Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: Maps and Trade (10)
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Dancheon County Magistrate Kim Gu-bong arrived at the office two hours earlier than scheduled today, just as he always did.
This was all because of Dancheon's overzealous yangban and commoners... No, it was because of Kim Dae-bung.
With his anger directed squarely at Kim Dae-bung, he vented as he headed to the county office to handle his duties.
"That rotten bastard Kim Dae-bung... How dare he work a man on the verge of retirement like this? Is this any way for a human to act?"
If one passed the military exam and served long enough, they could typically rise to Junior 4th rank unless they were utterly incompetent, and with decent ability, even to Junior 3rd rank in a provincial post.
Joseon prioritized promotions based on seniority over merit, so except in special cases like Kim Dae-bung, those below senior rank needed to rack up years of service to qualify for advancement.
As such, positions like provincial governor—which a Junior 3rd rank official could hold—or county magistrate—which a Junior 4th rank could manage—were sometimes given to veteran officials nearing retirement to help them build their 'retirement fund.'
That had been Kim Gu-bong's plan when he was assigned as Dancheon County Magistrate: coast through his final years comfortably, amass a decent nest egg, and retire.
However, even as a terminal posting—like a battalion commander or colonel in modern army terms—he never slacked on the duties assigned to him.
He had tried to cut corners where possible, but he never half-assed the core responsibilities of a magistrate.
Doing shoddy work on essential tasks would tarnish his family's honor, and if he got caught by Yi Bang-won, his skull might end up concave.
"Is I-bang here?"
At the magistrate's words, I-bang—who had arrived at the office just a bit earlier than him—replied without hiding his fatigue.
"Yes, Magistrate."
"I-bang, aren't you coming in a bit too early?"
"With so much work piling up, we have to start early just to finish by the deadlines, don't we?"
Hearing I-bang's response, the veteran magistrate Kim Gu-bong inwardly cursed Kim Dae-bung once more.
He had planned to quietly build some wealth in his final years, retire to his hometown, and enjoy a leisurely old age watching his grandchildren play.
Then the gazetteer compilation hit, dumping a mountain of work on him overnight, forcing him to scour the area for local specialties like his life depended on it.
And when they discovered a fairly large silver mine to boot, he even had to draft development plans for it.
Once Dancheon's yangban learned of the king's will—under the myeon-ri system, diligent managers of townships and villages would receive commendations turning them into honorary officials, and exceptional performers might even get actual posts...
These men, who had long accepted that passing the exams was beyond them and settled into quiet lives, suddenly ignited with ambition. Their eyes gleamed as they eagerly stepped up for specialty development, even pouring their personal fortunes into the gwamegi business, giving it their all.
"The documents I'm holding are all due for processing today: requests from the township and village heads, budget estimates and support needs for the silver mine development, and so on."
"Quite a stack. A filthy huge stack."
"My apologies."
"It's hardly your fault, I-bang. This is all because His Majesty cares for the people."
He let out deep sighs despite himself, but still hurried to prepare and dive into the work.
"Magistrate, forgive me for bringing this up, but a document arrived from Senior Secretary Kim in the capital."
"Hand it over quick, then get back to your tasks."
Kim Gu-bong immediately opened the letter from Kim Dae-bung.
[I've heard through the Hall of Worthies that the Dancheon County Magistrate is suffering under an immense workload these days. As I pondered how I might help while handling my duties there, a system and policy that could benefit Dancheon came to mind, so I've written this letter.]
Every government office in Joseon was currently buried under an avalanche of work for the new gazetteer compilation.
The Hall of Worthies, in particular, must be overwhelmed sorting data from every village nationwide, identifying specialties, and reviewing the myeon-ri system's rollout...
Yet amid that crushing load, Kim Dae-bung had thought of policies to aid Dancheon and taken the time to write him?
"That bastard must have a ghost of someone who died from overwork possessing him."
[First, given the sizable silver mine discovered in Dancheon, a Junior 6th rank silver mine overseer will be dispatched to personally handle its development and mining. Once he arrives, please hand off all silver mine-related matters to him.]
Dancheon County Magistrate Kim Gu-bong read this and breathed a sigh of relief.
A full third of his current workload was silver mine business, and now he could dump it all on the overseer...
He finally felt like he could catch his breath.
[I've also heard that Dancheon's yangban are cooperating with the commoners to focus on herring fishing and such. I find their spirit truly admirable. However, I understand that you, Magistrate, are personally reviewing every step of these ventures and approving them all yourself to guide them properly. But aren't the village and township heads effectively leading these efforts on the ground?]
There wasn't a single false word in Kim Dae-bung's letter.
The yangban serving as village and township heads had rallied the people, promising that making gwamegi from herring caught during the off-season would ensure Dancheon's folk never went hungry again...
Indeed, no one understood or could drive this better than the village and township heads.
