Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 598

Sejong brought documents related to various tasks that had been carried out in Shinji.

* * *

The volume of documents created since the discovery of Shinji and the establishment of a bridgehead was enormous.

Of course, these documents were sent to Hanseong [modern-day Seoul] via regular mail and processed as quickly as possible before being returned to Shinji.

However, because of the distance between the Korean mainland and Shinji, most of the work was approved retroactively.

Sejong went to Shinji to solve the problems caused by this time difference.

The aim was to minimize the risk of problems by having the highest authority and the most powerful person handle everything in real time on-site.

And this time, when he returned, boxes full of documents—248 to be exact—were brought along. All but two of the boxes went to the Jucha Office [royal printing office]. After being mass-copied at the Jucha Office, they were distributed to the Six Ministries in charge of administration.

The mainland officials, who were experts in administration, analyzed the documents in the boxes and began the process of improvement.

* * *

As the number of boxes brought from Shinji dwindled, the attention of Hyang and the ministers turned to the two boxes that had been taken to Gangnyeong Hall [the King’s residence within Gyeongbok Palace].

As soon as they arrived at Gyeongbok Palace, the two boxes were taken directly to Gangnyeong Hall, not the Jucha Office, on Sejong’s orders.

The officials gathered in groups of three or five and gossiped about the boxes in question.

“What do you think is in them?”

“Well… maybe just His Majesty’s personal miscellany?”

“According to the records, it was classified as an official document. If it were His Majesty’s private document, it would have been classified separately and brought here, right?”

“That’s true… but it’s ambiguous.”

Similar conversations were taking place where the ministers gathered.

“What do you all think is in those boxes?”

Kim Jeom’s question was followed by Lee Sa-cheol.

“Could it be a new historical record?”

“A historical record?”

“When His Majesty was in Shinji, didn’t he ask us to find and send him historical records circulating in the court and the countryside? Perhaps he has compiled those historical records to create a new historical record?”

Some nodded at Lee Sa-cheol’s words, while others tilted their heads. Kim Jong-seo, one of those who tilted his head, pointed out the problem.

“If that were the case, it wouldn’t have been classified as an official document.”

Lee Sa-cheol offered another reason for Kim Jong-seo’s criticism.

“Isn’t it possible that it’s a historical record created for the students at the Samin Academy to learn? Then it could be classified as an official document.”

“If that were the case, it would have already been printed at the Jucha Office and handed over to the Ministry of Education, starting with the Ministry of Education. But that hasn’t happened, has it?”

“That’s true….”

As Lee Sa-cheol’s words trailed off, Kim Jong-seo turned to Hwang Hee.

“What do you think, Prime Minister?”

Hwang Hee replied briefly to Kim Jong-seo’s question.

“I’m doing my best not to think about it.”

“Yes?”

“What do you mean?”

At the completely unexpected answer, Kim Jong-seo and the other ministers looked shocked, and Hwang Hee sighed deeply.

“Hoo~. Haven’t you learned after all this time with His Majesty?”

“Yes?”

“Hoo~.”

Hwang Hee continued in a somber voice.

“His Majesty makes us work hard enough to die, but he doesn’t let us die. Do you understand? But if he hasn’t taken it out yet… Hoo~.”

Before Hwang Hee could finish speaking with a sigh, the ministers’ expressions crumpled.

“This is insane!”

“No wonder the tonic I took yesterday tasted so sweet!”

“Was it just the tonic that tasted sweet? Didn’t he suddenly give us Eosaju [a type of medicinal wine] a few days ago!”

“Was that ‘the day we received the Ministry of Taxation’s food’!”

* * *

A few days ago, Sejong gathered the senior and junior officials at Gyeonghoeru Pavilion [a royal banquet hall] and held a banquet.

“Your efforts have been truly great in achieving this great feat. In appreciation, I have prepared a small banquet.”

The senior and junior officials who attended the banquet bowed their heads and raised their voices at Sejong’s praise.

