Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 622

622. Their Choice (2)

Jin-pyung answered confidently, but Hyang made sure to add a word of caution.

“It’s only been a little over a year since Bukji became our territory. The Jurchens in the areas incorporated into our empire during the early reforms aren’t a major concern, but these people have only recently become citizens of our empire.”

Jin-pyung immediately responded to Hyang’s advice.

“In the days of the Three Han and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, they lived as one with us. While there were disputes between those who succeeded the Northern Dynasty Balhae and the Jeonjo after its destruction, now that we are united again, they will adapt quickly. Besides, the empire’s mighty army stands strong.”

“Still, don’t forget to pay special attention. Especially given your personality, you’ll probably head out to the field as soon as preparations are complete, won’t you? You mustn’t forget that you’re a member of the imperial family. Do you understand what I mean?”

At Hyang’s words, Jin-pyung was moved and prostrated himself on the floor.

“Your Majesty’s concern for me is overwhelming!”

“This guy…”

Hyang’s inner thoughts as he looked at Jin-pyung were quite complicated.

‘Considering the history I know, he’s a guy who needs the utmost caution, but based on his actions so far, I feel like I’m looking at a clueless, late-stage otaku [a person with obsessive interests, commonly in anime and manga] younger brother…. It’s confusing!’

Hyang himself was a late-stage otaku, so he felt a strange sense of kinship.

Whether he knew Hyang’s thoughts or not, Jin-pyung made a suggestion.

“Your subject has a request to make to Your Majesty to operate the railroads more safely and smoothly in Bukji. Please, grant it willingly.”

“I will listen and then decide.”

“Please allow us to use the name ‘Dragon’s Road,’ which the Jurchens used to call the railroads in the past.”

“‘Dragon’s Road’?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

At Jin-pyung’s request, Hyang began to think deeply.

‘Let’s see…. I heard that there are still people who perform rituals next to the railroads whenever something happens. Now that we don’t have to worry about Ming’s [the Ming Dynasty of China] scrutiny, wouldn’t it be okay?’

After a long deliberation, Hyang made a decision.

“I permit it.”

“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless!”

“And is there anything else you need?”

“Besides time, a little more budget…”

“Hey, you!”

At Jin-pyung’s words, Hyang burst out.

“We haven’t even set the budget yet! What are you talking about adding more!”

At Hyang’s scolding, Jin-pyung laughed it off as if embarrassed.

“Ahahaha… it’s just a habit… and the Ministry of Finance is so stingy with the budget….”

“Save it for then! Get out!”

“Yes!”

“Wait!”

Hyang, who had stopped Jin-pyung as he was about to leave after answering and bowing, threw out another incentive.

“Keep in mind that you can only be entrusted with Shinji [new territories or lands] if you do well in Bukji.”

“I will engrave it in my heart!”

After sending Jin-pyung out, Hyang let out a long sigh.

“Hoo~.”

‘Judging by what that guy is doing, that pipe dream doesn’t seem like a pipe dream….’

Hyang still couldn’t forget the dream he had about the Gyeyu Railroad Rebellion.

* * *

Leaving Gyeongbok Palace [the main royal palace of Joseon], Jin-pyung excitedly headed to Area 51. Entering the ‘Railroad Construction Research Institute’ located inside Area 51, Jin-pyung sat down and immediately issued an order.

“Summon all the surveying team leaders!”

“Yes!”

“Summon all the railroad car research team leaders too!”

“Yes!”

Before long, those who had received Jin-pyung’s call gathered in Jin-pyung’s office.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes!”

Jin-pyung looked at each of their faces and began to speak.

“His Majesty has finally given his permission.”

“Oh!”

“Finally!”

At Jin-pyung’s words, those gathered in the office clenched their fists and rejoiced.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. As Jin-pyung began to take charge of railroad car and railroad-related work in earnest, similar railroad otaku gathered around him.

They were people who enjoyed making their favorite railroad cars and passenger cars, laying railroads, and watching the railroad cars run on those railroads.

Jin-pyung gave these people an order.

