Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 988

988. The Madman with Clear Eyes (13)

In the end, this issue made its way up to Hyun.

“Seeing as it came up through the Prime Minister, it must be an urgent matter indeed, hmm….”

Hyun, after reviewing the report submitted jointly by the ministers of the Office of the Royal Secretariat, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of Education, rested his chin on his hand and drummed his fingers on the armrest of the jade throne, his words trailing off.

‘There’s something nagging at me, what is it? What was it again?’

Hyun felt a lingering unease, though he couldn’t quite place it, and he pondered over it repeatedly.

‘I can’t figure out what it is… should I just approve it?’

Just as Hyun was about to give up, unable to find an answer no matter how hard he thought, Hyang’s words suddenly flashed through his mind.

-An emperor must always think one more time at the last moment.

Hyun, reminded of Hyang’s advice, once again tried to find an answer.

‘What could it be? What could it be?’

After a long period of contemplation, Hyun turned his head to look at the officials inside the main hall. As he blankly stared at them, his eyes began to gleam.

‘That’s it!’

Having found the answer, Hyun organized his thoughts and then opened his mouth.

“I acknowledge the need to select individuals to handle record-keeping duties at the Bureau of Records. However, I believe there is a matter we must address first.”

At Hyun’s words, Han Myung-hoi bowed his head and replied.

“If you would enlighten us as to what Your Majesty is concerned about, we shall seek to find an answer.”

“It is the perception of the people.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t we have a similar issue with the mines? Even if we offer more money, people are reluctant to go down into the coal face [the working area at the end of a mine tunnel], are they not?”

“Ah!”

At Hyun’s remark, Han Myung-hoi and the officials simultaneously exclaimed in understanding.

* * *

In the days when the Navy was the Naval Force, the most avoided position among the sailors was that of the oarsman.

There was even a saying, ‘Noble in birth, base in labor (身良役賤),’ reflecting the poor perception of oarsmen. [This saying refers to the social stigma attached to certain jobs, regardless of a person’s social standing.]

Later, as oarsmen virtually disappeared from the Navy except for tugboats, the saying ‘Noble in birth, base in labor’ also vanished. However, there were still many jobs in society that were treated as ‘Noble in birth, base in labor.’

The most representative of these was the ‘coal face.’ The term ‘coal face’ referred to the deepest part of a coal mine, the very end of the tunnel. The problem was that this term was used in a very negative sense. And Hyang and Sejong were involved in its origin. Starting with the suppression of the Gi-yu Rebellion [a historical political purge], Sejong applied treason charges to the Sadaebu [scholar-officials] who challenged the royal authority, turning the Sadaebu and their families into government slaves and sending them to the mines.

And the place where these government slaves were most often sent was the coal face. They were pushed into the place with the highest casualty rate. As time passed and the number of Sadaebu who became government slaves due to treason or other serious crimes decreased, Sejong and Hyang began to send those who had committed serious crimes to the coal mines. However, there was a difference: unlike the Sadaebu who had to dig tunnels until they died as government slaves, these individuals only worked for a set period.

The problem, however, was that if you were a prisoner who had to go to the coal face, a life sentence was the basic punishment.

The prisoners working in the mines were not only those who had committed serious crimes. Among those who had been sentenced to fines but could not afford to pay, some also worked in the mines. In these cases, the period of work in the mines was determined by dividing the fine by the minimum wage announced annually by the Office of the Royal Secretariat. However, it was common to work at least two to three years longer than the period calculated in this way.

Safety gear such as helmets, pickaxes, and shovels were provided free of charge. However, work clothes, gloves, and overshoes had to be purchased at one’s own expense, and food expenses also had to be paid. On the other hand, those who chose it as a normal job received everything free of charge.

-We cannot use the taxes paid by good neighbors for those who have harmed those good neighbors!

This regulation was applied according to the decision made by Sejong and Hyang. Therefore, only the amount remaining after deducting the above expenses from the monthly salary offset the fine, resulting in working for an additional two to three years. Of course, not all prisoners working in the mines were serious criminals or those who came because of fines. Among petty criminals with low sentences, some volunteered for mine labor because they had difficulty making a living after their release.

The minimum wage was applied equally to them because they were convicts. However, they could keep everything else in their pockets, so they could save a considerable amount of money if they worked hard during their sentence. And there was also a trick. Those who received fines or petty criminals were given a danger allowance if they went down to the coal face.

Among those who finished their sentences in the mines, many settled down in the mines again. This was because those who chose it as a job, not as a punishment, received high wages above the average. In addition, the salaries received by those with some experience were at a considerably high level.

Even if they had worked as prisoners, this period was recognized as work experience when they applied for employment. However, there was a penalty. Only half of the experience accumulated by normal individuals was calculated. This was also something that Sejong and Hyang had intervened in.

-It is good to choose an honest life without breaking the law.

-However, we cannot give them the same treatment as those who have not committed such crimes in the first place.

-Recognizing only half of their experience is to make them reflect on the crimes they have committed. However, after this, they will be treated the same as those who have not committed crimes, so do not commit crimes in the future and do your best to lead an honest life!

However, as time passed and Hyang ascended to the throne, a problem arose.

The perception of ‘miner = criminal’ had spread among the public. In particular, although the coal face was where one could receive the highest wages, the perception of ‘coal face = government slave, serious criminal’ had spread, making it a shunned occupation. Therefore, Hyang had to create measures to address this.

