Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Joseon-Style Standing Army (7)
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King Sejong ordered the yangban who had plenty of money but shirked their military service to pay ten seom of white rice every year.
However, some stingy yangban stepped forward and submitted petitions crying that they could never pay taxes even if it killed them, that it was far too unjust.
Thus, the benevolent King Sejong, who always cherished and watched over the people of Joseon, granted them the opportunity to experience military service firsthand and repent their errors.
Thanks to His Majesty's grace, Kim Seo-saeng of Gwangyang County in Jeolla Province was able to reflect deeply on his misguided thoughts and actions, earning the honor of enlisting in the Gyeongsang Right Naval Command.
"Do I really have to do military service here?"
The escort officer who had brought him let out a deep sigh and smacked the back of his head.
It was utterly unthinkable for a mere commoner escort officer—little more than riffraff—to commit such an outrage against a yangban, even one slated for corporal punishment.
But from the moment Kim Seo-saeng received King Sejong's special decree until his sentence ended, he was reduced to the status of an ordinary commoner—no, a lowly old navy grunt despised as a "ship rat."
The escort officer could now bully this former yangban riffraff to his heart's content.
"His Majesty has stripped you of all yangban privileges. And he commanded you to serve five years as a common soldier in the naval command, didn't he? Yet you're still deluded about your status, refusing to drop the yangban act. You clearly haven't come to your senses yet! Have you ever seen such a stubborn fool?"
"......Still, I'm a yangban of sorts..."
"Are you defying His Majesty's solemn decree by talking back to me like this, you brainless idiot? Get your head straight and know your place if you want to survive without dying. From now on, behave yourself. I'm going easy on you with just a smack to the head because it's me. If you spout this nonsense at the command, you'll get the beating of your life. Shape up."
Kim Seo-saeng had already regretted his past actions dozens of times over and reflected deeply in his heart.
And he had received warnings hundreds of times from the escort officer and others not to act like a yangban.
But the reality he faced was far too harsh.
No matter how much he repented, the fact remained that he had to endure five full years of navy life.
If he'd known it would come to this, he would have just quietly paid the ten seom of white rice each year, thinking of it as charity to an ignorant, foolish commoner—especially since he had ample inherited land yielding nearly six hundred seom of grain annually.
He bitterly regretted his past decision to submit that petition because the money was too precious and to demand that his yangban privileges not be stripped away.
Of course, the reason he was reflecting so deeply now was because of the grueling five years ahead in the navy without even yangban status—like a dog.
It wasn't because he truly believed he deserved to pay for his wrongs.
In any case, he was undergoing the proper reeducation process exactly as Kim Dae-bung had intended.
Even if human nature didn't change, at least his body would remember never to pull such stupid stunts again.
"Until your service ends, never forget that you're not a yangban—you're just a lowly soldier dragged into the navy. If you forget and start throwing your weight around, you'll end up meeting Retired Emperor His Majesty in the Office of Royal Guards. Got it, Kim Seo-saeng?"
Kim Seo-saeng felt his pride crumbling once more as a mere escort officer riffraff called him by name so casually.
Whether his heart was breaking or not, Kim Seo-saeng was now enlisted in the Gyeongsang Right Naval Command, where time seemed to crawl backward, dragging slower than imaginable.
Having received thorough mental and physical indoctrination from the escort officer the whole way, Kim Seo-saeng immediately reported his arrival to the Gyeongsang Right Naval Commander and was then shown to the soldiers' living quarters.
Over thirty men shared the room, living communally.
"I'm the new recruit Kim! Seo! Saeng! Please take good care of me!"
Having been thoroughly lectured by the escort officer, he fully grasped that if he let slip his former yangban status, he could be hauled to the Office of Royal Guards to face the Iron-Fisted Emperor in person.
So he could humbly bow to these navy soldiers he once wouldn't have considered real people.
All the soldiers already knew exactly what crime had brought Kim Seo-saeng here, and that they weren't to treat him as a yangban—or had any need to—while he was with them.
The second-most senior man in the room, Squad Leader Kim Deok-su, kicked off the new-recruit hazing.
"You're that idiot recruit who lost his mind, right? The rich yangban who rebelled against His Majesty's order to pay ten seom of white rice instead of serving, by filing a petition...?"
