Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: King Sejong the Great's Trap (1)
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In the military, there are certain postings you absolutely have to go through if you want to get ahead.
Positions like platoon leader, company commander, battalion commander—command roles like those, or staff officer in a regiment or division. You need to pass through them to earn your stars.
The same goes for Joseon if you want to become a full-rank official.
Roles like scholar of the Hall of Worthies or one of the Censorate offices, postings as a local magistrate, and so on.
I've already gone through all the necessary postings for becoming a full-rank official, so there's no real reason for me to obsess over heading to the State Council.
"If I can use my meager talents to serve the Ancestral Temple and State Altar, I'd be fine wandering the lowly ranks of the bureaucracy my whole life."
"If any other official said that, it'd just sound like false humility. But coming from our Kim Jeong-rang, it feels full of sincerity. The same words, yet they land so differently depending on who's saying them."
Unlike when I first entered service, my dream these days has shifted to working until retirement age, then retiring to the countryside to live happily with Gyeol.
Ever since King Sejong the Great started viewing overtime as a corrupt practice rotting the bureaucracy, all officials' work hours have been cut to about eight or nine hours, making the work environment much more comfortable...
Still, everyone dreams of retiring after putting in a certain amount of time.
I plan to retire at the right moment to avoid becoming like Prime Minister Hwang Hui and live comfortably.
"When the Chief State Councillor dragged Inspector General Kim Jong-seo to the State Council, he must have tempted him with promises of wealth, glory, and power. But are you the sort of person who moves for things like that?"
Right— if you know that, just give up already and go to the State Council by yourself.
Don't drag me along and force me down the tech tree to lifetime Chief State Councillor.
Lately, with Yi Bang-won seeming to have extended his lifespan by at least ten years beyond the original history, and King Sejong the Great getting healthier from daily mountain hikes, it feels like they're both scheming to chain me to the court with iron shackles... It's making me uneasy.
At this point, volunteering for the State Council would be no different from some fool stepping forward to enlist upon seeing Marines in their red panties.
I'm not that stupid.
"Think of this as me opening up my heart fully—let's talk."
Jo Mal-saeng's eyes gleamed.
If this were a novel world where, like in Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Japanese tales, King Sejong the Great or the ministers had somehow turned into 'women'...
The atmosphere feels like I'd be kidnapped to the bedroom any second.
Of course, luckily, the Joseon I was reborn into is perfectly normal, so that'll never happen.
"You're exceptionally capable, yet you don't crave power or wealth and glory, so you can be called a loyal subject like Zhuge Liang or Yue Fei. That's how you've risen this far at such a young age."
"Those are words too grand for me to bear. Please take them back."
"No one among the ministers who've entered court service would deny what I said. Even Minister of Rites Heo, whose office the Censorate could comb through without finding a speck of dust, says he feels ashamed in your presence."
A wicked smile crept across Jo Mal-saeng's lips.
His sly grin makes him look just like a movie villain plotting something nefarious.
Ah, come to think of it—Jo Mal-saeng was one of those villains who got a life sentence of service in Joseon after his talents spared him the death penalty.
"But even you, Kim Jeong-rang, are human. How could you have no desires at all?"
No one in this world is without desire.
Even Gandhi, who stuck to nonviolence and non-possession, racked up quite the food bill guzzling lemonade like water, despite being a vegetarian.
I do have desires, of course.
"Isn't your desire, Kim Jeong-rang, to look after Joseon's people broadly and bring them prosperity?"
"...Yes, it is."
"Then you must advance in rank. Just as you've helped me rise to the Minister of the Council of State soon, use me to climb higher and achieve your goals."
I couldn't refute his words.
The reason I stay in office is to witness firsthand how my policies benefit Joseon—to see and hear it, to confirm the people's lives improving.
For that, I've set aside greed for wealth and even postponed my wish to resign.
'Ironically, to achieve my goals, I have to advance in rank.'
"I just received the report from the ten garrisons' commanders. They say that in the hot summers, soldiers always suffered heatstroke and illnesses in great numbers. Normally, over a hundred die nationwide through the summer. But this year, only about five."
The physician Semmelweis, who first discovered the importance of hygiene, ran his maternity ward as cleanly as possible.
In an era when other hospitals proudly used blood-crusted tools like badges of honor and assisted the next delivery covered in gore as if it were natural.
People called him mad, but his zeal produced overwhelmingly low maternal mortality rates, proving him right.
He brought hospital birth death rates from over 18% down below 2%.
Just like that, the garrison soldiers are falling ill less now that hygiene is properly managed.
"If we make the people wash cleanly like we did the soldiers, the number dying from disease in Joseon will drop sharply."
