Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 252

252. Changing the Sign or Metamorphosis? (3)

The reorganization of the central administrative structure was immediately announced nationwide via express messengers.

The proclamations regarding the reorganization that the messengers brought were enormous in volume. The bulletin boards installed in each local government office couldn’t handle it, so one side of the wall surrounding the government office had to be filled with proclamations.

However, the most troubled were the heads and clerks of each local government office.

“It looks like more than ten pages.”

“Exactly eighteen pages.”

“Oh, my….”

The local officials and clerks sighed as they looked at the proclamation regarding the reorganization plan from the court that the messenger had brought.

“Let’s read it quickly before posting it outside. Since Hanyang [modern-day Seoul] has started to move, it’s certain that the sparks will fly to us soon.”

“Could it be… is that rumor true?”

The faces of the clerks turned pale at the words of the local official.

* * *

Since last year, a strange rumor had been circulating among the local clerks.

-The court is doing strange things!

-They’ve picked counties a day’s journey from Hanyang and completely renovated the government offices!

-They say they’re going to change all the government offices throughout Joseon [historical Korean kingdom] like that someday!

When the rumor first started, the clerks working in areas far from where the events were happening scoffed.

“Hmph! Do you think it’s easy to overhaul the government office system?”

“We’re already dying from overwork, and now they want to create more work? Are they crazy?”

“Hmph! Do you know how many local government offices there are in Joseon? Where are you getting this nonsense?”

Most of the local clerks, except for those in the counties near the experimental areas, scoffed and denied the rumors.

Most of the local clerks were seasoned veterans in practical affairs.

They knew very well how difficult it was to change the system. That’s why they scoffed.

“It is a great favor that His Majesty has changed the clerks’ positions from unpaid to paid, but he knows too little about the work on the front lines!”

The local government clerks assessed that it was a reckless act by Sejong [King Sejong the Great, 1397-1450], who did not know the local affairs well.

However, they did not know how meticulous Sejong was.

Even in the history before Hyang’s intervention, Sejong was so careful and meticulous that he would choose a place to implement a tax system reform on a trial basis before deciding on the nationwide implementation of the new system based on the results.

Although his grip on state affairs reached its peak after Hyang’s intervention, his meticulousness remained the same, even though his caution decreased somewhat.

Therefore, the local clerks did not know that long before this announcement, he had created a scaled-down model of the newly reorganized system, and then repeatedly checked and adjusted the problem of whether it was operating properly and how much the efficiency was improving.

Likewise, they scoffed without knowing that the reorganization of the local government offices was also the result of the same process.

* * *

However, as they watched the faces of the magistrates become serious after the proclamation arrived, the clerks realized that the rumors were true and that the aftermath would soon hit them.

That’s why the clerks’ faces turned pale.

It was no longer a situation to watch someone else’s house burn, but a situation where they had to put out the fire in their own house.

“Examine these proclamations carefully and check how they connect to the positions you are in charge of. Some of you may have to move workplaces….”

“Yes, sir.”

At the magistrate’s words, the clerks began to read the proclamations, passing them around. Then someone uttered a curse.

“Shit….”

“It is eighteen pages.”

“…Damn!”

The joke that followed the curse made the atmosphere even more chilly. Even while cursing, the clerks carefully examined the proclamations.

Because it was a matter of their livelihood.

The proclamations that the clerks read until they were worn out were posted on the walls of the government office.

“What’s with all the proclamations all of a sudden?”

“I know, but why are there so many?”

The people who saw the huge amount of proclamations posted on the wall all grumbled, but they stuck to the wall to find out the contents of the proclamations.

“Hey! Choi Seo-bang [a commoner’s name]! Read it for us as a representative!”

“That’s why I told you to study writing!”

“Forget it! Just read it!”

In the end, someone who knew how to read and had a good voice stepped forward to read the proclamation on behalf of those who did not know how to read.

“Let’s see…. The court’s system is being changed this time….”

Since the proclamation was long, the reader even received water and rice wine in between to drink as he read the proclamation.

When the reading was over, the people gathered in groups of three or five to share their opinions.

“It’s about the court in Hanyang, so do we need to care?”

“Hey! The place where we have to pay taxes is changing! Until now, we had to pay to the government office, but now they’re telling us to pay to a place called the National Tax Service!”

“Oh? Really?”

The people, who initially thought it was a story that happened in Hanyang, realized that it was deeply related to their lives and began to share their opinions with serious faces.

This was the same for the local gentry.

“Oh Jin-sa [title for a scholar], what do you think?”

The yangban [ruling class] who came to Oh Jin-sa’s sarangbang [study room] after seeing the proclamation asked Oh Jin-sa a question.

At the yangban’s question, Oh Jin-sa stroked his beard and replied.

“His Majesty seems to have considerable confidence.”

“Confidence?”

“If you look at the proclamation, didn’t he divide a considerable portion of the royal authority to his subjects? Isn’t this showing confidence that he has firmly grasped the court?”

The yangban all nodded at Oh Jin-sa’s explanation.

“Certainly….”

Looking at the contents of the proclamation, Sejong handed over authority to the court—now renamed the Cabinet (內閣)—except for a few essential powers such as the military command and budget execution rights.

Oh Jin-sa continued his explanation.

“In such a system, the king may be dragged along by his subjects if he is not careful. Even I, a mere villager (村夫, a country person) and a commoner (匹夫, a man of low status), know this much, so how could His Majesty not know?”

“Ah….”

The yangban all nodded at Oh Jin-sa’s explanation.

