Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Westernization Reforms (1)
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I was at the Ministry of Military Affairs, gazing wistfully up at the ceiling.
120 coins. That's quite a haul. I'll save up more and draw a top-tier prize.
I've pulled off the Joseon army reforms beautifully, so I'm plenty satisfied on a spiritual level too.
But then, after a long while, I saw a familiar message pop up.
It's been since the civil service exams that I've seen the favorability window.
Jo Jaeho, now Governor of Gyeongsang, is that same Soron guy who had to kneel on horseback in front of the Office of the Inspector General—well, in front of Chief Inspector Lee Ikjeong—back in the day.
But I can guess why he dislikes me now, and it probably isn't that.
As you can tell from how he turned down even minister posts and went off to be Governor of Pyeongan, Jo Jaeho loves sucking honey in the provinces.
So he headed to Gyeongsang again this time, but with the province at the center of equal service levies and military reductions, it must be a real hassle for his stable economic side hustles.
Just this year, he got censured for dragging his feet on sending rice to the Equal Service Bureau, and now with the reductions, he's facing dismissal talks for slow processing.
Of course Jo Jaeho knows he has to reallocate resources and manpower on schedule.
But that would mean rewriting all the ledgers, wrecking his embezzlement setup, so he's stalling.
No wonder he hates me. No hard feelings on my end. He's Soron anyway—he wouldn't like me even if I did him a favor.
The second one, though—Jeong Heebo's case is a bit different.
He's my direct superior, the Ministry's Vice Minister (rank 3).
No need to guess why Jeong Heebo hates me.
He's yelling right in front of me.
"Are you even listening to me? Where are you rolling your eyes, staring off somewhere else?"
I'd been staring at the Status Window, so I apologized profusely.
"Forgive me. I get a bit scatterbrained when I'm tired."
"That's no excuse! You didn't even report to your direct superior before submitting that massive remonstrance to His Majesty—what's the meaning of this?!"
Even as a rank 5, I'm basically the king's confidant with near-private audiences, so a rank 3's shouting was just an itch in my ears.
An itch so bad I scratched my ear.
"I meant to. But when I mentioned it to Senior Hong (Hong Gyehui) as an Equal Service clerk, Senior Jo (Jo Yeongguk) immediately reported it to the king. He summoned me on the spot—no time to breathe. I couldn't very well delay entering the palace just to report to you first, could I?"
When you're a Ministry junior clerk, your reporting line goes through the vice minister, deputy, and minister. But as an Equal Service clerk? Not so much.
"You bastard! You think you can wriggle out with that nonsense?!"
Come on, let's not talk like lowly scum between gentlemen. Especially when you're not even well-connected.
"Do you have any idea the uproar your vile remonstrance caused in the Summer Office (Ministry of Military Affairs)? What will you do with the generals, their aides, and soldiers nationwide who live off garrison lands and fisheries? If enemies raid the borders, how do you plan to take responsibility?!"
They won't raid. Not until you and I are both dead, at least. I've seen the future.
Poor guy. How can he not see the tide of the times?
"The generals and officers, suddenly cast adrift like convicts, are grinding their teeth to devour you alive. Your head could roll down the Six Ministries Street tomorrow, and no one would bat an eye. You know that, right?"
If it were true, it'd be scary. Joseon soldiers might actually do it—they're mistreated so badly by the state that plenty go rogue.
But it's probably not true.
I know plenty gripe about 'Junior Clerk Kim Unhaeng's arrogant remonstrance' without Jeong Heebo telling me. Even my friend, Drillmaster Yoon Pilduk, looked uneasy. I was prepared for that.
But the savvy higher-ups all get it.
Why hasn't (still) Drillmaster Kim Seong-eung come after me?
Why aren't the prime ministers demanding my exile—or at least a beating?
Because they're Noron? There are plenty of high Soron officials thanks to the double embrace policy. The Right Prime Minister Jeong Uuryang is Soron.
Simple: This reform could actually be an opportunity for the military officers.
I told the king generals' wealth surpasses the Three Dukes, but that's only for those whose stars aligned.
If every border unit was that flush, the Joseon treasury wouldn't have money woes. Far more generals have withered trying businesses that failed due to conditions.
