Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Chief State Councillor Slayer (1)
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Kim Dae-bung's resignation petition had struck the Ministry of Finance like a direct hit from a cannonball.
Up until now, they could somehow wrap up the day's work by pulling all-nighters, and at least on holidays, they could rest...
"Minister, have mercy. We'll drop dead at this rate."
"If I could just sleep three si-jin a day—that's six hours—I'd have no regrets... Haha, at this point, my wife might forget what I look like and sound like."
When Kim Dae-bung was around, even with the chaos of the Commutation Law, the ministry officials never staggered about like walking corpses.
Because whenever an unsolvable problem cropped up, they all dumped it on Hwang Hui, who then passed it to Kim Dae-bung.
Kim Dae-bung would take on the workload, precisely calculate what preparations were needed to implement the Commutation Law, produce the results, and hand them over. The officials just had to follow those guidelines.
That's how they managed to endure the workload bomb that was two or three times the usual volume. Of course, that was only the story up until a few days ago.
Piercing through the grim atmosphere in the ministry, Minister of Finance Hwang Hui summoned his second-in-command, the Vice Minister.
"...Vice Minister of Finance."
"Yes, Minister."
"Stand up straight."
The Vice Minister stiffened up rigidly, just like he had back when he first passed the civil service exam.
If Kim Dae-bung had seen it, he would've been amazed at the sight of such a high official standing at perfect attention like a fresh recruit straight out of basic training.
Of course, the other ministry officials watching this unfold were inwardly praying to their late ancestors or Buddha.
Joseon was a land of Neo-Confucianism, so yangban scholars didn't openly worship Buddha...
But just fifty years after Goryeo's fall, Joseon officials secretly held some faith in Buddhism.
One certain usury expert who also served as Chief State Councillor had blown through 5,000 seom of white rice performing the Water and Land Ritual for Buddha, which said it all.
So today, as usual, the ministry officials prayed to Buddha and their ancestors.
'Great and merciful Buddha, please save us.'
'Ancestors, please... spare your second-generation only son.'
Ignoring all that, Hwang Hui chuckled heartily and began grilling the Vice Minister.
"Ah, relax and stand easy. You know I'm not the type to nitpick like the Minister of Rites, fussing over every little posture detail. Loosen up. Completely relax. Just answer my trivial questions from here on properly, that's all."
"This is comfortable for me, sir."
"Very well. Now, look at this mountain of official documents piled up on my desk. I get it—things are busy, so they're stacking up like this. It happens."
Anyone who's ever worked in a Joseon government office knows what that means. Saying "I get it" here was emphasis on something utterly incomprehensible and horrific.
So naturally, the Vice Minister's mind raced to one inevitable thought.
'I'm dead today.'
Of course, Hwang Hui, well-versed in the terror of a dressing-down, wasn't grilling the Vice Minister just because of the workload.
"But here's the thing... with all this work piling up, lately our officials have been making all sorts of minor errors. Didn't I say that except for documents going straight to His Highness, we don't need to fuss over formats and such?"
"How could we not appreciate your consideration, sir?"
"Yet Kim Jeong-rang wrote 16 dou of white rice when it should've been 18 for the Commutation Law calculations. That threw everything off. And our Park Cham-ui just reported the mountain officials' calculations based on those wrong numbers straight to me."
A chill ran down the Vice Minister's spine.
No matter how rushed they were, mistakes like that were absolutely unforgivable.
What if Their Majesties the Supreme King spotted an error in their calculations?
It was a stroke of immense luck that Minister Hwang Hui had caught it.
A "pep talk" starting from the Supreme King was infinitely worse than one starting from the Minister of Finance—by about ten billion times.
"And that's not all—numbers wrong here, content botched there... let me see..."
Names poured from Hwang Hui's mouth—not just from the main ministry, but even from the branch offices under it.
Each time a name was called, the Vice Minister shuddered.
"Vice Minister."
"Yes, sir."
"We need to do better, don't we? Can I count on you?"
"Of course not."
And the faces of those named all turned as pale as blank sheets of paper.
Among them, Kim Jong-seo—a top talent Hwang Hui had special expectations for—received the greatest honor of all.
A personal dressing-down from the Minister of Finance himself.
"Kim Jeong-rang."
"Yes, sir."
"With Kim Su-chan gone, is this the sloppy performance you're going to show me?"
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Sorry doesn't end your career, does it? Doesn't finish the Commutation Law, does it? Do you think I'm saying this for my own sake? It's all for your benefit, to properly uphold the ancestral temple and state altar. If there's a next time..."
