No Rest for the Weary
"The Chujing Dogam. You have played an interesting hand, Chamui. Or should I call you Jejo now?"
A relaxed, low voice echoed from behind me. Turning around, I saw Chief State Councillor Hwang Hui standing alone in the middle of the courtyard, which everyone else had fled like startled prey. He watched me with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing an inscrutable, placid smile. I bowed politely to him.
"You flatter me, Your Excellency. Is it not all thanks to you setting the stage in accordance with His Majesty's wishes?"
At my reply, Hwang Hui's eyebrow twitched imperceptibly. Showing a flicker of amusement, he slowly walked over and stood beside me.
"His Majesty may have granted you unprecedented authority, but how many officials do you think will actually walk into that commission of their own free will?"
"..."
"No fool would willingly seek a transfer to an investigative agency tasked with digging up the dirty secrets of their superiors."
It was an undeniable truth. No official was bold enough to volunteer for a department that investigated the ministers of the Six Ministries. Even if they were assigned by royal decree, they would likely drag their feet out of fear of retaliation from their superiors. But that was precisely why I had asked King Sejong for this commission in the first place. I simply nodded calmly.
"I will keep your advice in mind, Your Excellency. However, as for the staff, we will find a way to secure them somehow."
Hwang Hui let out a soft, dry chuckle at my nonchalant response. Without another word, he gave my shoulder a light pat.
"That sword His Majesty handed you—be careful how you hold it, lest you cut your own hand."
With that pointed warning, Hwang Hui strolled out of the courtyard with leisurely steps. I watched his retreating figure and gave a light shrug.
Refusing the draft, are they?
Actually, that was welcome news. Prissy scholars who cared only about saving face and pleasing their superiors were utterly unsuited for the gritty work of auditing ledgers and sniffing out hidden wealth anyway.
If I need people, I'll just go find them.
With my first recruit already in mind, I turned on my heel without a shred of regret.
The front courtyard of the Ministry of Taxation.
Click-clack, clack, click-clack!
In the suffocating silence, only the rhythmic, crisp sound of wooden beads colliding filled the air.
"..."
"..."
The accountants and clerks of the Ministry of Taxation stood in a tight circle, staring blankly down at someone's fingertips. Crouched in the center of the crowd was a small figure—Gaetdong-i. Resting on his knees was the modern abacus, the jupan, which I had received from Jang Yeong-sil. Gaetdong-i's fingers flicked the wooden beads up and down at a speed so blinding they were practically invisible.
"Convert the cost price of ten bolts of Ming silk here, add thirty percent interest on the merchant group's draft, and then... if we convert that to silver..."
Every time Gaetdong-i's lips muttered a calculation, the crisp clicking of the beads danced in response.
Clack!
With one final, decisive flick of a bead, Gaetdong-i grinned broadly and looked up.
"That makes a total of sixty-five yang, two jeon, and five pun of silver!"
"...That's insane."
"Good heavens, what in the world is that?"
The watching tax officials shook their heads in sheer disbelief, their faces pale. Though they were the practical hands managing the nation's finances, this was on an entirely different level from their agonizingly slow method of arranging wooden counting rods, the sangaji, on the floor.
An elderly clerk pointed at the object on Gaetdong-i's lap in wonder.
"What is that? How does that bizarre-looking contraption calculate so fast?"
"I heard it's something the Ming merchants use. Truly marvelous, isn't it?"
Despite the officials' admiring gazes, Gaetdong-i merely grinned foolishly, gently stroking the abacus on his knees.
"Hehe. Actually, the Chamui has already ordered more abacuses for all of you from Hogun Jang. Once they arrive, I'll teach you how to use them!"
Gaetdong-i wiped his nose with his sleeve, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"So, um, if there are any spare ledgers left, please give me more to calculate! I finished all the receipt and expenditure ledgers you gave me yesterday overnight."
He wasn't asking for money, nor was he asking for food. Just as the officials shook their heads in sheer exasperation, a voice cut through.
