Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Breaking the Cartel (9)
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Jo Mal-saeng, one of Joseon's renowned prime ministers, carried the Kim Do-ryeon incident like a tail tagging along for his entire life.
Even when his son passed the civil service exam fair and square, the Ministry of Rites said, "That kid's father is a bribe-gobbling corrupt official's spawn—no good," and delayed his appointment for two years. The same thing happened again when he was appointed as a censor from the Office of Inspectors.
At the time, Jo Mal-saeng wasn't kept out of key posts; he had immense standing as a defense expert. He submitted a petition to King Sejong claiming innocence in the Kim Do-ryeon case and requesting a reinvestigation.
But Sejong consistently ignored it. Though he allowed Jo—the man he'd protected for life as King Taejong's confidant—to return to service, he never overlooked his corruption.
And after Jo Mal-saeng's death, Sejong bestowed the posthumous name "Mun-gang," meaning "a prime minister who covered great crimes with merits," eternally enshrining his misdeeds.
By Joseon standards, where posthumous honor mattered above all, it was honestly a pretty harsh punishment...
But in truth, it wasn't even that bad, because King Sejong the Great's judgment was exceedingly merciful.
Under Joseon law, the man deserved immediate execution, yet Sejong let him work until death, giving him a chance to reclaim his honor.
But now, Yi Bang-won was playing the part of a back-room old man, living it up with joy, even adding three more concubines to enjoy harem life...
His power was unchanged, and no one knew when he might swing that iron mace again.
In other words, Jo Mal-saeng's life had become like that of Crown Prince Sado, reduced to a lab rat for quantum mechanics experiments in a rice chest.
"Right State Councillor."
"......How dare you threaten me like this?"
"Why would I threaten you, my lord? I simply know everything and, more than anyone, wish for you to find the light. I'm just advising you, like I did with those market district tycoons."
In truth, neither King Sejong the Great nor Yi Bang-won knew the full story of the Kim Do-ryeon incident even now.
But once the truth came out, it would reveal that Jo Mal-saeng—the Minister of Punishment at the time—had taken bribes, making things extremely serious.
In modern South Korean criminal law, a judge can reduce a confessor's sentence by up to half at their discretion.
Meaning a five-year prison term could turn into two and a half years suspended after confession.
Joseon wasn't much different.
The market tycoons survived with their lives and family businesses intact only because they followed my lead and confessed when I urged them to.
If the timing had been off even slightly and they'd been arrested before confessing, they'd have ended up headless ghosts without fail.
"Because you trusted this incompetent subordinate, my lord, even the riffraff once called the Fire Cartel have now been embraced by Joseon—though it took time. The massive gunpowder production during my time at the Ministry of Defense was thanks to you, and we even started on those muskets others dismissed as useless."
Even without Jo Mal-saeng's approval, I would've achieved my goals somehow.
They were all necessary for Joseon.
The visible results prove my words—no need to say more.
But without his support, it would've taken far longer.
"During the Kim Do-ryeon incident, you were the Minister of Punishment, weren't you, my lord?"
Cold sweat dripped from Jo Mal-saeng's face.
"As Minister of Punishment, you took thirty-six slaves from Kim Do-ryeon, in exchange for rigging the trial in his favor."
"How on earth do you know that, Kim Sai-in?"
"There's a way to know everything."
"Are you playing word games with me now?"
"You might regret learning it. Can you handle the aftermath?"
At my words, Jo Mal-saeng collapsed as if all strength had drained from his body.
He probably thought Yi Bang-won or Sejong knew everything and were pressuring him to confess before chopping his head off—offering a special chance to live.
But that was absolutely not the case.
Those two still didn't know who took the bribes in the Kim Do-ryeon case.
If I'd been acting on Yi Bang-won's orders, I'd have started with "Yi Bang-won told me to," not twisted words like this.
I'm not braiding dough here.
"The other bribe-takers in that case? Honestly, from my position, I don't care what happens to them. But what kind of relationship do you and I have, my lord?"
Jo Mal-saeng gripped my hand tightly.
"Like Zhuge Liang and Jiang Yu."
......Zhuge Liang was so impeccably honest that even Shu's historians were shocked—"Why does this guy have so little wealth?"—and subtly roasted him for it.
You got into this mess gobbling bribes like a starving dog.
But I'm not the type to shove facts in someone's face and argue cluelessly in a situation like this.
That's what socially inept people do—ruining the mood by always spouting what they think is right, regardless of context.
"So I'm offering you a path to survival, my lord. Go confess right now. You'll get off by surrendering the slaves and wealth you took as bribes."
