There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 353

354. War on Crime (2)

“There are several reasons, you rascal. First, since you two are married, you must, uh, visit the tombs of King Hwanjo and other ancestors in the north and inform them, ah-ya.”

‘Let me say something.’

Jo So-hwa repeatedly nudged my thigh under the table, but I maintained a poker face and said,

“Secondly, it has been a while since I visited the north, so I want you to go and console the people of the Northeast and the Jurchens.”

In fact, this is the biggest reason.

I have been to the north with Yi Seong-gye several times and solidified my loyalty, but my descendants are different.

How would those who were born and raised in Hanyang [modern-day Seoul] all their lives know how the Jurchens live?

‘Well, they would interact with the Jurchen members of the Royal Guards often, though.’

Anyway, as Yi Seong-gye’s direct successor, I find it unsatisfactory.

I drank mare’s milk with the Jurchens, wrestled at the Nadam festival [a traditional Mongolian festival with wrestling, horse racing, and archery], and did everything.

I was planning to send him there someday, and the pretext of informing the ancestors after marriage is sufficient.

Filial piety is an invincible logic in Joseon [Korean dynasty]. The court officials have no choice but to shut their mouths.

“I will send a large number of Jurchen members of the Royal Guards with you, so go together to win the hearts of the people and solidify your position as heir.”

I was planning to send a large number of soldiers from the Training Command for security.

‘Actually, it’s not as dangerous as you might think if you go there.’

It’s just that Yi Bang-won and Queen Wongyeong made a fuss.

Anyway, since there are concerns, it’s better to send as many security forces as possible.

‘But even if you give the Crown Prince a lot of troops, there will be concerns from all sides.’

There’s no need to worry that Dan-i, who takes the troops, will awaken his rebellious genes and start a rebellion.

‘If a rebellion is possible in my home ground, the Northeast, I will accept it and hand over the throne willingly.’

It’s so convenient not to have to suspect my son as a father.

* * *

“The Crown Prince is still young, how can he travel to that harsh north……”

Queen Wongyeong sighed deeply.

‘It’s not like he’s walking there like others; other people are escorting him there and back.’

When I went to the Northeast, the roads weren’t as splendidly paved as they are now.

“How can you worry so much before he even leaves? Tell him to go and see the Nadam festival while he’s there.”

Meanwhile, Jo So-hwa leaned her head on me, unable to hide her disappointment.

“Your Majesty, what if something happens to the Crown Prince?”

“We’re still young, what are you worried about…… Ack!”

Jo So-hwa couldn’t contain her anger and poked my side with her elbow.

I feel like the restrictions are increasing these days.

“His Majesty specifically told me! To tell you to take good care of the Crown Prince.”

At Jo So-hwa’s words, Yi Jing-ok, who was in charge of the Crown Prince’s close protection, nodded vigorously.

“Even if I die, I will protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!”

‘If you say things like that, a situation where your life is at stake is bound to happen.’

I swallowed those words without saying them out loud.

Well…… what could happen?

The work of cleaning up my son is all done, now let’s see how many fish are caught on the hook.

* * *

“Huff, huff, why are those government soldiers so frantic!”

Kim Young-si, the leader of the Myeonghwa bandits, shouted as he ran.

The Myeonghwa bandits were a type of organized bandit group that carried torches and robbed at night in groups of dozens.

Kim Young-si had heard stories about a crackdown period from somewhere, but as His Majesty said, shouldn’t people find opportunities in crises?

‘I can’t give up a bonanza like this.’

As a citizen, shouldn’t I make a big score to celebrate the Crown Prince’s marriage?

Perhaps that’s why he moved so carelessly, but he didn’t expect this situation.

Not long after the Myeonghwa bandits robbed the house they had marked, soldiers poured in as if they had been waiting.

“Leader, what do we do now?”

“What do you mean, what do we do? Run like hell!”

Originally, bandits are not soldiers.

Their job is to steal other people’s property, not to fight with others.

What good is it to kill a hundred enemy soldiers if our losses are greater? We won’t be able to rob again.

If there were enough of them, they would have fought back and scattered enough to prevent pursuit, but that wasn’t the case, so they had no choice but to avoid fighting and run.

Kim Young-si looked up at the sky and lamented.

“Damn it, bad luck! Why did we get caught by those guys at this time!”

Then, the deputy leader Jang-soo, who was out of breath, tilted his head and asked.

“Huff, huff, come to think of it, why is this a bonanza?”

“You idiot, didn’t I explain that there would be a general amnesty before and after the wedding, so the country’s wealth is as good as ours?”

“Y-yes, you did. But leader, then why are we running? Aren’t we going to be released soon anyway?”

Kim Young-si glanced at the government soldiers chasing from behind and soon realized something.

He stopped abruptly.

When the leader stopped, the bandits running behind him also stopped.

“Hold it right there…… they really stopped?”

“Oh, okay. Let’s go, let’s go.”

Kim Young-si shook his head to shake off the soaking sweat and willingly accepted the rope.

Anyway, if they ran away, they would have to engage in a chase all night, and he thought it was better not to waste unnecessary energy.

There would be no good in being caught after exhausting each other.

“You thought well. All of you come and get tied up!”

The bandits grumbled, and after their limbs were tied, they were dragged to the government office.

The trial didn’t take long.

Some of them habitually denied even after being caught, but most of them cooperated willingly because the circumstances were clear, and they didn’t want to be tortured for confessing or not.

