Chapter 24
The term Won-sang, which first appeared during King Sejo’s reign in 1467, was a temporary institution created to handle state affairs on the king’s behalf.
When the ailing Sejo could not receive the Ming envoys himself, the post was hastily established so someone could stand in for him.
After King Myeongjong passed away, the Won-sang was reinstalled once more. Its purpose was to place the young Yi Yeon on the throne and oversee the period of national mourning.
Hong Seom, who concurrently held the positions of Left Assistant State Councillor and Minister of Rites, had operated the Won-sang alongside Yi Jun-gyeong. He was later offered the role of Daejehak but politely declined and withdrew from the forefront.
Then the Right State Councillor, Min Gi, suddenly died. Hong Seom stepped into the vacant post.
The exceptionally handsome Hong Seom was upright in conduct and diligent in his work. He was also so incorruptible that he still wore threadbare official robes.
The young king, however, was nothing like him. Whether he was following General Choi Yeong’s maxim to “treat the sight of gold like a stone,” he scattered gold coins as if they were pebbles.
On top of that, he showed no fondness for Neo-Confucianism, seemed somewhat lazy, and even appeared mild-mannered. For these reasons Hong Seom had not thought highly of the king.
Yet it did not take long for him to realize how useless that prejudice had been.
I misjudged him completely.
The young king had resolved the Military Weapons Bureau crisis with an ironclad royal command. He had made the dreaded spring famine—the barley hump that no previous ruler had overcome—vanish in the blink of an eye.
Any king or minister who truly cared for the people understood the truth: the barley hump was not simply a matter of insufficient rice.
While people on one side of the kingdom starved to death, the roads were so wretched that news could not even reach the capital. And even when word arrived, the rice stored in the tribute granaries could not be transported.
Corrupt landlords and merchants seeking monopoly profits and hoarding had also played their part. As a result, every year at this season countless people died of starvation, yet everyone dismissed it as an unavoidable tragedy.
The young king, however, refused to accept that.
He promoted poultry farming, declaring that artificially hatching chicks could compensate for the food shortage. When tax-grain ships kept wrecking, he ordered warehouses built beside government offices in every region to store the collected tribute safely.
Thanks to these measures, no reports of starvation deaths had reached the court this year.
He spoke of efficiency, yet he has shown us what true efficiency really looks like.
Because of this, Hong Seom had already begun to reconsider his opinion. Then came words even more astonishing.
Today, as if the royal lecture bored him, the young king once again raised a topic concerning a new natural phenomenon. It was something Hong Seom had never heard before, and its logic was so airtight that he could not refute a single point. He could only wait in suspense for what would follow.
Unexpectedly, the young king spoke of preparing for the future and asked for their assistance. For a king to request “help” was to diminish his own dignity, yet Yi Yeon asked earnestly, using the phrase “selection and concentration” he had introduced while explaining the natural phenomenon.
At that age, with such talent, most would be busy showing off. Yet he shows not a trace of vanity.
Hong Seom was filled with admiration.
Though his outward appearance is that of a child, he is like a hundred-year-old python—no, a thousand-year-old imugi—coiling itself in preparation to ascend to heaven.
It seemed he was not alone in that thought. The other ministers appeared to share the same sentiment, for they remained prostrated in a gesture of deep respect.
Yi Yeon made a small pout at the strangely behaving ministers, then spoke again.
“As you all know, the most pressing problem at present is the tribute system. Since I intend to abolish tribute entirely, I ask that you investigate every contractor involved in bangnap.”
“Your Majesty, does this mean you plan to implement the Sumi Law?”
“It does not.”
Yi Yeon shook his head at Yi Jun-gyeong’s question.
Yi I had taken the lead in advocating the Sumi Law—paying taxes in rice instead—to reform the abuses of bangnap. Yet the debate had only grown louder, with no solution in sight. Therefore Yi Yeon had chosen a different path.
“The greatest flaw in the tribute system is the tyranny of bangnap contractors who collude with corrupt officials. I intend to sever that link first.”
“Since Your Majesty is wise, I trust the matter will be resolved well. That is why this humble subject is all the more curious. Might you enlighten us as to the method?”
