Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Hanyang Great Fire (1)
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Where there is light, shadows are bound to form.
It's an undeniable fact that Joseon has flourished greatly under the economic and tax reforms led by Kim Dae-bung. But not everyone was happy about it or content to simply enjoy the benefits.
Merchants who couldn't keep up with the changing times began dropping out of the competition in droves. Among the yangban class, some even gnashed their teeth at the court, complaining why they had to pay the taxes that poor commoners used to bear.
Besides those mentioned, there were others who utterly despised this prosperity.
"Dol-soe, is this any way for the world to be? No, what the hell did we do so wrong that the world has to screw us over like this?"
Dol-soe replied.
"Have butchers like us ever been treated like people? Is this anything new?"
"Back in the day, even the commoner lords lived hand-to-mouth if they weren't rich, so I could shrug it off and get by. But now? Those commoner lords are all living it up like kings. Seeing them like that just pisses me off and boils my blood—I can't even breathe. What did we do wrong to end up as butchers? We were just born this way. Does that mean we have to live in poverty and get spat on for it? Why is the world so damn stingy only with us?"
King Sejong spared no effort to embrace the butchers as proper commoners of Joseon.
Not only did he give them wasteland for reclamation free of charge, but he also provided food to sustain them during the process and had local commoners teach them farming techniques.
Kim Dae-bung evaluated this policy like this:
It was as if the state was handing each of them a fully remodeled apartment ready for immediate occupancy, all in an effort to turn butchers into proper people.
If they lived three generations without issue in compliance with the policy, the butcher record was erased from their status. The state even arranged marriages for them.
Those with talent in martial arts were hired for positions like deputy constables or armored soldiers.
With such generous state support, most upright butchers somehow became decent commoners in Joseon. However, quite a few refused the state's aid to become commoners.
"What insane demand did we make? Slaughtering cows and horses to sell the meat—that's our trade. Then Goryeo falls, Joseon rises, and suddenly they flip out and ban killing cows and horses."
"It's ridiculous, alright."
"Back when we sold beef and pork, we got scorned but could still eat rice three meals a day. Now? Killing horses wastes military supplies, so no. Killing cows wastes farm animals, so no. They've banned it all, so how are we supposed to even put food on the table? The state says just quit butchering and farm. But silkworms eat mulberry leaves, not pine—they'd die on pine. Telling us to drop our trade and farm? Is that even sane?"
The state offered arable wasteland, but moving to the provinces meant facing all sorts of discrimination anyway.
For people in the despised trade of slaughtering—called butchers—the state was suddenly giving them land for free that even commoners didn't have...
And telling locals to live alongside them and teach them to farm.
From the farmers' perspective, it was natural to think, "Why the hell are we fawning over those butcher scum, giving them free land and teaching them to farm like they're special?"
So the farmers pointed fingers and discriminated against the butchers.
Those butchers who assimilated as commoners endured the scorn and discrimination, successfully reclaimed the wasteland, and ended up owning their own land.
"Damn it, life is this hard for us to survive. Why do others get to live so well? The more I think about it, the more it eats at me—I can't stand it."
The world is full of rotten scum who can stomach their own starvation but can't bear to see others thrive.
Butcher Dol-soe was one such type.
Even though the court banned butchers from slaughtering cows and horses, and forbade them from hunting and causing chaos on their own...
Most Joseon commoners didn't even own land and lived as tenant farmers. For the state to give these people fields for free and help them start new lives was a special privilege. The normal response would be gratitude and hard work.
But Butcher Dol-soe just whined about the old days and drowned his sorrows in booze. He could hardly be called a sane person.
"Hey, let's do a big score. Rob 'em blind."
"You talking about hitting a rich house? They've got slaves and high walls—not easy."
"What nonsense? Hitting a noble house or rich folk is too risky."
A brilliant idea struck Dol-soe, a thug with a rotten soul who'd done his share of gangster work on the Hanyang streets.
"Robbing rich houses is dangerous. So let's hit Namchon, where all those moderately well-off folks live. Skip the interpreters' quarter, though."