"If it is ledgers you want, I have a mountain of them piled up in my office."
"!"
At the familiar voice, the officials spun around in unison. There I stood, hands clasped behind my back.
"Ch-Chamui!"
As the startled officials hurriedly bowed, I smiled at Gaetdong-i, who was still crouching on the ground.
"Gaetdong-i, pack up your things and come to my office. Let us have a quick word."
At my summons, Gaetdong-i quickly scooped up the abacus, hugged it tightly to his chest, and scurried after me. Behind us, the tax officials began to whisper excitedly.
After closing the door firmly, I gestured with my chin toward a chair for Gaetdong-i, who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.
"Sit."
Gaetdong-i perched his buttocks precariously on the very edge of the chair, looking up at me with a bewildered expression. I picked up the teapot resting on the brazier. Clear, fragrant tea poured smoothly into a cup. I then slid the steaming teacup directly in front of him.
"M-My Lord... Did I perhaps commit some grave error? Was there a typo in the ledgers I submitted yesterday...?"
Gaetdong-i's large eyes darted around anxiously as he tried to read my expression. Sitting across from him with a relaxed demeanor, I took a slow sip of my tea.
"His Majesty has established a new temporary government bureau as of today. The Chujing Dogam."
"The Ch-Chujing... Dogam?"
"Yes. It is an independent investigative agency directly under His Majesty's command, tasked with tracking down and recovering embezzled state funds and evaded taxes. And I have been appointed as its Jejo."
Gaetdong-i's eyes went wide.
"I want to bring you with me to this commission. As the exclusive sanwon of the Chujing Dogam. On top of the official government salary, I will personally add enough to make it exactly three times what you receive now."
"Th-Three times?!"
Gaetdong-i's jaw dropped. But I immediately doused his excitement with a cold, stern look.
"But before you leap at the offer, understand this clearly. The calculations you perform there will become a blade pressed against the throats of the gentry across the eight provinces of Joseon."
"A... blade, you say?"
"It means digging up the secret slush funds of high ministers and state councillors—men you wouldn't have dared to even look in the eye for your entire life. Which means..."
I leaned forward, locking my eyes onto his.
"If you are unlucky, you will become a target for these powerful officials and could be assassinated without anyone ever finding your body. Unlike before, you will be making an open enemy of the entire Joseon gentry."
"!!"
"Choose. If you are afraid, say no right now. I will not force you."
A heavy silence descended upon the room. I expected Gaetdong-i to shrink back in fear, or at least ask for time to think it over. This was, after all, the center of a terrifying political storm among the high nobility—far too much for a mere clerk to handle.
And yet.
"He-Hehe..."
Gaetdong-i's shoulders, which had been slumped forward, began to tremble slightly, and a muffled chuckle escaped his lips. When he slowly raised his head, his eyes were not filled with terror. Instead, they shone with a bizarre, manic brilliance.
"My Lord... I know absolutely nothing about the gentry or political struggles or any of those high-and-mighty matters. I truly believed I would spend my entire life inhaling dust in some dark corner of the Ministry of Taxation, counting wooden rods that no one cared about, until I grew old and died."
Gaetdong-i tenderly stroked the abacus cradled in his arms.
"But ever since I met you, every single day has been so incredibly, wildly exciting! This abacus you gave me is fascinating, and that... Western method of calculation you taught me on our way to Chungcheong is so wondrous! To think that just ten symbols can write down every number in heaven and earth—is that not true magic?!"
Gaetdong-i poured out his words in a breathless, flushed rush.
"And above all... did you not say that a lowly wretch like me could actually be of help to the country and to His Majesty? If the noblemen come after me with swords, I can just run away! As long as I follow you, My Lord, is it true that I can do this wonderful work to my heart's content for the rest of my life?"
I stared at Gaetdong-i, my mouth slightly agape at the sheer sparkle in his eyes. Danger be damned; his mind was completely consumed by the sheer joy of being able to calculate to his heart's content.