The moment Yi Jun-gyeong finished speaking, the other ministers cried out in perfect unison, as though they had rehearsed the line.
Whenever Yi Yeon inquired about natural phenomena they struggled to answer, so they had fallen into the habit of responding in chorus whenever they had nothing to say. This time, however, was different. The young king appeared to have prepared a concrete solution, and the ministers waited with genuine anticipation.
Why are they acting like this?
Yi Yeon found their changed attitude puzzling, but since he could not fathom the reason, he set the question aside and spoke the words he had prepared.
“The tax-grain problem is the same. Corrupt officials are undoubtedly shielding the tribute contractors. I mean to cut that connection.”
“How, Your Majesty?”
Sim Tong-won asked, lifting his head slightly in curiosity.
Even now, gifts wrapped as bribes continued to arrive at Sim Tong-won’s residence. Knowing they came regularly from the bangnap contractors, he had ordered his household to stop accepting them and return everything. What had once been a substantial sum now seemed like pocket change thanks to the thriving poultry business.
Yet returning them proved impossible. Too many people were entangled in the web.
Sim Tong-won glanced sideways at the Left and Right Councillors.
Damn it. I should have refused them from the beginning, just like them…
The old saying came to mind: Bribes are easy to accept but hard to quit. He worried about what the future might bring. The king’s determination to abolish tribute appeared unshakeably firm.
They won’t rat me out, will they?
In a sense, he himself was the ultimate boss of the bangnap contractors. Though the door stood open and the room was not warm, beads of sweat rolled down Sim Tong-won’s forehead, slid along his chin, and fell to the floor.
Plop.
The sound was nearly inaudible, yet to Sim Tong-won it roared like a waterfall. An anxiety that felt like his heart might stop gripped him. His face turned deathly pale.
Seeing this, Yi Yeon gave a small chuckle and continued.
“I considered how best to sever that link. Even if we arrested every one of them and punished them, others would simply take their places. The implicated officials would likely do the same. Therefore, I have decided to employ them outright.”
“What?!”
“Your Majesty, what are you saying?”
“That cannot be permitted, Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty! Such a thing is absolutely impossible!”
The startled ministers erupted in fierce opposition. Yi Yeon listened to them with perfect calm. One by one the ministers fell silent. The king’s expression made it clear this was no casual remark.
Yi Yeon spoke again.
“You are all aware that roads are being prepared across the realm. Yet even after the roads are completed, maintaining them will not be easy. Therefore I intend to entrust their upkeep to the bangnap contractors, who know the geography well.”
“Your Majesty! I understand there must be a profound purpose, but we cannot possibly pay compensation to such scoundrels and assign them such duties.”
The Minister of Taxation, Hong Dam, voiced his opposition repeatedly, spittle flying as he declared that the national treasury could not be wasted on such people. The other ministers echoed the same sentiment. While acknowledging the work needed to be done, they earnestly begged the king to withdraw the idea rather than entrust it to wicked men.
Yi Yeon turned to Sim Tong-won, who sat as still as a dead mouse, and asked, “Do you share that view, Minister?”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty. This subject… also believes it should not be done.”
Watching Sim Tong-won stutter and perspire, Yi Yeon chuckled once more before shifting his gaze to Hong Dam.
“Is your opposition due to the budget? Or is there another reason?”
“Your Majesty, no matter how familiar they may be with local conditions and geography, we must not employ them. Your Majesty surely knows of their evil deeds. To grant compensation to such villains and entrust them with official duties—this subject considers it utterly unjustifiable.”
A warm feeling swelled in Yi Yeon’s chest. Hong Dam’s rough words and fiery spirit looked like pure righteousness soaring to the heavens, and emotion surged through him.
In his previous life Yi Yeon had researched materials concerning King Seonjo. But he had focused mainly on ministers and renowned generals connected to the Japanese invasions, so he did not know the full character of every current official. Of course he could not have been ignorant of the upright and capable Yi Jun-gyeong or the once-in-a-generation genius Yi I.
The reason he had maintained a certain distance even after Hong Dam helped with coin issuance was precisely this.
I’m grateful, but I cannot trust him blindly.