"It would."
"......But isn't it such a shame?"
Jo Mal-saeng whispered devilishly into my ear.
"If you were Hanseong Magistrate, you could mobilize all of Hanseong's manpower to force everyone in Hanyang to wash. Think of how many lives you'd save."
One thing I learned passing the administrative exam and working as a bureaucrat:
Villains like Lee Wan-yong, the ultimate traitor, don't become that just because they want to.
In reality, you need exceptional talent even to get the chance to go down in history as a traitor.
Jo Mal-saeng was so capable that he seized the opportunity during the Kim Do-ryeon incident.
When a man like that stokes ambition, even I can't hold back.
What will become of me if I keep rising and end up working with Hwang Hui and the other grand councilors...
"And Kim Jeong-rang, you deliberately refuse noble daughters to avoid any weaknesses. I'll even fix that for you. I have a eighth cousin who failed even the prelims—his daughter has a stellar reputation for beauty. She seems like a perfect match. What do you say?"
It's a tempting offer, but there's no such thing as advancement without a price.
Well, Jo Mal-saeng isn't the type to say, 'Wanna be partners in crime?' and drag me into corruption.
"It takes time to forge a great vessel. The same goes for my advancement."
Jo Mal-saeng lowered his head regretfully at my refusal.
"What a shame. I truly thought you'd be the next Chief State Councillor after me."
"My apologies."
"Well, with your talent, Kim Jeong-rang, you'll reach one-below-the-king status even without my help. So, one more question."
"Yes, my lord."
"Kim Jeong-rang, what is your true dream?"
My dream is just that.
"To broadly benefit Joseon's people. Once achieved, I'll retire to the countryside and rest easy."
Jo Mal-saeng's expression turned grave upon hearing my words.
Then he left.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Minister of Military Affairs Jo Mal-saeng—he truly liked Kim Dae-bung.
No, unless you're some loan-shark-obsessed old fogey like Ryu Jeong-hyeon, no minister actually dislikes Kim Dae-bung.
Just guarantee him autonomy under you, and he solves most problems in a flash.
Above all, he's a subordinate who props up his superior to claim the credit.
Who in the world would dislike someone like that?
Jo Mal-saeng wanted to forcibly promote Kim Dae-bung to rank 4 junior, make him a State Council clerk, and use him as his own man—whether he became Right State Councillor or Left.
'Good things are for me alone.'
Then, if the other ministers complained, he could negotiate with the six ministries' ministers and Hwang Hui over Kim Dae-bung's usage rights.
And snag more benefits then.
Harboring endless regret, Jo Mal-saeng walked slowly to the State Council.
He was there to report the results from the ten garrisons' strict hygiene measures, after all.
"Chief State Councillor."
Hwang Hui smirked upon seeing Jo Mal-saeng.
"What's got a fresh young pup like you looking so careworn?"
Hwang Hui, seven years Jo Mal-saeng's senior, could say such things.
"I'm already 56. Nearing sixty."
"Still younger than me, aren't you?"
"My apologies, Chief State Councillor."
"Good that you know. So, what's your business at the State Council?"
"The garrisons report good changes from making soldiers wash thoroughly. I want to submit a report to Your Highness, but came for your review first."
Hwang Hui read the brought report fully, then beckoned Inspector General Kim Jong-seo of the State Council.
"Kim Inspector General, back in my day at your age, I bustled about like I was using the shrinking-earth technique... Lately, with everyone leaving on time daily, aren't you getting a bit lax?"
"My apologies."
"Apologies won't cut it. If you want to be a grand councilor, you have to redouble your efforts no matter what."
"Yes, my lord."
Watching Jo Mal-saeng chew out Kim Jong-seo right there, he spoke up.
"Do you know what?"
"What should I know?"
"Kim Jeong-rang says he's just waiting to finish his work and resign, like Zhang Liang."
Hwang Hui's face crumpled at those words.
The six ministries are pushing rapid reforms right now, always chased by work.
And if there's even one overtime session, His Highness personally 'encourages' (chews out) him, the Chief State Councillor, for poor management of his subordinates...
The day Kim Dae-bung leaves, solving the problems he handles will get much harder.
Overtime will increase, and he'll get chewed out by Sejong.
Thus, Hwang Hui slipped the newly learned fact into the report he was drafting.
[Kim Dae-bung says he wants to, like Emperor Gaozu of Han's strategist Zhang Zifang, recognize the right moment and resign to retire to the countryside—a truly admirable mindset beyond words.]
Sejong read this and fell into deep contemplation.
It was a grave report that Kim Dae-bung was contemplating desertion (resignation).