The Inevitable (2)
The strategic objective of the Daejeong War had shifted from defense to offense, meaning the reformist direction of our Republic government could no longer be avoided. The first reason was that the interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing loans received as reparations from the French Republic and the United States of America now served as the last rational brake on the runaway “Northward March” ship.
The support budget of approximately two million francs from the French government and one million dollars from the United States of America, guaranteed by the new government’s payment and simultaneously the final bastion upholding bank credibility.
“Why on earth would Japanese companies and trading houses sell us weapons even on credit?”
Because they see the white men’s faces when we stuff money into their pockets and decide to sell.
If we were known as fools, would they hand over weapons saying we had gone mad?
We might never pay for the bullets, so who knows when they would turn their guns on us?
Therefore, the Takjibu, the last conscience of the reform, had to take a very conservative stance toward the military budget that would skyrocket once the Three Nations Alliance’s goal shifted from defense to offense.
The foreign currency we currently held in the Republic was already insufficient to pledge as payment for weapons imports and even more insufficient to sprinkle on reform funds.
So, no matter how revered the Tongryeong of the Republic might be, in this bizarre fusion of Joseon literati and the Enlightenment Party, even if a monster like Cerberus suddenly burst forth and thrust out its tongue shouting “Northward March,” they would have pushed out the word “no” from the very first syllable.
Therefore, the regularly scheduled Cabinet Minister meetings were noisy today as well.
“… I absolutely cannot agree, no, I will not do it! Why did I show absolute loyalty to the new government? I came to the office with the mindset of pouring even a drop of milk into the mouths of the starving people!”
“Exactly. Maybe you’re right?”
I had no idea when I had started looking for conscience, but anyway, the one who had ascended to the position of real financial minister, Eo Yun-jung, suddenly jumped on the war budget with a whale-like roar, while Yi Sang-jae, who had risen from the Agriculture and Finance Bureau documents department, from the Revenue Bureau, from the Accounting Bureau to the Tax Bureau, with tired eyes, nodded along in agreement.
And the reason Eo Yun-jung and the military, the Alliance had reached a unanimous decision on the “Northward March” and he was now unconditionally opposing it was not the only reason.
Because the economy of the new government stood at a critical crossroads right now.
If opposing humans clenched their fists with the resolve to crush them themselves, Eo Yun-jung’s eyes burned with fire as he shouted.
“What’s more important than ‘Manchuria’ is the economy of this country! And a sound economy is decided by a country’s currency credibility. No matter how many loans and supports we promise from overseas, it’s an amount that doesn’t reach the common people living in reality!”
“Even so, our government’s five-year budget funds are promised to come all at once. There’s no need to be so timid!”
“What, timid!? Ah, ah-timid!!”
When a military officer’s question pricked his pride, Eo Yun-jung glared at him trying to locate the source, and Yi Sang-jae, who had been nodding beside him, stepped in to calm the situation.
“Everyone, let me explain it simply. Do you remember why our comrade Baek-on (Kim Ok-gyun), who has become the star of the revolution and disappeared beyond the night sky, went on his last overseas trip?”
“Ah, to obtain a five-hundred-thousand-dollar loan from the United States of America…”
“Why was the loan necessary?”
“To secure sound finances from the damned pro-Qing tributary bureaucrats and the rotten Japanese, the tyrants…”
“Correct. Ah, no, wrong. Not quite? It’s half right, but half needs to go back further.”
Having stayed awake until dawn, his mind was wandering, knowing only half of the current financial status, and shouting “Baeak!” while demanding the military budget, looking at those officers and their mess, it was almost a sigh that burst from Eo Yun-jung’s shoulders. Yi Sang-jae, who had been pressing on his shoulders again, continued the explanation.
“The inflation of prices and the collapse of currency value in our economy from the beginning, the inflow of Qing currency (Hojeon) and the attack of Japanese banknotes, the denial of trust triggered is not a problem that can be solved just by borrowing a lot of foreign currency.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Our country has been conducting currency wars with Qing and Japan for over two hundred years. And our country was on the verge of entering bankruptcy thanks to the incompetence of the tyrants and their fathers. Exactly, it was on the verge of entering bankruptcy and waiting for punishment, but it was revived by the revolution.”
