Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 361

The next morning, Han Myeong-hoe stood at the entrance of Gwanghwamun Gate [the main gate of Gyeongbok Palace], his face etched with tension.

Fidgeting with the sleeve of his robe, which held the census register, he swallowed hard.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I must make a good impression.”

Repeating this mantra to himself, Han Myeong-hoe waited for the gates of Gwanghwamun to open.

Soon, the gates swung open, and the changing of the guard commenced. As the gates of Gwanghwamun opened wide, Han Myeong-hoe stepped forward.

“Halt! What business do you have!”

Han Myeong-hoe stopped at the soldier’s shout and stated his purpose.

“I am Han Myeong-hoe, here by order of the Crown Prince.”

“Ah! Wait here a moment!”

The soldier, recognizing the name, quickly went inside.

A moment later, the gatekeeper came out and approached Han Myeong-hoe.

“Are you the scholar?”

“I am.”

“Show me your identification *牌* [pae; a type of identification tag].”

At the gatekeeper’s request, Han Myeong-hoe reached into his robe and presented his ID. The gatekeeper examined it carefully, front and back, before returning it.

“I’ll announce your arrival. Please wait here.”

“Understood.”

The gatekeeper disappeared back inside, and Han Myeong-hoe stepped back to await a response.

Soon, a court eunuch scurried out and spoke to the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper pointed to Han Myeong-hoe. Seeing him, the eunuch approached and said,

“Follow me.”

“Understood.”

* * *

The eunuch led Han Myeong-hoe through Gwanghwamun and Geunjeongmun Gate [the second main gate of Gyeongbok Palace], stopping him in front of Geunjeongjeon Hall [the main hall of Gyeongbok Palace].

“Please wait here for a moment.”

“Understood.”

The eunuch left Han Myeong-hoe at the foot of the stairs leading to Geunjeongjeon Hall and hurried away behind the hall.

As soon as the eunuch was gone, Han Myeong-hoe quickly straightened his attire and waited to be summoned.

However, he had to wait much longer than he expected.

“Have they forgotten me?”

Impatient, he tried to calm himself, thinking of the virtue of patience.

Just then, a group of ministers approached Geunjeongjeon Hall through Geunjeongmun Gate. The ministers, followed by officials carrying stacks of reports, stopped when they saw Han Myeong-hoe.

As they drew closer, Han Myeong-hoe bowed respectfully. The ministers began to question him.

“Are you Han Gi’s son?”

“Yes? Yes, I am.”

“Let me see your face.”

As Han Myeong-hoe straightened up, the ministers commented.

“He looks just like his father.”

“He has a sturdy build. He must be strong.”

“He doesn’t seem tired even after standing for so long. His stamina must be good.”

“Indeed. Stamina is the most important thing, wouldn’t you agree?”

Han Myeong-hoe was bewildered by the nonsensical remarks.

‘What is going on? It’s like I’m a cow being inspected at a livestock market.’

“Ah! We’ll be late for the morning assembly! Let’s go!”

“Indeed! We’ll see you later!”

The ministers, having thoroughly confused Han Myeong-hoe, hurried into Geunjeongjeon Hall with their entourage of officials.

Left alone again, Han Myeong-hoe couldn’t hide his bewildered expression.

“What is this, some kind of goblin game? Ah! Get a grip!”

As Han Myeong-hoe tried to regain his composure, a court eunuch came out of Geunjeongjeon Hall and approached him.

“His Majesty will see you now.”

“Understood.”

* * *

Inside Geunjeongjeon Hall, Han Myeong-hoe prostrated himself and bowed deeply to Sejong.

“Bring him a chair.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Sejong looked at Han Myeong-hoe as he sat down on the chair the eunuch brought.

“Well… let me start with praise. You deserve commendation for protecting the people yesterday. You did a truly righteous thing.”

“I did what any scholar should do.”

“You seem to have learned from a good teacher. Who was your mentor?”

“I studied under Teacher Taejae.”

Sejong’s eyes lit up at Han Myeong-hoe’s answer.

“Taejae? How is he?”

“I occasionally send letters to inquire about his well-being, and he seems to be doing well.”

“Is that so?”

Sejong’s eyes sparkled.

* * *

Taejae Ryu Bang-seon had lived a life of ups and downs. He passed the civil service examination and studied at Sungkyunkwan [the highest educational institution in Joseon], but was implicated in Min Mu-gu’s case through his father, resulting in exile. He was released from exile in 1415 and fostered students in Wonju, but was exiled again to Yeongcheon due to slander, and was only released in the 9th year of Sejong’s reign.

His dedication to scholarship during his exile was highly regarded, and he was recommended for a government position as soon as he was released. However, having experienced the corruption of politics firsthand, Ryu Bang-seon feigned illness and declined the position.

But now, through Han Myeong-hoe’s words, Sejong confirmed that he was healthy.

* * *

“Hmm… Anyway, I will ask you this. Listen to the situations I present and tell me your thoughts.”

“Yes.”

Sejong presented various scenarios and asked for Han Myeong-hoe’s opinions. If there was even the slightest flaw in his answers, Sejong would relentlessly probe that area.

It wasn’t just Sejong. The ministers also took turns questioning and challenging Han Myeong-hoe.

By the end of the grueling interview, Han Myeong-hoe was completely exhausted.

Seeing Han Myeong-hoe’s half-dazed face, Sejong smiled and concluded.

“Taejae has trained him well. Hmm… His ability to grasp the context of events and his resourcefulness are decent, so let him work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for now.”

“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless!”

Lee Maeng-gyun beamed and bowed deeply at Sejong’s decision. As other ministers tried to step forward, Sejong spoke first.

