Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: Maps and Trade (6)
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There’s a saying: “Even the Great Wall crumbles from a single ant hole.”
A tiny ant hole in the massive Great Wall wouldn’t bring it down on its own, but what if someone spotted that hole...
And relentlessly hammered at it with a pickaxe? Even the Great Wall could be smashed through.
The unity among Jinhae’s merchants had reached this point with one traitor emerging, leaving them in a position where they were bound to collapse like the Great Wall from a single ant hole.
“The other merchants say they can’t run their trading houses if taxes suddenly go up like that. Is your view different, brother-in-law?”
Collecting appropriate taxes from merchants was only natural.
Among Jinhae County’s merchants, many lived as poorly as tenant farmers, but those doing big business earned incomes equivalent to hundreds or even thousands of seom of white rice annually—not a few of them.
Yet Joseon was a country weak in commerce, so if merchants used double books to ridiculously underreport their income for tax evasion...
The government had no way of uncovering it.
During the Tokugawa shogunate, major merchants from Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto, down to influential ones in each domain, exploited the samurai’s ignorance of commerce and economy through accounting tricks to pay almost no taxes.
We can’t allow that in our Joseon.
So raising merchant taxes to the level ordinary commoners paid was something that absolutely had to be done.
“As my brother-in-law said, we’re Joseon’s people too, so of course we should pay a fair tax. And it’s not like they’re demanding more from us just because we’re wealthier—it’s the same level as other commoners... How could we oppose that?”
“As expected, brother holds the deepest love for the country.”
“Loyalty to king and devotion to country is the natural duty of every Joseon man, from the Chief State Councillor at the top to slaves at the bottom. Even as a merchant, how could I forget that?”
With brother opening the floodgates, all I had to do was steer the mood toward agreeing to pay taxes, and it’d be done.
Those present wouldn’t be able to voice refusal and would have no choice but to accept.
Because both power and justification were on our side.
“To fulfill my duty as a man, I’ll pay the proper taxes.”
“Thank you, brother-in-law.”
“But paying proper taxes will only be possible starting next year.”
“Not this year?”
Kim Man-seok looked at my face with a pitying expression.
“Don’t we merchants hold vast wealth and goods, buying and selling them everywhere to make money? Our trading house alone has warehouses piled mountain-high with silk, honey, dried persimmons, and all sorts of valuables. But if we suddenly have to pay some of that as taxes, it could ruin the year’s business entirely—or even bankrupt the house in the worst case.”
“Is that so?”
Koreans today have probably had plenty of such experiences.
Like having plenty of money in the bank but leaving your card, cash, and phone at home, leaving you unable to buy anything or even take the bus.
Companies too—rolling cash and goods around, then hit with a sudden tax bomb and seized all at once...
They might not be able to pay suppliers right away.
That halts deals, bounces incoming bills, leading to defaults.
Even with money coming in from all sides, the company goes bust.
Joseon merchants weren’t much different.
So demanding 16% of this year’s income in taxes right now was basically telling them to drop dead.
“So how about we skip this year and start paying taxes from next year?”
“...His Highness wishes to collect them properly starting this year.”
“His Highness surely wants us merchants to do honest business and live well. But a sudden big tax like this would bankrupt most of us here. Not just us, but merchants across Joseon, right?”
The key in negotiations is starting with demands bigger and more unreasonable than your real goal.
The listener thinks, What nonsense is this? and feels utterly bewildered.
But having been shocked once, when you pretend to consider their side and offer a realistic compromise, they fall into the illusion of a reasonable negotiation.
I was using this principle, staging a scripted play with my brother-in-law to persuade the merchants.
“Brother-in-law, that really won’t do.”
“Brother, please submit a petition to His Highness and ask him to reconsider. Demanding that much tax from merchants all at once this year could halt Joseon’s commerce right here. Countless trading houses would go under.”
I placed a hand on my forehead as if my head ached and let out a deep sigh at his words.
“It’s not usually something I’d even consider, but I’ll petition His Highness to collect proper taxes from merchants starting next year, not this one.”
“Thank you, brother.”
“Merchants are Joseon’s people too. Protecting Jinhae’s merchants is important business.”
If I’d started by saying taxes from next year, they’d have whined about how they’d survive paying that much starting then...
But by opening with the unreasonable “this year,” they now accepted next year with resigned expressions.
“We think we can pay taxes starting next year.”
“We’ll keep that in mind for our dealings and prepare accordingly.”
With their promise to pay from next year, we could now collect 16% of income from merchants, just like from tenant farmers.
Of course, unlike farmers, they moved around trading with irregular cash flows, so they could easily find loopholes...
Hanyang officials weren’t hopeless at economics—just dull. If I had merchant-origin officials like Kim Man-deok teach the Treasury staff how to read accounts...
With their exam-honed learning ability plus accounting skills, they’d spot manipulations easily enough.
“It’s a relief you’re cooperating like this.”
Those evading taxes illegally weren’t Joseon’s people but criminals; those paying properly were.
Meaning, the ones I had to protect and help.
I’d used Sejong’s authority and dirty tricks as persuasion tools, but since they’d promised to pay, I owed them some real help.
“The court is compiling a gazetteer of Joseon’s eight provinces. It’ll record local specialties nationwide, so those who get it can see them at a glance.”
“Will you distribute the gazetteer to merchants like us too?”
“We’ll make a version excluding military secrets and vital state info, and sell it to all Joseon’s merchants.”
A gazetteer wasn’t just maps.
It’d list each district’s specialties, what’d sell well—tons of info.
Info like that was priceless this era, and selling it officially would make their eyes light up.
But the carrot I offered didn’t stop there.
The important part came now.
“Anyway, aren’t you the first in Joseon to agree to pay taxes properly? So I’ll specially petition His Highness to let Jinhae merchants sell their goods with labels like this.”
“What kind of labels?”
“‘Dried persimmons the King ate and found delicious from Jinhae,’ ‘Jinhae paulownia tableware the King tried and approved.’ For other places’ specialties, it’ll require strict verification—only items or foods His Highness personally approves. But for you, I’ll make an exception.”
The Jinhae merchants’ eyes flashed wide at my words.
They might not grasp “brand” value or its mechanics fully...
But they instinctively knew how well “Jinhae dried persimmons the King himself ate and called delicious” would sell across the eight provinces.
“Really?”
“Why would I lie? Pay taxes properly and produce specialties right, and I’ll petition His Highness myself to make it happen.”
Test it on Jinhae dried persimmons and such first...
Later, apply it selectively to top-grade specialties when Sejong wanted, skyrocketing their brand value.
King Sejong had an open mind; he’d accept with good explanation.
“We trust you, my lord.”
“Good. From next year, no fudging books to cut taxes—report straight and pay up proper.”