Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Commercial City Hanyang (13)
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Chief State Councillor Hwang Hee of Joseon, the man above all but the king.
He had achieved almost everything a Joseon yangban could possibly accomplish.
Not a founding merit subject, but with a position just as solid, wealth piled up to a level that would be hard to spend in a lifetime, and he had even played the vanguard role in sweeping away the rotten Goryeo and advancing Joseon.
Even now, a passion called loyalty to the country blazed within him, but his frail body at 64 struggled to contain that fervor.
Thus, as a sign that it was time to look back on his accomplishments, enjoy the clear winds and bright moon, and take some comfortable rest, he resolved to retire.
"With excellent talents like Kim Dae-bung behind me, it would be best all around for an old hag past sixty like me to retire as soon as possible."
Of course, even if he retired, Kim Dae-bung wouldn't become Chief State Councillor right away.
But within ten years at the earliest, twenty at the latest, he would take the position and shoulder the central role in developing Joseon...
Clinging to the Chief State Councillor seat just because an old man like him had entered officialdom earlier struck him as the act of a power-obsessed old fogey—like Ryu Jeong-hyeon, whose head had been lopped off by the ghosts of Goryeo.
This had absolutely nothing to do with watching Kim Dae-bung work lately and thinking that if he rose to high minister, he'd start lobbing work bombs my way too.
How could a Joseon scholar ever refuse to serve his country?
"Right Prime Minister."
"Seeing that radiant smile on your face, it seems some good news has come your way."
"Oh, nothing all that grand. Just reflecting on everything from before Goryeo fell to now, I realized that even a nobody like me has contributed to the ancestral shrines and the state in various ways as a subject. It made me feel proud of myself."
"Indeed, without Your Excellency the Chief State Councillor, it would have been exceedingly difficult to sort out the chaos after the founding of the nation."
Before Kim Dae-bung appeared, Hwang Hee had roamed all sorts of treacherous places, synthesized the opinions of various ministers in court, and offered timely counsel in diverse situations to correct the kingdom's errors.
Of course, he'd taken quite a few gifts (bribes) in the process, which censor officials jealous of him had used to impeach him several times, leading to dismissals...
And he'd stuck to the eldest-son succession principle, defending Grand Prince Yangnyeong to the end, only to be exiled by King Taejong for a rather long stretch...
'For the me of today, not a shred of regret remains.'
"But now I'm too old. The passion in my heart is still as fierce as at twenty, yet this body past sixty keeps sending signals that it can't keep up anymore. So I've accepted that it's time to retire, and today I intend to submit my resignation."
Hwang Hee's eyes reddened slightly.
Thinking of leaving the court he'd served for so long brought a flood of regrets.
"To speak bluntly, what reason is there for a wretch like me to have entered service and risen to Chief State Councillor? King Taejo must have lacked talent for the new state, so he had no choice but to appoint the incompetent like me. But now we have young, capable men like Hanseong Magistrate Kim Dae-bung, and with you at the fore, a roster of trustworthy prime ministers. Wouldn't it be right for a useless, dim-witted old man like me to retire? If only to stop burdening the court any further."
Jo Mal-saeng, who had spent his life in government, thought as he heard Hwang Hee's retirement resolve.
That guy's just saying this because he doesn't want to deal with Kim Dae-bung anymore.
"Your Excellency the Chief State Councillor."
"Right Prime Minister, I'm sorry to you, but I'm entrusting my successor to you. And as I resign, I'll earnestly petition His Majesty to appoint Magistrate Kim as a high minister without fail..."
Jo Mal-saeng cut Hwang Hee off.
"Your Excellency, this is Right Prime Minister Jo Mal-saeng speaking. Why hold back between us like this? Open your heart and speak your true mind. Honestly, isn't it the mountain of work piled up by Magistrate Kim that's made you decide to resign?"
"No, it's not. Right Prime Minister, just what do you take me for?"
"This subject can't resign anyway. Then how about petitioning His Majesty right now to send Magistrate Kim to the Hall of Worthies, and have Your Excellency take sole charge as director there..."
"......Don't even speak of such things. Just thinking about it..."
While serving as Chief State Councillor in the State Council, he wouldn't have to take direct hits from Kim Dae-bung's work bombs.
He could just review the documents he prepared, correct the occasional errors, and mediate conflicts among the ministers and offices.
But if he became the overall director (in charge) of the Hall of Worthies, he'd have to join the endless back-and-forth contests between Kim Dae-bung and Sejong, compile them all, and research them into policy?
Even a brief thought made cold sweat break out.
'That, I absolutely cannot do.'
