Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 604

604. Opening the Heavens – The Debate on Foundational Law (7)

The story about the limited edition even reached Sejong.

“Hmm.”

Sejong’s reaction to the story was similar to Kim Jeom’s.

“There are truly many wealthy people in this small land.”

At Sejong’s words, Hwang Hee bowed his head and responded,

“Doesn’t this mean that Your Majesty’s efforts have not been in vain?”

At Hwang Hee’s words, all the ministers and officials chimed in unison.

“The Prime Minister’s words are absolutely correct!”

Hearing the words of the ministers and officials, Sejong gave a bashful smile and said,

“Haha. The Crown Prince, as well as all of you, are so generous with your praise, it’s truly difficult to respond.”

“It is not excessive praise!”

The ministers and officials were sincere.

Since the founding of the nation—no, since the ancient Goguryeo of the Three Han and Balhae of the Northern and Southern Dynasties—there had never been such a vast territory. It wasn’t just the territory. Spreading its name not only to Ming and Wa [Japan during the Joseon Dynasty] but also to the distant Western Regions far surpassed even the Goryeo Dynasty, which was renowned for its trade.

Hwang Hee earnestly addressed Sejong.

“Your subjects are sincerely looking forward to the day when we can use the term ‘Your Imperial Majesty’ instead of ‘Your Majesty.'”

At Hwang Hee’s words, the ministers and officials nodded simultaneously.

* * *

Considering the current situation, there was no problem with calling him ‘Your Imperial Majesty.’ However, because they had not formally proclaimed the title of Emperor, they continued to use the term ‘Your Majesty.’ They were cautious, fearing that using it beforehand might bring bad luck. Therefore, they continued to use the national name ‘Joseon,’ and if they didn’t want to use it, they simply referred to it vaguely as ‘the country.’

These were the same Confucian officials who were, in principle, atheists and suppressed shamanic beliefs as believing in strange forces and chaos.

However, with the transformation from a small kingdom to an empire on the horizon, they were being as careful and cautious as possible.

This was the same for the common people.

They were trying their best to be careful and sparing with their words, fearing any bad luck.

* * *

“Now that I think about it, have you set a date for the ceremony?”

When Sejong asked about the date for the Heaven-Opening ceremony, Hwang Hee immediately replied.

“Yes. We have set it for the Clear and Bright Festival (Cheongmyeong) [a traditional Korean holiday]. This year’s Cheongmyeong is especially on April 5th, so we avoided the number 4 and deemed it optimal.”

“Not too early, not too late, it’s good. Let’s prepare with all our sincerity.”

“We shall obey your command!”

And the historian who recorded all of this added the following words.

-… Thus, His Majesty ordered the best to be prepared for the ceremony, and the Prime Minister and other ministers all responded in agreement.

The historian says:

The day to formally proclaim the title of Emperor is finally not far off. Since it has always been customary for misfortune to accompany good fortune, one must be especially careful with their words and actions.

By the way, Hangeul [Korean alphabet] is truly useful. It was difficult to even write ‘Your Majesty (殿下),’ so I wrote ‘Your Highness (上),’ but ‘Your Imperial Majesty (陛下)’ is even more difficult. However, it is easy to write in Hangeul, so it is truly good.

I wonder when the matter of the discount at the monopoly store will be decided? There are quite a few things to buy.

* * *

Having issued that order, Sejong changed the subject.

“We digressed for a moment, but are there so many people trying to obtain the limited edition legal code?”

“It has exceeded 20 times the number available.”

“Hmm. Are there so many people interested in the law?”

At Sejong’s question, the ministers and officials all stopped speaking and stared silently at Sejong.

“Why are you doing that?”

At Sejong’s question, Hyang stepped forward as a representative.

“Are they truly seeking the limited edition to learn the law?”

At Hyang’s question, Sejong smiled slightly and replied.

“Is my and your autograph that valuable?”

At Sejong’s question, Hyang nodded silently. And the ministers all had the same thought.

‘This seems intentional no matter how I think about it. He’s subtly showing off, isn’t he?’

Forcibly stopping such thoughts from spilling out, Kim Jeom added,

“Among those who have come forward to purchase the limited edition, a significant number have stated that they will purchase all three types.”

“Huh? All three types? Why?”

At Sejong’s question, Hyang stepped forward to answer.

“Because the value of the three types is all different.”

At Kim Jeom’s words, Hyang shouted inwardly.

‘The instincts of collectors transcend time and space!’

Sejong’s autograph, Hyang’s autograph, and the joint autograph of the wealthy all had their own value. Considering the collectible value, it was best to acquire all three types, not just one.

“Hmm….”

After thinking for a moment, Sejong pointed out the problem.

“I will not take issue with the fact that people are flocking to it because of my autograph, not the content of the legal code. If I were going to take issue with that, I wouldn’t have even considered releasing a limited edition in the first place. However, the fact that more people have come forward than expected is a problem. It is certain that there will be those who express dissatisfaction, so we need a solution for this.”

At Sejong’s point, the ministers and officials all nodded.

‘It can’t be helped. Online reservations are a pipe dream in this era. So, what would be good….’

While Hyang was looking for a suitable method, Minister of Finance Park Jong-woo opened his mouth.

“How about holding an auction, like when we sold the Tripitaka Koreana [a Korean collection of Buddhist scriptures] to Wa (Japan) in the past?”

“An auction?”

“An auction….”

“That sounds good….”

When the method of ‘auction’ came up, the ministers nodded. However, Sejong shook his head.

“An auction is good, but if we’re not careful, excessive competition may arise. Suppose there is someone who throws all of their wealth into purchasing the legal code. Since they threw all of their wealth, it is certain that they will resell it with interest in order to recover their wealth, right? Then the legal code will be treated like a commodity circulating in the market.”