Yi Yeon had assumed the head of the Ministry of Taxation had assisted because collecting taxes in coin was far more convenient than rice or tribute goods. Yet here was the man fiercely denouncing the bangnap contractors.
I thought every official in the Ministry of Taxation was entangled with them, but I was wrong.
Had that been the case, he could not have opposed so vehemently; it would have been like spitting on his own face.
With eyes full of emotion, Yi Yeon looked at him and said, “Those are righteous words. However, we cannot deal with them immediately. So I considered how we might utilize them most effectively. I have found the answer. Therefore, if we could have them perform the work without paying them compensation, what would you say?”
“If such a method exists…”
Hong Dam trailed off. The king’s warm, confident gaze was simply too assured.
“It seems Your Majesty has already prepared a method. If you would deign to explain it to this ignorant subject, I will open my ears and listen with utmost attention.”
At Hong Dam’s sudden shift, the ministers looked back and forth between him and the king before fixing their eyes on Yi Yeon. Meeting their gazes, Yi Yeon gave a small nod.
They are all remarkable men, yet far too innocent.
Yi Yeon had never considered himself cunning. People had often told him he was too honest for his own good, so he had learned to listen more than speak whenever possible. That had been the surest way to suffer fewer losses.
Yet now he felt positively cunning. Not only Sim Tong-won, skilled in political maneuvering, but the other ministers as well had completely failed to see through the plan he was concealing and were leaping to the wrong conclusions.
Still, another thought occurred to him. The gap in information was vast, and he was the august king; perhaps that was why. Even so, these were geniuses.
So he reconsidered.
Maybe it isn’t that I’m cunning. Maybe these gentlemen are genuinely righteous and honest.
In his travels across the world Yi Yeon had met many kind people, but truly honest ones had been rare—especially in matters involving money. They lied as easily as breathing, and when caught they simply laughed without shame.
It had annoyed him, but he had let it pass as a form of charity. With money rotting in his accounts, he had seen no reason to bother with such trivialities.
But now it was different. This was a discussion about the fate of Joseon.
He could not help but worry. He had not yet witnessed the lives of the people still struggling in hardship, but in King Seonjo’s memories most of them had tried to act with integrity. That very goodness worried him.
Being too kind is a problem, but being too honest may be an even greater one…
Both traits were ideal, yet they might cause immense chaos once Joseon expanded beyond the peninsula and encountered people with vastly different ideas, behaviors, and cultures.
It would be fortunate if everything ends well…
With subjects of such character, conflict seemed inevitable. And if conflict arose, Yi Yeon would have no choice but to side with the people of Joseon. The thought that the result might be horrific crept over him.
Ah, whatever. I can worry about that later.
Shaking off the thoughts, Yi Yeon called toward the door.
“Yang-bo!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Bring the map.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
When Kim Yang-bo hung the map on one side of the blackboard, Yi Yeon rose, took up the pointer he had prepared, and began indicating the yeokwon marked across the newly drawn map.
“As you can see, yeokwon are installed throughout our Joseon. Yet they hold no military value whatsoever, their management is a mess, and commoners cannot use them. Therefore, along the new roads now under construction, I plan to build facilities that can serve both military and civilian purposes.”
The ministers studied the map intently. Its unfamiliar style made it difficult to grasp at first, but these were exceptional men; comprehension did not take long.
Among them, Yu Jam, Minister of Public Works, understood it fastest and asked, “Your Majesty, is it truly necessary to create separate facilities? It seems the existing yeokwon are problematic, so would it not be proper to resolve those issues first?”
“That will not do. Minister, do you know what a pabal is?”
“I understand it as a military intelligence agency established during the Song dynasty to prepare for invasion by the Jin.”
Yi Yeon shook his head.
I knew it would be like this.
Author’s Note
Both the Sumi Law and the Daedong Law emerged because of the tribute problem in which local specialties were paid as tax instead of rice.
The tribute system was originally intended for people living in mountainous regions or fishing villages that could not produce rice, yet the tyranny of officials colluding with bangnap contractors was said to have been enormous.
It carried a strong character of a poll tax. People living in the mountains were ordered to offer abalone, while those by the sea were told to offer mountain vegetables—difficult tasks that were forced upon them.