I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 79

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 79
“However… it’s not like we can’t punish them for it.”
“How?”
“We just tack it onto their other offenses. Hey, when it comes to deciding how much to punish someone for the same crime, it’s frankly up to your whim.”
Seonwu thought for a moment, then nodded.
“It’s up to Father, but honestly, I feel like he’ll just do whatever I suggest. As long as I don’t say something completely absurd.”
Of course, what if he said he didn’t really know?
Then the ministers of the Imperial Court would handle it among themselves.
Seonwu had also observed things over the past twenty years.
His imperial father was destined to become the great Taejo, who would drive out the Demonic Factions of the Yuan Dynasty, stabilize the border, and usher in a safe era… but honestly, internal affairs were….
Well, he wasn’t like Gwanghaegun, obsessed with palaces and demanding they keep building more.
Nor was he like Yeonsangun, running around with a royal talent scout recruitment drive….
For the most part, he just left the ministers to do their best on their own.
It wasn’t a total strike like Emperor Wanli, but rather a Governance through Inaction, letting them do as they pleased with standard matters.
‘Honestly, I think he does it just because it’s a hassle.’
Nevertheless, the reason internal affairs managed to function was either because it was the early days of the dynasty or because they were just lucky, as the high-ranking officials weren’t that incompetent or corrupt.
Therefore, if his cute youngest son suggested doing things this way, he would almost certainly agree to it.
“And they committed… a massive amount of tax evasion, didn’t they?”
They hadn’t even reported half of the money they made from trading silk, tea, ceramics, and the like.
“Wow, they didn’t just underreport by twenty or thirty percent; they reported exactly one-fourth? The same goes for the fields they own? Look at these bastards.”
Zhuge Jun recalled his own clan once again.
“Honestly, if you dug into our clan, some tax evasion would turn up too, but it wouldn’t be as bad as one-fourth….”
“Yeah, I get it. Hey, but isn’t this kind of tax evasion exactly what leads to the Disorder of the Three Systems, where the common people suffer under a heavy tax burden while the powerful families and martial arts clans evade taxes and live in luxury?”
To Seonwu, who was showing off the knowledge he had learned in national history class, Zhuge Jun shook his head.
“In principle, you’re right, but here, you have to consider that the country rakes in an astronomical amount of money through the Elixir Monopoly. So it hasn’t reached the stage where the common people are being squeezed dry.”
“Ah….”
“If you only think based on our previous Earth standards, you’ll be way off. Even if they stack up more cash by not paying other taxes, they have to spend a massive amount of it right back to purchase Spiritual Medicines anyway. That money goes straight into the state treasury.”
“Even so, if we leave this alone, won’t they all evade taxes to save that much more money to buy Spiritual Medicines?”
“Since they got caught, they should be punished.”
It was more than enough justification.
“However, if we adopt a stance of not tolerating even a shred of tax evasion, too many people will feel anxious based on past customs. No matter what anyone says, it’s a fact that the Wulin deals with the Demonic Monsters and Demonic Practitioners to some extent in the rear.”
“So they’ve been turning a blind eye to it to some degree.”
“In this case, it’s better to send a signal that the Namgung Clan went too far. To the point where other clans can look at the fact that they only reported one-fourth and say, ‘We’re not that bad.'”
“Hmm, true.”
Seonwu nodded.
They couldn’t just overlook tax evasion completely, but being excessively thorough didn’t suit this era either.
In the first place, they didn’t have the administrative power to crack down on it to that extent.
Should they just wrap it up by targeting and warning only the ones who went too far like the Namgung Clan?
‘The parts that shouldn’t be thought of by Republic of Korea standards make things difficult like this.’
Still, if they were just loose and took corruption and tax evasion for granted, the country would decline.
Ideally, it would be nice to keep tax rates reasonable and collect everything without any hiding, but realistically, such administrative power didn’t exist.
‘No, I want to be a chivalrous Xia of the Wulin, so how did I end up thinking about tax administration?’
Seonwu grumbled.
A chivalrous Xia was supposed to just coolly draw his sword, strike down the villain for punishment, and then coolly leave again.