"As expected of you, brother. Sharp as a tack."
"One more thing: sneaking in at night for jewelry or rice and getting caught? People scream, grab sticks—total chaos."
Dol-soe's subordinate, listening intently, tilted his head.
If owners caught thieves mid-robbery, of course they'd scream and grab whatever—a broom, anything—to fight back for their property.
He couldn't understand why Dol-soe was belaboring such an obvious point.
"So we set fires."
"Pardon?"
Dol-soe smacked his dim-witted follower's head.
"Think about it. Wooden houses? They burn great. When fire breaks out, owners ditch the valuables and run."
"Right, they'd lose their minds."
"We hit the houses while they're panicking. They'll be too busy fighting the fire to notice us cleaning them out."
"Brother Dol-soe, you're a genius."
"Yeah, you idiot. And since we're at it, let's make it huge."
"Don't these jobs work better with a small crew?"
More people in a heist or crime means more risk.
The bigger the group, the easier to spot.
"Idiot, that's for sloppy jobs with ten or twenty. But mobilize dozens at once, set fires across multiple neighborhoods? The court, Hanseong Office, Chungmuwi—they won't catch us. Too chaotic."
"Brother, I respect you. Truly brilliant."
"Call Mireuk and Ja-geuk first. Round up everyone we know in Hanyang and hit big. We'll rob Namchon where the market merchants live. Have the others torch the healers' quarter and loot it. The world screws us poor folks while they live fat—ain't right. Poor sods like us need to eat too."
It was a vicious statement that made honest poor folk like Old Mother Sunduk of Jinhae County look like fools for never committing crimes and just working hard.
But to them, it was perfectly natural for poor, destitute people like themselves to set fires and steal.
Poor as they were, they needed money, so taking from "rich fat cats" and "city folk" was fair game. What was wrong with that?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Intendant of Hanseong, Hanyang is extremely vulnerable to fires."
The Intendant of Hanseong shook his head.
"You think I don't know that? That's why I've ordered wells dug and sand stockpiled. We've prepared for emergencies too."
"Digging wells and stockpiling sand isn't enough. Teaching citizens how to respond is far more crucial."
The Intendant bristled at my words.
"Kim, the Royal Inspector, you're insufferably arrogant. Do you think His Majesty's and the Former King's favor makes you Prime Minister?"
"I'm head of the Transmission Office, but right now, I'm voicing the same concerns as the Minister of Works. Hanyang's population has exploded in a short time, and so have the new shacks, making it even more fire-prone."
"I know that. But how can we do everything at once? We take it step by step. Just managing Jongno market is overwhelming. Over five hundred stalls have sprung up near the Noryangjin and Yanghwajin ferries alone—proper shops, at that."
"If you'll permit, I'll request aid not just from the Ministry of Works but from the Ten Garrisons, including Chungmuwi."
Joseon is developing at an astonishing pace right now.
Hanyang, the political and commercial heart, changes visibly in population and face with every passing year.
In the process of commercial activation via the Bangwon Law, if I establish a factory system for crafts?
Hanyang will expand several times over from its current size.
We need fire response guidelines and training now to prepare—even if just for that future.
Otherwise, disasters like Japan's Meireki Great Fire, which killed over a hundred thousand and burned half of Edo, will happen here.
"I don't see the need for all that. Instead, I'll order the patrol guards to be more vigilant and thorough. And speed up the wells and sand stockpiles. You may go."
I'm not the king of Joseon.
So I can't push everything my way.
This is the best for now.
"Understood."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hanyang thug Dol-soe quietly headed to Namchon, where merchants clustered.
There, he secretly scouted houses worth robbing.
"Which one's good?"
He easily found a suitable target while scouting.
A house roofed with tiles, no slaves in sight—the perfect size.
These were prime for looting.
"Hey, light the neighbor's first."
"Yes, brother."
His follower sneaked in an ember and started the blaze.
That night, wicked villains in Hanseong-bu set fires simultaneously across the board.
Kim Dae-bung's fears had come true.