The real perk is the two new central Dragoon Camps (my suggested name—King Yeongjo approved it for morale).
Because central forces make better money.
Joseon generally bans private resource development.
Mines, for instance: Unless you're poaching like in Jiksan, all gold and silver veins are state-staked by the Ministry of Taxation, collecting rents.
Except the Five Camps. They can stake their own. The Royal Guard is a prime example.
Coin minting is inherently a central state right—never delegated (those barbaric Westerners do it sometimes).
Except the Five Camps. The Capital Garrison can issue currency.
Garrison lands are the same. Armies should run on stipends from the palace rice allowances, in principle.
Except the Five Camps. The local garrisons' excess lands were originally from the Supply Bureau.
The Equal Service Bureau is big, but ask who has the most cash in Joseon right now? Hands down, the Five Camps. The Treasury just shoulders fiscal blame without much actual money.
Become a high officer in the Five Camps—or now the seven including the new ones—and you eat more stably than praying for a rich garrison post in the provinces.
Low-level officers who don't grasp the big picture or lack the chops for big leagues, content with village scraps, might rage at position cuts.
But a rank-3 vice minister like Jeong Heebo who can't see the board that way? What's the point? No reform ever pleases everyone.
Hold on—rank-3 full minister?
As Jeong Heebo kept berating me, I reflected on his connections.
No need to look far: A big fish came to mind.
Won Gyeongha, current Minister of Works.
His son Won Inson's at the Gangnam Mega-Academy.
And Won Gyeongha and Jeong Heebo are blood enemies. Per Won Gyeongha, foes worthy of vengeance.
Over a decade that I know of, they've ripped into each other at every chance.
Won Gyeongha jabs that Jeong Heebo 'buried a traitor's corpse'; Jeong Heebo blasts Won Gyeongha for blanket cronyism under the guise of impartiality, ignoring worthies and villains alike.
Who’s right? No idea. Don’t care.
But their rank gap shows the winner: Impartiality faction's Won Gyeongha.
Are they idiots?
With the king's policy being impartiality, how do you bash impartiality?
It's like slamming McCarthy for killing communists or rednecks for lynching blacks in their town.
Lost in that thought, I snapped to at Jeong Heebo's panting.
I quickly replied.
"I take your words to heart, sir. I'll humbly remember them."
"I asked how you'd assign officers to the Second Dragoon Camp. You didn't hear?"
"I'll handle it all."
I ignored the raging Jeong Heebo and withdrew.
Then I went to the Gangnam Mega-Academy and met Won Inson. Key point: Don't go straight to the Won house.
"How's your studying? The Ministry vice minister's in a tizzy, insisting capital officers will storm the Ministry. Your father, a court pillar, must know."
Won Inson, one I'd eyed before, was sharp.
He'd gotten holiday leave—slipped out of Gangnam's guerrilla training to visit his dad.
And three days later, Jeong Heebo got the boot.
Be grateful I went easy. He talked about heads rolling in the capital; a little spin and I could've pinned rebellion on him. I was too busy with reforms.
But Yeongjo felt the rapid reductions' pressure too, so no exile like I wanted. Shame. Chance to axe a rank-3.
Anyway, reactionary purged successfully—satisfied. I revved up the reform drive again.
With Jeong Heebo gone, I'm basically in charge of the Dragoon inner and outer camps' setup.
The Ministry bigwigs dumped it on me, figuring you'd clean up your own mess—expecting me to flop or slip.
Underestimating a guy who studied public administration in 21st-century Korea (didn't take the exam, though).
Joseon does privatization decently, but the 21st century's no slouch. I formed a task force team on the spot.
The Gangnam students were deeply moved by our comprehensive care: exam prep plus post-pass official life training.
They screamed cheers at my offer to exempt physical training for the fastest workers and dove in.
No sleazy official will gripe about civilians advising the military. Even 21st-century Korea wouldn't buy that smear.
Why have policy advisors? Manpower-wise, they're leagues above the Ministry clerks. In Joseon, the entire yangban class rules, so consulting hidden talents openly is legit.
Minister Lee Cheolbo and Deputy Hong Bongjo (Hong Bonghan's namesake but Namyang Hong clan, Hong Gyehui's kin) didn't object. They marveled at my one-man-army handling of the bureau.