"Alright, to be frank. Past sixty, my body is weary, so I want to resign and live in peace and comfort. I've already climbed to the position above all but the king—why force this old frame to suffer in office any longer? I want to watch my cute grandchildren play at home, float a boat on the river, sip some liquor, enjoy the winds and streams, and live at ease."
"Hearing you speak so frankly—how refreshing."
"In any case, I'll submit my resignation. This time, I'll make it stick. Absolutely."
In 21st-century Korea, when a civil servant submits a resignation, it's usually accepted immediately, granting freedom right away.
And unless it's a special case, they become fully free to start retirement life.
But in Joseon, officials' lives involved multiple disciplinary dismissals or exiles akin to indefinite imprisonment... yet still returning to office.
Among high ministers and above, few hadn't faced dismissal or stripping of rank.
In such a kingdom, whenever they faced scandals or felt their long tenure in high posts growing inconvenient, they often submitted resignation memorials.
These were to secure justification from the king for remaining in office, who would promptly reject them with all sorts of reasons.
Hwang Hee had submitted several such memorials himself up to now.
"What a pity, Your Excellency. Still, you've worked hard."
"Right Prime Minister, prepare to take some more flak."
Hwang Hee finished his talk with Right Prime Minister Jo Mal-saeng and submitted his resignation memorial to the Office of Royal Decrees.
He thought this time he could truly retire in peace.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ King Sejong received the resignation memorial penned by Hwang Hee.
His brow furrowed as he read it.
"Obtaining a prime minister as excellent as Hwang Hee in Joseon is never easy... Why does he demean and humble himself so, wishing to retire...?"
Borrowing Kim Dae-bung's phrasing, King Sejong thought differently from ordinary men altogether.
While he merely sought out necessary tasks, His Majesty enjoyed work itself.
A sage king who obsessed over overtime because work was so delightful, who even when King Taejong hid books would somehow find ones to read—and read them again and again.
If one sought beings akin to Sejong...
While master's and doctoral students dreaded tough theses with fear and worry, eccentric genius professors delighted purely in new discoveries, reveling in them.
And they had a tendency to share that joy by dragging fresh undergrads into grad school.
Joseon lacked graduate programs, so he sent them into officialdom instead, assigning thorny tasks to impart the joy of dedicating oneself to the ancestral shrines and state.
"Just hearing of the people's lives improving bit by bit through devotion to the kingdom fills me with such happiness... How can he abandon that joy? Truly incomprehensible."
Yet resigning from office was each man's will, and one couldn't begrudge that.
This world brimmed with all sorts of diverse folk, after all.
Like how Queen Wonkyong had clung to Grand Prince Hyoryeong's trouser legs to barely dissuade his bid to take the tonsure.
"Even one as capable as Hwang Hee can grow weary. But I cannot permit his resignation."
A talent like Hwang Hee, volunteering for service, ought rightly to devote himself to the kingdom until death.
Through such devotion, elevating his house and name in honor, gaining wealth and glory—what greater joy?
Work just a bit more, and he could witness the people's happiness and the kingdom's prosperity with his own eyes—why pen such tragic words of resignation...?
Sejong sighed and picked up a yakgwa from the tray.
Yakgwa was precious, but with commerce booming lately, wheat flour and malt syrup had grown relatively easy to obtain, so even Sejong could enjoy it often.
"But while I might let Kim Dae-bung go, blocking Hwang Hee's resignation has plenty of ways."
Unlike Kim Dae-bung, Hwang Hee had many vulnerabilities.
In other words, quashing his memorial was a breeze.
"Right now, issue a secret order to Inspector General Choi Man-ri of the Office of Censors to impeach Chief State Councillor Hwang Hee over last year's corruption scandal."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Those with many flaws could simply have their corruption memorials raised.
Then they couldn't resign, willy-nilly.
Better to stay longer without punishment than face it after quitting.
Having thus blocked Hwang Hee's resignation, Sejong chewed the yakgwa in his mouth and mused.
"Yakgwa used to be exceedingly rare before, but now it's relatively common—all thanks to commerce's advance... Kim Dae-bung would phrase it thus: increased supply from commercial development has met demand more easily, driving prices down."
As that principle came to mind, inspiration struck Sejong.
"We can make a new gazetteer. Compile a book cataloging the realm's local specialties, urging merchants to focus on their production... Even pricey wheat flour like this could drop further in cost. More wheat planted where it's suited to grow would boost supply."
The thought barely formed when Sejong drafted an edict himself and sent it to the Office of Special Counsel.
The content was simple.
An order appointing Kim Dae-bung as research fellow of the Hall of Worthies.