Innovation and Revolution (17)
August 30, 1570.
As the sun sank in the west, the ministers gathered in Geunjeongjeon. There they launched into a heated debate with their king.
Under ordinary circumstances, the ministers would have spent their time slandering one another—accusing rivals of this or that misdeed, gossiping about a village hen that had turned into a rooster, or demanding posthumous exoneration for the unjustly dead. They had once believed that was politics.
They no longer believed it. Tax revenue had surged so dramatically that the old quarrels now felt hollow. When they turned their eyes outward, they saw staggering opportunities waiting to be seized.
"Your Majesty," Lee Jun-gyeong said, "this humble servant begs leave to speak. Though it pains me to write the words, the saying goes that one must cut the weeds and pull out the roots. Having fully conquered Wa, we must turn it into a vassal state of Joseon. I therefore propose the immediate establishment of a Governor-General's Office to prepare for that task."
The ministers nodded in agreement. Joseon now possessed the strength to conquer Wa, and they believed it was their duty to administer the conquered land.
The ministers had witnessed the might of the Hwaryeokgun. They had seen the steam engines roaring inside the Simanto factory at Pocheon.
"What in the world is that thing?"
"They call it a steam engine, built under Director Yulgok's supervision. It is said to be stronger than a hundred oxen."
"Truly?"
"Look there. It is grinding boulders and everything else into powder."
They had also seen the steel hulls of the Heoxin and the Hyeongmyeong, and the thunderous demonstration of their cannons.
"How can any projectile fly that far?"
"It is not a bigyeokjincheonroe. They call the shells fired from those guns 'cannon shells.'"
"But a bigyeokjincheonroe can also be launched from a daewangu, can it not?"
"Even then, two hundred paces at best. Those shells are fired from steel barrels and travel more than ten times farther—over two thousand paces."
"Is that so?"
"It is."
"Remarkable."
Once the ministers understood these capabilities, their thoughts—and their ambitions—changed. Knowing they possessed such power, they wished to use it. Just as Sejong had opened the Four Garrisons and Six Fortresses, they now longed to open Wa.
The common people shared the same vision. Thanks to the straight, well-maintained roads, news from Hanyang reached every province within a day or two.
"If we conquer Wa this time, they will surely establish a Governor-General's Office there."
"Of course. It will be a vassal state, so its people must obey the governor sent from the homeland."
"Then perhaps I should go as well?"
"How?"
"I do not have to join the Hwaryeokgun or the security forces. I can simply follow a merchant guild."
"Is that allowed?"
"It is."
Some citizens were already looking for ways to seize the coming opportunities.
Yet Yi Yeon shook his head.
"That will not do."
"Your Majesty?"
"I have no intention of keeping Wa as a vassal state. I want it fully incorporated into Joseon."
"But Your Majesty, their language and customs differ from ours."
"Education will resolve that."
"Even so, the cost will be enormous."
"Will it not also create a great many jobs?"
"Ah… this servant had not considered that far, Your Majesty."
No one any longer chanted the Four Books and Three Classics solely to win fame and rank. The triennial civil service examination had been replaced by an annual public service examination that recruited a thousand men each year. Even the top scorers received only ninth-rank appointments and had to prove themselves for promotion. As a result, the only scholars visible now were those racing to pass the public service examination, for only through official service could one rise and achieve distinction.
Yet the court, long committed to a small government, could not absorb a thousand new officials every year. Those who passed were placed on a waiting list and summoned according to their scores when positions opened. For the moment the system worked; new industrial complexes required administrators, so most appointees received their commissions within three to six months. Still, the ministers worried about the future. No matter how many complexes were built, the number of officials could not grow indefinitely relative to the population. They urged the king to reconsider.
Yi Yeon told them not to worry. He ordered more academies built, saying even greater numbers of educated men would soon be needed. Then he launched the war.
The world began to spin faster. War consumed vast resources from the moment preparations began, triggering both overproduction and overconsumption. Wages rose because labor was scarce and demand was high. Fortunately, food remained plentiful; even modest work brought abundant meals. The people found themselves with unexpected leisure. Where once a single day's labor bought a single day's survival, now one day of work could sustain them for two or three. That surplus translated into support for the war of conquest.
"If we win, Wa's land truly becomes ours?"
"Of course. That is why His Majesty ordered war bonds issued. He said investors would at least double their money."
"Is that true?"
"It is. Look here—the bond says one hundred, but an X is drawn through it and two hundred is written beside it."
"That is what he meant?"
"What else could it mean?"
The king's war bonds had kindled public interest. People bought them not merely to chase sudden wealth but to repay the ruler who had given them prosperity. The practice spread like wildfire. War became an accepted fact, and everywhere conversations turned to the coming campaign.
"We will win without fail, will we not?"
"How could we lose? His Majesty has built an iron fleet."
"Exactly! And with the Hwaryeongun's repeating rifles, those Wa pirates who once tormented us will be swept away."
"Then should we not buy more bonds?"
