Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Matchlock Guns and the Northern Expedition (6)
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Currently, Kim Man-deok was Joseon's greatest tycoon.
Until recently, all those known as the top great merchants had been caught by Kim Dae-bung for using abnormal tactics like hoarding or monopolies, resulting in half their fortunes being confiscated.
Kim Man-deok, on the other hand, had run his trading company so cleanly from his days doing business in Jinju until settling in Hanyang—and thanks to his son-in-law, he had solidly established his influence in the newly developing commercial districts near the capital—which allowed him to rise as the foremost great merchant.
On top of that, by using the dozens of large ships he owned to transport massive quantities of goods like rice, he raked in enormous profits that way too.
And he enjoyed tremendous respect among the merchants of the capital's market guilds.
"You must have had a tough time coming all the way to my house at such a late hour. How's business treating everyone?"
"Lately, with ships available for trade becoming more plentiful and markets springing up in every town across the eight provinces, business has been better than ever. Thanks to that, this humble merchant was able to earn more than double last year's income."
From the great merchants' perspective, Kim Dae-bung was nothing short of a calamity.
He had pinpointed the harms of monopolies that no one had ever called out before, pointed straight at them with a "You there, Goryeo," and suddenly the heads of those who'd been profiting off rice monopolies the way everyone else did went flying.
He branded the custom of price-fixing through collusion as a sin and stripped half their fortunes.
Yet those who followed Kim Dae-bung's directives and traded fairly ended up making even greater profits than before...
So they couldn't simply hate him and keep their distance.
No, with their lost wealth never coming back, they knew full well that the path to survival lay in sticking close to Kim Dae-bung and scooping up whatever scraps fell their way in the future.
"If a great merchant like you has earned more than double your income, then the others must have made a killing too, right?"
"Yes, my lord."
The faces of the assembled merchants weren't plastered with forced, fake smiles—they were beaming with genuine broad grins.
All of them had profited immensely from the nationwide market expansion.
"This is all thanks to His Highness's benevolence, isn't it? The ways of the world demand that for every loss, there's a gain. We're no exception. Having received such immense grace, we must repay His Highness in kind, wouldn't you say?"
At the mention of repaying that benevolence, the market guild merchants' faces stiffened instantly.
It couldn't be that they, as merchants, were being told to go fight at the front with swords in hand, or to serve as lowly clerks somewhere...
No, it was obvious they were about to be asked to cough up money since the kingdom needed funds to prepare for war.
The quick-witted ones among them immediately started playing pitiful to minimize how much they had to shell out.
"In my case, I have my own circumstances. Business is good, sure, but I've sunk so much money into it..."
"My heart is eager to contribute my wealth for the kingdom, but the last shipment of ships I sent out ran into a storm, so..."
"I'll give as much as I possibly can, but please forgive how meager it may be."
Kim Man-deok chuckled dryly as he watched them.
It was utterly ridiculous.
If they'd spouted this nonsense in front of the Minister of Finance he served or other high officials, those lords might have thought, "They must have their reasons," and reduced the amount they planned to collect.
But Kim Man-deok, seasoned as a merchant, could tell from their feigned helpless expressions, gestures, and body language that they were putting on a thorough act.
'Putting on quite the show just to dodge taxes.'
"Listen, are your situations really that dire?"
At Kim Man-deok's question, Kim Joo-il—the head of a large agricultural tool workshop in Yongsan—replied cautiously.
"It's not dire, per se, but I've poured every last coin into expanding the business, so I don't have much liquid wealth on hand right now."
"Hmm, I see. But looking closely at your face, I get the feeling you're lying."
"It's true, my lord..."
"A true merchant can lie without changing a single shade of color or expression. But don't we all know each other's tricks? Even you kept your face straight, but your pupils trembled ever so slightly. You're probably thinking of offering just half of what you could actually spare."
Kim Man-deok hated having to summon merchants even on his day off and hound them for donations because of his son-in-law.
They'd said succeeding here could earn him junior rank 7th grade—which, strictly speaking, wasn't bad for him...
But that was that, and this was this. Already worn out from constant overtime and exhaustion, this hard-won holiday was being spent on such nonsense... His irritation boiled over.
'My son-in-law isn't a son-in-law—he's a workaholic demon possessed by an overwork ghost.'
But what was truly terrifying was that the tasks Kim Dae-bung assigned seemed impossibly grueling at first, yet somehow got done if you pushed through to the brink of death.
Being driven beyond one's limits was true horror.
