Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Maps and Trade (8)
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Pre-modern censuses were nowhere near as accurate as modern ones.
Even so, Joseon ranked among the most centralized states of the 15th century, so the discrepancies between census figures and actual population were relatively small.
However, when wars like the Imjin Waeran or massive famines struck, the administrative network often collapsed, leading to household registers showing populations halved from previous levels. The census system was riddled with such flaws.
Historians estimate that while such disasters did kill many, the maximum death and missing toll—even at the highest guesses—was around 10% of the total population.
"Jinhae County is the place where Kim Dae-bung first took office and established order, and the succeeding magistrates who followed him there devoted themselves body and soul to serving the people. To see such a drastic population shift from a new household census is truly astonishing."
King Sejong was utterly shocked when he first learned of Jinhae County's 15% population increase.
But the brilliant mind that had shone across every field began analyzing why Jinhae County's numbers could surge so dramatically.
Finding slash-and-burn farmers who torched mountains to clear fields, or fugitives hiding in remote areas to evade military service and taxes, would have been no easy task for magistrates or yangban.
Joseon's administration was indeed more refined than Ming China's or Japan's, but even it wasn't perfect enough to track down every last one of those types.
Thus, magistrates and their clerks alone couldn't possibly grasp the full count of a county's people.
"At first, I even wondered if Jinhae's previous magistrates simply lacked the will to properly tally their people. But upon reflection, there's only one magistrate per county, and even combining all the clerks, their numbers are few—and they cluster in the county seat. Knowing the ins and outs of every remote village would be impossible for them."
"Your Highness's thinking is spot on. No clerk, even one who's lived in the county for decades, could possibly track the shifting lives of those in the outlying areas."
"The Chief State Councillor speaks truly. And so Kim Dae-bung grouped the people into myeon, ri, tong, and ban, enabling the county magistrate to govern more effectively."
Yangban know yangban affairs best, and commoners know commoners' best.
Even in a modern world without class systems, where lawmakers' kids or the ultra-rich attend the same elementary, middle, high schools, and universities as ordinary children...
...plenty of 21st-century politicians don't even know bus fares.
After it became an issue repeatedly, one job for young aides is now informing those politicians—who never ride buses or subways—of public transit costs.
Armed with that knowledge, they boast in parliament about being good politicians who care that much for the common folk.
How much less, then, do county magistrates and ordinary folk—sharing the same space but living utterly different lives with little overlap—understand each other?
It was only natural they were blind to the people's realities.
Kim Dae-bung had meticulously considered this, bundling people into myeon, ri, tong, and ban to let the yamen grasp their circumstances better.
"Widespread adoption of this system would make it far easier for magistrates to manage their people and tally their numbers more accurately. The court should thus guide all county magistrates nationwide to introduce the myeon-ri system, taking Jinhae as their model."
Properly counting the people isn't just about squeezing more taxes or drafting more for military service.
By efficiently supporting drifters without steady work—helping them settle, find jobs, and live honest lives...
...it prevents those outside the national framework from turning into bandits or pirates that gnaw at the realm.
'A hundred bandits can harm several times that many people.'
If they root in remote spots and ambush passersby, land routes grind to a halt.
And they could raid nearby villages just like the Jurchens do.
At this, the Minister of Defense spoke up, a smile playing on his lips.
"Your Highness, as registered households grow, so too will the pool for military service, no? Why not conscript more and station them to hold the Liaodong territories Joseon has newly conquered?"
On principle, the Minister of Defense wasn't wrong.
But while it fit strict rule-following, a slight shift in perspective showed it was something that absolutely must not be done.
Yes, the myeon-ri system letting the state tally people more accurately—and thus collect more taxes—was a clear good.
But to stop at higher taxes? Fine. To also ramp up military drafts on top?
The sudden burdens would make people chafe under central control via the myeon-ri system, breeding distrust in the government and magnifying problems.
'Greed for small gains loses it all.'
"Since Tajo the Great founded the nation and levied military service on the people to guard the ancestral shrines from Jurchen and Japanese invasions, many shortcomings have caused them great suffering. Simply swelling soldier ranks without fixing those core issues would only deepen the people's pain and breed distrust of the court."
"This minister's view was shortsighted. My apologies, Your Highness."
"Yet as the Minister of Defense says, we do need troops to hold the newly seized lands. Devise ways to increase numbers while minimizing burdens on the people."
The ministers' faces soured bit by bit.
The king's words rang beautiful—minimize nuisances to the people—but devising such policies was pure agony for those tasked with it.
Yet when the king commands, ministers obey; that was their fate.
"Moreover, while the myeon-ri system is excellent, mishandling could let local yangban maintenance officers control the people and turn magistrates into puppets."
Clerks have less wealth and lower status than yangban.
Even powerful yangban banding together couldn't realistically puppet a magistrate completely.
But give them a legal system to control the people...
...and if abused or neglected, someday magistrates might glance nervously at yangban faces.
"And like Shang Yang's fifteen statutes, never impose collective punishment in Joseon for crimes by those in the same myeon, ri, tong, or ban."
Punish the criminal who errs and those who shield them? Of course.
But dragging in upright commoners with no knowledge or ties to the crime is no different from executing the caught culprit alongside innocents.
King Sejong had zero intent to repeat that contradiction.
"The State Council and Hall of Worthies shall review how to roll out the myeon-ri system nationwide and submit a formal report."
"Yes, Your Highness."
When the king assigned the task to those two bodies, the State Council ministers—led by Hwang Hui—instantly plotted to dump the entire myeon-ri and gazetteer drafting guidelines onto the Hall of Worthies.
Someone there would draft a perfect blueprint, slashing their own workload.
"Also, Jinhae's merchants, persuaded by Kim Dae-bung, have petitioned to voluntarily pay 16% of next year's earnings."
"A truly commendable choice by the merchants."
They said as much, but "persuaded by Kim Dae-bung" conjured "axe" in every minister's mind.
Kim Dae-bung had never once wielded an axe like some thug dancing wildly...
...yet the ministers vividly pictured him doing just that.
"On top of that, places like Hahae sent lavish tribute in gratitude: dried persimmons, anchovies, and paulownia tableware. The persimmons were sweet with soft texture; anchovy broth deepened soups and stews; and the paulownia ware was sturdy and beautiful enough for the palace."
Kim Dae-bung, noting their tax pledge, had asked in his petition for the king to praise their loyalty as reward.
Sejong, believing in quid pro quo, obliged with this endorsement.
"You may all withdraw."
The ministers, already aligned in thought, exited the chamber like clockwork and promptly packaged the tasks for the Hall of Worthies neatly.
Hall of Worthies Chief Scholar Byeong Gye-ryang took one look and unwittingly let slip a string of harsh curses.
But no one called him out—not even behind his back.
The workload dumped on them was no joke.