Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Great Equalization Law (3)
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Our Joseon has finally rid itself of its rotten currency policies.
The people of Joseon no longer have to worry about economic hardships caused by those coin-shaped pieces of trash. I've saved all the people of Joseon.
At this rate, won't future historians call me the hero who saved Joseon? No, since I saved it from a great depression, hero it is.
Back when I first entered government service, I just planned to pass the Audience Examination, submit a resignation memorial, and hole up in my hometown to live out my days...
"In this world, nothing ever goes the way I want."
I grumbled about Joseon's tax policies being the problem, and of all people, King Sejong the Great overheard me, leading to me becoming the top scorer in the civil service exam.
Appointed as Jinhae County Magistrate, I implemented tax policies where the rich paid more and the poor paid less, along with measures to stimulate commerce, and ended up beloved by everyone in Jinhae as their magistrate.
No sooner had my term ended than I was summoned to the Hall of Worthies, turned into a human search engine for the ministers of the Six Ministries to exploit, and subjected to a horrific workload.
"And then I barely managed to stop the currency issuance with Joseon's very first death remonstrance."
After talking it over with Kim Man-deok, even knowing the outcome, I felt like I'd regret it forever if I didn't submit a memorial warning against it.
So I went home and drafted a lengthy memorial—over 5,700 characters, no, more than 10,000—explaining why currency must not be implemented.
The next morning, at the hour when all officials arrived for duty, I laid out a mat, took up an axe, and submitted the death remonstrance. In the process, Yi Bang-won offered to employ me if I yielded right away, but I told him to either kill me or scrap the currency...
I figured I'd end up transferred to the Office of Prisons, waiting only for the day of my execution, but Yi Bang-won came and set me free.
"The Great Equalization Law instead of currency. Or rather, the Bangwon Law."
Just thinking about it brought a smile to my face. Instead of a law that killed the people, I could implement one that gave them a better tomorrow.
As someone who knows history, I couldn't imagine anything more joyful.
Even in the original history, when Kim Yuk implemented the Great Equalization Law in Chungcheong Province, the people there voluntarily came to offer their condolences upon his death.
In other words, doesn't it show just how much hope and strength to live another day the law gave them? Of course, in the process, I'll die, and so will the officials.
Rather than mindlessly letting Joseon's people die while I do my job, it's better to take on harder work that benefits everyone.
As I entered the Hall of Worthies, the scholars there approached me with beaming smiles.
"Counselor Kim! You're a loyal subject who will go down forever in Joseon's history!"
"Thanks to you, we don't have to scour Joseon's copper mines or figure out how to levy corvée labor on the people to mint those coins."
"Before you submitted your memorial, we had the astronomers calculate the demand for coins, and even melting down every cannon in the country wouldn't meet it. We were agonizing over how to submit a memorial... Now we don't have to worry. What a joyous occasion."
The Hall of Worthies scholars crowded around me, showering me with praise.
Even Choi Man-ri, who was about my age but notoriously strict, came over to my side.
As soon as he approached, he bowed deeply and poured out lavish praise toward me.
"Counselor Kim's loyalty is in no way inferior to Wei Zheng, who served Tang Taizong, or Yue Fei of the Southern Song. I knew minting coins would torment the people, yet I failed to remonstrate against it."
There was one thing common to the victims of Taizong's debasement policies and the coins King Sejong had just tried to implement: not a single official, yangban, or wealthy person was affected.
Even with national laws threatening flogging to death for refusing debased currency or coins, they traded in grain and cloth.
Still, I couldn't bring myself to curse them... Believing in debasement or coins meant watching your wealth vanish in an instant. To survive, those yangban had no choice but to grit their teeth, barter, and cut each other some slack.
"I know that filial piety means revering one's parents, but if they err, respectfully advising them to correct it. A vassal's duty is the same: if the king pursues misguided policies, one must remonstrate even at the cost of death... Yet I feared losing this worthless life and held my tongue. How shameful."
The previously warm atmosphere in the Hall of Worthies suddenly grew heavy.
Choi Man-ri had bluntly pointed out their failings with undeniable facts. But since his words left no room for rebuttal...
