Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 860

860. Their Ambitions (11)

The verbal battle between Im Soon-wook and Shin Suk-ju was so fierce that the scribes and recorders inwardly screamed.

Other officials watched their debate with troubled expressions, finding it difficult to take sides as both arguments seemed reasonable.

Meanwhile, Wan observed their debate from atop the dais with a seemingly serious expression, though his true feelings were far from it.

‘I need rice cakes! Lots of them!’

Wan had come to appreciate the subtleties of a debate—not the kind that devolved into petty squabbles, but one conducted by a select few with logic and justification.

‘So this is the entertainment the Emperor enjoys! Sometimes more amusing than the acrobats or the courtesans’ dances!’

Only now did Wan understand the meaning of Hyang’s words, and he watched the two men’s debate with fascination.

‘And what did she say? Right! Stop them before it gets too heated, like questioning each other’s parents or their civil service exam scores. Hmm… when would be a good time to step in?’

Looking for the right moment to intervene, Wan glanced towards the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

Hwangbo In and the Left Deputy Prime Minister were resting their foreheads on their hands, sighing softly, while the smile that had been on Kim Jong-seo’s face was slowly fading.

‘Now’s the time!’

“Both of you, cease your arguments.”

At Wan’s command, and seeing Kim Jong-seo’s darkening expression, Shin Suk-ju and Im Soon-wook immediately stopped speaking.

Looking at them, Wan continued, “It is good that you both debated, but you are straying from the main point. This is not productive. I know well that your arguments stem from loyalty to me and the Empire. What fault could there be in loyalty to me and the Empire? However, you are now forgetting your original intentions and only trying to one-up each other, and that is wrong.”

At Wan’s rebuke, Im Soon-wook and Shin Suk-ju prostrated themselves on the floor.

“Please forgive my disgraceful behavior!”

“I was so focused on the trees that I missed the forest! Please forgive my disgraceful behavior!”

“I do not intend to punish you, as your debate arose from loyalty. However, if you show such behavior again, I will surely hold you greatly accountable.”

“We will keep that in mind!”

Having stopped their debate, Wan turned to Hwangbo In.

“Prime Minister, I have a question for you.”

“Ask away, Your Majesty.”

“I reiterate, neither of their opinions is entirely right or wrong. I believe there are merits and flaws in both. I believe that reconciliation is needed. What are your thoughts?”

Hwangbo In bowed his head and replied, “I believe Your Majesty’s words are most reasonable. Both arguments stem from loyalty to Your Majesty and the country, and are exceedingly reasonable. Rather than choosing one and discarding the other, reconciling the two is truly the best course.”

“Then how should we reconcile them? Let us deliberate together.”

“We will deliberate and present our findings.”

“No, it is rare for us all to gather like this, so let us put our heads together now.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

Hwangbo In and the other officials listening from behind grimaced inwardly.

‘Asking for opinions in front of His Majesty? That’s a losing game!’

Offering an opinion in the Emperor’s presence was, at best, a break-even proposition.

Especially after exceptional opinions like those of Im Soon-wook and Shin Suk-ju, which had caught the Emperor’s eye, it was even more dangerous.

As written above, it was a break-even proposition at best, and if they were to draw the Emperor’s disapproval, their future would be bleak.

However, as the Emperor had commanded, they had no choice.

But there was one who saw this as an opportunity.

Han Myung-hoi, who had risen to the position of Minister of General Affairs, burned with ambition.

‘This is my chance! If I do well this time, one of the two positions above me will definitely be mine!’

Traditionally, the Left Deputy Prime Minister was held by the Minister of Finance, and Im Soon-wook, the current Minister of Finance, was known as ‘another money-grubber.’

Therefore, Han Myung-hoi was aiming for either the Right Deputy Prime Minister position held by Kim Jong-seo or the Prime Minister position held by Hwangbo In.

However, he was lacking in many ways to take on the role of Prime Minister, so Han Myung-hoi was aiming for the Right Deputy Prime Minister position.

‘Of course, I must eventually rise to the position of Prime Minister! To do that, now is crucial! Come on! Think! Think!’

Han Myung-hoi began to ponder, recalling the debate between Im Soon-wook and Shin Suk-ju.

* * *

While rearranging their seats, Wan and the officials took a short break.

Even as they went to the restroom or stretched their stiff bodies outside the main hall, the officials’ minds were racing.

‘The difference between the two opinions is….’

‘What can be discarded from this opinion… no, what must be discarded….’

‘Ah! Why can’t I think of anything! Should I take some… tonic! Ugh!’

‘This break is no break at all… I want to cry, really!’

When the break ended and all the officials returned to the main hall, Wan also returned and sat on the dais.

“Now, let us begin.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

They answered, but no one readily spoke. As the officials looked at each other, the first to speak was Han Myung-hoi.

‘Now is the chance!’

Han Myung-hoi rose from his seat, bowed to Wan, and began to speak.

“Your Majesty, there is something that was missed in their conversation earlier.”

“Missed? What is it?”

