He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 61

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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 (12)

It’s not that I dislike promotions either.

Among civil servants—no, among all people who work in this world—where would you find someone who dislikes promotions?

No, wait. In modern society, there are indeed people who refuse promotions because they value work-life balance or because of the increased duties and responsibilities that come with advancement.

However, I can say this one thing with certainty.

Among those who passed the civil service examinations in Joseon, there are almost none for whom advancement in life isn’t a life goal. Though the degree of desperation may vary from person to person.

In my case, while I’m not desperately clinging to advancement, I have absolutely no intention of refusing if they offer me a promotion.

“Are you saying you have no desire for advancement? If you wish it, I will specially promote you even if it means breaking the Royal Court’s procedures and precedents, or even if opposing ministers’ petitions pour down like rain.”

If it’s Iron Mace King Lee Bang-won, he would definitely push through regardless of whether his ministers oppose it or not.

Even that bastard King Seonjo, before the Japanese invasions, appointed Admiral Yi Sun-sin as Jeolla Left Naval Commander despite Yi Sun-sin being dismissed several times for being diagnosed with ‘lack of social skills’ because he gave no bribes and made no connections by Joseon standards.

When ministers said it made no sense to promote him so much at once, Seonjo resorted to the extreme measure of promoting him once every seven days.

How much more so Lee Bang-won—there’s no way he couldn’t do it.

“Your subject merely did his best to repay Your grace. In truth, the Bangwon Method was able to benefit the poor common people only because Retired King trusted me completely. Your subject merely assisted slightly in Your Majesty’s great work. How then could your subject dare ask Retired King for a promotion?”

It typically takes about six years for a regular 6th rank official to be promoted to senior 6th rank. But I was able to climb this far in just three years.

Just advancing three years faster than others could be considered receiving tremendous special treatment.

But what would happen if, driven by my desire for advancement, I receive another special promotion this time?

While Lee Bang-won and King Sejong are alive, there might be no particular problem…

Such precedents will certainly have a very high probability of being abused by future generations.

“It’s certainly not that your subject dislikes advancement. However, if Retired King promotes me again this time out of your affection for your subject, might not this beautiful precedent be abused in the future?”

Lee Bang-won tilted his head for a moment.

Then suddenly, as if realizing something, he smiled warmly.

“I have no intention of testing you. Your loyalty was already sufficiently witnessed by myself, His Majesty, and all the people of Joseon when you submitted your written memorial at Gwanghwamun. Moreover, you have not committed even the slightest error or corruption until now. I trust you even more deeply than Duke of Jinsan Ha Ryun.”

Duke of Jinsan Ha Ryun, King Taejong’s right hand and the strategist he trusted most.

While other bastards went around boasting about being meritorious subjects or royal relatives, only to end up getting their heads cracked open or locked away in exile, Ha Ryun alone maintained Lee Bang-won’s trust until the very end.

“So speak honestly about what you desire.”

“I hope you will widely employ talented merchants so they can take charge of the nation’s affairs.”

“Hahaha. You too are human after all. To care so much for your beloved concubine’s father.”

Though Lee Bang-won said this, he didn’t seem annoyed at all.

For a moment, I felt like he was making the same smile the ‘Professor’ wore when kidnapping slaves…

Well, depending on how you interpret it, what I said could be seen as soliciting a position for my father-in-law.

I need to clear up this misunderstanding quickly.

Otherwise, King Sejong might say something like ‘Our Dae-bung has gained a weakness! Someone, immediately make Kim Dae-bung Chief State Councilor for life!’

What I’m doing isn’t personnel solicitation but a proper proposal for the nation’s benefit, and I can’t end up doing ‘lifelong service’ like Hwang Hee, who was blinded by greed and gorged himself on bribes.

“The core of the Bangwon Method is agriculture and commerce. Almost all yangban officials are landowners, though the size of their holdings may differ. Therefore, even if they’ve never farmed directly, they know very well how to manage those who do farm.”

The idea that yangban know farming well might seem a bit far-fetched…

But if you change your perspective slightly, it makes perfect sense.

Just as it would be absurd for a building owner not to know the building’s condition or be ignorant of building-related tax laws and regulations…

It would be nonsensical for yangban who own land, essentially Joseon’s equivalent of building owners, not to understand farming.

Agricultural books like Nongsa Jikseol created during King Sejong’s era were compiled by combining the knowledge of yangban with the wisdom of elderly farmers.

“However, among the officials serving in the Royal Court, isn’t there not a single person, including myself, who knows how commerce operates or understands its true nature?”

If Royal Court officials knew commerce well, those corrupt monks wouldn’t have dared to secretly manipulate market prices against officials dispatched as local magistrates.

If caught manipulating prices, depending on the severity of the crime, they’d face dozens of beatings with the beating stick, or in the worst case, become headless ghosts dragged to Buddhist hell for the sin of sucking the life out of sentient beings.

“Your words are correct.”

