Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 605

605. The Opening of Heaven – The Debate on Foundational Law (8)

Not long after the Four Musketeers gleefully disappeared with the signed legal code, Du and Seul came to find Hyang.

“What is it?”

Hyang asked, noticing the legal code in their hands, and sighed. “Hoo~. Bring it here.”

“Yes, Father!”

As soon as Hyang gave his permission, Du and Seul eagerly opened the cover of the legal code and presented it to him.

Hyang, having moistened the golden brush with ink, was about to sign when Du and Seul quickly added a condition.

“Ah! Father! Not there, a little lower… Yes, right there.”

After signing at the spot indicated by Du and Seul, Hyang asked his two sons,

“Why there?”

“Grandfather needs to sign it too. Now that we’re getting married and starting our own families, shouldn’t we have a family heirloom of our own?”

“Haa….”

Hyang sighed briefly and then ordered Du and Seul,

“Tell your siblings who need it to come immediately. But only for today.”

“Yes, Father!”

Watching them disappear excitedly, Hyang muttered to himself,

“Whose children are they, really….”

Soon after, Hyang’s children, each holding a legal code, flocked to him.

* * *

The story of the Four Musketeers and Hyang’s children soon reached the ears of the ministers. Hearing the story, Hwang Hee looked at Kim Jeom and said,

“Indeed, young people these days seem to be quick on their feet.”

Kim Jeom nodded at Hwang Hee’s words.

Though unsaid, Hwang Hee and the other elder statesmen had been thinking the same thing. However, they couldn’t easily bring themselves to act on it.

“We have our reputations to consider….”

“I wonder if this might later lead to gossip….”

While the older officials hesitated, the young ones had boldly taken action.

“If only I were ten years younger, I might have done the same,” Hwang Hee said.

“Is that so? Shall I prescribe some tonic for you?”

“You should take some tonic first.”

As the conversation mixed with jokes and sincerity continued, a court attendant came to the conference room.

The court attendant, after bowing respectfully, spoke immediately. “His Majesty has ordered me to convey this: ‘Only for today.’”

Thump!

No sooner had the court attendant finished speaking than the ministers and vice-ministers sitting in the conference room jumped up from their seats and rushed out.

The ministers and vice-ministers who had bolted from the conference room sprinted towards their offices.

However, there were four exceptions. The four exceptions were Hwang Hee, Kim Jeom, Kim Jong-seo, and Hwangbo In.

The Four Musketeers, led by Hwang Hee, were running towards Geunjeongjeon Hall.

After sprinting to Geunjeongjeon Hall, the four men told the court attendant to announce their arrival. While catching their breath as they waited for the court attendant to return, Kim Jeom asked Hwang Hee,

“Huff, huff! Minister! Since when have you been huff, huff! preparing for this?”

“I’ve been preparing since the limited edition story came out. It seems I won’t be able to serve again until at least my great-grandchildren’s generation, and since I don’t have much wealth, I should at least pass on a family heirloom.”

“Ah….”

Kim Jeom, Kim Jong-seo, and Hwangbo In nodded at Hwang Hee’s answer.

* * *

Hwang Hee’s sons, Hwang Chi-shin and Hwangbo-shin, were found to have embezzled compensation money paid to landowners who had suffered damage from contaminated water flowing from the mines. All their assets were confiscated, and they were sentenced to ten years of hard labor.

Hwang Hee, implicated in the corruption committed by his sons and the assault committed by his son-in-law, had to make a choice.

-Confiscate half of all assets and work in the records office until death. However, the remaining half of the assets can be inherited by the children.

-Confiscate all assets and work in the court until death. However, the salary will be paid as stipulated by law, and the honor of a powerful minister will be retained.

Hwang Hee had no choice but to choose the latter.