Anyway, there will be a general amnesty, so it’s only a loss for them to resist and get beaten up at this stage.

Thanks to that, the criminal investigator who came down from the capital tried dozens of people on the spot and was able to finish the trial quickly.

However, the general amnesty that they were leisurely waiting for did not come until they were transferred to the provincial office.

No, it did come.

Minor criminals were released one after another, and their places were filled with bandits caught from all over the country.

“This…… all the guys who were active in Pyeongan Province have been caught?”

“Not just one or two?”

Bandits who used to be big shots in Pyeongan Province were all tied up like dried fish, and the prison was not enough, so Kim Young-si and Jang-soo were finally able to realize the truth.

The fact that a plot to ensnare bandits throughout Pyeongan Province, not just in Junghwa County where they were caught, was being carried out.

However, even that was close to their delusion.

This kind of sweeping crackdown was not only happening in Pyeongan Province. Similar situations were happening in provincial offices across the country.

After the presiding judge also sentenced them all to forced labor in the second trial, they felt like they had been struck by lightning.

“When will the country’s grace be bestowed upon us? Does His Majesty think it’s okay to see the blood of these insignificant bandits before His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s wedding?”

“His Royal Highness’s wedding is already over! Bandits have been specially excluded from this general amnesty because they harm people and steal property, so don’t even dream about it!”

‘I should have run away even if I was caught, even if I had to run to my death!’

The bandits, including Kim Young-si, lamented inwardly.

Despair rushed in even more after being dragged to the forced labor camp.

‘Am I going to spend my youth, no, my whole life in the forced labor camp like this?’

No matter how much they have sinned, it is not an easy thing.

Since they were born as bandits, some of them didn’t even try to stay still.

However, the managers working in the forced labor camp are professionals in dealing with these guys.

A martial officer holding a great sword stepped forward without hesitation and said.

“There is a clause in the forced labor camp that if criminals cause a riot, the head of the ringleader must be cut off to establish discipline! Are you the ringleader of the treacherous bastards?”

“No, I’m not!”

Jang-soo, who had been complaining, quickly put his head in and pointed to Kim Young-si with his eyes.

Kim Young-si bowed his head to the martial officer in humiliation and said.

“I will take care of it so that nothing happens. Please be merciful and let it go.”

His subordinates looked at him with disappointment as he became so cowardly in an instant, but he couldn’t help it.

‘To be caught in a trap set by the country and end up in a forced labor camp that I never thought I would be in!’

He was very frustrated, but he was sad because he had nowhere to complain.

“Now, push hard!”

“Those who are lazy will be severely punished!”

The bandits were forced to live a new life like that.

Just like their seniors had done.

* * *

The generator was running powerfully.

Although it was based on Joseon standards, the fact that a facility capable of large-scale power generation was born was very satisfying.

It will be possible to supply power not only to electroplating but also to other places.

‘The uses of electricity are endless.’

There was a disadvantage that the voltage had to be maintained stably to use it for various electrical appliances, but that was something that could be solved gradually.

Besides, aren’t there plenty of power sources to generate electricity?

I’m not talking about the bandits who were rounded up and dragged to Hanyang.

‘That’s just part of social purification.’

It’s impossible to have a society without crime, but we have to weed them out like this from time to time.

“It was a divine move to get rid of them during this wedding.”

It’s probably a tactic that I can’t use twice, but the effect was amazing.

Sweeping up various organized bandits, including the Myeonghwa bandits.

It was truly a collapse of the organizations themselves.

The guys who have been caught now are the ones who have stubbornly chosen the life of a bandit despite decades of dangling the carrot of economic growth and stable living.

The goal has been mostly achieved just by getting rid of these guys.

Since it’s a place where people live, other thugs will slowly replace them, but it won’t be at the same level as before.

It will be the same in terms of power, and they will try to parasitize more gently (?) than those who suddenly pull out a knife and demand money.

‘Yes, it’s part of the punishment.’

I definitely don’t mean that I’m in favor of human-powered development.

While sending letters to my half-siblings to urge them to secure new power sources, I called in Ouchi Mitsuyo.

The only reason I brought him from Buyeo to the capital was because I needed more copper.

“More than now…… is that what you mean?”

“Yes.”

Since Japan has a large output of copper, most of the copper demand has been met by Japanese copper, called Waedong, since the early Joseon Dynasty.

After I took office, I developed copper mines all over the country, but the amount of copper demand increased more than what was mined, so the amount of imports increased even more.

‘Besides, now we’re even producing electricity.’

Copper is an essential material for making wires.

It can also be made of silver, which has the best conductivity, but wouldn’t it be better to just buy copper with that silver than to make wires with it?

Above all, we had the more efficient Joseon Bank printing press instead of real silver.

“It may not be easy to import more than this……”

“Are you not confident? Should we directly contact the Japanese Shugo [military governors], and ask if they can send us more copper?”

I only mentioned other lords directly, but in fact, it’s easiest to go through the shogunate.

Now we regularly exchange trade ships directly.

There’s no way Ouchi Mitsuyo wouldn’t understand my hint.

“I will bring as much as you want by any means!”

Whether he uses Ouchi’s monopoly on Joseon goods to drive down prices or directly sticks a straw into the copper mine, I don’t care, but I can believe him since he guarantees it to this extent.

‘We can control Iwami directly, but.’

The copper mines scattered throughout Japan are a different story.

So you guys take responsibility and bring the copper.

I’ll give you a generous price.