If this kid had been born in Korea five hundred years in the future instead of Joseon, what would he have become?
Perhaps he would have been hailed as a child prodigy on television, eventually becoming a world-renowned mathematician. Or maybe he would have been a legendary fund manager ruling Yeouido, or an ace auditor at the National Tax Service, pulling all-nighters with me as if it were second nature.
It was only because this era could not accommodate his genius that he had been rotting away as a mere low-ranking clerk, a nuisance who just happened to be good at math.
I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
"Yes. You will be able to do exactly what you want, as much as you want."
"Then that is more than enough for me. Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will follow you, My Lord."
Just as I was about to pat Gaetdong-i on the shoulder with a satisfied smile, a commotion erupted outside.
"Wait, hold on! No matter if you are the Chamui's younger brother, you cannot just barge into a government office like this...!"
"Out of my way! I have urgent news for my brother!"
Along with the frantic protests of the clerks, a deep, familiar voice boomed from outside the door.
"Brother, it's Jincheol."
Rattle.
Before I could even grant permission, the door to my office was flung open. A massive, towering frame filled the doorway. It was none other than my younger brother and loyal bodyguard, Jincheol. Outside the room, the flustered clerks of the Ministry of Taxation hovered anxiously, casting wary glances at me.
"Jincheol, what brings you all the way inside the ministry building?"
For a man who knew the strict rules of government offices to force his way in like this, it had to be something serious. At my question, Jincheol lowered his voice, conscious of the eyes around us, and spoke urgently.
"Sister-in-law has requested your immediate presence. You must come home right away."
"My wife?"
My brow furrowed. My wife, Lady Lee, was a formidable woman who handled almost any household or business matter flawlessly on her own. For her to send my brother to drag me out of a government office meant something was seriously amiss.
"Has some disaster occurred?"
"I do not know the details, but she insisted I bring you immediately."
Sensing intuitively that this was no ordinary matter, I sprang to my feet. I gestured with my chin to Gaetdong-i, who was blinking in confusion, and then to Jincheol.
"Jincheol, lead the way. Gaetdong-i, you come too."
The heart of Jongno's Unjong-ga.
Flanked by Jincheol's imposing guard, we arrived at a massive tile-roofed estate situated in the most prime location of Unjong-ga. Hanging above the towering main gate was a heavy wooden plaque that read: Daedong Merchant Group.
Though I had handed over the hefty bonus I received from His Majesty to my wife and instructed her to acquire a merchant group under a pseudonym, this was my first time actually setting foot on the property.
It is even grander than I imagined.
The moment we crossed the threshold, we were met with the immense vitality of dozens of carts and laborers moving in a constant, bustling stream. Swallowing my admiration at a scene that was larger and more systematically organized than most government offices, I followed Jincheol toward the innermost main building of the merchant house.
"My lady, I have arrived."
Sliding the door open, I saw Lady Lee sitting amidst a mountain of piled-up ledgers. She set down her brush and looked up.
"You have arrived, Husband. I apologize for summoning you so urgently when you must be busy."
"What on earth happened that you had to send Jincheol all the way to the Ministry of Taxation?"
"It is not so much a disaster as..."
Lady Lee slid a thick logistics ledger toward me.
"The segokseon from the three southern provinces—Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang—arrived at Mapo Naru at dawn today."
The segokseon. Government ships used to transport tax grain collected from the provinces to Hanyang's central storehouses, the jochang. The Daedong Merchant Group had contracted with the government to manage the transport of this massive cargo.
"If they have arrived, is that not a relief? This tax grain transport must be handled without a single error."
"That is precisely the problem, Husband. An error has occurred."
My wife's light brown eyes locked onto mine.
"The cargo holds of the arrived segokseon... are more than half empty."
"What?"
A hollow gasp escaped my lips.
This godforsaken country truly never gave me a single moment to rest.
Next Chapter: The Joseon Version of a Black Card Given by My Wife