Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 28

Jjangra

Hello, Bomb!

28. A Fresh Start in the Year of Gapjin (6)

The next day, as Sejong and Hyang had anticipated, memorials began flooding in from the morning.

“They are truly diligent.”

The Left Royal Secretary grumbled, watching the stacks of memorial scrolls grow taller, and all the other secretaries nodded in agreement.

“I thought we’d have at least two days…”

“Did they stay up all night? They certainly have the energy. I’m afraid to even cross the threshold of my own inner quarters.”

As the secretaries grumbled over the memorials, the Chief Royal Secretary stepped forward.

“Does all this complaining make the work disappear? Let’s sort them out quickly.”

“Sort them, you say?”

“You saw it yesterday, didn’t you? Some criticize the Crown Prince, and others support him. So, we can sort them into two categories.”

“Wouldn’t there be those in the middle?”

“Would those in the middle write memorials?”

“Ah…”

At the Chief Royal Secretary’s words, the other secretaries nodded unconsciously. Though unspoken, some of them considered themselves to be in that middle ground. And none of the secretaries had written a memorial.

* * *

In any case, about half a day after the morning audience began in the Pyunjeon Hall [the main hall of the palace where the king conducted state affairs], trays piled high with the sorted memorials were brought to Sejong.

“There are so many.”

Sejong, seeing the memorials stacked before him, turned to his ministers and said a word.

“You are all truly diligent.”

At Sejong’s pointed remark, the ministers bowed their heads silently.

“Well, let’s take a look.”

Sejong untied the string binding a scroll of memorials and began to read its contents. As the pile of read memorial scrolls grew, Sejong’s expression grew increasingly fierce. Finally, Sejong irritably put down a scroll and ordered the Head Eunuch.

“Go and bring the Crown Prince here.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Soon after, Hyang entered the Pyunjeon Hall, following behind the Head Eunuch.

“You summoned me?”

“Yes, sit there.”

As Hyang politely bowed, Sejong began to rummage through the memorial scrolls. After a moment, holding one scroll in his hand, Sejong opened his mouth.

“Crown Prince, it seems there are still many who have not properly understood what you said yesterday. Explain it to them once more. Chief State Councilor!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Read your memorial. Read it properly before the Crown Prince.”

“Your Majesty!”

The Chief State Councilor was horrified at Sejong’s command. However, Sejong continued.

“The person involved should read it himself to avoid misunderstandings, wouldn’t you agree? Read it!”

At Sejong’s command, the Chief State Councilor began to read the memorial he had written.

“I, Ryu Jeong-hyeon, Chief State Councilor, respectfully bow and take up my brush. In general…”

“Set aside the flowery language and read only the main text!”

At Sejong’s harsh command, the Chief State Councilor paused briefly before resuming his reading.

“The Crown Prince’s views seem right at first glance, but they contain many follies. The first folly is that our Joseon has established Neo-Confucianism as its guiding ideology. However, the Crown Prince is following the ways of Legalism [a philosophy emphasizing strict laws and punishments]. In general, the laws of Legalism are harsh, which inevitably leads to the people falling into misery and harms the state and its rulers. This is proven by the example of Shang Yang’s self-destruction through his own laws in the Warring States period and the fall of Qin.

The second folly is that you wish to abolish the discrimination against illegitimate children. The discrimination against illegitimate children was established by the late King Taejong, so how can we abolish it arbitrarily? This is an act of impiety [disrespect for one’s elders or ancestors]. Furthermore, if illegitimate children are allowed to freely enter officialdom, they will privately manipulate state affairs as seen in the previous dynasty. Therefore, this would be an act of injustice.

The third folly is increasing the number of officials. The more officials there are, the greater the burden on the people. Why else would the saying ‘Harsh government is fiercer than a tiger’ exist? The court only needs to grasp the big picture. The affairs of the countryside can be handled by the magistrate and the local gentry of the Hyangso [local autonomous institutions].”

The Chief State Councilor’s memorial ended with the pointing out of these three problems. Hyang, who had been listening quietly, looked at Sejong.

“May I respond?”

“You may.”

