There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 339

340. The Foundation

The passage of time in Hanyang feels different than in Nanjing.

This isn’t to say that time literally moves slower for the people of Hanyang compared to those in Nanjing.

It simply means they are growing accustomed to the new timekeeping system established by His Majesty.

With the market closing, the city gates shutting, and nighttime curfew all governed by the new system, the people of the capital had no choice but to adapt.

Clock towers between the market and the Six Ministries [the main administrative bodies of the Joseon Dynasty], clocks gradually appearing wherever people gathered, and alarm clocks in the homes of the wealthy further encouraged this change.

However, this was all limited to the capital.

People in rural villages were not yet so attuned to time.

Their schedules were predictable, and meeting places and appointments were limited.

Thus, it took a while for all the people who had started trickling into Magistrate Jang’s detached house from dusk to gather.

“Has everyone who’s coming arrived?”

“Those who haven’t come by now probably have no intention of coming. Let’s start amongst ourselves.”

“Indeed. It seems we’ve been summoned by Magistrate Jang’s order, wouldn’t you say?”

These days, the establishment of agricultural cooperatives was a hot topic of interest from Hanyang to the remote mountain villages.

It wasn’t new for the King to introduce unusual policies, but the people, who had repeatedly seen their livelihoods improve with each one, were filled with great anticipation.

Moreover, dreamlike stories were circulating about being able to borrow seeds and farming tools at low prices, borrow money without strict scrutiny, and being guaranteed not to starve even if the harvest failed due to crop failure.

“This is all thanks to our King’s virtuous love for his people. You all know that, don’t you?”

“Of course, we do.”

“Who in all eight provinces of Joseon would dare deny it?”

Having completed the obligatory praise, the servant of Magistrate Jang’s household brought up the real topic.

“But no matter how much the King cares for us and introduces good policies, what good is it if those below don’t properly uphold and implement them? Isn’t that so?”

“Indeed, there are always rascals who try to get involved in such matters and only look after their own interests.”

Even to the villagers, these projects seemed like opportunities for anyone with a government armband to have a field day.

Those who had seen the son of the village clerk, who had been miserable from being forced to bear the burden of local service, strutting around with a handful of village limestone after visiting Yeouido [an island in the Han River], felt this even more acutely.

The servant of Magistrate Jang’s household quickly chimed in.

“To prevent such misfortunes, shouldn’t someone like our Magistrate naturally take on the role of the cooperative leader?”

‘That’s right, well done!’

Magistrate Jang, eavesdropping from the next room, clenched his fist and whispered.

“Well, Magistrate is the only one in our village who can be considered educated.”

It had been a while since the King had spread the new script, and there were quite a few people in this village who could read Hangul [the Korean alphabet] fluently, but still, someone who had formally studied was different.

Magistrate Jang, who had been expelled from Sungkyunkwan [the Royal Academy] in the past for unknowingly leading a movement to protect the rights of government slaves, was still the most educated person in this small village.

The promoters did not forget to mention this point as well.

“Besides, I heard he was forced to retire and return to his hometown because he spoke out to the King, and his path to advancement was blocked?”

‘These guys are saying unnecessary things.’

The expression of Magistrate Jang, who was eavesdropping, became subtle, but the reaction was favorable.

“A loyalist, a loyalist indeed.”

“Shouldn’t such an upright person take charge of the cooperative?”

The gathered people nodded at the words of the promoters.

“But I heard that the head of the Hojang [wealthy family] family is also aiming for the position of cooperative leader?”

“Damn it, isn’t the Saemaul Council [a government initiative for rural development] enough? Are they going to take everything for themselves?”

“That’s why Magistrate Jang needs to step up and crush them! If we unanimously support the Magistrate, would they dare to act recklessly?”

“Hmm! That’s right!”

It’s not that these people truly believed that Magistrate Jang was a hero who would save the village and were just saying nice things.

Just in time, the servant of Magistrate Jang’s household, with good sense, passed around a cup of unfiltered rice wine (makgeolli) to each person.

“I feel relieved that you all say such things. Here, let’s all have a drink of this unfiltered wine.”

“Oh, how grateful we are!”

“There must be some joy in drinking a cup of unfiltered wine on a warm floor on such a cold winter day. Isn’t that so?”

Magistrate Jang may be a respected figure in the village, but that doesn’t mean he is an absolute power holder who controls the village.

Not long after the land reform at the beginning of the dynasty, and with the King reclaiming meritorious retainers’ land and breaking down large landowners, the majority of tenant farmers in this country are self-sufficient farmers.

It is true that Magistrate Jang’s family is quite respected in this village, but since he is not a landlord who holds the power of life and death, he has no choice but to seek a certain degree of ‘cooperation’.

In particular, Magistrate Jang, who had experienced the crushing of the student movement by Lee Je, had realized something.

‘I must gather people.’

Sungkyunkwan was divided by vicious political maneuvering, and fake students who were suddenly inserted canceled the strike.

‘The mistake was not having a solid foundation.’

He could no longer dream of holding office, but he was at least thinking of becoming the cooperative leader as a respected figure in this village.

‘The agricultural cooperative is like the Village Covenant of Master Lu of the Song Dynasty [a system of self-governance]. Even if I only become the cooperative leader in the neighborhood where I was born and raised, I can leave my name as a scholar, and my authority will be no less enviable than that of the magistrate.’

That’s why he lent his detached house as a meeting hall whenever there was something to discuss, and why he always took the initiative to give back in this way.

