There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 166

< Prince of the Sea (1) >

“The Censorate is making accusations without any basis!”

“The officers of the Office of the Inspector General are abusing their positions to slander senior officials without evidence. They must be severely punished!”

While the practice of rumor-based impeachment and disregarding the source of information was well-known, it would only become more established in later generations.

In this era, there was certainly a recognition that the press of the Censorate should be guaranteed, but in reality, no one wanted to have their pockets picked by them.

Thus, the Woo Hyun-bo cartel could simultaneously open fire on the Censorate.

“The merchant imprisoned in Sungeumsa [a Joseon-era prison] has confessed that he acted alone and that the Scholar of the Office of Royal Decrees was not involved. How can you speak of punishment based only on rumors!”

“It hasn’t been long since the officers of the Office of the Inspector General were exiled for infighting, yet they are acting rashly again. Punish them severely!”

In this situation, it was the Censorate that was counterattacked.

===

“Then, shouldn’t we just find the evidence in reverse?”

Hwang Hee answered my question with a sullen expression.

“However, Baek-gu is the problem. He won’t open his mouth at all.”

Baek-gu, the wealthy merchant who conspired with Kim Han-ro to smuggle goods on the envoy’s journey, was imprisoned in Sungeumsa.

“Even when we try to dig up his backers, he insists that he tricked Kim Han-ro and followed him without permission, putting the Censorate and Sungeumsa in a very difficult position.”

“Why is he making such claims?”

“He must be afraid of what will happen afterward. Also, he probably believes that if he keeps his mouth shut, Kim Han-ro will save him.”

I’m sorry, but that’s just Baek-gu’s wishful thinking.

Kim Han-ro, who barely managed to cut off his tail, would never use his power for a mere merchant.

I looked at Lee Sook-beon and asked.

“Can you arrange for me to meet Baek-gu?”

“Ahem, since Your Highness is making a special request, I will use my influence.”

I frowned at Lee Sook-beon, who spoke with a pompous air.

‘This is really annoying.’

I don’t know how much boasting I’ll have to endure from Lee Sook-beon because of this, but I was able to meet Baek-gu.

“Are you Baek-gu?”

It’s not even a dog’s name.

This guy, who was committing corruption and colluding with politicians instead of having a white heart, repeated the same confession he had been making when he saw me.

“It was all my doing, Your Excellency. The Scholar did not know anything.”

“Your Excellency? The person in front of you is His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of this nation!”

‘Nice assist, Noh-boon.’

Thanks to Noh-boon’s timely intervention, Baek-gu’s face turned blue.

He’s the type of guy who keeps his mouth shut, relying only on Kim Han-ro’s backing and power, so he can’t help but be intimidated when an even greater figure appears.

Indeed, Baek-gu mumbled with his mouth wide open.

“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince…? The one who drags people he doesn’t like and throws them into gulags [prison labor camps]…?”

‘Why is this kind of rumor spreading?’

I don’t know who’s spreading the slander, but the people who went into the gulags had good reason to be there.

I’ve never put anyone in a concentration camp just because I didn’t like them.

But I decided to take full advantage of this image of mine.

“Yes. You know me well. If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll make sure you never see the sunlight again, just like the guys I sent to the gulag. You received Kim Han-ro’s cooperation, didn’t you?”

“U-uh…”

“For your information, those who ignored my warning and were punished by being stuck in a mine for generations are now sitting in four columns and running two laps around the training ground by the numbers.”

Baek-gu hurriedly made excuses at my threat.

“I, I didn’t have any evil intentions and try to deceive Your Highness! I was just afraid of their retaliation…”

But I shook my head and said.

“You’re afraid of those guys, but not me?”

If I wanted to, I could send him to Japan to smell sulfur and mine all day.

“Scholar Kim ordered me to do it!”

Baek-gu answered immediately.

“Then confess to Sungeumsa as it is. Tell them that Kim Han-ro is also involved in this corruption.”

“Then will Your Highness protect me until the end?”

Baek-gu asked, subtly gauging my reaction to my words.

Then I shook my head and answered firmly.

“No.”

As long as Baek-gu remains in Joseon, I would have to keep worrying about him and prevent retaliation from the Woo Hyun-bo cartel, and I wouldn’t do such a troublesome thing.

“But I can send you outside of Joseon instead.”

I was short of merchants to participate in Hansang [Korean merchants] anyway.

“You’re a nephew of Baek Dal-won’s family, right?”

“Y-yes, I am.”

I asked because he was from the same Baek clan and a merchant, and I wasn’t wrong.

So, the nephew of the family who was caught before was Baek-gu.

‘If he’s from Baek Dal-won’s family, then he’s not a complete stranger to me.’

He seemed to have some business acumen, so it was perfect.

“If you promise to board a ship, I’ll make your punishment as light as possible.”

Since there was indeed corruption in the selection of the envoy, I couldn’t eliminate the punishment.

However, I could use my influence to end it with a moderate contribution of property.

Lee Bang-won wouldn’t want to make a big deal out of it either.

‘It’s a hundred times better than being beaten to death with a club or having your entire family fall into slavery.’

In that sense, I was making a very generous offer.

“This is a hand I’m extending to your family elder. If you don’t take it, there won’t be a second chance.”

Baek-gu barely nodded.

===

“Sungeumsa finally got a confession.”

Lee Bang-won said, looking at Kim Han-ro.

Kim Han-ro wore a very wronged expression, but he couldn’t bring himself to protest and prostrated himself.

“I am sorry that I have caused Your Majesty so much concern.”

“It’s nothing to that extent. Take a break and clear your head for a while.”

Chicken-dung-like tears dripped from Kim Han-ro’s eyes at Lee Bang-won’s warm tone.

