Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Hall of Worthies GPT (4)
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Confucianism is not a discipline meant for politics.
People say it's a school of thought that despises commerce, legitimizes an order where age alone—having simply eaten more years—grants automatic superiority, and places absolute emphasis on unconditional filial piety. That's not all that different from Christianity.
So what's the problem? These damn fools treat "justifiable luxury" as a sin and worship the idea of collecting as little tax as possible, revering the Zhou dynasty—a Bronze Age civilization—like it's sacred.
The man currently overseeing "fiscal policy" in Joseon is none other than Chief State Councillor Ryu Jeong-hyeon... and his mindset is exactly that.
A fool who believes that cutting taxes and blindly slashing state expenditures will make the people prosper. The fact that this guy went from Minister of Finance to Chief State Councillor and is hailed as a great financial administrator is precisely the problem.
Me? I'm always ready to submit a petition of resignation and retire to the countryside, so I can speak my mind freely... That's why I'm thinking of overhauling Joseon's fiscal policies.
'Just fix what's wrong, then I retire. Simple as that.'
"Right now, Joseon has a total of around 570 civil officials, including those in the provinces, while the number of counties and districts stands at 364. So, according to your claim, Vice Minister Kim, we'd need to increase the number of civil officials by at least 60 percent. The court is poor. How could we possibly afford the salaries for that many more officials?"
Thanks to King Taejong's expansionary fiscal policies right now, Joseon's finances are in surplus. In other words, across the early, middle, and late periods of Joseon, the central government's coffers are the most robust they've ever been.
I don't want to believe it either, but this is all because of Joseon's peculiar "less tax collection is always better" idiot logic.
That's why, by the time of King Injo, under the guise of benefiting the people, they created the Yeongjeongbeop law—exempting everything but land tax for the yangban, who effectively paid no taxes, and collecting only the bare minimum land tax regardless of good harvests or famines.
A country where the effective tax rate on the rich is under 2 percent? Yeah, that'd run great.
"The sages said that collecting less tax is the way to serve the people. Wouldn't following that by taking as little as possible from the people and having the king and officials shun luxury lead to an era of great peace?"
It's true that nations often fall due to extravagance by the ruling class. So I agree to some extent that luxury should be avoided.
But in this country called Joseon, they even deemed the king drinking milk as extravagance and abolished or scaled back dairy cow breeding programs. Utter foolishness.
If they'd invested properly in dairy farming to raise cows more efficiently, the people might have gotten to enjoy milk now and then.
By blindly cutting taxes like this, officials get paid peanuts, and clerks get nothing at all, so everyone supplements their dignity and living expenses with bribes and holiday gifts.
Even I, in rice equivalent, have pocketed thousands of seom—hundreds of millions in modern Korean won, maybe even over a billion—in gifts.
So why not just set annual salaries at 100 million won per ninth-grade official, up to 10 billion for a prime minister? Wouldn't that eliminate all the tax money evaporating into corruption?
"This ministry naturally agrees with the sages' words. It is right that the king and yangban officials shunning luxury serves the people. However, isn't Joseon's national policy—yeomindongnak—about creating a land where the people and the king both rejoice?"
"So we must collect less tax..."
Until I debated the civil exam finalists in front of King Sejong, if someone pushed back like that, I'd have had nothing to say. Even a hundred valid points mean nothing without proven results—they'd just be empty theory.
But now, I have the track record to back up my claims.
"When I was magistrate of Jinhae County, the taxes I collected from all four classes of people, yangban included, were 40 percent higher than under my predecessor."
Hwang Hui fell silent at my words. He was painfully enduring the moment his common sense crumbled. Seeing him like that, I couldn't help but feel a smug satisfaction.
If he were a stickler for principles like Minister Heo Jo, without a speck of dust no matter how hard you shook him, I might have felt a twinge of guilt. But Hwang Hui was a yangban who indulged in corruption just as much.
For a guy like that to talk about saving the people by cutting taxes? What hypocrisy.
"However, that collected tax wasn't squandered on luxury or private hoarding. It went toward building dams and reservoirs and developing commerce, which benefited the people. My thinking hasn't changed since then or now. To benefit the people, we must collect taxes appropriately and spend them appropriately."
"...I see what you mean. So what solution do you propose, Vice Minister?"
"Every county and district in the nation needs an official dedicated solely to managing markets. They must oversee market order and rigorously inspect merchants for foul play and tax evasion. Without that, expanding markets could just breed bandit gangs in every corner of Joseon."
"I never imagined the man advocating for commerce would say something like that."
"Even I nearly got fleeced badly when I came to Hanyang recently to get a house."
If Kim Man-deok hadn't been with me, I would've been royally screwed. Without him, I'd have been taken for a ride.
That crazy real estate shark tried to gouge even me, an official. What wouldn't he do to powerless commoners? By late Joseon, these types spawn private enforcers, growing into such a problem that the state has to treat them as near-traitors.
So we must monitor, inspect, and manage them thoroughly. Otherwise, they'll evolve into darkness and turn into merchants like those in the Ming dynasty.
The British Empire's tactics should only be used against the Ming and the Japanese. Not on fellow Joseon people.
"Hiring more officials at first will be a big issue for funding their salaries. But even in a small county like Jinhae, markets alone brought in 1,000 seom of white rice. Imagine how much larger cities like Pyongyang or Kaesong could yield."
Hwang Hui swallowed hard. He seemed to love my idea of hiring more officials to oversee markets and rake in big money.
That yangban could never be an incorruptible paragon, even in death... He's probably already calculating his cut.
Whatever. Once markets are set up nationwide, Joseon's commerce and economy will boom. They might even kick off the Age of Exploration for spices or whatever without me.
"For tribute goods collected via gongnap, if offices buy directly from markets or negotiate with market merchants, we could collect far more. It cuts out corrupt elements like temples, so even more collection burdens the people less."
"That makes sense. Yes, it does."
"Markets not only allow more tax collection but help the people's livelihoods. In famines, they trade what little surplus they have to survive. In normal times, they exchange surpluses to grow wealthier."
Once markets activate nationwide, local specialties will spread, expanding the economy further.
Joseon tried to suppress this kind of economic growth, thinking it bad...
But this benefits the people—why suppress it? We should encourage it outright.
"Commendable. But the Chief State Councillor will hate this."
"Loyalty to king and country starts with 'serve the state before self.' Even though my talents fall short, being appointed to a position beyond my station is honor enough for my family for generations... If I obsess over personal safety and promotion, flattering instead of offering frank advice, how shameful would that be?"
Suppose the Chief State Councillor impeaches me with deadly intent.
Then I seize the chance, submit my resignation, and head home. Back home, find a pretty wife, marry, have kids, live happily ever after, and occasionally send up a petition. Done.
I've already enlightened King Taejong and King Sejong on commerce's importance... Joseon will keep developing without me.
"Now I understand once more why the Retired King and His Majesty favor you."
Hwang Hui said that, gathered his notes on our discussion, and prepared to leave.
"If the Chief State Councillor impeaches you, I'll definitely help."
With those words, Hwang Hui departed.
No need for help, really. Speaking out like this won't get my head chopped off or exiled. I just say "impeached, so resigning," and it's problem-free.
Then, from outside the Hall of Worthies, I heard clerks trying to restrain the ministers.
"Minister of Rites, the Minister of Finance is still inside."
"Didn't the Vice Minister of War arrive after the Minister of Rites?"
Hearing that, I realized it.
My situation was no different from being the Hall of Worthies GPT.
"...... Is this for real?"