“It’s hard to understand.”
“Suppose I tell you now that I will revive the Dang-o-jeon and pay your salaries. What would you do?”
“Kyaak!!”
“My money has become paper!?!”
“This national traitor! You are a tributary!”
“Yes, that’s exactly what you were thinking right now. And since you’re not a tributary, put the pistol back in.”
Officers who instinctively put their hands on their waists at Yi Sang-jae’s question, and bureaucrats with wide eyes asking “Are you crazy?”
Satisfied with that reaction, Yi Sang-jae nodded up and down and explained.
“If you force it, it really has to be. By printing money like crazy and making it worth nothing.”
“Poop can be gunpowder. Anyway, so what’s the fundamental solution? Since the Takjibu also has thoughts, it won’t say to abandon the Northward March.”
“We also don’t want to be dragged into the Public Security Committee. Hmph, we don’t even want to aggressively pursue land reform and tax reform. Time is short, and such huge projects requiring time, manpower, and finances, if handled roughly, will go to hell later, so we can’t just pass over them. We can delay the war until the central bank is established, or we have to convert all the long-stored commercial bills hidden in the vault through national consensus.”
“Commercial bills?”
“Central bank?”
“Is there really a miser who will issue commercial bills saying it’s crazy?”
“But if we issue new currency, won’t it be like the previous tyrants? It seems like they’ll start a fire saying it’s all Dang-baek-jeon again.”
The ministers present at the cabinet meeting looked a bit confused.
They had heard of them, but they didn’t know the connection that made the Takjibu’s flying bureaucrats come running to plead with them.
Ah, of course, those who had studied abroad overseas also knew that banks existed.
Joseon, don’t ignore us, there were times when even humans who strictly collected intermediary fees when the country entered the stage of national ruin were still alive.
The problem was just that they looked at the Takjibu ministers with bewildered expressions along with the eyes that said “Oi oi, is establishing a bank now, for our sake?”
Meaning there’s no time for that with the war right in front of us, probably.
Actually, if I remember that even the officers from the Enlightenment Party, who didn’t know much about the economy, knew that the establishment and transparent execution of government budgets was strongly advocated by the one who returned from a tour of the United States of America because of the great sin committed against the Republic by their own families.
But
“They are not looking at the post-war.”
These are the ones who think the glory of the Republic is in the battlefield where soldiers are leading and revolutions are blooming.
They were no different whether they were small officers from the Enlightenment Party or old big officers employed since the time of the Daewongun.
Yes, but it’s not over when the war is over.
Conflicts arising from post-war reconstruction and demobilization returning to their homes, administrative districts to be set up when occupying Gando, increasing number of civil servants, conflicts with local residents in the northern mountains to be opened according to treaties with allied countries.
Also, we must not forget that the huge budget we received from France and the United States of America is another debt.
“Moreover, even if we receive war reparations from the Qing Dynasty, our Republic still doesn’t have the vessel to receive this enormous currency volume intact.”
From here, it was a part that was hard for Yi Sang-jae or Eo Yun-jung, who had not received detailed hints yet, to explain, as they were sketching outlines and setting up financial plans intuitively.
At this point, I decided to step in and explain to Yi Sang-jae and Eo Yun-jung, seeking their understanding.
“In other words, the dollar and franc are nothing more than collateral to guarantee our government’s ability to wage war. Of course, we are already buying a huge amount of weapons from Japan with that money.”
So, even though we are using a huge amount of foreign currency, it doesn’t hit the private economy.
If it had been a peaceful time without preparing for war, the Korean economy now would have thrown away the Chinese currency that was better than the yen that was just waking up, as well as Dang-baek-jeon and Dang-o-jeon.
And that empty space would have been occupied by French and dollars, making this country an economic colony of the two countries at some point.
“Would the frogs of Paris and the cunning of Washington really give us a huge loan for a good alliance? It’s just talk.”
So, we shouldn’t just take the allowance of the fluffy uncle as if it’s free.
However, even with my explanation, the officers and bureaucrats who still didn’t get the feeling shrugged their shoulders and focused their gaze on me.
Meaning more explanation needed.
