Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: The Brutal Ones (2)
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If the Deputy Commander of the Capital Garrison had come in person during the dead of night, I had to offer him a reception befitting his station.
So I went out alone.
Of course, a yangban's "alone" doesn't truly mean no one else at all.
I said to Jangbok,
"Bring Lady of the Room's hat and follow me."
"Pardon? The hat? Understood, young master."
Jangbok obediently grabbed the hat and trailed behind me.
At the gate, I spotted Hong Gyehui, bowed in greeting, and then spoke.
"Your Excellency graces us without regard for day or night, a true model of a loyal minister who spares not even his horse's strength. The hat Your Excellency seeks is right here."
Of course, Hong Gyehui hadn't actually been summoned by King Yeongjo.
But he was a seasoned veteran minister. He instantly grasped my implication: don't advertise that something big was afoot.
"I have no face left before my nephew. His Majesty urgently summoned me with a plaque, but I couldn't enter the palace without my hat. I'll make good use of it and return it promptly."
Hong Gyehui wasn't Prince Suyang; he wouldn't suddenly draw an iron mace and strike me down over this. I flowed smoothly into the next line.
"The lantern the servant is carrying looks like it's about to go out. If it pleases Your Excellency, why not refresh the oil before you go?"
"I'm indebted to you."
With that, we headed inside. I steered Hong Gyehui to my study, avoiding the servants' quarters where Sehua and Ihwan were.
No sooner had we taken our seats than Hong Gyehui opened his mouth.
"Your quick wit is as sharp as ever, nephew. I'm glad I came to you. No wonder Crown Prince Yi Hwon holds you in such high regard."
Stop trying to rope me into the "prison cell" faction, please?
"I don't know what troubles bring my foolish uncle to seek me out, but I'll do everything in my power."
"Hm. Yes. Well... Have you heard about the anonymous accusation case?"
"Yes, it reached my ears by chance. The palace is in an uproar."
"To cut to the chase, that madman Yi Yangje wrote my name in the accusation, so the moment it arrived, His Highness summoned me! At this rate, I won't escape unscathed. What am I to do?"
From what he described, the accusation had fabricated a rebellion plot centering on Yeocheon Lord Yi Jeung—yes, the very man my former superior, Chief State Censor Yi Ikjeong, had tried to protect, now confined to Jeju Island—and his younger brother, Yeseon Lord Yi Hak.
It was filled with provocative propaganda: righteous rebels rising like wildfire in Cheonggye Mountain right on the capital's doorstep, a massive pirate uprising brewing at Maryangjin in Nangpo County, Chungcheong Province (near modern Gongju).
The problem was mentioning Hong Gyehui, the Deputy Commander of the Capital Garrison and former Minister of Military Affairs—the top figure in "military matters."
It avoided his full name, using "Hong Tae" instead. Even in modern times, politicians' names get initialed, but contemporaries always know who it means. Same here.
"Crown Prince Yi Hwon mentioned your strategic acumen to His Majesty, and since I share more than blood ties with you, Kim Unhaeng, I rushed right over."
Since when are you so chummy with the Crown Prince? In the future, you're the top contributor to locking him in that prison cell.
Fortunately, Hong Gyehui mistook my stare and elaborated.
"I haven't met His Highness privately, you see. Earlier this year, didn't I submit the Records on Equal Service Duties?"
As a senior official in the Equal Service Bureau, Hong Gyehui had been a key architect of the equal service law since his days as Minister of Military Affairs. That's why I knew a bit about it from my talks with Governor Chae.
Rather than asking "Why Hong Gyehui?" it was better to ask "Why the Minister of Military Affairs?"
The answer was simple: Joseon's economy was almost entirely tied to the military.
If you're asking if Joseon was a military state, half right. North Korea could be called one too.
The military baked salt, fished, and farmed fields. How could the Defense Minister's name be absent from the Equal Service Bureau's top ranks redesigning the nation's economy from the ground up?
That's why Hong Gyehui compiled the final report, the Records on Equal Service Duties.
"During our audience, I subtly mentioned that if His Majesty suspected me over the accusation, perhaps you could clear it up. He spoke of you—the one who resolved the Two Rivers rat plague as a secret royal inspector and exposed the rigged scales in Deokwon County. He said you'd have a way."
"Did that matter reach His Majesty's ears?"
"The junior secretaries played it safe. With His Majesty deeply troubled by the accusation, they treated the scale tampering as a minor administrative matter—perpetrator dead and all—and passed it to the Crown Prince."
Oh, Minister Kim Seonhaeng.
In truth, it was minor, but appearances matter. Tampering with royal scales is high treason.
Knowing Yeongjo might nitpick later, dodging immediate headache by dumping it on the Crown Prince? Not smart.
I resolved to visit Kim Seonhaeng and the Crown Prince soon.