“‘For now.’ I said ‘for now…'”

At Sejong’s additional explanation, the ministers fell silent. Seeing this, Sejong muttered to himself.

“Anyway, this obsession with talent…”

At Sejong’s words, the ministers quietly looked up at him. They didn’t open their mouths, but they were all shouting the same thing in their hearts.

‘Look in the mirror when you say that! Who’s talking about whom!’

Whether he knew the ministers’ feelings or not, Sejong proceeded with the matter.

“You will start learning the ropes at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from today. Your abilities will be evaluated in a month, and you will be given an appropriate rank. Do your best.”

Han Myeong-hoe, hastily regaining his senses, prostrated himself and shouted,

“I will do my best!”

“I’ll be expecting it. You may leave.”

Han Myeong-hoe bowed again and retreated backward. As Sejong watched him leave, he called out to him.

“Wait. I forgot something.”

Han Myeong-hoe came forward again.

“Do you have any close friends who studied with you under Taejae?”

Han Myeong-hoe answered immediately.

“Yes, I have a few.”

“Oh? Who are they?”

“There is Kwon Ram, the grandson of Yangchon (Kwon Geun) [a renowned Confucian scholar], and Seo Geo-jeong, who is still young but possesses outstanding literary talent.”

“Is that so? Write down their personal information and submit it. Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

“Yes! I will make sure to get it!”

“Alright. You may leave now.”

“Yes? Yes.”

Hyang, who heard the story later through the court eunuchs, clicked his tongue.

“It’s like a multi-level marketing scheme… Anyway, it’s reassuring to tear them apart like this.”

* * *

Thus, the ‘Han Myeong-hoe multi-level marketing scheme’ twisted the lives of many people.

First, officials carrying documents containing Sejong’s decree rushed to Yeongcheon. Finding Ryu Bang-seon’s house, the officials shouted loudly.

“Royal decree!”

Next were Kwon Ram and Seo Geo-jeong.

“This Seo Geo-jeong might be a problem.”

“What’s the problem?”

“He’s only twelve years old. He hasn’t even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet.”

The ministers were troubled by Heo Jo’s words. However, Kim Jeom solved their problem in one fell swoop.

“What’s the problem? We already have Kim Dam in the research institute, don’t we?”

“He’s younger than Kim Dam, so it’s a problem.”

“Let’s use Kim Dam as a precedent and move on. Can’t we just bring him in and raise him like we do at the research institute? It’s better that he’s not fully formed yet, isn’t it?”

The ministers nodded in agreement at Kim Jeom’s words.

* * *

Although the ban on government service for children of concubines and people from the Northwest region had been abolished, and those who passed the preliminary civil service examination were unconditionally assigned to local and central administrative organizations, there was still a shortage of talent.

The reasons for the Joseon court’s shortage of talent were complex.

First, it occurred during the process of changing the unpaid volunteer positions of the lower-level officials in the central and local administrative organizations to paid, actual positions. The resulting vacancies from investigating past work and removing incompetent or corrupt individuals were one cause.

Second, although the gateway to the preliminary examination had been widened, it was not easy to pass through. Despite the expansion, the pass rate did not exceed 25% of applicants.

Third, as commerce and industry flourished, more scholars and commoners began to devote their lives to commerce and industry rather than government positions.

Finally, not all those who entered through the preliminary examination were talented. There were many who had academic knowledge but little practical ability. As a result, the senior officials in the local and central governments had to go to great lengths to find capable individuals.

This was why the ministers agreed to create the Samin Academy [a private Confucian academy] and the Junghak Academy [a government-sponsored school for commoners]. However, since the Samin Academy and the Junghak Academy had not yet produced results, Joseon was still in a situation of talent shortage.

* * *

In any case, Kwon Ram and Seo Geo-jeong were caught up in the multi-level marketing scheme and brought to the court to receive practical training.

After the training, both received good grades in the subsequent evaluation and were immediately dragged into the General Affairs Department and the Ministry of Education to take on practical work.

The officials, who were happy that talented people had come in, soon wore gloomy expressions.

“Why is the work increasing!”

As the work progressed faster, the tasks that had been put off piled up again.

And one day, as Kwon Ram was living under the flood of piled-up work, he turned around at the sound of someone calling him.

“Who is this? Sohandang (所閒堂) [Kwon Ram’s pen name]?”

Turning around, Kwon Ram was overjoyed to see the owner of the voice.

“Who is this, Jajun (子濬) [Han Myeong-hoe’s courtesy name]!”

Seeing Han Myeong-hoe, Kwon Ram started running towards him with a bright face.

They were two people who had not been able to meet even once since being specially recruited into the court. This was due to practical training, followed by evaluation, and then immediately followed by a huge amount of overtime work. Of course, they could have met on holidays, but when the holidays came, they were doing their best to rest.

Seeing Kwon Ram running towards him with a bright face, Han Myeong-hoe spread his arms wide with a smiling face. Kwon Ram, who had sprinted closer to Han Myeong-hoe, immediately unleashed a flying side kick.

Crash!

“Ouch!”

Han Myeong-hoe, who had been kicked in the chest, fell to the ground, and Kwon Ram sat on top of him and shouted.

“I’ve finally caught you, you son of a bitch!”

* * *

As the daily life of the court passed uneventfully, Hyang received a summons from Sejong.

Entering Gangnyeongjeon Hall [the king’s residence] late at night, Hyang was led by a court eunuch into Sejong’s room.

“You summoned me?”

“Yes. Sit there.”

“Yes.”

As Hyang sat down, Sejong got straight to the point.

“I will give you a choice, Crown Prince.”