As the yangban gathered in the sarangbang nodded as if they understood, Oh Jin-sa continued.

“Among those of you gathered here, those who are still young or have children of age to take the civil service examination should pay attention.”

“Ah….”

The eyes of the yangban gathered in the sarangbang began to shine.

The contents of the proclamation were not simply about changing the signs of the government ministries. As the organization of the court was reorganized, the demand for officials was sure to increase greatly.

Even though the court had been hiring a large number of new officials every year, it seemed that even the people they had hired would not be enough, judging from the contents of the proclamation.

Taking office was the glory of the family, so the eyes of the yangban began to sparkle.

* * *

Of course, not everyone viewed the contents of the proclamation positively.

A small village near Gongju, Chungcheong Province. A father and son who had returned from work were talking.

“Father. Did you see the proclamation?”

“I saw it.”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t think anything.”

“Huh?”

As the son widened his eyes, the father replied with a nonchalant face.

“What’s the point of paying attention to the cloud-grabbing sounds of the yangban who are full of ink in their heads? If things are going to work out well by doing that, they will work out well even if we don’t care, and if things are going to go wrong, they won’t work out no matter how much we struggle. The best way for us commoners is to just live like that without thinking.”

The son’s lips twitched as if he was full of dissatisfaction at his father’s words, but he did not argue. If he argued with his father’s personality, the chamber pot would fly.

Instead, the son firmly resolved in his heart.

‘Soon they will be recruiting people to work on the road construction, so I’m going to leave this backwater then!’

The son was once again firm in his mind to leave his hometown and go to a bigger place.

* * *

Not long after that, express messengers from Hanyang scattered across the country again.

The local officials who received the orders delivered by the express messengers immediately summoned the clerks.

“Gather skilled carpenters right now.”

“Carpenters, you say?”

“Yes. As expected, an order has arrived from Hanyang. We need to renovate this government office and build quite a few new buildings, so find them quickly.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The clerks moved quickly, as they had expected to some extent since the last proclamation arrived.

However, the number of carpenters skilled enough to build tile-roofed houses was far short of the demand. As a result, a competition to recruit carpenters broke out throughout Joseon.

An unexpected boom had struck the carpenters who built houses.

* * *

A frontier in the northeastern region.

“Hey, Jong-seo!”

“Yes, Daegam [a high-ranking official].”

Hwang Hee, who called Kim Jong-seo, handed over the order delivered by the express messenger and asked a question.

“This is an order sent by the court, an order to reorganize the local administrative structure. Is the preparation finished?”

At Hwang Hee’s question, Kim Jong-seo immediately answered.

“All we have to do is put up the sign.”

“Really? Then we should put up the sign.”

At Kim Jong-seo’s answer, Hwang Hee grabbed a gold brush and began to write the order.

The officials who were listening to Hwang Hee and Kim Jong-seo’s answers around them shook their heads slightly.

‘Those two. Even though they bicker like that, their work ethic is no joke.’

‘Is that why they are called Daegam and are said to be candidates for Jeongseung [Prime Minister]?’

* * *

Hwang Hee, who had obtained information that Sejong was selecting targets to experiment with the reorganized local administrative structure, immediately took action.
Hwang Hee, who sent letters to the Jeongseung [another high-ranking official] and Daegam in Hanyang to obtain the structure diagram of the newly implemented local administrative structure, immediately called Kim Jong-seo.

“What do you think?”

“Is this what His Majesty has conceived?”

“Wouldn’t it be? Such an idea can never come out of the rigid heads of the Jeongseung and Daegam I know.”

“Hmm….”

Kim Jong-seo, who was examining the structure diagram, replied to Hwang Hee.

“It looks complicated because it’s been broken down into small pieces, but if it works properly, I think the work will go well?”

“Really? Then the probability of success will be high, right?”

“This is what His Majesty has thought of. Then wouldn’t it be implemented even if the possibility of failure is high? Look at the smallpox vaccination method.”

“Hey!”

Hwang Hee looked around and warned in a small voice.

“Don’t mention that. You’ll get your head cut off if you’re not careful.”

“Ah….”

The smallpox vaccination method was one of Sejong’s achievements, but it was also Sejong and his subjects’ sore spot.

This was because the veteran subjects, including Ryu Jeong-hyeon, were purged as a result of the political struggle over the nationwide implementation of the smallpox vaccination method.

Hwang Hee, who gave Kim Jong-seo a warning, tapped the desk with his finger and analyzed the situation.

“Even if it’s not His Majesty’s idea, the possibility is quite high, right?”

“That’s right. It’s divided quite efficiently.”

“Hmm….”

Hwang Hee, who was doing various calculations again, turned to Kim Jong-seo.

“What if we configure the local government offices in the northeastern region, which are currently being formed, to match this from the beginning?”

“….”

At Hwang Hee’s question, Kim Jong-seo closed his mouth tightly and began to stare at the structure diagram.

Kim Jong-seo, who was staring at the paper as if he would pierce it, opened his mouth after a long time.

“I think it’ll be okay? The probability of success is high, and this northeastern region has the problem of adapting the Jurchen people [a Tungistic people], so I don’t think there’s anything to lose by preparing in advance.”

“Then reconfigure the organization accordingly. The deadline is three days.”

“…Yes.”

“Instead, I’ll move the date of your trip to Hanyang forward by three days. The return date remains the same. Then you can spend three more days in Hanyang, right?”

“I’ll do my best!”

* * *

That’s how the northeastern region was created in a situation where all they had to do was put up the sign.