Having received Sejong’s permission, Hyang began to refute the Chief State Councilor’s points.

“The Chief State Councilor said that Neo-Confucianism is the guiding ideology of Joseon, but Joseon’s guiding ideology is the royal way of politics and the principle of people-based governance advocated by the ancient sages. Neo-Confucianism is merely a tool for carrying out the guiding ideology.”

“Your Highness!”

The Chief State Councilor tried to immediately refute Hyang’s words, but Hyang continued speaking.

“Neo-Confucianism is only one branch of Confucianism. Insisting only on Neo-Confucianism, which is like one branch extending from the great tree of Confucianism, is a narrow-minded way of thinking, is it not? I will say again that our Joseon’s guiding ideology is the royal way of politics spoken of by the ancient sages, and Neo-Confucianism is a tool for that. Let me give you an example. If a dish is made, it must be placed in a bowl. We cannot simply scatter it on the ground if there is no bowl, can we? If the guiding ideology, the royal way of politics, is the dish, then ideologies, systems, and statutes are the bowl. Is there a need to distinguish between Neo-Confucianism and Legalism in realizing the royal way of politics in reality? In the countries of the Western barbarians far away, one of the monarchs who ruled those countries taught the prince who would inherit the throne like this:

‘Act like a bee that seeks out the flower with the sweetest honey among the flowers in the field.’

I believe this is the most fundamental attitude that a ruler should have.”

At Hyang’s response, the Chief State Councilor closed his mouth and racked his brain to find a counterargument. However, Hyang did not give him an opening.

“And you said that abolishing the discrimination against illegitimate children is not right, and that it is an act of impiety that violates the order of King Taejong. But, the fact that the discrimination against illegitimate children has many problems is already well known. If we do not fix this and leave it as it is, the problem will only grow, and the resentment will increase. In this case, all that resentment will be directed at King Taejong, who ordered the discrimination. As descendants, what could be more unfilial than causing our ancestor to be resented? And you said that illegitimate children manipulated state affairs in the previous dynasty, but were only illegitimate children the ones who manipulated state affairs at that time? Did not those from powerful families, regardless of whether they were legitimate or illegitimate, corrupt state affairs? It is not fair to place all the blame on the illegitimate children. Finally, did illegitimate children want to be born as illegitimate children? If blame must be assigned, shouldn’t it be assigned to those who planted the seeds?”

Pausing for a moment, Hyang glared at the ministers gathered in the Pyunjeon Hall.

“If we examine the law, a magistrate who sleeps with a Gwan-gi [female entertainers or servants assigned to government offices] is subject to impeachment, and even ministers who keep concubines are subject to impeachment. But among the ministers present here, who has not kept a concubine? Is it the way of the literati [scholarly officials] to bury their own sins and discriminate only against illegitimate children?”

“Ahem! Ahem!”

“Cough!”

At Hyang’s rebuke, the ministers gathered in the Pyunjeon Hall, regardless of their rank, all coughed uncomfortably.

The Chief State Councilor, with a reddened face, continued to try to open his mouth, but Hyang did not give him an opening until the end.

“Finally, you quoted the saying ‘Harsh government is fiercer than a tiger,’ but are the officials of the court more frightening than tigers to the people of Joseon today? Or are the local Confucian scholars that the Chief State Councilor praises so much? Since I have been sitting next to my father and watching him handle state affairs, I have heard countless reports of powerless people starving to death and becoming vagrants in every corner of Joseon. But! I have not heard many reports of local Confucian scholars starving to death or opening their granaries to help the people. Chief State Councilor, do you really think that those who do not even help their neighbors in their own villages will handle matters fairly?”

“Th, that is only a small part…”

“If you add a part to a part, and continue to add parts, it becomes the whole!”

At Hyang’s cry, the Chief State Councilor closed his mouth. Hyang continued to press the Chief State Councilor.

“Who are the ones who take advantage of their neighbors’ difficulties to make them incur debts at several times the original amount, eventually forcing them to sell their daughters or become vagrants, and then swallow the land that has no owner into their own bellies? It is those local Confucian scholars that the Chief State Councilor spoke of! Chief State Councilor! I ask you! Who are the ones who are more frightening than tigers to the powerless people? Are they the officials of the court, or the local Confucian scholars?”