But first, resolve Hong Gyehui's issue.
I couldn't dismiss it with "Yeongjo's no fool; he won't oust a high official over one accusation."
He might "play dumb" for reasons I didn't know. If Hong Gyehui retires, I'm in his faction and screwed too.
"Do you have any prior grudge with this Yi Yangje who submitted the accusation?"
"You're bringing that up again? He's a descendant of Prince Gwangpyeong (Sejong's fifth son), long fallen on hard times. He scrapes by helping descendants of Prince Chungseon (Injo's fifth son). No grudges, not even contact. I can't fathom what sparked this."
Joseon royalty, a few generations down, were no different from commoners.
Some, like Yi Jaehae, pursued honest careers, but others clung to royal privileges, sniffing around the royal clan.
Here, Sejong's descendants indebted to Injo's—a case in point. To sustain that, the host's wealth must endure.
Royal wealth? Remnants of lands once granted by kings, or perks like salt kilns now mostly reclaimed by the Equal Service Bureau.
Something clicked.
"Did Yi Yangje perhaps quarrel with others over property?"
"I'm not sure. We've questioned him several times, but I didn't see the transcripts myself."
"Rest easy, Your Excellency. This is surely the work of those dissatisfied with the equal service law. Yi Yangje lived off shares from royal lands and fisheries, but now reclaimed, so he turned his arrows on you."
Hong Gyehui's face lit with realization.
"Of course! Such vile scoundrels exist!"
"Precisely. To dare undermine His Majesty's wise decree—the equal service law. Truly brutal villains."
Yes, truly brutal ones.
If Yeongjo seizes this chance, big trouble.
The law rests on two pillars: reclaiming palace lands, fisheries, ship taxes, etc., from the royal house; and corvée from landlords.
If he spins this as "learning the dire straits of princes' descendants" and cuts the "king's share," the shortfall hits the yangban.
Forcing revisits to vile laws like household apportionment or old corvée.
Honest earners like me take the hit.
And my hunch: Yeongjo's already considering it.
Why summon Hong Gyehui otherwise? He suspects the equal service link.
He might not impose household apportionment, but it's prime bargaining chip with ministers.
Protect the equal service law.
For the people (me).
"As one who now holds a military post, I can't stand by. I'll look into it, so please inform the Right Patrol Commander not to arouse needless suspicion against me."
Hong Gyehui didn't quibble if a reserve lieutenant counts as military. He nodded eagerly.
"Leave that to me. I'll handle it."
Our brief talk ended as Jangbok reported the lantern oil refilled.
I glanced at Hong Gyehui with a grin.
Then, a bit louder,
"The household's strapped after my trip to Hamgyeong—even a dou of oil took ages. Sorry to delay your urgent journey."
Hong Gyehui knew secret inspectors covered their own expenses.
I'd spent plenty; needed new revenue.
Like confiscating old royal perks from these brutal accusation hurlers and their ilk.
Confiscated, it reverts to the Equal Service Bureau. Hong Gyehui's a senior there.
Ever the high official, he got it. He smiled back, nodding.
"A scholar's integrity is no shame. I'll repay this debt; worry not."
Currently, I was in a holding pattern.
Household businesses thrived under Sehua's care in my absence; little for me to do.
Perfect for full focus on investigation.
After sleeping in on long-overdue vacation, I headed straight to Junior Secretary Kim Seonhaeng.
"I feared grave danger to your safety and rushed over."
"Grave danger?"
"You reported the Deokwon scale-tampering to the Crown Prince, but His Majesty will surely scrutinize it harshly. How could it not be risky?"
Kim Seonhaeng didn't ask my source. He assumed I protested routing his achievement past the king to the prince.
"His Majesty's busy with the accusation; minor matters fall to the Crown Prince, no?"
"Brother, Deokwon Governor Yi Jaehae descends from Prince Jui (Jeongjong's fifth son). Not distant kin from Yi Yangje's ancestor, Prince Gwangpyeong. You grasp the implication?"
My firm tone startled him.
"Chunshik, you see Yi Jaehae as Yi Yangje's accomplice?"
"No. Ancient ties mean nothing now—different stations. Why collude? But isolating Yi Jaehae to the Crown Prince creates guilt where none existed. How suspicious to His Majesty?"
Splitting scale-tampering and accusation—both "treason"—breeds suspicion of cover-ups from the recipient's view.
With the Crown Prince involved, Yeongjo would eagerly suspect.
Not my concern if Crown Prince's prison express accelerates. Key: Yi Jaehae's exile could balloon to execution.
Then Kim Seonhaeng gets hit.
No—junior secretaries first. Monarch's misrule? Blame shortsighted ministers; they are the king's eyes and ears.
Kim Seonhaeng finally grasped the gravity, flustering.
"You're right. But the report's already submitted. What now?"
