Chapter 41
Chapter 41
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Great Equalization Law (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There are no perfect people in this world, nor any perfect systems or laws.
Every country in the 21st century has adopted democracy, but that doesn't make it flawless by any means.
It's simply the choice with far fewer drawbacks than a monarchy dependent on the ruler's competence.
The Great Equalization Law isn't without its flaws, either.
It's just that the number and severity of those flaws are far less than with collecting tribute goods.
So, as we prepare to implement the Great Equalization Law, we must spare no effort to minimize the drawbacks and maximize the benefits.
But judging by Ryu Jeong-hyeon's expression as he visited the Ministry of Finance, it didn't seem like he was coming with good intentions.
"Minister of Finance."
At his words, Hwang Hui's face grew tense.
"As you know, the roads in Joseon are terribly inconvenient. No one here among the officials is unaware of how bad our transportation is. Think of the hardships everyone endured traveling from their hometowns to Hanyang just to take the civil service exams."
In Joseon-era historical dramas or epic sagas, you often see scenes of people gathering at inns along mountain paths to stay overnight.
And not just for a single night, but sometimes for days on end.
It wasn't because there was a culture of treating inns like hotels for fun or using them as bases for sightseeing... It was because massive tigers would suddenly appear day or night on those mountain roads, letting out a roar and devouring people.
Traveling the roads was incredibly inconvenient, and with so few plains, even a short distance meant navigating treacherous mountain paths.
I'd suffered greatly myself when heading to Hanyang for the civil service exam.
"The mountain paths are perilously steep, and on the way to the exams, you'd hear plenty of tales about tigers coming out and eating people while staying at folk homes. The non-mountain roads are just as treacherous."
Ryu Jeong-hyeon strode toward me with spirited vigor.
For a Chief State Councillor to close in like this felt like immense pressure...
Of course, it was nothing compared to what I'd felt petitioning before Yi Bang-won, clad in his black dragon robe and wielding an iron mace.
'What could you possibly do to kill me anyway.'
Thinking that way eased my mind a bit.
In truth, this man had risen to his position by obediently following Yi Bang-won's every word.
He hadn't hesitated on any denunciations and had even carried out the killing of Sim On, earning his place.
By Joseon standards, Ryu Jeong-hyeon was a man guilty of crimes that could mean death or pardon depending on the king's mood.
A wretch much like the corrupt officials of late Goryeo who'd swollen their slave ranks with usury and devoured the nation's land bit by bit. He even granted offices to those skilled at collecting such debts.
Well, technically, he appointed them as 'postal managers' at relay stations, and if they performed well, reassigned them as regular officials.
"With roads this treacherous, how do you expect to transport the white rice collected from each county? You think that's easy?"
It was uncanny how the Chief State Councillor's words mirrored exactly what Song Si-yeol had said when opposing the Great Equalization Law.
Song Si-yeol had opposed it for precisely these reasons.
The Great Equalization Law? I think it's a truly excellent policy in intent. It aims to lighten the people's burdens and let them live better—who could oppose that?
But transporting rice is no small feat. Joseon has too many mountains for carts to be practical. So how do you move that heavy rice?
By water transport, you say? That's fine in theory, but ships capsize or sink at the slightest weather change or mishap. Each time, the tax losses are substantial, and the transport workers die endlessly.
The law's goal is essentially tax reduction, right? So instead of pushing a flawed Great Equalization Law, why not just cut taxes by a third to ease the people's burden?
I know Song Si-yeol truly loved Joseon (or more precisely, the Joseon devoured by Westerners). Seeing Ryu Jeong-hyeon say much the same, he seems to love it just as deeply too. They say extremes meet at the same root...
It was fascinating how their logic aligned so perfectly.
"Carts can't be used on mountain paths, so in the end, we'll have to levy corvée labor on the people to porter it on their backs. Let's see, Assistant Minister Kim."
"Yes, my lord."
"Under the Great Equalization Law, it's 18 dou of white rice per gyeol of fields, right? For 1,000 gyeol, that's 18,000 dou—equivalent to 180 seom of white rice. A staggering amount."