“I will send a letter of cooperation to the Ministry of National Defense, so the surveying team should collect and analyze as much information about Bukji as possible. We need to do it right from the start to reduce mistakes later on.”

“Yes!”

“Keep in mind that the surveying team must do it properly to prevent the merchants in charge of the construction from playing tricks later!”

“Yes!”

“Don’t worry!”

“We will punish those who do!”

* * *

The surveying team leaders, or rather, the railroad construction surveying team, were infamous.

When surveying in advance to lay railroads, they often had to go into all sorts of rough terrain. And, at this time, Joseon [Korean kingdom from 1392-1897] and its neighboring areas were in a situation where tigers and bears were the masters of the land, even if you went in a little deeper. Surveying in rough terrain where all sorts of wild animals roamed, their temperament became very rough. In addition, they had to survey and record properly in order for the railroad to be laid properly, so these meticulous people were the surveying team members.

Thanks to this, it was not uncommon for the surveying team members to immediately notice and overturn the work if the merchants who were building the railroad were about to play tricks, even a little bit.

Thanks to this track record, the court later deployed the railroad construction surveying team to large-scale civil engineering projects carried out by the country. Thanks to this, the merchants in charge of construction had to deal with the Ministry of Land Development officials in charge of supervision and the railroad construction surveying team, like a mother-in-law and a sister-in-law, at the same time.

* * *

“We don’t have to worry about the surveying team, how is the new railroad car research going?”

“The prototypes will be out soon!”

“As I always say, Bukji is unimaginably vast. Existing railroad cars cannot handle that vastness. We need more powerful, faster, and longer-range railroad cars!”

“Don’t worry! You will be satisfied!”

Jin-pyung nodded at the confident answers of the research team leaders and continued.

“His Majesty said that Shinji is only possible if good results are achieved in Bukji! Don’t forget this point!”

“Yes!”

“Then go out and get to work immediately!”

“Yes!”

With a vigorous answer, the team leaders left Jin-pyung’s office. Jin-pyung, who was left alone in the office, looked at the map hanging on one side and muttered.

“If Bukji succeeds, a map of Shinji will be added.”

Jin-pyung’s eyes looking at the map were burning brightly.

“I have no intention of ending up as just another large army! I will definitely leave my name in the history of this empire. As for the monarch, there are incomparable people like my father and brother, so I will not be greedy! Especially since I have my brother, if I become the monarch, I will only leave behind notoriety or infamy, so it will never happen! I will leave my name in history using railroad cars and railroads! I will leave behind a reputation, not notoriety or infamy!”

If Hyang had heard it, Jin-pyung was reaffirming his determination, saying, ‘It wasn’t a pipe dream!’

* * *

The next day, Hyang issued orders to Kim Jeom and the Minister of Finance.

“…Therefore, I want the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance to allocate a reasonable budget so that it can be executed from next year.”

“I will obey the order.”

Kim Jeom accepted it with a calm expression, but Park Jong-woo spoke with a slightly worried face.

“Since Bukji has become our empire’s territory anyway, it was a necessary task. However, the concern is the funds. If it is a railroad covering the entire Bukji, the funds required will be enormous, and the situation in Ming, as well as the Western Regions, is not good.”

Hyang, who had been contemplating Park Jong-woo’s concerns for a while, soon came up with an answer.

“Let’s put 30% of the shares in the Bukji railroad into the investment fund.”

“Are you talking about the railroad shares?”

“That’s right.”

At Hyang’s answer, Kim Jeom stepped forward to object.

“Considering the profits to be gained from the railroad, the response will be great, but is it really necessary? If we are not careful, they will demand shares in businesses monopolized by the country. And, those who have secured those shares will interfere in management using their shares. If we are not careful, we may be criticized for sucking the blood of the people and only enriching the wealthy.”

“The Deputy Prime Minister is right.”

Park Jong-woo joined in with Kim Jeom’s words. At their opposition, Hyang explained in more detail.

“As long as we have ‘Hongik Ingan’ [a philosophy emphasizing service to humanity] as our national policy, there will definitely be a demand to open up state-monopolized businesses to the private sector.”