“Your grace is boundless!”

And at the ensuing banquet, Sejong personally went around and poured wine into the glasses of the senior and junior officials.

“What an honor!”

“Your grace is boundless!”

The officials who received the wine poured by Sejong raised their voices in emotion.

That day, on Sejong’s orders, all the officials of the Six Ministries were able to leave work on time. Not only that, but the Naesu Department [royal treasury] paid a certain amount of reward money according to the officials’ ranks. Even though it was called reward money, it was only enough to buy one or two Gyejak [Korean traditional hats]. However, the steps of the officials who left work on time with bags of Gyejak, salami, and Sundae (sausage) from the Western Regions were more cheerful than ever before.

* * *

Because of this, the ministers’ expressions crumpled at Hwang Hee’s explanation.

– He hasn’t released it even though the related work is almost finished, and he even held a banquet.

– When His Majesty makes us work, he only pushes us to the point of death.

Combining these two things, the result was obvious.

-The task in those boxes has a workload so intense that it would be easier to die.

“Should I just submit my resignation?”

Kim Jong-seo shook his head at Hwangbo-in’s muttering.

“If it’s His Majesty’s personality, he’ll accept it and transfer you to the Archives.”

“Damn it….”

The situation was the same for Hyang.

“…There’s a rumor going around, what do you think, Your Highness?”

Hyang replied firmly to Han Myeong-hoi’s question.

“Don’t think about it. Use that time to process even one more official document. Otherwise, I’ll make you work as a blacksmith in Area 51.”

“Yes!”

At Hyang’s warning, the Four Musketeers buried their heads in the piles of documents. Watching them, Hyang grumbled inwardly.

‘Suddenly a banquet and a bonus. No matter how I think about it, it’s unsettling. I have to run to Area 51 before Father throws a bomb!’

Hyang, along with Hwang Hee, was shuddering with an unknown sense of unease.

However, from Sejong’s point of view, this was an unfair misunderstanding.

‘I can’t just let this pass after achieving a great feat that will go down in history!’

Sejong was truly grateful, so he held the banquet and gave out the reward money.

* * *

Five days later, a message came from the official planted in the Jucha Office.

-The boxes have come out of Gangnyeong Hall!

Hwang Hee, who received the message, smacked his lips and looked back at the other ministers.

“Tsk! What’s coming has finally come.”

“Hoo~.”

“Haa~.”

“Where did I put my Cheongsimhwan [a traditional herbal medicine for calming the mind]?”

The ministers sighed or rummaged through their sleeves to take out medicine at Hwang Hee’s words.

Hyang had the same reaction.

“What’s coming has finally come. Hoo~.”

Hyang took a deep breath and ordered Han Myeong-hoi.

“Bring it as soon as it’s finished printing at the Jucha Office!”

“Yes!”

* * *

Three days later, Hyang and the ministers were able to receive the item in question.

What they received was a total of 12 thick books.

Everyone who received the books examined the titles first.

“Chobeop (礎法)?”

As everyone tilted their heads, Hyang was the first to understand, as expected.

“Chobeop (礎法) with the foundation stone (礎)… is it the constitution after all? But it’s written as Chobeop (礎法) instead of constitution, so it’s a bit unfamiliar.”

Hyang, who had chewed on the familiar yet unfamiliar name several times, soon came to a conclusion.

“Since the word ‘constitution’ was made in Japan anyway, Chobeop (礎法) might be better.”

This was half right.

The word ‘constitution’ first appeared in the historical record ‘Guk-eo’ written by Zuo Qiuming of the Zhou Dynasty. It was used by Mitsukuri Rinsho, a modern Japanese thinker, to express the concept of the French word ‘Constitution’. And over time, it became a word with a common concept throughout Northeast Asia. (Note 1)

* * *

That day, after work, Hwang Hee and the ministers sat around in the conference room.

“Well! We weren’t waiting for it, but now that we’ve received it, let’s start working.”

“Yes.”