"I would, but I have no spare coin."
"Then work. Jobs are everywhere."
"I suppose I must."
Even the preparations for war created countless positions. The people rushed to claim them.
The ministers, however, still clung to the old idea of turning Wa into a vassal state like Ming had done. Yi Yeon rejected that path outright. He intended full incorporation, no matter the cost, because the expense itself would generate new employment. Only then did the ministers change their tune.
"Your Majesty, what if we establish an Incorporation Office instead of a Governor-General's Office?"
"Your Majesty, what about a Gongdan Office?"
"A Gongdan Office? What do you mean?"
"Your Majesty has declared that Wa shall be absorbed into Joseon. Yet its people will not accept that easily. After careful thought, this servant proposes the following."
Surprisingly, the suggestion came from Minister of Taxation Hong Dam. He had conceived it while pondering how to collect taxes most efficiently.
"Your Majesty once remarked that no people enjoy paying taxes, yet you yourself set the example by paying them first. Thanks to that, the national treasury is remarkably solid."
Hong Dam argued that Wa should be turned into a center of consumption so that even greater revenues could be drawn from it.
"This year's projected tax revenue, converted to rice, exceeds eight million seok. One-third of that comes from trade taxes paid by the royal house, another third from commerce, and only the final third from agriculture. That agricultural share is expected to shrink further each year."
Previously the court had extracted taxes only from land and labor, yet even then it had struggled to surpass one million seok. Now trade and commerce each contributed 2.6 million seok, and agriculture itself yielded more than 2.6 million seok. The consumption taxes generated by an affluent populace had become an enormous resource—easy to collect because they were paid whenever anything was purchased.
"So building industrial complexes to increase consumption taxes would secure greater revenue?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. My calculations show that this method can more than double the taxes collected."
Hong Dam further proposed sharply reducing the land tax in Wa to win the people's hearts and hasten their transformation into Joseon subjects.
"Collecting forty percent seems excessive, does it not?"
Joseon currently levied ten percent for the central government and ten percent for local offices. Tenant farmers paid an additional ten percent to their landlords, for a total of thirty percent. Hong Dam now suggested taking forty percent from Wa.
"Not at all, Your Majesty. Wa's average tax burden is seventy percent. Receiving only forty percent will be welcomed there."
He explained that the people of Wa desired the traditional "four to the lord, six to the people" arrangement. Ten percent would go to the Joseon court, ten percent to local offices, ten percent to landlords, and ten percent to defense. In return, consumption taxes would be waived for a time and replaced by a ten-percent income tax on merchants.
"Your Majesty, consumption taxes are currently collected only inside the security districts and industrial complexes. For the time being we cannot collect them in Wa even if we wish to. Therefore we should exempt consumption taxes there and instead take one-tenth of every shop's income. The Gongdan Office can oversee this simply by managing entry and exit at the complexes."
"Your Majesty, I am convinced that most future revenue will come from commerce and industry. Building complexes, linking them, and expanding production and consumption everywhere is therefore essential. Only then will revenue grow and the nation prosper. The Gongdan Office should be established to manage this."
"You mean we should expand our holdings under the name of industrial complexes without regard to existing regional boundaries, thereby assimilating the occupied territories?"
"Precisely, Your Majesty. The Gongdan Office must also guarantee the safety of the complexes; defense funds can cover that expense."
"Hmm."
Hong Dam's plan was simple: establish industrial complexes in Wa as though nothing unusual were happening.
"In that way the people of Wa can be accepted naturally, and the cost of education will also decrease."
"And regions outside the complexes would be left under the management of local notables?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. That would be best. From my experience collecting taxes, I know it is no ordinary task."
"So we hand the troublesome work to them."
"Exactly, Your Majesty."
Yi Yeon accepted Hong Dam's proposal. Conquest was easy; administration was difficult. Moreover, nothing had yet been decided. Before the Sengoku period ended, he intended to intervene on the flimsiest pretext and claim the entire board.
At that moment a courtier approached and spoke softly.
"Your Majesty, it is time for the lighting ceremony."
"Has it already come to that?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
They had finally succeeded in producing light bulbs with tungsten filaments. Locating tungsten ore, refining it by flotation, and forming the filaments under high pressure and temperature had taken time, but the result was ready. Because tungsten's melting point exceeded three thousand degrees, conventional casting was impossible; the powder metallurgy method had been used instead. The defect rate remained high, yet enough serviceable bulbs had been produced to illuminate Geunjeongjeon.
When the sun had fully set and darkness swallowed the palace, Yi Yeon gave the command.
"Let there be light!"
With a soft pop and a blaze of brilliance, Geunjeongjeon shone like a jeweled tree.
"""Whoa…!"""
The ministers cheered, then prostrated themselves and shouted "Long live the king!" three times. Standing beneath the radiant beams, Yi Yeon looked down at them and spoke.
"From this day forward, this light shall become Joseon's innovation and revolution, illuminating the world."