Hwang Hui issued a stern warning to Kim Jong-seo, laced with a hint of longing for someone absent.
"...I'll work you like Kim Su-chan for the next ten days."
Kim Dae-bung had handled the work of six ministry officials single-handedly.
Even the brutally difficult, complex problems that might take days just to solve—he'd wrap them up in less than half a si-jin, not even an hour. Work him like that Kim Dae-bung?
Kim Jong-seo had only two possible outcomes.
Become the ministry's resident ghost... or die there.
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Don't give me reason to be sorry for you. I'm doing this because I think highly of you, got it?"
Hwang Hui said that and pointed toward the officials being grilled by the Vice Minister over there.
No curses, but they were being flayed to the bone.
"......Thank you, sir."
"Do well from now on. Effort alone won't cut it... just do it right."
Then Hwang Hui picked up his brush, glanced at a document, and thought to himself.
'That bastard Kim Dae-bung.'
He couldn't even curse Yi Bang-won inwardly, so he vented at the true culprit who'd dumped this workload bomb on him: Kim Dae-bung.
At the same time, he missed him. If he came back, the ministry officials would get their holidays again.
"I want to rest... forget everything, just rest... I want to clock out..."
In the Ministry of Finance, where everyone was worked to utter exhaustion, a voice shattered the silence.
"His Highness has granted you a meal and decreed that you may all clock out after eating today!"
The officials heard they could clock out but lacked even the energy to shout "Long live the king!"
To borrow Kim Dae-bung's words, this place was truly overtime hell.
The overtime hell overflowing with King Sejong the Great's grace, squeezing officials who'd volunteered for duty to serve the ancestral temple and state altar like dry rags—and transforming it into "sustainable labor." ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In peaceful Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, at Kim Dae-bung's home.
The master of the house and Kim Dae-bung's father, Kim Jang-ik, could barely contain his pounding heart.
In a land where virtue meant embracing death without 0.1 seconds' hesitation for the sake of honor... for a man like him who'd never held office, to receive an edict from the king himself.
This was glory enough to boast of for generations.
"Yanggu County scholar Kim Jang-ik, receive the edict."
At the words of the envoy delivering the royal decree, Kim Jang-ik knelt, received the edict, and bowed deeply.
The envoy began reading it aloud.
"Ah, We once sought to issue coins to benefit the people far and wide. Upon reflection, what We intended for the people's welfare nearly became their doom. Yet We have a loyal subject, Kim Dae-bung, who risked death to remonstrate, sparing Us from grave error."
Tears overflowed from Kim Jang-ik's eyes.
His son topping the civil service exam, serving justly as Jinhae County Magistrate and earning fame—that alone filled him with boundless emotion...
But for the king himself to say his son had spared him from error? This was the pinnacle of glory and honor for any scholar.
And in this era, a son's merits were the father's merits. Kim Jang-ik's name rose accordingly.
Now, he was undoubtedly the most renowned scholar in the county.
"And upon reflection, was Kim Dae-bung able to offer such resolute counsel, staking his life like a mere blade of grass, not because of your strict upbringing? Thus, We greatly praise you, Kim Jang-ik, father of Kim Dae-bung—the pillar of the nation, the loyal subject you've raised."
Kim Jang-ik resolved: This edict would be the pride of his household for generations.
"One request We have: Loyal subjects are always beset by slanderers. We know of those slandering Kim Dae-bung, wounding his heart deeply. Thus, encourage Kim Jang-ik, so that the talent who will uphold the nation—Jiphyeonjeon Scribe Kim Dae-bung—may rise again. Seemingly trivial, but We regard him as a loyal vassal like Zhuge Liang, Wei Zheng of Tang Emperor Taizong, or Yue Fei. Do so with utmost sincerity."
Tears never stopped flowing from Kim Jang-ik's eyes throughout the reading.
With a trembling voice, he replied solemnly.
"Your subject, Yanggu County scholar Kim Jang-ik, receives the royal decree."
And so, Kim Dae-bung's father, Kim Jang-ik, began discussing with his wife how best to encourage his son back into office.
Thus, even his parents now blocked Kim Dae-bung's resignation.
If they'd truly hated seeing their son in office, he might have hesitated—but from his actions so far and the letters he'd sent...
Kim Dae-bung was addicted to serving the people through his duties.
As a father, it was his duty to devote him to Joseon—and with a royal decree to boot, there was no room for hesitation.