“But do we need another legal code? We already have the Joseon Gyeongguk Jeon [a comprehensive code of law] and several other legal codes, don’t we?”

Hwangbo-in replied to Lee Sa-cheol’s point.

“The customs and norms of the people living in the newly expanded territories are all different, so it’s problematic to deal with them with the existing legal codes. And in most cases, we followed the Great Ming Code, but we can’t continue to do that in the future, can we?”

“Of course, of course.”

“Now that a new era is beginning, we need to prepare anew.”

Surprisingly, the ministers reacted positively to the idea of creating a new law.

“Then, let’s get started!”

At Hwang Hee’s words, the ministers nodded and turned the cover at the same time.

“Let’s skip the table of contents.”

Hwang Hee, who had turned over the paper with the table of contents, read the contents in a loud voice.

“Article 1. The Daehan Federal Empire is a federal empire….”

Article 1. The Daehan Federal Empire is a federal empire.

Article 1, Paragraph 1. The monarch of the Daehan Federal Empire is the Emperor.

Article 1, Paragraph 2. The Daehan in the national name Daehan means that the lineage of the Three Hans, which inherited the Joseon founded by Dangun, has been united into one.

Article 1, Paragraph 3. Han (ᄒᆞᆫ) means ‘center’. In other words, Daehan means the center of the world. The records regarding this are… (omitted)

Article 1, Paragraph 4. Han (ᄒᆞᆫ) also means ‘big, wide, high, many, multitude’. This means that anyone who protects the national policy and laws of Daehan in the territory of Daehan is a citizen of Daehan.

Article 1, Paragraph 5. The national policy of Daehan is what Hwanung said, ‘Benefit people widely.’

“So far, there doesn’t seem to be any major problem.”

The ministers all nodded at Hwang Hee’s assessment.

* * *

Anyway, becoming an empire was a natural step after proclaiming the imperial title. And the change of the national name was inevitable the moment it became an empire. It was true that the current national name, Joseon, was taken from the name of the old Joseon, but the selection process was the problem.

It was because it was the name chosen and bestowed by the Ming Emperor. Therefore, continuing to use it as it was was a matter of pride as well as a diplomatic issue.

Therefore, there was no problem in setting the national name as ‘Daehan’. No, even now, many people were more familiar with the word ‘Samhan’ than ‘Goryeo’ or ‘Joseon’.

The meritorious subjects of Goryeo’s unification were called ‘Samhan Meritorious Subjects’, and even in later periods, the conferment of Samhan Byeoksang Meritorious Subjects and Samhan Hubaeksang Meritorious Subjects continued in this context. (Note 2) Thanks to this, ‘Samhan Jeilgeom’ is still used as a modifier meaning the best in a certain field, such as ‘Samhan Jeilgeom’.

What’s interesting is that the confusion between ‘Han’ and ‘ᄒᆞᆫ’ was severe. The upper class called it ‘ᄒᆞᆫ’, and the lower class called it ‘Han’.

* * *

Following Hwang Hee’s words, Kim Jeom opened his mouth.

“I also think it was good to explain the meaning of Han (ᄒᆞᆫ). The saying that it is the center of the world means that all the civilization of the world comes into Joseon and goes out of Joseon, so I think you have accurately revealed the path that Joseon is taking now and the path that Joseon will take in the future.”

Lee Sa-cheol took over Kim Jeom’s words.

“I think that part needs additional explanation. We, who are familiar with His Majesty, can understand it right away, but as time passes, there will definitely be people who interpret it differently. That may bring good things, but it may bring bad things.”

“I agree.”

“I agree.”

The other ministers agreed with Lee Sa-cheol’s point, and Hwang Hee made a decision.

“Good. Then let’s report that this part needs additional explanation.”

“Yes.”

That’s how Hwang Hee and the ministers wrestled with the legal code until dawn.

* * *

Note 1) https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%97%8C%EB%B2%95

Note 2) http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0060942

Reference) ᄒᆞᆫ -> Arae-a Han