Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Great Equalization Law (6)
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Ryu Jeong-hyeon ground his teeth as he left the Ministry of Finance.
The reason was simple. A mere Jeong 6th-rank official had dared to talk back to him so sharply.
Just for talking back, his guts were churning so badly it felt like the top of his skull was going to fly off.
What infuriated him even more gravely was the fact that he'd been outmaneuvered logically by that young upstart Kim Dae-bung and left utterly speechless.
"Have you ever seen such a disrespectful wretch?"
When he'd filed the regional memorial to block the currency issuance, he'd secretly felt a twinge of gratitude toward the boy.
If currency were put into circulation, it would deal a hefty blow to someone like him, who'd built his fortune on rice.
Rice was what let you buy silk, livestock, land, and slaves—making money breed more money, snowballing your wealth.
But if the law banned rice-based transactions, rice could no longer grow your fortune; it would just pile up in warehouses and rot away as worthless junk.
Strictly speaking, though, the enforcers were blind to "yangban" dealings... So even with strict prohibitions, black-market trades kept it from being total junk.
Still, where once one seom of rice bought a bolt of silk, black-market deals now demanded one seom and three mal. A thirty percent markup.
For Ryu Jeong-hyeon, whose joy in life was multiplying his wealth, this was brutally harsh. And that kid had risked his neck to block it, so he'd felt grateful.
If the boy were someone like Jeong Chang-son, with a proper sense of purpose, he'd have groomed him big-time.
"We need more young men like Jeong Bu-jeong-ja in office—young but upright of heart."
He let out a deep sigh as he waited for one person.
"To think I must join hands with trash like this... The world is truly cruel. We purged the rotten vestiges of old Goryeo, yet the court is still crawling with sycophants..."
As he grumbled inwardly to himself, the man he'd been desperately awaiting finally appeared.
"I never imagined the Chief State Councillor would summon a lowly one like me."
"Nor did I ever expect to discuss affairs of state with Cheong-gang."
"Haha, when you get right down to it, aren't we both crows? So why does the Chief State Councillor pretend to be a white heron?"
"I never brutally embezzled stolen goods like you did. High-interest loans at fifty percent and double-interest at one hundred are perfectly legal under the law."
Kim Jeom was a scum-sucking villain etched into history—one who'd been impeached for devouring massive bribes during his tenure as Pyeongan Province Governor.
Sending a former Minister of Finance to Pyeongan was typically a demotion laced with consideration: skim a few trillion won for retirement.
But Kim Jeom had gorged so excessively that even in bribe-loving Joseon, it sparked shock, terror, and chaos. His own wife, with ties to a Ming concubine of the Yongle Emperor, had pled for his execution.
That's why Ryu despised Kim Jeom. He himself operated cleanly within the law's bounds—high-interest loans endlessly multiplying money, slaves breeding more slaves.
Why were officials so greedily corrupt as to stuff themselves with bribes?
'Live cleanly like me, you filthy cur!'
"So, what business does the Chief State Councillor have with a lowly one like me?"
"No greeting first?"
"What sort of chums are you and I?"
Kim Jeom had been the one to aggressively impeach Ryu over those Pyeongan bribes. Their relationship couldn't possibly be cordial.
"Fair enough. I'll get straight to it: work with me."
"On what?"
"That bastard Kim Dae-bung is pushing the Commutation Law to ruin Joseon's economic order."
"Kim Dae-bung—the mad dog who stirred up the populace with that regional memorial. I hear he's a treacherous villain masquerading as a loyal retainer, trash no better than Jo Go."
Kim Dae-bung had strived as Jinhae County Magistrate to avoid bribes at all costs, always exerting himself to remain impeccably honest.
By all accounts, he was the epitome of a loyal subject... but such objective facts meant nothing to them.
It was a textbook case of Confucius's words: "A man cannot be loved by all, so be one loved by the good and hated by the wicked."
The wicked, naturally, were Kim Jeom and Ryu Jeong-hyeon.
"What do you think will become of Joseon if that wretch enacts the Commutation Law?"