[So, have them work out of the county office and let them directly oversee the herring fishing and gwamegi production. Route their decisions through the county's legal clerk and crafts supervisor for approval, then to you for final sign-off. That should streamline things considerably.]
Even the magistrate had to admit it made sense.
Qin Shi Huang of Qin had tried to micromanage everything under heaven, only to fail spectacularly and pave the way for his dynasty's collapse...
Dividing tasks into what he must do himself, what he could delegate despite being able, what he shouldn't bother with, and what only he could handle—wouldn't that boost efficiency immensely?
"That damn Kim Dae-bung heaps on the work, then hands out the medicine to fix it, adjusting it to something a man can actually handle..."
He then turned to the attached documents.
[If herring fishing leads to mass gwamegi production, salt shortages will be the biggest issue. I've given it some thought. The crude sea salt we commonly eat is made by boiling seawater to evaporate the water, right? So, why not apply that principle: spread seawater thinly over floors tiled with pottery, let the hot sun and sea breezes dry it, and salt should crystallize on top, no?]
What Kim Dae-bung described was the process for making sun-dried salt.
First, collect seawater in areas floored with pottery tiles and let wind and sun evaporate the water.
Repeat, and white salt crystals remain: that's sun-dried salt.
[The resulting salt will be gritty with dirt, unfit for human consumption as-is. So, dissolve it back in water, let the sediment settle, skim off the clearer brine from the top, then boil that down completely. You should get relatively clean salt. Use it for salting gwamegi, and the shortage problem should be solved.]
"This one's for the crafts workshop."
[Finally, the yangban investing money to enable commoners to fish for herring will surely help the poor greatly. But as gwamegi production ramps up in Dancheon, jobs will multiply, drawing workers from across the country... I'm concerned the yangban might exploit these newcomers desperate for work. Have the county's legal clerk periodically monitor whether the sailors and laborers under the yangban are receiving fair minimum wages to sustain themselves.]
Kim Dae-bung's worry was that yangban—especially the village and township heads, blinded by the prospect of commendations or even posts—might squeeze workers who had no other options in Dancheon.
Even Kim Dae-bung had marveled at how generously they paid, almost too labor-friendly...
But the problem was relying solely on their goodwill.
If circumstances shifted, those fishermen could easily become victims of wage exploitation.
"Kim Dae-bung knows exactly how to divide what I must do from what I can delegate. Why haven't I thought of this until now? Better late than never—time to redistribute the workload properly."
With that resolve, Kim Gu-bong promptly began offloading tasks to his subordinates to start the day's work.
He tasked the county's civil engineer with scouting village sites near the silver mine, ordered reviews on the scope of authority for township and village heads,
And in Dancheon—where even yangban didn't study, making the local academy's educator idle—
he directed the academy instructor to handle all the miscellaneous herring-related duties for the township and village heads.
Thus, the magistrate neatly delineated responsibilities and assigned them to his staff.
"Since the herring fishing started a few months ago, the number of people borrowing grain loans has plummeted."
Joseon's government grain loans were, in principle, interest-free.
But in practice, clerks and soldiers skimmed extras, and borrowers had to repay old grain with fresh rice—hardly a fair deal for the people.
As such, grain loans were a 'last resort' among commoners, so any financial breathing room led to sharp drop-offs in borrowing.
"My final years in office are exhausting with all this work pouring in, but I've got plenty to boast about to my children and grandchildren now... Not so bad after all."
Now he just needed to squirrel away a modest fortune, wait out his term, and retire gracefully.
With that thought, the overwork suddenly felt bearable...
The world seemed a little brighter.
Reflecting on his 25-year career nearing its end brought a twinge of reluctance.
"I never reached the ranks of prime minister or senior official, but I can end my service honorably here in Dancheon. What fortune."
Kim Gu-bong steeled himself and focused on his duties.
However, Joseon—with its abundant budgets and booming opportunities—never let competent officials slack, even in their twilight years.
As Dancheon's urgent matters wrapped up, a shocking royal edict arrived for him.
"...... Me, Junior 3rd rank? A promotion? To Deputy Superintendent of the Ironworks Bureau? What nonsense is this?!"
Dancheon County Magistrate Kim Gu-bong felt no joy at his promotion.
He had just finished preparing for retirement, dreaming of returning home to relax with a grin...
But out of nowhere, his rank rose, assigning him to the Ironworks Bureau—one of Joseon's choicest postings for quick advancement.
Meaning he'd spend his days sailing nationwide, buried in paperwork stacks forever.
"A promotion in my final years... Something I once desperately craved, now hitting when retirement was all that remained. Where do I even find my peaceful old age now? No, this won't do. Absolutely not!"
That day, Kim Gu-bong submitted a resignation petition citing his frail health, promotion be damned—he just wanted rest.
King Sejong granted him three pouches of carefully prepared palace medicine to thwart his retirement.