First, he distinguished the colors of the work clothes worn by the miners. The work clothes worn by government slaves or criminals were dyed ocher, while normal miners were given work clothes dyed blue. In addition, those who had been miners for a long time and those who had played a major role in handling mine accidents were awarded commendations.

These commendations were not simple. Those who wore the commendation on their identification card or clothes received courteous treatment whenever they entered government offices and received discounts when purchasing goods at monopoly stores. Despite all these efforts, it took quite a long time for the perception of miners to improve again.

To be more precise, it was only after most of those who had become government slaves due to incidents like the Gi-yu Rebellion had died out that improvement became possible in earnest. Therefore, when Hyun mentioned ‘coal face,’ Han Myung-hoi and the officials all understood. The most famous nickname for the Bureau of Records was ‘coal face.’ To be more precise, it had settled on ‘coal face’ from ‘the coal face of those who misused what they learned.’

* * *

Han Myung-hoi hurriedly bowed his head and begged Hyun for forgiveness.

“Your subjects’ thoughts were short, causing Your Majesty to worry, so we have committed a great crime! Please forgive our sins!”

“Please forgive us!”

“I shall forgive you. Now! Then, what should we do?”

At Hyun’s question, Han Myung-hoi and the officials racked their brains to find a plausible solution. And after a while, Han Myung-hoi found an answer.

“Providing official uniforms is the best option.”

“Official uniforms? Are you talking about the ceremonial dress? The Bureau of Records is a part of the court, so it is only natural to provide ceremonial dress, is it not?”

At Hyun’s remark, Han Myung-hoi bowed his head again.

“I spoke too hastily. Let me explain in more detail. It is natural to provide ceremonial dress for rituals and other events. What I am talking about is everyday dress. To be precise, I am suggesting that we create regulations related to everyday dress.”

The official uniforms worn by the officials of the Empire were largely of two types. One was the ceremonial dress worn at various official events, and the other was the everyday dress worn for daily 업무 [work/duties]. The ceremonial dress had different emblems depending on whether it was for civil or military officials, and the colors of the robes and the types of belts worn around the waist differed depending on the rank.

The everyday dress did not have emblems and was ‘miscellaneous colors,’ so various colors could be used. However, as Hyang revamped the uniforms of the Imperial Army, military officials came to wear the Imperial Army’s dress uniform, and only civil officials and civilian officials belonging to the Ministry of National Defense came to wear everyday dress and ceremonial dress.

Han Myung-hoi explained the ‘special regulations’ he had in mind.

“The record-keepers currently working in the Bureau of Records are those who are atoning for their sins as ‘baek-ui jongsa (白衣從事, serving in white robes) [individuals performing duties while dressed in plain white clothes as a sign of their reduced status].’ Therefore, they cannot wear official uniforms. However, those who are assigned to record-keeping duties through selection are not criminals, so they can wear danryeong (團領, a type of official robe) [a round-collared official robe]. Therefore, we should have them attach a badge embroidered with the character ‘Gi (記, record)’ to the danryeong they wear as everyday dress.”

At Han Myung-hoi’s explanation, Hyun stroked his chin and imagined the scene.

“You can tell they are officials just by the danryeong, but attaching the ‘Gi’ badge will make it even clearer.”

As Hyun was showing a positive reaction, Im Soon-wook interjected.

“Your Majesty, there are already quite a few officials working in the Bureau of Records. And all of them are wearing danryeong. However, even those who wear danryeong are ashamed to be working in the Bureau of Records and are entering and leaving through the back door. If that is the case now, they will be even more ashamed if we attach the ‘Gi’ badge to it.”

“That’s also true. Prime Minister, do you have any ideas about this?”

After pondering for a moment at Hyun’s question, Han Myung-hoi came up with an answer.

“I do. Your Majesty can personally distribute the badges to the officials in charge of the Bureau of Records’ 업무 [work/duties].”

“I personally?”

“Yes, that is correct. You would be giving them honor.”

“Hmm….”

Hyun, after weighing the pros and cons for a moment at Han Myung-hoi’s words, chuckled and looked at Han Myung-hoi.

“Prime Minister, you have learned well from the Emperor Emeritus.”

“You flatter me.”

‘Small effort, big effect.’

This was one of the words that Hyang always had on his lips.

* * *

As the Empire patched up the major accidents caused by Hyang one by one, it was rolling along relatively smoothly. Artists from Europe, painters from the Bureau of Painting, stonemasons and carpenters from the Office of Construction, as well as scholars, gathered in Gyeongju and were constantly producing results.

And in Seoul, other painters, artisans, and scholars were putting their heads together and working hard on encyclopedias and other projects. In the meantime, Da Vinci came to see Hyang.

“What brings you here in the midst of your busy schedule?”

At Hyang’s question, Da Vinci bowed his head respectfully and stated his business.

“I would like to take a break from work for a while.”

“You want to take a break from work? Are you asking for a vacation?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. There is something I want to make.”

At Da Vinci’s words, Hyang’s eyes began to gleam.

‘Finally!’

“There is something you want to make… what is it?”

“It is a type of flying machine. Here is a sketch of it.”

“Let me see.”

Hyang’s eyes began to shine fiercely as he checked the sketch submitted by Da Vinci.

‘It’s a helicopter!’