Kim Jeom smirked.
"No one here but us lowly one and the Chief. You can bare your soul without reserve. No need to mince words."
"...... The people will no longer need to borrow at high interest. From then on, I won't be able to grow my wealth like before. And you're in the same boat, aren't you, Cheong-gang?"
"Indeed. I have my share of grievances with Kim Dae-bung's policies too. If he enacts the Commutation Law, the gifts from provincial magistrates and yangban who respect me will dry up."
"You're truly avaricious."
"My thanks for the praise. Thanks to you, Lord, I lost my post and learned that money is king after all."
Kim Jeom loved money more than anyone. That's why he'd stuffed himself with bribes so excessively as Pyeongan Governor that he drew universal scorn.
"Promise to help me, and I'll submit a memorial insisting you're essential for enacting the Commutation Law. You could be restored as Minister of Finance."
"How magnanimous."
"Hold as Minister until His Highness the Supreme King passes, and we win. We nitpick and harass Kim Dae-bung with every excuse under the sun—without giving him real grounds. The guy's obsessed with becoming Chief State Councillor anyway; he'll endure just about anything."
In truth, Kim Dae-bung planned to finalize the Commutation Law proposal and then submit his resignation to retire to the countryside.
He just didn't want to get stuck dealing with Sejong, Hwang Hui, Maeng Sa-seong, and Jang Yeong-sil.
But through utterly commonplace reasoning, they concluded he was the sort mad with desire to "get Hwang Hui'd"—to become premier.
"How shall I assist?"
"Gather intel from Hanyang guild merchants under our influence, and prod the idle yangban squatting in their saloons to flood the court with memorials day and night."
"Sounds like there's some angle to nitpick."
"Word is Kim Dae-bung's thick as thieves with Kim Man-deok, head of the guild council. So we impeach on 'reasonable grounds' that the Commutation Law lets him collude with Kim Man-deok to handle Jinhae's tribute goods and skim massive profits."
"The memorialists will drop dead."
"Pick disposable idiots then."
Kim Jeom and Ryu Jeong-hyeon were both human scum. They couldn't care less if the brainless proxies filing memorials for them lived or died.
What mattered was their family glory—more importantly, making money. That was all.
"We must block the Commutation Law. By hook or by crook."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ And a few days later, memorials impeaching Kim Dae-bung for his regional petition poured in from across Hanyang.
The content was simple.
'Kim Dae-bung is intimately tied to guild leader Kim Man-deok and even his daughter. With the Commutation Law, he'll hand Jinhae's tribute goods to that man and pocket huge profits!'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Joseon is a land of impeachments.
If someone's in the wrong, the Office of Inspectors impeaches them.
You might ask why just one agency when the Three Offices should handle it...
The Three Offices perform oversight haphazardly; they're not like modern media outlets impeaching crooked politicians and breaking news.
So when memorials flood in like this, it means even the Office of Inspectors is gunning for impeachment.
"Hey, Kim Suchan."
"Yes, Minister of Finance."
Hwang Hui came right up to where I was and patted my shoulder in consolation.
Was this really the same man who'd been just fifteen minutes earlier cursing out the Jeong 6th-rank Hojo Clerk for his sluggish work during overtime, snarling that he should at least half-ass it like Kim Dae-bung?
"Impeachments are a dime a dozen in official life—don't take it to heart. Consider His Highness the King's and the Supreme King's immense favor toward you. You won't be dismissed over trifles like this. Why, even Kim Bong-sa of the Hojo Audit Office recently got away with marrying the daughter of one of the Five Regional Guild Leaders..."
When we say Hojo, people think just the main office... but that's wrong.
Like how the Ministry of Strategy and Finance oversees stats bureaus and more, Hojo has a swarm of sub-agencies. That's why it employs surprisingly many officials.
"So don't worry about it. Now, today we'll make an early dismi—"
...... I have no clue who spearheaded this impeachment. But one thing's certain.
The Commutation Law will pass without fail, and I've nearly wrapped up all my goals.
The day I claim my freedom draws near.