Plus full backing from Hong Gyehui, whom Yeongjo made Dragoon commander and nudged to show up. For this project, I wielded near-total authority.
As our chat showed, Joseon's camps are fiscal organs, not military ones.
Guns or arrows? Barely needed. They just eat maintenance costs.
With provincial camps disbanding, weapons naturally got collected and shipped to the capital.
But on that long haul, intact arrival would be weirder. They weren't managed well locally anyway.
Inventory check: Barely half usable.
Better than my max 20% guess.
The Arsenal or arriving garrison commanders eyed me hopefully, hoping I'd fudge ledgers (inflating good weapons).
Not on my watch, Mr. Clean Kim Unhaeng.
"Rejected. Trash pile over there! Those arrows are total junk—cart 'em all!"
"Sir Junior Clerk, clean the rust and they'd work, no? We'll all get fired!"
"If you hated dismissal, you'd have maintained gear per regs! How fight bandits like this? You aiming to emulate that arsenal clerk who gave rotten weapons to Malong?"
Malong, pacifying the western barbarians, griped to Emperor Sima Yan about rotten gear.
Any officer who studies strategy knows Malong—so they caught my 'report to the king' hint.
They glanced around, then whispered.
"Seems we slighted you, sir. Fresh in the capital, no time—next time for sure..."
"What nonsense? I've never eyed posts or riches. Pretend I didn't hear—begone before worse punishment!"
I ran a strict inspection: Only A-grade for the Dragoons; any flaw, scrapped.
But as those officers said, plenty of 'scrapped' ones were salvageable.
Guns that looked fine but wouldn't fire without parts; arrows painted but shaftless.
These mustn't fall into wrong hands—dump them carefully.
For the national good, I donated my land.
The vast Chunshik Ranch site, not far from the capital. That's selfless devotion.
Not Dragoon-worthy, so rejected gear piled there.
Sell it where?
Serious misunderstanding.
Mass weapons hitting the black market? Small scale: 'America'-style chaos. Large: Rebel army born. Yeongjo's had enough plots.
But I wish for Joseon's survival more than any courtier.
No truer loyalist exists. Search 500 years—nope.
No Chief Councillor, no soul for me.
Scholars boast sharing the nation's fate, but they don't die if it falls.
I'm different. Bluetooth-paired to Joseon until I hit Chief Councillor.
Me, arms dealing? No way. No underground revolutionaries in my circle anyway—no buyers.
I stockpiled and waited.
As Gangnam students burned out wrapping the Dragoon org chart, trouble brewed among the 'central elite' recruits.
"You idiots! Where are your guns—showing up empty-handed?!"
"Pardon? Guns?"
Issue with issuing weapons to 'professional' soldiers who basically commute like full-time reserves, not living in barracks.
Missing guns or horses at inspections—borrowing each time—was a flaw since founding. Even the King of Terror couldn't fix it.
Smart ones sell 'em; most lose 'em like hairpins. No reason needed.
New Dragoon soldiers, often renting in Seoul without fixed homes, lose more. Some even steal mates' gear.
I sighed at the report.
How respond to crises like this?
If Dragoons creak from day one, sleazebags will push dismantling and reverting to provincials.
Can't tolerate backward folk blocking future reforms.
I put Pyo Cheolju forward: Lend weapons/horses for a fee. Many can't pay, but solutions exist.
Pyo Cheolju, ex-military, handled it slickly.
"Sit idle with no cash? Might get caned to death under code. Borrow this time; work our ranch on payday."
Thus, Chunshik Ranch and Samhwadang boomed, slashing labor costs. Not huge, but my brother's first repayment arrived via letter.
But this is just a start.
Dragoons are part of military reform; that's just part of equal service follow-ups.
Plenty more equal service reforms ahead. I didn't risk politics for mere rental expansion.
His Majesty seemed to agree.
Watching the Dragoon setup, Yeongjo pulled out one of my proposed Three Equal Service Priorities.
These stem from 'Westernization policy'.
First up: The patent system.
Of course, patents protect IP and kickstart science/tech—as everyone knows.
But they're also a fiscal booster every European monarch of the era used.