As soon as Baek-gu’s decisive testimony came out, the old meritorious subjects, including Lee Hwa, rose up like a swarm of bees and attacked Kim Han-ro.

“The Grand Censor has accused a senior official for the sake of the country, which is the uprightness of a loyal subject!”

“On the other hand, those who attack the Grand Censor are only thinking of slandering loyal subjects and taking care of the interests of their fellow students!”

“Expel the traitors, Your Majesty!”

As the situation turned out like this, even Lee Bang-won couldn’t protect Kim Han-ro to the end.

The fact that he ended up with dismissal rather than deprivation of office or exile was the only mercy Lee Bang-won could offer.

Kim Han-ro had to swallow his tears and return home.

‘Did the Crown Prince use the meritorious subjects to save Maeng Sa-seong?’

Lee Bang-won twisted his lips.

‘Could it be that my son…’

There was nothing he couldn’t do if it was to protect his people, but the method was to go against his father and join hands with those obstacles.

The expectation was not far off, but the disappointment was great.

So Lee Bang-won couldn’t help but wear a sullen expression even when he was in front of his beloved son.

“Kim Han-ro died and Maeng Sa-seong lived as you wished. Are you satisfied now?”

“Isn’t this what Father allowed?”

He now spoke as if he was wronged.

Whether the words ‘try it if you can’ were permission was another matter, but Lee Bang-won didn’t like the means.

“Kim Han-ro’s corruption is a small concern, but the meritorious subjects are a big concern. Haven’t I explained this enough? And yet you brought in the meritorious subjects?”

Kim Han-ro was a useful card.

He was moderately greedy and moderately predictable, making him easy to handle.

So Lee Bang-won only dismissed Kim Han-ro. It was to bring him back up after public opinion subsided.

“It was not I who brought them in. Sungeumsa got a confession, so they just stepped forward on their own.”

Lee Bang-won frowned at his son’s words.

Either way, wasn’t that what he was expecting when he started the work?

Then Lee Je took out a piece of paper from his bosom.

“What is this?”

“This is the Grand Censor’s memorial that will be submitted through the Jisinsa [royal secretariat] this time.”

Lee Bang-won received it and unfolded it.

– Although the method of rewarding merit with land is beautiful, the meritorious subjects have taken so much of the country’s limited land that there is already a shortage of land for the people to cultivate… .

As expected, the memorial called for limiting the land ownership of the meritorious subjects.

“You know that after the inheritance of meritorious subject land was restricted by Grand Prince Igan’s memorial, the meritorious subjects have been competitively buying land, right?”

Lee Bang-won nodded.

They were trying to buy other land and pass it on through the wealth they had accumulated while they were in possession of the meritorious subject land.

Of course, this was not a positive phenomenon from the perspective of national security and the fostering of self-sufficient farmers.

“The meritorious subjects greatly praised the Grand Censor as a loyal subject of all time while dismissing Kim Han-ro. But now, can they turn their backs on this and criticize the Grand Censor?”

Lee Bang-won recalled the sight of the meritorious subjects, who had been talking about Maeng Sa-seong as a true loyal subject until recently, becoming mute.

“Did you order the Grand Censor to do this?”

“The Grand Censor is a strong-willed person, so how can I force my views on him?

I just advised the Grand Censor, who had the same thoughts, that now is the appropriate time.”

Lee Bang-won slightly raised the corners of his mouth at his eldest son’s words.

As expected, his son had not turned his back on him.

Rather, he was clearing away his worries.

“But if you just limit land ownership, there will be a lot of talk?”

He couldn’t openly oppose it because he couldn’t say two different things with one mouth, but Lee Bang-won couldn’t help but consider the growing dissatisfaction of the meritorious subjects.

These were also his subjects who were supporting the current regime.

“So I prepared this.”

Lee Je took out another stack of documents.

Lee Bang-won read the letters written at the top.

“Corporation… Cheonghaejin [a trading company]? What is this?”

When Lee Bang-won asked, Lee Je said confidently.

“It is the name of the merchant group that will launch ships for the Great Voyage. A share is a division of the ownership of this company, so you will receive a share of the profits in proportion to what you have.”

Then he handed over a wooden board engraved with the word ‘stock certificate’.

Lee Bang-won received it and looked down at it, saying.

“I don’t know if the meritorious subjects and Jongchin [royal relatives] will accept this and be satisfied…”

To be honest, even he wouldn’t want to rely on unstable trading ships instead of solid land.

‘But they are not the ones who would not accept this even if they are dissatisfied.’

There would be a big difference between giving even insufficient compensation and not giving it.

Lee Bang-won nodded in agreement.

“It’s a plan like the one Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty implemented to seize military power with alcohol [a historical event where the emperor peacefully removed military power from his generals].”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

The Crown Prince answered with a puzzled expression, but Lee Bang-won stroked his beard and thought.

Zhao Kuangyin, who founded the Song Dynasty, was famous for carrying out the most peaceful purge in history.

He asked his subordinates at a drinking party to give up their military power in exchange for monetary compensation.

‘Well, there’s no need to see blood.’

Lee Bang-won nodded.

He is often misunderstood, but he is not the type of person who likes to wield a sword just because he likes to see blood.

It’s only because it’s necessary.

Rather, he had his own philosophy that he should shed as little blood as possible, only as much as necessary, in the process of purging.

“But if the profits are not as expected, they will be furious that they bought pieces of wood instead of land. Are you really confident that you can sell this and make a profit?”

“Of course.”

Lee Je nodded confidently.

It had already been a year since Zheng He’s fleet left, and it was entering its second year.

Their news had already arrived in Joseon via the Ming Dynasty.

“Once they taste the money in that vast sea, they will come running with money in their arms without anyone telling them to.”

< Prince of the Sea (1) > End

ⓒ Pitkong