Why did he have to debate the tax evasion of the Namgung Clan versus other clans, modern legal systems, and the limitations of current administrative power?
Did he really have to ponder all this while weighing the customary allowance that considered how they performed regional defense in place of the state?
“They sell Spiritual Medicines well, so it’s not a big problem…. But still, some people evade taxes, and some don’t…. Oh, wait.”
“What is it?”
“Currently, when allocating the amount of Spiritual Medicines available for purchase, the criteria they refer to is contribution, right?”
“Yeah, the subjugation contribution over the past ten years and the founding contribution recognized when the country was established. They combine those two, don’t they?”
“Then what if we link tax payments to that as well?”
Zhuge Jun instantly got goosebumps.
‘This guy, coming up with this kind of idea in a place like this?’
It was something no one had ever thought of, since everyone only considered the contributions made through martial arts.
Yet it was such an easy method.
Of course, this method couldn’t stop the tax evasion of the common people who had no intention of buying Spiritual Medicines in the first place.
Because they would also reduce their family count, omit vegetable gardens, or reduce business profits.
However, the factions that needed Spiritual Medicines would be completely helpless under this.
As long as the state’s near-monopoly on Spiritual Medicines was maintained, they would have no choice but to properly report their income and pay all their taxes just to buy them.
‘This will tightly leash our clan too.’
In his past life, he could feel that Seonwu was actually smart compared to his academic background, and it was a pity because he felt Seonwu would have lived a better life if only his family circumstances had been decent….
‘This guy, it feels like his mind has become even sharper than in his past life.’
It didn’t seem to be just because he received a better education.
‘Well, even our clan’s Internal Cultivation Method helps the brain, so the Imperial Family’s might be even more special. Looking at it solely from my clan’s perspective, it’s putting on a leash, but thinking of the country, what that guy is doing is right.’
As someone with the conscience of a former lawyer, it wasn’t something to oppose.
If so, let’s provide one more practical piece of advice here.
“It’s all good, but if you link it with taxes, the impact of the contribution from subjugating Demonic Monsters will decrease by that much.”
“Ah, you’re right.”
“Then they might not subjugate Demonic Monsters as enthusiastically as before. Especially if it’s a lucrative one like the Qingjuebiao, it’s fine, but they’ll become more passive with ones whose byproducts don’t bring in money. There’s also the risk of dying or getting injured while subjugating them.”
Right now, they still subjugated those things because they had to accumulate contributions to get a purchase quota for Spiritual Medicines.
“Then what should we do?”
“Limit the total amount they can purchase by referring to taxes, but make the actual purchase volume still follow the subjugation contribution just like now.”
“Aha.”
“It won’t catch tax evasion perfectly, but at least reckless tax evasion like the Namgung Clan’s will disappear.”
“As expected…. That’s a proper supplement. Thanks for the advice.”
“Well, it’s nothing.”
Zhuge Jun shrugged his shoulders.
‘For the country, this is right.’
The clan’s loss would be, well…, he would have plenty to reap from Seonwu in the future.
His father was already deeply grateful just for the Spiritual Pills he had received and the grace he had been shown this time.
Seonwu wrapped things up in a broad framework.
“Stealing contribution is on the level of deceiving the sovereign. There’s no legal punishment for excessively squeezing small and medium trading merchants, but since other crimes are punished more heavily, we can leak a rumor that the Imperial Family found this displeasing as well.”
“If you do that, they’ll know to behave appropriately on their own.”
Zhuge Jun agreed that it was a good plan.
“Lastly, regarding taxes, the Namgung Clan got hammered because they were too severe, but for other clans, the past will not be questioned. With this much, other clans won’t ally themselves with the Namgung Clan.”
“Yeah, it’s better to separate and deal with the Namgung Clan alone. No matter how strong the imperial power is, it’s dangerous to casually unleash wide-range attacks.”
“That’s what governance is about.”
Seonwu wrote down the finalized plan, preparing to present it to his imperial father, the Emperor.
“I’ll share the finalized direction of the response with my father. So our clan can move in lockstep with it.”