As a result of the incident, all of Hwang Hee’s sons were thoroughly investigated. And minor acts of corruption were revealed in all of the remaining sons as well. By the standards of the time, these were not particularly significant acts of corruption, but because the Hwang Chi-shin and Hwangbo-shin case was such a major incident, the remaining two sons were also pushed out of the path to success.

Therefore, Hwang Hee had said that he would not be able to properly serve until the time of his great-grandchildren.

* * *

Having finished his answer, Hwang Hee asked Kim Jeom in return,

“When did you prepare, Minister?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself earlier? That we are just slow.”

At Kim Jeom’s answer, Kim Jong-seo and Hwangbo In, who were behind them, simultaneously thought the same thing.

‘You’re quite fast on your feet, though?’

“But when did you guys prepare?”

At Kim Jeom’s question, Kim Jong-seo and Hwangbo In showed the books in their hands. What they held were collections of poems and writings of the sages and scriptures.

“What’s important is that we received His Majesty’s signature, not the book itself, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

At Kim Jong-seo and Hwangbo In’s answers, Kim Jeom and Hwang Hee turned away and whispered softly.

“Indeed… I don’t think we chose badly, do you?”

“That is so.”

Thud, thud, thud.

Before long, the sound of the footsteps of officials running through Geunjeongmun Gate shook the ground.

Meanwhile, Sejong, who had heard the story through a merchant ship, chuckled and ordered the merchant.

“Go and bring the Crown Prince here. We should do it thoroughly while we’re at it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And the Chief Royal Secretary and the Head Eunuch may also participate if they wish.”

“Your grace is boundless, but this humble servant does not possess a legal code….”

“Scriptures or collections of poems are fine. I believe what’s important is my signature, don’t you think?”

At Sejong’s words, the Chief Royal Secretary and the Head Eunuch bowed deeply with bright faces.

“Your grace is boundless!”

Thus, on that day, Sejong and Hyang had to sign for a total of 57 people.

* * *

As an aside, complaints erupted among the officials who did not receive a signature at this time. However, Sejong immediately dismissed them.

“Luck is called luck because it doesn’t happen twice. If luck continues, it is no longer luck but merely a daily occurrence. And shouldn’t we also consider those who spent a fortune at the auction?”

The officials who heard Sejong’s words had no choice but to concede. And, like the saying, ‘Getting slapped in Jongno and taking it out on the Han River,’ some narrow-minded individuals sneered at their colleagues who had achieved luck.

This was also the case with the Four Musketeers. Han Myeong-hoi, hearing the murmurs nearby, scoffed.

“Hmph! Foolish fellows! Haven’t they heard the stories of Minister Jeoljae or Minister Jibong? Do they still not realize what is important? With such a lack of thought… how do they expect to succeed….”

The unlucky officials who heard Han Myeong-hoi’s sneering had to grit their teeth and suppress their anger. They were angry, but there was no mistake in Han Myeong-hoi’s words.

* * *

Late March, Sejong 31 (1449, Gihae Year).

Postings were once again put up in government offices and monopoly bureaus throughout Joseon.

The contents written on the newly posted notices concerned the Opening of Heaven ceremony and the weddings of the Wan-du and Seul brothers.

“If it’s the Opening of Heaven, is it the declaration of an empire?”

“It must be.”

A farmer, hearing the conversations of the scholars who were looking at the postings, joined the conversation.

“Excuse me, but what does the declaration of an empire mean?”

One of the scholars answered the farmer’s question.

“It means that our Joseon will become an empire. It means that His Majesty the King will become His Majesty the Emperor.”

“If His Majesty the Emperor, does that mean he will become the Son of Heaven?”

“That’s right. It is truly the most joyous of occasions.”

The farmer, after thinking for a moment, spoke again. “If it’s such a great occasion, will the monopoly bureaus offer discounts?”

“Perhaps they will?”

The farmer, hearing the scholar’s answer, bowed deeply with a bright face.

“Thank you very much for the explanation!”

One of the scholars, watching the farmer disappear excitedly, frowned and grumbled.

