makgeolli put down his takbaegi and chuckled.

 

“My Lord, I work for a merchant guild that handles the pears offered as tribute tax this time, so I know well. Certainly, since they’re items offered to His Majesty, we don’t offer inferior quality goods… but since the Buddhist temples and magistrates work together to receive ‘bribes’ and in exchange allow the offering of tribute goods, we simply present pears that can be commonly found anywhere.”

 

Joseon doesn’t have quality control systems or grading systems.

 

In the case of Korean beef, they don’t grade it with 1++ grade or 1+ grade, and for fruits, they don’t measure size and sugar content to determine whether it’s premium or low-grade.

 

In other words, as long as the appearance is decent, they can call it top quality and offer it as tribute goods without any standards to distinguish them…

 

Even if Buddhist temples, government offices, and merchants conspire to offer moderately decent items instead of truly premium goods as tribute goods, there’s no way to regulate it.

 

Without standards, how could they regulate it?

There are no standards, so how can they enforce it?

“If you’d like to buy some good pears in Andong, shall I introduce you to someone?”

 

“Please do.”

 

When I gave him a look, Kim Man-deok handed the man a fan. In Joseon, everyone uses fans during summer, so it’s quite a useful item.

 

Probably no one would refuse this.

 

“Other than that, are there any interesting rumors in the county?”

 

What a secret royal inspector does is inspect the county, and when problems are discovered, lock up the government warehouse and conduct search and seizure while going through documents.

 

That’s why historians say that secret royal inspectors are no different from prosecutorial investigations…

 

Thinking that I’ll actually conduct search and seizure, something I never did even in my previous life, makes my heart swell with excitement.

 

**

 

Government officials in Joseon receive meager salaries.

 

To be more precise, their actual wages are measured as extremely low compared to the social privileges, class, position, and work intensity they enjoy.

 

Usually when this phenomenon occurs, the preference for public office decreases in modern nations, but Joseon is different.

 

When salaries are too low, it’s common sense to procure income suitable for themselves on their own.

 

Even though the Bangwon Method has been implemented, there are still many ways to embezzle money.

 

“Clerk Kim.”

 

“Yes, Magistrate.”

 

Anseong County Magistrate Lee Seok-do, utilizing his experience from 20 years of government service, has already perfectly mastered ‘where money can come from’ and ‘how to embezzle money without getting caught.’

 

“Is the tribute tax well prepared?”

 

“Of course, Magistrate. They say collecting taxes from poor common people has become somewhat difficult due to the Bangwon Method, but how could there be no way? As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures – when you’re in a bind, everything works out.”

 

“… Hmm, very commendable. An excellent clerk like you is the first I’ve seen in my 20 years of government service.”

 

“It’s an honor, Magistrate.”

 

“What method did you use?”

 

A bright smile spread across the Ibang’s face.

 

Lee Seok liked this Ibang.

 

He thought it was truly fortunate that such a corrupt, no, such a wise clerk was the Ibang of their county.

 

“We used methods that we’ve always employed but don’t violate the law. We reduced the service fees given to Buddhist temples to 1/10th (10%) of what they were before, and we educated the merchants that if they don’t offer tribute goods at appropriate prices, we would conduct strict inspections. By doing so, we were able to procure tribute goods at less than half (50%) of the previous prices.”

 

Lee Seok-do almost unconsciously slapped his knee. He thought Ibang’s strategy was ingenious.

 

However, there was one thing he couldn’t quite understand.

 

The Bangwon Method said not to go through Buddhist temples, so why deliberately involve temples as intermediaries?

 

“If Buddhist temples are involved in procuring tribute goods, don’t we have to pay them service fees? Why give precious rice to those corrupt monks for tribute tax…”

 

“The monks have been doing business with us from before, and if the government deals directly with merchants, the unit price of tribute goods rises considerably.”

 

Lee Seok-do roughly caught on after hearing his words.