Crown Prince isn't total figurehead; can't retrieve with "This doesn't warrant your eyes."
But no worry. That's why "a.k.a. Crown Prince's confidant" me is here.
"Leave it to me. Have Crown Prince Yi Hwon reject the report and order direct report to His Majesty."
He didn't ask "How?" He knew.
"Truly grateful. Anything else I can do?"
I awaited that. Lowering my voice,
"To report properly, I need details on Yi Yangje's accusation. May I see the prisoners' statements?"
I valued my neck; didn't demand the accusation itself. Yeongjo erases records ruthlessly—likely scrubbed from precedents and palace diaries.
Kim Seonhaeng hesitated briefly, but that's it. No appetite for treason cover-up charges and island exile.
From transcripts, I pieced the story.
"Just like a morning drama."
Prince Chungseon's grandson Yi So had no legitimate heir, only step-adopted son and concubine's boys.
Yi Yangje (accusation thrower) backed the concubine's sons; brother Yi Gyeongje the stepson.
Yi So's death ignited brutal infighting worthy of court envy.
Lawsuits, petitions, violence—every dirty trick to seize the estate. Winner takes the Chungseon fortune.
Small scale, but mirror of prior "crab paste game." Even hired shamans for psychic battles like the Soron curse dolls.
Yi Yangje even bedded the concubine Chojeong. Wonder what dying Yi So would've thought, entrusting kids to those brothers.
Amid this, equal service law shrank their pie—reason enough for rage.
Thus, targeting Yeseon and Yeocheon Lords (implicated in guilt-by-association) and equal service mastermind Hong Gyehui with the accusation.
Can't abide these scoundrels' lowbrow schemes.
Wrap this quick, sweep up the disaster-rooting wealth, teach brotherly love and clan virtue.
Plus extra performance bonus. Who else runs this hard to safeguard the law?
"Rare chance to mingle with high officials and royalty now. Time to snag a few more."
I instructed Sehua to relay message to Crown Princess via Yeoni.
Crown Prince Sado was thrilled—first proactive contact from Kim Unhaeng's side.
Using the nominally his Deokwon scale case, he summoned overseer Kim Unhaeng.
"I have state matters to question Kim Unhaeng, holder of deputy envoy rank. No need to trouble His Majesty; bring him straight to the Hall of Retreat."
He needed Kim Unhaeng badly.
Last year's joint envoy mission smuggling bust left him depressed.
With Kim Unhaeng unresponsive, he'd slipped cash to the envoy for "Qing books," but these idiots botched it.
"Strange books"? Fine, they fetched real oddities like Adam Schall's Compendium of Western Learning (intro to Catholicism, science, medicine).
But side-hustle silks? Caught by Uiju governor, flogged at army gate. Silks confiscated, but books slipped through—more infuriating.
Left with empty heart and Qing science texts.
Couldn't quench Northern Learning Crown Prince's thirst for latest knowledge.
Only Kim Unhaeng could.
Kim Unhaeng, with favors to ask, didn't come empty-handed.
Sequel to longed-for Qing histories delighted the Crown Prince.
"Indeed, only you understand my heart!"
"The joint envoy timing was perfect for import."
Dying to know his channels, but Crown Prince held back.
Acknowledged his smuggling ineptitude; prying risks public scandal. So, standard praise:
"I read your secret inspector report. Your efforts removing national woes and inspecting local governance are immense."
Kim Unhaeng seized the moment, repeating his Kim Seonhaeng pitch.
Crown Prince got it. Joseon's foremost Yeongjo-wary soul.
"I see. Your lessons in loyalty and filial piety ever enlighten me. Reject this report; I'll order the junior secretary to inform His Majesty directly."
"Your wise Highness's will aligns perfectly with sage teachings."
As always during Kim Unhaeng's history lectures, no attendants.
Crown Prince feigned sagacity, probing subtly.
"You rarely seek me. For your precious guidance, name your desire."
Prostrated, Kim Unhaeng smiled.
To him, Sado beat Yeongjo in transaction mindset.
Author's Note
1. Somewhat condensed, but the accusation case aligns closely with history. Well-organized transcripts in Yeongjo Annals—no need for lengthy explanation. Quite entertaining. Yeocheon and Yeseon Lords get floated as king candidates whenever trouble brews, plotted against, ultimately executed in the Naju placard incident.
2. Prisoner statement management was apparently lax. Even in this case, prisoners cross-viewed transcripts to align testimonies (despite royal inspection), enraging Yeongjo—per records.
3. Not Deokwon, but around this time, a scale-tampering in Gilju reported via Crown Prince decision, angering Yeongjo. Feels like ministers plotting his death.
4. Crown Prince didn't import erotica, but Nakchang Lord Yi Taeng's joint envoy did smuggle silks—fact.