"Thank you... yes, you're right. I'll go confess and seek the light, just as you say, Kim Sai-in."
Jo Mal-saeng bowed his head in gratitude and immediately headed to the Royal Secretariat to turn himself in.
Watching his retreating figure, I thought:
"I must never end up in a position of lifelong servitude with my weaknesses held over me."
People should only work until retirement age.
Why else would retirement exist?
It's best for everyone involved to stop at that age.
Forcing an aging brain that's slowing down to churn through work, commuting with a cane—how exhausting would that be?
Joseon's palace has no elevators, just endless stairs. The thought of climbing them daily with a cane makes my palms sweat.
"I'll live righteously. And no matter what, I'll retire by sixty at the latest!"
**
Jo Mal-saeng confessed at the Royal Secretariat that he was a criminal and named everyone who'd taken bribes from Kim Do-ryeon.
Those guys weren't close to him anyway, and they weren't all that important.
By stabbing his fellow bribe-takers in the back, Jo ended up in prison physically but felt utterly relieved in spirit.
"If not for Kim Sai-in, I'd have taken an iron mace to the head and met my ancestors far too soon."
Criminal cases like Kim Do-ryeon weren't critical enough to threaten the ancestral shrines and altars.
So normally, Royal Secretariat runners or low-ranking officers would handle arrests and investigations...
But the Judge of the Royal Secretariat, hearing Jo's confession, immediately summoned all the gold bureau investigators to arrest the criminals.
If he'd confessed even a bit later, Jo might've endured the full torture course.
"Dodged the iron mace."
Slaves and money could be regained through continued service—no big worry.
As he sighed in relief, a very familiar voice reached Jo Mal-saeng.
"Indeed, you're one lucky bastard. Confess a little later, and even in the best case, you'd be exiled to Sam-su Gap-san to rot; worst case, beheaded for bribery."
"S-Su, Supreme King, Your Highness."
Facing Yi Bang-won in prison, Jo Mal-saeng was utterly terrified.
"A Minister of Punishment takes thirty-six slaves as a 'favor' in a lawsuit over a thousand? Was I that laughable?"
"No, sire! How could this servant dare mock Your Highness?"
"If not, explain taking thirty-six slaves. Fine, I get it. A back-room fossil like me might seem ridiculous... like that Goryeo ghost Ryu Jeong-hyeon."
Ryu Jeong-hyeon was actually Yi Bang-won's human iron mace.
So "Goryeo ghost" didn't quite fit, but that wasn't the point now.
"Please execute me."
"Since you repented and confessed, I'll show special mercy. From now on, you can never resign until you die."
Lifelong service beat rotting in exile at Sam-su Gap-san or becoming a headless ghost—by miles.
Thus, lifelong service was the Supreme King's blazing mercy.
"Your benevolence overwhelms me."
"Returning those thirty-six slaves ends your punishment."
"In remorse, this servant wishes to offer four thousand seom of white rice to the court. Please grant this request."
"So be it. Use that rice to fill the bellies of our soldiers shivering in the northern frontier."
All four thousand seom of white rice to the north...
It meant one thing.
'Jurchen subjugation.'
"You're unmatched at managing the military, so devote yourself to facing the Jurchens and wash away your sins."
"Your benevolence overwhelms me, Your Highness."
"You'll be released tomorrow."
With that, Yi Bang-won departed the Royal Secretariat, black gonryongpo robes fluttering.
Returning to the palace, he smacked his lips.
"Jo Mal-saeng and Prime Minister Hwang Hui have exploitable weaknesses, so I can block their resignations. But Kim Dae-bung—that disloyal bastard—has none..."
A minister like Kim Dae-bung should uphold the ancestral shrines until his dying breath...
Lately, court slaves and eunuchs reported that, disloyally, Kim Dae-bung planned to resign before sixty.
Truly outrageous.
It grated harshly on Yi Bang-won's ears.
"Doesn't passing the exam as a scholar mean swearing lifelong devotion to the shrines? Isn't that right, Minister Kim Sang-on?"
"This servant isn't yangban aristocracy, so I wouldn't know."
"Tsk, what a pity."
"But didn't Your Highness specially elevate his favorite concubine to principal wife as a grace?"
Yi Bang-won sighed at those words.
That alone wasn't enough to ease his mind.
"Looks like I need to hike with Do (Sejong's personal name) today and discuss this."
For some reason, Yi Bang-won didn't show up on time that day, so Sejong—thinking no hike and thrilled—had his hopes crushed.
And hearing on the hike about Kim Dae-bung dreaming of retirement was devastating; Sejong's heart broke.
The next day, as per the trickle-down scolding law, work piled mercilessly on the ministers.