180 seom of white rice weighs a full 32.4 tons. Considering an ox cart in Joseon could carry about 500 kg...
It would take 65 oxen to haul it.
Carried on porters' backs, one person handles around 100 kg typically, so that means 324 porters needed.
Thus, transportation issues gravely hindered Great Equalization Law implementation.
"Of course, we wouldn't porter it all that way. For Hanyang, we'd use water transport as much as possible. But even that's no easy task."
A smile played on Ryu Jeong-hyeon's face, his voice soft and gentle to a fault. A stranger might mistake him for a dignified, refined gentleman.
But his true intentions were anything but kindly.
This man was the Chief State Councillor—equivalent to the Prime Minister in modern Korea. Could he have risen that high without masterfully playing the 'nice guy' when needed?
"When I was Minister of Finance, I oversaw grain transport ships from county granaries to the central storehouses. The ministry received about 100,000 seom of white rice annually, and hauling it was no ordinary chore."
This was exactly why Great Equalization Law rollout had been delayed.
Transporting taxes from Jeolla, Chungcheong, and Gyeongsang Provinces to Hanyang by sea... In King Taejong's reign, out of 10 grain ships, one would sink.
Honestly, that's obvious exaggeration. No way one in ten actually sank.
But ships sinking repeatedly and people dying was undeniable fact.
"Ships loaded with hundreds of seom of white rice sink all too frequently. Five to ten went down yearly. Building one ship costs 200 seom, loaded with 400-500 seom... That's 700 seom of taxes lost to fish food per vessel. And that's not all—the dozens of transport workers aboard lost their lives pointlessly too."
"Is that so?"
"Once the Great Equalization Law starts, won't we need dozens of times more grain ships than now?"
...... No, not really. Even collecting 18 dou per gyeol, 15-16 dou would go to the magistrate's personal use, gifts to colleagues and relatives for holidays, shares for clerks and other offices, local taxes, and so on.
Why else would luminaries like Ryu Seong-ryong, Yi Hang-bok, and Yi Won-ik push for the Great Equalization Law post-Imjin War, claiming even 1 dou per gyeol would more than cover central tribute?
Yet this man surely knew that.
And would that 1 dou of white rice arrive in Hanyang as pure rice? No.
It would be exchanged for tribute goods.
"Chief State Councillor, from my time as Jinhae County Magistrate, the tribute system's corruption stemmed from temples acting as intermediaries—receiving cash for tribute, exchanging it locally for goods, then passing to palace inspectors. The inspectors try to be fair, but the intermediaries commit all sorts of graft."
In truth, both intermediaries and inspectors were rotten. Pure corruption.
The inspectors were just top-tier merchant guild members—untouchable after marrying daughters off to princes, royal kin, and prime ministers—so he skipped mentioning them...
Everyone knew they were both crooks.
"The Great Equalization Law bans intermediaries exchanging tribute for rice; instead, offices directly collect rice equivalents per law. They'll procure tribute goods themselves with that rice and send to Hanyang. So no need to urgently expand grain ships for county-to-central transport as you fear."
"......"
"And from merchants during my Jinhae days, Joseon's transport workers stick to coastal routes per law. But the Eight Provinces' coasts, especially the Three Southern Provinces, are treacherous with reefs—even veterans dread them."
The merchant mentioned was none other than Kim Man-deok. Once, drunk, he'd vented pity for the workers...
'If you become prime minister, my lord, please never force them on coastal runs.'
I agreed with him.
Indeed, after King Jeongjo's death, private merchants took over grain transport via open-sea routes, outpacing workers far faster and safer—proving coastal mandates meaningless.
"Merchants often detour far offshore, which they say is much safer than coast-hugging."
Ryu Jeong-hyeon's face soured.
"The people starve amid the corruption of crooked clerks and temples playing intermediary. As state salary recipients, how can we hesitate to fix it?"
"...... You've got counters for everything, then."
"Yes, Chief State Councillor."
I replied calmly.
"The Great Equalization Law will open a brighter future for Joseon's people. Rest assured, it will proceed without fail."
Once I'd patched the issues and seen the new law take effect, I could submit my resignation.
This was all for Joseon's good... and mine too, right?