“Time, Your Majesty.”

“Time?”

“Yes. And I believe that time is the most important factor.”

“Explain in more detail.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Han Myung-hoi’s words could be summarized as follows:

-It is impossible for Florence to start a war right now. Therefore, our Empire will not be involved in war immediately.

-The reason is the training of the troops. Turning recruits who know nothing about guns and cannons into proper soldiers is not something that can be done in a day or two.

Especially if Florence were to wage war, they would have to stake their national fortune, which would require even more time.

-The Empire can use that time. Unless something unusual happens, the Empire’s economy will grow larger and stronger over time. By using that growing economy to make the Imperial Army larger and stronger, we can deal with any eventuality with greater ease.

“…That is all.”

“Interesting.”

Stroking his chin with an intrigued expression at Han Myung-hoi’s words, Wan asked, “Then, how much time does the Minister of General Affairs estimate?”

“I believe we should allow at least ten years.”

“Ten years… that sounds plausible. Minister of Finance.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“If it is ten years, to what extent would progress be possible?”

After calculating for a moment at Wan’s words, Im Soon-wook cautiously replied, “With the current budget allocated to the Ministry of National Defense, it would be insufficient.”

“The reason?”

“If we are to dispatch the Imperial Army to Italy in earnest, we will need more ships than we have now. Ships are inherently expensive, and if we consider the cost of training the soldiers to operate those ships, it will be insufficient. If we increase the budget for the Ministry of National Defense, the budget allocated to other ministries will decrease. If we increase the entire budget to solve this, we will have to collect more taxes. This will increase the people’s discontent.”

“Is it impossible to increase taxes moderately?”

“There are already petitions being submitted stating that taxes are excessive.”

Shin Suk-ju responded to Im Soon-wook’s answer, “Weren’t there always such petitions? Can’t we ignore them to some extent?”

“If the people’s discontent accumulates excessively, the country may be shaken.”

“So, moderately….”

“The problem is justification. Italy is a place far from the Empire, and war has not yet broken out. Are we to increase the army because war *might* break out in a place far from the Empire, and collect more taxes for this purpose? Do you think the people will accept that? And you haven’t forgotten the Empire’s guiding principle, have you?”

“……”

At Im Soon-wook’s last question, Shin Suk-ju fell silent.

The national principle that Sejong established at the founding of the Empire was ‘Hongik Ingan’ [Benefit all mankind]. The principle also included not using force indiscriminately.

Having silenced Shin Suk-ju, Im Soon-wook bowed to Wan and continued, “In order to succeed without unreasonably increasing taxes, ten years is a little, no, very insufficient.”

“Insufficient… I see. Then, what if we release the gold and silver we are currently accumulating?”

* * *

As the economy began to expand, gold and silver mines were developed throughout the Korean Peninsula. And, together with Ouchi, the Iwami silver mine was developed.

Most of the gold and silver secured in this way was steadily accumulating in the Imperial Government’s secret vault.

If an unexpected natural disaster or a large-scale epidemic broke out and paralyzed the people’s economic activities, the Imperial Government implemented various financial policies for the people.

In most cases, it was done with the reserve funds budgeted. However, if even greater finances were needed, gold and silver were taken out of this secret vault. The same was true when a war was waged that risked the fate of the country.

* * *

At Wan’s suggestion, Im Soon-wook shook his head.

“If we are not careful, too much money will be released into the market, making it impossible to manage prices.”

Kim Jong-seo, who had been silent, interjected, “Then what should we do? Don’t just say it can’t be done; speak up if you have an alternative. What His Majesty wants now is not to hear that it can’t be done!”

At Kim Jong-seo’s words, Im Soon-wook immediately replied, “We must extract as much as possible from Florence. If we can extract it, we must extract everything from the cost of training the troops to the price of selling weapons.”

Shin Suk-ju responded again to Im Soon-wook’s words, “Isn’t selling weapons a bit much? Among their requests was also to allow them to manufacture weapons themselves. Isn’t that because they don’t want to spend too much money on weapon sales? Minister of Finance, have you forgotten that they hold a very important hostage? The Suez Canal.”

“Then, how about promoting a plan to receive a certain amount of royalties for each weapon manufactured?”

Shin Suk-ju nodded at Im Soon-wook’s suggestion. As the two were finding some common ground, Jang Hang-sun stepped forward.

“I am opposed to handing over the Imperial Army’s weapon production technology to them. Right now, it’s just Florence, but over time, everyone in Europe will be armed with weapons of similar performance to our Imperial Army. That would be a real headache.”

As the Ministry of National Defense opposed, the discussion fell back into a maze. This was because each party’s interests were intertwined.

As everyone was racking their brains to solve the difficult problem, an official from the Seungjeongwon [Royal Secretariat] entered and reported to Wan.

“Items sent from Shinji have arrived in Wonsan. Among them is a list that came with a letter stating that Your Majesty wished to see it before anything else.”

“Bring it here.”

After confirming the letter sent by Hyang, Wan unfolded the list.

“Florentine Long Rifle?”