“That is…”

“Speak!”

At Hyang’s pressure, the Chief State Councilor looked at Sejong. Sejong, receiving the Chief State Councilor’s gaze, answered calmly.

“I, too, am curious about your answer. Chief State Councilor, answer.”

As even Sejong stepped forward, the Chief State Councilor’s face turned even redder.

“Why are you silent, Chief State Councilor?”

As Sejong pressed him again, the Chief State Councilor gritted his teeth and answered.

“…The local… Confucian scholars, Your Majesty.”

“That’s right!”

At the Chief State Councilor’s answer, Sejong clapped his knees and answered, and the anti-Crown Prince faction ministers, including the Chief State Councilor, tightly closed their eyes.

‘It’s over!’

* * *

“Do you need any further explanation, Chief State Councilor?”

At Hyang’s question, the ministers remained silent. Seeing their reaction, Sejong rummaged through the pile of memorials and took out another one, handing it to Hyang.

“The ones who submitted them are all different, but the contents are so similar that it seems as if one person wrote them and others copied them. But this one is at least written differently, so read it.”

“Yes.”

Hyang, receiving the memorial, unfolded the scroll and began to read it carefully.

“Hoo~.”

As Hyang sighed and straightened his back after reading the memorial, Sejong opened his mouth.

“It is a memorial from the Office of the Inspector General [an office responsible for monitoring government officials and reporting corruption]. Shall I call the one who submitted it?”

“No.”

“Very well, what do you think?”

“‘Healthy consumption does not exist. If consumption is encouraged, a trend of extravagance will spread, and merchants, who are beings who seek profit, will further fuel this. Artisans will also only make luxury goods, and farmers will also not farm and only seek opportunities for quick riches. In the end, society will transform into a society that values wealth rather than virtue. That is why the ancient sages differentiated between scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.’…”

Pausing and thinking, Hyang opened his mouth after a moment.

“It seems right at first glance, but I believe that the one who submitted this memorial should be punished.”

“Why?”

“First of all, you said that the ancient sages differentiated between scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, but in any scripture I have read, there is no part where the sages said to differentiate between scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. When the sages mentioned scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, it was to mean ‘all the people.’ But, by distorting it in this way, this is an act of disloyalty that blinds Your Majesty’s eyes and ears! I believe that such a person must be strictly punished!”

As Hyang stepped forward and argued for punishment, the eyes of Sejong, as well as the ministers in the Pyunjeon Hall, widened. Although Hyang had said many things and argued a lot, he had never directly said to give punishment even once.

“This person was concerned that a trend of extravagance would spread, but it is better to be extravagant. We can impose taxes on luxury goods. But, look at the literati of Joseon today! They wear hemp clothes and boast of frugality, but grain and cotton are rotting in their storehouses. Does not wearing silk clothes mean that one is virtuous? Is it virtuous to ignore the starving people wailing during famine and spring poverty, and only read scriptures while wearing hemp clothes? The author of this memorial says, ‘Even if material goods are scarce, it is the way to be content with one’s lot and enjoy poverty.’ I! Dare to say to Your Majesty! That is not contentment with one’s lot or enjoyment of poverty, but self-abandonment! I earnestly request that you immediately drive out this treacherous subject who has disguised his treachery with eloquent words!”

The Chief State Councilor, greatly alarmed by Hyang’s strong words, hurriedly interjected.

“Your Highness! The one who submitted the memorial is an official of the Office of the Inspector General. It is the job of an official of the Office of the Inspector General to offer remonstrance [formal protest]. Punishing an official of the Office of the Inspector General because you do not like his writing is an act of blocking the channels of speech!”

“What this person has submitted now is not remonstrance, but treacherous words! Our Joseon has already stipulated by law that there is a distinction between commoners and slaves, but there is no distinction between scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. But what qualifications does this author have to divide the people into scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants and discriminate against them? If the nature of the one who should speak right words to the monarch is so wicked, will right words come out? He must be punished immediately!”

End

ⓒ Gukbbong