“Sure, you handle that.”
* * *
Zhuge Jun reported the punishment plan for the Namgung Clan that Seonwu had finalized to the clan leader.
“The official punishments are for stealing contribution to submit a false report and for severe tax evasion. While those two are treated as the crimes, in reality, excessively squeezing the wages of small and medium trading merchants or hired artisans was added to the Gwaessimjoe.”
“Yes.”
“They really went a bit too far.”
With this level of wages, there must have been many artisans who wanted to leave for elsewhere.
The reason they couldn’t wasn’t because the Namgung Clan openly brandished swords and locked them up like the Unorthodox Factions.
Rather, it was because they suppressed them through various clever methods at the same time.
“Threatening them that they won’t be able to find another job, or interfering to make them fail if they go independent. Punishing just a few cases is how you make the rest bow down on their own.”
“Yes, they operated in that manner.”
“But, did he show you all of this and consult you?”
“Yes.”
The clan leader pondered deeply.
‘Does His Highness favor this boy more than I thought?’
Does he think of him as more than just a contact link with his own clan?
“Jun.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Do you think His Highness favors you?”
At that question, Zhuge Jun flinched.
Honestly, thinking about being favored by Seonwu gave him goosebumps.
“I don’t think that’s the case.”
“Even though he consults you on all of this?”
“Isn’t it just to the extent that I am competent and useful?”
“Usually, regarding someone like that is what we call favoring.”
‘Father, that’s a bit different.’
It really wasn’t favor.
Because this was closer to brotherhood than favor.
“In any case, this means he wants you to play the role of informing other influential factions of this intent on behalf of the Main House.”
“Yes.”
“Understood. We shall do so. His Highness is securing another benefit for our clan. Haha, the Main House is already deeply grateful just for the grace of saving a life.”
Why did he call it a benefit when they were being made to act as a herald to spread the news?
It was simple.
Regarding the direction of the Wulin crackdown conducted by the Imperial Family, the Zhuge Clan possessed a string to obtain information a bit faster than others.
If the world believed this, what would happen next?
‘If the Main House can’t secure appropriate benefits from that, it would mean we are fools.’
However, even though they hadn’t left the clan yet, he didn’t speak to him directly but had him speak through his son.
Even when discussing countermeasures, he didn’t call him but consulted with his son.
‘I thought he was trying to buy the Main House through me while keeping my son as a contact and a hostage….’
That was the rational interpretation.
But does he truly favor his son more than he thought?
Although his son was highly outstanding compared to his age, he would still have too little experience and wisdom to truly be called a capable minister, wouldn’t he?
“My son, by any chance, with His Highness….”
“Huh! I don’t know! I met him for the first time in this life!”
The clan leader tilted his head.
‘Hmm, what is it? My word, I can’t interrogate His Highness either. And this fellow looks like he has no intention of speaking further.’
At any rate, it was a gain for the family, but it was a strange matter.
‘Regardless, then I must show the competence of the Main House to His Highness.’
The individual favor his son received was an unstable thing.
They had to show that the family’s capability itself was outstanding to form a more solid connection.
“Already, just with the rumor that the Main House received the grace of saving a life, the majority of Wulin sects won’t have any intention of binding themselves to the Namgung Clan to appeal to the Imperial Family.”
In times like this, you write it as an appeal, but read it as resistance.
“However, we must drive the stake in one more time.”
“Are you going to tell them that since the crimes the Namgung Clan committed are like this, they have nothing to worry about unless they are at that level?”
“Tsk tsk, speaking so openly is what a novice does. You must induce the opponent to arrive at the thought themselves, not command them to think this way.”
“Mmm.”
“Of course, there are many times when leading subordinates that way is efficient, but the opponents are leaders of forces equal to or greater than ours, so do not underestimate them.”
“Yes, my thinking was shallow.”
“Then?”
“Just watch.”
Feeling that he still had things to teach, the Zhuge Clan Leader smiled.
“Yes.”
* * *
The Zhuge Clan Leader immediately took Jun to find Seonwu and stated what he intended to do.
It was none other than Remote Prostration and Penance.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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