“Even if we send officials to every county to monitor the markets, they have their limitations. Moreover, as commerce grows larger, merchants’ tyranny will become worse than before. How could we possibly handle this?”

Whatever it is, the larger the scale becomes, the more complicated things usually get.

Of course, the study-obsessed officials of the Joseon Period will eventually figure out how to manage commerce.

However, until then, the merchants will continue to hide their taxes and commit all sorts of illegal acts.

I cannot allow those merchant bastards to avoid paying the taxes they owe and employ all kinds of underhanded methods.

“Former Goryeo judged people solely based on their family lineage, and no matter how capable someone was, if they weren’t from the Powerful Noble Families, they would never be elevated to the ranks of ministers. Because of this, they became stagnant water that rotted and festered, eventually losing the Mandate of Heaven. However, Joseon has been able to achieve its current prosperity by widely selecting talented individuals regardless of their humble status, like Special Advisor Jang Yeong-sil and Minister Park Ja-cheong of Hanseong.”

While local clerks might not know this, the clerks in Seoul can even pursue scholarly cultivation alongside their work, and later obtain government positions.

Even if not that, it’s not difficult to become a local honorary official and thus become a proper yangban.

Moreover, Joseon had no hesitation in granting positions to those of humble birth like Park Ja-cheong or Jang Yeong-sil if they possessed outstanding abilities.

“All four classes of people – scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants – are subjects of Joseon, so how could we leave those with talents needed by Joseon unused?”

“You didn’t suggest employing merchants simply out of personal feelings.”

“That is correct.”

Immediately after my intervention, Joseon’s understanding and knowledge of economics improved dramatically compared to before.

This was because the trend of absolutely worshipping the philosophy of Ryu Jeong-hyeon, who spouted nonsense about unconditionally reducing taxes being good for the people and was selected as the ‘top economic expert,’ completely disappeared.

However, there are still plenty of Joseon officials who don’t even understand the comparative advantage of commercial exchange.

They don’t grasp the concept that it would be profitable to have Icheon focus on cultivating high-quality rice while Jeju Island, where rice farming doesn’t work, focuses on cultivating things like tangerines, and then exchange these products.

How could officials possibly detect and prevent those bastards who think only of business all day from hiding taxes and building power to manipulate Joseon?

At this rate, in about 150 years, we might end up like the Edo Shogunate.

An era where merchants existed above the nation, with shoguns, daimyo, hatamoto, and samurai all becoming debtors because they couldn’t properly collect income taxes from merchants.

“Good. I accept it. And is there anything else you wish to report?”

“I apologize, but what is His Majesty currently doing?”

“Your Majesty is currently pondering how to manage the problems and benefits of markets.”

According to the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, King Sejong worked nearly 17 hours a day and close to 120 hours a week, excluding holidays when he was forced to rest.

In Joseon, this is greatly praised as a highly admirable example…

‘That’s ridiculous.’

After I passed the civil service exam, there was a time when work got incredibly tangled and I worked 110 hours a week for about a month, and one of my colleagues in his twenties collapsed from overwork and was hospitalized.

“Zhuge Liang ate little and worked much, causing his body to become emaciated, and thus he could not achieve great deeds at Wuzhang Plains. His Majesty eats much, but because he consumes excessive amounts of meat and rice, his body is becoming corpulent.”

Lee Bang-won’s brow furrowed.

Since I’m saying the king could die, honestly, I wouldn’t have anything to say even if my head got smashed with an iron mace right here.

But rather than King Sejong dying early if things continue this way, wouldn’t it be right for me to risk my life to benefit all the people?

I’m a civil servant, and it’s a civil servant’s duty to serve the people.

I must speak frankly so I can look up at the heavens without a single point of shame.

“When the body becomes obese, it’s easy to contract diabetes, and the functions of organs including the heart weaken, which could cause you to suffer from serious illness.”

“…”

People of the Joseon Period also know that obesity is bad. They just don’t know the reasons and extent of how fatal and harmful it is like modern people do.

“Furthermore, people can achieve optimal efficiency when they rest during rest time and work during work time. Since Your Majesty is also human, if you devote yourself too much to work for the sake of the people and treat your body too harshly, there’s concern it could harm your health.”

It’s fair to say King Sejong passed away due to overeating and overwork.

Eight years before his death, diabetes complications left him nearly blind.

And the cause is believed to be that he personally supervised the entire project of annotating Ancient Books, which led to that condition due to overwork.

Lee Bang-won furrowed his brow, clenched his teeth tightly, then let out a sigh.

“… Your words also have merit. What should be done?”

“You should often take His Majesty hunting, leave the office on time unless it’s an urgent matter, and diligently move your body to strengthen your royal health.”

At the mention of hunting, a smile appeared on Lee Bang-won’s face.

“I do not doubt your loyalty. So I will strictly ask the Royal Physician whether Your Majesty’s condition is good or bad, and if your words are correct, I will make Your Majesty move his body more. And since you’ve worked hard on Secret Inspector duties, I’ll specially grant you one month of leave. Rest comfortably and return.”

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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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