“Anyway, the central bank and the new government’s currency issuance to support our army’s northward advance and spread the boom evenly across the entire industry, so that the benefits reach all the common people, is urgent.”
“Boom?”
“Yes, boom. In short, this ‘Northward March’ is not just about avenging the humiliation our nation suffered from the Manchus in the past.”
“… ”
“Reform, a grand national plan to completely transform the body of this country’s Republic at the same time as the war must be carried out simultaneously.”
I winked at the questioning officer saying “Well done” and stood in front of the map on the wall and opened my mouth.
“The Takjibu and the Supreme People’s Committee hope to resolve through this expedition the gap in distribution problems between our northern cities and the southern grain-producing areas.”
“Distribution, problem?”
“Even in Im-o year, and even in the revolutionary new year. Our citizens of Han-yang were dissatisfied with the excessively rising grain prices in the tyrannical monarchy. What if we declare war without taking any measures?”
“… The grain price will skyrocket.”
“Correct. Oh, there might be a choice to just starve to death.”
“… ”
Well done. Correct!
Smiling at the faces of the officers who raised the revolution using the people’s discontent as fertilizer, I continued.
“There are seven ships assigned to the Seonhwa, which is about twice as many as last year, but there are still not enough rice to bring from Gunsan to Gyeonggi Province. But in this situation, war? Probably we will have to suppress the cities in the northern part of Gyeonggi including Han-yang before the Northward March.”
“Hmm.”
People angry at the skyrocketing grain prices at the start of the war come out and shout “Revolution”.
Officers looking at each other’s faces with hesitant expressions.
To these people, I started presenting the hidden solution.
“Before that, if our army, while planning supply, repairs roads that will act as arteries for all eight provinces, and floats temporary bridges, the situation will improve, right?”
“Yes.”
“Also, making it easy for the citizens of our Republic’s economy to get the glorious Korean citizenship easily so that the citizens of Japan, of course, and the allied United States of America and French Republic can contribute greatly, would be good, right?”
“Ah, ah…?”
“Moreover, all the officers and bureaucrats gathered here are members of their own large families, right? To compete with that! We all hope for the success of the Northward March with one mind and one heart, and we look forward to the Manchus who stole the heavenly mandate falling off their horses, so we can make a big concession, right?”
“That, that’s a bit…”
“The benefits of the Northward March should also reach the poor farmers who make up the absolute majority of our common people and the merchants and industrialists who contribute with patriotic hearts for a small amount of money?”
“Yes, probably…?”
“If not, the rice price will skyrocket and fires will rise in Han-yang too?”
“… ”
“So, then.”
Give money, you proud sons of the landlord, rich farmer, and bourgeois classes.
Honestly, we postponed the land reform, disposed of the royal property at a low price, and allowed private mining development, right?
Not only that, we abolished the Hongsam export monopoly, let tobacco go free, allowed salt fields, and the fishing grounds are jointly owned?
During this time, we actively push for land reclamation projects that were previously blocked by feng shui issues or a few words from Confucian classics and strict approvals.
The sweet fruits I allowed in the Alliance Association during the time when the reform was our support base, it’s time to receive the price for them.
I put a thick bundle of documents printed from the Yoonjeon machine I tore from the Daehan Maeil Sinbo on the table and declared.
“Therefore, from today on, we will issue ‘Patriotic Bonds.’ The ‘Patriotic Bonds’ are wartime bonds that analyze the huge resources and economic value produced in the ancestral land, Gando, which we promised to win from the Qing, and the profits will be distributed rationally.”
“Ah, wartime bonds…?”
“Of course, before preparing for the land reform, we will also issue ‘Land Value Certificates’ with the goal of securing budget for the land survey business. Of course, the ‘Land Value Certificates’ are also part of the policy to appease the unfairness and grievances of landlords and rich farmers who will lose due to the land reform. Private property is sacred. They will be rewarded with greater wealth and honor in return for the price of their devotion. And all the goods harvested through this will be invested in the establishment of the central bank and the issuance of new banknotes, which will become the foundation of the Republic’s economy.”
I extended both arms to the officers and bureaucrats looking at me with dazed expressions, closing their eyes in a pious posture like a priest.
It’s time for you to be patriotic.
So, put out your baskets.
Command.