At Hyang’s words, Kim Jeom and Park Jong-woo wore expressions of not knowing the reason. When Hyang, who saw their expressions, was about to explain further, Hwang Hee stepped forward.

“It is written in the national policy as ‘Benefit all people widely,’ but they will argue that the country is taking away the wealth that should go to the people through monopolistic enterprises. Therefore, they will argue to turn state-run businesses into private ones.”

“Ah!”

At Hwang Hee’s explanation, the officials all wore expressions of being enlightened. In response, Minister of Education Lee Sa-cheol raised his voice.

“That makes no sense! Most of the companies that the country operates as monopolies are products that make things that are essential to the people or supply materials. Therefore, the argument is not reasonable. For that reason, first, most state-owned enterprises are monopolies because of the characteristics of the companies I just mentioned. If such companies are handed over to the private sector and prices are not properly controlled, the people will suffer greatly. This is a violation of the national policy. Secondly, even if the shares of state-owned enterprises are released to the private sector, most of the shares will be held by a very small number of people with great wealth, and most of the profits will be taken by them. This is also a violation of the national policy!”

At Lee Sa-cheol’s protest, Hwang Hee answered calmly.

“The fact that the imperial family and the country’s monopolistic enterprises are earning a lot of wealth is already known to many people in this empire. Therefore, if they say, ‘Where did all that profit go, and to whom? Let’s hand over the country’s monopolistic enterprises to the private sector and share the profits with the people,’ there will be more than a few who will be swayed.”

“Wouldn’t it be okay to publish a table of profits and losses every year?”

“Wouldn’t the first thing that catches the people’s eyes be that huge profit? Rather, I think there will be even more people who will try to deceive the public by using this?”

“That….”

Looking at Lee Sa-cheol’s face, who looked like he was dying of injustice, and Hwang Hee’s calm face, Hyang muttered inwardly.

‘Both the right and the left used this part to seize power.’

In the world history before Hyang’s intervention, there were quite a few who seized power with the motto of ‘creating new revenue tools and efficient economic operation through privatization,’ and conversely, there were quite a few who seized power with the motto of ‘nationalizing all industries and sharing all profits.’

As a result, both sides had the commonality of not having a good ending.

Hyang, who was listening to Lee Sa-cheol and Hwang Hee’s conversation, slipped into the conversation.

“Would it be okay if I explained a little more?”

At Hyang’s words, the officials all answered in unison.

“We will listen carefully!”

Hyang immediately began to explain.

“That’s why I set it at 30%. Since the country and the imperial family hold the remaining 70%, those with 30% will not be able to interfere in management. Ah! It would be good to add a special clause! ‘They can receive dividends of profits, but cannot exercise management rights.’ A clause like this. And, I am thinking of putting restrictions on purchasing these 30% shares. No matter how much money you have, you cannot purchase more than 5%. Also, the purchase qualification is limited to men and women who have reached adulthood, and purchases can only be made at the investment fund in their place of residence. If you are a person who has moved from another region, you can only purchase if you have lived there for more than 5 years. First of all, this is what I can think of, what do you think?”

After listening to Hyang’s explanation, the ministers began to consider the number of cases here and there.

After a while, Hwang Hee stepped forward as the representative and answered.

“I think it is good to proceed according to the plan Your Majesty has put forward.”

“There are quite a few loopholes?”

“Isn’t it our job to handle that part?”

At Hwang Hee’s answer, Hyang smiled and nodded….

“Then, let’s proceed. I will trust only you.”

“We will do our best!”

The historian who recorded all of this added.

-So, the officials accepted the plan put forward by the Emperor.

The historian says.

It is like an instinct for people to pursue wealth, so if they do not violate the law, there is nothing to blame. However, it would be a problem if wealth is concentrated on a small number of people, so I think it is truly right that the Emperor has stopped this.

By the way, how much balance do I have in the war zone?

Hyang’s voice was heard in the ears of the historian who was recording like that.

“Hmm… I think I need to bring in a typewriter as soon as possible.”