“Such an ignorant fool who doesn’t even know what’s important! I’ll go and scold him right now!”

“Please, restrain yourself.”

Another scholar, who was next to the one who had burst out in complaint, stopped him as he looked as if he would cause trouble at any moment.

“Anyway, we achieved a great victory in the war with Ming, and the promulgation [official declaration] of the Foundational Law is over. Isn’t it obvious that everyone knows that the Opening of Heaven ceremony will follow, and the declaration of an empire will be carried out? The wedding issue is also obvious. Given the circumstances, isn’t it natural that the people’s attention is focused on the monopoly bureaus?”

“Tch!”

“Hahaha! A glass of wine and a game of baduk [a strategy board game] are the best way to calm a boiling heart. Let’s go to the entertainment district! I’ll buy you a drink!”

At those words, the scholar, who had been restless and unable to calm his anger until just now, was dragged away, feigning reluctance.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gyeongbokgung Palace was also bustling with activity to prepare for the rite to announce the Opening of Heaven.

“No matter how much we do, it doesn’t seem to decrease!”

“Where am I? Could it be the records office?”

Every day, groans flowed out of all the government offices located on Yukjo Street.

It was no wonder, as they had to handle not just one or two things at the same time.

-Work related to the newly acquired territories of Liaodong and the Liao River, and the Dongbeon (old name for Taiwan) region.

-Changes in the administrative organization for the transformation into an empire and selection of key managers.

– Inspection of the Shinji development plan to be delivered to Sejong, who will soon return to Shinji.

-Preparation of the heavenly ritual for the Opening of Heaven and the declaration of an empire.

-Preparation for the abdication that will follow immediately after the ceremony.

-Wedding preparations for the Crown Prince and his brothers.

In terms of difficulty, the latter three were nothing compared to the former three.

“Anyway, we were going to declare an empire, we were going to hold weddings, and we were going to abdicate.”

The ultimate goal of the reform was the declaration of an empire, so preparations had been steadily underway. Rather, thanks to the victory in the war with Ming, there were even fewer things to worry about.

The same was true for the weddings of the Crown Prince and his brothers.

Except for the fact that they were proceeding with only a few days’ difference, there was nothing difficult as they only had to follow the established laws and regulations from the past.

There was also no concern about the abdication issue.

It was not a political maneuver like in Taejong’s time, but an inevitable problem that arose with the overlapping of Shinji development. In particular, since Hyang had been continuously acting as regent, there was almost no problem with the handover.

However, the former three issues continued to cause all-night work.

It was not simply a matter of redrawing the border, but the treatment of the residents living in the area, especially the Han Chinese who had migrated from the Central Plains, was a problem. Dongbeon was not a big problem, but the scale of the Han Chinese who had migrated to the Liaoxi and Liaodong regions was considerable, and the number of those who did not welcome Joseon’s rule was not small either.

“It’s not right to just leave them alone, but it’s even more problematic to kill them all….”

In the end, Hyang, looking for the most appropriate solution, had no choice but to come to a conclusion.

“Let’s deport them. I think that’s the best option.”

All the ministers nodded at Hyang’s decision.

Thanks to this, all the Ming people who had entered Liaoxi and Liaodong had to pack their bags. And, of course, chaos arose in this process.

There was no particular problem with those who packed their bags silently or those who naturalized to become Joseon citizens.

Those who accepted the deportation order were safely moved to the border under the escort of the Joseon army.

Those who naturalized also worked hard to adapt, receiving Joseon’s census register and identification badges.

However, those who would neither naturalize nor leave caused trouble.

“No matter what anyone says, this is Ming territory! We are Ming citizens!”

“Let’s drive out the Joseon bastards!”

“Uwaaaa!”

As those who used force emerged, even bloodshed occurred.

However, because the difference in military power with the Joseon army was so great, their uprisings all failed, leaving behind many victims.