Recalling his days working under Kim Dae-bung as a secret royal inspector during those undercover escapades sent a sudden chill down his spine.
And that frustration and fear now turned toward the merchants who dared evade taxes while begrudging contributions at a time like this.
"Do you know this? Yangban landlords pay about 16 percent—1 geun 6 pun—of the yield from their lands as tax. One geun for land tax, roughly 6 pun under the cloth commutation law. But what about us merchants? We fudge the books a bit and pay around 10 percent based on the listed assets and income, don't we?"
"Yes, that's right..."
"And since those ledgers are manipulated—listing only half the assets and halving the income—it works out to just 2 pun 5 ri—about 2.5 percent—in reality. Well, the current Joseon system doesn't crack down on all that, so I have no intention of grabbing an axe like my son-in-law and causing a ruckus over it."
At the mention of "my son-in-law," the merchants began to tremble.
They all simultaneously pictured Kim Dae-bung in his official robes, dancing like a thug with an axe in hand.
He'd never actually done such a thing, but that's how he appeared to them.
A madman who sentenced all tax evaders and national pests to death.
And they still vividly remembered seeing that axe he claimed to sharpen daily.
'I always prepare a petition to the throne. And if it's rejected and my head rolls, I want to die in one clean stroke, so I keep the blade razor-sharp.'
"But being so stingy when the kingdom faces great peril doesn't paint you in a good light. Fine, then. Let's do it this way."
Since his son-in-law had dumped this task on him, Kim Man-deok figured he'd sell out his son-in-law if need be to handle it smoothly.
If the easy approach didn't work, he could always drag the son-in-law in directly.
"If you can say the same thing to my son-in-law's face, then go ahead."
"At the moment, we don't even know how much we can contribute."
"I understand completely."
Even the heads of trading companies didn't have a full grasp of every cash flow in their operations.
They had to discuss with subordinates how much they could pull without issues.
Pledging an amount rashly could leave them unable to pay for immediate goods.
"I'll give you a week. In a week, I'll watch to see how much you voluntarily add to the kingdom's coffers."
"Yes, my lord..."
"The Ministry of Finance will review your sincerity. Now, off with you."
Having heard that, the merchants fled like they'd seen a ghost.
Where they'd sat lay all sorts of precious gifts, scattered like spoils of war.
Among them were sugar and fruit, which had become relatively common lately.
"This sugar and fruit should go to our Gyeol."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Sejong found himself re-evaluating the merchants' wealth.
The reason was that the scale of voluntary donations from Kim Man-deok and the other merchants—persuaded through conversation, of course—far exceeded imagination.
"The Hanyang market guild merchants pooled over 150,000 seom of white rice in total... Commerce truly is remarkable."
Looking back, it was absurd that he'd once considered scorning people who handled such vast sums.
Even more astonishing was that handing over so much wealth hadn't dealt them any major blow.
"No matter that Hanyang's market guilds are the top among merchants across the eight provinces, for them alone to muster 150,000 seom of white rice."
Seeing the merchants step up like this prompted yangban officials to offer their own contributions from various sources, piling up over 400,000 seom of goods in the court.
Thanks to this, even though the war hadn't begun, the naval stations across the eight provinces would all have to start transporting rice and supplies to the planned advance points right away.
It was a delicious dilemma.
Not fretting over a lack of resources, but agonizing over the overflowing rice.
"Kim Dae-bung's resourcefulness is truly extraordinary. Securing funds to feed over 25,000 troops and purchase weapons and all else needed. But he's so exasperating."
A man this capable showed not a single flaw.
If he were a true loyal servant, he should remain in office until death, like Jo Mal-saeng...
Why declare he'd resign before turning sixty?
And in just a gak—fifteen minutes—his time for new script research would end, and he'd be dragged off by his father for mounted archery practice, which only fueled his anger further.
Before long, Yi Bang-won came to see Sejong.
"My son, have you gotten a feel for the new script yet?"
"I'm still at the stage of devising methods from reading books."
"Haha, as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so take it slow. Right, even Confucius emphasized the six arts and encouraged archery and horsemanship. Come on, let's get some exercise today. It's all for the ancestral temple, the state altar, and you, isn't it?"
Sejong thought to himself.
*Aren't you just happy to have an excuse for a hunt under the guise of health?*
Yet the filial King Sejong the Great couldn't bring himself to voice it.
Today, too, Sejong emerged a bit healthier thanks to Yi Bang-won.