"This impeachment stems from my own failings. How could I cling to office after committing such disloyalty?"
Hwang Hui's face fell like the world had ended.
"I grieve that I cannot repay His Highness's grace, but I cannot inflict further disloyalty upon him. Once I've laid the groundwork for the Commutation Law, I shall duly submit my letter of resignation."
Retirement paradise! Retirement!
Once retired, I'll head home, marry a beauty from a local yangban house, and take Kim Gyeol as concubine. Flowers in both hands.
This is Joseon's true earthly bliss.
I need to sweet-talk my parents into picking the most stunning yangban daughter, ignoring family politics.
With my top exam placer and regional petition boosting the family name sky-high, they'll grant me that much.
Hwang Hui, utterly blindsided by my resignation talk, reacted with shock.
"Kim Suchan, Kim Suchan!! Where do you think you're going! You can't! What crime have you committed to resign and retire to the countryside! Absolutely not!! You're the pillar of the Hojo!"
Yep, I'm retiring to live happily ever after. That's why I governed Jinhae benevolently.
Jealous? Should've lived right yourself.
And once I'd hammered out the Commutation Law's framework, I promptly submitted my resignation memorial without delay.
I'm a free man now.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Normally, resignation memorials from junior officials get rubber-stamped by the king unread.
So Kim Dae-bung figured he'd resign the instant he submitted.
But there was one snag.
Yi Bang-won liked Kim Dae-bung far too much.
"...... Do-ya."
"Yes, Father."
"Kim Dae-bung is incorruptible, devoid of selfish desires or lust for power. He'll make a pillar of the state as premier someday."
Yi Bang-won felt good just thinking of Kim Dae-bung. Even if Jung Do-jeon and Jung Mong-ju came back alive, they'd pale in comparison.
For such a man to pledge full loyalty to the Joseon he'd built—what beauty in that.
"Why do you think Kim Dae-bung submitted his resignation?"
"To credit the Commutation Law's success solely to you, Father?"
Kim Dae-bung would've replied, "Misunderstanding. I just want to go home."
But Yi Bang-won and Sejong, having pegged him as the ultimate loyalist via the regional memorial, couldn't fathom his true heart.
"With impeachments piling up against him, he must've seen it harming the Commutation Law and resigned accordingly."
"I think the same. Yet this once, I intend to approve it."
Sejong cocked his head. Was he really letting Kim go?
"Kim Dae-bung devoted himself selflessly to state affairs, only to be impeached by sycophants like Goryeo's lingering ghosts. His heart must be sorely wounded. We should let him rest at home for a spell."
Sejong's ears perked up. "A spell" carried heavy meaning.
"And by showing how deeply you and I cherish him, letting him save face before his family—that will finally wash away his inner pain."
Yi Bang-won had begun his official career as a civil servant via the Goryeo exams.
With Yi Seong-gye a military man, he'd endured brutal face-saving rituals, tormented by those who scorned the rising general.
Just recalling it made Yi Bang-won shiver.
"Official life was grueling for me too, but when I first passed the literary exam under old Goryeo, Grand King Taejo was overjoyed. That got me through the harsh rituals."
Yi Seong-gye loathed him till death, but Yi Bang-won respected and loved him as father.
Though he'd killed some brothers and Jung Mong-ju and Jung Do-jeon, ruining relations utterly.
"Kim Dae-bung's human too; when his heart aches, he'll crave family comfort. Send an edict to his parents praising them for raising a pillar of the nation, urging them to soothe him since Joseon needs him... Won't he rise again?"
Beyond comfort lay a ploy.
"With the king honoring his parents and them urging their son back to office... What official would dare resign?"
Joseon is a land of filial piety.
If a father commits a crime, the son takes the caning as "filial duty"—even encouraged.
In such a filial land, defy your parents' earnest plea?
Impossible.
A smile spread across Sejong's face.
Meanwhile, Ryu Jeong-hyeon heard Kim Dae-bung had submitted his resignation and retired home—and felt a chill run down his spine.
"......Is my body failing me? Why is it so cold?"