"I'm sorry! I'm repenting!"
"Think an apology ends your service?"
"No, sir! I'm sorry!"
"Stop apologizing."
Kim Seo-saeng's words were sincere.
If amnesty came even now, he'd gladly contribute three hundred seom of white rice a year to feed the soldiers.
Of course, how long that mindset would last if amnesty actually came was anyone's guess.
In any event, his resolve to live his new life was fiercely strong.
For the moment, at least.
"Repent all you want—this is the military. I'll be watching you closely with both eyes wide open, so watch yourself."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
"Hey, Kim Byung-nam."
"Yes, Squad Leader."
"Keep an eye on this guy. The Commander said not to care if he was a yangban or whatever—work him to the bone. You're in charge of turning him into a proper soldier."
At the squad leader's words, Kim Byung-nam—the true top dog in the barracks—snapped to attention and replied.
A few soldiers, knowing the full story, barely suppressed their laughter, but Kim Seo-saeng, unable to even guess his identity, had no idea Kim Byung-nam was the most senior in the room.
"Yes, sir. Understood!"
"We head out for work now, so get ready. You too, recruit—change and follow!"
Kim Seo-saeng mulled over his pathetic situation as he prepared for work.
And he was immediately put to civilian support duty.
"From now on, our company starts building an embankment here along the Dongryang Stream. I hear the Commander might inspect us, so put extra effort in—no slacking. Work hard."
With those words, Kim Seo-saeng had to start shoveling dirt—something he'd never done in his life.
He wasn't a yangban here, and if he strutted around claiming he was, his head could roll, so he had no choice.
"If I'd known, I never would've written that petition."
Tears of regret flowed from his eyes.
At the same time, he felt bone-deep the hardships navy soldiers endured.
And how enormous a privilege it was in Joseon to be born a yangban and buy out of service with just ten seom of white rice a year.
As he shoveled diligently amid his regrets, one soldier tapped the back of his head.
"Hey, recruit! You gonna shovel like that? Don't you know how?"
"No, I don't."
"Ugh, pure idiot! Watch closely—I'll teach you. First, slam the shovel into the ground, then stomp hard with your foot. That drives the blade deep to scoop the dirt. Then scoop it like this. See the seniors working nearby? If you don't know, copy them. What are you even doing? Did a lifetime at the desk turn your common sense to mush?"
"I'm sorry."
"Ha, I'm watching you."
Kim Seo-saeng escaped beatings but endured every other kind of abuse.
Still, to survive, he focused on shoveling.
He kept getting chewed out in between.
Stuff like how a learned yangban should be good at shoveling but was so useless—what was the point of all that studying? Total waste.
It was hard for the former yangban to stomach such insults.
The junior officer nearby—a military exam passer—pretended not to notice the abuse, though he could hear it all.
If he'd been here for theft or assault—real crimes—and paying them off with service...
They'd have covered for him as a yangban, crime or not.
But he'd petitioned because ten seom was too much instead of service, claiming only his yangban privileges.
'He deserves it.'
That's why, from start to end of work, he got chewed out nonstop without a break.
While he was taking the full brunt of it, Kim Byung-nam—the most seasoned soldier in his barracks—approached.
"Our squad leader and the seniors have pissy tempers. That Kim Squad Leader especially—he always picks pointless fights with newbies."
"Is that so?"
To Kim Seo-saeng, who until recently was a yangban but now tumbled into the ranks with commoners, enduring all manner of abuse, those kind words from Kim Byung-nam were immense comfort.
He even thought of gifting a plot of land once he finished service and returned to yangban life.
"Look at that Jeong guy—first day here, he asked if I had a sister or daughter. Said if I'm unmarried, put in a good word for him."
"......Isn't that too much?"
"Right? With that mug, he'll die single... Heh heh, right?"
"Yeah. Honestly, his face is kinda... pitiful."
And so Kim Seo-saeng worked while gossiping at length about the seniors with Kim Byung-nam.
That day's labor—lifelong first-time shoveling for hours—brought him ravenous hunger, deep sleep, and brutal muscle pain.
The next morning, learning Kim Byung-nam was the senior-most soldier in the barracks, he was so shocked he nearly foamed at the mouth.
And Joseon was preparing for full-scale conscription.