 

More than half of that 1/10th service fee probably went into the pockets of Ibang and the other clerks.

 

However, to have a long career in government service in Joseon, a mutually beneficial attitude was important.

 

If he didn’t turn a blind eye to the clerks receiving some service fees for their ‘hard work,’ being a magistrate wouldn’t be easy.

 

However, there was a world of difference between turning a blind eye and being completely ignorant, so Lee Seok-do judged that a light warning was necessary.

 

“Make sure the monks don’t get carried away thinking they’re handling government office work. Otherwise, as a Joseon magistrate, I’ll have no choice but to deal with them strictly.”

 

“Of course, Magistrate.”

 

“That aside, how much did we collect in tribute goods this time?”

 

“Last year we collected 15,841 seom of white rice, and this year we collected 19,432 seom. The harvest was similar, but since we collected without exception even from the yangban lords’ lands, this was possible.”

 

The previous tax collection method roughly considered the income difference between rich and poor, and taxed by household unit like a poll tax.

 

As a result, the effective collection rate was 5% for the rich and over 50% for the poor.

 

Like other countries, most wealth in Joseon was concentrated among a few wealthy people, and since they were taxed lightly, taxes were always insufficient, but…

 

Now, tribute goods were collected by land area regardless of whether one was rich or poor, making rational taxation possible.

 

“Taxes increased, yet the common people sing praises saying life has become better. Indeed, the Bangwon Method, no, Kim Jukheon (Kim Dae-bung’s pen name) who laid the foundation for the Bangwon Method is an amazing person. A truly great figure has emerged in Joseon.”

 

Lee Seok-do liked Kim Dae-bung.

 

Thanks to changing the tax law, more tribute goods were collected, and thanks to establishing the foundation for tribute goods trading, they could purchase tribute goods at cheaper prices than before.

 

This also meant there were more opportunities for profit than before.

 

Moreover, although Lee Seok-do had been in government service for 20 years, he had never even imagined a tax law like the Bangwon Method.

 

He knew that his own abilities couldn’t even be compared to Kim Dae-bung, who had proposed such a law, so he didn’t feel the slightest inclination to be jealous or envious of him.

 

“Magistrate, I congratulate you in advance.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“By properly implementing the Bangwon Method, the common people are shouting ‘Long live Retired King!’ Aren’t they? When this news reaches the Royal Court, it won’t be long before you rise to a high-ranking position, Magistrate.”

 

“Ahem, high-ranking positions can only be appointed directly by His Majesty. How dare you speak such reckless words?”

 

Lee Seok-do flew into a rage.

 

However, Ibang wasn’t intimidated by his outburst at all.

 

Because he could see the pleased smile on his face, as if pretending to be angry while urging him to flatter him more.

 

“Doesn’t His Majesty know all about your devotion to the people, Magistrate? So surely good things will come.”

 

“Ahem, ahem.”

 

“If nothing else, this performance evaluation will surely be the highest grade, Magistrate.”

 

“If that happens, I’ll greatly reward Ibang and the Six Departments.”

 

“Thank you, Magistrate.”

 

The first and second in command of Anseong County thus pledged their resolution to ‘continue doing well together in the future.’

 

“Come to think of it, the newly arrived courtesan named Chunhyang is famous for her exceptional beauty. Though it may be troublesome for you, Magistrate, could you raise that girl’s hair?”

 

“… Clerk Kim, let’s continue to get along well.”

 

“As years pass, regulations will weaken, so we’ll be able to obtain even more wealth in the future…”

 

“It’s good that we understand each other well.”

 

Raising a courtesan’s hair is a euphemism for taking her first experience.

 

So from Lee Seok-do’s perspective, there was no reason to refuse.

 

If he liked her, he could just take her as a concubine…

 

However, Lee Seok-do’s happiness would not last very long.

 

Because Kim Dae-bung was striding purposefully toward the Anseong Government Office.

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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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