The Saemaul title was taken by those eccentric fellows who learned the technology directly from Hanseong [old name for Seoul], but the agricultural cooperative is different.

It seemed to focus on fairly managing the funds and distributing profits without causing anyone’s resentment, rather than making something quickly.

Magistrate Jang thought that no one was more suitable for this position than himself.

Even just looking at how he fairly distributed straw shoes to those who were returning home showed that.

“Thank you for gathering today. It’s not much, but take a pair each on your way back.”

“Oh, Magistrate! What is this!”

“We will wear them well!”

The people bowed repeatedly and went back, holding the straw shoes.

* * *

Before King Taejong abolished it, the local gentry gathered at the Hyangso [local council], where they discussed village affairs and elected the Jwasu (Head) by majority vote.

In terms of procedure, the magistrate appointed the Jwasu, but in reality, it was decided as elected.

The magistrates in each region also issued orders to elect the cooperative leader following the example of the Hyangso.

However, the agricultural cooperative is not a place where only the gentry are involved, like the Hyangso.

The commoners were quite clever, and there were many places to appeal, so they couldn’t just sit around and divide the interests of the cooperative among themselves.

In particular, all of the agricultural cooperative’s projects were intertwined with the lives of the farmers.

Naturally, they had to be mindful of the cooperative members, that is, the common people.

The public opinion could not be ignored when recommending the Jwasu, that is, the cooperative leader.

“Which person does your family want to elect as the cooperative leader?”

“We, from here to the five houses across the stream, have already decided that we want Magistrate Jang to do it.”

“Hmm, Magistrate Jang.”

There were still some who could not read, but that did not mean they could not exchange opinions.

Since there were no principles such as secret ballots or personal voting, it may seem like a blatant election fraud from the perspective of modern people, but they had something to say.

“Since the sides are already divided before the election, what’s the point of hiding it?”

“We can’t have anyone betraying us! Why would we let them secretly vote for a candidate, trusting what?”

“The head of the household’s words are the family’s opinion, so why bother listening to other people’s words?”

As a result, there were minor stories circulating about someone being beaten for betraying after receiving unfiltered rice wine and straw shoes, or a son being beaten for disagreeing with his father and disgracing the family.

In this way, very poor and crude elections were held in each region, but it was not a problem for them at all.

Not only that, but there were definitely changes from the past.

“I wish we could have elections every day! Free booze and straw shoes. I’m grateful.”

“Hey! We made Magistrate Jang the cooperative leader, so he should be grateful to us.”

“Is that how it works?”

“If he acts high and mighty like before and diverts the water from the reservoir to his rice paddies, he should know that there will be nothing left next time.”

“Hey, won’t this person forget everything when the time comes and just smile at a cup of unfiltered rice wine?”

The ‘arbitrary rule of the countryside’ that the Joseon court had tried so hard to crack down on in the original history was somehow developing in a strange direction.

* * *

The term of the agricultural cooperative leader is 3 years, the same as the magistrate.

However, there is no limit to re-election, so if they can appease the people well, it would not be difficult to do it for generations.

Rural influential figures with their eyes wide open jumped into the election to wear the hat that guaranteed interests.

Most were elected without any problems, but in some places, the situation escalated and serious struggles broke out.

“Violence broke out?”

“Yes, in some villages, they split into factions and fought, the meeting hall burned down, and several people were injured.”

“The magistrate immediately released the soldiers and arrested those involved, but…”

Perfectly clean organizations do not exist.

Especially in this era.

As with the establishment of the Saemaul Council, I did not have high expectations for the integrity of the agricultural cooperative.

Since it is an organization that operates in such a way at the village level, I believed that it would be enough if it could fulfill its roles such as agricultural development and livelihood security.

However, it would be one thing if money and favors were exchanged to some extent, but violence is a bit much.

‘Is the flawed system of elections the problem?’

In fact, I didn’t even think about introducing elections when choosing the cooperative leader.

It’s not like I have the crazy idea of introducing democracy to the Joseon Dynasty, and if I do that, my descendants won’t be able to be kings.

This was all because the magistrates followed the precedent of the Hyangso.

“They dared to use violence to threaten the people and seize the position of the village. Flog the candidates one hundred times each, and flog those who moved as their hands and feet ten times each to punish them severely.”

One hundred strokes will wake them up. It will remain as a trauma, and they will never think of using physical force again.

Or they may just die from being flogged and not be able to think about it.

“Your Majesty, this is ultimately because they privately elected their own leader in the countryside.”

“If this continues, the evils will become serious, and the villagers will conspire and not listen to the magistrate, so you should send them down with the magistrate and order the cooperative leader.”

‘These centralist lovers.’

Of course, I know what they mean. Why did the Sangpi system [a system of mutual surveillance] come about in the first place?

However, these local organizations originally run by turning a blind eye to each other to some extent.

The provinces can no longer resist the center.

The magistrates are dispatched deep into the provinces, and Joseon’s administrative power is also increasing dramatically.

The magistrate’s authority is strong, and there is a military force in each province to support him.

Above all, voluntary cooperation in governance is being achieved because there is a cute king like me.

‘If we strictly prohibit the use of violence, it will be fine.’

Let’s just prevent the cooperative leader election from becoming a gangster fight and let the rural areas run on their own.

In this era, even that level of organization would be considered an innovation.

‘There’s nothing more I can do.’

At best, it would be the improvement of farming methods and seeds, but the agricultural cooperative can take care of that.