At Sejong’s point, the ministers and Hyang nodded. Hyang especially strongly agreed.

‘There’s no way there won’t be resellers.’

As various plans were being discussed, Hyang offered an opinion.

“How about we do this?”

“Speak!”

* * *

Five days later, notices were posted in government offices and monopoly stores throughout Joseon.

-We announce the rules regarding the purchase of the Foundational Law Limited Edition.

A. The sale of the Foundational Law Limited Edition will be conducted through an auction.

B. Those who wish to participate in the auction must meet the following qualifications:

-Those who possess assets of 1000 gold coins or more.

-Those who can submit a record of their account balance from the Jeonjang (banking institution) [a historical banking institution in Joseon] and a record of tax payments from the National Tax Service to prove this.

C. If the amount offered by the person who obtains the limited edition exceeds 1/5 of their assets, the sale is not allowed.

D. Those who have obtained the limited edition at auction are not allowed to participate in future auctions.

E. Those who have obtained the legal code through auction are not allowed to transfer or sell it to others for 20 years. However, inheritance due to death is an exception.

F. If the limited edition legal code is transferred or sold to another person after 20 years, the person receiving the legal code must meet the criteria recorded in item B. However, these criteria will be adjusted based on the market prices at that time.

The people who read the notices posted in the government offices and monopoly stores nodded.

“So, this means that those who were thinking of making a fortune with the limited edition should back off.”

“That’s right.”

“This means that only the real rich should try.”

“But can you explain the contents written in clause F in detail?”

“So. It means that if everyone has about a thousand gold coins after many years, they will raise the standard even higher. Well, in my case, it won’t apply even after 20 years….”

“Is it just you….”

While the people were nodding, the wealthy were steeling their resolve.

“If we can get our hands on the limited edition this time, we can widely publicize how great our family is!”

“Let’s show the nouveau riche who the real rich are!”

Conversely, there were those who regretted it bitterly. These were the ones who had been reducing their taxes through clever tricks and holding onto their wealth in physical form rather than in Jeonjang.

“Damn it! It was a golden opportunity to get my hands on a real priceless treasure!”

“If I correct it properly even now….”

“Then all my assets will be confiscated for the crime of deceiving the monarch!”

* * *

What Hyang proposed was a kind of ‘VVIP service.’

This was a story that Hyang’s acquaintance had told him in the 21st century.

The acquaintance, who was the child of an ordinary family, earned a high income as the startup he had challenged succeeded. As his income increased, his spending naturally increased.

One day, that acquaintance told Hyang this story.

“Hey! I never thought the day would come when I would receive an invitation to a car test drive from a credit card company! And not a domestic car, but a real imported car brand worth hundreds of millions! In addition, it was added, ‘If there is a specific model you would like to test drive among the vehicles of that brand, we will prepare it for you!’ I wasn’t even a platinum or black card, but a regular card! I can’t imagine what VVIP or VIP service would be like!”

From that memory, Hyang found the solution.

After finishing the explanation, Hyang added these words.

“Those who have a lot want to show off that they are different from those who do not have. However, if you boast recklessly, the world’s sentiment is that you will receive more criticism or ridicule than praise.”

At Hyang’s words, Sejong and the ministers nodded. At the reaction of Sejong and the ministers, Hyang put strength into his voice.

“However, if they pass these set criteria and gain qualifications, the people around them will know even if they don’t raise their voices, so it will be the best method for them. Perhaps, regardless of whether they obtain the legal code or not, they will gather even to obtain the qualifications to participate.”

Sejong, who was nodding at Hyang’s words, pointed out the problem.

“If that happens, won’t it deviate from the original purpose of appropriately adjusting the competition rate and avoiding excessive competition?”

At Sejong’s point, Hyang answered clearly.

“That’s why I added an additional clause. If they offer an amount exceeding 20% of their assets, we will not hand it over at all. And, there is another good point. Isn’t it a good thing that the National Tax Service can look into it once again in the process of verifying the qualification criteria?”

“Aha!”

At Hyang’s words, Kim Jeom and Park Jong-woo clapped their knees.

That’s how the above notice was posted.

* * *

One day in March, when the spring spirit was in full bloom.

The auction was finally held.

The auction hall was set up in a comprehensive entertainment venue next to Jongno in Hanseong [old name for Seoul], and the wealthiest people from all over the country gathered there.

And, to see the wealthy people who gathered in that place, the residents of Hanseong gathered.

“Wow! Even their attire is different!”

“Hey! Look at the jeongja (頂子, crown decoration) [a type of Korean traditional headwear] of that hat!”

“And what about the hat strings!”

People exclaimed as they looked at the clothes and accessories of the wealthy who were entering to attend the auction. Not only that, but artisans who made accessories, or those who were somewhat fashionable, stared intently at the attire and accessories of such wealthy people and captured them in their eyes.

“The rich wear things like that….”

“Hoo.. that kind of pattern….”

* * *

While the auction was in full swing, the Four Musketeers approached Hyang, who was working in Seungwhadang [Hyang’s workplace].

“What’s going on?”

At Hyang’s question, Han Myeong-hoe stepped forward as the representative of the Four Musketeers.

“We have something to ask of you, Your Highness.”

“Ask? What ask? Speak.”

At Hyang’s words, the Four Musketeers brought the Foundational Law legal codes they had left behind and held them out.

“We, a signature, please….”

Hyang, who heard the request of the Four Musketeers, was momentarily stunned before glaring at Han Myeong-hoe.

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

“….”

“Hand it over.”

“We are deeply grateful!”