Even Vice Director Jeong In-ji of the Hall of Worthies, instead of responding, just stared into space and cleared his throat awkwardly.
If this were the 21st century, they'd say things like, "We have families to protect and slaves to look after—how could we risk our lives?" to console him.
I had no idea what to say.
"It was merely a difference in method and timing, wasn't it? Counselor Kim had already calculated that thousands would need to be sent to every copper mine in Joseon. Surely you would have submitted a memorial deeming coin issuance unfeasible."
"Indeed."
Even in the Annals of King Sejong, His Majesty had foreseen the era by centuries and stubbornly pushed for currency.
But his vassals relentlessly submitted memorials explaining why it wouldn't work and desperately tried to minimize the side effects.
However, lacking economics knowledge, they couldn't oppose with solid evidence, so no one stepped up for a death remonstrance.
In the lingering awkward air, Jeong In-ji called me with a smile.
"Counselor Kim."
"Yes, Vice Director."
"I hear... you're still unmarried."
"Yes, that's right. I've been too busy."
Jeong In-ji looked at me and sighed.
"A talent like you, Counselor Kim, still unmarried. How lamentable. No helping it—I have a relative, a fine young lady of marriageable age... What do you think of wedding her?"
"...... Pardon?"
"The age gap between us is just seven years. If our scholarly backgrounds and ranks were similar, we could have been friends."
In Park Je-ga’s case, he and his closest friend Yi Deok-mu were eight years apart but as thick as thieves—close enough to drop formal speech.
Joseon had a custom called "eight years up or down," meaning an eight-year gap was fine for close friendship if personalities matched. So Jeong In-ji wasn't wrong.
"From now on, feel free to think of me as your brother. I have no siblings, but seeing you, you feel like the little brother I never had. That's why I'm making this offer."
...... Marry Jeong In-ji's relative? For some reason, accepting that felt like it'd drag me all the way to Chief State Councillor. I'd die first.
I plan to resign quickly, date Winter, marry a beautiful wife back home, and live comfortably.
Right after Jeong In-ji's proposal, the Hall of Worthies scholars (average age in their forties, most with children of marriageable age) strode toward me.
"Hate to say it myself, but my daughter is quite the beauty and virtuous. She'd suit you well..."
...... I'm going mad, really. Why do only these geezers who should know better keep fawning over me?
In anime or manga, it's all the beautiful girls obsessing over the protagonist. Why are the only ones obsessed with me these old men? Is this a country or what?
"My marriage should be discussed with my parents according to propriety..."
"Quite right."
Wait—if my parents approve even halfheartedly, they'll rush me into a wedding right here.
As my mind spun in every direction, Chief State Councillor Hwang Hui entered the Hall of Worthies with a deathly pale face.
A slave behind Hwang Hui carried stacks of books and scrolls on a frame.
The scholars' faces soured instantly at the sight.
Jeong In-ji pinched his thigh upon seeing it and asked,
"My lord, what in the world are all those documents?"
"...... Documents related to the new law to implement instead of halting coin introduction, courtesy of Counselor Kim."
"What law requires so many documents..."
"His Highness the King Emeritus wishes to enact the Bangwon Law."
Jeong In-ji's face froze solid. Calling the king by his personal name was a crime on par with praising communism while selling military secrets in the army.
"Ah, His Highness the King Emeritus was so taken by the law Counselor Kim directly proposed to him that he named it after himself. That's how it became the Bangwon Law, and he's decreed we write it without the avoidance of his personal name."
"Bangwon Law..."
Hwang Hui quickly explained the gist of the Bangwon Law—what I'd proposed to Yi Bang-won.
The Hall of Worthies officials' faces hardened by the moment as they listened.
"...... It's a fine law, but..."
Hwang Hui nodded gravely.
"You'll suffer. From today, banquet summons will go out to the Six Ministries' officials for the time being. His Highness ordered oxen slaughtered to feed them all generously."
All their resentful glares turned to me.
Hwang Hui yanked me firmly to his side.
"Counselor Kim has been assigned to the temporary Bangwon Bureau in the Ministry of Finance. So we'll take our loyal subject here."